Wikivoyage enwikivoyage https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page MediaWiki 1.47.0-wmf.8 first-letter Media Special Talk User User talk Wikivoyage Wikivoyage talk File File talk MediaWiki MediaWiki talk Template Template talk Help Help talk Category Category talk TimedText TimedText talk Module Module talk Event Event talk 0 44 5298531 5297078 2026-06-26T00:29:50Z DaGizza 162256 /* Beaches */ Updated listing for Moesgaard Beach 5298531 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|2011-05-29 046b Wikivoyage banner image of Your rainbow panorama - Aarhus, Denmark.jpg|caption=ARoS (Aarhus Art Museum)|dotm=yes}} '''Aarhus''' (also written Århus and pronounced ''Oar-Hoos'') is the main city on the [[Jutland]] peninsula in [[Denmark]]. "City of Cafés" is a moniker the city wears with pride: its roster of coffeeshops exemplifies Aarhus' elegant mix of cosmopolitan city life and quaint small-town charm. With a population of a little more than 300,000 in 2026, it is Denmark's second largest city for many years and has the youngest population. ==Understand== [[File:Your rainbow panorama på taget af ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum.jpg|thumb|Aarhus skyline with ARoS Art Museum and the landmark clock tower of Aarhus City Hall.]] Aarhus is known as "The City of Smiles" (Danish: ''Smilets By''). This slogan probably started as publicity to improve the city's image, but it has nevertheless caught on. Being a university city and centre of education, Aarhus has a large student population and one of the lowest median ages of any city in Europe. The cultural scene here is always thriving. For years, Aarhus has been an incubator for Danish artists and performers. It is also home to '''[http://www.aarhusfestuge.dk Aarhus Festuge]''', Scandinavia's largest cultural festival, held annually for 10 days at the end of August. In addition, Aarhus, along with the East Jutland Metropolitan area for which it serves as the central hub, is the fastest-growing area in Denmark in terms of population. There is a huge building boom taking place with new high-rises sprouting like mushrooms on the skyline. Little wonder, then, that Aarhus was selected as 2017's European Capital of Culture, with a full slate of events on tap all year throughout the entire city and region. Most locals speak excellent English. You will have no trouble getting around or ordering food using only English. ===Orientation=== ====Aarhus C==== [[File:Aarhus montage (districts) 1.jpg|thumb|Aarhus C]] Aarhus City is the central district and the most active area of the city with several interesting and special neighbourhoods, including these: * '''Indre by''' (Inner City) is the old medieval core of the city which used to be walled and gated up until 1857. A large part of the inner city is pedestrianized. The Latin Quarter is a small special quarter with cobblestone streets, low-rise buildings and old townhouses that has been preserved. * '''Vesterbro''', situated north and west of Indre by, is mostly a residential area. However, you'll find several major attractions including the Botanical Gardens, the Old Town museum and the main university campus. * '''Øgade-kvarteret''' is a residential quarter immediately northwest of the Latin Quarter and also presents a unique town environment with low-rise buildings and colourful townhouses, mostly from around the 1850s to 1920s. Most of the streets of the quarter are named after Danish islands. * '''Aarhus Ø''' is a new residential neighbourhood on the harbourfront. * '''Trøjborg''' is located north of the inner city and is like a small town within the city. The area was developed in the early 1900s with mostly four- or five-storey apartment blocks in brick. It used to be a working class neighbourhood. It is a somewhat quiet residential quarter but also includes a central shopping street with restaurants and a cinema. * '''Frederiksbjerg''' is another quarter with its own charm and character. Located immediately south of the broad railway yard in the city centre, this area was developed primarily in the late 1800s and most of the original buildings have been preserved. It is a lovely mix of bustling street life, restaurants, specialty shops, small businesses and residential areas. Mostly low-rise buildings and townhouses, with several small parks in between. ====Aarhus N==== '''Aarhus Nord''' (Aarhus North) is a large postal district comprising the northern parts of the city. It is made up mostly of quiet residential neighbourhoods, but boasts natural attractions such as the Risskov urban forest, Egå Engsø lake area, and some beach parks. The district is also home to several educational institutions, a large business park, an industrial park with light industry, and a huge regional hospital. Some of the neighbourhoods in Aarhus N, like Skejby and Vejlby, are former suburban villages that have merged with the city. ====Aarhus V==== '''Aarhus Vest''' (Aarhus West) is perhaps the largest postal district and includes all the western neighbourhoods of the city. Most of it is residential areas of more recent development, but some neighbourhoods, like Åby and Hasle, are former suburban villages or outlying farms that have merged with the city. There are several natural attractions in this large area, including the Brabrand Lake area and the nature site of Skjoldhøjkilen, and many opportunities for sports. ====Viby and Højbjerg==== '''Viby''' (officially Viby J, with J for Jutland) is a former railway town that has merged with the expanding city. It is sometimes unofficially referred to as Aarhus S (Aarhus South) along with '''Højbjerg''', '''Skåde''' and '''Holme''', three adjacent districts and neighbourhoods. There is some activity around the central square of Viby Torv, but otherwise these southern parts of town are predominantly residential. Marselisborg Forests and the Moesgaard Museum are the two most important attractions here. === When to go === [[File:Aarhus montage (seasons).jpg|thumb|left]] {{climate chart |Aarhus |-0.9 |3.5 |56.0 |-0.9 |3.8 |37.5 |-0.2 |6.4 |49.3 |3.1 |11.4 |38.0 |6.6 |15.8 |45.5 |10.2 |18.9 |62.8 |12.3 |21.4 |59.6 |12.5 |21.0 |61.4 |9.6 |17.1 |73.3 |6.0 |12.1 |68.4 |3.0 |7.6 |63.3 |0.2 |4.6 |58.9 |float=right |clear=right | description = Source:[[:w:Aarhus#Climate]] }} As the seasons change, the character of Aarhus changes accordingly. In winter, outdoor activities are limited and this is primarily a time for the indoors. It is unusual for everything to be covered in metre- thick layers of snow and the temperatures are not excruciating cold normally, but daylight hours are limited, the trees stand bare, and the skies are often depressingly grey. While the city is still full of people, the outdoor street life is uninspiring for most visitors, except for the Christmas period of December. At this time, the city centre is decorated, and as Christmas approaches, more street vendors sell sweet treats and comfort food such as ''æbleskiver'', pancakes, mulled wine, and sugar-glazed almonds. Starting in Apr-May and ending with Oct-Nov, the city has more to offer. The beech trees burst into leaves around the first of May, and daylight hours and temperatures increase rapidly throughout this month. Having waited for this, citizens are quick to fill the parks and green spaces; street life shows much more intensity and diversity, and several outdoor events take place. However, Aarhus, as the rest of Denmark, is almost closed down with empty streets during Easter. Major attractions in Aarhus are open throughout the summer, but quite a few restaurants are closed for several weeks, though not all at once; there are still plenty of opportunities. However, if you plan to visit a specific eatery, confirm their hours beforehand. In July and August, many residents leave the city or travel abroad. University students have time off from their studies and many visit family in other cities, work elsewhere, or travel. Working people have five weeks of paid vacation and nearly everybody spends some of it during this season. For these reasons, the city centre can appear deserted in mid-July to early August and chances are that you will encounter more visitors than residents. It would therefore be a good idea to combine a visit to Aarhus with excursions to nearby countryside and attractions in the height of summer. From mid-August, things start to happen again in the city as residents return. It is still summer and soon time for the annual Aarhus Fest. Through September, the temperatures begin to cool and it gets windier, but there are still many daylight hours in the day and the weather is usually fine. From October the leaves on the trees start to turn yellow and red, and any trace of summer ends with the onset of November. September and October are also a good time to visit if you want to include outdoor and nature experiences to your trip, just bring more warm clothing. October and parts of November is a particularly beautiful time of year in the city parks and forests with all the vibrant colours of autumn. === Tourist information === As most other places in Denmark, the official tourist website of Aarhus is managed by VisitDenmark, a public-private partnership with free tourist services. The Aarhus website is called [https://www.visitaarhus.com/ Visit Aarhus]. The main office for tourist information in the city is in the [[#Miscellaneous|Dokk1 library]] building at the harbour front. Ask the staff at the information desk and they will help you. In the summer, extra staff servicing tourists specifically are there to help. There is also a touchscreen available with interactive tourist information about the city, and a plethora of free inspirational and informative pamphlets about notable sights and happenings in the region. ==Talk== Many Danes can be reserved towards strangers, but friendly towards tourists, and will normally be happy to give you directions and advice in good English. As Aarhus is a big city, it will hardly be a problem getting help or directions in near-fluent English. ==Get in== ===By train=== [[File:Århus station 2011 2.jpg|thumb|Arriving at the Aarhus Central Station.]] * {{go | name=Aarhus Central Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.14995 | long=10.20372 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Aarhus Central Station | image=Århus hovedbane.jpg | wikidata=Q2601548 | lastedit=2024-03-05 | content=Trains run once or twice an hour from Copenhagen (København) to Aarhus and take about four hours. The standard adult fare is kr 469, with an additional kr 30 to reserve a seat. 25% discounts are available for persons 16-25 years old, or older than 65 years. You can get significant discounts by buying ''Orange Tickets'' well in advance of departure or outside peak hours. Details on [http://www.dsb.dk DSB]'s homepage. }} It is also possible to catch a train to other parts of the Jutland peninsula from Aarhus. There are trains going north to Aalborg twice an hour most days and going west to Skjern or Struer once an hour. Trains from [[Hamburg]] arrive several times a day (with a change of trains in [[Kolding]]). If you book about two months before travelling, you can buy one of the few tickets for €30 (called "Europa-Sparpreis"). For more information check out the website of the German national railway company [http://www.db.de DB] A reservation on trains to and from Germany is mandatory. Even though Denmark is in the Schengen area, passports are being checked by customs at entry points. Tickets used in trains are also usable in buses, and if you are travelling from Copenhagen, you can use your ticket for the rest of the day to get around Aarhus at no extra expense. ===By bus=== Buses have become an attractive way of travelling between Aarhus and Copenhagen, due to their significantly lower prices. An inter-city bus takes roughly an hour longer than an equivalent express train, but the fares are typically between 40% (standard tickets) and 90% (the cheapest Saver tickets) lower than full-price train tickets. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=https://www.flixbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-02 | content=From Copenhagen, Odense, Aalborg and other towns in Denmark. International connections include Amsterdam, Berlin, and Hamburg. }} * {{go | name=Kombardo Expressen | alt= | url=https://www.kombardoexpressen.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-12 | content=Direct to Copenhagen via the ferry. }} * {{go | name=Fleet | alt= | url=https://fleet.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-03-05 | content=A long-distance bus company owned by Vikingbus. Has a route between Aarhus and Copenhagen with stops in Middelfart and Odense on the way. }} ===By boat=== [[File:Mols-Linien Katexpress (11834616506).jpg|thumb|The Katexpress 1 is one of two high-speed catamarans ferrying passengers and cars for Mols Linien.]] * {{go | name=Mols Linjen | alt= | url=https://www.molslinjen.dk | email= | address= | lat=56.1507 | long=10.2516 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-03-05 | content=Ferry to [[Odsherred|Odden]] the northwest coast of [[Zealand]]. Significant discounts by booking your tickets days in advance. Public transport connections to and from Odden are not very good, unless you are using Kombardo Expressen (direct bus via the ferry between Aarhus and Copenhagen). Arriving by ferry in Aarhus without a car also leaves you a bit stranded since there is no public transport to and from the new dock; the city centre is a 4-km walk. }} * {{go | name=M/F Lilleøre | alt= | url=https://www.tilsamsoe.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.15387 | long=10.21527 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-11-25 | content=A small catamaran ferry (no vehicles except bicycles), M/F Lilleøre, connects the center of Aarhus with the island Samsø. The ferry docks at Dokk1 in Aarhus and in Sælvig on Samsø. }} ===By plane=== [[File:Aarhus Airport.png|thumb|Aarhus Airport]] * {{go | name=Aarhus Airport | alt={{IATA|AAR}} | url=http://www.aar.dk | email= | address= | lat=56.304167 | long=10.619167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Aarhus Airport | image=Denmark-Aarhus Airport.JPG | wikidata=Q1341664 | lastedit=2021-11-25 | content=Aarhus Airport is rather small, but it is served by several major European airlines nonetheless. Flights from [[London Stansted Airport]] are offered also by the low-cost airline Ryanair. Located approximately a 45-minute bus-ride away from the city, [https://www.midttrafik.dk/koreplaner/lufthavnsbusser/aarhus-airport/ 925X Airport buses] arrive and depart from Banegårdspladsen at the central station. Tickets are sold on the bus and one-way tickets costs kr 115 (children kr 80). Accepted currencies (only bills) are: Danish kroner, U.S. dollars, pounds sterling, Swiss francs, euros, Swedish and Norwegian kroner. Major credit cards are also accepted. By taxi you should expect to pay about kr 650 to reach the city centre. }} * {{go | name=Billund Airport | alt={{IATA|BLL}} | url=https://www.bll.dk/en-en | email= | address= | lat=55.740278 | long=9.151944 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Billund Airport | image=Billund Airport from NE.jpg | wikidata=Q598121 | lastedit=2019-11-06 | content=This airport offers many flight connections and is approximately a 90-minute bus-ride away. [https://www.midttrafik.dk/koreplaner/lufthavnsbusser/billund-airport/ 912X Airport buses] arrive and leave from ''Aarhus Rutebilstation'' (the central bus station) and drive via ''Banegårdspladsen'' at the central station. Tickets are sold on the bus and one-way tickets costs kr 162. Accepted currencies are Danish kroner and euro. Credit cards are also accepted. }} * {{go | name=Nordic Seaplanes | alt= | url=http://www.seaplanes.dk | email=fly@seaplanes.dk | address=Østhavnsvej 37, 8000 Aarhus C | lat=56.15164 | long=10.24720 | directions= | phone=+45 70 20 00 60 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24007895 | lastedit=2019-05-12 | content=Seaplane connection from Copenhagen (40 - 50 min). Normal ticket kr 1,897 (including hand luggage), however prices vary depending on the time of day. Mid-day departures are often a little cheaper. Mostly used by business travelers. Also offers sightseeing tours over Aarhus, kr 697 (June - August). Major credit cards are accepted. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe|56.156|10.207|zoom=14|height=500|width=560|layer=w|staticmap=|align=|name=}} ===On foot=== The entire city is clean and well organized, which makes '''walking''' an excellent and enjoyable way to get around. The inner city has an extensive pedestrian zone, and almost every town road in Denmark has sidewalks. If you want to venture further out, several routes have been established for exercise and for leisurely strolls. Known as "sunbeams", they avoid heavily trafficked roads and includes nature experiences. ===By bicycle=== Bicycles are easily available for rent in the central parts of town. In addition to the listings below some hotels have bikes available for rental by their guests. Even though Denmark is very flat generally, Aarhus has some of the steepest roads in the country and they can be quite a challenge if you aren't used to ride a bicycle. However, most roads are a breeze and on longer rides, you can usually plan your route to avoid the hardest ascends if you fear the "Aarhusian Alps". The inner city of Aarhus has a network of bicycle streets (Danish: ''Cykelgader'') where priority is given to cyclists. Here bicycles can use the entire lane and cars are not supposed to drive faster than normal cycling speed. However not all drivers respect these rules (perhaps because they are unaware of them), so you should still watch out for car traffic. * {{go | name=[[Urban cycling#Donkey Republic|Donkey Republic]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Offers bicycles to be picked up around the clock at several street spots, including a pick-up spot outside the central station. The bicycles are readily identified by their bright orange colour and they are paid for through a smartphone app. }} * {{go | name=Rent & Ride | alt= | url=https://rentandride.dk | email=info@rentandride.dk | address=Krabbesholms Allé 7, DK-8260 Viby J | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 22 79 80 98 | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 299 per day | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Mountain bike rental. }}y * {{go | name=Friis Cykler | alt= | url=https://www.trojborgcykler.dk/leje-af-cykel.aspx | email=brianfriis@godmail.dk | address=Jens Baggesens Vej 86, DK-8200 Aarhus N | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 86 16 65 05 | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 60 per day | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Bike shop with a selection of rental bikes. }} * {{go | name=Cykel-udlejning.dk | alt= | url=https://cykel-udlejning.dk/ | email=kontakt.funonwheels@gmail.com | address=Hørretløkken 50, DK-8320 Mårslet | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 60 54 90 12 | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 349 per day | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Mountain bikes and road bikes. }} ===By light rail=== [[File:Aarhus Letbane kort.png|thumb|[[File:Tram-Logo.svg|20px]] Aarhus Light Rail System (2017).</br>Stylized map including planned extensions (peach) and mainline rail lines (red) for reference.]] The electric light rail system "[http://www.letbanen.dk/ Aarhus Letbane]" opened its first line in late 2017, as the first rail system of its kind in Denmark, and is bound for further expansions into the suburbs in coming years. Tickets can be purchased with credit cards at electronic stands on selected stops, and the tickets are fully compatible with the local yellow bus system (and vice versa). Tickets cannot be purchased aboard the light rail train. Bicycles can be brought along for an extra fee, although not on the inner city stretch "Skolebakken - Universitetshospitalet" during weekday mornings and afternoon rush hour periods (07:00-09:00 and 15:00-17:00). The train schedules, important info, and the zoning system can be checked at the Letbanen website. ===By bus=== [[File:Midttrafik Volvo bus Line 18 bus no 603, Århus.JPG|thumb|left|Yellow buses operate local routes in the city]] There are two bus systems in Aarhus, both operated by [http://www.midttrafik.dk/ Midttrafik]. '''[https://www.midttrafik.dk/koereplaner/bybusser/aarhus.aspx Yellow buses]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' serve local routes within the city limits, and '''[http://www.visitaarhus.com/ln-int/letbanen-and-city-buses-gdk708590 Blue buses]''' serve municipal and regional routes. The blue bus routes pass through the inner city, so if you have to go on longer journeys, you do not have to change between the two systems. '''X-buses''' are express blue buses, discernible by a large X sign. X-buses make fewer stops, are equipped with free Wifi, usually have toilets and you are allowed to eat and drink. All blue buses have limited cargo space for heavy luggage, bicycles, etc., that you can use if you inform the chauffeur. You can enter the yellow city buses using all doors. On the blue regional buses entrance is at the front door only (with some exceptions, such as the 200 and 100). [[File:Midttrafik Volvo bus Line 100, Århus.JPG|thumb|Blue buses drive through the inner city, but operate long-distance regional routes]] Tickets are preferably purchased in advance in the Midttrafik app or in the Midttrafik webshop. The app is free for download on App Store and Google Play. Here you can buy single tickets, multi trip ticket cards, and special tourist tickets for busses and Letbanen. As a special service, blue buses also offers the opportunity to buy a ticket with cash from the chauffeur. Tickets bought on blue buses (and trains) can also be used to ride the local yellow buses, but not necessarily the other way around. If you ride without a valid ticket, you risk getting fined heavily, so don't take chances. [https://www.midttrafik.dk/billetter-og-priser/ Bus tickets] for travel within the city limits are kr 22, or kr 11 if you are under 16 years of age. Up to two accompanied children (under 12 years) travel for free. Multi-trip ticket cards are also available (10-trips), varying in price depending on how far you want to go. Cheaper cards are also available for people under 16 years old. Finally, there are tickets that allow you to ride all you want for 30 days, with prices depending on how far you wish to travel. For planning trips, it is recommended to use [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/webapp Rejseplanen]; the official travel planner website for all Danish public transport. It is also available as an app. '''[https://www.midttrafik.dk/english/prices/night-buses/ Night buses]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' are extra buses and routes to and from the outlying districts and suburbs throughout the night. The fare is double the normal price. In all of Denmark, train tickets can also be used to ride local bus lines, if you get on the bus within the time limit on your ticket. ===By taxi === * {{go | name=Aarhus Taxa | alt= | url=https://aarhustaxa.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 89 48 48 48 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-11-04 | content= }} * {{go | name=Dantaxi Aarhus | alt= | url=http://dantaxi4x48.dk/by/aarhus/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 86 16 47 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-11 | content= }} ===By car=== Aarhus has very good public transit and in the inner city most sights are within walking distance of each other. A car is therefore really only needed if you want to explore the countryside, and should you need one, there are several rental companies. If you arrive in Aarhus by your own car, there are large car parks near every major access road, and also at most larger hotels, so you should be able to park safely for extended periods. Street parking is restricted and rather expensive in Aarhus C. Free parking is scarce, except at a few places like Tangkrogen, in front of Ceres Park & Arena, and at some shopping centres, so don't count on it. If you choose to drive around in Aarhus, it is helpful to know that the inner parts of the city is surrounded by two ring roads, so you can avoid the narrow streets and bewildering traffic rules of the central city. Many streets in the inner city are one-way, and getting from A to B can be a challenge for strangers. During rush hour, the inner city streets, and even the ring roads are quite congested, although traffic rarely comes to a complete standstill. Remember to yield to cyclists. Aarhus is a hilly city and cyclists going downhill will often be approaching intersections at high speed. Also, some inner city streets are prioritized for cyclists; you are allowed to drive your car down these streets, but cyclists can, and will, use the entire lane. There is a low emission zone in Aarhus; see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. ==See== Many attractions and events in Aarhus are free, and there is an interesting street life, so even on a budget you can have an enjoyable experience. ===History=== With a history dating back to at least the 700s in the Viking Age, Aarhus holds many historic buildings, some of which are of national importance. [[File:Århus Katedral2.jpg|thumb|Aarhus Cathedral (1300) at the city centre.]] * {{see | name=Aarhus Viking Museum | alt= | url=http://www.vikingemuseet.dk | email= | address=Skt. Clemens Torv 6 | lat=56.1566 | long=10.2089 | directions= | phone=+45 89 42 11 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W F 10:00-16:00, Th 10:00-17:00 | price={{DKK|30}} for adults | wikipedia=Viking Museum (Aarhus) | wikidata=Q4992847 | content=Small [[Vikings and Old Norse|Viking]] museum located across from the cathedral in the basement of the Nordea Bank. The museum focuses on local history during the Viking Age and most of the displayed items were excavated on site. If you are interested in Viking Age history in general, visit the large Moesgaard Museum (MoMu) south of the city. }} * {{see | name=Museum Aarhus | alt= | url=http://www.dengamleby.dk/om/museum-aarhus/ | email= | address= | lat=56.158432 | long=10.192927 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A permanent exhibition within the Old Town Museum opened in spring 2017. The museum displays Aarhus' history with a focus on the last 150 years, the period when it expanded from a small provincial port town to its current status of second-largest city. }} * {{see | name=Aarhus Domkirke | alt=Aarhus Cathedral | url=http://www.aarhus-domkirke.dk | email= | address=Domkirkepladsen 2 | lat=56.156944 | long=10.210556 | directions= | phone=+45 86 20 54 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily May-Sep 09:30-16:00; Oct-Apr 10:00-15:00 | price=Free (a fee for the tower) | wikipedia=Aarhus Cathedral | wikidata=Q491260 | content=The beautiful cathedral is more than 800 years old, and the longest and the tallest in Denmark. It took 100 years to build and it is the oldest building in the city, still standing. Concerts are sometimes arranged and the tower offers a good view. Behind the church is Aarhus Cathedral School, also with an 800-year history. }} * {{see | name=Vor Frue Kirke | alt=Church of Our Lady | url=http://www.aarhusvorfrue.dk | email= | address=Vestergade 21 | lat=56.158 | long=10.205 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 12 43 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Church of Our Lady (Aarhus) | wikidata=Q1472113 | content=Medieval church with an interesting crypt church in the basement. The crypt church, built around 1060, is one of the oldest stone churches in Scandinavia. Through a door on the left inside the main church you can enter a former priory with an atrium garden. }} Apart from the old churches, the '''Latin Quarter''' in the city center has many historic houses in a preserved environment, just walk around the cobblestoned streets and have a look. There are many niche boutiques, cafés and restaurants. Several professional guides arrange historic walks around town. ===Museums=== There are a lot of museums around Aarhus, and Denmark in general, but many of them are not museums in the ordinary sense, more like themed and interactive cultural centres. The three main museums in Aarhus are The Old Town museum, ARoS Art Museum and Moesgaard Museum. [[File:Aarhus Den Gamle By 10.JPG|thumb|Den Gamle By (The Old Town)]] [[File:Musikhusparken 06.JPG|thumb|ARoS Art Museum]] [[File:MoMu 01.jpg|thumb|Moesgaard Museum.]] * {{see | name=ARoS | alt=Aarhus Art Museum | url=http://www.aros.dk | email= | address=Aros Allé 2 | lat=56.153889 | long=10.199611 | directions= | phone=+45 8 730 66 00 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 10:00-21:00; Sa Su 10:00-17:00 | price=kr 190 (adults), kr 160 (students and under 31), free for those under 18 | wikipedia=ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum | wikidata=Q296962 | lastedit=2023-04-15 | content=One of Denmark’s largest museums. Be sure to check out the '9 Spaces', a maze of black-walled galleries. A work by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, "Your Rainbow Panorama", offers a splendid roof-top view of the city inside a circular walkway with rainbow-coloured windows. There is a café with dining options in the lounge area at the entrance level. Note that due to the construction of an extension, The Next Level, only the north entrance to the museum is open as of Apr 2023. }} * {{see | name=Den Gamle By | alt=The Old Town | url=http://www.dengamleby.dk/ | email= | address=Viborgvej 2 | lat=56.159167 | long=10.190833 | directions=at the Botanical Gardens | phone=+45 86 12 31 8 | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 190 (adults), kr 95 (students), children free. Botanical Garden and Greenhouses free | wikipedia=The Old Town | wikidata=Q1186756 | lastedit=2024-06-13 | content=[[Open-air museum]] village comprising a collection of 75 original Danish buildings from 1597 to 1909, gathered from all corners of the country. There are historical shops and eateries, most true to the period. A few staff members and volunteers dressed up in historic clothes adds to the ambience, and sometimes events are arranged. You can buy a round-trip horse and carriage ride through the museum's cobblestone streets or through the outside park. A new addition to the complex showcase Danish town culture and buildings from the 20th century, including a bakery, several stores, a poster museum, and a jazz club. As well, for the European Capital of Culture celebration in 2017 the museum inaugurated new permanent exhibitions focusing on local history and classic Danish jewellery from the 20th century. After regular opening hours, you can still stroll the streets (free of charge), but there is no access to exhibitions and buildings. Be sure to also spend some time in the large surrounding '''Botanical Garden''' and the '''[http://sciencemuseerne.dk/en/botanical-garden/ Greenhouses]'''.. }} * {{see | name=Kunsthal Aarhus | alt= | url=http://kunsthalaarhus.dk/en | email=info@kunsthal.dk | address=J.M. Mørks Gade 13 | lat=56.155072 | long=10.201982 | directions=go to Mølleparken. Kunsthal Aarhus is across the river | phone=+45 86 20 60 50 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 11:00-17:00; W 11:00-20:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Kunsthal Aarhus | wikidata=Q4661711 | lastedit=2021-11-25 | content=An arts centre promoting contemporary art. Built in 1917, it is one of the oldest arts centres in Europe. Nice café. }} * {{see | name=KØN | alt=Gender Museum Denmark | url=https://konmuseum.dk/ | email= | address=Domkirkepladsen 5 | lat=56.157167 | long=10.211444 | directions=next to the Cathedral | phone=+45 86 18 64 70 | tollfree= | hours=Tu Th-Su 10:00-17:00; W 10:00-20:00 | price=kr 40 | wikipedia=Women's Museum, Aarhus | wikidata=Q6449744 | content=Residing in the old and former City Hall building beside the Aarhus Cathedral, this place focuses on the importance of gender in the past and today. KØN presents changing exhibitions on the cultural history of gender and possess a fair collection of historical stuff related to women. You can look through or buy publications on former exhibitions that you missed or general books related to the role of gender. Some titles are in English. KØN has a nice old-fashioned decorated café and on Sundays, lunch is included in the entry fee. }} * {{see | name=Moesgaard Museum | alt= | url=http://www.moesgaardmuseum.dk/en | email=Info@moesgaardmuseum.dk | address=Moesgård Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg | lat=56.087028 | long=10.226278 | directions= | phone=+45 8739 4000 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 09:00-17:00; W 09:00-21:00; Sa Su 09:00-19:00 | price=kr 180 (adults), kr 110 (students and over-65), free for children 17 and under | wikipedia=Moesgaard Museum | image=Moesgaard museum.png | wikidata=Q3299384 | lastedit=2023-04-16 | content=Stupendous architecture: a vast prism of a building half-buried in a grassy hill. The central staircase provides an innovative route into human evolution and prehistory. The museum hosts large changing themed exhibitions from cultures around the world but is also a fantastic place to study Danish prehistory in particular. The main permanent attractions in this regard are an artificial reconstruction of a large Bronze Age roundbarrow that you can walk inside and two finds from the Nordic Iron Age: Grauballe Man, the only completely preserved bog body, and the impressive sacrifice of weapons from Illerup Ådal. The museum re-opened in the new building in October 2014. Excellent museum restaurant and café. The large historical landscape below the museum is also worth a visit, and is free and accessible year round. }} *{{see | name=Museum of Ancient Art | alt=Antikmuseet | url=https://antikmuseet.au.dk/en/ | email= | address=Victor Albecks Vej 3 | lat=56.17053 | long=10.20037 | directions=at the University Campus | phone=+45 87 16 11 06 | tollfree= | hours=Su-Th 12:00-16:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus | wikidata=Q12301953 | lastedit=2017-07-13 | content=Operated by Aarhus University, the focus of the Museum of Ancient Art's collection falls on Classical-era artworks and artifacts from Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Near East, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean area. Their collection of Ancient Greek coins is one of the largest in Europe. }} * {{see | name=Museum Ovartaci | alt= | url=http://www.ovartaci.dk/ | email=museum@ovartaci.dk | address=Olof Palmes Allé 11 | lat=56.186363 | long=10.188174 | directions=take the light rail to Nehrus Allé in the northern district | phone=+45 41 85 62 90 | tollfree= | hours=M-W F 10:00-17:00, Th 10:00-20:00, Sa Su 12:00-17:00 | price=kr 95, free for those under 18 | lastedit=2019-04-09 | content=An arts museum, displaying art created by psychiatric patients specifically. The museum has a special focus on its namesake artist Ovartaci, a transgender mental patient who lived at the city's former mental hospital in Risskov for 56 years until his/her death in 1985. Guided tours can be pre ordered and arranged. }} *{{see | name=Natural History Museum | alt=Naturhistorisk Museum | url=https://www.naturhistoriskmuseum.dk/frontpage | email=nm@nathist.dk | address=Wilhelm Meyers Allé 210 | lat=56.167362 | long=10.203175 | directions=at the University Campus | phone=+45 86 12 97 77 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10:00-16:00; closed Dec 25-26 and Dec 31-Jan 1 | price=kr 100, students kr 60, free for children (17 and under) | wikipedia=Natural History Museum, Aarhus | wikidata=Q12328428 | lastedit=2021-11-28 | content=Another museum brought to you by Aarhus University, the Natural History Museum's four fully wheelchair-accessible exhibition halls educate visitors on over 5,000 different animal species hailing from all over the world, displayed in reproductions of their natural habitats. }} * {{see | name=Occupation Museum | alt=Besættelsesmuseet | url=https://www.besaettelsesmuseet.dk/the-occupation-museum/the-occupation-museum/ | email= | address=Mathilde Fibigers Have 2 | lat=56.1574 | long=10.2112 | directions=behind the Gender Museum, in the same building complex | phone=+45 86 18 42 77 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 11:00-17:00 (last admittance is 16:00) | price=75 kr (free for people under 18) | lastedit=2023-07-08 | content=Engaging permanent exhibition about life in Aarhus during the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. It was a period of rationing, black outs, bombs in the night and for some, resistance or collaboration. The museum resides in Aarhus' old former police station, which, in the later years of the war, served as Gestapo's headquarters; the dreaded security police of Nazi Germany. Book your time online, most guests spend about an hour at the exhibitions. Not accessible to wheelchairs.. }} * {{see | name=Steno Museum | alt=Steno Museet | url=http://sciencemuseerne.dk/en/steno-museum/ | email= | address=C. F. Møllers Allé 2 | lat=56.165511 | long=10.202794 | directions=at the University Campus | phone=+45 87 15 54 15 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 09:00-16:00 (opens at 10:00 Jun-Aug), Sa Su & public holidays 11:00-16:00 | price=kr 50, free for those under 18 | wikipedia=Science Museums, Aarhus | wikidata=Q18356068 | lastedit=2023-04-16 | content=A science museum with a focus on medicine and astronomy, with a diversity of exhibits including (among many others) a planetarium, a medicinal herb garden, a Foucault's pendulum, and historic artifacts such as old X-ray machines and surgical equipment. Lots of engaging and interactive exhibits here for both young and old. There's an onsite café serving light lunches, and a gift shop with cool educational toys for kids: chemistry sets, crystal-growing kits, star charts, etc. }} ===Architecture=== {{infobox|Churches|[[File:Skjoldhøjkirken 01.jpg|thumb|upright|left]]Aarhus Cathedral and the smaller Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady), from early medieval times and in the city centre, draw many visitors, but Denmark is also known for its diversity of modern church architecture. There are several modern architecture churches in the outer districts of the city. Ravnsbjerg Kirken (Ravens-hill Church) in Viby is a monumental modernist church in red-brown brick from 1976 and with an interior clearly inspired by Norse pagan mythology. The smaller Møllevang Church near the botanical gardens is of somewhat similar inspirations. Skjoldhøj Church in the western part of town is a modern church built in 1984 in whitewashed brick. It overlooks a garden and cemetery designed by Sven Hansen who also designed the parterre garden at the concert halls. Sankt Lukas Kirken (St. Luke's Church) on Frederiksbjerg in the inner city from 1926 is a good example of neoclassical architecture with minimalistic decorations, so typical of Scandinavian design. The 35-m tower and cross is visible on most of the city's skyline. In the outer districts, many older whitewashed stone churches are former village churches, now engulfed by the expanding city.}} [[File:Arne jacobsen, aarhus town hall 1937-1942.jpg|thumb|Interior detail from Aarhus City Hall]] [[File:Aarhus Teater (facade).jpg|thumb|The richly decorated Aarhus Theatre]] [[File:Odensegade 2.jpg|thumb|Historicist architecture (late 1800s) is abundant across the inner city (Frederiksbjerg)]] Anyone who appreciates European architecture will find many points of interest in Aarhus, from medieval buildings to modern icons. Even though Aarhus is one of the oldest towns in Denmark, most of the inner city was erected in the 1800s and 1900s during and after the industrial revolution, and you will not find many larger structures from the 1600s and 1700s, as compared to Copenhagen for example. Modern architecture is abundant with many notable buildings such as the university campus in yellow brick, the futuristic Dokk1, the residential Isbjerget (The Iceberg) at the harbourfront, Musikhuset (the Concert Halls) and the Moesgård Museum from 2014. Notable architecture in the city also includes a bit of post-modernism, plenty Nordic functionalism, and in particular historicism which is abundant. The Aarhus Cathedral begun in the 1100s is the oldest building in the city, but there are several preserved Medieval timber-framed buildings, mostly in the inner city, with the oldest dating to the 1500s. * {{see | name=Rådhuset | alt=The Town Hall | url=https://www.visitaarhus.com/ln-int/aarhus-city-hall-gdk603980 | email= | address=Rådhuspladsen 2 | lat=56.153056 | long=10.203333 | directions= | phone=+45 89 40 20 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-11-30 | content=This building is considered one of the highlights of Danish architecture, designed by the famous architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in cooperation with equally celebrated furniture designer Hans Wegner. Clad in grey Norwegian marble, it might appear bland to the untrained eye from the outside, but the indoor design is much more intriguing. Every Saturday guided tours are arranged around the interior of the building by [[#Guided_tours_and_sightseeing|AarhusGuides]]. First in Danish at 10:00-11:30 and then in English at 12:00-13:30. Price 100 kr (children 50 kr). The tour includes a visit to the top of the clock tower for a chance to enjoy the view. There are several interesting statues around the town hall. Enjoy the dramatic bronze statue and fountain of "Agnethe og Havmanden" near the city entrance towards the Central Station. It depicts a scene from a Danish fairy tale about Agnethe who falls in love with a merman. From here you can walk through the city entrance and the Town Hall Park and observe more bronze statues and memorial stones. The park is quite lively in the summer, as people tend to flock here as soon as it gets warm enough. Don't miss the "Grisebrønden" statue (the well of the pigs) with the drooling and peeing pigs, at the Town Hall Square. You can buy good hotdogs at the Town Hall Square too. }} * {{see | name=Aarhus University | alt=Aarhus University Campus | url=https://international.au.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.169213 | long=10.203441 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=University Park, Aarhus | wikidata=Q12343602 | lastedit=2021-11-29 | content=Designed by famous Danish architects C. F. Møller, Kaj Fisker, and C. Th. Sørensen (the latter of which designed the landscaped garden), this is another noteworthy piece of architecture. The first buildings were finished in 1933, but construction is still going on today, all adhering to a common characteristic design-code in yellow brick. Here you find the '''Det Kgl. Bibliotek''', the library which includes the iconic book tower, a landmark high-rise for the city. In the University Park you also find a cluster of museums (the '''Museum of Ancient Art''', the '''Natural History Museum''', and the '''Steno Museum''') that you can read more about in the "[[#Museums|Museums]]" section above. As well, the park is worth a visit, no matter the time of year. }} * {{see | name=Aarhus Theater | alt= | url=https://www.aarhusteater.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.1559 | long=10.2111 | directions=opposite the Cathedral | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-23 | content=If older times architecture is more your thing, you will love to study the Aarhus Theatre building inside-out. Built around the year 1900 in the Danish version of Art Nouveau (known as ''skønvirke''), the building is crammed with architectural details from the history of theatre and the interior is even more lusciously decorated than the outside facades. Guided tours (in Danish) on some Saturdays. }} * {{see | name=Frederiksbjerg | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.145701 | long=10.203970 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-04-30 | content=Historicist architecture is abundant in this neighbourhood where large-scale construction of urban planned townscapes took off in 1898. Go to the square of Sankt Pauls Kirkeplads, uphill and south of the central station. The square is surrounded by notable historicist apartment blocks, each with their own peculiarity. Look up, take it slow and enjoy the variety. From here, there are numerous options for the architectural walk. A stroll down Odensegade towards Ingerslevs Boulevard is a good choice. }} * {{see | name=Mejlborg | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.1621 | long=10.2155 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-03-15 | content=Finished in 1898, this was the first large apartment complex to be erected in Aarhus, built where the Northern city gates were demolished two decades before. Gothic Renaissance at its finest. There is no public access, but the detailed facades and metal clad onion dome can easily be enjoyed from the street. Good idea to go here by the historic street of ''Mejlgade'' and backtrack by the coastal promenade ''Kystvejen''. Take it slow and be sure to look up, there are many more historicist waterfront buildings to experience here. }} * {{see | name=Varna Palace | alt=Varna Palæet | url=http://www.varna.dk/ | email= | address=Ørneredevej 3 | lat=56.1248 | long=10.2162 | directions= | phone=+45 86 14 04 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Varna Palæet | wikidata=Q12340589 | content=Another well-known architectural landmark of Aarhus, and a bit of a change of pace from the modern style that predominates over larger parts of the city, Varna Palace is a palatial Neoclassical resort pavilion. It was designed for the Danish National Exhibition of 1909 by native Eggert Achen and is found in the outskirts of the '''[[#Parks, gardens, and forests|Marselisborg Forests]]''', south of the inner city. The Varna Palace now serves as the headquarters of the local Odd Fellows Society, but with a public onsite restaurant. }} === Green spaces and nature === Aarhus has a few large parks and several smaller green spaces. The largest and most notable parks includes the University Park, Aarhus Botanical Gardens and The Memorial Park. The city has some nice woodlands, beaches and countryside within easy reach. [[File:Botanisk Have (september) 01.jpg|thumb|Aarhus Botanical Gardens]] * {{see | name=Aarhus Botanical Gardens | alt=Botanisk Have | url= | email= | address=Peter Holms Vej | lat=56.162074 | long=10.190511 | directions= | phone=+45 89 40 44 00 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 24 hours | price=Free | wikipedia=Aarhus Botanical Gardens | wikidata=Q3198468 | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=Founded in 1873 as a research garden for students at Aarhus University, nowadays the Botanical Gardens have been repurposed as a pleasant outdoor park for citizens to enjoy during the warm months. However, for laypeople who may be interested in botany, there are still thousands of different species of plants on display throughout, all labelled in Latin and Danish. The bulk of the park is hilly open lawns, ponds, and landscaped gardens. Facilities include a large outdoor children's playground, an amphitheatre, toilets, and a big covered Greenhouse complex. At the Greenhouses you can experience plants from all around the world, including the tropics, and there's a café serving coffee, cake, ice cream, and light lunches. }} [[File:Aarhus Universitets hovedbygning set fra parken.jpg|thumb|Aarhus University Park]] * {{see | name=Aarhus University Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.168818 | long=10.203112 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=University Park, Aarhus | wikidata=Q12343602 | lastedit=2023-04-16 | content=The University Park at the university campus is a soothing spot of greenery in the city centre and it is open year round. It is a celebrated piece of landscape architecture with rolling hills, open lawns, large old oak trees and a couple of duck ponds. If there, be sure to visit the southern section as well, known as Vennelystparken; it is the oldest park in Aarhus, dating to 1824, and is a bit different from the main park. }} [[File:Brabrand Sø (maj).jpg|thumb|The Brabrand Lake area is easily accessible from the inner city.]] * {{see | name=Brabrand Lake | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.146254 | long=10.093660 | directions=follow the pathway along the Aarhus River from the city centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Brabrand Lake | wikidata=Q9019885 | lastedit=2018-01-14 | content=The ''Brabrandstien'' pathway leads upstream the river all the way to the Brabrand Lake nature site in the western parts of the city. ''Brabrandstien'' is a 20-km-long safe and tranquil corridor of greenery perfect for hiking, cycling and rollerblading. There are several spots for picnicking and resting, and even though it doesn't feel like it, you are always close to the city and its bus lines, if you don't want to backtrack. It is not possible to bath in the lake, but you can [[#Boating|go there by canoe]] from the inner city if you want some alternative action. }} * {{see | name=Den Japanske Have | alt= | url=http://www.park13.dk/Park | email=info@park13.dk | address=Randersvej 395 | lat=56.237531 | long=10.158382 | directions= | phone=+45 40 40 29 48 | tollfree= | hours=Garden May-Sep: Th F 09:00-15:30 | price=Free | lastedit=2017-07-12 | content=Located in Lisbjerg on Aarhus' northern outskirts, this is a large, authentic Japanese garden laid out in traditional ''chisen kaiyu'' style designed for promenading. While the garden is only open for random visitors in late spring and summer, larger special events, such as concerts, are occasionally arranged in the winter by the event company '''Park13'''. The garden shows some signs of neglect, and outside events, it has few visitors. Eventhough visits are free of charge, call the park in advance if you plan to visit. }} * {{see | name=Marselisborg Forests | alt=Marselisborgskovene | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.115814 | long=10.227013 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Marselisborg Forests | wikidata=Q12326206 | lastedit=2017-07-12 | content=A relatively large expanse of woodland stretching along the coast of Aarhus Bay south of town. Marselisborg is one of the most frequented forests in Denmark and is criss-crossed by trails. A car road pass through with a separate bicycle road all along. Aside from '''[[#Beaches|Ballehage Beach]]''', '''[[#Miscellaneous 2|Tivoli Friheden]]''' amusement park, and '''[[#Architecture|Varna Palace]]''' described elsewhere in this article, other noteworthy amenities that can all be reached by road include: }} :* {{see | name=Aarhus Forestry Botanical Garden | alt=Forstbotanisk Have | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.125556 | long=10.201111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Aarhus Forestry Botanical Garden | wikidata=Q12312046 | lastedit=2017-07-12 | content=Established in 1923, this arboretum at the north end of the forests is small (5 ha) but packed with over 900 species of trees and bushes from all over the world. It's a pleasant place to take a load off, but it's prohibited to disturb any of the plants, and falling tree branches are a persistent danger in windy weather. }} [[File:Marselisborg Dyrehave 10.jpg|thumb|Marselisborg Deer Park (''Dyrehaven'') in the Marselisborg Forests.]] :* {{see | name=Marselisborg Deer Park | alt=Marselisborg Dyrehave | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.120833 | long=10.219444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Marselisborg Deer Park | wikidata=Q17111098 | lastedit=2026-05-13 | content=This is an enclosed section of the forests with free roaming deer; a sort of low-key zoo or safari park. The landscape is beautiful, hilly, and less thickly-forested than the surrounding forests. There is an extra closed facilty with wild boars in the far northern end. The deer park is open from dawn to dusk year round, but for safety's sake it's best to avoid visiting during mating season in the autumn (Sep-Nov), and in the early summer when the does are nursing their calves (June-July). Don't feed the animals. }} :* {{see | name=Moesgaard landscape | alt= | url=https://www.moesgaardmuseum.dk/en/ | email= | address= | lat=56.086752 | long=10.238295 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Moesgaard Museum | wikidata=Q3299384 | lastedit=2015-09-08 | content=The Moesgaard landscape in the southern part of the Marselisborg Forests contains a marked history trail, [[The Prehistoric Trail at Moesgaard|The Prehistoric Trail]], running from the '''Moesgaard Museum''' ''([[#Museums|q.v.]])'' right down to the beach, with reconstructed Stone, Iron, and Viking Age houses and tombs, runestones, etc. If history isn't your thing, just enjoy the beautiful and varied nature of this place; in the spring and summer, it is worth a visit just for that. If you want to eat or drink, start your tour with a meal at the museum, at the nearby '''[[#Golf|Aarhus Golf Club]]''' restaurant, or drop in later at the old watermill of '''[[#Traditional Danish food|Skovmøllen]]''' in the woods. You can also bring your own supplies and have a picnic lunch at any spot of your choice; the grassy fields at the '''[[#Beaches|Moesgaard Beach]]''' is popular for that. }} [[File:Marseliborg Slot set fra Mindeparken.jpg|thumb|Mindeparken and the Marselisborg Palace.]] * {{see | name=Mindeparken | alt=Marselisborg Mindepark, Memorial Park | url=https://www.visitaarhus.com/ln-int/marselisborg-memorial-park-gdk653302 | email= | address= | lat=56.129444 | long=10.207222 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Mindeparken | wikidata=Q12327291 | lastedit=2018-10-01 | content=This memorial park offers a panoramic view of the Bay of Aarhus. Many larger events are held here and when the weather permits, citizens flock to relax in the park area. The park is centred around an extensive lawn but has several interesting sections of different designs, including a grove of Japanese cherry trees and a flower and sculpture garden. It also contains the largest World War I memorial in the country, commemorating 4,000 dead Danish soldiers. }} * {{see | name=Riis Skov | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.175864 | long=10.225113 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Riis Skov | wikidata=Q7333935 | lastedit=2017-07-12 | content=Presented to the citizens of Aarhus in 1395 by Queen Margaret I, Riis Skov is the oldest public forest in Denmark. It is a very popular (and semiwild) green getaway from the bustle of the city, on the waterfront just a short distance northeast of the city centre, next to the charming neighborhood of Trøjborg. At Riis Skov you can have a barbecue on the beach (just bring coal and food); swim, play or soak up some sun at the baths of '''[[#Beaches|Den Permanente]]'''; or enjoy some upscale dining in a traditional Danish setting at {{marker|type=see|url=https://sjettefrederikskro.dk/|name=Sjette Federiks Kro|wikidata=Q16324449}}. }} ===Miscellaneous=== [[File:Salling Skywalk.jpg|thumb|Salling Rooftop offers magnificent views acroos the Aarhus skyline]] * {{do | name=Salling Rooftop | alt= | url=https://salling.dk/oplev-salling/salling-rooftop-aarhus/ | email= | address=Søndergade 27 8000 Aarhus C | lat=56.154486 | long=10.207131 | directions=Take the elevator to the rooftop garden | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Ma-Fr: 10-20; Sa 10-19; Su 10-18 | price=Free | lastedit=2026-05-12 | content=Impressive skyline view of Aarhus from the stylishly designed rooftop of the Salling department store in the city center. Walk around to enjoy the different vistas on your own, or find a secluded corner to enjoy a cup of coffee. There is also a good eatery, bar, and café here and sometimes small concerts and other events are happening. Check the website for details. }} [[File:View of Aarhus seen from inside Dokk1 Aarhus Main Library Denmark 05.jpg|thumb|alt=Dokk1 interior|Enjoy the view of the harbour from Dokk1]] * {{see | name=Dokk1 | alt=Dock-one, Dokken, Urban Media Space | url=https://dokk1.dk/ | email= | address=Hack Kampmanns Plads 2 | lat=56.1535 | long=10.2141 | directions= | phone=+45 89 40 92 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 08:00-22:00; Sa Su 10:00-16:00; Staff available M-Th 10:00-19:00; F 10:00-17:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Dokk1 | image=Dokk1 version 2.jpg | wikidata=Q16856305 | content=This large state-of-the-art public library and culture centre at the harbourfront is the largest public library in northern Europe, and is designed as a public meeting place for all kinds of activities. Enjoy the peculiar and futuristic architecture or engage in the library's many activities. Guided tours are arranged at regular intervals. Good café and an interesting four-section outside playground (adults may try the slides too). There is a specialized toddlers' play section inside. Large subterranean robotic car park below the building. Great for kids and adults alike. The whole building is accessible to people who use wheelchairs. }} * {{see | name=Marselisborg Palace | alt=Marselisborg Slot | url= | email= | address=Kongevejen 100 | lat=56.127822 | long=10.202778 | directions= | phone=+45 33 40 10 10 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Marselisborg Palace | wikidata=Q492981 | lastedit=2019-06-03 | content=This small summer residence of the Queen of Denmark is just west of '''Mindeparken'''. The surrounding garden-park is fenced, but open to the public when the Queen is not in residence. It is dotted with sculptures from the private art collection of Prince Consort Henrik, the Queen's late husband. }} ==Do== For a city its size, Aarhus offers a multitude of things for visitors to do. Public events are generally oriented for folks of all ages and budgets, so whether you're a solo visitor, a family, young, old, handicapped, on a tight budget, or in the mood to splurge, there's much to choose from. === Guided tours and sightseeing === A selection of top-rated guided tours in Aarhus includes: * {{do | name=AarhusGuides | alt= | url=https://aarhusguiderne.dk/forside-en/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Go to the city hall or the cathedral, depending on your tour | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 136 - 146 (free for children) | lastedit=2026-05-11 | content=Organisation of professional guides offering group tours in and around Aarhus in multiple languages. Regular tours comprise a City Hall tour available year round and a city walk, starting out from the Cathedral, available in July and August. Book and pay for your tour online. Personalized tours for your own group is also possible; this organization is very experienced. }} * {{do | name=Aarhus Culture Walks | alt= | url=http://aarhusculturewalk.dk/?lang=en | email=info@aarhusculturewalk.dk | address=Banegårdspladsen 1 | lat=56.150519 | long=10.204545 | directions=Go to the Central Station's main entrance | phone=+45 27 12 21 79 | tollfree= | hours=Sa 11:00 and 14:00 | price=Adults kr 170; Seniors and Minors kr 140, free for Children under 12 years | lastedit=2026-05-12 | content=Every Saturday at 11:00 and 14:00, two-hour culture walks starts off from the square outside the Central Station. Just show up or book on-line and save 15 percent. The tours covers both present and older times city life, architecture, art and local stories. Tours on other days of the week and with more personalized themes can be arranged for groups of ten or more people. }} * {{do | name=Hop-on-hop-off Aarhus | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.com/da-dk/aarhus/sightseeing/hop-on-hop-off-aarhus/ | email= | address= | lat=56.152407 | long=10.216725 | directions=hop on at 7 spots around the city | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=from kr 259 | lastedit=2026-05-12 | content=See Aarhus from an open double-decker bus. With an audioguide in five languages you can hop on or off at 7 stops along the route. Buses come and go every half-an-hour, so you can spend as much time in each spot as you would like, but it takes 75 minutes to complete the circuit if you don't hop off at all. Suitable for the handicapped. The service operate from May through September. Check the website for specific days, but be assured that hop-on-hop-off is always available when there is a cruise ship in town. }} * {{do | name=VoiceMap Self-guided audio tour | alt= | url=https://voicemap.me/tour/aarhus/aarhus-walking-tour-a-guide-to-the-ancient-viking-stronghold-of-aros | email= | address= | lat=56.154234 | long=10.213949 | directions=Start your walk at the Dokk1 media space | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 77 | lastedit=2026-05-12 | content=Explore the ancient Viking stronghold of Aros behind the present city facade on this 90 minute walk. Download the VoiceMap app, put in your ear plugs, and immerse yourself in Viking history as you walk around town. }} === Theatre & performing arts === [[File:Aarhus Teater.jpg|thumb|Aarhus Theater]] * {{do | name=Aarhus Theater | alt= | url=http://www.aarhusteater.dk | email= | address=Teatergaden | lat=56.1559 | long=10.2111 | directions= | phone=+45 89 33 23 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Aarhus Theatre | wikidata=Q1138832 | content=The city's main theatre. A luscious outstanding art nouveau interior design. Guided tours of the interior are scheduled every week, but they are in Danish exclusively. }} * {{do | name=Bora Bora | alt= | url=http://bora-bora.dk/ | email= | address=Valdemarsgade 1 | lat=56.15203 | long=10.19964 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-05-20 | content=Bora Bora is a small dance and visual theater located in a cultural centre that was once a school. }} * {{do | name=Filuren | alt= | url=http://filuren.dk/ | email= | address=Thomas Jensens Allé 2 | lat=56.1531 | long=10.1991 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=kr 65 | lastedit=2016-05-20 | content=Another small niche theatre with room for up to 150 inside the large building complex at the Concert Halls. Filuren is a theatre and a theatre school for youth. A nice alternative thing to do if you are with children. Each play has a strictly enforced age limit (usually 3, 4, 5 or 13 years), so be sure to check out the programme beforehand. }} * {{do | name=Helsingør Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.dengamleby.dk/viden/der-var-engang-foer-1900/andet/helsingoer-theater/ | email= | address= | lat=56.158889 | long=10.190575 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Helsingør Theater Den gamle by.jpg | wikidata=Q12316174 | lastedit=2016-07-11 | content=A reconstructed historic theatre building from the town of [[Helsingør]] north of Copenhagen, now at The Old Town museum complex and still a working theater with room for an audience of 220. Throughout the year, you can catch [http://www.aarhus-sommeropera.dk/ summer operas], intimate classical concerts and occasional plays here. Not the most active theater in Aarhus, but certainly an interesting visit especially for aficionados of period architecture. }} * {{do | name=Teater Katapult | alt= | url=http://katapult.dk/ | email=info@katapult.dk | address=Godsbanen, Skovgaardsgade 3 | lat=56.1534 | long=10.1938 | directions= | phone=+45 86 20 26 99 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=kr 170 (kr 60 for people under 25 and discounts for students and pensioners) | wikidata=Q12342960 | content=Inaugurated in 1995 and located today in the new Godsbanen cultural centre, Teater Katapult is probably the largest alternative theater in Aarhus. The focus here is on fertilizing, stimulating and nurturing the local scene in Aarhus, "catapulting" new talents and projects of a more offbeat bent into the limelight. Several plays are put on monthly, mostly with timely themes explored from a local perspective and presented so as to stimulate debate. }} * {{do | name=Svalegangen | alt= | url=http://www.svalegangen.dk/ | email=post@svalegangen.dk | address=Rosenkrantzgade 21 | lat=56.151944 | long=10.206667 | directions= | phone=+45 86 19 19 44 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q12004128 | lastedit=2018-10-02 | content=The second-largest theatre in Aarhus, located just off the city's major high street. There is a nice café attached. }} [[File:Saurus 01.jpg|thumb|Street performance (ILT Festival)]] * {{do | name=Teater Refleksion | alt= | url=https://refleksion.dk/en/ | email=refleksion@refleksion.dk | address=Frederiksgade 72 | lat=56.15427 | long=10.20370 | directions= | phone=+45 86 24 05 72 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q12342961 | lastedit=2016-05-20 | content=This is a good example of one of the many small niche theatres in Aarhus. Located in a tranquil backyard in the city centre, Teater Refleksion specializes in puppet and animation theatre of a high international standard. Equally suited for children and adults. Most performances can be enjoyed without knowledge of the Danish language. Sometimes workshops. }} * {{do | name=Teatret Gruppe 38 | alt= | url=https://www.gruppe38.dk/en/ | email=post@gruppe38.dk | address=Irma Pedersens Gade 222 | lat=56.16303 | long=10.22755 | directions=at the harbour front of Aarhus Ø | phone=+45 86 13 53 11 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-15:00 (office and phone) | price=kr 135 (standard) | lastedit=2021-11-25 | content=Danish and international performing arts with an alternative bend, led by artistic leader, playwright and actor Bodil Alling. Initiated in 1972, and now residing in a new stylish building from 2019, designed by architect group BIG, in the new harbour district, this theatre presents small, intimate, and engaging experiences from two scenes. The troupe tour the world on a regular basis and brings home inspiration and colleagues from around the world. Enjoy a drink or a piece of cake in the bar before or after the shows. }} Every second year in May, Aarhus is host to the '''[http://www.iltfestival.dk/en/ International Living Theatre]''' (ILT) festival, with the next event taking place in 2027. For a number of days, thespians from all over the world meet up here and share the universe of stage art in its broadest sense with each other and interested participants and audiences. === Cinema === There are three mainstream movie houses in Aarhus, and a number of smaller niche theaters. * {{do | name=CinemaxX | url=http://cinemaxx.dk/aarhus/ | email= | address=M. P. Bruuns Gade 25 | lat=56.1492 | long=10.2039| directions=in Bruun's Galleri | phone=+45 70 12 01 01 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest and most high-tech cinema in Jutland, showing mostly mainstream Hollywood blockbusters with Danish subtitles, some in 3D. Large lounge parlour with a candy store (no outside food or drink!) }} * {{do | name=Nordisk Film Biografer Aarhus C | alt= | url=https://www.nfbio.dk/biografer/aarhus-c | email= | address=Sankt Knuds Torv 15 | lat=56.15132 | long=10.20584 | directions=opposite the Catholic church on the high street near the central station | phone=+45 70 13 12 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Another large mainstream cinema with nine large screens and a 4DX film theatre. Lounge parlor with café and large candy store. }} * {{do | name=Nordisk Film Biografer Trøjborg | alt= | url=https://www.nfbio.dk/troejborg | email= | address=Tordenskjoldsgade 21 | lat=56.1704 | long=10.2159 | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 12 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily from 15:00 | price= | content=A smaller mainstream movie theater in Trøjborg, with five screens and a café. }} * {{do | name=Øst for Paradis | alt= | url=http://paradisbio.dk/ | email= | address=Paradisgade 7 | lat=56.160189 | long=10.209481 | directions= | phone=+45 86 19 31 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Showing a mix of indie and European arthouse films with some mainstream Hollywood fare thrown in for good measure, Øst for Paradis (East of Eden) comprises three stories of what is left of an old former craftman's guild complex from 1868, most of which was destroyed during the Second World War. The cinema has seven screens, equipped with state-of-the art digital technology. There is a cozy café at the cinema with newspapers and cultural magazines to browse, as well as a nightclub (Café Paradis) on the top floor. }} * {{do | name=Slagtehal 3 | url=http://www.slagtehal3.dk | email= | address=Mejlgade 50 | lat=56.15977 | long=10.21295 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=kr 50 | content=If you're into horror movies, head here: these folks show them every Thursday. }} === Live music === There is only one big permanent music venue in Aarhus: The Concert Halls in the city centre. This is the only place where you can experience big live music events at regular intervals, otherwise you'll have to wait for the recurring outdoor festivals of NorthSide or ''[https://groenkoncert.dk/ Grøn Koncert]'' in the summer. That said, there are several small or tiny scenes across town, each with their own focus. [[File:Aarhus musichouse (11834397843).jpg|thumb|Musikhuset — The Concert Halls.]] * {{do | name=FOLK | alt= | url=https://folk.fo.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 78C | lat=56.15401 | long=10.20265 | directions=in a backyard near the City Hall Square | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A new venue in the city centre, presenting a broad mix of genres, and an opportunity for local musicians. Relatively small scene with a focus on intimate and interactive events. Run by experienced people as a social enterprise. }} * {{do | name=HeadQuarters | alt=HQ | url=http://www.hq.dk/ | email= | address=Valdemarsgade 1 | lat=56.15203 | long=10.1995 | directions=across from the Concert Halls building | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa from 19:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-05-06 | content=HeadQuarters is a small cultural venue for theatre, dance and music in a basement. There are usually three concerts per week on a tiny stage, as well as a night club with DJs. }} * {{do | name=Musikhuset | alt=The Concert Hall | url=https://www.musikhuset.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.152694 | long=10.199592 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-12-31 | content=The largest concert hall in Scandinavia, Musikhuset has seating for more than 3,600 people in six halls with a large variety of events and concerts throughout the year: classical performances, rock and jazz concerts, operas, musicals, chamber music, as well as more intimate performances on some of the smaller stages. Good restaurant and café. }} * {{do | name=Phono | alt= | url=https://phonoaarhus.dk/ | email= | address=Mejlgade 43 | lat=56.16015 | long=10.21226 | directions=at the far end of a backyard in Mejlgade | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=New name and makeover for a tiny, yet historic, venue in Mejlgade. A playground for the local experimental underground scene. }} * {{do | name=Radar | alt= | url=http://godsbanen.dk/aktoerer/radar/ | email= | address= | lat=56.15305 | long=10.19411 | directions=behind the Scandinavian Centre and the Concert Halls | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-12-31 | content=Located in the cultural centre of Godsbanen, Radar hosts many concerts and music events. }} * {{do | name=Train | alt= | url=https://www.train.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.15236 | long=10.21167 | directions=at First Hotel Atlantic | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-12-31 | content=Train hosts a large variety of modern contemporary music concerts and other events, from rock, pop and jazz to hip-hop and electronica. }} [[File:AarhusK-Viewfrombridge2.jpg|thumb|Springtime concert at Volume Village. The Aarhus Volume group facilitate several small and big concerts across town.]] * {{do | name=Voxhall | alt= | url=http://www.voxhall.dk/ | email= | address=Vester Alle 15 | lat=56.15578 | long=10.19886 | directions=at Mølleparken in the city centre | phone=+45 87 30 97 97 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-03-16 | content=A good, tightly planned schedule of mainstream rock and pop concerts, occasionally dipping its toes into other genres, Voxhall is Aarhus' venue of choice for big-name acts from abroad. A relatively small stage, but room for many people. The associated venue '''[https://www.turkislive.com/ Turkis]''' is just as active, but mainly focuses on other genres, including world music and folk. Tickets are usually bought at the door, but if you're going to a major concert, buy beforehand! Nice wine and tapas bar in the same building complex at '''[http://www.pica-pica.dk/ Pica Pica]'''. }} * {{do | name=Aarhus Volume | alt= | url=https://www.aarhusvolume.dk/en/home | email=kontakt@volumevillage.dk | address=Thomas Koppels Gade 201 | lat=56.149411 | long=10.18414 | directions=below the bridge of Ringgadebroen | phone=+ 45 22 90 49 14 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-10-09 | content=Aarhus Volume is a cultural association of young entrepreneurs who create and facilitate cultural undeground events, mostly music and small festivals. The venues changes, follow their website for upcoming events across Aarhus. In 2022, they founded the '''[https://www.volumevillage.dk/ Volume Village]''' beneath the Ringgadebroen city bridge, as part of the DIY commune Institut for (X). Here they operate a permanent headquarters with a music stage and cultural center. Visit Volume Village, volunteer, or follow their website for coming events. }} === Festivals and events === [[File:Byens Scene 01.jpg|thumb|Outdoor concert (Aarhus Festuge)]] [[File:Monsieur Culbuto (Byparken) 03.jpg|thumb|Street performances (Aarhus Festuge)]] * {{do | name=Aarhus Festuge | alt= | url=http://www.aarhusfestuge.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Aarhus Festuge | wikidata=Q258417 | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=The whole city is decorated for partying and filled with music, theatre, food, experimental architecture, film, literature and other events during this 10-day festival held every year in late August and early September. It is the largest multicultural festival in Northern Europe.<br />* '''Aarhus Arkitekturløb''' is a recurring casual running event around architetural interesting areas of the city.<br />* '''[https://aarhuscykeltour.dk Aarhus Cykeltour]''' is a new annual recreational cycling event to be held for the first time as part of the 2026 festival. The ride will start and finish near Pier 3 on Aarhus Ø harbourside and offers several route options, including a short family-friendly route for children. }} * {{do | name=Aarhus International Jazz Festival | alt= | url=http://www.jazzfest.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Aarhus International Jazz Festival | wikidata=Q17509342 | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=Held every year in the summer, following the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Hundreds of concerts, many of which are free and open to the public, with a mix of nationally and internationally famous names as well as local up-and-coming talents. }} <!-- * {{do | name=ARoS Triennial | alt= | url=https://www.aros.dk/en/about/press-releases-201920/the-aros-triennial-2020-is-canceled/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Outdoor exhibitions are free | lastedit=2023-04-17 | content=A continuation of the former and hugely popular biannual Sculpture by the Sea — Aarhus event, the ARoS Triennial is a citywide art and sculpture exhibition held every three years. The exhibition for 2020 was cancelled, and there does not appear to be an event for 2023. The outdoor installations can usually be experienced in June and July while the museum exhibition runs from April through September. Several pieces from former sculpture festivals are on permanent display around the city, including the kinetic sculpture Snake in Mølleparken close to the ARoS Art Museum. }}--> * {{do | name=LiteratureXchange | alt=Aarhus International Literature Festival | url=https://www.litx.dk/ | email=litx@fuau.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 88 43 80 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-24 | content=A relatively new literature festival with an international outlook, first held in the summer of 2018. The festival event runs for 5 days in early June with many events around the city, including talks, debates and readings with celebrated writers along with more experimental happenings and small offbeat events. The theme for the 2026 festival will be life in the seas. }} * {{do | name=Moesgaard Viking Days | alt=formerly Moesgaard Viking Moot | url=https://www.vikingedage.dk/viking-days-english/ | email= | address= | lat=56.08575 | long=10.24808 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10:00-17:00 | price=160 kr, children (3-17 years) 50 kr | wikipedia=Moesgård Viking Moot | wikidata=Q25038242 | lastedit=2023-04-15 | content=A large Viking event held every summer in July at Moesgård beach, with reenactments, markets, workshops, and living-history presentations. Interesting activities for all age groups. The event has drawn about 12,000 attendees, both Vikings and audience. A ticket also gives you access to the '''[[#Moesgaard_Museum|Moesgaard Museum]]''' (MOMU) close by. Because of the event's popularity, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to find a place to park a car nearby. Take a bus, bike or hike through the Marselisborg Forests to get there. Biking from the centre of Aarhus should take you less than an hour. }} [[File:Pernille-Bévort.jpg|thumb|Aarhus Jazz Festival (Pernille Bévort)]] * {{do | name=Northside | alt= | url=http://www.northside.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.139 | long=10.1606 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=NorthSide Festival (Denmark) | wikidata=Q7053609 | lastedit=2023-04-15 | content=A three-day, three-stage annual summer music festival in early June featuring a range of well-known national and international stars at festival site, Eskelunden, west of the city center. }} * {{do | name=SPOT festival | alt= | url=https://spotfestival.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=715 kr for both days (day-tickets are also available at 480 kr) | wikipedia=Spot (music festival) | wikidata=Q7580030 | lastedit=2023-04-15 | content=A music festival, show-casing local amateurs and up-and-coming bands for a few days in early May every year. The festival also arrange several concerts around town throughout the year. SPOT Festival is meant as a rendezvous between the Danish and international music industries and is headquartered at the Concert Halls and the conservatory but with concerts all over town. Small and large concerts from a tightly packed programme of many musical genres. Also talks and interviews with musicians and the music industry as well as conferences and networking opportunities. SPOT Festival includes films and fashion. }} [[File:Tall Ships Races 2019 (Aarhus).jpg|thumb|Tall Ships Races in Aarhus]] * {{do | name=Århundredets Festival | alt=Festival of the Century | url=http://www.aarhundredetsfestival.dk/ | email= | address=All over town | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=Århundredets Festival is a broadly appealing knowledge, art and culture festival held every year in the first half of March across the city. The festival alternates between a historical era theme and a present theme relating to current state of affairs. The festival is arranged in a collaboration between the city's many educational and cultural institutions, Aarhus University and Aarhus Municipality, and includes a plethora of events, happenings, debates and lectures based around the annual theme. Everything is conducted in Danish, as one of the festival's main purposes is to incite public debate among people and a broad engagement, but some events could be of interest to visitors who don't know the Danish language. The theme for the 2026 festival is "The World", which includes subjects such as globalisation, global connections, the increasing importance of global perspectives in everything, global powers and world politics. }} * {{do | name=The Tall Ships Races | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tall Ships Races | wikidata=Q1469607 | lastedit=2023-06-14 | content=International ocean race with large historic sailing ships. The Tall Ships Races will return to Aarhus June 24 -27, 2026. Aarhus has hosted the Tall Ships Races in 2007, 2013, 2019 and 2023. }} === Beaches === Almost the entire coastline of Denmark consists of publicly-accessible sandy beaches well suited for leisurely activities, and the Aarhus area is no different. Beachcombers might want to be on the lookout for petrified belemnites and sea urchins, but you shouldn't expect to spot any amber in this part of Denmark. Check the water quality, temperature, etc., for you destination in real-time updates at the [https://badevand.dk/ Badevand] website, or download the free mobile app. After heavy rains, the water quality is generally bad and bathing is not adviced for health reasons. Be aware that there is increased wave activity throughout the entire bay whenever the catamaran ferry is passing through. The phenomenon is harmless and only lasts 5-10 minutes, but small children are sometimes frightened by this, especially when it happens on an otherwise calm day. The most popular beaches in Aarhus are: [[File:RisskovStrand.jpg|thumb|There are several beach parks in Aarhus. The whole Bay of Aarhus is popular with activities in the summer.]] * {{do | name=Bellevue Beach Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.190330 | long=10.248963 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Bellevue Beach, Aarhus | wikidata=Q28225945 | lastedit=2017-07-12 | content=Probably the most popular Aarhus beach in a verdant yet often crowded setting. You will find Bellevue Beach on the northern outskirts of town, past the '''Riis Skov''' forest, facing Aarhus Harbor in the distance. Bellevue's sands are delightfully white and powdery, and the water is shallow and balmy, but notably less clean than other beaches listed here, especially after heavy rains. Amenities includes public toilets, drinking water, trash bins, and a small kiosk. You can get a meal at the café in the adjacent '''Bellevuehallerne''' sports complex and there are several small eateries in the immediate neighbourhood. }} * {{do | name=Den Permanente | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.176697 | long=10.231445 | directions=ride your bicycle along the bay below the Riis Skov Forest, or take a hike through the forest itself. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Den Permanente | wikidata=Q5256478 | lastedit=2019-11-04 | content=Public and private bathhouse in a shared building. One section is open year round for the public from dawn till dusk, while the popular inner beach - complete with changing rooms, showers, public toilets, and lifeguards - is only accessible for the public in June and August. The tiny sandy beach immediately south of the bathhouse structure has been designated as a nudist spot, but welcomes everybody. Small kiosk nearby, open in the summer, serving ice cream, hotdogs, beverages, and various snacks. If you are ready for a more substantial meal, the historic inn '''[https://sjettefrederikskro.dk/ Sjette Frederiks Kro]''', just up hill in the forest, is the place to go for a nice traditional Danish meal after your swim. The sea bath opened in 1933, but half of it was destroyed in a storm in 1966. In 2023-24, the bathhouse was rebuilt to its original grandeur, reopening in June 2024. }} * {{do | name=Moesgaard Beach | alt=Moesgaard Strand | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.088612 | long=10.248923 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Moesgård Beach | wikidata=Q23753270 | lastedit=2026-05-20 | content=12 km south from the city centre, beyond the Marselisborg Forests, Moesgaard Beach is the cleanest of the beach sites and a popular destination in the summer months. In the peak season it is patrolled by lifeguards. There are large green areas here, a car park, toilet facilities, and a kiosk with fast food, beverages, candy and ice cream for sale in the summer. You can reach the area by road (bicycle, car or bus) through the forests, on foot by the Prehistoric Trail from the '''Moesgaard Museum''' or from the beachside. If you go by bus, one option is to take Bus 31 from the Aarhus Bus Station. }} [[File:Den Uendelige Bro (sommer).jpg|thumb|The landscape art piece of ''Den Uendelige Bro'' (The Neverending Bridge) close to Ballehage Beach is a lovely spot in the summer]] Other interesting beach options includes: * {{do | name=Ballehage Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.121064 | long=10.225822 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Ballehage Beach | wikidata=Q27658981 | lastedit=2026-05-20 | content=This lovely stretch of white sand south of town benefits from a stunning location nestled against the hilly greenery of the '''Marselisborg Forests''', yet within easy walking distance of popular sights like the '''Varna Palace''', the circular pier '''Den Uendelige Bro''', and the '''Marselisborg Deer Park''', as well as a number of restaurants. Popular with swimmers, sunbathers, and picnickers, Ballehage boasts calm and clean waters, as well as amenities such as toilets and changing areas. }} * {{do | name=Sea swimming course | alt=Aarhus Havbane | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.1675 | long=10.2292 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free | lastedit=2021-11-28 | content=Not a beach but a 500-metre-long sea swimming course along Aarhus Ø marked by with yellow and orange buoys. No vessels are allowed within the buoys. Some winter bathers use the short boardwalk for a quick dip. Also a good place for snorkling around the big granite boulders placed in the water. }} * {{do | name=Åkrogen | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.202727 | long=10.282948 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Åkrogen | wikidata=Q25044234 | lastedit=2017-07-12 | content=An unpatrolled beach park some distance north the city centre with shallow, balmy waters. The beach park is centred around a marina, from which it stretches north and south. It is especially popular with windsurfers and kitesurfers. At the marina, there are several eateries and access to bathing facilities for a fee. Huge lawns with room for sports and other activities in connection with the beaches. The beach itself is not the best quality; it is rather narrow and somewhat stoney in most places, but with sandy patches in between. }} === Swimming pools === There are a total of [https://vigirbyenpuls.dk/svoemmehaller four public indoor swimming pools] throughout the city that can be used most of the year. Be sure to check up, as some are closed for extensive periods in the summer. Same price at all venues: kr 57 for age group 26-66 years; discount prices for other age groups. You can rent towels and bathing suits at some places, but it is expensive. Interesting swimming pool options for tourists in Aarhus include these two venues: [[File:Aarhus Havnebad.jpg|thumb|"Havnebadet" harbour baths.]] * {{do | name=Badeanstalten Spanien | alt= | url=https://vigirbyenpuls.dk/svoemmehaller/badeanstalten-spanien/ | email= | address=Spanien 1 | lat=56.151789 | long=10.210967 | directions=at the central bus terminal | phone=+45 89 40 20 70 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 08:00-20:00, F-Su 08:00-16:00 | price=Adults kr 88 and up for the all inclusive wellness section | wikipedia=Spanien Public Baths | wikidata=Q12302722 | lastedit=2026-05-21 | content=The pool at this renovated historic bathhouse from the 1930s hosts many families and children on weekends, but Badeanstalten Spanien is so much more than just swimming: there's a luxury co-ed wellness section (''Grossererbadet'') with saunas, steambaths, spas, infrared heat lamps and other facilities. Sauna infusion sessions (Sauna Gus) at regular intervals and occassional events. The building also houses a private fitness centre. }} * {{do | name=Havnebadet | alt=Aarhus Havnebad | url= | email= | address=Irma Pedersens Gade | lat=56.164082 | long=10.224934 | directions=go to Bassin 7 on Aarhus Docklands | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Jul-Aug: daily 11:00 to 19:00 | price=Free | lastedit=2018-07-01 | content=Large floating bathhouse in the northern parts of the harbour, part of the developing docklands district, designed by renowned architecture company BIG. The open-air bathhouse has several pools, including child friendly paddling pools. It is open to the public from June through August. The surrounding area is still under development, but a number of small shops offers coffee, drinks, ice cream and some food. }} Other regular swimming pools around town: * {{do | name=Aarhus Svømmestadion | alt= | url=https://vigirbyenpuls.dk/svoemmehaller/aarhus-svoemmestadion/ | email= | address=F. Vestergaards Gade 5 | lat=56.14364 | long=10.197024 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 86 44 | tollfree= | hours=All week | price= | lastedit=2026-05-16 | content=If swimming specifically is what you want to do, this is a better option than Badeanstalten Spanien, with an outdoor pool (summer only) to go along with the indoor one. Aarhus Swimming Stadium is only for swimmers, as you must be able to swim 200 m without aids to use the pools. Swimming is on short course (25 m) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and long course (50 m) on the remaining days of the week. There are also two associated sports halls known as ''Frederiksbjerghallerne''. Bring your own padlock for your personal locker, or buy one at the reception for kr 30. }} * {{do | name=Lyseng Svømmebad | alt= | url=https://vigirbyenpuls.dk/svoemmehaller/lyseng-svoemmebad/ | email=info@vigirbyenpuls.dk | address=Lysengvej 4, Højbjerg | lat=56.112219 | long=10.191228 | directions= | phone=+45 87 13 33 85 | tollfree= | hours=Sa-Tu and Th | price= | wikidata=Q12325291 | lastedit=2016-03-16 | content=Located in the outer district of Højbjerg to the south of the city centre, this is a swimming hall complex for everybody. Three pools to choose from: a shallow one with swimming toys for the kids, a deep one with diving boards, and swimming lanes for exercise and competitions. Sauna in both the men and women departments. }} * {{do | name=Gellerupbadet | alt= | url=https://vigirbyenpuls.dk/svoemmehaller/gellerupbadet/ | email= | address=Karen Blixens Boulevard 41A, Brabrand | lat=56.159503 | long=10.135789 | directions=in Braband, in the middle of Gellerup Park | phone=+45 86 25 69 01 | tollfree= | hours=W-M | price= | lastedit=2019-05-12 | content=If you're a family with kids, Gellerupbadet is the swimming venue for you, with special shallow heated pools and a sauna. }} === Sports === Throughout the city there are a number of sports complexes, small and large stadiums, [http://www.vigirbyenpuls.dk indoor sports halls], and several facilities for street sports. Apart from the free street-level activities, you'll need to be a member of a team to visit most of these places, but sometimes hourly rental or trial lessons are offered. [[File:Aarhus stadion.jpg | thumb | 300px | Full stadium for a football match at Ceres Park ]] * '''Football:''' [https://agf.dk/ Aarhus GF] play soccer in Superliga, Denmark's top tier. (And other sports: GF is ''Gymnastikforening'', since you were wondering.) Their home ground is Ceres Park (capacity 19,400) 2 km south of city centre. * {{do | name=Aarhus Skøjtehal | alt= | url=http://www.skojtehallen.dk | email= | address=Gøteborg Alle 9 | lat=56.181658 | long=10.189689 | directions=behind the green-roofed watertower at the junction of Randersvej and Ring 2 | phone=+45 86 10 42 19 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=kr 45 | wikidata=Q12300337 | content=Aarhus Skøjtehal is an indoor ice rink offering ice skating in season, including occasional "ice disco" events and hockey matches. In winter, an [https://vigirbyenpuls.dk/skoejtehal-og-skoejtebane/udendoers-skoejtebane-ved-musikhuset/ outdoor ice skating venue] is set up in the inner city park outside the Concert Halls. }} * {{do | name=Ceres Park & Arena | alt=Stadion | url=https://atletion.aarhus.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.132222 | long=10.196 | directions=on the outskirts of the Marselisborg Forests next to Tivoli Friheden | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-03-17 | content=The home pitch of local soccer team AGF, Ceres Park & Arena holds around 21,000 spectators. If you're a soccer fan, don't miss a home game (played on Saturdays or Sundays) as the atmosphere is amazing during game night! }} * {{do | name=DGI-huset | alt= | url=http://www.dgi-huset.dk/ | email=info@dgi-huset.dk | address=Værkmestergade 17 | lat=56.149156 | long=10.206489 | directions=behind the Bruun's Galleri shopping centre | phone=+45 86 18 00 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free entry, courts kr 100 for an hour | content=DGI-Huset is a sports centre of about 5,000 m² in the city centre where you can engage in many kinds of indoor sporting activities. If you're not a member of a team, you can still play badminton or football, or pay by the hour to tackle one of the large climbing walls. Children are welcome and accommodated with a special play area, and there's also an onsite café. Weekends and holidays often see discounts on admission. |wikidata=Q12306839 |image=DGI-huset (Aarhus) 2.JPG }} * {{do | name=Jysk Væddeløbsbane | alt= | url=http://www.jvb-aarhus.dk | email=info@jvb-aarhus.dk | address=Observatorievejen 2 | lat=56.1288 | long=10.1975 | directions=behind the Ceres Park & Arena, enter from Carl Nielsens Vej | phone=+45 88811202 | tollfree= | hours= | price=kr 50 | lastedit=2021-11-26 | content=Horse racing. }} * {{do | name=Aarhus Watersports Complex | alt=Kabelpark i Aarhus | url=https://aarhuswatersportscomplex.dk | email= | address= | lat=56.16424 | long=10.22469 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-24 | content=Aarhus Watersports Complex is a voluntary organisation at Bassin 7, Aarhus Ø, offering watersports activities with focus on wakeboarding, waterskiing and SUP. A cable system similar to a ski lift serves as a replacement for the speed boats traditionally used for wakeboarding, water skis etc. }} * {{do | name=Surf Agency | alt= | url=https://surfagency.dk | email=surf@surfagency.dk | address=Fiskerivej 2F, 8000 Aarhus C | lat=56.16375 | long=10.21793 | directions= | phone=+45 42903010 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-25 | content=A certified surf school offering lessons in Stand Up Paddle surfing and rental of SUP boards and other necessary equipment. }} Aarhus hosts many [https://aarhusevents.dk/ large sports events] on both national and international level. You may want to attend or plan your visit around one of these events. Among the coming happenings, Aarhus will present Urban Sports Festival in the summer of 2026, Tall Ships Races also in 2026, and the national sports event DIF DM-ugen in 2027. === Boating === [[File:Folkestedet (kanoer).jpg|thumb|Canoes for rent at Folkestedet]] * {{do | name=Harbour cruise | alt= | url=https://aroscruises.dk/en/ | email=info@aroscruises.dk | address=Herman Sallings Plads 2 | lat=56.156670 | long=10.214367 | directions=Go to the harbourside square close to the Cathedral | phone=+45 71 99 60 66 | tollfree= | hours=From May to December | price=kr 160 (discount for children) | lastedit=2026-05-11 | content=Experience Aarhus from the waterside with a guided harbour cruise. Several options and events. A regular tour takes 75 minutes. }} * {{do | name=River canoeing | alt= | url=https://aarhuskanoudlejning.dk/home | email=mail@aarhuskanoudlejning.dk | address= | lat=56.15539 | long=10.19337 | directions= | phone=+45 36 20 67 45 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=In the summer from early May through September you can rent canoes at the central community centre of Folkestedet and paddle along the Aarhus River for short or extended journeys. }} === Angling === To fish as a recreational activity in Denmark, you are required to buy an [https://fisketegn.dk/en Angler Fishing License] (''Fisketegn''). There are several popular spots for angling on the harbourfront, although eating bottom-feeders caught in the harbour is not recommended for health reasons. The sea, coasts and countryside around Aarhus, present many opportunities for angling. Saltwater fish includes sea trout, cod, mackerel, herring, and flatfish. Sometimes migrating fish like garfish are plentiful, depending on the season. Freshwater fish in streams and lakes, includes trout, pike, perch, and in some places zander, roach or bream. === Horse riding === A few places offers horseback riding as an alternative way to experience the immediate countryside. Understand that all three spots mentioned here use Icelandic horses. They are a sturdy breed, but smaller than most other horses, so the weight limit is 90 kg. * {{do | name=Møllegård Islandsheste | alt= | url=http://www.mollegaardislandsheste.dk/en/ | email=mollegaardislandsheste@gmail.com | address=Ormslevvej 325 | lat=56.129636 | long=10.086538 | directions=bike, hike or drive towards the small village of Ormslev west of Aarhus | phone=+45 23 30 16 50 | tollfree= | hours=Year round | price=450 kr for 1½ hour (w. guide and equipment) | lastedit=2019-08-25 | content=Try some guided horseback riding on Icelandic horses in the countryside west of Aarhus city. Depending on your skill level, you will be guided by professionals on site, and when deemed qualified you can begin exploring the surrounding area on the back of a horse. The nature around Årslev Lake and Brabrand Lake close by offers a memorable nature experience. This place is open for both single visitors and groups year round. }} * {{do | name=Seldrup Islandsheste | alt= | url=https://www.seldrupgård.dk/ | email=bodil.breyen@mail.dk | address=Fuldenvej 119 | lat=56.067095 | long=10.22117 | directions=bike, hike or drive to the village of Beder south of Aarhus | phone=+45 22 47 81 10 | tollfree= | hours=Several planned tours every week from 10:30-12:00 | price=kr 400 and up | lastedit=2026-05-11 | content=Horseback riding on Icelandic horses in the beautiful forests and countryside south of Aarhus. All tours are with guides. Only helmets are for rent here, remember to bring your own boots and long trousers. Minimum age is 12 years. Please book and arrange everything a few days in advance. }} * {{do | name=Rønbækgård | alt= | url= | email= | address=Rønbækvej 35 | lat=56.253753 | long=10.098506 | directions=Bike, hike or drive to Søften north of Aarhus | phone=+45 28 15 73 01 | tollfree= | hours=F 15:30-16:30, Su 15:00-16:30 | price=F 250 kr, Su 350 kr | lastedit=2019-08-25 | content=Rønbækgård is in the forest of Himmerigskov between the suburban villages of Trige, Søften and Hinnerup north of Aarhus. Beginners, as well as the more experienced, can participate in guided tours on Icelandic horses every Friday and Sunday afternoon, tailored to the riders skill levels. Visit, or call, in advance to arrange and book. Tours on other days of the week can be negotiated. }} === Golf === The [[East Jutland]] region has many options for golfers. The courses are of a high quality and often situated in beautiful settings. As part of this region, Aarhus has several options: * {{do | name=Aarhus Aadal Golf Club | alt= | url=http://www.aadalgolf.dk/ | email=aagc@aadalgolf.dk | address=Brydehøjvej 35, Harlev | lat=56.12211 | long=10.01331 | directions= | phone=+45 86 94 26 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=This golf club is west of Aarhus near the town of Harlev. Beautiful countryside. 18 holes. Restaurant. }} [[File:Mollerup Golfklub 2.jpg|thumb|View across the golf courses at Mollerup Golf Club.]] * {{do | name=Aarhus Golf Club | alt= | url=http://www.aarhusgolf.dk/ | email=info@aarhusgolf.dk | address=Ny Moesgårdvej 50, Højbjerg | lat=56.09358 | long=10.21797 | directions=close to the Moesgård Museum and the Marselisborg Forests | phone=+45 86 27 63 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=Boasting a great view of the Bay of Aarhus and the excellent bistro and restaurant UNICO (which you can visit even if you're not a golfer), the Aarhus Golf Club has 35 years of experience and more than 1,000 members. 18 holes. }} * {{do | name=Aarhus Minigolf | alt= | url=http://www.aarhusminigolf.dk/ | email=kontakt@aarhusminigolf.dk | address=M. P. Bruuns Gade 25 | lat=56.14880 | long=10.2041 | directions=at Bruuns Galleri | phone=+45 21 85 05 18 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=kr 60 | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=For something different, how about a round of mini-golf on the rooftops of the inner city? Take the elevator to the top floor of the Bruuns Galleri shopping halls at the central station to access the rooftop terrace. There is a large eatery right next to this place and a small bar outside at the playing field. Closed in the winter. }} * {{do | name=Lyngbygaard Golf | alt= | url=http://www.lyg.dk/ | email= | address=Lyngbygårdsvej 29, Brabrand | lat=56.16988 | long=10.03034 | directions= | phone=+45 87 44 10 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=West of the centre in the district of Brabrand. Play either 18 or 9 holes, with five tees on every hole. Challenges for all levels. Onsite restaurant. }} * {{do | name=Mollerup Golf Club | alt= | url=http://www.mollerupgolfclub.dk/ | email=info@mollerupgolfclub.dk | address=Mollerupvej 7, Risskov | lat=56.213 | long=10.194 | directions=9 km from the centre, in Risskov, on the southern slopes of the Egå Valley | phone=+45 86 78 55 56 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q12327522 | lastedit=2015-09-12 | content=Apart from the golf facilities, Mollerup is known for its beautiful setting near the forest of Mollerup Skov and the lake area of Egå Engsø, with a view across the valley here. 18 holes. Café and restaurant. }} === Miscellaneous === * {{do | name=Battlearena | alt= | url=https://battlearena.dk/ | email=info@battlearena.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 86 22 14 44 | tollfree= | hours=Write or call in advance to book your time | price= | lastedit=2026-05-09 | content=Gather a group of 10 people or more and enjoy an {{Marker|type=do|lat=56.143556 | long=10.147867 |name=indoor lasergun battle game}} in the western part of town or an {{Marker|type=do|lat=56.26187 | long=10.159026 |name=outdoor paintball battle game}} in the northern suburb of Trige. Lasergun battles are for groups of 6 or more people and have no age limits, while the paintball battle game is desgined for 8 people, but can be played with less, and have an age limit of 16 years. Instructions and equipment is part of the package. Bring your own food and drink. }} * {{do | name=Eventpark Aarhus | alt= | url=https://eventparkaarhus.dk/ | email=info@eventparkaarhus.dk | address=Holmstrupgårdvej 18 8220 Brabrand | lat=56.165236 | long=10.121447 | directions= | phone=+45 86 24 11 22 | tollfree= | hours=Fr: 12-18; Sa-Su: 10-18 | price=Drop-in price kr 100 (4-60 years); kr 50 (1-3 years) | lastedit=2026-05-12 | content=A cluster of activity game arenas and an event venue, located in an otherwise uninteresting area of light industry in the western parts of the city. Apart from the diverse fun and games activities, Eventpark Aarhus on-site associates includes laserwar, bouldering, softgun battle, and VR adventures. }} [[File:Aarhus Street Food.jpg|thumb|Aarhus Street Food]] * {{do | name=Food markets | alt= | url=http://www.visitaarhus.com/ln-int/ingerslevs-boulevard-gdk603483 | email=info@ingerslevtorv.dk | address=Ingerslevs Boulevard | lat=56.144621 | long=10.195962 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=W Sa 08:00-14:00 | price=Free | lastedit=2021-11-26 | content=An outdoor farm and artisan market with fresh vegetables, fruit, bread, fish, meat, cheese, and some prepared foods sold by local producers. There's also a small permanent café here with good coffee. {{Marker|type=do|lat=56.151464 | long=10.209393|name=[http://aarhusstreetfood.com/ Aarhus Street Food]}} is an indoor food market in the city centre near the central station, offering a culinary world tour ranging from Korean bowls, Turkish grill, and luxury salads to pad thai, fish & chips, and Afro-Caribbean barbecue. The food court is open every day of the week 11:30-21:00. {{Marker|type=do|lat=56.164582 | long=10.222756|name=[https://www.nicolinehus.dk/ Markedshallen]}} is another indoor food court from early 2023, located in the building complex Nicolinehus in the new harbourside district of Aarhus Ø. Stylish interior, yet with relatively low budget prices and self-help service. The food offered here is also of a broad cultural diversity and the food stations are also open every day from 11:30-21:00. {{Marker|type=do|lat=56.156176| long=10.209179|name=[https://bankenfoodhall.dk/ Banken Food Hall]}} opened in 2024 at the central square at the Aarhus Cathedral. Clean and stylish interior. It is the smallest of the three food courts. }} * {{do | name=Godsbanen | alt= | url=http://godsbanen.dk/ | email=info@godsbanen.dk | address=Skovgaardsgade 3 | lat=56.154167 | long=10.194722 | directions=behind ARoS and the Concert Halls | phone=+45 25 22 12 10 | tollfree= | hours=M-S 8-22; S 8-18 | price=Free | lastedit=2026-05-11 | content=A centre for cultural productions of all kinds: theatre, concerts, performance, film, art exhibitions, finders-keepers markets, and more. There is a restaurant and café here too. Even if you are not interested in participating in anything in particular, Godsbanen is worth a visit for its strange and unique architecture, including the DIY commune known as '''[http://www.institutforx.dk/ Institut for (X)]''' behind the main buildings. Here people tend gardens, play football, skateboard, play street sports, party and even live. The vibe is a friendly, inviting take on the anarchist "free town" — you'll find none of the decadence of [[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]] here. }} * {{do | name=RaceHall | alt= | url=http://www.racehall.com | email= | address=Hasselager Centervej 30 | lat=56.11753 | long=10.12126 | directions=Beyond Ring 2, near Eventpark Højbjerg | phone=+45 86 28 01 70 | tollfree= | hours=Every day 10:00-20:00 | price=From kr 180 (drop-in) | lastedit=2026-05-11 | content=Go for a go-kart race in what is claimed to be the largest indoor race track in the world. Onsite American-style diner. }} * {{do | name=Royal Casino Aarhus | alt= | url=https://casinoaarhus.dk/ | email=kontakt@royal-casino.dk | address=Store Torv 4 | lat=56.15735 | long=10.20995 | directions=in Hotel Royal across from the cathedral | phone=+45 86 19 21 22 | tollfree= | hours=Su 15:00–02:00, M–Th 15:00–03:00, F Sa 15:00–04:00, gaming tables open at 19:00 | price=Entry kr 70 after 19:00 (kr 20 before 19:00) | lastedit=2023-08-19 | content=Play a round of roulette or a game of cards and hope for the big prize. Take a break from the action at the in-house '''Richard's Bar & Cocktails''' with a coffee or a drink, or just gawk at the bronze sculptures at the main entrance, designed by local artist Hans Krull. }} [[File:Tivoli Friheden.jpg|thumb|Tivoli Friheden amusement park.]] * {{do | name=Tivoli Friheden | alt= | url=http://friheden.dk/ | email= | address=Skovbrynet 5 | lat=56.137156 | long=10.195847 | directions=South of the city centre on the outskirts of the Marselisborg Forests | phone=+45 86 14 73 00 | tollfree= | hours=Check website for schedule | price=Admission kr 180 (kr 90 for children 3-7 years), all-inclusive ticket kr 460 (children kr 360) | image=Tivoli friheden.JPG | wikidata=Q3529963 | lastedit=2026-05-11 | content=Amusement park with roller coasters, Ferris wheel, haunted house and similar classic entertainment. Also restaurants, a dance floor, and a large stage hosting occasional concerts and large events. Special schedule around Christmas. }} ==Learn== Make no mistake about it: Aarhus is a college town. As the home of '''Aarhus University''', the largest in Scandinavia, plus nine other institutions of higher education, Aarhus' student population numbers one out of every five residents — a statistic that certainly explains the youthful vigor in the city's dining, nightlife, and cultural scenes. Even if you're not matriculated at any of Aarhus' colleges and universities, the city still offers a lot of informal learning activities and courses on all kinds of subjects. * Apart from degree courses, {{marker|type=listing|name=Aarhus University|lat=56.168435|long=10.204540|url=http://www.au.dk/en}} (AU) also offers a number of independent academic courses in English, as well as... :*'''[http://fuau.dk/default.aspx# Folkeuniversitetet]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (Folk University), which hosts lectures and seminars on many popular academic subjects, with a more relaxed and less technical tone aimed at laypeople. However, the ''teachers'' come from a rigorous academic background (many are professors at AU), and are equipped to deliver up-to-date knowledge from the forefront of research. All courses are in Danish, so this can be a good opportunity for you to exercise your language skills in an intellectually stimulating way. *'''[https://dokk1.dk/english Dokk1]'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, a new central library and cultural centre, offers a plethora of cultural events, gatherings, seminars, and discussion groups with various cultural notables. *{{marker|type=listing|name=FO-city|lat=56.153929|long=10.202571|url=http://www.fo-byen.dk}} (Frederiksgade 78C) is a cluster of buildings tucked away in a courtyard behind City Hall Square that serves as a centre for a diversity of courses in general education, meetings and conferences. There is an onsite café ('''Café Nicolai''') and sometimes markets where the students sell their own crafts and artworks. * '''[http://www.fof.dk/aarhus FOF]''' is a longstanding adult education program that offers all sorts of courses with qualified teachers, usually in the evening, in various locations throughout the city. Here you can learn to play guitar, cook for your baby or acquire a sailing certificate. *{{marker|type=listing|name=LærDansk Aarhus|lat=56.176427|long=10.179944|url=http://www.laerdansk.dk/en/}}. If learning Danish is your goal, this is the place to go. The language courses here are mostly geared toward foreign students at Aarhus University and immigrants, but are open to all. Courses are held at both the LærDansk's offices (Paludan-Müllers Vej 82) and the AU campus. ==Buy== [[File:AArhusStroget.jpg|thumb|Strøget, the main high-street in Aarhus]] [[File:Latinerkvarteret (Badstuegade) 05.jpg|thumb|Shopping in the Latin Quarter.]] [[File:Bruun's Galleri (december).jpg|thumb|Bruun's Galleri, one of several shopping malls with specialty stores in the city centre.]] The '''pedestrian zone''' in the city centre is the best place for shopping — and it's right outside both Aarhus Central Station and the bus terminal, so you can't miss it. It's packed with small specialty boutiques and cafés, but you'll also find larger stores too: locations of {{marker|lat=56.154309 |long=10.206882 |name=Salling}} and {{marker|lat=56.157003 |long=10.206704 |name=Magasin du Nord}} department stores; three '''H&M''' outlets; several supermarkets. The long main high-street of {{marker|lat=56.151291 |long=10.204757 |name=Strøget}} is the place to go for upscale Scandinavian clothing, design, and jewellery shops. There are also a number of larger bookstores where you can buy books in English, including guides and maps. * {{buy | name=Bruun's Galleri | alt= | url=https://bruuns-galleri.steenstrom.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.14902 | long=10.20419 | directions=in the Central Station, enter by car or one of five street-level entrances including through the station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The biggest city mall in Denmark. 95 shops to choose from, plus the largest and most advanced cinema in Jutland. |wikidata=Q10436548 |image=Bruuns Galleri ved Værkmestergade.JPG }} * {{buy | name=Latin Quarter | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=56.158837 | long=10.209566 | directions=next to Aarhus Cathedral, bounded by Mejlgade, Nørregade and the premises of Vor Frue Kirke | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Latinerkvarteret, Aarhus | wikidata=Q6496462 | lastedit=2016-01-26 | content=Another shopping district in the old city centre, in the Latin Quarter you'll find small independent shops as well as some of the city's oldest cafés. There's something for everyone here: unique clothing, furniture and design boutiques, many with an unmistakable Danish flair (check out the '''[https://drewsens.com/pages/locations/Aarhus Bang & Olufsen]''' Hi-Fi store for a particularly good example), storefront art galleries, record shops, tattoo parlors, hair saloons, not to mention plenty of opportunities for just soaking up the atmosphere and street life. Every year in May or September, the shops and businesses of the neighbourhood celebrate the '''Latinerfestival''' for a couple of days, with events and concerts. }} * {{buy | name=Museums Kopi Smykker | alt= | url=http://www.museum-jewelry.dk/shop/frontpage.html | email= | address=Søndergade 58 | lat=56.153943 | long=10.205977 | directions=On the high street 'Strøget' not far from the City Hall | phone=+45 86 12 76 88 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10-18, Sa 10-16 | price= | content=One of only four shops in Denmark selling high-quality reproductions of original Viking jewellery. Many different varieties. }} Outside the city centre, notable shopping opportunities include: * {{buy | name=Bazar Vest | alt= | url=http://www.bazarvest.dk/ | email= | address=Edwin Rahrs Vej 3 | lat=56.16281 | long=10.13338 | directions=in Brabrand, 10 minutes walk from City Vest | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=Free | content=An international bazaar of 110 small shops where you can buy all kinds of imported items and ethnic food. Get yourself a meal, a haircut and your shoes fixed or what about a hookah, a real Persian carpet and a specially designed Arabian perfume? Many cuisines, from Greek and Turkish to Somalian and Indian. Good shawarmas, falafel and sweet Arabian delights. Sometimes events such as market days with special discounts or concerts with Middle Eastern artists or world music. Large parking lots. |wikidata=Q12302996 |image=Bazar Vest.jpg }} * {{buy | name=Storcenter Nord | alt= | url=http://www.storcenternord.dk/ | email= | address= | lat=56.17055 | long=10.18827 | directions=in the northern part of the city centre near the Botanical Gardens, on Paludan Müllersvej just past the Ring 1 ring road | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Around 50 shops, including a surprising abundance of eateries. Large parking spaces in the basement and on the roof. |wikidata=Q12337337 |image=Storcenter nord ny facade.JPG }} Self-caterers on a budget should look for a yellow '''Netto''' or blue '''Rema'''; these are the most abundant discount grocery stores in the city. Other discount options are the less frequent green '''Coop 365''' stores and a few '''Lidl''' departments. Some places, particularly restaurants, assess a surcharge of a few percent extra on purchases made with foreign credit cards, due to banking fees. ==Eat== {{eatpricerange|up to kr 120 |kr 120-300|kr 300 and up|align=left}} Aarhus is generally known as one of the best places to eat in Denmark. However, the best places are not necessarily located at the most prominent addresses, so a bit of browsing is recommended if you have a particular interest in fine dining. Prices tend toward the low end — perfect for perennially cash-strapped university students — but that's not necessarily an indicator of low quality; you can find surprisingly good food at some of these budget-priced places. Several spots have lunch offers. With an immigrant population of around 15%, Aarhus has many opportunities for ethnic food; Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese food are the most common cuisines, and again, prices are usually quite affordable. Most restaurants close the kitchen at 21:00, but you can usually sit back and enjoy your meal for as long as you like. At gourmet spots, it is a good idea to book a table beforehand, and for groups of five or more people it is highly recommended. Otherwise, you risk being turned down in the door, due to the unexpected workload or lack of space. Many restaurants are closed for extensive periods throughout the year; usually in the summer months or Jan-Feb, so be sure to check in advance if you plan to visit a specific place. ===Barbecue and burgers === In the last decade or so, Aarhus has experienced a veritable "burger war", with good quality burger joints popping up everywhere, making for strong competition. Middle Eastern fare such as kebab, shawarma and falafel can be had at numerous eateries in nightlife districts, and Aarhus has several choices for traditional Danish-style barbecue as well. ====Budget==== In addition to what's listed below, no visit to Denmark would be complete without patronizing a ''Pølsevogn'' (sausage wagon): street vendors that sell a variety of hot dogs, sausages, and sometimes burgers. The inner city has several, including one in front of the central station and another at City Hall Square, most of which are owned by a Danish [http://www.bornenes-kontor.dk/ charity] that donates the surplus to needy children. [[File:Lille Torv.jpg|thumb|A ''Pølsevogn'' at Lille Torv. At these spots you can get Danish-style barbecue street food.]] * {{eat | name=Burger Boom | alt= | url=https://burgerboom.dk/ | email= | address=Østergade 14 | lat=56.15416 | long=10.20598 | directions=four small burger bars across town | phone=+45 87 30 30 22 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-21:00 | price=Burgers from kr 69, menus from kr 109 | lastedit=2024-02-12 | content=Among the winners in Aarhus' aforementioned "burger war", Burger Boom serves a short but sweet menu of burgers and fries sold at inexpensive prices. The burgers here are minimalist constructions with a notable lack of veggie toppings, so as not to dull the taste of the grilled local free-range beef. Salad and tomato can be added for free, just tell when you order. Fries comes as regular, sweet potato, or loaded cheese fries. Homemade dips. Burger Boom's way of doing things has been popular, and has grown from the small original place, at the central high street, to four spots across town. Lunch offers on weekdays (11:00-15:00). }} * {{eat | name=Kødstadens Burger Joint | alt= | url=https://koedstaden.dk/ | email= | address=M.P. Bruunsgade 45 | lat=56.147471 | long=10.203808 | directions= | phone=+45 40 17 28 36 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-21:00 | price=Burgers from kr 84, menus from kr 114 | lastedit=2017-07-24 | content=Great, local and upcoming burger champions. These guys have several years of experience, have won the hearts of Aarhusian burger lovers several times, and in 2023 they received the national badge of honor 'Best Burgers in Denmark' award. Pay them a visit, and put them to the test, at the relatively new expansion in the central Frederiksbjerg district, or the original place in the northern district of Trøjborg. Lunch offers 11:00-15:00. }} * {{eat | name=Havnens Perle | alt= | url=http://www.havnensperle.dk | email= | address=Dagmar Petersens Gade 10 | lat=56.162315 | long=10.218602 | directions=in the north harbour district | phone=+45 86 13 22 56 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 08:00-21:00, Sa 09:00-21:00, Su 11:00-21:00 | price=Burgers kr 69 and up. Hot dogs kr 34. Hot meals from kr 59 | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=Roadhouse-style Danish barbecue place at the harbor, popular with dockworkers and other locals of a blue-collar bent. Enjoy a fresh made burger, hot dogs, fried chicken, roast pork, fish and chips, or various hot meals including traditional Danish fried pork with white parsley sauce and potatoes (kr 119), a hearty dish that calls for a big draft beer. Breakfast and lunch are served too, the latter consisting of ''smørrebrød'' (Danish style open faced sandwiches on rye bread). Plenty of room to sit outside when the weather permits. Food quality can be iffy, especially when crowded. }} * {{eat | name=De Fyrretyve Røvere | alt= | url=http://defyrretyverovere.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiks Alle 81 | lat=56.148575 | long=10.197387 | directions=on Frederiksbjerg, near the bridge across the railway yard | phone=+45 25 40 40 67 | tollfree= | hours=11:30-15:00 and 16:30-21:00 (closed Mondays). Closed in July | price=Pita menu kr 110 | lastedit=2018-11-02 | content=Relatively new eatery, part of a wave of quality barbecue spots of Middle Eastern inspirations across Aarhus. Good pitas with lamb, beef, spicy chicken, or homemade falafel in combination with other Middle Eastern delicacies. Two pita spots across town. }} ==== Mid-range ==== * {{eat | name=Bone's | alt= | url=http://www.bones.dk/find-restaurant/aarhus-c/ | email= | address=Åboulevarden 20 | lat=56.154808 | long=10.211165 | directions=at the riverside near Europaplads | phone=+45 87 30 04 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 11:00-21:30 | price= | content=American-style barbecue in two floors. Bone's is a family friendly Danish restaurant chain with eateries across the country. Lunch options every day. }} * {{Eat|name=Sharks Diner|url=https://www.sharks.dk/diner/|address=Frederiksgade 25|phone=+45 86 20 42 58|price=About kr 150 for a burger with fries |lastedit=2024-08-24|content=Mid-range burger joint inside a pool hall. Worth a visit!}} === Mediterranean === French and Italian fare is popular and easy to find around Aarhus, but the Mediterranean options also includes a few Spanish and Greek style restaurants. ==== Budget ==== Pizzerias are abundant throughout the city, including the outlying districts. Some places puts in an extra effort: [[File:Delizioso (Åbyhøj) 01.jpg|thumb|Pizzerias are abundant across Aarhus and a few of them make excellent pizzas]] * {{eat | name=Caffé Ispirazione | alt= | url=https://caffeispirazione.dk/ | email= | address=Åboulevarden 82 | lat=56.15644 | long=10.204573 | directions=at the canal in the town centre | phone=+45 61 30 71 68 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 10:30-21:30, F-Su 10:30-22:30 | price=kr 110 and up for pizzas | lastedit=2017-02-07 | content=Excellent pizzas and really good ice creams. Also sandwiches and various pasta dishes. This place has an extra focus on organic ingredients. Broad diversity and vegetarians and vegans has plenty of options here. }} * {{eat | name=De Martino | alt= | url=http://www.demartinopizza.dk/ | email= | address=Trøjborgvej 8F | lat=56.1691 | long=10.2173 | directions=around the corner from Casa Mia, a 1-minute walk downhill toward Riis Skov | phone=+45 31 38 93 49 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 16:00-21:30 | price=kr 75-95 for pizza | content=Good quality pizzeria in Trøjborg, also serving pasta, risotto, and some authentic Italian veal dishes. Children's menu and takeaway available. }} * {{eat | name=Delizioso | alt= | url=https://bistrotdelizioso.dk/ | email= | address=Silkeborgvej 257 | lat=56.15518 | long=10.16776 | directions= | phone=+45 81 61 71 92 | tollfree= | hours=W-M 12:00-20:30 | price=kr 85-95 for pizza | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=A pizzeria and café-restaurant at the Åbyhøj town square. The menu is mostly pizzas and pastas, but also panini, salads and Italian meat dishes, all of excellent quality. Takeaway available. }} * {{eat | name=La Trattoria | alt= | url=http://www.latrattoria.dk/ | email=kontakt@latrattoria.dk | address=Frederiks Allé 130 | lat=56.14728 | long=10.195158 | directions= | phone=+45 32 16 27 52 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-21:00 | price=Pasta dishes and pizzas from around kr 100 and lunch pizza offer for kr 50 | content=Italian restaurant and café with a straightforward menu of pasta, pizza and sandwiches. Dishes are primarily in the budget price range, but a few are more expensive. Takeaway offered. }} Other noteworthy places with budget options include: * {{eat | name=Yamas | alt= | url=https://yamas.dk/ | email= | address=Vestergade 53 | lat=56.157369 | long=10.200083 | directions= | phone=+45 42 34 32 01 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 17:00-21:00 | price=Pitas from kr 89 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Cosy Greek taverna with good pitas and a selection of traditional Greek dishes. Succulent, marinated and grilled meat is the pride of this place. If you are in for more substantial meals, Yamas can also deliver, but for mid-range prices. }} ==== Mid-range ==== Good restaurants with a broader and more substantial Mediterranean menu include: [[File:AmoRomA.jpg|thumb|Italian and French-style restaurants are plentiful (AmoRomA)]] * {{eat | name=AmoRomA | alt= | url=http://amoroma.dk/ | email=amoroma@outlook.dk | address=Vestergade 60 | lat=56.157512 | long=10.200806 | directions=in the western end of Vestergade | phone=+45 86 19 30 77 | tollfree= | hours=Daily | price=3-course evening dinner from kr 295. Pizzas are kr 90-110 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Tasty Italian food served in romantic surroundings. ''Vitello Tonnato'', traditional pasta dishes, ''Saltimbocca alla Romana'', and of course ''Tiramisù''. For lunch you can have excellent stone-oven-baked pizza, which can also be bought as take-away. The restaurant is located in an old preserved timber-framed house, and AmoRomA's owners draw on experience from their Italian-style specialty store '''Il Mercatino''' in Mejlgade, with top-quality ingredients imported from Italy. }} * {{eat | name=Atelier 33 | alt= | url=https://atelier33.dk/ | email=kontakt@atelier33.dk | address=M. P. Bruuns Gade 33 | lat=56.1481 | long=10.2037 | directions=Uphill, behind the central station complex | phone=+45 86 99 88 99 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 12:00-14:00 and 17:30-21:00 | price=Two-course ''prix fixe'' lunch special kr 350, four-course evening dinner kr 495. Many options for cheaper à la carte | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Bistro with great quality French cuisine and a recommendation in the Michelin guide. The menu changes with the seasons here, and includes many top-notch Danish ingredients, yet never strays far from its dedication to the French cooking tradition. Oysters, ''Vol au Vent'', ''Poisson en Croûte'', and ''Crème Brûlée'' are among the many classics here. Reasonable prices, in view of the quality, with some splurge options. }} * {{eat | name=Bar' Hapla | alt= | url=https://www.barhabla.dk/ | email=info@barhapla.dk | address=Jægergårdsgade 67 | lat=56.148216 | long=10.201109 | directions= | phone=+45 93 95 76 67 | tollfree= | hours=Kitchen is open daily 17:00-22:00, F Sa 12:00-16:00 | price='Bites' servings kr 65 and up. Expect three servings to make a full meal | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=This place markets itself as a bar with dining options, just how the Spanish love it. Don't hesitate to book a table for dining though, as the food is great and the place is often packed with guests. At Bar' Hapla, the food will arrive sporadically at the table, whenever the kitchen has it ready, so there will be ample time to enjoy your wine and drinks. Fed up with the overuse of the term 'tapas', Bar' Hapla call their small Spanish-style servings 'bites', but they are just as tasty and with purely vegetarian options as well. }} * {{eat | name=Brasserie Belli | alt= | url=https://www.belli.dk | email=belli@belli.dk | address=Frederiksgade 54 | lat=56.154829 | long=10.204424 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 07 60 | tollfree= | hours=The kitchen is open Tu-Sa: 11:00-15:00 and 16:30-21:00 | price=Brunch plate kr 180, Lunch from kr 90, Evening dinner main course from kr 190; 3-course ''prix fixe'' dinners from kr 300 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Brasserie with French inspirations, open for lunch and evening dinners, with more than thirty years experience. Many things to choose from, including French classics such as quiche, onion soup, steak tartare, steak frites, and Belli's signature dish Boeuf Bourguignon. }} ==== Splurge ==== * {{eat | name=L'estragon | alt= | url=http://lestragon.dk/ | email=info@lestragon.dk | address=Klostergade 6 | lat=56.15902 | long=10.20922 | directions=in the Latin Quarter | phone=+45 86 12 40 66 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su from 18:00 | price=The Full Package kr 1700 (six-course serving with pairing wines), Saturday 3-course Lunch kr 295, Sunday Surprise Menu kr 595 (5-course with wines) | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Superb-quality French-style gourmet restaurant using organic ingredients exclusively (including the wine list), and locally-sourced whenever possible. An interesting specialty for this place are their homemade juices, intended to go along with the food, as a non-alcohol alternative. L'estragon is a very small place, so reservations are recommended. There are actually many options for a mid-range priced meal here, a ''prix fixe'' dinner of your choice can be had for kr 265, but if you want the full dining experience, you will have to splurge. Special offers on Sunday evenings. Open for lunch Saturdays. }} ===Asian=== ====Budget==== There are many options for a budget-priced Asian meal. Chinese restaurants usually offer budget-priced lunch buffets, a few ''à la carte'' dishes, and takeaway boxes. Notable also is a cluster of Asian-style eateries in Nørregade. * {{eat | name=Asia Restaurant | alt= | url=https://www.asia-restaurant.dk/ | email=aarhus@asia-restaurant.dk | address=Viby Ringvej 4 | lat=56.129296 | long=10.162133 | directions=Go to the main square in Viby | phone=+45 87 47 55 55 | tollfree= | hours=Daily: lunch buffet 11:30-15:30, evening buffet 17:00-21:30 | price=Lunch buffet kr 118, evening buffet kr 178 | content=Large Chinese-style family-friendly restaurant, with room for 250 guests, situated in the ground floor level of a hotel highrise. Nice, Chinese-inspired traditional decor and good all-you-can-eat buffet with plenty of options. The buffet includes sushi, and in the evening also Mongolian barbecue and soup. A la carte menus are also offered. }} * {{eat | name=Bánh Mì Bandits | alt= | url=https://banhmibandits.dk/noerregade/ | email= | address=Nørregade 34, Kridthøjvej 5, or Aarhus Street Food | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily Su-Th 11:30-20:00, F Sa 11:30-21:00 | price=From kr 80 | content=Vietnamese eatery specialising in bánh mì sandwiches. In-house and take-away at three spots across town: a central spot in {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.160786 | long=10.209262 |name=Nørregade}}, one at {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.11736 | long=10.19454 |name=Kridthøj Torv}} in the southern district of Højbjerg, and another central spot at Aarhus Street Food. Order your takeaway online, or call in advance for the Aarhus Street Food location (+45 51 25 50 30). }} * {{eat | name=Gaijin Ramen | alt= | url=https://gaijinramen.dk | email= | address=Nørregade 16 or MP Bruunsgade 42 | lat= | long= | directions=go to the northern end of Nørregade or visit the basement in MP Bruunsgade behind the Central Station | phone=+45 30 59 09 80 (Nørregade) or +45 30 12 57 77 (MP Bruunsgade) | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 12:00-21:00; Su 12:00-20:00 | price=Ramen bowls kr 129, sides from kr 59 | content=Good Japanese-style ramen eatery. Visit the original place in the northern end of {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.161400 | long=10.210105 |name=Nørregade}} or the newer site in {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.147810 | long=10.203384 |name=MP Bruuns Gade}}. }} * {{eat | name=Pearl India | alt= | url=http://pearlindia.dk/ | email= | address=Fredensgade 46 | lat=56.15202 | long=10.20792 | directions= | phone=+45 86 19 62 64 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 17:00-22:00, F Sa 17:00-23:00, Su 17:00-22:00 | price=kr 99-125 for main single dishes, menus from kr 150. Vegetarian single meals kr 75-99 | lastedit=2024-08-24 | content=Wonderful Indian place near the main train station with great value for money, and a long history in Aarhus. Although budget-priced, the menu is very varied and includes some more expensive choices as well, and the place is furnished for a good in-house dining experience. Excellent choice for vegetarians, with a broad selection of dishes. Remember to specify how spicy you want the food! }} * {{eat | name=THA | alt= | url=https://tha-autentisk.dk/ | email=thaitakeaway@tha-autentisk.dk | address=Frederiks alle 120 | lat=56.147516 | long=10.195469 | directions=on Frederiksbjerg | phone=+45 40 52 99 54 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 17:00-21:15, closed Mondays | price=Main meals from kr 100 (two-course menus kr 140) | lastedit=2019-04-05 | content=Tiny place, big flavour. This small Thai-kitchen in the southern neighbourhood of Frederiksbjerg only has a few seats and most meals here are sold as take-aways. Very good food and friendly service. }} ==== Mid-range ==== Sushi dominates the roster of mid-priced Asian restaurants in Aarhus, and there are many options. In addition, the following restaurants stands out in the Asian-style category: [[File:Sushi Springtime 01.jpg|thumb|Asian-style restaurants, and especially sushi restaurants, are plentiful.]] * {{eat | name=Kiin Kiin | alt= | url=https://www.kiinkiinaar.dk/ | email=eat@kiinkiinaar.dk | address=Vestergade 47 | lat=56.157503 | long=10.201093 | directions= | phone=+45 26 11 11 56 | tollfree= | hours=Every day, all year | price=Shared meal, family-style kr 395; Restaurant main course from kr 165; Take-away full meals from kr 135 | lastedit=2024-05-04 | content=Asian food with a Vietnamese bend. High-end restaurant quality, yet served in cosy, laid back and rustic surroundings for affordable prices. Start with a cocktail in the lounge area for an in-house evening experience, or have your food as takeaway; this place serves the whole range. }} * {{eat | name=Sushi Springtime | alt= | url=https://sushispringtime.com/ | email=info@sushispringtime.dk | address=Park Allé 9 | lat=56.151757 | long=10.203549 | directions=at Park Allé across from the Town Hall | phone=+45 22 55 55 44 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 16:00-21:00 | price= | content=Possibly the best and most authentic sushi restaurant in Aarhus, with a chef and owner trained in Japan. Original Japanese teas. Best to order well in advance, preferably a day or more and especially if you're arriving with a large party, as everything is made fresh to order. }} * {{eat | name=Yi East | alt= | url=https://www.yieast.dk | email=info@yieast.dk | address=Frederiks Plads 6 | lat=56.149228 | long=10.20878 | directions=downhill from the Bruun's Galleri shopping mall, close to the Aarhus City Tower | phone=+45 60 87 78 98 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 16:00-21:00, F-Su 12:00-21:30 | price=Menu offers from 128 kr, Single meals from 108 kr | content=Chinese restaurant with many authentic options, including Dim Sums and Clay Pot dishes. Spacious and elegant restaurant in a newly built quarter near the southern harbourside. Food is typically served for sharing, Chinese style. Take-away options. }} === International gourmet === While fine dining in Denmark traditionally means French cuisine, the large and diverse slate of such restaurants in Aarhus also includes Italian and Spanish-inspired cooking, seafood restaurants, and New Nordic. Four places have been awarded Michelin stars and several are mentioned in respectable food guides, including the White Guide covering Nordic countries specifically. Most larger hotels have their own restaurant, usually with decent-quality international fare at mid-range prices, and some with outstanding dining. You don't have to have a room there to eat there. See the "Sleep" section or individual hotel websites for details. Further out into the countryside, traditional inns ''(kroer)'' also offer culinary experiences comprising both native Danish fare as well as international cuisine, again mostly at mid-range prices. ====Mid-range==== Great quality international gourmet food can be had for mid-range prices. Even if your budget is limited to mid-range, do also check out "Splurge" restaurants, as more expensive places are known to offer special promotional discounts from time to time. * {{eat | name=möf | alt= | url=https://www.restaurantmoef.com/ | email=info@restaurantmoef.com | address=Jægergårdsgade 81 | lat=56.14829 | long=10.202169 | directions= | phone=+45 61 73 33 33 | tollfree= | hours=M 17:30-21:00, Th 17:30-00:00, F 17:30-22:00, Sa 17:00-20:00, Su 17:30-21:00 | price=Three-course dinner from kr 399 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=With more than ten years of experience, and a mention in the Michelin Guide, möf has placed itself among the best and most interesting restaurants in Aarhus, yet with affordable prices. Seasonal, creative, and tasty menus and a broad and interesting selection of organic and natural wines. }} * {{eat | name=Pondus | alt= | url=https://www.restaurantpondus.dk/ | email=info@restaurantpondus.dk | address=Åboulevarden 51 | lat=56.15613 | long=10.20472 | directions= | phone=+45 28 77 18 50 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 17:00-23:00 | price=Let the chefs decide a three-course menu for kr 450, or build your own. Single main course kr 250 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Cosy modern bistro with a gourmet fare, celebrating local, organic ingredients of excellent quality. Pondus has proved themselves for several years on the Aarhus restaurant scene, and has a longtime recommendation in the Michelin guide for their good value cooking. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant ET | alt= | url=http://restaurant-et.dk/ | email=velkommen@restaurant-et.dk | address=Mindegade 8 | lat=56.15377 | long=10.21112 | directions=In a sidestreet near the end of the riverside | phone=+45 86 13 88 00 | tollfree= | hours=Lunch: W-Su 12:00-16:00; dinner: M-W 17:30-00:00, Th-Sa 17:30-01:00; closed Sunday | price=''À la carte'' mains kr 249-379, three-course ''prix fixe'' dinner kr 479. Lunch from kr 179 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=At Restaurant ET you can try a good variety of high-quality, yet reasonably-priced specialities inspired by both classic French and Danish cuisine, always with a fresh twist. Excellent choice of wines and cheese. }} ==== Splurge ==== [[File:Restaurant Domestic entrance, Denmark (2016-03-19).jpg|thumb|The food scene is vibrant in Aarhus, with new places and experiments coming and going.<br /> The high-end Restaurant Domestic has been a forerunner, dedicated to innovating the New Nordic cuisine in Aarhus.]] * {{eat | name=Restaurant Domestic | alt= | url=http://www.restaurantdomestic.dk/ | email=info@restaurantdomestic.dk | address=Mejlgade 35B | lat=56.15901 | long=10.21178 | directions=in the backyard | phone=+45 61 43 70 10 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa from 18:00 (lunch option F Sa from 12:00) | price=Evening menus from kr 750 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Along with '''Hærværk''' (another Aarhus restaurant), Domestic was one of the first places in Aarhus to engage with "New Nordic locavore gourmet" cuisine. This way of cooking, is dedicated 100% to local ingredients in season, and requires great skill and creativity to achieve a gourmet level result. The Michelin star maintained continuously since 2017, shortly after opening, attests to Domestic's success on that front. Be sure to book in advance, for a taste experience out of the ordinary. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Frederikshøj | alt= | url=http://www.frederikshoj.com | email= | address=Oddervej 19-21 | lat=56.1248 | long=10.2089 | directions=in the Marselisborg Forest across from Mindeparken | phone=+45 86 14 22 80 | tollfree= | hours=W-Sa 18:00-24:00 | price=The Menu kr 2500 (wines excluded); Lunch Menu kr 450 | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=One of Aarhus' most exquisite gourmet restaurants, led by renowned chef Wassim Hallal whose original menus has caught the attention of the Michelin Guide since 2015, now with two stars. Stylish modern decor. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Gastromé | alt= | url=https://gastrome.dk/ | email=kontakt@gastrome.dk | address=Grenåvej 127 | lat=56.187 | long=10.2176 | directions=at the Riis Skov forest, north of the city centre | phone=+45 28 78 16 17 | tollfree= | hours=Th-Sa from 18:00, lunch F Sa 12:00-15:00 | price=Evening menu kr 1900 (Lunch menu kr 800) | content=The restaurateurs behind this place have a lot of experience with the New Nordic gourmet cuisine, upholding a Michelin star at Gastromé continuously since 2015. The food is served in welcoming surroundings, in a large old villa outside the central city, completing the dining experience. }} === Steakhouses === Denmark is well-known worldwide for its pork, but also produces topnotch beef. Many restaurants have steak on the menu, including some of the international gourmet spots, but a few places serve it as the specialty of the house. To enjoy the best possible steak in Aarhus, you will have to splurge. * {{eat | name=Köd | alt= | url=http://koedaarhus.dk/ | email=info@koedaarhus.dk | address=Åboulevarden 23 | lat=56.155233 | long=10.209596 | directions=at the riverside near Europaplads | phone=+45 38 41 60 50 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 17:00-21:00, F Sa 17:00-22:00 | price= | content=Top-quality steak and seafood, with beef sourced from Denmark, [[Uruguay]], the [[United States|U.S.]], and Australia. }} * {{eat | name=MASH | alt= | url=https://www.mashsteak.dk/restauranter-en-gb/show/mash-aarhus | email= | address=Banegårdspladsen 12 | lat=56.15098 | long=10.20342 | directions=at the Ritz Hotel | phone=+45 33 13 93 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Every day | price=From kr 265 | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=Another Danish steakhouse chain, with some of the best cuisine of this type in the country as well as a very impressive wine list. A selection of fish dishes and some high-quality burgers round out the menu. }} * {{eat | name=Mör | alt= | url=https://www.mör.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiks Plads 20 | lat=56.14879 | long=10.20858 | directions=Behind the central station and the Bruun's Gallery complex | phone=+45 86 88 88 88 | tollfree= | hours=Closed Sundays | price=Three-course menu kr 579 | content=Great steakhouse in a new location at Frederiks Plads behind the central station. Flame grilled steaks ''par excellence''. Also fish and vegetarian options. Sometimes live music in the evening. }} === Traditional Danish food === Unlike the experimental and often quite expensive dining of the New Nordic Cuisine, traditional Danish food is hearty, simple, and of course old-school — and its popularity is surging on Denmark's restaurant scene these days. Special menus are served around ''Mortens Aften'' (St. Martin's Day; 11 November), Christmas, and Easter. Prices are mostly mid-range. [[File:Teater Bodega.jpg|thumb|Teater Bodega]] * {{eat | name=Den Lille Kro | alt= | url=http://www.denlillekro.dk/ | email=info@denlillekro.dk | address=Nørre Allé 55 | lat=56.15923 | long=10.20197 | directions=Latin Quarter outskirts | phone=+45 86 86 44 41 | tollfree= | hours=Every day 12:00-21:30 | price=Three-course dinners 333 kr (a la carte from 169 kr). Lunch platters from 169 kr | lastedit=2016-03-12 | content=A cozy place situated in a somewhat quieter sector of the buzzing Latin Quarter, Den Lille Kro (aptly-named "The Little Inn") serves up a wide-ranging selection of good-quality traditional Danish food in copious portions. Differing lunch and evening menus. }} * {{eat | name=Europa | alt= | url=http://restaurant-europa.dk/ | email= | address=Havnegade 28 | lat=56.15469 | long=10.21227 | directions=Harbourside | phone=+45 86 19 86 18 | tollfree= | hours=W-Sa 12:00-24:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-04-27 | content=A small gastropub serving tasty traditional Danish cuisine. Mostly ''smørrebrød'', but also a few hot dishes in the evening. Take away offered. Even if you're not hungry, you can go just to imbibe from their exhaustive beer list. Red wine and homemade ''snaps'' are also served. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Kohalen | alt= | url=http://kohalen.dk/ | email= | address=Jægergårdsgade 152-154 | lat=56.147923 | long=10.211124 | directions=the south harbour district | phone=+45 86 12 14 81 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 11:30-16:00 | price=Lunch platters from 199 kr (a la carte meals from 128 kr) | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=By no means a fancy dining spot, this place takes pride in its local authenticity. Residing in the city's rough former slaughterhouse district in an old house from 1907, Kohalen (The Cow Tail) serves good quality traditional Danish meals in generous portions. The focus of the kitchen here is on lunch platters (known as ''Det Kolde Bord''), yet with a few hot dishes as well. The restaurant is typically filled to the brim with raucous crowds, making it a little difficult to get a free seat, especially around the annual feasts. }} * {{eat | name=Skovmøllen | alt= | url=http://www.skovmollen.dk/ | email= | address=Skovmøllevej 51 | lat=56.08449 | long=10.23548 | directions=forests south of town | phone=+45 86 27 12 14 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su | price=Lunch from kr 222 | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=Skovmøllen's menu comprises creative twists on traditional Danish lunches, as well as a hearty weekend brunch, served in the picturesque setting of a restored timber-framed medieval water mill in the midst of [[#Parks, gardens, and forests|Moesgaard Forest]]. Online reservations are available. }} * {{eat | name=Teater Bodega | alt= | url=http://teaterbodega.dk/ | email=info@teaterbodega.dk | address=Skolegade 7 | lat=56.15631 | long=10.21156 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 19 17 | tollfree= | hours=Every day | price=Mid range | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=With a central location next to Aarhus Theatre, this historic restaurant has served since 1908, while the name Teater Bodega is from 1959. There is a big variety in the meal plan, and the quality is good. The interior is kept in an old traditional Danish design and is an experience in itself. }} === Vegetarian === Many eateries in Aarhus have vegetarian dishes or alternatives on the menu. Only a few places are dedicated vegetarian only. * {{eat | name=Café Gaya | alt= | url=http://www.cafegaya.dk/ | email= | address=N.J. Fjordsgade 2 | lat=56.144268 | long=10.198796 | directions=in a large community centre in the central Frederiksbjerg district | phone=+45 40 22 45 20 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa | price=All-you-can-eat lunch buffet kr 89, evening buffet kr 150 | lastedit=2016-01-01 | content=A good variety of organically-grown vegetarian food, with cozy decor and occasional live music. Gaya also serves brunch (ad libitum) on Saturdays. }} * {{eat | name=Faour | alt= | url=https://www.faour.dk | email= | address=Klostergade 32 | lat=56.158922 | long=10.206716 | directions=in the Latin Quarter | phone=+45 60 15 15 70 | tollfree= | hours=Closed Sundays | price=Manakish menu for kr 59 | lastedit=2018-11-02 | content=Relatively new eatery, part of a wave of quality spots of Middle Eastern inspirations across Aarhus. Faour offers falafel, manakish and mezze of various kinds for affordable prices. Almost exclusively vegetarian menu. Good mint tea and Arabian coffee with cardamom. }} * {{eat | name=Green Neighbour | alt= | url=http://www.greenneighbour.dk/ | email= | address=Kannikegade 4 | lat=56.156246 | long=10.209347 | directions=Next to the central cathedral | phone= | tollfree= | hours=11-21:30 every day | price=Salad bowls 115 kr | lastedit=2026-04-20 | content=Various and changing seasonal salads and bowls with organic produce only. Freshly squeezed juices to go along. Meat can be had as an extra topping for some salads. Locatated in the Banken Food Hall at the central high street and cathedral square. }} * {{eat | name=Plant Food | alt= | url=https://plant-food.dk | email= | address=Graven 16H | lat=56.158752 | long=10.210508 | directions=in the Latin Quarter | phone=+45 91 87 33 35 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-11-01 | content=One of the few dedicated vegetarian eateries in Aarhus. Many options. The plant-based burgers are popular. Small place with only a few seats for eating in-house. }} * {{eat | name=MellemRum | alt= | url=https://restaurantmellemrum.dk/ | email=info@restaurantmellemrum.dk | address=Fredens Torv 2 | lat=56.154166 | long=10.210605 | directions=near the square of Europaplads at the mouth of the river | phone=+45 86 17 18 38 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 17:00-24:00, kitchen closes 21:30 | price=Three-course ''prix fixe'' vegetarian menu kr 325 (Early Bird: kr 275 if you can finish before 19:00) | lastedit=2016-04-08 | content=At this gourmet restaurant, you can always choose a seasonal vegetarian menu on par with the non-restricted menu, something the chefs takes pride in. Three, four or five-course seasonal menus that change every two months or so, but also à la carte. A cosy place with excellent gourmet food. Don't be afraid to bring your vegan or meat loving friends along, this place has something for all kinds. }} === Cafés === The many cafés in Aarhus span a diverse range, from tiny holes-in-the-wall with two chairs to extravagantly decorated places with mirror rooms and waiters in fancy clothes. Some places serve only the most basic items, while other places offer lunch, evening dinners or cocktails and parties at night. So whatever you are looking for, it shouldn't be a problem to find a café that suits your taste or pocket. [[File:Arhus-Vadestedet.jpg|thumb|Cafés are numerous]] The majority of cafés in Aarhus are unique, each with their own individual charm and character, and you'll find an emphasis on high-quality coffee in quite a few of them. However, national chain cafés also have a presence, with locations of '''Espresso House''', '''emmerys''', and '''Lagkagehuset''' across the city, and '''Starbucks''' have two cafés in the inner city as well. If you're not a coffee drinker, cafés also often serve hot chocolate and sometimes smoothies, but quality tea is only just beginning to catch on around these parts. Take note that in almost all cafés in Denmark you are expected to contact staff yourself, usually at the desk, to grab a menu card, to place your order and when you wants to pay. This is often very bewildering to tourists, but is how things are typically done in Denmark and not a sign of rude or ignorant service. Although there is a high concentration in the inner city, cafés can be found all over town. A few special places might be hard to discover without particular mention: * {{eat | name=A.C.Perch's Thehandel | alt=Perch's | url=https://www.perchs.dk/ | email= | address=Volden 3 | lat=56.157807 | long=10.208244 | directions=close to the central square of Lille Torv | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-17:30, Sa 10:00-17:00 | price=Pot of tea 95 kr, Breakfast Plate (including tea) 210 kr | lastedit=2019-01-09 | content=A local branch of the venerable tea-house of the same name in Copenhagen with roots back to colonial times. The Aarhus café is smaller, and only a few years old, but has the same old-fashioned style as the original in Copenhagen. Slow down and take time to enjoy a well-made pot of high quality tea with more than a hundred varieties to sample. The clerks are there to guide you. Splurge with a Breakfast Plate or a Five O Clock Tea serving if you like. If you are a group, you can book a table online. No coffee here. }} * {{eat | name=Stiller's Coffee | alt= | url=http://www.greatcoffee.dk/ | email= | address=Klostergade 32 H, st. (backyard) | lat=56.159055 | long=10.206704 | directions=in the Latin Quarter | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-17:00, Sa 10:00-16:00, Su closed | price= | lastedit=2018-02-14 | content=This oasis for true coffee aficionados is hidden away in a backyard of a larger building complex that used to house a chocolate factory. It is not easy to spot, but some of the best things in life require a bit of effort. There are numerous spots for truly great coffee around the city, but this place is among the very best for sure. }} * {{eat | name=LYNfabrikken | alt= | url=http://www.lynfabrikken.dk/ | email= | address=Vestergade 49 | lat=56.15728 | long=10.20068 | directions=in the backyard | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Every day (8:00-22:00 for the loft café) | price= | lastedit=2026-05-09 | content="The Lightning Factory" is a business incubator for small creative concerns located in a restored old factory building, with an onsite café in the loft. The small laid-back rooftop terrace is a pleasant summertime oasis of seclusion in the midst of the bustling central city. The café offers beverages (good coffee), cakes and a small choice of food, plus a few books and crafts for sale. }} * {{eat | name=Aarhus Brædtspilscafé | alt= | url=http://aarhusbraetspilscafe.dk/ | email= | address=Vestergade 58A and Fredensgade 38 | lat= | long= | directions=go to Vestergade or the Aarhus Bus Station | phone=+45 81 11 90 05 or +45 81 11 90 06 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 12:00-23:00, F Sa 12:00-01:00, Su 12:00-22:00 | price=kr 35 | lastedit=2018-02-23 | content=Two boardgame cafés operated by the same group of people. Just show up and hope for a free spot or reserve a table online if you are a minimum of four people and wants to be sure. The ticket gives you access to a vast number of games, from well-known classics like backgammon, chess or kalaha to various party games, quiz games and much more intricate and elaborate boardgames like Risk, Catan or Pandemic. You can play as many games as you like for as long as you like. Sometimes game-guides introduce new games to people and you can choose to join in. The spot in {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.1576367 | long=10.2012779 |name=Vestergade }} focus on lightweight games while the spot in {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.1523978 | long=10.208194 |name=Fredensgade}} presents more heavy and advanced games. }} === Bakeries === Denmark has a long tradition for unique, good quality [[Bread_and_confectionery#Nordic_countries|bread and confectionery]]. You might find it in cafés or common bakeries across the city, but some places merit a visit for the special effort they put into the craft of baking. [[File:Wienerbrød 01.jpg|thumb|Danish pastry on display in a bakery]] * {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.14832 | long=10.20324 |name=Lagkagehuset | url=http://www.lagkagehuset.dk/#aabningstider#jylland#aarhus.aspx }} and {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.159000 | long=10.207846 |name=emmerys | url=http://www.emmerys.dk/}} are two Danish chains of high-end bakeries with attached café sections. Lagkagehuset has eight spots across town and presents a great selection of cakes which, apart from the Danish pastries of course, include cold confectioners cakes such as layercakes and creamcakes. Emmerys is an organic certified bakery with five spots offering brunch servings, while the cake selection is more limited. Both chains offers breakfast and various snack foods and they are open every day of the week. {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.159487 | long=10.208920 |name=La Cabra | url=https://lacabra.com/}} started out as a speciality coffee shop and café in Aarhus in 2012, but has since emerged among the other high-end sourdough bakeries in the city, producing top-notch breads and cakes. Aiming for the stars, La Cabra now have a total of three spots in Aarhus, as well as cafés in Copenhagen, New York, and Oman no less. The place in Borggade listed here is La Cabra's bakery central. If you want a café experience, visit one of their two cafés elsewhere in Aarhus. {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.153723 | long=10.195857 |name=MIBBageri | url=https://www.martinib.dk/bagerier/}} is another Aarhus bakery startup with excellent quality and variety. There are five spots across town. Some of the smaller businesses that truly honors the craft of baking, includes: [[File:DavidBreadHead (J. M. Mørks Gade) 02.jpg|thumb|There are several high-end bakeries around town]] * {{eat | name=DavidBreadHead | alt= | url=https://davidbreadhead.dk/ | email= | address=Ny Munkegade 4B (and a small shop in J. M. Mørks Gade 7 kl. th) | lat=56.16039 | long=10.20443 | directions=go to the far end of the backyard | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Every day | price=Sourdough bun with cheese 35 kr. Morning board 59 kr | lastedit=2026-04-20 | content=High-end sourdough bakery and café. They also run a {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.15477 | long=10.20351 |name=tiny bakery shop}} in a side street to ''Strøget''. }} * {{eat | name=Jumbo Bakery | alt= | url=https://www.jumboaarhus.com/ | email= | address=Mindet 4 | lat=56.15171 | long=10.21489 | directions=at the habourfront across from the DOKK1 library | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Every day | price=Cardamom-swirl cake 34 kr | lastedit=2026-06-19 | content=High-end sourdough bakery and café at the transforming habourside. There is also a Jumbo Bakery café at {{Marker|type=eat|lat=56.148022 | long=10.188801 |name=Ankersgade}} next to the bouldering climbing center (Boulders Aarhus City) at the central ''Ringadebroen'' bridge. }} * {{eat | name=Mor Anna | alt= | url=https://moranna.dk/ | email= | address=Mejlgade 5 | lat=56.157748 | long=10.211822 | directions=behind the cathedral | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 07:00-18:00; Sa Su 08:00-17:00 | price=Sandwiches or three ''smørrebrød'' kr 65 | lastedit=2026-04-20 | content=Not a café, but an uncompromising bakery and speciality shop offering a good selection of breads, cakes, sandwiches and other foods. Take a look at the large variety and see if there is something for you? Even the jam for the cakes and the pesto for the sandwiches are made on location. Coffees and other beverages to go. }} * {{eat | name=Schweizer Bageriet | alt= | url=http://www.schweizerbageriet.dk/ | email= | address=M.P. Bruuns Gade 56 | lat=56.14708 | long=10.20357 | directions=a five-minute walk south and uphill from the central station | phone=+45 86 12 34 47 | tollfree= | hours=Daily from 06:30 | price=Five breakfast buns 55 kr. Kanelsnegl 22 kr. Sandwiches 65 kr | lastedit=2026-04-22 | content=A modern yet historic bakery open for breakfast and lunch. The bakery selection is full of traditional delights; the variety changes often, but always includes several types of Danish pastry. Schweizer Bageriet is a small place, with only a couple of seats for eating. Good sandwiches and salads. }} ==Drink== Aarhus has a lively nightlife, with everything from big mainstream clubs to small alternative hangouts playing niche music. Aarhus' young population fuels a major part of the partying, and the large numbers of students tend to keep prices reasonable. The legal age for buying alcohol in Denmark is 16 and 18 relative to the amount of alcohol present in a given drink, but some bars limit entry to those over 20 or even 23. In any case, it pays to have picture ID on you if you want to indulge in the bar scene. Prices are generally higher than in other parts of Europe, but cheaper than Copenhagen and with several budget options. Entry fees are almost non-existing. The action tends to concentrate around Jægergårdsgade, Frederiksgade, Åboulevarden, Vestergade, the Latin Quarter, Mejlgade, Nørregade, and the riverside ''(Åen)'', the latter of which is the most expensive area. The nightlife in Denmark and Aarhus is quite safe, though occasionally plagued with young immigrants (primarily of Middle Eastern descent) who harass people, sell drugs, and engage in vandalism. These incidents might be rarer these days, but if you are a group of young males with a Middle Eastern look, be aware that you could risk being denied access to some of the more popular spots. Drinking does not limit itself to the night (or the weekends) in Danish culture, so you will not have a problem finding a good place for a cold beer, a nice drink or a glass of wine in the afternoon or even in the morning. The most widely available Danish beers are Tuborg, Carlsberg and Ceres. With a 150-year history in Aarhus, Ceres was by many considered the "beer of Aarhus", with Ceres TOP as the flagship pilsner, but the beer is not brewed locally anymore. Most places also serve other well-known international brands, mostly on draft. Quite a few spots specialize in quality beers and craft brews, and offer a large variety for the beer connoisseur. This trend seems to have spilled over and affected many of the regular places as well. Cocktail bars are getting increasingly popular, with most places now offering some kind of mixed drink as an alternative to the omnipresent beer. Quality whiskey, rum and gin can be had in many bars. While in Danish culture wine is traditionally enjoyed with food rather than by itself, there are a few high-end wine bars that are very popular. Many Aarhus bars change concept and/or owners quite often, some every 2-3 years or so, while other spots close and new ones emerge. The listing below is therefore incomplete and may be out of date, though we've tried to limit it to places with proven staying power. === Frederiksbjerg === A neighbourhood with its own atmosphere, separated from the rest of the city centre by the central rail yard. Frederiksbjerg's nightlife scene is a mix of traditional [[#Bodegaer and værtshuse|''bodegaer'' and ''værtshuse'']] of the type you can read about below, as well as some newer and more fashionable spots. [[File:Pub'en.JPG|thumb|While there are several fancy spots, Frederiksbjerg is well stocked on old, traditional ''værtshus'' bars.]] * {{drink | name=Mikeller Bar | alt= | url=https://mikkeller.com/locations/mikkeller-bar-aarhus | email= | address=Jægergårdsgade 61 | lat=56.148228 | long=10.200558 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Su-F from 14:00, Sa from 13:00 | price=kr 40 for a tap beer serving | lastedit=2021-11-28 | content=At this outlet for the renowned craft brewery of the same name, you can choose from a changing slate of 20 beers on tap — both from Mikeller and other breweries worldwide — plus a huge and ever-changing bottle list. If you're (understandably) overwhelmed, the bartenders at this cozy, chilled-out spot are more than happy to help you navigate the vast selection. For non-beer drinkers, a range of high-end spirits and cherry wine (a local specialty) are offered. }} * {{drink | name=Peter Gift | alt= | url=http://petergift.dk/ | email= | address=M. P. Bruuns Gade 28 | lat=56.14865 | long=10.20318 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 01 63 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-01:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-01-03 | content=The typical Danish ''bodega'', and mention a claimant to the title of oldest surviving bar in Aarhus (in business since 1906), Peter Gift serves a good selection of beers in a pleasant, relaxed and secluded atmosphere. Lunch is served Tu-Sa, but reservations are required. Smoking is restricted to the backyard. }} * {{drink | name=Pub'en | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/PubenAarhus/ | email= | address=Jægergårdsgade 62 | lat=56.148080 | long=10.200722 | directions= | phone=+45 86 13 60 98 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily | price= | lastedit=2018-03-10 | content=A local ''værtshus'' with local craft brew (Aarhus Bryghus) on tap and opportunity for a game of dart. Also Ceres TOP beer by the bottle and other beverages. Smoking allowed and a more festive vibe on weekend nights. }} * {{drink | name=St. Pauls Apothek | alt= | url=http://stpaulsapothek.dk/ | email= | address=Jægergårdsgade 76 | lat=56.14806 | long=10.20112 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 08 33 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Th 17:30 - 00:00, F Sa 17:30 - 02:00 | price= | lastedit=2021-11-28 | content=This old restored pharmacy (hence the name) from 1899 now wears many hats: St. Pauls Apothek is a high-end restaurant in the early evening, a fashionable cocktail bar afterward, and a nightclub when it gets ''really'' late. Creatively conceived and artfully executed speciality cocktails come served on their own or paired with gourmet dinners. }} === Frederiksgade === This partly pedestrianized street brims with nightlife. [[File:The Golden Lion Pub.JPG|thumb|The Golden Lion Pub in Frederiksgade. The pedestrianized city centre has a lively nightlife and bus routes that connect to the suburban areas, reducing the risk of alcohol-related accidents.]] * {{drink | name=Hos Anders | alt= | url=http://www.hosanders.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 25 | lat=56.15555 | long=10.20608 | directions=below Sharks in the same building | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Beer kr 20 | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=A bar with occasional live music, mostly jazz. The audience here is usually a bit more mature. }} * {{drink | name=Sharks | alt= | url=http://sharks.dk/ | email=mail@sharks.dk | address=Frederiksgade 25 | lat=56.15564 | long=10.20607 | directions=at the first floor of Busgadehuset, a central car parking house | phone=+45 86 18 09 90 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily | price=Pool tables kr 1-2 per minute, cocktails from kr 45 | lastedit=2016-01-18 | content=Not only a bar but also Denmark's largest pool hall, with 26 billiard tables that pack 'em in most nights. To get away from the madding crowds, head for one of three cozy lounges where you can enjoy a beer or tuck in to a burger or a plate of nachos (the kitchen closes at 22:00). Sharks is also a popular place to catch major sporting events on TV. }} * {{drink | name=Tir Na Nóg | alt= | url=http://www.tirnanog.dk/ | email=info@tirnanog.dk | address=Frederiksgade 40 | lat=56.15521 | long=10.20491 | directions= | phone=+45 86 19 19 10 | tollfree= | hours=Daily | price= | lastedit=2016-01-18 | content=A huge Irish pub with nice decor, a festive atmosphere, live music, and pub trivia on Thursday night. Good selection of high-end whiskey, scotch, and rums. As at Sharks, the TVs around the bar are a popular place to catch sporting events. }} * {{drink | name=Waxies | alt= | url=http://waxies.dk/ | email=mail@waxies.dk | address=Frederiksgade 16 | lat=56.15605 | long=10.20638 | directions= | phone=+45 86 13 83 33 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily from 12:00, happy hour from 22:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=Another Irish pub closer to the river with three floors of action in a hip riverside location. Premier League football Monday and Tuesday nights, pub trivia Wednesday nights, poker Thursdays, and live music on the weekends starting around midnight. Show up early for discounted drinks and a small food menu. }} === Riverside === Most of the cafés near the mouth of the river turn into bars and nightclubs in the late evening, but there are also many places here dedicated exclusively to nightlife. One of the busiest bar scenes in the city, the riverside can be hectic Friday and Saturday nights, attracting many young people. The rest of the week, the promenades along the river offers a more laid-back vibe. Despite the many upscale and fashionable places, there are a surprisingly ample selection of budget-friendly options in between. The nightlife scene here starts off at '''Immervad''', the small bridge crossing the canal at Frederiksgade, and stretches all the way to the mouth of the river at the harbourfront. [[File:AarhusRiver.jpg|thumb|Aarhus river]] * {{drink | name=Barstart | alt= | url=https://www.barstart.dk/ | email= | address=Fiskergade 28 | lat=56.15577 | long=10.20783 | directions= | phone=+45 26 14 93 57 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa from 18:00 | price=Craft cocktails from kr 100 | lastedit=2016-07-02 | content=A short walk away from the riverside, you'll find this small and easy-to-miss place clustered among a handful of similarly busy nightspots. Barstart's constantly changing drink menu encompasses many innovative specialty cocktails, but the experienced bartenders here could most likely make any classic drink you would like. }} * {{drink | name=Bodegaen | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bodegaen/288372364934?fref=ts | email= | address=Åboulevarden 33 | lat=56.15586 | long=10.20864 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily | price=Ceres TOP kr 25 | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=Located right at the river, this hip and popular place is only a few years old, but fully equipped as an iconic old fashioned ''[[#Bodegaer and værtshuse|bodega]]'', hence the name. Enjoy a beer and a game for a bit of fun. Games on offer includes darts, dice, pool ''(bob)'', or foosball (a quite popular "sport" in Denmark for young people). }} [[File:Herr Bartels.JPG|thumb|Herr Bartels, one of many cocktail bars]] * {{drink | name=Herr Bartels | alt= | url=http://www.herrbartels.dk/ | email=herrbartels46@gmail.com | address=Åboulevarden 46 | lat=56.15583 | long=10.20928 | directions= | phone=+45 86 18 08 33 | tollfree= | hours=Th-Sa from 19:00 | price=Cocktails kr 70-95 | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=The longest bar desk in town, serving a changing selection of excellent drinks and cocktails in a nice atmosphere. All nights, some selected drinks are "two for the price of one". Age limit is 20 on weekends. }} * {{drink | name=Lava | alt= | url=https://lavaaarhus.dk/ | email=kontakt@lavaaarhus.dk | address=Åboulevarden 22 | lat=56.15482 | long=10.21112 | directions= | phone=+45 25 53 30 31 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Cocktails from kr 80 (two for kr 90) | lastedit=2016-07-03 | content=Another jack-of-all-trades type of place at the riverside, Lava is a café, bistro and bar all in one. The latter identity comes into the picture on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after 21:00, with an international wine list (including champagne by the bottle), superb rums and cognacs, and French spirits like armagnac, calvados and ''eau de vie'' for a very reasonable price. They occasionally host live music as well. }} * {{drink | name=London Bar | alt= | url=http://londonbar.dk/ | email=info@londonbaraarhus.dk | address=Åboulevarden 31 | lat=56.155525 | long=10.209185 | directions= | phone=+45 51 89 56 70 | tollfree= | hours=F Sa from 20:00 | price=Cocktails from kr 95 (discounts available) | lastedit=2018-03-10 | content=A cocktailbar with dimmed lightning, black tiles and individual tables open for reservations. Many of the bars at the riverside attracts a very young audience, but this bar has a minimum age of 25 and a corresponding relaxed atmosphere. The cocktails are good quality, all made from scratch, half-price before 23:00. Champagne and quality liquor also available. On occassion, events or cocktail courses (1-2 hours) are arranged. }} * {{drink | name=Shen Mao | alt= | url=http://www.shenmao.dk/ | email=booking@shenmao.dk | address=Sct. Clemens Torv 17 | lat=56.15563 | long=10.20821 | directions= | phone=+45 86 17 11 22 | tollfree= | hours=Th-Sa from 21:30 | price=Beer cans kr 35, drinks kr 75 | lastedit=2016-07-02 | content=Table tennis is the name of the game here, just rent a bat at the bar for kr 40 and get a beer when you return it. The place looks pretty rough and tends to focus on hip-hop music. Age limit is 20, and usually, the party builds slowly with things getting crowded no sooner than midnight. No state-of-the-art high-end craft cocktails here, just beer by the can, basic mixed drinks, and all the ping-pong you can handle. The namesake of the bar is the Chinese-born owner who used to run this place out of his apartment. }} === Skolegade === Skolegade is an old narrow sidestreet behind Åboulevarden with a long history as a nightlife destination. Most of the action is near the south end, closest to the riverside. * {{drink | name=Escobar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/escobaraarhus | email= | address=Skolegade 32 | lat=56.15484 | long=10.21159 | directions= | phone=+45 86 13 79 26 | tollfree= | hours=F Sa 14:00-04:00, Su-Th 18:00-02:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-03-12 | content=This is a small bar where heavy metal and hard rock music rule the day, including demo-tapes from local bands. Green chartreuse and absinthe are specialties here. Escobar is a great place to get acquainted with the local metal scene, but if you're not the headbanging type, never fear: the nonjudgmental, come-as-you-are ambience is welcoming to all. Pub quiz Monday nights with a focus on movies and music. }} * {{drink | name=G-bar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Ilovegbar/ | email= | address=Skolegade 28 | lat=56.15514 | long=10.21156 | directions= | phone=+45 21 35 35 61 | tollfree= | hours=Th 20:00-02:00, F Sa 22:00-05:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-08-19 | content=Aarhus' gay and lesbian club. }} * {{drink | name=Pinds Cafe | alt= | url=https://pindscafe.dk/ | email= | address=Skolegade 11 | lat=56.156056 | long=10.211473 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 20 60 | tollfree= | hours=W-Sa from 16:00 | price= | lastedit=2018-01-13 | content=This small bar has served since 1848, but got its name from a miss Elna Pind who took control in 1936, notorious for her sharp tongue and very strict rules. Things are more easy nowadays but the old-fashioned decor clings on. The clientele is typically of the mature and relaxed kind. Smoking allowed. }} === Latin Quarter === [[File:Løve's bog ig vincafe.jpg|thumb|Løve's]] As at the riverside, several of the Latin Quarter's cafés turn into festive bars in the evening, while other places serve as such all day. * {{drink | name=Café Paradis | alt=Den Sidste | url=https://www.facebook.com/cafeparadisdensidste/?locale=da_DK | email= | address=Paradisgade 9 | lat=56.159986 | long=10.209476 | directions=in the top floor loft | phone=+45 27 84 90 98 | tollfree= | hours=Th-Sa from 22:00 | price=kr 50 entry (includes a drink) | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=Bar and nightclub with cocktails, shots, bubbles, wine and beer. Lively dance floor with DJs on most nights. Age limit is 21+ on weekends. }} * {{drink | name=Løve's | alt= | url=http://www.loeves.dk/ | email= | address=Borggade 14 and Nørregade 32 | lat=56.16084 | long=10.20938 | directions= | phone=+45 52 17 50 16 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=Two separate buildings around the corner from each other: the former a relaxed wine bar-deli, the latter an equally relaxed wine bar-bookstore-café with occasional book and poetry readings, wine tastings, and other events. Løve's attracts a mixed and sociable crowd. }} * {{drink | name=Mig & Ølsnedkeren | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/migogolsnedkeren/ | email= | address=Mejlgade 12 | lat=56.157813 | long=10.212022 | directions= | phone=+45 93 85 51 58 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa | price= | lastedit=2018-04-09 | content=Beer bar with a large selection of craft beer, among the best in Aarhus. Some of the beers are brewed specifically for this place, while other are imports from around the world. The tap selection changes regularly, so there will always be new stuff to sample for beer lovers. Good vibe and bartenders who knows what beer is all about. }} * {{drink | name=Ris Ras Filliongongong | alt=Ris Ras | url=https://www.facebook.com/risrasfilliongongong/ | email= | address=Mejlgade 24 | lat=56.158418 | long=10.212228 | directions= | phone=+45 30 28 72 22 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 12:00-01:00, Th-Sa 12:00-02:00, Su 16:00-22:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-01-02 | content=At this cozy hipster hangout you can indulge in a great variety of beers, rums, and even hookah to the strains of the latest indie music in the background. If you are new to craft beer and don't know where to start, the Hancock on tap is the beer of the house and always a hit. No food up for sale, but you are welcome to bring your own along, if you buy a beer or two and clean up after yourself. }} * {{drink | name=Under Masken | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Caf%C3%A9-Under-Masken-112421315453548/ | email= | address=Bispegade 3 | lat=56.1577 | long=10.21005 | directions=go to the Royal Hotel opposite the Cathedral | phone=+45 86 18 22 66 | tollfree= | hours=Daily | price= | content=This bar and café in the basement next to the Royal Casino and Hotel is owned by local artist Hans Krull. The walls here are decorated with strange tribal wooden masks, artsy pictures and miscellaneous objects from his travels around the world. Krull is a prominent artist in Denmark and you can enjoy some of his finer works by glancing at the three bronze sculptures outside the casino next door or his large whole-wall mural in ''Fiskergade'' nearby of a woman kissing a sea gull. Be aware that smoking is allowed here and the place is often packed. Happy hour every day from 17:00-21:00 and sometimes live music. }} === Elsewhere === * {{drink | name=Alberts | alt= | url=http://albertsbar.dk/ | email=info@albertsbar.dk | address=Store Torv 3 | lat=56.15723 | long=10.2085 | directions=at the city square in front of Aarhus Cathedral | phone=+45 31 32 82 68 (food) | tollfree= | hours=Every day. Outdoor serving at the big square in the summer Monday-Saturday from 12:00 | price=Cocktails from kr 100, drinks and wine from kr 60 | lastedit=2017-05-12 | content=Alberts is a bar in a historic 14th-century monks' cellar at the cathedral. Quality beer, wine, and spirits with free open-mic stand-up comedy; Monday-Thursday in Danish, Sunday in English. You can play dice here too. On weekends, this places turns into a high quality cocktail bar, where the bartenders really shows off their skills. Tapas can be had Friday and Saturday evenings as well, but you need to pre-order and book a table for that. }} * {{drink | name=ST3 | alt= | url=https://st3.dk/ | email= | address=Store Torv 3 | lat=56.157016 | long=10.209071 | directions=go to the main square in front of the Aarhus Cathedral | phone=+45 42 90 90 39 | tollfree= | hours=FSa from 23:00 | price= | lastedit=2018-04-09 | content=A soft clubbing concept in the same basement as Alberts. If you are a party, it is possible to reserve your own table. Age limit is 21+. }} * {{drink | name=Gedulgt | alt= | url=https://gedulgt.dk/aarhus | email=Aarhus@gedulgt.dk | address=Fredensgade 41 | lat=56.152624 | long=10.208861 | directions=close to the bus station | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Th 18:00-24:00, F Sa 16:00-02:00 | price=Cocktails kr 110 and up | lastedit=2018-04-09 | content=If you are willing to spend some time on a nightlife treasure hunt, try if you can find Gedulgt. It is a super hip cocktail bar with the most creative drinks, but located in a nondescript backyard as some kind of secret speakeasy. Look for the green door. Outstanding cocktails, including non-alcoholic mocktails. also Quality beer, wine, bubbles, and spirits. Cocktail workshops and tasting arrangements can be ordered for groups online. }} * {{drink | name=Hantwerk | alt= | url=http://www.hantwerk.dk/ | email=kontakt@hantwerk.dk | address=Fiskerivej 2D | lat=56.164398 | long=10.218592 | directions= | phone=+45 91 25 62 57 | tollfree= | hours=W Th 16:00-23:00, F 14:00-24:00, Sa 12:00-24:00 (in the summer Tu-Sa 12:00-24:00) | price= | lastedit=2018-04-09 | content=Gastrobar in the northern harbour district. Great food, wine and beer and sometimes small musical arrangements. Many people go here just for a drink. The beer is brewed by the local micro-brewery Humleland in-house and served on tap and bottles. The brews are quite creative, diverse and of a great quality. Special imports are also available. Several options for wine by the glass. If you want to dine, reserve a table on-line before you go. Take note that this place does not accept cash. }} * {{drink | name=Mundhæld | alt= | url=https://www.mundhaeld.dk/ | email=mundhaeld@mundhaeld.dk | address=Vestergade 51 | lat=56.157408 | long=10.200358 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Th 16:00-23:00; F Sa 12:00-02:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-10-08 | content=Quality beer bar with many craft beers on tap, both local stuff and from far away. Mundhæld takes pride in presenting beer from East Jutland in particular. Take your pick from the big beer board, or talk to the bartender for a proper suggestion. }} * {{drink | name=Madmors Vinbix | alt=Vinbix | url=https://www.madmorsvinbix.dk/ | email= | address=Exners plads 9 | lat=56.152396 | long=10.192292 | directions=go to the A House at the Institut for (X) behind Godsbanen | phone=+45 43 11 20 70 | tollfree= | hours=Th 12:00-22:00, F Sa 12:00-23:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-10-09 | content=Small, almost secret, winebar in the DIY commune at the Godsbanen area. Sip on an everchanging selection of natural wines in good company. In the evenings, some food is offered as well. Book a table with an SMS. }} === ''Bodegaer'' and ''værtshuse'' === In Denmark, a ''bodega'' is a traditional Danish pub or bar. The ''bodega'' has a long cultural history in Denmark and is conceptually somewhat similar to an English pub, but only a few places offer meals and live music. You could warm up at one before going to a concert or a fancy club, or you can drop in for a coffee or a beer in the afternoon. It should be fairly easy to find yourself engaged in a conversation at these places, as the majority of people are here to socialize and unwind. * {{drink | name=Peder Wessel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Niels Juels Gade 49 | lat=56.169917 | long=10.216105 | directions=go to Tordenskjoldsgade, the main street on Trøjborg | phone=+45 30 36 75 16 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa from 11:00, closed Sundays | price= | lastedit=2019-07-08 | content=Nice classic bodega on Trøjborg, north of the city center. Relaxing and cosy atmosphere on the week days, but packed with people ready to party on weekend nights. Often live music. }} In the older days, when alcohol was seen as a basic thirst-quencher for the working man, bars were much more abundant. These were watering holes with the sole purpose of serving cheap beers all day, every day. The Danish word for these basic bars is ''værtshus'', which loosely translates as "hosting-house": in other words, a place that hosts people for drinking. Times have changed, but there are still some of these places left in Aarhus, many with their own peculiar charm. They are mostly frequented by regulars, but visiting strangers are welcomed too. The crowd at these places can be a lovely mix of joyful people at times, especially weekend nights. [[File:Jacob Skomager (Aarhus).JPG|thumb|Jacob Skomager]] Ceres TOP pilsner is the ''de rigueur'' beer in ''bodegaer'' and ''værtshuse'', but other alcoholic beverages are usually available too, along with coffee and soft drinks. An "Aarhus set" consists of a Ceres TOP with a shot of Arnbitter on the side, both beverages from Aarhus. Shots of black liquorice-flavoured vodka, often referred to as ''Fisk'', are popular with young people. In popular usage, the terminology can be confusing: the words ''værtshus'', ''bodega'', and ''café'' are nowadays often employed indiscriminately in business names, and in particular ''værtshus'' can be used for any kind of bar. To learn more about the true original ''værtshus'' concept — and to learn how to differentiate between the three categories yourself — you can start your field research at these spots: * {{drink | name=Bro Cafeen | alt=Bro Cafe | url=https://www.facebook.com/Brocafeen/ | email= | address=Frederiks Allé 61 A | lat=56.149769 | long=10.198791 | directions=at the Frederiksbroen bridge | phone=+45 86 12 86 11 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 11:00-22:00, F Sa 11:00-01:00, Su 11:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-04-27 | content=Claimed by some to be the oldest ''værtshus'' in Aarhus still in operation, Bro Cafeen has presumably served thirsty guests since 1899. Nice old-fashioned, bright yellow townhouse at an excellent location, right at the central Frederiksbroen bridge. Outside terrace, dart, and occasionally live music. }} * {{drink | name=Harmonien | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/harmonien8000 | email= | address=Mejlgade 109 | lat=56.1631 | long=10.2158 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 67 47 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily from 13:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-04-27 | content=Gamers take note: apart from the cheap beer and drinks served at this traditional ''værtshus'', you can also play snooker, darts, foosball, and even try your luck on a couple of slot machines if you like. With TVs at the bar invariably tuned to the big game, Harmonien is also a great place to cheer for the home team with the locals. Smoking allowed. }} * {{drink | name=Cirkuskroen | alt= | url=http://www.cirkuskroen.dk/ | email= | address=Skovvejen 23 | lat=56.1648 | long=10.2172 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily from around 12:00 | price=Beer kr 20 | lastedit=2016-01-03 | content=Located at an odd location a bit outside of the central scene, not too far from Harmonien, and close to Trøjborg, Cirkuskroen is a tiny bar with a long history. It owes its name to the fact that its former owners were a family of circus performers, and accordingly, the place is decorated with clowns and old circus paraphernalia. As a speciality of the house, a unique spiced bitter can be had, along with your beer. Have a listen to Kim Larsen or John Mogensen at the jukebox; both iconic Danish troubadours. Smoking allowed. }} * {{drink | name=Jacob Skomager | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/jacobskomageraarhus/ | email= | address=Frederiks allé 149 | lat=56.145882 | long=10.193453 | directions=near the southern end of the long Frederiks Allé road in the Frederiksbjerg neighbourhood | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily from 10:00 | price= | lastedit=2016-01-03 | content=A regular ''værtshus'' with an old fashioned decor in an area with many local ''værtshus'' bars. Smoking allowed. Drop in for a cup of coffee in the early afternoon or a beer after work. You can get hot dogs at the small square opposite this place. Fun fact: Jacob Skomager is a character from the Renaissance play ''Jeppe på Bjerget'' by celebrated writer Ludvig Holberg. }} ==Sleep== Prices for hotels are generally higher than in other parts of Europe, but there are a number budget options of a good quality. As in the rest of Denmark, hotels offers free Wi-Fi by default, and smoking inside is not allowed. A few allows pets, but check up beforehand, if you need this. Many hotels does not have single rooms. Apart from the well-known places listed below, there are also options for small '''[http://www.bedandbreakfastguide.dk/gb/home.htm bed and breakfasts]''' — usually located some distance outside the city centre — as well as '''private stays''' and '''holiday rentals'''. ===Budget=== Raising your own tent at a campsite is the absolute cheapest option you have in Aarhus. If you are not camping, hostels are the next cheapest way to accommodate. There are budget-priced hotels in Aarhus, but none of them have single rooms. If you are a solo traveller, your most budget-friendly option is either a dormitory bunk bed at one of the hostels or sleeping in your own tent at a campsite. ;Camping grounds: * {{sleep | name=FirstCamp Aarhus | alt= | url=https://firstcamp.dk/destinationer/aarhus-jylland | email=aarhus@firstcamp.dk | address=Randersvej 400 | lat=56.2274 | long=10.1651 | directions=4 km north of town | phone=+45 86 23 11 33 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Peak season prices for tents from kr 155. Cabins (two people) from kr 630 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=A campsite in a forest at the northern suburb of Lisbjerg, with easy access to nature. Raise your own tent, park your camper, or stay in a cabin. Communal bathrooms, laundry and kitchen facilities. Cabins all come with their own kitchen, shower, and toilet. Charging stations for electric vehicles. Bus lines connect easily to the city centre in about 15-20 minutes and a bicycle route leads all the way. }} * {{sleep | name=Blommehaven | alt=DCU-Camping Aarhus - Blommehaven | url=https://www.dcu.dk/da/dcu-camping/aarhus-blommehaven | email=blommehaven@dcu.dk | address=Ørneredvej 35 | lat=56.1097 | long=10.2335 | directions=drive south through the Marselisborg Forests | phone=+45 86 27 02 07 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Peak season price for tents from kr 245. Cabins (four people) from kr 614 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=Campsite with cabins located In the Marselisborg Forest 5 km south of the city centre. Pets allowed. Beautiful nature, yet easy transport access. }} ;Hostels: [[File:Pavillionen i Riisskov.jpg|thumb|The Danhostel in the beautiful and tranquil urban forest-park of Riis Skov, just north of the city centre.]] * {{sleep | name=Danhostel Aarhus | alt= | url=http://aarhusdanhostel.dk/ | email=info@aarhusdanhostel.dk | address=Marienlundsvej 10 | lat=56.1795 | long=10.2242 | directions=in Riis Skov | phone=+45 86 21 21 20 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 660 for a double bedroom (bedsheets, towel and breakfast are extra) | wikidata=Q43209537 | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=A hostel with a kitchen perfect for guests who are self-catering their meals. There are no dormitory or single rooms at this hostel, you will have to book a double bedroom as a single traveller. Some rooms use communal bathrooms, while others have their own installed. Laundry, eating hall, lounge areas, and outdoor space. Free Wi-Fi and free parking that includes an electric charging station. Easy access to busses and the beach. }} * {{sleep | name=Danhostel Aarhus City | alt= | url=https://danhostelaarhuscity.dk/ | email=info@danhostelcity.dk | address=Fiskergade 10 | lat=56.1560 | long=10.2075 | directions=in the night life district at the riverside | phone=+45 86 10 10 20 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 180 | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=Another Danhostel, but right in the city center in a high-rise building. Communal bathrooms, kitchens, laundry, and lounge areas. General free Wi-Fi and individual electric plugs and lamps at every bed. A dormitory bunk bed is the cheapest, but private double and family bedrooms are also available. A few family rooms have private bathrooms installed. Excellent views from the cosy roof-top café and terrasses. Breakfast buffet option. }} * {{sleep | name=Roberta's Society | alt= | url=https://robertassociety.com/ | email=info@robertassociety.com | address=Møllegade 3A | lat=56.156579 | long=10.200251 | directions=go to the Mølleparken city park below the ARoS Art Gallery | phone=+45 53 60 86 89 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 183 (dormitory) | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=A hostel right in the city center at a beautiful location in a park next to the Aarhus River. Cheapest stays are the dormitory, but plenty of more upscale and privacy stays are available. This hostel is Green Key certified. Great amenities on-site, including a cantina, lounge area and bar, and opportunity for sports games. Many social events are arranged, from yoga, talks, and occasional live music to late night slow parties. }} ;Hotels: [[File:Åboulevarden (Fiskergyde).jpg|thumb|The Cabinn Aarhus Hotel at the riverside.]] * {{sleep | name=CABINN Aarhus | alt=Cabinn | url=https://en.cabinn.com/hotel/cabinn-aarhus | email=aarhus@cabinn.com | address=Kannikegade 14 | lat=56.15576 | long=10.21047 | directions=in the old town centre between the Cathedral and the River | phone=+45 86 75 70 00 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 713 and up for a double bedroom | wikidata=Q43171337 | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=While right next to a lot of points of interest, Cabinn is facing one of the most active night life streets in Aarhus, so if you are looking for a truly silent stay, choose another hotel. Standard rooms at this hotel are quite small, but all include a TV and private bathroom with shower and toilet, and there are several options for more expensive, spaceous and upscale rooms. No single rooms; you will have to pay for a double bedroom as a single traveller at this place. 24-hour reception, free Wi-Fi, and breakfast buffet for kr 125. On-site car park with charging stations, but it costs extra. }} * {{sleep | name=Sheraton Viby | alt=Four Points Flex by Sheraton Aarhus Viby | url=https://www.zleephotels.com/da/hotel/aarhus/ | email= | address=Viby Ringvej 4 | lat=56.1293 | long=10.162 | directions=at the central square in Viby, close to the E45 motorway | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 764 for a double bedroom | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=High-rise hotel south of the city centre. There are no single bedrooms at this hotel, so single travellers will have to book a double bedroom. Breakfast buffet, free internet, plus free and safe car parking. Bicycles for rent. Pets are allowed. There is a large, yet cosy, [https://www.asia-restaurant.dk/ Chinese restaurant] at the ground floor and a shopping mall right next door. }} * {{sleep | name=Wakeup Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.wakeupcopenhagen.com/the-hotels/aarhus#/ | email=bruunsgade@wakeupaarhus.dk | address=M.P. Bruuns Gade 27 | lat=56.1486 | long=10.203579 | directions=in the same building complex as the Central Station | phone=+45 44 80 00 00 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 600 for a double bedroom (kr 500 for single travellers) | wikidata=Q43171050 | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=A modern highrise hotel from 2017 in the city center, next to the central station. Green Key environmental certification. Clean and slick design with 315 nonsmoking rooms equipped with private bathrooms, free Wi-Fi and TV. Opportunity for more upscale, spaceous, and expensive rooms. As with other budget-priced hotels mentioned, there are no single bedrooms here, so single travellers will have to book a double bedroom, but you will get a discount. 24-hour reception, lounge areas, and a breakfast restaurant. Bicycles for rent and a big multi-storey car park in the same buidling complex, including electric charging stations. }} ===Mid-range=== [[File:Kongrescenteret Scandinavian Center in Aarhus.jpg|thumb|Scandinavian Center Aarhus with the Radisson Blu Hotel]] * {{sleep | name=First Hotel Atlantic | alt= | url=https://hotelatlantic.dk/ | email= | address=Europaplads 10 | lat=56.1527 | long=10.2121 | directions=at Europaplads | phone=+45 86 13 11 11 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 756 | wikidata=Q12317288 | content=Set in a modern high-rise building with views across the harbour and the city. Limited safe parking for a fee. Breakfast option. }} * {{sleep | name=Havnehotellet | alt= | url=https://www.bbhotels.dk/hotel-aarhus/ | email=bbhotels@bbhotels.dk | address=Marselisborg Havnevej 20 | lat=56.13893 | long=10.21561 | directions= | phone=+45 7022 5530 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 650 | wikidata=Q33048269 | content=A clean, modern, and completely unstaffed hotel at the pleasant Marselisborg Marina where the check-in process is entirely computerized: you can stroll out of your room and watch the sunset with a bottle of wine from the vending machine! There are a couple of restaurants and an ice cream shop nearby. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Ritz | alt=Milling Hotel Ritz | url=http://www.hotelritz.dk/ | email=ritz@millinghotels.dk | address=Banegårdspladsen 12 | lat=56.15086 | long=10.20344 | directions= | phone=+45 86 13 44 44 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1000 (special discount offers) | wikidata=Q12317317 | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=Iconic historic hotel right across from the central station, operated by Milling Hotels. Breakfast buffet and notable '''MASH''' steakhouse restaurant. Several packages and discount offers avaialble. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Oasia | alt= | url=http://www.hoteloasia.dk/index.html | email=mail@hoteloasia.dk | address=Kriegersvej 27 | lat=56.14986 | long=10.20039 | directions= | phone=+45 8732 3715 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1195 | wikidata=Q33048454 | content=Hotel Oasia is in a central but quiet location close to the Central Station. Rooms are smartly furnished in modern Nordic style. Nice lounge and breakfast buffet. The entire hotel is non-smoking. }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel, Aarhus | alt= | url=https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-aarhus?facilitatorId=CSOSEO | email=reservations.aarhus@radissonblu.com | address=Margrethepladsen 1 | lat=56.1524 | long=10.1974 | directions=at Margrethepladsen in the Scandinavian Congress Center | phone=+45 8612 8665 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 805 | content=Large, modern chain hotel centrally located next to the City Hall and the Concert Halls. Big breakfast buffet. Restaurant and bar '''[https://www.facebook.com/RAANordicBrasserieAndBar/ RAA]''' offers three and five-course gourmet dinners. }} * {{sleep | name=Scandic The Mayor Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.scandichotels.dk/hoteller/danmark/aarhus/scandic-the-mayor | email=hotel@themayor.dk | address=Banegaardspladsen 14 | lat=56.1509 | long=10.2028 | directions= | phone=+45 87320100 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=11:00 | price=From kr 940 | lastedit=2015-06-24 | content=A modern chain hotel next to the City Hall and the Central Station. Large full breakfast with bread baked in the hotel's own bakery and good gluten-free and lactose-free options. 24-hour convenience store and safe car parking for a fee. }} ===Splurge=== [[File:Hotel Royal Aarhus.jpg|thumb|Hotel Royal, in the city centre. Historic hotel from 1901.]] * {{sleep | name=Comwell Aarhus | alt= | url=https://www.comwell.com/hoteller/comwell-hotel-aarhus | email=hotel.aarhus@comwell.dk | address=Værkmestergade 2 | lat=56.1503 | long=10.2094 | directions=at the Aarhus City Towers downhill east of the central station | phone=+45 86 72 80 00 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1183 (standard single room) | wikidata=Q12341364 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=Easily recognisable as one of the tallest skyscrapers on the Aarhus skyline, Comwell Aarhus presents 240 rooms decorated in modern Danish style. Great views across the bay and city from the upper floors. Fitness, restaurant, bar and several lounges, roomservice, plus own underground car park fitted with charging stations. Bicycles for rent. With free Wi-Fi, co-work areas, and large rooms equipped for meetings and conferences, Comwell Aarhus is also catering to large gatherings, events, and business meet-ups. '''[https://www.comwell.com/hoteller/comwell-hotel-aarhus/restaurant-og-fest/restaurant-v Restaurant V]''' serves every day, all day. This hotel is Green Key certified. }} * {{sleep | name=Helnan Marselis Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.helnan.dk/en/helnan-marselis-hotel/ | email=marselis@helnan.dk | address=Strandvejen 25 | lat=56.1265 | long=10.2151 | directions=near Mindeparken | phone=+45 86 14 44 11 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1350 | wikidata=Q12316149 | content=A bit south of the city centre, this monumental waterfront hotel was designed by Danish architects Friis and Molkte and completed in 1967. Free parking, bicycle rental, swimming pool and fitness. In-house '''[https://www.helnan.dk/en/helnan-marselis-hotel/restaurant/ Restaurant Marselis]''' and bar serves every day, all day. }} * {{sleep | name=SOFS Boutique Hotel | alt= | url=https://sofshotel.dk/en/ | email=reception@sofshotel.dk | address=Guldsmedgade 40 | lat=56.16018 | long=10.20798 | directions= | phone=+45 86 13 45 50 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1555 (single person in a double bedroom) | wikidata=Q33047778 | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=A small boutique hotel right in the old Latin Quarter. A bit expensive for what you get, but it has a nice patio and good breakfast buffet which is included in the price. Green Globe certified and all food and drink here is organic. All 26 rooms at this hotel are unique, but comes with free Wi-Fi and TV. Ground floor rooms use a communal bathroom, although of a high quality. Some rooms allow for dogs. There are no single rooms here; you will have to pay for a double bedroom at this place. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Royal | alt= | url=http://www.hotelroyal.dk | email=royal@hotelroyal.dk | address=Store Torv 4 | lat=56.15735 | long=10.20967 | directions= | phone=+45 86 12 00 11 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 2268 (single room or smallest double bedroom) | wikidata=Q12317318 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=Opened in 1838, you'll find this [[Grand old hotels|grand old hotel]] right in the city centre, guarded by iconic bronze sculptures (the work of local artist Hans Krull) out front. A stay at Hotel Royal is an experience in itself; the entire hotel is smartly decorated in a sumptuous old fashioned style. All rooms are unique, but come equipped with private bathroom, TV, free Wi-Fi, and roomservice of course, as to be expected for this kind of hotel. Valet parking service. Rooftop atrium garden with a breakfast and lunch restaurant café, and ground floor casino. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Villa Provence | alt= | url=https://villaprovence.dk/ | email=hotel@villaprovence.dk | address=Fredens Torv 12 | lat=56.15419 | long=10.20933 | directions= | phone=+45 8618 2400 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=kr 1400 | wikidata=Q33047433 | content=A small French oasis in the center of Aarhus, with an intimate atmosphere and brimming with character. }} * {{sleep | name=Scandic Aarhus City | alt= | url=https://www.scandichotels.dk/hoteller/danmark/aarhus/scandic-aarhus-city | email=aarhuscity@scandichotels.com | address=Østergade 10 | lat=56.15424 | long=10.20542 | directions= | phone=+45 89 31 81 00 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1292 (Standard double bedroom) | wikidata=Q33047970 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=Large modern hotel in the city centre from 2012 with room for 556 sleeping guests, right at the central high-street of ''Strøget''. Fitness, underground car park (with charging stations), and bicycles for rent. Special rooms for disabled people with special needs and for travellers with pets. There are no single rooms at this hotel. Roomservice, free Wi-Fi, and laundry available. In-house restaurant '''[https://restaurantloest.dk/ L'øst]''' serves every day, as does the chic adjacent lounge bar and café. }} * {{sleep | name=Scandic Aarhus Vest | alt= | url=https://www.scandichotels.com/hotels/denmark/aarhus/scandic-aarhus-vest | email=aarhus@scandichotels.com | address=Rytoften 3 | lat=56.1668 | long=10.1512 | directions= | phone=+45 8615 6844 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1354 | content=A modern six-storey hotel 4 km from the city centre, with Wi-Fi, parking, and breakfast all included. There's also a 24-hour self-service convenience store. }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson RED Hotel, Aarhus | alt=Radisson RED | url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-red-aarhus | email= | address=Frederiksgade 88 Vester Alle 4 | lat=56.15353 | long=10.20261 | directions=city centre | phone=+45 89333300 | tollfree= | checkin=24 hours | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2020-02-06 | content= }} === Countryside === The countryside around Aarhus presents several noteworthy places for accommodation, both for short stopovers and extended stays. Even if you have your base in Aarhus, many of these spots are great destinations in their own right as one-day trips out of town. * {{sleep | name=Sophiendal Slotshotel | alt=Sophiendal Gods | url=https://sophiendal.slotshotel.dk/sophiendal-slotshotel/ | email=book@slotshotel.dk | address=​ | lat=56.111576 | long=9.879340 | directions=20 km east of Aarhus in the lake-highland region | phone=+45 98 34 18 88 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1148 per person (overnight stay including afternoon tea, dinner, and breakfast) | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Spend a day or two like spoiled aristocracy in an the old castle! Sophiendal Gods is nestled in a rural woodland area in the beautiful lake-highland region ''Søhøjlandet'' between Aarhus and [[Silkeborg]] and easily accessible by car. The castle dates back to the 1600s, and has been perfectly preserved in its old opulent glory. The castle stay itself is worth the trip, but the surrounding nature is equally fit for a visit. Adjacent golf course. Single rooms available. }} ''Kroer'' (singular ''kro'') are traditional country inns of a type that has a long history in Denmark: a nationwide network of these places was laid out by royal decree beginning in the 13th century (and culminating in the 17th) in order to provide easy shelter, dining and fresh horses for the king and his entourage when travelling through the country. Others emerged in places like village halls and old flour mills to provide food and accommodation for larger gatherings and celebrations in the surrounding rural communities. Today, ''kroer'' are usually held in high social regard. If you're looking for an all-inclusive getaway in a romantic countryside setting, yet not too far away from the action of the central city, this might be the option you're looking for. [[File:Norsminde Kro1.JPG|thumb|Norsminde Kro, one of several notable guesthouses in the countryside near Aarhus.]] * {{sleep | name=Malling Kro | alt= | url=http://www.mallingkro.dk/ | email=info@mallingkro.dk | address=Stationspladsen 2, 8340 Malling | lat=56.037709 | long=10.192331 | directions=about 12 km south of Aarhus | phone=+45 86 93 10 25 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 945 (single rooms, including breakfast) | image=Malling Kro.JPG | wikidata=Q43170325 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=Dating from 1884, Malling Kro has a superb onsite restaurant with a renowned wine list that's won the place membership in the prestigious ''Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs'' and ''Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs''. Various accommodation packages available. Aarhus is easily reached by bus or light rail. }} * {{sleep | name=Norsminde Kro | alt= | url=https://www.norsmindekro.dk/ | email=Norsminde@norsminde-kro.dk | address=Gl. Krovej 2, 8300 Odder | lat=56.021184 | long=10.262902 | directions=in Norsminde | phone=+45 86 93 24 44 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 1198 (overnight stay, including afternoon tea, evening gourmet dinner, and breakfast) | image=Norsminde Kro2.JPG | wikidata=Q43170483 | lastedit=2026-05-25 | content=This historic ''kro'' boasts an outstanding high-end gourmet restaurant and a more informal and affordable ''brasserie'' serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert. There's also easy access to good beaches from this place. }} * {{sleep | name=Låsby Kro | alt= | url=http://laasby-kro.dk | email= | address=Hovedgaden 49, 8670 Låsby | lat=56.155680 | long=9.808532 | directions=a quick drive 23 km east of Aarhus by the motorway, about 30 minutes | phone=+45 86 95 17 66 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 745 (overnight stay, including evening dinner and breakfast) | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content=Låsby Kro dates back to 1734, serving the local village community and travellers alike. Traditional Danish food such as ''tarteletter'', ''stjerneskud'', ''hakkebøf'', and ''stegt flæsk med persillesovs''. Special Sunday roast. }} * {{sleep | name=Knudhule | alt=Knudhule Badehotel | url=https://knudhule.dk/ | email=info@knudhule.dk | address=Randersvej 88, 8680 Ry | lat=56.102981 | long=9.785192 | directions=26 km east of Aarhus, not far from Låsby Kro | phone=+45 86 89 14 07 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 2059 for two people (overnight stay, including evening gourmet dinner and breakfast) | lastedit=2026-06-06 | content=This place was built as a stopover for hikers in 1936, but is now working as a celebrated lakeside bathing hotel. Great gourmet food. Knudhule is not a ''Kro'' in the strictest definition, but works in a similar way nonetheless. A variety of holiday and seasonal packages, check the website. Knudhule is worth a trip just for the food, and the surrounding landscape invites for a good nature hike. }} * {{sleep | name=Sabro Kro | alt=Montra Hotel Sabro Kro | url=https://montrahotels.dk/sabro-kro | email=sabrokro@sabrokro.dk | address=Viborgvej 780, 8471 Sabro | lat=56.212772 | long=10.014886 | directions=12 km northwest of Aarhus | phone=+45 86 94 89 22 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From kr 895 (overnight stay, including evening dinner and breakfast) | wikidata=Q43170715 | lastedit=2026-06-09 | content=Unlike the stereotypical Danish ''kro'', the vibe here is unrelentingly modern. But don't be deceived: this place can go toe to toe with the competition in terms of history, established by royal decree no later than 1855. Sabro is a rather large ''kro'', with close to seventy double rooms, several suites with spa and other luxury facilities, and room to accommodate conferences, events, and even small concerts. This place is non-smoking, but pets are allowed. The in-house restaurant serves every day, all day, including a special weekend brunch. The owners' efforts to operate the place in an environmentally conscious way have earned Sabro Kro the international Green Key certificate as well as a silver certificate as a TripAdvisor GreenLeader. }} == Connect == === Wi-Fi === Nearly all hotels supply free Wi-Fi and limited workspaces. Most cafés also offers free Wi-Fi for customers, but gazing into your laptop for more than half-an-hour in a café is usually disapproved and you are best advised to find another spot to satisfy your digital needs. In this case Aarhus's free municipal Wi-Fi network, '''[https://www.aakb.dk/wifi Smart Aarhus]''', can be freely accessed in and around most public squares, parks, and institutions, including the Urban Mediaspace of Dokk1 where finding a spot to sit around should not be a problem. === Computers === If you need to use a computer, the library at '''Dokk1''' has several terminals for public use, with Internet access through an SMS authentication system and printing services available for a fee. Also free Wi-Fi throughout the building. == Cope == === Accessibility === In Denmark, all newer buildings — and quite a few older ones as well — are specially equipped with ramps, elevators, lifts, and sometimes escalators to help handicapped people navigate the public space. As well, the beeping sound you hear coming from the traffic lights at some of Aarhus' busier intersections are there to help visually impaired pedestrians know when it's safe to cross. Guide dogs are allowed in most places (even in some cinemas), and personnel are unusually friendly and helpful towards the handicapped. === Begging === The homeless in Aarhus are usually harmless (to the point where you could make small talk with many of them), and aggressive begging is uncommon. Many of them earn a nominal income selling the street newspaper ''Hus Forbi'' ("House Passed") to passersby in public places. The city has seen an increase in foreign beggars since the mid-2010s, mostly from Romania. They have taken over a significant part of the ''Hus Forbi'' street sales as well. === Consulates === * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria| alt=Consul Steffen Ebdrup | url= | email=seb@holst-law.com | address=Hans Broges Gade 2, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1451058 | long=10.2039666 | directions= | phone=+45 89 34 00 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-03 | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt=Consul Carsten Henriksen | url= | email=carsten.henriksen@dlpiper.com | address=DOKK1, Hack Kampmanns Plads 2, Niveau 3, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1535505 | long=10.2142655 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 07 90 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Burkina Faso}} {{listing | name=Burkina Faso | alt=Consul Jens Pauli | url= | email=konsulburkina@gmail.com | address=Hjortevænget 11, 8270 Højbjerg | lat=56.112902 | long=10.2229645 | directions= | phone=+45 40 27 76 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Chile}} {{listing | name=Chile | alt=Consul Kjeld Ranum | url= | email=k.ranum@mail.tele.dk | address=Skovboulevarden 8, Stevnstrup, 8870 Langå | lat=NA | long=NA | directions= | phone=+45 40 28 40 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Croatia}} {{listing | name=Croatia | alt=Consul Jakob Østervang | url= | email=consulate.croatia@bechbruun.com | address=Bech-Bruun, Værkmestergade 2, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1503377 | long=10.2094091 | directions= | phone=+45 72 27 00 00 | tollfree= | fax=+45 72 27 00 27 | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Cyprus}} {{listing | name=Cyprus | alt=Consul Zooulla Winding Jensen | url= | email=windingzoe@gmail.com | address=Oldrupvej 57, 8350 Hundslund | lat=NA | long=NA | directions= | phone=+45 40 68 05 38 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Czech Republic}} {{listing | name=Czech Republic | alt=Consul Mark Stig Hellstern | url= | email=aarhus@honorary.mzv.cz | address=Sofienlystvej 6-8, 8340 Malling | lat=NA | long=NA | directions= | phone=+45 88 80 82 40 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt=Consul Claus Emil Engel Johansen | url= | email=sk@f-t.dk | address=Østhavnsvej 5, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.141107 | long=10.216852 | directions= | phone=+45 70 10 05 55 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 20 05 75 | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt=Consul Allan Aagaard | url= | email=allan.aagaard@aarhusteater.dk | address=Skolegade 4, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1560265 | long=10.2111657 | directions= | phone=+45 40 60 88 62 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt=Consul Klaus Schäfer | url=https://kopenhagen.diplo.de/dk-de/botschaft/honorarkonsuln/-/1689182 | email=aarhus@hk-diplo.de | address=P.O. Pedersens Vej 10, 8200 Aarhus N | lat=56.203042 | long=10.190248 | directions= | phone=+45 28 92 23 98 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-03 | content= }} * {{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt=Consul Heine Sveistrup Jensen | url= | email=consul@huconsulate.com | address=Helgesvej 18, 8230 Åbyhøj | lat=56.154031 | long=10.170991 | directions= | phone=+45 86 18 49 33 | tollfree= | fax=+45 86 19 81 11 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt=Consul Carl Erik Skovgaard Sørensen | url= | email=carl.erik.skovgaard@dlapiper.com | address=DLA Piper Denmark, DOKK 1, Hack Kampmanns Plads 2, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1535527 | long=10.2142109 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 00 00 | tollfree= | fax=+45 33 34 00 01 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | alt=Consul Carlo Domenico Prola | url= | email=carloprola@gmail.com | address=Laksedalen 81, 8220 Brabrand | lat=56.158887 | long=10.0967826 | directions= | phone=+45 42 37 69 65 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Malta}} {{listing | name=Malta | alt=Consul Mogens Ellerbæk | url= | email=maltaconsul.aarhus@gov.mt | address=Flakvej 3, 8240 Risskov | lat=56.201731 | long=10.266113 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Mexico}} {{listing | name=Mexico | alt=Consul Klaus Erik Krogh | url= | email=mail@mexicon.ck | address=Stenvej 25 B, 1, 8270 Højbjerg | lat=56.1059361 | long=10.2057737 | directions= | phone=+45 87 40 80 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=Netherlands | alt=Consul Jochem van Rijn | url= | email=jochem.van.rijn@tmf-group.com | address=Vestre Skovvej 14, 8240 Risskov | lat=56.1834379 | long=10.225332 | directions= | phone=+45 20 60 73 62 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt=Consul Erik Rasmussen | url= | email=konsulat@viabiler.dk | address=Axel Kiers Vej 13, 8270 Højbjerg | lat=56.1081077 | long=10.1651418 | directions= | phone=+45 23 28 02 48 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Oman}} {{listing | name=Oman | alt=Consul Ole Munch | url= | email=consulate@medipure.dk | address=Strandvænget 5 B, 8240 Risskov | lat=56.186045 | long=10.2401389 | directions= | phone=+45 86 17 50 72 | tollfree= | fax=+45 86 17 50 58 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Philippines}} {{listing | name=Philippines | alt=Consul Henrik Esmann Lindberg | url= | email=philcon@philcon.dk | address=Bjarkesvej 30, 8230 Åbyhøj | lat=56.154474 | long=10.166915 | directions= | phone=+45 29 17 70 40 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt=Consul Jesper Ørskov Nielsen | url= | email=jn@interlex.dk | address=Mariane Thomsens Gade 1, 8, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1660114 | long=10.2287606 | directions= | phone=+45 87 34 34 34 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt=Consul Michael Holm | url= | email=rumanian.consulate.aarhus@gmail.com | address=Systematic A/S, Søren Frichs Vej 39, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.15179 | long=10.177056 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax=+45 89 43 20 20 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Slovakia}} {{listing | name=Slovakia | alt=Consul Claus Jørgen Søgaard Poulsen | url= | email=mo@innovater.dk | address=Marselisborg Havnevej 56, 2., 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1390054 | long=10.2168862 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 70 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Slovenia}} {{listing | name=Slovenia | alt=Consul Knud Kristensen | url= | email=mail@slovenien.dk | address=Stenvadet 6, 8240 Risskov | lat=56.203704 | long=10.2787039 | directions= | phone=+45 86 20 42 00 | tollfree= | fax=+45 86 17 18 17 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt=Consul Søren Hammer Westmark | url= | email=shw@clemenslaw.dk | address=Sct. Clemens Stræde 7, 1. sal | lat=56.1569014 | long=10.208194 | directions= | phone=+45 87 32 12 50 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt=Consul Jacob Ravn Nielsen | url= | email= | address=Agro Food Park 13, 8200 Århus N | lat=56.2012991 | long=10.1584693 | directions= | phone=+45 21 48 48 67 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-03 }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt=Consul Morten Sønderby Hansen Munk | url= | email=mm@mafcon.com | address=Marselis Boulevard 1, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1417637 | long=10.2052044 | directions= | phone=+45 70 22 84 55 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= | lastedit=2019-06-04 }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt=Consul Henrik Kleis | url= | email=hk@delacour.dk | address=Åboulevarden 13, 8000 Århus C | lat=56.1545999 | long=10.2107425 | directions= | phone=+45 70 11 11 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-03 | content= }} == Stay healthy == In case of medical emergency, tourists should call the general medical emergency line at +45 70 11 31 31 or, in the case of life-threatening emergencies, 112. There is only one '''[https://www.en.auh.dk/departments/emergency-department/ emergency centre]''' serving all of Aarhus. It is located at the new Aarhus University Hospital out of town in the northern district of Skejby. Take note, that you are required to call in advance in any circumstance! There are many pharmacies ''(Apotek)'' in Aarhus, in the city centre as well as the outlying districts. Supermarkets and some shops also sell non-prescription medicine. At the {{Marker|type=listing|lat=56.15718 | long=10.20861|url=https://www.apoteket.dk/apoteker/aarhus-loeve-apotek|name=Aarhus Løve Apotek}} near the Cathedral, medicine can be picked up all week 06:00-24:00. ==Go next== Explore the '''[[East Jutland|East Jutland region]]''' with Aarhus as a base, be it day trips or longer stopovers. The region offers many kinds of activities and experiences, especially in the summertime. [[File:Rosenholm sydost.jpg|thumb|Rosenholm Castle. There are several interesting historic manors in the countryside around Aarhus.]] A trip through the immediate countryside around Aarhus — say, to the '''Jeksendalen''' valley southwest of town, or around '''Norsminde Fjord''' on the coast — combined with a nice meal at a roadside ''kro'' can make for a great little getaway from the city. This is best done on four wheels rather than two: many roads here are narrow, there are no bike lanes, and car traffic can be fast-moving. ===Djursland=== Djursland is the "nose" of Jutland immediately northeast of Aarhus, a thinly-populated rural area where folks have made a living farming and fishing for millennia — a history you can get a sense of in the large historic {{marker|type=see|url=http://www.gammelestrup.dk/|name=Gammel Estrup|wikidata=Q787105}} manorhouse-museum, at the 700-year old ruins of the {{marker|type=see|name=Kalø Castle|wikidata=Q753714}}, or by walking the cobblestoned streets in the preserved Medieval-era port town of '''[[Ebeltoft]]'''. Both the Kalø Castle ruins and the rural port town of Ebeltoft are part of {{marker|type=see|url=http://eng.nationalparkmolsbjerge.dk/ |name=Mols Bjerge National Park|wikidata=Q4994368}} which comprises most of southern Djursland, perfect for hiking. Great sandy beaches abound, and if you are visiting in late spring or summer, {{marker|type=see|name=Femmøller Strand|wikidata=Q23048827}}, {{marker|type=see|name=Grenå Strand|wikidata=Q15917528}}, and {{marker|type=see|name=Bønnerup Strand|wikidata=Q957702}} are all well worth a trip. Many people visit or vacate here, just to experience the beachlife of these three spots, yet there are plenty of other good, but less popular, beaches throughout. The large '''[https://molskroen.dk/ Molskroen]''' inn and beach hotel at Femmøller Strand is a fine destination for a stopover; it is home to one of the best restaurants in Denmark. If animals are your thing, you'll find a pair of open-air zoos: {{marker|type=see|url=http://www.skandinaviskdyrepark.dk/|name=Skandinavisk Dyrepark|wikidata=Q3072129}} with large animals related to Scandinavia exclusively, and {{marker|type=see|url=http://www.reepark.dk/|name=Ree Park Safari|wikidata=Q7306556}} with a plethora of exotic animals from all around the world. In the town of [[Randers]], you can experience {{marker|type=see|url=https://www.regnskoven.dk/|name=a jungle zoo|wikidata=Q955173}}, and in the town of [[Grenå]] on the coast, you can swim with seals at the {{marker|type=see|url=https://www.kattegatcentret.dk/|name=Kattegatcentret|wikidata=Q12321595}} aquarium. Last, but not least, the {{marker|type=see|url=http://djurssommerland.dk/|name=Djurs Sommerland|wikidata=Q593464}} amusement park is a very popular summer attraction, presenting the largest rollercoaster in Northern Europe. It is a fun 1-day jaunt from Aarhus for the whole family. ===Søhøjlandet=== Søhøjlandet, the "lake-highlands", is a scenic region of forests, hills and lakes west and south of Aarhus that's historically important as the birthplace of the Danish national state and home to several medieval religious orders. The town of '''[[Silkeborg]]''' is central to this area, sometimes referred to as the "outdoor capital of Denmark", and the whole region presents good opportunities for nature experiences in the summer, including hiking, biking, canoeing, and various outdoor activities. [[File:Hjejlen under Remstrup banebroer 2010-07.jpg|thumb|The old steamboat of 'Hjejlen', a longtime icon for Silkeborg and Søhøjlandet]] Visit Søhøjlandet as a one or two-day excursion from Aarhus, or book an extended stay in Silkeborg, at a local inn, hostel, or private bed & breakfast in this region. If you are ready for a long hike, the '''[https://www.visitaarhus.com/aarhus-region/plan-your-trip/hiking-route-aarhus-silkeborg-gdk1093269 Aarhus-Silkeborg hiking trail]''' leads all the way from the city centre of Aarhus to Silkeborg, through a varied rural landscape of waterways, woodlands, lakes, and meadows. In 2026, the extensive 175 kilometre long marked hiking trail of '''[https://oplevgudenaa.dk/aktivitet-kategori/gudenaastien/ Gudenåstien]''' was inaugurated, traversing the entire Gudenå River, which is central to the lake-highland landscape, nature, and history. {{marker|type=see|url=https://himmelbjerget.dk/|name=Himmelbjerget|wikidata=Q1619098}} is a popular destination, presenting beautiful nature, history, and panoramic vistas across extensive woodlands. The name translates as "The Sky Mountain", as it is among the highest points in Denmark. At just 147 metres above sea level, this doesn't say much, but the views from the red brick tower at the top are indeed worth the climb, nevertheless. In and around Silkeborg you'll find several impressive modern art museums, including {{marker|type=see|url=https://museumjorn.dk/|lat=56.161122 |long=9.558283 |name=Museum Jorn}} dedicated to the late Asger Jorn specifically, one of the most influential modern artists of Scandinavia, and an engaging aquarium park {{marker|type=see|url=https://visitaqua.dk/|lat=56.153577 |long=9.559454 |name=AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark}}, displaying native freshwater aquatic species tied to the lake-highlands. The small historic town of '''[[Skanderborg]]''' just south of Aarhus, was once the royal family's favorite hunting grounds, and home to an early important monastery of The Benedictine Order in Medieval times. Both the royal family and The Benedictine Order is long gone, but you can experience the rich religieous history of the region at the nearby {{marker|type=see|url=https://www.museumskanderborg.dk/%C3%B8m-kloster|name=Øm Abbey Museum|wikidata=Q1776356}}, and if you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of some festive Danish royalty at the annual '''[https://www.smukfest.dk/ Smukfest]''' music festival. The port town of '''[[Horsens]]''', on the southern perimeter of Søhøjlandet, is also worth a visit, both for its charming townscape and its cultural attractions, including the annually recurring {{marker|type=see|url=https://middelalderfestival.dk/en/|lat=55.875981 |long=9.836194 |name=Horsens Medieval Festival}}. === Islands === [[File:Tunø.16.jpg|thumb|Tunø, one of two islands close to Aarhus]] * {{marker|type=see|name=[[Samsø]]|wikidata=Q216422}} is clearly visible from Aarhus across the bay, and is accessible by ferry directly from the city center. The small catamaran ferry (no vehicles except bicycles), ''[https://www.tilsamsoe.dk/ M/F Lilleør]'', docks behind the Dokk1 library. The pace slows on this pastoral island powered entirely by renewable energy. Plenty of sandy beaches, camping, horseback riding, golf and fine dining on offer. Popular music festival in the midst of July. * {{marker|type=see|url=https://tunø.dk/|name=Tunø|wikidata=Q48706}} is a small island close to Samsø, and a perfect destination for a weekend trip in the summer. The route to Tunø is a bit more complicated, as you will have to go to the rural town of Hou south of Aarhus, to take the one-hour ''[https://tunoefaergen.odder.dk/ Tunøfærgen]'' ferry. There is a primitive campsite next to the harbour and child-friendly sandy beaches abound. Good opportunities for surf fishing as well. It is a beautiful, slow-paced island where most of the residents are farmers. There is a small central village with a grocery shop and apart from bringing your own tent to the beachside camping grounds, you can pay more and stay in a small town house in the village, at the old inn, or rent a summerhouse for an extended stay. Bring your own bicycles or just your good old legs; cars are not allowed on this island. ===Further afield=== Larger towns in Jutland of interest to tourists, and within easy reach from Aarhus, include: *'''[[Aalborg]]''', the only large city in [[North Jutland]], and home to the eponymous '''University of Aalborg'''. Experience the old historic center, as well as several cultural sights. A lively young student culture, and a lovely night life. Go to '''Jomfru Ane Gade''', the longest bar street in Scandinavia, if you are looking for some nice partying. * '''[[Vejle]]''', [[South Jutland]]'s regional capital, boasts a range of history and art museums as well as '''Trekantsområdets Festuge''', a 10-day regional cultural festival akin to Aarhus Festuge. *'''[[Viborg]]''' is - like Aarhus - an old Cathedral town with an interesting townscape full of history, quirky alleyways and summertime street life. It is a work-hard, play-hard town, home of one of Denmark's most popular and dominant football teams. Viborg has been administrative capital of the entire ''Region Midtjylland'' (Central Denmark Region) since 2007. '''[[Odense]]''', Denmark's third-largest city, after Aarhus, is located on the island of [[Funen]] and also a great base for tourists in its own right. It is also a university city, but is perhaps most famous abroad as the birthplace of fairy-tale fabulist Hans Christian Andersen, and it plays that connection to the hilt for the benefit of tourists: the house he grew up in is now a museum. Little Mermaid statues dot the town liberally, and there are parades and monuments in his honor. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E45.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Aalborg]] | minorl1=[[Randers]] | directionr1=S | majorr1=[[Hamburg]] | minorr1=[[Skanderborg]] }} {{geo|56.15|10.217}} {{guidecity}} {{IsPartOf|East Jutland}} sof4g11q3hdna8qdwslire87bl6542b 0 105 5298510 5298340 2026-06-25T22:21:08Z AlasdairW 1812 /* By bus */ fix link 5298510 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Abingdon Wikivoyage Banner.jpg}} '''Abingdon-on-Thames''' is in [[Oxfordshire]] on the River Thames about 7 miles south of [[Oxford]]. It is a busy market town with a good choice of shops, pubs and restaurants. It sits aside the River Thames and having an attractive County Hall. == Understand == [[File:Thames at Abingdon - geograph.org.uk - 405657.jpg|thumb|300px|St Helen's Church and the River Thames at Abingdon]] Abingdon was the county town of Berkshire until 1870, and became part of Oxfordshire when local government was re-organised in 1974. It was the home of MG motor cars which used to be built at the MG Works, which is now a business centre. However, Jerome K Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' described Abingdon as a 'dull market town'. Each year the centre of the town is closed off (twice) for two fairs. The '''Michaelmas Fair''' takes place early each Oct (legally the last Monday & Tuesday before 11 Oct). Ock Street, High Street and the Market Place are closed off and the fair is thought to be the longest street fair in Europe. In medieval times the fair was intended as a hiring fair for farm workers, these days it's rides, Ferris wheels, and more traditional fairground rides and stalls. Then follows the unusual tradition a week or so later of the '''Runaway Fair'''. A smaller fair, the history of the Runaway Fair was that it provided an opportunity for those who were hired by cruel masters or found poor working conditions from the earlier Michaelmas Fair could "runaway" and find better employment before the winter. The town has a unique historic tradition of '''Bun Throwing''' dating back over 400 years. In practice it is a bit of a cross between a ceremony and a "bun fight". Held when the Town Council votes to hold one and generally to celebrate a royal occasion. One was held to celebrate the 2011 Royal Wedding, and another in 2012 to mark the Royal Jubilee. Councillors in full ceremonial robes chuck around 4000 currant buns from the top of County Hall down at the chanting crowds filling the market place below. The buns are specially baked for the occasion with a crown design on the top. The buns are often fought for and preserved by local families and visitors. If your visit happens to be at the same time as a royal occasion check the [http://www.abingdon.gov.uk Town Council Website] in case such a rare ceremony has been scheduled. ===Visitor information === * {{listing | name= Abingdon Visitor Information Centre| alt= | url=https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/town-council/visitor-information-centre | email= | address=Roysse Court Offices, Bridge Street, OX14 3HU | lat= | long= | directions=through the blue door in the corner next to the small green and floral displays | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Monday to Friday 10AM-4PM, Saturday at Abingdon Museum | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-04-07 | content= }} ==Get in== === By road === The town lies on the A34 main road (running [[Winchester (England)|Winchester]] to [[Salford]] via [[Birmingham (England)|Birmingham]]). 17 miles south of the town the A34 connects to the M4 motorway ([[London]] to [[Swansea]]) and 18 miles north of the town the A34 connects to the M40 motorway ([[London]] to [[Birmingham (England)|Birmingham]]) === By rail === The nearest station is Radley, however, trains run more frequently to [[Oxford]]. Both options require a bus connection to reach Abingdon town centre. * {{go | name=Radley train station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=51.686 | long=-1.24 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4386081 | lastedit=2023-12-06 | content=On the Cherwell Valley Line from Banbury to Didcot Parkway via: Kings Sutton, Heyford, Tackley, Oxford, Culham and Appleford. There are also connections to [[Worcester (England)|Worcester]] and [[Bicester]]. }} * {{go | name=Oxford train station | alt= | url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/OXF.aspx | email= | address= | lat=51.7534 | long=-1.2703 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1880536 | lastedit=2023-12-06 | content= }} === By bus === The town has many bus services connecting it to [[Oxford]], [[Didcot]] and surrounding villages. Details of which bus services stop at which bus stops in the town are published by [https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk Oxfordshire Council] with bus service and route information at [https://oxontime.com/home OxonTime]. === By boat === * By [http://www.salterssteamers.co.uk Salter's Steamers] which sail daily from Folly Bridge in [[Oxford]] from May to Sep. === By bicycle === * {{go | name=National Cycle Route (NCR) 5 | alt= | url=https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-5/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=National Cycle Route 5 | wikidata=Q6972062 | lastedit=2017-06-19 | content=Runs from [[Reading (England)|Reading]] to [[Holyhead]] through Abingdon. Along its route NCR 5 connects to other National and Regional Cycle Routes integrating it into the National Cycle Network. }} * {{go | name=Hanson Way | alt= | url=https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/hanson-way/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-06-19 | content=Runs through the town, from [[Oxford]] (9 miles) to the N and [[Didcot]] (15 miles) to the S (see [https://www.walkandcycle.co.uk/oxfordshire/Trails/00-49/OXFOTR0017.pdf Sustrans leaflet for route details]). }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe|51.6718|-1.2821|zoom=13|height=400|width=|layer=M|staticmap=|align=}} The town is small enough to be seen on foot. ==See== [[File:Abbey Ruins, Abingdon - geograph.org.uk - 14267.jpg|thumb|Abbey Ruins]] [[File:Abingdon Abbey, geograph.jpg|thumb|Abingdon Abbey]] * {{see | name=Abingdon County Hall Museum | alt= | url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/abingdon-county-hall-museum/ | email= | address=Market Place, OX14 3HG | lat=51.670918 | long=-1.278387 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 523703 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10AM-4PM | price=Free entry to museum, prices for access to the roof are: adults £2.00, children £0.50, concessions £1.00 | wikipedia=Abingdon County Hall Museum | image=DSCN3060-abingdon-market-hall.JPG | wikidata=Q4667824 | content= }} * {{see | name=Abingdon Abbey | alt= | url=http://www.abingdon.gov.uk/places-visit/visit-abbey-buildings | email= | address= | lat=51.6706 | long=-1.27528 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Abingdon Abbey | image=Abingdon Abbey, geograph.jpg | wikidata=Q2820496 | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=Benedictine monastery also known as St Mary's Abbey. Of the original Abbey complex, today only Abbey Gateway, the part of the Guildhall, and buildings beside the Millstream (the Long Gallery, the Checker, and what is now the Unicorn Theatre) survive. The Abbey Church no longer exists other than some archways in ruins that are a folly built in the 1920s. }} * {{see | name=Pendon Museum | alt=Scale Model Museum | url=https://www.pendonmuseum.com | email=info@pendonmuseum.com | address=Long Wittenham, Abingdon. OX14 4QD | lat=51.6377 | long=-1.21822 | directions=6 miles E of the town | phone=+44 1865 407365 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pendon Museum | image=Pendon's White Horse Hill.JPG | wikidata=Q15265866 | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Michaelmas & Runaway Fairs | alt= | url=http://abingdon.gov.uk/town-council-services/fairs | email= | address=Market Place & Ock St | lat=51.6700 | long=-1.2857 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Michaelmas: last Monday & Tuesday before 11 Oct each year midnight-10PM. Runaway: 1 week later | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{do | name=Stonehill Riding School | alt= | url=https://en-gb.facebook.com/StonehillRidingSchool/ | email= | address=Stonehill Cottage, Stonehill, Drayton, OX14 4AA | lat=51.6566 | long=-1.2984 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 529915 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{do | name=Drayton Park Golf Club | alt= | url=http://www.draytonparkgolfclubabingdon.co.uk | email= | address=Steventon Rd, Drayton, OX14 4LA | lat=51.6360 | long=-1.3140 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 528989 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{do | name=Abingdon Waterways Walk | alt=8 mile circular walk | url=http://www.abingdon.gov.uk/heritage-walks/abingdon-waterways-walk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£2 | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=An illustrated book contains describes about the places you pass on the way and maps to make the route easy. Available from Mostly Books or The Bookstore in the town. }} === Boating === * {{do | name=Abingdon Bridge Marine | alt=Day Boat Hire on River Thames | url=http://www.abingdonbridgemarine.co.uk | email=info@abingdonbridgemarine.co.uk | address=The Bridge off Bridge St, Abingdon, OX14 3HX | lat=51.6685 | long=-1.2796 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 521125 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Rowing boat: £20 per hr to £100 per day. 6 person motor boat: £35 per hr to £175 per day. Other boats and prices available. | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=Rowing boats & various sizes of day motor boats }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Mostly Books | alt= | url=http://www.mostly-books.co.uk/index.html | email= | address=36 Stert Street, OX14 3JP | lat=51.671331 | long=-1.281683 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 525880 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-5PM | price= | content=Small, friendly, independent bookshop which won ''Bookshop of the Year'' award in 2008. }} * {{buy | name=The Bookstore | alt= | url=http://www.abingdonbookstore.co.uk | email= | address=14 Bury St, Abingdon, OX14 3QT | lat=51.67102 | long=-1.28289 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 539200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-5:30PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} === Supermarkets === * {{buy | name=Waitrose | alt=Supermarket | url=http://www.waitrose.com/bf_home/bf/211.html | email= | address=Abbey Close, Abingdon, OX14 3HL | lat=51.67189 | long=-1.27959 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 535003 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 7:30AM-9PM; Sa 7:30AM-8PM; Su 10AM-4PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{buy | name=Tesco | alt=Superstore/supermarket | url=https://www.tesco.com/store-locator/uk/?bID=2008 | email= | address=Marcham Rd Abingdon Oxfordshire OX14 1TU | lat=51.66703 | long=-1.30887 | directions=By A34 junction for Abingdon | phone=+44 345 677 8994 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 6AM-midnight; Tu-Sa 24 hr; Su 10AM-4PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=Petrol station (different hours). Pharmacy (different hours). ATMs. Wi-Fi. }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Ock Mill Beefeater | alt= | url=http://www.beefeater.co.uk/steak-restaurant/oxford/Ock-Mill-Abingdon.html | email= | address=Marcham Road, OX14 1AD | lat=51.669501 | long=-1.298689 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 554148 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=Spice Valley | alt= | url=http://www.spicevalleyabingdon.com/ | email= | address=21-27 Ock Street, OX14 5AJ | lat=51.670237 | long=-1.285621 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Indian restaurant }} * {{eat | name=The Boundary House | alt= | url=http://www.gkmeetandeat.co.uk/locations/boundary-house-abingdon | email= | address=69 Oxford Road, OX14 2AA | lat=51.681896 | long=-1.273084 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=Hugomangos | alt=Thai restaurant | url=https://hugomangos.co.uk/ | email= | address=12 Ock Street, Abingdon, OX14 5BZ | lat=51.67008 | long=-1.28483 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 531115 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-06-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Dil Raj | alt= | url=http://www.dilrajabingdon.co.uk | email=info@dilrajabingdon.co.uk | address=6 Ock Street, Abingdon., OX14 5AW | lat=51.67011 | long=-1.28440 | directions= | phone=+44 235 553305 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily noon-2:30PM, 6-11:30PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{eat | name=White Hart | alt= | url=https://www.whitehart-fyfield.com/ | email= | address=Main Road, Fyfield OX13 5LW | lat=51.686 | long=-1.388 | directions=Off A420 | phone=+44 1865 390585 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su noon-11PM | price= | lastedit=2020-07-12 | content=Excellent food in a 15th-century country gastropub. }} == Drink == * {{drink | name=The Kings Head & Bell | alt= | url=http://www.kingsheadandbell-abingdon.com | email= | address=10 East St Helens St, Abingdon, OX14 5EA | lat=51.66951 | long=-1.28183 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 525362 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-W noon-11PM; Th noon-11:30PM; F Sa noon-12:30AM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{drink | name=The Old Anchor | alt= | url=http://oldanchorinn.co.uk | email= | address=1 St Helens Wharf, Abingdon, OX14 5EN | lat=51.66669 | long=-1.28362 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 412669 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily noon-late | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{drink | name=The Brewery Tap | alt= | url=http://www.thebrewerytap.net | email=thebrewerytap@gmail.com | address=40-42 Ock St, Abingdon, OX14 5BZ | lat=51.66928 | long=-1.29336 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 521655 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 11AM-11:30PM; F Sa 11AM-1AM; Su noon-11PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) regional champion. Food (different hours). }} * {{drink | name=The Spread Eagle | alt= | url=http://www.thespreadeagle.org.uk | email=nicatthespreadeagle@gmail.com | address=20 Northcourt Rd, Abingdon, OX14 1PL | lat=51.68163 | long=-1.27719 | directions=1½ miles from town centre | phone=+44 1235 521594 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 11AM-11:30PM; F 11AM-midnight; Sa Su 11AM-11:30PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Throwing Buns | alt= | url=http://throwingbuns.com | email= | address=8 Market Place, Abingdon, OX14 3HG | lat=51.66994 | long=-1.28175 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 533656 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 8:30AM-5PM; Su 9AM-4PM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=Named after the Abingdon historic tradition of throwing fruit buns from County Hall, }} * {{drink | name=The North Star | alt= | url=https://website-23712234800294207144-pub.business.site/ | email= | address=2 Stocks Lane, Steventon OX13 6SG | lat=51.6231 | long=-1.3256 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Th 5-10PM, F 3-10PM, Sa Su noon-10PM | price= | lastedit=2022-06-15 | content=Delightful old village pub. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Crown & Thistle Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.crownandthistleabingdon.co.uk/ | email= | address=18 Bridge St, OX14 3HS | lat=51.669586 | long=-1.280497 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 522556 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Oxford Abingdon Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.oxfordabingdonhotel.co.uk/ | email=abingdon@four-pillars.co.uk | address=Marcham Road | lat=51.668789 | long=-1.304644 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 553456 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=3PM | checkout=11AM | price=£38-110 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Abodes of Oxford B&B | alt= | url=http://www.abodesofoxford.com | email=info@abodesuk.com | address=6 Blackman Close, Kennington, OX1 5NU | lat=51.720196 | long=-1.246734 | directions=in Kennington, 4 miles north of Abingdon | phone=+44 1865 435229 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Rowan Guest House | alt= | url=http://www.rowenguesthouse.com | email=rowenguesthouse@googlemail.com | address=42A Oxford Rd, Abingdon, OX14 2DZ | lat=51.6767 | long=-1.2767 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 522066 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=4AM-8:30AM | checkout= 10AM | price= | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=Free Wi-Fi. Free on-site parking. }} * {{sleep | name=S Howard B&B | alt= | url=http://www.abingdonbedandbreakfast.com | email=info@abingdonbedandbreakfast.com | address=22 East St Helen St, Abingdon, OX14 5EB | lat=51.6683 | long=-1.2823 | directions= | phone=+44 1235 550979 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=£45 single, £65 double. Lower rates for longer stays. | lastedit=2017-05-02 | content=Breakfast £10 per person. No breakfast at weekends (but use of shared kitchen). }} * {{sleep | name=B&B Rafters | alt= | url=https://bnb-rafters.co.uk/ | email= | address=Abingdon Rd, Marcham OX13 6NU | lat=51.667 | long=-1.338 | directions= | phone=+44 1865 391298 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £80 | lastedit=2020-08-01 | content=Stylish B&B with four rooms in Marcham village. No children under 12 or dogs. }} ==Go next== * [[Sutton Courtenay]], about 2 miles south of Abingdon, where the author George Orwell (Eric Blair) is buried. *[[Didcot]] *[[Sandford-on-Thames]] {{routebox | image1=UK_road_A34.svg | imagesize1=40 | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Oxford]] | minorl1= | directionr1=S | majorr1=[[Southampton]] | minorr1=[[Didcot]] }} {{isPartOf|Oxfordshire}} {{usablecity}} {{geo|51.666|-1.282|zoom=13}} eljpz2uxgnquwhfu7n5hxrwsxp1b75s 0 325 5298441 5293956 2026-06-25T14:45:57Z Shan Explorer 2426406 /* Do */ Added listing for Sublime Taj 5298441 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Agra banner Taj Mahal.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Agra''' (Hindi: आगरा ''Āgrā'', Urdu: آگرہ ''Āgrā'') is a city around 200&nbsp;km from [[Delhi]], in the north [[India]]n state of [[Uttar Pradesh]]. It is home to two {{unesco}}s: the '''Taj Mahal''' and the '''Agra Fort'''. There are also many other buildings and tombs from Agra's days of glory as the capital of the [[Mughal Empire]], as well as the abandoned city of '''[[Fatehpur Sikri]]''' outside town, itself a World Heritage Site. Besides these three World Heritage Sites, the city has little else to recommend it. Similar to Delhi, pollution is rampant in Agra, especially smog and litter. Visitors are pestered by swarms of touts and hawkers at every monument, besides the inner Taj Mahal which, once you are in, is free of scams and touts. The sites are some of the wonders of the world, and no trip to India is complete without at least one visit to the Taj. For the vast majority of visitors, a single day in Agra is more than enough. ==Understand== [[File:Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh 3.jpg|thumb|300px|The Taj Mahal as seen from Mehtab Bagh, across the Yamuna River.]] ===Name=== While the heyday of Agra (ahg-rah) was as the capital of the [[Mughal Empire]] between 1526 and 1658, the city was founded much earlier. There has been much debate regarding the origin of the city's name. The most commonly-held theory is that it comes from the Hindi-Urdu word ''agar'' (अगर), meaning "salt pan", referring to the region's brackish soil; salt was once made in the area by evaporation. Others derive it from the ancient epic, the Mahabharata, claiming that the name comes from Sanskrit ''agravana'' (अग्रवन), meaning "grove forest", indicating the first of the many small forests where Krishna frolicked with the gopis of Vrindavan. In the Mughal era, Agra was also known as '''Akbarabad''', which was given by emperor Shah Jahan to honour his grandfather Akbar. ===History=== The recorded history of Agra begins around the 11th century, and over the next 500 years, the city changed hands between various kings, both Hindu and Muslim. In 1506, Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, moved his capital from Delhi to Agra. His son Ibrahim Lodi was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, as he was defeated in 1526 by Babur, the first Mughal ruler, in the battle of [[Panipat]]. Agra fell too, and became the capital of the Mughals, whose rule over Agra was uninterrupted except for a brief period between 1540 and 1556. In 1540, Sher Shah Suri overthrew Humayun and became the ruler of much of North India, including Agra. After Sher Shah Suri's death, his descendants proved unequal to the task of ruling the kingdom, and Hemu, a Hindu general of Suri, became the effective ruler who would later crown himself King Hemachandra Vikramaditya just as the kingdom was facing an assault from the reinvigorated Mughals. In 1556, Hemu was defeated and killed in the second battle of Panipat, and the Mughals regained Agra. Mughals were great builders. Babur built the '''Aram Bagh''' (garden of relaxation) modelled after the garden of paradise, where he was eventually buried after his death. His grandson Akbar refurbished the '''Agra Fort''' and built the '''Fatehpur Sikri''', an entire city just on the outskirts of Agra. Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan would give Agra its most famous monument, the '''Taj Mahal''', which is the mausoleum of his beloved wife, '''Mumtaz Mahal'''. The Taj is constructed in white marble. It took 20 years to construct, and it is now universally known as a monument to love. Legend has it that Shah Jahan wanted a replica of the Taj constructed in black marble that would be his final resting place. There is no support for this theory, but even if it were true, it would have been unlikely to be undertaken. His son Aurangzeb was austere and pious, and had no time or inclination for the ostentation of his forefathers, preferring to spend his money on wars in South India. In any case, even during Shah Jahan's reign, which was the period when the Mughal empire was at its height, the construction of the Taj put a strain on the resources of the empire and caused a mini-famine around Agra. Shah Jahan was eventually buried in the white Taj, next to his beloved Begum. Shah Jahan, in addition to giving Agra its greatest claim to fame, was also responsible for beginning its decline, as he decided to shift his capital to Shahjahanabad, which is now known as [[Old Delhi]], in 1658. Though Aurangzeb ordered a move back, this too was short-lived, as he moved his headquarters down south to [[Aurangabad]] (present-day Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) to focus on his wars. Agra declined, and so did the Mughal Empire. The city was eventually captured by the Marathas, who renamed it Agra. In 1803, it came under the British, who situated the Agra Presidency there, and when India gained independence, the city was incorporated into the state of Uttar Pradesh, and did not gain even the limited honour of being the state's capital, that distinction going to [[Lucknow]], further east. It is now a tourist town, known for the Taj and a couple of other monuments. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Agra |7.4 |22.2 |12.5 |10.4 |26.2 |10.8 |14.2 |32.1 |8.3 |20.0 |38.4 |8.5 |24.4 |41.9 |21.4 |25.5 |41.1 |46.4 |24.7 |36.0 |245.8 |23.9 |33.1 |198.6 |23.5 |34.2 |110.8 |18.7 |34.7 |24.7 |13.2 |29.2 |2.5 |8.1 |23.7 |3.2 |float=right |clear=right |source=IMD |description= }} The climate is similar to, but not identical, to the one of [[Delhi]]. Similar to Delhi, Agra is also notorious for their thick winter fog, which reduces visibility to almost zero. On the other hand, the city becomes scorchingly hot during late spring and early summer. ===Read=== * ''Beneath a Marble Sky'' by John Shors. A novel based on the remarkable story behind the Taj Mahal. It is an international bestseller and is being made into a film by Hollywood. * ''The Taj'' by Colin De Silva. ===Local information=== Official websites: * [https://agra.nic.in/ Agra District] ==Get in== [[File:Agra 03-2016 16 Agra Fort.jpg|thumb|300px|The walls of the Agra Fort]] Agra is 200&nbsp;km southeast of Delhi and is one of the points of the tourist's [[The Golden_Triangle (India)|Golden Triangle]] of Agra-[[Delhi]]-[[Jaipur]]. Agra is also very well connected via rail and road with other nearby cities and tourist destinations, and thus suitable for a day trip from Delhi or as a part of a larger itinerary. ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Agra Airport | alt={{IATA|AGR}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.1575 | long=77.960833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Agra Airport | wikidata=Q1849321 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=Small domestic airport with direct flights from [[Bangalore]], [[Hyderabad]] and [[Navi Mumbai]]. }} Delhi ({{IATA|DEL}}, {{IATA|HDO}} and {{IATA|DXN}}) is the nearest major hub with direct flights from more destinations. ===By train=== {{cautionbox|As a part of the "Golden Triangle", the station is a massive tourist hub - so there are many quite aggressive tuk tuk/taxi drivers waiting outside, that will insist you go with them. They can take advantage of you not knowing the fair price of a ride. It is better to walk 50 meters away east of the main entrance, stand near the start of Mall Road and order a Rapido/Uber tuk tuk/taxi.}} Agra is on the main railway line between the [[Delhi]]–[[Mumbai]] and [[Delhi]]–[[Chennai]] routes, and many trains connect Agra with these cities every day. Some east-bound trains from Delhi also travel via Agra, so direct connections to points in Eastern India (including [[Kolkata]]) are also available. There are close to 20 trains to Delhi every day, and at least three or four to Mumbai and to Chennai. In late December and early January (the fog season), because of the reduced visibility, all trains slow down and travel time goes up. The Bhopal Shatabdi, for example, may arrive in Agra well after 10AM, and might return to Delhi well after midnight. From a safety point of view, it is always preferable to travel by train during the winter. ''If you travel during the high season, you must book your tickets a few days to a few weeks in advance if you wish to make it a day trip'', i.e. travelling early in the morning and coming back at a reasonable time at night. Train tickets can be booked online through the Indian Railways website, paying by debit or credit cards, although those issued by foreign banks are often declined. For more information on how to book tickets online, visit the article [[Rail travel in India]]. There are several railway stations in Agra, but tourists only need to be concerned about Agra Cantonment, Agra Fort and Idgah stations as almost all mainline trains call here. ====Agra Cantonment==== [[File:Agra Cantonment railway station - Visit During WCI 2016 (2).jpg|thumb|Agra Cantonment]] * {{go | name={{station|Agra Cantonment|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: AGC | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3634740 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Main station and lies southwest of the Taj and the Fort, both of which are a short ride from the station by car or rickshaw. Exiting from any of the gates at Platform 1, you will find an auto stand, and you may catch an auto-rickshaw if you walk a short way from the station, although the drivers may not speak English. There is a prepaid taxi stand right outside that charges a flat rate to any hotel in the city. The station has a food court that also sells cheap, hygienic takeaway snacks such as sandwiches and samosas. If you keep going and cross the road, you will find a bus terminal from where you can take a bus to the Taj Mahal. However, keep in mind that the bus service is unreliable, and the frequency may not be high. You can also hire government tours on air-conditioned luxury coaches run by UPTDC. }} ====Agra Fort==== * {{go | name={{station|Agra Fort|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: AF | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=near Agra Fort | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4693674 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Infrequently serviced by the interstate express trains. The station serves trains to the east ([[Kanpur]], [[Gorakhpur]], [[Howrah]]), as well as [[Jaipur]] to the west, some of which also stop at Agra Cantt. This is one of the historical railway stations of Agra because there was a spacious, octagonal Tripolia Chowk which existed between the Jama Masjid and the Delhi gate of the Agra Fort. This Tripolia was destroyed in order to create the railway station, which was also the first railway station of Agra and one of the oldest in the country. }} ====Other stations==== * {{go | name={{station|Idgah|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: IDH | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.172650 | long=77.997807 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Idgah railway station | wikidata=Q5988564 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=An alternative to Agra Fort. }} * {{go | name={{station|Raja ki Mandi|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: RKM | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=at the middle of the city | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q15271403 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A small station. Some of the trains serving Agra Cantt also stop here. It has a laid-back and lazy atmosphere, but springs into life at the arrival of Intercity trains and the Taj Express trains. }} * {{go | name={{station|Agra City|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station: AGA | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q25548855 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A relic of the metre gauge era, this station is not particularly useful, despite sounding like the city's main station. }} ====Services==== * '''Delhi to Agra''' — Close to 20 trains connect [[Delhi]] and Agra each day with journey times varying from 2-5 hr. The best options include the ''Rani Kamalapati Vande Bharat Express'' (fastest), ''Rani Kamalapati Shatabdi Express'' (departs New Delhi at 6:15AM arriving Agra Cantt at 8:12AM; departs Agra Cantt at 8:30PM arriving New Delhi at 10:30PM, daily except Friday; meal and water included in air-con carriage) and the ''Taj Express'' (departs Hazrat Nizamuddin at 7:15AM arriving Agra Cantt at 10:07AM; departs Agra Cantt at 6:55PM arriving Hazrat Nizamuddin at 10PM, daily). * '''Agra to Jaipur''' - The journey to Jaipur (station code: JP) takes around 4 hr by train no. 2988 which leaves Agra Fort at 6:25PM and reaches Jaipur at around 10:20PM. Also train number 2965 from Agra Cantonment to Jaipur at 5:40PM. The train arrives at 10:15PM. ₹300 air-con carriage. * The '''Luxury train''' — ''[[Palace on Wheels]]'' stops at Agra on its 8-day round trip of tourist destinations in [[Rajasthan]] and Agra. ===By bus=== [[File:Catholic Cemetery Agra 4.jpg|thumb|Red Taj, tomb of William Hessing at Roman Catholic Cemetery]] There are several buses to Agra originating from [[Jaipur]], [[Delhi]], [[Ajmer]], [[Lucknow]] etc. The highways between Delhi and Agra have tolls, so most buses do not take it. Rather, they take the local roads, which makes the trip significantly longer than the express trains (4-5 hr). It is possible to make it by bus and minibus to Agra by the smaller roads, however you must ask around where the buses to Agra depart from, preferably from a trusted local or the staff at your hotel or hostel. Indian bus stations are, most of the time, either large pavement areas situated under flyovers, very crowded and without no further indications of which bus goes where or stands of private bus companies, which will offer a more comfortable trip at a higher price. This option is for those who feel adventurous, as your journey can be halted by a sudden breakdown of the bus or a road closure due to a local protest or other form of gathering. Note that this is by far the cheapest way to get to Agra, as it should not cost more than ₹60 for the normal "bus" and ₹200 for a more coach-type bus. If you wish to travel with these government-run buses, '''you must insist to your rickshaw driver that they get you there'''. If you only ask for the buses to Delhi, they will probably take you to a private bus company, from which they get a cut. It will be slightly more expensive for you, and these buses tend to stop at random places and drop you at random places as well, as these buses are not direct. ====Stations==== There are two interstate bus stands: * {{go | name=Idgah Bus Stand | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.165970 | long=77.995510 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Idgah Bus Stand | wikidata=Q5988557 | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=The primary bus stand for travelling towards Rajasthan/Madhya Pradesh, in the heart of the city, 8&nbsp;km from the Taj. }} * {{go | name=ISBT | alt= | url= | email= | address=Transport Nagar | lat= | long= | directions=12&nbsp;km from the Taj | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=Most of the buses pass through here, except for buses originating from Idgah Bus Stand and going towards Rajasthan. }} ===By taxi=== You can either book a taxi from the hotel or book one directly outside the railway station. There is usually a government-authorised taxi stand; however, it may be hard to find, and the locals present at the station (looking for gullible tourists) will not help you find it. ₹1500/day for 8&nbsp;hours. It may be more costly to book through a hotel as hotels do have their in fares. It is better to negotiate with the driver directly or book through an online car rental portal. ===By car=== * '''From [[Delhi]]''': ** '''Yamuna Expressway''' &mdash; Connects the 210 km distance from [[Greater Noida]] to Agra. The drive is typically 3.5 hours. The highway has a toll. ** '''NH 44''' &mdash; The primary access to the highway is along Mathura Road in Delhi but, if coming from South Delhi or IGI Airport, it is easier to take Aurobindo Marg (Mehrauli Road) and then work up to NH 44 via Tughlakabad. While the highway is divided, it is important to keep an eye out for trucks, cars, and bullock carts heading the wrong way. ** In both cases, it is possible to hire a car with a driver (a big car for five persons from/to the Delhi airport costs ₹3500). Moreover, both online and offline options are available for tourists. But beware, if you need to get from Agra to the airport in order to catch a flight, ensure you have plenty of time for the trip, as traffic conditions may increase the drive time significantly. Also, it is wise to know your driver. There are situations when he may take over five hours to cover the distance, and you cannot force him to drive any faster than an auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk). * '''From [[Jaipur]]''': National Highway 11, a four-lane divided highway, connects Agra with Jaipur via the bird sanctuary town of [[Bharatpur]] & [[Fatehpur Sikri]]. The distance of around 255&nbsp;km can be covered in around 4 hours. * '''From [[Lucknow]]''': The '''Agra-Lucknow Expressway''' connects the 302 km distance from the state capital Lucknow to Agra. The drive is very smooth and takes 3 hours. It is a tolled highway. * '''From [[Kanpur]]''': '''NH 19''' continues to Kanpur (285&nbsp;km, 5&nbsp;hours) and from there to points east ending in [[Kolkata]]. * '''From [[Gwalior]]''': A distance of around 120&nbsp;km, takes around 1.5&nbsp;hours on the Agra-Mumbai Highway. ===By bicycle=== Agra is connected to [[Etawah]] by a {{km|207}} long bicycle path. ==Get around== {{mapframe|27.183|78|width=450|height=450|zoom=12}} {{mapshapes|Q24088780}}<!-- metro --> {{mapshape|wikidata=Q12414837}} Metro, electric buses, tongas (horse-drawn carriages) and e-rickshaws are readily available and the best way to get to the Taj Mahal. As polluting vehicles are banned around the Taj, you need to use a tonga or an electric auto while travelling in the vicinity. Camels are also available. ===By metro=== [[File:Fatehbad Road Metro 4.jpg|thumb|Agra Metro]] The Yellow Line ({{rint|agra|yellow}}) of the '''Agra Metro''' conveniently connects the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal with the Agra Fort. Tickets are ₹30 and trains run from 6AM to 10PM. ===By rickshaw=== Auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are available everywhere. Remember to agree on fares clearly in advance. Foreigners should bargain everywhere and bargain hard. Generally, things are available at 40% of the initially quoted fares. Normally, charges for e-rickshaws are ₹150-200 per e-rickshaw, which can accommodate up to 4 people. As a guide, an auto rickshaw from Agra Cantonment station to the Taj is about ₹200 (at least in off-season), and a cycle rickshaw from the Taj to Agra Fort is ₹40. ===By bus=== The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) operates some non-air-conditioned and air-conditioned buses, but they run only on specific routes. ===On foot=== The best way to experience the city is to take a walk on the Mall Road (Sadar). The street is full of handicraft and leather goods shops. You will also find plenty of food items quite unique to the city. You can also walk between the Taj and Agra Fort in about 30 minutes. ==See== Agra's top two sights by far are the incomparable '''Taj Mahal''' and '''Agra Fort'''. ===Taj Mahal=== [[File:Taj Mahal, Agra, India.jpg|thumb|300px|The Taj Mahal]] *{{see | name=Taj Mahal | alt=ताज महल / تاج محل ''Tāj Mahal'', literally the "Crown Palace" | url=https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/ | email= | address=Taj Ganj | lat=27.175000 | long=78.041944 | directions={{km|5}} from {{station|Agra Cantonment|city=india|ncr}}, metro: {{station|Taj Mahal|yellow}} for West Gate, {{station|Taj East Gate|yellow}} for East Gate | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Sunrise-sunset (6-7AM until 6-7:30PM, depending on time of year), closed F due to Jumu'ah, and during the [[Ramadan]]. Entry closes 30 minutes before sunset | price= | wikipedia=Taj Mahal | image=Taj Mahal (Edited).jpeg | wikidata=Q9141 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content= }} The '''Taj Mahal''', an immense mausoleum of white marble, is one of the most well-preserved and architecturally beautiful tombs in the world. Built between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, literally the "Ornament of the Palace", the Taj is one of the masterpieces of the Indo-Islamic architecture. It has a life of its own that leaps out of marble once you understand that it is a monument of love. The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore called it "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity", while the English poet Sir Edwin Arnold said it was "[n]ot a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones". There is an apocryphal tale that Shah Jahan planned to build an exact copy out of black marble on the opposite side of the Yamuna River. His plans were said to be foiled by his son, Aurangzeb, who murdered three of his elder brothers and then overthrew and imprisoned his father to acquire the throne. Shah Jahan is instead buried alongside his wife inside the Taj. Another urban legend is that the ruler chopped off the hands of the construction workers after building the Taj, so that they could not build another such mausoleum. However, there's no evidence to support this myth. Instead, he provided them accommodation and facilities for their wellbeing at the "Taj Ganj" in front of the complex. Although it is one of the most photographed edifices in the world and instantly recognisable, actually seeing it in person is awe-inspiring. Photos fall short of capturing the real beauty. The grounds of the complex include several other beautiful buildings, reflecting pools, and extensive ornamental gardens with flowering trees and bushes, and a small gift shop. The Taj framed by trees and reflected in a pool is amazing. Close up, large parts of the building are covered with inlaid stonework. Expect a queue to get into the grounds. There are three gates: The western gate is the main gate where most tourists enter. A large number of people visit on weekends and public holidays and entry through the western gate may take hours. The southern and eastern gates are much less busy and should be tried on such days. A government-issued photo ID, such as your passport, is sometimes requested to be shown to the security guards at the entrance. Once inside, expect long queues to enter the mausoleum. There are two queues depending on the type of ticket that you've purchased. At the base of the monument, turn to your right for general (Indian) entry and turn to your left for high-value (foreigner) tickets. The general queue can wrap around the building several times by the afternoon, whereas the foreigner queue is typically empty. Helpful guards can direct you if you get lost. Get there as early as possible to beat the crowds, and plan to visit the Taj at least two different times during the day (dusk and dawn are best) in order to experience the full effect of changing sunlight on the amazing building. The attractions inside the Taj complex include: * {{see | name=Charbagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.173174 | long=78.042194 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A Persian-style garden divided into four parts, which provides the foreground for the classic view of the Taj. The garden includes raised pathways that divide each quarter of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and the gateway, and a linear reflecting pool on the North-South axis reflect the Taj. Elsewhere the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains. The Charbagh is meant to symbolise the four flowing Rivers of Paradise. The raised marble water tank (hauz) is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, literally meaning and named after the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad in paradise where the faithful may quench their thirst upon arrival.<br />Some old images of the Taj had forested trees on both sides. However, at the end of the 19th century, British gardener A. E. P. Griessen, under the viceroy Lord Curzon, thinned out a lot of such trees, replanted the cypresses, and gave the garden a British touch. }} * {{see | name=Darwaza-i-Rauza | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.171500 | long=78.042200 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=The Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza), Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q123191284 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=The large gate that leads to the entrance of the Taj Mahal complex. The three entrances come together to enter the complex. Videography is allowed up to the red sandstone platform of the gate. }} * {{see | name=Naubat Khana | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.173163 | long=78.043597 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra-Taj Mahal-11d-Pavillon-2018-gje.jpg | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A two-storey drum house at the east, built of sandstone, and is capped with a white marble chhatris supported from 8 columns. }} * {{see | name=Taj Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.173153 | long=78.040631 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A museum hosted in a structure identical to the eastern Naubat Khana. }} * {{see | name=Mosque and Jawab | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.175017 | long=78.040689 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra 03-2016 08 Taj Mahal complex.jpg | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=Two identical buildings on either side of the platform. The Jawab, meaning "answer", was originally used as a place for entertaining and accommodation for important visitors, and is also known as "Mehman Khana", literally "Guest House". }} ====Tickets==== [[File:Agra 03-2016 05 Taj Mahal complex.jpg|thumb|250px|Darwaza-i Rauza, the large gate to the Taj Mahal complex]] Entry to the Taj Mahal complex costs ₹50 for Indians and ₹1100 for foreigners/NRI (Non-resident Indians). To get into the mausoleum, you must pay an additional ₹200 (March 2024). The ticket fee for foreigners includes a small bottle of water, and disposable shoe covers for entering the mausoleum. You may also enter the mausoleum barefoot, so consider refusing the disposable shoes covers and going in barefoot. There are shoe racks to keep your shoes just outside the mausoleum. You can buy tickets from 3 entrances: the south, east and west gates. The west gate (opens 6AM) is typically the busiest (you could be queueing for hours) but closest to the city. The south gate is less busy but opens later at 8AM. The East gate (opens 6AM) is the furthest from the city but also generally the least busy. The Indian government also provides online ticketing for the Taj Mahal at its [https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/ official website]. Entry tickets are valid for only '''3 hours'''. If you stay longer, you will be charged an extra fee at the exit gate. ====Night view==== There are night viewing of Taj Mahal sessions on the nights of a full moon and the two days before and after (so five days in total). Only hand-held cameras and binoculars are allowed for night viewing of the Taj Mahal. However, the night view is likely not worth it as the visitors are kept far from the Taj Mahal (nearly {{m|200}} away), and there is not sufficient light for viewing or photography. Tickets cost ₹510 for Indians and ₹750 for non-Indians; tickets can only be purchased online at Archeological Survey of India website and are usually sold out very quickly. Opening times: 9PM-midnight; attendance is split into 30-minutes slots, 50 visitors group for each slot. A visitor must arrive 30 min prior to viewing hours for a security check at the Taj Mahal ticket kiosk at the East Gate. ====Tour guides and audio guides==== Official guides are available for Agra for ₹1200 for a half day, including both the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. Ask at your agent for details. Any guide that charges less than that is probably an unlicensed tour. Most unlicensed touts have fake IDs and focus more on taking you shopping rather than on presenting accurate information. You can book a local government-approved guide by logging into the [www.tajtourguide.com Taj Tour Guide] website or online search. You can purchase a self-guided audio tour (allows two to a device) from near the ticketing booths. Cost is ₹100 in English and foreign languages and ₹60 for Indian languages. You can also consider downloading a free audio guide such as the CaptivaTour Travel Audio Guide, which has a reasonable free 45-minute audio guide for the Taj Mahal. ====Notes==== *Mosquito repellent is advisable in the warmer months. *Knives are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Tobacco, alcohol, chewing gum and food are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Avoid touching and scratching the walls and surfaces of the monument as these are old heritage sites that need special care. *Wheelchairs for disabled persons and first aid boxes are available at ASI office inside the Taj Mahal complex for a ₹1,000 refundable deposit. =====Clothing===== The Taj Mahal is a religious site. It is best to dress conservatively when visiting the Taj Mahal complex, not only because the Taj Mahal itself is a mausoleum, but also because there are mosques inside the Taj Mahal complex. Walking inside the Taj Mahal mausoleum in the shoe covers provided might be quite dangerous, as the marble floors are very slippery. =====Electronics===== *Headphones are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Bringing a keyboard from a tablet is forbidden. Moreover, the cloakroom at Taj Mahal may refuse to take the keyboard without a bag or a backpack, and also refuse to take the backpack with a tablet. *Mobile phones are allowed but must to be kept switched off. Mobile phones are banned for the night viewing of the Taj Mahal. =====Luggage===== Avoid carrying big bags and books as this will mean the guards will take longer to search through them. The guard may require you to check even medium-sized backpacks. Lockers are available at the gates to keep your belongings (of course, at your own risk). Memorise the number on your luggage ticket before you return it to the guard, who, incredibly, may proceed to tear it into tiny pieces, throw it away and then stare blankly at you as the other guard asks for your ticket. =====Photography===== *Photography is prohibited inside the main mausoleum. *Tripods are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Because the Taj is white, your camera may underexpose your photos. Overexposure by 1 or 2 stops is recommended. ===Agra Fort=== [[File:Agra Fort Palace.JPG|thumb|Entering the palace within Agra Fort]] * {{see | name=Agra Fort | alt=आगरा क़िला ''Āgrā Qilā'' | url=https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/agrafort.aspx | email= | address= | lat=27.179583 | long=78.021297 | directions=metro: {{station|Agra Fort|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q171857 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=It is similar in layout to the Red Fort in [[Delhi]], but considerably better preserved, as much of Delhi Fort was razed by the British after the Mutiny. As much a palace as a defensive structure, it is also constructed mainly from red sandstone and much white marble in the palace section of the fort. }} Emperor Akbar, king at 14, began consolidating his empire and, as an assertion of his power, built the fort in Agra between 1565 and 1571, at the same time as Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. The emperor added to the fort and ended up a prisoner in it. The fort has a beautiful view of its masterpiece, the Taj Mahal, on a clear day. You can get to the fort by rickshaw from the Taj Mahal for around ₹45-50. Entry to the Fort is ₹600 plus a levy of ₹50 if you have not already paid for the Taj Mahal. There are ''left luggage services'' at the Fort where you can store your bags at no cost. A fine of ₹5,000 applies if you lose your luggage ticket. Eating is not allowed. There are also audio guides available at the Fort, which you can rent for a cost of ₹100 in English and other foreign languages (German, French, Spanish) or ₹60 in Indian languages such as Hindi or Bengali. The Agra Fort buildings include: * {{see | name=Diwan-i-Am | alt=Hall of Public Audience | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178890 | long=78.023370 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra Fort, India (21001488178).jpg | wikidata=Q15648841 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=This building separates the outer court from the inner court and has a marble platform for the emperor's throne. }} * {{see | name=Diwan-i-Khas | alt=Hall of Private Audience | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179850 | long=78.020914 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra Fort - Diwan-e Khas.jpg | wikidata=Q97881912 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Built completely of marble, this is where the emperor received special visitors. }} * {{see | name=Jahangiri Mahal | alt=Jahangir's Palace | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.177889 | long=78.023000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jahangiri Mahal | image=Agra Fort 05 (Friar's Balsam Flickr).jpg | wikidata=Q3612475 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=The principal zenana (palace for women belonging to the royal household) of the Fort. It was built for the Hindu wives of Akbar, especially his chief wife Mariam-uz-Zamani, popularly known as "Jodha Bai". There is a huge bowl called Hauz-i-Jahangiri that is carved out of a single piece of stone. This was used as a container for fragrant rose water. }} * {{see | name=Mina Masjid | alt=Heavenly Mosque | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178722 | long=78.023139 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mina Mosque | image=Agra Fort 20180908 143411.jpg | wikidata=Q16933896 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A mosque built, entirely of white marble, by Shah Jahan for his personal use. It is enclosed and secured on all sides by high walls, and has a small open court in front of the three-arched prayer-chamber. There is no ornamentation and is simple. }} * {{see | name=Moti Masjid | alt=Pearl Mosque | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.180340 | long=78.021690 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Moti Masjid (Agra Fort) | image=Agra-Fort-38-Moti Masjid-2018-gje.jpg | wikidata=Q4179295 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A Friday mosque. }} * {{see | name=Musamman Burj | alt=Shah Burj | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178900 | long=78.023600 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Musamman Burj (Agra Fort) | image=Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)-2.jpg | wikidata=Q6940101 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=An octagonal tower built by Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that there was a small marble palace built by Akbar at this site, which was later demolished by Jahangir to erect new buildings. The tower looks out over the River Yamuna, offering what is traditionally considered to be one of the most poignant views of the Taj Mahal. It is here that Shah Jahan along with his favorite daughter Jahanara Begum had spent his last few years as a captive of his son Aurangzeb. He laid here on his death bed while gazing at the Taj Mahal. }} * {{see | name=Nagina Masjid | alt=Gem Mosque, Jewel Mosque | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179380 | long=78.022580 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Nagina Masjid, Agra Fort | image=NaginaMasjid.jpg | wikidata=Q6958835 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Shah Jahani Mahal | alt=Shah Jahan's Palace | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178760 | long=78.023140 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Shah Jahani Mahal | image=Moti Masjid at Agra Fort 2012-02-22.jpg | wikidata=Q7461284 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A palace between the white-marble Diwan-i-Khas and the redstone Jahangiri Mahal. It is the earliest attempt of emperor Shah Jahan to convert an existing redstone building in accordance with his taste. }} * {{see | name=Sheesh Mahal | alt=Glass Palace | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179850 | long=78.020914 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q97881957 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A stunning palace adorned with intricate mirror work and glass mosaics. It served as a royal dressing room and exemplifies the exquisite craftsmanship of the Mughal era. }} * {{see | name=Tomb of John Russel Colvin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178822 | long=78.022258 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content= }} ===Cemeteries, tombs and memorials=== [[File:Itmad ud Daulah 4.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah]] [[File:Chini ki Rauza 2.jpg|thumb|Chini Ka Rauza]] * {{see | name=Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.1925 | long=78.031389 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=₹300 for foreigners | wikidata=Q1318766 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=Empress Nur Jahan built the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, sometimes called the Baby Taj, for her father, Ghias-ud-Din Beg, the Chief Minister of Emperor Jahangir. Small in comparison to many other Mughal-era tombs, it is sometimes described as a jewel box. Its garden layout and use of white marble, pietra dura, inlay designs and latticework presage many elements of the Taj. }} * {{see | name=Chauburji | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.19255 | long=78.034878 | directions=east of Itimad-ud-Daula | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=This was the temporary burial place of Babur. Later, his mortal remains were transferred to [[Kabul]]. It has four corner towers and follows the prototype of the nearby Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula, but lacks the marble finish. It lies in ruins and is seldom visited by tourists. }} * {{see | name=Chini Ka Rauza | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.200833 | long=78.034167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chini Ka Rauza | image=Chini ki Rauza 4.jpg | wikidata=Q5101062 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A memorial dedicated to the Prime Minister of Shah Jahan, Allama Afzel Khal Mullah Shukrullah of Shiraz, notable for its dome of blue glazed tiles. }} * {{see | name=Jaswant Singh ki Chatri | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.214144 | long=78.033942 | directions=Rajwara, Balkeshwar, east bank of Yamuna | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jaswant Ki Chhatri | wikidata=Q97815695 | lastedit=2020-12-29 | content=Jaswant Singh ki Chatri is the only Hindu monument built in Agra during the Mughal rule. It is a memorial cenotaph dedicated to Rani Hada, wife of Amar Singh Rathore. Upon her husband's death, Rani Hada committed sati. Raja Jaswant Singh, the younger brother of Amar Singh, built the chatri in 1644-58 CE. }} * {{see | name=Mariam's Tomb | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.21529 | long=77.94203 | directions=west from Akbar's Tomb on Agra-Delhi highway | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani | content=Constructed by Jahangir in memory of his mother Mariam Zammani. The grave is made of white marble. Though this building is in a ruined condition, yet it has in its vicinity, a Christian Mission School and a church. It is also said; Akbar himself made it in the memory of his Christian wife. | wikidata=Q7818627 }} * {{see | name=Roman Catholic Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.210317 | long=78.004925 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q126811012 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=Roman Catholic Cemetery in Agra predates the Taj Mahal. It dates back to the time of Akbar (ruled 1556 - 1605). The earliest grave dates back to 1611 and is of an Armenian named Khwaja Mortenepus. The star attraction of the cemetery is the tomb of William Hessing (1740 - 1803), a Dutch commander of Agra Fort under Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia. The red sandstone tomb was constructed by his wife and is designed along the lines of the Taj Mahal, but not an exact copy. It is often referred to as the Red or Baby Taj. The Ellisa Memorial, Tomb of General Perron's children and many of the other tombs are built in Islamic style. Also, many of the Armenian graves have epitaphs in Persian. }} * {{see | name=Sikandra | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.220556 | long=77.950556 | directions=10&nbsp;km north of Agra on the Agra Delhi highway | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Open from sunrise to sunset | price= | wikidata=Q416646 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=The tomb of Akbar lies here in the centre of the large garden. Akbar started its construction himself but it was completed by his son Jahangir, who significantly modified the original plans, which accounts for the somewhat cluttered architectural lines of the tomb. Four red sandstone gates lead to the tomb complex: one is Muslim, one Hindu, one Christian, and one is Akbar's patent mixture. }} * {{see | name=Tomb of Firoz Khan Khwajasara | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.137900 | long=78.002000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tomb of Firoz Khan | wikidata=Q123367078 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=Firoz Khan Khwasara was the caretaker of Shah Jahan's harem. It is a sandstone tomb with four corner towers and intricate jali works. }} ===Gardens=== [[File:Pavilions of Aram Bagh 1.jpg|thumb|Water Chanels and pavilion of Aram Bagh]] * {{see | name=Aram Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2054 | long=78.0386 | directions=500&nbsp;m N of the Chini Ka Roza | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7288428 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=The first Mughal garden, built by the first Mughal emperor, Babur. }} * {{see | name=Khan-i-Alam Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.17335 | long=78.04047 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q97884968 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A less-explored garden just west of the Taj Mahal complex. }} * {{see | name=Mehtab Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179722 | long=78.041944 | directions=directly across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal, the trip takes about 30&nbsp;minutes from the centre of town by auto rickshaw and will cost about ₹200 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=₹50 for Indians, ₹300 for foreigners | wikidata=Q12061618 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=An octagonal pool is placed at the centre of the garden, which lets visitors see an amazing reflection of the Taj Mahal during moonlight, without the crowds of tourists. The garden was built in the 16th century by Emperor Babur, and it is also referred to as the "Moonlight Garden". Alternatively, there is the ADA Taj Mahal View Point to the right of the entrance: the view of the Taj is every bit as lovely (perhaps more so, since the barbed wire fence surrounding the gardens will be beneath you). }} * {{see | name=Shahjahan Garden | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.17408 | long=78.0263 | directions={{station|Agra Fort|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content= }} * {{see | name=Soami Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.22280 | long=78.00925 | directions=10&nbsp;km north of Agra | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The white marble samadhi of the Radha Soami religion. Construction started in 1904 and is not expected to be completed until sometime in the next century. Visitors can see pietra dura inlaid marblework actually being worked on. Soami Bagh is 2 km north of Agra and can be reached by bus or cycle. }} ===Places of worship=== * {{see | name=Guru ka Tal | alt= | url=http://www.gurdwaragurukataal.com/ | email=gurukataal@yahoo.in | address= | lat=27.211669 | long=77.967496 | directions=at Delhi-Agra Highway, between Transport Nagar and Sikandra | phone=+91 562 260 1717 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Guru Ka Tal | wikidata=Q5620454 | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=A historical gurudwara dedicated to the ninth Guru, that is Guru Tegh Bahadur. The gurudwara is at the place where Tegh Bahadur offered voluntary arrest to emperor Aurangzeb. }} ====Churches==== * {{see | name=Akbar's Church | alt= | url=http://www.agraarchdiocese.com | email= | address= | lat=27.197342 | long=78.010397 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3585487 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=Akbar's Church dates back to 1598 and was built under the patronage of Emperor Akbar by Jesuit Fathers from Goa. Akbar's son, Jahangir, helped in the further expansion of the church. However, his son Shah Jahan demolished the church in 1635, only to rebuild it a year later. Again in 1758, the church was looted by the Persian invader Ahmed Shah Abdali. In 1769, the church was rebuilt. In 1835, the church went through further extension. }} * {{see | name=Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | alt=Roman Catholic Cathedral of Agra | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.197800 | long=78.009700 | directions=near Akbar's Church | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.JPG | wikidata=Q11737313 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Constructed in 1848, it dominates the nearby Akbar's Church. It is built in Baroque style. }} * {{see | name=St John's Church | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.21528 | long=77.94412 | directions=near Mariam's Tomb | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-10 | content=Oldest Protestant church of Agra. }} ====Muslim sites==== * {{see | name=Great Idgah | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.169557 | long=78.003396 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Great Idgah of Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q97815529 | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=An eidgah where Muslims would come together during Friday prayers. }} * {{see | name=Hazrat Ahmad Shah Bukhari Rahmatullah Aleh Dargah | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.176893 | long=78.048385 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A hidden dargah inside the Taj Forest. }} * {{see | name=Jama Masjid | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.181944 | long=78.016111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jama Mosque, Agra | image=Jami Masjid, Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q6127147 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A large congregational mosque attributed to Princess Jahanara Begum, built in 1648 during the reign of her father, Shah Jahan. Notable for its unusual dome and absence of minarets. }} ====Temples==== * {{see | name=Dayal Bagh Temple | alt=Soami Bagh Samadh | url=https://www.dayalbagh.org.in/ | email= | address= | lat=27.2220 | long=78.0028 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2024-06-17 | content=Dayal Bagh Temple in Agra, the headquarters of the Radha Soami Satsang movement, is renowned for its ongoing construction, stunning white marble architecture, and intricate carvings. Founded in 1904, it serves as a spiritual and meditation centre, attracting devotees worldwide. }} * {{see | name=Mankameshwar Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address=Rawatpara | lat=27.18368 | long=78.0175 | directions=near {{station|Agra Fort|city=india|nr}}, metro: {{station|Mankameshwar|yellow}}, a simple cycle rickshaw can take you there for a fare of ₹20 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q17058919 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=Listen to the aarti as some claim it purifies your soul. It is the most visited temple by locals, and during festive seasons, it's so crowded, disrupting the traffic in the nearby areas. }} ===Others=== <!-- * {{see | name=Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.163896 | long=78.057391 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} under construction --> * {{see | name=Battis Khamba | alt=बत्तीस खंबा ''Battīs Khambā'', literally "32 pillars" | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.209500 | long=78.038000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Battis Khamba | image=Battis Khamba, Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q132528738 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=An octagonal three-storey tower topped by a chhatri. }} * {{see | name=Gyarah Sidhi | alt=ग्यारह सीढ़ी ''Gyārah Sīṛhī'', literally "eleven steps" | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179706 | long=78.033877 | directions=west of Mehtab Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gyarah Sidhi | wikidata=Q5624014 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=The 11-step structure is part of a medieval observatory dating back to the Mughal emperor Humayun. }} ==Do== *'''City Walks''': Other than the monuments visits, one can also stroll in the local markets in old city area. It's a nice experience to have a walk in one of the oldest parts of the city. * {{do | name=Adlabs Multiplex | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹150 for a Hindi Show & ₹450 for a show in English | content=Interactive cinema. Each viewer holds a wireless remote unit with push buttons and a small LCD screen, enabling them to participate in a trivia game about the theme of the film. The show is called ''India in Motion'', a 25-minute show where the audience will pass through today's India in, or on, a variety of typical vehicles and see the historical events at sites of Mohenjo Daro, Indraprastha and the Taj Mahal, experiencing the bumpy elephant rides with the wind blowing through their hair, or the swaying boat with salty spray on their faces. Before the show there is an interactive quiz on various topics relating to India. }} * {{do | name=Taj Nature Walk | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.17030 | long=78.04857 | directions=500 m from the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal, metro: {{station|Taj East Gate|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours=7AM-5PM | price=Indian nationals ₹40 (up to 5 years free, 5 to 10 years ₹20), foreigners ₹100 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A forest area of 11 hectares, this park has many landscaped mounds and watchtowers that provide a nice view of the Taj Mahal. There's a lake with many species of fish, birds and aquatic plants. }} * {{do | name=Yamuna River | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.1829 | long=78.0257 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q132726 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=One of the holy rivers of India, considered as a goddess in Hindu culture. A tributary of the Ganges which flows from Himalayas and further downstream, while passing through Delhi. }} * {{do | name=Sublime Taj | alt= | url=https://sublimetaj.com/ | email=sublimetaj@gmail.com | address=Sector 3 House No. 8, Vibhav Nagar, Tajganj, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 282001 | lat=27.14 | long=78.02 | directions= | phone=+917500077077 | tollfree= | hours=24/7 | price=Rates vary by tour itinerary | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Offers private, guided day tours of the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Options include sunrise tours, local transport, and English-speaking guides. }} ===Parks and lakes=== * {{do | name=Keetham Lake | alt=Sur Sarovar | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.253294 | long=77.843875 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Keetham Lake | wikidata=Q6383337 | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=A picturesque lake off NH 44, and a [[Ramsar site]]. The pentagonal lake is home to over two dozen species of resident and migratory birds. The Agra Bear Rescue Facility near the lake is dedicated to rehabilitating previously captured "dancing bears". }} * {{do | name=Paliwal Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.200556 | long=78.014167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Paliwal Park | wikidata=Q7127640 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content= }} ===Events=== * {{event | name=Taj Mahotsav | alt=ताज महोत्सव / تاج مہوتسو ''Tāj Mahotsav'' | url=http://www.tajmahotsav.org/ | year=annual | month=February | date= 18 | enddate=27 | lat=27.166545 | long=78.052147 | directions=metro: {{station|Taj East Gate|yellow}} | content=An annual 10-day festival of art, craft and culture at Shilpgram, near the Taj Mahal. It is inspired by the old Mughal and Awadhi styles prevalent in present-day Uttar Pradesh. }} ===Sports=== * {{do | name=Agra Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.168577 | long=78.032132 | directions=metro: {{station|Taj Mahal|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content= }} * {{do | name=Eklavya Sports Stadium | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.160800 | long=78.008700 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Eklavya Sports Stadium | wikidata=Q16919556 | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=The main stadium of Agra, hosting both cricket and football. }} ==Buy== Agra has many shops selling stone products, from jewellery to small boxes and plaques with inlay work resembling that on the Taj. The best of these are wonderful, and even the run-of-the-mill ones are rather pretty. Agra is also famous for its leather goods. Consider spending time in Sadar Bazaar for some shopping and cheap food. These markets have [[gemstones]], both precious and semi-precious, cut and polished but unset, and finished jewellery. You can also find chic boutiques, classy leather goods, culturally-designed clothing, and marble markets. Beware of being overcharged. Do not let ''anyone'' lead you to a shop, lest the price go up to cover their commission, typically 50%. Be very wary of the promises these people make. [[Bargain]] hard. Be prepared to walk away, you can nearly always get the same items in another shop or order items you liked during your visit over the Internet after you return. Expect to encounter petty and greedy shopowners who will resort to every lie in the book to make a sale (with initial markups of 1,000-10,000%). There are many local markets: Sadar Bazar. a sophisticated market, Raja ki Mandi market, Sanjay Place for all the offices, Shah Market for electronics. All of these markets are situated along the M G Road. Hospital Road Market and Subhash Bazar for clothes situated near Agra Fort railway station. Rawatpara market is for spices. Besides these there are many branded shops along the M G Road. Many wholesale marble products are available at Gokul Pura Market near Raja Mandi on M. G. Road which can be easily reached by auto rickshaw, the price of most items are nearly 25% in the retail market. Be careful when buying jewels: lots of stones are fake and the price is comparatively high. * {{buy | name=Taj Ganj | alt=ताजगंज ''Tājgañj'' | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.166719 | long=78.043468 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=India DSC01595 (16721145132).jpg | wikidata=Q102293079 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A chaotic bazaar in front of the Taj Mahal complex, a stark contrast from the complex's elegant, formal geometric layout. Originally known as "Mumtazabad", the bazaar was built as an integral part of the complex, initially to provide the construction workers with accommodation and facilities for their wellbeing. It eventually became a bustling town and the centre of Agra's economic activity where "different kinds of merchandise from every land, varieties of goods from every country, all sorts of luxuries of the time, and various kinds of necessities of civilisation and comfortable living brought from all parts of the world" were sold. }} ==Eat== Agra specialities are ''petha'', a type of very sweet candy, and ''Dal Moth'', a spicy lentil mix. Both are also popular souvenirs. * '''Chaat''' - Agra is a heaven for any Chaat lover. Chaat can be of various types but there is one thing common among them all is that they are spicy and you will find crowd outside virtually every chaat stall, especially popular places like Double Phatak (near Sikandra) for Mangores. You'll find quality Bhallas and Panipuri at Sadar and Belangunj. Samosa and Kachori are found at every sweet shop that flood the city. Some typical chaat items are Aloo Tikki (made by roasting mess made out of boiled potatoes), paneer tikka (cubes of cottage cheese baked in a tandoor with spices), pani puri or golguppa (small round hollow shells filled with a potato-based filling and a spicy sweet blend of sauces), mangores, Samosaes, Chachori, etc. If you want to savour the typical Agra breakfast have a bite of one of those spicy ''Berahi'' and round it off with sweet ''Jalebies''. * '''Sweets''' - There are quite a few good sweets shops. The best for the famous petha of Agra are at Hari Parwat, a short distance from Agra Fort. Amongst the well-known shops are Panchi's, Bhimsain BaidyaNath and The Pracheen Petha store. There are many types of petha available but, for the authentic experience, try either the plain one (ivory white) or Angoori flavoured (rectangular and yellow pieces soaked in sugar syrup). Other shops in Agra include: Bikanervala, Deviram, Munnalal Petha, Gopaldas, and Ajanta Sweets, Kamla Nagar. You can round off your meal with a Joda (pair) of Pan unique to the city. * There is also an abundance of Korean food. * There are several restaurants in the Taj Ganj area, catering for the many tourists staying around the Taj Mahal. ===Budget=== * {{eat | name=Joney's place | alt= | url= | email= | address=Taj ganj | lat=27.1692569 | long= 78.0419233 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content=Perfect for early breakfast, when you want to wake up early to visit the Taj at 6AM. Offered are for example toast, coffee and cornflakes. }} * {{eat | name=Manoj Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=Johari Bazar Rd | lat=27.1833701 | long=78.0160041 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Treat Restaurant | alt= | url= | email=treatagra@yahoo.co.in | address=South Gate Taj Mahal | lat=27.1691033 | long=78.0419485 | directions= | phone=+91 931 969 7497 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=breakfast, lunch and dinner | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content=Good Indian food }} * {{eat | name=Yash Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= 3/137 Chawk Kaghzian, near Hotel Shanti Lodge| lat=27.1688966 | long=78.0434532 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Tea’se Me | alt= | url= | email= | address=18/159D Hotel M House, Fatehabad Rd | lat=27.1662111 | long= 78.0369160 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Berco's Tajganj Agra | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ground Floor, Howard Plaza | lat= 27.1625552 | long=78.0369126 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content=Chinese cuisine. }} ===Splurge=== ==Drink== A bottle of Indian beer costs around ₹70-100 in a hotel, but there is virtually no nightlife in Agra outside of cultural shows at some of the larger hotels and restaurants. After getting off the streets of Agra and into your hotel, you will not want to go back anyway. * {{drink | name=Amar Vilas Bar |alt=| url= | email= | address=Taj East Gate Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=noon to midnight | price= |lastedit=2018-01-12| content= Beer for ₹200 and cocktails for ₹450. The terrace of Amar Vilas Bar provides a view of the Taj. }} * {{drink | name=Downing Street Bar | url= | email= | address=Howard Sarovar Portico, Fatehabad Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +91 562 4048600, +91 562 4048699 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= High quality of beverages and pleasant ambience. Downing Street Bar offers dishes such as pizza and tandoori chicken from the same kitchen. }} * {{drink | name=Mughal Bar | url= | email= | address=54, Taj Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 222 6121, +91 562 222 6129 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= It's in the compound of Hotel Clarks Shiraz’s, Mughal Bar is an open-aired roof bar. It offers some continental delicacies along with Indian ones. }} ==Sleep== {{sleeppricerange|Under ₹1,000|₹1,000–6,000|Over ₹6,000}} ===Budget=== *{{sleep | name=Col Lamba Indian Home Stay | url=http://www.agra-indianhomestay.com/ | email= | address=58 Gulmohar Enclave, Shamshabad Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone = +91 562-3298921 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Around ₹700 per person | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Shahjahan | alt= | url= | email=shahjahan.hotel@gmail.com | address=South Gate, near police station Tajganj | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 320 0240 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹300 for a couple | content=Almost a fancy hotel and restaurant, with a café and a rooftop with great views of the Taj Mahal. Wi-Fi only downstairs in the reception. The staff are very helpful. Five minutes' walk from the Taj. }} * {{sleep | name=Dayal Lodge | alt=Budget Hotel in City Centre | url=http://www.dayal.co.in/ | email=dayallodge@gmail.com | address=25 New Agra, Dayalbagh Road | lat= | long= | directions=towards Dayalbagh | phone=+91 9219606365, +91 9359848731, +91 562-2524560 | tollfree= | fax=+91 562 2524560 | hours= | price=Double room with air-con ₹700-800 | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | content=Established in the early 1960s, with 16 furnished air conditioned rooms. 24 hr made-to-order meals, in-house laundry facilities, local airport/railway station transfers. }} * {{sleep | name=Friends Paying Guest House | alt=friendsguesthouse786@gmail.com | url=http://www.friendspayingguesthouse.com/ | email= | address=p-6 , Taj Nagri Phase 1, near Shilpgram Rd | lat=27.163552 | long=78.053602 | directions=southeast of Shilpgram parking lot | phone=+91 99 1788 5278 | tollfree= | checkin=noon | checkout=1PM | price=Double ₹400 | content=Family-run guest house 15-min walk east from the Taj. Food, decent Wi-Fi, TV in rooms. Cushion-furnished balcony common area for eating, drinking and lazing about. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Amba Inn | url=http://www.hotelambainn.com | email= | address=1/51, Delhi Gate, Near Raja ki Mandi Railway Station | lat= | long= | directions=2 min from railway station | phone = +91 562 2520779, +91 9412720194 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Single ₹550-800, double ₹650-900 | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | content=Offers facilities for 22 rooms. There are both double rooms, single rooms, as well as facility for an extra bed. All the rooms are air conditioned, with television. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Jaiwal | url= | email= | address=3 Taj Road, Sadar Bazar | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 2363153 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹75-325 | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Kamal | alt= | url= | email=hotelkamal@hotmail.com | address= | lat=27.16914 | long=78.04247 | directions=by the south gate of the Taj Mahal | phone=+91 562-2330126 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹300-850 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Neel Kanth | url= | email= | address=Fatehabad Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 2362039 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹100+ | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Raj | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=About ₹800 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Directly in front of the central entry of the Taj Mahal, simple but clean. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Sheela | url= | email=hotelsheelaagraindia@yahoo.com | address=Tajganj| lat= | long= | directions=100&nbsp;metres from eastern gate of Taj Mahal | phone = +91 562-2333074 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹500-800 | checkin= | checkout=10AM | content=Commission-free transport bookings, free incoming phone calls, 24&nbsp;hour hot water. 22 rooms. Laundry facility. }} * {{sleep | name=India Inn | url= | email= | address=Taj Mahal South Gate | lat= | long= | directions=as you come out on the street from the south exit, turn left, then almost immediately right down the side of the Taj café, it's at the end of the dusty parking lot 40 m from the café | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹300 for a double in off season | checkin= | checkout=10AM negotiable | content=Comfortable enough. }} * {{sleep | name=Rhine Hostel | alt=Rhine YOGA Hostel | url=http://www.rhinehostel.com | email=rhinestay@outlook.com | address=HIG - 2/10, Near Shilpgram Parking, Taj Nagri Phase 1, Taj East Gate Rd, Telipara | lat= | long= | directions=1 km from east gate of Taj mahal, next to Shilpgram parking | phone=+91 99973 79977 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=1PM | checkout=11AM | price=single ₹199 | lastedit=2018-06-09 | content=6 rooms, 10 minute walking distance from Taj Mahal, rooftop, free stay in exchange of work available. Food, Wi-Fi, common area for eating, drinking and lazing about. }} * {{sleep | name=Saniya Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address=Chowk Kajziyan, South Gate, Taj Ganj | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 3270199 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Good budget hotel with some air-con rooms. 24-hr room service. Friendly staff & fantastic views of the Taj Mahal from the roof top restaurant. ₹700 }} * {{sleep | name=Shanti lodge | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=South Taj gate. From ₹400 economic room, non air-con. Hot water, TV. Restaurant on the roof top. Be careful with the bed sheets, not very clean. Cloak room available. }} * {{sleep | name=Youth Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sanjay Place, MG Rd | lat=27.198109 | long=78.003119 | directions= | phone=+91 562 2154462 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹50-₹125 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Harshit paying guest house | alt=harshitguesthouse00004@gmail.com | url= | email= | address=P-50A Taj nagari phase-1, Tajganj | lat= | long= | directions=Fatehabad Road near big bazaar | phone=+91 931-9105293 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=noon | price=₹5,000 | content=Five clean rooms, running hot water in the bathroom, fully air conditioned, LCD TV, Internet, home cooked food. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Clarks Shiraz | alt= | url=http://www.hotelclarksshiraz.com/ | email= | address=54, Taj Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 222 6120 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=₹3,950-5,670 | wikidata=Q22934359 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Mandakini Villas | url=http://mandakini-villas-agra.hotels-agra.com/en/ | email= | address=Fatehabad Road, Purani Mandi, Taj Ganj | lat= | long= | directions=200&nbsp;metres from the Taj Mahal's West Gate | phone=+91 5626453854 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Rates start at ₹2,690 | checkin= | checkout=noon | content=Offers air-conditioned rooms each with cable TV with 100 channels, broadband Internet connection, private bathroom. You might get a little bit warmer than cold water by requesting it from the reception a few times. It is not possible to sleep without earplugs in the first floor because of the noise coming from corridor and reception all night. Get a room on the higher floors. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Priya | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/hotelpriyaagra/ | email= | address=Near Priya Restaurant, Near TDI Mall, Fatehabad Road | lat= | long= | directions=400 m from the Taj Mahal's East Gate parking | phone=+91 562 223 1350, +91 983 777 4948 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=noon | price=Double ₹1,355-2,850. Breakfast ₹150 (taxes not included.) | content=Offers air-con rooms each with cable TV with 100 channels, Internet connection, private bathroom. One of the best in this range. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Taj Resorts | alt= | url=http://www.hoteltajresorts.com/ | email= | address=538, Taj East Gate Rd | lat=27.168339 | long=78.051151 | directions=near Shilpgram, which is 1km from the Eastern Gate | phone=+91-562-2230161 | tollfree= | fax=+91-562-2230164 | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60-70/night, ₹4,000-6,000 (June 2012, tax not included) | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=Built in 2010, restaurant with rooftop seating and a beautiful pool, great view of the Taj (if not blocked by terrible pollution). }} * {{sleep | name=Laurie's Hotel | url= | email= | address=Mahatma Gandhi Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 2364536 | tollfree= | fax=+91 562 2268045 | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=An old colonial hotel from the British era, some say it hasn't been upgraded since, Laurie's retains some of the charm of travelling in India during the Raj. Rooms with very high ceilings (fans, no aircon) lead off from verandahs with nice lawns outside. A swimming pool is closed in the winter. One can get British era service with 'bed tea', excellent freshly made chicken curry and rice to order, and creaky plumbing. Some people will love it, others may hate it. }} * {{sleep | name=N.Home Stay | alt= | url=https://www.nhomestay.com/ | email=nguesthouse.agra@gmail.com | address=15 Ajanta Colony, Vibhav Nagar | lat=27.157487 | long=78.035035 | directions= | phone=+91 969-0107860, +91 989-7444410 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout=10AM | price=Single air-con room [June 2012]: ₹1199 & Double air-con room [June 2012]: ₹1499 | content=A family owned, operated guest house in a peaceful and quite colony away from the city traffic and pollution. Free parking, 24-hr free Wi-Fi, cable TV, all day water supply and accessible roof top. }} * {{sleep | name=Rajmahal hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Shilpgram, vip road (eastern gate) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=from ₹3,500 to ₹5,500 for couple | content=9&nbsp;km from Agra Airport. You will also get a nice view of Taj Mahal, which is 3 km away. }} * {{sleep | name=Tajview | alt= | url=https://www.seleqtionshotels.com/en-in/hotels/taj-view-agra | email= | address= | lat=27.160910 | long=78.039980 | directions= | phone=+91 562 660 2000 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=₹5,300 | wikidata=Q111402643 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=An IHCL SeleQtions hotel. }} ===Splurge=== Thanks to heavy competition, Agra's five-star hotels are good value compared to most other cities in India. * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Agra MG Road | alt= | url=https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/agra/agrmg/hoteldetail | email= | address=16/2/8, MG Rd, Sanjay Place, Civil Lines | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 423 3333 | tollfree= | checkin=3PM | checkout=noon | price=₹6,100-6,300 | wikidata=Q111402648 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=ITC Mughal | alt= | url=https://www.itchotels.com/in/en/itcmughal-agra | email=reservations@itchotels.in | address=Taj Ganj | lat=27.1612 | long=78.044 | directions= | phone=+91-562-4021700 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Double room [June 2012]: from ₹4,845 to ₹100,000. Taxes not included | content=Formerly the ''Sheraton Mughal'', this is one of Agra's top hotels, with views of the Taj from the roof viewing pavilion. Large pool. The hotel's age is starting to show, but the rooms are in fine shape. Popular with tour groups. }} * {{sleep | name=The Oberoi Amarvilas Agra | alt= | url=https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-agra-amarvilas-resort/ | email= | address=Taj East Gate Rd | lat=27.16801 | long=78.04944 | directions= | phone=+91 562 223 1515 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from ₹31,860 | wikidata=Q111402646 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=The best (and most expensive) hotel in Agra. It is consistently rated among the top 10 hotels in Asia. }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson Hotel Agra | alt= | url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-agra | email= | address=1, Fatehabad Rd, Taj Nagri Phase 2 | lat=27.158603 | long=78.053366 | directions= | phone=+91 562 233 3333 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=₹6,150 | wikidata=Q111402562 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=The Trident Agra | alt= | url=http://www.tridenthotels.com/hotels-in-agra/ | email= | address=Fathebad Road | lat=27.15933 | long=78.06043 | directions= | phone=+91 562 2331818 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from US$89 | wikidata=Q111402561 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=Formerly the Trident Hilton, it's further away from the Taj than others, but is near the TDI Mall. }} ==Stay safe== {{cautionbox|Agra, [[Delhi]] and the surrounding cities experience moderate to unhealthy [[Air pollution|air quality]] throughout the year, resulting in smog that potentially harms the health of residents and causes a few train delays due to low visibility. Air quality tends to be the best in the monsoon because of the prevailing winds and frequent rainfall, and it is worst during the summer and winter, as the unfavourable topography and dry stagnant weather trap all pollutants emitted within the valley. Anyone visiting the area should try to limit outdoor and exhausting activity. Have masks (single-use surgical masks are okay), tissues, and eyedrops ready when going out.}} * Don't leave cash or any valuables in the hotel room. Cross check all hotel, restaurant and lounge bills for errors. * Never pay anyone for anything upfront, including taxi drivers. * Beware of [[pickpockets]]. * If you decide to purchase anything, beware that most items are cheap replicas of original items and not likely to last long. The toys are really poorly put together so do not buy them! * During the winter season, the weather of Agra is unpredictable and temperature may go as low as freezing; be well prepared. * Some unscrupulous dealers of carpets use the classic 'bait and switch'. If you buy something, insist on carrying it yourself else what arrives in the post might not be what you bargained for. A carpet shop named 'Kanu carpets' is particularly infamous for this. It is prudent to steer clear of shady looking establishments. ==Connect== There are several Internet cafés for sending email or uploading digital photos. * '''[http://www.iway.com/ Sify Iway]''' also offers broadband connectivity at different locations spread all over the city. Many cheap cafés, such as the Taj Café, offer free Wi-Fi. ==Cope== ===Hospitals=== There are only a handful of hospitals in Agra compared to Delhi. Refer to the hospitals in [[Delhi]] in emergency. * {{listing | name=Agra District Hospital | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content= }} ==Go next== [[File:Fatehpur Sikri near Agra 2016-03 img05.jpg|thumb|Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri]] * '''[[Bharatpur]]''' is about 56&nbsp;km from Agra and houses the famous bird sanctuary in which you can see thousands of rare birds including '''Siberian Crane'''. The Lohagarh Fort remained invincible despite several attacks by the British. Just 32&nbsp;km from Bharatpur is the Deeg Palace. This strong and massive fort was the summer resort of the rulers of Bharatpur and has many palaces and gardens. * '''[[Fatehpur Sikri]]''' ghost city is a UNESCO world heritage site about 40 km from Agra. Built in the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar, the "City of Victory" was the capital of the Mughal Empire for a brief decade and was abandoned in 1586 due to inadequate local water supplies and proximity to the Rajputana areas in the North-West, which were increasingly in turmoil. It includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid. Full of well preserved palaces and courtyards, it is a must see for anyone visiting Agra. In order to get a full idea of this site it is better to take a guide (₹450 for 2h for its free entry part) or have a good printed guide. Entry to the site of the mosque (even to the yard) is only without wearing footwear. The vehicle parking is about a kilometre away and Agra Development Authority (ADA) runs some rickety non air conditioned buses to the site entrance, fare is ₹10 per person one way. Entry to the fort area where the palaces are located is ₹610 for foreigners. * '''[[Mathura]]''' is said to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. There are many beautiful temples in Mathura, including the one built at Shri Krishna's birthplace. * '''[[Nandgaon]]''' was the home of Shri Krishna's foster father, Nand. On the top of the hill is the spacious temple of Nand Rai, built by the Hat ruler Roop Singh. The other temples here are dedicated to Narsingha, Gopinath, Nritya Gopal, Girdhari, Nand Nandan, and Yasodha Nandan, which is half-way up the hill. Nandgaon springs into action every year around March for the festival of Holi, when many tourists flock to the city for the famous "lath mar holi". * '''National Chambal Sanctuary''', (70&nbsp;km away) is a natural sanctuary and the home of the endangered Indian ''gharial'' (a relative of the crocodile) and of the Ganges River Dolphin (also endangered). * '''[[Vrindavan]]''' is also a religious place around 50&nbsp;km from Agra, and quite close to [[Mathura]]. There are many temples here devoted to Lord Krishna, a few of the more famous of which are Banke Bihari and the Iskcon Temple. {{geo|27.18|78.02}} {{IsPartOf|Braj}} {{usablecity}} q9om8qxos3pp19ocx6wek76lj3xkhop 5298446 5298441 2026-06-25T15:02:58Z Ibaman 195012 rv per [[WV:Tour]], [[WV:Tone]], [[Don't tout]] and [[External links#What not to link to]]. Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298441|5298441]] by [[Special:Contributions/Shan Explorer|Shan Explorer]] ([[User talk:Shan Explorer|talk]]) 5298446 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Agra banner Taj Mahal.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Agra''' (Hindi: आगरा ''Āgrā'', Urdu: آگرہ ''Āgrā'') is a city around 200&nbsp;km from [[Delhi]], in the north [[India]]n state of [[Uttar Pradesh]]. It is home to two {{unesco}}s: the '''Taj Mahal''' and the '''Agra Fort'''. There are also many other buildings and tombs from Agra's days of glory as the capital of the [[Mughal Empire]], as well as the abandoned city of '''[[Fatehpur Sikri]]''' outside town, itself a World Heritage Site. Besides these three World Heritage Sites, the city has little else to recommend it. Similar to Delhi, pollution is rampant in Agra, especially smog and litter. Visitors are pestered by swarms of touts and hawkers at every monument, besides the inner Taj Mahal which, once you are in, is free of scams and touts. The sites are some of the wonders of the world, and no trip to India is complete without at least one visit to the Taj. For the vast majority of visitors, a single day in Agra is more than enough. ==Understand== [[File:Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh 3.jpg|thumb|300px|The Taj Mahal as seen from Mehtab Bagh, across the Yamuna River.]] ===Name=== While the heyday of Agra (ahg-rah) was as the capital of the [[Mughal Empire]] between 1526 and 1658, the city was founded much earlier. There has been much debate regarding the origin of the city's name. The most commonly-held theory is that it comes from the Hindi-Urdu word ''agar'' (अगर), meaning "salt pan", referring to the region's brackish soil; salt was once made in the area by evaporation. Others derive it from the ancient epic, the Mahabharata, claiming that the name comes from Sanskrit ''agravana'' (अग्रवन), meaning "grove forest", indicating the first of the many small forests where Krishna frolicked with the gopis of Vrindavan. In the Mughal era, Agra was also known as '''Akbarabad''', which was given by emperor Shah Jahan to honour his grandfather Akbar. ===History=== The recorded history of Agra begins around the 11th century, and over the next 500 years, the city changed hands between various kings, both Hindu and Muslim. In 1506, Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, moved his capital from Delhi to Agra. His son Ibrahim Lodi was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, as he was defeated in 1526 by Babur, the first Mughal ruler, in the battle of [[Panipat]]. Agra fell too, and became the capital of the Mughals, whose rule over Agra was uninterrupted except for a brief period between 1540 and 1556. In 1540, Sher Shah Suri overthrew Humayun and became the ruler of much of North India, including Agra. After Sher Shah Suri's death, his descendants proved unequal to the task of ruling the kingdom, and Hemu, a Hindu general of Suri, became the effective ruler who would later crown himself King Hemachandra Vikramaditya just as the kingdom was facing an assault from the reinvigorated Mughals. In 1556, Hemu was defeated and killed in the second battle of Panipat, and the Mughals regained Agra. Mughals were great builders. Babur built the '''Aram Bagh''' (garden of relaxation) modelled after the garden of paradise, where he was eventually buried after his death. His grandson Akbar refurbished the '''Agra Fort''' and built the '''Fatehpur Sikri''', an entire city just on the outskirts of Agra. Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan would give Agra its most famous monument, the '''Taj Mahal''', which is the mausoleum of his beloved wife, '''Mumtaz Mahal'''. The Taj is constructed in white marble. It took 20 years to construct, and it is now universally known as a monument to love. Legend has it that Shah Jahan wanted a replica of the Taj constructed in black marble that would be his final resting place. There is no support for this theory, but even if it were true, it would have been unlikely to be undertaken. His son Aurangzeb was austere and pious, and had no time or inclination for the ostentation of his forefathers, preferring to spend his money on wars in South India. In any case, even during Shah Jahan's reign, which was the period when the Mughal empire was at its height, the construction of the Taj put a strain on the resources of the empire and caused a mini-famine around Agra. Shah Jahan was eventually buried in the white Taj, next to his beloved Begum. Shah Jahan, in addition to giving Agra its greatest claim to fame, was also responsible for beginning its decline, as he decided to shift his capital to Shahjahanabad, which is now known as [[Old Delhi]], in 1658. Though Aurangzeb ordered a move back, this too was short-lived, as he moved his headquarters down south to [[Aurangabad]] (present-day Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) to focus on his wars. Agra declined, and so did the Mughal Empire. The city was eventually captured by the Marathas, who renamed it Agra. In 1803, it came under the British, who situated the Agra Presidency there, and when India gained independence, the city was incorporated into the state of Uttar Pradesh, and did not gain even the limited honour of being the state's capital, that distinction going to [[Lucknow]], further east. It is now a tourist town, known for the Taj and a couple of other monuments. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Agra |7.4 |22.2 |12.5 |10.4 |26.2 |10.8 |14.2 |32.1 |8.3 |20.0 |38.4 |8.5 |24.4 |41.9 |21.4 |25.5 |41.1 |46.4 |24.7 |36.0 |245.8 |23.9 |33.1 |198.6 |23.5 |34.2 |110.8 |18.7 |34.7 |24.7 |13.2 |29.2 |2.5 |8.1 |23.7 |3.2 |float=right |clear=right |source=IMD |description= }} The climate is similar to, but not identical, to the one of [[Delhi]]. Similar to Delhi, Agra is also notorious for their thick winter fog, which reduces visibility to almost zero. On the other hand, the city becomes scorchingly hot during late spring and early summer. ===Read=== * ''Beneath a Marble Sky'' by John Shors. A novel based on the remarkable story behind the Taj Mahal. It is an international bestseller and is being made into a film by Hollywood. * ''The Taj'' by Colin De Silva. ===Local information=== Official websites: * [https://agra.nic.in/ Agra District] ==Get in== [[File:Agra 03-2016 16 Agra Fort.jpg|thumb|300px|The walls of the Agra Fort]] Agra is 200&nbsp;km southeast of Delhi and is one of the points of the tourist's [[The Golden_Triangle (India)|Golden Triangle]] of Agra-[[Delhi]]-[[Jaipur]]. Agra is also very well connected via rail and road with other nearby cities and tourist destinations, and thus suitable for a day trip from Delhi or as a part of a larger itinerary. ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Agra Airport | alt={{IATA|AGR}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.1575 | long=77.960833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Agra Airport | wikidata=Q1849321 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=Small domestic airport with direct flights from [[Bangalore]], [[Hyderabad]] and [[Navi Mumbai]]. }} Delhi ({{IATA|DEL}}, {{IATA|HDO}} and {{IATA|DXN}}) is the nearest major hub with direct flights from more destinations. ===By train=== {{cautionbox|As a part of the "Golden Triangle", the station is a massive tourist hub - so there are many quite aggressive tuk tuk/taxi drivers waiting outside, that will insist you go with them. They can take advantage of you not knowing the fair price of a ride. It is better to walk 50 meters away east of the main entrance, stand near the start of Mall Road and order a Rapido/Uber tuk tuk/taxi.}} Agra is on the main railway line between the [[Delhi]]–[[Mumbai]] and [[Delhi]]–[[Chennai]] routes, and many trains connect Agra with these cities every day. Some east-bound trains from Delhi also travel via Agra, so direct connections to points in Eastern India (including [[Kolkata]]) are also available. There are close to 20 trains to Delhi every day, and at least three or four to Mumbai and to Chennai. In late December and early January (the fog season), because of the reduced visibility, all trains slow down and travel time goes up. The Bhopal Shatabdi, for example, may arrive in Agra well after 10AM, and might return to Delhi well after midnight. From a safety point of view, it is always preferable to travel by train during the winter. ''If you travel during the high season, you must book your tickets a few days to a few weeks in advance if you wish to make it a day trip'', i.e. travelling early in the morning and coming back at a reasonable time at night. Train tickets can be booked online through the Indian Railways website, paying by debit or credit cards, although those issued by foreign banks are often declined. For more information on how to book tickets online, visit the article [[Rail travel in India]]. There are several railway stations in Agra, but tourists only need to be concerned about Agra Cantonment, Agra Fort and Idgah stations as almost all mainline trains call here. ====Agra Cantonment==== [[File:Agra Cantonment railway station - Visit During WCI 2016 (2).jpg|thumb|Agra Cantonment]] * {{go | name={{station|Agra Cantonment|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: AGC | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3634740 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Main station and lies southwest of the Taj and the Fort, both of which are a short ride from the station by car or rickshaw. Exiting from any of the gates at Platform 1, you will find an auto stand, and you may catch an auto-rickshaw if you walk a short way from the station, although the drivers may not speak English. There is a prepaid taxi stand right outside that charges a flat rate to any hotel in the city. The station has a food court that also sells cheap, hygienic takeaway snacks such as sandwiches and samosas. If you keep going and cross the road, you will find a bus terminal from where you can take a bus to the Taj Mahal. However, keep in mind that the bus service is unreliable, and the frequency may not be high. You can also hire government tours on air-conditioned luxury coaches run by UPTDC. }} ====Agra Fort==== * {{go | name={{station|Agra Fort|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: AF | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=near Agra Fort | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4693674 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Infrequently serviced by the interstate express trains. The station serves trains to the east ([[Kanpur]], [[Gorakhpur]], [[Howrah]]), as well as [[Jaipur]] to the west, some of which also stop at Agra Cantt. This is one of the historical railway stations of Agra because there was a spacious, octagonal Tripolia Chowk which existed between the Jama Masjid and the Delhi gate of the Agra Fort. This Tripolia was destroyed in order to create the railway station, which was also the first railway station of Agra and one of the oldest in the country. }} ====Other stations==== * {{go | name={{station|Idgah|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: IDH | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.172650 | long=77.997807 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Idgah railway station | wikidata=Q5988564 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=An alternative to Agra Fort. }} * {{go | name={{station|Raja ki Mandi|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station code: RKM | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=at the middle of the city | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q15271403 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A small station. Some of the trains serving Agra Cantt also stop here. It has a laid-back and lazy atmosphere, but springs into life at the arrival of Intercity trains and the Taj Express trains. }} * {{go | name={{station|Agra City|city=india|ncr}} | alt=station: AGA | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q25548855 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A relic of the metre gauge era, this station is not particularly useful, despite sounding like the city's main station. }} ====Services==== * '''Delhi to Agra''' — Close to 20 trains connect [[Delhi]] and Agra each day with journey times varying from 2-5 hr. The best options include the ''Rani Kamalapati Vande Bharat Express'' (fastest), ''Rani Kamalapati Shatabdi Express'' (departs New Delhi at 6:15AM arriving Agra Cantt at 8:12AM; departs Agra Cantt at 8:30PM arriving New Delhi at 10:30PM, daily except Friday; meal and water included in air-con carriage) and the ''Taj Express'' (departs Hazrat Nizamuddin at 7:15AM arriving Agra Cantt at 10:07AM; departs Agra Cantt at 6:55PM arriving Hazrat Nizamuddin at 10PM, daily). * '''Agra to Jaipur''' - The journey to Jaipur (station code: JP) takes around 4 hr by train no. 2988 which leaves Agra Fort at 6:25PM and reaches Jaipur at around 10:20PM. Also train number 2965 from Agra Cantonment to Jaipur at 5:40PM. The train arrives at 10:15PM. ₹300 air-con carriage. * The '''Luxury train''' — ''[[Palace on Wheels]]'' stops at Agra on its 8-day round trip of tourist destinations in [[Rajasthan]] and Agra. ===By bus=== [[File:Catholic Cemetery Agra 4.jpg|thumb|Red Taj, tomb of William Hessing at Roman Catholic Cemetery]] There are several buses to Agra originating from [[Jaipur]], [[Delhi]], [[Ajmer]], [[Lucknow]] etc. The highways between Delhi and Agra have tolls, so most buses do not take it. Rather, they take the local roads, which makes the trip significantly longer than the express trains (4-5 hr). It is possible to make it by bus and minibus to Agra by the smaller roads, however you must ask around where the buses to Agra depart from, preferably from a trusted local or the staff at your hotel or hostel. Indian bus stations are, most of the time, either large pavement areas situated under flyovers, very crowded and without no further indications of which bus goes where or stands of private bus companies, which will offer a more comfortable trip at a higher price. This option is for those who feel adventurous, as your journey can be halted by a sudden breakdown of the bus or a road closure due to a local protest or other form of gathering. Note that this is by far the cheapest way to get to Agra, as it should not cost more than ₹60 for the normal "bus" and ₹200 for a more coach-type bus. If you wish to travel with these government-run buses, '''you must insist to your rickshaw driver that they get you there'''. If you only ask for the buses to Delhi, they will probably take you to a private bus company, from which they get a cut. It will be slightly more expensive for you, and these buses tend to stop at random places and drop you at random places as well, as these buses are not direct. ====Stations==== There are two interstate bus stands: * {{go | name=Idgah Bus Stand | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.165970 | long=77.995510 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Idgah Bus Stand | wikidata=Q5988557 | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=The primary bus stand for travelling towards Rajasthan/Madhya Pradesh, in the heart of the city, 8&nbsp;km from the Taj. }} * {{go | name=ISBT | alt= | url= | email= | address=Transport Nagar | lat= | long= | directions=12&nbsp;km from the Taj | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=Most of the buses pass through here, except for buses originating from Idgah Bus Stand and going towards Rajasthan. }} ===By taxi=== You can either book a taxi from the hotel or book one directly outside the railway station. There is usually a government-authorised taxi stand; however, it may be hard to find, and the locals present at the station (looking for gullible tourists) will not help you find it. ₹1500/day for 8&nbsp;hours. It may be more costly to book through a hotel as hotels do have their in fares. It is better to negotiate with the driver directly or book through an online car rental portal. ===By car=== * '''From [[Delhi]]''': ** '''Yamuna Expressway''' &mdash; Connects the 210 km distance from [[Greater Noida]] to Agra. The drive is typically 3.5 hours. The highway has a toll. ** '''NH 44''' &mdash; The primary access to the highway is along Mathura Road in Delhi but, if coming from South Delhi or IGI Airport, it is easier to take Aurobindo Marg (Mehrauli Road) and then work up to NH 44 via Tughlakabad. While the highway is divided, it is important to keep an eye out for trucks, cars, and bullock carts heading the wrong way. ** In both cases, it is possible to hire a car with a driver (a big car for five persons from/to the Delhi airport costs ₹3500). Moreover, both online and offline options are available for tourists. But beware, if you need to get from Agra to the airport in order to catch a flight, ensure you have plenty of time for the trip, as traffic conditions may increase the drive time significantly. Also, it is wise to know your driver. There are situations when he may take over five hours to cover the distance, and you cannot force him to drive any faster than an auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk). * '''From [[Jaipur]]''': National Highway 11, a four-lane divided highway, connects Agra with Jaipur via the bird sanctuary town of [[Bharatpur]] & [[Fatehpur Sikri]]. The distance of around 255&nbsp;km can be covered in around 4 hours. * '''From [[Lucknow]]''': The '''Agra-Lucknow Expressway''' connects the 302 km distance from the state capital Lucknow to Agra. The drive is very smooth and takes 3 hours. It is a tolled highway. * '''From [[Kanpur]]''': '''NH 19''' continues to Kanpur (285&nbsp;km, 5&nbsp;hours) and from there to points east ending in [[Kolkata]]. * '''From [[Gwalior]]''': A distance of around 120&nbsp;km, takes around 1.5&nbsp;hours on the Agra-Mumbai Highway. ===By bicycle=== Agra is connected to [[Etawah]] by a {{km|207}} long bicycle path. ==Get around== {{mapframe|27.183|78|width=450|height=450|zoom=12}} {{mapshapes|Q24088780}}<!-- metro --> {{mapshape|wikidata=Q12414837}} Metro, electric buses, tongas (horse-drawn carriages) and e-rickshaws are readily available and the best way to get to the Taj Mahal. As polluting vehicles are banned around the Taj, you need to use a tonga or an electric auto while travelling in the vicinity. Camels are also available. ===By metro=== [[File:Fatehbad Road Metro 4.jpg|thumb|Agra Metro]] The Yellow Line ({{rint|agra|yellow}}) of the '''Agra Metro''' conveniently connects the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal with the Agra Fort. Tickets are ₹30 and trains run from 6AM to 10PM. ===By rickshaw=== Auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are available everywhere. Remember to agree on fares clearly in advance. Foreigners should bargain everywhere and bargain hard. Generally, things are available at 40% of the initially quoted fares. Normally, charges for e-rickshaws are ₹150-200 per e-rickshaw, which can accommodate up to 4 people. As a guide, an auto rickshaw from Agra Cantonment station to the Taj is about ₹200 (at least in off-season), and a cycle rickshaw from the Taj to Agra Fort is ₹40. ===By bus=== The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) operates some non-air-conditioned and air-conditioned buses, but they run only on specific routes. ===On foot=== The best way to experience the city is to take a walk on the Mall Road (Sadar). The street is full of handicraft and leather goods shops. You will also find plenty of food items quite unique to the city. You can also walk between the Taj and Agra Fort in about 30 minutes. ==See== Agra's top two sights by far are the incomparable '''Taj Mahal''' and '''Agra Fort'''. ===Taj Mahal=== [[File:Taj Mahal, Agra, India.jpg|thumb|300px|The Taj Mahal]] *{{see | name=Taj Mahal | alt=ताज महल / تاج محل ''Tāj Mahal'', literally the "Crown Palace" | url=https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/ | email= | address=Taj Ganj | lat=27.175000 | long=78.041944 | directions={{km|5}} from {{station|Agra Cantonment|city=india|ncr}}, metro: {{station|Taj Mahal|yellow}} for West Gate, {{station|Taj East Gate|yellow}} for East Gate | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Sunrise-sunset (6-7AM until 6-7:30PM, depending on time of year), closed F due to Jumu'ah, and during the [[Ramadan]]. Entry closes 30 minutes before sunset | price= | wikipedia=Taj Mahal | image=Taj Mahal (Edited).jpeg | wikidata=Q9141 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content= }} The '''Taj Mahal''', an immense mausoleum of white marble, is one of the most well-preserved and architecturally beautiful tombs in the world. Built between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, literally the "Ornament of the Palace", the Taj is one of the masterpieces of the Indo-Islamic architecture. It has a life of its own that leaps out of marble once you understand that it is a monument of love. The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore called it "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity", while the English poet Sir Edwin Arnold said it was "[n]ot a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones". There is an apocryphal tale that Shah Jahan planned to build an exact copy out of black marble on the opposite side of the Yamuna River. His plans were said to be foiled by his son, Aurangzeb, who murdered three of his elder brothers and then overthrew and imprisoned his father to acquire the throne. Shah Jahan is instead buried alongside his wife inside the Taj. Another urban legend is that the ruler chopped off the hands of the construction workers after building the Taj, so that they could not build another such mausoleum. However, there's no evidence to support this myth. Instead, he provided them accommodation and facilities for their wellbeing at the "Taj Ganj" in front of the complex. Although it is one of the most photographed edifices in the world and instantly recognisable, actually seeing it in person is awe-inspiring. Photos fall short of capturing the real beauty. The grounds of the complex include several other beautiful buildings, reflecting pools, and extensive ornamental gardens with flowering trees and bushes, and a small gift shop. The Taj framed by trees and reflected in a pool is amazing. Close up, large parts of the building are covered with inlaid stonework. Expect a queue to get into the grounds. There are three gates: The western gate is the main gate where most tourists enter. A large number of people visit on weekends and public holidays and entry through the western gate may take hours. The southern and eastern gates are much less busy and should be tried on such days. A government-issued photo ID, such as your passport, is sometimes requested to be shown to the security guards at the entrance. Once inside, expect long queues to enter the mausoleum. There are two queues depending on the type of ticket that you've purchased. At the base of the monument, turn to your right for general (Indian) entry and turn to your left for high-value (foreigner) tickets. The general queue can wrap around the building several times by the afternoon, whereas the foreigner queue is typically empty. Helpful guards can direct you if you get lost. Get there as early as possible to beat the crowds, and plan to visit the Taj at least two different times during the day (dusk and dawn are best) in order to experience the full effect of changing sunlight on the amazing building. The attractions inside the Taj complex include: * {{see | name=Charbagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.173174 | long=78.042194 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A Persian-style garden divided into four parts, which provides the foreground for the classic view of the Taj. The garden includes raised pathways that divide each quarter of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and the gateway, and a linear reflecting pool on the North-South axis reflect the Taj. Elsewhere the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains. The Charbagh is meant to symbolise the four flowing Rivers of Paradise. The raised marble water tank (hauz) is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, literally meaning and named after the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad in paradise where the faithful may quench their thirst upon arrival.<br />Some old images of the Taj had forested trees on both sides. However, at the end of the 19th century, British gardener A. E. P. Griessen, under the viceroy Lord Curzon, thinned out a lot of such trees, replanted the cypresses, and gave the garden a British touch. }} * {{see | name=Darwaza-i-Rauza | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.171500 | long=78.042200 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=The Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza), Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q123191284 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=The large gate that leads to the entrance of the Taj Mahal complex. The three entrances come together to enter the complex. Videography is allowed up to the red sandstone platform of the gate. }} * {{see | name=Naubat Khana | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.173163 | long=78.043597 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra-Taj Mahal-11d-Pavillon-2018-gje.jpg | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A two-storey drum house at the east, built of sandstone, and is capped with a white marble chhatris supported from 8 columns. }} * {{see | name=Taj Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.173153 | long=78.040631 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A museum hosted in a structure identical to the eastern Naubat Khana. }} * {{see | name=Mosque and Jawab | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.175017 | long=78.040689 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra 03-2016 08 Taj Mahal complex.jpg | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=Two identical buildings on either side of the platform. The Jawab, meaning "answer", was originally used as a place for entertaining and accommodation for important visitors, and is also known as "Mehman Khana", literally "Guest House". }} ====Tickets==== [[File:Agra 03-2016 05 Taj Mahal complex.jpg|thumb|250px|Darwaza-i Rauza, the large gate to the Taj Mahal complex]] Entry to the Taj Mahal complex costs ₹50 for Indians and ₹1100 for foreigners/NRI (Non-resident Indians). To get into the mausoleum, you must pay an additional ₹200 (March 2024). The ticket fee for foreigners includes a small bottle of water, and disposable shoe covers for entering the mausoleum. You may also enter the mausoleum barefoot, so consider refusing the disposable shoes covers and going in barefoot. There are shoe racks to keep your shoes just outside the mausoleum. You can buy tickets from 3 entrances: the south, east and west gates. The west gate (opens 6AM) is typically the busiest (you could be queueing for hours) but closest to the city. The south gate is less busy but opens later at 8AM. The East gate (opens 6AM) is the furthest from the city but also generally the least busy. The Indian government also provides online ticketing for the Taj Mahal at its [https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/ official website]. Entry tickets are valid for only '''3 hours'''. If you stay longer, you will be charged an extra fee at the exit gate. ====Night view==== There are night viewing of Taj Mahal sessions on the nights of a full moon and the two days before and after (so five days in total). Only hand-held cameras and binoculars are allowed for night viewing of the Taj Mahal. However, the night view is likely not worth it as the visitors are kept far from the Taj Mahal (nearly {{m|200}} away), and there is not sufficient light for viewing or photography. Tickets cost ₹510 for Indians and ₹750 for non-Indians; tickets can only be purchased online at Archeological Survey of India website and are usually sold out very quickly. Opening times: 9PM-midnight; attendance is split into 30-minutes slots, 50 visitors group for each slot. A visitor must arrive 30 min prior to viewing hours for a security check at the Taj Mahal ticket kiosk at the East Gate. ====Tour guides and audio guides==== Official guides are available for Agra for ₹1200 for a half day, including both the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. Ask at your agent for details. Any guide that charges less than that is probably an unlicensed tour. Most unlicensed touts have fake IDs and focus more on taking you shopping rather than on presenting accurate information. You can book a local government-approved guide by logging into the [www.tajtourguide.com Taj Tour Guide] website or online search. You can purchase a self-guided audio tour (allows two to a device) from near the ticketing booths. Cost is ₹100 in English and foreign languages and ₹60 for Indian languages. You can also consider downloading a free audio guide such as the CaptivaTour Travel Audio Guide, which has a reasonable free 45-minute audio guide for the Taj Mahal. ====Notes==== *Mosquito repellent is advisable in the warmer months. *Knives are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Tobacco, alcohol, chewing gum and food are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Avoid touching and scratching the walls and surfaces of the monument as these are old heritage sites that need special care. *Wheelchairs for disabled persons and first aid boxes are available at ASI office inside the Taj Mahal complex for a ₹1,000 refundable deposit. =====Clothing===== The Taj Mahal is a religious site. It is best to dress conservatively when visiting the Taj Mahal complex, not only because the Taj Mahal itself is a mausoleum, but also because there are mosques inside the Taj Mahal complex. Walking inside the Taj Mahal mausoleum in the shoe covers provided might be quite dangerous, as the marble floors are very slippery. =====Electronics===== *Headphones are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Bringing a keyboard from a tablet is forbidden. Moreover, the cloakroom at Taj Mahal may refuse to take the keyboard without a bag or a backpack, and also refuse to take the backpack with a tablet. *Mobile phones are allowed but must to be kept switched off. Mobile phones are banned for the night viewing of the Taj Mahal. =====Luggage===== Avoid carrying big bags and books as this will mean the guards will take longer to search through them. The guard may require you to check even medium-sized backpacks. Lockers are available at the gates to keep your belongings (of course, at your own risk). Memorise the number on your luggage ticket before you return it to the guard, who, incredibly, may proceed to tear it into tiny pieces, throw it away and then stare blankly at you as the other guard asks for your ticket. =====Photography===== *Photography is prohibited inside the main mausoleum. *Tripods are prohibited inside the Taj Mahal complex. *Because the Taj is white, your camera may underexpose your photos. Overexposure by 1 or 2 stops is recommended. ===Agra Fort=== [[File:Agra Fort Palace.JPG|thumb|Entering the palace within Agra Fort]] * {{see | name=Agra Fort | alt=आगरा क़िला ''Āgrā Qilā'' | url=https://www.tajmahal.gov.in/agrafort.aspx | email= | address= | lat=27.179583 | long=78.021297 | directions=metro: {{station|Agra Fort|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q171857 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=It is similar in layout to the Red Fort in [[Delhi]], but considerably better preserved, as much of Delhi Fort was razed by the British after the Mutiny. As much a palace as a defensive structure, it is also constructed mainly from red sandstone and much white marble in the palace section of the fort. }} Emperor Akbar, king at 14, began consolidating his empire and, as an assertion of his power, built the fort in Agra between 1565 and 1571, at the same time as Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. The emperor added to the fort and ended up a prisoner in it. The fort has a beautiful view of its masterpiece, the Taj Mahal, on a clear day. You can get to the fort by rickshaw from the Taj Mahal for around ₹45-50. Entry to the Fort is ₹600 plus a levy of ₹50 if you have not already paid for the Taj Mahal. There are ''left luggage services'' at the Fort where you can store your bags at no cost. A fine of ₹5,000 applies if you lose your luggage ticket. Eating is not allowed. There are also audio guides available at the Fort, which you can rent for a cost of ₹100 in English and other foreign languages (German, French, Spanish) or ₹60 in Indian languages such as Hindi or Bengali. The Agra Fort buildings include: * {{see | name=Diwan-i-Am | alt=Hall of Public Audience | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178890 | long=78.023370 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra Fort, India (21001488178).jpg | wikidata=Q15648841 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=This building separates the outer court from the inner court and has a marble platform for the emperor's throne. }} * {{see | name=Diwan-i-Khas | alt=Hall of Private Audience | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179850 | long=78.020914 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra Fort - Diwan-e Khas.jpg | wikidata=Q97881912 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Built completely of marble, this is where the emperor received special visitors. }} * {{see | name=Jahangiri Mahal | alt=Jahangir's Palace | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.177889 | long=78.023000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jahangiri Mahal | image=Agra Fort 05 (Friar's Balsam Flickr).jpg | wikidata=Q3612475 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=The principal zenana (palace for women belonging to the royal household) of the Fort. It was built for the Hindu wives of Akbar, especially his chief wife Mariam-uz-Zamani, popularly known as "Jodha Bai". There is a huge bowl called Hauz-i-Jahangiri that is carved out of a single piece of stone. This was used as a container for fragrant rose water. }} * {{see | name=Mina Masjid | alt=Heavenly Mosque | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178722 | long=78.023139 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mina Mosque | image=Agra Fort 20180908 143411.jpg | wikidata=Q16933896 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A mosque built, entirely of white marble, by Shah Jahan for his personal use. It is enclosed and secured on all sides by high walls, and has a small open court in front of the three-arched prayer-chamber. There is no ornamentation and is simple. }} * {{see | name=Moti Masjid | alt=Pearl Mosque | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.180340 | long=78.021690 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Moti Masjid (Agra Fort) | image=Agra-Fort-38-Moti Masjid-2018-gje.jpg | wikidata=Q4179295 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A Friday mosque. }} * {{see | name=Musamman Burj | alt=Shah Burj | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178900 | long=78.023600 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Musamman Burj (Agra Fort) | image=Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)-2.jpg | wikidata=Q6940101 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=An octagonal tower built by Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that there was a small marble palace built by Akbar at this site, which was later demolished by Jahangir to erect new buildings. The tower looks out over the River Yamuna, offering what is traditionally considered to be one of the most poignant views of the Taj Mahal. It is here that Shah Jahan along with his favorite daughter Jahanara Begum had spent his last few years as a captive of his son Aurangzeb. He laid here on his death bed while gazing at the Taj Mahal. }} * {{see | name=Nagina Masjid | alt=Gem Mosque, Jewel Mosque | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179380 | long=78.022580 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Nagina Masjid, Agra Fort | image=NaginaMasjid.jpg | wikidata=Q6958835 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Shah Jahani Mahal | alt=Shah Jahan's Palace | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178760 | long=78.023140 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Shah Jahani Mahal | image=Moti Masjid at Agra Fort 2012-02-22.jpg | wikidata=Q7461284 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A palace between the white-marble Diwan-i-Khas and the redstone Jahangiri Mahal. It is the earliest attempt of emperor Shah Jahan to convert an existing redstone building in accordance with his taste. }} * {{see | name=Sheesh Mahal | alt=Glass Palace | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179850 | long=78.020914 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q97881957 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A stunning palace adorned with intricate mirror work and glass mosaics. It served as a royal dressing room and exemplifies the exquisite craftsmanship of the Mughal era. }} * {{see | name=Tomb of John Russel Colvin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178822 | long=78.022258 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content= }} ===Cemeteries, tombs and memorials=== [[File:Itmad ud Daulah 4.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah]] [[File:Chini ki Rauza 2.jpg|thumb|Chini Ka Rauza]] * {{see | name=Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.1925 | long=78.031389 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=₹300 for foreigners | wikidata=Q1318766 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=Empress Nur Jahan built the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, sometimes called the Baby Taj, for her father, Ghias-ud-Din Beg, the Chief Minister of Emperor Jahangir. Small in comparison to many other Mughal-era tombs, it is sometimes described as a jewel box. Its garden layout and use of white marble, pietra dura, inlay designs and latticework presage many elements of the Taj. }} * {{see | name=Chauburji | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.19255 | long=78.034878 | directions=east of Itimad-ud-Daula | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=This was the temporary burial place of Babur. Later, his mortal remains were transferred to [[Kabul]]. It has four corner towers and follows the prototype of the nearby Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula, but lacks the marble finish. It lies in ruins and is seldom visited by tourists. }} * {{see | name=Chini Ka Rauza | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.200833 | long=78.034167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chini Ka Rauza | image=Chini ki Rauza 4.jpg | wikidata=Q5101062 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=A memorial dedicated to the Prime Minister of Shah Jahan, Allama Afzel Khal Mullah Shukrullah of Shiraz, notable for its dome of blue glazed tiles. }} * {{see | name=Jaswant Singh ki Chatri | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.214144 | long=78.033942 | directions=Rajwara, Balkeshwar, east bank of Yamuna | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jaswant Ki Chhatri | wikidata=Q97815695 | lastedit=2020-12-29 | content=Jaswant Singh ki Chatri is the only Hindu monument built in Agra during the Mughal rule. It is a memorial cenotaph dedicated to Rani Hada, wife of Amar Singh Rathore. Upon her husband's death, Rani Hada committed sati. Raja Jaswant Singh, the younger brother of Amar Singh, built the chatri in 1644-58 CE. }} * {{see | name=Mariam's Tomb | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.21529 | long=77.94203 | directions=west from Akbar's Tomb on Agra-Delhi highway | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani | content=Constructed by Jahangir in memory of his mother Mariam Zammani. The grave is made of white marble. Though this building is in a ruined condition, yet it has in its vicinity, a Christian Mission School and a church. It is also said; Akbar himself made it in the memory of his Christian wife. | wikidata=Q7818627 }} * {{see | name=Roman Catholic Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.210317 | long=78.004925 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q126811012 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=Roman Catholic Cemetery in Agra predates the Taj Mahal. It dates back to the time of Akbar (ruled 1556 - 1605). The earliest grave dates back to 1611 and is of an Armenian named Khwaja Mortenepus. The star attraction of the cemetery is the tomb of William Hessing (1740 - 1803), a Dutch commander of Agra Fort under Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia. The red sandstone tomb was constructed by his wife and is designed along the lines of the Taj Mahal, but not an exact copy. It is often referred to as the Red or Baby Taj. The Ellisa Memorial, Tomb of General Perron's children and many of the other tombs are built in Islamic style. Also, many of the Armenian graves have epitaphs in Persian. }} * {{see | name=Sikandra | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.220556 | long=77.950556 | directions=10&nbsp;km north of Agra on the Agra Delhi highway | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Open from sunrise to sunset | price= | wikidata=Q416646 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=The tomb of Akbar lies here in the centre of the large garden. Akbar started its construction himself but it was completed by his son Jahangir, who significantly modified the original plans, which accounts for the somewhat cluttered architectural lines of the tomb. Four red sandstone gates lead to the tomb complex: one is Muslim, one Hindu, one Christian, and one is Akbar's patent mixture. }} * {{see | name=Tomb of Firoz Khan Khwajasara | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.137900 | long=78.002000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tomb of Firoz Khan | wikidata=Q123367078 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=Firoz Khan Khwasara was the caretaker of Shah Jahan's harem. It is a sandstone tomb with four corner towers and intricate jali works. }} ===Gardens=== [[File:Pavilions of Aram Bagh 1.jpg|thumb|Water Chanels and pavilion of Aram Bagh]] * {{see | name=Aram Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2054 | long=78.0386 | directions=500&nbsp;m N of the Chini Ka Roza | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7288428 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=The first Mughal garden, built by the first Mughal emperor, Babur. }} * {{see | name=Khan-i-Alam Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.17335 | long=78.04047 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q97884968 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A less-explored garden just west of the Taj Mahal complex. }} * {{see | name=Mehtab Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179722 | long=78.041944 | directions=directly across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal, the trip takes about 30&nbsp;minutes from the centre of town by auto rickshaw and will cost about ₹200 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=₹50 for Indians, ₹300 for foreigners | wikidata=Q12061618 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=An octagonal pool is placed at the centre of the garden, which lets visitors see an amazing reflection of the Taj Mahal during moonlight, without the crowds of tourists. The garden was built in the 16th century by Emperor Babur, and it is also referred to as the "Moonlight Garden". Alternatively, there is the ADA Taj Mahal View Point to the right of the entrance: the view of the Taj is every bit as lovely (perhaps more so, since the barbed wire fence surrounding the gardens will be beneath you). }} * {{see | name=Shahjahan Garden | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.17408 | long=78.0263 | directions={{station|Agra Fort|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content= }} * {{see | name=Soami Bagh | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.22280 | long=78.00925 | directions=10&nbsp;km north of Agra | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The white marble samadhi of the Radha Soami religion. Construction started in 1904 and is not expected to be completed until sometime in the next century. Visitors can see pietra dura inlaid marblework actually being worked on. Soami Bagh is 2 km north of Agra and can be reached by bus or cycle. }} ===Places of worship=== * {{see | name=Guru ka Tal | alt= | url=http://www.gurdwaragurukataal.com/ | email=gurukataal@yahoo.in | address= | lat=27.211669 | long=77.967496 | directions=at Delhi-Agra Highway, between Transport Nagar and Sikandra | phone=+91 562 260 1717 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Guru Ka Tal | wikidata=Q5620454 | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=A historical gurudwara dedicated to the ninth Guru, that is Guru Tegh Bahadur. The gurudwara is at the place where Tegh Bahadur offered voluntary arrest to emperor Aurangzeb. }} ====Churches==== * {{see | name=Akbar's Church | alt= | url=http://www.agraarchdiocese.com | email= | address= | lat=27.197342 | long=78.010397 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3585487 | lastedit=2025-09-04 | content=Akbar's Church dates back to 1598 and was built under the patronage of Emperor Akbar by Jesuit Fathers from Goa. Akbar's son, Jahangir, helped in the further expansion of the church. However, his son Shah Jahan demolished the church in 1635, only to rebuild it a year later. Again in 1758, the church was looted by the Persian invader Ahmed Shah Abdali. In 1769, the church was rebuilt. In 1835, the church went through further extension. }} * {{see | name=Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | alt=Roman Catholic Cathedral of Agra | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.197800 | long=78.009700 | directions=near Akbar's Church | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Agra, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.JPG | wikidata=Q11737313 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=Constructed in 1848, it dominates the nearby Akbar's Church. It is built in Baroque style. }} * {{see | name=St John's Church | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.21528 | long=77.94412 | directions=near Mariam's Tomb | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-10 | content=Oldest Protestant church of Agra. }} ====Muslim sites==== * {{see | name=Great Idgah | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.169557 | long=78.003396 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Great Idgah of Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q97815529 | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=An eidgah where Muslims would come together during Friday prayers. }} * {{see | name=Hazrat Ahmad Shah Bukhari Rahmatullah Aleh Dargah | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.176893 | long=78.048385 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=A hidden dargah inside the Taj Forest. }} * {{see | name=Jama Masjid | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.181944 | long=78.016111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jama Mosque, Agra | image=Jami Masjid, Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q6127147 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A large congregational mosque attributed to Princess Jahanara Begum, built in 1648 during the reign of her father, Shah Jahan. Notable for its unusual dome and absence of minarets. }} ====Temples==== * {{see | name=Dayal Bagh Temple | alt=Soami Bagh Samadh | url=https://www.dayalbagh.org.in/ | email= | address= | lat=27.2220 | long=78.0028 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2024-06-17 | content=Dayal Bagh Temple in Agra, the headquarters of the Radha Soami Satsang movement, is renowned for its ongoing construction, stunning white marble architecture, and intricate carvings. Founded in 1904, it serves as a spiritual and meditation centre, attracting devotees worldwide. }} * {{see | name=Mankameshwar Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address=Rawatpara | lat=27.18368 | long=78.0175 | directions=near {{station|Agra Fort|city=india|nr}}, metro: {{station|Mankameshwar|yellow}}, a simple cycle rickshaw can take you there for a fare of ₹20 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q17058919 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=Listen to the aarti as some claim it purifies your soul. It is the most visited temple by locals, and during festive seasons, it's so crowded, disrupting the traffic in the nearby areas. }} ===Others=== <!-- * {{see | name=Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.163896 | long=78.057391 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} under construction --> * {{see | name=Battis Khamba | alt=बत्तीस खंबा ''Battīs Khambā'', literally "32 pillars" | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.209500 | long=78.038000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Battis Khamba | image=Battis Khamba, Agra.jpg | wikidata=Q132528738 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=An octagonal three-storey tower topped by a chhatri. }} * {{see | name=Gyarah Sidhi | alt=ग्यारह सीढ़ी ''Gyārah Sīṛhī'', literally "eleven steps" | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.179706 | long=78.033877 | directions=west of Mehtab Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gyarah Sidhi | wikidata=Q5624014 | lastedit=2026-02-26 | content=The 11-step structure is part of a medieval observatory dating back to the Mughal emperor Humayun. }} ==Do== *'''City Walks''': Other than the monuments visits, one can also stroll in the local markets in old city area. It's a nice experience to have a walk in one of the oldest parts of the city. * {{do | name=Adlabs Multiplex | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹150 for a Hindi Show & ₹450 for a show in English | content=Interactive cinema. Each viewer holds a wireless remote unit with push buttons and a small LCD screen, enabling them to participate in a trivia game about the theme of the film. The show is called ''India in Motion'', a 25-minute show where the audience will pass through today's India in, or on, a variety of typical vehicles and see the historical events at sites of Mohenjo Daro, Indraprastha and the Taj Mahal, experiencing the bumpy elephant rides with the wind blowing through their hair, or the swaying boat with salty spray on their faces. Before the show there is an interactive quiz on various topics relating to India. }} * {{do | name=Taj Nature Walk | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.17030 | long=78.04857 | directions=500 m from the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal, metro: {{station|Taj East Gate|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours=7AM-5PM | price=Indian nationals ₹40 (up to 5 years free, 5 to 10 years ₹20), foreigners ₹100 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A forest area of 11 hectares, this park has many landscaped mounds and watchtowers that provide a nice view of the Taj Mahal. There's a lake with many species of fish, birds and aquatic plants. }} * {{do | name=Yamuna River | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.1829 | long=78.0257 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q132726 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=One of the holy rivers of India, considered as a goddess in Hindu culture. A tributary of the Ganges which flows from Himalayas and further downstream, while passing through Delhi. }} ===Parks and lakes=== * {{do | name=Keetham Lake | alt=Sur Sarovar | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.253294 | long=77.843875 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Keetham Lake | wikidata=Q6383337 | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=A picturesque lake off NH 44, and a [[Ramsar site]]. The pentagonal lake is home to over two dozen species of resident and migratory birds. The Agra Bear Rescue Facility near the lake is dedicated to rehabilitating previously captured "dancing bears". }} * {{do | name=Paliwal Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.200556 | long=78.014167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Paliwal Park | wikidata=Q7127640 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content= }} ===Events=== * {{event | name=Taj Mahotsav | alt=ताज महोत्सव / تاج مہوتسو ''Tāj Mahotsav'' | url=http://www.tajmahotsav.org/ | year=annual | month=February | date= 18 | enddate=27 | lat=27.166545 | long=78.052147 | directions=metro: {{station|Taj East Gate|yellow}} | content=An annual 10-day festival of art, craft and culture at Shilpgram, near the Taj Mahal. It is inspired by the old Mughal and Awadhi styles prevalent in present-day Uttar Pradesh. }} ===Sports=== * {{do | name=Agra Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.168577 | long=78.032132 | directions=metro: {{station|Taj Mahal|yellow}} | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content= }} * {{do | name=Eklavya Sports Stadium | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.160800 | long=78.008700 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Eklavya Sports Stadium | wikidata=Q16919556 | lastedit=2026-03-13 | content=The main stadium of Agra, hosting both cricket and football. }} ==Buy== Agra has many shops selling stone products, from jewellery to small boxes and plaques with inlay work resembling that on the Taj. The best of these are wonderful, and even the run-of-the-mill ones are rather pretty. Agra is also famous for its leather goods. Consider spending time in Sadar Bazaar for some shopping and cheap food. These markets have [[gemstones]], both precious and semi-precious, cut and polished but unset, and finished jewellery. You can also find chic boutiques, classy leather goods, culturally-designed clothing, and marble markets. Beware of being overcharged. Do not let ''anyone'' lead you to a shop, lest the price go up to cover their commission, typically 50%. Be very wary of the promises these people make. [[Bargain]] hard. Be prepared to walk away, you can nearly always get the same items in another shop or order items you liked during your visit over the Internet after you return. Expect to encounter petty and greedy shopowners who will resort to every lie in the book to make a sale (with initial markups of 1,000-10,000%). There are many local markets: Sadar Bazar. a sophisticated market, Raja ki Mandi market, Sanjay Place for all the offices, Shah Market for electronics. All of these markets are situated along the M G Road. Hospital Road Market and Subhash Bazar for clothes situated near Agra Fort railway station. Rawatpara market is for spices. Besides these there are many branded shops along the M G Road. Many wholesale marble products are available at Gokul Pura Market near Raja Mandi on M. G. Road which can be easily reached by auto rickshaw, the price of most items are nearly 25% in the retail market. Be careful when buying jewels: lots of stones are fake and the price is comparatively high. * {{buy | name=Taj Ganj | alt=ताजगंज ''Tājgañj'' | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.166719 | long=78.043468 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=India DSC01595 (16721145132).jpg | wikidata=Q102293079 | lastedit=2026-02-23 | content=A chaotic bazaar in front of the Taj Mahal complex, a stark contrast from the complex's elegant, formal geometric layout. Originally known as "Mumtazabad", the bazaar was built as an integral part of the complex, initially to provide the construction workers with accommodation and facilities for their wellbeing. It eventually became a bustling town and the centre of Agra's economic activity where "different kinds of merchandise from every land, varieties of goods from every country, all sorts of luxuries of the time, and various kinds of necessities of civilisation and comfortable living brought from all parts of the world" were sold. }} ==Eat== Agra specialities are ''petha'', a type of very sweet candy, and ''Dal Moth'', a spicy lentil mix. Both are also popular souvenirs. * '''Chaat''' - Agra is a heaven for any Chaat lover. Chaat can be of various types but there is one thing common among them all is that they are spicy and you will find crowd outside virtually every chaat stall, especially popular places like Double Phatak (near Sikandra) for Mangores. You'll find quality Bhallas and Panipuri at Sadar and Belangunj. Samosa and Kachori are found at every sweet shop that flood the city. Some typical chaat items are Aloo Tikki (made by roasting mess made out of boiled potatoes), paneer tikka (cubes of cottage cheese baked in a tandoor with spices), pani puri or golguppa (small round hollow shells filled with a potato-based filling and a spicy sweet blend of sauces), mangores, Samosaes, Chachori, etc. If you want to savour the typical Agra breakfast have a bite of one of those spicy ''Berahi'' and round it off with sweet ''Jalebies''. * '''Sweets''' - There are quite a few good sweets shops. The best for the famous petha of Agra are at Hari Parwat, a short distance from Agra Fort. Amongst the well-known shops are Panchi's, Bhimsain BaidyaNath and The Pracheen Petha store. There are many types of petha available but, for the authentic experience, try either the plain one (ivory white) or Angoori flavoured (rectangular and yellow pieces soaked in sugar syrup). Other shops in Agra include: Bikanervala, Deviram, Munnalal Petha, Gopaldas, and Ajanta Sweets, Kamla Nagar. You can round off your meal with a Joda (pair) of Pan unique to the city. * There is also an abundance of Korean food. * There are several restaurants in the Taj Ganj area, catering for the many tourists staying around the Taj Mahal. ===Budget=== * {{eat | name=Joney's place | alt= | url= | email= | address=Taj ganj | lat=27.1692569 | long= 78.0419233 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content=Perfect for early breakfast, when you want to wake up early to visit the Taj at 6AM. Offered are for example toast, coffee and cornflakes. }} * {{eat | name=Manoj Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=Johari Bazar Rd | lat=27.1833701 | long=78.0160041 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Treat Restaurant | alt= | url= | email=treatagra@yahoo.co.in | address=South Gate Taj Mahal | lat=27.1691033 | long=78.0419485 | directions= | phone=+91 931 969 7497 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=breakfast, lunch and dinner | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content=Good Indian food }} * {{eat | name=Yash Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= 3/137 Chawk Kaghzian, near Hotel Shanti Lodge| lat=27.1688966 | long=78.0434532 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Tea’se Me | alt= | url= | email= | address=18/159D Hotel M House, Fatehabad Rd | lat=27.1662111 | long= 78.0369160 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Berco's Tajganj Agra | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ground Floor, Howard Plaza | lat= 27.1625552 | long=78.0369126 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-06-01 | content=Chinese cuisine. }} ===Splurge=== ==Drink== A bottle of Indian beer costs around ₹70-100 in a hotel, but there is virtually no nightlife in Agra outside of cultural shows at some of the larger hotels and restaurants. After getting off the streets of Agra and into your hotel, you will not want to go back anyway. * {{drink | name=Amar Vilas Bar |alt=| url= | email= | address=Taj East Gate Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=noon to midnight | price= |lastedit=2018-01-12| content= Beer for ₹200 and cocktails for ₹450. The terrace of Amar Vilas Bar provides a view of the Taj. }} * {{drink | name=Downing Street Bar | url= | email= | address=Howard Sarovar Portico, Fatehabad Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +91 562 4048600, +91 562 4048699 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= High quality of beverages and pleasant ambience. Downing Street Bar offers dishes such as pizza and tandoori chicken from the same kitchen. }} * {{drink | name=Mughal Bar | url= | email= | address=54, Taj Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 222 6121, +91 562 222 6129 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= It's in the compound of Hotel Clarks Shiraz’s, Mughal Bar is an open-aired roof bar. It offers some continental delicacies along with Indian ones. }} ==Sleep== {{sleeppricerange|Under ₹1,000|₹1,000–6,000|Over ₹6,000}} ===Budget=== *{{sleep | name=Col Lamba Indian Home Stay | url=http://www.agra-indianhomestay.com/ | email= | address=58 Gulmohar Enclave, Shamshabad Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone = +91 562-3298921 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Around ₹700 per person | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Shahjahan | alt= | url= | email=shahjahan.hotel@gmail.com | address=South Gate, near police station Tajganj | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 320 0240 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹300 for a couple | content=Almost a fancy hotel and restaurant, with a café and a rooftop with great views of the Taj Mahal. Wi-Fi only downstairs in the reception. The staff are very helpful. Five minutes' walk from the Taj. }} * {{sleep | name=Dayal Lodge | alt=Budget Hotel in City Centre | url=http://www.dayal.co.in/ | email=dayallodge@gmail.com | address=25 New Agra, Dayalbagh Road | lat= | long= | directions=towards Dayalbagh | phone=+91 9219606365, +91 9359848731, +91 562-2524560 | tollfree= | fax=+91 562 2524560 | hours= | price=Double room with air-con ₹700-800 | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | content=Established in the early 1960s, with 16 furnished air conditioned rooms. 24 hr made-to-order meals, in-house laundry facilities, local airport/railway station transfers. }} * {{sleep | name=Friends Paying Guest House | alt=friendsguesthouse786@gmail.com | url=http://www.friendspayingguesthouse.com/ | email= | address=p-6 , Taj Nagri Phase 1, near Shilpgram Rd | lat=27.163552 | long=78.053602 | directions=southeast of Shilpgram parking lot | phone=+91 99 1788 5278 | tollfree= | checkin=noon | checkout=1PM | price=Double ₹400 | content=Family-run guest house 15-min walk east from the Taj. Food, decent Wi-Fi, TV in rooms. Cushion-furnished balcony common area for eating, drinking and lazing about. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Amba Inn | url=http://www.hotelambainn.com | email= | address=1/51, Delhi Gate, Near Raja ki Mandi Railway Station | lat= | long= | directions=2 min from railway station | phone = +91 562 2520779, +91 9412720194 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Single ₹550-800, double ₹650-900 | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | content=Offers facilities for 22 rooms. There are both double rooms, single rooms, as well as facility for an extra bed. All the rooms are air conditioned, with television. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Jaiwal | url= | email= | address=3 Taj Road, Sadar Bazar | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 2363153 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹75-325 | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Kamal | alt= | url= | email=hotelkamal@hotmail.com | address= | lat=27.16914 | long=78.04247 | directions=by the south gate of the Taj Mahal | phone=+91 562-2330126 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹300-850 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Neel Kanth | url= | email= | address=Fatehabad Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 2362039 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹100+ | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Raj | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=About ₹800 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Directly in front of the central entry of the Taj Mahal, simple but clean. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Sheela | url= | email=hotelsheelaagraindia@yahoo.com | address=Tajganj| lat= | long= | directions=100&nbsp;metres from eastern gate of Taj Mahal | phone = +91 562-2333074 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹500-800 | checkin= | checkout=10AM | content=Commission-free transport bookings, free incoming phone calls, 24&nbsp;hour hot water. 22 rooms. Laundry facility. }} * {{sleep | name=India Inn | url= | email= | address=Taj Mahal South Gate | lat= | long= | directions=as you come out on the street from the south exit, turn left, then almost immediately right down the side of the Taj café, it's at the end of the dusty parking lot 40 m from the café | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=₹300 for a double in off season | checkin= | checkout=10AM negotiable | content=Comfortable enough. }} * {{sleep | name=Rhine Hostel | alt=Rhine YOGA Hostel | url=http://www.rhinehostel.com | email=rhinestay@outlook.com | address=HIG - 2/10, Near Shilpgram Parking, Taj Nagri Phase 1, Taj East Gate Rd, Telipara | lat= | long= | directions=1 km from east gate of Taj mahal, next to Shilpgram parking | phone=+91 99973 79977 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=1PM | checkout=11AM | price=single ₹199 | lastedit=2018-06-09 | content=6 rooms, 10 minute walking distance from Taj Mahal, rooftop, free stay in exchange of work available. Food, Wi-Fi, common area for eating, drinking and lazing about. }} * {{sleep | name=Saniya Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address=Chowk Kajziyan, South Gate, Taj Ganj | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 3270199 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Good budget hotel with some air-con rooms. 24-hr room service. Friendly staff & fantastic views of the Taj Mahal from the roof top restaurant. ₹700 }} * {{sleep | name=Shanti lodge | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=South Taj gate. From ₹400 economic room, non air-con. Hot water, TV. Restaurant on the roof top. Be careful with the bed sheets, not very clean. Cloak room available. }} * {{sleep | name=Youth Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sanjay Place, MG Rd | lat=27.198109 | long=78.003119 | directions= | phone=+91 562 2154462 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹50-₹125 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Harshit paying guest house | alt=harshitguesthouse00004@gmail.com | url= | email= | address=P-50A Taj nagari phase-1, Tajganj | lat= | long= | directions=Fatehabad Road near big bazaar | phone=+91 931-9105293 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=noon | price=₹5,000 | content=Five clean rooms, running hot water in the bathroom, fully air conditioned, LCD TV, Internet, home cooked food. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Clarks Shiraz | alt= | url=http://www.hotelclarksshiraz.com/ | email= | address=54, Taj Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 222 6120 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=₹3,950-5,670 | wikidata=Q22934359 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Mandakini Villas | url=http://mandakini-villas-agra.hotels-agra.com/en/ | email= | address=Fatehabad Road, Purani Mandi, Taj Ganj | lat= | long= | directions=200&nbsp;metres from the Taj Mahal's West Gate | phone=+91 5626453854 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Rates start at ₹2,690 | checkin= | checkout=noon | content=Offers air-conditioned rooms each with cable TV with 100 channels, broadband Internet connection, private bathroom. You might get a little bit warmer than cold water by requesting it from the reception a few times. It is not possible to sleep without earplugs in the first floor because of the noise coming from corridor and reception all night. Get a room on the higher floors. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Priya | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/hotelpriyaagra/ | email= | address=Near Priya Restaurant, Near TDI Mall, Fatehabad Road | lat= | long= | directions=400 m from the Taj Mahal's East Gate parking | phone=+91 562 223 1350, +91 983 777 4948 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=noon | price=Double ₹1,355-2,850. Breakfast ₹150 (taxes not included.) | content=Offers air-con rooms each with cable TV with 100 channels, Internet connection, private bathroom. One of the best in this range. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Taj Resorts | alt= | url=http://www.hoteltajresorts.com/ | email= | address=538, Taj East Gate Rd | lat=27.168339 | long=78.051151 | directions=near Shilpgram, which is 1km from the Eastern Gate | phone=+91-562-2230161 | tollfree= | fax=+91-562-2230164 | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60-70/night, ₹4,000-6,000 (June 2012, tax not included) | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=Built in 2010, restaurant with rooftop seating and a beautiful pool, great view of the Taj (if not blocked by terrible pollution). }} * {{sleep | name=Laurie's Hotel | url= | email= | address=Mahatma Gandhi Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 2364536 | tollfree= | fax=+91 562 2268045 | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=An old colonial hotel from the British era, some say it hasn't been upgraded since, Laurie's retains some of the charm of travelling in India during the Raj. Rooms with very high ceilings (fans, no aircon) lead off from verandahs with nice lawns outside. A swimming pool is closed in the winter. One can get British era service with 'bed tea', excellent freshly made chicken curry and rice to order, and creaky plumbing. Some people will love it, others may hate it. }} * {{sleep | name=N.Home Stay | alt= | url=https://www.nhomestay.com/ | email=nguesthouse.agra@gmail.com | address=15 Ajanta Colony, Vibhav Nagar | lat=27.157487 | long=78.035035 | directions= | phone=+91 969-0107860, +91 989-7444410 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout=10AM | price=Single air-con room [June 2012]: ₹1199 & Double air-con room [June 2012]: ₹1499 | content=A family owned, operated guest house in a peaceful and quite colony away from the city traffic and pollution. Free parking, 24-hr free Wi-Fi, cable TV, all day water supply and accessible roof top. }} * {{sleep | name=Rajmahal hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Shilpgram, vip road (eastern gate) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=from ₹3,500 to ₹5,500 for couple | content=9&nbsp;km from Agra Airport. You will also get a nice view of Taj Mahal, which is 3 km away. }} * {{sleep | name=Tajview | alt= | url=https://www.seleqtionshotels.com/en-in/hotels/taj-view-agra | email= | address= | lat=27.160910 | long=78.039980 | directions= | phone=+91 562 660 2000 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=₹5,300 | wikidata=Q111402643 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=An IHCL SeleQtions hotel. }} ===Splurge=== Thanks to heavy competition, Agra's five-star hotels are good value compared to most other cities in India. * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Agra MG Road | alt= | url=https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/agra/agrmg/hoteldetail | email= | address=16/2/8, MG Rd, Sanjay Place, Civil Lines | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+91 562 423 3333 | tollfree= | checkin=3PM | checkout=noon | price=₹6,100-6,300 | wikidata=Q111402648 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=ITC Mughal | alt= | url=https://www.itchotels.com/in/en/itcmughal-agra | email=reservations@itchotels.in | address=Taj Ganj | lat=27.1612 | long=78.044 | directions= | phone=+91-562-4021700 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Double room [June 2012]: from ₹4,845 to ₹100,000. Taxes not included | content=Formerly the ''Sheraton Mughal'', this is one of Agra's top hotels, with views of the Taj from the roof viewing pavilion. Large pool. The hotel's age is starting to show, but the rooms are in fine shape. Popular with tour groups. }} * {{sleep | name=The Oberoi Amarvilas Agra | alt= | url=https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-agra-amarvilas-resort/ | email= | address=Taj East Gate Rd | lat=27.16801 | long=78.04944 | directions= | phone=+91 562 223 1515 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from ₹31,860 | wikidata=Q111402646 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content=The best (and most expensive) hotel in Agra. It is consistently rated among the top 10 hotels in Asia. }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson Hotel Agra | alt= | url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-agra | email= | address=1, Fatehabad Rd, Taj Nagri Phase 2 | lat=27.158603 | long=78.053366 | directions= | phone=+91 562 233 3333 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=₹6,150 | wikidata=Q111402562 | lastedit=2026-03-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=The Trident Agra | alt= | url=http://www.tridenthotels.com/hotels-in-agra/ | email= | address=Fathebad Road | lat=27.15933 | long=78.06043 | directions= | phone=+91 562 2331818 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from US$89 | wikidata=Q111402561 | lastedit=2023-12-14 | content=Formerly the Trident Hilton, it's further away from the Taj than others, but is near the TDI Mall. }} ==Stay safe== {{cautionbox|Agra, [[Delhi]] and the surrounding cities experience moderate to unhealthy [[Air pollution|air quality]] throughout the year, resulting in smog that potentially harms the health of residents and causes a few train delays due to low visibility. Air quality tends to be the best in the monsoon because of the prevailing winds and frequent rainfall, and it is worst during the summer and winter, as the unfavourable topography and dry stagnant weather trap all pollutants emitted within the valley. Anyone visiting the area should try to limit outdoor and exhausting activity. Have masks (single-use surgical masks are okay), tissues, and eyedrops ready when going out.}} * Don't leave cash or any valuables in the hotel room. Cross check all hotel, restaurant and lounge bills for errors. * Never pay anyone for anything upfront, including taxi drivers. * Beware of [[pickpockets]]. * If you decide to purchase anything, beware that most items are cheap replicas of original items and not likely to last long. The toys are really poorly put together so do not buy them! * During the winter season, the weather of Agra is unpredictable and temperature may go as low as freezing; be well prepared. * Some unscrupulous dealers of carpets use the classic 'bait and switch'. If you buy something, insist on carrying it yourself else what arrives in the post might not be what you bargained for. A carpet shop named 'Kanu carpets' is particularly infamous for this. It is prudent to steer clear of shady looking establishments. ==Connect== There are several Internet cafés for sending email or uploading digital photos. * '''[http://www.iway.com/ Sify Iway]''' also offers broadband connectivity at different locations spread all over the city. Many cheap cafés, such as the Taj Café, offer free Wi-Fi. ==Cope== ===Hospitals=== There are only a handful of hospitals in Agra compared to Delhi. Refer to the hospitals in [[Delhi]] in emergency. * {{listing | name=Agra District Hospital | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content= }} ==Go next== [[File:Fatehpur Sikri near Agra 2016-03 img05.jpg|thumb|Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri]] * '''[[Bharatpur]]''' is about 56&nbsp;km from Agra and houses the famous bird sanctuary in which you can see thousands of rare birds including '''Siberian Crane'''. The Lohagarh Fort remained invincible despite several attacks by the British. Just 32&nbsp;km from Bharatpur is the Deeg Palace. This strong and massive fort was the summer resort of the rulers of Bharatpur and has many palaces and gardens. * '''[[Fatehpur Sikri]]''' ghost city is a UNESCO world heritage site about 40 km from Agra. Built in the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar, the "City of Victory" was the capital of the Mughal Empire for a brief decade and was abandoned in 1586 due to inadequate local water supplies and proximity to the Rajputana areas in the North-West, which were increasingly in turmoil. It includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid. Full of well preserved palaces and courtyards, it is a must see for anyone visiting Agra. In order to get a full idea of this site it is better to take a guide (₹450 for 2h for its free entry part) or have a good printed guide. Entry to the site of the mosque (even to the yard) is only without wearing footwear. The vehicle parking is about a kilometre away and Agra Development Authority (ADA) runs some rickety non air conditioned buses to the site entrance, fare is ₹10 per person one way. Entry to the fort area where the palaces are located is ₹610 for foreigners. * '''[[Mathura]]''' is said to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. There are many beautiful temples in Mathura, including the one built at Shri Krishna's birthplace. * '''[[Nandgaon]]''' was the home of Shri Krishna's foster father, Nand. On the top of the hill is the spacious temple of Nand Rai, built by the Hat ruler Roop Singh. The other temples here are dedicated to Narsingha, Gopinath, Nritya Gopal, Girdhari, Nand Nandan, and Yasodha Nandan, which is half-way up the hill. Nandgaon springs into action every year around March for the festival of Holi, when many tourists flock to the city for the famous "lath mar holi". * '''National Chambal Sanctuary''', (70&nbsp;km away) is a natural sanctuary and the home of the endangered Indian ''gharial'' (a relative of the crocodile) and of the Ganges River Dolphin (also endangered). * '''[[Vrindavan]]''' is also a religious place around 50&nbsp;km from Agra, and quite close to [[Mathura]]. There are many temples here devoted to Lord Krishna, a few of the more famous of which are Banke Bihari and the Iskcon Temple. {{geo|27.18|78.02}} {{IsPartOf|Braj}} {{usablecity}} hz35k4n9s51xnnd48ncbmtzgz5wdcss 0 439 5298657 5247248 2026-06-26T08:51:56Z ~2026-36768-16 2426556 /* Shopping */ 5298657 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Welcome banner.jpg}} '''Aklanon''' (also '''Akeanon''') is a language spoken in the [[Philippines]], mainly in northern parts of [[Panay]]. Aklanon is unique among Philippine languages since it possesses the digraph ea ("l" pronounced with rolling "r" sound). According to legend, the digraph originated from the first ruler of [[Aklan]], Datu Bangkaya, who had a short tongue and therefore could not pronounce the "l" sound ==Pronunciation guide== ===Consonants=== ===Common diphthongs=== ==Phrase list== {{phrase}} ===Basics=== ; Hello. : Hello. ('' '') ; Hello. (''informal'') : Hay. ('' '') ; How are you? : Kumusta? ; Fine, thank you. : Mayad man. ; What is your name? : ano ro imong pangaean? ('' ?'') ; My name is ______ . : Akon nga pangaean hay _____.; ako hay si ______ . ('' _____ .'') ; Nice to meet you. : Kamayad nga nagkakilaea ta kita. ('' '') ; Please. : paki-; pangabay. ('' '') ; Thank you. : Saeamat . ('' '') ; You're welcome. : Uwa ron. ('' '') ; Yes. : Ho-o . ('' '') ; No. : Bukon. ('' '') ; Excuse me. (''getting attention'') : Paagi. ('' '') ; Excuse me. (''begging pardon'') : Pahuman nga. ('' '') ; I'm sorry. : Pasensyahe guid. ('' '') ; Goodbye : Mauna eot ang. ('' '') ; Goodbye (''informal'') : Mauna eon aq. ('' '') ; I can't speak Akeanon [well]. :[ ]Uwa aq kabaeo maghambae nga Akeanon it mayad. ('' [ ]'') Indi ako kantigo maghambae it akeanon ; Do you speak English? : Antigo ka mag hambae it English? ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : May una baea iya nga kantigo maghambae it Ingles? May iya nga tigo maghambae it english? ; Help! : Bulig! Tabang! ; Look out! : Pagtan-aw! ('' !'') ; Good morning. : mayad-ayad nga agahon . ('' '') ; Good evening. : mayad-ayad nga gabi-i. ('' '') ; Good night. : mad-ayad nga hapon. ('' '') ; Good night (''to sleep'') : pagkatueog eon. ('' '') ; I don't understand. : Indi ko maeobtan. ('' '') ; Where is the toilet? : Siin ro casilyas? ===Problems=== ===Numbers=== ;1 :isaea ;2 :daywa ;3 :tatlo ;4 :ap-at ;5 :lima ;6 :an-om ;7 :pito ;8 :waeo ;9 :siyam ;10 :pueo ;11 :pueo ag isaea ;12 :pueo ag daywa ;13 :pueo ag tatlo ;20 :daywang pueo ;30 :tatlong pueo ;40 :ap-at ka pueo ;50 :limang ka pueo ;100 :isaea'ng gatos ;200 :daywa'ng gatos ;300 :tatlo'ng gatos ;400 :ap-at nga gatos ;500 :lima'ng gatos ;1,000 :isaea'ng libo ;2,000 :daywa'ng libo ;3,000 :tatlo'ng libo ===Time=== Morning :Agahon; Noon :Udto ro adlao; Afternoon :Hapon; Evening :Gabi-i; Now :Makaron Later :Hinduna ====Clock time==== ;one o'clock AM :ala una it agahun ;two o'clock AM :alas dos it hapun ;noon :udto ;one o'clock PM :ala-una it hapun ;two o'clock PM - :alas dos it hapun ;midnight ====Duration==== ====Days==== ;Monday :Lunes ;Tuesday :Martes ;Wednesday :Mierkules ;Thursday :Huebes ;Friday :Biernes ;Saturday :Sabado ;Sunday :Dominggo ===Months=== ;January :Enero ;February :Pebrero ;March :Marso ;April :Abril ;May :Mayo ;June :Hunyo ;July :Hulyo ;August :Agosto ;September :Septiembre ;October :Oktobre ;November :Nobyembre ;December :Disyembre ====Writing time and date==== ===Colors=== color-kueay, white-puti, red- puea, green- berde, yellow- dueaw, black- itum, blue - azul; asul ===Transportation=== ====Bus and train==== ====Directions==== ====Taxi==== Car - Saeakyan Bicycle - Sikad ===Lodging=== ===Money=== ;Money - cuarta ;I have no money - '''Owa ako it cuarta.''' ;change - sinsillo; ;ten cents - dies centimos or centavos ; five cents - bakud ===Eating=== Breakfast - pamahaw Lunch - ilabas Snack - meryenda Dinner - ihapon Food - pagkaon Rice - humay Toasted/burnt rice - dukot Viand - suea (to) Boil (something) - ea-ga Spoiled - ban-os Overripe - samad (usually an exaggeration) ===Bars=== ===Shopping=== Buy - bakae ===Driving=== Speed up - dasig/i/a Slow down - hinay/i/a Brake - menor Let's go - panaw ta Stop - pundo I'm going out (of the car) - manaog eun ako ===Authority=== {{outlinephrasebook}} {{phrasebookguide}} 2t0olnhoj1mvmq1ixa7usbgf17o4luj 0 735 5298598 5297894 2026-06-26T04:02:02Z Brycehughes 43226 /* Buy */ fix 5298598 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Almaty banner1.jpg|caption=Kok Tobe and the Tian Shan Mountains looming above Almaty}} '''Almaty''' in [[Almaty Province]] is the largest city and the financial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, with a population in 2024 of 2,250,000. It's a sprawling modern city on a grid pattern, with snow-capped mountains just south marking the border with Kyrgyzstan. It's practical rather than beautiful, but has lots to see and do. == Understand == {{climate chart |Almaty |-8.1 |0.5 |34.7 |-6.2 |2.7 |42.6 |-0.2 |9.9 |72.4 |6.8 |17.8 |112.4 |11.5 |22.9 |98.7 |16.4 |27.9 |59.0 |18.6 |30.5 |42.9 |17.3 |29.7 |33.5 |12.0 |24.5 |27.8 |5.3 |16.9 |49.8 |-1.0 |8.1 |55.3 |-6.1 |2.0 |44.3 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Almaty]] |description= }} The riches of the [[Silk Road]] plodded through on camel-back and never embellished these steppes. The few inhabitants were nomadic herdsmen, with no town until the Russians colonised and built a wooden fort in 1854. An industrial town grew around the fort, although twice flattened by earthquakes. The Soviets named it Alma-Ata; "Alma" may mean "apple" and modern apples originated in this region. The city became the capital of the Kazakh SSR (or equivalent entities), and a railway and highway connected it to Russia. Trotsky was in exile here for a year before fleeing to Turkey then Mexico, where his communist comrades finally caught up with him and put a pick-axe through his head. The city was laid out on a low-rise grid pattern, with broad boulevards and parks, and has never had an organic "old town". During World War II Soviet industries relocated here beyond Nazi attack, along with hospitals, universities, cultural institutes and workers from elsewhere (especially Slavs, Uyghurs and Koreans) so it became quite cosmopolitan. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the city became capital of independent Kazakhstan and was renamed Almaty. For a capital Almaty was off-centre in a vast country, hard up against lofty mountains on the borders just south; the northern Kazakh city of Petropavl was astride the Trans-Siberian railway and closer to Moscow than to Almaty. In 1997 President Nursultan Nazarbayev shifted the capital to Akmola and renamed this as [[Astana]]. In 2019 he thought it would be even better if that was renamed after himself, but this didn't outlast him stepping down as president in 2022 amid violent unrest, so the capital is again called Astana while Almaty is the largest city. '''Climate''' is continental, influenced by the mountains. Winter daytime temperature is about -2 to −5 °C, while June-Aug is around 30 °C. The best times to visit are April-May (though these can be wet) and Sep-Oct. '''Talk:''' Russian is the lingua franca, as elsewhere in the "Stans". Kazakh is the official language (akin to Turkish) and uses western script. Many people in the service sector speak English. '''Visitor information:''' [https://visitalmaty.kz/en/index/ Visit Almaty]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is the online portal and gives details of its eight locations: the airport, Zenkov 24A, Panfilov 84, Dostyk 56/3, Timiryazev 40/2, Orbita 2, and Omarov 2 foot of the cable-car. The Kerey-Zhanibek Khandar location is next to Medeu ice rink in the mountain resort of [[Chimbulak]]. The [https://www.almaty.kz/ city government website]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is in Russian and Kazakh. == Get in == [[File:Zenkov Cathedral, Almaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Ascension Cathedral ]] See [[Kazakhstan#Get in]] for entry requirements. Most westerners may enter without a visa for up to 30 days. === By plane === {{go | name=Almaty International Airport | alt={{IATA|ALA}} | url=https://alaport.com/en-EN/ | email= | address=Maylina 2 | lat=43.3553 | long=77.0447 | directions=15 km northeast of city centre | phone=+7 727 270 3333 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Almaty International Airport | wikidata=Q858844 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Almaty airport is the hub for Central Asia. Most westerners fly in via Istanbul, the Gulf states, Frankfurt or London Heathrow. Other international flights are from Russia (Moscow Sheremetyevo, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Saint Petersburg), Ashgabat, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Tashkent and Tbilisi, and from Delhi, Beijing, Ürümqi, Xian, Hong Kong and Seoul. The flag-carrier Air Astana operates these and most domestic routes, with competition from budget carriers. Kazakhstan is a very big country, so most cities have regular flights to Almaty, eg from [[Astana]], [[Aktau]], [[Aktobe]], [[Atyrau]], [[Karaganda]], [[Kokshetau]], Kyzylorda, Kostanay, [[Oral]], [[Pavlodar]], [[Petropavlovsk]], [[Semey]], [[Shymkent]], [[Taraz]], [[Uralsk]], Urdjar, [[Ust-Kamenogorsk]] and Zhezkazgan. Arrivals is ground floor, Departures is upper floor, with a good selection of ground-side cafes and shops. The check-in area is nominally security-controlled but this is laxly enforced; however this area has no other facilities so there's no point entering till your desk is open. Passport control follows, then security, then you enter the air-side international lounge with shops, cafes and seating. }} ==== Ground transport ==== '''Buses''' run from the airport 05:30 to 23:00, every 30 mins or better, and take 30 min to the centre. Every taxi tout will assure you that they're not running, which of course they are, otherwise he wouldn't be so insistent. See Get around below for fares and ticket options, but a ride into town is 200 tenge - pay the driver or conductor. * Bus 92 is the only one from within the airport, the stop is just outside Arrivals. This zigzags through the northern Turksib district to Sayakhat junction, then west along Raiymbek Batyr (for Almaty-2 railway station and city metro), along Nauryzbai (southbound) or Zheltoksan (returning northbound) to Abai Bvd, then out to the western suburbs. Occasionally this bus can't enter the airport precinct because of construction works, in which case join it at Mailin St. * Other buses all run from Mailin Street, the boulevard just outside the airport. From Arrivals follow the traffic flow through the barriers onto the street, keeping right for traffic heading into town. You cross Zakarpatskaya the side-street that your bus will emerge from, pass the Favorit Hotel and a small supermarket, to find the bus stop where folk as cheapskate as yourself are waiting. Say 400 m, 10 mins walk. Bus 79 runs to Nazarbayev Ave (formerly Furmanov), and Bus 86 also runs downtown. Bus 106 bypasses downtown and runs to Sayran inter-city bus station, say 50 min. '''Taxis''' can be ordered at the booth in the arrivals hall, or arranged via your accommodation, or booked via Yandex. It may take 10 min to arrive, but it will be a sensible price, around 1500 tenge in 2024. At least, that will be the price quoted to you, the taxi driver may have other ideas. It's a common scam that at the end of your journey the driver claims that 1500 tenge was per kilometre, so you owe 35,000 tenge. It's difficult to argue as they soon turn violent, and as with all lucrative scams the police may be in on it. === By train === [[File:Almaty-2 station.jpg | thumb | 300px | Almaty-2 is the main railway station ]] {{go | name=Almaty-2 Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ablai Khan | lat=43.2737 | long=76.9391 | directions=north end of downtown | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q800371 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=All mainline trains run to this station. These are from [[Astana]] via [[Karaganda]] (6 per day, the quickest taking 13 hr), and from [[Tashkent]] every second day (16 hr via [[Taraz]] and [[Shymkent]]). From Russia you usually change in Astana, Saratov or Petropavl, but a direct service (on odd dates) runs from Novosibirsk via Aktogai and Semei. Trains from China were cancelled during covid and have not yet resumed. Almaty-2 is a medium sized station with ticket kiosks, waiting rooms, two cafes, small shops, ATMs and left luggage facilities, but no currency exchange. Outside in the square is a small retail mall with cafes. Trolleybus 5 starts here and runs south up Abylai Khan, but for most buses walk to Raiyimbek the cross-boulevard one block south; turn east along it for the Metro. Raiyimbek and Abylai Khan have eating places and currency exchange booths. }} {{go | name=Almaty-1 Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Richard Sorge | lat=43.3412 | long=76.9494 | directions=4 km northeast of centre in Turksib district, towards the airport | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q800370 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Trains from the north (e.g., Astana) also stop at this station. }} === By bus === '''Sayakhat''' the former bus station (corner of Rayimbek and Suyumbai) has been demolished, but an inter-city taxi or marshruta might deposit you here rather than out at Sayran. It's not intended to build a replacement downtown station, but in 2024 there is corporate babble about a "hub", which looks to mean the present line of bus stops along Rayimbek plus more retail. {{go | name=Sayran Bus Station | alt= | url=https://ma-sairan.kz/ | email= | address=Tole Bi 29 | lat=43.2449 | long=76.8582 | directions=8 km west of centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=This is the station for long distance routes. Buses run from Tashkent (2 a day, 14 hr), Bishkek (5 a day, 4 hr), Yining (six all early morning, 12 hr), Urumqi (3 a day, 19 hr), Khorgos on the Chinese border (7 hr), Astana (overnight, 21 hr) and all other major Kazakh cities. The website gives times and sells tickets. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe | 43.250 | 76.940 | height=550 | width=500 | zoom=13 }} {{Mapshape|title=Almaty Metro|wikidata=Q484433|type=geoline|stroke=#FF0000|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} The city is laid out on a modern grid-pattern, and "up" usually means south, towards the mountains. However it's a gentle gradient, and in places the gradient east is similar. === By Metro === The [http://metroalmaty.kz/ Metro] has a single line. The northern terminus is on Raiymbek Batyr east of Almaty-2 railway station. The line runs south to Abay, then turns west along Abay to Bauyrjan Momyshuly. The Metro is open from 06:00-00:00, and is safe and guarded by police at all times. You need to put your bags through a scanner upon entering the station before ticketing. A single trip costs 120 tenge, regardless of length of trip. The tickets are paper with a qr code, buy them at booths ("kassa") within the stations. Contactless payment at the gates is also possible by Mastercard, Visa or Union Pay. There are no day tickets or similar deals for visitors, but for frequent travellers there are rechargeable multi-trip smart cards. Metro stations from the north are: * {{listing | type=around | name=Raiymbek batyr | alt=Russian: Райымбек батыра, Kazakh: Райымбек | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2710 | long=76.9446 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2002989 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=North terminus, for Almaty-2 railway station & buses around Sayakhat. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Zhibek Zholy-Dostyk | alt=Russian: Жибек Жолы | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2599 | long=76.9444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q746678 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Ascension Cathedral, Panfilov Park, Green Bazaar, Museum of Kazakh Musical Instruments and Kazakh-British Technical University. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Almaly | alt=Russian: Алмалы | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2508 | long=76.9454 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2072127 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Hotel Almaty, Opera & Ballet House, Kunayev Museum and Republican Book Museum. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Abay | alt=Russian:Абая, Kazakh:Абай | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2428 | long=76.9505 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q638963 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Central State Museum, Kazakh National Agrarian University, State Academic Russian Drama Theatre, and Kok-Tobe cable-car. }} Here the line turns west and runs beneath Abay Avenue to: * {{listing | type=around | name=Baikonur | alt=Russian:Байконур, Kazakh: Байқоңыр | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2411 | long=76.9272 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Baikonur (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q420603 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Sport Palace and Central Stadium. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Auezov Theater | alt=Russian: Театр имени Мухтара Ауэзова, Kazakh: Мұхтар Әуезов атындағы театры | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2403 | long=76.9172 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Auezov Theater (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q2072183 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Auezov Theatre, Circus, Rahat Palace Hotel & Kusteyev Fine Arts Museum. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Alatau | alt=Russian: Алатау | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2386 | long=76.8977 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2072205 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Mahatma Gandhi Park. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Sayran | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2369 | long=76.8783 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Sayran (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q3024359 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=This is a 2.5-km walk to Sayran bus station, as the lake lies between. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Moskva | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2293 | long=76.8661 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Moskva (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q3024377 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=This station is nearer to Sayran bus station, though it's still a 1.5-km hike north up Utegen Batyr. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Bauyrjan Momyshuly | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2165 | long=76.8381 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Opened in 2022, this is beneath the intersection with Abay. }} * '''Qalqaman''' further west is the next extension, due to open in 2027. === By bus === [[File:Baikonur Metro Station..JPG | thumb | 300px | Baikonur Metro Station ]] The city has some 170 bus routes and 9 trolleybus routes, use Yandex Maps for network details and journey planner. In 2026 the cash fare is 200 tenge, pay the driver or conductor on boarding. You don't need exact change but you'll be unpopular if you offer a large note. Younger conductors speak a bit of English and will point out your stop. Some conductors will not accept money and will ask you to pay with the Onay app or the Onay card. The app is available only if you have a Kazakh sim card. The Onay card is available for 800 Tenge at newsstands called караван (Caravan in English) and present everywhere in the city. This brings the fare down to 120 tenge so local frequent travellers pay this way. A new card includes 120 tenge, enough for one trip. To top-up the card, you need to find the green payment terminals (search for Qiwi in Yandex Maps). The terminal is only in Kazakh or Russian, but is straightforward to use: - click the Qiwi button - on the bottom right, click on the button with the magnifying glass to search - type онаи and select it - validate with the button on the right - you can see how much is on your card, you may top-up with cash only (coins or notes) === By taxi === There are both official and informal taxis. Official taxis can be booked in advance and normally show up rapidly. The fare difference between official and unofficial taxis may vary up to 3 times. Just raise your hand and a car will eventually stop. You should negotiate the price and direction in advance. Normally the fare varies from 200-1,000&nbsp;tenge depending on the remoteness of the area. These are really efficient, and, although it takes a bit of getting used to, it is the perfect solution to getting around. Nevertheless, single travellers should be aware of muggings late at night. Avoid cars with more than one male occupant at night. Usually a car will stop within 30 seconds to 3 minutes of having your hand out. If the driver does not wish to drive to your destination, no problem. The next one will stop a minute or two after. You will need the name of your destination street and the nearest cross street, in Russian, in order to get to where you want to go. Very few people speak or understand even basic English. It is necessary to have small money. Usually drivers avoid giving change, so it is better to have the exact amount in hand. '''[https://taxi.yandex.kz/en_kz/almaty/tariff/ Yandex Go]''' is available, works the same way as Uber, taxi can be ordered using it's smartphone app. === By bike === There is a city bike scheme, with pick-up/drop-off stations dotted around. Almost every bike store rents bikes, thus just ask in your hotel for a bike store. The prices are 2,000 tenge for a day and 2,500 tenge for 24 hr. === By scooters === You can find a vast network of various scooters (''samokats'') spread around the town, which you can rent using their respective applications, and easily travel around the city with them, for example to/from metro stations to your accommodation. If you know Bolt scooters in Europe - that's the same thing. The more popular ones are Yandex Go (yellow colored) and Whoosh (orange colored). At 2024, if we take Yandex Go scooters as an example. the cost of renting them is approximately 50 tenge per minute, but you can but a packages of minutes which will make minutes much cheaper, like 700 tenge for 30 minutes for 1 day (23 tenge per minute), or 660 tenge for 50 minutes for 1 week (13 tenge per minute). So overall, if you buy packages the cost of using scooters to roam around the city are really low. == See == === Religious === [[File:Russian War Memorial (521979134).jpg | thumb | 300px | War Memorial in Panfilov Park ]] * {{see | name=Ascension Cathedral | alt=Zenkov Cathedral | url=https://cathedral.kz/ru | email= | address=Gogol 40 | lat=43.2586 | long=76.9533 | directions=Panfilov Park, Metro Zhibek Zholy | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:00-18:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Ascension Cathedral, Almaty | wikidata=Q1078589 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Completed in 1907 and renovated in the 2020s - new saints were painted in, though presumably they were known to the hagiographers. The iconostasis is spectacular. At 56 m this among the tallest wooden buildings in the world, which you wouldn't guess from the smoothly-painted exterior hues of custard, icing sugar and coloured marzipan - it's more like a trap for Hansel & Gretel. }} * '''Heroes Memorial Park''' surrounds Ascension Cathedral, bounded by Kunaev, Gogol, Zenkov and Kazybek Bi streets. This honors the men and women from Kazakhstan who died in World War II. There's an eternal flame by the war memorial. * {{see | name=St Nicholas Cathedral | alt= | url=https://www.nikolski.kz | email= | address=Baytursynov 56 | lat=43.2484 | long=76.9281 | directions=Metro Baykonur | phone=+7 727 267 5910 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St. Nicholas Cathedral (Almaty) | wikidata=Q1234917 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Russian Orthodox church built in 1909. It was used as stables for Soviet cavalry horses but reopened as a church in 1980. Main entrance is west side from Baytursnov, but there's also a little gate from the park just south. }} * {{see | name=Central Mosque | alt= | url=https://azan.kz | email= | address=Pushkin 16 | lat=43.2683 | long=76.9532 | directions=Metro Raiymbek Batyr | phone=+7 727 397 6390 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 05:00-22:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Central Mosque Almaty | wikidata=Q28404560 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Grand mosque with marble walls and spacious decorated interior. }} * {{see | name=Sophia Cathedral | alt= | url=https://mitropolia.kz/info/organizations/churches/almaty/129-sofiyskiy-sobor-alma-ata.html | email= | address=Latifa Hamidi 30 | lat=43.2696 | long=76.9588 | directions= | phone=+7 727 397 4105 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:00-19:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=St. Sophia Cathedral (Almaty) | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Built 1893-95 after its predecessor was destroyed by an earthquake, the church became the centrepiece of a monastery, but the complex was crushed by the communists. Only in 2007 were both restored. The tranquil monastery compound has a few other chapels you can look in on. }} * {{see | name=Holy Kazan Cathedral | alt=Svyato-Kazanskiy Sobor | url= | email= | address=Khaliullina 45a | lat=43.2848 | long=76.9763 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1112939 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small, brightly painted Russian Orthodox Church. }} === Museums === [[File:Central Mosque of Almaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Central Mosque ]] * {{see | name=Museum House of Akhmet Baytursynov | alt= | url= | email= | address=Baytursynov 60 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Baikonur | phone=+7 727 292 1089 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10:00-17:30 | price= | wikidata=Q60853375 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Akhmet Baytursynov (1873-1937) was a Kazakh intellectual active in politics, poetry, linguistics and education, so inevitably he was shot during Stalin's "Great Purge". His house museum is becoming crumbly. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.almatymuseums.kz/en/vnutrennyaya-muzeya-almaty | email= | address=Kabanbay Batyr 132 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 267 5905 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-19:00 | price=Adult 1500 tenge | wikidata=Q60853367 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small museum of the history of the city, mountaineering and the Republic, housed in a former orphanage. Audioguide available on your own mobile device. }} * {{see | name=Natural History Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Shevchenko 28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Temporarily closed | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mammoths, dinosaurs and similar. }} * {{see | name=Kasteyev Art Museum | alt= | url=https://www.gmirk.kz | email= | address=Satpaev | lat=43.2356 | long=76.9195 | directions=Metro Auezov Theater | phone=+7 727 394 5715 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=Adult 500 tenge | wikipedia=A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts | wikidata=Q2324596 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Huge collection spanning Oriental, Russian and Kazakh arts, the Stakhanovite scenes from Stalin's era are fascinating. Abilkhan Kasteev (1904-1973) was a prolific and highly decorated artist. }} * {{see | name=Central State Museum | alt= | url=https://new.csmrk.kz/en/home/ | email= | address=Nazarbaeva (formerly Furmanov) | lat=43.2358 | long=76.9507 | directions=Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 264 2680 | tollfree= | hours=W-M 09:00-18:00 | price=Adult 500 tenge | wikipedia=Central State Museum of Kazakhstan | wikidata=Q190456 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Displays of Kazakh history, from prehistoric times through the Mongol periods to the present. Guided tours in English and other languages are available if you call ahead, and the Hall of Anthropology (1000 tenge extra) can only be seen this way. }} * {{marker | name=Independence Square | type=see | lat=43.2385 | long=76.9455 }} is the large but unimpressive square outside City Hall. It lost much of its significance when the capital moved to Astana. The Presidential Palace also stood here but was wrecked by riots in 2022, and has since been demolished. [[File:Ауэзов Мухтар Омарханович (конверт) (cropped).jpg | thumb | 300px | Auezov was a playwright ]] * {{see | name=Museum of Musical Instruments | alt= | url= | email= | address=Zenkov 24 | lat=43.2594 | long=76.9569 | directions= | phone=+7 727 291 6337 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-19:00 | price=Adult 1500 tenge | wikipedia=Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments | wikidata=Q2498214 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small museum with fine traditional wooden facade, exhibits have signage in Kazakh, Russian and English. }} * {{see | name=Military History Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Zenkov 24 | lat= | long= | directions=100 m south of Museum of Musical Instruments | phone=+7 727 291 0619 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 10:00-17:00, Sa 10:00-16:00 | price=Free | wikidata=Q62593982 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Military history museum with an emphasis on Panfilov's division and Kazakhstan's involvement in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) and the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Signage is in Russian, but guided tours in English, French, Kazakh and Russian may be available. The entrance is unstaffed, turn right from lobby. }} * {{see | name=Central Museum of Railway Transport | alt= | url= | email= | address=Nazarbaeyev 127 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaly | phone=+7 727 296 4949 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-18:00 | price=Free | wikidata=Q4062766 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small museum about the railways in Kazakhstan. }} * {{see | name=Konaev House Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tolebaev 117 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaly | phone=+7 727 261 4269 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-19:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Kunaev Home Museum | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Dinmukhamed Kunaev (1912-1993) was First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party 1964-1983, then fell from grace after the death of Brezhnev. This is his apartment. }} * {{see | name=Memorial Museum of Nurgisa Tlendiev | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kunaev 96 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaly | phone=+7 727 291 6341 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Nurgisa Tlendiev (1925-1998) was a composer who lived here in his later years. }} * {{see | name=M Auezov Literature Memorial House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tulebaev 187 | lat= | long= | directions=Opposite Abay metro | phone=+7 727 261 2227 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:00-17:00 | price=Adult 1500 tenge | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mukhtar Auezov (1897-1961) was a distinguished Soviet-Kazakh playwright and novelist; he lived here for his last ten years. Atmospheric, but you'll need decent Russian to glean much. He's also commemorated further down the boulevard by the Auezov Theatre. }} == Do == [[File:FC Red Bull Salzburg (U19) gegen FC Kairat Almaty (U45).jpg | thumb | 300px | FC Kairat (in yellow) play April-Nov ]] * '''Artishock''' is an experimental theatre at Kunaev 9. * '''[https://laboheme.kz/ La Boheme]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is a theatre at Valikhanov 43, Metro Zhibek Zholy. * '''Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater''' is at Kabanbay Batyr 110, Metro Almaly. * '''[https://www.tl.kz/content/ M Lermontov State Academic Russian Drama Theater]''' is at Abay 43, Metro Abay. * '''[https://www.kimep.kz/college-humanities-education/en/kelt/ KELT]''' is an English language theatre within KIMEP University, Metro Abay. * '''[https://uyghurtheatre.kz/ Uyghur Theatre]''' is at Nauryzbai Batyr 83. * '''Almaty Theatre''' is on Halyk Square off Al-Farabi. * '''Saunas''' or ''banyas'' are where folk relax and socialise during the miserable cold months. These have different styles eg Moroccan, Nordic or Russian (where half the fun is flagellating yourself with ''veniki'' leaves). A two hour session with various extras might be 5000 tenge in 2024. There's some 30 saunas across the city, not including private hotel facilities or seedy "gentlemen's clubs", and many are part of large leisure complexes. A good example is [https://arasan-spa.kz/ Arasan] at Tolebaev 78 near Ascension Cathedral, open daily 07:00-22:30. * {{do | name=Kok-Tobe Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Adult return by cable car 10000 tenge, by minibus 3500 tenge | wikipedia=Kök Töbe (recreation area) | wikidata=Q85846351 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Small Soviet-esque fun fair perched on a hilltop, where the highlight is getting there on the cable car. (The base station is at Luganskiy 2, east end of Abay.) Up top is a series of overpriced rides, games and attractions, and two restaurants; the wildest beasts in the "mini-zoo" are some hens and goats. The park is fenced in with no access to the nearby mountains, but you can walk to or from town via the service road. Not to be confused with Kök Töbe hill further south. }} * '''Football:''' [https://fckairat.com/ FC Kairat] play soccer in the Premier League, Kazakhstan's top tier, which plays April-Nov. Their home ground is Central Stadium, capacity 24,000, on Abay Ave (Metro Baikonur / Stadion). International games are played in Astana. === Events === * '''Nauryz Myrami''' is the spring festival, on or about 21 March each year. * '''[https://almatyfilmfest.com/ Indie Film Festival]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is held in September. * '''[https://www.almaty-marathon.kz/en/ Almaty Marathon]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is run in September. === Mountains === [[File:03 Гондольная дорога на гору Кок Тюбе.jpg | thumb | 300px | Cable car to Kok-Tobe ]] * Route P22 (Dulati Street, becomes Svezhest) runs south up the valley of River Bolshaya Almatinka. Along this route are Kok-Tobe (the hill not the funfair), Tau Spa, Alma-Arasan gorge and Big Almaty Lake. ** {{do | name=Tau Spa | alt= | url=https://tau24.kz/tau-spa/ | email= | address=Alma-Arasan Gorge 1/3 | lat=43.1188 | long=76.9128 | directions= | phone=+7 701 733 4565 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Year-round mountain spa with pools and cabin accommodation. Mixed reviews. }} ** {{marker | name=Big Almaty Lake | type=do | lat=43.053 | long=76.984 }} is a scenic lake at 2510 m altitude, surrounded by high mountains. It glistens like a mirror, changing colour with the season (a deep turquoise in autumn), and freezing in winter. Towering over it to the south east is Soviet Peak (4317 m), to the south Ozerniy (4110 m), and to the southwest Tourist Peak (3954 m). Great for hiking and climbing. Getting here and back is obviously simplest by car, otherwise: :: Bus 28 runs from the roundabout at Al-Farabi and Navoi up Dulati and ends at the last left turn before Alma-Arasan. Taxis here will take you to within 4 km of the lake for around 2000 tenge. Otherwise it's a 15 km hike and 1000 m rise of altitude: think about the weather and the coming back. Follow the road about 8 km until you reach a big water pipe, and then follow the steep trail next to the pipe. :: Or take a taxi all the way from Al-Farabi and Navoi. * Dostyk south becomes Gornaya which climbs the valley of River Pravy Esentai. Along this valley are Medeu Ice Rink, Ile-Alatau National Park and Chimbulak Ski resort. A bus runs up the valley from the corner of Satpaev and Baitursynuly daily at 08:00. ** {{marker | name=Medeu Ice Rink | type=do | lat=43.1571 | long=77.0594 }}: see [[Chimbulak]] for this open-air rink. ** '''Ski & snowboard''' at [[Chimbulak]], Ak-Bulak and Tabagan ski resorts, open Nov-April, lifts closed Tuesday. And hike anytime, beyond the resort up to the dam and then the glacier. == Buy == [[File:Horse meat sausage making.jpg | thumb | 300px | Making horse meat sausages in Green Bazaar ]] * '''Money:''' exchange kiosks give reasonable rates. Those at the airport are open 24 hours, and there's several on Rayimbek Batyr south of the main railway station. Most businesses take card payment, the problem for westerners is that Kazakh traders (as elsewhere in the "Stans") may be supported by the Russian banking system, and therefore embargoed by sanctions. * '''Local specialties:''' Handmade carpets, felted goods such as dolls, rugs, and slippers made with boiled lamb's wool and natural dyes, handcrafted metal jewelry, including a "tumar" (a pendant that opens like a locket) and leather chess sets. * '''Food:''' check your own country's import regulations, and those of any other country you'll pass through, before buying "souvenir food". Most prohibit fresh food, they may be okay with dry goods and preserves. * {{marker | name=Trading House Passage | type=buy | lat=43.2622 | long=76.9481 }} is a shopping mall on Zhibek Zholy. : "Arbat" is the nickname for the pedestrianised section of Zhybek Zholy, an artists' row. : TsUM is the big department store a little further west, corner of Ablay Khan, open M-Sa 09:00-19:00, Su 09:00-15:00. * {{buy | name=Green Bazaar | alt=Zelyoni Bazaar | url= | email= | address=Zenkov 53 | lat=43.2637 | long=76.9546 | directions=Metro Zhibek Zholy | phone=+7 727 273 6282 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 09:00-19:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content=A city institution, an extensive market in a lime-green concrete building. Fresh vegetables, dairy products, and meat, as well as clothing and other non-food household items. Fruit and vegetables are on the lower level. On the upper level you will find dried fruits, nuts, spices, honey and plants, as well as cheese and meat; you'll smell the meat counters long before you see them. Seasonal prices, relatively expensive by Central Asia standards. }} * '''[https://www.mega.kz/en Mega Park]''' is a large mall at Makataev 127, corner with Seyfullin, open daily 10:00-22:00. * '''[https://ramstore.kz/ Ramstore]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' was the largest mall in the city when built in the 1990s but is now nothing unusual. It's at Furmanov 226, open daily 09:00-23:00. * {{marker | name=[https://mega.kz/en Mega Alma-Ata] | type=buy | lat=43.2018 | long=76.8929 }} is a large mall at Rozybakiev 247A, open daily 10:00-22:00. * {{marker | name=Barakholka | type=buy | lat=43.2893 | long=76.8909 }} is a vast bazaar in ramshackle metal sheds, 5 km northwest of downtown on A350, trading Tu-Su 09:00-17:00. It's mostly daily necessities and not touristy, but locals likewise appreciate occasional luxuries. You want to find a US$500 winter coat for US$50? It's possible after vigorous haggling, and it will be worth most of US$30. == Eat == [[File:Medeobanen1.jpg | thumb | 300px | Medeu ice rink ]] : '''Kazakh''' cheap places are plentiful, selling shashlik, soup, salad and so on. : '''Burgers''' are popular fast food, typically with sliced kebab meat on a hamburger bun with pickles and garlic sauce. * '''Bahandi''' is a burger chain with 8 city locations, the most central is at Baytursynova 61, two blocks south of Tole Bi. * {{eat | name=Alasha | alt= | url=https://alasha.kz/en/home-2/ | email= | address=Ostpanova 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 707 7463 489 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Uzbeki restaurant. Brace yourself for being sung at, danced at, and horse meat. }} * {{eat | name=Basilic | alt= | url=https://basilic.kz | email= | address=Shevchenko 127 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 778 344 9000 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Sit-down canteen with an English menu. Low prices and offers local specialties such as horsemeat. }} * {{eat | name=China Town | alt= | url=https://restoran.kz/restaurant/16221-china-town-restaurant-na-mametova | email= | address=Mametova 47 | lat= | long= | directions=corner with Abylai Khan | phone=+7 727 233 2152 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Inexpensive Chinese eatery, large servings. Plenty of vegetarian dishes such as tofu. }} * {{eat | name=Crudo Steakhouse | alt= | url= | email= | address=Abaya 17 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 777 279 0717 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-01:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Steakhouse, mixed reviews on food quality and value for money. Good if you would like to try horse. }} * {{eat | name=Mamma Mia | alt= | url=https://ciaopizza.kz/ | email= | address=Panfilov 109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 747 128 1457 | tollfree= | hours=Su-Th 10:00-23:00, F Sa 10:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Chain pizzeria with filling portions, veggies won't starve. }} * {{eat | name=Namaste | alt= | url= | email= | address=Gogol 155 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 707 790 0956 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-22:30 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Good Indian food. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Princess | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tolebayeva 53 | lat= | long= | directions=corner with Gogol | phone=+7 727 261 0627 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Popular Chinese restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Tandoor | alt= | url=https://tandoor.kz/ | email= | address=Tole Bi 102 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 707 388 9933 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-23:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Good-value Indian and other Asian food. }} * {{eat | name=Tarih | alt= | url= | email= | address=Abylai Khan 104 | lat= | long= | directions=corner of Shevchenko | phone=+7 778 146 5566 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Great Kazakh food with an interesting modern touch. }} * {{eat | name=Tyubeteika | alt= | url=http://palladium.kz/ | email= | address=Satpaeva 32 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 701 589 7619 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Uzbek restaurant, good food with grumpy service. They also have outlets at Abylai Khan125 and Dostyk Ave. }} * {{eat | name=Venezia | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kairbekov 61 | lat= | long= | directions=corner of Tole Bi | phone=+7 727 293 8167 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10:00-01:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Good selection of meat, veggies may struggle, }} * {{eat | name=Grand Zina | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabanbay Batyr 85 | lat= | long= | directions=within Almaty Hotel | phone=+7 700 437 0000 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 08:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=A cool restaurant with great mosaics. }} * {{eat | name=MiMi | alt=МиМи | url= | email= | address=Zenkov street, 70 | lat=43.249840 | long=76.958021 | directions= | phone=+7 (701) 944-43-73 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 08:00-20:00; Sa 08:00-17:00 | price=3000 tenge | lastedit=2026-05-19 | content=Little canteen where local people go for lunch. A selection of meals unfortunately all with meat; vegetarians will have salad, samsa and mashed potatoes available. Cheap for the city. }} == Drink == * {{drink | name=Barmaglot Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Satpaev 3 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 777 825 3030 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 17:00-03:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=For evening drinks, gets lively after 23:00. }} * {{drink | name=WL13Bar | alt=William Lawson | url= | email= | address=Bogenbai Batyr Street 102 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77088131313 | tollfree= | hours=16:00-02:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Irish pub }} * {{drink | name=Fuller's Pub Pheasant Feather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Dostyk Ave 116 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77719808181 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=English pub }} * {{drink | name=Yard House Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=2, Samal-1 Microdistrict | lat= | long= | directions=Dostyk avenue and Zholdasbekov Street intersection | phone=+77475808868 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Kazakh pub }} * {{drink | name=The Shakespeare Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=40 Dostyk avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77717721900 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Western beer and Indian food }} * {{drink | name=Harat`s Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=121 Makatayev Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77767775858 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Irish pub }} * {{drink | name=Harat`s Irish Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=110 Panfilov Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77273546184 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Напитки: The Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=555A Seifullin Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=19:00-02:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Kazakh beers from $2 }} * {{drink | name=Munchen pub na Panfilova | alt= | url= | email= | address=102 Panfilova Str | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=17:00-05:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Harvey's pub & grill | alt= | url= | email= | address=223 Nazarbayev Str | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Kazakh sport bar & pub with a variety of international beers }} == Sleep == [[File:Museum of Folk Instruments, Almaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Museum of Musical Instruments ]] === Budget === * {{sleep | name=Apelsin Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Zheltoksan St 1B | lat= | long= | directions=by Almaty-2 railway station | phone=+7 777 008 4001 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$50 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Very basic, only if you're stuck. }} * '''[https://taharhotel.com/ Tahar Hotel]''' is simple but clean, better than the grubby exterior suggests. It's at Abylai Khan 27, 300 m south of the main railway station. === Mid-range === * {{sleep | name=Astra Hotel | alt= | url=https://astra-hotel.kz/ | email= | address=Zheltoksan 12 | lat=43.2719 | long=76.9379 | directions= | phone=+7 7272 46 8688 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$80 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mid-range business hotel, clean, friendly and close to main railway station. }} * {{sleep | name=Grand Aiser | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/GRANDHOTELAISER/ | email= | address=Pozharskogo 1 | lat= | long= | directions=By Central Stadium, Metro Baikonur | phone=+7 727 396 9999 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$70 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mostly positive reviews for this mid-price hotel. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.hotelalmaty.kz | email= | address=Kabanbai Batyr 85 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaty | phone=+7 727 272 0047 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$90 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Pleasant hotel facing the Opera House. Not to be confused with the place of the same name at Kuanyshbayev 38а, way out beyond Sayran bus station. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Ambassador | alt= | url=http://www.ambassadorhotel.kz/ | email= | address=Zheltoksan 121 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 250 8989 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$70 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Creaky old place but clean, and good value for what you pay. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Berkana | alt= | url= | email= | address=Aiteke Bi 83 | lat=43.2579 | long=76.9368 | directions= | phone=+7 727 279 8866 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$60 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Central but in a quiet area, good value for money. }} * {{sleep | name=Kazakhstan Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.kazakhstanhotel.kz/ | email= | address=Dostyk 52 | lat=43.2449 | long=76.9577 | directions=Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 291 9101 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$100 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=In a 1977 Soviet block but smart and clean. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Kazzhol Almaty | alt= | url=https://kazzhol.com/en/almaty/main/ | email= | address=Gogol 127/1 | lat=43.2598 | long=76.9337 | directions=Metro Zhibek Zholy | phone=+7 727 338 3898 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$100 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Clean, comfy place with restaurant and pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Ibis | alt= | url=https://all.accor.com/ssr/app/accor/hotels/almaty-kazakhstan/index.en.shtml | email= | address=Abylai Khan 55 | lat= | long= | directions=opposite Mercure | phone=+7 727 355 0355 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$100 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Great value central Accor hotel. }} === Splurge === [[File:The Esentay with the Ritz-Carlton (AP4M2495 1PS) (29127715566).jpg | thumb | 300px | The Ritz-Carlton ]] * {{sleep | name=Mercure | alt= | url=https://all.accor.com/hotel/B0P4/index.en.shtml | email= | address=Abylai Khan 53 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 344 2850 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$200 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Accor chain hotel, central, oasis of calm clean efficiency. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Almaty | alt= | url=https://holidayalmaty.com/ | email= | address=Timiryazev 2D | lat=43.2333 | long=76.9392 | directions= | phone=+7 727 244 0255 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$150 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Smart hotel near the government sector. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Dostyk | alt= | url=https://dostyk.kz/en | email=reservation@dostyk.kz | address=Kurmankazy 36 | lat= | long= | directions=200 m north of Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 333 0000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$180 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Showing its age with crumbly fittings and indifferent service. }} * {{sleep | name=Intercontinental Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/almaty/alaha/hoteldetail | email= | address=Zheltoksan 181 | lat=43.2358 | long=76.9401 | directions=Metro Baikonur | phone=+7 727 250 5000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$300 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Upmarket hotel with 4 restaurants and indoor pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Rahat Palace Hotel | alt= | url=https://rahatpalace.com/ | email= | address=Satbaev 29/6 | lat=43.2372 | long=76.9165 | directions=Metro Auezov Theatre | phone=+7 727 250 1234 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$150 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Grand exterior, poor scores for comfort and service. }} * {{sleep | name=Rixos Hotel Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.rixos.com/en/hotel-resort/rixos-almaty | email= | address=Seyfullina 506/99 | lat= | long= | directions=by Almaty Museum | phone=+7 727 300 3300 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$450 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Pleasant hotel near Dynamo stadium, pricey for what you get. }} * {{sleep | name=Park Hotel | alt=formerly Saltanat | url=https://parkhotel-almaty.com/en/ | email= | address=Furmanov 164 (aka Nazarbayev) | lat= | long= | directions=opposite Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 259 0935 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$110 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Modern business hotel. }} * {{sleep | name=Ritz-Carlton | alt= | url=https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/alarz-the-ritz-carlton-almaty/overview/ | email= | address=Esentai Tower, Al Farabi 77/7 | lat=43.2191 | long=76.9292 | directions= | phone=+7 727 332 8888 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$680 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Plush hotel with 3 restaurants, spa and pool. The 30th-floor bar has a good view of the mountains. Service not always at the standard you expect for these prices. }} == Connect == As of Dec 2024, Almaty has 4G from Beeline and 5G from Kcell (under the brand "activ") and Airtel. The signal is patchy on the approach highways. You can buy sim cards in convenience stores, which you activate by sending your passport number and full name by SMS. At the airport, Airtel has a store, and Kcell and Beeline have reseller locations charging ~40% markup. == Stay safe == [[File:KazanskiySoborAlmaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Holy Kazan Cathedral ]] Beware of traffic, safeguard valuables and take care when drunk, same as anywhere else. Emergency numbers are 101 Fire, 102 Police and 103 Ambulance. == Cope == === Registration === You have to register your arrival, but your hotel or host will do this for you. They may give you a card confirming they've done so, but this is a hangover from paper-based days and is no longer necessary. In case you need to do it yourself, this is via the [https://vmp.gov.kz/en/services/notice-service online portal]; see also [[Uzbekistan#Get in]]. It's the same system for staying beyond 30 days visa-free. An unlucky few might need to attend OVIR, the Migration Police. They're at Dosmukhamedov 109, near the corner of Baytursynov and Karasay Batyr, 200 m northwest of St Nicholas Cathedral. The website will tell you how to set up the appointment. Frankly it might be simplest just to take a weekend jaunt to Bishkek then re-enter Kazakhstan: this re-starts your 30 days visa-free, though you're still against the limit of 90 days within any 180. === Consulates === : Always check the consulate website first. Problems like a stolen passport might be managed by the embassy in Astana or from the home country. * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/ | email= | address=Al Farabi | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://kz.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/almaty/ | email= | address=Zholdasbekov 97 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 250 7612 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content= }} * {{flag|Uzbekistan}} {{listing | name=Uzbekistan | alt= | url=https://almaty.mfa.uz/ | email= | address=Zhakarov 360 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 390 2616 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content=Hours, prices & procedures all seem makeshift, best phone ahead to check they're still there. }} * '''Others:''' as of Dec 2024, Almaty also has consulates or visa centres for [https://almati.mfa.gov.hu/hun Hungary], [https://consulate-almaty.mfa.lt/ Lithuania] and Tajikstan. == Go next == [[File:IMG 7431-Sharyn canyon.jpg | thumb | 300px | Charyn Canyon]] * '''Winter sports & hiking''' at [[Chimbulak]], Ak-Bulak and Tabagan ski resorts, within a day-trip. * '''[[Astana]]''' is the new showcase capital, with more of a mixture of cultures than Almaty. * '''Lake Balkhash''' is along the road to Astana, so you could break the long journey here. Balkhash village (12 hours by bus) has a few hotels. The lake is salty east of here, but fresh to the west where rivers enter. It's the closest you'll get to beach action in this very land-locked country. * '''[[Bishkek]]''' the capital of Kyrgyzstan is a 5 hr drive. From there see Lake Issyk-Kul. * '''Tamgaly Petroglyphs''' ("Temple of The Sun"): This [[UNESCO]] site is 2-3 hours away by car (170 km west, 30 km past Copa off the road to Bishkek). The petroglyphs range from ancient (3,000 years) to "modern" (75 years), and feature pictures of the Sunman and hunting nomad tribes. There are also several grave sites. Watch out for snakes when it's hot. * '''Turgen Gorge'''. In the national preserve or Ile-Alatau, 90 km east of Almaty. The gorge is some 44 m deep, with hot springs, waterfalls, and forests: these include the last stands of Chim-Turgen moss fir woods that once carpeted the area. * [[w:Lake_Issyk|'''Lake Issyk''']], not to be confused with Issyk-Kul, is a 90-min drive from Almaty, offers a largely overlooked clear picturesque lake surrounded by mountains. * '''[[Charyn Canyon]]''' is 80 km long and as much as 300 m deep, eroded into fantastical shapes, especially along the 3 km stretch known as "Valley of the Castles". It's 200 km east of Almaty towards the Chinese border (follow A351) and often done as a day-trip, but longer tours of the area are recommended. Not far from the "Singing Dunes". * '''[[Urumqi]]''' in China can be reached by bus. It's on the Chinese high-speed railway towards Lanzhou, Xian and Beijing. {{geo|43.277500|76.895833|zoom=11}} {{IsPartOf|Almaty Province}} {{Usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Almaty Province}} gl2nor31y4tayj4hr8q65yzaldib9er 5298616 5298598 2026-06-26T07:30:54Z Brycehughes 43226 /* Drink */ add 5298616 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Almaty banner1.jpg|caption=Kok Tobe and the Tian Shan Mountains looming above Almaty}} '''Almaty''' in [[Almaty Province]] is the largest city and the financial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, with a population in 2024 of 2,250,000. It's a sprawling modern city on a grid pattern, with snow-capped mountains just south marking the border with Kyrgyzstan. It's practical rather than beautiful, but has lots to see and do. == Understand == {{climate chart |Almaty |-8.1 |0.5 |34.7 |-6.2 |2.7 |42.6 |-0.2 |9.9 |72.4 |6.8 |17.8 |112.4 |11.5 |22.9 |98.7 |16.4 |27.9 |59.0 |18.6 |30.5 |42.9 |17.3 |29.7 |33.5 |12.0 |24.5 |27.8 |5.3 |16.9 |49.8 |-1.0 |8.1 |55.3 |-6.1 |2.0 |44.3 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Almaty]] |description= }} The riches of the [[Silk Road]] plodded through on camel-back and never embellished these steppes. The few inhabitants were nomadic herdsmen, with no town until the Russians colonised and built a wooden fort in 1854. An industrial town grew around the fort, although twice flattened by earthquakes. The Soviets named it Alma-Ata; "Alma" may mean "apple" and modern apples originated in this region. The city became the capital of the Kazakh SSR (or equivalent entities), and a railway and highway connected it to Russia. Trotsky was in exile here for a year before fleeing to Turkey then Mexico, where his communist comrades finally caught up with him and put a pick-axe through his head. The city was laid out on a low-rise grid pattern, with broad boulevards and parks, and has never had an organic "old town". During World War II Soviet industries relocated here beyond Nazi attack, along with hospitals, universities, cultural institutes and workers from elsewhere (especially Slavs, Uyghurs and Koreans) so it became quite cosmopolitan. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the city became capital of independent Kazakhstan and was renamed Almaty. For a capital Almaty was off-centre in a vast country, hard up against lofty mountains on the borders just south; the northern Kazakh city of Petropavl was astride the Trans-Siberian railway and closer to Moscow than to Almaty. In 1997 President Nursultan Nazarbayev shifted the capital to Akmola and renamed this as [[Astana]]. In 2019 he thought it would be even better if that was renamed after himself, but this didn't outlast him stepping down as president in 2022 amid violent unrest, so the capital is again called Astana while Almaty is the largest city. '''Climate''' is continental, influenced by the mountains. Winter daytime temperature is about -2 to −5 °C, while June-Aug is around 30 °C. The best times to visit are April-May (though these can be wet) and Sep-Oct. '''Talk:''' Russian is the lingua franca, as elsewhere in the "Stans". Kazakh is the official language (akin to Turkish) and uses western script. Many people in the service sector speak English. '''Visitor information:''' [https://visitalmaty.kz/en/index/ Visit Almaty]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is the online portal and gives details of its eight locations: the airport, Zenkov 24A, Panfilov 84, Dostyk 56/3, Timiryazev 40/2, Orbita 2, and Omarov 2 foot of the cable-car. The Kerey-Zhanibek Khandar location is next to Medeu ice rink in the mountain resort of [[Chimbulak]]. The [https://www.almaty.kz/ city government website]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is in Russian and Kazakh. == Get in == [[File:Zenkov Cathedral, Almaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Ascension Cathedral ]] See [[Kazakhstan#Get in]] for entry requirements. Most westerners may enter without a visa for up to 30 days. === By plane === {{go | name=Almaty International Airport | alt={{IATA|ALA}} | url=https://alaport.com/en-EN/ | email= | address=Maylina 2 | lat=43.3553 | long=77.0447 | directions=15 km northeast of city centre | phone=+7 727 270 3333 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Almaty International Airport | wikidata=Q858844 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Almaty airport is the hub for Central Asia. Most westerners fly in via Istanbul, the Gulf states, Frankfurt or London Heathrow. Other international flights are from Russia (Moscow Sheremetyevo, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Saint Petersburg), Ashgabat, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Tashkent and Tbilisi, and from Delhi, Beijing, Ürümqi, Xian, Hong Kong and Seoul. The flag-carrier Air Astana operates these and most domestic routes, with competition from budget carriers. Kazakhstan is a very big country, so most cities have regular flights to Almaty, eg from [[Astana]], [[Aktau]], [[Aktobe]], [[Atyrau]], [[Karaganda]], [[Kokshetau]], Kyzylorda, Kostanay, [[Oral]], [[Pavlodar]], [[Petropavlovsk]], [[Semey]], [[Shymkent]], [[Taraz]], [[Uralsk]], Urdjar, [[Ust-Kamenogorsk]] and Zhezkazgan. Arrivals is ground floor, Departures is upper floor, with a good selection of ground-side cafes and shops. The check-in area is nominally security-controlled but this is laxly enforced; however this area has no other facilities so there's no point entering till your desk is open. Passport control follows, then security, then you enter the air-side international lounge with shops, cafes and seating. }} ==== Ground transport ==== '''Buses''' run from the airport 05:30 to 23:00, every 30 mins or better, and take 30 min to the centre. Every taxi tout will assure you that they're not running, which of course they are, otherwise he wouldn't be so insistent. See Get around below for fares and ticket options, but a ride into town is 200 tenge - pay the driver or conductor. * Bus 92 is the only one from within the airport, the stop is just outside Arrivals. This zigzags through the northern Turksib district to Sayakhat junction, then west along Raiymbek Batyr (for Almaty-2 railway station and city metro), along Nauryzbai (southbound) or Zheltoksan (returning northbound) to Abai Bvd, then out to the western suburbs. Occasionally this bus can't enter the airport precinct because of construction works, in which case join it at Mailin St. * Other buses all run from Mailin Street, the boulevard just outside the airport. From Arrivals follow the traffic flow through the barriers onto the street, keeping right for traffic heading into town. You cross Zakarpatskaya the side-street that your bus will emerge from, pass the Favorit Hotel and a small supermarket, to find the bus stop where folk as cheapskate as yourself are waiting. Say 400 m, 10 mins walk. Bus 79 runs to Nazarbayev Ave (formerly Furmanov), and Bus 86 also runs downtown. Bus 106 bypasses downtown and runs to Sayran inter-city bus station, say 50 min. '''Taxis''' can be ordered at the booth in the arrivals hall, or arranged via your accommodation, or booked via Yandex. It may take 10 min to arrive, but it will be a sensible price, around 1500 tenge in 2024. At least, that will be the price quoted to you, the taxi driver may have other ideas. It's a common scam that at the end of your journey the driver claims that 1500 tenge was per kilometre, so you owe 35,000 tenge. It's difficult to argue as they soon turn violent, and as with all lucrative scams the police may be in on it. === By train === [[File:Almaty-2 station.jpg | thumb | 300px | Almaty-2 is the main railway station ]] {{go | name=Almaty-2 Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ablai Khan | lat=43.2737 | long=76.9391 | directions=north end of downtown | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q800371 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=All mainline trains run to this station. These are from [[Astana]] via [[Karaganda]] (6 per day, the quickest taking 13 hr), and from [[Tashkent]] every second day (16 hr via [[Taraz]] and [[Shymkent]]). From Russia you usually change in Astana, Saratov or Petropavl, but a direct service (on odd dates) runs from Novosibirsk via Aktogai and Semei. Trains from China were cancelled during covid and have not yet resumed. Almaty-2 is a medium sized station with ticket kiosks, waiting rooms, two cafes, small shops, ATMs and left luggage facilities, but no currency exchange. Outside in the square is a small retail mall with cafes. Trolleybus 5 starts here and runs south up Abylai Khan, but for most buses walk to Raiyimbek the cross-boulevard one block south; turn east along it for the Metro. Raiyimbek and Abylai Khan have eating places and currency exchange booths. }} {{go | name=Almaty-1 Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Richard Sorge | lat=43.3412 | long=76.9494 | directions=4 km northeast of centre in Turksib district, towards the airport | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q800370 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Trains from the north (e.g., Astana) also stop at this station. }} === By bus === '''Sayakhat''' the former bus station (corner of Rayimbek and Suyumbai) has been demolished, but an inter-city taxi or marshruta might deposit you here rather than out at Sayran. It's not intended to build a replacement downtown station, but in 2024 there is corporate babble about a "hub", which looks to mean the present line of bus stops along Rayimbek plus more retail. {{go | name=Sayran Bus Station | alt= | url=https://ma-sairan.kz/ | email= | address=Tole Bi 29 | lat=43.2449 | long=76.8582 | directions=8 km west of centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=This is the station for long distance routes. Buses run from Tashkent (2 a day, 14 hr), Bishkek (5 a day, 4 hr), Yining (six all early morning, 12 hr), Urumqi (3 a day, 19 hr), Khorgos on the Chinese border (7 hr), Astana (overnight, 21 hr) and all other major Kazakh cities. The website gives times and sells tickets. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe | 43.250 | 76.940 | height=550 | width=500 | zoom=13 }} {{Mapshape|title=Almaty Metro|wikidata=Q484433|type=geoline|stroke=#FF0000|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} The city is laid out on a modern grid-pattern, and "up" usually means south, towards the mountains. However it's a gentle gradient, and in places the gradient east is similar. === By Metro === The [http://metroalmaty.kz/ Metro] has a single line. The northern terminus is on Raiymbek Batyr east of Almaty-2 railway station. The line runs south to Abay, then turns west along Abay to Bauyrjan Momyshuly. The Metro is open from 06:00-00:00, and is safe and guarded by police at all times. You need to put your bags through a scanner upon entering the station before ticketing. A single trip costs 120 tenge, regardless of length of trip. The tickets are paper with a qr code, buy them at booths ("kassa") within the stations. Contactless payment at the gates is also possible by Mastercard, Visa or Union Pay. There are no day tickets or similar deals for visitors, but for frequent travellers there are rechargeable multi-trip smart cards. Metro stations from the north are: * {{listing | type=around | name=Raiymbek batyr | alt=Russian: Райымбек батыра, Kazakh: Райымбек | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2710 | long=76.9446 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2002989 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=North terminus, for Almaty-2 railway station & buses around Sayakhat. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Zhibek Zholy-Dostyk | alt=Russian: Жибек Жолы | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2599 | long=76.9444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q746678 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Ascension Cathedral, Panfilov Park, Green Bazaar, Museum of Kazakh Musical Instruments and Kazakh-British Technical University. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Almaly | alt=Russian: Алмалы | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2508 | long=76.9454 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2072127 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Hotel Almaty, Opera & Ballet House, Kunayev Museum and Republican Book Museum. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Abay | alt=Russian:Абая, Kazakh:Абай | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2428 | long=76.9505 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q638963 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Central State Museum, Kazakh National Agrarian University, State Academic Russian Drama Theatre, and Kok-Tobe cable-car. }} Here the line turns west and runs beneath Abay Avenue to: * {{listing | type=around | name=Baikonur | alt=Russian:Байконур, Kazakh: Байқоңыр | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2411 | long=76.9272 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Baikonur (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q420603 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Sport Palace and Central Stadium. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Auezov Theater | alt=Russian: Театр имени Мухтара Ауэзова, Kazakh: Мұхтар Әуезов атындағы театры | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2403 | long=76.9172 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Auezov Theater (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q2072183 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Auezov Theatre, Circus, Rahat Palace Hotel & Kusteyev Fine Arts Museum. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Alatau | alt=Russian: Алатау | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2386 | long=76.8977 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2072205 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=For Mahatma Gandhi Park. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Sayran | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2369 | long=76.8783 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Sayran (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q3024359 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=This is a 2.5-km walk to Sayran bus station, as the lake lies between. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Moskva | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2293 | long=76.8661 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Moskva (Almaty Metro) | wikidata=Q3024377 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=This station is nearer to Sayran bus station, though it's still a 1.5-km hike north up Utegen Batyr. }} * {{listing | type=around | name=Bauyrjan Momyshuly | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2165 | long=76.8381 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Opened in 2022, this is beneath the intersection with Abay. }} * '''Qalqaman''' further west is the next extension, due to open in 2027. === By bus === [[File:Baikonur Metro Station..JPG | thumb | 300px | Baikonur Metro Station ]] The city has some 170 bus routes and 9 trolleybus routes, use Yandex Maps for network details and journey planner. In 2026 the cash fare is 200 tenge, pay the driver or conductor on boarding. You don't need exact change but you'll be unpopular if you offer a large note. Younger conductors speak a bit of English and will point out your stop. Some conductors will not accept money and will ask you to pay with the Onay app or the Onay card. The app is available only if you have a Kazakh sim card. The Onay card is available for 800 Tenge at newsstands called караван (Caravan in English) and present everywhere in the city. This brings the fare down to 120 tenge so local frequent travellers pay this way. A new card includes 120 tenge, enough for one trip. To top-up the card, you need to find the green payment terminals (search for Qiwi in Yandex Maps). The terminal is only in Kazakh or Russian, but is straightforward to use: - click the Qiwi button - on the bottom right, click on the button with the magnifying glass to search - type онаи and select it - validate with the button on the right - you can see how much is on your card, you may top-up with cash only (coins or notes) === By taxi === There are both official and informal taxis. Official taxis can be booked in advance and normally show up rapidly. The fare difference between official and unofficial taxis may vary up to 3 times. Just raise your hand and a car will eventually stop. You should negotiate the price and direction in advance. Normally the fare varies from 200-1,000&nbsp;tenge depending on the remoteness of the area. These are really efficient, and, although it takes a bit of getting used to, it is the perfect solution to getting around. Nevertheless, single travellers should be aware of muggings late at night. Avoid cars with more than one male occupant at night. Usually a car will stop within 30 seconds to 3 minutes of having your hand out. If the driver does not wish to drive to your destination, no problem. The next one will stop a minute or two after. You will need the name of your destination street and the nearest cross street, in Russian, in order to get to where you want to go. Very few people speak or understand even basic English. It is necessary to have small money. Usually drivers avoid giving change, so it is better to have the exact amount in hand. '''[https://taxi.yandex.kz/en_kz/almaty/tariff/ Yandex Go]''' is available, works the same way as Uber, taxi can be ordered using it's smartphone app. === By bike === There is a city bike scheme, with pick-up/drop-off stations dotted around. Almost every bike store rents bikes, thus just ask in your hotel for a bike store. The prices are 2,000 tenge for a day and 2,500 tenge for 24 hr. === By scooters === You can find a vast network of various scooters (''samokats'') spread around the town, which you can rent using their respective applications, and easily travel around the city with them, for example to/from metro stations to your accommodation. If you know Bolt scooters in Europe - that's the same thing. The more popular ones are Yandex Go (yellow colored) and Whoosh (orange colored). At 2024, if we take Yandex Go scooters as an example. the cost of renting them is approximately 50 tenge per minute, but you can but a packages of minutes which will make minutes much cheaper, like 700 tenge for 30 minutes for 1 day (23 tenge per minute), or 660 tenge for 50 minutes for 1 week (13 tenge per minute). So overall, if you buy packages the cost of using scooters to roam around the city are really low. == See == === Religious === [[File:Russian War Memorial (521979134).jpg | thumb | 300px | War Memorial in Panfilov Park ]] * {{see | name=Ascension Cathedral | alt=Zenkov Cathedral | url=https://cathedral.kz/ru | email= | address=Gogol 40 | lat=43.2586 | long=76.9533 | directions=Panfilov Park, Metro Zhibek Zholy | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:00-18:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Ascension Cathedral, Almaty | wikidata=Q1078589 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Completed in 1907 and renovated in the 2020s - new saints were painted in, though presumably they were known to the hagiographers. The iconostasis is spectacular. At 56 m this among the tallest wooden buildings in the world, which you wouldn't guess from the smoothly-painted exterior hues of custard, icing sugar and coloured marzipan - it's more like a trap for Hansel & Gretel. }} * '''Heroes Memorial Park''' surrounds Ascension Cathedral, bounded by Kunaev, Gogol, Zenkov and Kazybek Bi streets. This honors the men and women from Kazakhstan who died in World War II. There's an eternal flame by the war memorial. * {{see | name=St Nicholas Cathedral | alt= | url=https://www.nikolski.kz | email= | address=Baytursynov 56 | lat=43.2484 | long=76.9281 | directions=Metro Baykonur | phone=+7 727 267 5910 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St. Nicholas Cathedral (Almaty) | wikidata=Q1234917 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Russian Orthodox church built in 1909. It was used as stables for Soviet cavalry horses but reopened as a church in 1980. Main entrance is west side from Baytursnov, but there's also a little gate from the park just south. }} * {{see | name=Central Mosque | alt= | url=https://azan.kz | email= | address=Pushkin 16 | lat=43.2683 | long=76.9532 | directions=Metro Raiymbek Batyr | phone=+7 727 397 6390 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 05:00-22:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Central Mosque Almaty | wikidata=Q28404560 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Grand mosque with marble walls and spacious decorated interior. }} * {{see | name=Sophia Cathedral | alt= | url=https://mitropolia.kz/info/organizations/churches/almaty/129-sofiyskiy-sobor-alma-ata.html | email= | address=Latifa Hamidi 30 | lat=43.2696 | long=76.9588 | directions= | phone=+7 727 397 4105 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:00-19:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=St. Sophia Cathedral (Almaty) | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Built 1893-95 after its predecessor was destroyed by an earthquake, the church became the centrepiece of a monastery, but the complex was crushed by the communists. Only in 2007 were both restored. The tranquil monastery compound has a few other chapels you can look in on. }} * {{see | name=Holy Kazan Cathedral | alt=Svyato-Kazanskiy Sobor | url= | email= | address=Khaliullina 45a | lat=43.2848 | long=76.9763 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1112939 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small, brightly painted Russian Orthodox Church. }} === Museums === [[File:Central Mosque of Almaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Central Mosque ]] * {{see | name=Museum House of Akhmet Baytursynov | alt= | url= | email= | address=Baytursynov 60 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Baikonur | phone=+7 727 292 1089 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10:00-17:30 | price= | wikidata=Q60853375 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Akhmet Baytursynov (1873-1937) was a Kazakh intellectual active in politics, poetry, linguistics and education, so inevitably he was shot during Stalin's "Great Purge". His house museum is becoming crumbly. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.almatymuseums.kz/en/vnutrennyaya-muzeya-almaty | email= | address=Kabanbay Batyr 132 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 267 5905 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-19:00 | price=Adult 1500 tenge | wikidata=Q60853367 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small museum of the history of the city, mountaineering and the Republic, housed in a former orphanage. Audioguide available on your own mobile device. }} * {{see | name=Natural History Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Shevchenko 28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Temporarily closed | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mammoths, dinosaurs and similar. }} * {{see | name=Kasteyev Art Museum | alt= | url=https://www.gmirk.kz | email= | address=Satpaev | lat=43.2356 | long=76.9195 | directions=Metro Auezov Theater | phone=+7 727 394 5715 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=Adult 500 tenge | wikipedia=A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts | wikidata=Q2324596 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Huge collection spanning Oriental, Russian and Kazakh arts, the Stakhanovite scenes from Stalin's era are fascinating. Abilkhan Kasteev (1904-1973) was a prolific and highly decorated artist. }} * {{see | name=Central State Museum | alt= | url=https://new.csmrk.kz/en/home/ | email= | address=Nazarbaeva (formerly Furmanov) | lat=43.2358 | long=76.9507 | directions=Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 264 2680 | tollfree= | hours=W-M 09:00-18:00 | price=Adult 500 tenge | wikipedia=Central State Museum of Kazakhstan | wikidata=Q190456 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Displays of Kazakh history, from prehistoric times through the Mongol periods to the present. Guided tours in English and other languages are available if you call ahead, and the Hall of Anthropology (1000 tenge extra) can only be seen this way. }} * {{marker | name=Independence Square | type=see | lat=43.2385 | long=76.9455 }} is the large but unimpressive square outside City Hall. It lost much of its significance when the capital moved to Astana. The Presidential Palace also stood here but was wrecked by riots in 2022, and has since been demolished. [[File:Ауэзов Мухтар Омарханович (конверт) (cropped).jpg | thumb | 300px | Auezov was a playwright ]] * {{see | name=Museum of Musical Instruments | alt= | url= | email= | address=Zenkov 24 | lat=43.2594 | long=76.9569 | directions= | phone=+7 727 291 6337 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-19:00 | price=Adult 1500 tenge | wikipedia=Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments | wikidata=Q2498214 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small museum with fine traditional wooden facade, exhibits have signage in Kazakh, Russian and English. }} * {{see | name=Military History Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Zenkov 24 | lat= | long= | directions=100 m south of Museum of Musical Instruments | phone=+7 727 291 0619 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 10:00-17:00, Sa 10:00-16:00 | price=Free | wikidata=Q62593982 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Military history museum with an emphasis on Panfilov's division and Kazakhstan's involvement in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) and the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Signage is in Russian, but guided tours in English, French, Kazakh and Russian may be available. The entrance is unstaffed, turn right from lobby. }} * {{see | name=Central Museum of Railway Transport | alt= | url= | email= | address=Nazarbaeyev 127 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaly | phone=+7 727 296 4949 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-18:00 | price=Free | wikidata=Q4062766 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Small museum about the railways in Kazakhstan. }} * {{see | name=Konaev House Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tolebaev 117 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaly | phone=+7 727 261 4269 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-19:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Kunaev Home Museum | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Dinmukhamed Kunaev (1912-1993) was First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party 1964-1983, then fell from grace after the death of Brezhnev. This is his apartment. }} * {{see | name=Memorial Museum of Nurgisa Tlendiev | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kunaev 96 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaly | phone=+7 727 291 6341 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Nurgisa Tlendiev (1925-1998) was a composer who lived here in his later years. }} * {{see | name=M Auezov Literature Memorial House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tulebaev 187 | lat= | long= | directions=Opposite Abay metro | phone=+7 727 261 2227 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:00-17:00 | price=Adult 1500 tenge | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mukhtar Auezov (1897-1961) was a distinguished Soviet-Kazakh playwright and novelist; he lived here for his last ten years. Atmospheric, but you'll need decent Russian to glean much. He's also commemorated further down the boulevard by the Auezov Theatre. }} == Do == [[File:FC Red Bull Salzburg (U19) gegen FC Kairat Almaty (U45).jpg | thumb | 300px | FC Kairat (in yellow) play April-Nov ]] * '''Artishock''' is an experimental theatre at Kunaev 9. * '''[https://laboheme.kz/ La Boheme]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is a theatre at Valikhanov 43, Metro Zhibek Zholy. * '''Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater''' is at Kabanbay Batyr 110, Metro Almaly. * '''[https://www.tl.kz/content/ M Lermontov State Academic Russian Drama Theater]''' is at Abay 43, Metro Abay. * '''[https://www.kimep.kz/college-humanities-education/en/kelt/ KELT]''' is an English language theatre within KIMEP University, Metro Abay. * '''[https://uyghurtheatre.kz/ Uyghur Theatre]''' is at Nauryzbai Batyr 83. * '''Almaty Theatre''' is on Halyk Square off Al-Farabi. * '''Saunas''' or ''banyas'' are where folk relax and socialise during the miserable cold months. These have different styles eg Moroccan, Nordic or Russian (where half the fun is flagellating yourself with ''veniki'' leaves). A two hour session with various extras might be 5000 tenge in 2024. There's some 30 saunas across the city, not including private hotel facilities or seedy "gentlemen's clubs", and many are part of large leisure complexes. A good example is [https://arasan-spa.kz/ Arasan] at Tolebaev 78 near Ascension Cathedral, open daily 07:00-22:30. * {{do | name=Kok-Tobe Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Adult return by cable car 10000 tenge, by minibus 3500 tenge | wikipedia=Kök Töbe (recreation area) | wikidata=Q85846351 | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Small Soviet-esque fun fair perched on a hilltop, where the highlight is getting there on the cable car. (The base station is at Luganskiy 2, east end of Abay.) Up top is a series of overpriced rides, games and attractions, and two restaurants; the wildest beasts in the "mini-zoo" are some hens and goats. The park is fenced in with no access to the nearby mountains, but you can walk to or from town via the service road. Not to be confused with Kök Töbe hill further south. }} * '''Football:''' [https://fckairat.com/ FC Kairat] play soccer in the Premier League, Kazakhstan's top tier, which plays April-Nov. Their home ground is Central Stadium, capacity 24,000, on Abay Ave (Metro Baikonur / Stadion). International games are played in Astana. === Events === * '''Nauryz Myrami''' is the spring festival, on or about 21 March each year. * '''[https://almatyfilmfest.com/ Indie Film Festival]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is held in September. * '''[https://www.almaty-marathon.kz/en/ Almaty Marathon]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is run in September. === Mountains === [[File:03 Гондольная дорога на гору Кок Тюбе.jpg | thumb | 300px | Cable car to Kok-Tobe ]] * Route P22 (Dulati Street, becomes Svezhest) runs south up the valley of River Bolshaya Almatinka. Along this route are Kok-Tobe (the hill not the funfair), Tau Spa, Alma-Arasan gorge and Big Almaty Lake. ** {{do | name=Tau Spa | alt= | url=https://tau24.kz/tau-spa/ | email= | address=Alma-Arasan Gorge 1/3 | lat=43.1188 | long=76.9128 | directions= | phone=+7 701 733 4565 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-29 | content=Year-round mountain spa with pools and cabin accommodation. Mixed reviews. }} ** {{marker | name=Big Almaty Lake | type=do | lat=43.053 | long=76.984 }} is a scenic lake at 2510 m altitude, surrounded by high mountains. It glistens like a mirror, changing colour with the season (a deep turquoise in autumn), and freezing in winter. Towering over it to the south east is Soviet Peak (4317 m), to the south Ozerniy (4110 m), and to the southwest Tourist Peak (3954 m). Great for hiking and climbing. Getting here and back is obviously simplest by car, otherwise: :: Bus 28 runs from the roundabout at Al-Farabi and Navoi up Dulati and ends at the last left turn before Alma-Arasan. Taxis here will take you to within 4 km of the lake for around 2000 tenge. Otherwise it's a 15 km hike and 1000 m rise of altitude: think about the weather and the coming back. Follow the road about 8 km until you reach a big water pipe, and then follow the steep trail next to the pipe. :: Or take a taxi all the way from Al-Farabi and Navoi. * Dostyk south becomes Gornaya which climbs the valley of River Pravy Esentai. Along this valley are Medeu Ice Rink, Ile-Alatau National Park and Chimbulak Ski resort. A bus runs up the valley from the corner of Satpaev and Baitursynuly daily at 08:00. ** {{marker | name=Medeu Ice Rink | type=do | lat=43.1571 | long=77.0594 }}: see [[Chimbulak]] for this open-air rink. ** '''Ski & snowboard''' at [[Chimbulak]], Ak-Bulak and Tabagan ski resorts, open Nov-April, lifts closed Tuesday. And hike anytime, beyond the resort up to the dam and then the glacier. == Buy == [[File:Horse meat sausage making.jpg | thumb | 300px | Making horse meat sausages in Green Bazaar ]] * '''Money:''' exchange kiosks give reasonable rates. Those at the airport are open 24 hours, and there's several on Rayimbek Batyr south of the main railway station. Most businesses take card payment, the problem for westerners is that Kazakh traders (as elsewhere in the "Stans") may be supported by the Russian banking system, and therefore embargoed by sanctions. * '''Local specialties:''' Handmade carpets, felted goods such as dolls, rugs, and slippers made with boiled lamb's wool and natural dyes, handcrafted metal jewelry, including a "tumar" (a pendant that opens like a locket) and leather chess sets. * '''Food:''' check your own country's import regulations, and those of any other country you'll pass through, before buying "souvenir food". Most prohibit fresh food, they may be okay with dry goods and preserves. * {{marker | name=Trading House Passage | type=buy | lat=43.2622 | long=76.9481 }} is a shopping mall on Zhibek Zholy. : "Arbat" is the nickname for the pedestrianised section of Zhybek Zholy, an artists' row. : TsUM is the big department store a little further west, corner of Ablay Khan, open M-Sa 09:00-19:00, Su 09:00-15:00. * {{buy | name=Green Bazaar | alt=Zelyoni Bazaar | url= | email= | address=Zenkov 53 | lat=43.2637 | long=76.9546 | directions=Metro Zhibek Zholy | phone=+7 727 273 6282 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 09:00-19:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content=A city institution, an extensive market in a lime-green concrete building. Fresh vegetables, dairy products, and meat, as well as clothing and other non-food household items. Fruit and vegetables are on the lower level. On the upper level you will find dried fruits, nuts, spices, honey and plants, as well as cheese and meat; you'll smell the meat counters long before you see them. Seasonal prices, relatively expensive by Central Asia standards. }} * '''[https://www.mega.kz/en Mega Park]''' is a large mall at Makataev 127, corner with Seyfullin, open daily 10:00-22:00. * '''[https://ramstore.kz/ Ramstore]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' was the largest mall in the city when built in the 1990s but is now nothing unusual. It's at Furmanov 226, open daily 09:00-23:00. * {{marker | name=[https://mega.kz/en Mega Alma-Ata] | type=buy | lat=43.2018 | long=76.8929 }} is a large mall at Rozybakiev 247A, open daily 10:00-22:00. * {{marker | name=Barakholka | type=buy | lat=43.2893 | long=76.8909 }} is a vast bazaar in ramshackle metal sheds, 5 km northwest of downtown on A350, trading Tu-Su 09:00-17:00. It's mostly daily necessities and not touristy, but locals likewise appreciate occasional luxuries. You want to find a US$500 winter coat for US$50? It's possible after vigorous haggling, and it will be worth most of US$30. == Eat == [[File:Medeobanen1.jpg | thumb | 300px | Medeu ice rink ]] : '''Kazakh''' cheap places are plentiful, selling shashlik, soup, salad and so on. : '''Burgers''' are popular fast food, typically with sliced kebab meat on a hamburger bun with pickles and garlic sauce. * '''Bahandi''' is a burger chain with 8 city locations, the most central is at Baytursynova 61, two blocks south of Tole Bi. * {{eat | name=Alasha | alt= | url=https://alasha.kz/en/home-2/ | email= | address=Ostpanova 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 707 7463 489 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Uzbeki restaurant. Brace yourself for being sung at, danced at, and horse meat. }} * {{eat | name=Basilic | alt= | url=https://basilic.kz | email= | address=Shevchenko 127 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 778 344 9000 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Sit-down canteen with an English menu. Low prices and offers local specialties such as horsemeat. }} * {{eat | name=China Town | alt= | url=https://restoran.kz/restaurant/16221-china-town-restaurant-na-mametova | email= | address=Mametova 47 | lat= | long= | directions=corner with Abylai Khan | phone=+7 727 233 2152 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Inexpensive Chinese eatery, large servings. Plenty of vegetarian dishes such as tofu. }} * {{eat | name=Crudo Steakhouse | alt= | url= | email= | address=Abaya 17 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 777 279 0717 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-01:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Steakhouse, mixed reviews on food quality and value for money. Good if you would like to try horse. }} * {{eat | name=Mamma Mia | alt= | url=https://ciaopizza.kz/ | email= | address=Panfilov 109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 747 128 1457 | tollfree= | hours=Su-Th 10:00-23:00, F Sa 10:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Chain pizzeria with filling portions, veggies won't starve. }} * {{eat | name=Namaste | alt= | url= | email= | address=Gogol 155 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 707 790 0956 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-22:30 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Good Indian food. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Princess | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tolebayeva 53 | lat= | long= | directions=corner with Gogol | phone=+7 727 261 0627 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Popular Chinese restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Tandoor | alt= | url=https://tandoor.kz/ | email= | address=Tole Bi 102 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 707 388 9933 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00-23:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Good-value Indian and other Asian food. }} * {{eat | name=Tarih | alt= | url= | email= | address=Abylai Khan 104 | lat= | long= | directions=corner of Shevchenko | phone=+7 778 146 5566 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Great Kazakh food with an interesting modern touch. }} * {{eat | name=Tyubeteika | alt= | url=http://palladium.kz/ | email= | address=Satpaeva 32 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 701 589 7619 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Uzbek restaurant, good food with grumpy service. They also have outlets at Abylai Khan125 and Dostyk Ave. }} * {{eat | name=Venezia | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kairbekov 61 | lat= | long= | directions=corner of Tole Bi | phone=+7 727 293 8167 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10:00-01:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Good selection of meat, veggies may struggle, }} * {{eat | name=Grand Zina | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabanbay Batyr 85 | lat= | long= | directions=within Almaty Hotel | phone=+7 700 437 0000 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 08:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=A cool restaurant with great mosaics. }} * {{eat | name=MiMi | alt=МиМи | url= | email= | address=Zenkov street, 70 | lat=43.249840 | long=76.958021 | directions= | phone=+7 (701) 944-43-73 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 08:00-20:00; Sa 08:00-17:00 | price=3000 tenge | lastedit=2026-05-19 | content=Little canteen where local people go for lunch. A selection of meals unfortunately all with meat; vegetarians will have salad, samsa and mashed potatoes available. Cheap for the city. }} == Drink == * {{drink | name=Barmaglot Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Satpaev 3 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 777 825 3030 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 17:00-03:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=For evening drinks, gets lively after 23:00. A bit stuffy: there are strict age requirements (21+ for women, 25+ for men) and a dress code. }} * {{drink | name=WL13Bar | alt=William Lawson | url= | email= | address=Bogenbai Batyr Street 102 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77088131313 | tollfree= | hours=16:00-02:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Irish pub }} * {{drink | name=Fuller's Pub Pheasant Feather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Dostyk Ave 116 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77719808181 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=English pub }} * {{drink | name=Yard House Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=2, Samal-1 Microdistrict | lat= | long= | directions=Dostyk avenue and Zholdasbekov Street intersection | phone=+77475808868 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Kazakh pub }} * {{drink | name=The Shakespeare Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=40 Dostyk avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77717721900 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Western beer and Indian food }} * {{drink | name=Harat`s Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=121 Makatayev Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77767775858 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Irish pub }} * {{drink | name=Harat`s Irish Pub | alt= | url= | email= | address=110 Panfilov Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+77273546184 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Напитки: The Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=555A Seifullin Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=19:00-02:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Kazakh beers from $2 }} * {{drink | name=Munchen pub na Panfilova | alt= | url= | email= | address=102 Panfilova Str | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=17:00-05:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Harvey's pub & grill | alt= | url= | email= | address=223 Nazarbayev Str | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-13 | content=Kazakh sport bar & pub with a variety of international beers }} == Sleep == [[File:Museum of Folk Instruments, Almaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Museum of Musical Instruments ]] === Budget === * {{sleep | name=Apelsin Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Zheltoksan St 1B | lat= | long= | directions=by Almaty-2 railway station | phone=+7 777 008 4001 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$50 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Very basic, only if you're stuck. }} * '''[https://taharhotel.com/ Tahar Hotel]''' is simple but clean, better than the grubby exterior suggests. It's at Abylai Khan 27, 300 m south of the main railway station. === Mid-range === * {{sleep | name=Astra Hotel | alt= | url=https://astra-hotel.kz/ | email= | address=Zheltoksan 12 | lat=43.2719 | long=76.9379 | directions= | phone=+7 7272 46 8688 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$80 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mid-range business hotel, clean, friendly and close to main railway station. }} * {{sleep | name=Grand Aiser | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/GRANDHOTELAISER/ | email= | address=Pozharskogo 1 | lat= | long= | directions=By Central Stadium, Metro Baikonur | phone=+7 727 396 9999 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$70 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Mostly positive reviews for this mid-price hotel. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.hotelalmaty.kz | email= | address=Kabanbai Batyr 85 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Almaty | phone=+7 727 272 0047 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$90 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Pleasant hotel facing the Opera House. Not to be confused with the place of the same name at Kuanyshbayev 38а, way out beyond Sayran bus station. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Ambassador | alt= | url=http://www.ambassadorhotel.kz/ | email= | address=Zheltoksan 121 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 250 8989 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$70 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Creaky old place but clean, and good value for what you pay. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Berkana | alt= | url= | email= | address=Aiteke Bi 83 | lat=43.2579 | long=76.9368 | directions= | phone=+7 727 279 8866 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$60 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Central but in a quiet area, good value for money. }} * {{sleep | name=Kazakhstan Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.kazakhstanhotel.kz/ | email= | address=Dostyk 52 | lat=43.2449 | long=76.9577 | directions=Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 291 9101 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$100 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=In a 1977 Soviet block but smart and clean. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Kazzhol Almaty | alt= | url=https://kazzhol.com/en/almaty/main/ | email= | address=Gogol 127/1 | lat=43.2598 | long=76.9337 | directions=Metro Zhibek Zholy | phone=+7 727 338 3898 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$100 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Clean, comfy place with restaurant and pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Ibis | alt= | url=https://all.accor.com/ssr/app/accor/hotels/almaty-kazakhstan/index.en.shtml | email= | address=Abylai Khan 55 | lat= | long= | directions=opposite Mercure | phone=+7 727 355 0355 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$100 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Great value central Accor hotel. }} === Splurge === [[File:The Esentay with the Ritz-Carlton (AP4M2495 1PS) (29127715566).jpg | thumb | 300px | The Ritz-Carlton ]] * {{sleep | name=Mercure | alt= | url=https://all.accor.com/hotel/B0P4/index.en.shtml | email= | address=Abylai Khan 53 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 344 2850 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$200 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Accor chain hotel, central, oasis of calm clean efficiency. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Almaty | alt= | url=https://holidayalmaty.com/ | email= | address=Timiryazev 2D | lat=43.2333 | long=76.9392 | directions= | phone=+7 727 244 0255 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$150 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Smart hotel near the government sector. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Dostyk | alt= | url=https://dostyk.kz/en | email=reservation@dostyk.kz | address=Kurmankazy 36 | lat= | long= | directions=200 m north of Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 333 0000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$180 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Showing its age with crumbly fittings and indifferent service. }} * {{sleep | name=Intercontinental Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/almaty/alaha/hoteldetail | email= | address=Zheltoksan 181 | lat=43.2358 | long=76.9401 | directions=Metro Baikonur | phone=+7 727 250 5000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$300 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Upmarket hotel with 4 restaurants and indoor pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Rahat Palace Hotel | alt= | url=https://rahatpalace.com/ | email= | address=Satbaev 29/6 | lat=43.2372 | long=76.9165 | directions=Metro Auezov Theatre | phone=+7 727 250 1234 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$150 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Grand exterior, poor scores for comfort and service. }} * {{sleep | name=Rixos Hotel Almaty | alt= | url=https://www.rixos.com/en/hotel-resort/rixos-almaty | email= | address=Seyfullina 506/99 | lat= | long= | directions=by Almaty Museum | phone=+7 727 300 3300 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$450 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Pleasant hotel near Dynamo stadium, pricey for what you get. }} * {{sleep | name=Park Hotel | alt=formerly Saltanat | url=https://parkhotel-almaty.com/en/ | email= | address=Furmanov 164 (aka Nazarbayev) | lat= | long= | directions=opposite Metro Abay | phone=+7 727 259 0935 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$110 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Modern business hotel. }} * {{sleep | name=Ritz-Carlton | alt= | url=https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/alarz-the-ritz-carlton-almaty/overview/ | email= | address=Esentai Tower, Al Farabi 77/7 | lat=43.2191 | long=76.9292 | directions= | phone=+7 727 332 8888 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double US$680 | lastedit=2024-12-27 | content=Plush hotel with 3 restaurants, spa and pool. The 30th-floor bar has a good view of the mountains. Service not always at the standard you expect for these prices. }} == Connect == As of Dec 2024, Almaty has 4G from Beeline and 5G from Kcell (under the brand "activ") and Airtel. The signal is patchy on the approach highways. You can buy sim cards in convenience stores, which you activate by sending your passport number and full name by SMS. At the airport, Airtel has a store, and Kcell and Beeline have reseller locations charging ~40% markup. == Stay safe == [[File:KazanskiySoborAlmaty.jpg | thumb | 300px | Holy Kazan Cathedral ]] Beware of traffic, safeguard valuables and take care when drunk, same as anywhere else. Emergency numbers are 101 Fire, 102 Police and 103 Ambulance. == Cope == === Registration === You have to register your arrival, but your hotel or host will do this for you. They may give you a card confirming they've done so, but this is a hangover from paper-based days and is no longer necessary. In case you need to do it yourself, this is via the [https://vmp.gov.kz/en/services/notice-service online portal]; see also [[Uzbekistan#Get in]]. It's the same system for staying beyond 30 days visa-free. An unlucky few might need to attend OVIR, the Migration Police. They're at Dosmukhamedov 109, near the corner of Baytursynov and Karasay Batyr, 200 m northwest of St Nicholas Cathedral. The website will tell you how to set up the appointment. Frankly it might be simplest just to take a weekend jaunt to Bishkek then re-enter Kazakhstan: this re-starts your 30 days visa-free, though you're still against the limit of 90 days within any 180. === Consulates === : Always check the consulate website first. Problems like a stolen passport might be managed by the embassy in Astana or from the home country. * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/ | email= | address=Al Farabi | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://kz.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/almaty/ | email= | address=Zholdasbekov 97 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 250 7612 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content= }} * {{flag|Uzbekistan}} {{listing | name=Uzbekistan | alt= | url=https://almaty.mfa.uz/ | email= | address=Zhakarov 360 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+7 727 390 2616 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content=Hours, prices & procedures all seem makeshift, best phone ahead to check they're still there. }} * '''Others:''' as of Dec 2024, Almaty also has consulates or visa centres for [https://almati.mfa.gov.hu/hun Hungary], [https://consulate-almaty.mfa.lt/ Lithuania] and Tajikstan. == Go next == [[File:IMG 7431-Sharyn canyon.jpg | thumb | 300px | Charyn Canyon]] * '''Winter sports & hiking''' at [[Chimbulak]], Ak-Bulak and Tabagan ski resorts, within a day-trip. * '''[[Astana]]''' is the new showcase capital, with more of a mixture of cultures than Almaty. * '''Lake Balkhash''' is along the road to Astana, so you could break the long journey here. Balkhash village (12 hours by bus) has a few hotels. The lake is salty east of here, but fresh to the west where rivers enter. It's the closest you'll get to beach action in this very land-locked country. * '''[[Bishkek]]''' the capital of Kyrgyzstan is a 5 hr drive. From there see Lake Issyk-Kul. * '''Tamgaly Petroglyphs''' ("Temple of The Sun"): This [[UNESCO]] site is 2-3 hours away by car (170 km west, 30 km past Copa off the road to Bishkek). The petroglyphs range from ancient (3,000 years) to "modern" (75 years), and feature pictures of the Sunman and hunting nomad tribes. There are also several grave sites. Watch out for snakes when it's hot. * '''Turgen Gorge'''. In the national preserve or Ile-Alatau, 90 km east of Almaty. The gorge is some 44 m deep, with hot springs, waterfalls, and forests: these include the last stands of Chim-Turgen moss fir woods that once carpeted the area. * [[w:Lake_Issyk|'''Lake Issyk''']], not to be confused with Issyk-Kul, is a 90-min drive from Almaty, offers a largely overlooked clear picturesque lake surrounded by mountains. * '''[[Charyn Canyon]]''' is 80 km long and as much as 300 m deep, eroded into fantastical shapes, especially along the 3 km stretch known as "Valley of the Castles". It's 200 km east of Almaty towards the Chinese border (follow A351) and often done as a day-trip, but longer tours of the area are recommended. Not far from the "Singing Dunes". * '''[[Urumqi]]''' in China can be reached by bus. It's on the Chinese high-speed railway towards Lanzhou, Xian and Beijing. {{geo|43.277500|76.895833|zoom=11}} {{IsPartOf|Almaty Province}} {{Usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Almaty Province}} 80yvmihsmjpjjazw890bhduu7hq43co 0 1675 5298432 5277848 2026-06-25T13:38:10Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298432 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Ascension WV Banner.jpg}} '''[https://www.ascension.gov.ac/ Ascension Island]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an [[islands of the Atlantic Ocean|island in the Atlantic Ocean]], just south of the equator, 700 miles (1150 km) northwest of [[Saint Helena (island)|Saint Helena]], the [[United Kingdom]] territory by which it is administered. ==Understand== This barren and not yet inhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1501. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of [[Saint Helena (island)|Saint Helena]]. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct Wideawake airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and for a short period prior was one of the busiest airfields in the world, with over 400 take-offs and landings each day. It remains a critical refuelling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. The climate on Ascension Island is subtropical. It is arid and lacking in vegetation until the elevation increases where lush forest and fertile soil exists. The main settlement is Georgetown. ==Get in== {{Mapframe|zoom=12}} {{mapshape}} {{VisaRestriction|Nationals of Belarus, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Egypt, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Vietnam are '''ineligible''' to obtain Ascension Island visas.|lastedit=2019-12-08}} [[File:SH-Ascension.png|thumb|right|upright=1.9|Map of Ascension Island]] [[File:ASCENSION ISLAND - FT. HAYES.jpg|thumb|Fort Hayes]] [[File:ASCENSION ISLAND - ST. MARY'S ANGLICAN CHURCH.jpg|thumb|St. Mary's Church]] [[File:ASCENSION ISLAND - GEORGETOWN.jpg|thumb|The Exiles Club]] Visitors can [https://www.ascension-visas.com/ apply for an E-visa], which must be applied for no less than 14 days before arrival. Applying later than this may result in the visa being refused, even if you meet the requirements. Tourist visas cost £20 for adults, and £5 for under 12s. ===By plane=== *{{go | name=RAF Ascension Island | alt={{IATA|ASI}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=-7.969444 | long=-14.393889 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=RAF Ascension Island | wikidata=Q1968916 | content=Ascension Island has monthly service from [[Johannesburg]] by way of [[Saint Helena (island)|Saint Helena]], operated by [https://flyairlink.com/news/launch-of-ticket-sales-for-st-helena-air-service Airlink].{{pbri}}The military charter flight from RAF Brize Norton close to [[Oxford]] in the [[United Kingdom]] ceased operating in 2017. <!-- Individual return tickets cost around £920 (June, 2010), booked at least 28 days in advance. Group and students discounts were available. Contact [http://www.ascension-flights.com/ Ascension Island Travel Agency], Tel: +247 6500, Fax: +247 6827 --> }} ===By boat=== * The Royal Mail Ship ''Saint Helena'' retired from passenger service and its site states that flights are available. ==Get around== There is no public transport (not even taxis) on Ascension. ==See== *{{see | name=Fort Hayes | alt= | url= | email= | address=Georgetown | lat= | long= | directions=there are signs pointing to it near the port | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M 5–7PM, Sa 10AM-noon, or by special arrangement if possible (call 2326(W) or 2455(H)) | price= | content= }} *{{see | name=Fort Thornton | url= | email= | address=Georgetown | lat= | long= | directions=across the port from Fort Hayes | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{see | name=St Mary's Anglican Church | url= | email= | address=Georgetown | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=It's part of Diocese of [[Cape Town]] along with its counterpart in St Helena. Built in mid-19th century as the Naval Church. Has much history laid on the Wall Tablets inside. }} *{{see | name=Red Lion British Navy Barracks | url= | email= | address=Green Mountain National Park | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in 18th century in a subtropical forest which covers the Green Mountain, and have a very nice clock-tower. Starting point for many trails and "letterbox" walks (which are special because the climate on the mountain is noticeably cooler than on other desert parts of the island). }} *{{see | name=The Dew Pond | url= | email= | address=at the Peak of Green Mountain, Green Mountain National Park | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A destination of a notable "letterbox" walk. See how climate zones change during your short 1-mile trip to the 2817-ft peak. }} *{{see | name=Exiles Club | alt=Marine Barracks | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Historical building, dates back to 1830. There are some shops in it as of 2021. }} ==Do== Sport fishing is the main attraction for visitors to Ascension Island. There are also some beaches and ocean swimming in certain coves, such as Comfortless Cove and English Bay. Long Beach, as inviting as it looks, has a very hazardous undertow and is not suitable for sea bathing. However, it is a sheer delight for wildlife fans as this is where sea turtles go to nest. There are a few paths (such as Rupert's Path) suitable for hiking into the more lush highlands, as well as mountainside lava tubes to explore. The pastime of letterboxing, hiking to a destination that contains a "letterbox" containing a log book and a rubber stamp pad, is possible here. Ascension Island features what was at one time reputed to be the world's worst golf course. Located between the settlements of Two Boats village and Georgetown, the course has 18 holes and the greens are better described as 'browns' due to the sand and oil mix used to make them. The rest of the course is made up of volcanic ash and rock, which makes for some interesting rounds. There is some terrific scuba diving in the waters surrounding Ascension Island. There are only local enthusiasts, however, and no recognized diving operation. Some of the locals are often willing to take experienced visitors with them. There are fumaroles and lava tunnels to explore (at Command Hill, near the Catholic Grotto). ==Buy== ===Money=== {{exchange rate GBP|currencies=USD,EUR,ZAR}} Ascension Island uses the '''Saint Helena pound (₤)''' as its currency, which is fixed to the British pound at a value of 1:1. Saint Helena pound can't be obtained outside Saint Helena or Ascension so bring British pounds in cash. ===Shopping=== The grocery store and almost every other business on the island have odd hours of operation (for example, the petrol station on Tuesdays is open 14:00-15:00), so make sure you note the times on the first day. ==Eat== Because everything is imported, prices for food are very high on the island. If you get the chance to go out fishing with the locals, you may walk away with a bag of tuna. Sometimes the community hosts a fish fry that is open to everyone. There are very few places to eat, with odd opening hours *{{eat | name=The Restaurant | url= | email= | address=in the Obsidian Hotel, Georgetown | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Breakfast 7:30-9AM; dinner 7–8:30PM | price= | content=For dinners bookings are required. }} *{{eat | name=Snack Bar | url= | email= | address=at Volcano Club at the US base | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F 5–9PM, Sa 4–9PM (last orders at 8:50PM) | price= | content=American-style fast food. }} ==Drink== *{{drink | name=The Saints' Club | url= | email= | address=Georgetown | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The bar opens in evenings. }} *{{drink | name=Two Boats Club | url= | email= | address=Two Boats village | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=The bar is open from 19:30 | price= | content= }} *{{drink | name=Volcano Club | url= | email= | address=at the US base | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=From 17:00 | price= | content=Seems to be the most crowded venue on the island and has the best selection of alcohol. }} ==Sleep== The only hotel, ''Obsidian,'' with restaurant and car hire, closed September 2017. ==Stay healthy== '''[[Tap water]]''' is drinkable. ==Connect== The country code for Ascension is '''247''' and the population is too small to need area or trunk STD codes. The International Prefix is '''00'''. Subscriber numbers are typically 4 digits long and start with a 2 for the US Base, 3 for Travellers Hill or Airhead, 4 for Two Boats and a 6 or 7 for Georgetown. Numbers starting with 0 or 5 have been reserved for future Mobile service. There is a Wi-Fi hotspot in Obsidian Hotel's lobby and patio for £10/day. The Post Office in Georgetown offers a vast array of philatelic items for sale from the three islands of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. Airmail is possible, thanks to the airfield. ==Go next== [[Saint Helena (island)|Saint Helena]] is the only reasonable destination you can visit from Ascension Island. See '''Get in/By sea''' {{geo|-7.928611|-14.411667|zoom=13}} {{usableruralarea}} {{IsPartOf|Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}} q5debqp2wle1svgp68svi3j386rbs80 0 2271 5298607 5283486 2026-06-26T05:50:48Z Lazarus1255 2236161 /* Nyaung U */ Closed 5298607 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Bagan_Myanmar_24912385475_(cropped).jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} {{Cautionbox| A strong earthquake rocked central Myanmar on 24 August 2016, resulting in damages at many of Bagan's temples and pagodas. Assessment and reconstruction is ongoing at the damaged spots, so visitors are advised not to hamper the recovery effort and to '''stay clear''' as unstable structures and materials can still fall. }} [[File:Sunrise in Bagan.jpg|thumb|351x351px|View from the Law Ka Ou Shaung temple in Bagan at sunrise]] '''Bagan''' (Burmese ပုဂံ) is an area and [[archaeological sites|archaeological site]] in the [[Central Myanmar|Central]] region of [[Myanmar]], inscribed as a {{UNESCO}}. ==Understand== [[Image:Bagan_002.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Bagan area as seen from Shwesandaw Pagoda]] Bagan, also spelled ''Pagan'', on the banks of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River, is home to the largest and densest concentration of [[Buddhist]] temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world, many dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. The shape and construction of each building is highly significant in Buddhism with each component taking on spiritual meaning. When comparing this immense archaeological site to other archaeological gems of Southeast Asia, the [[Angkor]] sites, an analogy with food is apt: savouring the Angkor sites is like a Chinese Lauriat banquet where the temples are presented in grand and exquisite servings and takes a long time (about 10 to 15 minutes) to get from one to the next. Bagan is served up Spanish tapas-style, in small bite size servings, often in frequent intervals and near to each other. What makes the temples look romantic is the process of graceful ageing. There are no windbreaks and occasional whirlwinds spawn loose dust particles that sandblast the temples. This has eroded the stucco coatings of the temples to reveal the underlying bricks, reddish, and golden brown when bathed in sunlight. Erosion is a significant threat to this area, not only the wind chipping away the buildings' parging, but also water from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River threatens the riverbanks. Strong river currents have already washed away half of the area of Old Bagan. It used to be a rectangular-shaped piece of enclave protected by a perimeter wall. Now the remaining triangular eastern half is exposed to the river. Bagan has three main cities that draw the majority of tourists, {{marker|type=city|name=New Bagan|lat=21.132420|long=94.861270}} (southwest of the main sights), {{marker|type=city|name=Nyaung U|lat=21.194715|long=94.906688}} (northeast of the main sights) and {{marker|type=city|name=Old Bagan|lat=21.173573|long=94.863181}} (just northwest of the main sights). ===History=== Bagan became powerful in the mid-9th century under King Anawratha, who unified Burma under Theravada Buddhism. It is estimated that as many as 13,000 temples and stupas once stood on this 42km² plain in [[central Myanmar]], and Marco Polo once described Bagan as a "''gilded city alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sounds of monks' robes''". Approximately 2,200 temples remain, in various states of disrepair. Some are large and well maintained, such as the Ananda Pahto, others are small tumbledown relics in the middle of overgrown grass. All sites are considered sacred, so when visiting, be respectful. Remove footwear and socks before entering or stepping onto them. Bagan's golden age ended in 1287 when the kingdom and its capital city was invaded and sacked by the Mongols. Its population was reduced to a village that remained among the ruins of the once larger city. In 1998, this village and its inhabitants were forcibly relocated a few kilometres to the south of Bagan, forming "New Bagan" where accommodation is a handful of cheap, quaint, clean hotels, and religious centres. Despite the majesty and importance of Bagan, UNESCO did at one conference opt to not include it on its World Heritage List, because some temples were rebuilt in an ''un-historic'' fashion. Nonetheless, the site is perhaps as impressive as the pyramids of Egypt: a dry, vast open landscape dominated entirely by votive architecture. Bagan was finally listed in 2019. ==Get in== {{Mapframe|21.1667|94.8667|zoom=12}} Most incoming travel for Bagan, except for some ferries, is through Nyaung U. ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Bagan Shwe Pyi Highway Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.157397 | long=94.931601 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-07-25 | content=Transport from here into Nyaung U is 8,000 kyat per person because of local monopoly that charges a different price for foreigners. So, you better head to the highway and catch a cheap ride there, or you are very good in bargaining&mdash;the regular price is 1,000-1,500 kyat. }} From specific destinations: * [[Mount Popa]] &ndash; 50 km southeast, local pickup, 1½ hr, 1,000-1,500 kyat. * [[Mandalay]] &ndash; Many comfortable bus links from Mandalay are available, many in the morning between 06:00 and 10:00, but there are also minibuses in the afternoon. 5-8 hr, 7–8,000 kyat. Private taxis can be rented for US$80-100. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; From Aung Mingalar Highway Bus Station morning and evening buses are available. Book sufficiently ahead, because this is a popular tourist route. 9-11 hr, 13–18,000 kyat (VIP 2+1 bus are about 20–33,000 kyat). Go at least 2 hours in advance from Yangon city centre (Sule paya) to Aung Mingalar Highway Bus Station by public bus number 36. * [[Inle Lake]] (Nyang Shwe) &ndash; Air conditioned buses are available for around 14,000 kyat and take 9 hr. In case no direct buses are available, try to catch the Taunggyi bus from the junction 12 km north of Inle at around 07:00. The same buses go through [[Kalaw]]; 7 hr from there. * [[Taunggyi]] &ndash; Buses from Taunggyi (06:00) go by (12 km) but not through '''Inle Lake''' (Nyang Shwe), but also through '''Kalaw''' (7 hr). 10 hr. * [[Pyay]] &ndash; Due to the new and direct highway between Yangon and Mandalay, it has become harder to catch a bus to Bagan from Pyay. However, there is one at 17:00 for 11,000 kyat or more, which takes about 10 hr to Bagan. You can also take one of the more frequent buses to Magway, and onward travel to Bagan from there for a similar price. * [[Magway]] &ndash; 6 hr, 4,000 kyat. * [[Mrauk U]] &ndash; There are no direct buses available, you will have to take a bus to Magway (09:00 & 12:00, 16 hr, 24–27,000 kyat) or to Mandalay (08:00 and 10:00) and get off at Magway or {{marker|type=city|name=Kyauk Padaung|lat=20.835329|long=95.124734}} (19 hr, same price as Mandalay). From there it should be easy to catch onward transport, pickup/van or another bus. Check the bus does goes through there (Kyauk Padaung), especially when entering the bus in Mrauk U. Often the ticket seller and the bus are different companies, because passengers are shuffled around depending on the availability of buses. The Kyauk Padaung route is preferable, because Kyauk Padaung is very close to Bagan and you can visit '''Mount Popa''' on the way, to enjoy the sunrise in the temple on top of the cliff. 20 hr, 28,000 kyat. ===By train=== * [[File:Train to Bagan from Mandalay 4.jpg|thumb|On the train from Mandalay to Bagan]]{{go | name=Bagan Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.154474|long=94.935207 | directions=1.2 km south from the Bus Terminal | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-07-25 | content= }} It is sometimes rough, smelly, slow and full of insects. Those train tickets are worth their prices. It can make for a nice story if you survive the night. From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] – Overnight trains run daily, departing about 16:00 in Yangon and arriving about 09:00 in Bagan the next day. Fares are: upper class sleeper (16,500 kyat), upper class seat (12,000 kyat), ordinary class seat (4,500 kyat). * [[Mandalay]] – There are two direct train service running to Bagan daily, one departing at 07:20 and arriving at 18:45, and one departing at 21:00 and arriving at 04:59 the next day. Only the night train, which might not operate in the low season, has 1st class so check in advance. otherwise you will have limited room to store your stuff and uncomfortable seat in an incredibly crowded train. Tickets are available at the railway station for 1,800 kyat (1st class) and 1,300 (ordinary seat). * [[Pyay]] – The situation about the train from Pyay is unclear, and it may be seasonal only. Pyay is not along the regular Yangon to Bagan route. Prices should be around 5–7,000 kyat for upper class. However, there are three daily trains from Yangon (Kyemyindine or central) to Pyay for 3,900 kyat upper class. ===By boat=== The boat from and to Mandalay is at {{marker|type=other|name=Nyaung U Jetty|lat=21.208326|long=94.916266}}, 1.5 km northeast of Nyaung U market. Another point for ferries is the {{marker|type=other|name=Old Bagan Pier|lat=21.178491|long=94.859913}}, 350 m northeast of Bu Paya. '''Mandalay'''<br/> An (almost daily) "express" ferry service runs down the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) from Mandalay to Bagan taking about 9-12 hr (or something like 30 km/h). Prices are US$35/40. It is more of a slow pleasure cruise than a rush express trip thanks to the priceless river views and fresh air, the glimpse of country life with locals waving at you. Keep in mind that the Ayeyarwady is an enormous river over a mile wide, so your views of the countryside may not be what you expect. Some travellers report disappointment in this regard. ''MGRG Express Ferry'' leaves Gawwein jetty in Mandalay at 07:00 and arrives in Bagan at 17:00 for US$45. River travel is not possible during the low water months of April to June. Bookings can be made through website, hotel, any travel agent, MTT (government tourist information) or the IWT office on 35th street in Mandalay a few hundred metres from the river. A (very) slow local ferry covers the same route less frequently and costs 18,000 kyat. Takes between 14-17 hr, but is a great opportunity to mix with the locals. Apparently only runs Sunday and Wednesday, so check ahead. Plastic chairs are available to rent on board. Otherwise, bring something to sit on and a cover for the early hours (leaves around 05:00) and evening. Locals will be grateful to share theirs if you ask or if they see you shivering. Tickets are available directly on the boat or through any travel agent. The boat disembarks at a jetty in Ngaung U. Just after leaving the jetty, there is the toll station to pay 25,000 kyat for the Bagan entry ticket. '''Pyay'''<br/> Every Saturday at 05:30 there is also a local ferry from Pyay. It arrives Tuesday at 17:30 (48 hr) and costs 20,000 kyat. However, the arrival times seem to vary widely, so check ahead. [[File:Bagan Airport (8412839529).jpg|thumb|Nyaung U Airport]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Nyaung U Airport | alt={{IATA|NYU}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.175088 | long=94.9285 | directions=4 km south of Nyaung U | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1320347 | lastedit=2019-07-25 | content=You can fly to Bagan from [[Yangon]] or [[Mandalay]]. There are winter and summer season prices. }} From the airport to New Bagan takes about 15–20 min by car, and usually this will cost around 7-10,000 kyat. Most mid-range and luxury hotels will provide free pickup from the airport. ==Fees and permits== Before entering Bagan, if travelling by bus, you will be taken directly to a '''ticket booth''' (directly at the airport or on the road between the Highway Bus Terminal and the airport road junction, about 1 km from the Bus Terminal) where you present your passport and purchase a '''ticket to the whole archaeological site''' valid for 5 days from the day of purchase. The price is either '''US$20 or 25,000 kyat''' as of June 2019&mdash;you can choose either currency. The tickets are mostly only ever checked at Htilominlo Temple and Shwesandaw Temple. Some people believe that the money is not used for the site but goes directly into government pockets. If arriving by bus late at night, the driver may bypass the ticket booth. ==Get around== [[Image:Waiting_Cart_(8405290740).jpg|thumb|right|350px|Horse and Carriage]] * {{listing | name=Walking | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This option is only meaningful for tours within the town, New Bagan or Nyaung U. }} * {{listing | name=Shared pickups | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=They are available between the market in Nyaung U and Old Bagan (200 kyat), as well as New Bagan and Old Bagan (400 kyat). They sometimes attempt to charge 1,000 kyat for tourists but it can be fought by simply waiting for the next one. This is only an option if you are aiming for a specific destination in one of the three towns. It is not very convenient to walk and see the temples starting from Old Bagan. }} * {{listing | name=Bicycle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price=1,000 kyat per day | content=This is a good, inexpensive and far from impossible way to see Bagan and its sights (although you have to compete with much vehicular traffic on the one-lane roads). Many hotels offer bike rentals. Most of the Bagan area is flat and very easy to bicycle around. In the morning, before it gets hot, is a particularly pleasant time to do this. People tend to rise late around Bagan, so touring early really emphasizes the sense of Bagan as "abandoned". Later in the day, particularly during the warm season, it may be uncomfortable to do this. In the dry season, bicycling the sandy paths connecting the more remote temples can be a harrowing exercise, but this is still the best way to get to where you want to go cheaply and freely. Bring a headlamp for the morning and evening.}} * {{listing | name=E-bike | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=4-6,000 kyat a day for the old ones, 5,000 kyat (1 person) or 8,000 kyat (2 persons) for the new ones | content=All comments about bicycle also apply for e-bikes. E-bikes can be better when it comes to heat. The most common e-bikes can carry only one person, and their batteries last half a day (don't believe the people that tell you it's going to last one full day). There are also e-bikes that can carry two people. These e-bikes display the speed on a screen, their batteries last a full day, and they can go up to 80 km/h. You can easily rent them for one person, for a cheaper price if you're alone. }} * {{listing | name=Horse and Carriage | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=10-15,000 kyat per day (up to 4 people), 25,000 kyat if booked through the hotel | content=The classic way to visit the Bagan area and its sights. You can either tell the driver where you want to go, or let them decide for you. Usually, they will try to take you to a cafe where they get a commission, but this is not always a bad option. The easiest way to find a driver on your own is to walk around after sunset: drivers will find you. }} ==See== ===Introduction=== Nobody can be expected to visit more than 20 of these structures, let alone all 2,000. One day in Bagan is enough (even with a bicycle) to see all desired temples and sights if started at sunrise and finishes at sunset. A second day can be used to concentrate on specific sights or dos, like Mount Popa, a cruise across the river or just a relaxed hang-around somewhere in Old Bagan. Most of the major temples have signs in English and are large enough to see, but a GPS may be required to find smaller temples. "Disgraceful tourist behaviour" is banned and officials are becoming stricter. To the disappointment of some tourists '''climbing the "venerated" pagodas for the terrific views of the Bagan area is prohibited'''. Many locals find such activity to be disrespectful, and it risks damaging the fragile structures. As of May 2016, this restricts entry to the top in many of the pagodas except five. As a kind of compensation large dirt banks have been constructed for tourists to climb and see sunrise and sunset. There is also an enormous viewing tower. ===Understand=== The three basic building blocks of typical Bagan temples are ''stupa'', ''block base'', and ''vestibule''. With a little practice, you can deconstruct the structures into their basic elements. The simplest structure starts with a stupa shaped like a chess pawn. It holds a tiny sacred piece of human remains, relics of the Buddha, or a simple commemorative votive piece. Some stupas have a single pierced niche housing a Buddha icon, which can be viewed by the devotee from the outside. As complexity increased the niches became bigger and no longer fit in the stupa, so a cube block base was introduced to accommodate the enlarged niche, which eventually became a cell. With the cube block casing the cell now fully defined, the stupa became its topping. Then, the cube's cell's entrance developed a vestibule, while the cell increased to two (back to back), eventually completing all the sides, one for each cardinal compass point (north-south-east-west), and eventually as it became bigger, a dark claustrophobic ambulatory connected all four cells. Becoming more articulate and intricate, the cube's top taper into two to three tiers and are decorated with smaller corner spires on each while the vestibule protruded further and further out, the doorways decorated with pediments, some with upturned, others with downturned, teeth-like decoration. In others, the tiers became prominent to resemble a stepped pyramid. Meanwhile, the stupa became more elaborate as mouldings multiplied and sets of tiers and niches were introduced. From a simple gourd-shaped stupa, it evolved into a complex structure. ===Itineraries=== When planning for the best way to see Bagan, read all the comments and descriptions below, choose the sights you want to see and at what time, and put together a tour using the map view available at the top right, where all temples are listed based on their GPS marker. If you use an app like OsmAnd for your smartphone, you can transfer the GPS markers for offline use. The following five sights are recommended to avoid the crowds but still have a lasting experience of Bagan: ''Law Ka Ou Shaung Temple'' (best for sunrise at 05:00), ''Old Bagan'' (just after sunrise before the crowds tramp in), ''Gawdaw Palin Temple'' (epic temple nowadays blocked by little shops and no 1st floor option anymore, but with a great view from the small forgotten temple to the south across the road), ''Pathada Temple'' (with a Buddha facing sunset, great opportunity to catch a Buddha outdoor in this area), ''Myauk Guni Temple'' (one of the best sunset view, find the hidden passage that lead to the 7th floor). The following nine sights are a subjective but recommended selection of worthy and beautiful Bagan temples: ''Sein Nyet Sister Temples'' (very calm and uncrowded), ''Shwesandaw Pagoda'' (after sunrise when the crowds have dissipated), ''That Byin Nyu Temple'' (uncrowded and great view onto Ananda Temple), ''Ananda Temple'' (bypass Disneyland and enjoy the quiet courtyard), ''Sulamani Temple'' (very picturesque and great illumination by the sun), ''Thambula Temple'' (very bright, great for pictures), ''Dhamma Yangyi Temple'' (possibly largest, mysterious temple with a juicy gory history), ''Pyathadar Temple'' (great for sunset). ===Main temples=== [[Image:Well worth the view this evening (4501575121) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|350px|Ananda and That Byin Nyu behind]] * {{see | name=Ananda Temple | alt=အာနန္ဒာ ဘုရား | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.170903 | long=94.867713 | directions=left side on the southern stretch of the Bagan-Nyaung U Rd just before the road heads to Tharaba Gate of Old Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Bagan's holiest temple, built by the third king, Kyan-Zit-Tha in 1091. Ananda is the name of one of the Buddha's principal disciples, and comes from the Pali word "anantapannya", which means "boundless wisdom". The temple houses four Buddhas facing the cardinal directions, which represent the four Buddhas who have attained Nirvana. The fifth, Maitreya, is yet to appear. It has been renovated to remove the white and black washed paint and to make way for a sandy reddish cover, which now allows for impressive and distinct views/pictures like no other temple in Bagan. The temple restoration has been undertaken with help of India. }} [[Image:Dhammayangyi Temple at Bagan,Myanmar.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Dhamma Yangyi Temple]] * {{see | name=Dhamma Yangyi Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.162281 | long=94.872892 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Commissioned by King Narathu to atone for the sins of assassinating his father, brother, and wife. He is said to have had his wife killed for following Hindu traditions. The eccentricity of this king is reflected in the building's finely set brickwork: he executed a bricklayer for his imperfect masonry, and ordered that bricks should be laid such that there is not enough space for even a needle to pass through. Also mysterious is its unfinished construction (work abandoned after he himself was assassinated). Inner vaults are large and current occupants include bats. It is believed to be a haunted temple by some inhabitants, but clearly not by the noisy hawkers who set up shop right in front of the Buddha and appear to live in the side passages. China is helping to restore the temple. }} * {{see | name=Manuhar Pagoda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.153324 | long=94.859368 | directions=the last major temple at the south end of Myinkaba Village along Bagan-Chauk Rd, marked by a free-standing column | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built by the Mon King Manuhar from the nearby kingdom of Thaton, once a prisoner of King Anawratha. When released, he sold his jewellery and built this temple. A good testimony to Mon architecture. This temple contains three sitting Buddhas and one reclining Buddha. It is said that Manuhar built this to reflect his feelings of claustrophobia and despair during imprisonment. The sitting Buddhas are in a half-smile, but if seen from below which you are forced to if you enter through the front entrance, it would look like they are frowning. }} * {{see | name=Htilominlo Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.178720 | long=94.879308 | directions=1.5 km northeast of Old Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Meaning "Blessings of the Three Worlds" and very famous with tourists. Built in 1218 by King Nantaungmya. It is probably the last temple built in this area and using Myanmar style. Interestingly carved reliefs surround the doorways. }} * {{see | name=Shwe Gugyi Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.170837 | long=94.862423 | directions=in front of Thatbyinnyu Temple | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Commissioned by King Alaunsithu in 1131, one of the most intact temples, thus needing less imagination to appreciate. }} * {{see | name=Shwe Zigon Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.195339 | long=94.893923 | directions=heading S, right side on the northern stretch of Bagan-Nyaung U Rd after passing the bus station; a long covered walkway with souvenir stalls starts from the road to the compound | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Finished in 1102 during the reign of King Anawrahta, this temple is said to contain a bone and tooth relic of Gautama Buddha. This gourd-stupa-ed golden pagoda was the prototype monument used for building many other structure (including for the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda of Yangon, the second holiest in Myanmar) built in Myanmar-style in 1087. It is fairly well maintained. Intricate dancing figures on the top of the many halls inside the complex make this a great location to appreciate the artwork from old Bagan. In one of the structures, you can see drawings on the ceilings depicting the different stages of life: birth, youth, monk, old age and death. There is a long walkway in front of the temple, with shops whose shopkeepers will try their very best while you make your way to the temple. In May 2016, the pagoda was being renovated and was covered with scaffolding. }} * {{see | name=That Byin Nyu Temple | alt=That Byin Nyu Guphayagyi | url=http://www.baganmyanmar.com/bagan-pagodas-temples/bagan-temples/53-that-byin-nyu-temple.html | email= | address=Anawrahta Road | lat=21.1688 | long=94.8629 | directions=left side after entering the Tharaba Gate of Old Bagan, the second road | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=That Byin Nyu Temple was built in the mid-12th century during the reign of King Alaungsithu. Adjacent to Ananda Temple, it is the tallest structure in Bagan. “Thatbyinnyu” means “omniscience”, which the Buddha is said to have attained upon enlightenment. There are some run-down temples nearby ''That Byin Nyu'', and an old city wall that is a short walk away.}} * {{see | name=Shwesandaw Pagoda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.163823 | long=94.866080 | directions=south side of the southern Bagan-Nyaung U road, almost opposite Ananda | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Tiered pagoda very popular for sunrise and sunset. }} * {{see | name=Gawdaw Palin Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.170020 | long=94.856704 | directions=in Old Bagan, just north of the Archeological Museum | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A fusion of Burmese and Indian styles, this temple has a beautiful courtyard with a medium-sized stupa and interesting bell hangers. It is a symbol of modern Bagan architecture, and possibly the second tallest temple in Bagan. The temple is similar in layout to Thatbyinnyu Temple. The temple was heavily damaged during the earthquake in 1975, but has been reconstructed. }} * {{see | name=Myazedi Pagoda and Gu Byauk Gyi temple (west) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.1573962 | long=94.8604724 | directions=in Old Bagan, just southwest of Mingala zedi | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Myazedi pagoda contains the Myazedi inscription, inscribed in 1113, which is the oldest surviving stone inscription of the Burmese as recognized by UNESCO at this site. "Myazedi" means "emerald stupa". The inscriptions were made in four languages: Burmese, Pyu, Mon, and Pali, which all tell the story of Prince Yazakumar and King Kyansittha. The primary importance of the Myazedi inscription is that the inscriptions allowed for the deciphering of the written Pyu language, thus acting as the 'Rosetta stone' of Pyu language.<br />The nearby Gu Byauk Gyi temple is well-worth a visit for its enormous frescoes covering every inch of its inner walls. There is scarce lighting inside, but thoughtfully two large torches are provided which allow you to appreciate the artwork. }} ===Other temples=== * {{see | name=Law Ka Ou Shaung Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.162208 | long=94.863199 | directions=400 m south of Pathada | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Great for sunrise at 05:00 and far less crowded than Shwesandaw, but it has become more popular in the last years. The second and third terraces lie beyond the tree line and you can easily spot Shwesandaw with its masses. If it is closed for sunrise try the pagoda and temple 100 m away. }} * {{see | name=Pathada Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.165360 | long=94.862712 | directions=along the southern Nyaung U-Old Bagan road aka Anawrahta Rd, 450 m before the junction towards New Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One of the few temples with an outdoor Buddha. Allows for great pictures from the opposite field. The nearby Sinmyashin Temple with its golden top is equally appealing. }} * {{see | name=Dhammayazika Pagoda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.145086 | long=94.883423 | directions=north of the New Bagan-Nyaung U road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Unusually-shaped five corner, circular pagoda made of bricks. Built in 1196 when King Narapatisithu ruled. }} * {{see | name=Bu Paya Stupa | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.176339 | long=94.857865 | directions=inside Old Bagan, a northbound road leading to it branches out from the main road as it turns south; the stupa is visible from the outside and not necessary to explore the temple complex | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This lone golden gourd-shaped structure sits on a complex temple by the river. }} * {{see | name=Sulamani Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.165026 | long=94.881253 | directions=south of the main Old Bagan-Nyaung U road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A beautiful temple built in 1183 by King Narapatisithu, and very popular in dry season due to the road being more accessible. It has many frescoes and murals which are fairly well-preserved and worth taking a look. Observe the monks drawn on the walls on either side of the Buddha praying in obeisance pointing towards the Buddha. There is also a block with Myanmarese inscriptions inside the temple. In wet season, the access road is muddy and poor, meaning there are fewer tourists and hawkers here compared to other temples. Sulamani means 'the gem'. }} [[Image:Temples in Bagan valley (8436566625) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|350px|Sein Nyet Ama (left) & Sein Nyet Nyima (middle)]] * {{see | name=Sein Nyet Ama & Sein Nyet Nyima | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.141662 | long=94.858983 | directions=on the road south, 500 m before New Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Ama, a temple, was built in the 12th century, typically squared with entrances to all four directions. Nyima, a stupa, has guardian lions on its corners. }} * {{see | name=Pyathadar Hpaya | alt=Pyathatgyi | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.158407 | long=94.889190 | directions=between the main roads, along the road past Sulamani | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Large hallways and a beautiful large terrace. The Buddha can be seen from the top of the terrace through the outer access hallway also. In wet season, the road can be very bad, meaning that tour groups are generally absent and the temple can be quite peaceful. If you get here in the morning hours, the terrace view is very much worth the mud-trail ride. Offers quite a view of Old Bagan overall. If you come in the pre-rainy season (May–June), you can also watch the beautiful sight of farmers tilling the untilled land in preparation for sowing, with a flock of crows following. This temple is being restored with the help of Singapore. }} * {{see | name=Myauk Guni Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.159579 | long=94.871127 | directions=just south of Dhamma Yangyi | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A smaller temple largely forgotten by tourists and hawkers, and often used as a lovers' lane by locals. If you can make it through the terrible road, its terrace offers very peaceful views. Myauk Guni is north of its sibling ''Taung Guni''. }} * {{see | name=Bulethi | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.173917 | long=94.881887 | directions=just south of main Old Bagan-Nyaung U road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A well-signposted and easily accessed temple. A good place for quiet and unobstructed views of the surrounding farms and temples. }} * {{see | name=Gu Byauk Gyi Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.185370 | long=94.893762 | directions=100 m after Lanmadaw 3 Rd joins Anawratha Rd, west out of Nyaung U | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This durian-shaped stupaed temple was modelled after Bodh Gaya in India. It has also murals depicting scenes from the Jataka tales. Its less visited sibling ''Gu Byauk Nge'' is just west. However, access is not granted by the caretaker anymore. Therefore, try the squared ''Shin Bo Me Ok Kyaung'' (also mentioned below for a sleeping option under the stars), 450 m down the road southwest. }} * {{see | name=Upali Thein Ordination Hall | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.179635 | long=94.876336 | directions=on the main road close to Htilominlo | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Named after a well-known monk and built in the middle of the 13th century, this rectangular hall has roof instalments imitative of Burmese wood architecture and a tiny central spire going up from the roof. Many other similar buildings have been long gone due to its wooden construction. }} * {{see | name=Mingala Zedi Pagoda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.161314 | long=94.857977 | directions=just south of Old Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A notable feature of the temple is the blue-tiles set on the walls of the top-tiers, depicting Jataka tiles made of glazed terracotta. Though there used to be 1061 of them, even now, several hundred of the tiles are still intact. If you are aware of Jataka, you can spend quite some time here making out some of the stories. }} * {{see | name=Mahazedi Pagoda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.169343 | long=94.861586 | directions=Just east of That Byin Nyu | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Another unremarkable temple. }} * {{see | name=Thambula Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.163011 | long=94.904124 | directions=2.5 km southeast of the airport | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Said to be built by King Uzana's wife Thambula. Well illuminated, the Chinese influence is clearly visible: Chinese eyes, hair and yellow. }} [[Image:DSC550 Bagan East Paya Thone Zu Pram Tower (4588671106).jpg|thumb|right|350px|Paya Thone Zu]] * {{see | name=Paya Thone Zu | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.162019 | long=94.903354 | directions=350 m north of Minnanthu Village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The word means "three pagodas", which it is. Built during the 13th century with visible Mahayana influences it was never finished, potentially due to the invasion of the Mongols. }} * {{see | name=Somingyi Kyaung | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.146282 | long=94.857430 | directions=right in the middle between Myinkaba Village and New Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built around 1200, this temple made of thousands of bricks is named after its owner. The structure is a distinct built up of cells around a patio in the middle. }} * {{see | name=Pagoda Ruins (Viewpoint) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.144660 | long=94.853923 | directions=at the river behind Somingyi Kyaung | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{see | name=Lone Buddha | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.142603 | long=94.85768 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A Buddha south of Somingyi Kyaung. Allows for a very nice picture. }} * {{see | name=Bagan Archeological Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.167796 | long=94.855805 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=5,000 kyat for foreigners & 500 kyat for locals. | content=A visually striking building, the size of which far exceeds what is needed for its contents. The majority of the items on display are miniature recreations of traditional village life, not-very-good paintings of the surrounding temples & stupas, and so many Buddha statues that even the most devote Buddhist would concede is excessive. }} * {{see | name=Buddhist Initiation Rites | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.181831 | long=94.865184 | directions=a monastery around (in and out of the walls of) the northern side of Old Bagan | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=During school breaks, boys are inducted into monkhood with this ritual. This can be observed with the first signs of loud temple music blaring out a day before and on the day itself coming from the monastery. On the day itself, the boys are brought to the monastery by parents and relatives dressed in gowns, crowns, flowers, sequins, and glitter, stockings, and make-up. An audience gathers. The place itself is colourfully festooned. A small show consists of songs by hired singers accompanied by ensemble music, a pep talk by a layman and some rituals. After some photos with their parents, the boys are brought again to another monastery to be stripped, heads shaved and bathed. Finally, they are assembled in the hall in front of the abbot for prayer recitation, oath taking, and robe-blessing ceremonies, after which they are totally stripped and dressed in their new vestments by their parents. They will stay the rest of their school holiday in the monastery. }} * {{see | name=Monks and nuns| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=best seen along Nyaung U Rd from Thante Hotel to the Shwezigon Pagoda, ask at your accommodation | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=If you have not seen monks alms-gathering and bestowing blessings, get there at 07:00. and see the monks wearing their burgundy vests. There is even a herd of little monks as young as 3- or 5- to 10-year olds parading barefoot with the tallest down to the smallest toeing the line and with the eldest and the shepherd of them all brotherly escorting the last and the youngest (a heartwarming sight to see). By the way, the first in the parade is the announcer carrying his little bell and beater. Other spectacles are the also baldheaded nuns with their pink robes, orange skirts and beige-ochre shoulder-to-armpit wrapped towels. Their way of alms gathering is different: they use woven cane trays carried over their heads and receive only one spoonful of uncooked rice from each donor. }} * {{see | name=Murals | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Some temples became elaborate and have murals, but it's a waste of time trying to see them as the majority have are in dark interiors. It is not worth taking off your shoes and socks to get in. The only exceptions are the ''Paya Thone Zu'', the ''Gu Byauk Gyi Temple'' and the ''Upali Thein Ordination Hall'' where natural light can penetrate. It is better to go to the archeological museum to see scale reproductions, or buy the book on the subject sold at all souvenir bookshops. }} ==Do== [[Image:Balloons over Bagan by photographer @ChrisMichel (14870166246).jpg|thumb|250px|right|Hot air balloons over Bagan]] * {{do | name=Balloons over Bagan | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=US$299-320 per person | lastedit=2019-12-06 | content=For an unparalleled view of the Bagan plain, you can take a hot air balloon ride at sunrise. These balloons are British-made and have a perfect safety record. They do not operate during the summer. The flight departs around 05:00 every morning from October to April. }} * {{do | name=Rent a chauffeured car | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price=US$35 per day per car (fare can be split, maximum 4 passengers) | content=This is the most convenient option for doing the comprehensive tour. Cars are privately owned but they must be government accredited as indicated by a big sticker on the door of the car. The rental office is in the tourist information office at New Bagan.}} * {{do | name=Bagan Nan Myint Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.171737 | long=94.902500 | directions=Just south of Aureum Palace Bagan Hotel | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=7,000 kyat (Dec 2017) | content=This large tower has an elevator to the top for views of the surrounding plains. Alternatively, if you want to save the money, consider these other official viewing platforms (at): {{marker|type=see|name=Ko Mauk Lake|lat=21.152389|long=94.890750}}, {{marker|type=see|name=Oh Htein Kone|lat= 21.162778|long=94.888528}}, {{marker|type=see|name=Nyaung Lat Phat Kan|lat=21.168139|long=94.884222}} or {{marker|type=see|name=Sulamani Kone|lat=21.163194|long=94.879861}}. }} * {{do | name= Lacquer-ware making tour | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 21.154125| long= 94.858281| directions=many locations in Myinkaba village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= Free | content=Mon-style lacquerware is a traditional art and small-scale industry in Myanmar, and nowhere is it better to see this than Bagan. It is said the Mon King Manuha brought his artisans with him into exile here. In Myinkaba village, several small setups produce lacquerware out of wood or bamboo. Many of these are family-based businesses, and they will give you free tours and detailed explanations of the intricate process for free in English, with no pressure to purchase. }} * {{do | name=Tant Kyi Taung Pagoda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.155370 | long=94.787859 | directions=across the river from Old Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Boat 15-20,000 kyat, 4WD 20,000 kyat | content=A hilltop pagoda offering views of the entire city of Bagan from the other side if the river. To get there you have to get a boat from Bu Paya stupa in Old Bagan. On the other side, you can walk up a long path to the temple (not possible in wet season and looks like a hard slog even in the dry) or take a 4WD for another 20,000 kyat. Worthwhile a half-day trip, even if it costs almost as much as going to Mount Popa. }} * {{do | name=[[Mount Popa]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.913259 | long=95.208719 | directions=50 km southeast of Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=4-6,000 kyat return per person organised, 1,000-1,500 kyat one-way local transport | content=This is a day trip or a stopover to and from Bagan, depending on where you come from or go. This attraction is a temple on a cliff. You walk up the stairs from the underlying village (about 100 m), barefoot as the place is considered holy. The stairs are not very clean because of the presence of large numbers of monkeys. You can even climb the actual mountain when taking the road 1.3 km before the mountain village, by ''Popa Mountain Resort'' and up the track to the crater. The views from the temple are good and from the crater even better. Pick-up trucks can be organised at hotels or at the market in Nyaung U. }} ==Buy== [[Image:Lacquerware_(8404263383).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Lacquer ware]] Bagan offers lacquer ware, cloth paintings, T-shirts, and other handicrafts. It is considered "friendly" to grant a customer 10% off, but it is common for initial prices to be double what you can get with bargaining. If you haggle, remember to keep it friendly. Staff at the '''ticket booths''' sell pirated copies of George Orwell's ''Burmese Days'' for around US$5, though if you negotiate you can get them down to US$1. '''Maps''' are also sold for 1,000 kyat, although they are available free from hotels and guest houses. You can always ask for one even if you aren't a guest there. There are several ATMs available in Nyaung U and New Bagan. * {{buy | name=Ananda Books | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.171689 | long=94.867458 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Located in the hallway of Ananda Temple, you can find all of your pirated book needs. Buy cheap copies of books like ''Twilight Over Burma'', ''The Glass Palace'' and ''Burmese Days''. }} * {{buy | name=Jasmine Family Lacquerware | alt= | url= | email= | address=Myinkaba Village | lat=21.154219 | long=94.857707 | directions=north of New Bagan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Teacup US$7-12, bowls US$15 and large plate US$25. 10% discount on wares is common during high season, 15% during low season, but is all relative as prices are not displayed | content=This is a family run lacquerware shop just behind Golden Cuckoo in Myinkaba village. It's a little hard to find, but turn onto the street where the Golden Cuckoo sign is, go past the shop and head to the right hand side. Jasmine family will be on the right hand side of the lane. The shop is run by the friendly Shein Aung, and he will show you how they make their lacquer and explain the differences in quality (lacquer sold in front of temples is low quality). }} * {{buy | name=Myinkaba Village Market | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.154137 | long=94.861130 | directions=right in the center of Myinkaba Village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sundays? | price= | content=Locals sell everything here they desire for their daily life. Focused on goods for locals not tourists. }} * {{buy | name=Mani Sithu Market | alt=Nyaung U Market | url= | address=Manisithu Street, Nyaung U | lat=21.2008 | long=94.9088 | directions= | hours= | content=Convenient if you are staying in Nyaung U, the market is in the middle of town and is half tourist market half local market. Wander around and look at the meat, vegetables, wickerware and other goods for sale. }} ==Eat== There are many places to eat in Old Bagan serving the traditional Burmese dishes, especially noodle soup. Some of the buffets are excellent; for about 1,500-2,000 kyat you can eat to your heart's content from dozens of different traditional dishes. * {{eat | name=South end of Bagan-Nyaung U, Lanmadaw 3 Rd | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.173354 | long=94.867383 | directions=just before Old Bagan where the dirt road leads left to Ananda Temple | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=There are alfresco restaurants lining this road serving complete budget meals. A meal priced at 1,600 kyat consists of rice with the main dish, two bite sizes of beef, pork, or two small chicken pieces, or about a dozen smelt pieces, plus clear broth and 4 small plates of appetizer-veggies, beans, salads, pickled veggies. There are also tourist restaurants in this area towards Old Bagan, some of which are good but all have high prices. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Row | alt= | url= | email= | address=Thi Ri Pyitsaya 4, Nyaung U | lat=21.193512 | long=94.899339 | directions=in the back streets north of Zfreeti Hotel | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Has a string of restaurants catering to tourists, most of which are quite good. }} *{{eat | name=Black Bamboo | alt= | url= | email= | address=Nyaung U | lat=21.193430 | long=94.900018 | directions=part of the Restaurant Row in Nyaung U | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One of the few places with an atmosphere, set in a green courtyard just off the restaurant row. Local and Western dishes and wine available. }} * {{eat | name=Mahar Bagan | url= | email= | address=Khayee Rd, Khan Laung Quarter, New Bagan | lat=21.132040 | long=94.857733 | directions=east of 2nd St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One of the better restaurants in Bagan, with a cheerful and friendly owner who speaks good English and seems happy to indulge customers in stories about the area. The menu consists primarily of Chinese-style dishes. The restaurant serves an excellent array of traditional Burmese food, but you have to visit 4-5 hours in advance to let them know your order, as most Burmese dishes take a long time to prepare.}} * {{eat | name=The Moon Vegetarian Restaurant | email= | address=Old Bagan | lat=21.1733 | long=94.8676 | directions=north of Ananda Temple | phone=+95 61 60481 | hours= | price=Around US$7 per person | content=A great veggie restaurant. All food on the extensive menu is freshly prepared, and there is always a special dish of the day. Seats around 15, so you will not have to sit with big tour groups. The staff are quite friendly and generally better at speaking English than the average Myanmar citizen. The special Myanmar coffee you see on the menu is actually tea.}} * {{eat | name=The Golden Emperor | email= | address=Nyaung-U | lat= 21.184880| long= 94.885994| directions=Nyaung-U, near Bagan Umbra hotel, on the way to Shwezigon temple | phone= | hours= | price=Around US$7 per person | content= Good food and good service. Food is a mix of local Myanmarese and western. The milkshakes are good, and beer is available.}} * {{eat | name=Star Beans | url= | email= | address=Old Bagan | lat=21.173377 | long=94.867651 | directions=north of Ananda Temple, Old Bagan, next to the Moon Vegetarian Restaurant | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Run by a friendly man with many years of experience in Myanmar hotels, the restaurant offers beautifully presented Burmese food and a few Western favourites. Best are the fresh baguettes.}} * {{eat | name=Weather Spoon's | alt= | url= | email= | address=Thi Ri Pyitsaya 4 Street, Nyaung U | lat=21.1938 | long=94.8994 | directions=Near Cherry Guest House on the main road heading to Old Bagan | phone=+95 94 309-2640 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Around US$5 per person | content=Good new eatery restaurant with European, Burmese and Chinese food. Delicious hamburgers. }} * {{eat | name=Khine Wah Tea House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lanmadaw 2 Rd, Nyaung-U | lat=21.19709 | long=94.90835 | directions=about 400 m south of the Mani Sithu market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-06 | content=Local cafe. Tea/coffee (milk tea 500 kyat), samosa, tea leaves salad (1,000 kyat), etc. Free WiFi. }} ==Drink== Too many options exist to list them all, and they are very volatile. Just looking around in the guest house and restaurant areas is the best option. ==Sleep== [[File:New Bagan (8437641810).jpg|thumb|New Bagan]] Many accommodation options are available in New Bagan (around the roundabout) and Nyaung U (along the northern main road) - just walking around will give you plenty of options to choose from and to compare. Find many locations in OpenStreetMap (OsmAnd) or Google Maps. Most backpackers prefer New Bagan over Nyaung U. In Old Bagan, only some government-involved, luxury hotels remain. However, the latter is the one closest to most sights. Book ahead in high season or during holidays; it can fill up quickly. In case you are unlucky, try Eden Motel II, they often make dorm-like room for mattresses on the second floor, when Bagan is very busy. Otherwise, in case you have a travel mattress and sleeping bag, opt for a night under the stars on the roof of {{marker|type=see|name=Shin Bo Me Ok Kyaung|lat=21.183158|long=94.890519}} (squared temple) 1-2 km outside of Nyaung U on the right side of the road west towards the temples - the staircase is in (one of) the outer walls to the north. Prices can vary widely, even if quoted below, depending on the time of year and how you do the booking (email, website, direct). Certainly, the best option is to simply walk in at low season, ask for the price and see the room. ===Old Bagan=== ====Splurge==== * {{sleep | name=The Hotel @ Tharabar Gate | alt= | url= | email=reservation@tharabargate.com | address=Bagan-Nyaung U Main Road | lat=21.173545310768667 | long=94.86537351613568 | directions=near to Tharabar Gate of the old city | phone=+95 61 2460037, +95 61 2460042, +95 61 2460043 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Nice, atmospheric luxury hotel invoking the charm of ancient Myanmar. }} ===New Bagan=== ====Budget==== * {{sleep | name=Mya Thida Hotel | alt= | url= | email=myathidahotel@gmail.com | address=Nweni Street | lat=21.133669 | long=94.861794 | directions=Corner 4th st / Nweni St | phone=+95 9-450066777 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=12-15,000 kyat dorm, 25,000 kyat double | content=Big dorm rooms with 4 beds and lockers with toilet. Burmese breakfast included. }} * {{sleep | name=Mya Pyei Sone Guest House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sa Pal Street, Kan Latt Quarter | lat=21.131922 | long=94.859181 | directions=between Sabae and 3rd St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=16/24,000 kyat single/double with AC | content=Friendly, clean and cheap. WiFi. Good value. Spacious rooms with 2 beds and en suite bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Ostello Bello Bagan | alt= | url=http://www.ostellobello.com/#ob_bagan | email=booking.bagan@ostellobello.com | address=Thiri Sandar, Hkan Latt Qtr, Main Road | lat=21.132088 | long=94.860877 | directions=next to the central roundabout | phone=+95 61 65069, +95 92 5703 9009 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From 17,000 kyat (negotiable) | content=WiFi, 24 hr desk, AC, luggage storage. Has many dorm beds, and is popular with backpackers. }} * {{sleep | name=Northern Breeze Guest House | alt= | url=http://www.northernbreezeguesthouse.com/ | email=northernbreezehotel.bagan@gmail.com | address=No.162 Cherry Street, Shwe Loung Block, Kyansitthar Quarter | lat=21.132916 | long=94.856388 | directions=east of 2nd St | phone=+95 6165472 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=25-40,000 kyat (double AC en suite), e-bike 8-10,000 kyat | content=Breakfast buffet, clean rooms, spacious, WiFi. Ideal for backpackers, but no dorms. }} ====Mid-range==== *{{sleep | name=Kaday Aung Hotel | url=http://www.kadayaunghotel.com | email=reservation@kadayaunghotel.com | address= | lat=21.137011 | long=94.860705 | directions=northern New Bagan | phone=+95 62 65070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$20-40 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Garden and pool are OK, but the cold environment from the shade of trees is priceless. The rooms are well-decorated with woods and bamboo fixtures and art. Dinner and dance shows at outdoor restaurant, buffet breakfast with local and continental menus are so delicious. Friendly staff, and then manager is helpful. Also try kadayaunghotel@gmail.com .}} * {{sleep | name=Crown Prince Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.crownprincehotelbagan.com | email=crownprincehotel.reservation@gmail.com | address=Khat Tar Street, Shwe Loung Block, Kyansittha Quarter | lat=21.133753 | long=94.856593 | directions=West of 2nd St | phone=+95 61 65407, +95 9 73150134, +95-1-652447 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$40-60 | content=Has 17 deluxe rooms and some "suites". Friendly staff, but neighbouring rooms can be loud. Spacious, WiFi, AC, coffee/tea, fridge, fruits. Also try tshwe@yangon.net.mm . }} * {{sleep | name=Areindmar Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.areindmarhotel.com/ | email=reservation@areindmarhotel.com | address=Kayay St | lat=21.132835 | long=94.864880 | directions=between 5th and 6th St | phone=+95 61 65049, +95 61 65378 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$52 | content=2-storey building. Good, and quiet hotel. Wide choice for breakfast. }} * {{sleep | name=Manisanda Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Manisanda-Hotel-529744420456286/ | email= | address=Corner of 7th Street x Hnin Si Street, Kyansitthar Quarter | lat=21.135950 | long=94.866407 | directions=Nnrthern end of 7th St | phone=+95 61 65 437 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=U$45-60 | content=They have a convenient roof terrace for amazing sunsets and sunrise views. Cleanliness could be improved, including the breakfast and common amenities. }} ====Splurge==== * {{sleep | name=Shwe Yee Pwint | alt= | url=http://www.shweyeepwinthotel.com/ | email=shweyepwinthotel@gmail.com | address=Kant Kaw St, Anawrahta Ward, Khan Long | lat=21.131251 | long=94.857590 | directions=East of 2nd St | phone=+95 61 65421, +95 61 65418, +95 61 65419 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$70-120 | content=Bungalows and pool. Many restaurants nearby. Single rooms are a little small. Friendly and clean. Also try shweyeepwinthotel@gmail.com . }} * {{sleep | name=Thazin Garden Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/thazingardenbagan/ | email=thazingardenbagan@gmail.com | address=No.22, Thazin Road | lat=21.128828 | long=94.864467 | directions=500 m southeast of the roundabout | phone=+95-61 -65035, +95 61 65044, +95-1-537898, +95-9-730 85220 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=US$75-120 | price= | content=Bungalows and rooms overlooking a rebuilt pagoda. There is also a salon, expensive Internet access, a limited library, billiards, a scenic pool and a nice breakfast room. }} ===Nyaung U=== ====Budget==== *{{sleep | name=Inn Wa Guest House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lanmadaw 3 Rd | lat=21.200562 | long=94.907638 | directions=near the rotunda at the north end of Nyaung U Rd, less than 100 m east of the market | phone=+95 61 60849, +95 61 70125 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$15 | content=Cleanly maintained and exceptionally dust-free for its category. Air-con, TV, private bath with hot water and breakfast. Good English speaking informative staff. Good service. Free WiFi. }} * {{sleep | name=Eden Motel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lanmadaw 2 Rd | lat=21.198886 | long=94.908348 | directions=100 m south of the market | phone=+95 61 60639, +95 61 60812 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$4-8/7-10/15 (single/double/triple) | content=Breakfast on the roof. Car and bicycle rental available. }} * {{sleep | name=Pan Cherry Guest House | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pann-Cherry-Guest-House/1461583764059881 | email= | address=51/1, 84th St, Bet: 24-25, Amts | lat=21.196246 | long=94.899833 | directions=next to Shwezigon Pagoda | phone=+95 61 70147 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$5/10 (single/double fan & shared), US$8/15 (single/double AC & en-suite) | content=Including breakfast. Bicycle rent. Fan and shared bathroom, or AC and en-suite. Great location, inexpensive rooms and clean. }} * {{sleep | name=Pyinsa Rupa Guest House | url= | email= | address=Lanmadaw 3 Rd | lat=21.199427 | long=94.904816 | directions=on the main road 300 m east of the market | phone=+95 61 60 607 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$17 double with shared bath including breakfast, bikes US$2 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Rooms on the roof are nicer and quieter. WiFi usually doesn't work. Not the cleanest place, but OK. Bikes can be rented. The owner speaks very good English and is very informative and helpful. }} * {{sleep | name=Aung Mingalar Hotel | alt= | url=http://aungmingalarhotelbagan.com/ | email=aungmingalar.res@gmail.com | address=Lanmadaw 3 Rd | lat=21.191680 | long=94.895026 | directions=opposite of Shwezigon Pagoda | phone=+95 61 60847, +95 61 61169, +95 61 70018 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$10-15/15-25 (single/double) | content=AC, bathroom, TV, fridge, restaurant. Recommended. }} * {{sleep | name=Saw Nyein San Guest House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lanmadaw 3 Rd | lat=21.199138 | long=94.904918 | directions=on the main road 300 m east of the market | phone=+95 9 796 927138, +95 61-60651, +95 949215305, +95 9-2042865 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=12:00 | checkout=11:30 | price=25/40,000 kyat (low season single/double), e-bike 5,000 kyat | content=Budget hotel in Nyaung U close to the market. Free WiFi, clean rooms, very friendly and helpful staff, breakfast included. Horse cart hire for 30,000 kyat and one-way airport transfers of 5,000 kyat. }} ====Mid-range==== * {{sleep | name=Thante Hotel | alt= | url=http://thantenyu.com/ | email=nyaunguthante@gmail.com | address= | lat=21.196219 | long=94.908703 | directions=northern tip of Nyaung U-Nyaukpadaung Rd, the second large junction after the main junction at the entrance of Nyaung U | phone=+95-61-60315, +95-61-61116, +95-1-9664424 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$35-35 single, US$38-45 double, US$48 triple | content=Clusters of rooms set in bungalows around a central pool. Close to the market. Excellent service. Dispenses free map. Also try info@thantenyu.com. Free airport shuttle. Restaurant with puppet show each evening. }} * {{sleep | name=Zfreeti Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.zfreetihotel.com/ | email=reservation@zfreetihotel.com | address=5th Thiri Pyitsaya 5 St | lat=21.190738 | long=94.899724 | directions=behind Prince Guest House along Anawratha Rd west out of Nyaung U | phone=+95 61 60 921, +95 9 73040305 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=50,000 kyat (double) | content=This is the replacement for New Heaven Hotel and Golden Village. Not as cheap as before, but highly recommended. }} * {{sleep | name=WEStay @ Bagan Lotus Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/WEStayBaganLotusHotel | email=westaybagan@gmail.com | address=Nyaung U - Kyaukpadaung Road, Mile 22/7 | lat=21.119689 | long=94.959287 | directions=300 m from the toll gate (before when coming from Popa/Kyaukpadaung); free shuttle service to downtown 09:00, 12:00 & 15:00; back at 12:30, 15:30, 19:00 & 21:00 | phone=+959-44473-6660 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=Low season, Superior room US$35, Deluxe US$45. High season, Superior room US$40, Deluxe US$50 | lastedit=2018-05-21 | content=3-star hotel out of town in a quiet area, featuring views of the mountain ranges. 2 kinds of rooms: superior & deluxe; both feature comfortable beds, AC, TV, minibar; deluxe are even bigger, have bathtub & a terrace. Buffet continental breakfast 06:30-09:30 taken at their onsite restaurant, providing a nice view over the premises and mountains in the background. Swimming pool. Gym room. Free parking. Free wifi throughout the property. Extra services: spa, e-bike hire. Tours of Bagan & transportation to other cities can be arranged. Boardgames available, newspapers, library & even book swap; in each room one can even find thanakhar, a natural product that locals use both as a skin care & to preserve traditions. }} * {{sleep | name=Amazing Bagan Resort | alt= | url=http://www.bagangolfresort.net/ | email=onlinesale@amazing-hotel.com | address= | lat=21.178919 | long=94.905737 | directions=adjacent to the Bagan Nyaung U Golf Club | phone=+95 61 60035 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout=12:00 | price=US$53-75, restaurant US$5-10 | content=A luxury resort at a bargain price. It is a bit outside "everything", so to get to the nearest town or even shop it's necessary to rent a bike or take a taxi. It's a very quiet, beautiful and tranquil place. They can arrange horse cart rides to see the temples with pick up from the hotel for 13-15,000 kyat for a full day. Bikes can be borrowed free of charge. Nice large swimming pool. WiFi is free of charge as well in the lobby. The restaurant serves excellent food and is not too expensive. The reception staff are very friendly, polite and helpful. The rooms are big, only problem with that is that the small air-con units in the rooms have a hard time cooling the rooms. Owned by a local Chinese business man. Also try sale1@amazing-hotel.com . }} ==Stay safe== * The best footwear to go about in this site is a pair of sandals. You'll want something easy to slip on and off as you go from temple to temple. Wearing socks and laced shoes is a hassle. Wearing shoes or socks in the temple and pagods grounds is disrespectful in Buddhism. * Be careful when you climb the stairs of less-visited temples, as bees sometimes make hives on or in the temples. * Headgear and sunscreen against the sun is also important. A wide brimmed hat is recommended or pack a collapsible umbrella like the locals. * Bring a bottle of water and when empty, refill it at the nearest travel agency or bank branch. If not squeamish, refill it at the water stations (with local ceramic jars as water containers) ubiquitously and strategically placed all around the town. Water in these temple jars is safe, as it is distilled water, and the jar keeps the water cool because it allows some evaporation. At less popular temples, check the water first to make sure that it is fresh. * Bagan is not for those with respiratory illnesses as the air is full of dust. * When using an e-bike, be careful of the sand. You can easily hydroplane on the loose dirt and crash, or get your bike stuck on hills. Go slow. * If you are using a bike for your personal tour, when you leave it by the gate, it is most likely that your bike will still be there when you get back. Bagan is a family-village setting and anyone who does harm to anybody will be known and humiliated, if not prosecuted. * Souvenir vendors, young and old, some as young as 6 years, are pros. They manipulate the heartstrings of the tourists using subtle and psychological techniques. They initially act as your bike minders, then guides, eventually revealing their true intentions. They sometimes even offer to visit you at your hotel if you aren't decided or you have no available cash. Don't fall for their friendliness, and be firm in your refusal before they get too attached to you even if you insist that you are only a tourist on budget. They are hard to shake off and will persist. * Do not fall for the "your hotel/guest house does not exist anymore" trick of many taxi drivers. They are just trying to drop you off at their friend's guesthouse or hotel where they will get a commission. * When you need to hire a taxi to get from the bus station to your hotel, make sure you get a good reasonable estimate of the price from a trustworthy source, such as your hotel, before you arrive. The drivers start by double or triple quoting the price for tourists, and this is especially so if you are arriving at an odd timing (22:00 - 05:00). The better option would be to ask your hotel to arrange transport. * Village children - If you stop on your e-bike to look at your map, be aware that children may approach you and twist the bike's accelerator, causing the bike to lurch forward. In addition, children have started to sell postcards that they've drawn. '''Do not buy from children:''' the more you buy the more you keep them out of school. ==Go next== For questions regarding travel and potential restrictions, see {{marker|type=other|name=Nyaung U Tourist Information Counter|lat=21.199392|long=94.908169}} in No.6 Quarter, Aung Myay Thar Ward, Nyaung U (+95-9-5019088). ===By road=== Many buses leave from '''Bagan Shwe Pyi Highway Bus Terminal''' south of Nyaung U into all directions. Best compare prices of the travel agents south of Nyaung U market or book directly at the Bus Terminal, try ''JJ express bus Nyaung U''. Seldom buses are not full, and consequently do not allow for spontaneous travel, in which case you may want to try one of the many minibuses or vans, which can also be booked near Nyaung U Market with similar prices. * [[Mount Popa]] &ndash; This attraction is a temple on a cliff and a mountain and crater, which can be climbed for an even better view. From Mount Popa or Kyauk Padaung respectively, onward travel to Mandalay (via Meiktila), Pyay (via Magway) or Mrauk U (via Magway) is possible. Taking local transport southeast from Nyaung U by the Highway Bus Station, the price is about 1,000-1,500 kyat one-way for the 50 km. * Meiktila &ndash; This is more a transport hub for onward travel to Kalaw, Mandalay or [[Naypyidaw]]. The bus there costs 5,000 kyat. * [[Monywa]] &ndash; Famed for its two giant Buddhas (Boddhi Tataung), one standing and one lying, and the 500,000 Buddha sculptures Thanboddhay Pagoda. Local (non air-con) bus cost 3,000 kyat at the bus station (that is the locals' price so haggle) At hotels, they charge about 5,000 kyat. They can pick you up along the main road. The bus starts at 07:30, 09:00, 10:30 and 12:30. and takes about 3–4 hr, including several stops. * [[Mandalay]] &ndash; Famous for the U Bein Bridge, the Buddha face washing, as well as the nearby mountains by train. Buses to Mandalay leave at 08:00, 08:30. and in the afternoon, takes 6-8 hr and costs 7,500-15,000 kyat, bargain hard. * [[Kalaw]], [[Inle Lake]], [[Taunggyi]] &ndash; Inle Lake is one of the most famous sights in Myanmar, a giant lake only a few metres deep with many local villages around and in the lake. "Hiking" tours are very famous (but also very touristic) between Inle Lake and Kalaw. There are several daily buses (07:30 & 19:30) and at least one minibus at 20:00 to Kalaw and Inle Lake (Nyang Shwe) which cost around 12,000 kyat and take around 7-8 hr to Kalaw and a few more to reach Inle. Some do only stop along the highway, 12 km away from Inle Lake, and go further to Taunggyi (10 hr). The bus should pick you up from your hotel in Nyaung U. The ride up into the hills to Kalaw is steep and scenic, and the road quality is normal for Myanmar. * [[Pyay]] &ndash; Famous for the nearby and ancient Pyu city. The bus from the Bagan Shwe Pyi Highway Bus Terminal leaves at 13:30 and takes about 10 hr. From 11,000 kyat. * Magway &ndash; A transport hub for Mrauk U and Pyay. The bus from Bagan to Magway leaves the bus station near the airport at 10:00,12:30 and 23:30. Takes 6 hr and costs 4,000 kyat. * [[Mrauk U]] (& [[Sittwe]]) &ndash; Mrauk U is famous for its ancient sights of the last great kingdom and its traditional, surrounding Chin Villages. Starting from Bagan, you have to take a bus to Magway or Kyauk Padaung (southwest of Mt. Popa) and switch to the bus to Mrauk U (or Sittwe). In Magway, catch the bus near the bridge across the Irrawaddy river or in front of the K.H.M. Fashion store. In Kyauk Padaung, along the east to west main road. The bus from Magway or Kyauk Padaung to Mrauk U or Sittwe is about 25–27,000 kyat and takes 16-22 hr. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; Night buses to Yangon leave in the afternoon and arrive early in the morning. There is one day bus that departs Bagan at 09:00. Try to buy directly at the bus station or compare travel agents, prices at hotels can be higher. 13–18,000 kyat, 13 hr. ===By train=== It is rough, smelly and slow, and sometimes full of insects: however it's worth it. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; Overnight trains run daily, departing about 17:00. from Bagan and arriving about 10:30 in Yangon the following day. This route does not go through [[Pyay]] but by [[Naypyidaw]] and through [[Taungoo]]. Fares are: upper class sleeper 16,500 kyat, upper class seat, 12,000 kyat, ordinary class seat, 4,500 kyat. * [[Mandalay]] &ndash; There are two direct train service running to Mandalay daily, one departing at 04:00 and arriving at 15:55 and one departing at 07:00 and arriving at 14:30. Apparently, only the night train, which might not run in low season, has 1st class. So check ahead. Otherwise, you will have limited room to store your stuff, as well as cramped, uncomfortable sitting conditions in an incredibly crowded train. Tickets are 1,800 kyat (1st class) and 1,300 (ordinary seat). * [[Pyay]] &ndash; The situation about the train to Pyay is unclear. It could be seasonal, but there are reports of people that have used this train in the near past. Nevertheless, there are three daily trains from Pyay to Yangon for 3,900 kyat upper class. So, you could take the bus to Pyay and continue from there. For more details see [http://www.seat61.com/Burma.htm Seat61.com], or ask directly at the train station where you also will have to buy your ticket in advance. ===By boat=== '''Mandalay'''<br/> An (almost daily) "express" ferry service runs up the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) from Bagan to Mandalay taking about 12 hr. Prices are US$35/40. It is more of a slow pleasure cruise than a rush express trip thanks to the priceless river views and fresh air, the glimpse of country life with locals waving at you, acknowledging your presence unobtrusively, and the overall soothing and relaxing atmosphere detached from misery and distant from poverty. ''MGRG Express Ferry'' leaves Nyaung U Jetty in Bagan at 06:00 and arrives in Mandalay at 18:00 for US$45. Bookings can be made through website, hotel, any travel agent or MTT (government tourist information). A (very) slow local overnight ferry covers the same route less frequently and costs 18,000 kyat. Takes about 22 hr, but is a great opportunity to mix with the locals. Apparently only runs Monday and Thursday, so check ahead. Plastic chairs are available to rent on board. Otherwise, bring something to sit on and a good cover for the night. Tickets are available directly on the boat or through any travel agent. Some have been disappointed by the views along the river due to the distance to the riverbank and the scenery in general. '''Pyay'''<br/> Every Sunday at 17:30. there is also a local overnight ferry from Nyaung U Jetty to Pyay, arriving at 10:45. {{guidepark}} {{geo|21.1667|94.8667}} {{isPartOf|Central Myanmar}} 42fi1wtu968sribp1m44gyr8slzirhx 0 2766 5298478 5260201 2026-06-25T18:07:24Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298478 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|S-amer africa default banner.jpg}} {{confused|[[Barcelos (Portugal)]]}} '''Barcelos''' is a city in the state of [[Amazonas (Brazil)|Amazonas]] in Brazil. [[File:MarioOliveira_Barcelos_AM_(7)_(26657905427).jpg|thumb|Boats in Barcelos]] ==Understand== Barcelos was the first Capital of the Amazonas from 1728–1758. It is famous for white and sandy beaches, ornamental fish and the highest waterfall in Brazil. ==Get in== Barcelos is about 400&nbsp;km northwest from Manaus. ===By plane=== * TRIP [http://www.voetrip.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Flights from Manaus Sundays and Wednesday. ===By boat=== River Boats with cabin Manaus – Barcelos, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 6PM (30h), Barcelos – Manaus, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, 6PM (24h) Speed Boats Manaus – Barcelos, Saturday, Tuesday 7AM (12h), Barcelos – Manaus, Sunday, Friday 8AM (10h) Slow cargo boats takes about 24 to 30 hours travel to reach the city, leaving from the Porto de São Raimundo in [[Manaus]]. The return trip takes less. Tickets cost about 125-160 R$ for deck space (where you can hang a hammock), and 350-450 R$ for a 3 person cabin. Some boats continue along to [[São Gabriel da Cachoeira]] and [[Santa Isabel do Rio Negro]]. * Almirante Azevedo I. Departs Wednesdays at 18:00. Tel: (92) 9125-8944, (92) 3625-6984, (92) 9143-1223, (92) 8183-2147. * Almirante Azevedo II: Departs every other Wednesday at 17:00. Tel: (92) 9125-8944, (92) 3625-6984, (92) 9143-1223, (92) 8183-2147. * Barco Genêsis. Departs Fridays at 17:00. Tel: (92) 9202-1028. * Comandante Natal V. Departs Fridays at 18:00. Tel: (92) 9122-8553, (92) 9381-2926 * Comandante Natal VI. Departs every second Friday at 18:00. Tel: (92) 9122-8553, (92) 9381-2926. * Gênesis III. Departs every second Friday at 15:30. Tel.: (Manaus) (92) 8119-8591, (92) 8171-4442, (92) 99314-9707; (Barcelos) (97) 99152-3444, (92) 99202-1028 * Gênesis IV. Departs every second Monday at 15:30. Tel: (92) 8119-8591, (92) 8171-4442. * Tanaka Neto V & IV. Departs Fridays 18:00. Tel: (92) 3471-1730, (92) 9981-9195. There are at least two speed boats from Manaus. The trip takes about 12 hours. * Expresso Diamantina. Departs Fridays at 15:00. Tel: (92) 3471-1730, (92) 9981-9195. 300-400 R$ * Tanaka Expresso. Departs Tuesdays and Fridays at 08:00. Tel: (92) 3471-1730, (92) 9981-9195. ==Get around== Motorized canoes, Mototaxi, Taxi. ==See== White and sandy Beaches, Church, Missionary, Shipyard. * {{See|name=Festival of the Ornamental Fish of Barcelos|alt=Festival Do Peixe Ornamental De Barcelos (FESPOB)|url=https://www.facebook.com/FestivalDoPeixeOrnamentalDeBarcelos/|lastedit=2026-04-14|content=Annual event. "Better than any Super Bowl halftime show", according to one US reporter.}} ==Do== [[File:ButterflyPeacockBass 01.jpg|thumb|A peacock bass]] Barcelos is a destination for sport fishing, especially for anglers seeking the peacock bass, which is often called ''tucunaré'', from a local language. Jungle Excursion, Relax on beach. ==Buy== Art Craft ==Eat== There are several local restaurants, including a pizza shop that caters to tourists. ==Drink== Snack bar on town square ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Hostel Barcelos | alt= | url=http://www.hostelbarcelos.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=Hostel Barcelos, small pension with private rooms, dormitory, swimming pool and barbecue grill. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Cidade | alt= | url= | email= | address=Avenida Mariuá, Centro | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-07-25 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Ornamental | alt= | url= | email= | address=Avenida Mariuá, Centro | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-07-25 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Rio Negro | alt= | url= | email= | address=Avenida Mariuá, Centro | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+55 (097) 99151-5489 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-07-25 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Pousada Flor da Mata | alt= | url= | email= | address=Rua Dorval Porto, Centro | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-07-25 | content= }} ==Connect== ==Go next== Head further up river to [[São Gabriel da Cachoeira]] or return to [[Manaus]]. {{IsPartOf|Amazonas (Brazil)}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-0.975|-62.923888888889}} 3r7km1x0dbyabe8umpu2h7ne0uzxlkj 0 2882 5298484 5282302 2026-06-25T18:31:06Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298484 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner |ftt=yes|Fenway Park field banner.jpg|caption=Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox}} '''Baseball''' has been considered [[United States|America]]'s pastime for over a century and today remains one of the biggest sports in the country. [[Baseball]] is played at a number of amateur levels, from Little League to High School to College, and professional leagues range from the lowest Minor Leagues to Major League Baseball. In almost any place in America, there will be a baseball game going on during the spring and summer months, and watching it is a fantastic way to meet the locals and experience American sports culture. It has also left a huge impact on American English, with numerous baseball terms such as "hit a home run", "hit the ball out of the park" and "touch base" frequently used as metaphors even by people who are not baseball fans. For those who love both baseball and travel, it's a natural fit to combine the two. If there is a place in the country where you've never been and want to visit, you can combine it with when your team is also there. There is something thrilling with watching your team on the road. Many baseball fans have the desire to visit every park in the Major Leagues. It can be a wonderful experience to tick them off one by one with family or friends. ==Understand== [[File:AT&T Park Overlooking San Francisco Bay.jpg|thumb|350px|One of the United States' many major league ballparks]] [[File:Baseball diamond.svg|thumb|A baseball field]] [[File:Andrew McCutchen at-bat 2017 (34985040992).jpg|thumb|Batter in action during a MLB game]] For information on how the game is played, see [[Baseball]]. ==Major League Baseball== [[File:Fenway from Legend's Box.jpg|thumb|300px|Iconic Fenway Park - Home of the [[Boston]] Red Sox]] '''[http://MLB.com Major League Baseball]''' '''(MLB)''' (also known as majors or bigs) is the highest level of baseball played in the U.S. and the richest professional baseball league in the world. It attracts the highest level of talent from North America, Central America, South America, East Asia, and the Caribbean. There are 30 major-league teams in 25 U.S. metropolitan areas (plus one in [[Baseball#Canada|Canada]]); New York City, Chicago, and the Los Angeles area have two teams each. Through the 2024 season, the San Francisco Bay Area also had two teams, but the Oakland Athletics moved to Sacramento and will play there for three seasons until their permanent ballpark opens in Las Vegas. Every team plays in its own stadium, with all teams but the Athletics having a capacity of at least 35,000. The A's are playing in a minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento while their permanent Las Vegas stadium is being built. Tickets generally cost between $15 and $50 for most seats; the best seats cost more — and sometimes much more. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs are the most difficult teams to get tickets for, but online seller-to-seller websites almost always have available tickets. Major League Baseball's season runs from early April to late September, with pre-season Spring Training games in March and the postseason playoffs in October. Games during the season are organized into series of 3-4 games in a row between the same two teams in the same city. Teams will play two or three series in a row at their home stadium, referred to as "homestands"; after which teams will play two or three series in a row at other teams' stadiums, referred to as being "on the road". Since the 1990s, a wave of new ballpark construction has seen many stadiums built in lively neighborhoods with lots of bars and restaurants catering to fans. However, there are still certain stadiums that sit isolated in a sea of parking lots. Many ballparks, particularly the newer or the more famous ones, are open for tours on off-game days; see the individual city articles for further details. ===Teams=== Major League Baseball is divided into two leagues: the '''American League''' and the '''National League''', each of which is further divided into three divisions: East, Central, and West. The American and National League used to be separate entities: the American League successfully challenged the established National League at the turn of the 20th century and was sometimes referred to as the "Junior Circuit". For most of Major League Baseball's history, teams from the two leagues only met in the World Series at the end of each season. However, the distinctions between the leagues have been erased more and more. Teams of the different leagues face now each other several times throughout the season. The mystique has been removed from the competition between teams as representatives of their league or from the All-Star Game which is still organized based on league. Before 2022, the main distinction between the two leagues was that the designated hitter was used only in the American League; the National League required pitchers to bat along with the other fielders. In games that involved teams from both leagues (called "interleague" games), the home team's rules were used. The NL used the DH in the abbreviated COVID-19 season of 2020, but returned to its non-use in 2021. As part of the settlement of a labor dispute in the 2021–22 off season, the DH was made a permanent feature in the National League. Here is a rundown of all the teams and their respective stadiums: [[File:OrioleParkAtCamdenYardsJune2013.jpg|thumb|350px|Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the [[Baltimore]] Orioles]] ====American League East==== * '''Baltimore Orioles – Oriole Park at Camden Yards''' – [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] (in [[Baltimore/South Baltimore|South Baltimore]]). Opening in 1992, Camden Yards is notable for being the first of the "retro" ballparks in the major leagues: modern stadiums whose designs hearken back to classic, early-20th century ballparks. The success of Camden Yards sparked a wave of new ballpark construction across the country, but it's still regarded as one of the best. Nearby is the Babe Ruth Museum, preserving the house where the Great Bambino himself was born. The "O's" have very enthusiastic fans, who are known for yelling out the "O!" in the penultimate line of the national anthem. * '''Boston Red Sox – Fenway Park''' – [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] (in [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore|Fenway]]). The oldest active ballpark in the major leagues, Fenway Park opened in 1912 and is a celebrated stadium that has acquired certain quirks which are legendary among baseball fans. The most noted of these is the Green Monster, a particularly tall section of the left field wall that's, of course, painted green. The ballpark is relatively small by major league standards, tucked into an urban neighborhood of restaurants, taverns, and souvenir stores. Boston's famously rowdy fans (the "Red Sox Nation") are fiercely loyal to their team and their rivalry with the Yankees is legendary, ranking as among the most intense in American sports. * '''New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium''' – [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]] (in the [[Bronx]]). Though not "The House That Ruth Built" stadium of old (which was replaced by a city park), the design of the new Yankee Stadium just across the street pays homage to the original in its design, both inside and out. An on-site museum covers the history of one of the most storied teams in baseball, and Monument Park in center field contains plaques dedicated to great players from the team's past. The Yankees are noted (and often vilified) for their frequent postseason appearances, with their record 27 championships unmatched in North American professional sports. * '''Tampa Bay Rays – Tropicana Field''' – [[Tampa]], [[Florida]] (in [[Saint Petersburg (Florida)|Saint Petersburg]]). After struggling as an expansion team, the Rays managed to rise to be a competitive force in the fierce American League East. Their normal home is the uninspiring Tropicana Field in [[Saint Petersburg (Florida)|St. Petersburg]], the only ballpark in MLB with a fixed dome roof and one of only four to still use artificial turf on the field instead of actual grass. On-site is a museum dedicated to Red Sox legend Ted Williams, who retired to the Tampa area, with exhibits and memorabilia on some of the best hitters in baseball history. Another highlight is a touch tank beyond the right-center field wall, where fans can touch and feed live stingrays. However, after the stadium's roof was torn off by Hurricane Milton in October 2024, the Rays temporarily played in the ballpark of one of the Yankees' farm teams. Tropicana Field is expected to reopen in time for the 2026 season. * '''Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre''' – [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]] (in the [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment District]]), [[Canada]]. The only MLB team playing in Canada, the Blue Jays play in Rogers Centre, a massive stadium with a retractable roof (to protect against the colder Toronto weather) that sits in the shadow of the iconic CN Tower. Within the stadium is a hotel with rooms that overlook the field. [[Image:Progressive Field.JPG|thumb|300px|Progressive Field, home of the [[Cleveland]] Guardians]] ====American League Central==== *'''Chicago White Sox – Rate Field''' – [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] (in [[Chicago/Bridgeport-Chinatown|Bridgeport]]). The White Sox play on the South Side of town in Rate Field, commonly known as Comiskey Park (the name of the old White Sox ballpark). While the stadium lacks the charm of its crosstown National League rival, tickets here are easier to get and the fans are no less loyal. There are a couple of unique features that are carry-overs from the old stadium: one is a shower and a pair of "rain rooms" for fans to cool off on hot days, and the other is the "exploding" scoreboard with its distinctive pinwheel signs that light up and shoot off fireworks when the White Sox hit a home run. *'''Cleveland Guardians – Progressive Field''' – [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]] (in [[Cleveland/Downtown|Downtown]]). Known as the Cleveland Indians until 2021. Widely regarded as one of the better ballparks in the league, Progressive Field was a more modern take on the "retro" ballpark design when it was constructed. The interior offers a splendid view of the Cleveland skyline. *'''Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park''' – [[Detroit]], Michigan (in [[Detroit/Downtown|Downtown]]). Adjacent to Detroit's theater district, the Tigers' stadium has a number of interesting features, notably excellent views of Downtown Detroit, statues of tigers which growl after a Tiger home run, a fountain behind center field, and plenty of tributes to one of baseball's oldest and most storied teams, including statues of former Tiger greats such as Willie Horton, Hank Greenberg, and Ty Cobb. *'''Kansas City Royals – Kauffman Stadium''' – [[Kansas City]], Missouri. The Royals have heated up lately; after going nearly thirty years without a playoff appearance, they staged a stunning World Series run in 2014 and were crowned champions in 2015, much to the joy of their fans. They play in Kauffman Stadium on the edge of the city, one of the few remaining examples of 1960s-era modernist stadiums and still one of the best examples of modernist stadium design, with a fountain beyond the right field wall that sends jets of water high into the air. *'''Minnesota Twins – Target Field''' – [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota (in [[Minneapolis/Downtown|Downtown]]). The Twins play in Target Field, a marvelous ballpark with plenty of amenities for fans and splendid views of Downtown Minneapolis. [[File:Minute maid park.JPG|thumb|303x303px|The interior of Daikin Park, home of the [[Houston]] Astros]] ====American League West==== * '''Athletics – Sutter Health Park''' – [[West Sacramento]], California. A regular contender for the playoffs, the A's are now in the middle of a two-stage move from Oakland to Las Vegas. From 1968 to 2024, the A's played in the Oakland Coliseum, the last of the multi-purpose "cookie-cutter" stadiums built in the 1960s remaining in the major leagues (the [[American football|NFL]] Oakland Raiders played here before their 2020 move to Vegas). With the A's lease on the Coliseum having expired at the end of the 2024 season, and plans for a new stadium in Oakland having fallen into development hell, the team is now preparing to build a new ballpark near the Las Vegas Strip. Before the new park opens, which is scheduled for 2028, the A's will play in a minor-league ballpark. (During the team's tenure in Sacramento, it will not use a geographic identifier.) *'''Houston Astros – Daikin Park''' – [[Houston]], Texas (in [[Houston/Downtown|Downtown]]). Members of the National League for their first 50 seasons, the Astros moved to the American League with the start of the 2013 season, and won their first World Series in 2017 and added a second in 2022. However, the 2017 victory and their 2019 World Series appearance were tainted after it was revealed that the team was illegally using technology to steal pitching signs, and the Astros were the most reviled team in MLB by far for several years. Their stadium is full of bells and whistles, with an entrance through what was once a train station, a retractable roof that protects fans from Houston's humid weather, various oddities in the design of the outfield fence, and a miniature train that moves along the exterior wall past left field whenever the Astros hit a home run. * '''Los Angeles Angels – Angel Stadium of Anaheim''' – [[Anaheim]], California. For many years, the Angels were a running joke in baseball, even inspiring a film by their then-owners Disney about their misfortune on the field. A World Series victory in 2002 turned the team's fortunes around for a time, and they were frequent contenders for the playoffs into the 2010s. However, the Angels have since fallen on hard times, having finished with a losing record in every season since 2016 despite the presence of two of the game's biggest names in outfielder Mike Trout and in 2018 Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani (who left for the LA area's other team, the Dodgers, as a free agent after the 2023 season). Their stadium is most noteworthy for the giant haloed "A" that stands in the parking lot as well as sitting within spitting distance of [[Disneyland]]. If you're lucky enough to witness an Angel home run, geysers and fireworks erupt out of a small mountainside beyond left field. * '''Seattle Mariners – T-Mobile Park''' – [[Seattle]], Washington (in [[Seattle/Sodo-Georgetown|Sodo]]). Built on former industrial land south of [[Seattle/Pioneer Square-International District|Pioneer Square]] (and indeed, there's still quite a bit of industry in the neighborhood), the modern retro-style T-Mobile Park (renamed from Safeco Field in 2019) has some interesting features, including a retractable roof to protect against the regular Seattle rain and quite possibly the best selection of food of any ballpark in the country. As of 2025, the Mariners are the only MLB team that has not appeared in the World Series. * '''Texas Rangers – Globe Life Field''' – [[Arlington (Texas)|Arlington]], Texas. In the early 2010s the Rangers emerged as a competitive force in the American League, but fell into a serious dry spell, with six consecutive losing seasons, before making the 2023 postseason as a wild card and going all the way to their first-ever World Series win. They opened the 2020 season in the new Globe Life Field, directly across the street from their former home of Choctaw Stadium, with both lying roughly between the Dallas Cowboys' stadium and a Six Flags theme park. The new park has a thoroughly modern retractable roof and air conditioning, but otherwise is much like their old park—a retro-style ballpark with plenty of nods to the classic ballparks of old. ====National League East==== * '''Atlanta Braves – Truist Park''' – Cumberland, Georgia (just outside [[Atlanta]]). The Braves are one of the most prominent franchises in baseball, owing in large part to the national coverage that used to be given by the locally headquartered TBS network. Braves fans are known for their use of the "Tomahawk Chop," a war chant accompanied by a rhythmic "chopping" motion made by the arm. The team plays in one of MLB's newest parks, opened for the 2017 season as SunTrust Park, and renamed in 2020. Besides the typical bells and whistles of a 21st-century ballpark, fans seated behind home plate are treated to views of the Atlanta skyline. * '''Miami Marlins – LoanDepot Park''' – [[Miami]], Florida (in [[Miami/Little Havana|Little Havana]]). One of the newest stadiums in baseball, LoanDepot Park (originally Marlins Park) was the first new ballpark to buck the retro trend since Camden Yards started it in the first place. It switched from grass to artificial turf in 2020. LoanDepot Park is a thoroughly contemporary structure of glass and steel, with a retractable roof and air conditioning offering relief from the humid weather, a nightclub and a swimming pool beyond the outfield (although you have to pay to be in a special section to use it), a bobblehead museum, and colorful art elements throughout. The stadium sits in Little Havana, a Latin American neighborhood with plenty of local shops and restaurants. * '''New York Mets – Citi Field''' – [[New York City]], New York (in [[Queens/Flushing-Northeast|Flushing]], [[Queens]]). Standing in marked contrast to the crosstown Yankees, the Mets have always had a hard go of it, but the faithful continue to turn out to cheer on their lovable underdogs. Current owner Steve Cohen has opened his checkbook to try to buy a contender, most notably signing young superstar outfielder Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract in the 2024–25 offseason. They play in a fairly new ballpark with a facade that pays homage to Ebbets Field, the classic ballpark that was once home to the Brooklyn Dodgers. If the Mets hit a homer, look for the Home Run Apple, a huge apple that rises out of the center field wall. The Mets are also known for what may be the most popular mascot in baseball, Mr. Met, a man with a baseball for a head. Citi Field sits adjacent to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, with its museums and the famous Unisphere. * '''Philadelphia Phillies – Citizens Bank Park''' – [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania (in [[Philadelphia/South|South Philly]]). The oldest single-city team in baseball, the Phillies have overcome their long championship drought to become a competitive force in the NL East, with a losing World Series appearance in 2022. Citizens Bank Park is a beloved retro-style park, with features like a sign in the shape of the Liberty Bell that lights up and "rings" after a Phillies home run and Ashburn Alley, a promenade beyond center field that holds restaurants and memorabilia from Phillies history. The Phillies also have one of the most popular (and strangest) mascots in baseball, the Phillie Phanatic, a big, furry, green creature who engages in various antics on the field. * '''Washington Nationals – Nationals Park''' – [[Washington, D.C.]] (on the [[Washington, D.C./Waterfront|Waterfront]]). The newest team in the major leagues (i.e., in their current location, though not the newest ''franchise''—they were founded as the [[Montreal]] Expos), the Nationals are the latest incarnation of professional baseball in D.C. and have quickly proven to be a favorite of the locals. Their ballpark sits on the south side of town in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood near the Navy Yard. The Nats won the World Series in their only appearance (for both sides of the franchise) in 2019. [[File:Wrigleyfield2.jpg|thumb|300px|Wrigley Field, home of the [[Chicago]] Cubs]] ====National League Central==== * '''Chicago Cubs – Wrigley Field''' – [[Chicago]], Illinois (in [[Chicago/Lakeview-North Center|Lakeview]]). Few teams can claim the storied history or agony of defeat that the Cubs can, but the curse has come to an end: after going over a hundred years without a championship and not even an appearance in the World Series since 1945, the Cubs finally won the championship in 2016. But win or lose, a game at Wrigley Field is undoubtedly one of the greatest experiences in baseball and has been celebrated in many films. The ballpark, one of only two remaining classic ballparks (the other being Fenway Park), is renowned and beloved for its many unique features, from its bright red marquee sign out front, to the ivy-covered outfield walls, to the rooftop seats atop the buildings across the street, and to the surrounding neighborhood which embraces game day to the fullest. * '''Cincinnati Reds – Great American Ball Park''' – [[Cincinnati]], Ohio. The oldest professional team in baseball, the "Big Red Machine" (a nickname earned due to their powerful hitting lineup in the 1970s) have long been entertaining their loyal fans. The Reds' riverfront ballpark is full of nods to the history of the team, including the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and an extensive museum. * '''Milwaukee Brewers – American Family Field''' – [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin. The Milwaukee faithful pour into American Family Field, until 2020 known as Miller Park, which sports a fan-shaped retractable roof and plenty of nods to the city's brewing heritage. A highlight is the "Sausage Race" during the 6th inning, when a group of sausage mascots race around the field. Another mascot, Bernie Brewer, slides down a plastic yellow slide beyond left field after every Brewer home run. * '''Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park''' – [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania (on the [[Pittsburgh/North Side|North Side]]). The Pirates have had a hard go of it over the last couple of decades, but lately the "Buccos" have found new life, ending a 20-year string of losing seasons with a playoff berth in 2013 and proving strong competitors since. Their stadium is widely considered one of the best in the major leagues, sitting on the city's superb riverfront with a breathtaking view of the Pittsburgh skyline. * '''St. Louis Cardinals – Busch Stadium''' – [[St. Louis]], Missouri. A regular feature in the playoffs, the Cardinals command a huge and enthusiastic fanbase in this diehard sports town. They play on the south side of the city's downtown, with an excellent view of the skyline with its famed Gateway Arch. An impressive hall of fame for the Cardinals is on-site, a testament to the winningest team in the National League (in terms of World Series championships). ====National League West==== * '''Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field''' – [[Phoenix]], Arizona. Despite their short history, the Diamondbacks have proved to be a surprisingly strong team in the NL West. Chase Field sports a retractable roof, air conditioning and even a swimming pool beyond the center-right field wall (although the pool is only accessible as part of a luxury suite), must-haves in the blazing Phoenix heat. It switched from grass to artificial turf in 2019. * '''Colorado Rockies – Coors Field''' – [[Denver]], Colorado. Widely regarded as one of the best ballparks in the major leagues, Coors Field is a retro-style ballpark that has earned a reputation as a home run-friendly park, owing in large part to the dry air and high altitude. The ballpark sits on the edge of the LoDo neighborhood of Downtown Denver, popular for its restaurants and bars as well as the home of the National Ballpark Museum, with a fantastic collection of artifacts from many classic ballparks. [[File:Dodger Stadium.jpg|thumb|300px|Dodger Stadium, home of the [[Los Angeles]] Dodgers]] * '''Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium''' – [[Los Angeles]], California (in [[Elysian Park]]). The Dodgers are one of the most famous and successful baseball teams of all time, with a long history in Los Angeles since their move here from Brooklyn in the 1950s. Their ballpark, carved out of a hill north of Downtown L.A., is the largest baseball stadium in the world by seating capacity and has earned a reputation as a pitcher's park, and is also perhaps the best remaining example of the modernist stadiums built in the 1960s. After the Dodgers spent more than ''$1 billion'' on free agents in the 2023–24 offseason, most notably signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, they became at least as hated by rival fans as the Astros. That spending has so far paid off with a World Series win in 2024. * '''San Diego Padres – Petco Park''' – [[San Diego]], California (in [[San Diego/Downtown|Downtown]]). Sandwiched into Downtown San Diego near the harborfront and the historic Gaslamp Quarter district, Petco Park has a number of unique elements, including a historic brick warehouse incorporated into the left-field seats and a grassy lawn beyond the center field wall that's open as a public park on non-game days. The stadium has gained a distinction as the most pitcher-friendly park in the major leagues, due to the dense, humid air along the nearby coast. * '''San Francisco Giants – Oracle Park''' – [[San Francisco]], California (in [[San Francisco/SoMa|SoMa]]). One of the oldest teams in baseball, having played in New York prior to their move to California in the 1950s, the Giants play in Oracle Park (renamed from AT&T Park in 2019), a popular retro-style ballpark looking out on the bay. A small cove next to the park is the frequent target of home runs, which makes it popular for kayakers hoping to snag a souvenir. The Giants haven't always had an easy time of it since moving to San Francisco, but a trio of recent World Series victories have made them a force to be reckoned with. ===Spring training=== Prior to the start of the regular season, the Major League teams participate in a series of exhibition games through the month of March. Spring Training is an opportunity to get a lot closer to your favorite players than would be possible during the regular season. For climate-related reasons, all Spring Training games are held in [[Arizona]] or [[Florida]], the '''Cactus League''' and '''Grapefruit League''' respectively. ====Cactus League==== [[File:Tempe Diablo Stadium.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Tempe]] Diablo Stadium under the clear Arizona skies]] * Arizona Diamondbacks – Salt River Fields at Talking Stick – [[Scottsdale (Arizona)|Scottsdale]] * Athletics – Hohokam Stadium – [[Mesa]] * Chicago Cubs – Sloan Park – [[Mesa]] * Chicago White Sox – Camelback Ranch – [[Glendale (Arizona)|Glendale]] * Cincinnati Reds – Goodyear Ballpark – [[Goodyear]] * Cleveland Guardians – Goodyear Ballpark – [[Goodyear]] * Colorado Rockies – Salt River Fields at Talking Stick – [[Scottsdale (Arizona)|Scottsdale]] * Kansas City Royals – Surprise Stadium – [[Surprise]] * Los Angeles Angels – Tempe Diablo Stadium – [[Tempe]] * Los Angeles Dodgers – Camelback Ranch – [[Glendale (Arizona)|Glendale]] * Milwaukee Brewers – Maryvale Baseball Park – [[Phoenix]] * San Diego Padres – Peoria Sports Complex – [[Peoria (Arizona)|Peoria]] * San Francisco Giants – Scottsdale Stadium – [[Scottsdale (Arizona)|Scottsdale]] * Seattle Mariners – Peoria Sports Complex – [[Peoria (Arizona)|Peoria]] * Texas Rangers – Surprise Stadium – [[Surprise]] ====Grapefruit League==== [[File:JetBlue Park at Fenway South.JPG|thumb|300px|"Fenway South" has its own Green Monster]] * Atlanta Braves – Champion Stadium – [[Walt Disney World/Hollywood Studios#ESPN Wide World of Sports|ESPN Wide World of Sports complex]] at [[Walt Disney World]]. * Baltimore Orioles – Ed Smith Stadium – [[Sarasota]] * Boston Red Sox – JetBlue Park at Fenway South – [[Fort Myers]] * Detroit Tigers – Joker Marchant Stadium – [[Lakeland]] * Houston Astros – The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches – [[West Palm Beach]] * Miami Marlins – Roger Dean Stadium – [[Jupiter]] * Minnesota Twins – Hammond Stadium – [[Fort Myers]] * New York Mets – Tradition Field – [[Port St. Lucie]] * New York Yankees – Steinbrenner Field – [[Tampa]] * Philadelphia Phillies – Bright House Field – [[Clearwater]] * Pittsburgh Pirates – McKechnie Field – [[Bradenton]] * St. Louis Cardinals – Roger Dean Stadium – [[Jupiter]] * Tampa Bay Rays – Charlotte Sports Park – [[Port Charlotte]] * Toronto Blue Jays – Florida Auto Exchange Stadium – [[Dunedin (Florida)|Dunedin]] * Washington Nationals – The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches – [[West Palm Beach]] ===All-Star Game=== Held every year in early to mid-July, the All-Star Game is an exhibition game pitting the best players in the American League against the best of the National League. Wherever it is held, the All-Star Game is the centerpiece of a week-long celebration, which includes a fan fest and a home run derby. The league determines the location of the game in advance, and tickets are very expensive. Upcoming All-Star Games: * '''''2026''': July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in [[Philadelphia/South|South]] [[Philadelphia]]''. * '''''2027''': July 13 at [[Chicago/Lakeview-North Center#Do|Wrigley Field]] in [[Chicago]]''. ===Postseason and World Series=== Every October, the leaders of each of the three divisions plus three Wild Card teams in each league compete in the postseason (MLB used the word "playoff" only to refer to very rare tiebreaker games used to determine postseason berths; said games were eliminated after 2021). Each league plays in a knockout tournament with three rounds. The first round, known as the Wild Card Round, consists of best-of-three series (i.e., a maximum of three games). This is followed by the Division Series (best-of-five) and the League Championship Series (best-of seven). The LCS winners advance to the World Series, in which the AL and NL winners play a best-of-seven series. ===Get in=== For most of the existence of professional Baseball, rail was the main mode of travel for fans and teams alike to get to road games. With the move of the Dodgers and the Giants from their erstwhile New York homes to the West Coast in the fifties, most teams switched to air travel as their primary mode of transport and fans visiting road games eventually followed suit. Details for getting into each city are in the individual city articles. All major league teams are in major cities, with excellent air and road access. In some parts of the country it is possible—with careful planning—to hop from city to city and see multiple stadiums in the course of several days. This is easiest on the Eastern Seaboard ([[Boston]]/[[New York City]]/[[Philadelphia]]/[[Baltimore]]/[[Washington, D.C.]]) with convenient road and rail access and relatively short distances between cities. With a car, this can also easily be done in the Midwest ([[Pittsburgh]]/[[Cincinnati]]/[[Cleveland]]/[[Detroit]]/[[Toronto]] or [[Minneapolis]]/[[Milwaukee]]/[[Chicago]]/[[St. Louis]]) or California ([[San Diego]]/[[Anaheim]]/[[Los Angeles]]/[[Oakland]]/[[San Francisco]]). Outside these areas, however, the distances between cities are simply too great to make this feasible except by airplane. Most stadiums are served by some sort of mass transit, such as a bus, subway, light rail or heavy rail. The mass transit getting to a game is typically quite crowded. Parking and accessibility varies considerably between ballparks. In general, stadiums in cities in the Northeast and in the Midwest will see heavy traffic and limited, expensive parking, while those in the South and the West will have ample parking, though there are exceptions to this. All stadiums charge for parking, generally in the range of $10-$25 depending on the individual stadium and how close you park to the ballpark, with certain high-demand teams charging more. For the most part, all stadiums have made a strong attempt to provide enough parking, but in a few cases—namely Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco—parking is such a challenge that it's preferable to use the local mass transit systems, which are well-developed in these cities and do a good job serving games. [[File:Dodger Dog.jpg|thumb|300px|Dodger Dogs are famed for their length]] ===Do=== Part of the thrill of attending a game is catching a foul ball, or even a home run ball. Fans will sit in a part of the park specifically geared to catching these. When the ball approaches, it can deflect of hands like a pinball so you never know where it will land. If you are trying to catch a foul ball or a home run, be respectful of those around you and don't do anything to hurt yourself or someone else. Also keep in mind that in some ballparks, such as Wrigley Field, local tradition calls for home run balls hit by the visiting team to be thrown back. In the Women's College World Series of NCAA softball (see "Softball" below), a unique tradition is that a home run ball is taken by the ushers and given to the family of the player who hit it (or, if the player's family is not present, to that team's coaches, who will present it to the family later). People who catch home run balls at that event are given other memorabilia, such as unused game balls, in exchange for the home run ball. Have patience. The game can move slowly, especially if you aren't familiar with it. ===Buy=== * All teams have a team store at the stadium to purchase jerseys, hats, and other memorabilia. * Team merchandise can often be purchased at nearby stores for less than what the stadiums charge. ===Eat=== * One of the exciting things about going to different ballparks is sampling foods that only they have. All stadiums have a plethora of eating options (mostly [[Fast food in North America| fast food]]) from standard ballpark fare like hot dogs, hamburgers and nachos to more specialized eats like sausages in Milwaukee, fish tacos in San Diego, and sushi in Seattle. Prices usually run between $3-$5 for hot dogs and $10 or more for specialized food like barbecue or chicken. Ballpark food is usually more expensive than comparable food sold at restaurants. * If you have dietary restrictions (halal, kosher, vegan, gluten-free) you should check ahead of time to see what is available. ===Drink=== * Most baseball stadiums sell beer, albeit at prices higher than bars or liquor stores. Some ballparks also serve wine or cocktails. For drinkers of non-alcoholic beverages, sodas or bottled water are also available. ===Respect=== * Smoking is prohibited in most locations in most stadiums. Some may ban it in all locations. * Many stadiums prohibit coolers, large bags, backpacks, plastic or glass bottles, cans and video cameras from the stadium. Check specific stadium policies before attending. All stadiums will ban knives, firearms, fireworks, and noisemakers. * Don't be loud or obnoxious to other fans: A common crowd maneuver is the "wave", in which to support the team fans stand up and immediately sit back down, with the motion progressing around the bleachers, creating said "wave". However, ask most hardcore baseball fans and they will tell you they despise the wave, as it causes obstruction of eyesight towards the action on-field. ==Minor League Baseball== '''[http://MiLB.com Minor League Baseball]''' is the general name for a group of developmental leagues operated by major league teams for younger players who have not yet developed the skills to play in the major leagues. Almost all small to mid-sized cities in America will have a minor league team of some sort, as does [[Vancouver]], [[Baseball#Canada|Canada]]. It's considered a very affordable and fun alternative to higher priced major league games. The leagues are organized in a system based on the level of talent. The Triple-A level is the highest, dropping to Low-A and then to the Rookie level. Minor League Baseball operates from late March to late September, though lower levels may only play from early May until late July. The minor leagues are praised for being fan-friendly and cost-efficient for families. Tickets generally cost between $7 and $15 each, with special promotions sometimes lowering that price. At almost all stadiums, it is possible to purchase tickets at the gate, but some higher level teams sell out ahead of time. Parking will either be free or available for a small fee, and because these are smaller cities, mass transit will usually be sparse or non-existent. Food is priced similarly to major league stadiums and generally the same things are available, although variety decreases dramatically below the Triple-A level. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Baseball completed a takeover and reorganization of the affiliated minor leagues that began prior to the pandemic. Entering 2021, the number of affiliated clubs was reduced to exactly 120 teams: each of the 30 major league clubs now has one affiliate at each of the four levels (Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, and Low-A). Attempts were also made to keep farm teams within driving distance of their affiliates. These changes resulted in some teams (especially in the smallest markets) being eliminated or forced to find unaffiliated leagues. Other teams changed classifications. But most minor league teams survived, albeit in many cases with new major-league affiliates. ===Leagues=== [[File:FifthThirdField.jpg|thumb|350px|Minor league ballparks offer a more intimate atmosphere.]] '''Triple-A''', or '''Class AAA''', covers most of the largest metropolitan areas without Major League Baseball franchises, as well as some smaller cities. * '''International League''' ** [[Buffalo]] Bisons, [[Charlotte]] Knights, [[Columbus]] Clippers, [[Durham (North Carolina)|Durham]] Bulls, [[Gwinnett County (Georgia)|Gwinnett]] Stripers ([[Lawrenceville]]), [[Indianapolis]] Indians, Iowa Cubs ([[Des Moines]]), [[Jacksonville]] Jumbo Shrimp, Lehigh Valley IronPigs ([[Allentown]]), [[Louisville]] Bats, [[Memphis]] Redbirds, [[Nashville]] Sounds, [[Norfolk (Virginia)|Norfolk]] Tides, [[Omaha]] Storm Chasers, [[Rochester (New York)|Rochester]] Red Wings, [[Saint Paul]] Saints, [[Scranton]]/[[Wilkes-Barre]] RailRiders, [[Syracuse (New York)|Syracuse]] Mets, [[Toledo (Ohio)|Toledo]] Mud Hens, and [[Worcester (Massachusetts)|Worcester]] Red Sox. * '''Pacific Coast League''' ** [[Albuquerque]] Isotopes, [[El Paso]] Chihuahuas, [[Las Vegas]] Aviators, [[Oklahoma City]] Comets, [[Reno]] Aces, [[Round Rock]] Express, [[Sacramento]] River Cats, [[Salt Lake City|Salt Lake]] Bees, [[Sugar Land]] Space Cowboys, and [[Tacoma]] Rainiers '''Double-A''', or '''Class AA''', teams can be found in many mid-sized cities. * '''Eastern League''' ** [[Akron]] RubberDucks, [[Altoona (Pennsylvania)|Altoona]] Curve, [[Binghamton]] Rumble Ponies, Chesapeake Baysox ([[Bowie]]), [[Erie]] SeaWolves, [[Harrisburg]] Senators, [[Hartford]] Yard Goats, New Hampshire Fisher Cats ([[Manchester (New Hampshire)|Manchester]]), [[Portland (Maine)|Portland]] Sea Dogs, [[Reading (Pennsylvania)|Reading]] Fightin Phils, [[Richmond]] Flying Squirrels, and [[Somerset_(New_Jersey)|Somerset]] Patriots. * '''Southern League''' ** [[Biloxi]] Shuckers, [[Birmingham (Alabama)|Birmingham]] Barons, [[Chattanooga]] Lookouts, [[Columbus (Georgia)|Columbus]] Clingstones, [[Knoxville]] Smokies, [[Montgomery]] Biscuits, [[Pensacola]] Blue Wahoos, and Rocket City Trash Pandas (Madison, Alabama, near [[Huntsville (Alabama)|Huntsville]]). * '''Texas League''' ** [[Amarillo]] Sod Poodles, Arkansas Travelers ([[North Little Rock]]), [[Corpus Christi]] Hooks, [[Frisco (Texas)|Frisco]] RoughRiders, [[Midland (Texas)|Midland]] RockHounds, Northwest Arkansas Naturals ([[Springdale (Arkansas)|Springdale]]), [[Springfield (Missouri)|Springfield]] Cardinals, [[San Antonio]] Missions, [[Tulsa]] Drillers, and [[Wichita]] Wind Surge '''Single-A''', or '''Class A''', teams can be found in many small cities, as well as mid-sized cities near larger cities already served by higher level teams. *'''High-A leagues:''' Midwest League ([[Cedar Rapids]], [[Dayton]], [[Fort Wayne]], [[Peoria (Illinois)|Peoria]], etc.), South Atlantic ([[Asheville]], [[Brooklyn]], [[Wilmington (Delaware)|Wilmington]], [[Winston-Salem]], etc.), and Northwest League ([[Boise]], [[Eugene]], [[Spokane]], [[Vancouver]], etc.). *'''Low-A leagues:''' Carolina League ([[Augusta (Georgia)|Augusta]], [[Charleston (South Carolina)|Charleston, SC]], [[Fredericksburg (Virginia)|Fredericksburg]], [[Myrtle Beach]], etc.), Florida State League ([[Daytona Beach]], [[Fort Myers]], [[Tampa]], etc.), and California League ([[Fresno]], [[San Bernardino]], [[San Jose (California)|San Jose]], [[Stockton (California)|Stockton]], etc.). '''Rookie Level''' teams play in the spring training complexes of their parent teams. Admission is not charged, and concessions are not sold. Major league clubs are allowed to field more than one team at this level. * Arizona Complex League * Florida Complex League ==Independent teams and leagues== In addition to leagues affiliated with the MLB/MiLB, there are additional leagues that play minor league-level ball. They include: * [https://aabaseball.com/ American Association] (Midwestern United States) * [https://atlanticleague.com/ Atlantic League] (Mid-Atlantic Region) * [https://www.frontierleague.com/ Frontier League] (Eastern United States) * [https://www.pioneerleague.com/landing/index Pioneer League] (Rocky Mountains & California, former MiLB league) ==Exhibition teams== One quirky exhibition team in United States baseball is the '''Savannah Bananas'''. The Bananas play a style of baseball known as '''banana ball''' that combines baseball with tricks, comedy and theatrics. The Bananas play some of their games in [[Savannah]], Georgia and the rest on tour around the United States. The Bananas now have five rotating opponents, who play touring exhibition games against each other in addition to against the Bananas. Bananas games have drawn crowds as large as 100,000. ==College baseball== '''College baseball''' is the general term for non-professional baseball organized by any of several bodies. Most four-year schools are governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), with some instead governed by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Three bodies govern two-year schools: the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) in Oregon and Washington, and the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA, usually pronounced "3C-2A"). College baseball play can run the gamut from high level programs such as the University of Oregon, University of North Carolina, and University of Miami which compete in the NCAA, to small schools like Lewis-Clark State College (in Idaho) of the NAIA. The biggest event in college baseball is the Men's College World Series, an NCAA-sanctioned event featuring the best Division I college baseball teams held each June in [[Omaha]]. Almost all four-year colleges, plus a fair number of two-year schools, will have a baseball team and play runs from February to June. College baseball games are usually sparsely attended and seats are very cheap, if not free. ====Men's College World Series==== Held in Omaha every June, the [https://www.cwsomaha.com/ MCWS] pits eight teams against each other. The tournament is divided into two four-team double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket then playing a best-of-three series to choose the NCAA Champion. Tickets range from $28-33 for reserved seats and $11 each or $80 for ten for general admission (non-guaranteed) seats. Tickets generally go on-sale in May. [[File:Fowler Park and Cunningham Field, USD.jpg|thumb|300px|Seats are always easy to find at a college baseball game]] ====National Alliance of College Summer Baseball==== These are NCAA-sanctioned [http://www.nacsb.org/ summer baseball leagues]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, partially funded by Major League Baseball, drawing from college-age players. A high percentage of drafted players come from these leagues. *'''[http://www.capecodbaseball.org/ Cape Cod Baseball League]''', [[Cape Cod]], [[Massachusetts]]. Over 110 years of history. One in seven Major League Baseball players played in this league. *'''[http://www.ciclbaseball.com/ Central Illinois Collegiate League]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', [[Illinois]]. *'''[http://www.greatlakesleague.org/ Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League]'''. *'''[http://www.nycbl.com/ New York Collegiate Baseball League]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', [[New York (state)|New York]]. *'''[http://www.acbl-online.com/ Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League]''', [[Pennsylvania]], [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[New Jersey]]. *'''[http://www.scbl.org/ Southern Collegiate Baseball League]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. *'''[http://www.valleyleaguebaseball.com Valley Baseball League]''', [[Virginia]]. *'''[http://www.floridaleague.com/ Florida Collegiate Summer League]''', [[Florida]]. *'''[http://www.coastalplain.com/ Coastal Plain League]''', [[North Carolina]], [[South Carolina]], and [[Virginia]]. Though it's not an NACSB-sponsored league, the '''[[Alaska]] [http://www.alaskabaseballleague.org Baseball League]''' is a collegiate summer league that's worthy of special note as the host of the '''Midnight Sun Game''', an experience that's unique in the sport of baseball—it's played on the summer solstice in the midnight sun, beginning around 11PM, at Growden Memorial Park in [[Fairbanks]], the northernmost baseball stadium in the world. The ABL boasts over a century of history and such famous alumni as Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Mark McGwire. ==High school baseball== '''High school baseball''' is played around the nation by teams organized by each individual high school. The level of play is lower than college baseball, though some elite schools produce multiple players each year who advance to either college or minor-league baseball. Schools typically play local and regional competition in an April through June schedule. There is no national championship like in college baseball or pro levels, and teams rarely charge to attend games. ==Little League Baseball== '''Little League Baseball''' is a collection of youth baseball leagues run by Little League Baseball. It operates leagues for children from ages 8–16, plus grassroots programs in "tee ball", a baseball variant for children from 4–7 in which batters hit a ball from a tee placed at home plate. Its premier event is the Little League World Series. In almost any town across the country, you can find a Little League game between April and June, and seating is free with most places having a food stand of some kind. ====Little League World Series==== Held every year in [[Williamsport|South Williamsport]], Pennsylvania, over 10 days ending on the last Sunday of August, the [http://www.littleleague.org/worldseries/ LLWS] pits 20 teams of 11–12 year olds from around the world in a tournament to prove the best team. It's very popular among people of all ages, and the atmosphere is electric for every game. Tickets are available on a first-come-first-served basis for all games except the World Championship Game. Those tickets are distributed by a lottery system, but seating beyond the stadium fences is always available. ==Softball== [[File:Texas A&M softball, Pitching 2.jpg|thumb|A softball pitcher in action]] Softball is a game similar to baseball with two variants — "fast-pitch" and "slow-pitch", referring to the speed at which the ball is allowed to be pitched. The two variants also differ in team sizes — the fielding team in fast-pitch has 9 players, while the fielding team in slow-pitch usually has 10 players. Fast-pitch is most commonly played by women, and is a widely popular competitive women's sport in high schools and colleges/universities, with some professional leagues and a well-developed structure for international play. Men's fast-pitch, by contrast, is extremely obscure. Slow-pitch is more often seen as a recreational sport (though high-level leagues do exist); unlike fast-pitch, it's frequently played by men. Many local slow-pitch leagues have coed divisions, with all teams required to have a batting order evenly split and alternating between the sexes. The most noticeable difference is that softball uses an underarm pitch, in contrast to the overarm pitch that is used in baseball. In slow-pitch, the pitch is required to be lobbed toward home plate, with the minimum arc (and usually the maximum arc) regulated. Fast-pitch has no restrictions on the arc of the pitch. Softball also typically uses a larger ball and thinner bat than baseball, and also has a smaller field, with the distance between the bases being 60 feet and the pitcher starting her delivery 43 feet from the rear of home plate, in contrast to baseball's 90 feet between the bases and 60 feet, 6 inch pitching distance. Also, softball pitchers do not work from a raised mound as baseball pitchers do; the pitching circle is at the same level as the rest of the infield. (This may vary in recreational leagues that use baseball fields.) Softball games are also usually shorter, with only seven innings being played, in contrast to nine in baseball. Another difference with baseball is that the run rule is used in all games, with the last significant holdout, the championship series of the Women's College World Series, having adopted it in 2023. In international rules, the run rule is invoked if the lead is 20 runs after three innings, 15 runs after four innings, or 8 runs after five innings (in all cases, referring to the number of innings completed by the trailing team). College rules use only the 8-run, five-inning criterion. As in baseball, youth play has similar run rules. The '''[https://wprofastpitch.com/ Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF)]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' was founded in 2022 and is the main professional softball league in the United States, though it does not have viewership levels anywhere close to that of Major League Baseball, or even the Women's College World Series (see below). The '''[https://connectsportsevents.com/ Association of Fastpitch Professionals]''' and '''[https://theausl.com/ Athletes Unlimited Softball League]''' were founded in 2024, with the latter having a relationship with MLB. ===Women's College World Series=== The biggest event in American softball is the '''Women's College World Series''', the final phase of the NCAA Division I championship. Held each June at Devon Park in [[Oklahoma City]], its format is almost identical to that of its men's counterpart, featuring eight teams in a double-elimination tournament until two teams remain, at which point the survivors play a best-of-three championship series. The major difference is that the WCWS format allows any two of the participating teams to advance to the championship series. ==Museums and other attractions== [[File:Babe Ruth Plaque commons.jpg|thumb|200px|Babe Ruth's plaque in the Hall of Fame]] In addition to the many, many opportunities to take in a baseball game, there are also plenty of museums in cities across the country devoted to the game, from the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown to little museums dedicated to hometown heroes and many more. Many ballparks have some sort of museum located on their grounds. Here are just some of the most noteworthy sights to take in the history of the sport: *A destination for any baseball fan is '''[[Cooperstown]]''', [[New York (state)|New York]], home to the '''National Baseball Hall of Fame''', which honors the game's history and its finest players. According to folklore, Cooperstown is where the game of baseball was invented, but no one has been able to prove that this is the case. Nevertheless, the town has become synonymous with the history of baseball and is a must-visit for baseball fans. *While popular legend suggests that Cooperstown was where the game was invented, history makes a compelling case that '''Elysian Fields''' in [[Hoboken]] is the actual birthplace of baseball, where the first organized game of baseball was played in 1846. Since then the fields have been developed into housing, so no remnant of the field exists, although its location is marked by a plaque at 11th and Washington Streets. *On the campus of the [[Montclair]] State University in New Jersey is the '''Yogi Berra Museum''', devoted to the life and career of the famous Yankee, with a collection of artifacts and memorabilia that puts the museum in Yankee Stadium to shame. *Right around the corner from Camden Yards in [[Baltimore/South Baltimore|South Baltimore]] is the '''Babe Ruth Museum''', which preserves the house where the Great Bambino himself was born. There are also displays on baseball's most famous player, as well as an exhibit on the 500-home run club. *In [[Williamsport|South Williamsport]], home to the Little League World Series every August, is the '''Little League Museum''', with lots of Little League trivia and memorabilia, and a hall devoted to distinguished ex-Little Leaguers. *The [[Pittsburgh/Oakland#Pitt_campus|University of Pittsburgh]] campus in [[Pittsburgh]] is home to two remnants of '''Forbes Field''', a beloved stadium that was torn down when the Pirates moved to new digs on the riverfront. Inside the university's Posvar Hall is the old home plate in a glass case embedded in the floor, while outside is a section of the left field wall where Pirate Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run to win the 1960 World Series. Every October 13th, Pirates faithful mark the occasion by turning out at the wall to listen to a radio broadcast of that game. *The site of the Atlanta Braves' old home, '''Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium''' in [[Atlanta/South|South Atlanta]], has a preserved section of wall where Hank Aaron hit his historic 715th career home run to break Babe Ruth's record. Georgia State University, which now owns the stadium site, is planning to build a new ballpark for its baseball team at the site, and plans to incorporate the Aaron wall in the structure. *The '''[[Louisville]] Slugger Museum''' allows you to tour the factory where the official bat of the major leagues is made. In addition to watching bats get made, you can also view plenty of memorabilia and get a custom name bat as a souvenir. Finding the museum is easy enough, thanks to the giant six-story replica of Babe Ruth's bat—"the world's largest bat"—standing outside. *[[Kansas City]]'s 18th & Vine Historic District, an important center for jazz, is home to the '''Negro League Baseball Museum''', which honors the history of the Negro Leagues, a historic league for African Americans that was segregated from the major leagues, which from the 1920s to major league baseball's integration produced some of the sport's greatest players. The museum tells the history of the leagues in loving detail, with lots of memorabilia to take in. *Outside the town of Dyersville, Iowa, west of [[Dubuque]], sits the '''Field of Dreams''', the movie set for the popular 1989 film (and unabashed celebration of the game) ''Field of Dreams''. The attraction is a simple one, with the set preserved as it appears in the movie with only a small souvenir stand nearby. However, MLB later built a separate temporary ballpark about 500 feet away from the actual movie site on an adjacent property, which it first used for a special 2021 regular-season game marketed as '''MLB at Field of Dreams'''. With the game drawing the highest TV ratings for a regular-season game in more than 15 years, the special game returned to the second ballpark in 2022. After a few years off while a youth baseball facility was built on the property, the MLB is scheduled to make a return to the Field of Dreams on August 13, 2026, with a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins. *Housed inside a shopping center in [[Fargo]] is the '''Roger Maris Museum''', devoted to the hometown hero and former Yankee, who was the first to beat Babe Ruth's single season home run record. The museum is small but contains plenty of Yankee memorabilia from the 1960s. *Across the street from Coors Field in [[Denver]] is the '''National Ballpark Museum''', the culmination of one of the most fantastic private collections of baseball artifacts ever seen, with a stunning amount of artifacts from the classic ballparks of old, including signs, bricks, seats, light fixtures from Ebbets Field, and a section of Fenway Park's Green Monster. {{PartOfTopic|Spectator sports|the United States}} {{guidetopic}} {{related|United States}} nov34kol61ahhsnzuq6l7ddqnmpa6at 0 3214 5298494 5284616 2026-06-25T19:13:11Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298494 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Beirut banner.jpg}} {{printDistricts}} '''Beirut''' ([[Arabic phrasebook|Arabic]]: بيروت‎ ''Bayrūt'', [[French phrasebook|French]]: ''Beyrouth'') is the capital city of '''[[Lebanon]]''' with a population of approximately 2.1 million people in its metropolitan area. The city is on a relatively small headland jutting into the east Mediterranean. It is by far the biggest city in Lebanon. Due to Lebanon's small size, the capital has always held the status as the only true cosmopolitan city in the country, and since independence, has been the commercial and financial hub of Lebanon. ==Districts== Beirut is composed by many different neighbourhoods, each own having its own distinctive atmosphere and character. The city sprawls over a peninsula with the sea to the north and the west, and the Mount Lebanon ridge to the east. Damascus Road, which connects the centre with the National Museum, was known as the "Green Line" during the civil war era (1975–1990). At that time, it separated the mostly Muslim western sector of the city and the Christian eastern sector. Martyrs' Square and the post-war development of Beirut Central District (BCD) are the geographical pivot of the city and serve quite well for orientation. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Wikivoyage Beirut map PNG.png | regionmaptext=Districts of Beirut | regionmapsize=500px | region1name=[[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] | region1color=#d56d76 | region1items= | region1description=In the heart of the city beside the Beirut port and Beirut marina; includes many cafés, restaurants, and places to shop. Also home to many historical sites. It is very touristy, and not as authentic as other districts. | region2name=[[Beirut/Ashrafieh|Ashrafieh]] | region2color=#d5dc76 | region2items= | region2description=The center of modern nightlife in the city, though less so during the summertime. Ashrafieh, is divided into smaller areas; Gemmayze and Monot Street are the most popular nightspots, while Sassine Square and Sodeco Square are mainly afternoon shopping areas. Gemmayze consists of mostly pubs, though it does also contain a fine selection of restaurants. Many people are starting to think of it as a separate entity from Ashrafieh. Monot Street features a mix of restaurants, nightclubs, and pubs. | region3name=[[Beirut/Ain El Mraiseh|Ain El Mraiseh]] | region3color=#71b37b | region3items= | region3description=Seafront district with plenty of hotels and restaurants. | region4name=[[Beirut/Hamra|Hamra]] | region4color=#ac5c91 | region4items= | region4description=A hive of activity, and a shopping-lover's paradise. Hamra became the centre during the troubles in the 1970s. The more popular places are Bliss st., Hamra st., Sourati st. and Jeanne d'Arc st., each having its own share of cafés, hotels, and restaurants. Hamra st. in particular has been redeveloped, with larger chains of restaurants and cafés opening there, including Starbucks, Costa, Nandos, Roadsters, and Applebees. There has also been a revitalization of the pub scene, with over a dozen bars and pubs operating in the area. | region5name=[[Beirut/Ras Beirut|Ras Beirut]] | region5color=#8a84a3 | region5items= | region5description=The westernmost district of Beirut. Ras Beirut literally translates to "the head of Beirut" due to its location on the tip of peninsula, home to the Manara Lighthouse and various beach clubs (though none feature any sandy beaches). | region6name=[[Beirut/Rawcheh|Rawcheh]] | region6color=#d09440 | region6items= | region6description=The Pigeon Rocks, one of the iconic landmarks of the city, and many sunset-looking cafés and restaurants. | region7name=[[Beirut/Ramlet El Baida|Ramlet El Baida]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items= | region7description=A residential area just south of Rawcheh, which hosted Beirut's only public beach before huge building projects started in 2016. | region8name=[[Beirut/Verdun|Verdun]] | region8color=#b5d29f | region8items= | region8description=A trendy shopping area, with cafés and restaurants. Many Gulf Arabs stay here during summer vacations. | region9name=[[Beirut/Jnah|Jnah]] | region9color=#4f93c0 | region9items= | region9description=A predominantly residential area in southern Beirut, but also home to various clubs and hotels. }} ==Understand== ===History=== Beirut has survived a rough history, falling under the occupation of one empire after another. Originally named Bêrūt, "The Wells" by the Phoenicians, Beirut's history goes back more than 5000 years. Excavations in the downtown area have unearthed layers of Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Arab and Ottoman civilizations. Following World War II, Lebanon gained its independence from France and Beirut became its capital in 1943; Bechara El-Khoury and Riad El-Solh, Lebanon's first president and prime minister respectively, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and national heroes. Beirut thrived as a major commercial and tourist centre of the Middle East. It was a top destination among wealthy Arabs and European tourists, due to Beirut's unique geography, climate, diverse culture, and freedom. Beirut was seen as the "European gateway to the Middle East" and vice versa, and was often called the "Paris of the Middle East". Beirut is home to more than 10 recognized religious sects. Religious and political tensions between the Christian and Muslim factions sparked a brutal civil war in 1975. The conflict lasted nearly a decade and a half, ravaging the city. The central area of the city, previously the focus of much of the commercial and cultural activities, became a no-man's land. Throughout the war, the city was divided between the Muslim west part and the Christian east, and tensions between different sects remain to this day. Since the end of the war in 1989, the people of Lebanon have been rebuilding Beirut. The city has undertaken an aggressive rebuilding policy. The city is working hard to regain its status as a tourist, cultural and intellectual centre in the Middle East which it has lost to Cairo as well as a centre for commerce, fashion and media which is dominated by Dubai and other rich Gulf states. However Beirut with the rest of the Middle East has gained momentum. ===People=== [[File:ChurchMosque.jpg|thumb|Saint George Maronite Cathedral and Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in Beirut's central district]] Some areas of Beirut have a friendly atmosphere, and some Beirutis have a reputation for being very sociable and outgoing. The locals are used to the sight of foreigners and would be happy to show you around the city, if you ask them. Sectarianism is still prevalent in Lebanon, as a result of the French colonial legacy of divide and rule, which leads some Christian Lebanese to identify culturally with Europeans, particularly the French, and some denying Arab identity altogether; preferring to identify themselves as Phoenician (referring to their ancestral roots in ancient Phoenicia.) Many Muslim Lebanese identify culturally and ethnically with other Arabs and Muslims of the Middle East. It is helpful to display some basic courtesies. A simple ''Bonjour'' when entering a cafe or shop can work wonders, and might even get you a special rate, or when hopping into a taxi, might just keep the driver from overcharging you. Say ''Merci'' when given or offered something, and if you'd rather not accept, then say ''La'a merci'' and smile; otherwise you might be taken as rude, even though you're not. Most Beirutis love going out. If (and when) you go out at night, depending on the venue, dressing up well will most certainly get you some respect. The locals like to see that foreigners are doing what they can to fit in. Expect to be offered a drink or a cigarette. Alcohol is very cheap in shops and supermarkets, yet in night venues, prices can rise up to European standards (e.g. LL8,000/beer, LL15,000/cocktail)) Smoking is very common in Beirut, a large portion of the people smoke both outdoors and indoors. However, most restaurants and bars now abide by the law forbidding smoking indoors. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Beirut |11.2 |17.4 |154.0 |11.0 |17.5 |127.0 |12.6 |19.6 |84.0 |15.2 |22.6 |31.0 |18.2 |25.4 |11.0 |21.6 |27.9 |1.0 |24.0 |30.0 |0.3 |24.8 |30.7 |0.0 |23.7 |29.8 |5.0 |21.0 |27.5 |60.0 |16.3 |23.2 |115.0 |12.9 |19.4 |141.0 |float=right |clear=right |description= |source = Pogodaiklimat.ru<ref name="pogodaiklimat">{{cite web | url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate2/40100.htm | title = Climate of Beirut | accessdate = 8 October 2014 | publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат) | language = Russian}}</ref> Danish Meteorological Institute (sun and relative humidity)<ref name=DMI>{{cite web |last1=Cappelen |first1=John |last2=Jensen |first2=Jens |url=http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6EEKe0mBA?url=http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf |archivedate=6 February 2013 |work=Climate Data for Selected Stations (1931–1960) |title=Libanon – Beyrouth |page=167 |publisher=Danish Meteorological Institute |language=Danish |accessdate=2 March 2013 |deadurl=yes |df=dmy }}</ref> }} Beirut enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Come in April to June for warm, dry days and long, cool evenings (19–25&nbsp;°C). Temperatures in July and August rise to around {{convert|30|°C|0}} and humidity can be somewhat overwhelming – make sure your hotel has air conditioning. The wettest months are December to February so bring a good coat, rain boots, and umbrella because the rain often comes in torrential downpours. Streets have poor drainage and can quickly turn into rivers, so waterproof boots are highly recommended for the rainy season. Lebanon's ski season runs from December till early April. Despite the diverse climate that changes noticeably per season, the weather is very predictable; the weather forecasts on radio and TV stations are normally very accurate, so you can easily avoid finding yourself caught in a surprising downpour in the winter months. ===Public holidays=== Due to Lebanon's diverse religions and sects, many public holidays are celebrated, some of which more than once: * New Year's Day, Epiphany and Armenian Christmas (6 Jan) * Eid al-Adha – Feast of Sacrifice, celebrating the last day of Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca * Al Hijrah – Islamic New Year, Feast of St Maroun (9 Feb) * Mwalid Al Nabawai – Prophet's Anniversary, Good Friday and Easter Monday (Apr) * Labor Day (1 May) * Liberation of the South (25 May) * Assumption (15 Aug) * Eid al-Fitr – Festival of the Breaking of the Fast * All Saints' Day (1 Nov) * Independence Day (22 Nov) * Christmas Day (25 Dec) Based on the lunar calendar, Islamic holidays move forward approximately 11 days every Western year. ===Dress=== Anything goes in Beirut. Shorts and T-shirts are perfect for the summer heat, for both men and women, while heavier clothing is necessary during the winter. You should cover up if visiting religious sites, such as mosques and churches. Some neighbourhoods are more conservative than others, so bear that in mind when exploring the city. Going out at night is a smart affair, so dress fashionably to fit in, although this does not mean dressing up in a suit; you will find many men in sporty T-shirts, dark jeans, and smart running shoes at even the trendiest nightclubs. ==Talk== Beirut is very culturally diverse, and thus, multilingual. Lebanese Arabic is the native language, but everyone speaks Standard Arabic, the official language, while English and French (especially the former) are also spoken by most people. Shop signs are in both Standard Arabic, English and French. Most restaurant menus, event listings, and such are also in English alongside Standard Arabic and sometimes in French. Road signs, however, are in Standard Arabic and French. ==Get in== {{Mapframe|zoom=auto}} [[File:MEA Airbus A330-243 taking off at Beirut Airport.jpeg|220px|thumbnail|right|The easiest and most popular way to get to Beirut is by air.]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport | alt={{IATA|BEY}} | url=http://www.beirutairport.gov.lb | email= | address= | lat=33.821111 | long=35.488333 | directions=is located 7&nbsp;km south of Beirut, and is roughly a 10- to 15-minute drive from the city center | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport | image=BeirutAirport.jpg | wikidata=Q668329 | content=Is the country's only international airport and the hub of Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines ([https://www.mea.com.lb/english/home MEA]). Most international airlines have daily flights between Beirut and the major European capitals. }} Car parking is available at the airport for around US$2.5 per hour. The parking time is rounded to the upper hour (i.e. 1.1 hours is rounded up to 2 hours). '''Public transport''' There are regular public minivans (usually every five-ten minutes) that go to the Downtown area and to the Charles Helou Station from the airport. They are run by private individuals but are distinguished from normal vehicles by a red number plate (indicating that it is a public transport vehicle). There is no set bus stand outside the terminal, but it is outside the departures terminal upstairs. Rides cost $1 or LL1,500 ([[Lebanon#Mobey|lira]]). Both currencies are accepted. Wait outside the terminal and flag the vans down, as they may not stop. You pay when you leave. Tell the driver where you are going before entering and they will say yes or no. '''Airport taxis''' They are plentiful and comfortable taxis that are authorized by the airport are parked next to the terminal in the arrivals level and have an airport logo on the side ([http://www.beirutairport.gov.lb/_page.php?page_id=17 official airport taxi fares]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}). Although these taxis claim to be regulated by the airport authorities, they are definitely not honest in their rates. ====Regular taxis==== They are also available and are located a little farther from the airport, but these are not guaranteed and are to be used at your own risk. The approximate rate Airport–Hamra street is LL25,000. However, the so-called regulated taxis' drivers, will ask you anywhere between US$30 to 50 for any downtown locations. So, start bargaining from $10 and stop at $15 as the upper limit, both ways to and from the Airport. Uber works in Lebanon, and as of February 2016 they had a $14 fixed rate to/from the airport. Considering this is only a 7&nbsp;km long drive, and gas price is approx $1.5/litre in Beirut, this price is definitely a rip off that taxi drivers would not miss. Taxi types are wildly changing, so pick the best and newest looking ones to guarantee airconditioning, and collision safety. ====Car rental==== All major car rental companies have booking offices inside the airport. More information can be obtained through the [http://www.beirutairport.gov.lb/_page.php?page_id=16 airport's webpage on the topic]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. ===By car=== [[File:Centre-ville de Beyrouth.JPG|thumb|The Roman Baths garden (foreground) and buildings along Banks Street (background)]] Beirut is linked with all coastal cities through the coastal road. Entrances/exists off this road connect it to districts adjacent to the coast such as Maten and Kesrwen (and others). Beirut is linked to [[Zahle]] and [[Baalbek]] (and the rest of Bekaa) through Dahr Al-Baydar road (linked to Emile Lahoud highway at the entrance of Beirut]. There are four border crossing points between Lebanon and Syria: * Masnaa (''on the Beirut-Damascus Highway'') * Qaa (''at the northern edge of the Békaa Valley'') * Arida (''north of Tripoli along the coast'') * Aboudiyeh (''northeast of Tripoli''). You can travel between Lebanon and Syria by private/rental car, bus, private taxi, or service taxi. Stay updated with safety conditions in [[Syria]] if coming from there. There are no reports so far that border points were closed; however, check the news to stay up-to-date. ===By bus=== '''Charles Helou Station''' lies approximately 1 km east of Nejmeh Square, on Charles Helou Avenue, facing the Beirut Port. From there you can take the city buses or hop onto the larger coaches that link Beirut with the neighbouring cities. Buses connecting Beirut with the south of Lebanon arrive at an intersection next to the Cola bridge. The bus stop is known as "Cola" among the locals. This place is in the southern part of Beirut, in an area known as Mazraa. Buses connecting Beirut with the North of Lebanon as well as Aleppo in Syria leave from the Charles Helou Bus Station just north of the city centre. As of April 2014 most buses to and from Damascus in Syria have been relocated to the Charles Helou station. Be sure to check the security situation in Syria before leaving. ===By taxi=== Taxis to [[Damascus]], Syria are lined up at the Charles Helou bus station. The security situation between Beirut and Damascus has improved significantly in early 2014 (as of April 2014), but this does not mean that the trip can in any way be considered safe. If you must go, see [[war zone safety]]. Taxis in Beirut will drive you to anywhere along the coastal road, but may be reluctant to drive to [[Tripoli (Lebanon)|Tripoli]] given the security situation there. It is also possible to rent a taxi for the whole day for about the same prices at renting your own car. Refer to the [[Beirut#Get around|Get Around]] section for information on how to get to other parts of the city. ==Get around== ===By taxi=== There are two types of taxis in Beirut; the old (often) battered hail-taxis, and the prebooking taxis. * '''Hail-taxi''' — The most convenient form of transport in Beirut, as they are absolutely everywhere. Those taxis are predominantly Mercedes Benz cars (though due to increasing petrol prices, taxi drivers are opting for more economic forms or transport) and can be quite easily identified by their yellow illuminated taxi sign on the roof and red number plate. Fixed meters aren't provided so it is recommended to ask how much your trip will cost before hopping in. The fare will be charged per destination and not per distance travelled (which is an advantage since traffic is a big problem in the city). A typical journey from one side of Beirut to the other (roughly 3&nbsp;km) may cost LL10 000. Many taxi drivers speak at least a few words of English and French. Knowing the name of your destination in the local language may solve any misunderstanding. * '''Prebook taxi''' — These require that you call them and book a ride, they generally cost more but are much more luxurious and are normally air conditioned. All hotels should provide you with a taxi directory, if you wish to use this type of service. Taxi prices are considered cheap if compared to US and European taxis. Major taxi companies are: Geryes Taxi (+961 1-332747), Taxi Premiere (Tel 1260 or +961 1-389222). Allo Taxi (Tel 1213 or +961 1-366661), Keep in mind the '''names of the landmarks''' around the city, as they will come in handy when travelling by public transport (some drivers aren't that good at orienting!). ===By ''service''=== The more common form of transport, especially with daily commuters, as they are cheaper than the taxis, but ironically, are in fact the same. Service ''[ser-vee-s]'' are shared-taxis, the same taxis as above but shared between four or more people. The biggest advantage with the Service system is that the price of the ride is fixed at 2,000 L.L (€1). They come with drawbacks of course, and apart from having to share a small car with three other complete strangers (great for meeting new people actually), Service drivers may choose not to take you if you are not going in the same direction as them. Hailing a service or taxi usually entails yelling your destination to the driver if he slows down, then chasing the name of your destination with either 'taxi' (for private taxi LL10,000 should you want one.) It is important to remember that if you want a service, give the name of the general district you want and not a specific address. When you get close the driver will ask you where you want to get out. If you recognise the area you want to be in say just ask to stop. ''After'' you have paid you and the driver asks you, can give a more specific address like "Crowne Plaza" (a landmark on Hamra St.)and the driver will drop you as near to it as he is going, often pointing out where you have to walk to get there. When you get in to a service pay the LL2000 for each person right away. If you fail to do so, the driver will assume you asked for taxi, and will overcharge you at taxi-rate when you want to get out. However if the driver stops to ask for other fares or picks up another passenger only pay the Service rate of LL2,000. Taxi drivers in Beirut are notorious for overcharging tourists much more so than neighbouring Syria. Most will demand absurd fares and demanding 2-3 times the service rate is very common. If you're pressed for time paying 2 service may be a compromise (LL4000), otherwise you may have to wait a bit to find an honest cab driver willing to take you for LL2000. Always get a price ''before'' leaving otherwise the driver will most definitely rip you off. Also, virtually no one tips cab drivers unless some extraordinary service has been rendered, like a very long wait time while you run an errand or something. Some drivers will ask you for a tip particularly near holidays. Payment is usually at the end of the journey. ===By bus=== There are two public transport companies. The OCFTC that operates a fleet of blue and white city-buses, and the [http://www.lccworld.com/ LCC] with a fleet of red and white minibuses; Bus fares cost either LL500 (OCFTC bus 24) or LL1000. The service is very efficient and the buses come very often, to get onto a bus you must stand at the side of the road and signal with your hand as a bus approaches; the buses will stop anywhere. ===By car=== Driving in Beirut is not to be recommended for much of the day, particularly in the city centre. Traffic is heavy, and impossible during rush hour. Walking around the city is much more of an experience, and is in fact necessary in the very centre since that part of the city is a pedestrian area. It can be difficult to find parking other than in multi-story and off-street car parks. On-street parking, if you are lucky enough to find one, is allowed for a short time of two hours. Tickets must be purchased through the parking meters usually located at either end of a street. They can be paid by either cash or card. Overstaying your time may get you a ticket. Enforcement of the parking limit isn't done very efficiently, but obviously the last thing anyone would want to find is a ticket that will ruin their day and set them back financially. Renting a car is recommended if you're planning to visit neighbouring towns and cities, or if you're planning to go out late at night when public transport isn't operating. Car rental prices range from economical LL40,000/day to luxury prices. Those can change according to season, so make sure you contact the car rental company beforehand to check prices as well as pickup/drop-off locations. If you are travelling to the country during high season make sure to book your car rental in advance since it is normal to find that all rental companies are completely booked. Driving in Beirut is on the right-hand side of the road. Driving can be hazardous because of crowded grid, lack of proper signing, and aggressive driving style. Only the central areas of Beirut have traffic lights operating, though plans have been made to cover all of the city. ===By foot=== [[File:Corniche beirut 5.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Corniche of Beirut, An ideal place for walking]] As the city is quite compact, walking is the best way of getting around, and perfect for getting off the beaten track to find unexpected surprises. Most people however will not walk throughout the city, rather they will walk within certain districts and take cars/taxis to get from one district to another. Streets are generally well signposted, but few Beiruti locals would know how to navigate according to their names, directions are usually given by building placement ("straight down the road until you reach building X, turn left there, then right..."), and many streets have local nicknames that wouldn't match the map. That said, if you find yourself lost in the streets, simply ask any passer-by for directions; no one will refuse to help! Otherwise you can stop at the nearest hotel or shop and ask. Hotel concierges and shop keepers will most definitely speak some limited English. Some roads in Beirut are in poor condition. Not so much in the centre, but the farther you get from downtown the more road works you will most probably find. So take care! You can always check out a Beiruti-run walking tour called Walk Beirut. They offer weekly tours around the city. ===By bicycle=== Road blocks make [[cycling]] relatively safe the rest of the time as the result of reduced traffic. ==See== {{movetodistrict}} [[File:BeirutNejemah.jpg|thumb|Place d'Étoile]] Beirut was once the self-proclaimed "Paris of the Middle East". It still has an outdoor cafe culture, and European architecture can be found everywhere. Many Beirutis (as well as other Lebanese) speak French, English or both, to varying degrees, along with Arabic. Each district has its own sights and places to visit. The following listings are just some highlights of things that you really should see if you can during your visit to Beirut. The complete listings are found on each individual district page. ===Landmarks=== * '''Pigeon Rocks''' ([[Rawcheh]] District) A monumental natural arch jutting up from the Mediterranean. Great place to sit at one of the roadside cafes and watch the sun set. * '''Place de l'Etoile''' (Nejmeh Square)([[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] District), built by the French in the early 20th century in the very centre of the Downtown district, it suffered a lot of war damage during the war but has been restored. It is under heavy security given that the Parliament sieges in the middle of it, and there are many army and police barrages to limit the access thereto. * '''Martyr's Statue''' [[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] Martyr's Square, east of Nejmeh Square towards Ashrafieh. ===Museums and galleries=== [[File:National Museum of Beirut, Lebanon.jpg|thumb|National Museum of Beirut]] * {{see | name=National Museum of Beirut | alt= | url= | email= | address= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2915627 | lastedit= | content=The museum in South [[Beirut/Ashrafieh|Ashrafieh]] has artefacts ranging in date from prehistoric times to the medieval Mamluk period mainly dealing with Lebanon's archeology and history. }} * {{see | name=Sursock Museum | url=https://sursock.museum/ | wikidata=Q287360 | content=The museum in [[Beirut/Ashrafieh|Ashrafieh]] exhibits contemporary and modern art. The building is a perfect example of the typical 18th-century Lebanese palace. }} * '''Beirut Art Center''' ([[Sin El-Fil]] District), Rue. 97 (street), Sin El-Fil, Beirut. (''Contemporary Modern art''), the first non-profit public space in Beirut, housing an exhibition space, screening and performance auditorium, bookstore, mediatheque, cafe and terrace. Designed by architect Raed Abi Lama. +591 1 397 018. * {{listing | name=Matignon Gallery | alt=Lebanese and International contemporary art | url= | email= | address=Sin El Fil, Greater Beirut | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-500265, +961 1-484115 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-484115 | hours=M-F 10AM-6PM, Sa 10AM-2PM | price= | content= }} * {{see | name=Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut | alt= | url=https://www.aub.edu.lb/museum_archeo/Pages/default.aspx | email= | address= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4785443 | lastedit= | content=The museum in [[Hamra]] District is a museum of archeology and history. }} * {{listing | name=Musee Emmanuel Paul Guiragossian | alt= | url= | email=epguiragossian@yahoo.com | address=Emmanuel Guiragossian Art School, New Jdeideh, Greater Beirut | lat= | long= | directions=near Eden Hotel | phone=+961 3 711755 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }}. * {{see | name=The Silk Museum - Bsous | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/SilkMuseumBsous/ | email= | address= | lat=33.81788 | long=35.57227 | directions= | phone=+961 5 940 767 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | wikipedia=Bsous_Silk_Museum | lastedit=2020-09-25 | content=This might be good if you are into the silk industry. It is set in an old – you guessed it – silk factory. }} ===Parks and squares=== * '''Sanayeh Park''', Emmile Eddé Road, [[Hamra]], Beirut * '''Horsh Beirut''' ''(Beirut Pine Forest)'', (adjacent to the Beirut Hippodrome south of [[Ashrafieh]]) * '''Khalil Gebran Park''' [[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] District (between Amir Amine St. and Toufik Khaled St.) * '''Debbas Square''' Saifi village [[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] (between Charles Debbas St. and Dmascus St.) * '''Nejmeh Square''' Central [[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] * '''Herbal Garden''' Riad El Solh St. [[Beirut/Downtown|Downtown]] * '''American University of Beirut campus''' By far the biggest and greenest park in Beirut. Non-students are only allowed to enter through the main gate on Bliss Street in [[Hamra]]. Visitors are required to show ID. * '''Lebanese American University campus'''. While much smaller than AUB, the LAU campus in southern Hamra/Qoreitem is a cosy and quiet refuge from the busy streets of Beirut. ID is required to enter. ===Festivals and events=== {{infobox|Events|To stay up to date on Beirut's nightlife scene, visit any ''Virgin Megastores'' branch to ask about any upcoming events. Many live concerts are held throughout the year with international musicians and DJs. Beirut has hosted some of the world’s biggest names in Dance music such as Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Above and Beyond, Bob Sinclar, Hernan Cattaneo, James Zabiela, Cosmic Gate, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Nick Warren, Anthony Pappa, Sasha, John Digweed, Danny Howells, Steve Lawler and others. Alternatively keep an ear out for the radio or on underground party websites: * [http://www.nrjlebanon.com/ NRJ] ''(99 FM)'' * [http://www.mixfm.com.lb Mix FM] ''(104.4)''}} * {{see | name=Beirut International Film Festival | alt= | url=http://www.beirutfilmfestival.org | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Held annually in October, the Beirut Film Festival exhibits films from all over the Middle East, usually in either Arabic or French. The films vary enormously and some can be intensely political. }} * {{see | name=Beirut International Jazz Festival | alt= | url=http://www.bijf.radioonev5.com/index.php/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held annually during the month of July over a period of four days, some of the greatest international jazz artists as well as musicians from around Lebanon play some quality music near the Beirut marina. }} * {{see | name=Festival du cinéma francophone | alt= | url=https://www.metropoliscinema.net/page/home/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 293 212 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held between the month of March and April over a period of two weeks, films are in French. Cinéma Métropolis - Masrah Al Madina, Beirut. }} * '''One Big Sunday''', Beach party with live DJs held every Sunday during the summer months in various resorts and beaches, organised by [http://www.mixfm.com.lb Mix FM]. * '''Bacardi Night''', Annual festival held during the summer with some of the hottest DJs and bands from around the world, organised by [http://www.mixfm.com.lb Mix FM]. ==Do== {{movetodistrict}} There are many things to do in Beirut. Check the different districts to find out what each has to offer. Meanwhile, here are a few '''highlights:''' [[File:RivieraBeachClubBeirutS.jpg|thumb|250px|A Beach Club in Beirut. Most do not offer a sandy beach, however.]] * Bet on an Arabian thoroughbred every Sunday in the Beirut Hippodrome, officially called '''[http://www.beiruthorseracing.com/ Hippodrome Du Parc De Beyrouth]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. The hippodrome is home to popular horse races, attracting a dedicated betting crowd (often old taxi drivers). Foreigners should join the fun in the afternoon for free entrance (ID or passport required). Open on Sundays only. * Soak up the sun in one of the '''beach clubs''' on the Beirut coast. Very few actually have sandy beaches, and most unfortunately have been converted into spas with swimming pools and paved terraces, but despite all that, they all have access to the sea. A few of them are completely private and members-only, but can be accessed by paying for a guest ticket if going in with a member. The ''Saint George Yacht club'' in Ain El Mreisseh and the ''Riviera Beach and Yacht Club'' at the Riviera Hotel are two such popular clubs, where access to the beach club for non-members is US$20 per day. You can chill in one of the pools or have a drink at the bars and cafes while listening to music in the afternoons. Long Beach Club is another good place. The entrance is just to the left of the Ferris wheel on the Corniche right before the hill. Bring a beach towel. * {{do | name=Ramlet Al-Baida | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=33.8786 | long=35.4801 | directions= | phone=+961 71 799 869 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-09-25 | content=There is one at least one public beach though, right here. Lots of sand and pounding waves but sadly trash and pollution, maybe even some sewage releases into the water, too. Uff, at least you can watch the surf and sunset anyway. It is said to be a bit of a gay cruising spot too. }} [[File:Beirutcorniche.jpg|thumb|250px|The Corniche before sunset.]] * Test your golfing skills at {{listing | name=The Golf Club of Lebanon | alt=18 hole | url=http://www.golfcluboflebanon.com/ | email=info@golfcluboflebanon.com | address=Ouzai - Beer Hassan | lat= | long= | directions=next to Henry chehab barrack | phone=+961 1 826335-6-7 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1 822474 | hours= | price= | content= }} * Take a ride on the {{listing | name=Beirut Balloon | alt=30 passenger helium filled balloon, offering breathtaking views from an altitude of 300 m | url= | email= | address=Allenby St., Downtown Beirut | lat= | long= | directions=Entrance is through Biel Convention Centre. Look for it in the sky! | phone=+961 1 985901 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10AM-10PM | price= | content= }} * Walk, jog, skate, cycle, stroll (or whatever you consider exercise) along ''Paris Avenue'' which links up to ''General De Gaulle Avenue'' (both locally known simply as ''the corniche'') which stretch around the entire Central Beirut perimeter (approx. 5&nbsp;km). Start the walk, jog, skate etc... at the Beirut marina (''[[Downtown Beirut]] District'') about an hour or so before sunset and finish at the '''Pigeon Rocks''' in ''[[Rawcheh]]'', in time to watch the sun go down while sipping on a drink at one of the outdoor cafés. * '''Scuba Dive:''', With 300 sunny days a year, 36 shipwrecks, impressive walls, canyons, caves, Ray habitats and shark habitats, Beirut definitely has something to offer for a serious scuba diver. The French WWII submarine ''Le Souffleur'', the British freighter ''Alice B'' which sank during the civil war in the 1980s, The ''Macedonia'' freighter which sank in 1962 and the ''National Star'' freighter in 1991, the Mediterranean flagship of Admiral Sir George Tryon ''HMS Victoria'' which sank in 1893, The British ''Lesbian'' which sank during WWII, make just a few of Beirut's shipwreck collection. Historical cities dot ancient Phoenicia's shore, providing us today with many interesting submerged historical sites, some littered with Phoenician and Roman marble stones, granite columns, pathways, old stone anchors, amphorae and bits of pottery. There are several Dive Centers around Beirut: ** {{listing | name=Calypso Beirut Diving Club | alt= | url=http://www.calypsolb.com/ | email=info@calypso-lebanon.com | address=Movenpick Hotel & Resort, General de Gaulle Avenue, Raouche, Beirut | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 3-314557 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-785300 | hours= | price= | content= }} ** {{do | name=NISD | alt=National Institute for Scuba Diving | url=http://www.nisd-online.com/ | email=info@nisd-online.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 3-204422 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-739206) | hours= | price= | content=Solidere Beirut Marina, Downtown Beirut. }} ** {{do | name=LD | alt=Lebanon Divers | url=http://www.lebanondivers.com/ | email=info@lebanondivers.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-322826, +961 3-602614 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-329441 | hours= | price= | content=Mardelli Building 2nd Floor, Saide Street Ashrafieh. }} ** {{do | name=Atlantis | alt= | url=http://www.atlantisdivingcollege.com/ | email=dive@atlantisdivingcollege.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Bel Azur Hotel, Jounieh, Greater Beirut. }} ==Learn== * '''[http://www.allcs.edu.lb ALLC International House Beirut]''' — International House Beirut is the only school in the country to offer speaking-only courses in the Lebanese dialect, as well as the Cambridge CELTA (Certificate for Teaching English as a Foreign Language). IH Beirut also provides classes in Spanish, French, Italian, German and Modern Standard Arabic. * '''[http://www.aub.edu.lb AUB]''' — The American University of Beirut is a major university with over 6,900 students located on a 73-acre campus overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. * '''[https://www.aust.edu.lb AUST]''' — American University of Science and Technology * '''[http://www.haigazian.edu.lb Haigazian University]''' (Arabic: جامعة هايكازيان, Armenian: Հայկազեան Համալսարան) — The only Armenian university in the Armenian diaspora. English is the main language of instruction although the university has an Armenological Department for studies in Armenian. It offers programs in English leading to Bachelor's degrees in the Arts and Sciences as well as Business Administration and Economics, in addition to Master's degrees in the Arts, Sciences and Business Administration. * '''[http://www.lau.edu.lb LAU]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' — The Lebanese American University is an American institution. LAU has two campuses: one in Beirut, and a second in the Mount Lebanon city of Jbeil (Byblos). The university offers programs leading to Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's degrees in the arts and sciences, and Doctorates in Pharmacy. LAU is the only institution outside of the United States with an ACPE-accredited pharmacy program. * '''[http://www.ul.edu.lb Lebanese University]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' — (Arabic: الجامعة اللبنانية‎, French: Université Libanaise) is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. Founded in 1951, it has 16 faculties as of 2018 and comprises various cultural, religious, and social groups of students and teachers. * '''[http://www.lak.edu.lb Lycee Abdel Kader]''' — A private French Lycée in the traditional area of Karakol El Druze near Beirut downtown: it is particularly known for offering French and Lebanese baccalaureates and for its highly competent students and staff. It is ranked among the top 5 private schools in Lebanon with a 100% success rate in the French Bac. * '''[http://www.saifiarabic.com Saifi Institute for Arabic Language]''' — The most well-known of Lebanon's Arabic language schools. It is located in the Saifi Urban Gardens campus in Beirut's Gemazye district. Saifi Institute hosts around 120 students per 5-week term throughout the year. Courses are offered in the spoken and written communication of daily life (Saifi's own curriculum called "Urban Arabic"), as well as Modern Standard Arabic. * '''[http://www.usj.edu.lb USJ]''' (Université Saint-Joseph) — A private university founded in 1875. ==Buy== {{movetodistrict}} '''Clothes and fashion''' - Beirut is the fashion capital of Lebanon and the region, with many prominent Lebanese designers located here, including ([http://www.eliesaab.com Elie Saab], [http://www.basilsoda.com Basil Soda]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, [http://www.pierrekatra.com Pierre Katra] and [http://www.robert-abinader.com Robert AbiNader]{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}.) ===Shopping streets=== There are several shopping districts around the city. * '''Downtown Beirut''' — The renovated city centre boasts fancy and designer stores. * '''Hamra Street''' — An area featuring much revitalization over the last few years, with many international and upscale brands returning to the district. * '''Mar-Elias Street''' — A busy street towards the south of Beirut. Many of the shops are Lebanese brands which means this is the perfect place to find bargains as most brands are local and cheap. * '''Rue. Verdun''' — A shopping street with several high-end shopping malls and department stores. ===Shopping centres=== * {{buy | name=ABC Mall | alt= | url=http://www.abc.com.lb/ | email= | address=Achrafieh Alfred Naccache Street, Mar Mitr | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 212888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Many international brands are here along with great restaurants, cafés, and a movie theatre all in a mixed indoor/outdoor setting. }}A second branch of this mall has also opened in Verdun Street. * '''Souks de Beirut''' is a mall in downtown with international brands in an outdoor setting. * {{buy | name=Beirut Mall | alt= | url=http://www.beirutmall.com.lb | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 385888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Tayouneh roundabout. }} * '''ABC Outlet''', Hamra street, facing Cinema strand, +961 1 344740. Women's specialty store. Open M-Sa 9:45AM-7:45PM, closed Sunday. * '''City Mall''', Dora highway roundabout, Greater Beirut, +961 1 905555. 100 stores, 15 cafés and restaurants, a Hypermarket, and 9 movie theaters. *'''Music, books, event tickets:''' ''Virgin Megastores'' has several branches in Beirut including: Beirut International Airport, City Mall (Dora roundabout), ABC department stores (Ashrafieh, Verdun, Dbayye), Beirut Souks. ===Markets=== Flea markets are surprisingly hard to find, occasional organized markets are held that are made to resemble flea markets. * '''Souk El Tayeb''' Held every Saturday near BIEL downtown 9AM-2PM, is Beirut's first organic farmer's market. Promoting traditional methods of farming and preserving, it's a great place to pick up local honey, cheese and breads, plus artisans' crafts. It also runs regular cookery classes, to learn how to make that perfect tabouleh (bulgur salad). * '''Sunday Market''' Get up early and join the locals for a rummage at the Sunday Market which is open 7AM-1PM, next to Beirut River in the east. You might find antique jewellery, clothing and beads, or maybe just bric-à-brac, but there's an eclectic selection of goodies on show. Remember to bargain hard. * '''Burj Hammoud''' Beirut's Armenian quarter, perfect place to shop for cheap bric-à-brac, artisan's' crafts, souvenirs, copper and brass ware and faus-brands. Don't forget to haggle. Burj Hammoud is located to the East of ashrafieh across the Beirut river. ===Money=== [[File:2015-06-06 11-23-31 monnaie - 2.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|On both sides of all the banknotes and coins of Lebanese pound, written in Arabic and French.]] * '''Cash:''' Lebanese pounds (LL) and US dollars are both accepted everywhere, except for tiny number of government offices. Payment and change for transactions may be given as a combination of the two. The exchange rate is fixed at LL91,000 to US$1 (as of 2024). Beware of exchange money in Lebanon in 2024, if you exchange money in the bank they will still use the old rate which is one tenth the real rate due to inflation, so don't exchange money in the bank. * '''Payment cards:''' Many shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, etc., accept international payment cards such as Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or American Express. * '''Automatic bank tellers:''' Withdrawal can be made from any automatic bank teller found in any region of the country. Withdrawals can be made in either Lebanese lira or the US dollar. * '''Traveler's checks:''' Lebanese banks can exchange them very easily. ==Eat== ===Lebanese cuisine=== Lebanese cuisine is a mix of Arab, Turkish and Mediterranean influences, and enjoys a worldwide reputation for its richness and variety as well as its Mediterranean health factor. Olive oil, herbs, spices, fresh fruits and vegetables are commonly used, as well as dairy products, cereals, fishes and various types of meat. A visit to Beirut includes the traditional '''Lebanese Mezze''' ''(Meza)'', an elaborate variety of thirty hot and cold dishes. A typical Mezze may consist of salads such as the ''Tabboule'' and ''Fattouch'', together with the caviars: ''Hommos'' and ''Moutabal'', and some patties such as the ''Sambousseks'' and finally, the stuffed grape leaves, with of course the Lebanese flat pita bread which is essential to every Lebanese Mezze. '''Must try:''' * '''Mankoushé/Manakish:''' a Lebanese pizza, or at least that's what it looks like, the ''Mankoushé'' is a baked pizza-shaped dough with either a mixture of thyme (called za'atar) or local cheeses (or a mixture of both) on top, can be bought from all bakeries as well as special ''Forn Mankhoushé'' which specialize in this type of food, usually had for breakfast. cost between LL1,000 and LL3,000. * '''Ka'ek:''' a different version of bagels, about 30 cm in diameter and hollow, normally filled with thyme but you can ask for cheese spread as well. Commonly purchased from street vendors that ride bicycles or motorized scooters and honk a manual horn, but you can also find it at major bakeries. Although not of Lebanese origins, they're quite popular and are always found near Rawcheh area, they're worth a try. Cost about LL1,000. * '''Roastery Nuts:''' roasted nuts are them local favourite appetizers particularly with the older people. Local brands have dedicated roasteries where customers walk in and order fresh, they produce some of the best nuts in the region, and certainly the most varied. Pecans, cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, peanuts. Ask for ''Krikri'' in thyme, spice, or cheese flavour. * '''Sweets:''' every religious or national event sees stalls set up on pavements outside churches and in public squares, where traditional Lebanese sweets are sold such as: ''Maamoul, Ktaef, Halawet el Jibn, Halawet el Riz, and Ashta''. If you're lucky enough to come across those be sure to give them all a try, otherwise visit any påtisserie where the same sweets can be purchased. ===International cuisine=== Beirut's different cultures brought different tastes for food, and restaurants of all different origins have opened all around the city. Restaurants have different price ranges, depending of course on the quality of the ingredients used; check the different districts for the listings. ===Fast food=== If you're on a tight budget, or if you simply miss the food that you can get back at home, fast food is your best option. All major international fast food restaurants have opened chains in Beirut (KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, Hardee's, Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway), but many local fast food restaurants have sprung up to compete with the major franchisers. ==Drink== {{movetodistrict}} '''Nightlife:''' Alcohol is readily available in Beirut. Many of Beirut's districts have their own fair number of cafes, bars, and clubs, although many areas are "dry" or, while serving alcohol, do not have a vibrant nightlife. This said, two of the hotter nightspots, with the highest concentration of pubs and nightclubs, are Gemmayze (mostly pubs) and Monot St (mix of nightclubs and pubs), both located within close range in the [[Ashrafieh]] district. [[Hamra]] is also seeing a revival in its nightlife, with over a dozen new pubs and bars open there now. The best way to find out what's in and what's not is by checking the local press or simply going there and seeing for yourself. There is no curfew in Beirut, thought expect most pubs and bars to empty by 2AM, and most nightclubs to empty between 4AM and 4:40AM. During the summer, Monot tends to be much less busy, as many open-air clubs outside of the area tend to dominate the nightlife in Beirut. Gemmayzeh remains popular year-round. * SkyBar in Biel, next to downtown, is an open-air nightclub. It may be the hottest nightclub in Beirut, and has a view overlooking the Sea. It is closed during the winter months. * Iris. A rooftop bar on top of the an-Nahar newspaper building, with an outdoor area overlooking the sea, downtown, and the mountains. Locally brewed beer include [http://www.almaza-beer.com/ ''Almaza''] and ''Laziza'' (non-alcoholic). There is also a microbrewery that started producing several styles of more flavorful beer in 2006, called [http://www.961beer.com/ "961 Beer"]{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. "LB Beer", which is brewed without the use of any corn or rice. it has gained a large following by the younger, independent minded crowd and is a regular staple at locally organized parties. All are worth a try when visiting. ==Sleep== There are lots of hotels in Beirut's metropolitan area, ranging from cheap hostels to luxury suite hotels. Prices and quality vary across the spectrum, but if you look well enough, there's bound to be the perfect hotel inside whatever budget you set. Check the different [[Beirut#Districts|districts]] to find places to sleep. ==Stay safe== {{warningbox |See the general warning for [[Lebanon]]. |lastedit=2025-08-2 }} Photography of military personnel and installations is prohibited. You should also be careful in taking photographs in the Dahiyeh (the southern suburbs), if you don't want to get in contact with Hezbollah. The safest thing is to ask an official nearby for permission, although your request will very likely be turned down. Keep your camera in a purse just for safety. If a Hezbollah official approaches you, seeing your camera, he can't know if you've been taking pictures before that. Should you be taken in for questioning (because of taking pictures), remain calm. It might take a long time getting out of it, but it's highly unlikely that things should escalate or turn ugly. Bottom line: consider not bringing your camera at all. A trip to Dahiyeh is way too interesting and different to be spent getting questioned by the authorities. Avoid any governmental or military convoys that may be passing by. Lebanese people have adapted to all those situations. Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut are approachable, but try to bring a local, who will be worth a lot when it comes to logistics and safety. Camps vary in size and appearance (the camps in Beirut are worse than some rural camps, which can resemble more open villages). Most refugees however are both civil and open in the encounter with foreigners. The key is of course openness on your part as well. Of course, Downtown Beirut will always be a more safe alternative, but for the most part you won't encounter any problems while in a refugee camp. ==Cope== ''' Crime ''' Beirut sees no more criminal activity than any other major city, if not less. Be aware of pickpockets and scams involving overpricing. The last is mostly a problem concerning taxi drivers, so be sure always to agree on a price before setting off. ''' Health ''' If you are unlucky enough to fall ill, head straight for the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), also known as AUH, (near the AUB campus) - you will need to pay around US$40 upfront (cash or major credit card) and be reimbursed later by your insurer. Pharmacies in Lebanon are able to prescribe drugs on-the-spot. While this is likely to be a boon for a minority of travelers, it can leave you even more ill than when you came in to begin with. Don't chance it - see a doctor first. ''' City stress ''' Escaping to the mountains near Beirut is a good option for those about to burn-out. Aley and Beit Mery are both near enough to the city (20–30 minutes) and are generally clean and green. ===Embassies=== * {{flag|Czech Republic}} {{listing | name=Czech Republic | alt= | url=http://www.mzv.cz/beirut | email=beirut@embassy.mzv.cz | address=St. Bechara Church Street, Baabda | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 5 929 010, +961 3 332 291 (emergencies) | tollfree= | fax=+961 5 922 120 | hours=M W F 8:30AM-noon | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/lebanon-liban/ | email=berut@international.gc.ca | address=First Floor, Coolrite Building, 43 Jal El Dib Highway | lat=33.90955 | long=35.57837 | directions= | phone=+961 4 726700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | url=http://www.mfa.gov.eg/arabic/embassies/Egyptian_Embassy_Lebanon/Pages/Default.aspx | email= | address=4653, Dr. Muhammad El-Bethri Street beside Engineering Syndicate | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 859977 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-4PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | url=https://lb.ambafrance.org | email= | address=Espace des Lettres - Bâtiment A - Rue de Damas | lat= | long= | directions=in front of USJ | phone=+961 1 420100 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1 420107 | hours=8AM-noon | price= | content= |alt=|wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-02-26}} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | url=http://www.beirut.diplo.de | email= | address=B.P. 11-2820 Riad El-Solh (Maghzal Bldg) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 4 935 000, +961 3 600 053 (emergencies) | tollfree= | fax=+961 4 935 001 | hours=M-F 7:30AM-11:30AM and M-Th 12:30PM-2:30PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | url=http://www.mfa.gr/beirut | email=gremb.bei@mfa.gr | address=Nouvelle Naccache, Rue des Ambassades, Immeuble Boukhater (P.O.Box 11-0309) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 4 521 700, +961 7071994 (emergencies) | tollfree= | fax=+961 4 418 774 | hours=9AM-4PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambbeirut.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Beirut | email=amba.beirut@esteri.it | address=Rue du Palais Presidentiel 2902 2633 - Baabda | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 5 954955 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/countries/lebanon | email=bei@minbuza.nl | address=Avenue Charles Malek 2073-0802 - Achrafieh | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 1211150 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 7:30AM-3:30PM and Consular department M-F 9AM-12:30PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Philippines}} {{listing | name=Philippines | alt= | url= | email=beirutpe@dfa.gov.ph | address=Bldg No. 29 Plot No. 511 Charles Malik Ave Achrafieh | lat= | long= | directions=across Roadster Diner | phone=+961 1 212-001 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | url=http://beirut.mae.ro/ | email=beirut@mae.ro | address=Route du Palais Présidentiel Baabda | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 5 924848, +961 5 924849 | tollfree= | fax=+961 5 924747 | hours= | price= | content=Embassy }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | url= | email=ambassade.beyrouth@mfa.gov.tr | address=Rabieh, Zone II, 1st Street, Metn | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 452 09 29, +961 452 09 39 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | url=http://ukinlebanon.fco.gov.uk/en/ | email=beirut.consular@fconet.fco.gov.uk | address=Embassies Complex, Armies St, Zkak Al-Blat, Serail Hill | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 9608 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://lb.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=In Awkar facing the municipality | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ===Radio stations=== Radio in Beirut is quite popular, particularly with the younger people who listen to the English-spoken stations as all events and concerts are advertised through those. Arabic and French broadcasted stations are plentiful, and are worth a listen if you'd like to experience the traditional culture. Below are radio stations that are broadcasted in English: * '''[http://www.nrjlebanon.com/ NRJ]''' ''(99.1FM)'' * '''Mix FM''' ''(104,4FM)'' * '''[https://tunein.com/radio/Radio-One-1055-s14234/ Radio One]''' ''(105.5FM)'' * '''[http://www.bbcworldservice.com/ BBC World Service] (in English)''' ''(1323AM)'' ===Newspapers=== Official ''Newsboxes'' can be found throughout the commercial areas in the city, mainly in Sassine Square ashrafieh, Verdun st. Verdun, Concorde st. Hamra. All Minimarkets/Supermarkets/Hypermarkets distribute newspapers and magazines as well. * '''[http://www.dailystar.com.lb/ The Daily Star]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' Independent daily English-language newspaper covering local, national and international news. * '''[http://www.lorient-lejour.com.lb/ L'Orient Le Jour]''' a popular independent French-language newspaper. * '''[http://www.addiyar.com/ Ad Diyar]''' a popular independent Arabic-language newspaper. * '''[http://www.al-akhbar.com Al Akhbar]''' a popular Arabic-language newspaper. * '''[http://www.alanwar.com/ Al Anwar]''' a popular Arabic-language newspaper. * '''[http://www.aljoumhouria.com/ Al Joumhouria]''' a popular Arabic-language newspaper. * '''[http://www.almustaqbal.com/ Al Mustaqbal]''' a popular Arabic-language newspaper. * '''[https://www.annahar.com/ An Nahar]''' a popular Arabic-language newspaper. There is a huge variety of Arabic newspapers of all sorts, as well as ethnic newspapers such as the Armenianllanguage dailies ''[http://www.aztagdaily.com/ Aztag]'', ''[http://www.araraddaily.com/ Ararad]'' and ''[http://www.zartonkdaily.com/ Zartonk]{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''. ===Hospitals=== {{infobox|Emergency number|Dial '''112'''}} * {{listing | name=American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) | alt=Internal medicine, General surgery, Heart surgery, Maternity, Pediatrics, Urology, Ophthalmology, Specialized Eye center, Family medicine, Intensive care unit, Physiotherapy, Blood bank, Pharmacy, Laboratory, and Emergency services. | url=http://www.aubmc.org | email=aubmc@aub.edu.lb | address=Makdissi Street, Hamra | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1 350-000 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-345325 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Hotel Dieu Hospital: | alt=Internal Medicine, General Surgery -Heart Surgery, Kidney, Liver and Bone marrow transplant, Maternity, Pediatrics, Intensive Care Units, One day surgery, Outpatient care, Diagnostic procedures, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, blood bank, Medical Imaging services, Radiation Oncology, Hem dialysis, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Emergency services. | url=http://www.hdf.usj.edu.lb | email=hdf@usj.edu.lb | address=Adib Ishak Street, BVD. Alfred Naccache, Achrafieh, | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-615300, +961 1-615400 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-615295 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Saint George Hospital University medical center: | alt=internal medicine, general surgery, heart surgery, maternity, pediatrics, intensive care unit, physiotherapy, blood bank, pharmacy, laboratory and emergency services. | url=http://www.stgeorgehospital.org | email=admin@stgeorgehospital.org | address=Rmeil, Youssef Sursock street, Achrafieh | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-585700, +961 1-525700 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-582560 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Clinique Dr. Rizk Hospital: | alt=Services Provided: Internal medicine, surgery, maternity, pediatrics, kidney transplant, specialized eye center, intensive care unit, physiotherapy, pharmacy, laboratory and emergency services. | url=http://www.cliniquerizk.com/ | email=info@cliniquerizk.com | address=Zahar St., Achrafieh, P.O. Box: 11-3288, Beirut | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-200800, +961 1-328800 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-200816 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Makassed Hospital: | alt= | url=http://www.makassed.org.lb | email=mghadmin@cyberia.net.lb | address=Ouzai St., Tarik Al-Jadida, P.O. Box: 6301, Beirut | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-646590 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-646589 | hours= | price= | content=Internal medicine, surgery, bone marrow transplant, maternity, pediatrics, intensive care unit, physiotherapy, blood bank, pharmacy, laboratory and emergency services. }} * {{listing | name=Najjar Hospital: | alt= | url= | email=najjarhp@inco.com.lb | address=Maamari Street, Ras Beirut | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-340626, +961 3-669911 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-343992 | hours= | price= | content=Internal medicine, Surgery, Maternity, Pediatrics, Intensive care unit, Blood bank, Pharmacy, Laboratory and Emergency services. }} * {{listing | name=Sahel Hospital: | alt= | url=http://www.sahelhospital.com.lb | email=info@sahelhospital.com.lb | address=Airport Ave., Dergham Street, P.O.Box: 99/25, Ghobeiry | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-858333 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-840146 | hours= | price= | content=Internal medicine, general surgery, maternity, intensive care unit, physiotherapy, blood bank, pharmacy, laboratory and emergency services. }} * {{listing | name=Trad Hospital and Medical Center: | alt=| url= | email= | address=: Mexico Street, Fifth Floor, Clemenceau, Hamra | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-341740, +961 1-369494, +961 1-369495 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-361663 | hours= | price= | content=Internal medicine, surgery, maternity, pharmacy, and laboratory services. }} * {{listing | name=Fuad Khoury Hospital: | alt= | url=http://bmg.com.lb/ | email=ffhosp67@dm.net.lb | address=Maktabi Bldg., Abdelaziz Street, Hamra | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-742140, +961 1-348811 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-350208 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-06-12| content=Internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, blood bank, pharmacy, laboratory and emergency services. }} * {{listing | name=Barbir Hospital: | alt= | url= | email=barbir@terra.net.lb | address=Fuad The First Street, Barbir | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-652915, +961 1-652955 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-631429 | hours= | price= | content=Internal medicine, surgery, maternity, pediatrics, intensive care unit, physiotherapy, blood bank, pharmacy, laboratory and emergency services. }} ==Connect== Many cafés and restaurants provide free '''Wi-Fi''' to customers. '''Internet cafés''' are plentiful in Beirut, and they should all provide printing and copying services as well as web surfing. The inner-city internet cafés tend to be more expensive (approx US$2–3/hr) than those in the residential areas (approx $0.50/hr), but are also usually 'nicer' e.g. providing a faster internet connection with new fast computers: * {{listing | name=GDS Global Data Systems | url=http://www.gds.com.lb | email=mail@gds.com.lb | address=Sodeco Square, ground floor Sodeco Street, Ashrafieh | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-615578 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1-615578 | hours=10AM to 11PM | price=US$2.5 per hour | content= }} * {{listing | name=GDSonline | url= | email=gdsonline@hotmail.com | address=Downtown,Maarad street,287B. Beirut central district | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+961 1-970121 | tollfree= | fax=+961 1 970121 | hours=11AM till 1AM | price=US$2.5 per hour | content= }} '''[http://www.ogero.gov.lb/Published/EN/payphonecards1.html Payphones]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' can be found on all main streets all around the city, however, they can only take smart cards called ''Telecarte'' which provide a specific amount of prepaid calling time and can be used from any payphone. ''Telecarte'' denominations come in LL10,000 and LL30,000. ''Telecarte'' can be purchase at OGERO Sales Offices and MoT offices (most Minimarkets/Supermarkets/Hypermarkets as well as Mobile phone stores sell them). Telecarte: * allows you to save 10% on International Direct Calls. * allows you to make national calls to any regular line at 100 LL/min. * allows you to make national calls to any cellular line at 300 LL/min. '''GSM Phones''' can be used in Lebanon, either through roaming (beware of roaming charges from your home country operator), or by purchasing a local SIM card through one of the two telecom operators [http://www.alfa.com.lb Alfa]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} and [http://www.touch.com.lb touch]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Prepaid SIM cards can be purchased for as little as US$25 and 3G mobile data plans can be purchased for as low as $10 for 150MB. In order to use a local SIM card with your own phone in Lebanon, you should ensure that it is: * Not locked to your current carrier * Enabled for use in Lebanon. In order to do that, please visit the telco help desks at Beirut Airport upon arrival, follow the signs that will lead you to those desks. ==Go next== Once you leave Beirut, visit any of the other cities in [[Lebanon]]. The country is relatively small, so no single journey to any other city should take more than two hours. Archaeological sites and architectural heritage include [[Baalbek]], [[Byblos]], [[Sidon]], [[Tripoli (Lebanon)|Tripoli]], and [[Tyre]]. Most of these cities are [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]s. Other sites of notable interest are [[Jeita|Jeita caves]], [[North_Lebanon|Qadisha valley with its monasteries]], and [[Zahle]]. Depending on the season visiting, you can [[Skiing in Lebanon|go skiing]] in one of the six mountain resorts, or go to the beaches in Tyr or one of the beach resorts in [[Jounieh]]. Buses that head north to the city of Tripoli, or to Syria and Jordan, operate from the '''Charles Helou bus station''', which is also the station for long-distance taxis that link Beirut to neighboring cities as well as Syria and Jordan. Charles Helou is located next to Port of Beirut. It can be difficult to understand the main bus routes at first but you can always ask, bus drivers are like everybody else in Lebanon, friendly and may be able to communicate in English or French. Buses that head south to Sidon or Tyre leave from the Cola intersection. {{geo|33.886944|35.513056|zoom=12}} {{IsPartOf|Lebanon}} {{usablecity}} ek6pya76smqy4tbwd9dfci07i1gd659 0 3287 5298500 5269624 2026-06-25T19:43:36Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298500 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Belize banner Caye with beach huts and palm trees.jpg|caption=Caye with beach huts and palm trees.|pgname=Belize|unesco_whs=yes|origin=-0.7,0}} '''Belize''' offers world-class attractions include exploring the lush jungles with exotic plants and animals, deep sea fishing, swimming, snorkelling and diving in the Caribbean Sea with its attractive reefs and visiting the Mayan ruins. While income levels are still very low and the infrastructure is very basic, Belizeans are very proud and friendly to visitors as the tourist industry grew greatly in the last decade. It is the only country in mainland [[Central America]] with English as its official language. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=Belize Regions map.png | regionmapsize=350px | regionmaptitle=Map of Belize | region1name=[[Northern Belize]] | region1color=#578E86 | region1description=Districts of Corozal (coastal) and Orange Walk (inland). | region2name=[[Belize District]] | region2color=#71B37B | region2description=Home of the largest city, the airport and a host of popular offshore islands. | region3name=[[Cayo]] | region3color=#558355 | region3description=Teeming with adventure, this central district is filled with jungles, caves, rivers and Mayan ruins. | region4name=[[Stann Creek]] | region4color=#6BA6CD | region4description=Coastal region south of Belize District, access to quiet reef islands and boats to and from Honduras. | region5name=[[Toledo (district)|Toledo]] | region5color=#B2C8A2 | region5description=Southern coastal/inland region with more Mayan ruins and boats to Guatemala. }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#578E86|title=[[Northern Belize]]|wikidata=Q14208400}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#71B37B|title=[[Belize District]]|wikidata=Q506056}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#558355|title=[[Cayo]]|wikidata=Q508773}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#6BA6CD|title=[[Stann Creek]]|wikidata=Q502652}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#B2C8A2|title=[[Toledo (district)|Toledo]]|wikidata=Q506049}} ==Cities== * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Belmopan]]|wikidata=Q3043}} - inland capital * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Belize City]]|wikidata=Q108223}} - Belize's largest city, on the Caribbean Sea * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Corozal Town]]|wikidata=Q882907}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Crooked Tree]]|wikidata=Q5187866}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Dangriga]]|wikidata=Q888300}} - Large Garifuna town in the south, formerly known as Stann Creek Town * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hopkins (Belize)|Hopkins]]|wikidata=Q5900602}} - Garifuna village * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Orange Walk Town]]|wikidata=Q882964}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Punta Gorda (Belize)|Punta Gorda]]|wikidata=Q883362}} - Beautiful, quiet port town in the South; home to a complex and diverse Amerindian market on the weekends * {{marker|type=city|name=[[San Ignacio (Belize)|San Ignacio]]|wikidata=Q724815}} - Known as Cayo to locals, Maya and Hispanic influence near the Guatemala border ==Other destinations== [[File:Altunha.jpg|thumb|Altun Ha]] * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Ambergris Caye]]|wikidata=Q457186}}–- large barrier island in the north * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Caye Caulker]]|wikidata=Q1051967}} – smaller barrier island in the north * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Placencia Peninsula]]|wikidata=Q14229496}} – long peninsula (almost an island) off Stann Creek * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Tobacco Caye]]|wikidata=Q7811458}} – a tiny island popular with budget travellers ===Maya ruins === * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Altun Ha]]|wikidata=Q446176}} * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Caracol]]|wikidata=Q1035336}} * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Lamanai]]|wikidata=Q968562}} * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Lubaantun]]|wikidata=Q529147}} * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Xunantunich]]|wikidata=Q1646630}} ==Understand== {{quickbar| location=LocationBelize.png}} Belize, formerly ''British Honduras'', is the only country in [[Central America]] without a coastline on the Pacific Ocean (only the [[Caribbean]] Sea to its east). With its British colonial history and a long Caribbean coast, it's culturally similar to many of Britain's former West Indian ''island'' colonies, with a majority creole or Afro-Caribbean population. But it also includes a large native Mayan population, especially in the north and northwest of the country. As a result, although English is the official language, [[Spanish]] is also often spoken. In the south east along the Caribbean coast live the Garifuna (Black Caribs), an Afro-Amerindian culture. After long journeys starting in what is now the Netherlands in 1790, via Germany, Southern Russia, Canada, the United States, and Mexico, several thousand German-speaking Mennonite Christians arrived in Belize in 1958 after long and detailed discussions with the government regarding specific exemptions and privileges. They are easily recognizable by their speech (somewhat distinctive from modern standard German) and "quaint" dress. Marine tourism is the cornerstone of Belize's economy, driven primarily by the Belize Barrier Reef, the second-largest coral reef system in the world and a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. Key local marine attractions are primarily accessed via the Northern Cayes or the Southern Peninsula. ===History=== [[File:Beautiful pier Caye Caulker Belize (21401259271).jpg|thumb|Pier in Caye Caulker]] Like the neighbouring parts of Guatemala and Mexico, this area was settled for thousands of years by the Maya people. They are still here, an important part of Belize's people and culture. While the Spanish Empire claimed the area in the 16th century, the Spanish made little progress in settling here. The British settled first on the coast and offshore islands for logging. In 1798 British Belizean forces defeated a Spanish attempt to drive them out in the Battle of St. George's Caye, an anniversary still celebrated as a holiday each 10 September. The colony of British Honduras grew in the 19th century. At first Africans were brought in as slaves, but slavery was abolished here in 1838. Following the abolition of slavery, the British would bring indentured [[India]]n labourers to the colony to supplement the labour pool, and their descendants remain a significant minority to this day. Many refugees from the 19th-century Caste War of [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]] escaped the conflict to settle in Belize, especially the northern section. The government of Guatemala has long claimed to have inherited the 15th-century Spanish claim to Belize. Although the British were willing to grant independence to British Honduras as early as the mid-1960s, this ongoing dispute played a major role in delaying full Belizean independence until 1981, long after London granted independence to other former colonies in the region. Guatemala refused to recognize an independent Belize at all until 1991, and to this day lays claim to virtually all Belizean territory south of Belize City. The topic remains a sensitive one, particularly in the southern half of Belize. Belize escaped the bloody civil conflicts of the 1980s that engulfed much of Central America, and refugees from the conflict in Guatemala arrived, mostly settling in the west. While Belize has not been immune to the rampant drug crime and grinding poverty of its neighbours, it is a comparatively safe destination in a conflict-prone part of the world. Belize shares particularly close diplomatic and economic ties with both the United Kingdom and the United States. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy as the old agricultural products — sugar, banana, and oranges — have lost ground. The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increased urban crime. In 2006, commercial quantities of oil were discovered in the Spanish Lookout area. ===Climate=== Tropical, very hot and humid. The dry season typically lasts from February to May and then the rainy season typically lasts through to November. Hurricanes that bring coastal flooding, especially in the south, are prevalent from June to November. ===Terrain=== The flat coastal plain is swampy with low mountains in the south. The highest point is Victoria Peak at 1,160&nbsp;m. ===Visitor information === * [https://www.travelbelize.org/ Travel Belize] website. ==Talk== As a former British colony, the official language of Belize is standard British English, which makes Belize stand out from its Spanish-speaking neighbours. [[Spanish]], Garifuna (Carib) and the Maya languages/dialects of Kekchi, Mopan and Yucatec are spoken in various parts of the country. Spanish is widely used as the first language in northern and western parts of the country. So-called "kitchen Spanish," an amalgam of Spanish and English, is common on [[Ambergris Caye]]. Belizean Creole, which has a certain degree of mutual intelligibility with standard English, is widely spoken as well. Most Belizeans are proficient in English and at least one of these other languages. Many Belizeans speak a mix of Creole and English among friends, and standard English to foreigners. The strong Caribbean accent may take some getting used to. ==Get in== [[File:Visa policy of Belize.svg|thumb|450px|Visa free entry = countries marked in blue]] ===Entry requirements=== All visitors are required to have sufficient funds, US$75 per day, and documents required for their next destination. If entering by land from Mexico, you will be charged a fee of M$533 ([[Mexico#Money|Mexican pesos]]) (as of May 2018) by Mexican immigration '''unless''' you can show proof that you paid the immigration fee when you entered Mexico. Your FMM tourist card is not enough. If you crossed at a land border, you'll need the actual receipt from when you paid the fee. If you reached Mexico via a commercial flight, you've may have already paid the fee with your airfare, but the border guards here do not care. You might be able to convince them if you have a print-out of an itemized receipt from the airline showing that this specific fee was included. ====Visa-free==== Nationals who hold passports or refugee documents from all [[European Union]] member states, [[Andorra]], [[Antigua and Barbuda]], [[Argentina]], [[Australia]], the [[Bahamas]], [[Barbados]], [[Botswana]], [[Brazil]], [[Brunei]], [[Canada]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Dominica]], [[El Salvador]], [[Eswatini]], [[Fiji]], the [[Gambia]], [[Ghana]], [[Grenada]], [[Guatemala]], [[Guyana]], [[Honduras]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Iceland]], [[Israel]], [[Jamaica]], [[Japan]], [[Kiribati]], [[Lesotho]], [[Malawi]], [[Malaysia]], [[Maldives]], [[Marshall Islands]], [[Mauritius]], [[Mexico]], [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]], [[Monaco]], [[Namibia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Norway]], [[Palau]], [[Panama]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Samoa]], [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Saint Lucia]], [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]], [[Seychelles]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Singapore]], [[Solomon Islands]], [[South Africa]], [[South Korea]], [[Suriname]], [[Switzerland]], [[Taiwan]], [[Tanzania]], [[Tonga]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Tunisia]], [[Turkey]], [[Tuvalu]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Uganda]], [[United States]], [[Uruguay]], [[Vanuatu]], [[Rome/Vatican|Vatican City]], [[Venezuela]], [[Zambia]] and [[Zimbabwe]], in addition to passports issued to British Overseas Territories citizens, do not require a visa to visit Belize. All foreign nationals with a valid US green card or visa for the US or Schengen Area are visa exempt for a maximum stay of 90 days. Permanent residents and holders of multiple entry visas of the United States may obtain a visa on arrival for a fee of US$50. ====Visas==== All other travellers not falling into the above categories require a visa prior to travel, which can be obtained in a Belizean or British embassy. Nationals of [[Afghanistan]], [[Algeria]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bolivia]], [[China]], [[Cuba]], [[Eritrea]], [[Haiti]], [[India]], [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Kenya]], [[North Korea]], [[Lebanon]], [[Libya]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], [[Nigeria]], [[Pakistan]], [[Palestine]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Somalia]], [[Sudan]], [[Syria]] and [[Thailand]] require clearance in addition to a visa. Nationals of [[China]] (PRC) must pay a repatriation fee of BZ$3,000 on arrival. Nationals of [[Bangladesh]], [[India]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Sri Lanka]] must pay a repatriation fee of BZ$1,200 on arrival. Cruise ship visitors do not need a passport to enter the country. When leaving country by land, prepare to pay taxes (mandatory BZ$40 or US$20 border fee per person (as of 2022). Overstayers will receive a substantial fine. [[File:Belize City -Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|View over Belize City]] ===By plane=== * {{listing | type=go | name=Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport | alt={{IATA|BZE}} | url=http://www.pgiabelize.com/ | email= | address= | lat=17.539167 | long=-88.308333 | directions=in Ladyville, 15 km northwest of Belize City (roughly 30 minutes' drive) | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport | image=Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport.jpg | wikidata=Q1422858 | content=Year round flights are available from the United States (American, Delta, Southwest and United); Central America (Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos (TAG) Guatemala city and Copa Airlines Panama); from within Belize and from the adjacent [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatan Peninsula]] in Mexico ([http://www.mayaislandair.com Maya Island Air] and [http://www.tropicair.com Tropic Air]). Additional seasonal flights (Oct-Mar) are offered from Canada with Air Canada Rouge and Westjet. }} For a cheaper fare, consider flying to [[Cancun]] or [[Mérida (Mexico)|Mérida]] and take a bus to Belize City from there. ===By car=== From Mexico via [[Chetumal]], or on a much rougher road from Guatemala via [[Melchor de Mencos]]. The Western Highway connects Melchor Mencos to Belize City via [[Belmopan]], [[San Ignacio (Belize)|San Ignacio]] while the Philip Goldson Highway (Northern Highway) connects Belize City to [[Chetumal]] in Mexico via [[Corozal Town]] and [[Orange Walk]]. ===By bus=== The following companies operate buses from [[Flores (Guatemala)|Flores]], [[Guatemala]], and from [[Chetumal]], [[Mexico]] to Belize City: * {{listing | type=go | name=Fuentes Del Norte (FDN) | alt= | url=http://transportesfuentedelnorte.com/ | email= | address=Mundo Maya @ Suite #26, Brown Sugar Market Place 90 Front St, Belize City | lat= | long= | directions=250 m east along Front St from the Swing Bridge & the Ocean Ferry Belize Terminal. | phone=+501 223-1200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-09-06 | content=Tickets are sold through Mundo Maya Travel at the San Pedro Express Terminal in Belize City. Buses stop at the marketplace along Front Street where the San Pedro Express Terminal is at. }} * {{listing | type=go | name=S & L Travel & Tours | alt= | url=http://www.sltravelbelize.com | email= | address=91 N Front St, Belize City | lat= | long= | directions=same building as Image Factory, next to Spoonaz Coffee | phone=+501 227-7593 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-09-07 | content=They arrange shuttle transportation to Tikal, Flores and Cancun from Belize City. }} * {{listing | type=go | name=Grupo ADO | alt= | url=https://www.ado.com.mx/ | email= | address=Novelos Bus Terminal in Belize City | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-09-06 | content=Once nightly departure to/from Cancun and Merida. }} * {{listing | type=go | name=BBOC | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-05-24 | content=Frequent (hourly?) from Chetumal to Belize City and vice versa, with stops at Corozal, Orange Walk, and other towns along the way. Buses leave Chetumal from the "old ADO station" (''la terminal antigua de ADO'') on Salvador Novo street near Av. Insurgentes and Av. Belice. }} The inbound buses can only make drop-off stops between the border crossing and Belize City while the outbound buses can only pick-up passengers going traveling to Mexico or Guatemala. There are additional Belizean bus companies and drivers' unions going north from Belize City to Chetumal that can pick-up and drop off passengers alongside the road with services to Orange Walk and Corozal Town. See "By bus" under get around in the below. ===By boat=== Several [[cruise ships|cruise lines]] call on Belize City. Unfortunately they usually stay only one day, which doesn't allow the opportunity to really see Belize. You can visit one of the Maya ruins, ride an airboat in the salt marshes just outside the city, shop, go to the museum, go to the zoo or take either a short cave rafting trip or go snorkelling, but that's about it. That means about 70% of the things most tourists would like aren't available, not mention the eco-tourism points of interest. To [[Puerto Cortes|Puerto Cortés]], Honduras, the ''Gulf Cruza'', a small, rickety speed boat (20 people) leaves [[Placencia]] each Friday at around 9:30AM (4&nbsp;hr US$50), going first to [[Big Creek]]. It returns to Placencia on Monday. Tickets are sold in the tourist office next to the gas station. Stop by immigration first. Small speedboats operate on a daily basis between [[Puerto Barrios]] in [[Guatemala]] to [[Punta Gorda (Belize)|Punta Gorda]], cost is around US$20 one way. On Tuesday and Fridays, boats operate from [[Livingston (Guatemala)|Livingston]] in [[Guatemala]] to [[Punta Gorda (Belize)|Punta Gorda]]. The ride takes no more than one hour. It's BZ$50. There's also a BZ$40 departure tax. Foreigners are required to pay departure taxes when leaving Belize via land, air, or water. These fees are only applicable to locals when flying. ==Get around== [[File:Hummingbird Highway, Stann Creek, Belize.jpg|thumb|The Hummingbird Highway]] Belize is a fairly small country, and transportation between most destinations is rarely long or tedious. ===By plane=== '''[https://www.tropicair.com Tropic Air]''' and '''[https://www.mayaislandair.com Maya Island Air]''' both have multiple flights daily to various towns around the country and to Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. They fly out of both of Belize City's airports, but flights from Belize City Airport ({{IATA|TZA}}) are often significantly cheaper than those out of Phillip Goldson International ({{IATA|BZE}}). Domestic flights are generally pretty reasonable priced, and thus popular if your time is limited and budget is not. Flights are operated with planes ranging from 8 to 68 seats. Because of the limited capacity, booking in advance is advisable. For bookings from outside Belize, there is only one '''[https://www.airviva.com airviva internet agent]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', who can make bookings, take payment (credit/debit cards/PayPal) and then send e-tickets. Some hotels do also offer to make the flight reservation on your behalf. ===By bus=== Several competing bus lines operate on the main road in the north–south direction from [[Punta Gorda (Belize)|Punta Gorda]] to [[Belmopan]] and [[Belize City#By bus|Belize City]]. There are bus stations in the main towns, or simply stand on the side of the highway and wave at an approaching bus. Most buses have a conductor in addition to the driver, who stands by the door and will come to your seat to collect the fare at some point during the trip. Fares run anywhere from BZ$2–25 depending on distance travelled. Express buses can save up to an hour and a half (depending on the distance of your trip); they do not stop for passengers waiting on the roadside, making only scheduled pick-ups and drop-offs in towns. Most buses in Belize are retired US school buses (Bluebirds), that have been given a slight makeover, a luggage rack installed, and sometimes a new paint job. They generally aren't ''too'' crowded, but you may have to stand occasionally. Some are the older MCI (Motorcoach Industries) buses that once served as a Greyhound bus (or for some other commuter or intercity bus company) in the U.S. The MCI buses are typically used for some Express services or for international trips to Chetumal or chartered buses to Flores. Children selling snacks and soft drinks often board the buses at stops, and this is an inexpensive way to have a snack if you've exhausted what you've brought along or just want to try some home-made travel foods. See [http://belizebus.wordpress.com Belize Bus blog] for updates, schedules and/or links to other sites regarding bus travel in Belize. The Belize Bus blog site is constantly updated. Since the break up of the Novelo's monopoly in 2006 the government of Belize has divided the country up with which company to go where from Belize City: * '''The Northern Zone (Belize City - Orange Walk - Corozal - Chetumal) ''' Not all buses continue to [[Chetumal#By bus|Chetumal]] from Orange Walk. Others may deviate east or west from the Philip Goldson Highway (Northern Highway) to other surrounding towns. They are: Albion's, Belize Bus Owners Cooperative (BBOC), Cabrera's, Chell's, Frazer, Joshua's, Morales, Tillett's, T-Line and Valencia. Northbound buses depart from Belize City about every half hour from 05:30 to 19:30. Jex and Sons Bus provides bus service between Belize City and Crooked Tree. * '''The Western Zone (Belize City - Belmopan - San Ignacio - Benque Viejo Del Carmen)''' They are: BBOC, D and E, Guerra's Bus Service, Middleton's, Shaw Bus Service and Westline. Westbound buses depart from Belize City between 05:00 and 21:00. Some may continue west from San Ignacio to the Guatemalan border at Melchor del Mencos but they do ''not'' cross into Guatemala. Others may continue north or south from Belmopan, San Ignacio, etc. to reach other towns not on the Western Highway. * '''Southern Zone (Belize City - Belmopan - Dangriga - Placencia - Punta Gorda)''' Buses to the Cayo and Stann Creek Districts to the south are: James Bus Line, G-Line Service, Ritchie's Bus Service and Usher Bus Line. Buses authorized to operate in the rural areas of the Southern Zone are Chen Bus Line, Yascal Bus Line, Smith Bus Line, Richie Bus Line, Martinez Bus Line, Williams Bus Line, Radiance Ritchie Bus Line, and Polanco Bus Line. ===By taxi=== Taxis are common and relatively cheap in Belize. Most taxis do not use meters, so be sure to negotiate the price beforehand. ===By water taxi=== [[File:Boatsinbelize2.jpg|thumb|Boats in Belize]] For those wanting a truly Belizean experience, take the water taxis from city to city. The '''[http://www.belizewatertaxi.com San Pedro Belize Express]''' has the most daily runs and departs from the Brown Sugar Terminal in Belize City at 09:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:30 to San Pedro and Caye Caulker. Departure from San Pedro Town pier on Black Coral Street next to Wahoo's Bar and Grill and leaves at 07:00, 08:30, 10:00, 11:30, 12:30, 14:30, 16:30 to Caye Caulker and Belize City as well as a last boat to Caye Caulker only at 18:00. There are boats departing from Caye Caulker to Belize City and San Pedro Town and they leave from the pier in front of the Basket Ball Court. Caye Caulker to Belize City: 07:30, 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and Caye Caulker to San Pedro: 07:00 (connection to Chetumal), 09:45, 11:45, 12:45, 13:45, 15:45, 16:45 and last boat 18:15. Chetumal Runs are available from Caye Caulker at 07:00 and from San Pedro at 07:30. Travelling from Chetumal to Belize, the boat leaves the Municipal Pier at 15:30 en route to San Pedro (90&nbsp;min) and Caye Caulker (120&nbsp;min). Rates: Belize City to San Pedro or return: BZ$30 or US$15 (one way), BZ$55 or US$27.50 (round trip). Caye Caulker to San Pedro, Belize City to Caye Caulker: BZ$20 or US$10 (one way), BZ$35 or US$17.50 (round trip). ===By car=== Compared to most Central American countries, driving in Belize is relatively safe. There is not much traffic, and the four major highways are all in good condition. Unfortunately, almost every road off the four major highways is unpaved so a 4-wheel drive vehicle is advisable. It is best not to drive late at night because there is almost no lighting, road signs are poor, and the last stretch is almost certain to be on an unpaved road (you risk breaking an axle on an unseen, but immense, pothole!) You won't need a map because there are few roads and it is hard to get lost. Rental rates often include insurance so you usually don't need to buy insurance separately. If you plan on using a rental car to visit Tikal in Guatemala, you should plan ahead and you must rent from Crystal Auto Rental because no other company will let you take your car out of Belize. Belize insurance is not valid in Guatemala so check with your credit card or car insurance company to see if they'll cover you for a trip into Guatemala. ====Highways ==== *The '''Northern Highway''' (aka '''Phillip Goldson Highway''') goes from Corozal on the Belize-Mexico border to Belize City via Orange Walk. This is the highway you'll use for the international airport, Altun Ha, and the Lamanai. *'''Western Highway''' (aka '''George Price Highway''') stretches from Belize City, via Belmopan and the Cayo District, to the border with the Guatemalan state of Peten at Benque. Along the way are the Belize Zoo (mile 29), the Hummingbird Highway (mile 47), Belmopan, and San Ignacio (mile 68). Major sights along this route include the adventure itineraries in the Cayo District, Mayan ruins at Xunantunich and access to the road to Caracol, and, from the Guatemalan border, the ruins at TIkal. To get to the Western Highway from the airport, go north on the Northern Highway, make a left at Burrell Boom, and follow the road for 19&nbsp;km to the Western Highway at Hattieville. *'''[[Hummingbird Highway]]''' goes from Belmopan to Dangriga connecting the Western Highway to the Southern Highway. You'll use this highway to get from Cayo, Belize City or the North to the Southern part of Belize. An alternative, slightly shorter, Coastal Highway takes you from Belize City to the Southern Highway but is a mess that is best avoided! *'''Southern Highway''' runs from Dangriga (the Hummingbird Highway) to Punta Gorda, with a section heading to the southern border with Guatemala. Along the way are the coastal towns of Hopkins and Placencia. ==See== [[File:St-Johns-Cathedral-Belize-City-2010.jpg|thumb|St.John's cathedral in Belize City]] * The '''Belize Barrier Reef''' is a scuba diving paradise, rich in aquatic life including colorful tropical fish, rays, and sharks (along with a couple of shipwrecks). The reef stretches along the whole coast of Belize. It is part of the Great Mesoamerican Reef System, often called the Mayan Reef, which stretches north to the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and south along the coasts of Guatemala and Honduras. Numerous dive shops in coastal towns can arrange escursions to dive sites on the reef. * '''Mayan archaeological sites''' in Belize tend to be less crowded than the well-known sites in neighboring Mexico and Guatemala, but the smaller crowds make the sites more tranquil and easier to explore. Some of the sites are among the oldest of the [[Maya civilization]]. Significant sites include: ** '''[[Lamanai]]''' - one of the oldest Mayan cities, established around 1600 B.C., much of the ruins seen today were built in the late Pre-Classic period (arouind 400 BC to 100 AD). Unlike many Mayan cities, it was not abandoned in the 10th century AD, nor in the period following the Spanish conquest or the British occupation, and continued to be occupied by the Maya up to the 20th century. ** '''[[Xunantunich]]''' - large site in Western Belize on the Mopan River near the Guatemala border. The site is known for its myriad plazas and temples and a 133 meter tall pyramid (second highest in Belize). ** '''[[Altun Ha]]''' - was a ceremonial site constructed in the Pre-Classic era with the oldest structures dating from about 900 BC. The Temple of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau, revealed a large cache of jade [[Sculpture|sculptures]] and jewelry including the largest jade object ever recovered from a Maya site. Altun Ha is just north of [[Belize City]]. ==Do== ===Zip-lining=== Soar over Belize's rain forest by taking a zip-line tour. These tours usually begin with a short hike up to the first base where a tutorial is given on how to safely use your equipment. *Prices range US$65-100 and tours are run by two companies, Jaguar Paw, and Back-A-Bush tours. ===Sport fishing=== Sport fishing in Belize is second to none. The bonefish is the premier fly fishing game fish in the world and it can be found in the grass shallows through Belize. It's pound for pound perhaps the strongest animal in salt water. === Scuba diving and snorkelling === [[File:Coral Reef, Belize 2.jpg|thumb|Belize Barrier Reef]] The snorkelling and scuba diving is world-class and there are many exceptional dive sites to be found in Belize. One of the best ways to explore Belize waters is by chartering a yacht to make the most of your available dive time. For those with a smaller budget, snorkelling and driving excursions can be found along the beaches of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. The most common excursions will take you to Hol Chan marine reserve and to Shark Ray Alley. These trips usually cost about US$35 and include snorkel gear. Be mindful of an additional BZ$10 charged to foreigners as a park tax. This money goes toward the upkeep, and protection of the reef. Diving excursions are also offered to the Blue Hole, but expect to pay a lot more for the privilege. ===Cave exploration=== The Cayo district is characterised by limestone hills underlain by a network of underground rivers, caves and sink holes. The caves are magnificent, with huge caverns and tight passages, underground waterfalls and dazzling arrays of mineral-encrusted stalactites and stalagmites. This underground world was sacred to the ancient Maya and many artefacts from decorated pots to human remains are still intact in the caves. It is dangerous (and illegal) to enter the caves without a licensed guide. Most guides are trained in the geology and mythology of the caves and in modern first aid and cave rescue techniques. * {{do | name=Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Adventure Company and Jungle Lodge | url=http://www.cavesbranch.com | email= | address=Caves Branch | lat= | long= | directions=Hummingbird Highway south from Belmopan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Anderson organized the initial guiding training programs in the country, out of which grew the Belize Disaster And Rescue Response Team locally called BDARRT (now an independent NGO). }} The Sleeping Giant and Caves Branch are operated by the same owner. They operate up to 16 tours every day. The Actun Tunichil Muknal or ATM caves have the highest number of tourists visiting a tourist destination in Central America. Also known as the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre, this river cave has pristine remnants of some Mayan human sacrifices. It is a surreal experience complete with beautiful cave formations an underground river and Mayan collectibles. No wonder the Mayans called it the Xibalba or the dark underworld. ==Buy== {{exchange rates | currency=Belizean dollars | currencyCode=BZ$ | date=January 2026 | USD=2.0 (fixed rate) | EUR=2.4 | GBP=2.7 | CAD=1.5 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/bzd-belizean-dollar XE.com] }} The currency of Belize is the dollar (ISO code '''BZD'''), divided into 100 cents. The Belizean dollar — sometimes written as "BZ$" or just as a dollar sign: "$" — has been fixed to the US dollar (USD) at a 2:1 ratio since 1978 (i.e. BZ$2 = US$1). Because of this consistent exchange rate, US dollars are widely accepted, but you should be careful to clarify which "dollars" you're talking about when negotiating prices. It's often better to assume Belize dollars because many merchants will jump on your uncertainty and attempt to double their price by saying, "No, in US dollars". Change can also be given in US dollars or a combination of US and Belizean dollar bills and coins. Belize dollars come in denominations of BZ$2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. Coins in Belize are issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents and B$1. The 25-cents coin is often called a shilling. *Three banks' ATMs in Belize accept Mastercard: the Belize Bank, Scotiabank, and Atlantic Bank. *Atlantic Bank offers free cash withdrawals with Visa. ==Eat== [[File:Fry JackUploaded on August 4, 2007 by Jimmcclarty.jpg|thumb|Traditional Belizean breakfast]] * The primary meal found virtually everywhere is red beans, clean rice, and chicken. * Most chicken in the country is prepared and served on the bone. * '''Rice and beans''' is a mixed dish with some spices and usually coconut milk added to make a sweet and hot staple of the Belizean diet. '''Beans and rice''' is white cooked rice with a side of stewed pinto beans. * Citrus plantations are numerous, so '''fresh oranges and grapefruit''' are abundant. Pineapples, papayas, bananas and plantains are also grown and sold in roadside markets. * A famous hot sauce in Belize is '''Marie Sharp's''' made from the very spicy local habanero pepper. It comes in a variety of flavours (mild, hot, extremely hot). * That odd looking salsa on your table is really ceviche. Ceviche -also spelled as cebiche or seviche- is a citrus-marinated seafood dish. The Belizeans use fresh raw conch and vegetables. * Papusas are maize pancakes with different toppings sold in stalls on the streets in San Pedro town. It is the cheapest option if you want to eat on a budget. * "Beef Patty" or "Chicken Patty" is very similar to a British pasty or an American hand pie * Both Tamales and Bollos can be found as street food. They are very similar, but bollos use a courser grained corn mix. Both of them often include a piece of chicken inside the tamale/bollo - typically still on the bone; eat carefully! * Garnaches, Salbutes, Panades, and Tostadas are all corn-based street foods - try them each to find your favorite * Fry Jacks are a common breakfast food, made of fried dough, typically folded over with refried beans and cheese inside (possibly also meat or egg) * Belize has the right climate for cacao, so you can find high quality bean-to-bar chocolate in most large towns. Look in the refrigerator section at supermarkets; the often-hot temperatures mean it doesn't last long on the counter (in the store or at home) * Throughout Belize, eating can be expensive if you eat at the tourist restaurants; however if you find the local places, meals can be very inexpensive and very tasty. ==Drink== Belikin is the national beer and comes in four varieties: Premium, Beer, Stout, and Lighthouse Lager. Guinness Stout is also available in Belize but it's also brewed by the Belikin Brewing Co. All are sold in returnable bottles, so make sure you are aware of the deposit if you are taking your beverages to go. One Barrel Rum is the locally distilled molasses-tasting rum and [http://www.onebarrelrum.com/home Traveller's Liquors' distillery] is on the Northern Highway about 6 miles from Belize City with a gift shop and hospitality bar. You can purchase rum in a variety of colours and sizes, up to a 70-gallon cask. Both are widely available around the country. But if you also like wine there is cashew wine (which is very popular in Belize), ginger wine, sorrel wine and blackberry wine. ==Learn== There are great opportunities for scuba diving off of Belize atolls. Check out [http://www.reefci.com reefci] for some very interesting 1 week adventures that are both informative conservation education as well as great scuba diving. If you want to learn about Belize's history the Museum of Belize, House of Culture, and of course, travelling and discovering are recommended. ==Stay safe== Belize City is the most dangerous area in Belize, although it's very easy to be safe there. Remain in the tourist zone that runs just north of the marina to the southern extension to the east of the main canal. There are plenty of khaki tourist police monitoring the area and, should you have a problem, feel free to approach them. Just exercise common sense and do not go wandering around alone after dark. Stay near tourist areas or other commercial zones. The south side of Belize City is beautiful as well as dangerous. Otherwise, Belize City is a great place to go if you want to eat, learn, or shop. Other areas of Belize are generally safe, but like any other place in the world, one should always have some skepticism when dealing with strangers. Most are genuinely helpful, but it never hurts to be cautious. By law, the government can deny [[LGBT]] travellers entry to Belize. There are also no legal protections in place for victims of anti-gay discrimination. ==Stay healthy== Belize is a relatively healthy country. '''Bottled [[water]]''' is a must in most areas. And, unless you eat only at ultra-touristic restaurants, [[travellers' diarrhea]] will probably strike at some point; be prepared with over-the-counter medication and prescription antibiotics. The WHO declared Belize malaria-free in 2023, and anti-malarial drugs are no longer recommended. However, bite prevention remains essential. [[Dengue fever]] and [[Zika virus|Zika]] are both risks in Belize. Other drugs may also be recommended in certain circumstances - consult a qualified professional specialist. Insect/mosquito bites should be prevented with appropriate clothing, repellents and insecticides, and bed nets if sleeping in non-air-con/unscreened rooms. [[sun burn|The sun]], as anywhere else in the tropics, is very intense. Wear a long-sleeve shirt, a hat, and sunglasses, and apply high-SPF sunscreen regularly. If you are spending significant time on boats or in water, such as fishing or snorkeling, take extra precautions: covered shoes (not sandals), swim shirt/rash guard, neck gaiter, and sun gloves. Many places in Belize are very hot and humid, and dehydration is a risk. An expat suggests to drink as much water as you want, and then drink that much again. The adult '''HIV/AIDS prevalence''' rate is ''2.5%'' or ''one in every forty'' adults, this is notably higher than in most of Europe or Anglo-America and also quite a bit higher than in other parts of Central America like Nicaragua or Costa Rica. ==Respect== Belizeans are some of the most socially relaxed people in the world, especially if you venture inland away from the tourist islands of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. The pace of life is generally slower in Belize, so it's good practice to begin any social interaction, even to ask a quick question, with eye contact and a genuinely pleasant greeting. Most rural Belizeans enjoy casual conversation and you could easily find yourself chatting for a few hours. The Maya communities can be a little more reserved at times. As always, a little respect and politeness will carry you through. ==Connect== Payphones are the most common public phones and accept pre-purchased phone cards. Internet cafés can be found in larger tourist areas, but are infrequent in rural areas. As of Oct 2025, it is increasingly common for cafes and restaurants to offer wifi service. Speeds will vary, and you may need to ask whether wifi is available and what the password is. {{isPartOf|Central_America}} {{usablecountry}} {{geo|17.2|-88.7|zoom=8}} 1rzj35cr6hajcpfl14ghqzofqtr7qe0 0 3381 5298724 5188330 2026-06-26T11:29:09Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298724 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|BD Benapole 0906 (24) (17023106998) (cropped).jpg}} '''Benapole''' (বেনাপোল ''Benāpol'') is a border town in [[Southern Bangladesh]]. It is the most commonly used crossover when travelling between [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]]. ==Get in== ===By bus=== Most people use the long-distance air-conditioned bus services that run between [[Kolkata]] and [[Dhaka]], with a change of bus in Benapole. Shyamoli and Greenline have offices here and Haridaspur. For bookings see the Kolkata and Dhaka articles. In Benapole, the bus stop is about 2 km from the border crossing. From there buses head to [[Jessore]] (Tk 30, 2hour) and beyond. If you have booked the bus from Kolkata to Dhaka, it will take 4-5 hours to reach Haridaspur, which is commonly known as Petrapole. The bus operators have their own rest houses, but their staff is not cordial and these toilets are dirty. Before going to Immigration please be sure that it is mentioned by Bangladesh High Commission that entry/exit is by road at Benapole. The Bangladesh visa is stamped and other entries are handwritten, so be careful about any overwriting/cutting. If you find this when you collect your visa, please ask them to make an initial/signature and stamp over the overwritten part. Otherwise you are likely to be in trouble at the border. Customs people and immigration people at both the sides are cordial compared to their counterparts at the India-Pakistan border at [[Wagah]]. You may find that the Bangladeshi officials are better behaved than the Indians, who may demand bribes. This is less likely if travelling via direct bus. Customs usually do not present problems, except perhaps for Bangladeshi citizens returning home. ===By train=== Alternatively, from Kolkata there are local trains from Sealdah station, taking around 3 hours to reach Bangaon. The border is {{km|6}} beyond this station. Local buses may exist but good luck finding them. However, autorickshaws and rickshaws will take you from Bangaon station to the border. ==Get around== You're here to do one thing: '''walk''' across the border. On the Bangladeshi side, you can walk the 2km to the bus stop or take a rickshaw for Tk 5. On the Indian side the bus stop is near the immigration office. As you step out of the immigration office to the official moneychanger's stalls, there may be people sitting around who can arrange a taxi to Kolkata. The price starts at ₹ 900, but is usually more. ==See== ==Do== '''Get your passport stamped''' - The Indian side is fairly normal as far as land border crossings are concerned. Your passport will change hands several times, and should finally result in a stamp, which doesn't take too long. The Bangladeshi side, however, is another story. Staff seem to have been hired an hour before you arrive - try not to laugh when they ask which visa in your passport is the Bangladesh one. On either side you may be asked for baksheesh by the passport stamper or a boy who grabs your passport and shuttles it between the various officials or the many men who offer to fill your forms in for you. This is not normal for an Indian border crossing, and is entirely avoidable - present your passport yourself, and say 'no' firmly if asked for a bribe. If you're on one of the A/C direct buses then the bus company collects all passenger's passports before the border and facilitates the stamping. The process is better than it once was. The Bangladesh side is simpler than the Indian side where you wind you way through a complex building to get the various stamps. On the Bangladesh side, you will enter one office, be asked to sit while you passport is examined and stamped. While leaving Bangladesh by road, you have to pay a departure tax of 300 Taka. If you are travelling by one of the direct buses, the bus company will usually collect the amount from you and pay it for you. If you are travelling independently, pay it at the little branch of Sonali Bank next to the immigration office. It seems to be open as long as the border crossing is open. If you arrived by air to Bangladesh, make sure that you have a "change of port" certificate which allows you to leave by land, otherwise you will find yourself being turned back at the border. Change of port certificates are available from the visa office in Dhaka and take about 4 hours to produce. Sometimes you might need to insist here that the office really does provide these certificates and demand that you need one. ==Buy== '''Money changers''' are much more plentiful on the Indian side. They usually offer decent rates, but may try to make up for it in other ways - count the cash you give and receive carefully, and do the math yourself on your phone. ==Eat== There are a handful of food stalls and dhabas on both sides of the border serving local Bengali food, and a couple hotels on the Bangladesh side have restaurants. ==Drink== ==Sleep== If you must sleep at the border it's best to do so on the Bangladeshi side. * {{sleep | name=Parjatan Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+880 4228-75411, +880 17 11 452145 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from Tk600 (non a/c) and Tk1200 (a/c) and even some suites (Tk2200) | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Probably the nicest accommodation in town. A guide can be arranged on request. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Haque | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from Tk100 | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} ==Go next== {{geo|23.0500|88.9000}} {{IsPartOf|Southern Bangladesh}} {{usablecity}} qejdx2gqhxibok04a990gy725pcxvc9 5298725 5298724 2026-06-26T11:29:22Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298725 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|BD Benapole 0906 (24) (17023106998) (cropped).jpg}} '''Benapole''' (বেনাপোল ''Benāpōl'') is a border town in [[Southern Bangladesh]]. It is the most commonly used crossover when travelling between [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]]. ==Get in== ===By bus=== Most people use the long-distance air-conditioned bus services that run between [[Kolkata]] and [[Dhaka]], with a change of bus in Benapole. Shyamoli and Greenline have offices here and Haridaspur. For bookings see the Kolkata and Dhaka articles. In Benapole, the bus stop is about 2 km from the border crossing. From there buses head to [[Jessore]] (Tk 30, 2hour) and beyond. If you have booked the bus from Kolkata to Dhaka, it will take 4-5 hours to reach Haridaspur, which is commonly known as Petrapole. The bus operators have their own rest houses, but their staff is not cordial and these toilets are dirty. Before going to Immigration please be sure that it is mentioned by Bangladesh High Commission that entry/exit is by road at Benapole. The Bangladesh visa is stamped and other entries are handwritten, so be careful about any overwriting/cutting. If you find this when you collect your visa, please ask them to make an initial/signature and stamp over the overwritten part. Otherwise you are likely to be in trouble at the border. Customs people and immigration people at both the sides are cordial compared to their counterparts at the India-Pakistan border at [[Wagah]]. You may find that the Bangladeshi officials are better behaved than the Indians, who may demand bribes. This is less likely if travelling via direct bus. Customs usually do not present problems, except perhaps for Bangladeshi citizens returning home. ===By train=== Alternatively, from Kolkata there are local trains from Sealdah station, taking around 3 hours to reach Bangaon. The border is {{km|6}} beyond this station. Local buses may exist but good luck finding them. However, autorickshaws and rickshaws will take you from Bangaon station to the border. ==Get around== You're here to do one thing: '''walk''' across the border. On the Bangladeshi side, you can walk the 2km to the bus stop or take a rickshaw for Tk 5. On the Indian side the bus stop is near the immigration office. As you step out of the immigration office to the official moneychanger's stalls, there may be people sitting around who can arrange a taxi to Kolkata. The price starts at ₹ 900, but is usually more. ==See== ==Do== '''Get your passport stamped''' - The Indian side is fairly normal as far as land border crossings are concerned. Your passport will change hands several times, and should finally result in a stamp, which doesn't take too long. The Bangladeshi side, however, is another story. Staff seem to have been hired an hour before you arrive - try not to laugh when they ask which visa in your passport is the Bangladesh one. On either side you may be asked for baksheesh by the passport stamper or a boy who grabs your passport and shuttles it between the various officials or the many men who offer to fill your forms in for you. This is not normal for an Indian border crossing, and is entirely avoidable - present your passport yourself, and say 'no' firmly if asked for a bribe. If you're on one of the A/C direct buses then the bus company collects all passenger's passports before the border and facilitates the stamping. The process is better than it once was. The Bangladesh side is simpler than the Indian side where you wind you way through a complex building to get the various stamps. On the Bangladesh side, you will enter one office, be asked to sit while you passport is examined and stamped. While leaving Bangladesh by road, you have to pay a departure tax of 300 Taka. If you are travelling by one of the direct buses, the bus company will usually collect the amount from you and pay it for you. If you are travelling independently, pay it at the little branch of Sonali Bank next to the immigration office. It seems to be open as long as the border crossing is open. If you arrived by air to Bangladesh, make sure that you have a "change of port" certificate which allows you to leave by land, otherwise you will find yourself being turned back at the border. Change of port certificates are available from the visa office in Dhaka and take about 4 hours to produce. Sometimes you might need to insist here that the office really does provide these certificates and demand that you need one. ==Buy== '''Money changers''' are much more plentiful on the Indian side. They usually offer decent rates, but may try to make up for it in other ways - count the cash you give and receive carefully, and do the math yourself on your phone. ==Eat== There are a handful of food stalls and dhabas on both sides of the border serving local Bengali food, and a couple hotels on the Bangladesh side have restaurants. ==Drink== ==Sleep== If you must sleep at the border it's best to do so on the Bangladeshi side. * {{sleep | name=Parjatan Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+880 4228-75411, +880 17 11 452145 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from Tk600 (non a/c) and Tk1200 (a/c) and even some suites (Tk2200) | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Probably the nicest accommodation in town. A guide can be arranged on request. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Haque | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from Tk100 | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} ==Go next== {{geo|23.0500|88.9000}} {{IsPartOf|Southern Bangladesh}} {{usablecity}} 2ruz9ww26exma2ea295rwy7x2ilhunj 5298726 5298725 2026-06-26T11:30:45Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298726 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|BD Benapole 0906 (24) (17023106998) (cropped).jpg}} '''Benapole''' (বেনাপোল ''Benāpōl'') is a border town in [[Southern Bangladesh]]. It is the most commonly used crossover when travelling between [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]]. ==Get in== ===By bus=== Most people use the long-distance air-conditioned bus services that run between [[Kolkata]] and [[Dhaka]], with a change of bus in Benapole. Shyamoli and Greenline have offices here and Haridaspur. For bookings see the Kolkata and Dhaka articles. In Benapole, the bus stop is about 2 km from the border crossing. From there buses head to [[Jessore]] (Tk 30, 2hour) and beyond. If you have booked the bus from Kolkata to Dhaka, it will take 4-5 hours to reach '''Haridaspur''' (হরিদাসপুর ''Horidāspur''), which is commonly known as '''Petrapole''' (পেট্রাপোল ''Peṭrāpōl''). The bus operators have their own rest houses, but their staff is not cordial and these toilets are dirty. Before going to Immigration please be sure that it is mentioned by Bangladesh High Commission that entry/exit is by road at Benapole. The Bangladesh visa is stamped and other entries are handwritten, so be careful about any overwriting/cutting. If you find this when you collect your visa, please ask them to make an initial/signature and stamp over the overwritten part. Otherwise you are likely to be in trouble at the border. Customs people and immigration people at both the sides are cordial compared to their counterparts at the India-Pakistan border at [[Wagah]]. You may find that the Bangladeshi officials are better behaved than the Indians, who may demand bribes. This is less likely if travelling via direct bus. Customs usually do not present problems, except perhaps for Bangladeshi citizens returning home. ===By train=== Alternatively, from Kolkata there are local trains from Sealdah station, taking around 3 hours to reach Bangaon. The border is {{km|6}} beyond this station. Local buses may exist but good luck finding them. However, autorickshaws and rickshaws will take you from Bangaon station to the border. ==Get around== You're here to do one thing: '''walk''' across the border. On the Bangladeshi side, you can walk the {{km|2}} to the bus stop or take a rickshaw for Tk 5. On the Indian side the bus stop is near the immigration office. As you step out of the immigration office to the official moneychanger's stalls, there may be people sitting around who can arrange a taxi to Kolkata. The price starts at ₹ 900, but is usually more. ==See== ==Do== '''Get your passport stamped''' - The Indian side is fairly normal as far as land border crossings are concerned. Your passport will change hands several times, and should finally result in a stamp, which doesn't take too long. The Bangladeshi side, however, is another story. Staff seem to have been hired an hour before you arrive - try not to laugh when they ask which visa in your passport is the Bangladesh one. On either side you may be asked for baksheesh by the passport stamper or a boy who grabs your passport and shuttles it between the various officials or the many men who offer to fill your forms in for you. This is not normal for an Indian border crossing, and is entirely avoidable - present your passport yourself, and say 'no' firmly if asked for a bribe. If you're on one of the A/C direct buses then the bus company collects all passenger's passports before the border and facilitates the stamping. The process is better than it once was. The Bangladesh side is simpler than the Indian side where you wind you way through a complex building to get the various stamps. On the Bangladesh side, you will enter one office, be asked to sit while you passport is examined and stamped. While leaving Bangladesh by road, you have to pay a departure tax of 300 Taka. If you are travelling by one of the direct buses, the bus company will usually collect the amount from you and pay it for you. If you are travelling independently, pay it at the little branch of Sonali Bank next to the immigration office. It seems to be open as long as the border crossing is open. If you arrived by air to Bangladesh, make sure that you have a "change of port" certificate which allows you to leave by land, otherwise you will find yourself being turned back at the border. Change of port certificates are available from the visa office in Dhaka and take about 4 hours to produce. Sometimes you might need to insist here that the office really does provide these certificates and demand that you need one. ==Buy== '''Money changers''' are much more plentiful on the Indian side. They usually offer decent rates, but may try to make up for it in other ways - count the cash you give and receive carefully, and do the math yourself on your phone. ==Eat== There are a handful of food stalls and dhabas on both sides of the border serving local Bengali food, and a couple hotels on the Bangladesh side have restaurants. ==Drink== ==Sleep== If you must sleep at the border it's best to do so on the Bangladeshi side. * {{sleep | name=Parjatan Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+880 4228-75411, +880 17 11 452145 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from Tk600 (non a/c) and Tk1200 (a/c) and even some suites (Tk2200) | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Probably the nicest accommodation in town. A guide can be arranged on request. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Haque | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from Tk100 | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} ==Go next== {{geo|23.0500|88.9000}} {{IsPartOf|Southern Bangladesh}} {{usablecity}} 545pwm4ex9psf7bgjgfhd07orz25n0m 0 3880 5298507 5286828 2026-06-25T21:45:21Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298507 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Birmingham Wikivoyage Banner.png|pgname=Birmingham|DotM=yes|caption=The unusual facade of Selfridges at The Bullring, a modern-day landmark of Birmingham|dotm=yes}} {{otheruses}} [[File:Chamberlain Square in Birmingham (geograph 6830257).jpg|thumb|Chamberlain Square in Birmingham is surrounded by notable landmarks, including the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.]] '''Birmingham''', in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], is [[Britain]]'s second-largest city. Known in the Victorian era as the "City of a Thousand Trades" and the "Workshop of the World", ''Brum'', as locals call the city, is enjoying a 21st-century resurgence as a great shopping and cultural destination. ==Understand== Birmingham [''"ber-ming-'"m''] was at the heart of the [[Industrial Britain|UK's industrial revolution]], and its wealth was built upon the multitude of trades that were spawned. This led to a massive canal network, with more miles of canals than Venice or Amsterdam (though they're very different types of canal). Much of the city centre was destroyed during the Blitz, and the post war rebuilding effort resulted in many brutalist concrete structures, made to be built as cheaply and quickly as possible. However, since the 1990s, Birmingham has been undergoing a radical change and many of the post war buildings have been replaced. The majority of the city centre is now pedestrianised, and the canals cleaned up to make for attractive walkways. Increased investment in public spaces, re-development of run down areas, and especially long-term transport projects, have improved the city's image, giving it some shine. [[File:Birmingham Canal Old Line bridge - geograph.org.uk - 7428970.jpg|thumb|Birmingham is known for its canals]] The city's notable associations are as diverse as HP Sauce, Tony Hancock, Cadbury's, the Lunar Society (whose members included James Watt and Matthew Boulton), Jasper Carrott, the Spitfire, and the Mini (car, not skirt). Birmingham also has an active music scene, with bands and artists like Black Sabbath, UB40, Napalm Death, Duran Duran, and The Beat hailing from the area. The city is also known for being the backdrop of the BBC period TV drama ''Peaky Blinders'', which has helped to increase interest in the city. Birmingham has many literary associations - not only JRR Tolkien, but also Washington Irving, who wrote Rip Van Winkle while lodging here with his sister's family, and Conan Doyle, who bought a violin in Sherlock Street while a medical student in Birmingham. The authors Jim Crace, Judith Cutler and David Lodge are also residents. The nearby locations of [[Shropshire]], [[Warwick (England)|Warwick]], and [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] provide more of the stereotypical images of "olde" [[England]]. However, Birmingham has many of its own tourist attractions, has an extremely lively nightlife, and the shopping is one of the best outside of [[London]]. === Orientation === [[File:"The Golden Boys", Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 7530201.jpg|thumb|"The Golden Boys" statue ]] The City of Birmingham as it stands today encompasses a very large array of former towns and villages surrounding the original town of Birmingham, that have been incorporated into it over the years. Therefore, even if a point of interest is officially in Birmingham, it can be located quite far away from the actual city centre, in what can appear as a separate small town or even countryside. Addresses are often given including the name of the suburb, to help locate them. Do not assume that any place with a Birmingham address is easily accessible once you are in the city. Some of the more known districts and wards of Birmingham include: * '''Aston''' - home to Aston Hall and Aston Villa football team * '''Edgbaston''' - where the eponymous cricket stadium and main campus of the University of Birmingham are located * '''Selly Oak''' - secondary campus and student town * '''Kings Heath''' - up-and-coming village with a thriving weekend scene, and local markets [[File:29 Newhall Street, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 7381532.jpg|thumb|Victorian architecture in Newhall Street]] Other areas in the city include '''Perry Barr''', '''Sutton Coldfield''' and '''Moseley'''. The former ''Inner Ring Road'', or A4400, was viewed as an urban planning failure and parts of it were dismantled and redeveloped. The A38/Aston Expressway runs across the city centre, partially underground. The very central point of Birmingham is Victoria Square. The main railway hub is Birmingham New Street. It is full to capacity with both local and direct national rail services to every major city in the UK. It is attached to Grand Central and Bullring, a world-class shopping and activities destination, with walking links directly to Birmingham Moor Street station, a smaller rail station with more local routes, as well as frequent trains to London and Oxford. To the north of the city centre is Birmingham Snow Hill, the centre's third station, providing frequent local trains. Birmingham city centre can be divided into several areas of different characteristics: * '''Core City Centre''' – extends northwestwards from New Street station, inside the confines of the A38 and includes many surviving pre-war historic buildings, a number of important institutions and the historically prime addresses such as New Street or Colmore Row * '''Westside''' – extends southwest of New Street and beyond the former Inner Ringroad, and includes much of the remaining canals in central Birmingham. Alongside them, much new development took place, including civic buildings such as the International Convention Centre and Library of Birmingham, and multi-functional commercial projects such as Brindleyplace and The Mailbox * '''Eastside''' – the area southeast of New Street station, or more precisely behind Moor Street station. This formerly industrial area which included the long-disused Curzon Station as well now contains large swathes of unused, cleared land being redeveloped as parts of large urban planning projects, giving this part of town a modern yet unfinished appearance * '''Southside''' – the part southeast of New Street station retains a more traditional ambience with small buildings along narrow streets. The area includes Birmingham's Gay Village and the Chinese Quarter. * '''Deritend and Digbeth''' – the area directly eastwards of the Bullring centre contains much industrial and pre-industrial architectural heritage, and it has become a hub for everything creative and a rather pleasant area, which also includes Birmingham's Irish Quarter. As of 2026, large-scale redevelopment is underway. * '''Jewellery Quarter''' – true to its name, workshops in the quarter still produce 40% of the UK's jewellery. The area includes the country's largest Assay Office, and several museums. It retains the 19th-century appearance lost by other industrial parts of Birmingham and is a tourist attraction itself. * '''Gun Quarter''' – north of Jewellery Quarter and for decades known for firearms manufacturing, but now not seeing much commercial or municipal interest and of little interest to tourists. ===Visitor information === * [https://visitbirmingham.com/ Visit Birmingham] website ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Birmingham |1.6 |7.1 |72.0 |1.6 |7.7 |55.1 |2.9 |10.3 |50.9 |4.6 |13.4 |56.5 |7.3 |16.5 |61.0 |10.2 |19.3 |68.4 |12.1 |21.5 |65.8 |12.0 |21.0 |67.5 |9.7 |18.1 |68.2 |7.1 |13.9 |81.4 |4.0 |9.9 |78.7 |1.9 |7.3 |83.9 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Birmingham]] | description = See the 5 day forecast for Birmingham at the [http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/wm/birmingham_forecast_weather.html Met Office] }} Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate. Winters do not see significant snowfall, although it does get more snow than other large British cities. In the summer months, temperatures range between {{c|21}} for daytime average highs and {{c|12}} for nighttime average lows. On particularly hot days, the temperature can climb up to or surpass {{c|26}} and not go below {{c|15}} at night, though there are only an average of 11.2 days per year where daytime highs exceed {{c|25.1}}. Daylight hours range between 4:45AM - 9:30PM in the summer months to 8:15AM - 4PM in the winter months. ==Get in== [[File:Birmingham UK map.png|thumb|right|475px|Map of Birmingham and vicinity]] ===By plane=== {{go | name=Birmingham Airport | alt={{IATA|BHX}} | url=http://www.bhx.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.4532 | long=-1.7334 | directions=just outside the city, in [[Solihull]], about {{mi|8}} east of central Birmingham | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Airport | image=Birmingham Airport, England, Feb. 2008.jpg | wikidata=Q8719 | content=A major airport serving the city and the rest of the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands region]] with frequent international flights. There are several direct arrivals a day from all major UK and European destinations, and a few from more far-flung places such as [[New Delhi|Delhi]], [[Doha]], [[Dubai]] (twice daily), [[Orlando Sanford International Airport|Orlando Sanford]], [[Amritsar]], [[Islamabad]], and [[Ashgabat]]. }} A free people mover, Air-Rail Link, connects the airport passenger terminal with Birmingham International rail station between 5:15AM and 2AM; it runs every two minutes and the journey time is less than two minutes. From Birmingham International rail station trains run to New Street Station every 5–15 minutes from around 6:05AM (Su 8:45AM) to 11:15PM. The journey takes 10–20 minutes depending on whether you get an express or local (stopping) service and costs £2.50 one-way (express service - Avanti trains only) or £3.60 one-way for a ticket valid on any service. Bus service 900 runs every 20–30 minutes between Birmingham and [[Coventry]] via the airport from around 4:50AM (Su 7AM) to midnight, takes around 25 minutes (can be much longer in peak periods) and costs £2.20 one way; the ticket is not valid for transfers. Bus service 97A provides an hourly service through the night. A day ticket (Daysaver) for all NXWM buses is available for £4 (£4.60 before 9AM), but it can also be purchased for {{EUR|5}} on any airport service. Exact change is required. If a group is travelling together, a Group Daysaver for £8 will cover up to 5 people for unlimited journeys for a day. National Express coaches serve the airport every half hour during the early hours of the morning which is very handy for morning flights, as the trains don't usually start until later in the morning. The fare varies depending on whether it is booked in advance, although tickets can be purchased on the coach subject to seats being available. A taxi from the airport to central Birmingham will take around 20–30 minutes and will cost around £22; however, a trip by rail will be far more direct, and undoubtedly quicker during peak times. The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is adjacent to the airport and can be accessed by the free Air-Rail Link via Birmingham International station. Cars dropping off passengers at the airport must pay a minimum fee of £3. This includes taxis and private hire cars, which pass the charge on to passengers. The charge can be avoided by being dropped off at Birmingham International Railway Station, where there is no charge, and then using the free Air-Rail Link. [[File:A load of bull - geograph.org.uk - 7712446.jpg|thumb|Ozzy the Bull]] ===By train=== ''Wikivoyage has a guide to [[Rail travel in Great Britain]]'' Birmingham is a major hub of Britain's rail network. {{go | name=Birmingham New Street station | alt=BHM | url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BHM.aspx | email= | address= | lat=52.477769 | long=-1.89885 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q683063 | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=The main station. There are local trains and half-hourly services (M-Sa daytime) from [[Bristol]], [[Shrewsbury (England)|Shrewsbury]], [[Cardiff]], [[Weston-super-Mare]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Glasgow]], [[London Euston]], [[Manchester Piccadilly]], [[Oxford]], [[Sheffield]] and stations in between. }} Allow plenty of time to find your train at New Street station as it is huge and very confusing. Most platforms (tracks) are divided into sections (e.g. Platform 4A, 4B and 4C) and it's not uncommon for two trains bound for different destinations to depart from the same platform. So make sure you wait in the right area which is labelled on screens above the platform, and board the right train! New Street Station is notorious for last-minute platform changes so it's advisable to wait close to the stairs and keep close attention to the information screens and PA announcements as you may need to make a quick dash to the opposite side of the station with only a few minutes until departure! It is easier and quicker to cross from one platform (whatever the letter) to another at the "B" end, directly, rather than the "A" end, which can involve passing through two sets of ticket barriers. ''Raging Bull'', the symbol of the city during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, is on permanent display at New Street Station. Now named "Ozzy", he is a static display and no longer snorts and stomps as before, lest any staff mistakenly couple him to rolling stock, however on the hour, every hour, his eyes light up and his head shakes. Other important stations are {{marker|type=go|name=Birmingham Snow Hill station|alt=|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BSW.aspx|lat=52.483| long=-1.899|wikidata=Q3280363|lastedit=2022-05-17}} and {{marker|type=go|name=Birmingham Moor Street station|alt=|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BMO.aspx|lat=52.478288| long=-1.891002| wikidata=Q800533| lastedit=2022-05-17}}. Both of these stations are on the Snow Hill line, which sees local traffic within the region operated by [https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/ West Midlands Railway]. The exception is [https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/ Chiltern Railways]' service to both stations from [[London Marylebone]], which rivals [https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/ London Northwestern Railway] (slow, cheap) and [https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/ Avanti West Coast] (fast, more expensive) services from [[London Euston]] to Birmingham New Street. The Chiltern route has become increasingly popular since infrastructure improvements mean the fastest trains are not much slower than West Coast services into New Street, it's generally cheaper and more scenic, and Marylebone and Moor Street are relatively small stations that still have a lot of the Victorian charm that Euston and New Street decidedly lack. However, investment in transport in the region will see a series of projects be undertaken, to move trains from New Street into Moor Street, and create an entire new plaza area at Moor Street, with the construction of the new HS2 (High Speed Rail) Curzon Street Station, so keep your eyes peeled in the news for any developments. (Search "hs2", "midlands rail hub", "Bordesley chords", as these projects are constantly changing.) New Street and Moor Street are a 2 to 3 minute walk apart, and Snow Hill is about a 10 minute walk from each. Midland Metro trams can be used between stations, but still involve some walking, and take longer. {{go | name=Birmingham International Station | alt=BHI | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q579308 | lastedit=2026-01-20 | content=This is 15 miles east of city centre: get off here for the airport, NEC or The Arena. Trains for New Street leave every few minutes and take 10 min. Frequent trains from London Euston are heading for the Midlands, Manchester and Glasgow. The [https://www.sleeper.scot/ Caledonian Highland Sleeper] calls Su-F around 10:30 PM on its way to Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William - it doesn't call at New Street. International Station is modern, with a staffed ticket office and machines, waiting rooms, toilets and refreshments. There's step-free access to all platforms. }} ===By coach=== Intercity buses, unless clearly stated otherwise, will terminate at {{Marker|type=go |name=Birmingham Coach Station|lat=52.47535 | long=-1.88850 | wikidata=Q4916668 }}. The City Centre is around a 10-minute uphill walk from the station along the slightly tatty Digbeth High Street, but people need not be alarmed as the Selfridges Building and skyline are clearly visible to guide you in the correct direction. some tickets include a free bus journey transfer to the city centre, on local public transport services. If you arrive at night (or have large amounts of luggage), consider getting a bus or taxi as the Digbeth area is not a very pleasant part of the city and is home to many pubs and other nightlife, which may intimidate strangers. Birmingham Coach station has a booking office, two cafés, shop and other basic facilities. There are toilets (30 pence), vending machines (available 24 hours), and an information desk. There are half-hourly (or more frequent) services from [[London]] (service 420), and services from most major cities (including [[Bristol]], [[Cambridge (England)|Cambridge]], [[Cardiff]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Glasgow]], [[Manchester]], [[Oxford]] and [[Sheffield]]) every two hours. If you are taking the coach to an airport (such as for your journey home), leave at least two, preferably three hours early, as coach trips have been known to face significant delays if mechanical or personnel problems are encountered. National Express promises only to get you to the destination within the same day and will take no responsibility if the service runs late (the optional National Express insurance covers only your personal safety and your possessions). * '''[http://www.megabus.com/uk/ Megabus]''', 0900 160 0900 (premium rate - calls incur a 65p per minute service charge plus your phone provider's per-minute access charge). Serves London and Scotland. * '''[http://www.nationalexpress.com/ National Express]''', customer service line: +44 371 781 8181, booking line (premium rate): +44 871 781 8181. ===By car=== [[File:Spaghetti-Junction-Crop.jpg|thumb|The Gravelly Hill Interchange in Birmingham - the original Spaghetti Junction]] [[File:Gas Street Basin towards Brindleyplace.jpg|thumbnail|right|The start of the Birmingham Canal at Gas Street Basin, central Birmingham]] Birmingham is well sign-posted and surrounded by motorways; the M42, the M5, and the M6 which includes the infamous Spaghetti Junction (Gravelly Hill Interchange). Once in the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]: * From the '''north''', Birmingham is served by A-roads. * From the '''north-east''', use the M1, M42 and M6. * From the '''east''', use the M6. * From the '''south-east''', use the M40 and M42. * From the '''south''', Birmingham is served by A-roads. * From the '''south-west''', use the M5 and M42. * From the '''west''', Birmingham is served by A-roads. * From the '''north-west''', use the M6. Birmingham City Council operated car parks are available throughout the city, a list is [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/parking accessible online]. The M5 will take you to the south-west, either the M42 then M40 or the M6 then M1 will take you to [[London]] and the south-east. In the other direction the M1 will take you to [[Leeds]] and the north-east. The M6 will also take you towards the north-west, [[Manchester]] and [[Scotland]], or, via the M54, to north [[Wales]]. ===By boat=== Due to its industrial heritage, Birmingham has an extensive canal network and is on both the "Worcester & Birmingham" and "Grand Union" canals. Visitors travelling by narrowboat can choose from several tourist moorings, managed privately or by Canal & River Trust. Although the moorings are very busy in spring and summer, call ahead for availability. * {{listing | name=Birmingham Canal Information Centre | alt= | url= | email=birminghaminfo@britishwaterways.co.uk | address=42A Gas St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 121 632-6845 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Canal Navigations | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=provides a highly detailed 1:30,000-scale colour map of the network. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe|52.48032|-1.89890|zoom=14}} ===On foot in the City Centre=== [[File:Birmingham Selfridges building.jpg|thumbnail|right|Selfridges building at The Bullring]] [[File:Chamberlain Clock Jewellery Quarter.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Chamberlain Clock in the Jewellery Quarter, commemorating Joseph Chamberlain's visit to South Africa in 1903.]] Birmingham's City Centre is partially pedestrianised, and most things to see and do can be reached on foot. Birmingham walking directions can be planned online with the [http://www.walkit.com/ walkit.com] walking route planner. Visitors may enjoy the walk from the International Convention Centre (ICC) and the Symphony Hall on the top of Broad Street to the Bull Ring shopping complex, which takes around twenty minutes and may involve only one easy surface road-crossing. From the ICC, you walk east by the Repertory Theatre and Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square; then through the site of the former Paradise Forum to Chamberlain Square; with the Museum and Art Gallery to your left and the Grade I-listed Town Hall on your right, you make your way to the spacious Victoria Square. At Victoria Square, you will find the Town Hall to the west, the Council Offices to the north, and the old Head Post Office to the South; the path you want to the Bull Ring is south-east, down New Street, which is a pedestrianised street lined with shops, stores, and kiosks. About five blocks down New Street, you will come to Corporation Street, the only road crossing you need to make on this walk. A few blocks later, New Street will turn into Rotunda Square. Bearing south towards St. Martin's Church, you will find the 21st-century Bull Ring Shopping Complex to your left and right. Birmingham has a large canal network. In the city centre, extensive development has enhanced the environment and level of amenities around these canals, making them excellent pedestrian routes in their own right. Visitors would enjoy the peaceful ten-minute car-free canal stroll from Brindleyplace, National Sea Life Centre, and Sherborne Wharf, all next to the ICC, eastward under Broad Street, through Gas Street Basin, to The Mailbox (Birmingham's former Head Post Office, turned into shops and restaurants). Other walks in the City Centre include the wheelchair accessible summer Floral trail from The Mailbox to St Paul's Square, which in turn is the beginning point of another walk, the historic Jewellery Quarter in Bloom trail, where one can visit the Chamberlain Clock or St Paul's Church. ===By bicycle=== [[File:New Smethwick Pumping Station 2.jpg|thumbnail|Canal trail passing by New Smethwick Pumping Station]] Birmingham City Council produces an excellent cycling and walking map of the area. You can pick one up from any local library, tourist information office, leisure centre or bike shop. Birmingham is a somewhat [[cycling|cycle-friendly]] city, not quite as much as the rest of [[Europe]], but it is possible to get around without too much trouble. There are plenty of places to lock a bike up in the city centre, but few cycle lanes and lots of pedestrians. Unless you are touring the UK, the best use for a bike in Birmingham is to explore the extensive local canal network, such as the canal trail leading to the historic New Smethwick Pumping Station. Road and cycle path maintenance in the area is far from perfect, and it is not uncommon for trees and parked cars to obstruct the right-of-way. The standard of driving is as bad as in other cities, so exercise extreme caution on main roads and at night. The canal network can be accessed in the city centre from the Broad Street/Gas Street area, or at most road crossings elsewhere. The towpath is generally well-maintained to within a few miles of the city, and after that tends to be packed earth with plenty of mud and embedded bricks. The [https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-5/ Sustrans National Cycle Network] Route 5 ([[Oxford]] to [[Derby]]) passes through Birmingham from the south to the north-west. The local stretch is known as the Rea Valley Route, there is also the Cole Valley Route to the east. Bicycle hire: * {{listing |type=around | name=On Your Bike | alt= | url=http://www.onyourbike.com/ | email=birmingham@onyourbike.com | address=33-40 Bradford St | lat=52.47432 | long=-1.88929 | directions= | phone=+44 121 666-6933 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 666-6388 | hours=M W F Sa 10AM-6PM, Th 10AM-7PM, Tu Su closed | price= | content= }} * Lime runs a cycle and e-scooter hire scheme in the West Midlands, with docking stations across the city. Bikes can be unlocked by a smartphone app. <!-- * {{listing |type=around | name=Midland cycle hire | alt= | url=http://www.midlandcyclehire.co.uk/ | email= | address=1 Fieldhouse Lane, Romsley, Halesowen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1562 711-144 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= }}--> ===By public transport=== Bus, train and Metro all come under the authority of [https://www.tfwm.org.uk/ Transport for West Midlands] their website is the best source for all information required on public transport in the region . Birmingham City Council has [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite/publictransport?packedargs=website%3D4&rendermode=live public transportation information available online] as well. ===By bus=== [[File:Birmingham bus map.png|thumb|right|201px|Map of major bus routes]] All areas of Birmingham are well-served by bus routes, operated almost exclusively by '''[http://www.travelwm.co.uk/ National Express West Midlands]''' (NXWM) with some competition from smaller providers, notably '''[http://www.diamondbuses.co.uk/ Diamond Buses]'''. There is no central bus station for local services. Buses depart instead from one or more of five interchanges in the city centre (principally Bull Street/Priory Queensway, Snow Hill, Moor Street, Paradise Circus and New Street). Bus stop maps are available from libraries, tourist information offices and the '''Network West Midlands''' (NWM) office at New Street Station. Route maps and timetables are available from the outlets mentioned above, and there are extensive online versions on the National Express West Midlands and [https://www.tfwm.org.uk/ Transport for West Midlands] websites. If you do not have a lot of time to spare tracking down which buses serve which areas, you can use the '''[https://www.traveline.info/ Traveline Journey Planner]''' (+44 871 200 2233 - premium rate). Ticket prices are now standard across all operators within the nBus region (the West Midlands0. Single fares are £3, on any bus. There are no return tickets, but day tickets are the equivalent, and are better value for two trips or more, at £5.20 per person. Alternatively, a Group Daysaver will cover up to 5 people (or 2 adults and 4 children) all day for £9.20. All these tickets can be purchased on the bus. For single trips, just tap your contactless card on the reader, and as you take more trips, your fare will be capped to the cheapest ticket you can get (i.e.: you take three trips, at the end of the day, you'll be charged £5.20). You can pay with cash, however most buses do not give change, so either get exact change ready (try to avoid notes) or be prepared to pay a little more. Birmingham's bus system is roughly radial, with frequent services in and out of the city centre from most locations especially along the main radial routes. Additionally there are two useful circular routes, the Inner Circle, service 8A/8C, and the better known service 11A/11C, the Outer Circle (the A and C refer to anticlockwise and clockwise directions) which can be useful while travelling between different areas while avoiding the City Centre. There are also numerous services linking many suburbs, hospitals and shopping centres, which are generally less frequent and in some cases have no or poor evening or Sunday services. Compared to London, Birmingham has fewer bus lanes, which can result in much slower journeys at peak periods. ===By train=== [[File:Birmingham rail map.png|thumb|200px|Rail map]] There is an extensive overland rail network serving parts of Birmingham and the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] area, operated mainly by West Midlands Trains. Route maps and timetables are available from libraries, tourist information offices, railway stations and the [https://www.traveline.info/ Traveline Journey Planner] (+44 871 200 2233 - premium rate). You can take bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs on board without prior reservation, and there is usually a designated carriage. Fares vary with distance, but you can expect to pay between £3 and £8 for a day return to a local destination. Fare-dodging is rife, and there has been a crackdown with ticket barriers at some stations (New Street, Snow Hill, Moor Street, Five Ways and University) and on-board checking. The penalty for not having a valid ticket is a £100 on-the-spot fine (which can be contested in court, but is rarely worth the hassle). They advertise you could be charged with a penalty of upto £1000, but that rarely happens, and they'll likely just sell you a valid ticket on the train. If you aren't sure the checker is legitimate, staff will be wearing West Midlands Railway, or Revenue Protection uniform, and should show you ID if you ask. They'll also have proper equipment to scan your ticket. From New Street station, the cross-city line runs between [[Lichfield]] Trent Valley in the north and Redditch or Bromsgrove in the south, stopping notably at Sutton Coldfield (for Sutton Park), Aston (for Aston Hall), University (for the University of Birmingham and QE Hospital), Bournville (for Cadbury World) and Barnt Green (for Lickey Hills). Local services also run to [[Hereford]] (via [[Worcester (England)|Worcester]] and [[Malvern (England)|Malvern]]), [[Leamington Spa]], [[Northampton (England)|Northampton]] (via Birmingham International Airport, [[Coventry]] and [[Rugby (England)|Rugby]]), [[Nuneaton]], [[Shrewsbury (England)|Shrewsbury]] (via [[Wolverhampton]]), [[Stafford]] (via [[Walsall]]), [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], [[Tamworth (England)|Tamworth]] and [[Warwick (England)|Warwick]]. Additional services to these areas run from Snow Hill and Moor Street stations (they are on the same line), and you may not be able to catch a specific train from New Street. The Camp Hill line reopened in April 2026, with trains every half an hour, between Birmingham New Street, and Kings Norton, via Pineapple Road (residential area), Kings Heath, and Moseley Village. ===By tram=== [[File:Jewellery Quarter railway station train and tram - Birmingham - 2005-10-14.jpg|thumb|The Jewellery Quarter station with the rail and Metro lines.]] Birmingham has a single 22&nbsp;km tram line with 35 stops, rather grandly called the '''[http://www.westmidlandsmetro.com West Midlands Metro]'''. It runs between Edgbaston and [[Wolverhampton]], via Brindleyplace, New Street and Snow Hill stations, the Jewellery Quarter, [[West Bromwich]], Wednesbury and Bilston. Alternate trams towards Edgbaston take the two-stop spur to Millennium Point before reversing and continuing. An extension to Digbeth Coach Station from this spur is in hand, as is a second line from Wednesbury to Merry Hill, with more planned. The eventual hope is to run trams to the airport, but that's many decades down the line. The Metro runs from roughly 6:30AM–11:30PM Monday-Saturday, and 8AM-11PM Sundays and bank holidays. Fares vary with distance, but expect to pay around £2 for a single, £3.50 for a return and £4.50 for a day pass (combined bus/train/Metro passes are also available). Full route, timetable and fare information is listed on the [http://www.westmidlandsmetro.com/ Metro] website, and there is additional information on the [http://www.tfwm.org.uk/ TfWM] website. ===By water bus=== Water buses and taxis operate out of the canal offices in Gas Street Basin (underneath Broad Street). They also provide tours of the area. Obviously, they are limited to the local canals and are significantly slower than other forms of transport. ===By car=== Birmingham's city centre is slowly but surely making travel by car less efficient. One-way systems and bollards are being installed to restrict car access, and make the city centre a nicer, brighter place for pedestrians. This means travel by car is possible to the major railway stations, and the outskirts and car parks, but the most direct way in and out is by train and bus, as buses can drop you right in the centre. During rush-hour, travel by car can become incredibly slow. Birmingham City Council produces a map of city centre car parks (available from tourist information offices). Expect to pay £1-1.50 per hour in Pay & Display areas and more on street meters. Parking attendants patrol popular areas regularly, so expect a penalty fee if you return late. You can pay for most parking using the RingGo or JustPark apps. These apps allow you to pay for parking, and add on more time remotely, with your phone. Signs at the car park will tell you what you need to use, and a code for the car park to ensure it's the right one. The cheapest parking is in Digbeth, with fees usually from around £1 per hour upto £4 per day. however these spaces aren't the safest, and street and off-street alike, they have a bad reputation for cars being stripped of body panels. See these car parks' Google reviews for some photos. If you want to use these, use them at peak times when people are likely to be around to see. Car hire is possible in the city centre and at the airport. A [https://www.brumbreathes.co.uk/ congestion charge] of £8 per day applies to vehicles using roads ''inside'' the [https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20076/pollution/1763/a_clean_air_zone_for_birmingham/2 A4540 Middleway ring road]. The charge does not apply to low emission vehicles. Put your registration into the [https://multiple-vehiclecheck-pay.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/what_would_you_like_to_do online checker] to find out if you have to pay, as not everyone does, and not every city has the same rules. ===By motorcycle=== Motorcycles and mopeds are becoming increasingly popular in Birmingham as a way of avoiding rush hour traffic jams, and usually enjoy free parking in city centre car parks. Although not a lot of car parks have bike areas, there are a number of bays around the centre but none of them have any rails to lock your bike to. ===By taxi=== ====Taxi/private-hire==== Birmingham has an abundance of taxi ranks all over the city, the best-served being New Street Station. Both hackney carriages and private hire vehicles are easy to find, but you should exercise caution and not get into an unmarked car or one you haven't booked. Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest times due to clubbers going home in masses, and there can be waits of over an hour if you're somewhere busy like Broad Street. Popular providers include: *'''[http://www.afjtravel.com/ AFJ Minibuses]''', Birmingham Minibus hire available 24 hours a day. *'''[https://www.taxisbirmingham.co.uk/ Taxis Birmingham]''', has an online booking system. *'''Castle Cars''', 13 Oak Tree Ln, Selly Oak, +44 121 472 2222. *'''Crown Cars''', Argent House, 16 Vulcan Road, Solihull , +44 121 711 1111 *'''Elite Radio Cars''', Omnibus Garage, Harborne Ln, Selly Oak, +44 121 415 5000. *'''Falcon Cars''', 211 Monument Rd, +44 121 555 6050. *'''TOA Taxis''', 100 Vivian Rd, Harborne, +44 121 427 8888. All major credit cards accepted with onboard chip & pin facilities. *'''Big Yellow Taxi LTD''', Carpenter Rd, 32 B15 2JH, +44 121 440 7117. ====Uber==== Alternatively the popular [[Ride hailing services|ride-sharing app]] [https://www.uber.com/en-GB/cities/birmingham/ Uber] has a licence in the city and there are plenty of drivers around the city centre that can be hailed. ==See== Birmingham doesn't have a reputation for being especially picturesque, but there is a lot of interesting architecture in the city centre that the shops and crowds sometimes obscure. For such a (relatively) large population centre, the countryside (in the form of country parks such as the Lickey Hills, Waseley Hills, etc.) is surprisingly close. ===Museums and art galleries=== For a place with a strong industrial heritage, Birmingham does not have the large range of historical attractions you may expect; however, this is offset by the arts being extremely well-represented. * {{see | name=Aston Hall | alt= | url=http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/aston | email=bmag_enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Trinity Rd, Aston | lat=52.50630 | long=-1.88436 | directions=Train to Aston or Witton or #7 bus | phone=+44 121 327-0062 | tollfree= | hours= | price=£8 (adults) | wikidata=Q4810979 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=Restored Jacobean mansion built between 1618 and 1635, containing period rooms and artwork. Cannon damage from the English Civil War is still visible. The Hall was visited by Arthur Conan Doyle and Washington Irving, inspiring the latter's 'Bracebridge Hall'. ''Aston Hall by Candlelight'' is a popular Christmas event that takes place every two years (even numbers) where the whole grounds are lit by candles for 17th-century festivities (fee charged). Closed when Aston Villa are playing at home. Admission to grounds is free. }} * {{see | name=Barber Institute of Fine Arts | alt= | url=http://www.barber.org.uk | email=info@barber.org.uk | address=University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TS | lat=52.450419 | long=-1.927728 | directions=on the University of Birmingham campus, off Edgbaston Park Rd, train to University or #61, #62 or #63 bus | phone=+44 121 414-7333 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 414-3370 | hours=M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM | price=Free (donations welcome) | wikipedia=Barber Institute of Fine Arts | image=BirminghamBarberInstitute.jpg | wikidata=Q4859590 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Small gallery with an excellent eclectic permanent collection, including many pre-Raphaelites. Good Britain Guide gallery of the year 2004. As of April 2026, the Barber galleries are closed for a major building improvement project. }} * {{see | name=Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | alt= | url=https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/birmingham-museum-and-art-gallery | email= | address=Chamberlain Square, B3 3DH | lat=52.4803 | long=-1.903786 | directions=Central | phone=+44 121 303-2834 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 10AM-5PM | price=Free (donations welcome) | wikipedia=Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | image=Chamberlain Square - geograph.org.uk - 556412.jpg | wikidata=Q1799857 | lastedit=2025-08-03 | content=Large museum with some local history, several temporary exhibitions and large permanent collection, including an extensive collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Home to part of the stunning Anglo-Saxon hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold metal work discovered just north of Birmingham in 2009. Includes the Gas Hall and Waterhall Gallery of Modern Art.<br />As of August 2025, only some galleries are open, due to refurbishment. }} [[File:Ouzell Square - geograph.org.uk - 556492.jpg|thumbnail|right|IKON Gallery in Brindleyplace]] * {{see | name=IKON Gallery | alt= | url=http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk | email=marketing@ikon-gallery.co.uk | address=1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, B1 2HS | lat=52.4776 | long=-1.9125 | directions=off Broad St | phone=+44 121 248-0708 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 248-0709 | hours=Tu-Su 11AM-6PM | price=Free (donations welcome) | wikipedia=Ikon Gallery | image=IkonGallery.jpg | wikidata=Q5996126 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Small gallery with two or three temporary modern and conceptual art installations. Excellent cafe (see below). }} * {{see | name=Lapworth Museum of Geology | alt= | url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/cultural-attractions/lapworth-museum-of-geology | email= | address=University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TS | lat=52.4491 | long=-1.93217 | directions=on the University of Birmingham campus, off Edgbaston Park Rd, train to University or #61, #62 or #63 bus | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikipedia=Lapworth Museum of Geology | image=Lapworth Museum.jpg | wikidata=Q6488462 | lastedit=2026-04-30 | content=Rocks and fossils, aimed at a broad range of audiences. One of five UK museums shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award in 2017, following major redevelopment of its displays. }} * {{see | name=Sarehole Mill | alt= | url=https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/sarehole | email=sarehole.mill@birminghammuseums.org.uk | address=Cole Bank Rd, Hall Green B13 OBD | lat=52.4341 | long=-1.85581 | directions=#4, #5, #6 #11 buses | phone=+44 121 777-6612 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 236-1766 | hours=Apr-Oct: Tu-Su 11:30AM-4PM (closed Mondays except Bank Holidays) | price=Adults £6 | wikidata=Q82108 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Built in 1765, Sarehole Mill is a fine example of one of more than fifty water mills that existed in Birmingham at one time. Matthew Boulton used the Mill for making buttons and for metal rolling until he moved his operations to Soho in 1761. In the late 1890s Sarehole was the childhood haunt of Hobbit author J.R.R. Tolkien, and famously influenced 'The Shire' in ''The Lord of the Rings''. See website for special events. Nearby is ''Moseley Bog'' (see 'Parks and nature', below) a woodland said to have inspired Fangorn Forest. Admission to the grounds is free. }} * {{see | name=Royal Birmingham Society of Artists | alt=RBSA | url=http://www.rbsa.org.uk/ | email= | address=4, Brook Street | lat=52.4849 | long=-1.9075 | directions=Off St. Paul's Square. Metro: St. Paul's Square | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free entrance | wikipedia=Royal Birmingham Society of Artists | image=RBSA Gallery November 2012.JPG | wikidata=Q12403 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Independent art gallery; frequent temporary exhibitions and works for sale. }} * {{see | name=Soho House | alt= | url=http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/soho | email=contact@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Soho Ave, Handsworth, B18 5LB | lat=52.4996 | long=-1.9229 | directions=Located off Soho Rd, Buses: 74, 78 and 79, Metro: Benson Road (there is a steep uphill walk to the house) | phone=+44 121 554-9122 | tollfree= | hours=W Th first Su 11:30AM-4PM (plus some Bank Holidays & special occasions) | price=Adult £7; concession £5; child £3 | wikipedia=Soho House | image=Sohohouse1.JPG | wikidata=Q1810087 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=The elegant home of industrial pioneer Matthew Boulton, who lived at the house from 1766 to 1809. Here, he met with some of the most important scientists, engineers and thinkers of his time - the Lunar Society. Entry by guided tour only: 11.30am, 1pm and 2.30pm. }} * {{see | name=Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum | alt= | url=http://www.thinktank.ac/ | email=ffindout@thinktank.ac | address=Millennium Point, Curzon St | lat=52.48263 | long=-1.88671 | directions=directions | phone=+44 121 202-2222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM (last admission 4PM) | price=£6.95 (concessions £5, children £4.95. Family and IMAX combination tickets available) | wikipedia=Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum | image=Thinktank Science Garden.jpg | wikidata=Q7784619 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Science museum with lots of hands-on activities, vehicles and industrial machines, however the activities all smell of their popularity. IMAX cinema (see Cinema section) in the same building. }} <!-- As of June 2025 Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is INDEFINITELY CLOSED [[File:The Jewellery Quarter Museum.jpg|thumbnail|right|Museum of the Jewellery Quarter]] * {{see | name=Museum of the Jewellery Quarter | alt= | url=https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/jewellery | email= | address=75-79 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HA | lat=52.4906 | long=-1.91194 | directions= | phone=+44 121 554-3598 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:30AM-4PM (last admission one hour before), closed Sunday and Monday except Bank Holiday Mondays | price=Adults: £7 | wikidata=Q6941092 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=Jewellery workshop abandoned in working condition, later reopened as a museum. Visits are by tour, lasting approximately one hour. Worth seeing, especially in the context of the wider, still working commercial Jewellery Quarter. }} --> [[File:Birmingham Back to Backs exterior.jpg|thumb|Back to Back houses]] * {{see | name=Birmingham Back to Backs | alt= | url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/birmingham-back-to-backs/ | email=backtobacks@nationaltrust.org.uk | address=55-63 Hurst Street/50-54 Inge Street, B5 4TE | lat=52.47431 | long=-1.89723 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tours must be booked a few days in advance, usually open Tu-Th 1-5PM, F-Su 10AM-5PM | price=£8.55 | wikipedia=Birmingham Back to Backs | image=Birmingham back-to-backs.jpg | wikidata=Q4916605 | content=Last surviving set of these 19th-century cramped, working-class houses in Birmingham, restored and preserved by the National Trust. }} [[File:NewmanBros-296.jpg|thumbnail|right|Stamp room of the Newman Brothers' Coffin Works]] * {{see | name=The Coffin Works | alt=Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Factory | url=http://www.coffinworks.org/ | email=newmanbrothers@coffinworks.org | address=13-15 Fleet St | lat=52.4819591 | long=-1.9073771 | directions= | phone=+44 121 233-4785 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 10:45AM-3PM, last tour starts at 3PM | price=£6.60 for adults, £4.40 for children, free under age of 5 | wikipedia=Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Factory | image=Newman Brothers Coffin Factory, Fleet Street, Birmingham.JPG | wikidata=Q15262166 | lastedit=2018-05-10 | content=An industrial heritage museum in the Jewellery Quarter, dedicated to educating visitors about the social and industrial history and importance of the site which was in operation as a coffin furniture factory from 1894 to its closure in 1998. Ornaments made by the Newman Brothers decorated the coffins of Sir Winston Churchill, Joseph Chamberlain, and many others. Many of the historic rooms, among which the "stamp" room, can be viewed and visited. Guided tours are highly recommended and start at 1PM, 2PM and 3PM. }} * {{see | name=Blakesley Hall | alt= | url=http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/blakesley | email= | address=Blakesley Rd | lat=52.47270 | long=-1.81005 | directions=take bus 97 and get off at Station Road bus stop | phone=+44 121 348-8120 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 11AM-4PM | price=Adults £7, students and elderly £5, children younger than 15 £3 | wikidata=Q4924644 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=One of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and a typical example of "black & white" Tudor architecture, constructed in 1590 by Richard Smalbroke as a timber-framed farmhouse. Many historic artefacts are on display in the museum, including authentic candlesticks and pewter goblets. Tours take place at 11:15AM, 12:15PM, 1:15PM and 2:15PM, and last approximately 45 minutes. The Gilbertstone, moved in local folklore by the Giant named Gilbert, is displayed in the grounds of the museum. }} ===Factory visits=== The West Midlands region has been the hub for automotive production and development ever since the invention of the motor car, and even today two car factories remain operational within the city limits of Birmingham, both offering factory tours. There is also a chocolate factory for some sweeter treats. [[File:Jaguar Factory, Gate 1 - geograph.org.uk - 724486.jpg|thumbnail|right|Entrance gate to Jaguar Castle Bromwich Assembly]] * {{see | name=Jaguar Castle Bromwich Assembly | alt= | url=https://www.jaguar.co.uk/experience-jaguar/factory-tours/index.html | email=jbartho1@jaguarlandrover.com | address=Chester Road, Castle Vale | lat=52.5155 | long=-1.7995 | directions= | phone=+44 24 7620-5716 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Castle Bromwich Assembly | image=Jaguar-CastleBromwichAssemblyPlant.jpg | wikidata=Q5050001 | content=The north of Birmingham hosts Jaguar's Castle Bromwich Assembly plant, which makes most Jaguar's models, and especially the high-end ones. Factory visits are available, and have to be pre-booked by contacting the Visitors Centre by phone or email. }} * {{see | name=Cadbury World | url=http://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/ | email= | address=Linden Rd, Bournville, B30 2LU | lat=52.428 | long=-1.934 | directions=train to Bournville | phone=+44 845 450 3599 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Opening times vary enormously but tend to be daily 10AM-4PM in the spring, summer and autumn | price=£13.90 (concessions £10.50, children £10.10. Combined train and entry tickets available) | image=Cadbury World sign, Bournville.JPG | wikipedia=Cadbury World | content=Huge chocolate factory south of the city centre. Tour includes the history of chocolate and the Cadbury company, plus a brief look at some of the factory floor. Some free chocolate, plus relatively cheap mis-shapes in the shop. | wikidata=Q5945554}} * '''Land Rover''' has its main assembly plant in nearby [[Solihull]]. ===Religious buildings=== Birmingham's population is very diverse, and communities from just about any country in the world can be found somewhere. This in turn has led to numerous centres for all the world's major religions. [[File:Birmingham - St Philip's Cathedral 1.JPG|thumbnail|right|St Philip's Cathedral]] * {{see | name=St Philip's Cathedral | alt= | url=http://www.birminghamcathedral.com/ | email=enquiries@birminghamcathedral.com | address=Colmore Row | lat=52.4812 | long=-1.89892 | directions= | phone=+44 121 262-1840 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 7:30AM-6:30PM (''5PM from late Jul to early Sep''), Sa Su 8:30AM-5PM | price= | wikipedia=St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham | image=St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham in spring.jpg | wikidata=Q751081 | content=Church of England cathedral, built between 1709 and 1715 and now the centre of the Diocese of Birmingham. Grade 1 listed building, designed as a parish church in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer. Contains four spectacular pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows by Burne Jones. }} * {{see | name=Birmingham Peace Pagoda | alt= | url=http://www.chezpaul.org.uk/buddhism/uk/talaka.htm | email= | address=Osler St, Ladywood | lat=52.47918 | long=-1.93271 | directions= | phone=+44 121 455-0650 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dhamma Talaka Pagoda | image=Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda, Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q5268837 | content=Situated in an inner-city area of Birmingham close to Edgbaston Reservoir, the gold-roofed pagoda is a sight to behold. The pagoda is designed as symbol of peace, compassion and the noble exemplary qualities of the Buddha. }} * {{see | name=St Chad's Cathedral | alt= | url=http://www.stchadscathedral.org.uk/ | email= | address=St Chad's Queensway | lat=52.48559 | long=-1.89877 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-2251 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 9AM-1PM | price= | image=St Chads Cathedral 1.jpg | wikipedia=St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham | content=Catholic cathedral built in 1841 and designated a Minor Basilica in 1941. Contains the Shrine of St. Chad. | wikidata=Q1138085}} [[File:Aerial Bull Ring Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|St. Martin's, surrounded by the Bullring]] * {{see | name=St Martin in the Bull Ring | alt= | url=http://www.bullring.org | email= | address=Bull Ring | lat=52.477 | long=-1.8932 | directions=between the shopping complex and the markets | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM | price= | wikipedia=St Martin in the Bull Ring | image=St Martin's Birmingham2.JPG | wikidata=Q7594217 | content=St. Martin is the parish church of Birmingham, or "The Cathedral of the Bull Ring", as some would say. The first church was probably Norman, but was rebuilt in the 13th century. As it stands today, most of the church dates from 1875, though inside you can see the 1325 effigy of the Lord of the Manor Sir William de Bermingham. The church is Grade II* listed. }} * {{see | name=St. Paul's Church | alt= | url=https://www.stpaulsjq.church/ | email= | address=St. Paul's Square | lat=52.4853 | long=-1.9058 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St Paul's Church, Birmingham | image=St Paul Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q915614 | lastedit=2020-06-03 | content=Grade I-listed Georgian church with Victorian spire }} * {{see | name=St. Thomas' Church and Peace Gardens | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47314 | long=-1.90636 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Tower of St Thomas in the Peace Garden, Birmingham west end.JPG | wikipedia=St Thomas' Peace Garden | content= | wikidata=Q7591878}} ===Other architecture=== Birmingham holds a wealth of architectural heritage from different eras, including also buildings with no touristically viable function. Some of them are listed below. * {{see | name=BT Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lionel St | lat=52.48357 | long=-1.90426 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=BT Tower (Birmingham) | image=BT Tower, Birmingham - DSC08854.JPG | wikidata=Q4836768 | content=Completed in 1966, it is the tallest structure in Birmingham at 152&nbsp;m, and serves solely as the support for transmission antennas mounted atop it. It has no viewing platform or other accessible floors at all, but it can serve as a landmark and orientation point as it is clearly visible from many parts of the city. Its square profile sets it apart from many other similar structures in the world. }} [[File:The Library of Birmingham - Centenary Square.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Library of Birmingham]] * {{see | name=Library of Birmingham | alt= | url=http://www.libraryofbirmingham.com/ | email= | address=Cambridge St / Centenary Square | lat=52.47972 | long=-1.90846 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 8AM-8PM, Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 11AM-4PM | price=Free | wikipedia=Library of Birmingham | image=LoB 001 20131030.jpg | wikidata=Q6542576 | lastedit=2018-05-10 | content=The new library building at Centenary Square was opened in September 2013 to replace the 1970 Birmingham Central Library nearby (demolished 2016). It is the single largest public library in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. The building was designed by the Dutch firm Mecanoo architecten, and took four years to build. It includes an intricate facade decoration, despite the very simple form of the building, as well as a number of innovative sustainable features. To explore the building take the lift to the top (9th) floor to see the Shakespeare Memorial Room, a fine wooden panelled library, which used to be in the city's library built in 1882. There is also a viewing window to look over the city. There are outside garden spaces on the 7th and 3rd floors which give different city views. The four lower floors house the public library, laid out in impressive style. }} * {{see | name=Bell Edison Telephone Building | alt=The Exchange | url= | email= | address=17 & 19 Newhall Street | lat=52.4815 | long=-1.90181 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4553520 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=A signature, Grade-I-listed, building for the red-brick-and-terracota Victorian style prevalent in the late 19th century in Birmingham, which lacked natural stone and battled sooting problems due to air pollution. It is also a symbol of modernisation of Birmingham, as it was built to house the Central Telephone Exchange for the city; the logos of the Bell-Edison company are still visible within the building. As the telephone exchange relocated many decades ago, the building now houses offices and a bar. }} * {{see | name=The Old Crown | alt= | url=https://theoldcrown.co.uk/ | email= | address=188 High St, Deritend | lat=52.4748 | long=-1.88344 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Old Crown, Birmingham | image=The Old Crown Deritend.jpg | wikidata=Q7754826 | lastedit=2025-06-17 | content=The Old Crown lays claim to being the oldest building in Birmingham (purportedly there since 1368, although almost all of the present timber-framed building dates from the early 16th century). Saved from demolition multiple times, it remains an operational pub, also serving food. }} * {{see | name=Curzon Street station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.4816 | long=-1.88637 | directions=Opposite Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838-1966) | wikidata=Q5196147 | lastedit=2025-06-17 | content=The original central railway station of Birmingham, offering connections to London, Liverpool and Manchester since 1838. It was quickly overshadowed by the first Birmingham New Street station, built in 1854, and saw less and less traffic, becoming a goods station only in the 20th century, before being put completely out of use in 1996 with its tracks later dismantled. The only surviving remainder is the original station entrance building, which is Grade I listed and quite elegant in form, and part of a side wall. As of 2025, it stands next to land which is being redeveloped as the terminus for the HS2 railway, into which it is to be incorporated. The building is not open for visiting. }} * {{see | name=Rotunda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.478342 | long=-1.895389 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rotunda (Birmingham) | wikidata=Q7370704 | content=The Rotunda was devised as a 25-storey office building in a round shape, from which it derives its name. In many ways, it was a groundbreaking and daring engineering and architectural feat when it was constructed, and because of this is Grade II listed. In the 2000s it was thoroughly refurbished as a residential tower with 232 luxury apartments. Those on floors 19 and 20 are available for short term stays via Staying Cool, who operates them. The building is not accessible to the public. }} * {{see | name=Hall of Memory | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/hom | email= | address=Centenary Square, Broad Street | lat=52.47945 | long=-1.907031 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-4PM | price=free | wikipedia=Hall of Memory, Birmingham | image=Hall of Memory Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q5642705 | lastedit=2018-04-05 | content=A war memorial built in 1925 for the 12,320 Birmingham citizens killed in the First World War. }} [[File:Birmingham Town Hall from Chamberlain Square.jpg|thumb|right|Birmingham Town Hall]] * {{see | name=Town Hall | alt= | url=http://www.thsh.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.4796 | long=-1.903775 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Town Hall | wikidata=Q2191338 | lastedit=2019-05-02 | content=A concert venue and meeting hall, known for its occasional lunchtime organ recitals. }} * {{see | name=Council House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Victoria Square | lat=52.48 | long=-1.902778 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Council House, Birmingham | wikidata=Q5176236 | lastedit=2025-08-03 | content=The seat of local government. Not open to the public, except for special events and council meetings. Several WWI & II memorial plaques have been relocated here from other municipal buildings and may be seen by appointment. }} * {{see | name=Singers Hill Synagogue | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47557 | long=-1.90362 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Singers Hill Synagogue 82.jpg | wikipedia=Singers Hill Synagogue | content= | wikidata=Q7523441}} * {{see | name=Birmingham School of Art | alt=Birmingham Institute of Art and Design | url=http://www.bcu.ac.uk/biad | email= | address=Margaret Street | lat=52.48118 | long=-1.90332 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=BirminghamBIADFineArtMargaretStreet.jpg | wikipedia=Birmingham School of Art | content=Built in 1885 in High Victorian red brick style as a new seat for the Birmingham School of Art, the building retains its original function as its original occupier survived several educational institution mergers and is now the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design within Birmingham City University. The building itself is Grade I listed. | wikidata=Q4916799}} * {{see | name=Victoria Law Courts | alt=Magistrates' Court | url= | email= | address=Corporation Street | lat=52.48365 | long=-1.89383 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Birmingham Law Courts.jpg | wikipedia=Victoria Law Courts | content=A prime example of Birmingham's red-brick-and-terracota architecture, covered not only with deep red terracota on the outside, but also with rich terracota decorations on the inside. Located in the grand Corporation Street among other buildings similar in style. First opened in 1891, it continues to house a court of law, the Birmingham Magistrates' Court. | wikidata=Q7926830}} * {{see | name=Methodist Central Hall | alt= | url= | email= | address=196-224 Corporation Street | lat=52.48347 | long=-1.89273 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Methodist Central Hall, Birmingham | image=Central Hall Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q6823743 | lastedit=2025-06-17 | content=The hall was built in 1904 in a similar red-brick-and-terracota style to the Victoria Law Courts it faces. It is distinguished by its tall tower. It also retail premises at street level, some with original shop fronts. The building ceased to perform its original function and has been used as a very large night club. It is Grade II listed, and on "at risk" registers. }} * {{see | name=Hudson's Coffee House | alt= | url= | email= | address=122-124 Colmore Row | lat=52.48025 | long=-1.90183 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The former coffee house is a rare, Grade I listed, example of a wall-to-wall townhouse in the Arts & Crafts style. It was built to house offices of the Eagle Insurance Company in 1900. }} * {{see | name=Red Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address=1-7 Constitution Hill | lat=52.4866 | long=-1.9014 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=RedPalace.JPG | wikipedia=1–7 Constitution Hill, Birmingham | content=A thin corner building in the red-brick-and-terracota style was devised to house industrial workshops, with incorporated machinery and infrastructure. The building, distinguished by its ornamental tower at the very corner, ended up housing consecutive ethnic restaurants, most recently Syrian. | wikidata=Q4596722}} ===Parks and nature=== [[File:Eastside Park Canal.jpg|thumbnail|right|A pool in the Eastside City Park]] There are small parks and green spaces all over the city and suburbs, and the countryside is only about thirty minutes away in any direction. The country parks and nature reserves usually contain a wealth of information about local flora, fauna and conservation efforts. * {{see | name=Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses | alt= | url=http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/ | email=admin@birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk | address=Westbourne Rd, Edgbaston | lat=52.4662 | long=-1.9296 | directions=#22, #23, #24 or #29 bus | phone=+44 121 454-1860 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-7PM, Su 10AM-7PM (''closes at 5PM or dusk Oct-Mar'') | price=£6.10 (''concessions £3.60, family tickets available'') | image=Birmingham Botanical Gardens, rose garden. - geograph.org.uk - 835649.jpg | wikipedia=Birmingham Botanical Gardens | content=Large botanical gardens with a huge range of plants and workshops throughout the year. | wikidata=Q964899}} * {{see | name=Birmingham Nature Centre | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/naturecentre | email=nature.centre@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Pershore Rd, B5 7RL | lat=52.4505 | long=-1.9104 | directions=#45 or #47 bus, adjacent to Cannon Hill Park | phone=+44 121 472-7775 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 471-4997 | hours= Apr-Oct: daily 10AM-5PM; Nov-Mar: Sa Su 10AM-4PM | price=£1.70 (concessions £1.10, children free) | image=Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park.jpg | wikipedia=Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park | content=Six-acre centre with lots of animals and birds, including deer, otters, owls and two rare Red Pandas. | wikidata=Q4916760}} * {{see | name=Moseley Bog & Joy's Wood Nature Reserve | alt= The Dell| url=http://www.moseleybog.org.uk/ | email=info@bbcwildlife.org.uk | address=Wake Green Road, Moseley | lat=52.436 | long=-1.863 | directions=Bus 2, 3, 3a | phone=+44 121 454-1199 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | image=Log-bench at Moseley bog.jpg | wikipedia=Moseley Bog | content=A small woodland area that is said to be the Inspiration for Fangorn Forest in the Lord of The Rings. The area is well looked after with a series of wooden platforms and walkways creating pathways to follow. A visit can also be linked in with ''Sarehole Mill'' (see above), another haunt of young Tolkien. | wikidata=Q82671}} * {{see | name=Cannon Hill Park | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cannonhillpark | email= | address= | lat=52.451475 | long= -1.899753 | directions=just head down Salisbury Road from the centre of Moseley Village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Take a walk around on the Moseley/Edgbaston border. The park has a boating lake and is home to the [http://www.macarts.co.uk/ Midlands Arts Centre]. This has a theatre, an 'art-house' cinema and year-round exhibitions. }} * {{see | name=National Sea Life Centre | alt= | url=http://www.sealifeeurope.com/uk/birmingham/home.htm | email= | address=Brindleyplace | lat=52.47878 | long=-1.91356 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-6777, +44 121 633-4700 (info line) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10AM-6PM (''last admission M-F 4PM, Sa Su 5PM'') | price=£9.95 (''concessions £6.95, family tickets available'') | image=The National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham.jpeg | wikipedia=National Sea Life Centre (Birmingham) | content=Large sea life centre with a multitude of aquatic animals, including piranhas, turtles, sea horses, rays and otters. Feeding demonstrations throughout the day. | wikidata=Q6978303}} * {{see | name=RSPB Sandwell Valley | url=http://www.rspb.org/reserves/guide/s/sandwellvalley/ | email=sandwellvalley@rspb.org.uk | address=20 Tanhouse Ave, Great Barr, B43 5AG | lat=52.5259 | long=-1.9719 | directions=Train to Hamstead; No 16 bus; or signposted from local roads | phone=+44 121 357-7395 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F 9AM-5PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM (closes at dusk in winter) | price=free entrance | image=Tame Sandwell Forge Mill.JPG | wikipedia=Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve | content=A bird reserve on the border with Sandwell which organises regular guided walks, talks and family activities. | wikidata=Q7417062}} * {{see | name=Sutton Park | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/suttonpark | email=sutton.park.visitors.centre@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Sutton Coldfield | lat=52.5710 | long=-1.8568 | directions=train to Sutton Coldfield or #66A bus | phone=+44 121 355-6370 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free admission | image=Longmoor Pool - Summer 2007.jpg | wikipedia=Sutton Park | content=Enormous (over 900 hectare) park including heathland, wetland, marshes, woodland and lakes. Designated an English Nature National Nature Reserve in 1997. Lots of activities on offer including golf, angling, cycling and bird watching. | wikidata=Q1369961}} * {{see | name=Winterbourne House and Garden | alt= | url=http://www.winterbourne.org.uk/ | email= | address=58 Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston, B15 2RT | lat=52.4537 | long=-1.92484 | directions=on the University of Birmingham campus | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Winterbourne Botanic Garden | image=Winterbourne Botanic Garden.JPG | wikidata=Q5620069 | content= }} * {{see | name=Woodgate Valley Country Park | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Parks-Ranger-Service%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092737591&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper | email=woodgate.valley.country.park@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Bartley Green | lat=52.4482 | long=-1.9964 | directions=#23 bus | phone=+44 121 421-7575 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Woodgate Valley Country Park | content=450-acre meadow, hedgerow and woodland park containing '''Woodgate Valley Urban Farm''' and '''Hole Farm Trekking Centre'''. Best visited in spring and summer when there are hundred of wild flowers and butterflies. | wikidata=Q8032682}} * {{see | name=Eastside City Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.4816 | long=-1.88699 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Eastside City Park | image=Eastside Park Canal.jpg | wikidata=Q5330928 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=More of a public square than a true park. }} ==Do== ===Events=== [[File:BarclaycardArena2014.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arena Birmingham seen from the Sealife Centre in 2014]] Birmingham hosts some of the largest events, exhibitions and conferences in the country, which may or may not be of interest to a visitor. * {{do | name=National Exhibition Centre | alt=NEC | url=http://www.thenec.co.uk/ | email=cs.boxoffice@necgroup.co.uk | address=Marston Green, Solihull | lat=52.4537 | long=-1.7192 | directions=train to Birmingham International or #900 bus | phone=+44 870 909 4133 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free-£40 (price varies with event). | image=NEC atrium entrance3 10y07.JPG | wikipedia=National Exhibition Centre | content=A huge exhibition centre, staging more than 180 exhibitions each year in 21 halls totalling 200,000 m². Also has a 12,000-seat arena hosting national and international sporting and entertainment events. | wikidata=Q6146481}} * {{do | name=Arena Birmingham | alt=National Indoor Arena | url=http://www.arenabham.co.uk/ | email=cs.boxoffice@necgroup.co.uk | address=King Edwards Rd., B1 2AA | lat=52.479722 | long=-1.915000 | directions= | phone=+44 870 909 4133 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q32963 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=A fairly large, modern arena hosting many national and international sporting and entertainment events. Prices vary with event and seating. }} * {{do | name=International Convention Centre (ICC) | alt= | url=http://www.theicc.co.uk/ | email=info@theicc.co.uk | address=Broad St | lat=52.47907 | long=-1.91097 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-2000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=International Convention Centre, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 1034916.jpg | wikipedia=International Convention Centre, Birmingham | content= A modern convention centre sharing a building with '''Symphony Hall'''. | wikidata=Q15228750}} * {{do | name=The Custard Factory | alt= | url=http://www.custardfactory.co.uk/whats-on/ | email= | address=Gibb Street | lat=52.47516 | long=-1.88447 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=CustardFactoryAndDeritend.jpg | wikipedia=Custard Factory | content=Self-styled "Birmingham's Creative Quarter" this eclectic venue plays host to various events, as well as club nights on weekends and some weekdays in what was an actual custard factory in its former life. On bigger nights the large pool at the centre of the venue is drained and turned into a dancefloor with a heated marquee over it.| wikidata=Q5196288}} ===Live music=== [[File:Symphony Hall Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|Inside the Symphony Hall]] [[File:Digbeth Institute (1).jpg|thumbnail|right|The Institute]] The live music scene in Birmingham is vibrant and varied, and something can be experienced just about any night of the week. Libraries, tourist information offices and music-related bars and shops will stock copies of ''The Fly'' or "Ryan's Gig Guide" free publications with exhaustive listings of every music event going on in the city and surrounding area. * {{do | name=Symphony Hall | alt= | url=https://bmusic.co.uk/ | email=boxoffice@thsh.co.uk | address=Broad St | lat=52.47851 | long=-1.91034 | directions= | phone=0121 780 3333 (box office) | tollfree= | hours= | price=£26-62 (price varies with seating: £5 tickets available for students and under 18s, £10 tickets for 18-30 year olds) | wikipedia=Symphony Hall, Birmingham | image=Symphony Hall, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 1034924.jpg | wikidata=Q3507908 | lastedit=09-04-2026 | content=Internationally renowned concert venue with two to four classical concerts per week. Also offers free pre-concert talks. }} * {{do | name=CBSO Centre | alt= | url=http://www.cbso.co.uk/ | email=information@cbso.co.uk | address=Berkley St (off Broad St) | lat=52.47560 | long=-1.90939 | directions= | phone=+44 121 616-6500, +44 121 780-3333 (ticket line) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5-12 | image=CBSO Centre Birmingham.jpg | wikipedia=CBSO Centre | content=Modern rehearsal facilities for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Concerts usually once a week, including ''Centre Stage'' intimate chamber music. | wikidata=Q5009212}} * {{do | name=O2 Institute | alt=Digbeth Institute | url=https://www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham/ | email= | address=78 Digbeth | lat=52.4756 | long=-1.88737 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-8311, +44 870 907 0999 (premium rate ticket line) | tollfree= | hours= | price=Tickets £6-25 (price varies with band fame) | wikipedia=Digbeth Institute | wikidata=Q5275562 | content=O2 Institute (formerly The Institute, HMV Institute, etc) is a new name. Focusing on alternative, pop and urban music, the venue has 3 stages, hosting gigs from local and touring bands. Also hosts regular club nights. }} * {{do|name=O2 Academy Birmingham|lat=52.47320 | long=-1.90027|address=16-18 Horsefair, Bristol St| phone=+44 121 622-8850, +44 905 020 3999 (premium rate info line - calls incur a 30p per minute service charge plus your phone providers per-minute access charge) |email= mail@o2academybirmingham.co.uk|url=http://www.o2academybirmingham.co.uk/|content=Relocated from its previous Dale End location, O2 Academy is a large music venue hosting many gigs from local and touring artists. The Venue has 3 separate arenas, O2 Academy, Academy 2 and Academy 3 and each venue may be open consecutively with up to 3 different gigs on some nights. The venue mainly focuses on alternative rock and indie. Weekend gig tickets usually allow entry to the club night going on afterwards.|price=£6-25 (price varies with band fame)}} * '''[http://www.birminghamjazzfestival.com/ Birmingham Jazz Festival]''' is held in July at multiple venues. ===Theatre=== [[File:Birmingham Hippodrome.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Birmingham Hippodrome]] [[File:Birmingham Rep + Library of Birmingham - 2014-02-11 - Andy Mabbett - 01.JPG|thumbnail|right|The Rep - Birmingham Repertory Theatre]] In addition to the main venues mentioned below, there are several small theatres scattered around the city and the suburbs; pick up a ''What's On'' guide from a library or tourist information office for full listings. * {{do | name=Alexandra Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham-alexandra.co.uk/ | email= | address=Station St. | lat=52.4763 | long=-1.90068 | directions= | phone=+44 870 607 7533 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£6-50 (price varies with seating) | wikipedia=The Alexandra, Birmingham | image=Alexandra Theatre Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q7005267 | content=Edwardian theatre showing pre- and post-West End plays and musicals. }} * {{do | name=Birmingham Hippodrome | alt= | url=http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com | email=tickets@birminghamhippodrome.com | address=Hurst St | lat=52.4746 | long=-1.8976 | directions= | phone=+44 121 689-3000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£6-50 (price varies with seating. Concessions £3-5 off or £10-15 student & seniors (plus non-student/senior friend) standby 24 hours in advance. 3%-6% transaction fee if not paying by cash) | wikipedia=Birmingham Hippodrome | image=Birmingham Hippodrome.jpg | wikidata=Q4916717 | content=Large, refurbished theatre showing varied performing arts, including ballet, musicals, comedy, opera and drama. Home of the Patrick Centre for the Performing Arts and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Preferred venue for the Welsh National Opera. }} * {{do | name=Crescent Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.crescent-theatre.co.uk/ | email= | address=20 Sheepcote St | lat=52.4773 | long=-1.91541 | directions=off Broad St | phone=+44 121 643-5858 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Box office M-F 4:30PM-7PM, Sa noon-7PM | price=£7-12 (concessions £1-1.50 off) | wikipedia=Crescent Theatre | wikidata=Q5184431 | content=Independent local theatre company performing both old and modern plays. }} * '''Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)'''. See ''Cinema''. £5-20. * {{do | name=Old Rep Theatre | alt= | url=https://www.oldrep.co.uk/ | email=boxoffice@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Station Street | lat=52.4767 | long=-1.89839 | directions= | phone=+44 121 303-2323 | tollfree= | hours= | price=£5-15 | wikipedia=Old Rep | wikidata=Q7084830 | lastedit=2025-08-03 | content=Built in 1913. Home of the Birmingham Stage Company, puts on both professional and amateur productions. }} * {{do | name=Repertory Theatre | alt=The Rep | url=http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/ | email=stage.door@birmingham-rep.co.uk | address=Centenary Square, Broad Street | lat=52.4794 | long=-1.90941 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-4455 | tollfree= | hours= | price=£5-15 | wikipedia=Birmingham Repertory Theatre | wikidata=Q4916786 | content=Well-established theatre putting on classical and modern plays. Supports new work through '''The Door'''. }} * {{do | name=Old Joint Stock Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.oldjointstocktheatre.co.uk/ | email= | address=4 Temple Row West | lat=52.4811 | long=-1.9 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Old Joint Stock Theatre | wikidata=Q7084308 | content=In a beautiful 1864 building that was built as a bank, this intimate (only 95 seats) theatre hosts guest performances, two resident companies, a Musical Theatre Group, and a regular Theatre Group. It is the main venue for the comedic Foghorn Improv. Downstairs is a pub in the preserved Victorian bank hall with a glass dome and lavish decorations. }} ===Cinema=== Birmingham's cinemas are quite reasonably priced due to stiff competition for the student market. Don't expect a huge range of "alternative" films, as even the independent places screen mainstream blockbusters to keep their revenues up. * {{do | name=mac | alt=Midlands Arts Centre | url=http://www.macarts.co.uk | email=info@macarts.co.uk | address=Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston/Moseley | lat=52.4529 | long=-1.9039 | directions=#1, #45 or #47 bus | phone=+44 121 440-3838 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-11PM, Su 9AM-10:30PM | price=£6 (concessions £4.50) | wikipedia=Mac (Birmingham) | wikidata=Q6722166 | content=The mac, located in the leafy suburb of Edgbaston has a small but perfectly formed arthouse cinema, and a cafe, hosts art exhibitons, and is a concert and theatre venue. }} * {{do | name=The Giant Screen | alt= | url=http://www.giantscreencinema.co.uk/ | email=findout@thinktank.ac | address=Millennium Point, Curzon St. | lat=52.48325 | long=-1.88564 | directions= | phone=+44 121 202-2222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM | price=£9.60 (''concessions £7.60, children under 16 £7.60, family and joint Thinktank tickets available'') | content=Part of the Thinktank science museum. 2D and 3D films shown on an enormous (five story) screen. Some mainstream films, mainly documentaries. }} * {{do | name=AMC | alt= | url=http://www.amccinemas.co.uk/ | email= | address=220 Ladywood Middleway, Broadway Plaza | lat=52.47355 | long=-1.92164 | directions= | phone=+44 870 755 5657 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-1AM | price=£5 (£3.50 concessions and before 6:30PM) | content=A large modern multiplex showing recent mainstream films. }} * {{do | name=Cineworld | alt= | url=http://www.cineworld.co.uk/ | email= | address=181 Broad St | lat=52.47417 | long=-1.91565 | directions= | phone=+44 871 200 2000 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-1AM | price=£5.50 (£3.50 concessions and before 6:30PM, family tickets available) | content=A large modern multiplex showing recent mainstream films. }} * {{do | name=Odeon | alt= | url=http://www.odeon.co.uk/ | email= | address=New Street | lat=52.47836 | long=-1.89687 | directions= | phone=+44 871 224 4007 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5.20 (£4 before 5PM M-F) | content=Cinema showing mainstream films, near to Bullring shopping centre and New Street station. You can't really call it much of a multiplex. It is a 1930s building with very few screens and the seats are so close together your legs hurt after the advertisements. }} * {{do | name=Vue | alt= | url=http://www.myvue.com/ | email= | address=29 Star City | lat=52.50537 | long=-1.85642 | directions= | phone=+44 871 224 0240 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5.70-6.60 (£8-15 for gold class) | content=Multiplex within the Star City entertainment complex north east of the town center (which also boasts restaurants, bars, nightclubs, bowling and a large casino). The cinema offers 24 screens, including 3 gold class screens with larger, more comfortable seats, at-seat service, free popcorn and a bar. }} ===Sports=== [https://www.birminghamleisure.com/ Birmingham Community Leisure Trust centres] are liberally scattered throughout Birmingham, typically offering swimming pools, sports courts, fields and exercise equipment, all available at much lower prices than you'd expect to pay at privately-run gyms. There's also plenty of golf courses, both municipal and private, across the city including the world famous Belfry complex. * '''Football:''' the Birmingham conurbation has three professional soccer teams. ** '''Aston Villa''' play at {{do | name=Villa Park | alt= | url=https://www.avfc.co.uk/villa-park | email=ticketsales@astonvilla-fc.co.uk | address=B6 6HE | lat=52.5092 | long=-1.8847 | directions=Bus 7 or train from New Street to Witton | phone=+44 871 423 8100 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Villa Park | wikidata=Q175339 | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Villa play in the Premier League, England's top tier, and are one of England's more successful clubs, most recently winning the Europa League in 2026. Their 42,736-capacity stadium is 2 miles north of the city centre. The women's team plays in the Women's Super League, their top tier, with home games in Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield. }} ** '''Birmingham City''' play at {{do | name=St Andrews | alt= | url=https://www.bcfc.com/ | email=ticket.office@bcfc.com | address=Cattell Rd B9 4RL | lat=52.4757 | long=-1.8682 | directions=Train to Bordesley | phone=+44 871 226 1875 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St Andrew's (stadium) | wikidata=Q819179 | lastedit=2026-06-02 | content=City play in the Championship, the second tier. Their 30,016 capacity stadium is one mile east of city centre. The women's team were promoted in 2026 and play in WSL their top tier, with home games at Solihull Moor. }} ** '''West Bromwich Albion''' play at {{do | name=The Hawthorns | alt= | url=https://www.wba.co.uk/ | email= | address=Halfords Lane B71 4LF | lat=52.5092 | long=-1.9639 | directions=train or tram to Hawthorns | phone=+44 121 524 3470 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Hawthorns | wikidata=Q31678 | lastedit=2022-05-08 | content=West Brom play in the Championship, the second tier. Their stadium, capacity 26,800, is four miles northwest of Birmingham city centre. }} * '''Cricket:''' {{do | name=Edgbaston Cricket Ground | alt=County Ground | url=http://www.edgbaston.com/ | email=info@edgbaston.com | address=B5 7QU | lat=52.4558 | long=-1.9025 | directions= | phone=+44 870 062 1902 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Edgbaston Cricket Ground | wikidata=Q1284346 | lastedit=2023-08-18 | content=Stadium of 25,000 capacity, home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, one of the 18 "First Class Counties" comprising the first tier of English cricket. These county matches last 3-4 days, day tickets £6-£15, and you'll find few others there for a mid-week county match. Edgbaston frequently also hosts international (or "Test") matches, lasting up to 5 days, day tickets £20-£70. Also playing here are Birmingham Phoenix men's and women's teams in The Hundred short game. The stadium is a mile south of city centre, walk along Pershore Rd (A441), or take bus 45 or 47. }} * {{do | name=Alexander Stadium | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/alexander | email=alexander.stadium@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Stadium Way, Perry Barr B42 2LR | lat=52.5303 | long=-1.90561 | directions= | phone=+44 121 344 4858 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Alexander Stadium | wikidata=Q2833210 | lastedit=2025-07-13 | content=Alexander Stadium, situated in Perry Barr, is Birmingham's only large athletics stadium and plays host to international meets and trials to decide the English/British teams for major events as well as being the base for the [http://www.birchfieldharriers.net/ Birchfield Harriers] athletics club. The stadium's various sporting facilities are also open to public use. £1-2, capacity 18,000. }} * '''Rugby league:''' [https://midlandshurricanes.co.uk/ Midlands Hurricanes] play the 13-a-side game at Avery Fields in the Championship, the second tier. This expanded in 2026 and took in clubs such as Hurricanes from the former third tier. The playing season is Feb-Nov. * '''Rugby Union:''' [https://moseleyrugby.co.uk/ Moseley]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} play 15-a-side in National League One, the third tier. Their home ground is on Billesley Common 4 miles south of city centre. * {{do | name=Edgbaston Priory | alt= | url=http://www.edgbastonpriory.com/ | email=ann.pendrey@edgbastonpriory.com | address=Sir Harrys Rd, Edgbaston, B15 2UZ | lat=52.4589 | long=-1.9128 | directions= | phone=+44 121 440 2492 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Edgbaston Priory Club | wikidata=Q5337622 | content=Edgbaston Priory is the main tennis club in Birmingham, with 29 tennis courts, 10 squash courts, 2 swimming pools and a gym available to the public. Every June the club also hosts the [http://birmingham.lta.org.uk/ DFS Classic], a woman's tennis tournament that acts as a warm-up for Wimbledon. DFS Classic tickets £8-20. }} * {{do | name=The Belfry | alt= | url=http://www.thebelfry.co.uk/ | email=enquiries@thebelfry.com | address=Lichfield Rd, Sutton Coldfield, B76 9PR | lat=52.5543 | long=-1.73447 | directions= | phone=+44 870 900 0066 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Belfry | wikidata=Q1770934 | content=The Belfry Golf Club runs three courses just to the north east of Birmingham, including the world famous Brabazon course which has been used for the Ryder Cup and continues to play host to tournaments on the [http://www.europeantour.com/ PGA European Tour]. Green fees £25-140, tournament spectator tickets £7.50-20. }} * {{do | name=Grand Prix Karting | alt= | url=http://www.grandprixkarting.co.uk/ | email= | address=Adderley Rd South, B8 1AD | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 121 327 7700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Large go-karting centre just east of the city centre. £10-50. }} * {{do | name=The Ackers | alt= | url=http://www.ackers-adventure.co.uk/ | email=info@ackers-adventure.co.uk | address=Golden Hillock Rd, Small Heath, B11 2PY | lat=52.458093 | long=-1.852041 | directions= | phone=+44 121 772 5111 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The Ackers is an outdoor activity centre offering a range of activities, ranging from kayaking and archery to rock climbing and dry slope skiing. Prices vary depending on activity. Skiing/snowboarding sessions £11 for one hour. }} * {{do | name=Birmingham Speedway | alt= | url=http://www.birminghamspeedway.co.uk/ | email= | address=Perry Barr Stadium, Aldridge Road, Perry Barr B42 2ET | lat=52.519226 | long=-1.898816 | directions= | phone=+44 870 840 7410 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours=Open W 7:45PM | price= | content=Premier League speedway racing. }} * {{do | name=Creation Skate Park | alt= | url=http://www.creationskatepark.co.uk/ | email= | address=582 Moseley Rd | lat=52.454348 | long= -1.885986 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449 8000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=skateboarding or BMX-ing }} ===Theme parks=== * {{do | name=Drayton Manor | alt= | url=http://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/ | email=info@draytonmanor.co.uk | address=B78 3TW | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 870 872 5252 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Drayton Manor Theme Park | content= Located just outside [[Tamworth (England)|Tamworth]] in [[Staffordshire]], is the fourth most popular theme park in the UK, with 35 rides set in 280 acres of land as well as a 15 acre zoo. To get to the park during school holidays simply catch the special E22 bus in the mornings (typically just before 9 and 10) from Carrs Lane stop DK (near the Pavilions Shopping Centre). A return ticket should cost £10. Outside of school holidays you'll need to catch bus 110, which runs every half hour from Bull Street stop BF (near Snow Hill station) and get off at Fazeley. The return fare is £4. If you're unsure of where exactly the stop is (and it's easy to miss) ask the driver to signal you when you need to get off. Admission £18.95-20.95. | wikidata=Q3039179}} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=Brasshouse Language Centre | alt= | url=http://www.brasshouse.ac.uk/ | email=information@baes.ac.uk | address= | lat=52.479776 | long=-1.908403 | directions=within the Library of Birmingham, off Broad St | phone=+44 121 303-0114 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-03 | content=Specialist language centre offering courses in over 30 languages, from beginners up to degree level. Also offers TEFL, residential courses and distance learning. }} * There are also regular workshops at places such as the '''Midlands Arts Centre''' (see ''Cinema'') and the '''Country Parks''' (see ''Parks and nature''). ==Work== The vast number of shops, bars and restaurants in the city centre means that there is rarely a shortage of menial job vacancies. You will often see positions for minimum wage service or retail positions advertised in windows. There are also a lot of temping agencies able to find temporary office, driving and other jobs for travellers packing suits and CVs. * {{listing | name=Birmingham Broad Street Jobcentre | alt= | url= | email= | address=Centennial House, 100 Broad St | lat=52.4748 | long=-1.9155 | directions= | phone=+44 121 480 3800 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham City Jobcentre Plus | alt= | url= | email= | address=65-77 Summer Row, Ladywood | lat=52.4819 | long=-1.9089 | directions= | phone=+44 121 237-8300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Buy== [[File:Birmingham Bullring panorama -England.jpg|framed|center|The Bull Ring area]] Since the beginning of the 21st century Birmingham has developed enormously as a regional shopping centre, with the old '''Bull Ring''' complex (once a notorious 1960s eyesore) being demolished to make way for a large shopping centre that includes Selfridges. The city and suburbs have the usual assortment of supermarkets, newsagents and corner shops. The city centre is especially well-served, with three Tesco, two Sainsbury's and one Co-op outlets. === Shopping centres === [[File:Great Western Arcade.jpg|thumbnail|right|Inside the Great Western Arcade]] * {{buy | name=Bullring| alt= | url=http://www.bullring.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.4777 | long=-1.894178 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Bull Ring, Birmingham | image=Aerial Bull Ring Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q2734894 | content=Regionally-important shopping mall, connected to Grand Central }} * {{buy | name=The Mailbox | alt= | url=http://www.mailboxlife.com/ | email= | address= | lat=52.47617 | long=-1.90457 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Home to the region's only Harvey Nichols, as well as many other designer boutiques. }} * {{buy | name=Grand Central | alt= | url=https://www.bullring.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.47782 | long=-1.8984 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-11-04 | content=Located directly above New Street Station. The mall provides a fast link from the Bullring directly into New Street Station, with relatively little pedestrian traffic. }} * {{buy | name=Martineau Place | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.48047 | long=-1.89573 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Martineau Place is a small shopping centre, which holds a Gap, H&M, O'Neill Store and Freespirit, as well as an obligatory Starbucks Coffee House. }} * {{buy | name=Great Western Arcade | alt= | url=http://www.greatwesternarcade.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.48186 | long=-1.89719 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A traditional shopping arcade built in 1875 over the Great Western railway line, which cut through the city. It has an ornate entrance on the Temple Row side, and a less impressive one from Colmore Row and a clock with carillion. There is a mixture of all kinds of shops, all pleasantly fitting within the late 19th-century theme with their decorations. }} * {{buy | name=Picadilly Arcade | alt= | url=http://www.birminghampiccadillyarcade.co.uk/ | email= | address=New Street | lat=52.47893 | long=-1.90004 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A historic shopping arcade with painted plafonds and a potpourri of specialist premises right next to the New Street station. }} [[File:Corporation Street from New Street, Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|Corporation Street from New Street]] === Shopping streets === The principal shopping streets are New Street, High Street and Corporation Street. All include the usual assortment of high street chain-stores and discount outlets. Birmingham's High Street has become run down as of late, holding mainly discount stores, due to the attraction of the Bull Ring to larger name stores. However, New Street, going towards Victoria Square has many upmarket stores. === Markets === [[File:Bull Ring outdoor market. - geograph.org.uk - 708018.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Bull Ring outdoor market]] * {{buy | name=Bull Ring Markets | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/markets | email=marketstalls@birmingham.gov.uk | address=The Bull Ring | lat=52.47627 | long=-1.89353 | directions= | phone=+44 121 303-0300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Indoor Market: M-Sa 9AM-5:30PM, Rag Market: Tu Th-Sa 9AM-5PM, Open Market: Tu-Sa 9AM-5PM | price= | content=The markets comprise the original trading centre that Birmingham was built upon. There are hundreds of stalls, and you'll be able to get everything from food to underwear to gaffa tape relatively cheaply. }} === Speciality stores === * {{buy | name=Worlds Apart | alt=known for decades as Nostalgia & Comics | url=https://www.facebook.com/WorldsApartBirmingham/ | email= | address=14-16 Smallbrook Queensway, B5 4EN | lat=52.47574 | long=-1.89910 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-0143 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9:30AM–5:30PM, Su 11AM-4PM | price= | content=Comics, graphic novels, manga and the usual alternative oddities. Ideal if you want to catch up on your favourite series while on the road. }} * {{buy | name=Oasis | alt= | url=http://www.theoasisfashionstore.co.uk/ | email= | address=112-114 Corporation St | lat=52.48156 | long=-1.89483 | directions= | phone=+44 121 233-4488 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-5PM | price= | content= A large and intertwining collection of several small retailers over four floors, specialising in goth and alternative clothing and accessories. }} * {{buy | name=The Jewellery Quarter | alt= | url=http://www.the-quarter.com/ | email= | address= | lat=52.48701 | long=-1.91259 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=To the north of the city centre, specialises in jewellery and contains many small workshops and retailers. }} * {{buy | name=Day In | alt= | url= | email= | address=The Arcadian Centre | lat=52.475236 | long=-1.895883 | directions= | phone=+44 121 622-6182 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Chinese supermarket with a wide range of Asian foods. }} * {{buy | name=One Earth Shop | alt= | url= | email= | address=54 Allinson St, Digbeth | lat=52.478435 | long=-1.889603 | directions= | phone=+44 121 632-6909 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-5PM | price= | content=Speciality vegan wholefoods and other ethical essentials. }} === Moseley === * {{buy | name=Farmer's Market | alt= | url=http://moseleyfarmersmarket.org.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.446602 | long= -1.888007 | directions= in the centre of the village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=4th Saturday of every month | price= | lastedit= | content= There is a selection of farm produce, but many stalls selling all manner of local foodstuffs (pies, jam, deli foods, etc.). It was a finalist in the best farmer's market in the UK competition. }} * {{buy | name=Moseley Arts Market | alt= | url=http://www.moseleycdt.com/arts_market | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=4th Saturday of the month, March - December. | price= | lastedit= | content=Specialist arts and crafts from the best local designers, makers and artisans }} * {{buy | name=Woodbridge Gallery | alt= | url= | email= | address=47 Woodbridge Road | lat=52.447998 | long= -1.883533 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-5581 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=is a small gallery in a someone's back-yard! It's only open for specific exhibitions which last a few days at a time. These usually display work by local artists. There is no admission charge. }} *{{buy | name=Nima Delicatessan | url= | email= | address=103 Alcester Road | lat=52.447401 | long= -1.888322 | directions= | phone=+44 121 442-4205 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A well-stocked deli, selling cooked meats, cheese, coffee and a wide selection of ethnic and organic foods and ingredients. }} ==Eat== Birmingham is the balti capital of England, and the balti was invented here in 1977. It is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl". The much-promoted "[http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/sparkbrook balti triangle]" covers around 50 restaurants on Ladypool Road and Stratford Road in Sparkbrook (often referred to as Little Somalia), about 2 miles south of the city centre. Travel West Midlands has a deal with eight of the larger eateries whereby you can get a 15% discount for travelling by bus, pick up a ''Balti Triangle by Bus'' leaflet for full details. A taxi to the area will take around 10 minutes and cost £5. It looks run-down and has a high rate of crime as of 2026, so be cautious. [[File:The Mailbox 03.jpg|thumbnail|right|Restaurants at the canal side of The Mailbox]] ===Budget=== Birmingham has a large student population, and the usual cottage industries have sprung up in campus areas to cater for their lack of cash. There are around a dozen cheap eateries in the [[Selly Oak]] area of Bristol Road, mainly Indian but also Chinese, Italian and English. The usual fast food chains, kebab shops and burger vans are also scattered around the city and surrounding areas. ====City centre==== * {{eat | name=Eat4Less | alt= | url=https://www.e4l.uk/ | email= | address=92 New St | lat=52.4793120 | long=-1.9011172 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Breakfast sandwiches are generous in size and tasty. Known for their baguettes but also do burgers, pizzas, omelettes and jacket potatoes. }} * {{eat | name=Grand Central Kitchen | alt= | url=https://grand-central-kitchen.business.site/ | email= | address=7 Stephenson St | lat=52.4786835 | long=-1.8991394 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Perfect English breakfast. You can fully comprehend why there is a queue outside on a Sunday for breakfast because the food is so good. }} * {{eat | name=Tortilla Birmingham | alt= | url=https://www.tortilla.co.uk/locations/birmingham/ | email= | address=Stephenson Pl | lat=52.4776392 | long=-1.8977541 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Tasty from the burritos to the chips and the sauces. The meat is tender and juicy and the flavours are distinct and bold. }} * {{eat | name=The Chicken Hut | alt= | url=http://www.chickenhuteurope.com/ | email= | address=201 Corporation St | lat=52.4842781 | long= -1.8926227 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Fire food, try the supreme burger. A chicken steak burger for £2 (April 2021). }} * {{eat | name=Caspian Pizza | alt= | url=https://www.caspianpizza.com/ | email= | address=187 Corporation St | lat=52.4840470 | long= -1.8927920 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Lovely vegetarian panini. The seating is comfortable and the overall decor is nice. }} * {{eat | name=LEON New Street Station | alt= | url=https://leon.co/restaurants/birmingham-new-street-station/ | email= | address=25 Station Street New Street | lat=52.4776621 | long=-1.8977655 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Leon serves high quality tasty food and extremely quickly when on the move. They have a great vegan selection as well. Relaxing atmosphere and wonderful decor. }} * {{eat | name=Baguettes 4 Less | alt= | url= | email= | address=108 Corporation St | lat=52.4813113 | long=-1.8958098 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-11-01 | content=Nice baguettes. The jacket potatoes are good quality, well filled and piping hot. }} * {{eat | name=Edwardian Tea Rooms | alt= | url= | email= | address=Chamberlain Square | lat=52.48063 | long=-1.90297 | directions=inside Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery | phone=+44 121 303-2834 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th Sa 10AM-5PM, F 10:30AM-5PM, Su 12:30PM-5PM | price= | lastedit= | content=Authentic Edwardian cafe. The food is a lot better than the price suggests. }} ====Around the International Convention Centre==== * {{eat | name=Canalside Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Canalside-Bar-111398809664010/ | email= | address=35 Worcester Bar, Gas St | lat=52.47709 | long=-1.90983 | directions= | phone=+44 121 248-7979 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Fairly small cafe with a good range of organic and vegetarian foods. Excellent in the summer, as it's (unsurprisingly) right on the canalside. }} ====Near the University of Birmingham==== * {{eat | name=Cafe Face | alt= | url=https://www.ubereats.com/gb/store/cafe-face/79XJk2SCVvSZG4ENHEk2JQ | email= | address=519 Bristol Rd, Selly Oak | lat=52.44623 | long=-1.93202 | directions= | phone=+44 121 415-4651 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Excellent reputation for their roasted vegetables or jacket potatoes. Absolutely excellent cafes, big helpings not shy on the cheese, garlic mayonnaise and chilli sauce if you were to order them. }} * {{eat | name=Whats Cooking: Rooster Chicken | alt=Rooster House | url=https://curriesroosterhouse.co.uk/order-now | email= | address=Bottom of Harrow Road | lat=52.44620 | long=-1.93142 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Delicious, slightly suspect chicken in huge quantities but don't order off the board or you'll be waiting all day }} ====Moseley==== *{{eat | name=Java Roastery | url=http://www.javaroastery.co.uk/ | email= | address=115 Alcester Rd | lat=52.447053 | long= -1.888290 | directions= | phone=+44 121 347-6610 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=An internet cafe offering a wide selection of hot drinks and cakes. Probably more genuine cafe that happens to do internet connections, than your typical scummy internet cafe. }} [[File:Boulton, Watt and Murdoch statue from Library of Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|Statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch in Broad Street]] ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Yorks Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.yorkscafe.co.uk/ | email= | address=Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace | lat=52.47755 | long=-1.91247 | directions= | phone=+44 121 293-9186 | tollfree= | hours=M noon-11PM, Tu-Sa 11AM-11PM, Su 11AM-6PM | price=£6-20 (Aug 2020) | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Modern cafe attached to the art gallery with efficient and friendly staff. Another branch is at Stephenson Street, B2 4BH. }} * {{eat | name=Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant | alt= | url=https://www.chungying.co.uk/menus/chung-ying-cantonese-menu | email= | address=16-18 Wrottesley St | lat=52.47539 | long=-1.89682 | directions=off Hurst St | phone =+44 121 622-5669 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=''The'' Chinese Restaurant in Birmingham, established since 1981. Opposite Arcadian Centre. }} * {{eat | name=The Kitchen Garden Cafe | alt= | url=http://www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk/ | email= | address=17 York Road, Kings Heath | lat=52.43408 | long=-1.89370 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Picturesque area in the middle of a busy and bustling Birmingham suburb. Quality vegetarian options and excellent service. }} * {{eat | name=Pasta Di Piazza | alt= | url=http://www.pastadipiazza.com/ | email= | address=11 Brook St | lat=52.48472 | long=-1.90739 | directions=St. Paul's Square | phone =+44 121 236-5858 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily noon-midnight | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Upmarket Italian place, can be a bit crowded. }} * {{eat | name=Wagamama bullring | alt= | url=http://www.wagamama.com/ | email= | address=Bullring plaza, (''under Borders''), B5 4QL | lat=52.47817 | long=-1.91197 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-6033 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa noon-11PM, Su 12:30PM-10PM | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Birmingham's restaurant of the Wagamama chain, tidy and minimal inside with a good, varied noodle menu. Specials change frequently and there are a few good vegetarian dishes. Can get busy, with a typical wait from 10-15 minutes during peak shopping times. }} [[File:Brindleyplace Birmingham.jpg | thumb | 300px| The Birmingham Canal ]] ==== Moseley ==== * {{eat | name=Sabai Sabai | alt= | url=https://www.sabaisabai.com/ | email= | address=25 Woodbridge Road | lat=52.448324 | long=-1.886249 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-4498 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Thai cuisine, excellent value and quality, although often full and some find it a little packed/claustrophobic. }} * {{eat | name=Kabbabish | alt= | url=http://www.kababish.co.uk/ | email= | address=29 Woodbridge Road | lat=52.448298 | long= -1.885541 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=An up-market balti house. }} *{{eat | name=La Plancha | url=http://www.laplancha.co.uk/ | email= | address=113 Alcester Road | lat=52.447109 | long= -1.888352 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-5303 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=A Spanish tapas bar/restaurant. Bar area downstairs with seating and a tapas menu, upstairs a restaurant with a wider menu. Pretty authentic Spanish fare. }} *{{eat | name=The Fighting Cocks | alt= | url=http://www.thefightingcocksmoseley.co.uk/ | email= | address=1 St Mary's Row | lat=52.447077 | long= -1.887743 | directions=Alcester Road | phone=+44 121 449-0811 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Very pleasant pub with a youngish crowd in the centre offering a selection of traditional pub food and more modern dishes and vast selection of beers and wine. Not cheap for pub food slow service but good quality. }} ===Splurge=== Birmingham has quite a few upmarket places, mainly due to the number of high-rolling businesspeople that drift in for conferences and other dealings. * {{eat | name=Rectory Bar & Restaurant | alt= | url=http://www.rectorybar.co.uk/ | email= | address=50-54 St Pauls Square | lat=52.48460 | long=-1.90641 | directions= | phone=+44 121 605-1001 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Ideal venue for both drinking and dining with a fabulous reputation for food. Quality steaks, fresh fish, set price menu and superb wine list. The bar is vibrant every weekend and is open to 1AM. It's a stylish place but friendly and attracts a great mix of people. }} * {{eat | name=Zen Metro | alt= | url=http://www.metrobarandgrill.co.uk/ | email= | address=73 Cornwall St | lat=52.48211 | long=-1.90262 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-1911 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Seasonal seafood, pasta, salads and cocktails. }} * {{eat | name=The Jam House | alt= | url=http://www.thejamhouse.com/ | email=info@thejamhouse.com | address=1 St. Paul's Square | lat=52.48507 | long=-1.90458 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-3030 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Varied menu and live music most nights. }} * {{eat | name=Purnell's | alt= | url=http://www.purnellsrestaurant.com/michelin-star-birmingham | email= | address=55 Cornwall St | lat=52.48267 | long=-1.90183 | directions= | phone=+44 121 212-9799 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£100+ | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=One Michelin star. }} ===Vegetarian and vegan=== Considering its size, Birmingham does not have a wide range of vegetarian-specific places to eat. All the eateries mentioned above will have vegetarian options, but the Indian and Chinese places tend to have better variety. If you are vegan ask for your balti/curry to be cooked without ghee (clarified butter). Naan breads are generally not vegan whilst rotis are. * {{eat | name=Jyoti | alt= | url=http://www.jyotis.co.uk/ | email= | address=569-571 Stratford Rd, Hall Green | lat=52.4395 | long=-1.8488 | directions=4 miles south of the city. #5 or #6 bus | phone=+44 121 766-7199 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Excellent Indian food, but relatively small portions. Extremely popular, so book ahead. }} * {{eat | name=The Warehouse Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.thewarehousecafe.com/ | email= | address=54 Allison St | lat=52.47835 | long=-1.88968 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-0261 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Wholesome organic vegetarian and vegan fare. Closely linked with Friends of the Earth. }} * {{eat | name=Mr Singh's | alt= | url=http://www.mrsinghspizza.co.uk/ | email= | address=103 Cornwall Rd | lat=52.5198 | long=-1.9926 | directions= | phone=+44 121 552-3529 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Handsworth Wood. Vegan and vegetarian pizza restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Land Restaurant | alt= | url=http://www.land-restaurant.co.uk | email=restaurant@land-restaurant.co.uk | address=26 Great Western Arcade, B2 5HU | lat=52.4817 | long=-1.8970 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-2313 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Th noon-2:30PM, 5-8:30PM; F Sa noon-2:30PM, 5-9PM | price=£12-40 (April 2021) | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Plant focused, casual dining restaurant. Dishes highlight seasonal ingredients. }} ==Drink== ===General=== Dress code restrictions are rather common in Birmingham clubs, so be careful to check out each club's policy. Many clubs refuse to admit large groups of males in case of trouble, so go individually or in small groups. The usual excuse that door-staff give is that someone in the party is wearing the wrong type of shoes/coat/trousers etc. The general rule of thumb is ''no effort, no entry''. This usually means shoes, not trainers, and a shirt, not a T-shirt. At the same time being dressed like that can be a hindrance, if you go to one of the cooler bars. It's best to check with someone who's been to the particular bar before. There are a number of areas in the city centre, which are defined below, but other areas to look for a night out are Moseley, Harborne and Selly Oak. If you are looking for the average drink, virtually any pub or bar will do. If you are a ''real ale'' aficionado, there are several excellent pubs to visit, where dress restrictions do not usually apply. Highlights include The Wellington (Bennets Hill), The Shakeseare (Summer Row), another The Shakeseare (Lower Temple Street), The Old Contemptables (Edmund Street, near Snow Hill Station), and the Post Office Vaults (New Street). [[File:Mailbox at Night.jpg|thumbnail|The Mailbox viewed from the front, across The Queensway inner ring road]] ===City centre=== * {{drink | name=Bull | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Price St, B4 6JU | lat=52.48647 | long=-1.89524 | directions= | phone=+44 121 333-6757 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Quiet and comfortable pub, in the Gun quarter. Home-cooked food, too. }} * {{drink | name=Figure of Eight | alt= | url= | email= | address=236 Broad St, B1 2HG | lat=52.47654 | long=-1.91221 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-0917 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Large city centre pub belonging to the Wetherspoon chain. }} * {{drink | name=Bacchus | alt= | url= | email= | address=Burlington Arcade | lat=52.47879 | long=-1.8988 | directions= | phone=+44 121 616-7991 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cheerfully ornate, gothic style cellar bar beneath The Burlington Hotel. Discretely hidden just off the bustling New Street. Bacchus is a relaxing oasis away from the buzz of the City Centre. A range of real ales is available. Over 21s only. }} * {{drink | name=Craven Arms | alt= | url= | email= | address=Upper Gough Street | lat=52.47504 | long=-1.90375 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-6756 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Situated out of the rear of the Mailbox complex, has great traditional blue tiled exterior. }} * {{drink | name=Edmunds Lounge Bar and Eatery | alt= | url=http://www.edmundsbar.co.uk/ | email= | address=106-110 Edmund Street | lat=52.48170 | long=-1.90205 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-2423 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£8-12 | content=Popular venue in the financial part of town, great food available every day. Known for quality pub food from local suppliers. }} * {{drink | name=The Malt House | alt= | url= | email= | address=74 King Edwards Road, B1 2NX | lat=52.47942 | long=-1.91344 | directions=sandwiched between the ICC and the NIA along the canal | phone=+44 121 633-4171 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Noon-11PM | price= | content=Make no mistake this is a chain pub serving standard food and drinks. However, when the sun is shining it is difficult to find a nicer place to drink along Birmingham's canals as there is a plethora of outdoor seating. Visited by Bill Clinton during his Birmingham visit. }} * {{drink | name=Old Fox | alt= | url= | email= | address=54 Hurst St | lat=52.47452 | long=-1.89699 | directions= | phone=+44 121 622-5080 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{drink | name=Old Joint Stock | alt= | url= | email= | address=4 Temple Row West, B2 5NY | lat=52.48087 | long=-1.89991 | directions=Faces St. Philips cathedral | phone=+44 121 200-1892 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Superbly decorated pub in a Grade II listed former bank. Sells mainly Fullers' beers. }} * {{drink | name=Old Royal | alt= | url= | email= | address=53 Church St,B3 2DP | lat=52.48305 | long=-1.90128 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-3841 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Single bar with large-screen TV. The pub is popular with office workers. }} * {{drink | name=The Queens Arms | alt= | url=http://www.queensarmsbar.co.uk/ | email= | address=150 Newhall Street | lat=52.4836 | long=-1.9066 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-3710 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5-12 per dish | wikipedia=Queen's Arms, Birmingham | image=The Queen's Arms, Newhall Street - geograph.org.uk - 555707.jpg | wikidata=Q19277182 | content=A great place to watch live sport and the venue of the best quiz night in Birmingham every Thursday night. It's just £1 to enter and there's no limit on the size of the teams. A great night out for seasoned quiz-goers and first-timers alike. Homemade pizzas and a sausage selection giving a fresh choice every day, also has two for one offers every weekday. Great place for traditional ales and a Cask Marque award winner. }} * {{drink | name=The Wellington | alt= | url=http://www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk/ | email= | address=Bennets Hill | lat=52.48072 | long=-1.90067 | directions=Just of Colmore Row | phone=+44 121 200-3115 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An outstanding and frequently-changing selection of well-kept real ales, lagers, ciders and perry (the current list can be viewed on-line), run by knowledgeable CAMRA members. No food served, but condiments, cutlery and crockery are available to people bringing their own (supermarkets and fast-food premsises are nearby). }} [[File:IM1340 Council House by night C.JPG|thumbnail|right|The Birmingham Council House at night, during the Frankfurt Christmas Market]] ====The Arcadian==== In the middle of Birmingham's rather small Chinatown, is an open-air shopping arcade with mostly Chinese supermarkets and restaurants. Right in the middle though, it's all bars. It tends to be a bit quieter and less rowdy than Broad street and has some of the better clubs in the city. The dress code around here is extremely strict in regard to logos on clothes, those are a definite no! Most of the bars are interchangeable, but recommended are: * {{drink | name=Sobar | alt= | url=https://www.sobar.co.uk/ | email= | address=86 Hurst Street (The Arcadian) B5 4TD | lat=52.474853 | long=-1.896201 | directions= | phone=+44 121 693-5084 | tollfree= | hours=F 8PM–3:30AM, Sa 8PM–4AM | price= | lastedit=2025-06-06 | content=Supposedly a noodle bar, as evidence by a small noodle based menu. Really this is just a pretty decent bar/nightclub. It stocks the standard beers and drinks as well as a number of rarer Asian beers. Has a number of extremely comfortable sofas. }} * {{drink | name=Bambu | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Wrottesley Street B5 4RT | lat=52.475264 | long=-1.897125 | directions= | phone=+44 7597 127708 | tollfree= | hours=F and Sa 10:30PM–4AM | price= | lastedit=2025-06-06 | content=One of the best, but also one of the most pretentious clubs in Birmingham. It's not cheap but is still the place to be seen. The dress code here is very hard to define, they want "cool". }} [[File:Alphatowerfromlibrary.JPG|thumbnail|right|Broad Street is regarded as the centre of nightlife in Birmingham]] ====Broad Street==== Broad Street, the No 1 party street of Birmingham, has a large range of clubs, bars and pubs. This is a good location for a Friday or Saturday night. However, at the same time it is one of the more rowdy areas, and if trouble happens it will normally be on this road. The chances of this affecting you are slim. Also on Broad Street is the Black Sabbath bridge, with bench, which became a shrine to Ozzy Osbourne after his death. Nearby is the "{{w|Birmingham Walk of Stars|Walk of Stars}}", featuring local celebrities. Just off this road is '''[http://www.brindleyplace.com Brindleyplace]''', a classier and better area of bars, clubs and restaurants. Recommended bars are: * {{drink | name=The Works | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Big 3 room club, with a variety of music. Great for kids. Over 23's will feel ancient in here. }} * {{drink | name=The Pitcher and Piano | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Canal side bar with a decent range of beers. Perfect for a nice lunch time drink in the summer months, sitting outside by the canal. }} * {{drink | name=The Prince Of Wales | alt= | url= | email= | address=King Edward St | lat= | long= | directions=behind the I.C.C. 2 minutes from Broad St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Victorian pub with decent menu & many types of fine ales. }} [[File:Late Night Swans (2153551402).jpg|thumbnail|right|Late night swans on a Birmingham canal]] ====Digbeth==== Birmingham has a large Irish community and many Irish pubs. Most of the city centre ones are spread along Digbeth High Street beginning with ''The Bullring Tavern'' near the Bull Ring and finishing with ''The Rainbow'' near Camp Hill. <!-- The most popular is probably ''The Dublinner'', next to Digbeth Coach Station, which offers live music at weekends. (now burnt out, might be rebuilt)--> Some recommendations in Digbeth are: * {{drink | name=Anchor | alt= | url=http://www.theanchordigbeth.com/ | email= | address=308 Bradford St | lat=52.474537 | long=-1.888464 | directions= | phone=+44 121 622-4516 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Anchor Inn, Birmingham | image=Anchor Inn Birmingham.JPG | wikidata=Q4752684 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=Victorian pub near Digbeth Coach Station. Grade II listed. }} * {{drink | name=Woodman | alt= | url=http://thewoodmanbirmingham.co.uk/ | email= | address=106 Albert St | lat=52.481751 | long=-1.886858 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-1959 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Woodman | image=The Woodman pub on Albert Street and Curzon Street Station (1).jpg | wikidata=Q19803463 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=Grade II listed. Opposite the Thinktank at the Millennium Point. }} * Every two weeks an indie night called '''Panic!''' is held at the Sanctuary in Dibgeth. * For a more eclectic mix of music and people take a look at the '''Medicine Bar''' in the '''Custard Factory''' just off the A34 in Digbeth (it's the big blue building). The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Hosts a range of nights, from Drum n Bass to Electro, not to be missed. The Rainbow Pub, An eclectic pub that hosts a variety of nights, one of the best places in Birmingham and is soon to be shut down. Also visit the Rainbow Warehouse, around the corner which is big on the rave scene and often joins with the Rainbow pub to host street parties such as S.L.A.G. [[File:Birmingham Pride 2012 Missing Bar Flag.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Missing Bar]] ====Hurst Street==== Birmingham has a vibrant and visible gay scene centred around Hurst Street. Every Spring Bank Holiday this area, often referred to by locals as the Gay Village, hosts a gay-pride festival while its bars and clubs attract people from across the Midlands all year round. Hurst Street is well policed and homophobic attacks are rare, though the local fundamentalists may try to 'save your soul'. Birmingham is as gay friendly as Manchester, Brighton, and Blackpool. Birmingham has a large number of gay venues, the best being the Village, Eden, Equator, The Loft Lounge and the Queens Arms. The Fountain and Bolts are men only bars. ====The Jewellery Quarter==== Many of the more up-market bars and restaurants are located around St. Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter. This is also home to the Jam House, Birmingham's premier jazz club. * {{drink | name=The Vault | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Open Thursday till Saturday, 5PM till late | price= | content=A upscale restaurant bar occupying the vaulted underpinnings of an imposing Victorian building with signature exposed brickwork, bespoke furniture, polished wooden flooring. }} * {{drink | name=Vertu Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Regularly showcases live music on a Thursday evening and showcases various nights including ‘Rizen’ on a Friday where the house DJ plays funky and electro house. }} ===Harborne=== Harborne was once a separate village, is now a mainly residential area a bit North of Birmingham University. The old village center, along Harborne High Street, now has a lot of pubs with a mixed crowd; students, faculty and others. There's a tradition among the crazier students; try to have a half pint in every pub in Harborne in one evening. With over 20 pubs and several km of walking involved, and the limited opening hours of British pubs, this takes some doing. * {{drink | name=The Bell | alt= | url= | email= | address=11 Old Church Rd | lat=52.45380 | long=-1.95924 | directions=next to St Peter's Church | phone=+44 121 427-0931 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This cosy and quiet pub gets busy because of its attraction. }} * {{drink | name=The Plough | alt= | url=https://theploughharborne.co.uk/ | email= | address=21 High St, B17 9NT | lat=52.46108 | long=-1.94366 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=pizza £10 -14, wine from £4.60 per glass | lastedit=2016-05-27 | content=Cosy, moderately priced, popular with medical and nursing students. }} * {{drink | name=The Junction | alt= | url=https://www.thejunctionharborne.co.uk/ | email= | address=212 High Street, Harborne | lat=52.45828 | long=-1.95050 | directions= | phone=+44 121 428-2635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An odd V shaped pub as the name suggests on the junction of the High Street and Vivian Road. A really nice pub sells some real ales and good selection of lagers. Sells good pub grub as well. }} ===Newtown=== * {{drink | name=The Bartons Arms | alt= | url=http://thebartonsarms.com/ | email= | address=144 High St, Aston, B6 4UP | lat=52.4992 | long=-1.8953 | directions=On A34 north of City Centre, and on many bus routes, including #8, inner circle | phone=+44 121 333-5988 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Bartons Arms | image=The Bartons Arms, High Street, Newtown (Aston), Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q3242782 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=Comprehensive Thai menu and bar snacks. Refurbished after having been derelict. Noted for its near-original and highly elaborate Victorian interior. Former customers include Ozzy Osbourne and Laurel and Hardy. }} [[File:Brindley Place Canal New Years Eve 2 (3154440941).jpg|thumbnail|right|Canal in Brindleyplace on New Year's Eve]] ===Clubbing=== The city hosts some of Britain's most popular clubs and events. Student nights are especially fun, with cheap drink and entry offers and busy clubs. Do not miss{{drink | name=Gatecrasher | alt= | url= | email= | address=Broad Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Now the biggest club in Birmingham. }} out on visiting at least one of these brilliant events: * * {{drink | name=Ramshackle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Giving visitors a brilliant experience of the UK and International indie scene combined with fantastic prices. Held at the 2000+ capacity Carling Academy, Dale End. }} * {{drink | name=Snobs | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Very similar to Ramshackle; with DJs offering more focus on up and coming music, also with a 1960s room. "Big Wednesday"'s are big with the large student population Birmingham has, with shots at just £1 each all night. }} [[File:Geese (5312135378).jpg|thumbnail|right|A line of geese swim across a pool of reflected lights from the Mailbox restaurants.]] * {{drink | name=Risa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Broad Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One of the most popular clubs among students in Birmingham. Still it is good fun on Monday and Wednesday night. }} * {{drink | name=Rococo Lounge | alt= | url= | email= | address=Broad Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Best for R'n'B on Broad Street. Get there early on Sundays. Cheap drinks promotion. }} * {{drink | name=Indi Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=based in Arcadian Centre, China Town | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Dance and R'n'B. Guest DJs }} * {{drink | name=Nightingales | alt= | url= | email= | address=Hurst Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Birmingham's most famous gay club. Often has guest performers }} * {{drink | name=Rainbow Warehouse | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A warehouse club next to the Rainbow pub in Digbeth which hosts a variety of underground events playing Dubstep, Drum & Bass, Breakbeat, and Techno. Check for events. }} * {{drink | name=PST | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Located in Digbeth, PST is a private members club offering underground reggae nights. Check for events. }} * {{drink | name=Hare & Hounds | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A live music venue located in the Kings Heath district, which has earned its reputation hosting nightly events including artists and DJs across almost all musical genres. }} * {{drink | name=Bull's Head | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A live music venue located in the Moseley district, the upstairs transforms into an intimate club environment open til 2AM on Fridays & Saturdays. }} === Moseley === * {{drink | name=The Patrick Kavanagh | alt= | url=http://thepatrickkavanaghbar.co.uk/ | email= | address=142 Trafalgar Road, | lat=52.448332 | long= -1.885939 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-2598 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= A 20-somethings pub named after the Irish poet. }} * {{drink | name=The Prince of Wales | alt= | url=http://www.theprincemoseley.co.uk/ | email= | address=118 Alcester Rd. | lat=52.448997 | long= -1.887798 | directions= | phone= +44 121 449-4198 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=A traditional English pub bought by La Plancha; wide range of real ales. }} * {{drink | name=The Cuban Embassy | alt=The Bull's Head | url=http://www.thecubanembassymoseley.co.uk/ | email= | address=23 St Mary's Row | lat=52.446499 | long= -1.887310 | directions= | phone=+44 121 258-2857 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= Has an affiliation with the Custard Factory in the city centre. }} * {{drink | name=La Plancha | alt= | url=http://www.laplancha.co.uk/ | email= | address=113 Alcester Rd | lat=52.447134 | long= -1.888378 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-5303 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= A tapas bar opened in 2005. }} ==Sleep== ===Hostels=== If you want a more social feel to your stay why not try one of the hostels the city has to offer. * {{sleep | name=Birmingham Central Backpackers | alt= | url=http://www.birminghambackpackers.com/ | email= | address=58 Coventry St | lat=52.47630 | long=-1.88580 | directions=Digbeth | phone=+44 121 643-0033 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Birmingham's only independent hostel features a central location only streets from The Bull Ring, and next to the nightclubs of Digbeth. Beds in a shared dorm can be found for as little as £9 if you've got a sharp eye out and both breakfast and various foods in the evening are included, making it the West Midlands only half-board hostel. It is in the oldest part of the city, right near where the original manor house once stood. The area can look a little uninviting (this is what you will find outside the very centre of this industrial city), but the hostel makes up for it by being socially inviting (films/football can be watched and they have a Wii, playstation and xbox) and, as mentioned, still being close to The Bull Ring. They offer nightly events such as quiz night, beer tasting, movie nights and disco, and the common room is probably the best around. }} * {{sleep | name=Hatters Birmingham | alt= | url=http://www.hattersgroup.com/birmingham | email= | address=92-95 Livery Street | lat=52.48633 | long=-1.90446 | directions=Jewellery Quarter | phone=+44 121 236-4031 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From £14.50 | content=Less than a 10-minute walk to the centre, Hatters Birmingham have upped the norm in hostel accommodation boasting all ensuite rooms and a common room. Price includes bed linen & a free light breakfast which is served all day. }} * {{sleep | name=Bilberry Hill Residential Centre | alt= | url=http://www.bilberryhill.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.3809 | long=-2.0032 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=For groups looking for accommodation in the scenic Lickey Hills, but with easy access to the centre. }} [[File:Paragon Hotel 7 (8139095242).jpg|thumbnail|right|The Paragon hotel was the only Rowton House, or a long-stay hotel for working men of low means, built outside of London. Designed by an architect specializing in army barracks, it retains its original ambiance.]] ===Budget=== There is ample choice of hotels in the economy sector in Birmingham. * {{sleep | name=Campanile | alt= | url= | email= | address=Chester St | lat=52.49196 | long=-1.88631 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=If you are travelling by car and on a budget, Campanile is your friend wherever you go - the rooms could not be more simple, but the locations are usually very convenient at motorway junctions. In Birmingham, it is north of town, where the A4540 ringroad meets the A38, which goes straight into the city, and has the added benefit of being located over the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal lock. }} * {{sleep | name=Comfort Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address=Station Street | lat=52.47672 | long=-1.89816 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Comfort Inn is a brand of non-standardized properties where price often trumps modern comforts, and this hotel is no exception. It also boasts a location right in front of the New Street station. }} * {{sleep | name=Gables Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=43 Oxford Road | lat=52.442927 | long= -1.882857 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-1146 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit= | content= mid-priced and provide easy access to the centre of Moseley Village but in need of refurbishment. }} * {{sleep | name=Hampton by Hilton Birmingham Broad Street | alt= | url=https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/bhxbshx-hampton-birmingham-broad-street/ | email= | address=Broad Street | lat=52.47505 | long=-1.91383 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= Contemporary 3-star hotel offering 285 stylish rooms, free WiFi and complimentary breakfast. }} * {{sleep | name=Hampton by Hilton Birmingham City North | alt= | url= | email= | address=98-104 Constitution Hill | lat=52.48757 | long=-1.90491 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The new Hampton brings some colour to Birmingham's economy hotel market, merging new with old as it is located in a building dating back to 1910. Its name honestly describes its location northwest of the city centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Express Birmingham-Snow Hill | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Snow Hill Plaza | lat=52.48483 | long=-1.89842 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The tall tower with 224 rooms has relatively large common areas and everything expected of a Holiday Inn Express, including free WiFi and breakfast included in the room price. It replaces the older property which now became the ibis Styles. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Birmingham Bordesley | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47239 | long=-1.87302 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The slightly out-of-town ibis is more of an option for motorists, situated at a large roundabout of the A45 circling the city. It is one of the older ibis hotels in the UK. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Birmingham Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ladywell Walk | lat=52.47501 | long=-1.89642 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A standard and slightly dated ibis hotel in the very centre of the city }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Birmingham Holloway Circus | alt= | url= | email= | address=55 Irving Street, | lat=52.4727 | long=-1.9026 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This is an older ibis whose suburban style belies its location close to the business district and the Holloway Circus evoked in the name. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Budget Birmingham Centre | alt=formerly Etap Hotel | url= | email= | address=Great Colmore Street | lat=52.47135 | long=-1.90040 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Offering perhaps the cheapest hotel stays in Birmingham, the ibis Budget is a chain hotel optimized for low costs, with very simply appointed rooms with just enough space. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Styles Birmingham Centre | alt=formerly Holiday Inn Express and Lionel Street Hotel | url= | email= | address=65 Lionel Street | lat=52.48196 | long=-1.90647 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Located east of the core city centre on Lionel Street, it is a former Holiday Inn Express property that became and ibis Styles after some very light refreshment. As in all ibis Styles, breakfasts and free WiFi are included in the room price, which can be very attractive, compensating for the less central location. }} * {{sleep | name=Paragon Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47050 | long=-1.88469 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Despite the imposing Victorian presence, this hotel in the southeastern corner of Birmingham offers very attractive rates. This comes not only at the expense of a relatively remote location, but also standards of the worn rooms, which fall deeply behind the expectations one might have experiencing the common areas. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham City | alt= | url= | email= | address=3-6 Waterloo St | lat=52.48042 | long=-1.89960 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=As typical as a Premier Inn gets, it is situated in a nondescript 1970s building with simple rooms - but just around the corner from to the St. Phillip's cathedral. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham City Centre (New Street) | alt= | url= | email= | address=Pinfold Street | lat=52.47891 | long=-1.90187 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=There is no shortage of Premier Inns in Birmingham. This one is next to the New Street railway station. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham Broad Street (Canal Side) | alt= | url= | email= | address=Bridge Street | lat=52.47648 | long=-1.90824 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This Premier Inn serves the ICC and faces a canal. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham Central East | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.49133 | long=-1.88604 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=There is nothing "central" about this motel-style Premier Inn at the junction of M38 and M4045, which faces a similar Campanile across the canal, but if you are a motorist, you will enjoy its convenient location and free parking. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham Broad Street (Brindley Place) | alt= | url= | email= | address=80 Broad Street | lat=52.47567 | long=-1.91547 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Premier Inn at Brindley Place is the chain's most up-to-date property, with a marked difference in fittings over the other ones in town. }} * {{sleep | name=Travelodge Birmingham Central | alt= | url=https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/109/Birmingham-Central-hotel | email= | address= | lat=52.47988 | long=-1.89371 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} ===Mid-range=== [[File:Jurys Inn, Broad Street - geograph.org.uk - 1276774.jpg|thumbnail|right| A brutalist monument, the Leonardo is Birmingham's largest hotel]] * {{sleep | name=Britannia Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/the-britannia-hotel-birmingham/ | email= | address=New St. | lat=52.47910 | long=-1.89711 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=City centre (''close to the university''). Offers mid-range accommodation for business and travelling guests. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Express | alt=Castle Bromwich Inn | url=https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/gb/en/birmingham/bhxcs/hoteldetail | email= | address=1200 Chester Road | lat=52.5100 | long=-1.7980 | directions= | phone=+44 121 694-6700 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 694 6701 | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=By the M6 motorway in Castle Bromwich, west of Birmingham }} * {{sleep | name=High Field Town House | alt= | url=https://www.highfieldtownhouse.co.uk/ | email= | address=23 Highfield Rd B15 3DP | lat=52.469 | long=-1.923 | directions= | phone=+44 121 647-6466 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £110 | lastedit=2020-08-19 | content=Victorian villa with 12 rooms in leafy Edgbaston, with gastro-pub next door. }} * {{sleep | name=Bloc Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Caroline Street | lat=52.48613 | long=-1.90790 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Bloc Hotel offers ultrasmall rooms (10 sqm) all wrapped in minimalistic, modern decor, which can appeal to design enthusiasts. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel at Conference Aston | alt= | url= | email= | address=Aston St | lat=52.48621 | long=-1.88870 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Situated on the Aston University grounds, the Conference Aston is a convention centre with an on-site hotel. Hotel guests can enjoy the facilities of the Woodcock Sports Centre across the road, including a full-sized Victorian swimming pool }} * {{sleep | name=Copthorne Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Paradies Circus | lat=52.4802 | long=-1.9064 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=One of the hotels serving the ICC and a monument to the era in hospitality mercifully gone by. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham Brindley Place | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Brunswick Square, Brindleyplace | lat=52.47690 | long=-1.91495 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Southwest of the centre at Brindleyplace, the Hilton Garden Inn offers simple modern comforts in its four-star rated facility. WiFi is free and Neutrogena toiletries are provided. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Birmingham City | alt= | url= | email= | address=Smallbrook Queensway | lat=52.47577 | long=-1.89944 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=An old Holiday Inn in an office/commercial area of the centre }} * {{sleep | name=Leonardo Hotel | alt=formerly Jury's Inn | url=https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/hotels/birmingham | email= | address=245 Broad Street | lat=52.4767 | long=-1.9114 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Huge hotel in a brutalist concrete block, catering to business visitors of the ICC. Enjoys a solid reputation despite a complete lack of charm. }} * {{sleep | name=nitenite | alt= | url= | email= | address=18 Holliday Street | lat=52.47664 | long=-1.90681 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The property brands itself as a boutique hotel, where postmodern common space appointments are meant to make up for the ultrasmall (7 sqm) cabins that serve as ensuite rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Novotel Birmingham Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address=70 Broad Street | lat=52.47638 | long=-1.91373 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The familiar white-and-light-wood Novotel rooms await in what is not quite the centre, but rather the Brindleyplace complex. }} * {{sleep | name=pentahotel Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ernest Street / Holloway Head | lat=52.47379 | long=-1.90236 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This relatively new mid-range property is swamped in pentahotel's hallmark purple lighting and entices with a potpourri of postmodern appointments. Both standard and "comfort" rooms are small (12 sqm) }} * {{sleep | name=Ramada Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=160 Wharfside Street | lat=52.47540 | long=-1.90599 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Ramada is a part of the Mailbox multi-use complex, where you will find multiple restaurants, shopping opportunities and service outlets. The hotel faces a canal, which provides for nice views and ambiance, but the rooms are in dire need of redecoration. }} * {{sleep | name=Staybridge Suites | alt= | url= | email= | address=Martineau Place | lat=52.48055 | long=-1.89600 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A rare occurrence of IHG's extended-stay brand outside of North America, the Staybridge Suites Birmingham offers studios and apartments with kitchenettes and other long-stay facilities, including on-site gym. Breakfasts are included in room rates. }} * {{sleep | name=Plough & Harrow Hotel | alt=Best Western | url=https://www.ploughandharrowhotel.co.uk/ | email= | address=135 Hagley Rd, Edgbaston | lat=52.47224 | long=-1.92752 | directions= | phone=+44 121 454-4111 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-11 | content=Near the International Convention Centre, National Indoor Arena and the Bull Ring Shopping Centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Thistle Birmingham City Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.48510 | long=-1.89779 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The conservatively-styled - and little outdated - Thistle faces St. Chad's Cathedral over a busy thoroughfare. }} * {{sleep | name=Rotunda Serviced Apartments | alt= | url=https://www.apartmentnetwork.co.uk/apartments/staying-cool-at-the-rotunda/ | email=info@apartmentnetwork.co.uk | address=Moor St, B5 4BL | lat=52.4783224 | long=-1.8976941 | directions= | phone=+44 20 3743-7336 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-06-13 | content= }} ===Splurge=== [[File:Holloway Circus Tower Birmingham (cropped).JPG|thumbnail|right|The Radisson is inside Birmingham's tallest building]] * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza Birmingham City Centre | alt= | url=http://www.crowneplazabirmingham.com/ | email= | address=Holliday St | lat=52.47781 | long=-1.90673 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=As nondescript as a Crowne Plaza gets, this hotel was built to serve the ICC next door. Despite having been updated since, it still has a somewhat sombre presence. }} * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza Birmingham NEC Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.cpbirminghamnechotel.co.uk/ | email= | address=Pendigo Way, National Exhibition Centre | lat=52.44779 | long=-1.71609 | directions= | phone=+44 871 942 9160 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Near Birmingham Airport. }} * {{sleep | name=Hyatt Regency Birmingham | alt= | url=https://birmingham.regency.hyatt.com/ | email= | address=2 Bridge St | lat=52.47803 | long=-1.90921 | directions=in the city centre | phone=+44 121 643-1234 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Linked directly to the International Convention Centre (ICC) and is 5 minutes from the National Indoor Arena (NIA). }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Indigo Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=200 Wharfside Street | lat=52.47507 | long=-1.90676 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=It is hard to miss Hotel Indigo's unique, jigsaw-style facade and the glazed extravaganza of its top-floor Marco Pierre White restaurant. Inside are colorful rooms with all the modern comforts, a spa, said restaurant and a bar with a view - all with a price to match. The building, aptly named the Cube, sits next to the Mailbox. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel La Tour Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=Albert Street | lat=52.48104 | long=-1.89056 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This stylish hotel caters for the luxury end of the four-star market, with an à la carte restaurant with open kitchen and in-room "media hubs" that let one connect their devices to the room's display and sound facilities. }} * {{sleep | name=Macdonald Burlington Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=126 New Street | lat=52.47879 | long=-1.89867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A luxury hotel in Edwardian style and history to back it, directly facing the New Street station. }} * {{sleep | name=Malmaison Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47684 | long=-1.90371 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Malmaison is an upscale property with an on-site spa, brasserie and wine cellar. It is located within the Mailbox multi-purpose centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Birmingham Marriott Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/property/propertypage/BHXBH | email= | address=12 Hagley Rd | lat=52.47206 | long=-1.91976 | directions=in the city centre | phone=+44 870 400 7280 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson Blu Hotel Birmingham | alt= | url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-birmingham | email=info.birmingham@radissonblu.com | address=12 Holloway Circus | lat=52.47537 | long=-1.90022 | directions= | phone=+44 121 654-6000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Radisson is located in a blue glass tower, with views over Birmingham's city centre, and is one of the few truly modern high-end hotels in the city. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel du Vin | alt= | url= | email= | address=Church Street | lat=52.48232 | long=-1.89996 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Offering a dark take on its lush Victorian common spaces, the Hotel du Vin brands itself as lifestyle accommodation, with a number of facilities to match, including a cigar lounge. }} == Connect == As of June 2022, Birmingham has 5G from all UK carriers. Wifi is widely available in public places, however, like anywhere, may not always be secure. All public libraries, including the central Library of Birmingham, provide free internet access, though the connection can be slow and you may have to queue for a terminal; and you need a library membership card for access. ==Cope== Birmingham grew to be a very multicultural population centre, so apart from Christian, religious services for many other faith groups are provided within the city. * {{listing | name=Birmingham Buddhist Centre | alt= | url=https://www.birminghambuddhistcentre.org.uk/ | email=info@birminghambuddhistcentre.org.uk | address=11 Park Rd, Moseley | lat=52.451854 | long=-1.889886 | directions=#1, #35 or #50 bus | phone=+44 121 449-5279 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63436523 | content=A centre run by the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Central Mosque | alt= | url=http://www.centralmosque.org.uk | email= | address=180 Belgrave Middleway, Highgate | lat=52.464778 | long=-1.890611 | directions=#35 bus | phone=+44 121 440-5355 | tollfree= | hours=Daily noon-30 minutes after Isha (''exact time of Isha varies with the seasons'') | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Central Mosque | wikidata=Q865731 | content=Built in 1969, Birmingham was the second purpose-built mosque in the UK (the first was in [[Woking]]). The working capacity is 2500, though this is expanded during special events such as Eid. Tour groups should book at least two weeks in advance. }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Central Synagogue | alt= | url=https://www.centralshul.com/ | email=office@centralshul.com | address=133 Pershore Rd | lat=52.4618 | long=-1.90237 | directions= | phone=+44 121 440-4044 | tollfree= | hours=M Th from 7:15AM, Tu W F from 7:30AM, Sa from 9:30AM, Su from 8:30AM | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Central Synagogue | wikidata=Q4916641 | content=Large modern orthodox synagogue, popular with students. }} * {{listing | name=Ramgarhia Sikh Temple | alt= | url=https://www.rstuk.com/ | email= | address=Graham St | lat=52.4842 | long=-1.91011 | directions= | phone=+44 121 235-5435 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63436457 | lastedit=2019-05-02 | content=Sikh Temple in central Birmingham. }} * {{listing | name=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | url= | email= | address=Harborne Ward, Lordswood Road | lat=52.4635 | long=-1.9644 | directions= | phone=+44 121 427-9291 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Typical meetinghouse, with services at 10AM on Sundays. }} * {{listing | name=Shree Geeta Bhawan | url=http://www.geetabhawan.co.uk/ | email= | address=107-117 Heathfield Rd, Lozells | lat=52.5057 | long=-1.9110 | directions=#46 bus | phone=+44 121 523-7797 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-1PM and 5PM-8PM (''Tu 9PM''), Su 9AM-8PM | price= | content=Hindu temple, opened in 1967. }} * {{listing | name=Bull Street Quaker Meeting | alt= | url=https://centralenglandquakers.org.uk/meetings/bull-street/ | email= | address= | lat=52.482341 | long=-1.895790 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63436568 | content= }} * {{listing | name=Kanzul Huda Mosque | alt= | url=https://www.kanzulhuda.com/ | email= | address=7&8 Adderley Rd, Saltley, B8 1AW | lat=52.484841 | long=-1.8653972 | directions= | phone=+44 121 219-0057 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= |lastedit=2023-08-30}} ==Stay safe== As with the rest of the UK, in any '''emergency''' call '''999''' or '''112''' (from a landline if you can) and ask for ambulance, fire or police when connected. For non-emergency police matters, such as reporting crimes after they have occurred, lost property, etc.) call '''101'''. In general, despite its bad reputation, Birmingham is a safe city. However, like most large cities, there are safer and more dangerous areas. Certain suburbs (see below) have had their share of knife crime problems, but these are extremely unlikely to affect you unless you make yourself part of the larger drug gang problem. Avoid any offers of cheap drugs as you might be lured into a secluded place and then robbed. Muggers in Birmingham tend to operate in groups of two or three, typically one will ask you a question (to judge whether you are local or likely to hit back) while the others move in behind you so they can force you to the ground. If you find this happening to you, then move to the side, so you have a clear escape path and cannot be grabbed from the rear. When late at night and walking alone, avoid walking up against walls as it's easier to be cornered. The city centre is well-policed. The only trouble you might witness is a small scuffle on the Broad Street nightlife quarter as the nightclubs turn out in the early hours of the morning. However, take care at either end of Broad Street where the traffic flow speeds up. It is advisable to stay away from the city centre when football matches between the city's two professional teams occur. Some fans of Aston Villa and Birmingham City have a violent and raw hatred for each other, and violent clashes between them are a common occurrence on match days. On other days, when the teams are playing at home against other teams, it is less likely for major violence to occur in the city centre, but you may encounter pubs full of chanting football supporters, and this may be intimidating (and really annoying) for tourists. As usual, common sense will keep you safe, avoid walking alone in deserted or poorly-lit areas, especially at night, keep your wits about you at cash machines, and do not get into unmarked taxis. Private hire cars must be pre-booked; black cabs may be hailed. The only higher crime-rate areas that tourists might want to visit are Aston and Sparkbrook: even these are fairly safe during daylight. Canal towpaths at night, if relatively near a road access point, can also be hazardous. Avoid people who offer you a free "stress test" (especially in New Street, near the junction with Ethel Street) as they are trying to recruit you into the Church of Scientology. * {{listing | name=City Hospital (A&E) | alt= | url=http://www.swbh.nhs.uk/contact-locations/find-us/birmingham-city-hospital/ | email= | address=Dudley Rd | lat=52.488056 | long=-1.931389 | directions=#80, #82 or #87 bus | phone=+44 121 554-3801 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 24 hours | price= | wikipedia=City Hospital, Birmingham | wikidata=Q5123230 | content= }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Central police station | alt= | url= | email=central-birmingham@west-midlands.police.uk | address=Snow Hill Queensway | lat=52.484067 | long=-1.89789 | directions=near Snow Hill railway station | phone=+44 845 113 5000 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours=Daily 24 hours | price= | wikidata=Q63439574 | lastedit=2019-05-03 | content= }} == Go next == * [[Solihull]] just south has museums and the National Exhibition Centre. * [[Walsall]] just north has museums and the New Art Gallery Walsall. * [[Ironbridge]] was the birthplace of Britain's Industrial Revolution, which powered the growth of cities like Birmingham. * [[London]] is just two hours away, with inexpensive fares if you travel off-peak. {{routebox | image1=UK-Motorway-M5.svg | imagesize1=50 | directionl1=SW | majorl1=[[Bristol]] | minorl1=[[Bromsgrove]] | directionr1=N | minorr1= | majorr1=merges with [[Image:UK-Motorway-M6.svg|40px|M6]] | image2=UK-Motorway-M6.svg | imagesize2=50 | directionl2=NW | majorl2=[[Manchester]] | minorl2=[[Walsall]]/[[Wolverhampton]] | directionr2=E | minorr2=[[Coventry]] | majorr2=[[Rugby (England)|Rugby]] | image3=UK-Motorway-M40.svg | imagesize3=50 | directionl3=NW | majorl3=merges with [[Image:UK-Motorway-M42.svg|40px]] | minorl3= | directionr3=SE | minorr3=[[Leamington Spa]]/[[Warwick (England)|Warwick]] | majorr3=[[London]] | image4=UK-Motorway-M42.svg | imagesize4=50 | directionl4=SW | majorl4=merges with [[Image:UK-Motorway-M5.svg|40px]] | minorl4=[[Bromsgrove]] | directionr4=NE | majorr4=[[Nottingham]] | minorr4=[[Tamworth (England)|Tamworth]] | image5=UK_road_A34.svg | imagesize5=40 | directionl5=NW | majorl5=[[Stoke-on-Trent]] | minorl5=[[Walsall]] | directionr5=SE | majorr5=[[Solihull]] (south) | minorr5= | image6=UK_road_A38.svg | imagesize6=40 | directionl6=SW | majorl6=[[Worcester (England)|Worcester]] | minorl6=[[Bromsgrove]] | directionr6=NE | majorr6=[[Derby]] | minorr6=[[Lichfield]] | image7=UK_road_A41.svg | imagesize7=40 | directionl7=NW | majorl7=[[Wolverhampton]] | minorl7=[[West Bromwich]] | directionr7=SE | minorr7= | majorr7=[[Solihull]] (north) | image8=UK_road_A45.svg | imagesize8=40 | directionl8=W | majorl8=ENDS AT BORDESLEY CIRCUS | minorl8= | directionr8=E | minorr8=[[Meriden (England)|Meriden]] | majorr8=[[Coventry]] }} {{Geo|52.48|-1.89}} {{guidecity}} {{isPartOf|West Midlands (county)}} 1u07kj8s2o8knfos0cve7a9600p0uox 5298508 5298507 2026-06-25T22:13:12Z AlasdairW 1812 /* Sports */ link works 5298508 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Birmingham Wikivoyage Banner.png|pgname=Birmingham|DotM=yes|caption=The unusual facade of Selfridges at The Bullring, a modern-day landmark of Birmingham|dotm=yes}} {{otheruses}} [[File:Chamberlain Square in Birmingham (geograph 6830257).jpg|thumb|Chamberlain Square in Birmingham is surrounded by notable landmarks, including the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.]] '''Birmingham''', in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], is [[Britain]]'s second-largest city. Known in the Victorian era as the "City of a Thousand Trades" and the "Workshop of the World", ''Brum'', as locals call the city, is enjoying a 21st-century resurgence as a great shopping and cultural destination. ==Understand== Birmingham [''"ber-ming-'"m''] was at the heart of the [[Industrial Britain|UK's industrial revolution]], and its wealth was built upon the multitude of trades that were spawned. This led to a massive canal network, with more miles of canals than Venice or Amsterdam (though they're very different types of canal). Much of the city centre was destroyed during the Blitz, and the post war rebuilding effort resulted in many brutalist concrete structures, made to be built as cheaply and quickly as possible. However, since the 1990s, Birmingham has been undergoing a radical change and many of the post war buildings have been replaced. The majority of the city centre is now pedestrianised, and the canals cleaned up to make for attractive walkways. Increased investment in public spaces, re-development of run down areas, and especially long-term transport projects, have improved the city's image, giving it some shine. [[File:Birmingham Canal Old Line bridge - geograph.org.uk - 7428970.jpg|thumb|Birmingham is known for its canals]] The city's notable associations are as diverse as HP Sauce, Tony Hancock, Cadbury's, the Lunar Society (whose members included James Watt and Matthew Boulton), Jasper Carrott, the Spitfire, and the Mini (car, not skirt). Birmingham also has an active music scene, with bands and artists like Black Sabbath, UB40, Napalm Death, Duran Duran, and The Beat hailing from the area. The city is also known for being the backdrop of the BBC period TV drama ''Peaky Blinders'', which has helped to increase interest in the city. Birmingham has many literary associations - not only JRR Tolkien, but also Washington Irving, who wrote Rip Van Winkle while lodging here with his sister's family, and Conan Doyle, who bought a violin in Sherlock Street while a medical student in Birmingham. The authors Jim Crace, Judith Cutler and David Lodge are also residents. The nearby locations of [[Shropshire]], [[Warwick (England)|Warwick]], and [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] provide more of the stereotypical images of "olde" [[England]]. However, Birmingham has many of its own tourist attractions, has an extremely lively nightlife, and the shopping is one of the best outside of [[London]]. === Orientation === [[File:"The Golden Boys", Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 7530201.jpg|thumb|"The Golden Boys" statue ]] The City of Birmingham as it stands today encompasses a very large array of former towns and villages surrounding the original town of Birmingham, that have been incorporated into it over the years. Therefore, even if a point of interest is officially in Birmingham, it can be located quite far away from the actual city centre, in what can appear as a separate small town or even countryside. Addresses are often given including the name of the suburb, to help locate them. Do not assume that any place with a Birmingham address is easily accessible once you are in the city. Some of the more known districts and wards of Birmingham include: * '''Aston''' - home to Aston Hall and Aston Villa football team * '''Edgbaston''' - where the eponymous cricket stadium and main campus of the University of Birmingham are located * '''Selly Oak''' - secondary campus and student town * '''Kings Heath''' - up-and-coming village with a thriving weekend scene, and local markets [[File:29 Newhall Street, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 7381532.jpg|thumb|Victorian architecture in Newhall Street]] Other areas in the city include '''Perry Barr''', '''Sutton Coldfield''' and '''Moseley'''. The former ''Inner Ring Road'', or A4400, was viewed as an urban planning failure and parts of it were dismantled and redeveloped. The A38/Aston Expressway runs across the city centre, partially underground. The very central point of Birmingham is Victoria Square. The main railway hub is Birmingham New Street. It is full to capacity with both local and direct national rail services to every major city in the UK. It is attached to Grand Central and Bullring, a world-class shopping and activities destination, with walking links directly to Birmingham Moor Street station, a smaller rail station with more local routes, as well as frequent trains to London and Oxford. To the north of the city centre is Birmingham Snow Hill, the centre's third station, providing frequent local trains. Birmingham city centre can be divided into several areas of different characteristics: * '''Core City Centre''' – extends northwestwards from New Street station, inside the confines of the A38 and includes many surviving pre-war historic buildings, a number of important institutions and the historically prime addresses such as New Street or Colmore Row * '''Westside''' – extends southwest of New Street and beyond the former Inner Ringroad, and includes much of the remaining canals in central Birmingham. Alongside them, much new development took place, including civic buildings such as the International Convention Centre and Library of Birmingham, and multi-functional commercial projects such as Brindleyplace and The Mailbox * '''Eastside''' – the area southeast of New Street station, or more precisely behind Moor Street station. This formerly industrial area which included the long-disused Curzon Station as well now contains large swathes of unused, cleared land being redeveloped as parts of large urban planning projects, giving this part of town a modern yet unfinished appearance * '''Southside''' – the part southeast of New Street station retains a more traditional ambience with small buildings along narrow streets. The area includes Birmingham's Gay Village and the Chinese Quarter. * '''Deritend and Digbeth''' – the area directly eastwards of the Bullring centre contains much industrial and pre-industrial architectural heritage, and it has become a hub for everything creative and a rather pleasant area, which also includes Birmingham's Irish Quarter. As of 2026, large-scale redevelopment is underway. * '''Jewellery Quarter''' – true to its name, workshops in the quarter still produce 40% of the UK's jewellery. The area includes the country's largest Assay Office, and several museums. It retains the 19th-century appearance lost by other industrial parts of Birmingham and is a tourist attraction itself. * '''Gun Quarter''' – north of Jewellery Quarter and for decades known for firearms manufacturing, but now not seeing much commercial or municipal interest and of little interest to tourists. ===Visitor information === * [https://visitbirmingham.com/ Visit Birmingham] website ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Birmingham |1.6 |7.1 |72.0 |1.6 |7.7 |55.1 |2.9 |10.3 |50.9 |4.6 |13.4 |56.5 |7.3 |16.5 |61.0 |10.2 |19.3 |68.4 |12.1 |21.5 |65.8 |12.0 |21.0 |67.5 |9.7 |18.1 |68.2 |7.1 |13.9 |81.4 |4.0 |9.9 |78.7 |1.9 |7.3 |83.9 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Birmingham]] | description = See the 5 day forecast for Birmingham at the [http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/wm/birmingham_forecast_weather.html Met Office] }} Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate. Winters do not see significant snowfall, although it does get more snow than other large British cities. In the summer months, temperatures range between {{c|21}} for daytime average highs and {{c|12}} for nighttime average lows. On particularly hot days, the temperature can climb up to or surpass {{c|26}} and not go below {{c|15}} at night, though there are only an average of 11.2 days per year where daytime highs exceed {{c|25.1}}. Daylight hours range between 4:45AM - 9:30PM in the summer months to 8:15AM - 4PM in the winter months. ==Get in== [[File:Birmingham UK map.png|thumb|right|475px|Map of Birmingham and vicinity]] ===By plane=== {{go | name=Birmingham Airport | alt={{IATA|BHX}} | url=http://www.bhx.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.4532 | long=-1.7334 | directions=just outside the city, in [[Solihull]], about {{mi|8}} east of central Birmingham | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Airport | image=Birmingham Airport, England, Feb. 2008.jpg | wikidata=Q8719 | content=A major airport serving the city and the rest of the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands region]] with frequent international flights. There are several direct arrivals a day from all major UK and European destinations, and a few from more far-flung places such as [[New Delhi|Delhi]], [[Doha]], [[Dubai]] (twice daily), [[Orlando Sanford International Airport|Orlando Sanford]], [[Amritsar]], [[Islamabad]], and [[Ashgabat]]. }} A free people mover, Air-Rail Link, connects the airport passenger terminal with Birmingham International rail station between 5:15AM and 2AM; it runs every two minutes and the journey time is less than two minutes. From Birmingham International rail station trains run to New Street Station every 5–15 minutes from around 6:05AM (Su 8:45AM) to 11:15PM. The journey takes 10–20 minutes depending on whether you get an express or local (stopping) service and costs £2.50 one-way (express service - Avanti trains only) or £3.60 one-way for a ticket valid on any service. Bus service 900 runs every 20–30 minutes between Birmingham and [[Coventry]] via the airport from around 4:50AM (Su 7AM) to midnight, takes around 25 minutes (can be much longer in peak periods) and costs £2.20 one way; the ticket is not valid for transfers. Bus service 97A provides an hourly service through the night. A day ticket (Daysaver) for all NXWM buses is available for £4 (£4.60 before 9AM), but it can also be purchased for {{EUR|5}} on any airport service. Exact change is required. If a group is travelling together, a Group Daysaver for £8 will cover up to 5 people for unlimited journeys for a day. National Express coaches serve the airport every half hour during the early hours of the morning which is very handy for morning flights, as the trains don't usually start until later in the morning. The fare varies depending on whether it is booked in advance, although tickets can be purchased on the coach subject to seats being available. A taxi from the airport to central Birmingham will take around 20–30 minutes and will cost around £22; however, a trip by rail will be far more direct, and undoubtedly quicker during peak times. The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is adjacent to the airport and can be accessed by the free Air-Rail Link via Birmingham International station. Cars dropping off passengers at the airport must pay a minimum fee of £3. This includes taxis and private hire cars, which pass the charge on to passengers. The charge can be avoided by being dropped off at Birmingham International Railway Station, where there is no charge, and then using the free Air-Rail Link. [[File:A load of bull - geograph.org.uk - 7712446.jpg|thumb|Ozzy the Bull]] ===By train=== ''Wikivoyage has a guide to [[Rail travel in Great Britain]]'' Birmingham is a major hub of Britain's rail network. {{go | name=Birmingham New Street station | alt=BHM | url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BHM.aspx | email= | address= | lat=52.477769 | long=-1.89885 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q683063 | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=The main station. There are local trains and half-hourly services (M-Sa daytime) from [[Bristol]], [[Shrewsbury (England)|Shrewsbury]], [[Cardiff]], [[Weston-super-Mare]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Glasgow]], [[London Euston]], [[Manchester Piccadilly]], [[Oxford]], [[Sheffield]] and stations in between. }} Allow plenty of time to find your train at New Street station as it is huge and very confusing. Most platforms (tracks) are divided into sections (e.g. Platform 4A, 4B and 4C) and it's not uncommon for two trains bound for different destinations to depart from the same platform. So make sure you wait in the right area which is labelled on screens above the platform, and board the right train! New Street Station is notorious for last-minute platform changes so it's advisable to wait close to the stairs and keep close attention to the information screens and PA announcements as you may need to make a quick dash to the opposite side of the station with only a few minutes until departure! It is easier and quicker to cross from one platform (whatever the letter) to another at the "B" end, directly, rather than the "A" end, which can involve passing through two sets of ticket barriers. ''Raging Bull'', the symbol of the city during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, is on permanent display at New Street Station. Now named "Ozzy", he is a static display and no longer snorts and stomps as before, lest any staff mistakenly couple him to rolling stock, however on the hour, every hour, his eyes light up and his head shakes. Other important stations are {{marker|type=go|name=Birmingham Snow Hill station|alt=|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BSW.aspx|lat=52.483| long=-1.899|wikidata=Q3280363|lastedit=2022-05-17}} and {{marker|type=go|name=Birmingham Moor Street station|alt=|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BMO.aspx|lat=52.478288| long=-1.891002| wikidata=Q800533| lastedit=2022-05-17}}. Both of these stations are on the Snow Hill line, which sees local traffic within the region operated by [https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/ West Midlands Railway]. The exception is [https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/ Chiltern Railways]' service to both stations from [[London Marylebone]], which rivals [https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/ London Northwestern Railway] (slow, cheap) and [https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/ Avanti West Coast] (fast, more expensive) services from [[London Euston]] to Birmingham New Street. The Chiltern route has become increasingly popular since infrastructure improvements mean the fastest trains are not much slower than West Coast services into New Street, it's generally cheaper and more scenic, and Marylebone and Moor Street are relatively small stations that still have a lot of the Victorian charm that Euston and New Street decidedly lack. However, investment in transport in the region will see a series of projects be undertaken, to move trains from New Street into Moor Street, and create an entire new plaza area at Moor Street, with the construction of the new HS2 (High Speed Rail) Curzon Street Station, so keep your eyes peeled in the news for any developments. (Search "hs2", "midlands rail hub", "Bordesley chords", as these projects are constantly changing.) New Street and Moor Street are a 2 to 3 minute walk apart, and Snow Hill is about a 10 minute walk from each. Midland Metro trams can be used between stations, but still involve some walking, and take longer. {{go | name=Birmingham International Station | alt=BHI | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q579308 | lastedit=2026-01-20 | content=This is 15 miles east of city centre: get off here for the airport, NEC or The Arena. Trains for New Street leave every few minutes and take 10 min. Frequent trains from London Euston are heading for the Midlands, Manchester and Glasgow. The [https://www.sleeper.scot/ Caledonian Highland Sleeper] calls Su-F around 10:30 PM on its way to Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William - it doesn't call at New Street. International Station is modern, with a staffed ticket office and machines, waiting rooms, toilets and refreshments. There's step-free access to all platforms. }} ===By coach=== Intercity buses, unless clearly stated otherwise, will terminate at {{Marker|type=go |name=Birmingham Coach Station|lat=52.47535 | long=-1.88850 | wikidata=Q4916668 }}. The City Centre is around a 10-minute uphill walk from the station along the slightly tatty Digbeth High Street, but people need not be alarmed as the Selfridges Building and skyline are clearly visible to guide you in the correct direction. some tickets include a free bus journey transfer to the city centre, on local public transport services. If you arrive at night (or have large amounts of luggage), consider getting a bus or taxi as the Digbeth area is not a very pleasant part of the city and is home to many pubs and other nightlife, which may intimidate strangers. Birmingham Coach station has a booking office, two cafés, shop and other basic facilities. There are toilets (30 pence), vending machines (available 24 hours), and an information desk. There are half-hourly (or more frequent) services from [[London]] (service 420), and services from most major cities (including [[Bristol]], [[Cambridge (England)|Cambridge]], [[Cardiff]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Glasgow]], [[Manchester]], [[Oxford]] and [[Sheffield]]) every two hours. If you are taking the coach to an airport (such as for your journey home), leave at least two, preferably three hours early, as coach trips have been known to face significant delays if mechanical or personnel problems are encountered. National Express promises only to get you to the destination within the same day and will take no responsibility if the service runs late (the optional National Express insurance covers only your personal safety and your possessions). * '''[http://www.megabus.com/uk/ Megabus]''', 0900 160 0900 (premium rate - calls incur a 65p per minute service charge plus your phone provider's per-minute access charge). Serves London and Scotland. * '''[http://www.nationalexpress.com/ National Express]''', customer service line: +44 371 781 8181, booking line (premium rate): +44 871 781 8181. ===By car=== [[File:Spaghetti-Junction-Crop.jpg|thumb|The Gravelly Hill Interchange in Birmingham - the original Spaghetti Junction]] [[File:Gas Street Basin towards Brindleyplace.jpg|thumbnail|right|The start of the Birmingham Canal at Gas Street Basin, central Birmingham]] Birmingham is well sign-posted and surrounded by motorways; the M42, the M5, and the M6 which includes the infamous Spaghetti Junction (Gravelly Hill Interchange). Once in the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]: * From the '''north''', Birmingham is served by A-roads. * From the '''north-east''', use the M1, M42 and M6. * From the '''east''', use the M6. * From the '''south-east''', use the M40 and M42. * From the '''south''', Birmingham is served by A-roads. * From the '''south-west''', use the M5 and M42. * From the '''west''', Birmingham is served by A-roads. * From the '''north-west''', use the M6. Birmingham City Council operated car parks are available throughout the city, a list is [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/parking accessible online]. The M5 will take you to the south-west, either the M42 then M40 or the M6 then M1 will take you to [[London]] and the south-east. In the other direction the M1 will take you to [[Leeds]] and the north-east. The M6 will also take you towards the north-west, [[Manchester]] and [[Scotland]], or, via the M54, to north [[Wales]]. ===By boat=== Due to its industrial heritage, Birmingham has an extensive canal network and is on both the "Worcester & Birmingham" and "Grand Union" canals. Visitors travelling by narrowboat can choose from several tourist moorings, managed privately or by Canal & River Trust. Although the moorings are very busy in spring and summer, call ahead for availability. * {{listing | name=Birmingham Canal Information Centre | alt= | url= | email=birminghaminfo@britishwaterways.co.uk | address=42A Gas St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 121 632-6845 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Canal Navigations | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=provides a highly detailed 1:30,000-scale colour map of the network. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe|52.48032|-1.89890|zoom=14}} ===On foot in the City Centre=== [[File:Birmingham Selfridges building.jpg|thumbnail|right|Selfridges building at The Bullring]] [[File:Chamberlain Clock Jewellery Quarter.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Chamberlain Clock in the Jewellery Quarter, commemorating Joseph Chamberlain's visit to South Africa in 1903.]] Birmingham's City Centre is partially pedestrianised, and most things to see and do can be reached on foot. Birmingham walking directions can be planned online with the [http://www.walkit.com/ walkit.com] walking route planner. Visitors may enjoy the walk from the International Convention Centre (ICC) and the Symphony Hall on the top of Broad Street to the Bull Ring shopping complex, which takes around twenty minutes and may involve only one easy surface road-crossing. From the ICC, you walk east by the Repertory Theatre and Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square; then through the site of the former Paradise Forum to Chamberlain Square; with the Museum and Art Gallery to your left and the Grade I-listed Town Hall on your right, you make your way to the spacious Victoria Square. At Victoria Square, you will find the Town Hall to the west, the Council Offices to the north, and the old Head Post Office to the South; the path you want to the Bull Ring is south-east, down New Street, which is a pedestrianised street lined with shops, stores, and kiosks. About five blocks down New Street, you will come to Corporation Street, the only road crossing you need to make on this walk. A few blocks later, New Street will turn into Rotunda Square. Bearing south towards St. Martin's Church, you will find the 21st-century Bull Ring Shopping Complex to your left and right. Birmingham has a large canal network. In the city centre, extensive development has enhanced the environment and level of amenities around these canals, making them excellent pedestrian routes in their own right. Visitors would enjoy the peaceful ten-minute car-free canal stroll from Brindleyplace, National Sea Life Centre, and Sherborne Wharf, all next to the ICC, eastward under Broad Street, through Gas Street Basin, to The Mailbox (Birmingham's former Head Post Office, turned into shops and restaurants). Other walks in the City Centre include the wheelchair accessible summer Floral trail from The Mailbox to St Paul's Square, which in turn is the beginning point of another walk, the historic Jewellery Quarter in Bloom trail, where one can visit the Chamberlain Clock or St Paul's Church. ===By bicycle=== [[File:New Smethwick Pumping Station 2.jpg|thumbnail|Canal trail passing by New Smethwick Pumping Station]] Birmingham City Council produces an excellent cycling and walking map of the area. You can pick one up from any local library, tourist information office, leisure centre or bike shop. Birmingham is a somewhat [[cycling|cycle-friendly]] city, not quite as much as the rest of [[Europe]], but it is possible to get around without too much trouble. There are plenty of places to lock a bike up in the city centre, but few cycle lanes and lots of pedestrians. Unless you are touring the UK, the best use for a bike in Birmingham is to explore the extensive local canal network, such as the canal trail leading to the historic New Smethwick Pumping Station. Road and cycle path maintenance in the area is far from perfect, and it is not uncommon for trees and parked cars to obstruct the right-of-way. The standard of driving is as bad as in other cities, so exercise extreme caution on main roads and at night. The canal network can be accessed in the city centre from the Broad Street/Gas Street area, or at most road crossings elsewhere. The towpath is generally well-maintained to within a few miles of the city, and after that tends to be packed earth with plenty of mud and embedded bricks. The [https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-5/ Sustrans National Cycle Network] Route 5 ([[Oxford]] to [[Derby]]) passes through Birmingham from the south to the north-west. The local stretch is known as the Rea Valley Route, there is also the Cole Valley Route to the east. Bicycle hire: * {{listing |type=around | name=On Your Bike | alt= | url=http://www.onyourbike.com/ | email=birmingham@onyourbike.com | address=33-40 Bradford St | lat=52.47432 | long=-1.88929 | directions= | phone=+44 121 666-6933 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 666-6388 | hours=M W F Sa 10AM-6PM, Th 10AM-7PM, Tu Su closed | price= | content= }} * Lime runs a cycle and e-scooter hire scheme in the West Midlands, with docking stations across the city. Bikes can be unlocked by a smartphone app. <!-- * {{listing |type=around | name=Midland cycle hire | alt= | url=http://www.midlandcyclehire.co.uk/ | email= | address=1 Fieldhouse Lane, Romsley, Halesowen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1562 711-144 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= }}--> ===By public transport=== Bus, train and Metro all come under the authority of [https://www.tfwm.org.uk/ Transport for West Midlands] their website is the best source for all information required on public transport in the region . Birmingham City Council has [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite/publictransport?packedargs=website%3D4&rendermode=live public transportation information available online] as well. ===By bus=== [[File:Birmingham bus map.png|thumb|right|201px|Map of major bus routes]] All areas of Birmingham are well-served by bus routes, operated almost exclusively by '''[http://www.travelwm.co.uk/ National Express West Midlands]''' (NXWM) with some competition from smaller providers, notably '''[http://www.diamondbuses.co.uk/ Diamond Buses]'''. There is no central bus station for local services. Buses depart instead from one or more of five interchanges in the city centre (principally Bull Street/Priory Queensway, Snow Hill, Moor Street, Paradise Circus and New Street). Bus stop maps are available from libraries, tourist information offices and the '''Network West Midlands''' (NWM) office at New Street Station. Route maps and timetables are available from the outlets mentioned above, and there are extensive online versions on the National Express West Midlands and [https://www.tfwm.org.uk/ Transport for West Midlands] websites. If you do not have a lot of time to spare tracking down which buses serve which areas, you can use the '''[https://www.traveline.info/ Traveline Journey Planner]''' (+44 871 200 2233 - premium rate). Ticket prices are now standard across all operators within the nBus region (the West Midlands0. Single fares are £3, on any bus. There are no return tickets, but day tickets are the equivalent, and are better value for two trips or more, at £5.20 per person. Alternatively, a Group Daysaver will cover up to 5 people (or 2 adults and 4 children) all day for £9.20. All these tickets can be purchased on the bus. For single trips, just tap your contactless card on the reader, and as you take more trips, your fare will be capped to the cheapest ticket you can get (i.e.: you take three trips, at the end of the day, you'll be charged £5.20). You can pay with cash, however most buses do not give change, so either get exact change ready (try to avoid notes) or be prepared to pay a little more. Birmingham's bus system is roughly radial, with frequent services in and out of the city centre from most locations especially along the main radial routes. Additionally there are two useful circular routes, the Inner Circle, service 8A/8C, and the better known service 11A/11C, the Outer Circle (the A and C refer to anticlockwise and clockwise directions) which can be useful while travelling between different areas while avoiding the City Centre. There are also numerous services linking many suburbs, hospitals and shopping centres, which are generally less frequent and in some cases have no or poor evening or Sunday services. Compared to London, Birmingham has fewer bus lanes, which can result in much slower journeys at peak periods. ===By train=== [[File:Birmingham rail map.png|thumb|200px|Rail map]] There is an extensive overland rail network serving parts of Birmingham and the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] area, operated mainly by West Midlands Trains. Route maps and timetables are available from libraries, tourist information offices, railway stations and the [https://www.traveline.info/ Traveline Journey Planner] (+44 871 200 2233 - premium rate). You can take bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs on board without prior reservation, and there is usually a designated carriage. Fares vary with distance, but you can expect to pay between £3 and £8 for a day return to a local destination. Fare-dodging is rife, and there has been a crackdown with ticket barriers at some stations (New Street, Snow Hill, Moor Street, Five Ways and University) and on-board checking. The penalty for not having a valid ticket is a £100 on-the-spot fine (which can be contested in court, but is rarely worth the hassle). They advertise you could be charged with a penalty of upto £1000, but that rarely happens, and they'll likely just sell you a valid ticket on the train. If you aren't sure the checker is legitimate, staff will be wearing West Midlands Railway, or Revenue Protection uniform, and should show you ID if you ask. They'll also have proper equipment to scan your ticket. From New Street station, the cross-city line runs between [[Lichfield]] Trent Valley in the north and Redditch or Bromsgrove in the south, stopping notably at Sutton Coldfield (for Sutton Park), Aston (for Aston Hall), University (for the University of Birmingham and QE Hospital), Bournville (for Cadbury World) and Barnt Green (for Lickey Hills). Local services also run to [[Hereford]] (via [[Worcester (England)|Worcester]] and [[Malvern (England)|Malvern]]), [[Leamington Spa]], [[Northampton (England)|Northampton]] (via Birmingham International Airport, [[Coventry]] and [[Rugby (England)|Rugby]]), [[Nuneaton]], [[Shrewsbury (England)|Shrewsbury]] (via [[Wolverhampton]]), [[Stafford]] (via [[Walsall]]), [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], [[Tamworth (England)|Tamworth]] and [[Warwick (England)|Warwick]]. Additional services to these areas run from Snow Hill and Moor Street stations (they are on the same line), and you may not be able to catch a specific train from New Street. The Camp Hill line reopened in April 2026, with trains every half an hour, between Birmingham New Street, and Kings Norton, via Pineapple Road (residential area), Kings Heath, and Moseley Village. ===By tram=== [[File:Jewellery Quarter railway station train and tram - Birmingham - 2005-10-14.jpg|thumb|The Jewellery Quarter station with the rail and Metro lines.]] Birmingham has a single 22&nbsp;km tram line with 35 stops, rather grandly called the '''[http://www.westmidlandsmetro.com West Midlands Metro]'''. It runs between Edgbaston and [[Wolverhampton]], via Brindleyplace, New Street and Snow Hill stations, the Jewellery Quarter, [[West Bromwich]], Wednesbury and Bilston. Alternate trams towards Edgbaston take the two-stop spur to Millennium Point before reversing and continuing. An extension to Digbeth Coach Station from this spur is in hand, as is a second line from Wednesbury to Merry Hill, with more planned. The eventual hope is to run trams to the airport, but that's many decades down the line. The Metro runs from roughly 6:30AM–11:30PM Monday-Saturday, and 8AM-11PM Sundays and bank holidays. Fares vary with distance, but expect to pay around £2 for a single, £3.50 for a return and £4.50 for a day pass (combined bus/train/Metro passes are also available). Full route, timetable and fare information is listed on the [http://www.westmidlandsmetro.com/ Metro] website, and there is additional information on the [http://www.tfwm.org.uk/ TfWM] website. ===By water bus=== Water buses and taxis operate out of the canal offices in Gas Street Basin (underneath Broad Street). They also provide tours of the area. Obviously, they are limited to the local canals and are significantly slower than other forms of transport. ===By car=== Birmingham's city centre is slowly but surely making travel by car less efficient. One-way systems and bollards are being installed to restrict car access, and make the city centre a nicer, brighter place for pedestrians. This means travel by car is possible to the major railway stations, and the outskirts and car parks, but the most direct way in and out is by train and bus, as buses can drop you right in the centre. During rush-hour, travel by car can become incredibly slow. Birmingham City Council produces a map of city centre car parks (available from tourist information offices). Expect to pay £1-1.50 per hour in Pay & Display areas and more on street meters. Parking attendants patrol popular areas regularly, so expect a penalty fee if you return late. You can pay for most parking using the RingGo or JustPark apps. These apps allow you to pay for parking, and add on more time remotely, with your phone. Signs at the car park will tell you what you need to use, and a code for the car park to ensure it's the right one. The cheapest parking is in Digbeth, with fees usually from around £1 per hour upto £4 per day. however these spaces aren't the safest, and street and off-street alike, they have a bad reputation for cars being stripped of body panels. See these car parks' Google reviews for some photos. If you want to use these, use them at peak times when people are likely to be around to see. Car hire is possible in the city centre and at the airport. A [https://www.brumbreathes.co.uk/ congestion charge] of £8 per day applies to vehicles using roads ''inside'' the [https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20076/pollution/1763/a_clean_air_zone_for_birmingham/2 A4540 Middleway ring road]. The charge does not apply to low emission vehicles. Put your registration into the [https://multiple-vehiclecheck-pay.drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk/what_would_you_like_to_do online checker] to find out if you have to pay, as not everyone does, and not every city has the same rules. ===By motorcycle=== Motorcycles and mopeds are becoming increasingly popular in Birmingham as a way of avoiding rush hour traffic jams, and usually enjoy free parking in city centre car parks. Although not a lot of car parks have bike areas, there are a number of bays around the centre but none of them have any rails to lock your bike to. ===By taxi=== ====Taxi/private-hire==== Birmingham has an abundance of taxi ranks all over the city, the best-served being New Street Station. Both hackney carriages and private hire vehicles are easy to find, but you should exercise caution and not get into an unmarked car or one you haven't booked. Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest times due to clubbers going home in masses, and there can be waits of over an hour if you're somewhere busy like Broad Street. Popular providers include: *'''[http://www.afjtravel.com/ AFJ Minibuses]''', Birmingham Minibus hire available 24 hours a day. *'''[https://www.taxisbirmingham.co.uk/ Taxis Birmingham]''', has an online booking system. *'''Castle Cars''', 13 Oak Tree Ln, Selly Oak, +44 121 472 2222. *'''Crown Cars''', Argent House, 16 Vulcan Road, Solihull , +44 121 711 1111 *'''Elite Radio Cars''', Omnibus Garage, Harborne Ln, Selly Oak, +44 121 415 5000. *'''Falcon Cars''', 211 Monument Rd, +44 121 555 6050. *'''TOA Taxis''', 100 Vivian Rd, Harborne, +44 121 427 8888. All major credit cards accepted with onboard chip & pin facilities. *'''Big Yellow Taxi LTD''', Carpenter Rd, 32 B15 2JH, +44 121 440 7117. ====Uber==== Alternatively the popular [[Ride hailing services|ride-sharing app]] [https://www.uber.com/en-GB/cities/birmingham/ Uber] has a licence in the city and there are plenty of drivers around the city centre that can be hailed. ==See== Birmingham doesn't have a reputation for being especially picturesque, but there is a lot of interesting architecture in the city centre that the shops and crowds sometimes obscure. For such a (relatively) large population centre, the countryside (in the form of country parks such as the Lickey Hills, Waseley Hills, etc.) is surprisingly close. ===Museums and art galleries=== For a place with a strong industrial heritage, Birmingham does not have the large range of historical attractions you may expect; however, this is offset by the arts being extremely well-represented. * {{see | name=Aston Hall | alt= | url=http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/aston | email=bmag_enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Trinity Rd, Aston | lat=52.50630 | long=-1.88436 | directions=Train to Aston or Witton or #7 bus | phone=+44 121 327-0062 | tollfree= | hours= | price=£8 (adults) | wikidata=Q4810979 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=Restored Jacobean mansion built between 1618 and 1635, containing period rooms and artwork. Cannon damage from the English Civil War is still visible. The Hall was visited by Arthur Conan Doyle and Washington Irving, inspiring the latter's 'Bracebridge Hall'. ''Aston Hall by Candlelight'' is a popular Christmas event that takes place every two years (even numbers) where the whole grounds are lit by candles for 17th-century festivities (fee charged). Closed when Aston Villa are playing at home. Admission to grounds is free. }} * {{see | name=Barber Institute of Fine Arts | alt= | url=http://www.barber.org.uk | email=info@barber.org.uk | address=University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TS | lat=52.450419 | long=-1.927728 | directions=on the University of Birmingham campus, off Edgbaston Park Rd, train to University or #61, #62 or #63 bus | phone=+44 121 414-7333 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 414-3370 | hours=M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM | price=Free (donations welcome) | wikipedia=Barber Institute of Fine Arts | image=BirminghamBarberInstitute.jpg | wikidata=Q4859590 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Small gallery with an excellent eclectic permanent collection, including many pre-Raphaelites. Good Britain Guide gallery of the year 2004. As of April 2026, the Barber galleries are closed for a major building improvement project. }} * {{see | name=Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | alt= | url=https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/birmingham-museum-and-art-gallery | email= | address=Chamberlain Square, B3 3DH | lat=52.4803 | long=-1.903786 | directions=Central | phone=+44 121 303-2834 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 10AM-5PM | price=Free (donations welcome) | wikipedia=Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | image=Chamberlain Square - geograph.org.uk - 556412.jpg | wikidata=Q1799857 | lastedit=2025-08-03 | content=Large museum with some local history, several temporary exhibitions and large permanent collection, including an extensive collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Home to part of the stunning Anglo-Saxon hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold metal work discovered just north of Birmingham in 2009. Includes the Gas Hall and Waterhall Gallery of Modern Art.<br />As of August 2025, only some galleries are open, due to refurbishment. }} [[File:Ouzell Square - geograph.org.uk - 556492.jpg|thumbnail|right|IKON Gallery in Brindleyplace]] * {{see | name=IKON Gallery | alt= | url=http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk | email=marketing@ikon-gallery.co.uk | address=1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, B1 2HS | lat=52.4776 | long=-1.9125 | directions=off Broad St | phone=+44 121 248-0708 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 248-0709 | hours=Tu-Su 11AM-6PM | price=Free (donations welcome) | wikipedia=Ikon Gallery | image=IkonGallery.jpg | wikidata=Q5996126 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Small gallery with two or three temporary modern and conceptual art installations. Excellent cafe (see below). }} * {{see | name=Lapworth Museum of Geology | alt= | url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/cultural-attractions/lapworth-museum-of-geology | email= | address=University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TS | lat=52.4491 | long=-1.93217 | directions=on the University of Birmingham campus, off Edgbaston Park Rd, train to University or #61, #62 or #63 bus | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikipedia=Lapworth Museum of Geology | image=Lapworth Museum.jpg | wikidata=Q6488462 | lastedit=2026-04-30 | content=Rocks and fossils, aimed at a broad range of audiences. One of five UK museums shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award in 2017, following major redevelopment of its displays. }} * {{see | name=Sarehole Mill | alt= | url=https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/sarehole | email=sarehole.mill@birminghammuseums.org.uk | address=Cole Bank Rd, Hall Green B13 OBD | lat=52.4341 | long=-1.85581 | directions=#4, #5, #6 #11 buses | phone=+44 121 777-6612 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 236-1766 | hours=Apr-Oct: Tu-Su 11:30AM-4PM (closed Mondays except Bank Holidays) | price=Adults £6 | wikidata=Q82108 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Built in 1765, Sarehole Mill is a fine example of one of more than fifty water mills that existed in Birmingham at one time. Matthew Boulton used the Mill for making buttons and for metal rolling until he moved his operations to Soho in 1761. In the late 1890s Sarehole was the childhood haunt of Hobbit author J.R.R. Tolkien, and famously influenced 'The Shire' in ''The Lord of the Rings''. See website for special events. Nearby is ''Moseley Bog'' (see 'Parks and nature', below) a woodland said to have inspired Fangorn Forest. Admission to the grounds is free. }} * {{see | name=Royal Birmingham Society of Artists | alt=RBSA | url=http://www.rbsa.org.uk/ | email= | address=4, Brook Street | lat=52.4849 | long=-1.9075 | directions=Off St. Paul's Square. Metro: St. Paul's Square | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free entrance | wikipedia=Royal Birmingham Society of Artists | image=RBSA Gallery November 2012.JPG | wikidata=Q12403 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Independent art gallery; frequent temporary exhibitions and works for sale. }} * {{see | name=Soho House | alt= | url=http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/soho | email=contact@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Soho Ave, Handsworth, B18 5LB | lat=52.4996 | long=-1.9229 | directions=Located off Soho Rd, Buses: 74, 78 and 79, Metro: Benson Road (there is a steep uphill walk to the house) | phone=+44 121 554-9122 | tollfree= | hours=W Th first Su 11:30AM-4PM (plus some Bank Holidays & special occasions) | price=Adult £7; concession £5; child £3 | wikipedia=Soho House | image=Sohohouse1.JPG | wikidata=Q1810087 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=The elegant home of industrial pioneer Matthew Boulton, who lived at the house from 1766 to 1809. Here, he met with some of the most important scientists, engineers and thinkers of his time - the Lunar Society. Entry by guided tour only: 11.30am, 1pm and 2.30pm. }} * {{see | name=Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum | alt= | url=http://www.thinktank.ac/ | email=ffindout@thinktank.ac | address=Millennium Point, Curzon St | lat=52.48263 | long=-1.88671 | directions=directions | phone=+44 121 202-2222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM (last admission 4PM) | price=£6.95 (concessions £5, children £4.95. Family and IMAX combination tickets available) | wikipedia=Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum | image=Thinktank Science Garden.jpg | wikidata=Q7784619 | lastedit=2018-02-15 | content=Science museum with lots of hands-on activities, vehicles and industrial machines, however the activities all smell of their popularity. IMAX cinema (see Cinema section) in the same building. }} <!-- As of June 2025 Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is INDEFINITELY CLOSED [[File:The Jewellery Quarter Museum.jpg|thumbnail|right|Museum of the Jewellery Quarter]] * {{see | name=Museum of the Jewellery Quarter | alt= | url=https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/jewellery | email= | address=75-79 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HA | lat=52.4906 | long=-1.91194 | directions= | phone=+44 121 554-3598 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:30AM-4PM (last admission one hour before), closed Sunday and Monday except Bank Holiday Mondays | price=Adults: £7 | wikidata=Q6941092 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=Jewellery workshop abandoned in working condition, later reopened as a museum. Visits are by tour, lasting approximately one hour. Worth seeing, especially in the context of the wider, still working commercial Jewellery Quarter. }} --> [[File:Birmingham Back to Backs exterior.jpg|thumb|Back to Back houses]] * {{see | name=Birmingham Back to Backs | alt= | url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/birmingham-back-to-backs/ | email=backtobacks@nationaltrust.org.uk | address=55-63 Hurst Street/50-54 Inge Street, B5 4TE | lat=52.47431 | long=-1.89723 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tours must be booked a few days in advance, usually open Tu-Th 1-5PM, F-Su 10AM-5PM | price=£8.55 | wikipedia=Birmingham Back to Backs | image=Birmingham back-to-backs.jpg | wikidata=Q4916605 | content=Last surviving set of these 19th-century cramped, working-class houses in Birmingham, restored and preserved by the National Trust. }} [[File:NewmanBros-296.jpg|thumbnail|right|Stamp room of the Newman Brothers' Coffin Works]] * {{see | name=The Coffin Works | alt=Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Factory | url=http://www.coffinworks.org/ | email=newmanbrothers@coffinworks.org | address=13-15 Fleet St | lat=52.4819591 | long=-1.9073771 | directions= | phone=+44 121 233-4785 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 10:45AM-3PM, last tour starts at 3PM | price=£6.60 for adults, £4.40 for children, free under age of 5 | wikipedia=Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Factory | image=Newman Brothers Coffin Factory, Fleet Street, Birmingham.JPG | wikidata=Q15262166 | lastedit=2018-05-10 | content=An industrial heritage museum in the Jewellery Quarter, dedicated to educating visitors about the social and industrial history and importance of the site which was in operation as a coffin furniture factory from 1894 to its closure in 1998. Ornaments made by the Newman Brothers decorated the coffins of Sir Winston Churchill, Joseph Chamberlain, and many others. Many of the historic rooms, among which the "stamp" room, can be viewed and visited. Guided tours are highly recommended and start at 1PM, 2PM and 3PM. }} * {{see | name=Blakesley Hall | alt= | url=http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/blakesley | email= | address=Blakesley Rd | lat=52.47270 | long=-1.81005 | directions=take bus 97 and get off at Station Road bus stop | phone=+44 121 348-8120 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 11AM-4PM | price=Adults £7, students and elderly £5, children younger than 15 £3 | wikidata=Q4924644 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=One of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and a typical example of "black & white" Tudor architecture, constructed in 1590 by Richard Smalbroke as a timber-framed farmhouse. Many historic artefacts are on display in the museum, including authentic candlesticks and pewter goblets. Tours take place at 11:15AM, 12:15PM, 1:15PM and 2:15PM, and last approximately 45 minutes. The Gilbertstone, moved in local folklore by the Giant named Gilbert, is displayed in the grounds of the museum. }} ===Factory visits=== The West Midlands region has been the hub for automotive production and development ever since the invention of the motor car, and even today two car factories remain operational within the city limits of Birmingham, both offering factory tours. There is also a chocolate factory for some sweeter treats. [[File:Jaguar Factory, Gate 1 - geograph.org.uk - 724486.jpg|thumbnail|right|Entrance gate to Jaguar Castle Bromwich Assembly]] * {{see | name=Jaguar Castle Bromwich Assembly | alt= | url=https://www.jaguar.co.uk/experience-jaguar/factory-tours/index.html | email=jbartho1@jaguarlandrover.com | address=Chester Road, Castle Vale | lat=52.5155 | long=-1.7995 | directions= | phone=+44 24 7620-5716 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Castle Bromwich Assembly | image=Jaguar-CastleBromwichAssemblyPlant.jpg | wikidata=Q5050001 | content=The north of Birmingham hosts Jaguar's Castle Bromwich Assembly plant, which makes most Jaguar's models, and especially the high-end ones. Factory visits are available, and have to be pre-booked by contacting the Visitors Centre by phone or email. }} * {{see | name=Cadbury World | url=http://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/ | email= | address=Linden Rd, Bournville, B30 2LU | lat=52.428 | long=-1.934 | directions=train to Bournville | phone=+44 845 450 3599 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Opening times vary enormously but tend to be daily 10AM-4PM in the spring, summer and autumn | price=£13.90 (concessions £10.50, children £10.10. Combined train and entry tickets available) | image=Cadbury World sign, Bournville.JPG | wikipedia=Cadbury World | content=Huge chocolate factory south of the city centre. Tour includes the history of chocolate and the Cadbury company, plus a brief look at some of the factory floor. Some free chocolate, plus relatively cheap mis-shapes in the shop. | wikidata=Q5945554}} * '''Land Rover''' has its main assembly plant in nearby [[Solihull]]. ===Religious buildings=== Birmingham's population is very diverse, and communities from just about any country in the world can be found somewhere. This in turn has led to numerous centres for all the world's major religions. [[File:Birmingham - St Philip's Cathedral 1.JPG|thumbnail|right|St Philip's Cathedral]] * {{see | name=St Philip's Cathedral | alt= | url=http://www.birminghamcathedral.com/ | email=enquiries@birminghamcathedral.com | address=Colmore Row | lat=52.4812 | long=-1.89892 | directions= | phone=+44 121 262-1840 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 7:30AM-6:30PM (''5PM from late Jul to early Sep''), Sa Su 8:30AM-5PM | price= | wikipedia=St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham | image=St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham in spring.jpg | wikidata=Q751081 | content=Church of England cathedral, built between 1709 and 1715 and now the centre of the Diocese of Birmingham. Grade 1 listed building, designed as a parish church in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer. Contains four spectacular pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows by Burne Jones. }} * {{see | name=Birmingham Peace Pagoda | alt= | url=http://www.chezpaul.org.uk/buddhism/uk/talaka.htm | email= | address=Osler St, Ladywood | lat=52.47918 | long=-1.93271 | directions= | phone=+44 121 455-0650 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dhamma Talaka Pagoda | image=Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda, Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q5268837 | content=Situated in an inner-city area of Birmingham close to Edgbaston Reservoir, the gold-roofed pagoda is a sight to behold. The pagoda is designed as symbol of peace, compassion and the noble exemplary qualities of the Buddha. }} * {{see | name=St Chad's Cathedral | alt= | url=http://www.stchadscathedral.org.uk/ | email= | address=St Chad's Queensway | lat=52.48559 | long=-1.89877 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-2251 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 9AM-1PM | price= | image=St Chads Cathedral 1.jpg | wikipedia=St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham | content=Catholic cathedral built in 1841 and designated a Minor Basilica in 1941. Contains the Shrine of St. Chad. | wikidata=Q1138085}} [[File:Aerial Bull Ring Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|St. Martin's, surrounded by the Bullring]] * {{see | name=St Martin in the Bull Ring | alt= | url=http://www.bullring.org | email= | address=Bull Ring | lat=52.477 | long=-1.8932 | directions=between the shopping complex and the markets | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM | price= | wikipedia=St Martin in the Bull Ring | image=St Martin's Birmingham2.JPG | wikidata=Q7594217 | content=St. Martin is the parish church of Birmingham, or "The Cathedral of the Bull Ring", as some would say. The first church was probably Norman, but was rebuilt in the 13th century. As it stands today, most of the church dates from 1875, though inside you can see the 1325 effigy of the Lord of the Manor Sir William de Bermingham. The church is Grade II* listed. }} * {{see | name=St. Paul's Church | alt= | url=https://www.stpaulsjq.church/ | email= | address=St. Paul's Square | lat=52.4853 | long=-1.9058 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St Paul's Church, Birmingham | image=St Paul Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q915614 | lastedit=2020-06-03 | content=Grade I-listed Georgian church with Victorian spire }} * {{see | name=St. Thomas' Church and Peace Gardens | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47314 | long=-1.90636 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Tower of St Thomas in the Peace Garden, Birmingham west end.JPG | wikipedia=St Thomas' Peace Garden | content= | wikidata=Q7591878}} ===Other architecture=== Birmingham holds a wealth of architectural heritage from different eras, including also buildings with no touristically viable function. Some of them are listed below. * {{see | name=BT Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lionel St | lat=52.48357 | long=-1.90426 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=BT Tower (Birmingham) | image=BT Tower, Birmingham - DSC08854.JPG | wikidata=Q4836768 | content=Completed in 1966, it is the tallest structure in Birmingham at 152&nbsp;m, and serves solely as the support for transmission antennas mounted atop it. It has no viewing platform or other accessible floors at all, but it can serve as a landmark and orientation point as it is clearly visible from many parts of the city. Its square profile sets it apart from many other similar structures in the world. }} [[File:The Library of Birmingham - Centenary Square.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Library of Birmingham]] * {{see | name=Library of Birmingham | alt= | url=http://www.libraryofbirmingham.com/ | email= | address=Cambridge St / Centenary Square | lat=52.47972 | long=-1.90846 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 8AM-8PM, Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 11AM-4PM | price=Free | wikipedia=Library of Birmingham | image=LoB 001 20131030.jpg | wikidata=Q6542576 | lastedit=2018-05-10 | content=The new library building at Centenary Square was opened in September 2013 to replace the 1970 Birmingham Central Library nearby (demolished 2016). It is the single largest public library in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. The building was designed by the Dutch firm Mecanoo architecten, and took four years to build. It includes an intricate facade decoration, despite the very simple form of the building, as well as a number of innovative sustainable features. To explore the building take the lift to the top (9th) floor to see the Shakespeare Memorial Room, a fine wooden panelled library, which used to be in the city's library built in 1882. There is also a viewing window to look over the city. There are outside garden spaces on the 7th and 3rd floors which give different city views. The four lower floors house the public library, laid out in impressive style. }} * {{see | name=Bell Edison Telephone Building | alt=The Exchange | url= | email= | address=17 & 19 Newhall Street | lat=52.4815 | long=-1.90181 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4553520 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=A signature, Grade-I-listed, building for the red-brick-and-terracota Victorian style prevalent in the late 19th century in Birmingham, which lacked natural stone and battled sooting problems due to air pollution. It is also a symbol of modernisation of Birmingham, as it was built to house the Central Telephone Exchange for the city; the logos of the Bell-Edison company are still visible within the building. As the telephone exchange relocated many decades ago, the building now houses offices and a bar. }} * {{see | name=The Old Crown | alt= | url=https://theoldcrown.co.uk/ | email= | address=188 High St, Deritend | lat=52.4748 | long=-1.88344 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Old Crown, Birmingham | image=The Old Crown Deritend.jpg | wikidata=Q7754826 | lastedit=2025-06-17 | content=The Old Crown lays claim to being the oldest building in Birmingham (purportedly there since 1368, although almost all of the present timber-framed building dates from the early 16th century). Saved from demolition multiple times, it remains an operational pub, also serving food. }} * {{see | name=Curzon Street station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.4816 | long=-1.88637 | directions=Opposite Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838-1966) | wikidata=Q5196147 | lastedit=2025-06-17 | content=The original central railway station of Birmingham, offering connections to London, Liverpool and Manchester since 1838. It was quickly overshadowed by the first Birmingham New Street station, built in 1854, and saw less and less traffic, becoming a goods station only in the 20th century, before being put completely out of use in 1996 with its tracks later dismantled. The only surviving remainder is the original station entrance building, which is Grade I listed and quite elegant in form, and part of a side wall. As of 2025, it stands next to land which is being redeveloped as the terminus for the HS2 railway, into which it is to be incorporated. The building is not open for visiting. }} * {{see | name=Rotunda | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.478342 | long=-1.895389 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rotunda (Birmingham) | wikidata=Q7370704 | content=The Rotunda was devised as a 25-storey office building in a round shape, from which it derives its name. In many ways, it was a groundbreaking and daring engineering and architectural feat when it was constructed, and because of this is Grade II listed. In the 2000s it was thoroughly refurbished as a residential tower with 232 luxury apartments. Those on floors 19 and 20 are available for short term stays via Staying Cool, who operates them. The building is not accessible to the public. }} * {{see | name=Hall of Memory | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/hom | email= | address=Centenary Square, Broad Street | lat=52.47945 | long=-1.907031 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-4PM | price=free | wikipedia=Hall of Memory, Birmingham | image=Hall of Memory Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q5642705 | lastedit=2018-04-05 | content=A war memorial built in 1925 for the 12,320 Birmingham citizens killed in the First World War. }} [[File:Birmingham Town Hall from Chamberlain Square.jpg|thumb|right|Birmingham Town Hall]] * {{see | name=Town Hall | alt= | url=http://www.thsh.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.4796 | long=-1.903775 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Town Hall | wikidata=Q2191338 | lastedit=2019-05-02 | content=A concert venue and meeting hall, known for its occasional lunchtime organ recitals. }} * {{see | name=Council House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Victoria Square | lat=52.48 | long=-1.902778 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Council House, Birmingham | wikidata=Q5176236 | lastedit=2025-08-03 | content=The seat of local government. Not open to the public, except for special events and council meetings. Several WWI & II memorial plaques have been relocated here from other municipal buildings and may be seen by appointment. }} * {{see | name=Singers Hill Synagogue | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47557 | long=-1.90362 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Singers Hill Synagogue 82.jpg | wikipedia=Singers Hill Synagogue | content= | wikidata=Q7523441}} * {{see | name=Birmingham School of Art | alt=Birmingham Institute of Art and Design | url=http://www.bcu.ac.uk/biad | email= | address=Margaret Street | lat=52.48118 | long=-1.90332 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=BirminghamBIADFineArtMargaretStreet.jpg | wikipedia=Birmingham School of Art | content=Built in 1885 in High Victorian red brick style as a new seat for the Birmingham School of Art, the building retains its original function as its original occupier survived several educational institution mergers and is now the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design within Birmingham City University. The building itself is Grade I listed. | wikidata=Q4916799}} * {{see | name=Victoria Law Courts | alt=Magistrates' Court | url= | email= | address=Corporation Street | lat=52.48365 | long=-1.89383 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Birmingham Law Courts.jpg | wikipedia=Victoria Law Courts | content=A prime example of Birmingham's red-brick-and-terracota architecture, covered not only with deep red terracota on the outside, but also with rich terracota decorations on the inside. Located in the grand Corporation Street among other buildings similar in style. First opened in 1891, it continues to house a court of law, the Birmingham Magistrates' Court. | wikidata=Q7926830}} * {{see | name=Methodist Central Hall | alt= | url= | email= | address=196-224 Corporation Street | lat=52.48347 | long=-1.89273 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Methodist Central Hall, Birmingham | image=Central Hall Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q6823743 | lastedit=2025-06-17 | content=The hall was built in 1904 in a similar red-brick-and-terracota style to the Victoria Law Courts it faces. It is distinguished by its tall tower. It also retail premises at street level, some with original shop fronts. The building ceased to perform its original function and has been used as a very large night club. It is Grade II listed, and on "at risk" registers. }} * {{see | name=Hudson's Coffee House | alt= | url= | email= | address=122-124 Colmore Row | lat=52.48025 | long=-1.90183 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The former coffee house is a rare, Grade I listed, example of a wall-to-wall townhouse in the Arts & Crafts style. It was built to house offices of the Eagle Insurance Company in 1900. }} * {{see | name=Red Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address=1-7 Constitution Hill | lat=52.4866 | long=-1.9014 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=RedPalace.JPG | wikipedia=1–7 Constitution Hill, Birmingham | content=A thin corner building in the red-brick-and-terracota style was devised to house industrial workshops, with incorporated machinery and infrastructure. The building, distinguished by its ornamental tower at the very corner, ended up housing consecutive ethnic restaurants, most recently Syrian. | wikidata=Q4596722}} ===Parks and nature=== [[File:Eastside Park Canal.jpg|thumbnail|right|A pool in the Eastside City Park]] There are small parks and green spaces all over the city and suburbs, and the countryside is only about thirty minutes away in any direction. The country parks and nature reserves usually contain a wealth of information about local flora, fauna and conservation efforts. * {{see | name=Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses | alt= | url=http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/ | email=admin@birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk | address=Westbourne Rd, Edgbaston | lat=52.4662 | long=-1.9296 | directions=#22, #23, #24 or #29 bus | phone=+44 121 454-1860 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-7PM, Su 10AM-7PM (''closes at 5PM or dusk Oct-Mar'') | price=£6.10 (''concessions £3.60, family tickets available'') | image=Birmingham Botanical Gardens, rose garden. - geograph.org.uk - 835649.jpg | wikipedia=Birmingham Botanical Gardens | content=Large botanical gardens with a huge range of plants and workshops throughout the year. | wikidata=Q964899}} * {{see | name=Birmingham Nature Centre | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/naturecentre | email=nature.centre@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Pershore Rd, B5 7RL | lat=52.4505 | long=-1.9104 | directions=#45 or #47 bus, adjacent to Cannon Hill Park | phone=+44 121 472-7775 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 471-4997 | hours= Apr-Oct: daily 10AM-5PM; Nov-Mar: Sa Su 10AM-4PM | price=£1.70 (concessions £1.10, children free) | image=Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park.jpg | wikipedia=Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park | content=Six-acre centre with lots of animals and birds, including deer, otters, owls and two rare Red Pandas. | wikidata=Q4916760}} * {{see | name=Moseley Bog & Joy's Wood Nature Reserve | alt= The Dell| url=http://www.moseleybog.org.uk/ | email=info@bbcwildlife.org.uk | address=Wake Green Road, Moseley | lat=52.436 | long=-1.863 | directions=Bus 2, 3, 3a | phone=+44 121 454-1199 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | image=Log-bench at Moseley bog.jpg | wikipedia=Moseley Bog | content=A small woodland area that is said to be the Inspiration for Fangorn Forest in the Lord of The Rings. The area is well looked after with a series of wooden platforms and walkways creating pathways to follow. A visit can also be linked in with ''Sarehole Mill'' (see above), another haunt of young Tolkien. | wikidata=Q82671}} * {{see | name=Cannon Hill Park | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cannonhillpark | email= | address= | lat=52.451475 | long= -1.899753 | directions=just head down Salisbury Road from the centre of Moseley Village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Take a walk around on the Moseley/Edgbaston border. The park has a boating lake and is home to the [http://www.macarts.co.uk/ Midlands Arts Centre]. This has a theatre, an 'art-house' cinema and year-round exhibitions. }} * {{see | name=National Sea Life Centre | alt= | url=http://www.sealifeeurope.com/uk/birmingham/home.htm | email= | address=Brindleyplace | lat=52.47878 | long=-1.91356 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-6777, +44 121 633-4700 (info line) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10AM-6PM (''last admission M-F 4PM, Sa Su 5PM'') | price=£9.95 (''concessions £6.95, family tickets available'') | image=The National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham.jpeg | wikipedia=National Sea Life Centre (Birmingham) | content=Large sea life centre with a multitude of aquatic animals, including piranhas, turtles, sea horses, rays and otters. Feeding demonstrations throughout the day. | wikidata=Q6978303}} * {{see | name=RSPB Sandwell Valley | url=http://www.rspb.org/reserves/guide/s/sandwellvalley/ | email=sandwellvalley@rspb.org.uk | address=20 Tanhouse Ave, Great Barr, B43 5AG | lat=52.5259 | long=-1.9719 | directions=Train to Hamstead; No 16 bus; or signposted from local roads | phone=+44 121 357-7395 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F 9AM-5PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM (closes at dusk in winter) | price=free entrance | image=Tame Sandwell Forge Mill.JPG | wikipedia=Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve | content=A bird reserve on the border with Sandwell which organises regular guided walks, talks and family activities. | wikidata=Q7417062}} * {{see | name=Sutton Park | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/suttonpark | email=sutton.park.visitors.centre@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Sutton Coldfield | lat=52.5710 | long=-1.8568 | directions=train to Sutton Coldfield or #66A bus | phone=+44 121 355-6370 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free admission | image=Longmoor Pool - Summer 2007.jpg | wikipedia=Sutton Park | content=Enormous (over 900 hectare) park including heathland, wetland, marshes, woodland and lakes. Designated an English Nature National Nature Reserve in 1997. Lots of activities on offer including golf, angling, cycling and bird watching. | wikidata=Q1369961}} * {{see | name=Winterbourne House and Garden | alt= | url=http://www.winterbourne.org.uk/ | email= | address=58 Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston, B15 2RT | lat=52.4537 | long=-1.92484 | directions=on the University of Birmingham campus | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Winterbourne Botanic Garden | image=Winterbourne Botanic Garden.JPG | wikidata=Q5620069 | content= }} * {{see | name=Woodgate Valley Country Park | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Parks-Ranger-Service%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092737591&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper | email=woodgate.valley.country.park@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Bartley Green | lat=52.4482 | long=-1.9964 | directions=#23 bus | phone=+44 121 421-7575 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | wikipedia=Woodgate Valley Country Park | content=450-acre meadow, hedgerow and woodland park containing '''Woodgate Valley Urban Farm''' and '''Hole Farm Trekking Centre'''. Best visited in spring and summer when there are hundred of wild flowers and butterflies. | wikidata=Q8032682}} * {{see | name=Eastside City Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.4816 | long=-1.88699 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Eastside City Park | image=Eastside Park Canal.jpg | wikidata=Q5330928 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=More of a public square than a true park. }} ==Do== ===Events=== [[File:BarclaycardArena2014.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arena Birmingham seen from the Sealife Centre in 2014]] Birmingham hosts some of the largest events, exhibitions and conferences in the country, which may or may not be of interest to a visitor. * {{do | name=National Exhibition Centre | alt=NEC | url=http://www.thenec.co.uk/ | email=cs.boxoffice@necgroup.co.uk | address=Marston Green, Solihull | lat=52.4537 | long=-1.7192 | directions=train to Birmingham International or #900 bus | phone=+44 870 909 4133 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free-£40 (price varies with event). | image=NEC atrium entrance3 10y07.JPG | wikipedia=National Exhibition Centre | content=A huge exhibition centre, staging more than 180 exhibitions each year in 21 halls totalling 200,000 m². Also has a 12,000-seat arena hosting national and international sporting and entertainment events. | wikidata=Q6146481}} * {{do | name=Arena Birmingham | alt=National Indoor Arena | url=http://www.arenabham.co.uk/ | email=cs.boxoffice@necgroup.co.uk | address=King Edwards Rd., B1 2AA | lat=52.479722 | long=-1.915000 | directions= | phone=+44 870 909 4133 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q32963 | lastedit=2019-05-28 | content=A fairly large, modern arena hosting many national and international sporting and entertainment events. Prices vary with event and seating. }} * {{do | name=International Convention Centre (ICC) | alt= | url=http://www.theicc.co.uk/ | email=info@theicc.co.uk | address=Broad St | lat=52.47907 | long=-1.91097 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-2000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=International Convention Centre, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 1034916.jpg | wikipedia=International Convention Centre, Birmingham | content= A modern convention centre sharing a building with '''Symphony Hall'''. | wikidata=Q15228750}} * {{do | name=The Custard Factory | alt= | url=http://www.custardfactory.co.uk/whats-on/ | email= | address=Gibb Street | lat=52.47516 | long=-1.88447 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=CustardFactoryAndDeritend.jpg | wikipedia=Custard Factory | content=Self-styled "Birmingham's Creative Quarter" this eclectic venue plays host to various events, as well as club nights on weekends and some weekdays in what was an actual custard factory in its former life. On bigger nights the large pool at the centre of the venue is drained and turned into a dancefloor with a heated marquee over it.| wikidata=Q5196288}} ===Live music=== [[File:Symphony Hall Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|Inside the Symphony Hall]] [[File:Digbeth Institute (1).jpg|thumbnail|right|The Institute]] The live music scene in Birmingham is vibrant and varied, and something can be experienced just about any night of the week. Libraries, tourist information offices and music-related bars and shops will stock copies of ''The Fly'' or "Ryan's Gig Guide" free publications with exhaustive listings of every music event going on in the city and surrounding area. * {{do | name=Symphony Hall | alt= | url=https://bmusic.co.uk/ | email=boxoffice@thsh.co.uk | address=Broad St | lat=52.47851 | long=-1.91034 | directions= | phone=0121 780 3333 (box office) | tollfree= | hours= | price=£26-62 (price varies with seating: £5 tickets available for students and under 18s, £10 tickets for 18-30 year olds) | wikipedia=Symphony Hall, Birmingham | image=Symphony Hall, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 1034924.jpg | wikidata=Q3507908 | lastedit=09-04-2026 | content=Internationally renowned concert venue with two to four classical concerts per week. Also offers free pre-concert talks. }} * {{do | name=CBSO Centre | alt= | url=http://www.cbso.co.uk/ | email=information@cbso.co.uk | address=Berkley St (off Broad St) | lat=52.47560 | long=-1.90939 | directions= | phone=+44 121 616-6500, +44 121 780-3333 (ticket line) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5-12 | image=CBSO Centre Birmingham.jpg | wikipedia=CBSO Centre | content=Modern rehearsal facilities for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Concerts usually once a week, including ''Centre Stage'' intimate chamber music. | wikidata=Q5009212}} * {{do | name=O2 Institute | alt=Digbeth Institute | url=https://www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham/ | email= | address=78 Digbeth | lat=52.4756 | long=-1.88737 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-8311, +44 870 907 0999 (premium rate ticket line) | tollfree= | hours= | price=Tickets £6-25 (price varies with band fame) | wikipedia=Digbeth Institute | wikidata=Q5275562 | content=O2 Institute (formerly The Institute, HMV Institute, etc) is a new name. Focusing on alternative, pop and urban music, the venue has 3 stages, hosting gigs from local and touring bands. Also hosts regular club nights. }} * {{do|name=O2 Academy Birmingham|lat=52.47320 | long=-1.90027|address=16-18 Horsefair, Bristol St| phone=+44 121 622-8850, +44 905 020 3999 (premium rate info line - calls incur a 30p per minute service charge plus your phone providers per-minute access charge) |email= mail@o2academybirmingham.co.uk|url=http://www.o2academybirmingham.co.uk/|content=Relocated from its previous Dale End location, O2 Academy is a large music venue hosting many gigs from local and touring artists. The Venue has 3 separate arenas, O2 Academy, Academy 2 and Academy 3 and each venue may be open consecutively with up to 3 different gigs on some nights. The venue mainly focuses on alternative rock and indie. Weekend gig tickets usually allow entry to the club night going on afterwards.|price=£6-25 (price varies with band fame)}} * '''[http://www.birminghamjazzfestival.com/ Birmingham Jazz Festival]''' is held in July at multiple venues. ===Theatre=== [[File:Birmingham Hippodrome.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Birmingham Hippodrome]] [[File:Birmingham Rep + Library of Birmingham - 2014-02-11 - Andy Mabbett - 01.JPG|thumbnail|right|The Rep - Birmingham Repertory Theatre]] In addition to the main venues mentioned below, there are several small theatres scattered around the city and the suburbs; pick up a ''What's On'' guide from a library or tourist information office for full listings. * {{do | name=Alexandra Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham-alexandra.co.uk/ | email= | address=Station St. | lat=52.4763 | long=-1.90068 | directions= | phone=+44 870 607 7533 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£6-50 (price varies with seating) | wikipedia=The Alexandra, Birmingham | image=Alexandra Theatre Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q7005267 | content=Edwardian theatre showing pre- and post-West End plays and musicals. }} * {{do | name=Birmingham Hippodrome | alt= | url=http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com | email=tickets@birminghamhippodrome.com | address=Hurst St | lat=52.4746 | long=-1.8976 | directions= | phone=+44 121 689-3000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£6-50 (price varies with seating. Concessions £3-5 off or £10-15 student & seniors (plus non-student/senior friend) standby 24 hours in advance. 3%-6% transaction fee if not paying by cash) | wikipedia=Birmingham Hippodrome | image=Birmingham Hippodrome.jpg | wikidata=Q4916717 | content=Large, refurbished theatre showing varied performing arts, including ballet, musicals, comedy, opera and drama. Home of the Patrick Centre for the Performing Arts and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Preferred venue for the Welsh National Opera. }} * {{do | name=Crescent Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.crescent-theatre.co.uk/ | email= | address=20 Sheepcote St | lat=52.4773 | long=-1.91541 | directions=off Broad St | phone=+44 121 643-5858 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Box office M-F 4:30PM-7PM, Sa noon-7PM | price=£7-12 (concessions £1-1.50 off) | wikipedia=Crescent Theatre | wikidata=Q5184431 | content=Independent local theatre company performing both old and modern plays. }} * '''Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)'''. See ''Cinema''. £5-20. * {{do | name=Old Rep Theatre | alt= | url=https://www.oldrep.co.uk/ | email=boxoffice@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Station Street | lat=52.4767 | long=-1.89839 | directions= | phone=+44 121 303-2323 | tollfree= | hours= | price=£5-15 | wikipedia=Old Rep | wikidata=Q7084830 | lastedit=2025-08-03 | content=Built in 1913. Home of the Birmingham Stage Company, puts on both professional and amateur productions. }} * {{do | name=Repertory Theatre | alt=The Rep | url=http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/ | email=stage.door@birmingham-rep.co.uk | address=Centenary Square, Broad Street | lat=52.4794 | long=-1.90941 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-4455 | tollfree= | hours= | price=£5-15 | wikipedia=Birmingham Repertory Theatre | wikidata=Q4916786 | content=Well-established theatre putting on classical and modern plays. Supports new work through '''The Door'''. }} * {{do | name=Old Joint Stock Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.oldjointstocktheatre.co.uk/ | email= | address=4 Temple Row West | lat=52.4811 | long=-1.9 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Old Joint Stock Theatre | wikidata=Q7084308 | content=In a beautiful 1864 building that was built as a bank, this intimate (only 95 seats) theatre hosts guest performances, two resident companies, a Musical Theatre Group, and a regular Theatre Group. It is the main venue for the comedic Foghorn Improv. Downstairs is a pub in the preserved Victorian bank hall with a glass dome and lavish decorations. }} ===Cinema=== Birmingham's cinemas are quite reasonably priced due to stiff competition for the student market. Don't expect a huge range of "alternative" films, as even the independent places screen mainstream blockbusters to keep their revenues up. * {{do | name=mac | alt=Midlands Arts Centre | url=http://www.macarts.co.uk | email=info@macarts.co.uk | address=Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston/Moseley | lat=52.4529 | long=-1.9039 | directions=#1, #45 or #47 bus | phone=+44 121 440-3838 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-11PM, Su 9AM-10:30PM | price=£6 (concessions £4.50) | wikipedia=Mac (Birmingham) | wikidata=Q6722166 | content=The mac, located in the leafy suburb of Edgbaston has a small but perfectly formed arthouse cinema, and a cafe, hosts art exhibitons, and is a concert and theatre venue. }} * {{do | name=The Giant Screen | alt= | url=http://www.giantscreencinema.co.uk/ | email=findout@thinktank.ac | address=Millennium Point, Curzon St. | lat=52.48325 | long=-1.88564 | directions= | phone=+44 121 202-2222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM | price=£9.60 (''concessions £7.60, children under 16 £7.60, family and joint Thinktank tickets available'') | content=Part of the Thinktank science museum. 2D and 3D films shown on an enormous (five story) screen. Some mainstream films, mainly documentaries. }} * {{do | name=AMC | alt= | url=http://www.amccinemas.co.uk/ | email= | address=220 Ladywood Middleway, Broadway Plaza | lat=52.47355 | long=-1.92164 | directions= | phone=+44 870 755 5657 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-1AM | price=£5 (£3.50 concessions and before 6:30PM) | content=A large modern multiplex showing recent mainstream films. }} * {{do | name=Cineworld | alt= | url=http://www.cineworld.co.uk/ | email= | address=181 Broad St | lat=52.47417 | long=-1.91565 | directions= | phone=+44 871 200 2000 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-1AM | price=£5.50 (£3.50 concessions and before 6:30PM, family tickets available) | content=A large modern multiplex showing recent mainstream films. }} * {{do | name=Odeon | alt= | url=http://www.odeon.co.uk/ | email= | address=New Street | lat=52.47836 | long=-1.89687 | directions= | phone=+44 871 224 4007 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5.20 (£4 before 5PM M-F) | content=Cinema showing mainstream films, near to Bullring shopping centre and New Street station. You can't really call it much of a multiplex. It is a 1930s building with very few screens and the seats are so close together your legs hurt after the advertisements. }} * {{do | name=Vue | alt= | url=http://www.myvue.com/ | email= | address=29 Star City | lat=52.50537 | long=-1.85642 | directions= | phone=+44 871 224 0240 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5.70-6.60 (£8-15 for gold class) | content=Multiplex within the Star City entertainment complex north east of the town center (which also boasts restaurants, bars, nightclubs, bowling and a large casino). The cinema offers 24 screens, including 3 gold class screens with larger, more comfortable seats, at-seat service, free popcorn and a bar. }} ===Sports=== [https://www.birminghamleisure.com/ Birmingham Community Leisure Trust centres] are liberally scattered throughout Birmingham, typically offering swimming pools, sports courts, fields and exercise equipment, all available at much lower prices than you'd expect to pay at privately-run gyms. There's also plenty of golf courses, both municipal and private, across the city including the world famous Belfry complex. * '''Football:''' the Birmingham conurbation has three professional soccer teams. ** '''Aston Villa''' play at {{do | name=Villa Park | alt= | url=https://www.avfc.co.uk/villa-park | email=ticketsales@astonvilla-fc.co.uk | address=B6 6HE | lat=52.5092 | long=-1.8847 | directions=Bus 7 or train from New Street to Witton | phone=+44 871 423 8100 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Villa Park | wikidata=Q175339 | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Villa play in the Premier League, England's top tier, and are one of England's more successful clubs, most recently winning the Europa League in 2026. Their 42,736-capacity stadium is 2 miles north of the city centre. The women's team plays in the Women's Super League, their top tier, with home games in Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield. }} ** '''Birmingham City''' play at {{do | name=St Andrews | alt= | url=https://www.bcfc.com/ | email=ticket.office@bcfc.com | address=Cattell Rd B9 4RL | lat=52.4757 | long=-1.8682 | directions=Train to Bordesley | phone=+44 871 226 1875 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St Andrew's (stadium) | wikidata=Q819179 | lastedit=2026-06-02 | content=City play in the Championship, the second tier. Their 30,016 capacity stadium is one mile east of city centre. The women's team were promoted in 2026 and play in WSL their top tier, with home games at Solihull Moor. }} ** '''West Bromwich Albion''' play at {{do | name=The Hawthorns | alt= | url=https://www.wba.co.uk/ | email= | address=Halfords Lane B71 4LF | lat=52.5092 | long=-1.9639 | directions=train or tram to Hawthorns | phone=+44 121 524 3470 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Hawthorns | wikidata=Q31678 | lastedit=2022-05-08 | content=West Brom play in the Championship, the second tier. Their stadium, capacity 26,800, is four miles northwest of Birmingham city centre. }} * '''Cricket:''' {{do | name=Edgbaston Cricket Ground | alt=County Ground | url=http://www.edgbaston.com/ | email=info@edgbaston.com | address=B5 7QU | lat=52.4558 | long=-1.9025 | directions= | phone=+44 870 062 1902 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Edgbaston Cricket Ground | wikidata=Q1284346 | lastedit=2023-08-18 | content=Stadium of 25,000 capacity, home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, one of the 18 "First Class Counties" comprising the first tier of English cricket. These county matches last 3-4 days, day tickets £6-£15, and you'll find few others there for a mid-week county match. Edgbaston frequently also hosts international (or "Test") matches, lasting up to 5 days, day tickets £20-£70. Also playing here are Birmingham Phoenix men's and women's teams in The Hundred short game. The stadium is a mile south of city centre, walk along Pershore Rd (A441), or take bus 45 or 47. }} * {{do | name=Alexander Stadium | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/alexander | email=alexander.stadium@birmingham.gov.uk | address=Stadium Way, Perry Barr B42 2LR | lat=52.5303 | long=-1.90561 | directions= | phone=+44 121 344 4858 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Alexander Stadium | wikidata=Q2833210 | lastedit=2025-07-13 | content=Alexander Stadium, situated in Perry Barr, is Birmingham's only large athletics stadium and plays host to international meets and trials to decide the English/British teams for major events as well as being the base for the [http://www.birchfieldharriers.net/ Birchfield Harriers] athletics club. The stadium's various sporting facilities are also open to public use. £1-2, capacity 18,000. }} * '''Rugby league:''' [https://midlandshurricanes.co.uk/ Midlands Hurricanes] play the 13-a-side game at Avery Fields in the Championship, the second tier. This expanded in 2026 and took in clubs such as Hurricanes from the former third tier. The playing season is Feb-Nov. * '''Rugby Union:''' [https://moseleyrugby.co.uk/ Moseley] play 15-a-side in National League One, the third tier. Their home ground is on Billesley Common 4 miles south of city centre. * {{do | name=Edgbaston Priory | alt= | url=http://www.edgbastonpriory.com/ | email=ann.pendrey@edgbastonpriory.com | address=Sir Harrys Rd, Edgbaston, B15 2UZ | lat=52.4589 | long=-1.9128 | directions= | phone=+44 121 440 2492 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Edgbaston Priory Club | wikidata=Q5337622 | content=Edgbaston Priory is the main tennis club in Birmingham, with 29 tennis courts, 10 squash courts, 2 swimming pools and a gym available to the public. Every June the club also hosts the [http://birmingham.lta.org.uk/ DFS Classic], a woman's tennis tournament that acts as a warm-up for Wimbledon. DFS Classic tickets £8-20. }} * {{do | name=The Belfry | alt= | url=http://www.thebelfry.co.uk/ | email=enquiries@thebelfry.com | address=Lichfield Rd, Sutton Coldfield, B76 9PR | lat=52.5543 | long=-1.73447 | directions= | phone=+44 870 900 0066 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Belfry | wikidata=Q1770934 | content=The Belfry Golf Club runs three courses just to the north east of Birmingham, including the world famous Brabazon course which has been used for the Ryder Cup and continues to play host to tournaments on the [http://www.europeantour.com/ PGA European Tour]. Green fees £25-140, tournament spectator tickets £7.50-20. }} * {{do | name=Grand Prix Karting | alt= | url=http://www.grandprixkarting.co.uk/ | email= | address=Adderley Rd South, B8 1AD | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 121 327 7700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Large go-karting centre just east of the city centre. £10-50. }} * {{do | name=The Ackers | alt= | url=http://www.ackers-adventure.co.uk/ | email=info@ackers-adventure.co.uk | address=Golden Hillock Rd, Small Heath, B11 2PY | lat=52.458093 | long=-1.852041 | directions= | phone=+44 121 772 5111 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The Ackers is an outdoor activity centre offering a range of activities, ranging from kayaking and archery to rock climbing and dry slope skiing. Prices vary depending on activity. Skiing/snowboarding sessions £11 for one hour. }} * {{do | name=Birmingham Speedway | alt= | url=http://www.birminghamspeedway.co.uk/ | email= | address=Perry Barr Stadium, Aldridge Road, Perry Barr B42 2ET | lat=52.519226 | long=-1.898816 | directions= | phone=+44 870 840 7410 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours=Open W 7:45PM | price= | content=Premier League speedway racing. }} * {{do | name=Creation Skate Park | alt= | url=http://www.creationskatepark.co.uk/ | email= | address=582 Moseley Rd | lat=52.454348 | long= -1.885986 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449 8000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=skateboarding or BMX-ing }} ===Theme parks=== * {{do | name=Drayton Manor | alt= | url=http://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/ | email=info@draytonmanor.co.uk | address=B78 3TW | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 870 872 5252 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Drayton Manor Theme Park | content= Located just outside [[Tamworth (England)|Tamworth]] in [[Staffordshire]], is the fourth most popular theme park in the UK, with 35 rides set in 280 acres of land as well as a 15 acre zoo. To get to the park during school holidays simply catch the special E22 bus in the mornings (typically just before 9 and 10) from Carrs Lane stop DK (near the Pavilions Shopping Centre). A return ticket should cost £10. Outside of school holidays you'll need to catch bus 110, which runs every half hour from Bull Street stop BF (near Snow Hill station) and get off at Fazeley. The return fare is £4. If you're unsure of where exactly the stop is (and it's easy to miss) ask the driver to signal you when you need to get off. Admission £18.95-20.95. | wikidata=Q3039179}} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=Brasshouse Language Centre | alt= | url=http://www.brasshouse.ac.uk/ | email=information@baes.ac.uk | address= | lat=52.479776 | long=-1.908403 | directions=within the Library of Birmingham, off Broad St | phone=+44 121 303-0114 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-03 | content=Specialist language centre offering courses in over 30 languages, from beginners up to degree level. Also offers TEFL, residential courses and distance learning. }} * There are also regular workshops at places such as the '''Midlands Arts Centre''' (see ''Cinema'') and the '''Country Parks''' (see ''Parks and nature''). ==Work== The vast number of shops, bars and restaurants in the city centre means that there is rarely a shortage of menial job vacancies. You will often see positions for minimum wage service or retail positions advertised in windows. There are also a lot of temping agencies able to find temporary office, driving and other jobs for travellers packing suits and CVs. * {{listing | name=Birmingham Broad Street Jobcentre | alt= | url= | email= | address=Centennial House, 100 Broad St | lat=52.4748 | long=-1.9155 | directions= | phone=+44 121 480 3800 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham City Jobcentre Plus | alt= | url= | email= | address=65-77 Summer Row, Ladywood | lat=52.4819 | long=-1.9089 | directions= | phone=+44 121 237-8300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Buy== [[File:Birmingham Bullring panorama -England.jpg|framed|center|The Bull Ring area]] Since the beginning of the 21st century Birmingham has developed enormously as a regional shopping centre, with the old '''Bull Ring''' complex (once a notorious 1960s eyesore) being demolished to make way for a large shopping centre that includes Selfridges. The city and suburbs have the usual assortment of supermarkets, newsagents and corner shops. The city centre is especially well-served, with three Tesco, two Sainsbury's and one Co-op outlets. === Shopping centres === [[File:Great Western Arcade.jpg|thumbnail|right|Inside the Great Western Arcade]] * {{buy | name=Bullring| alt= | url=http://www.bullring.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.4777 | long=-1.894178 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Bull Ring, Birmingham | image=Aerial Bull Ring Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q2734894 | content=Regionally-important shopping mall, connected to Grand Central }} * {{buy | name=The Mailbox | alt= | url=http://www.mailboxlife.com/ | email= | address= | lat=52.47617 | long=-1.90457 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Home to the region's only Harvey Nichols, as well as many other designer boutiques. }} * {{buy | name=Grand Central | alt= | url=https://www.bullring.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.47782 | long=-1.8984 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-11-04 | content=Located directly above New Street Station. The mall provides a fast link from the Bullring directly into New Street Station, with relatively little pedestrian traffic. }} * {{buy | name=Martineau Place | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.48047 | long=-1.89573 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Martineau Place is a small shopping centre, which holds a Gap, H&M, O'Neill Store and Freespirit, as well as an obligatory Starbucks Coffee House. }} * {{buy | name=Great Western Arcade | alt= | url=http://www.greatwesternarcade.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.48186 | long=-1.89719 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A traditional shopping arcade built in 1875 over the Great Western railway line, which cut through the city. It has an ornate entrance on the Temple Row side, and a less impressive one from Colmore Row and a clock with carillion. There is a mixture of all kinds of shops, all pleasantly fitting within the late 19th-century theme with their decorations. }} * {{buy | name=Picadilly Arcade | alt= | url=http://www.birminghampiccadillyarcade.co.uk/ | email= | address=New Street | lat=52.47893 | long=-1.90004 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A historic shopping arcade with painted plafonds and a potpourri of specialist premises right next to the New Street station. }} [[File:Corporation Street from New Street, Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|Corporation Street from New Street]] === Shopping streets === The principal shopping streets are New Street, High Street and Corporation Street. All include the usual assortment of high street chain-stores and discount outlets. Birmingham's High Street has become run down as of late, holding mainly discount stores, due to the attraction of the Bull Ring to larger name stores. However, New Street, going towards Victoria Square has many upmarket stores. === Markets === [[File:Bull Ring outdoor market. - geograph.org.uk - 708018.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Bull Ring outdoor market]] * {{buy | name=Bull Ring Markets | alt= | url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/markets | email=marketstalls@birmingham.gov.uk | address=The Bull Ring | lat=52.47627 | long=-1.89353 | directions= | phone=+44 121 303-0300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Indoor Market: M-Sa 9AM-5:30PM, Rag Market: Tu Th-Sa 9AM-5PM, Open Market: Tu-Sa 9AM-5PM | price= | content=The markets comprise the original trading centre that Birmingham was built upon. There are hundreds of stalls, and you'll be able to get everything from food to underwear to gaffa tape relatively cheaply. }} === Speciality stores === * {{buy | name=Worlds Apart | alt=known for decades as Nostalgia & Comics | url=https://www.facebook.com/WorldsApartBirmingham/ | email= | address=14-16 Smallbrook Queensway, B5 4EN | lat=52.47574 | long=-1.89910 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-0143 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9:30AM–5:30PM, Su 11AM-4PM | price= | content=Comics, graphic novels, manga and the usual alternative oddities. Ideal if you want to catch up on your favourite series while on the road. }} * {{buy | name=Oasis | alt= | url=http://www.theoasisfashionstore.co.uk/ | email= | address=112-114 Corporation St | lat=52.48156 | long=-1.89483 | directions= | phone=+44 121 233-4488 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-5PM | price= | content= A large and intertwining collection of several small retailers over four floors, specialising in goth and alternative clothing and accessories. }} * {{buy | name=The Jewellery Quarter | alt= | url=http://www.the-quarter.com/ | email= | address= | lat=52.48701 | long=-1.91259 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=To the north of the city centre, specialises in jewellery and contains many small workshops and retailers. }} * {{buy | name=Day In | alt= | url= | email= | address=The Arcadian Centre | lat=52.475236 | long=-1.895883 | directions= | phone=+44 121 622-6182 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Chinese supermarket with a wide range of Asian foods. }} * {{buy | name=One Earth Shop | alt= | url= | email= | address=54 Allinson St, Digbeth | lat=52.478435 | long=-1.889603 | directions= | phone=+44 121 632-6909 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-5PM | price= | content=Speciality vegan wholefoods and other ethical essentials. }} === Moseley === * {{buy | name=Farmer's Market | alt= | url=http://moseleyfarmersmarket.org.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.446602 | long= -1.888007 | directions= in the centre of the village | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=4th Saturday of every month | price= | lastedit= | content= There is a selection of farm produce, but many stalls selling all manner of local foodstuffs (pies, jam, deli foods, etc.). It was a finalist in the best farmer's market in the UK competition. }} * {{buy | name=Moseley Arts Market | alt= | url=http://www.moseleycdt.com/arts_market | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=4th Saturday of the month, March - December. | price= | lastedit= | content=Specialist arts and crafts from the best local designers, makers and artisans }} * {{buy | name=Woodbridge Gallery | alt= | url= | email= | address=47 Woodbridge Road | lat=52.447998 | long= -1.883533 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-5581 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=is a small gallery in a someone's back-yard! It's only open for specific exhibitions which last a few days at a time. These usually display work by local artists. There is no admission charge. }} *{{buy | name=Nima Delicatessan | url= | email= | address=103 Alcester Road | lat=52.447401 | long= -1.888322 | directions= | phone=+44 121 442-4205 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A well-stocked deli, selling cooked meats, cheese, coffee and a wide selection of ethnic and organic foods and ingredients. }} ==Eat== Birmingham is the balti capital of England, and the balti was invented here in 1977. It is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl". The much-promoted "[http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/sparkbrook balti triangle]" covers around 50 restaurants on Ladypool Road and Stratford Road in Sparkbrook (often referred to as Little Somalia), about 2 miles south of the city centre. Travel West Midlands has a deal with eight of the larger eateries whereby you can get a 15% discount for travelling by bus, pick up a ''Balti Triangle by Bus'' leaflet for full details. A taxi to the area will take around 10 minutes and cost £5. It looks run-down and has a high rate of crime as of 2026, so be cautious. [[File:The Mailbox 03.jpg|thumbnail|right|Restaurants at the canal side of The Mailbox]] ===Budget=== Birmingham has a large student population, and the usual cottage industries have sprung up in campus areas to cater for their lack of cash. There are around a dozen cheap eateries in the [[Selly Oak]] area of Bristol Road, mainly Indian but also Chinese, Italian and English. The usual fast food chains, kebab shops and burger vans are also scattered around the city and surrounding areas. ====City centre==== * {{eat | name=Eat4Less | alt= | url=https://www.e4l.uk/ | email= | address=92 New St | lat=52.4793120 | long=-1.9011172 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Breakfast sandwiches are generous in size and tasty. Known for their baguettes but also do burgers, pizzas, omelettes and jacket potatoes. }} * {{eat | name=Grand Central Kitchen | alt= | url=https://grand-central-kitchen.business.site/ | email= | address=7 Stephenson St | lat=52.4786835 | long=-1.8991394 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Perfect English breakfast. You can fully comprehend why there is a queue outside on a Sunday for breakfast because the food is so good. }} * {{eat | name=Tortilla Birmingham | alt= | url=https://www.tortilla.co.uk/locations/birmingham/ | email= | address=Stephenson Pl | lat=52.4776392 | long=-1.8977541 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Tasty from the burritos to the chips and the sauces. The meat is tender and juicy and the flavours are distinct and bold. }} * {{eat | name=The Chicken Hut | alt= | url=http://www.chickenhuteurope.com/ | email= | address=201 Corporation St | lat=52.4842781 | long= -1.8926227 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Fire food, try the supreme burger. A chicken steak burger for £2 (April 2021). }} * {{eat | name=Caspian Pizza | alt= | url=https://www.caspianpizza.com/ | email= | address=187 Corporation St | lat=52.4840470 | long= -1.8927920 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Lovely vegetarian panini. The seating is comfortable and the overall decor is nice. }} * {{eat | name=LEON New Street Station | alt= | url=https://leon.co/restaurants/birmingham-new-street-station/ | email= | address=25 Station Street New Street | lat=52.4776621 | long=-1.8977655 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Leon serves high quality tasty food and extremely quickly when on the move. They have a great vegan selection as well. Relaxing atmosphere and wonderful decor. }} * {{eat | name=Baguettes 4 Less | alt= | url= | email= | address=108 Corporation St | lat=52.4813113 | long=-1.8958098 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-11-01 | content=Nice baguettes. The jacket potatoes are good quality, well filled and piping hot. }} * {{eat | name=Edwardian Tea Rooms | alt= | url= | email= | address=Chamberlain Square | lat=52.48063 | long=-1.90297 | directions=inside Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery | phone=+44 121 303-2834 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th Sa 10AM-5PM, F 10:30AM-5PM, Su 12:30PM-5PM | price= | lastedit= | content=Authentic Edwardian cafe. The food is a lot better than the price suggests. }} ====Around the International Convention Centre==== * {{eat | name=Canalside Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Canalside-Bar-111398809664010/ | email= | address=35 Worcester Bar, Gas St | lat=52.47709 | long=-1.90983 | directions= | phone=+44 121 248-7979 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Fairly small cafe with a good range of organic and vegetarian foods. Excellent in the summer, as it's (unsurprisingly) right on the canalside. }} ====Near the University of Birmingham==== * {{eat | name=Cafe Face | alt= | url=https://www.ubereats.com/gb/store/cafe-face/79XJk2SCVvSZG4ENHEk2JQ | email= | address=519 Bristol Rd, Selly Oak | lat=52.44623 | long=-1.93202 | directions= | phone=+44 121 415-4651 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Excellent reputation for their roasted vegetables or jacket potatoes. Absolutely excellent cafes, big helpings not shy on the cheese, garlic mayonnaise and chilli sauce if you were to order them. }} * {{eat | name=Whats Cooking: Rooster Chicken | alt=Rooster House | url=https://curriesroosterhouse.co.uk/order-now | email= | address=Bottom of Harrow Road | lat=52.44620 | long=-1.93142 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Delicious, slightly suspect chicken in huge quantities but don't order off the board or you'll be waiting all day }} ====Moseley==== *{{eat | name=Java Roastery | url=http://www.javaroastery.co.uk/ | email= | address=115 Alcester Rd | lat=52.447053 | long= -1.888290 | directions= | phone=+44 121 347-6610 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=An internet cafe offering a wide selection of hot drinks and cakes. Probably more genuine cafe that happens to do internet connections, than your typical scummy internet cafe. }} [[File:Boulton, Watt and Murdoch statue from Library of Birmingham.jpg|thumbnail|right|Statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch in Broad Street]] ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Yorks Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.yorkscafe.co.uk/ | email= | address=Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace | lat=52.47755 | long=-1.91247 | directions= | phone=+44 121 293-9186 | tollfree= | hours=M noon-11PM, Tu-Sa 11AM-11PM, Su 11AM-6PM | price=£6-20 (Aug 2020) | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Modern cafe attached to the art gallery with efficient and friendly staff. Another branch is at Stephenson Street, B2 4BH. }} * {{eat | name=Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant | alt= | url=https://www.chungying.co.uk/menus/chung-ying-cantonese-menu | email= | address=16-18 Wrottesley St | lat=52.47539 | long=-1.89682 | directions=off Hurst St | phone =+44 121 622-5669 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=''The'' Chinese Restaurant in Birmingham, established since 1981. Opposite Arcadian Centre. }} * {{eat | name=The Kitchen Garden Cafe | alt= | url=http://www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk/ | email= | address=17 York Road, Kings Heath | lat=52.43408 | long=-1.89370 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Picturesque area in the middle of a busy and bustling Birmingham suburb. Quality vegetarian options and excellent service. }} * {{eat | name=Pasta Di Piazza | alt= | url=http://www.pastadipiazza.com/ | email= | address=11 Brook St | lat=52.48472 | long=-1.90739 | directions=St. Paul's Square | phone =+44 121 236-5858 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily noon-midnight | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Upmarket Italian place, can be a bit crowded. }} * {{eat | name=Wagamama bullring | alt= | url=http://www.wagamama.com/ | email= | address=Bullring plaza, (''under Borders''), B5 4QL | lat=52.47817 | long=-1.91197 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-6033 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa noon-11PM, Su 12:30PM-10PM | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Birmingham's restaurant of the Wagamama chain, tidy and minimal inside with a good, varied noodle menu. Specials change frequently and there are a few good vegetarian dishes. Can get busy, with a typical wait from 10-15 minutes during peak shopping times. }} [[File:Brindleyplace Birmingham.jpg | thumb | 300px| The Birmingham Canal ]] ==== Moseley ==== * {{eat | name=Sabai Sabai | alt= | url=https://www.sabaisabai.com/ | email= | address=25 Woodbridge Road | lat=52.448324 | long=-1.886249 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-4498 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Thai cuisine, excellent value and quality, although often full and some find it a little packed/claustrophobic. }} * {{eat | name=Kabbabish | alt= | url=http://www.kababish.co.uk/ | email= | address=29 Woodbridge Road | lat=52.448298 | long= -1.885541 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=An up-market balti house. }} *{{eat | name=La Plancha | url=http://www.laplancha.co.uk/ | email= | address=113 Alcester Road | lat=52.447109 | long= -1.888352 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-5303 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=A Spanish tapas bar/restaurant. Bar area downstairs with seating and a tapas menu, upstairs a restaurant with a wider menu. Pretty authentic Spanish fare. }} *{{eat | name=The Fighting Cocks | alt= | url=http://www.thefightingcocksmoseley.co.uk/ | email= | address=1 St Mary's Row | lat=52.447077 | long= -1.887743 | directions=Alcester Road | phone=+44 121 449-0811 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Very pleasant pub with a youngish crowd in the centre offering a selection of traditional pub food and more modern dishes and vast selection of beers and wine. Not cheap for pub food slow service but good quality. }} ===Splurge=== Birmingham has quite a few upmarket places, mainly due to the number of high-rolling businesspeople that drift in for conferences and other dealings. * {{eat | name=Rectory Bar & Restaurant | alt= | url=http://www.rectorybar.co.uk/ | email= | address=50-54 St Pauls Square | lat=52.48460 | long=-1.90641 | directions= | phone=+44 121 605-1001 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Ideal venue for both drinking and dining with a fabulous reputation for food. Quality steaks, fresh fish, set price menu and superb wine list. The bar is vibrant every weekend and is open to 1AM. It's a stylish place but friendly and attracts a great mix of people. }} * {{eat | name=Zen Metro | alt= | url=http://www.metrobarandgrill.co.uk/ | email= | address=73 Cornwall St | lat=52.48211 | long=-1.90262 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-1911 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Seasonal seafood, pasta, salads and cocktails. }} * {{eat | name=The Jam House | alt= | url=http://www.thejamhouse.com/ | email=info@thejamhouse.com | address=1 St. Paul's Square | lat=52.48507 | long=-1.90458 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-3030 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Varied menu and live music most nights. }} * {{eat | name=Purnell's | alt= | url=http://www.purnellsrestaurant.com/michelin-star-birmingham | email= | address=55 Cornwall St | lat=52.48267 | long=-1.90183 | directions= | phone=+44 121 212-9799 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£100+ | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=One Michelin star. }} ===Vegetarian and vegan=== Considering its size, Birmingham does not have a wide range of vegetarian-specific places to eat. All the eateries mentioned above will have vegetarian options, but the Indian and Chinese places tend to have better variety. If you are vegan ask for your balti/curry to be cooked without ghee (clarified butter). Naan breads are generally not vegan whilst rotis are. * {{eat | name=Jyoti | alt= | url=http://www.jyotis.co.uk/ | email= | address=569-571 Stratford Rd, Hall Green | lat=52.4395 | long=-1.8488 | directions=4 miles south of the city. #5 or #6 bus | phone=+44 121 766-7199 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= Excellent Indian food, but relatively small portions. Extremely popular, so book ahead. }} * {{eat | name=The Warehouse Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.thewarehousecafe.com/ | email= | address=54 Allison St | lat=52.47835 | long=-1.88968 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-0261 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Wholesome organic vegetarian and vegan fare. Closely linked with Friends of the Earth. }} * {{eat | name=Mr Singh's | alt= | url=http://www.mrsinghspizza.co.uk/ | email= | address=103 Cornwall Rd | lat=52.5198 | long=-1.9926 | directions= | phone=+44 121 552-3529 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Handsworth Wood. Vegan and vegetarian pizza restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Land Restaurant | alt= | url=http://www.land-restaurant.co.uk | email=restaurant@land-restaurant.co.uk | address=26 Great Western Arcade, B2 5HU | lat=52.4817 | long=-1.8970 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-2313 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Th noon-2:30PM, 5-8:30PM; F Sa noon-2:30PM, 5-9PM | price=£12-40 (April 2021) | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Plant focused, casual dining restaurant. Dishes highlight seasonal ingredients. }} ==Drink== ===General=== Dress code restrictions are rather common in Birmingham clubs, so be careful to check out each club's policy. Many clubs refuse to admit large groups of males in case of trouble, so go individually or in small groups. The usual excuse that door-staff give is that someone in the party is wearing the wrong type of shoes/coat/trousers etc. The general rule of thumb is ''no effort, no entry''. This usually means shoes, not trainers, and a shirt, not a T-shirt. At the same time being dressed like that can be a hindrance, if you go to one of the cooler bars. It's best to check with someone who's been to the particular bar before. There are a number of areas in the city centre, which are defined below, but other areas to look for a night out are Moseley, Harborne and Selly Oak. If you are looking for the average drink, virtually any pub or bar will do. If you are a ''real ale'' aficionado, there are several excellent pubs to visit, where dress restrictions do not usually apply. Highlights include The Wellington (Bennets Hill), The Shakeseare (Summer Row), another The Shakeseare (Lower Temple Street), The Old Contemptables (Edmund Street, near Snow Hill Station), and the Post Office Vaults (New Street). [[File:Mailbox at Night.jpg|thumbnail|The Mailbox viewed from the front, across The Queensway inner ring road]] ===City centre=== * {{drink | name=Bull | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Price St, B4 6JU | lat=52.48647 | long=-1.89524 | directions= | phone=+44 121 333-6757 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Quiet and comfortable pub, in the Gun quarter. Home-cooked food, too. }} * {{drink | name=Figure of Eight | alt= | url= | email= | address=236 Broad St, B1 2HG | lat=52.47654 | long=-1.91221 | directions= | phone=+44 121 633-0917 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Large city centre pub belonging to the Wetherspoon chain. }} * {{drink | name=Bacchus | alt= | url= | email= | address=Burlington Arcade | lat=52.47879 | long=-1.8988 | directions= | phone=+44 121 616-7991 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cheerfully ornate, gothic style cellar bar beneath The Burlington Hotel. Discretely hidden just off the bustling New Street. Bacchus is a relaxing oasis away from the buzz of the City Centre. A range of real ales is available. Over 21s only. }} * {{drink | name=Craven Arms | alt= | url= | email= | address=Upper Gough Street | lat=52.47504 | long=-1.90375 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-6756 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Situated out of the rear of the Mailbox complex, has great traditional blue tiled exterior. }} * {{drink | name=Edmunds Lounge Bar and Eatery | alt= | url=http://www.edmundsbar.co.uk/ | email= | address=106-110 Edmund Street | lat=52.48170 | long=-1.90205 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-2423 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£8-12 | content=Popular venue in the financial part of town, great food available every day. Known for quality pub food from local suppliers. }} * {{drink | name=The Malt House | alt= | url= | email= | address=74 King Edwards Road, B1 2NX | lat=52.47942 | long=-1.91344 | directions=sandwiched between the ICC and the NIA along the canal | phone=+44 121 633-4171 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Noon-11PM | price= | content=Make no mistake this is a chain pub serving standard food and drinks. However, when the sun is shining it is difficult to find a nicer place to drink along Birmingham's canals as there is a plethora of outdoor seating. Visited by Bill Clinton during his Birmingham visit. }} * {{drink | name=Old Fox | alt= | url= | email= | address=54 Hurst St | lat=52.47452 | long=-1.89699 | directions= | phone=+44 121 622-5080 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{drink | name=Old Joint Stock | alt= | url= | email= | address=4 Temple Row West, B2 5NY | lat=52.48087 | long=-1.89991 | directions=Faces St. Philips cathedral | phone=+44 121 200-1892 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Superbly decorated pub in a Grade II listed former bank. Sells mainly Fullers' beers. }} * {{drink | name=Old Royal | alt= | url= | email= | address=53 Church St,B3 2DP | lat=52.48305 | long=-1.90128 | directions= | phone=+44 121 200-3841 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Single bar with large-screen TV. The pub is popular with office workers. }} * {{drink | name=The Queens Arms | alt= | url=http://www.queensarmsbar.co.uk/ | email= | address=150 Newhall Street | lat=52.4836 | long=-1.9066 | directions= | phone=+44 121 236-3710 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=£5-12 per dish | wikipedia=Queen's Arms, Birmingham | image=The Queen's Arms, Newhall Street - geograph.org.uk - 555707.jpg | wikidata=Q19277182 | content=A great place to watch live sport and the venue of the best quiz night in Birmingham every Thursday night. It's just £1 to enter and there's no limit on the size of the teams. A great night out for seasoned quiz-goers and first-timers alike. Homemade pizzas and a sausage selection giving a fresh choice every day, also has two for one offers every weekday. Great place for traditional ales and a Cask Marque award winner. }} * {{drink | name=The Wellington | alt= | url=http://www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk/ | email= | address=Bennets Hill | lat=52.48072 | long=-1.90067 | directions=Just of Colmore Row | phone=+44 121 200-3115 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An outstanding and frequently-changing selection of well-kept real ales, lagers, ciders and perry (the current list can be viewed on-line), run by knowledgeable CAMRA members. No food served, but condiments, cutlery and crockery are available to people bringing their own (supermarkets and fast-food premsises are nearby). }} [[File:IM1340 Council House by night C.JPG|thumbnail|right|The Birmingham Council House at night, during the Frankfurt Christmas Market]] ====The Arcadian==== In the middle of Birmingham's rather small Chinatown, is an open-air shopping arcade with mostly Chinese supermarkets and restaurants. Right in the middle though, it's all bars. It tends to be a bit quieter and less rowdy than Broad street and has some of the better clubs in the city. The dress code around here is extremely strict in regard to logos on clothes, those are a definite no! Most of the bars are interchangeable, but recommended are: * {{drink | name=Sobar | alt= | url=https://www.sobar.co.uk/ | email= | address=86 Hurst Street (The Arcadian) B5 4TD | lat=52.474853 | long=-1.896201 | directions= | phone=+44 121 693-5084 | tollfree= | hours=F 8PM–3:30AM, Sa 8PM–4AM | price= | lastedit=2025-06-06 | content=Supposedly a noodle bar, as evidence by a small noodle based menu. Really this is just a pretty decent bar/nightclub. It stocks the standard beers and drinks as well as a number of rarer Asian beers. Has a number of extremely comfortable sofas. }} * {{drink | name=Bambu | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Wrottesley Street B5 4RT | lat=52.475264 | long=-1.897125 | directions= | phone=+44 7597 127708 | tollfree= | hours=F and Sa 10:30PM–4AM | price= | lastedit=2025-06-06 | content=One of the best, but also one of the most pretentious clubs in Birmingham. It's not cheap but is still the place to be seen. The dress code here is very hard to define, they want "cool". }} [[File:Alphatowerfromlibrary.JPG|thumbnail|right|Broad Street is regarded as the centre of nightlife in Birmingham]] ====Broad Street==== Broad Street, the No 1 party street of Birmingham, has a large range of clubs, bars and pubs. This is a good location for a Friday or Saturday night. However, at the same time it is one of the more rowdy areas, and if trouble happens it will normally be on this road. The chances of this affecting you are slim. Also on Broad Street is the Black Sabbath bridge, with bench, which became a shrine to Ozzy Osbourne after his death. Nearby is the "{{w|Birmingham Walk of Stars|Walk of Stars}}", featuring local celebrities. Just off this road is '''[http://www.brindleyplace.com Brindleyplace]''', a classier and better area of bars, clubs and restaurants. Recommended bars are: * {{drink | name=The Works | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Big 3 room club, with a variety of music. Great for kids. Over 23's will feel ancient in here. }} * {{drink | name=The Pitcher and Piano | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Canal side bar with a decent range of beers. Perfect for a nice lunch time drink in the summer months, sitting outside by the canal. }} * {{drink | name=The Prince Of Wales | alt= | url= | email= | address=King Edward St | lat= | long= | directions=behind the I.C.C. 2 minutes from Broad St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Victorian pub with decent menu & many types of fine ales. }} [[File:Late Night Swans (2153551402).jpg|thumbnail|right|Late night swans on a Birmingham canal]] ====Digbeth==== Birmingham has a large Irish community and many Irish pubs. Most of the city centre ones are spread along Digbeth High Street beginning with ''The Bullring Tavern'' near the Bull Ring and finishing with ''The Rainbow'' near Camp Hill. <!-- The most popular is probably ''The Dublinner'', next to Digbeth Coach Station, which offers live music at weekends. (now burnt out, might be rebuilt)--> Some recommendations in Digbeth are: * {{drink | name=Anchor | alt= | url=http://www.theanchordigbeth.com/ | email= | address=308 Bradford St | lat=52.474537 | long=-1.888464 | directions= | phone=+44 121 622-4516 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Anchor Inn, Birmingham | image=Anchor Inn Birmingham.JPG | wikidata=Q4752684 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=Victorian pub near Digbeth Coach Station. Grade II listed. }} * {{drink | name=Woodman | alt= | url=http://thewoodmanbirmingham.co.uk/ | email= | address=106 Albert St | lat=52.481751 | long=-1.886858 | directions= | phone=+44 121 643-1959 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Woodman | image=The Woodman pub on Albert Street and Curzon Street Station (1).jpg | wikidata=Q19803463 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=Grade II listed. Opposite the Thinktank at the Millennium Point. }} * Every two weeks an indie night called '''Panic!''' is held at the Sanctuary in Dibgeth. * For a more eclectic mix of music and people take a look at the '''Medicine Bar''' in the '''Custard Factory''' just off the A34 in Digbeth (it's the big blue building). The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Hosts a range of nights, from Drum n Bass to Electro, not to be missed. The Rainbow Pub, An eclectic pub that hosts a variety of nights, one of the best places in Birmingham and is soon to be shut down. Also visit the Rainbow Warehouse, around the corner which is big on the rave scene and often joins with the Rainbow pub to host street parties such as S.L.A.G. [[File:Birmingham Pride 2012 Missing Bar Flag.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Missing Bar]] ====Hurst Street==== Birmingham has a vibrant and visible gay scene centred around Hurst Street. Every Spring Bank Holiday this area, often referred to by locals as the Gay Village, hosts a gay-pride festival while its bars and clubs attract people from across the Midlands all year round. Hurst Street is well policed and homophobic attacks are rare, though the local fundamentalists may try to 'save your soul'. Birmingham is as gay friendly as Manchester, Brighton, and Blackpool. Birmingham has a large number of gay venues, the best being the Village, Eden, Equator, The Loft Lounge and the Queens Arms. The Fountain and Bolts are men only bars. ====The Jewellery Quarter==== Many of the more up-market bars and restaurants are located around St. Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter. This is also home to the Jam House, Birmingham's premier jazz club. * {{drink | name=The Vault | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Open Thursday till Saturday, 5PM till late | price= | content=A upscale restaurant bar occupying the vaulted underpinnings of an imposing Victorian building with signature exposed brickwork, bespoke furniture, polished wooden flooring. }} * {{drink | name=Vertu Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Regularly showcases live music on a Thursday evening and showcases various nights including ‘Rizen’ on a Friday where the house DJ plays funky and electro house. }} ===Harborne=== Harborne was once a separate village, is now a mainly residential area a bit North of Birmingham University. The old village center, along Harborne High Street, now has a lot of pubs with a mixed crowd; students, faculty and others. There's a tradition among the crazier students; try to have a half pint in every pub in Harborne in one evening. With over 20 pubs and several km of walking involved, and the limited opening hours of British pubs, this takes some doing. * {{drink | name=The Bell | alt= | url= | email= | address=11 Old Church Rd | lat=52.45380 | long=-1.95924 | directions=next to St Peter's Church | phone=+44 121 427-0931 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This cosy and quiet pub gets busy because of its attraction. }} * {{drink | name=The Plough | alt= | url=https://theploughharborne.co.uk/ | email= | address=21 High St, B17 9NT | lat=52.46108 | long=-1.94366 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=pizza £10 -14, wine from £4.60 per glass | lastedit=2016-05-27 | content=Cosy, moderately priced, popular with medical and nursing students. }} * {{drink | name=The Junction | alt= | url=https://www.thejunctionharborne.co.uk/ | email= | address=212 High Street, Harborne | lat=52.45828 | long=-1.95050 | directions= | phone=+44 121 428-2635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An odd V shaped pub as the name suggests on the junction of the High Street and Vivian Road. A really nice pub sells some real ales and good selection of lagers. Sells good pub grub as well. }} ===Newtown=== * {{drink | name=The Bartons Arms | alt= | url=http://thebartonsarms.com/ | email= | address=144 High St, Aston, B6 4UP | lat=52.4992 | long=-1.8953 | directions=On A34 north of City Centre, and on many bus routes, including #8, inner circle | phone=+44 121 333-5988 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Bartons Arms | image=The Bartons Arms, High Street, Newtown (Aston), Birmingham.jpg | wikidata=Q3242782 | lastedit=2018-06-15 | content=Comprehensive Thai menu and bar snacks. Refurbished after having been derelict. Noted for its near-original and highly elaborate Victorian interior. Former customers include Ozzy Osbourne and Laurel and Hardy. }} [[File:Brindley Place Canal New Years Eve 2 (3154440941).jpg|thumbnail|right|Canal in Brindleyplace on New Year's Eve]] ===Clubbing=== The city hosts some of Britain's most popular clubs and events. Student nights are especially fun, with cheap drink and entry offers and busy clubs. Do not miss{{drink | name=Gatecrasher | alt= | url= | email= | address=Broad Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Now the biggest club in Birmingham. }} out on visiting at least one of these brilliant events: * * {{drink | name=Ramshackle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Giving visitors a brilliant experience of the UK and International indie scene combined with fantastic prices. Held at the 2000+ capacity Carling Academy, Dale End. }} * {{drink | name=Snobs | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Very similar to Ramshackle; with DJs offering more focus on up and coming music, also with a 1960s room. "Big Wednesday"'s are big with the large student population Birmingham has, with shots at just £1 each all night. }} [[File:Geese (5312135378).jpg|thumbnail|right|A line of geese swim across a pool of reflected lights from the Mailbox restaurants.]] * {{drink | name=Risa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Broad Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One of the most popular clubs among students in Birmingham. Still it is good fun on Monday and Wednesday night. }} * {{drink | name=Rococo Lounge | alt= | url= | email= | address=Broad Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Best for R'n'B on Broad Street. Get there early on Sundays. Cheap drinks promotion. }} * {{drink | name=Indi Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=based in Arcadian Centre, China Town | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Dance and R'n'B. Guest DJs }} * {{drink | name=Nightingales | alt= | url= | email= | address=Hurst Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Birmingham's most famous gay club. Often has guest performers }} * {{drink | name=Rainbow Warehouse | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A warehouse club next to the Rainbow pub in Digbeth which hosts a variety of underground events playing Dubstep, Drum & Bass, Breakbeat, and Techno. Check for events. }} * {{drink | name=PST | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Located in Digbeth, PST is a private members club offering underground reggae nights. Check for events. }} * {{drink | name=Hare & Hounds | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A live music venue located in the Kings Heath district, which has earned its reputation hosting nightly events including artists and DJs across almost all musical genres. }} * {{drink | name=Bull's Head | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A live music venue located in the Moseley district, the upstairs transforms into an intimate club environment open til 2AM on Fridays & Saturdays. }} === Moseley === * {{drink | name=The Patrick Kavanagh | alt= | url=http://thepatrickkavanaghbar.co.uk/ | email= | address=142 Trafalgar Road, | lat=52.448332 | long= -1.885939 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-2598 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= A 20-somethings pub named after the Irish poet. }} * {{drink | name=The Prince of Wales | alt= | url=http://www.theprincemoseley.co.uk/ | email= | address=118 Alcester Rd. | lat=52.448997 | long= -1.887798 | directions= | phone= +44 121 449-4198 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=A traditional English pub bought by La Plancha; wide range of real ales. }} * {{drink | name=The Cuban Embassy | alt=The Bull's Head | url=http://www.thecubanembassymoseley.co.uk/ | email= | address=23 St Mary's Row | lat=52.446499 | long= -1.887310 | directions= | phone=+44 121 258-2857 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= Has an affiliation with the Custard Factory in the city centre. }} * {{drink | name=La Plancha | alt= | url=http://www.laplancha.co.uk/ | email= | address=113 Alcester Rd | lat=52.447134 | long= -1.888378 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-5303 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= A tapas bar opened in 2005. }} ==Sleep== ===Hostels=== If you want a more social feel to your stay why not try one of the hostels the city has to offer. * {{sleep | name=Birmingham Central Backpackers | alt= | url=http://www.birminghambackpackers.com/ | email= | address=58 Coventry St | lat=52.47630 | long=-1.88580 | directions=Digbeth | phone=+44 121 643-0033 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Birmingham's only independent hostel features a central location only streets from The Bull Ring, and next to the nightclubs of Digbeth. Beds in a shared dorm can be found for as little as £9 if you've got a sharp eye out and both breakfast and various foods in the evening are included, making it the West Midlands only half-board hostel. It is in the oldest part of the city, right near where the original manor house once stood. The area can look a little uninviting (this is what you will find outside the very centre of this industrial city), but the hostel makes up for it by being socially inviting (films/football can be watched and they have a Wii, playstation and xbox) and, as mentioned, still being close to The Bull Ring. They offer nightly events such as quiz night, beer tasting, movie nights and disco, and the common room is probably the best around. }} * {{sleep | name=Hatters Birmingham | alt= | url=http://www.hattersgroup.com/birmingham | email= | address=92-95 Livery Street | lat=52.48633 | long=-1.90446 | directions=Jewellery Quarter | phone=+44 121 236-4031 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From £14.50 | content=Less than a 10-minute walk to the centre, Hatters Birmingham have upped the norm in hostel accommodation boasting all ensuite rooms and a common room. Price includes bed linen & a free light breakfast which is served all day. }} * {{sleep | name=Bilberry Hill Residential Centre | alt= | url=http://www.bilberryhill.co.uk/ | email= | address= | lat=52.3809 | long=-2.0032 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=For groups looking for accommodation in the scenic Lickey Hills, but with easy access to the centre. }} [[File:Paragon Hotel 7 (8139095242).jpg|thumbnail|right|The Paragon hotel was the only Rowton House, or a long-stay hotel for working men of low means, built outside of London. Designed by an architect specializing in army barracks, it retains its original ambiance.]] ===Budget=== There is ample choice of hotels in the economy sector in Birmingham. * {{sleep | name=Campanile | alt= | url= | email= | address=Chester St | lat=52.49196 | long=-1.88631 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=If you are travelling by car and on a budget, Campanile is your friend wherever you go - the rooms could not be more simple, but the locations are usually very convenient at motorway junctions. In Birmingham, it is north of town, where the A4540 ringroad meets the A38, which goes straight into the city, and has the added benefit of being located over the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal lock. }} * {{sleep | name=Comfort Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address=Station Street | lat=52.47672 | long=-1.89816 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Comfort Inn is a brand of non-standardized properties where price often trumps modern comforts, and this hotel is no exception. It also boasts a location right in front of the New Street station. }} * {{sleep | name=Gables Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=43 Oxford Road | lat=52.442927 | long= -1.882857 | directions= | phone=+44 121 449-1146 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit= | content= mid-priced and provide easy access to the centre of Moseley Village but in need of refurbishment. }} * {{sleep | name=Hampton by Hilton Birmingham Broad Street | alt= | url=https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/bhxbshx-hampton-birmingham-broad-street/ | email= | address=Broad Street | lat=52.47505 | long=-1.91383 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= Contemporary 3-star hotel offering 285 stylish rooms, free WiFi and complimentary breakfast. }} * {{sleep | name=Hampton by Hilton Birmingham City North | alt= | url= | email= | address=98-104 Constitution Hill | lat=52.48757 | long=-1.90491 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The new Hampton brings some colour to Birmingham's economy hotel market, merging new with old as it is located in a building dating back to 1910. Its name honestly describes its location northwest of the city centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Express Birmingham-Snow Hill | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Snow Hill Plaza | lat=52.48483 | long=-1.89842 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The tall tower with 224 rooms has relatively large common areas and everything expected of a Holiday Inn Express, including free WiFi and breakfast included in the room price. It replaces the older property which now became the ibis Styles. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Birmingham Bordesley | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47239 | long=-1.87302 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The slightly out-of-town ibis is more of an option for motorists, situated at a large roundabout of the A45 circling the city. It is one of the older ibis hotels in the UK. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Birmingham Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ladywell Walk | lat=52.47501 | long=-1.89642 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A standard and slightly dated ibis hotel in the very centre of the city }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Birmingham Holloway Circus | alt= | url= | email= | address=55 Irving Street, | lat=52.4727 | long=-1.9026 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This is an older ibis whose suburban style belies its location close to the business district and the Holloway Circus evoked in the name. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Budget Birmingham Centre | alt=formerly Etap Hotel | url= | email= | address=Great Colmore Street | lat=52.47135 | long=-1.90040 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Offering perhaps the cheapest hotel stays in Birmingham, the ibis Budget is a chain hotel optimized for low costs, with very simply appointed rooms with just enough space. }} * {{sleep | name=ibis Styles Birmingham Centre | alt=formerly Holiday Inn Express and Lionel Street Hotel | url= | email= | address=65 Lionel Street | lat=52.48196 | long=-1.90647 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Located east of the core city centre on Lionel Street, it is a former Holiday Inn Express property that became and ibis Styles after some very light refreshment. As in all ibis Styles, breakfasts and free WiFi are included in the room price, which can be very attractive, compensating for the less central location. }} * {{sleep | name=Paragon Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47050 | long=-1.88469 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Despite the imposing Victorian presence, this hotel in the southeastern corner of Birmingham offers very attractive rates. This comes not only at the expense of a relatively remote location, but also standards of the worn rooms, which fall deeply behind the expectations one might have experiencing the common areas. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham City | alt= | url= | email= | address=3-6 Waterloo St | lat=52.48042 | long=-1.89960 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=As typical as a Premier Inn gets, it is situated in a nondescript 1970s building with simple rooms - but just around the corner from to the St. Phillip's cathedral. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham City Centre (New Street) | alt= | url= | email= | address=Pinfold Street | lat=52.47891 | long=-1.90187 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=There is no shortage of Premier Inns in Birmingham. This one is next to the New Street railway station. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham Broad Street (Canal Side) | alt= | url= | email= | address=Bridge Street | lat=52.47648 | long=-1.90824 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This Premier Inn serves the ICC and faces a canal. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham Central East | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.49133 | long=-1.88604 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=There is nothing "central" about this motel-style Premier Inn at the junction of M38 and M4045, which faces a similar Campanile across the canal, but if you are a motorist, you will enjoy its convenient location and free parking. }} * {{sleep | name=Premier Inn Birmingham Broad Street (Brindley Place) | alt= | url= | email= | address=80 Broad Street | lat=52.47567 | long=-1.91547 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Premier Inn at Brindley Place is the chain's most up-to-date property, with a marked difference in fittings over the other ones in town. }} * {{sleep | name=Travelodge Birmingham Central | alt= | url=https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/109/Birmingham-Central-hotel | email= | address= | lat=52.47988 | long=-1.89371 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} ===Mid-range=== [[File:Jurys Inn, Broad Street - geograph.org.uk - 1276774.jpg|thumbnail|right| A brutalist monument, the Leonardo is Birmingham's largest hotel]] * {{sleep | name=Britannia Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/the-britannia-hotel-birmingham/ | email= | address=New St. | lat=52.47910 | long=-1.89711 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=City centre (''close to the university''). Offers mid-range accommodation for business and travelling guests. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Express | alt=Castle Bromwich Inn | url=https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/gb/en/birmingham/bhxcs/hoteldetail | email= | address=1200 Chester Road | lat=52.5100 | long=-1.7980 | directions= | phone=+44 121 694-6700 | tollfree= | fax=+44 121 694 6701 | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=By the M6 motorway in Castle Bromwich, west of Birmingham }} * {{sleep | name=High Field Town House | alt= | url=https://www.highfieldtownhouse.co.uk/ | email= | address=23 Highfield Rd B15 3DP | lat=52.469 | long=-1.923 | directions= | phone=+44 121 647-6466 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £110 | lastedit=2020-08-19 | content=Victorian villa with 12 rooms in leafy Edgbaston, with gastro-pub next door. }} * {{sleep | name=Bloc Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Caroline Street | lat=52.48613 | long=-1.90790 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Bloc Hotel offers ultrasmall rooms (10 sqm) all wrapped in minimalistic, modern decor, which can appeal to design enthusiasts. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel at Conference Aston | alt= | url= | email= | address=Aston St | lat=52.48621 | long=-1.88870 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Situated on the Aston University grounds, the Conference Aston is a convention centre with an on-site hotel. Hotel guests can enjoy the facilities of the Woodcock Sports Centre across the road, including a full-sized Victorian swimming pool }} * {{sleep | name=Copthorne Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Paradies Circus | lat=52.4802 | long=-1.9064 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=One of the hotels serving the ICC and a monument to the era in hospitality mercifully gone by. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham Brindley Place | alt= | url= | email= | address=1 Brunswick Square, Brindleyplace | lat=52.47690 | long=-1.91495 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Southwest of the centre at Brindleyplace, the Hilton Garden Inn offers simple modern comforts in its four-star rated facility. WiFi is free and Neutrogena toiletries are provided. }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Birmingham City | alt= | url= | email= | address=Smallbrook Queensway | lat=52.47577 | long=-1.89944 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=An old Holiday Inn in an office/commercial area of the centre }} * {{sleep | name=Leonardo Hotel | alt=formerly Jury's Inn | url=https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/hotels/birmingham | email= | address=245 Broad Street | lat=52.4767 | long=-1.9114 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Huge hotel in a brutalist concrete block, catering to business visitors of the ICC. Enjoys a solid reputation despite a complete lack of charm. }} * {{sleep | name=nitenite | alt= | url= | email= | address=18 Holliday Street | lat=52.47664 | long=-1.90681 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The property brands itself as a boutique hotel, where postmodern common space appointments are meant to make up for the ultrasmall (7 sqm) cabins that serve as ensuite rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Novotel Birmingham Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address=70 Broad Street | lat=52.47638 | long=-1.91373 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The familiar white-and-light-wood Novotel rooms await in what is not quite the centre, but rather the Brindleyplace complex. }} * {{sleep | name=pentahotel Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ernest Street / Holloway Head | lat=52.47379 | long=-1.90236 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This relatively new mid-range property is swamped in pentahotel's hallmark purple lighting and entices with a potpourri of postmodern appointments. Both standard and "comfort" rooms are small (12 sqm) }} * {{sleep | name=Ramada Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=160 Wharfside Street | lat=52.47540 | long=-1.90599 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Ramada is a part of the Mailbox multi-use complex, where you will find multiple restaurants, shopping opportunities and service outlets. The hotel faces a canal, which provides for nice views and ambiance, but the rooms are in dire need of redecoration. }} * {{sleep | name=Staybridge Suites | alt= | url= | email= | address=Martineau Place | lat=52.48055 | long=-1.89600 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A rare occurrence of IHG's extended-stay brand outside of North America, the Staybridge Suites Birmingham offers studios and apartments with kitchenettes and other long-stay facilities, including on-site gym. Breakfasts are included in room rates. }} * {{sleep | name=Plough & Harrow Hotel | alt=Best Western | url=https://www.ploughandharrowhotel.co.uk/ | email= | address=135 Hagley Rd, Edgbaston | lat=52.47224 | long=-1.92752 | directions= | phone=+44 121 454-4111 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-11 | content=Near the International Convention Centre, National Indoor Arena and the Bull Ring Shopping Centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Thistle Birmingham City Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.48510 | long=-1.89779 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The conservatively-styled - and little outdated - Thistle faces St. Chad's Cathedral over a busy thoroughfare. }} * {{sleep | name=Rotunda Serviced Apartments | alt= | url=https://www.apartmentnetwork.co.uk/apartments/staying-cool-at-the-rotunda/ | email=info@apartmentnetwork.co.uk | address=Moor St, B5 4BL | lat=52.4783224 | long=-1.8976941 | directions= | phone=+44 20 3743-7336 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-06-13 | content= }} ===Splurge=== [[File:Holloway Circus Tower Birmingham (cropped).JPG|thumbnail|right|The Radisson is inside Birmingham's tallest building]] * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza Birmingham City Centre | alt= | url=http://www.crowneplazabirmingham.com/ | email= | address=Holliday St | lat=52.47781 | long=-1.90673 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=As nondescript as a Crowne Plaza gets, this hotel was built to serve the ICC next door. Despite having been updated since, it still has a somewhat sombre presence. }} * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza Birmingham NEC Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.cpbirminghamnechotel.co.uk/ | email= | address=Pendigo Way, National Exhibition Centre | lat=52.44779 | long=-1.71609 | directions= | phone=+44 871 942 9160 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Near Birmingham Airport. }} * {{sleep | name=Hyatt Regency Birmingham | alt= | url=https://birmingham.regency.hyatt.com/ | email= | address=2 Bridge St | lat=52.47803 | long=-1.90921 | directions=in the city centre | phone=+44 121 643-1234 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Linked directly to the International Convention Centre (ICC) and is 5 minutes from the National Indoor Arena (NIA). }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Indigo Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=200 Wharfside Street | lat=52.47507 | long=-1.90676 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=It is hard to miss Hotel Indigo's unique, jigsaw-style facade and the glazed extravaganza of its top-floor Marco Pierre White restaurant. Inside are colorful rooms with all the modern comforts, a spa, said restaurant and a bar with a view - all with a price to match. The building, aptly named the Cube, sits next to the Mailbox. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel La Tour Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address=Albert Street | lat=52.48104 | long=-1.89056 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This stylish hotel caters for the luxury end of the four-star market, with an à la carte restaurant with open kitchen and in-room "media hubs" that let one connect their devices to the room's display and sound facilities. }} * {{sleep | name=Macdonald Burlington Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=126 New Street | lat=52.47879 | long=-1.89867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A luxury hotel in Edwardian style and history to back it, directly facing the New Street station. }} * {{sleep | name=Malmaison Birmingham | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=52.47684 | long=-1.90371 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Malmaison is an upscale property with an on-site spa, brasserie and wine cellar. It is located within the Mailbox multi-purpose centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Birmingham Marriott Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/property/propertypage/BHXBH | email= | address=12 Hagley Rd | lat=52.47206 | long=-1.91976 | directions=in the city centre | phone=+44 870 400 7280 (premium rate) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson Blu Hotel Birmingham | alt= | url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-birmingham | email=info.birmingham@radissonblu.com | address=12 Holloway Circus | lat=52.47537 | long=-1.90022 | directions= | phone=+44 121 654-6000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=The Radisson is located in a blue glass tower, with views over Birmingham's city centre, and is one of the few truly modern high-end hotels in the city. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel du Vin | alt= | url= | email= | address=Church Street | lat=52.48232 | long=-1.89996 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Offering a dark take on its lush Victorian common spaces, the Hotel du Vin brands itself as lifestyle accommodation, with a number of facilities to match, including a cigar lounge. }} == Connect == As of June 2022, Birmingham has 5G from all UK carriers. Wifi is widely available in public places, however, like anywhere, may not always be secure. All public libraries, including the central Library of Birmingham, provide free internet access, though the connection can be slow and you may have to queue for a terminal; and you need a library membership card for access. ==Cope== Birmingham grew to be a very multicultural population centre, so apart from Christian, religious services for many other faith groups are provided within the city. * {{listing | name=Birmingham Buddhist Centre | alt= | url=https://www.birminghambuddhistcentre.org.uk/ | email=info@birminghambuddhistcentre.org.uk | address=11 Park Rd, Moseley | lat=52.451854 | long=-1.889886 | directions=#1, #35 or #50 bus | phone=+44 121 449-5279 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63436523 | content=A centre run by the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Central Mosque | alt= | url=http://www.centralmosque.org.uk | email= | address=180 Belgrave Middleway, Highgate | lat=52.464778 | long=-1.890611 | directions=#35 bus | phone=+44 121 440-5355 | tollfree= | hours=Daily noon-30 minutes after Isha (''exact time of Isha varies with the seasons'') | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Central Mosque | wikidata=Q865731 | content=Built in 1969, Birmingham was the second purpose-built mosque in the UK (the first was in [[Woking]]). The working capacity is 2500, though this is expanded during special events such as Eid. Tour groups should book at least two weeks in advance. }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Central Synagogue | alt= | url=https://www.centralshul.com/ | email=office@centralshul.com | address=133 Pershore Rd | lat=52.4618 | long=-1.90237 | directions= | phone=+44 121 440-4044 | tollfree= | hours=M Th from 7:15AM, Tu W F from 7:30AM, Sa from 9:30AM, Su from 8:30AM | price= | wikipedia=Birmingham Central Synagogue | wikidata=Q4916641 | content=Large modern orthodox synagogue, popular with students. }} * {{listing | name=Ramgarhia Sikh Temple | alt= | url=https://www.rstuk.com/ | email= | address=Graham St | lat=52.4842 | long=-1.91011 | directions= | phone=+44 121 235-5435 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63436457 | lastedit=2019-05-02 | content=Sikh Temple in central Birmingham. }} * {{listing | name=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | url= | email= | address=Harborne Ward, Lordswood Road | lat=52.4635 | long=-1.9644 | directions= | phone=+44 121 427-9291 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Typical meetinghouse, with services at 10AM on Sundays. }} * {{listing | name=Shree Geeta Bhawan | url=http://www.geetabhawan.co.uk/ | email= | address=107-117 Heathfield Rd, Lozells | lat=52.5057 | long=-1.9110 | directions=#46 bus | phone=+44 121 523-7797 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-1PM and 5PM-8PM (''Tu 9PM''), Su 9AM-8PM | price= | content=Hindu temple, opened in 1967. }} * {{listing | name=Bull Street Quaker Meeting | alt= | url=https://centralenglandquakers.org.uk/meetings/bull-street/ | email= | address= | lat=52.482341 | long=-1.895790 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63436568 | content= }} * {{listing | name=Kanzul Huda Mosque | alt= | url=https://www.kanzulhuda.com/ | email= | address=7&8 Adderley Rd, Saltley, B8 1AW | lat=52.484841 | long=-1.8653972 | directions= | phone=+44 121 219-0057 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= |lastedit=2023-08-30}} ==Stay safe== As with the rest of the UK, in any '''emergency''' call '''999''' or '''112''' (from a landline if you can) and ask for ambulance, fire or police when connected. For non-emergency police matters, such as reporting crimes after they have occurred, lost property, etc.) call '''101'''. In general, despite its bad reputation, Birmingham is a safe city. However, like most large cities, there are safer and more dangerous areas. Certain suburbs (see below) have had their share of knife crime problems, but these are extremely unlikely to affect you unless you make yourself part of the larger drug gang problem. Avoid any offers of cheap drugs as you might be lured into a secluded place and then robbed. Muggers in Birmingham tend to operate in groups of two or three, typically one will ask you a question (to judge whether you are local or likely to hit back) while the others move in behind you so they can force you to the ground. If you find this happening to you, then move to the side, so you have a clear escape path and cannot be grabbed from the rear. When late at night and walking alone, avoid walking up against walls as it's easier to be cornered. The city centre is well-policed. The only trouble you might witness is a small scuffle on the Broad Street nightlife quarter as the nightclubs turn out in the early hours of the morning. However, take care at either end of Broad Street where the traffic flow speeds up. It is advisable to stay away from the city centre when football matches between the city's two professional teams occur. Some fans of Aston Villa and Birmingham City have a violent and raw hatred for each other, and violent clashes between them are a common occurrence on match days. On other days, when the teams are playing at home against other teams, it is less likely for major violence to occur in the city centre, but you may encounter pubs full of chanting football supporters, and this may be intimidating (and really annoying) for tourists. As usual, common sense will keep you safe, avoid walking alone in deserted or poorly-lit areas, especially at night, keep your wits about you at cash machines, and do not get into unmarked taxis. Private hire cars must be pre-booked; black cabs may be hailed. The only higher crime-rate areas that tourists might want to visit are Aston and Sparkbrook: even these are fairly safe during daylight. Canal towpaths at night, if relatively near a road access point, can also be hazardous. Avoid people who offer you a free "stress test" (especially in New Street, near the junction with Ethel Street) as they are trying to recruit you into the Church of Scientology. * {{listing | name=City Hospital (A&E) | alt= | url=http://www.swbh.nhs.uk/contact-locations/find-us/birmingham-city-hospital/ | email= | address=Dudley Rd | lat=52.488056 | long=-1.931389 | directions=#80, #82 or #87 bus | phone=+44 121 554-3801 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 24 hours | price= | wikipedia=City Hospital, Birmingham | wikidata=Q5123230 | content= }} * {{listing | name=Birmingham Central police station | alt= | url= | email=central-birmingham@west-midlands.police.uk | address=Snow Hill Queensway | lat=52.484067 | long=-1.89789 | directions=near Snow Hill railway station | phone=+44 845 113 5000 (premium rate) | tollfree= | hours=Daily 24 hours | price= | wikidata=Q63439574 | lastedit=2019-05-03 | content= }} == Go next == * [[Solihull]] just south has museums and the National Exhibition Centre. * [[Walsall]] just north has museums and the New Art Gallery Walsall. * [[Ironbridge]] was the birthplace of Britain's Industrial Revolution, which powered the growth of cities like Birmingham. * [[London]] is just two hours away, with inexpensive fares if you travel off-peak. {{routebox | image1=UK-Motorway-M5.svg | imagesize1=50 | directionl1=SW | majorl1=[[Bristol]] | minorl1=[[Bromsgrove]] | directionr1=N | minorr1= | majorr1=merges with [[Image:UK-Motorway-M6.svg|40px|M6]] | image2=UK-Motorway-M6.svg | imagesize2=50 | directionl2=NW | majorl2=[[Manchester]] | minorl2=[[Walsall]]/[[Wolverhampton]] | directionr2=E | minorr2=[[Coventry]] | majorr2=[[Rugby (England)|Rugby]] | image3=UK-Motorway-M40.svg | imagesize3=50 | directionl3=NW | majorl3=merges with [[Image:UK-Motorway-M42.svg|40px]] | minorl3= | directionr3=SE | minorr3=[[Leamington Spa]]/[[Warwick (England)|Warwick]] | majorr3=[[London]] | image4=UK-Motorway-M42.svg | imagesize4=50 | directionl4=SW | majorl4=merges with [[Image:UK-Motorway-M5.svg|40px]] | minorl4=[[Bromsgrove]] | directionr4=NE | majorr4=[[Nottingham]] | minorr4=[[Tamworth (England)|Tamworth]] | image5=UK_road_A34.svg | imagesize5=40 | directionl5=NW | majorl5=[[Stoke-on-Trent]] | minorl5=[[Walsall]] | directionr5=SE | majorr5=[[Solihull]] (south) | minorr5= | image6=UK_road_A38.svg | imagesize6=40 | directionl6=SW | majorl6=[[Worcester (England)|Worcester]] | minorl6=[[Bromsgrove]] | directionr6=NE | majorr6=[[Derby]] | minorr6=[[Lichfield]] | image7=UK_road_A41.svg | imagesize7=40 | directionl7=NW | majorl7=[[Wolverhampton]] | minorl7=[[West Bromwich]] | directionr7=SE | minorr7= | majorr7=[[Solihull]] (north) | image8=UK_road_A45.svg | imagesize8=40 | directionl8=W | majorl8=ENDS AT BORDESLEY CIRCUS | minorl8= | directionr8=E | minorr8=[[Meriden (England)|Meriden]] | majorr8=[[Coventry]] }} {{Geo|52.48|-1.89}} {{guidecity}} {{isPartOf|West Midlands (county)}} 4utzdi1l3jujzch50t1puk46srnkc8v 0 4367 5298517 5294503 2026-06-25T23:31:58Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298517 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Boston_Skyline_July_5_2010.jpg|disambig=yes|dotm=yes}} {{printDistricts}} A city of history and tradition, '''Boston''' offers a proud legacy of culture, education, and numerous sporting championships. The "shining city on a hill"s independent spirit has been displayed to the world ever since colonists were angry over a British tax on their beloved tea and dumped shiploads of it into the harbor in protest. In the early 1600s, the peninsula in [[Massachusetts]] that would become known as Boston was controlled by Native Americans until John Smith (English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author) named the area [[New England]] to attract European settlers. Boston was founded in 1630 by John Winthrop, making it one of the oldest cities in the U.S. No other American city has made more of an effort to preserve its history, and you'll find buildings that pre-date the republic dotted throughout the region. But Boston isn't a city to dwell on the past: it has renovated and revitalized, in the process shedding its once deservedly parochial reputation. And its culture is refreshed every fall by an influx of freshmen pouring into its constellation of powerful universities, which attract great minds from around the globe. Visiting will reveal a distinct mix of puritanical ideals and liberal politics—the former responsible for the first public school in the Americas, the latter spurring Massachusetts to become the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. Don't believe everything you've heard about the gruff demeanor of locals. Bostonians are often friendlier than the unacquainted might expect...just don't call it "Beantown" to their face. ==Districts== Greater Boston is notoriously provincial, and as such, the surrounding area contains hundreds of small communities that are closer knit than is common elsewhere in the United States. Even a large city like Boston found it difficult to annex surrounding areas as it grew. When independent towns were absorbed, they retained their unique culture, which modern residents remain fiercely proud of today. What does this mean for the traveller? You'll find most every district goes by more than one name, with a full count exceeding 110 distinct squares, circles, and points. Don't worry about remembering all the names; just remember Boston is a very compact city. When you're ready to move on, the next block is bound to engage. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Boston_neighborhoods_crop.svg | regionmapsize=560px | regionmaptext=Map of Boston Districts | region1name=Central | region1color=#4F93C0 | region1items=[[Boston/Downtown|Downtown]], [[Boston/North End|North End–West End]] | region1description=The center of the city in so many ways, Downtown Boston is where it all begins. Perennial tourist favorites '''Faneuil Hall''' and '''Quincy Market''' are here, while most [[Freedom Trail]] sights are found nearby. And don't forget to visit the Mecca of Italian-American cuisine on '''Hanover Street'''. | region2name=[[Boston/Back Bay-Beacon Hill|Back Bay–Beacon Hill]] | region2color=#AC5C91 | region2description=Classic Federalist architecture, '''The State House''', America's oldest city park, and one of its most photographed streets are waiting. Later, eat at some of the city's finest restaurants on '''Charles Street''' to recharge your tired legs or sail/paddle on the public pier overlooking the picturesque Charles River. | region3name=[[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore|Fenway/Kenmore]] | region3color=#69999F | region3description=Perhaps most recognized as the home of '''Fenway Park''' and the Boston Red Sox; Fenway also boasts many top cultural and medical institutions, including the '''Museum of Fine Arts''' and some of the best hospitals in the world. | region4name=[[Boston/South End|South End]] | region4color=#D56D76 | region4description=A high-end shopping, dining, and art scene has coalesced around the South End and '''SoWa Market'''. Heavily popular with the youth, LGBTQ+ individuals, and entrepreneurs breaking into Boston's markets, its renowned Victorian "brownstones" and gas-lit cobblestone streets can charm at any time of year. | region5name=[[Boston/South Boston|South Boston]] | region5color=#71B37B | region5description=Don't let the movies fool you, '''Southie''' --as the locals call it-- is a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood still holding on to its Irish Catholic working-class roots. The changing times are clearest in the '''Seaport''' district, home to the '''Institute of Contemporary Art''' and the grand '''Boston Convention & Exhibition Center'''. | region6name=[[Boston/Charlestown|Charlestown]] | region6color=#8A84A3 | region6description=Found lodged between the Charles and Mystic rivers, Charlestown is home to significant landmarks such as the '''U.S.S. Constitution''' and the site of the famous battle: the '''Bunker Hill Monument'''. The oldest neighborhood in Boston, Charlestown also has its oldest tavern. | region7name=[[Boston/East Boston|East Boston]] | region7color=#578e86 | region7description=This former center of shipbuilding was built upon two conjoined islands: Noddle's and Hog's. '''Eastie''' has always been a neighborhood of immigrants. Today, its population is made up largely of Italian-Americans and immigrants from Central and South America. If you arrive by air, this is the first neighborhood you'll visit. | region8name=[[Boston/Allston-Brighton|Allston/Brighton]] | region8color=#d5dc76 | region8description=Ever-changing Allston is best known for its student population, and the shops and restaurants that cater to them. The landscape becomes more residential as you move west into Brighton. | region9name=[[Boston/Jamaica Plain-Mission Hill|Jamaica Plain–Mission Hill]] | region9color=#B383B3 | region9description=Jamaica Plain is home to the '''Arnold Arboretum''' and the '''Sam Adams Brewery''', while Mission Hill includes a healthy collection of students and medical professionals from the many nearby colleges and hospitals. | region10name=[[Boston/Dorchester|Dorchester]] | region10color=#d09440 | region10description=Dorchester, Boston's largest neighborhood, is also one of its most diverse. Long-time residents mingle with newer immigrants from Ireland, Vietnam, and Cape Verde. A big draw is the powerful '''JFK Presidential Library and Museum'''. The oldest house in the city, the '''James Blake House''', can also be found here. | region11name=[[Boston/Roxbury|Roxbury]] | region11color=#B5D29F | region11description=Once a farming community, Roxbury is the heart of Black culture in Boston. It's also home to the historic '''Shirley Eustis House''', built by a British royal colonial governor. '''Franklin Park''' is here as well, considered the "crown jewel" of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace park system. | region12name=[[Boston/Outer Neighborhoods|Outer Neighborhoods]] | region12color=#ED8186 | region12items= | region12description=Once considered a "garden suburb" of Boston, today's residents of '''Roslindale''' are still attracted to the neighborhood's natural beauty. '''Mattapan'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s population is largely made up of African Americans and immigrants from the Caribbean. '''West Roxbury''', in Boston's southwest corner, is known for its civic activism and youth programming. As Boston's southernmost neighborhood, '''Hyde Park''' offers the intangibles of city life as well as the open space more commonly associated with the suburbs. }} {{infobox|A quick overview of costs|All cities on the East Coast are pricey and Boston is no different. You'll find most costs to be on the higher side, but within expectations for a city. This does not apply to hotel rooms however, see the [[Boston#Sleep|sleep]] section for more. <table> <tr> <td>Subway:</td> <td>$2.40</td> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td> <td>Quick lunch:</td> <td>$10</td> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td> <td>Reasonable dinner:</td> <td>$30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coffee:</td> <td>$4</td> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td> <td>Museum:</td> <td>$20</td> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td> <td>Double room:</td> <td>$250</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Beer:</td> <td>$7</td> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td> <td>Live music:</td> <td>$30</td> </tr> </table> }} Many sights visitors expect to see are not within the city limits. Politically distinct from Boston, the following three cities are bound together with Boston by their shared borders, transit options, and cultural values. The mayors meet often to plan and discuss long-term developments, and citizens travel between them daily. Casual visitors may not realize they are leaving Boston at all. * '''[[Cambridge (Massachusetts)|Cambridge]]''': "The People's Republic of Cambridge" is most famous for the prestigious '''Harvard University''' and '''MIT'''. Many stunning museums, architecture, and events belonging to these schools are well worth a visit. Cambridge also has '''The Longfellow House''' among other colonial sites. * '''[[Somerville]]''': Though this is a mostly residential neighborhood, you may find yourself here nonetheless exploring the many restaurants and quirky shops in '''Davis Square'''. In the warmer months, independent musicians and artists hold festivals, overtaking '''Union Square''' and beyond. * '''[[Brookline]]''': The greenest neighborhood by far, Brookline is home to Frederick Law Olmsted's '''Fairsted''', the first landscape design office. The '''Larz Anderson Park and Auto Museum''' is also nearby. Additionally many shopping and dining options can be found in '''Coolidge Corner''' and '''Washington Square'''. ==Understand== ===History=== The first people to arrive here discovered an archipelago of islands and isthmuses, filled with fruits of the land and sea. They called the land Shawmut, and would use '''fishweirs''' and tidal flows to catch their dinners. Calling themselves ''Massachusett'', meaning "people of the great hills" they chased the seasons, heading inland to hunker down in winter hunting camps, while fishing and foraging by the coast during summer. These eponymous great hills are today known as the Blue Hills, and are in nearby Milton. ====Founding==== The first European immigrant to appear was William Blaxton, an English priest who began living alone atop Beacon Hill in 1629. The following year the flagship ''Arbella'' and her fleet sailed from England, bringing hundreds of Puritan families across the Atlantic. Designated governor by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop quickly acquired Blaxton's land. He dubbed the area Boston after [[Boston (England)|his boyhood home]]. Winthrop then delivered a powerful speech to his fellow settlers&mdash;one of the first examples of American Exceptionalism&mdash;proclaiming Boston to be '''"as a city upon a hill"'''. This sermon would inspire those seeking to live life as "a model of Christian charity", and over the next decade close to 10,000 additional Puritans would reach the colony. Differing somewhat from the English, the new Puritan arrivals to Boston placed an extreme value on literacy. Legislation was drafted during town meetings, requiring residents to be able to read and understand the Bible and the laws of the land. Boston Latin School and Harvard College were established early on as means to that end. This early commitment to education and system of small town governance are values that continue to endure throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today. While forward thinking in some ways, Puritans were exceedingly intolerant in other aspects of life. Anne Hutchinson, a charismatic Puritan, was banished and excommunicated in 1637 for her strong anti-establishment religious convictions. Mary Dyer was less fortunate, and in 1660 was hanged in Boston Common for the "crime" of being a Quaker. And yes, Christmas celebrations really were banned in Boston from 1659-1681 for being "satanical" and "sacrilegious". Over the following 100 years, the New England colonists would war with remaining native Indian tribes, suffer deadly bouts of smallpox, and choose to rebuild after devastating fires and earthquakes. When in 1691 the colony expanded into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Boston remained the capital of the region. Its position as the closest American city to England coupled with a high birth rate ushered in a boom time for the population and the economy. ====Revolution==== In direct competition with New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Boston spent years improving its infrastructure. Investing in wharves, storage, and lighthouses helped Boston to become one of the world's wealthiest port cities. The trade in slaves, rum, salted cod, and tobacco were particularly important over the years. When, in the mid-1760s, taxes were levied on items Bostonians held most dear, the colonists' shared experiences and common religious background fostered a resistance unexpected to the far-off British Parliament. Resistance came to a boiling point on March 5, 1770 when Redcoats fired into a crowd of colonists, shooting Crispus Attucks and four others dead by the steps of the Old State House. An illustration by Paul Revere of what would become known as '''The Boston Massacre''' called American colonists up and down the coast to throw off the yoke of colonial oppression. On the night of April 18, 1775, Revere rode out of Boston famously yelling: "The British are coming, the British are coming!", helping to raise the alarm of British attack throughout the countryside. After victories at [[Lexington (Massachusetts)|Lexington]] and [[Concord (Massachusetts)|Concord]], General George Washington arrived on the scene to help the Continental Army break the siege of Boston. The British were finally expelled in 1776, when after an overnight flurry of activity, cannons were fortified atop a hill and trained on the Crown's ships. For these pivotal events in American history, Boston is often referred to as '''The Cradle of Liberty'''. ====19th century==== Now unencumbered by a foreign power and boasting a successful economy, Boston grew quickly, becoming a city in 1822. An elite class of community leaders developed, calling themselves '''Boston Brahmins'''. Families with the names Delano, Revere and Adams would prize the arts and became widely known for their rarefied literary culture and lavish patronage. Other contemporary Bostonians such as the famous writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, no less privileged but with an alternative outlook on life, called themselves Transcendentalists. They believed in the inherent goodness of people and nature. These groups would work together with Abolitionists to shape American liberal thought throughout the century. Calling Boston "The Athens of America", they helped drive unprecedented scientific, educational and social change that would soon sweep the country. Bostonians still think of the city as Brahmin Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. once put it, "The Hub of the Universe". This half-serious term is all you need to know to understand Boston's complicated self-image. One of the most visible historical events to shape the city of Boston was the Irish potato famine during the late 1840s. A massive number of Irish escaped their homeland and found quarters in a new city. "The Boston Irish" would go on to reshape the city, building Catholic Boston College and giving birth to a powerful political dynasty, the Kennedys. Even the local basketball team is named "The Celtics". Today, imagining the city of Boston without the Irish is an impossible task. Immigrants kept on arriving throughout the 1800s, not only from Ireland, but from Italy, eastern Europe, and beyond. The city needed space to put them all, so it began annexing nearby towns and undertaking land reclamation projects. Boston would eventually grow to become over 40 times its original size! Boston's economy would continue to expand along with its landmass, but not as quickly, and profits would not be distributed evenly. ====Modern==== [[File:Boston à lheure bleue (4769294947).jpg|thumb|Looking towards the harbor from the Pru's observation deck]] By the close of World War II, Boston was on the decline. Poorly thought out urban renewal policies demolished hundreds of acres of ethnic neighborhoods. Factories were closing, no large buildings were under construction, and anti-Jewish and anti-black violence was on the rise. A court order forced Boston Public Schools to integrate, flaring racial tensions throughout the city. White flight was in full swing, as wealthier white Bostonians fled the city. A widely circulated photograph, ''The Soiling of Old Glory'', depicted a young white student thrusting a flagpole at a restrained black man, reinforcing Boston's reputation for discrimination. But there were seeds of hope planted during the 1970s as well. As the market began to open up in the 1970s, Boston did well in the mutual fund and financial industries. The healthcare sector grew, and many hospitals in Boston began to lead the nation in medical innovation and patient care. Higher education also became more expensive, and the best and brightest were attracted to Boston's powerful universities. Graduates from MIT in particular founded many profitable high-tech and bio-tech companies. After the completion of the '''Big Dig''' in 2007, Boston began to step back into the spotlight on the national stage. Racial tensions have eased dramatically, and city streets once again echo with the sounds of activity and construction not seen for decades. Other cities look to Boston for how they handle health care, police violence, and civil rights issues. In the new millennium Boston is once again becoming a "hub" of intellectual, technological, and political thought. ===Climate=== {{climate chart|units=imperial |Boston |23.1 |36.8 |3.4 |24.6 |39.0 |3.2 |31.1 |45.5 |4.2 |40.8 |56.4 |3.6 |50.3 |66.5 |3.3 |59.7 |76.2 |3.9 |66.0 |82.1 |3.3 |65.1 |80.4 |3.2 |58.2 |73.1 |3.6 |47.5 |62.1 |4.0 |37.9 |51.6 |3.7 |29.2 |42.2 |4.3 |jansnow=14.3 |febsnow=14.4 |marsnow=9.0 |aprsnow=1.6 |maysnow=0.0 |junsnow=0.0 |julsnow=0.0 |augsnow=0.0 |sepsnow=0.0 |octsnow=0.2 |novsnow=0.7 |decsnow=9.0 |jansun=9:24 |febsun=10:36 |marsun=11:58 |aprsun=13:23 |maysun=14:34 |junsun=15:17 |julsun=14:52 |augsun=13:48 |sepsun=12:27 |octsun=11:02 |novsun=9:49 |decsun=9:04 |janh2o=41.3 |febh2o=38.1 |marh2o=38.4 |aprh2o=43.1 |mayh2o=49.2 |junh2o=58.4 |julh2o=65.7 |augh2o=67.9 |seph2o=64.8 |octh2o=59.4 |novh2o=52.3 |dech2o=46.6 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Boston]] |description={{ForecastNOAA|Boston|42.3588|-71.05665}} }} [[File:Feb 2013 blizzard 5886.JPG|thumb|Brookline residents taking the streets back after a 2013 blizzard.]] Almost any time of the year is a good time to visit Boston. June to September is the height of the tourist season. Every corner of the city takes advantage of the warm weather and is packed with festivals and special events. While it is further north than other US cities, Boston is no stranger to the summer heat and humidity experienced by cities further south. Generally, summer heat indices average around {{f|83}} during the day and {{f|67}} at night; but from time to time, there are some instances each summer with daytime highs near {{f|91}} alongside dewpoints and overnight lows around {{f|74}} for a few days. These uncommon instances can cause outdoor activities you do at the height of an exceptionally sweltering summer day to leave you drenched in sweat, as heat indices can climb upwards to {{f|97}} or even surpass it, but these sweltering periods generally pass after no more than a few days. There are still regularly summer days where temperatures are more moderate and comfortable with daytime temperatures around {{f|80}}. These are more common especially in the early part of summer when the sea breeze kicks in; and as August rolls into September. The springtime offers a window into renewal. Especially during May, blooms and blossoms are out and colors are at their brightest. Daylight in the late spring and early summer months lasts from 5AM to 8PM. During fall, Mother Nature is on full display. She puts on such a show during October and November, many visitors choose this time to holiday over all others. If you are a snow lover, winter could be the season for you. Most residents, however, dread the cold temps and scant daylight hours found from December through March, sometimes extending into April. Although far north for an American city, the nearby Atlantic Ocean offers a moderating effect. Winters are slow to take hold, while conversely, spring is slow to take root. One thing about the North Atlantic, it never really gets warm. Never. No matter how hot it is at the beach, you can bet that ocean water will be cold! The Atlantic also has the unlikely potential to create a ''Nor'easter'', kind of a less powerful hurricane. ''Nor'easter's'' generally happen from September to April, when the cold Arctic air meets with warmer air over the Atlantic; and hurricanes can come close to hitting Boston in the late summer each year. Boston might get anywhere from 0-2 of these events a year, and is well prepared for them. So just hunker down for the day while the windy deluge passes by. When the snow comes, and it has come, it alters the rhythm of life in the city. Sidewalks become slippery and narrow. Daylight starts at 7AM, only for the sun to set at 4PM. The mercury drops below freezing and can stay there for weeks. It can dip even lower to 0°F (-18°C). There are periods each winter where warm Caribbean air pushes up into the Bay State, bringing with it a much welcomed respite from the cold. This helps keep the snow from piling up, so seeing more than a foot of accumulation is rare. The 2014–15 winter was an incredible exception, when over {{in|110}} of snow fell on Boston in 18 days. The city dumped it in piles as high as {{ft|75}}, and had to wait until July 14th for the last of it to finally melt away. Boston is not well equipped to handle snowfall to that degree, so expect similar extensive transit disruptions if that amount ever drops again. The trend has started to change, however, with the winters of 2022-23 and 2023-24 seeing very little snow at all, and daytime temperatures only went below freezing for only a few days during the entire season. ===Watch=== [[File:Harvard Square during late afternoon.jpg|thumb|Do you like apples? Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?]] * ''Good Will Hunting'' (Gus Van Sant, 1996). If you're only watching one movie about Boston, make it this one. While the tale of Romeo & Juliet has been told many times, this telling of star crossed "blue collar" and "ivory tower" lovers could only happen in Boston. A powerful Academy Award winning performance by Robin Williams and quotable dialogue make this a standout film. ''Good Will Hunting'' was a breakout success for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and you'll hear some great accents and see the city as it was before the current building boom. How you like them apples?! * ''The Departed'' (Martin Scorsese, 2006). Loosely based on the exploits of Irish mobster Whitey Bulger and corrupt FBI agent John Connolly. This star studded tale of murder and deception starring Matt Damon, Leonardo Di Caprio and Jack Nicholson won four Oscars including best picture. For a more biographical take on the mobster, don't miss ''Black Mass'' directed by Scott Cooper in 2015. * ''Glory'' (Edward Zwick, 1989). Among other sources, ''Glory'' is based on the personal letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the first all-black regiment during the Civil War. OK, so there's a bit of a white savior thing going on, and it's not set in Boston; but still it's a great film and accurately depicts the feelings many Bostonians had about slavery during this time. * ''Mystic River'' (Clint Eastwood, 2003). This critically acclaimed film deals with the horrific fallout of child abuse, rampant in Boston during the 1970s. Exploring where people's loyalties really lie, and asking how far you would go to protect what is yours. Principal photography took place on location in Boston. *''The Town'' (Ben Affleck, 2010) If the grittier side of Boston intrigues you, this crime thriller by Boston's own Ben Affleck will give you an insight in many of the city's unsavory and blue-collar environments, peppered with wicked thick Boston accents. * ''Ted'' (Seth MacFarlane, 2012). On the lighter side, this hilarious buddy comedy features all the toilet humor and Boston accents you can shake a stick at. Fenway Park of course gets involved somehow, along with a few original (off-color) songs. * ''Spotlight'' (Tom McCarthy, 2015). Following The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, this film pursues the investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. Based on a series of stories that earned The Globe a Pulitzer Prize in 2003. * ''Patriots Day'' (Peter Berg, 2016). Shot in Boston and Quincy, ''Patriot's Day'' deals with the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent terrorist manhunt. While the film was well received, it was criticized in Boston for being made too soon and glamorizing the events it was based upon. ===Read=== Often, Boston isn't at the center of a novel, but repeatedly makes memorable cameo appearances. Perhaps owing to the academic magnet effect that attracts bright minds here for a few short years. See David Foster Wallace's ''Infinite Jest'' or Faulkner's ''The Sound and the Fury'' for examples. Another masterwork, ''The Handmaid's Tale'' by Margaret Atwood, is also set in Boston. * ''The Scarlet Letter'' (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850). Exploring themes of legalism, sin, and guilt; the book tells the tale of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life in 17th century Boston. * ''The Bell Jar'' (Sylvia Plath, 1963). Esther Greenwood is&nbsp;a young woman from the suburbs of Boston&nbsp;who experiences a series of setbacks and struggles with depression as she struggles to choose between doing what's expected or what is in her heart. Semi-autobiographical. * ''Common Ground'' (J. Anthony Lukas, 1985). Winning the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction, this novel follows the lives of three families as they experience race relations in Boston during the 1960s and 70s. It briefly recounts how each family came to live in their neighborhood before narrowing in on racial and class conflicts. * ''The Rascal King'' (Jack Beatty, 2000). Hero or hooligan? Boston mayor James Michael Curley (1874-1958) could certainly be either. During his four terms he built schools, playgrounds and beaches; even while imprisoned under a fraud conviction. * ''Dark Tide'' (Stephen Puleo, 2003). In this book Puelo seeks to uncover the structural reasons for the occurrence of the great Boston molasses flood of 1919. [[Boston#Work|See this infobox]] for more. * ''A Short History of Boston'' (Robert Allison, 2004). The chair of Suffolk University’s history department brings Boston's history alive in 128 pages. Covering everything from the Puritan theocracy to the Big Dig and beyond. * ''Another Bullshit Night in Suck City'' (Nick Flynn, 2004). A memoir by playwright and poet Nick Flynn, describing his reunion with his estranged father, Jonathan, an alcoholic resident of the homeless shelter where Nick was a social worker in the late 1980s. * ''The Given Day'' (Dennis Lehane, 2008). A historical novel set in Boston during the turn of the last century. One of the story's main characters is Aiden "Danny" Coughlin, an ethnic Irish Boston Police patrolman. Lehane is also the author of other Boston based books frequently turned into films. You may have heard of ''Shutter Island'', ''Gone, Baby, Gone'', ''Mystic River'', and many others. * ''The Gardner Heist'' (Ulrich Boser, 2009). On the night of March 18, 1990 two men committed the largest art theft in history. A dozen masterpieces worth over $500 million went missing, and remain at large today. [[Boston#Sleep|See this infobox]] for more. ===Tourist information === * [https://www.meetboston.com/ Boston] tourism website ==Talk== Often used in film and television as shorthand for "blue-collar" or "working-class" stereotypes, the Boston accent remains mostly alive and well in the region. Known for dropping "R"s, the accent is believed to be a continuation of the English accent imported by the first colonists. Today, however, it's on life support within the city itself, as long-time residents move out and younger transplants from around the country and world move in. Listen in to conversations of police, fire or construction workers for your best chance to hear it in the city. If you have time, pay a visit to the north or [[South_Shore_(Massachusetts)|south shore]], where you're much more likely to hear it in action. Though they have mostly eschewed the Boston accent, younger Boston residents do pepper their speech with a plethora of local lingo, with "wicked" being particularly popular. Also, young people in Massachusetts (and New England for that matter) tend to speak a lot faster than other Americans. The word "wicked" is still strongly in use, functioning as an amplifier in place of "very". You'll also hear "packie" for a liquor (package) store and "blinkers"<!--incidentally the exact same word as in German--> for the turn signals on your car. And some of our English friends might recognize a "rotary" as a roundabout. There are many others, but these are the most commonly used today. Feel free to try out "wicked" as often as you like, it's a fun way to get in on the culture. Try not to go overboard — saying stuff like "Pahk tha cah in Hahvid Yahd" is a dead giveaway for tourists. Avoid saying "pisser" — you'll see it printed on t-shirts but no one really says it anymore. Hosting a very large Hispanic population, Boston can be a great place to practice your Spanish. ===Visitor information=== * {{listing | name=Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau | alt= | url=http://www.bostonusa.com | email=info@bostonusa.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-536-4100 | tollfree=+1-888-733-2678 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-03-29 | content=This is a great place to book tours, get brochures and other information. This could sound pretty crazy, but it's even possible to buy souvenirs here. }} :* {{listing | name=Boston Common Visitors Center | alt= | url= | email= | address=139 Tremont St | lat=42.355468 | long=-71.063905 | directions=T: Park Street | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 8:30AM-5PM, Su 9AM-6PM | price=Free | lastedit=2017-03-29 | content= }} * {{listing | name=National Park Service | alt= | url=http://www.nps.gov/bost | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-242-5601 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-03-29 | content=The National Park Service also maintains two visitor centers here, as many of Boston's historic sites are considered part of the NPS. Get up to date information about the status of Freedom Trail buildings and events. If you have a mobile phone, try out their Freedom Trail app. It's filled with historical anecdotes and helpful information. }} :* {{listing | name=Charlestown Navy Yard Visitors Center | alt=USS Constitution | url= | email= | address=Building 5 | lat=42.373169 | long=-71.056834 | directions=T: Community College | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-5PM daily | price=Free | lastedit=2017-03-29 | content= }} :* {{listing | name=Downtown Visitors Center | alt=Faneuil Hall | url= | email= | address=1 Faneuil Hall Sq | lat=42.360026 | long=-71.056169 | directions=T: State Street | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-5PM daily | price=Free | lastedit=2017-03-29 | content= }} * {{listing | name = Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | alt = "The T" Ⓣ | url = https://www.mbta.com/ | email = | address = | lat = | long = | directions = | phone = +1 617 222-3200 | tollfree = +1 800 392-6100 | fax = | hours = | price = Bus $1.70/2.00; subway $2.40/2.75; commuter rail $2.40–$13.25 | lastedit = 2025-07-03 | content = The <abbr title="Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority">MBTA</abbr> operates [[#By_public_transit|public transit]] — bus, subway, trolley, commuter rail and ferry services — throughout the region. }} ==Get in== ===By plane=== {{see also|Air travel in the United States}} [[File:N522NK_(6544786147).jpg|thumb|Logan is close, almost a little too close, to downtown Boston]] * {{go | name=[[Boston Logan International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|BOS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1 800 23-LOGAN | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=It's modern, clean, easy to navigate, and the primary gateway to Boston and New England. Logan has a bevy of dining options scattered throughout its terminals, some of them are even good! Nowadays it's possible to find local farm-to-table fare and a wide selection of organic microbrews on tap. Of course this ''is'' America after all, so you can bet a McDonald's or Sbarro will never be out of sight. For shopping, you'll easily be able to find a new book or magazine once past security. You could also buy fancy new shoes, headphones, or a hundred other things. }} As the major airport for New England, Logan provides frequent non-stop service to most major cities in the United States and almost all major European airports. Logan airport serves as a focus city for '''JetBlue''' and as a hub for '''Delta Air Lines''', while '''American Airlines''' is another major carrier. The regional airline Cape Air and commuter airline PenAir also make Logan their base of operations. Flights tend to be on time, but you never know with that wild New England weather. Try not to plan your connections too tightly. Security is typically tight, like at most major American airports, and you can expect the TSA to be thorough, efficient, and quick. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Terminal !! Serves |- | A ||Delta (check ticket, some flights depart Terminal E), WestJet |- | B || Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines (all departures), Boutique Air, Southwest, United |- | C || Aer Lingus, Cape Air, JetBlue (all departures), TAP Portugal (international departures) |- | E || Air France, Allegiant Air, American Airlines (international arrivals), Azores Airlines, British Airways, Cabo Verde Airways, Cathay Pacific, Copa Airlines, Delta (check ticket, some flights depart Terminal A), El Al, Emirates, Frontier Hainan Airlines, Iberia, Icelandair, ITA Airways, Japan Airlines, JetBlue (international arrivals), KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, Level, Lufthansa, Porter, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Scandinavian Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Swiss, TAP Air Portugal (international arrivals), Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic |} ====Ground transportation==== All terminals in Logan are directly connected to the central parking garage like spokes on a hub. Terminals A and B are fairly close together, and it's possible to walk from C to E. Above-ground enclosed walkways connect all terminals, while free MassPort shuttle buses connect all airport services. Shuttle #11 loops around and quickly connects the four terminals together. Shuttle #22 and #33 connect the subway and rental car center, with terminals A&B and C&E respectively. Shuttle #55 runs during off-peak hours and connects everything, and the #66 shuttle adds the water transportation dock into the mix as well. Finally, shuttle #88 connects all terminals to the economy parking garage. If you're renting a car, take one of the shuttles and don't wait for a branded company van. The MassPort shuttles will connect you to Airport Station, where you can switch to the Blue line. For most travellers, however, the best option is to '''board the Silver line for free at Logan and transfer for free to the Red line'''. The Silver line whisks you straight from your terminal to South Station downtown. Transfers to other lines will also be ''gratis'', but try to pick up a Charliecard at South Station if you plan on riding the T again. Service stops around 12:30AM, so if your flight arrives after this you'll be taking a cab. Taxis are more expensive in Boston than in many other cities. Fortunately though, the airport is quite close to downtown. Costs could range from $25-50, depending on your final destination. There is no one livery for Boston taxis, although they are predominantly white (hence the local name "White Cabs"). Cab models will also vary, with Ford Crown Victorias and Toyota Camry hybrids being the most common. Ride-hailing services such as '''Uber and Lyft''' can pick up and drop off at Logan. In March 2019, the airport said that it is planning to move all pickups and drop offs to the ground floor of the Central Garage, so check before you depart. Check with your hotel about airport shuttle service, it's an amenity offered by many. Other shuttle services that visit the airport include: * {{listing | name=Logan Express | alt= | url=https://www.massport.com/logan-airport/to-and-from-logan/logan-express/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Between $3 and $9 to airport, Free returns | lastedit=2024-01-15 | content=Offers direct bus service from [[Braintree_(Massachusetts)|Braintree]], [[Framingham]], [[Woburn_(Massachusetts)|Woburn]], and [[Peabody]]. Buses leave every hour or so and trips take around 30-45 minutes. Express buses also run to the airport from Copley Square and Hynes Convention Center in the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill|Back Bay]]. }} * {{listing | name=Axis Coach | alt= | url=http://www.axiscoachusa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617 340-3403 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=from $79 one way | content=Airport limos to and from Logan airport or Manchester airports. }} If you're driving to Logan, routes are well marked, but the airport road system is complex. Read the signs carefully and be sure you're in the correct lane. If an unexpected off-ramp sneaks up on you, don't panic, you can just drive around the airport loop again. ====Other airports==== A few small airports in New England add "Boston" to their name, even if they're in another state or have little means of reaching the city on public transportation. Flights to other New England airports such as Portland, Maine ({{IATA|PWM}}) and Hartford ({{IATA|BDL}}) occasionally appear in searches online, but are nearly {{mi|100}} from Boston! Not only are these airports impractical, they are usually more expensive due to economies of scale. Only use them if you're headed to the countryside in the first place. *'''[http://www.flymanchester.com/ Manchester-Boston Regional Airport]''' ({{IATA|MHT}}) ({{mi|50}} north of Boston, accessible via Interstate 93). Main service is offered by Southwest Airlines, along with a few flights operated by American, Delta, and United. It is a great option if you plan on going to Northern New England or Boston's northern suburbs (Haverhill, Salem). *'''[http://www.pvdairport.com/ T.F. Green Airport]''' ({{IATA|PVD}}) ({{mi|60}} south of Boston, accessible via Interstate 95) - 15 domestic flights depart daily from T.F. Green. It's also a stop on MBTA's Providence/Stoughton commuter rail line, although only a handful of rush-hour trains stop at this station each day. Otherwise you'll need to take a bus or cab to the train station downtown to catch the commuter rail or an Amtrak train to Boston. *'''[http://www.massport.com/worcester-airport/ Worcester-Boston Regional Airport]''' ({{IATA|ORH}}), {{mi|40}} west of Boston. Served by American Airlines (to Philadelphia), Delta Air Lines (to New York LaGuardia) and JetBlue Airways (to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Fort Myers). If you're coming from outside the US, it ''may'' be cheaper to fly into one of the New York City airports ({{IATA|JFK}} or {{IATA|EWR}}) and reach Boston via bus or rail (see below). Carefully consider the unlisted time and costs of this journey, however, as you'll have to organize everything yourself. Once you add up fares for AirTrain, subway, bus, and cabs; you'll quickly see your airfare savings evaporate. It can take over 8 hours to get from EWR to Boston for example, so consider a stopover in NYC if you're doing this. ==== Private aviation ==== Boston is a major global city among the 30 most economically powerful cities in the world. Its metropolitan area holds the 6th-largest economy in the United States, and the 12th-largest in the world, making it the main private aviation hub for New England. Boston Logan offers 3 private FBO terminals for private air travel, however, the main airport for private and general aviation in Boston is [https://www.massport.com/hanscom-field/ '''Laurence G. Hanscom Field'''] ({{FAA LID|BED}}), about {{mi|20}} northwest in [[Bedford (Massachusetts)|Bedford, MA]]. '''[http://www.norwoodma.gov/departments/airport/index.php Norwood Memorial Airport]''' ({{FAA LID|OWD}}) is just southwest of I-95 in [[Norwood|Norwood, MA]], while '''Beverly Regional Airport''' ({{FAA LID|BVY}}) and '''Lawrence Municipal Airport''' ({{FAA LID|LWM}}) offer arrivals to the north of Boston. Air charter companies such as [http://www.harvard-air-taxi.com/ Harvard Air Taxi] offer shuttle flights within the Northeast, while brokers including [https://flytailwind.com/ Tailwind Aviation] and [http://www.jetcharterboston.com/ Jet Charter Boston] offer access to private planes based at airports across the country for private flights to/from Boston and surrounding areas of New England. Aircraft options can range from luxury planes including Gulfstreams to economical single and twin-engine planes for individuals and small groups. === By train === {{see also|Rail travel in the United States}} [[File:South Station and subway headhouse at night, November 2014.jpg|thumb|Choose to enter South Station via its classical or modern entrances]] * {{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 215-856-7924 | tollfree=+1-800-872-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Amtrak | wikidata=Q23239 | lastedit=2023-10-26 | content=Boston is served by the national passenger rail service, as well as suburban commuter trains. The most important station is '''South Station''', where all long-distance Amtrak routes and most commuter rail routes terminate. The other main station is '''North Station''', which handles all northbound commuter rail traffic and the Amtrak route to Maine. It takes about 15-30 stressful minutes to transfer between the two stations. }} ** {{go | name=North Station | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com/stations/bon | email= | address=135 Causeway Street | lat=42.3663 | long=-71.0623 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=North Station | wikidata=Q54454 | lastedit=2023-10-26 | content= }} ** {{go | name=South Station | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com/stations/bos | email= | address=700 Atlantic Ave | lat=42.3519 | long=-71.0551 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=South Station | wikidata=Q54453 | lastedit=2025-03-26 | content= }} [[File:West entrance to TD Garden and North Station, June 2008.jpg|thumb|The less spectacular entrance to North Station and TD Garden]] All heavy gauge Commuter Rail trains (called the T) terminate in either '''North Station''' or '''South Station'''. Once in town, you will find a variety of stations where switching to the light rail (or T) is quick and easy. They run as far as [[Worcester_(Massachusetts)|Worcester]], [[Lowell_(Massachusetts)|Lowell]], and [[Providence|Providence, RI]], and are significantly cheaper than Amtrak trains. The furthest you can get down [[Cape Cod|the Cape]], is [[Hyannis]] aboard the Cape Flyer. This service is provided only during summer and in cooperation with the MBTA and the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority. * [https://www.amtrak.com/acela-express-train '''Acela'''] travels multiple times daily between Boston and [[Washington, D.C.]] with stops in [[Westwood (Massachusetts)|Westwood]], [[Providence]], [[New Haven]], [[Stamford (Connecticut)|Stamford]], [[New York City]], [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Wilmington (Delaware)|Wilmington]], and [[Baltimore]]. It is the fastest train in America. Trains travels to '''South Station''' with travel times of 2 hr 15 min from New Haven, 3 hr 45 min from New York City, 5 h 30 min from Philadelphia, and 6 hr 45 min from Washington, D.C. While the fare is expensive, trains are luxurious with great Wi-Fi and power outlets. You also won't have to go through airport security, or worry about traffic delays affecting your schedule. * '''[https://www.amtrak.com/northeast-regional-train Northeast Regional]''' a cheaper train running multiples times daily along the eastern seaboard. Similar to the Acela, but with local stops from '''South Station''' including: '''New Haven''' (3 hr), '''New York''' (5 hr), '''[[Philadelphia]]''' (7 hr), '''[[Washington,_D.C.|Washington D.C.]]''' (9 hr), '''[[Richmond|Richmond, Virginia]]''' (12 hr). The overnight Northeast Regional service from Washington, D.C. includes sleeping cars, the train departs Washington, D.C around 9PM and arrives early morning in Washington, D.C. * '''[[Downeaster]]''' operating five or six trains in each direction daily between [[Brunswick (Maine)|Brunswick]] and Boston's '''North Station''' with stops [[Freeport (Maine)|Freeport]], [[Portland (Maine)|Portland]], [[Old Orchard Beach]] (seasonal), [[Saco]], [[Wells (Maine)|Wells]], [[Dover (New Hampshire)|Dover]], [[Durham (New Hampshire)|Durham]], [[Exeter (New Hampshire)|Exeter]], [[Haverhill (Massachusetts)|Haverhill]], and [[Woburn (Massachusetts)|Woburn]]. Travel time to Boston from Brunswick is 3 hr 20 min, and form Portland is 2 hr 30 min. * '''[https://www.amtrak.com/lake-shore-limited-train Lake Shore Limited]''' operating daily between [[Chicago]] and Boston or [[New York City]]. It makes stops at most stations along the route, though it does not stop at some of the smallest stations. Trains consist of train cars from both branches between Chicago and Albany ([[Rensselaer (New York)|Rensselaer]]). The trains split into separate branches between Albany (Rensselaer) and both Boston and New York City. Stops between Chicago and Albany (Rensselaer) include [[South Bend]], [[Elkhart]], Waterloo, [[Bryan (Ohio)|Bryan]], [[Toledo (Ohio)|Toledo]], [[Sandusky]], [[Elyria (Ohio)|Elyria]], [[Cleveland]], [[Erie]], Buffalo ([[Cheektowaga|Depew]]), [[Rochester (New York)|Rochester]], [[Syracuse (New York)|Syracuse]], [[Utica]], and [[Schenectady]]. Stops between Albany (Rensselaer) and Boston include [[Pittsfield]], [[Springfield (Massachusetts)|Springfield]], [[Worcester (Massachusetts)|Worcester]], [[Framingham]]. In Boston, the terminus is '''South Station'''. Travel time to Boston from Chicago is 19 hr 30 min, from Buffalo is 11 hours, from Albany (Rensselaer) is 5 hours. * '''[http://capeflyer.com/ Cape Flyer]''' a summer weekend passenger train that runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day from '''South Station''' to '''[[Hyannis]]''' (2hr 20 min), with stops in '''[[Braintree_(Massachusetts)|Braintree]]''', '''[[Brockton]]''', '''[[Middleborough|Middleborough/Lakeville]]''', '''[[Wareham_(Massachusetts)|Wareham Village]]''' and '''[[Bourne|Buzzards Bay]]'''. ===By bus=== {{see also|Long-distance bus travel in the United States}} [[File:Boston south station bus terminal.JPG|thumb|Head upstairs to the bus terminals]] Almost every bus departing or arriving to Boston does so at '''South Station'''. The bus terminal is just a few hundred feet south of the train terminal. If you're arriving by T, walk upstairs and outside. Then keep the trains on your left, and follow the signs to get to the bus station. You should arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled departure, especially if your carrier doesn't assign seats. If you need food, try to arrive a little earlier to buy it near the trains. The train station has a variety of food options, while '''only the most basic facilities will be available near the busses'''. Many bus fares can be fairly reasonable if you book at least a week or two in advance (since pricing is demand based), although routes served by Greyhound/ Peter Pan can range from pricey to outright extortion. Some companies offer teaser fares as low as $1, but you'd need to book almost a year in advance and get lucky to boot. The New York City route is ''very'' popular, taking about 5 hours on average. However, it could take less than 4 if you leave in the dead of night, or over 8 hours if you get unlucky with traffic. If you're going anywhere other than NYC, typically only a single bus company serves the route. If you're facing bus rides of 10 hours or more, it's probably worth looking into the cost of flying, plane tickets may be comparable or even cheaper than traveling by bus. * {{listing | name=BoltBus | alt= | url=http://www.boltbus.com | email= | address=South Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1 877 265-8287 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Another option connecting Boston with New York City, Newark, and Philadelphia. This was one of the first companies to offer passengers Wi-Fi and power outlets on board. Today you will find these amenities on almost every intercity bus. }} * {{listing | name=C & J | alt= | url=http://www.ridecj.com | email= | address=South Station and Logan Airport | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 603-430-1100 | tollfree=+1-800-258-7111 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Connecting Boston to Newburyport, MA, Portsmouth, NH, and Dover, NH. }} * {{listing | name=Concord Coach Lines | alt= | url=http://www.concordcoachlines.com | email= | address=South Station and Logan Airport | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 603 228-3300 | tollfree=+1-800-639-3317 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serving Maine with Portland, Augusta, Bangor, and many smaller communities along ocean and highway routes. Also serving New Hampshire with Manchester and Concord, before branching into two routes. Each branch serves little villages along the way to Littleton, NH and Berlin, NH. }} * {{go | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=https://www.flixbus.com/bus/boston-ma | email= | address=(bus stop) 90 Traveler Street| lat= | long= | directions=Pickup area is in an LAZ parking lot. Enter the lot on NE corner of Traveler and Albany St. Pickup area is in the first row of parking spaces as cars pull into the lot. The area will have a FlixBus "wait here" sign. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-11-29 | content=Only to/from [[New York City#By_bus|New York]]. They also have another stop at 38 Professors Row in Tufts University. }} *{{listing | name=Go Bus | alt= | url=http://gobuses.com/ | email= | address=11 Cambridgepark West, Cambridge (Alewife Station) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=It's not in Boston, but this company connects Cambridge (Alewife Station) and Newton (Riverside Station) with New York City. }} * {{listing | name=Greyhound Bus Lines | alt= | url=http://www.greyhound.com | email= | address=South Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617 526-1800 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=If you can find it on a map, Greyhound probably runs a bus there. Not always the best option, but sometimes the only one. For example, this is the only carrier connecting Boston with Montréal. }} * {{listing | name=LimoLiner | url=http://www.limoliner.com {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}} | email= | address=39 Dalton Street, Sheraton Back Bay | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 309 502-6411 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=$99 one way | content=A luxury bus transportation offering professionals business services between New York City and Boston. They may offer hot meals, waitstaff and wood paneling, but you'll have to sit in traffic like everyone else. }} * {{listing | name=Lucky Star Bus | url=http://www.luckystarbus.com | email= | address=South Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 617 734-1268 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=$25 one way | content=Between Boston's South Station and New York's Chinatown. Buses are nice and run every 30 minutes. You can buy tickets 24-1 hours before departure only. }} * {{listing | name=Megabus | url=http://us.megabus.com/ | email= | address=South Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-877-462-6342 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Connecting Boston with the larger cities in the region. New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Also serving Secaucus, NJ, Portland, ME, Burlington, VT, New Haven and Hartford, CT. }} * {{listing | name=Peter Pan Bus Lines | url=http://www.peterpanbus.com | email= | address=South Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone = | tollfree=+1-800-343-9999 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Kind of like Greyhound, but for New England. Serves almost every town in the region, as well as the big boys: New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. }} * {{listing | name=Plymouth & Brockton | alt=Street Railway Co | url=http://www.p-b.com | email= | address=South Station and Logan Airport and 200 Stuart St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 508-746-0378 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-07-05 | content=This bus company serves Cape Cod. Going from Boston to Rockland, Plymouth, Sagamore, Barnstable and Hyannis. The route then continues from Hyannis up the Cape, making several stops on the way to Provincetown. }} ===By car=== {{see also|Driving in the United States}} [[File:View west from Prudential Tower, July 2015.jpg|thumb|The often-crowded Pike slices through Boston]] If you’re coming from anywhere that isn’t on the east coast, '''I-90''' is how you will enter the city. Officially called '''The Massachusetts Turnpike''', locals call it "The Mass Pike", or simply "The Pike". Running east/west with a direct connection to Logan Airport, the road is over 3,000 miles long and can take you as far as [[Seattle]], if you've got time. I-90 ends (or does it begin?) with the '''Ted Williams Tunnel'''. Built during the Big Dig, it burrows under Boston Harbor to connect [[Boston/East_Boston|East Boston]] and Logan Airport with the rest of the city. The Pike is a toll road without toll booths, so '''cash transactions are not allowed'''. The tolls are paid automatically by E-ZPass (car mounted transponders) that communicate with sensors installed along the road. If you're missing a transponder, don't worry. Overhead cameras will snap a picture of your license plate and mail you a bill. In general, [https://www.ezdrivema.com/TollCalculator tolls are inexpensive]. Less than 2 bucks to get out of the city, and $1.50 for the Ted Williams Tunnel. '''I-93''' and '''Route 1''' are the major north-south highways in Boston. I-93 is toll free, and like everything else in Boston it has several names no one quite seems to agree on. '''The Southeast/Northern Expressway, or simply the Expressway''' are most common, usually referring to the section of I-93 within the Boston metro area. Another name for the road is "The Central Artery", or "The "Tip" O'Neill Tunnel", referring to the bit which runs beneath the core of the city. This stretch was built during the Big Dig and connects I-93 with I-90, and US-1. Route 1, also known as the '''Northeast Expressway,''' connects Boston with its northeastern and southwestern suburbs. Heading north from Boston, Route 1 is a toll road, crossing over the '''Tobin Bridge''' north of the Zakim before leading to a strip of commercial development in [[Saugus]] and connecting to I-95. Heading southwest, Route 1 is a scenic parkway that parallels Boston’s Emerald Necklace system of parks, before becoming a regional commercial artery in [[Boston/Outer Neighborhoods|West Roxbury]]. Crossing the mouth of the Charles River, you will drive over '''The Zakim''', or Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. This visually striking bridge is at the intersection of Route 1 and I-93, and was designed to echo the Bunker Hill Monument next door. Of note, I-95 (known locally as Route 128) does not enter Boston directly. During the 1960s, there were plans to run I-95 along the commuter rail tracks from the Route 128 Amtrak station up to I-93, and then up to the Zakim and along what is now Route 1, but those plans were scrapped. It instead bypasses the city by ringing around its northern and western suburbs. If coming from the '''[[Seacoast (New Hampshire)|Seacoast of New Hampshire]], [[Maine]], or [[Atlantic Canada]],''' take '''I-95''' down to '''Exit 44''' then take '''US 1 South''' to I-93. I-95 is a toll road throughout New Hampshire and parts of Southern Maine, and Route 1 (as mentioned earlier) is a toll road continuation of I-95 into Boston. If coming from '''[[Providence|Providence,]]''' '''[[New York City|New York City,]]''' '''[[Philadelphia]]''', '''[[Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C]]''', and points south, take I-95 north to I-93 near '''[[Canton (Massachusetts)|Canton]]'''. If coming from '''[[Hartford]]''' and most of '''[[Pennsylvania]]''', take '''I-84''' to merge onto I-90 near Sturbridge. In downtown Boston, along '''Route 1A''', you will find two more tunnels sunk beneath the harbor, '''The Callahan Tunnel''' and '''The Sumner Tunnel'''. These tunnels are smaller and poorly located (they connect at Haymarket), and you still need to pay a toll to use them. Only use them if you are in the area anyway, or there is a problem with the Ted Williams Tunnel. Other notable roads include '''Route 2''', sweeping in from the northwestern suburbs, '''Route 9''', which parallels the Pike and is toll free. It is an alternate route if you are coming into the city from Worcester or the [[MetroWest]] suburbs in Middlesex County, and '''Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive''' (two parkways paralleling the Charles River). ===By boat=== For a city on the ocean, there are surprisingly few options to arrive by ship. For in-state voyages, head to '''Long Wharf''', located downtown next to the aquarium. From here [http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/boats/ MBTA ferries] depart to Provincetown, Lynn, and Salem seasonally; while Hingham and Hull are served year round. If you're looking to spend a little more time at sea, head to '''[http://www.massport.com/port-of-boston/cruiseport-boston/ Black Falcon Cruise Terminal] {{dead link|December 2020}}''' ({{phone|+1 617-330-1500}}). From here [[cruise ships]] depart to Ft. Lauderdale, Montréal, and Quebec City. Some ships travel as far as Bermuda, the Netherlands, or even San Diego via the Panama Canal! ==Get around== Unlike other large American cities, Boston is not laid out on a grid. Folklore says modern streets were designed by wandering cows, which is surely a myth. What's more likely is that existing Native American trails were reused and extended over the years. New paths were cut around hills and streams, and shallow marshes were hastily filled in wherever the force of commerce demanded. Even the burning of the city in 1872 wasn't widespread enough to trigger a comprehensive urban update. With a compact and walkable central core, '''Boston is more similar to a European city''' than to its American counterparts. The narrow, winding streets can sometimes make getting around a bit of a challenge, but with a good map and a sense of adventure anyone can find their way. Most streets are clearly labeled, especially in the more touristy areas. Don't be surprised by streets' frequent name changes and name reuse. Many Boston neighborhoods were independent cities 100 years ago, and as they were annexed, so were their naming conventions. It's why a road might have a different name at every stop light, and why Tremont St. intersects with a ''different'' Tremont St. Keep your eyes peeled for more of these quirks while you're in town. ===By public transit=== [[File:MBTA services sampling excluding MBTA Boat.jpg|thumb|The "T" is the best way to get around Boston]] '''The best way to get around Boston is the [http://www.mbta.com/ MBTA]''', or "T" for short. Bostonians complain about it endlessly, but its convenience, affordable cost and extensive coverage are undeniable. As the fourth largest transit system in the US, the T conducts a daily symphony of every conveyance imaginable to move over 1.3 million people to their destinations. Use your favorite mapping application, or the [https://transitapp.com/ MBTA-endorsed transit app] to help plan your route. Each line on the T is color-coded; this has been the case since the 1960s. Originally, the colors of each line were assigned based on their routes' surrounding geography. The '''Red Line''', which goes to Cambridge, was named after the Harvard Crimson; the '''Blue Line''' was named that way since it goes under Boston Harbor; and the '''Green Line''' was named after its route through the Emerald Necklace. The remaining route became the '''Orange Line''' - possibly derived from a former road called "Orange Street", which is now a section of Washington Street. Yellow is used for most buses (with the exception of the '''Silver Line''' BRT system), and purple is used for commuter rail trains. MBTA buses, light rail, and subway trains accept contactless payment, but the commuter rail and boat require a ticket. Note that the MBTA does not do fare capping for contactless payment. Paper tickets can be purchased as well from kiosks at virtually every entrance to every station systemwide; and all accept cash, credit and debit cards. You can also pick up a reusable CharlieCard and add value to it. '''Train rides cost a flat $2.40''', whether you're traversing the city or just going one stop. Rather than paying per ride, you could instead buy something called a "LinkPass". With this option you'll get unlimited rides for $11/day or $22.50 for 7 days. It's not a crazy deal, but could save you some money if you're riding the train a lot. Changing between subway or light rail is free wherever they connect. You can also transfer from subway to bus (or vice versa) for free, for up to 2 transfers within 2 hours of your first tap in when using a CharlieCard or contactless. Some stations do not offer free transfers to the other direction, so keep that in mind if you go the wrong way. Once you have exited the turnstiles, boarding a bus is a free transfer, but you'll have to pay again if you decide to get back on the train or change to a third bus. Couldn't get a [https://commerce.mbta.com/ CharlieCard]? Really? Most stations have them available in fare vending machines. All the big stations downtown have them. They're also carried by many convenience stores and maybe your hotel. Did you try the [http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/charlie/default.asp?id=25393 CharlieCard store] by the Roche Bros entrance of Downtown Crossing Station? Well, if you're not using contactless payment, it looks like you'll be stuck with a CharlieTicket. The CharlieTicket is printed on paper, and is tappable just like a CharlieCard. It's fine if you're only riding the train once or twice. The CharlieCards/Tickets are valid for all travel on the [[Boston#Subway|subway]], [[Boston#Trolley|trolley]], and local [[Boston#Bus|busses]]. If you're traveling on the [[Boston#Commuter_rail|commuter rail]] or [[Boston#Boats|boats]] you'll have to switch to [http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/mTicketing/ mTicket] to pay your fare. You could buy paper tickets the old fashioned way, from a ticket window at North Station, Back Bay, or South Station. Finally, you can always just use cash and buy your tickets onboard from the conductor, although you'll pay a $3 surcharge for doing that. Unlike the flat fare for the subway, bus, and light rail, the commuter rail uses a zone-based system, from Zone 1A to Zone 10. If you are riding on the weekend, there is a $10 unlimited ride weekend pass that you can purchase through the mTicket app, which is often far more economical than standard tickets for weekend-only trips. ====Subway==== The '''Red, Orange, and Blue''' '''Lines''' comprise Boston's traditional subway service. One thing Boston does a little differently, is that any transit running into the center is labeled as "inbound" and everything running away as "outbound". There are always signs for the last stop in your direction, in case you find that method more familiar. Train '''service starts around 5:30AM (6:15 AM Sundays) and ends around 12:30AM''', so make your travel plans accordingly. You can bring your bike on any subway, just not during rush hours (except for passengers with reduced mobility, who can bring bicycles at any time). The '''Red Line''' is the busiest and one of the most helpful for visitors to Boston. The (as of 2024) slowest subway line in the system, trains north of JFK/UMass station arrive every 7-12 minutes. South of JFK/UMass, trains run every 21-23 minutes as the Red line splits into two branches. One terminates in Ashmont Station in [[Boston/Dorchester|Dorchester]], while the other heads ''way'' out of the city and into [[Braintree_(Massachusetts)|Braintree]]. The trains used on this line are pretty old, but are slowly being replaced by shiny new trains throughout the 2020s. The '''Orange Line''' runs every 8-15 minutes, from Oak Grove in [[Malden]] to Forest Hills. The replacement of its cars on this line was completed in 2023. It is a great way to access the Arboretum and Franklin Park. The '''Blue Line''' runs every 5-6 minutes during peak times, and every 9-14 minutes during off-peak times. The shortest of the three subway lines, the Blue Line runs from Bowdoin in downtown to Wonderland on the [[North_Shore_(Massachusetts)|North Shore]]. Outside of the airport connection and Revere Beach, it's not of much use to tourists, although you can find some great getaways along this route. ====Green Line==== [[File:MBTA 3813 at Kent Street, August 2016.JPG|thumb|A few stops from Kenmore]] Most people would consider the '''Green Line''' a trolley, though it does use a subway tunnel in the city center. When running above ground, the Green line serves many neighborhoods by splitting into four branches: B, C, D, and E. Each branch runs trolleys about every 9-15 minutes or so, it can depend on traffic. '''The B, C, and D lines''' converge at Kenmore Station. The '''E branch''' is a little wacky, running on the street through [[Boston/Jamaica_Plain-Mission_Hill|Mission Hill]] and [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore|Longwood]] before joining up with the pack at Copley Station. All trolleys will go to Park Street, but only some continue on to Union Square in Somerville. You'll just have to get off and wait for the next one. Serving [[Boston/Allston-Brighton|Allston/Brighton]], the ironically named B line is the slowest of the bunch. If you're going less than four stops on the B, it's probably faster to walk. The C line follows Beacon Street through [[Brookline]]. The C has to wait for stoplights like the B, but it's faster due to a direct route and fewer stops. The D line cuts a more southerly path through Brookline, ending up in [[Newton]]. With its own dedicated right of way, the D line is a (comparative) rocket ship. Off the radar of most Bostonians, the Mattapan High Speed Line is an extension of the Red line. Departing every 12-15 minutes from Ashmont, it connects Dorchester with [[Boston/Outer_Neighborhoods#Mattapan|Mattapan]] via [[Milton (Massachusetts)|Milton]]. These cute little cars are from the late 1940s, and could almost be considered a tourist attraction in themselves for train aficionados. Unlike other MBTA services, bicycles are not allowed on the Green Line at any time (except when used by passengers with reduced mobility). ====Bus==== While the MBTA classifies '''the Silver Line''' as rapid transit, it is ''clearly'' a bus. Riders pay subway fares to board SL1, SL2, and SL3 branches, while bus fares are charged to board SL4 and SL5 branches. If you have a CharlieCard or contactless card, just tap and go to remove all doubt. The SL4 and SL5 run from Downtown through South End to Nubian Station. The SL2 runs through South Boston, connecting with the SL1 at South Station. The SL1 connects from South Station to Logan Airport, running through its many terminals. The SL3 is a new branch of the Silver Line, running on its own dedicated run of way from Chelsea, with a quick stop at Airport, before continuing to South Station. '''Regular bus service''' is cheaper than the train and usually takes you closer to your final destination, but can take longer and typically run less frequently, unless it's a Key Bus Route. '''Express buses''' are more expensive and travel over longer distances, typically between downtown Boston and Route 128 suburbs during rush hour commutes. The fares for express buses are $1.70 for regular bus and $4.25 for express bus. CharlieCard and contactless users transferring from the subway enjoy free transfers to local buses and $1.85 transfers to express buses. (You will almost certainly be on a regular bus.) ====Commuter rail==== [http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/ Commuter rail] in Boston is primarily used by office workers traveling back and forth to their homes in the suburbs. Twelve rail lines fan out in all directions, and service is most frequent during rush hours. Fares range from $2.40 to $13.25 one way. You can purchase tickets once onboard, but you'll pay an extra $3 for the convenience if there were fare machines at your departure station. The official way to buy tickets is with the [http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/mticketing/ mTicket app] - it's free to download and you don't need an account. The $10 weekend pass cannot be bought at fare machines, but can be bought with the mTicket app, at station ticket windows (or onboard for trips originating from stations without ticket windows). If you prefer to do things the old fashioned way, wait in line to buy tickets at North Station, South Station, or Back Bay Station. Trains heading north of the city leave from North Station, while those heading south or west leave from South Station. Both stations have good connections to the subway. North Station is on the Green and Orange lines, and South Station is on the Red and Silver lines. The two stations are not directly connected, and it can take 15-30 minutes to connect between the two depending how you do it. North Station trains reach tourist favorites like Salem, Gloucester, and Concord. South Station trains connect to Providence, Plymouth, Framingham, Worcester, and occasionally Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. '''Make sure you have your return train picked out!''' Trains become more and more infrequent as the night wears on (2 - 3 hour frequencies between trains are common on most lines evenings and weekends). The last trains to get back into the city leave around 9:00PM-10:00PM, and the last trains departing out from the city around 10:45PM-11:45PM; accommodations can be scarce in the suburban communities. Some lines don't run on weekends. ====Ferry==== [[File:Lightning Ferry Leaving Boston Harbor.jpg|thumb|Can you believe people commute to work like this?]] The MBTA runs a number of [http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/boats/ water shuttles] year round. The most useful for tourists is the '''Inner Harbor Ferry (F4)''' from Long Wharf to Navy Yard for $3.50. This provides a convenient connection between the USS Constitution and the New England Aquarium. There's also a shuttle from Long Wharf to Logan Airport, the F2H, but it runs relatively infrequently. Plan ahead if you want to make good use of it. Commuter ferries also visit Hull and Hingham to the tune of $9.25 a pop. It's a bit further so you pay more. There are also non-MBTA public ferries available from several docks, notably the Aquarium and [http://www.roweswharfwatertransport.com/ Rowes Wharf], as well as a [http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/water-taxi/ water taxi] service. These make scores of stops all along Boston's waterfront. You can just wait for it to show up in the summer, or call 15 minutes ahead if you're on a rigid schedule. It's $12 per ticket, and kids are free. The same company that runs the water taxis also runs '''[http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/harbor-islands/ harbor island ferries]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' out to Georges Island; several other smaller islands are accessible from there. ====The RIDE==== * {{listing | name=The RIDE | alt= | url=http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/accessible_services/default.asp?id=7108 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617 337-2727 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=A paratransit service for those who cannot use the regular transit system due to their disabilities. You will have to book way, ''way'' in advance. Call ideally a week or more before your trip. Make sure you have "certification of ADA paratransit eligibility", or plenty of time to burn on the phone going over your particulars with service staff. Everyone is frustrated with these dilapidated vans, but at least they exist. }} ===By foot=== Wear a comfortable pair of shoes, because you're going to be doing a lot of walking while you're here. There's really no other way to properly investigate the tucked away side streets and historical plaques. Downtown and the Back Bay in particular are compact and easily walkable. To give you an idea, walking the two miles between the State House and Fenway Park should only take about 45 minutes. While here, it's almost impossible not to notice the sheer amount of jaywalking Bostonians do on a daily basis. For historical reasons there may not be a well placed crosswalk, while the streets are narrow and traffic crawls. When you need to cross the road, do what the locals do and just walk out into the street! Use common sense of course, don't walk out from behind a truck or try to cross a multi-lane highway. ===By car=== {{infobox|Who will be first to "Storrow" their truck?|While "Storrowing" can occur year round, it often coincides with ''Allston Christmas'' in September. As tens of thousands of college freshmen arrive for the first time, many are unaware just how low some bridges in Boston can be. You've officially storrowed if you try to drive a 12-foot truck under an 11-foot bridge. The maneuver is named after Storrow Drive, an older thoroughfare featuring razor-thin height clearances. Usually people stop before they hit a bridge, or police will flag drivers down. Regardless, every year plenty of moving trucks are ripped open like a can of sardines. Local radio stations and workplaces sometimes arrange betting pools; often gambling on the first bridge to be hit, time of day accident will occur, and which university the student is attending.}} '''Driving in Boston is strongly discouraged in the dense, tourist-friendly areas of the city.''' Boston drivers are notoriously aggressive and impulsive, and construction is a way of life. The jaywalkers alone will give you a heart attack. But if you insist, here are a few helpful tips. Local drivers frequently run yellow (even red!) lights, so be careful accelerating when your light changes to green. Be prepared to change lanes at any time. Some travel lanes become right turn only lanes, or parking lanes, or simply cease to exist. Drivers double park wherever they please, so prepare to stop at any time. Do not try to squeeze past a bus or cut off a trolley: they are much bigger than you, and you will lose. If you encounter a rotary you should yield; remember the right of way belongs to traffic in the rotary. Don't stop in a rotary! Some streets are two ways, but are only wide enough for one car. Don't panic, just pull into the parking lane while the other guy passes by. '''Garage parking is expensive''', around $12-15/hour and $40-50/day, assuming spaces are available. Garages are found near Quincy Market, the Aquarium, State Street Financial Center, the Theater District and Boston Common. Remember to factor in the 30 minutes or so it will take to get the half a mile from the highway to one of these garages. On-street parking is usually resident only, which requires a special sticker. '''Time limits on parking meters are zealously enforced''' for the precious few spaces that remain. The city is rolling out [http://park.boston.gov/ high tech solutions] and even experimenting with "surge pricing" in some neighborhoods. Many meters are digital kiosks that print a receipt for you to display on your windshield, while a few remain the old school quarter gobblers. As a rule, if you think you are parked illegally, you probably are. Parking fines range from $25-120 depending on the infraction. If you're heading into Boston for a day trip, consider dropping your car at a lot and taking the "T" in. Parking at MBTA locations is cheaper than parking in the city, and you don't have to deal with driving there. These stations do have large parking lots, but on weekdays they'll fill up by 9:30AM. * Alewife ($7/day, $8 overnight), adjacent to Route 2 * Braintree ($7/day, $8 overnight), near I-93 * Riverside($6/day, $7 overnight), near I-90/Route 128 * Quincy Adams ($7/day, $8 overnight), adjacent to I-93 * Wellington ($6/day, $7 overnight), near I-93, adjacent to Route 16 ===By taxi and ride-share=== Although there is no one official livery, taxis in Boston are predominantly white in color (hence called "white cabs" by locals). Including a tip for the driver and any highway tolls you might need to pay, expect to spend at least $15 and possibly up to $40 for an in town ride. '''Cabs are more expensive in Boston''' than you might expect, so be judicious using cabs if money is a concern. For example an $80 taxi fare from the airport to the nearby suburb of [[Wellesley]], would not be unreasonable. '''Uber X and Lyft are both available''' and may be cheaper than taking a white cab, especially for longer trips. Be careful during major events, as "surge pricing" could actually make these options ''more'' expensive than a traditional taxi. Travelers are advised to use public transit or ride-hailing apps, as street parking is scarce and garages can be pricey. ===By bicycle=== [[File:Older_woman_with_flowers_protected_bike_lane_boston.jpg|thumb|Parking-protected bike lane in Cambridge]] Many Boston residents use bicycling as their primary mode of transit all year round. Boston's small size and relative flatness make biking an effective and appealing way to get around. Efforts under the Menino administration increased city investment in bicycling and the bad old days of "worst cycling city in America" are long gone. Cambridge does tend to have more bicycle lanes and racks than Boston, although Boston is catching up. Most bicycle traffic is going to and from Cambridge, so you'll often see the Longfellow and Mass Ave bridges festooned with spandex. Comm Ave is a busy east/west corridor, as students and commuters make their way across Allston and into downtown. Another popular route is the Southwest Corridor Bike Path, running parallel to the Orange line. It connects JP and Roxbury to the Back Bay. This is an excellent means of transit if you intend on visiting some of the city's southern parks. Boston and its neighboring cities run a bike-sharing service, [https://www.bluebikes.com/ Bluebikes]. Similar to many other urban bike-sharing services, riders pick up a bicycle at any station and return it to any station. The system is optimized for commuting and short trips. Single rides are $3 for 30 minutes, and $0.33/minute afterward. A day pass pass grants unlimited 2 hour rides, but fees are $0.33/minute for longer rides in order to keep bike stations full. Bluebikes also has electric bicycles for an additional fee. If you're going to be doing some distance riding, consider renting your own bike for a day or two. * {{listing | name=Bluebikes | alt=formerly Hubway | url=https://www.bluebikes.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=24 hours daily | price=$10/one day, $20/month | content=Bike sharing service offering 3,000 bikes across 300 stations in Boston and 4 nearby municipalities. Journeys longer than 30 minutes (2 hours for the Adventour pass) cost an additional $2.50/30 minutes. Don't forget to bring your helmet; none are offered at the stations! }} * {{listing | name=Cambridge Bicycle | alt= | url=http://cambridgebicycle.com/rentals/ | email= | address=259 Massachusetts Ave | lat= | long= | directions=T: Central | phone=+1 617-876-6555 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=$35/day | content=Renting out Linus Dutchi and Roadster Sport 3-speeds. Set up with flat resistant tubes and tires plus a cute little basket to store whatever you've got. }} * {{listing | name=Urban AdvenTours | url=http://urbanadventours.com | email= | address=103 Atlantic Ave | lat= | long= | directions=T: Aquarium | phone=+1 617-670-0637 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=$40-100/day | content=Provides all types of bike rentals: mountain, road, hybrid, even "e-bikes" with pedal assist. Rentals include helmet and lock. Delivery available. }} ==See== {{seeDistricts}} For some of the best discounts on popular tourist attractions check out [http://www.massvacation.com/50-under-50/ 50 Under 50]. Run by the official Massachusetts Tourism organization, they offer deals on a few of the most popular options in town. Also look into the [http://www.citypass.com/boston Boston CityPASS], which for $56 allows you 9 days to visit up to four famous sights. Alternatively, the [http://www.smartdestinations.com/boston-attractions-and-tours/ GoBoston Card]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} allows more flexibility by offering passes purchased by number of days or attractions visited. Ranging in price anywhere from $39-175, this could be a deal if you're really going to be doing a lot of sightseeing. ===Architecture=== [[File:Outside Boston Public Library.jpg|thumb|The Beaux-Arts facade at The Boston Public Library's McKim wing]] Many [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Architecture|notable buildings]] in town can be found within the Back Bay and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. The facade and gold dome of the '''Massachusetts State House''' are well proportioned; while both the modern and classical halves of the '''Boston Public Library''' are distinguished in their own right. The many [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Churches|churches]] nearby are also extraordinarily picturesque. '''Trinity Church''' spawned a style of architecture all its own, the '''Old South Church''' graces many a postcard, and the grounds of the '''Christian Science Center''' make for a pleasant stroll year-round. Finally no tourist visit is complete without a stop at venerable '''[[Boston/Downtown#Quincy_Market|Quincy Market]]'''. Possibly the best example of modern architecture in the city is '''Boston City Hall'''. While this brutalist structure is mainly notable for how disliked it is, don't give up on evocative modernism just yet. Head over to [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)|Cambridge]] and explore the campuses of Harvard and (especially) '''MIT'''. There, you'll see some fantastic "starchitecture" by the likes of Le Corbusier, Eero Saarinen, and Frank Gehry to name but a few. If you're into it, poke around online to find out when universities have the next tour scheduled. ===Colonial=== A main feature on many itineraries will be touring [[Boston/Downtown#Colonial|colonial era]] Boston. One of the oldest public buildings in the country, the '''Old State House''' is striking and draped in historical significance. '''Faneuil Hall''' is conveniently located and always a favorite, while the '''Old South Meeting House''' was a hotbed of patriot activity in its day. Closer to the waterfront, Boston's [[Boston/North_End#See|North End]] is no slouch either when it comes to historical sites. Visit the '''Old North Church''', where Paul Revere began his famous ride. Then follow that up with a stop at his nearby home, the '''Paul Revere House'''. The '''Longfellow House''' is a National Historic Site in [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Presidential_places|Cambridge]]. It's where Washington had his headquarters in 1776, and what's a good tour of colonial America without George Washington, right? Additional interesting 18th-century sites can by found way off the beaten path in [[Boston/Roxbury#See|Roxbury]]. If you make it out this way, don't miss the '''Shirley-Eustis House''', one of the last remaining royal governors mansions. Once the town center, '''Roxbury Heritage State Park''' holds the Dillaway-Thomas House as well as the First Church of Roxbury. All are fantastic examples of 18th century life in Boston. Many of Boston's suburbs have their own colonial-era historic sites. Of particular note, the town of Lexington is a must for any history buff coming into Boston. It's 20-30 minutes northwest of the city by car, depending on traffic (follow signs for Route 2, or if you have a bike, take the Red Line to the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway). The town is famous for being a stop on Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, which originated in Boston, and ''many'' colonial monuments and historic buildings can be found throughout the town. ===Landmarks=== If you're near the water, you can't help but notice '''Fort Independence''' on [[Boston/South_Boston#See|South Boston]]'s shoreline. If you're a sucker for civil war forts, also check out '''Fort Warren''' on [[Boston Harbor Islands|George's Island]]. Ostensibly commissioned to provide for the defense of the city, in reality these forts were outdated by the time they were built. Also on the harbor, [[Boston/Charlestown#See|Charlestown]] has the '''Bunker Hill Monument''' which can be seen for miles around. Don't forget the iconic '''U.S.S. Constitution''', oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. Save your American Theseus conjectures for the classroom, professor! ===Museums=== [[File:J_S_Copley_-_Watson_and_the_Shark_(Boston).jpg|thumb|''Watson and the Shark'' (1778) by John Singleton Copley]] Boston has some fantastic museums covering a wide variety of topics and interests. The '''Museum of Fine Arts''' in the [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#See|Fenway]] is the city's premiere, offering a great range of artifacts in a more traditional museum format. Highlights include works by popular French impressionists, ancient Egyptian artifacts, and a comprehensive collection of early American art. The nearby '''Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum''', by contrast, is an imaginative and eclectic space, an Italian palazzo in America featuring art curated by Isabella's discerning eye. For modern art instead, visit the '''Institute of Contemporary Art''' in [[Boston/South_Boston#See|South Boston]]. The exhibitions here have featured artists like Anish Kapoor, Tara Donovan and Shepard Fairey. They also feature lesser known artists working with glass, textiles, or sound. If you doubt that will hold the attention of your children, take them to the '''Boston Children's Museum'''. Very interactive and engaging, look for the oversize milk bottle out front. If the "kids" are a little older, try the '''Museum of Science''' in the [[Boston/North_End#Museums|West End]]. They have an ''enormous'' Van de Graaff generator (the world's largest!), and some exhibits were designed by Charles and Ray Eames. Right in the thick of it all [[Boston/Downtown#See|downtown]], you'll find the '''New England Aquarium'''. Walk around the giant cylinder simulating a coral reef, or just chill and watch the penguins doing their thing. While small, the '''Museum of African American History''' in [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Museums|Beacon Hill]] tells a big story about an often overlooked narrative in Boston's history. Finally, if you're into modern history, do not miss the '''JFK Presidential Library and Museum''' in [[Boston/Dorchester#See|Dorchester]]. In [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#See|Cambridge]], Harvard University holds ''very'' impressive collections at the '''Harvard Museum of Natural History''' and the '''Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology'''. The "glass flowers" exhibit alone has been on tourists to-do lists for over a hundred years. For strictly visual arts, explore '''The Fogg''' and '''The Sackler''', among other museums scattered around campus. Don't forget the engaging '''MIT Museum'''! It's got a variety of great interactive exhibits and is well worth your time. ===Parks=== [[File:Boston Common in the fall 04.jpg|thumb|The Common is beautiful in the fall]] Like many other major American cities, Boston has a series of [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Parks|parks]] designed by none other than Frederick Law Olmsted. Called The '''Emerald Necklace''', these parks comprise almost half the green space in town. The oldest and most loved of these parks is '''Boston Common'''. In the center of it all, this park is always in use. Right next door you'll find the '''Public Garden'''. Although smaller, its many plantings and formal design give this park a more genteel feeling. Coming right up to the waters edge, the gorgeous '''Charles River Esplanade''' makes relaxing easy and provides a fantastic escape from city life. If you're [[Boston/Downtown#Parks|downtown]], it's almost impossible to miss the '''Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway'''. This wonderful green ribbon replaced a noxious and congested expressway with art, food, and life. Its construction restored connections to neighborhoods that for decades were cut off from the rest of the city. Further afield, the '''Arnold Arboretum''' in [[Boston/Jamaica_Plain-Mission_Hill#See|Jamaica Plain]] is officially all about the science. Although that would come as news to the crowds soaking in the grandeur of this immaculately landscaped park. No picnics please, this is serious fun. Keep exploring in [[Boston/Roxbury#See|Roxbury]] and pay a visit to '''Franklin Park''', the biggest link in Olmsted's Emerald Necklace. Despite needing some maintenance, Franklin Park has miles of great hiking and biking trails. Not to mention a zoo and an 18-hole municipal golf course. White Stadium, located in the park, is used mainly for high school sports, but is being renovated to serve as the home of Boston's future team in the National Women's Soccer League. There are also a great many parks in [[Boston/East_Boston#See|East Boston]]. Being across the harbor, these parks and beaches are much less visited than the others in town. If you go, take the opportunity to mingle with locals as you watch the jets coming in for a landing at Logan airport. ===Itineraries=== * [[Freedom_Trail|The Freedom Trail]] — A major tourist draw of significant historical sites in Boston. These 17 locations spread over {{mi|2.5}} are crucial to understanding revolutionary era America. * [[Black Heritage Trail]] — This less touristed trail covers ten sites important in American black history scattered throughout Beacon Hill. ==Do== {{seeDistricts}} For up to date listings have a look at [http://www.thebostoncalendar.com/ The Boston Calendar], a filterable list of almost everything going on in town. Also check out the city of Boston's [https://www.boston.gov/events event page]. It's a mix of things that appeal to residents as well as visitors. ===Music=== [[File:HAIM and Vince Staples at Boston Calling Day Three.jpg|thumb|HAIM perform during day three of Boston Calling 2016]] If you're a lover of music, you'll find yourself right at home in Boston. With an array of venues, there is bound to be someone playing in town that will suit your tastes. The large student population helps to draw a wide variety of acts year round. For mega stars and headline performers, check out '''TD Garden''' or '''Fenway Park'''. Yeah these are normally sports arenas; but they'll also hold musical events for the right artists (think Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi or Lady Gaga). Another enormous musical attraction is '''[http://www.bostoncalling.com/ Boston Calling]''', a multi-day festival put on at the end of May. Crowd into Harvard Stadium with 20,000 friends to see whichever established and up and coming artists the kids are into these days. '''When it comes to smaller venues, [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Music_venues|Allston-Brighton]]''' is the place to be. There's a variety of options, but if you're looking for the next indie sensation or band that's just starting to blow up, try either the '''Paradise Rock Club, Brighton Music Hall''' or '''Great Scott'''. Each place commonly selects good artists, but tickets can sell out almost instantly when bigger names come to play. There are many more great music spots across the Charles in [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Do|Cambridge]]. Check out the '''Middle East''' (upstairs or down) for a variety of national acts. The '''Phoenix Landing''' is a soccer forward restaurant, until nighttime when it transforms itself into a dance club. For a full on nightclub experience try the nearby '''Middlesex Lounge''' or head to '''The Plough & Stars''' instead for a solid bar with live rock acts. For a week in May, '''[http://togetherboston.com/ Together Boston] {{dead link|December 2020}}''' is an electronic festival where performances incorporate elements of art and technology. Head downtown to find the best '''[[Boston/Downtown#Clubs|nightclubs]]''' the city has to offer. Many of them are packed around Faneuil Hall (like the '''Hong Kong''') or found down Boylston Place, a tiny gated alley off Boylston Street. Hosting music less often than you might think, the '''House of Blues''' on [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#Do| Lansdowne Street]] usually books very talented acts whose popularity isn't as "red hot" as it once was. For tiny venues that offer unique experiences, your best bet will be '''Wally's Cafe''' in the [[Boston/South_End#Drink|South End]]. This Jazz club was once one of dozens in the area, and is the last one remaining today. Still family owned and operated, you're likely to see gifted and passionate Berklee students gracing the stage. Shamble down the road to the '''Berklee Performance Center''', another great spot for the adventurous traveller to hear accomplished yet unknown musicians. Intrepid explorers of melody could also check out the '''Midway Café''' in [[Boston/Jamaica_Plain-Mission_Hill#Drink|Jamaica Plain]]. You never know what you're going to find, but there is often a Queer or Punk edge to the sound here. During the summertime, head into the neighborhoods and wander around a '''Porchfest''' or two. Homeowners allow their porches to become impromptu performance spaces for local and offbeat bands. Neighbors and visitors alike wander through city streets stopping at whatever piques their interest. [http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/porchfest The original] in [[Somerville#Do|Somerville]] featuring hundreds of performers is the best, but [http://www.jpporchfest.org/ JP] has a good one too and [[Boston/Outer_Neighborhoods#Do|Roslindale]] is also a contender. ===Performing arts=== [[File:2011 BostonOperaHouse Massachusetts 6244579324.jpg|thumb|Part of the Theatre District on Washington Street]] Head to the '''[[Boston/Downtown#Theatres|Theater District]]''' to find unusual cultural and entertainment programs to attend all year-round. The center of Boston's theatre scene can be found among the dozens of 19th-century buildings scattered between Washington and Tremont streets. Even if the theatre isn't for you, just taking a stroll around this historic district can be a performance in itself. If you are buying tickets; however, look into performances happening at the Emerson owned '''Cutler Majestic Theatre''' or Paramount Theatre. Many great performers have graced the stage of the '''Wang Theatre''' over the years, another historic building with landmark status. Using ornate Symphony Hall as their base, the world-renowned '''[[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#Do|Boston Symphony Orchestra]]''' performs notable classical music during the fall, winter and spring. During summertime, they morph into the '''Boston Pops Orchestra''' to perform programs of light classical and popular music, consistently pleasing audiences. The first professional ballet company in New England, the '''Boston Ballet''' performs exclusively at the '''Boston Opera House'''. Their performance of ''The Nutcracker'' is particularly popular, running annually since the late 1960s. '''The New England Conservatory''' is a world-famous music school right around the corner from Symphony Hall. It's well-known among musicians, but often overlooked by everyone else. The performances, recitals, and chamber group concerts found here are usually free and unticketed. Don't miss the '''[[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Do|Berklee Performance Center]]''', yet another great spot in town to see talented performers (usually) on the cheap. At the end of July a number of family friendly performers come to Copley Square to put on the '''Boston Summer Arts Weekend'''. It's supported by WGBH&mdash;the local Public Broadcasting Station&mdash;and the Boston Globe. '''[http://otbboston.com/ Outside The Box] {{dead link|December 2020}}''' is another huge performing arts festival taking place on the Common in mid-July. It's pretty corporate, but there are still a few fun, free things to do for the whole family. ===Social dance=== [[File:BIDA Contra Dance 2022-02-20.webm|thumb|The BIDA contra dance]] The Boston area has a very active [[Social dancing|social dance]] scene (see [http://www.havetodance.com/places.html havetodance.com]), although much of it is centered in Cambridge or in the suburbs. Travelers without prior experience may find the contra dances, such as the [https://www.bidadance.org BIDA series] on 1st and 3rd Sundays, particularly welcoming due to its ease of learning. ===Sports=== [[File:Fenway Park night game.JPG|thumb|Fenway isn't cheap, but it's hard to have a bad time here]] Boston is a sports town, and its teams are as dearly loved by New Englanders as much as they are ''loathed'' by the rest of the country. Winning (or at least competing) in almost every championship game since 2002 will have that effect on people. Seeing almost any game here could be a trip highlight, you'll be crammed in with thousands of the most passionate sports fans in the country. Tickets will be hard to come by, however, so do your research and plan ahead. One of the most prolific victors (and most likely to irritate [[American_football|football]] fans outside New England) are the '''[http://www.patriots.com/ New England Patriots]'''. They play during wintertime at Gillette Stadium, southwest of the city in [[Foxborough]]. For a surefire argument starter, simply mention ''anything'' (positive or negative) about ex-quarterback Tom Brady or the "deflategate" scandal to any jersey-wearing native. Bringing up brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, the New York Giants, and Nick Foles-era Philadelphia Eagles will elicit a similar reaction. Eli's Giants have denied the Pats two rings in hotly-contested Super Bowls, whereas Foles' Eagles managed to stage one of the biggest upsets in sport history by beating the heavily favored Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Meanwhile, Peyton holds "best quarterback" status in the eyes of many football fans. Make sure you have a full drink before you broach these subjects, as you're going to get an earful. Also calling Gillette Stadium home is the '''[http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/ New England Revolution]''', the region's soccer team. While not as popular as football, soccer fans are always very passionate as well. Both teams are owned by Robert Kraft, another lightning rod for passionate debate due to his controversial politics and personality. In women's sports, the city will get a team in the National Women's Soccer League, the most established of the US' two top-level leagues in that sport, in 2026. '''BOS Nation FC''' will play at White Stadium in Franklin Park. The region also has a team in the Professional Women's Hockey League, the top level of women's hockey in North America. While the team is known as the '''Boston Fleet''', it plays its home games in [[Lowell (Massachusetts)|Lowell]]. Two of Boston's oldest teams play at TD Garden, called "Boston Garden" or just "The Garden" by everyone who doesn't own a bank. As one of the original NBA teams, the '''[http://www.nba.com/celtics Boston Celtics]''' (pronounced ''SEL-tiks'') have been shooting hoops since 1946. They've got a great rivalry going with the L.A. Lakers, which hit its zenith during the 1980s when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would duke it out on the parquet. Also during the winter months, the '''[https://www.nhl.com/bruins Boston Bruins]''' are in the [[Boston/North_End#Do|West End]] and call the Garden home. The Bruins have been playing [[Ice_hockey_in_North_America|hockey]] since 1924, and are the oldest NHL team in the US. They, too, have a great rivalry, this time with the Montreal Canadiens to the north. The "Habs", as they're affectionately known, have shut down the Bruins during the Stanley Cup playoffs several times over the decades, something which Boston fans just can't forgive. Last but certainly not least, the '''[http://boston.redsox.mlb.com Boston Red Sox]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' are perhaps the team most closely linked with Boston's identity. The iconic Red Sox "B" logo can be seen gracing ball caps everywhere you look. For 86 years the Sox would start each season strong, only to see hopes of victory dashed by one unfortunate event or another. A bad play, a blown call, and the "there's always next year" mentality would kick back in. That all changed in 2004 when the drought was broken and the city rejoiced. The Red Sox have called [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#Fenway_Park|Fenway Park]] home for over a hundred years, and "the Cathedral of Baseball" is well worth a visit even for the [[Baseball_in_the_United_States|baseball]] averse. Jump at the opportunity if you can score tickets. It can be all but impossible to get into the park during a Red Sox-Yankees game. This is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport, strongly consider leaving your NY paraphernalia at home on game day. College athletics isn't a thing in Boston the way it can be in other regions of the country, but there are still some good Division I games to be found. Specifically, fans of college hockey shouldn't miss the '''[http://www.beanpothockey.com Beanpot]{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. This tournament is held during the first two Mondays of February and features teams from the four schools listed below. * '''[http://www.bceagles.com Boston College Eagles]''': The teams representing Boston College compete mainly in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), one of the so-called "Power Four" conferences in college sports. The ice hockey teams for men and women compete in Hockey East. The football team plays in the 45,000-seat Alumni Stadium in [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Do|Chestnut Hill]]. The basketball and hockey teams play in the adjacent Conte Forum, known for hockey games as Kelley Rink. * '''[http://www.goterriers.com/ Boston University Terriers]''': Play mainly in the Patriot League, with both hockey teams playing in Hockey East, and hasn't had a football team for more than 20 years. The venues for the highest-profile sports are on campus in [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Do|Allston]]. The men's hockey team plays at Agganis Arena; the women's hockey team at Walter Brown Arena; the basketball teams mainly at Case Gym (although the men's team will sometimes use one of the other two arenas); and teams in several outdoor sports play at Nickerson Field. The last of these venues is on the former site of Braves Field, where the Boston Braves played baseball before they moved to Milwaukee and later Atlanta. The original entry gate and right field stands remain in use, and the former ticket office now houses a BU campus police station. The left field stand is now the site of BU's West Campus freshman dorms. * '''[http://gocrimson.com/ Harvard Crimson]''': The Crimson have played football at Harvard Stadium (in [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Do|Allston]] as well) since 1903. This stadium and the nearby Jordan Field served as homes to the Boston Breakers, a women's professional soccer team, before the team folded after its 2017 season. Unlike the other schools listed here, the Crimson hockey teams play in ECAC Hockey instead of Hockey East, with home games at Bright–Landry Hockey Center. * '''[http://gonu.com/ Northeastern Huskies]''': Northeastern, like BU, doesn't have a football team; it plays mostly in the Coastal Athletic Association, with the hockey teams in Hockey East. The Northeastern hockey teams play in Matthews Arena, which is the oldest standing hockey arena in the world. Built in 1910 as Boston Arena, Matthews Arena was the original home of the Celtics and Bruins. Tours in Boston are big business. Name any conveyance, and you're likely to find a tour built around it. The widest selection of tours depart from [[Boston/Downtown#Tours|downtown]], near the Aquarium. The fact that '''Duck Tours''' navigate the city by land and sea probably put them on top, but their competitors are no slouches either. A variety of companies offer '''harbor cruises''', a pleasant and relaxing way to see the city. If you opt for a '''whale watch''', go with the one affiliated with the Aquarium. You can always visit choice historical sights by bicycle, foot, skateboard or Segway; although it's much more fun when the weather is nice. Don't forget some of the more popular tour companies also offer departures from the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Do|Back Bay]]. ===Events=== [[File:Party goers and dancers at Back Bay Block Party.jpg|thumb|Party goers and dancers at Back Bay Block Party during Boston Pride]] * {{event | name=First Night | alt= | url=https://www.firstnightboston.org/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | year=annual | month=December | date=31 | endmonth=January | enddate=1 | hours= | price= | content=Boston's New Year's Eve celebration is the oldest public New Year's Eve party in America, and has been copied by cities around the world. It's a city-wide, family-friendly arts and culture festival which starts in the late morning with child-centric events and continues with dozens of music, dance, poetry and other exhibitions through midnight, culminating in fireworks on the waterfront. Dress appropriately! }} * {{event | name=Evacuation Day | alt=St. Patrick's Day | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | year=annual | month=March | date=17 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-11 | content=What the rest of America calls St. Patrick's Day, Boston calls Evacuation Day; a local holiday marking the expulsion of occupying British forces from the city. Remember to wear green, drink a beer, and wear something that says "Kiss Me I'm Irish!". Join the celebration at the huge parade held in [[Boston/South_Boston|Southie]] the closest Sunday. }} * {{event | name=Patriot's Day | alt=The Boston Marathon | url=http://www.bostonmarathon.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | yymmdd= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-10-18 | content=The third Monday in April, or "Marathon Monday" as locals call it, is the oldest marathon in the world. The race started in 1897 and is run on the holiday commemorating Paul Revere's famous ride in 1775. Running from [[Hopkinton (Massachusetts)|Hopkinton]] 26.2 miles to the finish line in Copley Square, the race draws crowds of over half a million spectators. Huge parts of the city are closed for the race, so don't plan on moving around too much. The Red Sox also play a home game on Patriot's Day; ensuring every bar, pub, and watering hole is filled to capacity by noon. }} * {{event | name=Boston Pride Parade | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | yymmdd= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-10-18 | content=The second largest event in the city after the Fourth of July. Boston's LBGT community&mdash;and everyone else&mdash;comes out for a fabulous parade from Copley Square, through the South End, to Boston Common. Many other social events are scheduled around this weekend. The Boston Pride organization dissolved itself in 2021, so the event's future is uncertain. }} * {{event | name=Harborfest | alt= | url=http://www.bostonharborfest.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | yymmdd= | endyymmdd= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-10-18 | content=A family-friendly oceanfront festival during the runup to Independence Day (July 4). Check out presentations on musket technology, 18th-century chocolate making, or even argue the Stamp Act! OK, but there are pub crawls too and it's cooler than it sounds. Several specialized historical, architectural, wildlife and sightseeing tours also available by land and sea. }} * {{event | name=Independence Day | alt= | url=http://bostonpopsjuly4th.org/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | year=annual | month=July | date=4 | hours= | price= | content=A host of events occur throughout the day culminating in fireworks and a Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade. Many roads close and trains are packed to bursting, as close to a million spectators try to squeeze along the banks of the Charles River. For a "Boston" take on this national holiday, head over to the Old State House during the day. Here you can listen as the Declaration of Independence is read in its entirety from the main balcony, just as it has been every year since 1776. }} * {{event | name=St. Anthony's Feast | alt= | url=http://www.stanthonysfeast.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | yymmdd= | endyymmdd= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-10-18 | content=A religious festival taking place in the Italian [[Boston/North_End|North End]] neighborhood on the last Sunday of August. Patron Saint of the poor, St Anthony is also known as the "Saint of Miracles" and the finder of lost articles. This feast includes plenty of food, games, music, and of course a parade down Hanover Street. }} * {{event | name=Allston Christmas | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | year=annual | month=August | date=31 | endmonth=September | enddate=1 | hours= | price= | content=This ''very'' unofficial holiday commemorates the annual "changing of the leases", as students across the city switch apartments. Picture tens of thousands of young people simultaneously renting moving trucks, and carting everything they own a half mile down the road. Whatever didn't fit in the truck goes on the street. Check out the curbs in densely populated student neighborhoods to find everything from furniture and kitchenware, to clothing or even food! The city's DPW works all day and night to keep up with the chaos. }} * {{event | name=Head of the Charles Regatta | alt= | url=http://www.hocr.org/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | yymmdd= | endyymmdd= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-10-18 | content=Mid-October. Thousands of rowers come together from around the globe for two days of competition in one of the world's largest regattas. Get there before 8AM to see the first sculls run. The course is on the Charles River between [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)|Cambridge]] and Allston, it can take about an hour to walk the three-mile course. Take the T to Harvard, Central, or any Boston University stop. }} ==Learn== [[File:USA-Harvard University.jpg|thumb|Truth]] Thinking of going to school in Boston? Join the club. Boston has an estimated '''250,000 college students''', and dozens of colleges call the Greater Boston area home. Learning is ingrained in Boston's culture, and overhearing conversations about the Planck constant or Context theory while grabbing your morning coffee is not uncommon. Undoubtedly the most prestigious is '''[http://www.harvard.edu/ Harvard University]''' in Cambridge, where eight US presidents were educated. Two miles away, the '''[http://web.mit.edu/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology]''' ('''MIT''') is another one of the world's most prestigious universities. Not only do these two schools hold billions of dollars in endowments; they also churn out Nobel laureates, Rhodes Scholars, new companies, and patents by the wagonload. These are some of the most selective schools on earth, so if you're applying here, good luck. If Harvard or MIT is not for you, or you didn't get in, don't worry. Boston is home to many other top-notch universities, which include but are not limited to the following: * '''[http://www.bu.edu/ Boston University]''' ('''BU''') is 65,000 strong and sprawls across a one-and-a-half-mile-long urban campus throughout [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore|Fenway]] and [[Boston/Allston-Brighton|Allston]]. BU was attended by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who earned his PhD here in 1955. BU is best known for its urban nature, and is great for those who are willing to adjust to life in the city. BU also guarantees housing for every student, regardless of year. The dorms at BU range from smaller brownstones to larger high-rise buildings. * '''[http://www.bc.edu/ Boston College]''' ('''BC''') is a highly-regarded private Jesuit Catholic research university. Despite having a similar name, Boston College has no relations to Boston University, and is actually located in Chestnut Hill. Unlike BU, Boston College is smaller and has a more traditional college atmosphere. Boston College is perhaps known for its unrivaled on-campus scenery. * '''[http://www.northeastern.edu/ Northeastern University]''' is another highly respected private research university, with a student population of around 40,000. Admissions is selective, but this is mainly because of the sheer number of applicants. Northeastern is in Fenway, due south of Boston University. Northeastern is best known for its co-op program, which means students spend at least one semester as an intern, getting job experience right away. While it is not strictly required, most Northeastern students participate in at least one co-op anyway. * '''[http://www.tufts.edu/ Tufts University]''' is another great option for those who desire a more closely-knit college environment. With a student population of around 14,000, Tufts is just north of the city in [[Medford (Massachusetts)|Medford]]. * '''[http://www.simmons.edu/ Simmons University]''' is located near BU’s campus in Fenway, and is right next to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This university focuses almost entirely on women and offers a wide range of liberal arts degrees. * The '''[http://www.wit.edu/ Wentworth Institute of Technology]''' focuses on technical engineering and design. It is between the Simmons and Northeastern campuses in Fenway. * '''[http://www.brandeis.edu/ Brandeis University]''' is another selective private college, west of the city in [[Waltham]]. It is known for its small class sizes and Jewish roots. * '''[http://www.emerson.edu/ Emerson College]''' is a school dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts. It even has a great radio station to boot. * The '''[http://www.berklee.edu/ Berklee College of Music]''' is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. It's often confused with the completely unrelated University of California, Berkeley. * The [http://www.massart.edu/ '''Massachusetts College of Art and Design'''] ('''MassArt''') is the only publicly funded art school in the United States. It is one of the oldest universities dedicated to the fine arts. [[File:Boston college town map.png|thumb|A map of Boston colleges]] Remember, the above is just an overview. If you're interested in pursuing higher education in the Boston area, keep digging to uncover plenty more offerings in Art, Architecture, Language, Law, Medicine, Music, Research, and Science. Don't forget about more affordable places like '''[http://www.umb.edu/ UMass Boston]''', or one of the many community colleges in town. The density of educational opportunities here work in your favor to provide big educations on small budgets. ==Work== {{infobox|The Great Boston Molasses Flood|[[File:GreatMolassesFlood 1919-Wreckage under the elevated tracks.jpg|noframe|center|360px]]"Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage"... Here and there struggled a form‍—‌whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was.... Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Human beings‍—‌men and women‍—‌suffered likewise." ''&mdash;The Boston Post'' In one of Boston's oddest disasters, the [[Boston/North_End|North End]] was once inundated by millions of pounds of gooey brown molasses. Although you may think of the stuff as just another baking ingredient, back in the day molasses had a variety of uses, including being refined into alcohol. Booze was big business, and many enormous molasses tanks stood lining Boston's harbors and wharves. Just after noon on January 15, 1919, a massive storage tank holding over two million gallons of molasses exploded. How? A front of Caribbean air blew in, rapidly warming up frigid overnight temperatures. As the molasses started to expand, a shoddily constructed storage tank began to buckle. Rivets holding the plates of steel together shot out, sounding like machine gun fire to those unfortunates within earshot. A tidal wave of molasses 25 feet high thundered out in all directions, moving at speeds up to 35 mph. Buildings were washed off their foundations, and steel girders holding up elevated trains were badly damaged. The flood would ultimately take 21 lives and injure 150 more. Some people claim that during humid summer days you can still smell a faint waft of molasses every so often. It certainly makes for a good story; however, a century of construction and weather has surely eliminated all traces of the sticky stuff by now. Look for a small plaque commemorating the disaster in Langone Park, next to the bocce courts. }} Boston&mdash;along with New England in general&mdash;transitioned away from a manufacturing based economy to service based a long time ago. Many jobs in Boston require advanced degrees and years of specialized training. ''Those trying to join the workforce here will find themselves facing stiff competition for high-paying jobs.'' Many applicants for senior level positions will hold advanced degrees; you may find a masters degree, MBA, or even a PhD might be necessary for you to stand out. Even if you don't hold these qualifications, don't lose hope. Degrees are ''not'' universally required, and you'll find many professors and executives hiring a large support staff to assist them. Construction is also a booming business, but you'll have to somehow worm your way into a union to avail yourself of those jobs. Higher education is unsurprisingly a major employer here, with healthcare being another of the biggest industries. See the [[Boston#Learn|learn]] section for universities that are always hiring, or look at '''Longwood Medical Area''' in the Fenway, where many of the most distinguished hospitals are found. Longwood in particular employs tens of thousands of people at dozens of hospitals including: Beth Israel Deaconess, Brigham and Women's, Dana-Farber, Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. Don't forget about Mass General Hospital in the West End, often ranked as the best in the country. Often spinning out of academia; startups, high tech and bio-tech have been big business in Boston for decades. There is a huge amount of venture capital here, the most outside the Bay Area. Companies like Formlabs, Runkeeper, and Hopper are but a few of the hundreds of startups active in the city. The highest concentration of '''incubators can be found within the Seaport Innovation District and Cambridge's Kendall Square'''. Established companies like Boston Dynamics, the Broad Institute, and Akamai are a few examples of successful "startups" from years past. Biotech companies today are concentrated in Cambridge and in the suburbs along Route 128. Multinational companies are becoming increasingly prominent in the city. '''Gillette''' (or Procter & Gamble) has been here for years, and in 2016 they welcomed their new neighbor '''General Electric'''. Financial services like '''Bain Capital''', Liberty Mutual, Fidelity, and several hedge fund firms are downtown. For unknown reasons, sneaker companies seem to love Boston. '''Converse''', New Balance, and Reebok all have headquarters within city limits. It's also likely your favorite Fortune 500 corporation has at least an outpost in Boston. ==Buy== {{seeDistricts}} If it exists in New England (and you can buy it), it exists in Boston. Sure, you can find the multinational staples you've come to expect across America, but many areas work to maintain an independent spirit that endures. Increasing real estate prices have put pressure on owners to "sell out", yet plenty of entrepreneurs have found a way to make their business work. One of the first locations folks might visit is '''[[Boston/Downtown#Quincy_Market|Quincy Market]]''' downtown. The shops here are pretty clearly oriented towards the tour bus crowd. It's not all snow globes, shot glasses, and post cards; however, there are a few novel trinkets here too. And don't forget about Boston Public Market in your quest either, it's just a block or so north. Alternatively, head over to '''[[Boston/Downtown#Buy|Downtown Crossing]]''', where many locals go for fast fashion and other affordable items. Perhaps the most visited shopping location is '''[[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Newbury_Street|Newbury Street]]''' in the Back Bay. A dense avenue colored by historic brownstones, the shops and restaurants here are some of the finest in town. If price tags seem to contain a few zeros too many, it could be because you're near the Public Garden. Try walking west. You'll see your sticker shock gradually decrease the further you go. While you're over here, don't miss '''Boylston Street''' a few steps to the south. Many shops are proud to call this street home, and two gigantic high end '''[[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Malls|shopping malls]]''' can be accessed from Boylston as well. One of the more quaint shopping neighborhoods in Boston, '''[[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Charles_Street|Charles Street]]''' in Beacon Hill begins just north of the Common. The mix of storefronts here lends itself equally well to window shopping, as it does to picking up life's essentials. Multiple options for meals or just coffee, make this a pleasant and scenic stroll. If you are in town on a weekend, head over to the '''[[Boston/South_End#Buy|SoWa Open Market]]''' in the South End. This is a great chance to pick up some one of a kind handmade goods and take in some local color. If you're shopping in [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Buy|Cambridge]], make '''Harvard Square''' your first stop. Yeah, it's a little more corporate than you want it to be, but it's ''Harvard'', and there are more than a few interesting shops remaining. If you find yourself in [[Brookline]], head for '''Coolidge Corner'''. This area has the densest concentration of shops, restaurants, and entertainment in Brookline. ==Eat== {{seeDistricts}} While the first thing on most visitors minds is the excellent seafood, Boston does have other high quality options. Many travellers find sitting down to a fine Italian meal in the charming [[Boston/North_End#Eat|North End]] neighborhood an unforgettable experience, while others may prefer to explore classic dining options littered throughout the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Eat|Back Bay]] and [[Boston/South_End#Eat|South End]]. For an evening easier on the wallet, check out the wide variety of Asian restaurants found in either [[Boston/Downtown#Chinatown_2|Chinatown]] or [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Eat|Allston]]. And if you're accustomed to taking meals late, make sure you account for the fact that many restaurants here can close by 10 or 11PM. Smoking is not permitted in any restaurant or bar in the metro Boston area. Examples of fine Boston cuisine often pull double duty as well known [[New_England#Eat|New England dishes]]. These are often thought of as traditional Thanksgiving foods, which makes sense considering the origins of the holiday. While the varieties of these foods served in the city may be more "elevated", examples found in the countryside are no less flavorful. Also, Boston baked beans are not really a thing anymore. If you are dead set on trying them, however, inspect the menus at some of the more touristy restaurants downtown. ===Seafood=== [[File:Lobster_Roll_(Sandwich)_@_Beal%27s_Lobster_Pier.jpg|thumb|The perfect summertime snack?]] *'''Atlantic Codfish''': This foodstuff, prized by early colonists, is closely associated with dining in Boston. Cherished for its flavor, ability to be salted, and marketable value; the cod was overfished and stocks collapsed during the 1990s. Today you may be offered '''scrod''' instead, which could be haddock or some other white fleshed fish. They all honestly taste about the same (as long as they're fresh!), and by choosing to eat this "trash fish" you're helping to give this vulnerable animal time to recover. *'''Clam Chowder''': Kind of like the New England version of ''pho'' in that every bowl is similar, yet each shop strives to put its own little spin on this traditional dish. No matter where you get it, you'll certainly find clams swimming in a thick creme broth, diced potatoes, onions, and celery. You might also see colorful garnishes, different kinds of crackers, or even whole clams in your bowl. You can be confident you're getting the best as long as ''tomatoes are never added'', as they blasphemously do in a certain large city to the south. *'''Fried Clams''': Another iconic regional dish, here the clams have been removed from their shells, dipped in batter and deep fried. Not particularly healthy, but always quite delicious. These are pretty ubiquitous as well, but they're purported to taste best when eaten outdoors at a picnic table of questionable cleanliness. See if you can hold out until you find one. *'''Lobster Roll''': Ah, the eternal argument of who has the best lobster roll. A very popular way of eating lobster, because all the work is done for you. Preferred examples will have diced lobster meat soaked in butter, and are just kissed with mayonnaise and various seasonings. They must also be served on a toasted New England style bun, split along the top, not the side. Lobster rolls are usually served cold, so don't be surprised by that. If you see a roll piled with toppings and dripping with mayo, it's likely an inferior product. *'''Oysters''': Bostonians love their oysters, and they're often offered after work for cheap, especially during happy hours. These bivalves can have different flavors and textures depending on the specific bay or inlet they're from. Oysters from Duxbury and Wellfleet are often the first on the list to run out. Garnishes tend to be a variety of choices, but cocktail sauce and lemons are always present. You'll usually see a few additional toppings, often with a spicier edge. *'''Steamers''': These are clams that have been steamed, unsurprisingly, in their own shells. Diners then scoop the meat out with a small fork and dip it briefly in butter before sucking them down. They'll also come with an array of other garnishes depending on where you find them. ===Desserts=== [[File:Boston cream pie with chocolate drizzle.jpg|thumb|Spotted on Newbury Street]] *'''Boston Cream Pie''': A true Boston original, and the official dessert of Massachusetts. Invented at the [[Boston/Downtown#Splurge|Parker House]] Hotel in 1856, you can still order a slice of this custard-filled yellow cake (not pie!) here today. If fine dining is a little rich for your tastes, try a version made by one of the nicer doughnut shops in town. It's the same idea. You could also go for the ubiquitous Dunkin' Donuts version, if you really don't want to expend any effort whatsoever. *'''Fluff''': This confection is basically marshmallows liquified into a spreadable paste. Artificial and sickly sweet, it's often combined with peanut butter to make a "Fluffernutter" sandwich that is enjoyed by children of all ages throughout New England. So beloved is this sweet treat, that Somerville&mdash;birthplace of Fluff&mdash;dedicates an entire weekend festival to celebrating the stuff in late September. Grab a jar in any grocery store, or just keep a sharp eye on your menus. [[Boston/South_End#Splurge|The Gallows]] in the South End uses it in their crème brulée for example. *'''Ice Cream''': New Englanders are some of the most prolific consumers of ice cream anywhere on earth, and Boston plays no small role in boosting those statistics. Not just a summertime treat, you'll see folks gobbling down artisanal varieties from across the region even in cold winter months. A few of the more notable local dairy slingers are: J.P. Licks, Emack and Bolio's, Toscanini's (Cambridge), The Ice Cream Smith, Picco, Ron's Gourmet Ice Cream... and that's just to start. There are scores more locations around Boston, with some also offering custard or gelato options. ===Drinks=== *'''Frappe''': A milkshake in New England is mostly milk, and not the drinkable ice cream you're looking for. Here that's still called a frappe, pushing back against a globalistic trend toward convergence. They're delicious whether you pronounce it "frap" or "frap-PAY", or even&mdash;ugh&mdash;milkshake. Some of the best are made at [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Budget|Lizzie's]] in Harvard Square, or try one of several UBurger locations. Many of the ice cream shops in town may make a good frappe as well. *'''New England IPA''': Is this truly its own distinct style of beer, or not? The jury is still out on that one. If you can get a hold of this popular elixir, however, note its unpasteurized, cloudy and hazy appearance. You'll find traditional IPA bitterness muted in NEIPAs, as brewers work to bring out the smoother floral and fruity characteristics of the hops. [[Boston/South_Boston#Buy|Trillium]] is your best bet in the city to find it, but get in line early. *'''Raspberry Lime Rickey''': Traditionally made with raspberry syrup, club soda and fresh limes. Some modern versions will use sickly sweet Sprite and cheap artificial lime flavor instead, accept no substitutes! For a quality RLR try Bartley's Gourmet Burgers in Harvard Square, [[Boston/South_Boston#Budget|Sullavan's]] in Southie, or one of the various Tasty Burger locations around town. In general if you find yourself in a place that serves burgers and isn't overly fancy, they may serve one even if it's not on the menu. ===Food trucks=== [[File:Dewey Food Trucks.jpg|thumb|Downtown blue shirts just can't say no to good food on the go]] Some of the best food available in Boston can be bought from a truck. Owing to sky high real estate prices, it can be cheaper and easier to get a food truck business started than a full on brick and mortar restaurant. Many entrepreneurs use trucks as a stepping stone to opening their own restaurant, so you'll see that some of these trucks also have permanent locations. Hundreds of trucks orbit the city, serving every style of cuisine imaginable. While many focus on lunch, more than a handful offer breakfast and dinner options as well. You can find food trucks in many neighborhoods, with the highest concentrations being found along the Greenway and other hotspots [[Boston/Downtown|downtown]]. Copley Square in the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill|Back Bay]] is another place to look, and trucks will also appear at popular spots like SoWa market in the [[Boston/South_End|South End]] and Lawn on D in [[Boston/South_Boston|Southie]]. Trucks rotate locations annually, so check out [http://www.cityofboston.gov/foodtrucks/schedule-tabs.asp this filterable list]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, kept up to date by the city of Boston. If you find yourself overwhelmed by all the options just put your faith in the locals and queue up in whichever line is longest. *'''Bon Me''': The most prolific trucks in the city. Good selection of Vietnamese staples that can be eaten on the go. Also has several stationary locations. *'''Chicken & Rice Guys''': Take a wild guess what they offer here. Middle Eastern inspired; so don't sleep on the lamb, it's great too! Pairs nicely with several of their flavorful sauces, especially the mint. Has a few permanent restaurants. *'''Clover''': Technology infused American fast food. Everything is fresh and always changing; it has to be since they don't use freezers. Digital menus tell you exactly how long you'll wait for your order. Started by MIT alumni, they now have several locations now throughout the region. *'''Jamaica Mi Hungry''': Fantastic truck offering the requisite spicy jerks, along with rice and peas, coconut milk and red beans, and other Jamaican specialties. Trucks only for now. *'''Mei Mei''': Siblings turn out this stellar Chinese-American food that changes with the seasons; winning multiple awards since 2012. One brick and mortar location near BU. *'''Tenoch''': The trucks are tiny, but the Mexican flavors are not. Top notch tacos, tortas, and burritos, but cash only. Has one other location in the North End. Yes, there is good Mexican in the North End. ==Drink== {{seeDistricts}} Boston has a thriving nightlife and is known to be a drinking town. It's easy to hop from bar to bar, and you'll find venues catering to college students, businesspeople, and sports fanatics alike. There is no "happy hour" in Massachusetts, you can thank the Puritans (or maybe the politicians?) for that. Since after work discounted drinks are off the table, look for businesses to get creative with their incentives. You'll often see discounts on food instead; dollar oysters are particularly common. One drawback to going out in Boston is how early everything closes. ''Most places shut down by 1AM'', with only a few dozen locations in the city holding grandfathered 2AM closing licenses. This can work to your advantage if you're taking the T, since it stops running at 12:30AM anyway. All venues will be 21+, with one or two rare exceptions for the 18+ crowd. Smoking is not permitted in any restaurant or bar in the metro Boston area. If you're on the look out for an authentic Irish pub, prepare to hoof it or prepare to be disappointed. Most bars and pubs throughout downtown and the Back Bay are a bit too polished and corporate to have that warm historic feeling. The closest thing you'll find downtown is '''Mr. Dooley's''', everything else in the Faneuil Hall area is overtly touristy. '''J.J. Foleys''' is another decent option, found nearby in the [[Boston/South_End#Drink|South End]] neighborhood. If you're dedicated, head out to [[Boston/Jamaica_Plain-Mission_Hill#Drink|Jamaica Plain]] and visit '''Doyle's Cafe''' or really go for the gusto and hit up '''The Eire Pub''' in [[Boston/Dorchester#Drink|Dorchester]]. You'll certainly come away with a great story to tell if you make it all the way out to the Eire. Sports bars? Look into either Canal Street in the [[Boston/North_End#Drink|West End]] near Boston Garden, or Landsdowne Street in the [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#Drink|Fenway]] area. Looking for a trendy new spot with glass walls, roof decks and views? Why, the [[Boston/South_Boston#Drink|Seaport district]] of course. Boylston Street in the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Drink|Back Bay]] will also scratch that itch. Want cheap places to drink? Lots of options? Head to intersection of Harvard and Brighton Ave in [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Drink|Allston Village]]. Both Central and Harvard Squares in [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Drink|Cambridge]] are similarly dense with bars. ===Breweries and distilleries=== Undoubtably the largest, the '''Samuel Adams''' Brewery in [[Boston/Jamaica_Plain-Mission_Hill#Drink|J.P.]] and '''Harpoon''' Brewery in [[Boston/South_Boston#Drink|South Boston]] both offer tours and tastings. '''Trillium''' is also in Southie and brews some of the most acclaimed suds in the states. If you're gluten-free (or just love apples!) try out '''Downeast Cider House''' in [[Boston/East_Boston#Drink|East Boston]]. Heading south into Dorchester you'll find two more breweries. The '''Dorchester Brewing Company''' has 20 taps serving fresh house beer and regional partner brews. '''Deadwood''' is a respectable little brewery making their own in house beer for thirsty bowlers. To the north you'll find the excellent '''Lamplighter''' brewery in [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Drink|Cambridge]], while [[Somerville#Drink|Somerville]] offers '''Aeronaut''', '''Slumbrew''', '''Winter Hill Brewing Company''', and '''Bantam Cider Company''' to whet your whistle. For the adventurous, some of the best beer can be found to the north of the city. Real estate is a bit cheaper, so folks can afford to take a little more risk up there. For great examples, check out '''Idle Hands''' in [[Malden]] or '''Mystic Brewery''' in [[Chelsea_(Massachusetts)|Chelsea]]. Finally, [[Everett_(Massachusetts)|Everett]] has several great options with '''Night Shift''', '''Bone Up''', and '''Down the Road''' breweries all making their mark. If you're looking for something a little harder, Boston's got options. '''GrandTen Distilling''' in South Boston and '''Bully Boy Distillers''' in [[Boston/Roxbury#Drink|Roxbury]] offer tours and tastings. '''Short Path Distillery''', also in Everett, focuses specifically on rum and gin. ===Coffee=== Few people whack down as many daily cups of coffee as Bostonians. In fact a 2015 study estimated that 15% of ''toddlers'' in Boston drink a little java alongside their parents. You can expect to find a lot of options in town. With an almost Orwellian presence '''Dunkin' Donuts'''&mdash;founded in nearby [[Quincy_(Massachusetts)|Quincy]]&mdash;dominates. You should be able to see at least two locations from anywhere your little legs can take you. More utilitarian coffee can also be found at Starbucks and other chains, although nothing is more popular than "Dunks". Order it "regular" for cream and sugar, and "black" for without. Looking for something a little more inspired? If you're [[Boston/Downtown#Coffee|downtown]] check out '''Gracenote''' or '''Ogawa'''; while '''Pavement Coffeehouse''', '''Boston Common Coffee''', '''Barrington Coffee Roasting''', and '''Thinking Cup''' are great options in the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Coffee|Back Bay]] area and nearby neighborhoods. Almost every coffee shop in the [[Boston/North_End#Coffee|North End]] is filled with ambiance and probably what you're expecting. ==Sleep== {{infobox|The Biggest, Boldest Art Theft in History|In the early hours following St. Patrick's Day, 1990 two men posing as police officers entered '''[[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#See|The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]]''' and stole thirteen works of art valued around $500 million. The case remains unsolved today and is thought to be the largest theft of private property in history. The museum is still offering a reward of $5 million for information leading to the recovery of the stolen artworks. The subterfuge of police uniforms worked well enough for the thieves to trick the guards, allowing them access to the building. The guards were then promptly placed "under arrest", duct taping their mouths and handcuffing them to pipes in the basement. The thieves then had unfettered access to the museum for almost an hour and a half, enough time to make two trips and take anything they wanted. Some of the works stolen were artifacts by Dutch masters Vermeer and Rembrandt, as well as French Impressionists Degas and Manet. Because of limited surviving output by the artist, the Vermeer alone is valued at over $200 million. Quickly turning the case over to the FBI, they conducted hundreds of interviews; requesting information and cooperating with scores of international authorities, museums, and art dealers. Investigators now believe the thieves were amateur criminals, not experts; due to the fact more famous and valuable paintings were not stolen during the escapades that night in the museum. Every decade or so, some new lead surfaces about the location of the missing artworks. These generate great excitement, but are always fake (or hoaxes) and have never amounted to anything. The stipulations of Ms. Gardner's will state that works displayed within the museum are to be left as she placed them, but there were no provisions for stolen artifacts! Without such guidance, the empty frames continue to hang in the museum. They function both as a reminder of what was lost, and a hopeful placeholder for the day they are finally returned.}} {{seeDistricts}} Boston offers a wide range of accommodations, from budget options to mid-range hotels to luxurious penthouses in the sky. Most hotels are concentrated in the [[Boston/Back_Bay-Beacon_Hill#Sleep|Back Bay]], with many more options available in neighboring districts like the [[Boston/South_End#Sleep|South End]], the [[Boston/South_Boston#Sleep|Seaport]] and [[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)#Sleep|Cambridge]]. If you're primarily focused on the [[Freedom Trail]], aim for as central a location as you can afford. Otherwise look for any place near a T station, once you're behind the gate you can be pretty much anywhere in a half an hour. '''If anything will blow your budget, it will be the accommodations.''' Boston has some of the most expensive real estate in the country, behind only the Bay Area and New York City. In July 2019 the average room in town cost $280 a night! The city is aware of the problem and more hotels are either planned or under construction. Your best bet is to book far in advance and keep popular dates in mind. It can be especially bad during May graduations and around back-to-school in early September. Prices drop in winter, although shoulder season is probably the better compromise. There are a few hostels in town, and you can sometimes find more affordable accommodations in student-focused areas like [[Boston/Allston-Brighton#Sleep|Allston]] and the [[Boston/Fenway-Kenmore#Sleep|Fenway]]. Alternatively, get creative. Look up an old friend, crash someone's couch or browse your favorite room rental application. If you're staying a bit longer, a summer sublet might make a good option. Students returning home often have an extra 2-3 months on their lease that you could take over with a little paperwork. ==Connect== Greater Boston uses '''10-digit dialing'''. This means you must include the area code whenever you are making a call. The standard area code is 617, but some phone numbers, especially cell phones, use the new 857 overlay. ==Stay safe== In Boston, like the rest of the country, '''dial 911''' if there is an emergency. This free call will summon police, medical, and fire services to assist you. For a major American city, Boston's crime rate is very low. Crimes like murder and identity theft are uncommon, but others like robbery, assault, and muggings are frequent in some areas. Big tourist attractions draw crowds, and said crowds may draw thieves, so keep your eye on more than just that entertaining street performer! The same rules apply if you plan on enjoying Boston's nightlife. Watch out late at night when bars and clubs are emptying of drunken revelers and, most importantly, students. Even if you're not drinking, younger folks may be, so look for erratic drivers and inebriated youth. As one of the USA's premier sports cities, Boston houses some of the most passionate and righteous sports fans you will ever meet. With sports teams frequently competing for and winning titles, locals have every right to talk trash to other fanbases, regardless of where you come from and which team you support. Be especially careful when the Red Sox play the New York Yankees, the Celtics play the Sixers, Knicks or Lakers, and the Patriots play teams like the Bills, Giants, or Eagles. Wearing gear from those teams (or any non-Boston sports teams) in any part of town, especially in the vicinity of Fenway park, TD Garden, or Foxboro, is an open invitation to be verbally harassed by the locals. Although generally harmless and in good fun, as the night wears on and inhibitions are lowered, these encounters could become physical. While on the train or subway, know your stop. Try not to get too absorbed by your personal device, and look around. Take your headphones off. Use extra caution when exiting the train at night. Boston doesn't have too much of a problem with busking on the trains themselves, yet. Most T stations are staffed while open, so ask an attendant for help if you feel uncomfortable. As a ''very'' general rule of thumb, any place within a half a mile of a train or T station is likely to have undergone renovations since 2010, and is probably fine. More than other major cities, Boston has suffered from the opioid crisis. As of 2018, the area around the '''Boston Medical Center is the only area that should be avoided by tourists.''' Colloquially known as the ''Methadone Mile'', this area is at the border of Roxbury and the South End, and has a high concentration of drug addicts pitched in tents and makeshift homeless shelters. Many poor souls struggling with opioid addiction make use of the programs and services only available here. These tightly packed buildings found at the intersection of Mass Ave and the Route 93 ramps are one of the few places in New England offering treatment. The folks here are mostly harmless; with a mixture of addicts trying to recover, dealers trying to sell, and police trying to keep order. Despite their murky depictions in countless movies and TV shows, South Boston, Dorchester, and Charlestown are not particularly dangerous areas. However, it is advised to avoid going there alone at night if you are not familiar with those areas. There are a few blocks to the north and to the east of Franklin Park in Roxbury that should be avoided, as there is some lingering gang violence dotted around there, but it is usually retaliatory in nature and tourists are not always targeted. Some areas where extra caution is needed include Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, and Mattapan. While they've had their share of seediness and violence over the years (especially the latter), things have started to slowly improve. ==Cope== ===Publications=== * {{listing | name=''The Boston Globe'' | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''The Boston Globe'' is the biggest daily publication around. It is the most respectable of the daily broadsheets. }} * {{listing | name=''The Boston Herald'' | alt= | url=http://www.bostonherald.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=''The Herald'' is a tabloid publication. }} * {{listing | name=''The Boston Metro'' | url=http://www.readmetro.com/en/usa/boston/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Published in many cities, ''The Boston Metro'' is free, filled with ads and designed to be read on the train in about 10-15 minutes. }} * {{listing | name=''DigBoston'' | url=https://digboston.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Free alternative weekly publication. }} * {{listing | name=''Bay State Banner'' | url=https://digboston.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''The Banner'' is an independent newspaper geared toward the African-American community. }} * {{listing | name=''Bay Windows'' | url=https://digboston.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Bay Windows'' is an LGBT-oriented newspaper, published weekly. }} * {{listing | name=''Sampan Newspaper'' | url=http://www.sampan.org | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Pick up a copy of ''The Sampan'' to learn more about the history of Chinatown. }} * {{listing | name=''Spare Change'' | url=http://sparechangenews.net/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This biweekly paper contains alternative news, arts features, interviews, fiction and poetry that are written by staff writers and journalists, as well as by people who are homeless. Copies of ''Spare Change'' are purchased by the homeless, who sell them to passerby for $2. }} ===Consulates=== Here is the quick rundown of consular services in Boston and Cambridge. This list isn't definitive, there are some consulates just a bit outside of the city. {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=15 School Street, 5th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-227-3131 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-227-8420 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | url=http://www.consulatebrazil.org/ | email= | address=175 Purchase Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-542-4000 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-542-4318 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://www.boston.gc.ca/ | email= | address=3 Copley Pl, Ste 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-247-5100 | tollfree=+1-844-880-6519 (consular services) | fax=+1 617-247-5190 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cape Verde}} {{listing | name=Cape Verde | url= | email= | address=607 Boylston Street, 4th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-353-0014 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-859-9798 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Chile}} {{listing | name=Chile (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=One Bernardo O’Higgins Circle | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-232-0416 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-232-0817 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Colombia}} {{listing | name=Colombia | alt= | url= | email= | address=31 Saint James Avenue, Suite 960 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-536-6222 (Ext. 202) | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-536-9372 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cyprus}} {{listing | name=Cyprus (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=70-7 Kirkland Street | lat= | long= | directions=Cambridge | phone=+1 617-497-0219 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Denmark}} {{listing | name=Denmark (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=60 State St 11F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-542-1415 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-482-6201 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Dominican Republic}} {{listing | name=Dominican Republic | url=http://domrep.org/ | email= | address=20 Park Plaza, Suite 601 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-472-8121 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-482-8133 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|El Salvador}} {{listing | name=El Salvador | url= | email= | address=46 Bennington Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-567-2864 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-567-8686 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=101 Arch Street, 12th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-654-1800 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-654-1735 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | url=http://www.consulfrance-boston.org/spip.php?rubrique2 | email= | address=31 Saint James Ave, Park Square Bldg Ste 750 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-832-4400 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-542-8054 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Georgia}} {{listing | name=Georgia (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=17 Berkeley Street | lat= | long= | directions=Cambridge | phone=+1 617-492-0727 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | url=http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/03__Consulates/Boston/00/__Home.html | email= | address=Three Copley Pl Ste 500 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-369-4934 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-369-4940 | hours=9AM-noon | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | url=http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/AuthoritiesAbroad/North%20America/USA/GeneralConsulateBoston/en-US/ | email= | address=86 Beacon St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-523-0100 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-523-0511 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Guatemala}} {{listing | name=Guatemala | url= | email= | address= info@guatemala-embassy.org | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-202 745 4953| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Temporarily closed. The phone number reaches the Guatemalan embassy in Washington D.C. }} * {{flag|Haiti}} {{listing | name=Haiti | url= | email= | address=545 Boylston Street, Suite 201 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-266-3660 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-266-4060 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=111 Huntington Avenue, 26th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617 342-4022 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-342-4001 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | url= | email= | address=535 Boylston St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-267-9330 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-267-6375 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | url=http://boston.mfa.gov.il/ | email= | address=20 Park Plaza, Suite 1020 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-535-0200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.consboston.esteri.it | email= | address=600 Atlantic Ave, 17th floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-722-9201 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-722-9407 | hours= | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Jamaica}} {{listing | name=Jamaica (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=183 State Street, Suite 6 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-778-0021 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617 778-7234 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | url=http://www.boston.us.emb-japan.go.jp/index.html | email= | address=600 Atlantic Ave, 22nd floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-973-9774 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-542-1329 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Luxembourg}} {{listing | name=Luxembourg (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=50 Milk Street, Floor 19 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-772-1399 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-772-2401 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mexico}} {{listing | name=Mexico | url=http://www.sre.gob.mx/boston | email= | address=55 Franklin St, 1st Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-426-4181 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-695-1957 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Monaco}} {{listing | name=Monaco (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=40 Broad St., 10th fl | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-226-9797 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Morocco}} {{listing | name=Morocco (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=101 Arch Street, 12th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-654-1701 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-654-1735 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Nepal}} {{listing | name=Nepal (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=151 Tremont Street, Apt. 21K | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-948-9449 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-948-9448 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|the Netherlands}} {{listing | name=Netherlands (Honorary) | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/united-states/about-us/honorary-consulate-in-boston | email=boston@nlconsulate.com | address=590 Milk Street, 16th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 857-415-4773 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=253 Summer Street, Suite 203 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617 423-2515 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-423-2057 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Peru}} {{listing | name=Peru | url= | email= | address=20 Park Plaza, Suite 511 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-338-2227 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-338-2742 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | url=http://www.un.int/portugal/visainfo.htm | email= | address=One Exeter Plaza 7F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-536-8740 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-536-2503 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | url= | email= | address=31 Saint James Ave Ste 905 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-536-2506, +1 617-536-2527 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=253 Summer Street, Suite 203 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-451-3456 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-451-2057 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=Republic of Korea | url= http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-boston-en/index.do| email= | address=300 Washington St #251, Newton | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +1-617-641-2830 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | url= | email= | address=420 Broadway | lat= | long= | directions=Cambridge | phone=+1 617-876-3076 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-876-3079 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand (Honorary) | url= | email= | address=41 Union Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-720-8424 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-227-2306 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | url= | email= | address=31 St. James Avenue, Suite 840 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 857-250-4700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Arab Emirates}} {{listing | name=United Arab Emirates | url= | email= | address=One International Place, Suite 2901 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-505-3300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|the United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | url=http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/other-locations/boston/ | email= | address=One Broadway | lat= | long= | directions=Cambridge | phone=+1 617-245-4500 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-621-0220 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | url=http://www.embavenez-us.org/_boston/ | email= | address=545 Boylston Street, 3rd Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 617-266-9368 | tollfree= | fax=+1 617-266-2350 | hours= | price= | content= }} |} ==Go next== Boston has a unique location at the northern tip of the most densely populated area in the United States. From here it's easy to explore picturesque New England towns, charming seaside villages, and historic and natural parks galore. ===Greater Boston=== [[File:Salem Customs House.jpg|thumb|Not Salem's first Custom House]] * Mostly, but not entirely within the city, visiting the '''[[Boston Harbor Islands]]''' offers a completely different take on life in the city if you have the time. Accessible by ferry. * You didn't miss '''[[Cambridge_(Massachusetts)|Cambridge]]''', right? It's not part of Boston, but its museums, architecture, history, restaurants and shopping are not to be missed. Accessible by MBTA's Red Line subway. * Hop the Red line to '''Adams National Historical Park''' in neighboring [[Quincy_(Massachusetts)|Quincy]]. This was the family home of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, the 2nd and 6th Presidents of the United States. * Plenty of hiking and biking opportunities can be found near the city. To the north you'll find '''Middlesex Fells Reservation''' in [[Stoneham]], while the '''Blue Hills Reservation''' is to the south in [[Milton_(Massachusetts)|Milton]]. * Speaking of cycling, pick up the '''Minuteman Bike Trail'''&mdash;a converted railroad track&mdash;and follow it out to [[Bedford_(Massachusetts)|Bedford]]. Once you arrive, let your legs decide if you should keep going or turn back to Cambridge. * Head west to [[Concord_(Massachusetts)|Concord]] to find '''Walden Pond''', a kettle pond once owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here his friend and author, Henry David Thoreau penned his book ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods''. Take the Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line to Concord. * Next, visit the site where "the shot heard 'round the world" was fired from the North Bridge in the '''Minute Man National Historical Park'''. It's in [[Lexington_(Massachusetts)|Lexington]], where travellers will find a wealth of historical sites and small town charm. Take the Red Line to Alewife and then MBTA bus #62 or #76 (or take the Minuteman Bikeway or Route 2 ). *Right next door in [[Lincoln_(Massachusetts)|Lincoln]], you'll find the '''DeCordova Museum'''. It showcases modern art, with a focus on its many large outdoor sculptures. The nearby '''Gropius House''' was designed by Walter Gropius, father of the iconic Bauhaus art movement. Take MBTA's Fitchburg Line (or Route 2 by car) to Lincoln. * Site of the famous Salem Witch Trials, '''[[Salem_(Massachusetts)|Salem]]''' has done a fantastic job holding on to its historical roots. Walking through the historic district it's easy to imagine how a life controlled by the tides might have been lived. It's a vibrant suburb that feels more like a small city of its own, bursting with many new shops and restaurants. Salem gets ''bonkers'' during October, and is a complete madhouse on Halloween. Take MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport Line to Salem, or by car, take Route 1 to Route 128 and follow signs for Salem. ===Massachusetts=== [[File:Gay_Head_clay_cliffs_4_of_town_of_Aquinnah,_Martha%27s_Vineyard,_USA.JPG|thumb|Waves crash against the Clay cliffs of Aquinnah; Martha's Vineyard]] * The '''[[North_Shore_(Massachusetts)|North Shore]]''' is always a fantastic little getaway. Seaside villages like [[Gloucester_(Massachusetts)|Gloucester]] and [[Rockport_(Massachusetts)|Rockport]] (among several others) are well known for their charm, art, and fresh seafood. Take Route 1 to Route 128 or I-95, or follow the Newburyport or Rockport lines. * If you're driving south, stop by '''Plimoth Plantation''' in [[Plymouth_(Massachusetts)|Plymouth]]; an hour by car via I-93 south and Route 3. A living museum featuring a replica of the ''Mayflower'', and dedicated to showcasing the manner in which the first Pilgrim colonists would have lived. * Bring the kids out to '''Old Sturbridge Village''' in [[Sturbridge]]. Another living museum, this time re-creating life in rural New England as it was lived after the Revolutionary War. One hour fifteen minutes from Boston by car via I-90. * Head south to '''[[New Bedford]]''' for a sort of less touristy version of Salem. Learn about how the lucrative whaling industry forged the area's strong Portuguese and Cape Verdean connections. Filled with great museums and history, it's also famous as the location of Melville's classic novel, ''Moby Dick.'' It's a little over an hour by car without traffic (follow I-93 south to Route 24, then follow signs for New Bedford); commuter rail service to the city will be starting in 2023. * Follow the crowd over the Sagamore Bridge and "Escape to the Cape". Take as much time as you need to soak up the breathtaking '''[[Cape Cod National Seashore]]'''. * King of the Cape, '''[[Provincetown]]''' is achingly beautiful, easily accessible from Boston, and the perfect jump off for the rest of your Cape Cod explorations. Accessible by plane, bus or ferry. * If life on the ocean is more your style, don't miss '''[[Martha's Vineyard]]''' and '''[[Nantucket]]'''. The former is closer to the mainland, flashier and more built up. The latter is slightly smaller and more remote, often making for a more peaceful stay. * During the summer months, the Boston Symphony Orchestra makes its home in [[Lenox (Massachusetts)|Lenox]] at '''Tanglewood''', which hosts classical music and some contemporary acts. 2½ hours by car via i-90 west. * If you're in the [[Berkshires]] any time of year do not miss the '''Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art'''. Called Mass MoCA for short, there are always fresh exhibits rotating through their colossal gallery spaces. Three hours away by car in [[North Adams]] (follow Route 2 to the end), the museum's presence is slowly dragging this old factory town back to life, with new restaurants, shops and breweries opening. ===New England=== [[File:Bass_harbor_head_light_20041002_123635_1.1504x1000.jpg|thumb|A dramatic lighthouse in repose atop Acadia's rocky shoreline]] * If you're headed toward '''[[Rhode Island]]''', drive or take the train to [[Providence]], a city with its own share of art and culture, excellent Italian food, and a charming downtown area; or get a load of the jaw-dropping mansions and the [[jazz]] festival in [[Newport_(Rhode_Island)|Newport]]. Walk by the beach at Newport to see estates so grand, they're basically why Americans have to pay income tax now. The whole state is roughly 45 to 90 minutes away depending on traffic -- take I-95 south or the Providence commuter rail. * In '''[[New Hampshire]]''', the ocean town of [[Portsmouth_(New_Hampshire)|Portsmouth]] is a historic seaport bursting at the seams with charm, restaurants and shopping. If you want to get more outdoors or feel more active, hike the [[Franconia_(New_Hampshire)|White Mountains]] of New Hampshire. The 8.9-mile (13.4-km) Franconia Ridge Traverse takes all day and is one of the area's most popular treks. About 4 hours by car, [[Mount Washington State Park]] is another great option. *'''[[Vermont]]''' is filled with covered bridges and charming towns like [[Woodstock_(Vermont)|Woodstock]]. But really, any rustic town makes the perfect base to take in the dramatic fall foliage as seasons change. You can sample some of the finest brews in America in [[Burlington_(Vermont)|Burlington]], Vermont's largest town. Many other fine brewers are in the countryside nearby. 3hr 30min by car. *If you're in New Hampshire, keep heading northeast into '''[[Maine]]''' to find [[Portland_(Maine)|Portland]]. The largest city in Maine also offers some of its best options for dining, drinking, and dancing. If you're looking for the outdoors, spend a day or a week at [[Acadia National Park]]. This superlative park boasts some of the most spectacular coastal landscapes in all New England. A 2-hour drive from Boston without traffic. *'''[[Connecticut]]''' is past Providence on Interstate 95 and offers [[Mystic (Connecticut)|Mystic]], a popular tourist destination offering an aquarium, beaches, and beluga whales; the culturally diverse city of [[New Haven]]; major Indian casinos; and some semi-large cities that are part of Greater New York City. [[New York City]] is about a 4-hour drive without traffic from Boston. ===Beyond=== * Travel by bus, plane, or train to arrive at the greatest American city, '''[[New_York_City|New York]]'''. * If you're instead looking for towers of green, just a three-hour drive from Boston will place you within the '''[[Mid-Hudson_and_Catskills|Hudson Valley and Catskills]]'''. * Drive north into Canadian province [[Quebec]]. The province's biggest city, '''[[Montreal]]''', is 5 hours away by car, while the provincial capital, '''[[Quebec City]]''', is 6.5 hours away. * If you prefer to travel the slow way, start (or finish) hiking the '''[[Appalachian Trail]]''' in [[Highlands_(Maine)|Baxter State Park]], Maine. *Also, you can drive about 5 hours or take a 1 1/2-hour flight to the '''[[Adirondacks]]'''. Just take '''Interstate 90''' (Massachusetts Turnpike) west to '''[[Albany (New York)|Albany]]''' then take '''Interstate 87 North.''' *Boston is also the beginning of a huge megalopolis, the Bos-Wash Corridor, that stretches all the way to '''[[Washington, D.C.]]''', which is an 8-hour drive or train ride away. {{routebox | placename=Boston (by long-distance rail) | image1=Amtrak Acela Express icon.png | imagesize1=100 | directionl1=SW | majorl1=[[New York City]] | minorl1=[[Westwood (Massachusetts)|Westwood]] | directionr1=NE | majorr1=END | image2=Amtrak Downeaster icon.png | imagesize2=100 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Portland (Maine)|Portland]] | minorl2=[[Woburn (Massachusetts)|Woburn]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=END | minorr2= | image3=Amtrak Lake Shore Limited icon.png | imagesize3=100 | directionl3=W | majorl3=Albany ([[Rensselaer (New York)|Rensselaer]]) | minorl3=[[Framingham]] | directionr3=E | majorr3=END | minorr3= | image4=Amtrak Northeast Regional.png | imagesize4=100 | 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minorl6=[[Malden]] | directionr6=S | majorr6=END | minorr6= | image7=MBTA Lowell icon.png | imagesize7=100 | directionl7=N | majorl7=[[Wilmington (Massachusetts)|Wilmington]] | minorl7=[[Medford (Massachusetts)|Medford]] | directionr7=S | majorr7=END | minorr7= | image8=MBTA Fall River-New Bedford icon.png | imagesize8=100 | directionl8=NW | majorl8=END | minorl8= | directionr8=SE | majorr8=[[Middleborough]] | minorr8=[[Quincy (Massachusetts)|Quincy]] | image9=MBTA Newburyport-Rockport icon.png | imagesize9=100 | directionl9=SW | majorl9=END | minorl9= | directionr9=NE | majorr9=[[Beverly (Massachusetts)|Beverly]] | minorr9=[[Chelsea (Massachusetts)|Chelsea]] | image10=MBTA Plymouth-Kingston icon.png | imagesize10=100 | directionl10=NW | majorl10=END | minorl10= | directionr10=SE | majorr10=[[Halifax (Massachusetts)|Halifax]] | minorr10=[[Quincy (Massachusetts)|Quincy]] | image11=MBTA Providence-Stoughton icon.png | imagesize11=100 | directionl11=N | majorl11=END | minorl11= | directionr11=S | majorr11=[[Canton (Massachusetts)|Canton]] | minorr11=[[Westwood (Massachusetts)|Westwood]] }} {{isPartOf|Greater_Boston}} {{geo|42.359|-71.056|zoom=12}} {{guidecity}} 8ofvprnr5rt5jgno8hjt2hyeb7r056t 0 4577 5298530 5245819 2026-06-26T00:28:27Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298530 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Bray''' is a small harbour town at the north edge of [[County Wicklow]], bordering [[Dublin]]. It grew up rapidly from 1854 when the railway arrived, becoming a seaside resort and fashionable suburb of the city. It's now mainly a commuter town, with a population in 2022 of 33,500. == Understand == Although it's in Wicklow, Bray feels like part of Dublin city, similar to [[Dún Laoghaire]] north across the county boundary. The origin of its name is unknown: ''brí'' means "hill", like Scots "brae" or Celtic "bree". That origin isn't accepted but might as well stand until someone comes up with a better one. Nor is this the home of the "Vicar of Bray": he's a fictional character in a 17th-century satirical song, from [[Bray (England) | Bray]] in Berkshire, England. == Get in == {{mapframe | 53.200 | -6.105 | height=550 | width=550 | zoom=14 }} === By train === Dart trains run every 10-20 min from [[Malahide]] and [[Howth]] through central [[Dublin]] (Connolly, Tara St and Pearse stations), the southern suburbs, [[Dún Laoghaire]] and [[Dalkey]] to Bray; every third train continues south to Greystones. Trains run 6AM-11:30PM taking 50 min from city centre to Bray. The entire line is within the Dublin "short hop zone", see [[Dublin#Get around]] for fares. Five mainline trains per day from Dublin Connolly call at Bray heading for [[Wicklow Town]], [[Arklow]], [[Gorey]], [[Wexford]] and [[Rosslare]], which has ferries from Fishguard and Pembroke. From Belfast, Drogheda or Sligo, change at Connolly for the Dart train. From most other cities (eg Galway, Limerick or Cork) trains run to Dublin Heuston, take the tram to Connolly or Bus 145 to Bray. {{marker | name=Daly | type=go | lat=53.2045 | long=-6.1000 }} is the railway station, at the north end of the Esplanade. It's named for Edward Daly (1891-1916), executed for his part in the Easter Rising. The ticket office is only open for the morning rush M-F 7-10AM but there are machines. === By bus === [https://www.aircoach.ie/ Aircoach 702] runs every two hours between Dublin Airport, Bray and Greystones. [http://www.dublinbus.ie/ Dublin Bus E1 line] runs between Dublin and Bray every 10 min during peak times, taking an hour via city centre southside, Donnybrook and Cabinteely. It continues to Ballywaltrim. The line operates 24 hours a day, with reduced frequency at night and on the weekends and Bank Holidays. [https://www.glendaloughbus.com/timetable.aspx St Kevin's Bus] from Dublin picks up from Bray twice a day and goes via [[Roundwood]] to [[Glendalough]] monastic site, 40 min. At weekends it may run full from Dublin. Although it's designed for day trips (with four hours to explore Glendalough), you can take it as a point-to-point bus. Inter-city buses bypass Bray so you have to travel into central Dublin and come out again. === By road === The main coast highway is M11 / N11, dual carriageway throughout, which runs from the edge of Dublin south to Bray, [[Wicklow Town]], [[Arklow]], [[Gorey]], [[Enniscorthy]], [[Wexford]] and [[Rosslare]]. No surprise, it gets very busy in rush hour. By contrast the east-west roads across the mountains are narrow, winding and scenic, and more likely to be congested on fine weekends. From the west, e.g., Cork or Limerick, it's simpler to follow the motorway to M50 outside Dublin then join M11. == Get around == [[File:Esplanade, Bray Co. Wicklow.JPG | thumb | 300px | The Esplanade, looking towards Bray Head ]] See Bus Connects L114 lines on TFI website == See == * {{marker | name=Bray Harbour | type=see | lat=53.208 | long=-6.100 }} is a pleasant little marina at the outlet of the River Dargle. The mute swans, ducks and geese will mob anyone who looks like they have food to donate. The weary Martello Tower just south (nowadays private property) was built to defend the harbour against Napoleon but doesn't look like it could repel the Muppets. It's the only survivor of three such towers built here in 1804/5. One was by the Esplanade Hotel, the other was by Ravenswell Convent, but they both had soft foundations and succumbed to storm and sea circa 1870-80. * '''The Esplanade''' or Promenade stretches 1.5 km south from the harbour to Bray Head, lined with Victorian houses and 20th-century amusement arcades. The beach is shingle and sand: you can swim or paddle at the south end, but the north end suffers from erosion and pollution. See "Do" for walks continuing across Bray Head towards Greystones. * '''Main Street''' is mostly unremarkable low-rise; Holy Redeemer RC Church is here. At the south end of the street where it forks into Killarney Rd and Vevay Rd is the former '''Town Hall''', a cod-Tudor confection. It was built in 1882/3 as a market hall but became municipal offices in the 1940s. Those have relocated to the Mermaid Civic Centre, and since 1997 the building has been a McDonald's fast food outlet. * '''Churches''' in town worth a look are [https://www.holyredeemerbray.ie/ Holy Redeemer] (1792, RC) on Main Street, [https://christchurchbray.ie/ Christ Church] on Church St (1863, C of I) and the [http://www.findglocal.com/IE/Bray/1610940119184704/Bray-Methodist-Church Methodist church] on Eglington Rd (1864). And see below for the Coptic church. * {{see | name=Festina Lente garden | alt= | url=https://www.festinalente.ie/victorian-walled-garden/ | email= | address=Old Connaught Ave, Bray A98 F702 | lat=53.2108 | long=-6.1305 | directions= | phone=+353 1 272 0704 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 11AM-5PM | price=Donation | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=This is primarily an equestrian centre, but many visitors come for the two acre restored Victorian walled garden. Wonderful double herbaceous borders and vegetable allotments.. }} * {{marker | type=see | name=Oldcourt Castle | lat=53.193 | long=-6.115 }} is the teetering stump of a 15th-century tower house. It's becoming unsafe so you may find it fenced off. * {{marker | type=see | name=Bray Head | lat=53.190 | long=-6.084 }} rises to 241 m (791 ft) at the south end of the Esplanade. There are several paths up, closest being via the steps cut in the rock by the Esplanade, then up through a gully onto the headland. Raheen-a-Cluig on the north slope is the ruin of a 12th- to 13th-century church, partly restored in the 18th, while the concrete cross near the summit was erected in 1950. The Head falls to the sea in slate cliffs, which are rock-climbing routes. Watch for fulmars, rock doves, peregrines and other seabirds, plus if you're lucky the feral goats. These were domestic goats that went wild centuries ago; both males and females have horns and beards. The single-track railway towards Greystones and Wicklow teeters along the seaward slope, with ventilation shafts above its tunnels. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the line was costly to build and maintain, but it had to take this precarious route because the Earl of Meath wouldn't allow it to cross his Killruddery estate. [[File:Town Hall Bray Co. Wicklow.JPG | thumb | 300px | Bray Town Hall is now a McDonald's ]] * {{see | name=Kilruddery House | alt= | url=https://killruddery.com/ | email=info@killruddery.com | address=Southern Cross Road, Kilruddery A98 W9F2 | lat=53.1819 | long=-6.1039 | directions= | phone=+353 1 286 3405 | tollfree= | hours=May-Sep Tu-Su 9:30AM-6PM, house tours at noon, 1:30PM, 3PM | price=House & garden adult €15.50, garden alone €10.50 | wikipedia=Killruddery House | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=This vast pile has been the home of the Brabazons, Earls of Meath, for 350 years. The house was started in 1651 but extensively remodeled in neo-Tudor style in 1820-30, then scaled back in the 1960s. The formal garden (inspired by Versailles) was laid out in 1682, and is one of the few such gardens to survive the fashion for romantic naturalistic landscaping. The twin canals, known as the Long Ponds, are 152 m in length. House and grounds are often used as a film or TV location and may be booked out for weddings.. }} * {{marker | type=see | name=Fassaroe Cross | lat=53.196 | long=-6.141 }} or St Valery's Cross is a High Cross probably from the 12th century; similar crosses in the area look to have been carved by the same mason. It's 1.42 m tall, of granite with a "sash" of quartz. It was built at Ballyman some 1.6 km north, but is now by the Berryfield Lane roundabout west of town just beyond the M11 junction. * {{marker | type=see | name=Greystones | lat=53.144 | long=-6.061 }} is the smaller resort south of Bray Head. It has a marina and a few pubs and cafes, but little to see: the ruins of Kindlestown Castle 1 km inland aren't worth seeking out. You'd probably only come for the sake of the coast walk from Bray then take the bus back, or vice versa. * {{marker | type=see | name=Great Sugar Loaf | lat=53.155 | long=-6.150 }} is the 501 m (1644 ft) mountain south of Bray towards Kilmacanogue. It looks volcanic but it's Cambrian quartzite. That means firm walking trails: the usual ascent is from the south, starting at the Red Lane car park on L1031. * {{marker | name=Powerscourt House and Gardens | type=see | lat=53.18490 | long=-6.18675 }}: see [[Enniskerry]]. == Do == [[File:H.H. Pope Shenouda III smiling while giving a word.jpg | thumb | 300px | Pope Shenouda III opened Coptic churches worldwide, including at Bray]] * '''What's on?''' - check the online [https://bray.ie/events/ Bray events calendar]. * '''[https://www.mermaidartscentre.ie/ Mermaid Arts Centre]''' on Main St stages theatre and live music. * '''The Cliff Walk''' from Bray to Greystones takes 90 min. Follow the Esplanade south then take the steps onto Bray Head, over the top then return to the coast into Greystones. * '''Football:''' [https://braywanderersfc.ie/ Bray Wanderers] play soccer in the League of Ireland First Division, the Republic's second tier. Their stadium is the Carlisle Grounds (capacity 6000) north side of the railway station. The playing season is March-Nov with games usually on Friday evening. * '''Attend a Coptic Orthodox service''' at [https://stmaryandstdemiana.ie/ St Mary and St Demiana Church]{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} at The Pines, off Herbert Rd. The exterior is nondescript and modern. Ireland's oldest Coptic church was opened in 1994, by the Coptic Pope, Shenouda III, who oversaw a worldwide expansion of the Coptic church. It's the interior and the ceremony you come for, on Sunday 8:30-11:30AM. Coptic Orthodox liturgy has changed little in 2000 years and is sung in a language akin to ancient Egyptian that long predates Arabic, though it's transcribed into Greek. * '''Golf:''' lots. [https://www.braygolfclub.com/ Bray GC] and [https://www.greystonesgc.com/ Greystones GC] are in those towns, with [https://delganygolfclub.com/ Delgany GC] west by M11. [https://www.druidsglenresort.com/ Druid's Glen] is a resort hotel and championship golf course 10 km south of Bray, modelled on the course at Augusta Georgia. Three other courses lie just north of Bray within Dublin city limits. * '''Go quad biking''', clay pigeon shooting or paint-balling; there are lots of activity specialists located in the surrounding Wicklow mountains. * '''[http://www.brayjazz.com/ Bray Jazz Festival]''' is on the early May holiday weekend. * '''[https://brayairdisplay.com/ Bray Air Display]''' is in late July. * '''[https://www.hellandback.ie/ Hell & Back]''' is a series of endurance and obstacle races held in October on Killruddery Estate. Hills, bogs, stuff to clamber over and through, and much mud. There are various age groups and distances. * {{do | name=Squirrel's Scramble | alt= | url=https://www.squirrelsscramble.ie/# | email=info@squirrelsscramble.ie | address=Killruddery, Southern Cross Rd | lat=NA | long=NA | directions=in the grounds of Kilruddery House | phone= | tollfree= | hours=April-Oct | price=From €20 | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=A fun treetop ropes and ziplines course for older kids, teens and adults. }} == Buy == * '''Farmers & Food Market''' is on Saturday 9AM-4PM at the south end of Bray Main St, between Mermaid Centre and Town Hall. * '''Supermarket:''' SuperValu is in the shopping centre on Castle St just north of the river bridge. It's open M-Sa 7:30AM-9PM, Su 8AM-8PM. * '''[https://www.avoca.com/en/stores-and-cafes/kilmacanoge Avoca Handweavers]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' have many outlets, including one at Kilmacanogue off junction 8 of N11. This also stocks homeware and has a garden shop. The cafe is very popular, it's in a Victorian fern house. Avoca is open daily 9AM-6PM. == Eat == [[File:Great Sugar Loaf (from south).jpg | thumb | 300px | Great Sugar Loaf ]] * '''[https://www.diep.ie/ Diep]''' is a Thai within Castle St shopping centre, open M-Th 5-10PM, F-Su 4-10PM. * '''[https://jasminehouse.ie/ Jasmin House]''' is a Chinese at 88 Main St, open Tu-F 5-11PM, Sa-M 12:30-11PM. * '''[https://pinksalt.ie/ Pink Salt]''' is an Indian at 73 Main St, open M, W-Sa 5-11PM, Su 4-10PM. * '''[https://www.rararestaurant.ie/ Rara]''' is a Nepalese at 51 Main St opposite Town Hall, open M-W 4-10PM, Th-Su 1-10PM. * {{eat | name=Daata Bray | alt= | url=https://daata.ie/ | email= | address=7 Strand Rd A98 C5D0 | lat=NA | long=NA | directions=at railway station | phone=+353 1 286 3006 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 4-10PM, Sa Su 11:30AM-10PM | price= | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=Good Pakistani cuisine. Tasty and reasonably priced though vegetarians have limited choice.. }} * {{eat | name=Platform Pizza Bar | alt= | url=https://www.platformpizzabar.ie/ | email=info@platformpizzabar.ie | address=7 Strand Rd A98 C5D0 | lat=NA | long=-NA | directions=at railway station | phone=+353 1 538 4000 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 4-9:30PM, F-Su noon-10PM | price= | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=Bright pizza place next to Daata. }} == Drink == * '''Strand Road''' the seafront has Harbour Bar (below), [https://hiberniabray.wixsite.com/the-hibernia Hibernia], O'Driscolls], [https://butlerandbarry.com/ Butler and Barry] and the hotel bars. * {{drink | name=Harbour Bar | alt= | url=https://theharbourbar.ie/ | email= | address=1 Strand Road A98 D308 | lat=NA | long=NA | directions=Bray harbour | phone=+353 1 286 2274 | tollfree= | hours=Daily noon-11:30PM | price= | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=Famous pub so it's on the tourist circuit, but deservedly so - the Harbour scores highly for drink, food, service and ambiance. It's a knock-through of a row of fishermen's cottages, so it has a series of rooms each with their own character: main bar, snug, live lounge, good room, beer garden, and upstairs. Often has live music, dog-friendly. }} * '''Main Street''' has The Wild Goose, The Ardmore and Duff's (below). * {{drink | name=Duff's | alt= | url=https://www.frankduffs.ie/ | email=hello@frankduffs.ie | address=Main St A98 Y2F3 | lat=NA | long=NA | directions=opposite Town Hall | phone=+353 1 276 0153 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 5-11:30PM, F Sa 3PM-midnight, Su 3-11PM | price= | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=No televisions and a great quiet pint among cycling memorabilia. }} == Sleep == [[File:St. Valery's Cross. Fassaroe.jpg | thumb | 300px | Fassaroe Cross has a quartz sash ]] * {{sleep | name=Strand Hotel | alt= | url=https://thestrandhotelbray.com/ | email= | address=73 Strand Rd A98 PD00 | lat=53.1987 | long=-6.0957 | directions= | phone=+353 1 548 2960 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €150 | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=Comfy, small hotel in mansion built by the parents of Oscar Wilde, and inherited by him in 1876. Each of the 10 rooms is named for one of his works, so decide whether you want to be An Ideal Husband or Lady Windermere's Fan. Presumably the Canterville Ghost can access all rooms.. }} * {{sleep | name=The Palm | alt= | url=https://www.thepalmbray.ie/ | email= | address=Strand Rd A98 H6Y2 | lat=53.2019 | long=-6.0979 | directions= | phone=+353 1 286 0668 548 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Double (room only) €110 | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=Comfy hotel on the seafront, good restaurant. }} * '''[https://www.themartello.ie/ The Martello]''' next to The Palm has rooms summer only. * {{sleep | name=Royal Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.royalhotel.ie/ | email= | address=Main St A98 F8D3 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 1 286 2935 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2024-05-27 | content=This is allocated to refugees in 2024 and unavailable for other bookings. }} * '''Powerscourt''' is a splurge at nearby [[Enniskerry]]. == Connect == As of May 2024, Bray and Greystones have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Enniskerry]] for the magnificent gardens at Powerscourt; the house itself has become a hotel. There's also a spectacular waterfall. * [[Glendalough]] for the extensive early Christian and Norman monastic buildings, and Ireland's most imposing round tower, in outstanding valley scenery. * [[Wicklow Way]] is a long-distance hiking route across the line of mountains. Multiple access points, the closest are near [[Enniskerry]] and [[Roundwood]]. * [[Dublin]] exerts an irresistible magnetic pull to the north. {{routebox | image1=M11-IE.svg | imagesize1=50 | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Dublin]] | minorl1=[[Image:M50-IE.svg|40px]] | directionr1=S | minorr1=[[Wicklow Town]] | majorr1=[[Wexford]] }} {{geo|53.201|-6.111}} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|County Wicklow}} 089rcuay3b7uwx0toq848r3y07lniuy 0 4612 5298537 5125576 2026-06-26T00:39:56Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298537 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Brecon Beacons National Park - Wales banner.jpg|caption=Brecon Beacons National Park}} The '''Brecon Beacons National Park''' ([[Welsh phrasebook|Welsh]]: ''Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog'') is a [[United Kingdom national parks|national park]] in southern [[Wales]]. Within an area of 1347 km² (520 sq miles), the park contains some of the most spectacular and distinctive upland formations in southern Britain. Stretching from [[Hay-on-Wye]] in the east to [[Llandeilo]] in the west, the park includes the Black Mountains, the Central Beacons, Fforest Fawr and the Black Mountain as well as a vast array of moorland, forests, valleys, waterfalls, lakes, caves and gorges. ==Understand== [[Image:Brecon beacons arp.jpg|300px|thumb|Part of the Brecon Beacons National Park, looking from the highest point Pen y Fan (2907 feet, 886 metres) to Cribyn (2608 feet, 795 metres)]] Several small towns and villages lie within or directly besides Brecon Beacons National Park and can serve well as a base from where to discover the park. For this reason, many have become rather popular tourist destinations with proper facilities for travellers. Good examples include [[Abergavenny]], [[Brecon]], [[Crickhowell]], [[Llandeilo]], [[Llandovery]], [[Hay-on-Wye]] (famous for its book stores) and [[Merthyr Tydfil]]. Other options are [[Brynaman]], [[Govilon]], the small villages [[Llangadog, Capel Gwynfe and Bethlehem]], [[Llangorse]], [[Pontneddfechan]], [[Talgarth]], [[Talybont-on-Usk]], and the lovely parish of [[Myddfai]]. The Brecon Beacons (or simply 'the Beacons') can refer both to the central range of mountains which stretch east from Storey Arms to Talybont and also to the national park as a whole which contains other extensive ranges as outlined below. The alternative term 'the Brecons' is not used locally and will not win you friends! The mountain area on the east of the national park (extending to the English border) is called the Black Mountains, and the area on the west of the park (towards Llandeilo) is known as the Black Mountain (singular). Old writings suggest that the entire collection of mountain massifs between Abergavenny and Llandeilo was once known as the Black Mountain - which helps to account for some of the confusion that arises with modern naming of the area. ===History=== The Brecon Beacons mountain range together with the neighbouring Black Mountains, Fforest Fawr and Black Mountain ranges was designated as the Brecon Beacons National Park in 1957. It was the last of the original ten to gain its status. ===Landscape=== The larger part of the area is underlain by Old Red Sandstone rocks which despite the name are generally brown in colour and do contain layers of softer mudstone. It is this layer cake which is also tilted to the south which gives rise to a characteristic stepped appearance to some of the mountain slopes, particularly in the Black Mountains of the east. All of the various ranges have been carved by rivers and glaciers giving rise to steep north facing scarps and longer southerly directed valleys, many of which are heavily wooded. A number of these valleys in the central part of the park have been dammed giving rise to around a dozen picturesque reservoirs. A band of limestone running east-west through the park brings with it a pock-marked landscape riddled with caves, some of which are amongst the longest in Europe. Along the southern edge of the park, adjacent to the South Wales Coalfield are numerous signs of former industry such as quarries, tramways and limekilns. The major river within the park is the Usk which rises on the western Black Mountain, gathers waters from the central Beacons and then flows along the southern edge of the eastern Black Mountains. Its valley provides the main east-west route through the park. ===Flora and fauna=== Native broadleaf woodland is abundant within the valleys though it's greatly supplemented by conifer plantations in certain areas. A number of rare whitebeam species cling to limestone cliffs in parts of the park; these are generally protected as nature reserves. The global populations of some of these species is only around 25 to 30 trees! The red kite is emblematic of the park, particularly west of Brecon though it's becoming a more common sight in the east too. Herons, kingfishers and dippers are a common sight on the area's rivers which are in the main unspoilt - indeed the Usk catchment has SAC status, the highest level of protection, not least for its fish and lamprey species with there also being a healthy population of otters. Water voles have been re-introduced to Llangorse Lake area. ===Climate=== Being an upland area, the Brecon Beacons get their fair share of rainfall though the eastern Black Mountains are distinctly drier than the western Black Mountain. The stretch of country between Brecon and Hay-on-Wye is the driest part of the park followed by the eastern part of the Usk valley towards Abergavenny. The ranges often form a weather divide with dry weather on say the northern side of the watershed whilst rain falls on the southern slopes. ===Park information === * [http://www.breconbeacons.org/ Brecon Beacons National Park] website ==Get in== [[File:Brecon Beacons National Park (1226611).jpg|thumb|250px|An entrance to the park]] === By plane === The only airport in [[Wales]] is around {{Mile|35}} by road from Merthyr Tydfil, to the south of the Brecon Beacons. Cardiff Airport ({{IATA|CWL}}) is small, with flights arriving from destinations throughout the [[United Kingdom|UK]] and [[western Europe]]. It is near [[Barry]] in the [[Vale of Glamorgan]]. By road, the '''A4226''', '''A48''' then '''A4232''' link Cardiff Airport with the '''M4 motorway''' eastbound. Exit the M4 at Junction 32 for the '''A470''' to [[Merthyr Tydfil]] and [[Brecon]]. By train, the '''304''' and '''905''' buses connect the terminal with Rhoose Cardiff Airport station, for Transport for Wales Valley Lines routes into [[Cardiff]]. Change in Cardiff for trains to Merthyr Tydfil, just south of the Brecon Beacons. By bus, the '''304''' connects the terminal with Cardiff city centre. Change for the '''TrawsCymru T4''' bus through the National Park between Merthyr and Brecon. Alternative airports include: * '''[[Bristol|Bristol Airport]] ({{IATA|BRS}})''' — A medium-sized international airport in [[West Country|South West England]]. National Express service 216 connects Bristol Airport with Cardiff, for the TrawsCymru T4 route through the Brecon Beacons. * '''[[London Heathrow Airport]] ({{IATA|LHR}})''' — One of Europe's busiest international airports, with flights from around the world. National Express service 201/202 connect Heathrow Airport with Cardiff, for the TrawsCymru T4 route through the Brecon Beacons. It lies on the M4 motorway around {{Mile|135}} east of Junction 32, for the A470 into the Brecon Beacons. * '''[[Birmingham|Birmingham Airport]] ({{IATA|BHX}})''' — A major international airport in the [[West Midlands (region)|English Midlands]], with good road connections to the Brecon Beacons using M42, M5, M50 then A40. === By train === The Brecon Beacons has poor rail connections with the rest of Wales and the UK. Convenient railway stations include: * '''[[Abergavenny]]''' {{Rint|gb|rail}} on the south-eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons, with services from major destinations including [[Carmarthen]], [[Llanelli]], [[Swansea]], [[Bridgend]], [[Cardiff]], [[Newport (Monmouthshire)|Newport]], [[Hereford]], [[Shrewsbury (England)|Shrewsbury]], [[Crewe (England)|Crewe]], [[Manchester/Piccadilly-East Centre|Manchester Piccadilly]], [[Chester]], [[Wrexham]], [[Bangor (Wales)|Bangor]] and [[Holyhead]]. * '''[[Ebbw Vale|Ebbw Vale Town]] {{Rint|gb|rail}}''' around {{Mile|3}} south of the mountain range, with local services from several larger destinations including Bridgend, Cardiff and Newport. * '''Rhymney {{Rint|gb|rail}}''' south of the Brecon Beacons, with Valley Lines services from Cardiff and [[Caerphilly]]. * '''[[Merthyr Tydfil]] {{Rint|gb|rail}}''' around {{Mile|2}} south of the Brecon Beacons, with Valley Lines services from Cardiff and [[Pontypridd]]. * '''Ffairfach {{Rint|gb|rail}}''' less than {{Mile|1}} from the mountain's western edge, on the Heart of Wales line with services from Swansea, Llanelli, [[Llandrindod Wells|Llandrindod]], and Shrewsbury. '''[[Llandeilo]] {{Rint|gb|rail}}''' and '''[[Llandovery]] {{Rint|gb|rail}}''' are also near the Brecon Beacons on the same line. Stations are part of the National Rail network in Great Britain. You can buy tickets online at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ or from a range of other online retailers, station ticket offices or station ticket machines. To connect with trains to the Brecon Beacons from further afield: * Services operate into '''Cardiff Central''' and '''Newport''' from [[London/Paddington-Maida Vale|London Paddington]], [[Reading (England)|Reading]], [[Swindon]], [[Bristol]], [[Bath]], [[Nottingham]], [[Birmingham|Birmingham New Street]] and [[Cheltenham]]. * Services operate into '''Hereford''' from London Paddington, Reading, [[Oxford]], [[Cotswolds|The Cotswolds]], [[Worcester (England)|Worcester]] and [[Malvern (England)|The Malverns]]. * Services operate into '''Crewe''' from [[London/Camden|London Euston]], [[Milton Keynes|Milton Keynes Central]], Nottingham, [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Liverpool]], [[Lake District National Park|Oxenholme Lake District]], [[Glasgow]] and [[Edinburgh]]. === By road === With more than 500 square miles of national park to explore, you should plan your route according to where you want to go. The {{European road|UK|M|4}} is a major gateway into South Wales, from [[London]], [[Windsor and Eton|Windsor]], [[Reading (England)|Reading]], [[Bath]], [[Cotswolds|The Cotswolds]], and [[Bristol]]. It lies south of the Brecon Beacons, between the coast and the industrial Welsh Valleys, past [[Newport (Monmouthshire)|Newport]], [[Cardiff]], [[Bridgend]] and [[Swansea]]. There are several routes between the motorway with the mountains. '''From Newport''', use the {{European road|UK|A|4042}} dual-carriageway for [[Pontypool]] and [[Abergavenny]]. [https://museum.wales/bigpit/ Big Pit National Coal Museum] lies just west of the route - and just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park area. [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/sugar-loaf-skirrid-and-usk-valley Sugar Loaf] rises above the Usk Valley and Abergavenny, 596 metres above sea level with panoramic views across the Black Mountains. From the {{European road|UK|M|4}} exit at [[File:Junction 25.png|alt=Junction 25|30x30px]]. '''From Cardiff and [[Pontypridd]]''', the {{European road|UK|A|470}} roughly follows the course of the River Taff, through the Valleys. The hills which flank the dual-carriageway increase in size the further you travel from the capital. The route is a direct connection to [[Merthyr Tydfil]], the Beacons Reservoir, Pen y Fan and [[Brecon]]. From the {{European road|UK|M|4}} exit at [[File:Junction 32.svg|alt=Junction 32|30x30px]]. '''From Bridgend''', the {{European road|UK|A|4061}} winds through Ogmore Vale, Nant-y-moel and Treorchy, over the Bwlch and Rhigos mountains with sweeping views across the Valleys. It is a slower, more scenic route which climbs and descends steep hills with very tight bends. Hirwaun is at its northern end. Use {{European road|UK|A|4059}} for Penderyn with its whiskey distillery and Pen y Fan with its views across the National Park. From the {{European road|UK|M|4}} exit at [[File:Junction 36.png|alt=Junction 36|30x30px]]. '''From Swansea and [[Neath]]''', the {{European road|UK|A|465}} climbs the Vale of Neath to Glynneath, Pontneddfechan and Hirwaun. '''Heads of the Valleys Road''' continues to Merthyr Tydfil, Ebbw Vale, Brynmawr and Abergavenny. Use {{European road|UK|A|4059}} for Penderyn with its whiskey distillery and Pen y Fan with its views across the National Park. [https://museum.wales/bigpit/ Big Pit National Coal Museum] lies just southeast of Brynmawr - and just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park area. [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/sugar-loaf-skirrid-and-usk-valley Sugar Loaf] rises above the Usk Valley and Abergavenny, 596 metres above sea level with panoramic views across the Black Mountains. From the {{European road|UK|M|4}} exit at [[File:Junction 43.svg|alt=Junction 43|30x30px]]. The {{European road|UK|A|4067}} leaves the Swansea suburbs for Ystradgynlais, the [https://www.showcaves.co.uk/ National Showcaves Centre for Wales]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} in the Brecon Beacons (Dan-yr-Ogof) and Sennybridge. It is a slower route which follows the course of the River Tawe. From the {{European road|UK|M|4}} exit at [[File:Junction 45.svg|alt=Junction 45|30x30px]]. '''From Pont Abraham''', the {{European road|UK|A|483}} runs west of the Brecon Beacons between [[Ammanford]] and [[Llandeilo]]. [https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/castell-carreg-cennen Carreg Cennen Castle] lies east of the route, perched on a hill with views across woodland and traditional Welsh farmland. From the {{European road|UK|M|4}} exit at [[File:Junction 49.png|alt=Junction 49|30x30px]]. Routes from the east include: * {{European road|UK|A|40}} from [[Oxford]], The Cotswolds, [[Gloucester (England)|Gloucester]], [[Ross-on-Wye]] and [[Monmouth (Wales)|Monmouth]] - to Abergavenny, Sugar Loaf, Crickhowell, Brecon, Sennybridge, [[Llandovery]] and Llandeilo * {{European road|UK|A|438}} from [[Ledbury]] and [[Hereford]] - to [[Hay-on-Wye]] and Brecon * {{European road|UK|A|465}} from Hereford - to Abergavenny, Ebbw Vale, Merthyr Tydfil and Hirwaun '''From The Midlands''', use {{European road|UK|M|5}} then {{European road|UK|M|50}} for Ross-on-Wye, then {{European road|UK|A|40}} towards Abergavenny. Routes from the north include: * {{European road|UK|A|470}} from Builth Wells - to Brecon, Pen y Fan and Merthyr Tydfil * {{European road|UK|A|483}} from Builth Wells - to Llandovery and Llandeilo Routes from the west include: * {{European road|UK|A|40}} from [[Fishguard]] (including Stena Line ferries from [[Rosslare]], {{Flag|Ireland|link=yes}}), [[Haverfordwest]], [[Tenby]], [[Carmarthen]] - to Llandeilo, Llandovery, Sennybridge, Brecon, Crickhowell, Sugar Loaf and Abergavenny * {{European road|UK|A|48}} from Carmarthen - to the {{European road|UK|M|4}} for onward connections into southern parts of the Brecon Beacons * {{European road|UK|A|482}} from [[Aberaeron]] and [[Lampeter]] - to the {{European road|UK|A|40}} ==Fees and permits== Access to the park and its tourist offices is free though there are parking charges at some locations. ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== [[Image:Pony in brecon2.jpg|thumb|200px|Wild Welsh ponies still roam the Brecon Beacons.]] * {{see | name=Sgwd yr Eira Waterfall | alt= | url= | email= | address=Penderyn | lat=51.7782 | long=-3.5548 | directions=from Lamb Hotel on A4059 at Penderyn, follow the road and then footpath to the river | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=free | content=This is the waterfall you can walk behind, as it has a shallow cave behind the curtain of water. A must see if you are visiting South Wales. The path from the Lamb has been renewed and easy to follow, The waterfall is a 30 minute walk from Penderyn. The steps down to the river are steep and need care. Can be combined in a single walk with several other waterfalls nearby. }} * {{see | name=Pen Y Fan | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=51.8840 | long=-3.4369 | directions=from Storey Arms on A470, an hour's walk along marked paths | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=no charge | content=The highest peak in Southern Britain, at {{feet|2907}}, is a popular walk for locals and visitors alike. Fantastic views, and an exhilarating walk. Can be included in a circular walk known as the horseshoe taking in the adjacent peaks of Cribyn and Corn Ddu. }} * {{see | name=Black Mountain | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=51.8814 | long=-3.70848 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Black Mountain (range) | image=Bannaubrych.JPG | wikidata=Q3396979 | content=Area in the western section of the park (not to be confused with the Black Mountains in the east). Fan Brycheiniog is the highest peak at {{feet|2,631}}. The area has much evidence of glacial activity and there are two magical lakes Llyn y Fan Fach and Llyn y Fan Fawr. }} * {{see | name=Y Garn Goch | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=51.902 | long=-3.905 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Y Garn Goch | image=Y Garn Coch fort.JPG | wikidata=Q8046138 | lastedit=2017-06-06 | content=Iron Age hill fort. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Gorge Walking | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content= }} * {{do | name=Penderyn Distillery | alt= | url=http://penderyn.wales/ | email=visitor@penderyn.wales | address=Pontpren, Penderyn, CF44 0SX | lat=51.763139 | long=-3.521504 | directions=just north of Aberdare | phone=+44 1685 810650 | tollfree= | hours=Shop: daily 9AM-5PM. Tours: daily 10AM-6PM, on the hour. Masterclass: Sa 10:30AM-1PM, Su 1PM-3:30PM| price=Tour: adults £12.50, seniors £9.56, teenagers (14-17 yr) £4.50. Small discount for booking online. Masterclass: £60 pp | wikipedia=Penderyn (whisky) | image=Penderyn Distillery.jpg | wikidata=Q3036620 | lastedit=2020-01-22 | content=Visit the first commercial distillery in Wales of the modern era! On the standard tour, you learn about their history, see the distilling process, and sample a dram or two of their award-winning whiskies. Whisky fanatics may prefer the 2 hr 30 min 'masterclass' option, which looks into the manufacture process in more detail and also offers expert-led blind-nosing and tasting. }} === Events === * {{listing | type=event | name=Green Man Festival | alt= | url=http://www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk/ | email= | address=Glanusk Park, Crickhowell | lat=51.869 | long=-3.172 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5602847 | content= An annual alternative music festival typically held in mid-August. }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== * '''Whisky''' - although more closely associated with its Gaelic cousins in Scotland and Ireland, whisky was distilled in Wales for many centuries. However, the industry was long dead by the 21st century, that is until the [https://penderyn.wales/ Penderyn] distillery was opened in 2004. They make a broad range of fine single malts, many of which have scooped up prestigious international awards. Their main line includes the rich and fruity gold "Madeira", so called because it's finished in ex-Madeira wine barrels, but their "Icons of Wales" series of limited-edition whiskies are worth consideration too. Penderyn can be drunk in many of the local pubs, or you can visit their distillery and shop; see 'Do' for main listing. ==Sleep== ===Lodging=== * {{sleep | name=Beili Helyg Guest House | alt= | url=http://www.beilihelygguesthouse.co.uk | email=willow.walks@hotmail.co.uk | address=Cwm Cadlan, Penderyn, CF44 0YJ | lat=51.7823 | long=-3.4959 | directions=from Penderyn, follow Cwm Cadlan road from Lamb Hotel for 1.5 miles, you'll see sign and yellow grit bin at the gate on your left | phone=+44 1685 813609 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=£80 per double room per night | content=Fantastic little B&B with 3 rooms, all en-suite. Very comfortable beds, friendly hosts, delicious breakfasts. Ideally placed for waterfalls and mountains, Walkers and cyclists welcome. }} *{{sleep | name=Craig y Nos Castle | alt=Craig y Nos Castle | url=http://www.craigynoscastle.com/ | email= | address=Brecon Road, Penycae, Ystradgynlais SA9 1GL | lat=51.825 | long=-3.684167 | directions= | phone=+44 1639 731167 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikipedia=Craig-y-Nos Castle | image=Craig-y-nos.jpg | wikidata=Q5180663 | content=A boutique hotel in a stunning location in the foothills of the Black Mountain, part of the western Brecon Beacons. }} ===Camping=== ===Backcountry=== ==Stay safe== Britain's mountains are not especially high, but they can be dangerous and people do get injured and lost frequently. The weather can change rapidly, especially above 2,000 feet. ==Go next== *Wales' capital city, [[Cardiff]], is a place to head should the weather turn wet: good museums and a castle to explore. There are a huge variety of shops in the city centre, many of which are located in covered arcades. *[[Swansea]] and the Swansea Bay region complements the Brecon hills with wide, sandy beaches; also the excellent leisure centre and National Waterfront Museum will keep the whole family amused. *[[Llandovery]] is a lovely old market town on the edge of the Beacons. {{usablepark}} {{IsPartOf|Mid Wales}} {{geo|51.8833|-3.4333|zoom=10}} bjpa7dvbj4jwco11e225be3zlyxclwb 0 4684 5298544 5215658 2026-06-26T00:56:51Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298544 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Stirlingshire banner Abbey Craig.JPG|caption=Wallace Monument}} '''Bridge of Allan''' is a small Victorian Spa town in [[Stirlingshire]] in central Scotland, with a population of 5250 in 2021. Nestled beneath the iconic Wallace Monument, it's part of the city of [[Stirling]]. Demarcated by the meandering River Forth, Bridge of Allan grew up where the main road north crossed the small river Allan Water. There was a brief spell of copper mining in the 18th century, but in the 19th the village morphed into a spa resort, boosted by the railways and celebrity visitors, and the great monument to Wallace's victory was built. In the 20th century, the University of Stirling was developed on the town's doorstep, on the grounds of Airthrey Estate. == Understand == [[File:Keir Mill, Bridge of Allan, Sterling, Scotland - the waterwheel ironwork.jpg | thumb | 300px | Keir Mill on the path to Dunblane ]] In 1297 William Wallace held much of the north and Dundee was his next target, when the English under the Earl of Surrey marched north against him. At Stirling, Surrey dithered over crossing the River Forth, while the Scots got ready to meet him. He was urged to ford the river further upstream, which he could have done quickly outflanking the Scots. Instead he began to advance over the bridge, a ricketty narrow wooden structure that could only fit two horsemen abreast - the manouevre was bound to take hours. The Scots bided their time till 2000 had crossed then set on and slew them. Surrey could still have held his position at Stirling but bolted south to Berwick, and Scotland was in the hands of Wallace. Wallace was never crowned king, but ruled as "Guardian of Scotland" until his betrayal, capture and execution in 1305 by the English. A war of succession broke out in Scotland: King Edward II tried to place a puppet king on their throne, and occupied Stirling Castle, but in 1314 the Scots under Robert the Bruce besieged the castle and defeated the English army a few miles south at Bannockburn. Scotland's independence was recognised in 1320 in the ''Declaration of Arbroath''. These two great victories are icons of Scottish lore and identity to this day - which gives the game away, that they were never so successful in battle again. There was a long period of peace until 1502 when, not leaving well enough alone, the two nations signed the ''Treaty of Perpetual Peace''. Hostilities soon resumed and in 1513 Scotland suffered a catastrophic defeat at Flodden in Northumberland, with King James IV killed. They regrouped and came again, but suffered another crushing defeat near Carlisle in 1542. Never again could Scotland by itself pose a military threat to England. But if, say, France were to join as an ally, as in the Jacobite rebellions, surely they'd fare better? === Visitor information === * '''[https://www.discoverbridgeofallan.org/ Discover Bridge of Allan]''' is volunteer-run local information. == Get in == {{mapframe | 56.150 | -3.940 | height=550 | width=700 | zoom=14 }} === By road === Follow M9 to its terminus at Junction 11 then return south on A9. For the University, bypass Stirling to the east on A91 then turn onto Alloa Rd past the monument. From Stirling simply follow A9 north. === By rail === Trains take four minutes from [[Stirling]], and continue north to [[Dunblane]]; they run every 30 min and originate either from Glasgow Queen Street or from Edinburgh via Falkirk. Trains heading further north towards Aberdeen or Inverness seldom stop here, change at Stirling or Dunblane. {{marker | type=go | name=Bridge of Allan railway station | wikidata=Q3007486}} has EV charging and free parking, but is just a platform halt with ticket machines. There is level access to Platform 1 (towards Stirling) and a ramp to Platform 2. === By bus === Long distance coaches don't stop here, change in Stirling. McGill's Bus 54 runs every 20 min between Stirling, Bridge of Allan village and the University. The Uni-link bus to the University doesn't come into Bridge of Allan. Citylink 909 runs from Edinburgh every two hours via the airport, Bo'ness, Grangemouth, and Falkirk to Stirling, with two per day continuing to the University. Stagecoach Bus 15 runs every two hours from Crieff via Dunblane, and continues to Stirling. Docherty's Bus 20 runs from Auchterarder. == Get around == You could use Bus 54 between the village and the University, however the town is compact, with almost all everything you need walkable within 10-15 minutes - it's an excellent example of the [https://www.ourplace.scot/about-place/themes/20-minute-neighbourhoods-home/20-minute-neighbourhoods 20 minute neighbourhood]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Although a lot of Bridge of Allan's residential homes are on a hill, the main street and community facilities are mainly on the flat, making the area well accessible for those with mobility issues. == See == * {{see | name=Wallace Monument | alt= | url=https://www.nationalwallacemonument.com | email= | address=Abbey Craig FK9 5LF | lat=56.1388 | long=-3.9181 | directions=1 mile northeast of Stirling near Bridge of Allan | phone=+44 1786 472140 | tollfree= | hours=Daily Nov-Mar 10:00-16:00, Apr-Jun & Sept-Oct 09:30-17:00, Jul-Aug 09:30-18:00 | price=Adult £11.30, child 5-15 years £7.10, conc £9.20 | wikipedia=Wallace Monument | wikidata=Q931796 | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Set on the hill north of Stirling, this monument honours William Wallace who led the Scottish to victory over the English. It was built 1861-69 - Garibaldi was among those who contributed to the funding. Inside are displays about the Battle of Stirling Bridge and about important Scottish people. You have a great view over Stirling and its surroundings from the top. }} * {{marker | name=[https://www.stir.ac.uk/ Stirling University] | type=see | lat=56.1460 | long=-3.9200 }} is set in a landscaped park and estate, with Airthrey Castle and a lake with lots of wildlife. It's two miles east of Bridge of Allan railway station, or take the bus from Stirling. * '''Tollbar''' by the bridge marks the spot where the Jacobites charged a toll to cross, during their occupation of the town in 1745. * {{see | name=Lecropt Kirk | alt= | url=https://www.lecroptkirk.org.uk/ | email= | address=FK9 4NB | lat=56.1585 | long=-3.9649 | directions=off A9 east of village | phone=+44 7733 598830 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Handsome church in Gothic revival style, built in 1827 so it's late Georgian. Note the stain glass windows. The church is on a slight rise with views over the "carse" - the riverside meadows - and Stirling and the Monument. Of the former village of Lecropt nothing remains. }} * {{marker | name=Cambuskenneth Abbey | type=see | lat=56.1233 | long=-3.9179 }} is this side of the river, downstream from the Monument, but it's easier to access by the footbridge from [[Stirling]]. == Do == * '''[https://bofagames.com/ Bridge of Allan Highland Games]''' are held in early August on Strathallan Games Park off Airthrey Ave, with the next on Su 2 Aug 2026. * '''Golf:''' [https://www.bofagc.com/ Bridge of Allan Golf Club] is north side of the village. It's nine holes, designed by Old Tom Morris in 1895. Twice around off white tees is 5120 yards, par 66. * '''Darn Walk''' is an old drovers' trail along the east bank of the Allan Water north to Dunblane, 3 miles. Start from Blairforkie Drive at the village bridge. Follow a rough track along the wooded riverbank to "Ben Gunn's Cave" - Robert Louis Stevenson often holidayed in this area as a youth and may have taken this cave as his model. Beyond, you cross a low ridge to come into Dunblane. The riverbank path continues upstream to Ashfield. * '''The Ochils''' rise steeply above the village - they're not the Highlands, but a good overture. Dumyat Hill (429 m) is their outpost, reached by a trail (5 miles there and back) from Pendreich Forest car park on Sheriffmuir Rd. A branch path leads onto Castle Law, with the best views of the monument and Stirling Castle. * '''[[Dollar]] Glen''' further east is a ravine leading up to Castle Campbell - the autumn colours are sublime. == Buy == [[File:University of Stirling.jpg | thumb | 300px | University of Stirling]] * Co-op Food is at 12 Fountain Rd, junction with Henderson St the main road, open daily 07:00-22:00. Tesco has closed down. == Eat == * '''Main street''' cheap and cheerful eateries include Bayne's Bakery, Lee's House Chinese takeaway, [https://www.friendofmine.co.uk/ Friend of Mine] licensed cafe, and [https://lacucinaitalian.co.uk/ La Cucina] Italian. * {{eat | name=Allanwater Cafe | alt= | url=https://www.allanwatercafe.co.uk/ | email= | address=15 Henderson St FK9 4HN | lat=56.1556 | long=-3.9499 | directions= | phone=+44 1786 833060 | tollfree= | hours=W-M 08:00-20:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Great fish and chips, vegan and gluten-free options. }} * {{eat | name=Nairn's | alt=formerly Nick's | url=https://www.nairns.co.uk/ | email= | address=28 Henderson St FK9 4HR | lat=56.155152 | long=-3.949023 | directions= | phone=+44 1786 831616 | tollfree= | hours=W-F 12:00-23:00, Sa Su 12:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Good cuisine and service at the revival of Nick's, which suffered a fire in 2021. }} * {{eat | name=Westerton Arms | alt= | url=https://www.westertonarms.co.uk/ | email= | address=34 Henderson St FK9 4HR | lat=56.1549 | long=-3.9484 | directions= | phone=+44 1786 200545 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00-00:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Pub with decent food. }} == Drink == [[File:Bridge of Allan.jpg | thumb | 300px | At the village Highland Games ]] * {{drink | name=Allanwater Brewhouse | alt= | url=https://allanwaterbrewhouse.co.uk/ | email= | address=Queens Lane FK9 4HP | lat=56.155143 | long=-3.949537 | directions=village centre | phone=+44 1786 834555 | tollfree= | hours=Tu, Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, Su 12:00-19:00 | price=Tours £25 | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Pub with its own microbrewery. Brews a wide range of ales including one with mangoes, another with nettles. Occasional music in the evening. }} * {{drink | name=The Bawbee | alt= | url=https://thebawbee.co.uk/ | email= | address=24 Henderson St FK9 4HP |lat=56.15521151975898 |long=-3.9493298605607396 | directions= | phone=+44 1786 643653 | tollfree= | hours=Su W Th 11:00-00:00, F Sa 11:00-01:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-18 | content=Cocktail bar on the ground floor of a building that used to be a hotel, and located around the corner from Allanwater Brewhouse. }} * {{drink | name=The Rising Sun | alt= | url= | email= | address=8 New St FK9 4NZ| lat=56.15535386552886 | long=-3.95002376977185 | directions= | phone=+44 1786 833281 | tollfree= | hours=Su-Th 12:00-22:30, F Sa 12:00-00:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-18 | content= }} == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Meadowpark Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.themeadowparkstirling.co.uk/ | email= | address=56 Kenilworth Rd FK9 4RY | lat=56.1489 | long=-3.9301 | directions= | phone=+44 131 357-2857 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £110 | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Smart welcoming hotel near university. }} * {{sleep | name=Stirling Court Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.stirlingcourthotel.co.uk/ | email= | address=Airthrey Rd FK9 4LA | lat=56.1434 | long=-3.9225 | directions=on university campus | phone=+44 1786 451666 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £60 | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Good budget hotel within the university. }} * {{sleep | name=Witches Craig Caravan Park | alt= | url=https://www.witchescraig.co.uk/ | email= | address=Blairlogie FK9 5PX | lat=56.1483 | long=-3.8993 | directions=On A91 | phone=+44 1786 474947 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Tent £21, hook-up £27 | lastedit=2024-02-05 | content=Open March-Oct, a clean friendly site with great views. }} == Connect == As of Feb 2024, Bridge of Allan has 4G from Vodafone, and 5G from EE, O2 and Three. == Go next == * [[Stirling]] is a short bus ride away. * [[Dunblane]] and [[Perth (Scotland) | Perth ]] are on the route north into the Highlands. {{geo|56.15539|-3.94849}} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire}} szy7rdtmioe1qtvb296zv1xbpmsoe32 0 4938 5298704 5271391 2026-06-26T10:39:01Z ~2026-36901-46 2426581 /* By plane */ Updated listing for Băneasa (Aurel Vlaicu) Airport - add ryanair 5298704 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Bucarest Wikivoyage Banner.png}} '''Bucharest''' ([[Romanian phrasebook|Romanian]]: ''București'') is [[Romania]]'s capital and largest city. Bucharest has a very interesting mix of old and new: finding a 300-year-old church near a steel-and-glass tower that sits next to a communist-style building is commonplace in Bucharest. Bucharest offers some excellent attractions, and has cultivated a sophisticated, trendy, and modern sensibility that many have come to expect from a European capital. ==Understand== [[File:Hotel Continental - Calea Victoriei.jpg|thumb|right|''Calea Victoriei'']] Bucharest is the primary entry point into [[Romania]], and the most important industrial and commercial centre of the country. With more than 2.1 million inhabitants in its urban area, Bucharest is one of the largest cities in Southeastern Europe. Bucharest is a booming city with many large infrastructure projects changing the old face of the city, which used to be known in the past as "The Little Paris". Bucharest has benefited from an economic boom along with the EU grants that have helped rebuild parts of the city, including the revamped old town. Those who have known Bucharest in the past will be surprised by the changes that are taking place. The largest finished project is the impressive Basarab overpass, which is Europe's widest cable bridge. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Bucharest |-5.0 |3.0 |40.1 |-3.5 |6.3 |33.0 |0.3 |12.3 |42.4 |4.9 |18.5 |50.2 |9.7 |24.1 |70.4 |13.9 |28.1 |82.7 |15.6 |30.4 |68.6 |15.2 |30.6 |48.9 |10.7 |25.0 |60.5 |5.7 |18.0 |60.7 |1.4 |10.5 |43.6 |-3.3 |4.2 |47.0 |jansnow=137.0 |febsnow=110.0 |marsnow=105.0 |aprsnow=15.0 |maysnow=0.0 |junsnow=0.0 |julsnow=0.0 |augsnow=0.0 |sepsnow=0.0 |octsnow=0.0 |novsnow=88.0 |decsnow=105.0 |float=right |clear=right | description =Source:[[:w:Bucharest#Climate]] }} Bucharest, like most of Romania, has a temperate-continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. This region of Romania gets all four seasons, although spring is brief and falls mainly in April. The average high daily temperature in summer is about 29&nbsp;°C and in winter about 2&nbsp;°C. It can get really hot and dry during the summer (30&nbsp;°C) and really cold during the winter (-20&nbsp;°C), even though temperatures below -12&nbsp;°C are extremely rare. Best time to visit is April through June, September through October and early December. ===Time=== Bucharest is in the Eastern European time zone (UTC+2, with a DST of UTC+3 from April to October). ===Visitor information === * [http://romaniatourism.com/bucharest.html Visitor information] from Romania Tourism ==Talk== [[File:Liscani Street 3.jpg|thumb|right|Lipscani Street, the heart of historic Bucharest]] The official language is [[Romanian phrasebook|Romanian]], a Romance language which claims to be the closest currently-spoken relative to Vulgar Latin, but contains around 20% of loan words from Slavonic languages. Most younger educated people will speak English reasonably well and will likely be proficient in one or more second Romance languages; most educated people born before about 1980 will speak French, Spanish or Italian reasonably well. The Roma people (Gypsies) speak their native Romany, as well as Romanian, and sometimes English as well. Beyond that, as in any major city, there will be a smattering of other languages like Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Hungarian and German. ==Get in== ===By plane=== [[File:Henri Coandă International Airport, March 2013.jpg|thumb|right|Henri Coandă International Airport]] [[File:TAROM 21.jpg|thumb|right|Tarom is the flag carrier of Romania, with its main hub at Otopeni]] The IATA code {{IATA|BUH}} corresponds to "all" airports in Bucharest, not a specific one. * {{go | name=Băneasa (Aurel Vlaicu) Airport | alt={{IATA|BBU}} | url=http://www.baneasa-airport.ro | email= | address= | lat=44.503611 | long=26.103611 | directions=5 km north of the centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Aurel Vlaicu International Airport | wikidata=Q843229 | lastedit=2025-07-24 | content=Wizz Air and Ryanair serve the airport. }} * {{go | name=Henri Coandă International Airport | alt={{IATA|OTP}} | url=http://www.bucharestairports.ro/otp/ | email= | address=Calea Bucureştilor 224E, Otopeni | lat= | long= | directions=18&nbsp;km north of the center along the DN 1 | phone=+40 21 204 1000 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Henri Coandă International Airport | image=Henri Coandă International Airport, March 2013.jpg | wikidata=Q257631 | lastedit=2018-04-12 | content=The airport is large and modern. Airport shops, cafes and restaurants are expensive, especially airside in Departures. The Carrefour Express supermarket in Arrivals with prices matching downtown is still cheaper than anywhere else at the airport. It is about 300 m from International Departures but a good place to get a snack or spend your last few lei on departure. The money exchange office is in the upper floor—rates are not good, about 10% below the official rate. So either use a credit card at an ATM in the lobby for immediate needs. If you don't just use an eSim, there are no dedicated SIM/mobile service vendors in the Arrivals area but you can buy SIM cards at the small spot selling newspapers besides the Taxi request machines on the right wing of the arrival entrance after you exit from the restricted airport arrival area. }} '''Getting there and away''': * '''By bus''' – The [https://www.stb.ro/linie?100 Express Bus]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is usually the best option, as it is inexpensive (50–90 minutes ride) and runs frequently. However, it can get crowded (and it lacks space for luggage) and can get snarled in traffic. The airport bus stop is straight outside Arrivals on the ground floor. Express bus '''100''' runs to downtown Bucharest from here via Arcul de Triumf and Piața Victoriei to ''Piața Unirii'' (bus stop 2, S side of the square). It runs every day, 05:30–21:50 every 15 min and 22:00–05:00 every 30 min. :The price is 3 lei/90 minutes ride, as of July 2025. You can pay with your credit/debit card or buy a local travel card from the booth next to the bus stop. There is another booth in Departures, and one at Piaţa Unirii. Scan your card to validate it on boarding (and if there are two or more people travelling using one card, then press button 2 and scan the card again to validate the second ticket or once for every other traveler in your group; example: scan one time > press 2 > scan again for person #2 > again for person #3 > again for person #4 > and so on); these airport buses are a prime target for ticket inspectors. The fine is 80 lei and you will receive a red card, available for all the lines in the city until 23:59 on the day of the issue—no matter the hour being 01:00 in the night or 23:55, it will expire at 23:59. The fine is always as much as a prepaid monthly travel title on all city lines. * '''By train''' – From early 2021, trains now run in-between largest railway station Gara de Nord and the airport. Tickets can be bought at the airport, onboard or [https://mersultrenurilor.infofer.ro/en-GB/Itineraries online]. Trains runs every 40 minutes and there are both express and local services. * '''By ride hailing''' – Uber and Bolt are available in Bucharest. Expect to pay 60–120 lei for a transfer from the airport into the city, depending on the traffic congestion or rush hours. * '''By private shuttle''' – These have fixed prices per vehicle and are a good deal if there is 2 or more of you, or you're heavily laden, or your destination/pick-up is some way from the centre. For anywhere in Bucharest city, reckon to pay {{EUR|20}} for a small car (like a taxi, max 3 passengers), and {{EUR|40}} for a 7-seater minibus—larger vehicles and coaches are available. They will take you anywhere in Romania, to the Bulgarian beach resorts, and to Moldova. Search online for the main competitors. * '''By taxi''' – Just wait outside Arrivals. Your first step will be to establish the meter rate, which daytime and early evening should be 1.69–1.79 lei/km. So, that is 35–40 lei total to city centre or old city (as of Sep 2018). At night, the rate will be around 3.50 lei/km—they're sharks if they demand more. You can call a taxi from one of the yellow electronic kiosks after you leave Arrivals. The touch screen will print a slip with the name of the taxi company, the rate, and the licence plate number of the taxi, and call it to the pavement for you. Make sure a meter is used since some of the taxis called by the kiosks will try to fleece you. * '''By rental car''' – There are car hire desks in the Arrival area, but you only need a car if you are touring beyond the city directly. ===By bus=== Buses are a good option to get to Bucharest if coming from [[Moldova]], [[Turkey]], [[Greece]] and to some extent [[Bulgaria]], given the low frequency and speeds of trains between these countries and Romania. If you're willing to make extremely long bus rides, it's also possible to get to Bucharest from a large number of cities in Western and South-Western Europe; these buses are operated mainly by [https://www.flixbus.de Flixbus]. * {{listing | name=Băneasa bus terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address=str. Ion Ionescu de la Brad nr. 10, Sector 1 | lat=44.4955 | long=26.0777 | directions=in the northern part of town - Bus 112, 149, 205, 261 to 'Brodina' | phone=+40 21 2305645 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Obor bus terminal | alt=Autogara Obor | url=http://www.autogari.ro/bucuresti/autogara_obor/Autogara74?lang=en | email= | address=B-dul Garii Obor nr. (Bulevardul Gării Obor) 5A, Sector 2 | lat=44.44826 | long=26.14152 | directions=East - Trolley 69, 85 to 'gara Obor' | phone=+40 21 2523486 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 2527646 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Filaret bus terminal | alt=Autogara Filaret | url= | email=office@acfilaret.ro | address=Piata Garii Filaret (Piața Gării Filaret) nr.1, Sector 4 | lat=44.41567 | long=26.09221 | directions=South - linked to downtown by tram 7 and bus 232 | phone=+40 21 3360692, +40 723 671011, +40 733 452738 (Mobil) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Filaret 2.jpg | wikidata=Q678737 |lastedit=2024-01-24| content=Buses and minibuses from [[Chișinău]] (7-8 buses every day, about 10 hours travel time, tickets around {{EUR|15}}) arrive mostly here. }} * {{listing | name=Rahova bus terminal | alt=Autogara Internationala Rahova | url=http://www.autogararahova.ro/csp/autogari/site/index.csp {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Sos. Alexandriei (Șoseaua Alexandria) nr. 164, Sector 5 | lat=44.39818 | long=26.04333 | directions=South-west, - Tram 32 (terminal 'Depoul Alexandriei') links it with the city center | phone=+40 21 4204795 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Transfer buses for routes from Western Europe usually arrive here. }} * {{listing | name=Militari bus terminal | alt=Autogara Militari | url= | email=office@autogaramilitari.ro | address=Str. Valea Cascadelor (Strada Valea Cascadelor) nr.1 | lat=44.43271 | long=26.00625 | directions=West - Tram 8, 25 to 'C.F.R. Cotroceni' - Metro3 'Pacii' | phone=+40 72 5939939 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Griviţa bus terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=North-west | phone=+491 761 1224002, +491 761 1224006 (mobile) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Viilor road bus stop | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sos. Viilor, ~20 | lat=44.41592 | long=26.08443 | directions=- Tram 23, 32 to 'Piata Chirigiu' from the northern end and tramway 7 from the southern end - | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Buses from [[Athens]] (several times per week, 16–20 hours travel time, tickets around {{EUR|60}}) arrive at stations along Viilor road; also from [[Istanbul]] (three-four buses per day, 12–14 hours travel time, tickets around {{EUR|45}}) arrive to here. }} * {{listing | name=Autogara IDM Barasab Kennedy | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sos. Orhideelor nr. 46, Sector 1 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 310 7571, +40 729 989948 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-01-27 | content= }} From specific destinations: * [[Sofia]] &ndash; There are two daily buses at night from [[Sofia]] (7 hr travel time, from {{EUR|15}}) &mdash; one with Flixbus and one with Union Ivkoni. * [[Varna]] &ndash; One or two buses daily only between late May-early September, 5–6 hr travel time, and tickets around {{EUR|30}}. They usually stop in various squares in downtown. * [[Constanta]] &ndash; Buses every 45 min during the summer and some buses offers WiFi connection. The station is near Gara de Nord at the intersection of Strada Mircea Vulcanescu & Bulevardul Dinicu Golescu. * [[Chișinău]] &ndash; Many companies operate 'rutieras' during the day and larger coaches during the night heading to Bucharest. The fare with one particular company was 225 lei for an 8-9 hr journey with hourly departures in the evening. There was no toilet on the bus but several stops were made by the bus driver. Most companies were in the central bus station behind the Central Market, not the southern bus station as indicated above. Bucharest also has bus connections to a vast number of other cities in Romania. They're a convenient choice primarily when coming from places from which railways are under repair or too indirect (like [[Sibiu]]). Timetables for most domestic routes and several international ones are available '''[http://www.autogari.ro/?&lang=UK here]'''. * {{go | name=Autogara București-Giurgiu | alt=Bucharest-Giurgiu Bus Terminal | url= | email= | address=Strada Dârste 7 | lat=44.40349 | long=26.09562 | directions= | phone=+40733488097 | tollfree= | hours=04:40-19:10 | price= | lastedit=2025-04-11 | content=Buses to Giurgiu leave from here every half hour. No tickets, you just pay the driver once on board (cash). There is an indoor waiting area with benches, heat/AC, and vending machines. }} ===By train=== [[File:P. O. Carpati.jpg|thumb|right|Bucharest has extensive train connections both within Romania and internationally]] All mainline train services from Bucharest use Gara de Nord station. Direct international trains run from [[Budapest]] (two per day, 16 hours), [[Chișinău]] (nightly, 12 hours), [[Istanbul]] (18 hours, daily direct in summer, winter by connecting trains but no slower), and [[Vienna]] (daily, 19 hours). Trains from [[Sofia]] take 10 hours, change at Ruse. Trains from Belgrade, Kyiv and Moscow are disrupted long-term, take the bus or fly. It is worth taking the overnight train from Chișinău for the experience alone. The train is an old Soviet can with homely decor and there are always locals around keen to spend the journey drinking local cognac with some travellers. Around 03:00 the train stops for several hours to change the wheels at the border: Romania uses European standard gauge and Moldova uses the wider Soviet gauge, so expect an orchestra of lumphammers and cusswords of several languages. The train is broken into its separate carriages, hoisted on jacks for the change while you stay aboard, then lumbers on its way. Main destinations within Romania include [[Brasov]] (2–3 hours), [[Constanta]] (2 hr), [[Sibiu]] (5-6 hr) and Timisoara (9 hr). For Cluj-Napoca, change at Brasov. Timetables for domestic routes are available from '''[http://www.cfrcalatori.ro/ CFR]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (Căile Ferate Române, the national railway company), but only four weeks in advance. [[File:Gara de Nord vedere coloane.jpg|thumb|right|''Gara de Nord'']] * {{go | name=Gara de Nord | alt=Bucharest North Station | url= | email= | address=București Nord, Piața Gării de Nord 1-3, Sector 1 | lat=44.4467 | long=26.0742 | directions=2 km north of centre, linked by buses 105, 123, 178, trolleys 62, 79, 85, 86, 93, 96 and tramway 42, 44, 45, 46, metro M1, M4: Gara de Nord | phone=+40 21 223 0880, +40 21 319 0358 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Gara de Nord - vedere dinspre str.Gara de Nord.jpg | lastedit=2018-04-12 | content=To be precise, this is Gara de Nord A, with all mainline departures. (Gara de Nord B, 500 m north and better known as Basarab, has only suburban lines.) The main collection of ticket kiosks are north side of the hall, towards the exit onto Calea Grivitei and stairs down to the Metro. The station has lots of cafes and ATMs - plus money exchange, but rates here are very poor, walk a couple of blocks for more realistic rates. Left luggage 24/7, several travel agents, a pharmacy, and (essential to Romanians) betting shops. The old mechanical whirlyboard gives glimpses of bygone destinations, such as Minsk.<br>Gara de Nord is on the Metro, and served by many bus routes, see above. The only taxi company permitted here is Meridian Taxi, see warnings under "Get Around". For the airport bus, exit south onto Bvd Golescu, cross (mind the trams!) and turn left for the bus stop. }} * {{go | name=București Progresul railway station | alt=Gara București Progresul | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3646243 | lastedit=2024-06-03 | content=Minor station in the southern outskirts of the city, as of 2024 it only serves regional trains from [[Giurgiu]] at the border with [[Bulgaria]]. }} ===By car=== The city’s entrances from the north (the E60 road coming from Braşov and the A3 highway from Ploieşti), west (the A1 highway from Piteşti), east (the A2 highway from Constanţa), south (the E20 road from Giurgiu) and the avenues in the city center are very crowded, especially at rush hours. Right in the city center, just across from the University, thete is a major underground parking place. Although modern and safe, finding the entrance may prove to be a little tricky. An even bigger parking place (with 5 levels) is found near the Unirii Square, behind the Unirii Mall, which is also near the center area and 10 minutes away (by foot) from the old town's center. Driving on some of the secondary streets might prove to be a bit bumpy, due to only relatively good condition of these roads. {{Mapframe|44.437|26.102|zoom=11}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2056949|type=geoline|stroke=#FFC62D|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q1884455|type=geoline|stroke=#3E618A|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2735258|type=geoline|stroke=#CC3333|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2552821|type=geoline|stroke=#006633|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q19660}} ==Get around== {{mapframe|44.4345239| 26.1016837|zoom=15|name=The city center of Bucharest}} ===By public transport=== Bucharest has one of the most extensive systems of public transport in Europe, even though it can sometimes be confusing and crowded. ====Ticketing==== The easiest option for the tourist is probably using a contactless card. In principle, this should work with any contactless credit or debit card as well as when using a smart phone or smart watch. The [https://stbsa.ro/eng/card_contactless_eng contactless option]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is always present at metro stations, and should be available on most buses (Otokar and Citaro Hybrid) and some trams, nominally lines 1, 10 and 41. As of August 2025 the price is 3 lei for any journey up to 90 minutes, no matter how many lines you are switching (just touch the machine with your card once you get into a new bus/trolleybus/tram). If your journey has not ended after 90 minutes (rarely), just touch your card again. If you forgot at what time you paid for the ride, press "1" (on older orange machines) or "i" (on newer yellow machines) > the screen will state "Consultare card" (="Card inspection") > touch your card and keep it there until the machine states "Retrageți cardul" (="Remove the card"). In the meantime, the machine will show your time left since the start of the ride, you credit (if any), your package of rides (if any) and your travel titles (if any, current or expired). Another option is the '''[https://www.stb.ro/carduri Activ]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' card, which costs 3.70 lei at any STB point of sale (including the airport) and can be loaded with pay-as-you-go credit and a variety of passes (daily to monthly). There is also the Multiplu card which does not cost anything to buy, as ong as they are loaded with two trips. You can read the tariffs [https://www.stb.ro/tarife online]. Not to be confused with the Metrorex passes sold at the ticket machines in the metro stations; those are not valid for other modes of public transport. When entering a vehicle or subway station, you must validate your ticket: hold the card on the orange reader until you hear a short beep, green LED lights up and you can read on the display the message "Călatorie plăcută (Have a nice journey)". If you get a red light and a long beep (validation failed), try again. One card can be used to pay for more than one person (pay-as-you-go only for the second and subsequent people). In order to validate the card for additional people, press the button "2", and then present the card a second time. In order to check the number of people the card has been validated for, and the remaining balance on the card, press "1" before presenting the card. ====By metro==== [[File:Metro București.svg|thumb|Bucharest Metro map]] The metro, which has five lines (M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5) and covers the city quite extensively, is usually a cheap and easy way to get around even though there are surprisingly few stops in the city center, since the system was built to transport workers and commuters from outlying neighborhoods through the city to peripheral industrial areas. If you're staying outside the city center, or even if you want to travel within it, the Metro can be a very fast and convenient way of getting around, avoiding the traffic jams and crowds that frequently characterize surface transport. The network is frequent, fairly comfortable, reliable and easy-to-use. [[File:Metro pipera bucharest RO.jpg|thumb|right|Pipera station]] Tickets can be purchased from electronic kiosks in the stations that offer instructions in English and other languages. They accept most Romanian banknotes and provide change. 10 lei for a 2-ride ticket, 40 lei for a 10-ride ticket(as of September 2025). Line '''M1''' starts in the eastern part of the city and then goes downtown on a circular route, passing by the main train station ''Gara de Nord'' and meeting up with the '''M2''' line (which runs north-south) at ''Piaţa Unirii'' and ''Piaţa Victoriei'' stations. Line '''M3''' links the western and eastern parts of the city. The central section on the '''M3''' between ''Eroilor'' - ''Nicolae Grigorescu'' is shared with '''M1''' and trains from both lines run in tandem having the terminus displayed at the front of the cab. Line '''M4''' is a short line starting from ''Gara de Nord 2'' going to ''Lac Straulesti''. Even though ''Gara de Nord'' and ''Gara de Nord 2'' are in close proximity, transferring between the two is taxed as a separate trip. The only platform to platform link between '''M4''' and '''M1''' is at ''Basarab'' station. Line '''M5''' runs from Eroilor 2 (which it shares with lines '''M1''' and '''M3''') to ''Valea Ialomiței'' or ''Râul Doamnei.'' Up to date maps of the subway and any changes to the schedule can be found on the [http://www.metrorex.ro Metrorex official site]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. ====By bus, tram or trolleybus==== [[File:Tramway 32 Buc.JPG|thumb|right|Line 32 tram headed to Alexandria]] Bucharest has a very complex network of buses, trams and trolleybuses. The intricate web of hundreds of bus, tram and trolleybus routes may be confusing at first. Once you know your way around the network, however, public surface transport can be a very good way of getting around since there is a bus, tram or trolleybus stop virtually everywhere in the city. The vehicles are usually very frequent, although they can still get terribly crowded at peak hours. [https://cityradar.ro/ Route planner]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is available online. Make sure you know when to get off—even though in most vehicles the following stops are announced and displayed on a screen, these displays can be unreliable. If you are uncertain if a stop is the one you want, ask your fellow travellers. Night buses are also available. They run every 30 minutes between 23:30 and 05:00. They all leave from the city center (Piața Unirii) and go out radially in the city. ===By car=== Car rental is available in the city and at the airport. The average starting price for a day's rental (small car) is about {{EUR|10}}. ===By taxi=== There are a lot of taxi companies in Bucharest and you'll easily find a cab. But be careful; only use the services of big taxi companies, not small independent taxis (which can charge up to ten times the price). Cars from these companies have the rates displayed on the door; the quoted rate is charged once when the meter starts, and again for every kilometer driven. There is also a time-based hourly rate, which is not listed, but should be around ten times the per-km fee. If a taxi does not display these prices on the door it is best not to take it and find another, as you'll probably be massively overcharged. Some taxis have a low "nighttime rate" listed in a large font with an expensive "daytime rate" listed in a smaller font. So, read carefully and remember that ''noapte'' means night. At the beginning of your trip, the driver should start the meter; if they do not, be sure to remind them. If you are travelling outside the city limits (say to or from the airport) prices per km and per hour are often doubled, or an extra 10–15 lei is added to the fare. Be wary of taking taxis from touristy areas. Conmen have been known to demand large sums for passengers to recover their luggage from the trunk or even mug their passengers. However, most taxi drivers are nicer than usual with foreigners, as they expect to ''keep the change'' when they get paid at the end of the ride. Smart phone users can download the Clever Taxi app. The app will allow you to choose and summon a taxi to your map location based on vicinity and price. ====By ride hailing==== '''Uber''' and Bolt are available in Bucharest, also in the airport area. At least Uber allows to pay by credit/debit car and cash. There is no shortage of drivers using Uber, and some might view it as safer and easier. ==See== {{mapframe|44.43| 26.11|zoom=13}} ===Landmarks=== * {{see | name=Palace of the Parliament | alt=Palatul Parliamentului | url=http://cic.cdep.ro/en/opening-hours-and-tariffs | email= | address=strada Izvor 2-4 | lat=44.4275 | long=26.0875 | directions=near Piaţa Unirii (Union Plazza). - M1, 3 'Izvor' - entrance is on the north side | phone= + 40 733 558 102 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Adults 60 lei, students 30 lei (19-26 years old, with a valid student ID), children 20 lei (7-18 years old), children under 7 free | wikipedia=Palace of the Parliament | image=Boulevard Unirii 2007.jpg | wikidata=Q164150 | lastedit=2025-01-26 | content=The world's second largest building (after the US Pentagon), formerly named "Casa Poporului" (People's House). Building started in 1983 by Nicolae Ceauşescu and is still not completely finished (2019). It spans 12 stories, around 1,000 rooms and covers over 330,000 m². 1/9 of Bucharest was reconstructed to accommodate this magnificent massive building and its surroundings. There are 1hr 20min tours frequently which lead through the building's vast collection of marble rooms and culminate in an impressive view from Nicolae Ceauşescu's balcony. All the building materials were sourced from various parts of Romania, though mainly from Transylvania. Tours can be booked online at least a day in advance or just turn up and take the next tour. The first English language tour of the day starts at 09:15. You must have your passport with you to go on a tour. }} * {{see | name=Old City | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.43123 | long=26.10085 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Bucharest Old Town | image=Sunset in the Old Town - Bucharest, Romania - Travel photography (35031271856).jpg | wikidata=Q12723820 | content=A part of the city's historical heart was not demolished by Nicolae Ceauşescu. The area (stretching approximately between the Dâmboviţa river to the south, Calea Victoriei to the west, Calea Moşilor to the east and the Regina Elisabeta boulevard to the north) contains an assortment of middle 19th-century buildings, ruins of the Wallachian princes' medieval court, churches, bank headquarters, a few hotels, clubs, restaurants and shops. Narrow cobblestoned streets retain the names of the ancient guilds that resided on them. The area was mostly renovated and is now a place of gathering for the young generation of the city. }} * {{see | name=Revolution Square | alt=Piaţa Revoluţiei | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.43856 | long=26.0975 | directions=M 'Universitate' 600 m - it is not a long walk from the other squares, Gara de Nord, or the Parliament Palace. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Revolution Square, Bucharest | image=Piata Revolutiei, Statuia lui Carol.jpg | wikidata=Q3390456 | content=Site of part of the Romanian Revolution of 1989. There is a tall monument in the center of the square in memory of those who died during the revolution. }} * {{see | name=Arch of Triumph | alt=Arcul de Triumf | url= | email= | address=Piața Arcul de Triumf | lat=44.467278 | long=26.078361 | directions=northern part of the city, close to Herăstrău Park- Take tram 41 to 'Casin' or M2 'Aviatorilor' 500 m | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q638278 | content=The current arch was inaugurated in 1936, however previous arches had been here since 1878. }} [[File:RomanianAthenaeumHDR.jpg|thumb|right|''Ateneul Român'' (The Romanian Athenaeum)]] * {{see | name=Romanian Atheneum | alt=Ateneul Roman | url=http://www.hotel-bucuresti.com/blog/2015/05/14/ateneul-roman-un-simbol-al-culturii-romanesti/ | email= | address=strada Benjamin Franklin, 1-3 | lat=44.4414 | long=26.0971 | directions=Near Revolution Square.- m2 'Piata Romana' | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Romanian Athenaeum | image=Ateneul Roman.jpg | wikidata=Q755457 | content=A beautiful building is home of the ''George Enescu Philarmonic''. If you have the time, visit the interior of the building as well, as it holds a fresco that depicts scenes of the Romanian history. The building was inaugurated in 1888. }} * {{see | name=Victory Square | alt=Piața Victoriei | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4529 | long=26.0858 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Victory Square | wikidata=Q2887525 | content=Big public square in the heart of Bucharest with cultural sites and an intersection of boulevards. }} ===Museums=== [[File:Muzeul de Arta curte.jpg|thumb|right|The Royal Palace, housing the National Museum of Art]] * {{see | name=National Art Museum | alt=Muzeul Național de Artă al României | url=http://www.mnar.arts.ro/ | email=national.art@art.museum.ro | address=Calea Victoriei, 49-53 | lat=44.43978 | long=26.09598 | directions=M2 'Piața Victoriei' or M2 'Universitate' 600 m | phone=+40 21 3133030, +40 21 3148119 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:00 | price=24 lei for the Romanian collection, 24 lei for the European collection, or 40 lei for booth; 75% discount for pupils, students (with valid cards), Euro 26 card holders up to 30 years old, and people with disabilities; 50% discount for pensioners | wikipedia=National Museum of Art of Romania | image=Muzeul de Arta curte.jpg | wikidata=Q1319192 | lastedit=2019-09-03 | content=In the building of the former Royal Palace, this museum has collections of ancient, modern and contemporary Romanian art as well as exhibitions of rare European art dating as early as the 14th century }} * {{see | name=Aviation Museum | alt=Muzeul Aviației | url=http://www.roaf.ro/?page_id=854 | email= | address=Fabrica de Glucoza (Șoseaua Fabrica de Glucoză) street, 4, in District 2 | lat=44.4775 | long=26.111 | directions=on the former Airport Pipera | phone=+40 21 2320404 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 09:00-16:00, Sa Su 10:00-17:00 | price= | image=Muzeul Aviatiei.jpg | wikidata=Q12736079 | lastedit=2023-09-13 | content=Open-air display of various types of aircraft. The museum is closed for renovation from 1 September 2023 and is expected to be closed for 30 months (until 2026). }} [[File:Palatul Romanit - Muzeul Colecțiilor (5).jpg|thumb|Museum of Art Collections]] * {{see | name=National Museum of Contemporary Art | alt=Muzeul Național de Artă Contemporana | url=http://www.mnac.ro/ | email=info@mnac.ro | address=Strada Izvor | lat=44.4284 | long=26.0864 | directions=M1, M3 'Izvor' or Bus 136, 385 | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Cafe, 4th floor: Open: Tu-Su 10:00-18; Library (Libraria Jumatatea Plina): W-Su 10:00-18:00; Annex NMCA. W-Su 10:00-18:00. Address: Mosilor 64-68, free entry; Dalles Hall (SALA Dalles) Open: W-Su 10:00-18:00; Address: 18 Avenue N. Balcescu | price=10 lei | wikipedia=National Museum of Contemporary Art (Romania) | wikidata=Q6963033 | content=Inside a converted wing of the Palace of the Parliament, in what had been the private apartments of Ceauşescu, the museum features fresh exhibitions from Romania's burgeoning art scene.}} **Branch Museums: '''[http://www.mnar.arts.ro/The-Art-Collections-Museum The Art Collections Museum]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (Muzeul Colecţiilor de Artă), 111, Calea Victoriei, phone:+40 21 2129641; +40 21 2121749. May-Sep: Sa-W 11:00-19:00; Oct-Apr: Sa-W 10:00-18:00. Huge collection of Romanian artworks, and some wonderful textiles and sculpture from the East. Joint ticket with the National Art Museum for 30 lei. **'''[http://www.mnar.arts.ro/Zambaccian-Museum K.H. Zambaccian Museum]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (Muzeul K. H. Zambaccian). 21A, Muzeul Zambaccian Street, phone:+40 21 2301920. May-Sep: W-Su 11:00-19:00, Oct-Apr: W-Su 10:00-18:00. Collection of Romanian artworks collected by a prominent Armenian businessman. Also has works by Cézanne, Monet, Picasso and Matisse.<br />'''[http://www.mnar.arts.ro/Theodor-Pallady-Museum Theodor Pallady Museum]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (Muzeul Theodor Pallady). 22, Spătarului Street, phone: +40 21 2114979. May-Sep: W-Su 11:00-19:00, Oct-Apr: W-Su 10:00-18:00. * {{see | name=Curtea Veche Museum | alt=Old Princely Court Museum | url=http://museum.ici.ro/mbucur/romanian/curteaveche.htm | email= | address=Strada Franceză, nr. 25-31 | lat=44.430139 | long=26.100944 | directions=M 'Piața Unirii 2' | phone=+40 21 3140375 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= Closed for renovations in Sep 2018 | price= | wikipedia=Curtea Veche | image=Ansamblul medieval Curtea Veche.jpg | wikidata=Q1855757 | content=The ruins of the crown palace of the Wallachian princes, some parts dating as early as the 16th century. It’s around an earlier fortification in this place that Bucharest began to develop. }} * {{see | name=Cotroceni Palace Museum | alt=Muzeul Național Cotroceni, Palatul Cotroceni | url=http://www.muzeulcotroceni.ro/ | email=adinarentea@muzeulcotroceni.ro | address=Bulevardul Geniului 1 | lat=44.434108 | long=26.061669 | directions=Buses and trolleys to 'Gradina Botanica' or M 'Politehnica' | phone=+40 21 3173100 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Cotroceni Palace | image=Cotroceni Palace Garden - Bucharest 07.jpg | wikidata=Q733838 | content=Has collections of objects that belonged to the former Romanian royal family. Today it is also the residence of the Romanian president. }} * {{see | name=Firefighters Museum | alt=Muzeul National al Pompierilor | url=https://www.facebook.com/muzeulnationalalpompierilor/ | email= | address=Bd. Ferdinand I, nr. 33 (Foişorul de Foc), sector 2 | lat=44.4403 | long=26.1205 | directions= | phone=+40 21 2522884 | tollfree= | fax= | image= | hours=rarely opened | price=Tram 14 to 'Bd. Pache Protopopescu' | content=A 42-metre high building between Obor, Calea Moșilor and Nerva-Traian. It was used in the past as an observation tower by the firemen. }} [[File:Muzeul Satului 11.jpg|thumb|right|Village Museum]] * {{see | name=Village Museum | alt=Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” | url=http://www.muzeul-satului.ro/ | email=contact@muzeul-satului.ro | address=Șoseaua Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff, 28-30 | lat=44.473361 | long=26.076556 | directions=Tram 41 to 'Agronomie' or M2 'Aviatorilor' and walk across the park ~15 min | phone=+40 720 220132 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 09:00-19:00 | price=Adult 15 lei; pupils and students (with valid cards) 4 lei; pensioners and Euro 26 card holders 8 lei | wikipedia=Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum | image=Bucharest - Village Museum 6.JPG | wikidata=Q1956214 | lastedit=2018-09-07 | content=An open air museum created in 1934, it now has around 300 traditional buildings (including churches, workshops, mills) and furniture, pottery, clothing gathered from villages in every region of the country in an effort to showcase the traditional way of life of the Romanians. Occasionally hosts folkloric and traditional crafts festivals. }} * {{see | name=Museum of the Romanian Peasant | alt=Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român | url=http://www.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro | email=info@muzeultaranuluiroman.ro | address=Şoseaua Kiseleff, 3 | lat=44.454383 | long=26.083678 | directions=M2 'Piața Victoriei 1, 2'; bus 205, 300, 381, 783 | phone=+40 21-317-96-61 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=12 lei for adults | wikipedia=Romanian Peasant Museum | image=RO B Romanian peasant museum 1.JPG | wikidata=Q623662 | lastedit=2019-09-03 | content=Also dedicated to the traditional way of life, it focuses mainly on traditional interior decoration, tools, clothing and artifacts. Again, it sometimes hosts folkloric and traditional crafts festivals. ; Small public museum area, with all information solely in Romanian. }} [[File:Muzeul National de Geologie night HDR.jpg|thumb|right|''Muzeul National de Geologie'' at night]] * {{see | name=Geology Museum | alt=Muzeul Național de Geologie | url=http://www.geology.ro/ | email= | address=Șoseaua Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff, 2 | lat=44.454853 | long=26.085411 | directions=M2 'Piața Victoriei' | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily10:00-18:00 | price=10 lei | wikipedia=Geology Museum (Romania) | wikidata=Q5535333 | lastedit=2018-09-29 | content=Has a large collection of minerals, rocks and fossils. }} * {{see | name=National History Museum | alt=Muzeul Național de Istorie a României | url=http://www.mnir.ro/ | email=direct@mnir.ro | address=Calea Victoriei, nr. 12 | lat=44.431531 | long=26.097225 | directions=M 'Piața Unirii 2' 600 m | phone=+40 21 3158207 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 3113356 | hours=W-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=10 lei | wikipedia=National Museum of Romanian History | image=Museo Nacional de Historia de Rumanía, Bucarest, Rumanía, 2016-05-29, DD 63.jpg | wikidata=Q179283 | lastedit=2018-09-06 | content=It's in a neoclassical late 19th-century building, and has exhibits documenting the evolution of society on Romania’s territory from the Paleolithic until today, a replica of Trajan’s Column in [[Rome]] and a very interesting collection of jewellery and bronze articles from Roman times up to the Kingdom of Romania. }} * {{see | name=Nicolae Minovici Folk Art Museum | alt=Muzeul de Artă Populară Prof. Dr. Nicolae Minovici | url=http://www.minovici.ro/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4 | email=prietenii@minovici.ro | address=Strada dr. Nicolae Minovici 3 | lat=44.48417 | long=26.07444 | directions=in front of the station Baneasa; bus 131, 205, 335 | phone=+40 21 6657334 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 09:00-17:00 | price= | image=20110930 082743 Vila Dr Minovici Minovici B-II-m-A-19206.jpg | wikidata=Q12736104 | content=Also here is Museum of Old Western Art the (Muzeul de Artă Veche Apuseană Minovici). There are collections of the various works of art, such as stained glass from the 16th-17th centuries, engravings, paintings, rare books, tapestries, carpets, furniture. }} * {{see | name=Military History Museum | alt=Muzeul Militar Naţional | url=http://muzeumilitar.defense.ro/ | email= | address=Strada Mircea Vulcănescu, 125-127 | lat=44.441364 | long=26.076393 | directions=M 'Gara de Nord' , bus - 122, 126, 168, 226, 268, 368 to stop 'Str.Berzei', trolley - 62, 85, 93, 96 to (Str.Mircea Vulcănescu), | phone=+40 21 319 59 04 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 09:00-17:00 | price=20 lei | wikipedia=National Military Museum, Romania | image=NationalMilMusBuc.JPG | wikidata=Q3488935 | lastedit=2025-05-04 | content=Has collections of weapons dating since the prehistoric times and permanent exhibitions dedicated to important military events, including the Romanian revolution of 1989, and an outdoor exhibit of relatively modern weaponry, including cannons, tanks, helicopters. Outdoor area with vehicles closed for rebuilding as of Apr 2025. }} * {{see | name=National Museum of Romanian Literature | alt=Muzeul Naţional al Literaturii Române, Casa Krețulescu | url=http://mnlr.ro/ | email=relatiipublice@mnlr.ro | address=Bulevardul Dacia nr. 12, sector 1 | lat=44.446099 | long=26.093099 | directions=M 'Piata Romana' 500 m east | phone=+40 21 2129654 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18542251 | content= }} * {{see | name=D. Minovici Western European Arts Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=strada N. Minovici, nr.3 | lat=44.484256 | long=26.074651 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=20110930 082721Muzeul de Artă Medievală Ing. D. Minovici B-II-m-A-19207.jpg | wikidata=Q18542195 | content=Located in a beautiful eclectic villa }} * {{see | name=Frederic and Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck Art Museum | alt=Muzeul de Artă Frederic Storck și Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck | url=https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/en/the-frederic-storck-and-cecilia-cutescu-storck-museum.html | email=muzeul.storck@muzeulbucurestiului.ro | address=Str. Vasile Alecsandri nr.16, sector 1 | lat=44.451 | long=26.094 | directions=M 'Piaţa Victoriei' 300 m | phone=+40 21 2113889 | tollfree= | hours=10:00-18:00 | price= | wikipedia=Frederic and Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck Art Museum | wikidata=Q4683857 | lastedit=2017-04-02 | content=This museum presents works of artists of the Storck family. }} * {{see | name=Railways Museum | alt=Muzeul Căilor Ferate Române | url=http://www.cenafer.ro/ | email=muzeu.cfr@cenafer.ro | address=Calea Griviţei, nr. 139B | lat=44.448360 | long=26.072965 | directions=M "Gara de Nord", bus 105; trolley 86, 97 | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Rarely opened, W-Su 10:00-16:00 | price= | wikidata=Q12736072 | content=Shows all sorts of different exhibits from different ages of the railway network. Also has a model railway. }} [[File:Muzeul Enescu - intrare.jpg|thumb|right|George Enescu Museum]] * {{see | name=National Museum of "George Enescu" | alt=Muzeul Național „George Enescu” | url=http://www.georgeenescu.ro/ | email=office@georgeenescu.ro | address=Strada Gheorghe Manu, 141 | lat=44.4488 | long=26.0884 | directions=Located in Cantacuzino Palace | phone=+40 21 3181450 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-17:00, | price=Adults 6 lei, seniors 2 lei, students 1.5 lei | image=Bucuresti, Romania, Casa Memoriala George Enescu, Palatul Cantacuzino, Calea Victoriei nr. 141, sect. 1 (detaliu 4).JPG | wikidata=Q12736099 | content=Music, memorial museum. }} * {{see | name=National Philatelic Museum | alt=Muzeul Național Filatelic | url=https://www.facebook.com/MNFilatelic/ | email= | address=Calea Victoriei, nr. 12 | lat=44.4325 | long=26.0974 | directions=Bus to 'Piata Natiunile Unite' 200 m or M 'Universitate' 600 m | phone=+40 21 3125542, +40 21 3127491 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 3125585 | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q12736094 | lastedit=2018-03-21 | content=Come here for stamps, stamp collections, postal items: boxes of values, old paintings, seals, horns, prints, old letters, maps postal coachmen costumes, furniture used in post offices, etc. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Mary and Dr. G. Severeanu | alt=Muzeul Maria și dr. George Severeanu | url= | email= | address=Strada Henri Coandă (fostă I.C. Frimu) nr. 26, sector 1 | lat=44.447315 | long=26.092963 | directions=M 'Piata Romana' 500 m SE | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=6 lei | image=Bucuresti, Romania, Str. Henri Coanda nr. 26, Casa Maria si George Severeanu; B-II-m-B-18442 (plafon 1).JPG | wikidata=Q18542254 | content=The exhibition includes a variety of objects: pieces of archeology - ancient Greek vases, statuettes of Tanagra, bronze and marble, glass Roman items, ancient Greek, Dacian Roman, Byzantine and medieval coins. Romanian and foreign orders and decorations. }} * {{see | name=Bucharest History Museum | alt=Muzeul Municipiului București, Palatul Sutu | url=http://www.muzeulbucurestiului.ro/ | email= | address=Bulevardul Ion C. Brătianu. 2 | lat=44.4348 | long=26.1022 | directions=In the Şuţu Palace | phone=+40 21 315 6858 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 3102562 | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=10 lei and 15 lei extra to take photos (not worth it) | image=Palatul Sutu - Poarta.jpg | wikidata=Q12736096 | lastedit=2019-09-03 | content=Housed in a palace built in 1834, has collections related to the development of Bucharest from a small 14th-century fortress into Romania’s capital. }} * {{see | name=National Museum of Antiquities | alt=Muzeul Național de Antichități | url=http://www.instarhparvan.ro/mna.htm | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18537452 | content= }} * {{see | name=National Museum of Old Maps and Books | alt=Muzeul Național al Hărților și Cărții Vechi | url=http://www.muzeulhartilor.ro | email=comunicare@muzeulhartilor.ro | address=Str. Londra nr. 39, sector 1 | lat=44.456947 | long=26.092831 | directions=M 'Piața Victoriei' or Bus 131,182, 301, 330, 331, 335 to stop 'Liceul I.L.Caragiale' | phone= | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 10:00-18:00 | price=10 lei / 2,5 lei for students | image=LondraNr39 (2).JPG | wikidata=Q18542278 | lastedit=2022-07-07 | content=Small, but amazing museum with maps on 3 floors. Don’t forget to borrow one of the green magnifying glasses to discover the fine print. Historical maps from 15th-20th century from the whole world with an emphasis on Romania and the Balkan Peninsula. Note that while the name mentions books too, it's almost exclusively maps on display. }} * {{see | name=Jewish Community History Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Strada Mămulari, nr. 3 | lat=44.428492 | long=26.108089 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Donation | wikipedia=Jewish Museum (Bucharest) | image=Jewish Museum Bucharest 01.jpg | wikidata=Q2814260 |lastedit=2019-09-03| content=Housed in a beautiful mid 19th century synagogue. Documents the life of this community in the region since ancient times and through the Holocaust. Passport required to enter. }} * {{see | name=Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum | alt= | url=http://www.antipa.ro | email= | address=Şoseaua Kiseleff, nr. 1 | lat=44.4531 | long=26.0846 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History | image=LogoAntipaNou.jpg | wikidata=Q3330898 | lastedit=2015-02-23 | content=This has over 300,000 exhibits illustrating the transformations of Earth and the evolution of species. }} * {{see | name=“Dimitrie Leonida” Technology Museum | alt= | url=http://www.mnt-leonida.ro/_start0.html | email= | address= | lat=44.41769 | long=26.09617 | directions=Set to be relocated in a wing of the 'Parliament Palace' | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum | image=RO B Dimitrie Leonida Tech Museum 1.jpg | wikidata=Q3080132 | content= }} * {{see | name=Primăveri Palace | alt=Casa Ceaușescu | url=http://casaceausescu.ro/ | email= | address= | lat=44.46917 | long=26.09241 | directions=Metro Stop Aviatorilor | phone=+40 213180989 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Closed Mondays | price=50 lei | image=Palatul Primǎverii-1286-a.jpg | wikidata=Q28649190 | lastedit=2019-09-03 | content=The former residence of Ceaușescu, incredibly opulent, one of the most fascinating places to visit in Bucharest. Book online at least a day in advance. Tours last 45 minutes and cover all the main living areas, including the mosaic surrounded swimming pool and indoor garden }} * {{see | name=Museum of Recent Art (MARe) | alt=Muzeul de Artă Recentă | url=http://www.mare.ro/ | email= | address=Bulevardul Primăverii 15 | lat=44.46784 | long=26.08919 | directions= | phone=+40769017872 | tollfree= | hours=11:00-19:00, closed on Tuesdays | price= | wikipedia=Museum of Recent Art | wikidata=Q59821493 | lastedit=2025-04-12 | content=Modern art gallery. Only holds one exhibition at a time, and closes for a few weeks between each. }} ===Galleries=== * {{see | name=Sala Dalles | alt= | url=http://www.dallesrevolution.ro/ | email= | address= | lat=44.438315 | long=26.101302 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q12740329 | lastedit=2015-07-16 | content= }} ===Churches and monasteries=== * {{see | name=Curtea Veche Church | alt=Old Court Church, Biserica Curtea Veche | url= | email= | address=Strada Covaci and Strada Franceză, sector 3 | lat=44.430133 | long=26.102014 | directions=Close to M 'Piața Unirii 2' | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Biserica Curtea Veche2.jpg | wikidata=Q2740973 | content=The Church of the Old Princely Court, built around 1559, used to be the coronation church of the Wallachian princes. }} * {{see | name=Patriarchal Cathedral | alt=Catedrala Patriarhală din București | url= | email= | address=Strada Patriarhiei | lat=44.42457 | long=26.09782 | directions= on the hill overlooking Piata Unirii, take tram 7, 27, 32 to stop '11 Iunie' 100 m or M: 'Piața Unirii 1' 500 m | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral | image=Catedrala Patriarhală 2009.jpg | wikidata=Q1514860 |lastedit=2019-09-03| content=Built in 1658. Next to it is the '''Mitropoliei Palace''' (1708) – the residence of the Orthodox Patriarch, a sort of small 'Romanian Vatican'. It’s the only church in Bucharest in which photography is prohibited }} [[File:Stavropoleos-.jpg|thumb|The Stavropoleos Church]] * {{see | name=Stavropoleos Church | alt=Biserica Stavropoleos | url=http://www.stavropoleos.ro/en | email=manastireastavropoleos@gmail.com | address=Strada Stavropoleo/Strada Poștei nr. 6, sector 3 | lat=44.431742 | long=26.098789 | directions=in the old center area, M: Piața Unirii 2 walk half km northwest | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Stavropoleos Monastery | image=Biserica Stavropoleos - B-II-m-A-19464.jpg | wikidata=Q3119683 | content=Built in the early 18th century, has some stunning decorative sculpture and amazing frescoes. A little jewel. }} * {{see | name=Colţea Church | alt=Biserica Colțea, Biserica "Trei Ierarhi" | url= | email= | address=Bulevardul Ion C. Brătianu 1 | lat=44.434658 | long=26.102556 | directions=near to Piaţa Universităţii. M: Universitate | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Biserica "Trei Ierarhi" - Colţea.jpg | wikidata=Q12721800 | content=The first church in Bucharest built in the Brancovenesc style (1702). }} [[File:Picturi murale in stil ortodox situate in exteriorul bisericii Sf.gheorghe -Bucuresti.JPG|thumb|Exterior Painting of New St. George Church]] * {{see | name=New St. George Church | alt=Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou din București | url= | email= | address=Bulevardul Brătianu I. C. 49, sector 3 | lat=44.4327 | long=26.1037 | directions=half way between Piaţa Universităţii and Piaţa Unirii. Take tram 5, 16, 21 to stop 'Piata Sf. Gheorghe' | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Biserica Sfantul Gheorghe 04.jpg | wikidata=Q18543761 | content=Dating from the 18th century, houses the tombs of princes Constantin Brâncoveanu and Ion Mavrocordat. }} * {{see | name=Kretzulescu Church | alt=Biserica Crețulescu | url=http://www.stavropoleos.ro | email= | address=Calea Victoriei, 45 | lat=44.438086 | long=26.096639 | directions=M: Universitate 400m, on the left side of the National Art Museum | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Kretzulescu Church | image=Creţulescu church.JPG | wikidata=Q3394199 | content=An interesting example of the Brancovenesc style (1722). }} * {{see | name=Plumbuita Monastery | alt=Manastirea Plumbuita | url=http://www.manastirea-plumbuita.ro/ | email= | address=off Şoseaua Colentina, Str. Plumbuita nr. 58, sector 2 | lat=44.47223 | long=26.13521 | directions=relatively far from the city center, on Lake Plumbuita shore. Take tram #21 to stop 'Doamna Ghica' and walk toward north a half km | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Biserica mănăstirii - vedere semi-laterală.jpg | wikidata=Q12736256 | content=Built in the last half of the 16th century, it once housed the first printing house in the region (1582), today it has a religious objects museum and a large park. }} * {{see | name=Oţetari Church | alt=Biserica Oţetari | url=http://urbo.ro/biserici/biserica-otetari-69107 | email= | address=4, Strada Oţetari | lat=44.447411 | long=26.107204 | directions=close to the Rosetti Square, National Theatrer and the Spiru Haret National College | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Bucharest - Biserica Sfintii Voievozi - Otetari 01.jpg | wikidata=Q12721852 | content=The Oţetari Church is a very discreet, spiritual place, giving some religious comfort in the centre of the city. Its name means "cruet", because of the street it is on. It was built in the 18th century and it features a number of interesting paintings and stained glass. }} * {{see | name=Great Synagogue of Bucharest | alt=Sinagoga Mare din București, בית הכנסת הגדול של בוקרשט | url=http://www.biserici.org/index.php?menu=BIB3&code=4143&criteria=&quick=&order=P.TOWN,C.NAME,P.NAME | email= | address=Strada Vasile Adamache 11 | lat=44.42952 | long=26.10861 | directions=Tram 14, 40 and 56 to stop 'Piata Sf. Vineri' | phone=+40 21 3110870 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Religious services on weekends | price= | wikipedia=Great Synagogue (Bucharest) | image=Sinagoga Mare, Bucureşti 01.JPG | wikidata=Q2916042 |lastedit=2019-09-03| content=This decorative temple was raised in 1845 by the Polish-Jewish community. It was repaired in 1865, baroque style, redesigned in 1903 and 1909, repainted in Rococo style in 1936. It hosts an exhibition on the Holocaust in Romanian. Entry by donation. Security checks require your passport }} * {{see | name=All Saints' Antim Monastery | alt=Mănăstirea Antim | url=http://manastireaantim.ro | email= | address=Strada Mitropolit Antim Ivireanul 29, București 030167 | lat=44.42629 | long=26.09402 | directions=In a side street on the south side of the Bulevardul Unirii near the front of the Parliamentary Palace | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 10:00 - 19:00, Su 08:45 - 09:45 and 12:00 - 19:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Antim Monastery | image=Eglise monastere antim.jpg | wikidata=Q3320254 | lastedit=2018-08-08 | content=An Orthodox monastery in Brâncovenesc style from 1715 with a church, a museum and a shop. The church, museum and shop are open to the public. The church is in the center of a courtyard with the museum and shop in buildings around the sides. The church is richly decorated with distinctive carved wooden doors. The shop sells mainly religious texts and iconography but also has a leaflet in English and other languages for 2 lei so go there before the main church. There is a toilet that visitors can use next to the shop. }} ==Do== {{mapframe|name=Map of the region around Bucharest}} There are two free weekly guides published in Bucharest featuring all the events of the week, as well as listing the addresses of most restaurants, clubs, pubs, bars, cinemas etc. in the city. One is ''Şapte Seri'' (Seven nights), the other ''24-FUN''. They have small sections in English available. ===Walking and recreation=== ====Walking tours==== * A walking tour is a good way to get accustomed with a new city. You can find free guided walking tours of the city centre, this being an option for budget visitors, youth and backpackers. Usually, you have to book the tours, but in the high season there are tours organized every day, rain or sun. * There are also paid tours to be found, in this case booking being necessary at all times. * Access the '''free Audio Guide''' with GPS on smartphone for most relevant tour (17 attractions) on http://IZI.travel (IOS, Android, Windows). Then consider other tours with Audio Guides in Bucharest and surroundings. For example: "Bucharest - Old City Centre" (with 40 included attractions) or related to the nearby protected natural area from Snagov lake and forest. * {{do | name=Therme București | alt= | url=http://www.therme.ro | email= | address= | lat=44.6046379 | long=26.0825427 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-02-11 | content=Huge thermal water park. }} ====Parks==== [[File:Parcul Tineretului.jpg|thumb|right|Tineretului Park]] * {{do | name=Cişmigiu Garden | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.437136 | long=26.090597 | directions=Centre | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Cișmigiu Gardens | image=Cismigiu-Garden-Bucharest-3.jpg | wikidata=Q959632 | content=This a lovely small park; it's the oldest in the city (designed 1845-1860). Has boat rental in summer, ice skating in winter time, reasonable restaurants and more specially a French restaurant in [http://www.cismigiuparc.ro/ Trianon Hotel] and several bars. }} * {{do | name=Herăstrău Park | alt= | url=http://www.herastrauparc.ro/ | email= | address= | lat=44.47921 | long=26.08169 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Herăstrău Park | image=Parcul Herastrau.jpg | wikidata=Q2074133 | content=The largest of several parks around man-made lakes on the Colentina River running through the city’s north and east side) houses the Village Museum, an open-air theater, various sports grounds, an amusement park and numerous restaurants and clubs. Has boat rental and boat-trips in summer. }} * {{do | name=Botanical Gardens | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4379 | long=26.063647 | directions=near Cotroceni Palace | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=08:00-20:00 daily in summer | price=10 Lei | wikipedia=Bucharest Botanical Garden | image=Gradina Botanica iunie 2014 IMG 3798 01.JPG | wikidata=Q2616933 |lastedit=2019-09-03| content=Established in 1860, displays a variety of plants from all over the world. The greenhouses are wonderful but have limited opening hours, and are closed Monday, Wednesday and Friday }} * {{do | name=Carol Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4275 | long=26.087222 | directions=one subway station south of Piaţa Unirii | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Carol Park | image=Parcul Carol din Bucuresti - aleea principala vazuta dinspre Mausoleu.jpg | wikidata=Q2052075 | content=Designed in 1906, Carol Park has an open-air theater replicating a Roman arena and another construction replicating a medieval fortress. It houses the tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as an infamous mausoleum built for the Communist nomenclature. }} * {{do | name=Tineretului Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4075 | long=26.1056 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tineretului Park | image=Parcul Tineretului.jpg | wikidata=Q2340319 | content=It has a large multipurpose building (Sala Polivalenta) used for concerts, sporting events, exhibitions, etc., an amusement park for children, boat-rental, several restaurants and bars. }} * {{do | name=Titan Park | alt=I.O.R. Park | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q12207333 | content=A green oasis among Communist-era high-rise apartment buildings in the eastern part of the city (Titan metro station), has a charming wooden church as well as several lakeside clubs. }} ===Concert venues=== [[File:Sala Radio Mihail Jora 1.jpg|thumb|right|Sala Radio]] * {{do | name=Opera Naţională | alt=National Opera | url=http://operanb.ro/ | email= | address=Bulevardul Mihail Kogălniceanu nr. 70-72 | lat=44.436046 | long=26.07958 | directions=Eroilor area | phone=+40 21 314 6980 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 310 2660 | hours= | price=5-64 lei | wikipedia=Romanian National Opera, Bucharest | image=| wikidata=Q1163508 | content= }} * {{do | name=Filarmonica George Enescu | alt=George Enescu Philharmonic | url=http://fge.org.ro/en/ | email= | address=Strada B. Franklin nr. 1-3 | lat= | long= | directions=Revoluţiei square | phone=+40 21 315 2567 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 312 2983 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra | wikidata=Q3067516 | content=Housed in the Romanian Atheneum, a city landmark. }} * {{do | name=Teatrul Naţional de Operetă Ion Dacian | alt=Ion Dacian National Operetta Theater | url=http://www.opereta.ro/ | email= | address=Bulevardul Nicolae Bălcescu nr.2 | lat= | long= | directions=near University square | phone=+40 21 315 1502 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18548487 | content= }} * {{do | name=Sala Radio | alt=The Radio Orchestra | url=http://www.orchestreradio.ro/ | email= | address=Str. General Berthelot, Nr. 60-64 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 3031479 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Price is around {{EUR|7}} | wikipedia=Sala Radio | image=Sala Radio Mihail Jora.jpg | wikidata=Q16985428 | content=A concert hall that plays an important role in the country's classical music life. Built in 1959 and opened in 1961, it is the country's largest symphonic concert hall. }} ===Cinema=== Most films are screened in their original language with Romanian subtitles; some animation features and children's movies are dubbed in Romanian. Cinemas are found in every shopping mall. ====Art==== * {{do | name=Cinemateca Română | url= | email= | address=strada Eforie nr. 2 | lat= | long= | directions=near the old quarter | phone=+40 21 3130483 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A branch of the National Film Archives, screens mostly classic movies. }} * {{do | name=Noul cinematograf al regizorului roman | alt=Romanian director's new cinema | url=https://m.facebook.com/AsociatiaMacondo/ | email= | address=strada Intrarea Monetăriei nr. 3 | lat= | long= | directions=at the Romanian Peasant Museum | phone=+40 21 317 9660 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 312 9875 | hours= | price=10 lei | content=Art films and documentaries selected by major Romanian directors. }} * {{do | name=Eurocinema | url= | email= | address=strada Johann Gutenberg nr. 19 | lat= | long= | directions=near Izvor bridge | phone=+40 21 315 8165 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 3121962 | hours=Th-Su at 20:00 | price=10 lei | content=Plays mainly independent European movies. }} * {{do | name=Europa | url= | email= | address=Calea Moşilor nr. 127 | lat= | long= | directions=at the start of Moşilor road | phone=+40 21 314 2714 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Plays relatively recent European movies. }} * {{do | name=Cinema Elvira Popescu | alt= | url=https://eventbook.ro/hall/cinema-elvire-popesco | email= | address=Bulevardul Dacia nr. 77 | lat= | long= | directions=at the French Institute | phone=+40 21 2100224 | tollfree= | hours= | price=20 lei, carnet of 5 tickets: 70 lei, children under 12: 10 lei | lastedit=2022-06-20 | content=Mostly French movies. }} ====Mainstream==== * {{do | name=Cinema City | alt= | url=http://www.cinemacity.ro/ | email= | address=Bulevardul Vasile Milea nr. 4 | lat= | long= | directions=in the AFI Palace mall | phone=+40 21 407 0000 | tollfree= | hours= | price=21-60 lei | content=Largest multiplex in the city (21 screens, including one IMAX). }} * {{do | name=Hollywood Multiplex | url=http://www.hmultiplex.ro/ | email= | address=Calea Vitan nr. 55-59 | lat= | long= | directions=in the Bucharest Mall | phone=+40 21 327 7020 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=22-35 lei | content=This was the first multiplex to open in Bucharest and has 10 screens. }} * {{do | name=Movieplex | url=http://www.movieplex.ro/?visLang=2 | email= | address=Bulevardul Timişoara nr. 26 | lat= | long= | directions=in the Plaza Romania mall | phone=+40 21 43 10000 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 4078333 | hours= | price=15-45 lei | content=Located in the western part of Bucharest, has 11 screens. }} * {{do | name=Patria | url= | email= | address=Bulevardul Gh. Magheru nr. 12-14 | lat= | long= | directions=between Universităţii and Romană squares | phone=+40 21 3169266 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A large (over 1,000 seats) 1930s cinema located along the city's main avenue. }} * {{do | name=Scala | url= | email= | address=Bulevardul Gh. Magheru nr. 2-4 | lat= | long= | directions=between Universităţii and Romană squares | phone=+40 21 316 6708 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Another large older cinema in the downtown. }} * {{do | name=CinemaPro | url=http://www.cinemapro.ro/ | email=office@cinemapro.ro | address=strada Ion Ghica nr. 3 | lat= | long= | directions=near Universităţii square | phone=+40 31 8241360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=14-24 lei | content= }} === Sport === * '''Arena Națională''' (capacity 55,000) hosts international soccer matches plus club side FCSB. It's 5 km east of city centre, take the tram along Basarabia Bvd. * '''[https://www.fcsb.ro/ FCSB]''' play soccer in Liga 1, the country's top tier. Their home ground is the National Arena. * '''[https://dinamo1948.ro/ FC Dinamo București]''' also play in Liga 1. They play at Dinamo Stadium (capacity 15,000) 2 km north, with its own Metro and tram station. * '''[https://www.fcrapid.ro/ Rapid București]''' also play in Liga 1. Most games are at Rapid-Giulești Stadium (capacity 14,000) 5 km northwest, but some big matches are at National Arena. * '''[https://metaloglobusfc.ro/ FC Metaloglobus București]''' were promoted in 2025 so they too play in Liga 1. The stadium only holds 1000; it's on the south river bank 8 km east of city centre. ==Buy== [[File:Banco Nacional de Rumanía, Bucarest, Rumanía, 2016-05-29, DD 52-54 PAN.jpg|thumb|Romanian National Bank]] Major brand-name shops and upscale boutiques are concentrated along the main boulevard from Piaţa Romană to Piaţa Unirii and on the small streets adjacent to this boulevard, but also on Calea Victoriei, on Calea Dorobanţilor (the part between Blvd. Iancu de Hunedoara and Piaţa Dorobanţilor) or on Calea Moşilor's section between Blvd. Carol I and Piaţa Obor. ===Shopping malls=== In the past years numerous modern shopping centers have sprung up in the city (and even more are in construction), the best known being: * {{buy | name=Bucharest Mall | alt= | url=http://www.bucurestimall.com.ro/?chlang=en | email=office@bucurestimall.com.ro | address=Calea Vitan 55-59 | lat=44.420291 | long=26.126576 | directions=Bus 123, 124, 125, 135 or tram 15, 19, 23 or M1,3 'Timpuri Noi' 1km W | phone=+40 21 3276700 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 3209209 | hours= | price= | content=The first one to be completed, in 1999. }} * {{buy | name=Jolie Ville Galleria | alt= | url=http://www.jolieville.ro/ | email=office@jolieville.ro | address=Str. Erou Iancu Nicolae nr. 103 bis, Voluntari, judetul Ilfov | lat=44.514425 | long=26.115279 | directions=In northern Outskirts, Bus 301 to 'Jolie Ville Baneasa' 100 m | phone=+40 21 2068001 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 2068 002 | hours=Daily 10:00-22:00 | price= | content=[http://www.mega-image.ro/ Mega Image] hypermarket, services: Florists, pharmacies, cleaners. }} * {{buy | name=Plaza Romania | url=http://www.plazaromania.ro/index.php?chlang=en | email=office@anchormall.ro | address=Bulevardul Timișoara 26 | lat=44.428654 | long=26.035043 | directions=M3 "Lujerului" 0.8 km N further tram 41 to 'Bd. Timisoara', or tram 8, 25 to 'Brasov' | phone=+40 21 3195050 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 3195051 | hours= | price= | content= }} [[File:Piata Unirii - Magazinul Unirea - Noaptea.jpg|thumb|right|Unirea Shopping Centre]] * {{buy | name=Unirea Shopping Center | alt= | url=http://www.unireashop.ro/ | email=office@unireashop.ro | address=sector 3, Piața Unirii, nr.1 | lat=44.428484 | long=26.104438 | directions=Downtown - M 1,3 'Piața Unirii' Stn. Includes a large Carrefour supermarket. | phone=+40 21 3030307 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Băneasa Shopping City | url=http://www.baneasashoppingcity.ro/ | email= | address=Șoseaua Bucureşti-Ploieşti nr.42D | lat=44.507589 | long=26.089562 | directions=Bus 261, 301, 304, 449 to 'Drumul Matasii' | phone=+40 21 3057195 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Opened in April 2008. }} * {{buy | name=Liberty Center | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/LibertyCenterMall/ | email= | address=section 5, Strada Progresului 151-171 | lat=44.41526 | long=26.07994 | directions=Tram 8, 11, 25, 23, 32 or bus 117, 173 - M2 'Eroii Revolutiei' 1.5 km | phone=+40 21 3699875 | tollfree= | hours=Shops: daily 10:00-22:00, supermarket: 09:00-22:00, cinema: M-F 12:00; Sa-Su 10:00 | price= | wikidata=Q6541649 | content= }} * {{buy | name=AFI Palace Cotroceni | url=http://www.aficotroceni.ro/ | email= | address=district 6, Bulevardul Vasile Milea, No. 4 | lat=44.430669 | long=26.052057 | directions= | phone=+40 31 4257510 | tollfree= | fax=+40 31 4257513 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Sun Plaza | alt= | url=http://www.sun-plaza.ro/ | email=sunplaza@cbre.com | address=district 4, Calea Văcărești 391 | lat=44.39606 | long=26.121794 | directions=M2 'Stația Piața Sudului', Trolley 73, 74, 77; Tram 11, bus 232, 242, 312, 313, 381, 634 | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Gallery stores M-Sa 10:00-22:00, Restaurants & cafes: Su-Th 10:00-23:00, F-Sa 10:00-24:00; Cora hypermarket: M-F 8:00 -22:00 | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Promenada | alt= | url=http://www.promenada.ro/ | email= | address=Calea Floreasca 246B | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18547103 | lastedit=2015-02-23 | content=Opened in 2014, it is one of the biggest shopping malls in Bucharest. }} * {{buy | name=Mega Mall | alt= | url=http://megamallbucuresti.ro/ | email= | address=Str. Pierre de Coubertin nr. 3-5 | lat=44.442606 | long=26.151811 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Opened in 2015, this is the newest and one of the biggest shopping malls Bucharest has to offer. }} ===Book stores=== [[File:Ansamblul de arhitectură "Str. Hanul cu Tei" - ieșirea Lipscani (2).jpg|thumb|right|Window shopping in Bucharest can also be pleasureable]] Book stores with a good supply of English language books are difficult to find in Bucharest but there are a few places mainly situated in the center. * {{buy | name=Cărturești Carusel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lipscani 55 | lat=44.4319142 | long=26.1016075 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Breathtaking bookstore in a restored 19th-century building. }} * {{buy | name=Cărtureşti | alt= | url=http://www.carturesti.ro/ | email= | address=Str Arthur Verona nr.13 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 3173459 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A few blocks south of Piaţa Romană on the east side of Bd. Magheru. The store is set back the street and has a small park in front of it. +phone=+40 21 72 1518351, 788758408 }} * {{buy | name=Nautilus | alt= | url=http://www.nautilus.ro/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An English-language bookstore near the Kiseleff Park, mostly with fantasy and science fiction books. }} * {{buy | name=Anthony Frost English Bookshop | url= | email=vald@librariaengleza.ro | address=Calea Victorei, Nr. 45, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania | lat= | long= | directions=The bookstore near the Art Museum. Walk down the right side of the large building just to the left of a very old church. The bookstore is near the back. | phone=+40 21 3115138 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An English-language bookstore. Lots of reasonably-priced books and a comics (mostly manga) section. }} * {{buy | name=Dalles | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Near Piaţa Universităţii (University square). }} ==Eat== [[File:Flickr - fusion-of-horizons - Stavropoleos (254).jpg|thumb|right|Caru' cu bere is a listed historic monument - and a famed restaurant]] ===Budget=== * {{eat | name=Kanteen 162 | alt= | url= | email= | address=Strada Lipscani 19 | lat=44.432736 | long=26.097828 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Very good food, consistent menus, impeccable service and kind staff. Best place to find the traditional taste of organic food. }} * {{eat | name=LUCA | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-04-11 | content=Cheap Romanian traditional pastry chain with locations all over the city (and much of Romania, and even Poland). There are both sweet and savory products. Good for vegetarians. Huge selection of pastries for all tastes. Most popular are the ''covrigi'': tradițional, vișine, and nutella. Coffee is very cheap too. No tables. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=SC Argentin Impex LLC | alt= | url= | email= | address=Strada Blănari nr 11-13 | lat=44.4324818 | long=26.1020562 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Very good Romanian meals, a treat for the senses. Nice quiet outdoor area. }} * {{eat | name=Bodega "La Mahala" | alt= | url= | email= | address=Strada Covaci 8 | lat=44.4305564 | long=26.1017299 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=A secluded and quiet place hidden a bit among the noisy and losing western-style pubs of the Old Town. It has an intimate and a bit old-fashioned Romanian look which gives it the feeling of the 90's with some more modern elements. The decor is nice and the food equally good. Cats are present. }} * {{eat | name=Cuptorul cu lemne | alt= | url=http://www.cuptorulculemne.com | email= | address=Bulevardul Pache Protopopescu 63 | lat=44.4398521 | long= 26.1253089 | directions= | phone=+40 21 2522414 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content=A nice pizza place with a nice outdoor summer garden and a relaxed atmosphere (the restaurant also houses a caricature club). Tends to be very crowded during weekends. }} * {{eat | name=Locanta Jaristea | alt= | url=http://www.jaristea.ro/ | email=stabiliment@jaristea.ro | address=Strada George Georgescu 50-52 | lat=44.4236939 | long=26.0919664 | directions=near the crossroad of Regina Maria Blvd. and Libertăţii Blvd | phone=+40 021 335 33 38 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 11:00-last customer | price=| lastedit=2022-08-01 | content=Beautiful historically themed restaurant, live traditional music, old Romanian specialties; but always check the bill thoroughly. Reservations are compulsory. }} * {{eat | name=Rossetya 2.0 | url= | email= | address=9 Str Dimitrie Bolintineanu | lat=44.4361475 | long=26.1062528 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=| lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Classic style restaurant with prices a bit higher than average, but with a very neat and cultivated atmosphere, outstandingly friendly English-speaking personnel, high food quality. }} * {{eat | name=Trattoria Il Calcio Universitate | alt= | url=http://trattoriailcalcio.ro/centrul-vechi-2/ | email= | address=Strada Ion Ghica 6 | lat=44.434299 | long=26.101919 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=One of the best pizza places in the old town. }} [[File:Lipscani Bucharest.jpg|thumb|right|Lipscani street is packed with bar, restaurants and cafes]] * {{eat | name=Restaurant Hanu' lui Manuc | alt= | url=http://www.hanulluimanuc.ro/ | email= | address=Str. Franceza nr. 62-64 | lat=44.429556 | long=26.10205 | directions= | phone=+40 21 313 14 11 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Manuc's Inn | image=RO B Manuc Inn.jpg | wikidata=Q1159652 | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Great location in Bucharest city centre and wonderful traditional food. }} [[File:Bucuresti, Romania, Hanul lui Manuc (2); sector 3.JPG|thumb|right|The historic Manuc Inn]] * {{eat | name=Caru' cu Bere | alt= | url= | email= | address=Strada Stavropoleos 5 | lat=44.4321 | long=26.0981 | directions=besides the National History Museum | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Student menu for 14,50 lei (Aug 2018) | wikipedia=Caru' cu Bere | image=Edificio caru 'cu bere, 01.JPG | wikidata=Q17169956 | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content=One of the most famous restaurants in Bucharest, in a historic building. }} * '''[http://www.lamama.ro La Mama]''' (6 outlets around Bucharest, Barbu Văcărescu 3, Delea Veche 51, Episcopiei 9, and Carrefour Orhideea being the largest ones, +40 21-2124086) - focusing on traditional Romanian food. Reasonable prices. (updated May 2022) * {{eat | name=Trattoria Buongiorno | alt= | url=http://www.trattoriabuongiorno.ro/ | email= | address=Str Franceza 52 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Trattoria Buongiorno is bringing a little piece of Italy to the middle of Bucharest. }} * {{eat | name=Taj Indian Cuisine | alt=Calea 13 Septembrie, 127-131, | url=http://www.tajrestaurant.ro/ | email= | address=Sector 5, Bucureşti | lat= | long= | directions=Near Marriott hotel | phone=+40 21 410 1820 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 12:00-24:00 | price=Little pricey| lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Good Indian restaurant near Marriott hotel, especially for vegetarians. }} * {{eat | name=Il Bocconcino - Restaurant si livrare Popesti-Leordeni | alt= | url=http://www.ilbocconcino.ro | email=contact@ilbocconcino.ro | address=Strada Mirăslău nr. 26, Popești-Leordeni 077160 | lat=44.377767 | long=26.164556 | directions=the entrance is through the park | phone=+40 729 451 049 | tollfree= | hours=11:00 - 23:00 | price=20 - 80 | lastedit=2021-01-20 | content=Italian restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Kanpai | alt= | url= | email= | address=str. George Călinescu 49 | lat=44.462138 | long=26.0992797 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=Japanese pub/bistro. }} * {{eat | name=Lacrimi și Sfinți | alt= | url=http://www.lacrimisisfinti.com/ | email= | address=Șepcari 16 | lat=44.4305697 | long=26.1028954 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Pâine și Vin | alt= | url=http://www.painesivin.ro/ | email= | address= | lat=44.4333624 | long=26.09487 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content= }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Beca's Kitchen | alt= | url=http://www.becaskitchen.ro/ | email= | address= | lat=44.447688 | long=26.1037267 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Casa di David | alt= | url= | email= | address=Soseaua Nordului nr. 7-9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 232 47 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Opened in 2005, it is a hangout of the city's nouveau riche. It comes complete with German car ads at the entrance and an extensive wine list. Food (Italian inspired) and ambience are OK, but portions are small and prices are far above average for Bucharest. A 3-course meal for two with local wine will set you back over 400 lei. }} * {{eat | name=Mahala | alt= | url=http://www.restaurant-mahala.ro | email= | address=Calea Rahovei 147-153 | lat=44.4217675 | long=26.0876499 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Red Angus Steakhouse | alt= | url=http://www.redangus.ro | email= | address=87th Nicolae Caramfil Blvd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 720-720-863 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=| lastedit=2022-05-01 | content=In the Old Center, across the street from the Old Court. The restaurant serves high quality USDA Choice beef and offers an excellent, diverse menu, for all tastes. Also at 56 Franceza St. }} * {{eat | name=the ARTIST Restaurant | alt= | url=http://theartist.ro | email= | address=Calea Victoriei 147 | lat=44.4300155 | long=26.097585 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-01 | content= }} ==Drink== [[File:Dianei 4 - 2012.jpg|thumb|right|Courtyard at the Cultural Center Dianei 4]] * {{drink | name=1974 Niște Domni și Fiii | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4307844 | long=26.1019034 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-03-23 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Absintherie Sixtină | alt=Sixtine Absintheria | url= | email= | address=Covaci 6, 1st floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 3103566 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Classic style bar with reasonable prices. The absinthe is served with a slow drip fountain. }} * {{drink | name=Beer O'Clock | url= | email= | address=Gabroveni 4 and Villacrosse passage (near Police Department) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Bar with several types of Belgian, Czech and Slovak beer. }} * {{drink | name=Camera din Față | alt= | url=http://cameradinfata.ro | email= | address= | lat=44.4442369 | long=26.0966255 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-10-22 | content=Cafe/tea house }} * {{drink | name=Curtea berarilor | alt=The Brewers Court | url=http://curteaberarilor.com/ | email= | address=Selari 9-11 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 723 279620, +40 21 3137532 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Su 12:00–24:00; M-W 13:00-01:00; Th-Sa 13:00-4:00 | price= | lastedit=2017-04-02 | content=Pub in old center having mostly Timişoreana beer. }} * {{drink | name=Energiea | alt= | url=http://energiea.ro/ | email= | address= | lat=44.4332904 | long=26.094903 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-02-25 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Ganesha Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4569453 | long=26.105714 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-26 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Green Hours | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calea Victoriei 120 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 722 234356, +40 788 452485 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A quiet club which often hosts jazz concerts. }} * {{drink | name=Interbelic | url=http://www.interbelic.ro | email= | address=Intrarea Selari 1A | lat= | long= | directions=near Lipscani | phone=+40 722 681618 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 17:00-last | price=medium | content=Cocktail bar; fine spirits, great nights. }} * {{drink | name=Origo | alt= | url=http://origocoffee.ro/ | email= | address= | lat= 44.4332107 | long=26.0952613 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-02-25 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Piua Book Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.4444205 | long=26.101118 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-03-08 | content= }} * {{drink | name=BEAT bar umanist | alt= | url= | email=beatbarumanist@gmail.com | address=Strada Robescu F. Constantin 14 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 748 110 388 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Nice cosy bar near Unirii/old town. }} * {{drink | name=Hard Rock Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=32 Kiseleff Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40-21-206-6261,| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Favorite of both locals and tourists, the Hard Rock Cafe makes its home on the shores of the lake, just a few short steps from the landmark Triumph Arch. }} * {{drink | name=Mancave | alt= | url=https://themancave.ro | email=admin@themancave.ro | address=Economu Cezarescu 61 | lat= | long= | directions=(near Grozavesti) | phone=+40 764574623 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 7:30-00:00 S-S 10:00 00:00 | price= | lastedit=2020-02-15 | content=Gaming venue that also has boardgames, specialty coffee and drinks. }} ===Clubbing=== * {{drink | name=Bamboo | url=http://www.bambooclub.ro/ {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}} | email=office@bambooclub.ro | address=Str. Ramuri Tei 39 | lat= | long= | directions=in Tei Park | phone=+40 72 213 2283 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=F 23:00-05:00; Sa 23:00-12:00 | price= | content=It's the largest club in Bucharest. Upmarket and expensive. }} * {{drink | name=Cafe Hazard | url= | email= | address=Baraţiei | lat= | long= | directions=coming from Unirii towards University, take your first right after the fornetti store and then your first left | phone=+40 72 770 0107 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 15:00-03:00| price= | content=A rock bar, with a great atmosphere, open thinking, great beer and people. }} * {{drink | name=Gaia | url= | email= | address=Strada Tarmului, nr. 19 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 723610933 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 15:00-03:00 | price= | content= }} * {{drink | name=Club A | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ClubA.Bucuresti/ | email= | address=Strada Blănari 14 | lat= | long= | directions=near University Square | phone=+40 759 392 059 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 18:00-06:00 | price= | content=The oldest club in Bucharest, with nearly 40 years tradition (this means amazingly much for a city where most clubs are less than 5 years old). Since the beginning, it was and remains a student pub and club, with an unpretentious but welcoming atmosphere, good music and low prices. Like many clubs in Bucharest, the bouncers can be overly aggressive to patrons at times. }} * {{drink | name=Control Club | url=http://www.control-club.ro | email= | address=Str. Academiei nr.19 | lat= | long= | directions=go to Victoria Passage coming from University square | phone=+40 73 392 7861 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 15:00-03:00 | price= | content=Best alternative/indie club with a lot of live shows and good music. }} * {{drink | name=Expirat/OtherSide | url=http://www.expirat.org/ | email=office@expirat.org | address=Str. Lipscani nr. 5/Str. Brezoianu nr. 4 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 73 EXPIRAT | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Very lively and popular club, divided in two sections - Expirat, the old club with rock/dance/hiphop music, and its newer offspring, the OtherSide, where DJs spin electronica. Themed nights, very expat-friendly, great cocktails and very reasonable prices. }} * {{drink | name=Fire Club | url=http://www.fire.ro | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=near Lipscani | phone=+40 21 312 7019 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The most well-known rock and metal club in Bucharest. By day a pub and outdoor cafe. }} * {{drink | name=Fratelli | url=http://www.fratelli.ro/ | email=office@fratelli.ro | address=Str. Nicolae Golescu 5 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 73 103 6222, +40 72 185 0030 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{drink | name=Kulturhaus | url=http://www.kulturhaus.ro | email= | address=Str. Sf. Vineri nr.4 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 3135592 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10:00-05:00 | price= | content=A club with a German concept – ”the culture house” – a place where all sort of cultural events (such as live music concerts, art exhibitions, film projections) take place. Kulturhaus is very cheap – no entry fee (except for music concerts) and low prices – it is the cheapest club in town – maybe this is why the place is crowded every Friday and Saturday night until 05:00. }} * {{drink | name=Queen’s Club | url=http://www.facebook.Com/queensclubbucharest.ro | email=office@queensclub.ro | address=Be. Carol I, nr. 61| lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 72 275 4293 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=F Sa 24:00-05:00 | lastedit=2017-04-02| price=Entry 20 lei, but that includes 10 lei worth of drinks at the bar | content=Like gay clubs the world over, this place has become tremendously popular with a hetero set fed up with the meat market atmosphere at so many of the city’s other locations. That, together with superb music, makes this an essential stop for hedonists of all persuasions. Shake it. It can become quite crowded so watch yourself. }} * {{drink | name=Underworld | url=http://www.facebook.com/underworld.ro/ | email= | address=Str. Colţei, nr. 48 | lat= | long= | directions=go to Colţei street coming from the Rosetti Square, near University | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= M-Sa 15:00-05:00; Su 15:00-24:00| price= | content=The only punk-rock oriented pub in Bucharest. It also has a small concert hall, a fusball table, board games, dedicated evenings, etc. }} ==Sleep== ===Budget=== * {{sleep | name=Apartamente Regim Hotelier Bucuresti | alt=Apartamente Termen Scurt Bucuresti | url=https://www.apartamente-hotelier-bucuresti.ro/ | email=contact@apartamente-hotelier-bucuresti.ro | address=Strada Academiei 4, Bucuresti | lat=44.434515 | long=26.099674 | directions= | phone=+40 740 011 345 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=13:00 | checkout=12:00 | price={{EUR|40}} | lastedit=2018-06-12 | content=Short term apartments in the city center. }} * {{sleep | name=Short Term Apartments Rental | alt=STAR | url=https://www.short-term-apartments.ro/ | email=contact@short-term-apartments.ro | address=Strada Doamnei 7-9 | lat=44.433811 | long=26.099421 | directions=By 783 bus from the Henri Coanda International Airport | phone=+40 740 011 376 | tollfree= | checkin=13:00 | checkout=12:00 | price={{EUR|40}} | lastedit=2020-07-22 | content=Professionally managed serviced apartments located in the center of the city, by the Old Town. }} ====Camping==== * {{sleep | name=Camping Casa Alba | alt=Camping White House | url= | email= | address=Aleea Privighetorilor 1-3 | lat=44.5174134 | long=26.0921666 | directions=at the edge of Băneasa Forest, 1 km N of Băneasa Airport, 12 km N of city centre | phone=+40 21 361 7730 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Space for up to 80 caravans or 120 tents, running water, showers, toilets, kitchen. Next to Casa Alba restaurant. }} ====Hostels==== * {{sleep | name=Butterfly Villa Hostel | alt= | url= | email=info@butterfly-villa.com | address=Str. Ştirbei Vodă 96 | lat= | long= | directions=entrance from Str. C.Stahi | phone=+40 21 314 7595, +40 74 172 1169 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From {{EUR|12}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Clean hostel 1 km from train station in the centre of sector 1. Bed-sheets, breakfast and internet is included the price. Airport pick-up, excursions and laundry-service. }} * {{sleep | name=Midland Hostel | alt= | url=http://www.themidlandhostel.com | email=office@themidlandhostel.com | address=Str Biserica Amzei no 22 | lat= | long= | directions=near Piata Romana Metro | phone=+40 21 314 5323 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{EUR|8}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Central, breakfast included, free internet. }} * {{sleep | name=Vila Gabriela | alt= | url= | email=pensiuneagabriela@yahoo.com | address=Str. Mărgăritarului 18, Vila A 104, Otopeni | lat= | long= | directions=off Hwy 1, one km S of Otopeni Airport | phone=+40 21 236 2053 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double room (shared toilet) {{EUR|25}}/night; en suite {{EUR|35}} | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Big house managed by a friendly couple, Carmina and Vlad. Carmina can speak English, French and Italian. The rooms are clean and welcoming. }} * {{sleep | name=Zen Tribe Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Strada Radu de la Afumați 12B, București 020667 | lat=44.4493764 | long=26.1147372 | directions=The black gate with the electronic coded lock | phone=+40 762 211 522 (mobile) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=15:00-22:00 | checkout=05:00-10:00 | price=From {{EUR|9}}/night | lastedit=2018-08-24 | content=Clean and spacious hostel. Relaxed atmosphere, very friendly owner and guests with social common spaces. Comfortable beds, great showers and good location. No laundry service. }} ====Budget hotels==== * {{sleep | name=Carpaţi | alt= | url=http://www.bucuresti.imparatulromanilor.ro | email=rezervari@hotelcarpatibucuresti.ro | address=str. Matei Millo nr. 16 | lat= | long= | directions=1 km west of Universitate Metro | phone=+40 21 315 0140 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 312 1857 | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|40-85}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=One-star. Small, affordable rooms in a clean and welcoming atmosphere. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Andy | alt= | url=http://www.andyhotels.ro | email=receptie.bucuresti@andyhotels.ro | address=2 Witting St, district 1 | lat= | long= | directions=Turn right as you exit station | phone=+40 21 300 3050 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From {{EUR|48}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=3 star, small rooms, some street noise, couldn't be closer to Gara de Nord Station. }} * {{sleep | name=Domino | alt= | url=http://www.hoteldomino.ro/ | email=info@hoteldomino.ro | address=Str.Basarabilor nr.10 | lat= | long= | directions=5 km S of centre off Hwy 5 | phone=+40 2 1685 4504 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 629 1307 | checkin= | checkout= | price=single 70 lei, double 100 lei, triple 130 lei | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=2-star, gets very mixed reviews. }} * {{sleep | name=Hello Hotels | alt= | url=http://www.continentalhotels.ro | email=rezervari@hotel-bucuresti.com | address=Calea Grivitei 143, district 1 | lat=44.44608 | long=26.078528 | directions= | phone=+40 372 121 800 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|33}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Good location for those on a budget. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Basarab Bucuresti | alt= | url=http://hotelbasarab.ro/ | email= | address=Str. Fluviului nr 23, district 1 | lat= | long= | directions=On SW side of Gara de Nord Railway Station | phone=+40 727 438 132 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|25}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Very convenient for station, guests have found it grubby and smelly. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Vienna House Easy | alt= | url=https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/vienna-house/otopeni-romania/vienna-house-easy-airport-bucharest/overview | email= | address=283 Calea Bucurestilor | lat=44.56787 | long=26.06907 | directions=On Hwy 1, 300 m from Otopeni / Henri Coanda Airport | phone=+40 21 203 6500 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 203 6510 | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{EUR|95}}/night | lastedit=2023-06-06 | content=Good stay & fly option, hotel offers shuttle bus to terminal, you hardly need it. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Airport | alt= | url=https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/buhchgi-hilton-garden-inn-bucharest-airport/ | email= | address= | lat=44.57422 | long=26.0761 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=€80 | lastedit=2023-06-06 | content=Probably even more walkable than Vienna House. }} * {{sleep | name=Ambasador | alt= | url=http://www.ambasador.ro/ | email=hotel@ambasador.ro | address=8 Bvd General Gheorghe Magheru | lat= | long= | directions=on main Bvd 1 km S of Piata Victoriei | phone=+40 21 315 9080 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 312 3595 | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single from {{EUR|50}}, double from {{EUR|60}}/night, breakfast included | lastedit=2018-08-01 | content=3-star in Art Deco slab, with restaurant. }} * {{sleep | name=Alia Accommodation Bucharest | url= | email=contact@in-bucharest.com | address=18 Nicolae Balcescu | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 745 500 676 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=13:00 | checkout=12:00 | price={{EUR|30-65}}/night | lastedit=2018-03-01 | content=Serviced apartments in the city center at the University Square. Metro and buses just outside the building. }} * {{sleep | name=Capitol | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcapitol.ro/ | email= | address=Calea Victoriei 29 | lat= | long= | directions=off Bvd Regina Elisabeta, 200 m west of Universitate Metro | phone=+40 21 315 8030 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 312 4169 | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|55-75}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Comfortable, 100-year-old three-star hotel with big rooms and enormous bathrooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Casa Victor | alt= | url=https://www.hotelcasavictor.ro/ | email=hotel@casavictor.ro | address=Str. Emanoil Porumbaru nr. 44 | lat= | long= | directions=2 blocks W of Bvd Aviatorilor, 200 m S of Aviatorilor Metro station | phone=+40 21 222 5723 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 222 9436 | checkin= | checkout=11:00 | price={{EUR|55-140}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=3-star hotel with restaurant, pool & spa. }} * {{sleep | name=Class Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.class-hotel.ro | email= | address=30A Garlei St. | lat= | long= | directions=off Hwy 1 near Baneasa Airport, 10 km north of centre | phone=+40 372 135 700 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|60}} | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=On Baneasa lakeside, 4-star hotel with restaurant, pool, spa & gym. }} * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza | alt= | url=http://www.ihg.com | email= | address=Bvd Poligrafiei nr. 1 | lat= | long= | directions=10 km N of centre | phone=+40 21 224 0034 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 318 1302 | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{EUR|80}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Business hotel close to Romexpo grounds. }} * {{sleep | name=Dalin Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.hoteldalin.ro | email= | address=70 Bvd Marasesti | lat= | long= | directions=500 m S of Piata Unirii | phone=+40 21 335 5541 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|50-60}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=3-star place with bar & restaurant. }} * {{sleep | name=Ibis Gara de Nord | alt= | url=http://www.accorhotels.com | email= | address=Calea Grivitei nr. 143 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 300 9100 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{EUR|45}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Reliable budget chain 100 m from railway station. }} * {{sleep | name=K+K Hotel Elisabeta | alt= | url=http://www.kkhotels.com | email=hotel.elisabeta@kkhotels.co.ro | address=Str. Slanic 26 | lat= | long= | directions=off Bvd Carol 1 | phone=+40 21 302 9280 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 311 8632 | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Central, close to University, business quarter, city centre & Cismigiu Gardens. }} * {{sleep | name=Le Boutique Hotel Moxa | alt= | url=http://www.hotelmoxa.ro/ | email=reservations@hotelmoxa.com | address=4 Mihail Moxa St | lat= | long= | directions=corner of 129 Calea Victoriei | phone=+40 21 650 5555 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|80-110}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Four-star hotel, centrally located. }} * {{sleep | name=NH Bucharest | alt= | url=http://www.nh-hotels.com | email= | address=Bulevardul Mircea Voda, 21 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21-300 0545 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rooms from {{EUR|65}}/night | lastedit=2018-09-06 | content=Modern 4-star hotel in the business district. Bedrooms are cosy and comfortable with a modern twist. }} * {{sleep | name=Novotel | alt= | url=http://www.accorhotels.com | email= | address=Calea Victoriei nr. 37B | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Universitate | phone=+40 21 308 8500 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From {{EUR|60}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Reliable 4-star choice. The facade is what's left of the former National Theatre. }} * {{sleep | name=Ramada Majestic | alt= | url=http://www.wyndhamhotels.com | email=reservations@majestic.ro | address=Calea Victoriei nr. 38-40 | lat= | long= | directions=Metro Universitate | phone=+40 21 310 2772 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|80-180}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Handy for University. }} * {{sleep | name=Rin Airport Hotel | alt= | url=http://airport.rinhotels.ro/ | email=rezervari@hotel-bucuresti.com | address=Calea Bucurestilor 255A Otopeni | lat= | long= | directions=On Hwy 1 near Bucharest main airport, Otopeni | phone=+40 21 350 4110 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Provides spacious rooms with air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, and free access to its spa area. }} * {{sleep | name=Rin Central | alt= | url=http://rinhotels.ro | email=office@hotel-bucuresti.com | address=Str Traian 55 | lat=44.430035 | long=26.120161 | directions= | phone=+40 21 308 3153 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|60}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=4* hotel near city centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Siqua | alt= | url=http://www.hotelsiqua.ro | email=rezervari@hotelsiqua.ro | address=Calea Plevnei nr. 59A | lat= | long= | directions=near Opera | phone=+40 21 319 5160 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{EUR|75}}/night (tax and breakfast included) | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=With Italian restaurant, conference facilities. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Corvaris | alt= | url=https://www.hotelcorvaris.ro | email=office@hotelcorvaris.ro | address=Soseaua Oltenitei 125 | lat=44.389265 | long=26.132225 | directions=15 km SE of centre on Hwy 4 | phone=+40 21 332 5146 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=from {{EUR|50}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Clean, handy for motorists. }} ===Splurge=== [[File:Biserica „Trei Ierarhi“ - Colțea.jpg|thumb|The Intercontinental is one of the tallest buildings in Bucharest and thus an easily identifiable landmark - here seen in the background behind the Colţea Church]] * {{sleep | name=Carol Parc Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Str. Aleea Suter 23-25 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21-336 3377 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Boutique hotel looking onto Carol Park. }} * {{sleep | name=Epoque | alt= | url=http://www.epoque.ro | email=reception@epoque.ro | address=17C Intrarea Aurora 010213 | lat= | long= | directions=off Strada Ionel Perlea | phone=+40 21 312 3232 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=5-star all-suites hotel in a quiet location just west of Cișmigiu Gardens. }} * {{sleep | name=Europa Royale | alt= | url=http://www.europaroyalebucharest.com | email=office@groupeuropa.com | address=Str Franceza 60 | lat= | long= | directions=off Piata Unirii | phone=+40 21 319 1798 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=A four-star hotel in the Old Town. }} * {{sleep | name=Intercontinental Athénée Palace | alt=formerly Hilton Athénée Palace | url=https://atheneepalace.intercontinental.com/ | email= | address=str. Episcopiei nr. 1-3 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 303 3777 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2025-02-17 | content=5-star hotel near Atheneum. Nice coffee shop, pretty garden terrace in summer. }} * {{sleep | name=Sheraton Bucharest Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/buhsi-sheraton-bucharest-hotel/ | email= | address=Calea Dorobanţilor 5-7 | lat=44.4464349 | long=26.0967259 | directions=corner of Bvd Dacia | phone=+40 21 201 5000 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 201 1888 | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Upscale hotel near Plata Romana, with casino & restaurants including Benihana Japanese Steakhouse. }} * {{sleep | name=Grand Hotel Bucharest | alt=formerly Intercontinenal | url=http://www.ihg.com | email= | address=Blvd. Nicolae Bălcescu nr. 4 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 310 2020 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2025-02-17 | content=Central 5-star high-rise block built in 1971, with restaurant and swimming pool. }} * {{sleep | name=JW Marriott Bucharest Grand | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/BUHRO | email=marriott.bucharest@marriotthotels.com | address=Calea 13 Septembrie nr. 90 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 403 0000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Large hotel behind the Parliament building. 4 restaurants, bar, spa & sauna. }} * {{sleep | name=Opera | alt= | url=http://www.hotelopera.ro/ | email=info@hotelopera.ro | address=str. Actor Ion Brezoianu nr. 37 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 312 4010 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{EUR|35}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=3-star near University }} * {{sleep | name=Phoenicia Grand Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.phoeniciahotels.ro | email=office@phoenicia.ro | address=87 Bvd Aerogarii | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 300 0888 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Upmarket place with 4 restaurants, bar, night-club, spa and gym. Very close to Baneasa Airport at north edge of Bucharest, with main airport Otopeni another 15 km north. }} * {{sleep | name=Parliament | alt= | url=http://www.parliament-hotel.ro/ | email=info@parliament-hotel.ro | address=Strada Izvor nr. 106 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 411 9990 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Designer hotel, looking onto Parliament building }} * {{sleep | name=Radisson Blu Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-bucharest | email=info.bucharest@radissonblu.com | address=Calea Victoriei No. 63-81 | lat= | long= | directions=1 km from centre | phone=+40 21 311 9000 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 601 3625 | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price={{EUR|100-150}}/night | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Upmarket place with indoor & outdoor pools, 5 restaurants and 4 bars. }} * {{sleep | name=Rin Grand Hotel | alt= | url=http://grand.rinhotels.ro/ | email=office@hotel-bucuresti.com | address=Sos Vitan Barzesti 7D | lat= | long= | directions=10 km south of centre looking onto Lake Vacaresti | phone=+40 31 106 1111 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=Stylish place edge of town with restaurant and piano bar. 24-hour fitness centre with indoor pool, a whirlpool and saunas. Also with beauty salon, conference and banquet facilities, and free parking. }} ==Stay safe== The emergency number in Romania is '''112'''. Bucharest is one of the safest capitals in Europe, far safer than Berlin, London and Rome. Nevertheless, ''violence is not uncommon'', as there have sporadic but noteworthy attacks from local gangs towards foreign-looking people (minorities, out of place individuals, etc.) in clubs, particularly those playing ethnic music, especially when drinking and after hours are involved. Avoiding any conflict would reduce your chances to almost zero. The crime rate is low, but a traveler must always be cautious. Violent attacks are very low, but if attacked just yell, "Ajutor!" or "Poliția!" === Transportation === Be incredibly careful as a '''pedestrian''' in Bucharest. Some drivers are inconsiderate and do not obey all traffic signals. ''Never'' assume a car will stop for you at a crosswalk. This is definitely the ''biggest'' hazard in Bucharest, not so much in the daytime, when crowded streets make it impossible to drive cars at high speeds, but, at night, the streets clear out, some illegal races take place with reckless driving on main boulevards. '''Buses''' are safe, but use common sense, and put your things in internal pockets. Taking '''taxis''' from areas frequented by foreign tourists may also pose a threat as some of these taxis may try to make the trip a bit longer than usual, in order to be paid more. Ideally, you should call or ask someone to call you a taxi or order one using apps like Bolt or Uber. One rule of thumb is to go with older taxi drivers, since they will be more cautious and only try to get a bit extra out of you if they scam you, unlike young drivers who will claim a trip costs 3-5 times as much as it should, may claim the meter does not work, and may try intimidation tactics to make you pay. The company the taxi driver is working at and the prices should be written on the car and the driver's ID card (issued by his employer) should be visible and should contain his photo. Alternatively, just use '''ride hailing''' to avoid any hassle. Be very careful of '''unsolicited offers of help''' by passers-by, even if they speak good English. In particular if a stranger offers to accompany you to your hostel or hotel in a taxi to show you the way, decline immediately. They are often working in tandem with unlicensed taxi drivers who will attempt to scam you, drop you at incorrect (and remote) locations while demanding exorbitant payment, or who will steal your luggage. === Neighborhoods === '''Walking around at night''' is safe in most parts of the city, but be more cautious in Pantelimon, Ferentari, Giulesti, and the Gara de Nord area. If you must travel into these neighbourhoods, it's safer to take a taxi or public transport instead of walking. The unofficial red light district is Mătăsari, which is also a popular place for clubbers and pubs; you can walk there without any worries because it's always crowded and lively, but avoid talking to strangers there. === Police === Police men and women are pretty friendly and the younger ones speak English, so you can ask directions. In the event that you do need to report a crime to the police, proceed to the nearest police station. They will often help you to the best of their ability. However, if you do get caught in a '''police raid''', do not attempt to bribe your way out of it. === Other === Asian tourists are more likely to be seen as an easy target for dishonest taxi drivers and other criminals. It does not make a difference if you are Asian or look Asian. Some young Asian women may also get a lot of perverted looks from men all around the city: be prepared to be stared at especially if you are travelling alone, though some men will stare no matter what. Avoid wearing football shirts or scarves of any Bucharest or Romania-based football teams (like FCSB, Dinamo or Rapid), especially on match days. There have been several cases of people being assaulted by opposing team's fanatics. Stay away from any '''protests'''. Often protests take place in Piața Victoriei or Piața Universității. ==Stay healthy== Those with allergies may find Bucharest annoying in that it is both hot and very dusty in the summer, with temperatures easily exceeding 30&nbsp;°C in July and August, so bring whatever you might need to stay comfortable. Please note that during the summer, sun strokes and heat strokes can be very dangerous. Therefore, it is recommended that you have a bottle of water with you, sun glasses and a hat (or equivalent). '''Tap water''' seems generally to be safe and potable. Pharmacies are usually open between 09:00 and 18:00, but some will stay open through the night. In Romania, there are relatively few over-the-counter drugs available, but pharmacists are allowed to dispense limited quantities of some prescription drugs (such as pain relief medicine) for what they see as immediate needs. There are 51 public hospitals (of which 13 are designated emergency hospitals, including 2 for pediatric emergencies only) and about 18 private hospitals in Bucharest, along with a considerable number of private clinics, dental practices and a modern ambulance service. The nearest hospital from the city center is Colțea Hospital, located on Ion C. Brătianu Boulevard just near the Colțea Church and about 5 minutes away on foot from the University Square. It is also one of the most modern public hospitals in Bucharest. ====Laundry==== There is a new laundromat with free Wi-Fi and new equipment. It is centrally located and a nice place to hang around: * {{listing | name=Fourwood Laundry | alt= | url=http://fourwoodlaundry.ro/ | email=contact@fourwoodlaundry.ro | address=Calea Serban Voda nr. 18-20 | lat=44.4247437 | long=26.1028701 | directions=behind the Horoscop Hotel and in front of the private clinic MedLife | phone=+40 76 8097748 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Centrally located at Piata Unirii. Free Wi-Fi. }} ==Cope== ===Embassies=== * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | url=http://www.finland.ro | email=sanomat.buk@formin.fi | address=Strada Atena 2 bis, București 011832 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 2307504 | tollfree= | fax=+40 21 2307505 | hours=M-Th 08:00-16:15, F -15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | url=http://www.embajadaenrumania.maec.es/ | email= | address=Aleea Alexandru 43, București 011822 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 318 1077 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|UK}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-bucharest | email= | address=Strada Jules Michelet 24, București 010463 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+40 21 201 7200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-17:00 | price= | lastedit=2017-09-21 | content= }} == Connect == As of November 2021, Bucharest has wide 5G coverage with Orange and Vodafone, some zones in the city center and the northern part of the city with 5G from Digi, and several spots in the northern part of the city covered by 5G with Telekom. Wifi is widely available in public places. ==Go next == * The most attractive area of Romania is Transylvania, with its mountains and well-preserved medieval towns. Closest to Bucharest, 160&nbsp;km north, is [[Brașov]]. Beyond it lie [[Sibiu]], [[Sighisoara]], [[Targu Mures]] and [[Cluj Napoca]]. * [[Constanța]], 225&nbsp;km east, is a beach resort on the Black Sea coast. Frankly it's seen better days. * Ski resorts include [[Sinaia]], [[Poiana Brasov]], and [[Predeal]]. * The scenic road Transfăgărășan is not very far away. On the way you can visit also the cities [[Curtea de Argeș]], [[Pitești]] and [[Ștefănești]]. * A day's journey takes you out of Romania into the neighbouring countries. The star destinations, which you'll want to visit more than once, are [[Budapest]] in Hungary and [[Istanbul]] in Turkey. Also worth seeing are [[Belgrade]] in Serbia, [[Sofia]] and [[Plovdiv]] in Bulgaria, and [[Kyiv]] and [[Odesa]] in Ukraine. [[Chișinău]] in Moldova doesn't take long to see but you might need to stop-over on the way to Ukraine. *Some kilometers southwest is [[Măgurele]], a small town that houses many institutes. {{routebox | image1=E70-RO.svg | imagesize1=30 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Craiova]] | minorl1=[[Alexandria (Romania)|Alexandria]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[File:Aiga immigration.svg|18px]] Danube Bridge [[File:Truss bridge icon.svg|40px]] | minorr1='''[[Giurgiu]]''' | image2=E85-RO.svg | imagesize2=30 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Suceava]] | minorl2=[[Buzău]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=Merges with [[File:E70-RO.svg|23px]] (E) | minorr2= }} {{geo|44.4325|26.1039}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|Wallachian Plain}} p8112yzp9y4mg2rub8ybyw1sd6ia9gn 0 5113 5298595 5245450 2026-06-26T03:30:34Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298595 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Panoramaparkplatz Bernstein Burgenland 2021-08-20 05 - Banner for Wikivoyage.jpg}} '''Burgenland''' is the most eastern state of [[Austria]], sharing a border with [[Hungary]]. It's quite popular for the region around the [[Neusiedl Lake]] and its wine-growing areas. ==Cities== {{mapframe|47.438|16.642|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Eisenstadt]]|lat=47.85|long=16.516667|wikidata=Q126321}} – state capital *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Güssing]]|lat=47.066667|long=16.316667|wikidata=Q279823}} *{{marker|type=city|name=Jennersdorf|lat=46.933333|long=16.133333|wikidata=Q660491}} *{{marker|type=city|name=Mattersburg|lat=47.738056|long=16.396944|wikidata=Q250832}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Neusiedl am See]]|lat=47.95|long=16.85|wikidata=Q253760}} *{{marker|type=city|name=Oberpullendorf|lat=47.5|long=16.516667|wikidata=Q252982}} *{{marker|type=city|name=Oberwart|lat=47.283333|long=16.2|wikidata=Q671259}} *{{marker|type=city|name=Raiding|lat=47.566667|long=16.533333|wikidata=Q660821}} – birthplace of composer Franz Liszt *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rust]]|lat=47.8|long=16.666667|wikidata=Q259214}} ==Understand== Burgenland is a very lengthy state. It is 166 km long from north to south, but much narrower from west to east, in one place only 5 km. It is divided into seven districts, but for this travel guide, it will first be divided it into larger regions, called Northern Burgenland, Mid Burgenland and Southern Burgenland. Those regions have better public transportation within them, as opposed to the very, very poor public transportation from north to south, which is mostly a bus which starts in Eisenstadt (Kismarton) twice a day. Northern Burgenland is composed of [[Neusiedl am See]] (administrative center Neusiedl am See), Eisenstadt-Umgebung (Eisenstadt) and Mattersburg. Mid Burgenland is home to Oberpullendorf, while Southern Burgenland comprises Oberwart, Güssing and Jennersdorf, The whole of Burgenland used to be Hungarian territory, but became part of Austria after World War I. Even today, a substantial Hungarian population lives in Burgenland (Őrvidék in Hungarian), especially in the northeastern parts. Northern Burgenland is also the better developed part of the whole, since it is very near to Vienna and could profit from the economical updrift of this region after the World War II. The mid- and southern parts of Burgenland have poor infrastructure and economics. In Jennersdorf, you will mostly find completely different weather (sunshine) situations than compared to the rest of Austria (rain). It is commonly thought by inhabitants that it is some sort of dependence of Italy, but this theory still lacks scientific acknowledgement. ==Talk== The native language of Burgenland is German, though most people speak a very strong Austro-Bavarian dialect, especially the older generation. Understanding the dialect can be a challenge even for German native speakers. Also widely spoken are English and to a lesser extent Hungarian (due to the proximity of the border). There are also minorities who speak (natively) Burgenland Croatian and Hungarian, and Romanies. Members of these minorities are almost always bilingual in German. ==Get in== ===By plane=== Most certainly, you will not come to Burgenland by plane. But to be complete, nearby international airports are in [[Vienna]], [[Bratislava]], [[Graz]] and [[Maribor]]. If you happen to own your own sports plane, you will like (and may already know) that there is a small military and hobbyists' airport next to Güssing in Punitz, [http://www.logg.at/ LOGG] (123,20), which is usable throughout the year. For bigger planes you will need to consider Maribor. ===By train=== Regional lines pass through from [[Styria]], and suburban trains from Vienna. [[Wiener Neustadt]] especially is a good train hub for northern Burgenland. If you want to go to Southern Burgenland, you might sometimes prefer the destination "Fürstenfeld" to Jennersdorf and then take the local bus to the desired village. There are many train stations in Burgenland, you can search on the ÖBB website for timetables. ===By bus=== Burgenland has a quite good bus network. Buses go hourly from Vienna's station ''Südbahnhof''. Travelling time is about an hour, but it might vary because of the traffic situation. The capital [[Eisenstadt]] can be reached daily from each village in Burgenland by bus. The schedules differ on the weekends and national holidays. A one-way-ticket costs about €2 depending on where you want to go. Tickets to and from Vienna are much more expensive, but it's cheaper than going by train. ===By bike=== The most eastern state of Austria is a popular biking area. Generally, all kinds of bikes can be rented at the bus and train stations. Some cities use the system [http://www.nextbike.at Nextbike], where you have to register yourself. The system tells where and where bikes are available. ===By boat=== Burgenland can be reached by boat from Hungary. The villages around Lake Neusiedl offer boat tours and public transport across the lake. ==Get around== ==See== ===Lake=== [[File:Basilika Mariae Geburt Frauenkirchen DSC 4871w.jpg|thumb|Façade of the Basilica Mariä Geburt in Frauenkirchen]] [[Neusiedl Lake]] - on the [[UNESCO World Heritage List]] as a cultural landscape. It is famous for its reeds, migratory birds, the rural architecture and the vineyards. ===Castles=== Formerly called "The Land of four Castles" (''Vierburgenland''), most of them are now in [[Hungary]]. It is not that they moved there by themselves, but in the political confusion of this area, a lot of unification, reunification and division took place, and that's where things stand now: a land of castles (''Burgenland'') with only few of them. But still there are some which are worthwhile to visit. The castles were built as a defence against the Osmanic and Magyar threat from the east. The "Road of Castles" ([http://www.schloesserstrasse.com/ Schlösserstrasse]) starts in mid-Burgenland and goes right down to the most southern place in eastern Styria. Don't be confused: the name of the castle is almost always the name of the corresponding village, minus "Burg" or "Schloss". '''Ordered from north to south:''' * '''[http://www.schlosshalbturn.com Schloss Halbturn]''' 13th century * '''[http://www.esterhazy.at Schloss Esterhazy]''' 15th century * '''[http://www.esterhazy.at/de/burgforchtenstein Burg Forchtenstein]''' 14th century * '''[http://www.bernstein.at Burg Bernstein]''' – In this small 13th-century castle in Bernstein, which was owned by families like Batthyány and Almásy, you will find a small hotel [http://www.burgbernstein.at], a restaurant and a nice garden, which is open to visitors. The castle is very ancient with big rooms and a knight's hall. (Hotel: {{phone|+43 3354 6382}}, mail: bergeralmasy@netway.at) * '''[http://www.ritterburg.at Burg Lockenhaus]'''– A 13th-century stronghold and knight's castle in Lockenhaus, with knight's saloon, frescos and a subterranean apsis hall. The knight's hall is regularly used for chamber music festivals and big stylish weddings. The hotel [http://www.tiscover.com/burg.hotel.lockenhaus]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} has ancient apartments, a wedding suite, a tavern and other features. ({{phone| +43 2616 2394}} or {{phone|+43 2616 2321}}, email: burg.lockenhaus@wellcom.at) * '''[http://www.stadtschlaining.at Burg Schlaining]''' – The [http://www.aspr.ac.at/ Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution] is here, as is the European Museum of Peace. In the village Stadtschlaining you will find a medieval heart, churches, and a synagogue. In the 13th-century castle [http://www.burg-schlaining.at Burg Schlaining]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} you will find remarkable medieval architecture, a knight's saloon, pomposity saloons and a chapel. (Castle: {{phone|+43 3355 2201}}-30, opening times Apr 11-Oct 31, Tu–Su 09:00-18:00, closed M) * '''[http://www.burgguessing.at Burg Güssing]''' 12th century – The oldest castle in Burgenland, built around 1157 on an extinct volcano, served as a defence castle against threats from the east. It features an ancestors gallery, cultural items of the renaissance and barock, a restaurant with atmospheric music events and an excellent vinotheque. In summer, the ''[http://come.to/burgspiele Burgspiele]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'' take place, which is open-air theatre with the picturesque background of the castle itself. You can visit Burg Güssing with an elevator. ===Theaters and plays=== *[http://www.seefestspiele-moerbisch.at Seefestspiele Mörbisch] *[http://www.ofs.at Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen] *[http://www.burgspiele.eu Burgspiele Güssing] ==Do== ===Hot springs=== There are many [[hot springs]] in southern Burgenland and south-eastern Styria, so watch out that you don't fall into one of the many thermal basins if you don't watch your step. The water for the thermae comes right out of the earth, heated by volcanic activity and is mostly around 36°C, enriched with minerals and very nice to relax in. There will also be offered common wellness services such as solarium, massages, drinks, mudbaths, sauna and others. Often enough there are opportunities to play golf, do horseriding, go bicycling or hiking, do sports and such. The village you find the thermae in will contain a lot of expensive hotels and cheap hostels to spend your time. You should not think about staying outside the actual thermae village, because stretches of way between villages are rather long in Burgenland, and the public transportation infrastructure is, to say the least, poor. Thermae in Burgenland with their primary targets are: * [http://www.burgenlandtherme.at/ Bad Tatzmannsdorf] A village more for elderly people (mostly on rehab) * [http://www.dietherme.com/ Stegersbach]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} For families with children, with golf links * [http://www.sonnentherme.at/en.html Lutzmannsburg]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Not in Burgenland, but in the area: *[http://www.tiscover.at/loipersdorf Loipersdorf]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Very nice for kids, with golf links ==Eat== Before you start reading right away, think about yourself and your relation to food. Do you eat grasshoppers? Slugs? Do you dare every cook you meet for his local fashion and tradition? Well then, but you have been warned. You will notice that the following dishes just aren't the ones anyone would consider "kosher". ===Sautanz=== In Mid and Southern Burgenland, and also in some parts of Styria, a procedure called ''Sautanz'' - "pig dance" takes place. This is, when a hog is butchered. But well, it is not done in some industrial way of killing. It is a celebration, where all friends and neighbours of the respective peasant, who owns the hog, are invited. Usually, a professional butcher is organised, who does the actual filleting with some better parts of the pig as payment. As a first step, the hog is let out of its cage, then the peasant tries to catch it and set the slaughtering pistol (or sometimes, they use an axe for the same job). You will notice a loud and awful screaming of the hog, until it is caught and shot (or cut). What is called "dance" is the running around before it is killed - poor pig. Well then, you have that hog right there, bleeding. What happens next? And what has all this to do with food? * '''Blutwurst, Blunz'n''' First of all, there will be a ''lot'' of blood. But this is not shed. No. It is collected in a bucket and cooked until it is coagulated, with fat, cream and spices. This will be later filled into the cleaned gut of the hog. This is the Blutwurst, or often just called ''Blunzn'' (pronounced: bloontsn). Sounds yummy? It really is, no matter how much you watch it being made. * '''Grammeln''', '''Schmalz''' and '''Grammelschmalz''' Then, the fat of the hog is diced and cooked. The fat then starts separating from the tissue. The tissue is fried in the fat which was separated by cooking. The fried tissue itself, which looks like big brown bread crumbs is then called ''Grammeln'' (sg. ''Grammel''), the fat itself, which turns white and hard as butter when it is cold, ''Schmalz''. And when the Grammeln are left in the Schmalz, this will be another local speciality called ''Grammelschmalz''. Schmalz is the fat used for much of the traditional cooking in this area. * '''Schnaps''' Together with all that, you will most likely be served a distilled transparent fluid called ''Schnaps'', which has most likely also been made by the owner of the hog. It is made of distilled rotten fruit. You will rarely come to drink something as stiff like that, so don't miss it. * Other products Of course, not all of the butchered hog is used at that occasion. Most of it is given to friends and neighbours and put into the fridge for the coming year. ===Traditional cooking=== * '''Grammelpogatscherl''' Using the Grammeln and the Schmalz from the Sautanz, the older women will often bake ''Grammelpogatscherl'' with it, which is a very fat, salty and tasty little cookie. Ask for it. * '''Knoblauchwurst''', '''Knoflwurst''' Garlic-sausage you could translate it. Ask for it. You must not miss this, and you won't get it like that anywhere else than in Southern Burgenland. Take it on your plate in a big chunk and eat it with generous bites together with bread and the wine served. You can also cut it into slices and put it on a piece of bread, but this just isn't the whole thing. * '''Blunz'ngröstl''' This is the Blutwurst from above roasted in a pan. * '''Presswurst''', '''Sulz''' This is a sausage which consists of different pieces of meat and jelly. ===Buschenschank=== The thing which is called "Heuriger" in [[Vienna]] and [[Lower Austria]] is called ''Buschenschank'' ("bar in the bushes") in Southern Burgenland and South-Eastern Styria. This is where the peasants serve their own products without having to pay any gastronomy license fees. Drinks and food are extraordinarily cheap and tasty. You will get ''heurigen'' (this year's) wine and the products mentioned above, plus cheese and curd cheese made parfait. You can order most of the products available served together on a plate, for one or more persons. This plate comes with additional sweet pepper, tomatoes, hot peppers, horseradish (called ''Kren'') and bread. If you come to Burgenland in autumn, you are really bound to try this, it is an extraordinary culinaric experience you might never forget. For drinking, you will be served white wine, red wine, Uhudler, Most or Sturm, the latter three is explained below at "Drinks", don't miss it! When you decide to go to a Buschenschank, ask a resident where a good one takes place. ==Drink== ===Wine=== In Northern Burgenland, around Neusiedlersee, and in Southern Burgenland you will get exceptional good wine for no money. Try to visit some Buschenschank or some Winery and start trying and tasting right away, as the local Wineries will be happy to assist you in a professional degustation. ===Uhudler=== Being a special wine which must only be served in Southern Burgenland and the bordering styrian area, you will not find it anywhere else. It is drunk cold, and though its appearance has some resemblance with rosé, it tastes entirely different. It has the smack of berries, after the uncultivated grapes from which it is made. This wine is supposed to be drunk - pure or with soda - together with friends, in a warm autumn evening, in the open air, having a nice talk and laugh on a candle lit table. Most Buschenschanks will provide you with those prerequisites; you still need to bring the friends, though. ===Most=== This is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented fruit juice. It can be clear or clouded and can taste a little astringent. You can get drunk from it easily. Common fruits used for making Most are grape, apple and pear. It is similar to cider and perry. In wine making, Most precedes Sturm. One differentiates between Pressmost, the product of pressure applied to the fruit, and Seihmost, the liquid that naturally flows out of the fruit stacked in the press. ===Sturm=== A fermenting grape juice of high alcohol content, Sturm is the stage following Most. This beverage is only on sale for a few weeks in the winemaking regions of Austria and only during the season of wine-making as it cannot be preserved. If sold in bottles, it is not corked as the fermentation process of the sugar is still in process. It is opaque, and off-white to greenish in colour. Depending on the stage of fermentation the taste can be very sweet. It is deceptively refreshing, and has a surprising punch - more often than not it also delivers also a punch to your digestion. ==Go next== * Austria's capital, [[Vienna]], is only an hour away from northern Burgenland. * [[Graz]], the capital of [[Styria]], is quite near to southern Burgenland. * Visit [[Transdanubia|Western Hungary]]. [[Kőszeg]] and [[Sopron]],-the two nicest towns of [[Hungary]],-are walking distance from the state border. {{geo|47.5000|16.4167|zoom=10}} {{isPartOf|Austria}} {{outlineregion}} 82vf9n9gh7g94gmzjqcwiebb6fyl63x 0 5548 5298548 5203218 2026-06-26T01:36:47Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria */ 5298548 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Calabria''' is a region in [[Southern Italy]], it forms the metaphorical toe of the Italian boot. It's considered the Caribbean of Europe thanks to its pristine beaches, stunning landscape, and rustic charms. Hillside towns, ancient Greek temples and Byzantine churches dot the countryside of Italy's best kept secret. The region's climate is mild in the winter, with hot, dry summers. The region is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea: the Ionian Sea is to the east, the Tyhrrenean to the west and the Strait of Messina to the south. As such, the sea is a big part of the region's culture and cuisine. ==Provinces== {{mapframe|height=550|39.039|16.400|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} Calabria is divided into five provinces, from north to south: {{Regionlist | regionmaptext=The five provinces of Calabria | regionmap= | regionmapsize=180px | region1name=<!-- [[Cosenza (province)|Cosenza]] --> Cosenza (CS) | region1color=#a6ce7a | region1items= | region1description= | region2name=<!-- [[Crotone (province)|Crotone]] --> Crotone (KR) | region2color=#eda859 | region2items= | region2description= | region3name=<!-- [[Catanzaro (province)|Catanzaro]] --> Catanzaro (CZ) | region3color=#a699b0 | region3items= | region3description= | region4name=<!-- [[Vibo Valentia (province)|Vibo Valentia]] --> Vibo Valentia (VV) | region4color=#ffd333 | region4items= | region4description= | region5name=<!-- [[Reggio Calabria (province)|Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria]] --> Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (RC) | region5color=#a9b7c4 | region5items= | region5description= }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a6ce7a|title=Cosenza|wikidata=Q16162}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#eda859|title=Crotone|wikidata=Q16165}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a699b0|title=Catanzaro|wikidata=Q16159}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#ffd333|title=Vibo Valentia|wikidata=Q16315}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a9b7c4|title=Reggio Calabria|wikidata=Q3678586}} ==Cities and towns== ===Cosenza=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Cosenza]]|wikidata=Q13619}} – its old town is typical of hilltop settlements, dominated by steep, narrow and winding alleys along which stand small buildings and stately palaces * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=Corigliano Calabro|wikidata=Q53870}} – overlooking the town is a feudal castle with massive towers and a deep trench * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=Rossano|wikidata=Q53952}} – known for its marble and alabaster quarries, has a notable cathedral and castle * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.8167|long=15.7833|name=[[Scalea]]|wikidata=Q54000}} – a resort on the Golfo del Pollino, on a stretch of coast called "Riviera dei Cedri" * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.8667|long=16.5333|name=[[Trebisacce]]|wikidata=Q54032}} – a relaxed atmosphere, is surrounded by olive trees * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.916667|long=15.766667|name=[[Praia a Mare]]|wikidata=Q53938}} – set on a beautiful stretch of the coast, with caves to explore, scuba diving, white water rafting, paragliding, etc. * {{listing|type=city|name=Rocca Imperiale|wikidata=Q53947}} – a picturesque town built on a hill, with the castle ''Castello Svevo'' at the top * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[San Fili]]|wikidata=Q53963}} – known as "village of Magare", women who have knowledge of herbs and natural remedies, popular wisdom, a strong religiosity and a suggestive charm ===Crotone=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Crotone]]|wikidata=Q6681}} – offers visitors a medieval old town with historic houses, squares, and ancient places of worship ===Catanzaro=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Catanzaro]]|wikidata=Q3883}} – includes a coastal area on the Ionian Sea with 8 km of beach and a tourist port * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.6000|long=16.5500|name=[[Isca Marina]]|wikidata=Q6079171}} – a seaside resort with beaches and seaside discos * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Lamezia Terme]]|wikidata=Q53643}} – has a Norman fortress, and a historic spa ===Vibo Valentia=== * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tropea]]|wikidata=Q54747}} – renowned for its beaches and its historic city centre, beautiful churches, lively cafes, and restaurants specializing in Calabrian food * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.6667|long=16.1000|name=[[Vibo Valentia]]|wikidata=Q13625}} – on the Coast of the Gods, an important tourist-seaside area of Calabria ===Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria=== * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.109214 |long=15.644542|name=[[Reggio di Calabria]]|wikidata=Q8471}} – this ferry port on the toe of Italy is home to the Riace Bronzes, a legacy of the city's Magna Graecia origins * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.3167|long=16.4000|name=[[Roccella Ionica]]|wikidata=Q54642}} – a beach town with a medieval castle and a Greek old quarter * {{Marker|type=City|name=[[Siderno]]|wikidata=Q54672}} - lively modern seaside town. ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Gallicianò|lat=38.0166|long=15.8865|wikidata=Q3757801}} is a remote village with a population of 200 Calabrian Greek-speaking people. It was founded during the 10th century. *Pentedattilo. A former farming community speaking Calabrian Greek, at the base of a rock shaped like five fingers, hence the name. The village was depopulated by emigration and abandoned after an earthquake, becoming a ghost town. It has been partially restored and it is possible to stay in the village. There is limited free parking and a nearby restaurant/agriturismo. *Bova. High in the hills, like Pentedattilo, it was visited by Edward Lear. ==Understand== Calabria has historically been one of the poorest regions in Italy, although it is improving now. The region is quite undeveloped and undervisited by tourists, but is therefore also unspoiled. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Catanzaro |6.6 |11.6 |111.0 |6.1 |11.7 |103.0 |7.7 |13.8 |103.0 |10.2 |16.7 |68.0 |14.1 |21.3 |38.0 |18.2 |25.8 |19.0 |21.0 |28.7 |20.0 |21.6 |29.1 |28.0 |18.3 |25.3 |75.0 |15.1 |21.3 |87.0 |10.9 |16.3 |130.0 |7.8 |12.6 |152.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Catanzaro]] | description = Reggio di Calabria Climate Averages }} The entire region is known for its balmy [[Mediterranean climates|Mediterranean climate]]. It has prolonged hot, dry summers and very short, mild winters. The intermediate seasons are warm and guarantee the possibility to sunbathe for most of the year. ==Talk== As one of the more remote regions of Italy, English is not as widely spoken in Calabria as it is in the more urbanized north, though still spoken by many urban youth. Calabresi speak either Italian or the local Calabrese dialect natively though basically all Calabresi speakers also speak Italian. ==Get in== Calabria is serviced by airports in Reggio Calabria Airport (Tito Minniti, {{IATA|REG}}), Lamezia Terme Airport (Sant'Eufemia, {{IATA|SUF}}) and Crotone Airport (Sant'Anna, {{IATA|CRV}}). The main north-south highway through Calabria is the A3 Autostrada from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. ==Get around== For holiday makers, there is a free bus service that runs from Lamezia Terme Airport to Tropea. Other modes of transport include the train which runs along the whole coast of Calabria and stops of at the main towns or alternatively can hire a car from Lamezia Airport. ==See== When you visit Calabria, spending a couple of days in Praia a Mare (known as Praja) is a great time. The off coast Dino Island is popular for its Grotta Azzurra (Blue Cave), where you can swim surrounded by fish in crystal blue water. ==Eat== Much of the traditional Calabrian food is called ''cucina povera'', or simple peasant food. It is long on comfort and good vegetables, and short on fancy frills. Because of the climate, many foods were preserved by salting or packing in olive oil, and this style continues today. If there is a fundamental ingredient to Calabrian cooking, it would be the ''"peperoncino"'' (pepper). Calabrian cooking tends toward the spicy thanks to the generous use of various varieties of hot peppers in regional cuisine. In fact, so popular is the peperoncino, that the village of Diamante honors the hot pepper with its own festival. In the first week of September the locals celebrate the Festival del Peperoncino, dedicated to the unofficial symbol of Calabria: the cayenne pepper. During the festival, one can taste freshly harvested peppers or try locally produced products that make use of the spicy condiment, anything from pasta to (yes) gelato. ''Olio Santo'', olive oil infused with hot pepper, is sometimes added to a plate of pasta to give it a little extra zip. ''Soppressata'' (Sopresatta) is a popular, peppery dry sausage that is typical of the region. ''Nduja'' is a very soft, very spicy sausage that you might not be able to find at home. Look for its dark rust-red color on top of pizzas, or pair it with good bread for a popular sandwich. If you want something less spicy, then ''Capocollo'' is the local interpretation of ham. ''Alici ripieni'', or stuffed anchovies, is a popular seafood dish. ''Sardella'' is produced in some of the towns along the Ionian coast in the province of Cosenza. It is a spicy paste made with olive oil, mashed baby sardines and hot pepper. If you get a chance, try the ''mpigliati con le sarde'' pie as a spicy, salty appetizer to share with a group. Some Neapolitan specialties such as ''Braciole'' (''"Raciol"'' in the Calabrian dialect) are common in the region. In summer many dishes are prepared with eggplants. Calabria has its own reddish, rounder eggplant with a mild taste. The favorite onion, the red Tropea, is mild. If you are looking for something sweet, Calabria offers a delightful variety of baked goods. Around holidays, look in pastry shops for a dish made of little bits of honey-glazed, deep-fried dough called ''pignolata'' or ''struffoli''. They also make high-quality licorice, and if you're devoted to this candy that is more usually associated with Nordic regions, then consider a trip to the Giorgio Amarelli Museo della Liquirizia, along the north coast of the Cosenza district. ==Drink== Calabria is an up-and-coming producer of wines, with a number of regional wines earning the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) label from the Italian government. Most of these wines are difficult to purchase outside of the region. Reds tend to be bold and full-bodied. ==Stay safe== Though not as poor as it was in the early part of the last century, Calabria is still one of the least developed regions in Western Europe, and so there is crime in the region. The high-profile crime in Calabria that receives the most media attention, at least in Italy, concerns the Mafia, called in Calabria the '''Ndrangheta'', but it almost never targets tourists. Road safety is a much greater concern than the Mafia for tourists visiting the region. The SS 106, which runs along the Ionian coast from Reggio Calabria to Taranto, is considered one of the deadliest roads in all of Europe. ==Go next== * [[Apulia]] – visit the neighboring region * [[Sicily]] – Sicily is only a few kilometres away. Take a ferry from [[Reggio di Calabria]] to [[Messina]]. {{geo|39|16.5|zoom=9}} {{outlineregion}} {{isPartOf|Southern Italy}} 5ujv1xo1htalokhyuq5ib2c72lv6i83 5298559 5298548 2026-06-26T02:06:52Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Other destinations */ 5298559 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Calabria''' is a region in [[Southern Italy]], it forms the metaphorical toe of the Italian boot. It's considered the Caribbean of Europe thanks to its pristine beaches, stunning landscape, and rustic charms. Hillside towns, ancient Greek temples and Byzantine churches dot the countryside of Italy's best kept secret. The region's climate is mild in the winter, with hot, dry summers. The region is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea: the Ionian Sea is to the east, the Tyhrrenean to the west and the Strait of Messina to the south. As such, the sea is a big part of the region's culture and cuisine. ==Provinces== {{mapframe|height=550|39.039|16.400|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} Calabria is divided into five provinces, from north to south: {{Regionlist | regionmaptext=The five provinces of Calabria | regionmap= | regionmapsize=180px | region1name=<!-- [[Cosenza (province)|Cosenza]] --> Cosenza (CS) | region1color=#a6ce7a | region1items= | region1description= | region2name=<!-- [[Crotone (province)|Crotone]] --> Crotone (KR) | region2color=#eda859 | region2items= | region2description= | region3name=<!-- [[Catanzaro (province)|Catanzaro]] --> Catanzaro (CZ) | region3color=#a699b0 | region3items= | region3description= | region4name=<!-- [[Vibo Valentia (province)|Vibo Valentia]] --> Vibo Valentia (VV) | region4color=#ffd333 | region4items= | region4description= | region5name=<!-- [[Reggio Calabria (province)|Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria]] --> Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (RC) | region5color=#a9b7c4 | region5items= | region5description= }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a6ce7a|title=Cosenza|wikidata=Q16162}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#eda859|title=Crotone|wikidata=Q16165}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a699b0|title=Catanzaro|wikidata=Q16159}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#ffd333|title=Vibo Valentia|wikidata=Q16315}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a9b7c4|title=Reggio Calabria|wikidata=Q3678586}} ==Cities and towns== ===Cosenza=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Cosenza]]|wikidata=Q13619}} – its old town is typical of hilltop settlements, dominated by steep, narrow and winding alleys along which stand small buildings and stately palaces * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=Corigliano Calabro|wikidata=Q53870}} – overlooking the town is a feudal castle with massive towers and a deep trench * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=Rossano|wikidata=Q53952}} – known for its marble and alabaster quarries, has a notable cathedral and castle * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.8167|long=15.7833|name=[[Scalea]]|wikidata=Q54000}} – a resort on the Golfo del Pollino, on a stretch of coast called "Riviera dei Cedri" * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.8667|long=16.5333|name=[[Trebisacce]]|wikidata=Q54032}} – a relaxed atmosphere, is surrounded by olive trees * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.916667|long=15.766667|name=[[Praia a Mare]]|wikidata=Q53938}} – set on a beautiful stretch of the coast, with caves to explore, scuba diving, white water rafting, paragliding, etc. * {{listing|type=city|name=Rocca Imperiale|wikidata=Q53947}} – a picturesque town built on a hill, with the castle ''Castello Svevo'' at the top * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[San Fili]]|wikidata=Q53963}} – known as "village of Magare", women who have knowledge of herbs and natural remedies, popular wisdom, a strong religiosity and a suggestive charm ===Crotone=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Crotone]]|wikidata=Q6681}} – offers visitors a medieval old town with historic houses, squares, and ancient places of worship ===Catanzaro=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Catanzaro]]|wikidata=Q3883}} – includes a coastal area on the Ionian Sea with 8 km of beach and a tourist port * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.6000|long=16.5500|name=[[Isca Marina]]|wikidata=Q6079171}} – a seaside resort with beaches and seaside discos * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Lamezia Terme]]|wikidata=Q53643}} – has a Norman fortress, and a historic spa ===Vibo Valentia=== * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tropea]]|wikidata=Q54747}} – renowned for its beaches and its historic city centre, beautiful churches, lively cafes, and restaurants specializing in Calabrian food * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.6667|long=16.1000|name=[[Vibo Valentia]]|wikidata=Q13625}} – on the Coast of the Gods, an important tourist-seaside area of Calabria ===Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria=== * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.109214 |long=15.644542|name=[[Reggio di Calabria]]|wikidata=Q8471}} – this ferry port on the toe of Italy is home to the Riace Bronzes, a legacy of the city's Magna Graecia origins * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.3167|long=16.4000|name=[[Roccella Ionica]]|wikidata=Q54642}} – a beach town with a medieval castle and a Greek old quarter * {{Marker|type=City|name=[[Siderno]]|wikidata=Q54672}} - lively modern seaside town. ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Gallicianò|lat=38.0166|long=15.8865|wikidata=Q3757801}} is a remote village with a population of 200 Calabrian Greek-speaking people. It was founded during the 10th century. *{{Marker|type=City|name=[[Gerace]]|wikidata=Q54612}}is a beautifully preserved hill town, dominated by its impressive Norman cathedral, it features medieval streets, historic palaces, and panoramic views over the Ionian coast. *Pentedattilo. A former farming community speaking Calabrian Greek, at the base of a rock shaped like five fingers, hence the name. The village was depopulated by emigration and abandoned after an earthquake, becoming a ghost town. It has been partially restored and it is possible to stay in the village. There is limited free parking and a nearby restaurant/agriturismo. *Bova. High in the hills, like Pentedattilo, it was visited by Edward Lear. ==Understand== Calabria has historically been one of the poorest regions in Italy, although it is improving now. The region is quite undeveloped and undervisited by tourists, but is therefore also unspoiled. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Catanzaro |6.6 |11.6 |111.0 |6.1 |11.7 |103.0 |7.7 |13.8 |103.0 |10.2 |16.7 |68.0 |14.1 |21.3 |38.0 |18.2 |25.8 |19.0 |21.0 |28.7 |20.0 |21.6 |29.1 |28.0 |18.3 |25.3 |75.0 |15.1 |21.3 |87.0 |10.9 |16.3 |130.0 |7.8 |12.6 |152.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Catanzaro]] | description = Reggio di Calabria Climate Averages }} The entire region is known for its balmy [[Mediterranean climates|Mediterranean climate]]. It has prolonged hot, dry summers and very short, mild winters. The intermediate seasons are warm and guarantee the possibility to sunbathe for most of the year. ==Talk== As one of the more remote regions of Italy, English is not as widely spoken in Calabria as it is in the more urbanized north, though still spoken by many urban youth. Calabresi speak either Italian or the local Calabrese dialect natively though basically all Calabresi speakers also speak Italian. ==Get in== Calabria is serviced by airports in Reggio Calabria Airport (Tito Minniti, {{IATA|REG}}), Lamezia Terme Airport (Sant'Eufemia, {{IATA|SUF}}) and Crotone Airport (Sant'Anna, {{IATA|CRV}}). The main north-south highway through Calabria is the A3 Autostrada from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. ==Get around== For holiday makers, there is a free bus service that runs from Lamezia Terme Airport to Tropea. Other modes of transport include the train which runs along the whole coast of Calabria and stops of at the main towns or alternatively can hire a car from Lamezia Airport. ==See== When you visit Calabria, spending a couple of days in Praia a Mare (known as Praja) is a great time. The off coast Dino Island is popular for its Grotta Azzurra (Blue Cave), where you can swim surrounded by fish in crystal blue water. ==Eat== Much of the traditional Calabrian food is called ''cucina povera'', or simple peasant food. It is long on comfort and good vegetables, and short on fancy frills. Because of the climate, many foods were preserved by salting or packing in olive oil, and this style continues today. If there is a fundamental ingredient to Calabrian cooking, it would be the ''"peperoncino"'' (pepper). Calabrian cooking tends toward the spicy thanks to the generous use of various varieties of hot peppers in regional cuisine. In fact, so popular is the peperoncino, that the village of Diamante honors the hot pepper with its own festival. In the first week of September the locals celebrate the Festival del Peperoncino, dedicated to the unofficial symbol of Calabria: the cayenne pepper. During the festival, one can taste freshly harvested peppers or try locally produced products that make use of the spicy condiment, anything from pasta to (yes) gelato. ''Olio Santo'', olive oil infused with hot pepper, is sometimes added to a plate of pasta to give it a little extra zip. ''Soppressata'' (Sopresatta) is a popular, peppery dry sausage that is typical of the region. ''Nduja'' is a very soft, very spicy sausage that you might not be able to find at home. Look for its dark rust-red color on top of pizzas, or pair it with good bread for a popular sandwich. If you want something less spicy, then ''Capocollo'' is the local interpretation of ham. ''Alici ripieni'', or stuffed anchovies, is a popular seafood dish. ''Sardella'' is produced in some of the towns along the Ionian coast in the province of Cosenza. It is a spicy paste made with olive oil, mashed baby sardines and hot pepper. If you get a chance, try the ''mpigliati con le sarde'' pie as a spicy, salty appetizer to share with a group. Some Neapolitan specialties such as ''Braciole'' (''"Raciol"'' in the Calabrian dialect) are common in the region. In summer many dishes are prepared with eggplants. Calabria has its own reddish, rounder eggplant with a mild taste. The favorite onion, the red Tropea, is mild. If you are looking for something sweet, Calabria offers a delightful variety of baked goods. Around holidays, look in pastry shops for a dish made of little bits of honey-glazed, deep-fried dough called ''pignolata'' or ''struffoli''. They also make high-quality licorice, and if you're devoted to this candy that is more usually associated with Nordic regions, then consider a trip to the Giorgio Amarelli Museo della Liquirizia, along the north coast of the Cosenza district. ==Drink== Calabria is an up-and-coming producer of wines, with a number of regional wines earning the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) label from the Italian government. Most of these wines are difficult to purchase outside of the region. Reds tend to be bold and full-bodied. ==Stay safe== Though not as poor as it was in the early part of the last century, Calabria is still one of the least developed regions in Western Europe, and so there is crime in the region. The high-profile crime in Calabria that receives the most media attention, at least in Italy, concerns the Mafia, called in Calabria the '''Ndrangheta'', but it almost never targets tourists. Road safety is a much greater concern than the Mafia for tourists visiting the region. The SS 106, which runs along the Ionian coast from Reggio Calabria to Taranto, is considered one of the deadliest roads in all of Europe. ==Go next== * [[Apulia]] – visit the neighboring region * [[Sicily]] – Sicily is only a few kilometres away. Take a ferry from [[Reggio di Calabria]] to [[Messina]]. {{geo|39|16.5|zoom=9}} {{outlineregion}} {{isPartOf|Southern Italy}} t6b3ronsvwimy8wi05q2vla9p1j2qnk 5298579 5298559 2026-06-26T02:50:33Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria */ 5298579 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Calabria''' is a region in [[Southern Italy]], it forms the metaphorical toe of the Italian boot. It's considered the Caribbean of Europe thanks to its pristine beaches, stunning landscape, and rustic charms. Hillside towns, ancient Greek temples and Byzantine churches dot the countryside of Italy's best kept secret. The region's climate is mild in the winter, with hot, dry summers. The region is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea: the Ionian Sea is to the east, the Tyhrrenean to the west and the Strait of Messina to the south. As such, the sea is a big part of the region's culture and cuisine. ==Provinces== {{mapframe|height=550|39.039|16.400|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} Calabria is divided into five provinces, from north to south: {{Regionlist | regionmaptext=The five provinces of Calabria | regionmap= | regionmapsize=180px | region1name=<!-- [[Cosenza (province)|Cosenza]] --> Cosenza (CS) | region1color=#a6ce7a | region1items= | region1description= | region2name=<!-- [[Crotone (province)|Crotone]] --> Crotone (KR) | region2color=#eda859 | region2items= | region2description= | region3name=<!-- [[Catanzaro (province)|Catanzaro]] --> Catanzaro (CZ) | region3color=#a699b0 | region3items= | region3description= | region4name=<!-- [[Vibo Valentia (province)|Vibo Valentia]] --> Vibo Valentia (VV) | region4color=#ffd333 | region4items= | region4description= | region5name=<!-- [[Reggio Calabria (province)|Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria]] --> Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (RC) | region5color=#a9b7c4 | region5items= | region5description= }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a6ce7a|title=Cosenza|wikidata=Q16162}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#eda859|title=Crotone|wikidata=Q16165}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a699b0|title=Catanzaro|wikidata=Q16159}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#ffd333|title=Vibo Valentia|wikidata=Q16315}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a9b7c4|title=Reggio Calabria|wikidata=Q3678586}} ==Cities and towns== ===Cosenza=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Cosenza]]|wikidata=Q13619}} – its old town is typical of hilltop settlements, dominated by steep, narrow and winding alleys along which stand small buildings and stately palaces * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=Corigliano Calabro|wikidata=Q53870}} – overlooking the town is a feudal castle with massive towers and a deep trench * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=Rossano|wikidata=Q53952}} – known for its marble and alabaster quarries, has a notable cathedral and castle * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.8167|long=15.7833|name=[[Scalea]]|wikidata=Q54000}} – a resort on the Golfo del Pollino, on a stretch of coast called "Riviera dei Cedri" * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.8667|long=16.5333|name=[[Trebisacce]]|wikidata=Q54032}} – a relaxed atmosphere, is surrounded by olive trees * {{marker|type=city|lat=39.916667|long=15.766667|name=[[Praia a Mare]]|wikidata=Q53938}} – set on a beautiful stretch of the coast, with caves to explore, scuba diving, white water rafting, paragliding, etc. * {{listing|type=city|name=Rocca Imperiale|wikidata=Q53947}} – a picturesque town built on a hill, with the castle ''Castello Svevo'' at the top * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[San Fili]]|wikidata=Q53963}} – known as "village of Magare", women who have knowledge of herbs and natural remedies, popular wisdom, a strong religiosity and a suggestive charm ===Crotone=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Crotone]]|wikidata=Q6681}} – offers visitors a medieval old town with historic houses, squares, and ancient places of worship ===Catanzaro=== * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Catanzaro]]|wikidata=Q3883}} – includes a coastal area on the Ionian Sea with 8 km of beach and a tourist port * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.6000|long=16.5500|name=[[Isca Marina]]|wikidata=Q6079171}} – a seaside resort with beaches and seaside discos * {{marker|type=city|lat= |long=|name=[[Lamezia Terme]]|wikidata=Q53643}} – has a Norman fortress, and a historic spa ===Vibo Valentia=== * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tropea]]|wikidata=Q54747}} – renowned for its beaches and its historic city centre, beautiful churches, lively cafes, and restaurants specializing in Calabrian food * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.6667|long=16.1000|name=[[Vibo Valentia]]|wikidata=Q13625}} – on the Coast of the Gods, an important tourist-seaside area of Calabria ===Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria=== * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.109214 |long=15.644542|name=[[Reggio di Calabria]]|wikidata=Q8471}} – this ferry port on the toe of Italy is home to the Riace Bronzes, a legacy of the city's Magna Graecia origins * {{marker|type=city|lat=38.3167|long=16.4000|name=[[Roccella Ionica]]|wikidata=Q54642}} – a beach town with a medieval castle and a Greek old quarter * {{Marker|type=City|name=[[Siderno]]|wikidata=Q54672}} - lively modern seaside town. * {{Marker|type=City|name=[[Locri]]|wikidata=Q54619}} - small coastal town near the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Gallicianò|lat=38.0166|long=15.8865|wikidata=Q3757801}} is a remote village with a population of 200 Calabrian Greek-speaking people. It was founded during the 10th century. *{{Marker|type=City|name=[[Gerace]]|wikidata=Q54612}}is a beautifully preserved hill town, dominated by its impressive Norman cathedral, it features medieval streets, historic palaces, and panoramic views over the Ionian coast. *Pentedattilo. A former farming community speaking Calabrian Greek, at the base of a rock shaped like five fingers, hence the name. The village was depopulated by emigration and abandoned after an earthquake, becoming a ghost town. It has been partially restored and it is possible to stay in the village. There is limited free parking and a nearby restaurant/agriturismo. *Bova. High in the hills, like Pentedattilo, it was visited by Edward Lear. ==Understand== Calabria has historically been one of the poorest regions in Italy, although it is improving now. The region is quite undeveloped and undervisited by tourists, but is therefore also unspoiled. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Catanzaro |6.6 |11.6 |111.0 |6.1 |11.7 |103.0 |7.7 |13.8 |103.0 |10.2 |16.7 |68.0 |14.1 |21.3 |38.0 |18.2 |25.8 |19.0 |21.0 |28.7 |20.0 |21.6 |29.1 |28.0 |18.3 |25.3 |75.0 |15.1 |21.3 |87.0 |10.9 |16.3 |130.0 |7.8 |12.6 |152.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Catanzaro]] | description = Reggio di Calabria Climate Averages }} The entire region is known for its balmy [[Mediterranean climates|Mediterranean climate]]. It has prolonged hot, dry summers and very short, mild winters. The intermediate seasons are warm and guarantee the possibility to sunbathe for most of the year. ==Talk== As one of the more remote regions of Italy, English is not as widely spoken in Calabria as it is in the more urbanized north, though still spoken by many urban youth. Calabresi speak either Italian or the local Calabrese dialect natively though basically all Calabresi speakers also speak Italian. ==Get in== Calabria is serviced by airports in Reggio Calabria Airport (Tito Minniti, {{IATA|REG}}), Lamezia Terme Airport (Sant'Eufemia, {{IATA|SUF}}) and Crotone Airport (Sant'Anna, {{IATA|CRV}}). The main north-south highway through Calabria is the A3 Autostrada from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. ==Get around== For holiday makers, there is a free bus service that runs from Lamezia Terme Airport to Tropea. Other modes of transport include the train which runs along the whole coast of Calabria and stops of at the main towns or alternatively can hire a car from Lamezia Airport. ==See== When you visit Calabria, spending a couple of days in Praia a Mare (known as Praja) is a great time. The off coast Dino Island is popular for its Grotta Azzurra (Blue Cave), where you can swim surrounded by fish in crystal blue water. ==Eat== Much of the traditional Calabrian food is called ''cucina povera'', or simple peasant food. It is long on comfort and good vegetables, and short on fancy frills. Because of the climate, many foods were preserved by salting or packing in olive oil, and this style continues today. If there is a fundamental ingredient to Calabrian cooking, it would be the ''"peperoncino"'' (pepper). Calabrian cooking tends toward the spicy thanks to the generous use of various varieties of hot peppers in regional cuisine. In fact, so popular is the peperoncino, that the village of Diamante honors the hot pepper with its own festival. In the first week of September the locals celebrate the Festival del Peperoncino, dedicated to the unofficial symbol of Calabria: the cayenne pepper. During the festival, one can taste freshly harvested peppers or try locally produced products that make use of the spicy condiment, anything from pasta to (yes) gelato. ''Olio Santo'', olive oil infused with hot pepper, is sometimes added to a plate of pasta to give it a little extra zip. ''Soppressata'' (Sopresatta) is a popular, peppery dry sausage that is typical of the region. ''Nduja'' is a very soft, very spicy sausage that you might not be able to find at home. Look for its dark rust-red color on top of pizzas, or pair it with good bread for a popular sandwich. If you want something less spicy, then ''Capocollo'' is the local interpretation of ham. ''Alici ripieni'', or stuffed anchovies, is a popular seafood dish. ''Sardella'' is produced in some of the towns along the Ionian coast in the province of Cosenza. It is a spicy paste made with olive oil, mashed baby sardines and hot pepper. If you get a chance, try the ''mpigliati con le sarde'' pie as a spicy, salty appetizer to share with a group. Some Neapolitan specialties such as ''Braciole'' (''"Raciol"'' in the Calabrian dialect) are common in the region. In summer many dishes are prepared with eggplants. Calabria has its own reddish, rounder eggplant with a mild taste. The favorite onion, the red Tropea, is mild. If you are looking for something sweet, Calabria offers a delightful variety of baked goods. Around holidays, look in pastry shops for a dish made of little bits of honey-glazed, deep-fried dough called ''pignolata'' or ''struffoli''. They also make high-quality licorice, and if you're devoted to this candy that is more usually associated with Nordic regions, then consider a trip to the Giorgio Amarelli Museo della Liquirizia, along the north coast of the Cosenza district. ==Drink== Calabria is an up-and-coming producer of wines, with a number of regional wines earning the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) label from the Italian government. Most of these wines are difficult to purchase outside of the region. Reds tend to be bold and full-bodied. ==Stay safe== Though not as poor as it was in the early part of the last century, Calabria is still one of the least developed regions in Western Europe, and so there is crime in the region. The high-profile crime in Calabria that receives the most media attention, at least in Italy, concerns the Mafia, called in Calabria the '''Ndrangheta'', but it almost never targets tourists. Road safety is a much greater concern than the Mafia for tourists visiting the region. The SS 106, which runs along the Ionian coast from Reggio Calabria to Taranto, is considered one of the deadliest roads in all of Europe. ==Go next== * [[Apulia]] – visit the neighboring region * [[Sicily]] – Sicily is only a few kilometres away. Take a ferry from [[Reggio di Calabria]] to [[Messina]]. {{geo|39|16.5|zoom=9}} {{outlineregion}} {{isPartOf|Southern Italy}} 87teu2nnqbjwba7f8eua7bk6ybof3y9 0 6137 5298513 5244153 2026-06-25T23:16:30Z Lc2495766 2426474 /* */ 5298513 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Marcelo Calero conhece o São João de Caruaru (27586973370) (cropped).jpg}} '''Caruaru''' is a city in [[Pernambuco Interior]], [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast Brazil]]. It is famous for its huge São João (St. John's) celebrations in June. The city claims to have "the world's largest São João festivities". [[File:Caruaru-figuras-de-barro.jpg|thumb|Clay [[Sculpture|sculptures]] in Caruaru]] == Twin Town - Sister Cities == === National === * [[Recife]] * [[Campina Grande]] * [[Petrolina]] === International === === Africa === * [[Lubumbashi]] * [[Kampala]] === Europe === * [[Belgrade]] * [[Novi Sad]] * [[Aveiro]] === Asia === * [[Tacloban]] * [[Tainan]] === Oceania === * [[Canberra|Camberra]] ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Oscar Laranjeiras Airport | alt={{IATA|CAU}} Aeroporto de Caruaru | url= | email= | address= | lat=-8.284444 | long=-36.010833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Caruaru Airport | wikidata=Q1962787 | lastedit=2021-03-16 | content=It has scheduled flights from Recife Airport with the operator Azul Connecta. }} * [[Recife]]'s airport is at accessible road distance. ===By bus/car=== * Along '''BR-232''' - from [[Recife]] - travel by bus (about 1 hour 30 minutes) is simple and comfortable. The Caruaruense line costs about R$20 each way. * Along '''BR-104''' - from [[Campina Grande]] Main Distances: * [[Recife]]: 137&nbsp;km * Garanhuns: 106&nbsp;km * [[Campina Grande]]: 173&nbsp;km * Maceió: 240&nbsp;km * Serra Talhada: 299&nbsp;km * Salgueiro: 404&nbsp;km ==Get around== ==See== * '''Alto do Moura''', recognized by UNESCO as the largest center for figurative arts in the Americas. Home to famous ceramist Mestre Vitalino and other artists * '''Casa-Museu Mestre Vitalino''' (Mestre Vitalino's House), open Monday through Saturday, 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-12:00. At Rua Mestre Vitalino, Alto do Moura * '''Memorial Mestre Galdino''', open Tuesday through Saturday, 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-13:00; at Rua São Sebastião, 181, Alto do Moura * {{see | name=Museu do Barro e da Cerâmica | alt=Clay and Ceramics Museum | url=http://www.cultura.pe.gov.br/pagina/espacosculturais/museu-do-barro-de-caruaru-mubac/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Open Tuesday-Saturday, 08:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-13:00; at Espaço Cultural Tancredo Neves, bloco B. Praça Cel. José de Vasconcellos, 100, Centro; tel.: (81) 3701.1533 }} * '''Memorial de Caruaru''', a multifaceted cultural center with three key components: the City Museum (Museu Celso Galvão or Museu da Cidade), Memorial da Feira de Caruaru and an exhibit on popular folk art. Open: Tuesday through Saturday, 08:00-17:00, at Rua Duque de Caxias, 1000, Centro; tel.: (81) 3721.1039 * '''Museu do Forró Luiz Gonzaga''' (Forró Museum) * '''Museu do Cordel''' (Cordel Museum). Museum dedicated to "Cordel" literature, a traditional pamphlet literature that was typical in Europe in the Middle Ages. Northeastern Brazil is one of the few place in the world where this type of literature is still alive. * '''Feira de Caruaru''' (Caruaru Street Market), Brazil's largest street market (handicrafts, lace and embroidery, leather products, traditional medicinal products, typical food, and almost anything you might want) * '''Feira do Troca-Troca''' (Exchange-Exchange Street Market), a street market in which you can exchange the most strange goods, such as chickens for a watch, a parakeet for a bicycle, and the like. Takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. * '''Museu da Fábrica de Caroá''' (Caroá Factory Museum), installed in what used to be Fábrica Caroá (1935-1978), Brazil's first factory to produce fiber products from the caroá plant. * '''Pátio do Forró''', where all the action is. It is the main attraction during São João (Saint John's) and São Pedro (Saint Peter's) festivals. There is lots of forró dancing going on with live music on three stages. ==Do== June Festivals (primarily St. John's) * '''St. Gonçalvo''' - First Saturday in June * '''St. Anthony''' - June 13 * '''St. John's''' celebrations (São João) - June 24 * '''Sts. Peter & Paul''' - June 29 * '''St. Martial''' - June 30 <!-- * {{do | name=2011 São João Festivities | url=https://cid-2197427ae5e1b55a.office.live.com/view.aspx/A%20prefeitura%20de%20Caruaru%20anunciou%20a%20programa%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20completa%20do%20S%C3%A3o%20Jo%C3%A3o%202011.docx?Bsrc=Docmail&Bpub=SDX.Docs | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This page lists the schedule for the shows which are scheduled for this year. }} --> ==Buy== * '''Handicrafts''' (pottery art) from one of the 200 artists at the Alto do Moura neighborhood. * '''Feira de Caruaru''': Brazil's largest street market (handicrafts, lace and embroidery, leather products, traditional medicinal products, typical food, and almost anything you might want) * Caruaru has a very active commerce downtown. It serves as a commercial and services hubs for an important part of the interior of Pernambuco. Outside the city center, Caruaru Shopping https://www.caruarushopping.com] is a modern shopping mall with movie theaters and fast-food restaurants. ==Eat== Local gastronomy includes several goat and bovine meat dishes, such as "buchada", "carne de sol", "chambarril" and "sarapatel". Green beans and melted butter are also typical. Restaurants (typical Northeastern food): * Bode Assado do Luciano, R. Mestre Vitalino, 511, Alto do Moura * La Carne, Av. Cícero José Dutra, s/n, Petrópolis * Mestre Vitalino, Rua Leão Dourado, 13, São Francisco * Mandacaru, R. São Domingos, 160, Pinheirópolis * Rei do Bode, Rua Mestre Vitalino, 570, Alto do Moura * Gostim de Feira, Caruaru Shopping Restaurants (other food): * Bistrô do Chef Adolfo, Caruaru Shopping * O Nelore, R. Bogotá, 50, Divinópolis (feijoada) * Papillon, Av. Prof. José Leão, 425, Maurício de Nassau (local and international food) * Mister Pizza, Av.Agamenon Magalhães, s/n, Maurício de Nassau (fast food pizza) * Chinatown, Caruaru Shopping (Chinese food) ==Drink== Bars: * Bar da Perua, R. Aliança, 175, Cohab I * Mulungu, R. Mestre Vitalino, 595, Alto do Moura * Universidade da Cerveja, Av. Agamenon Magalhães, 1351, Maurício de Nassau ==Sleep== * Grande Hotel São Vicente de Paulo [http://www.grandehotelcaruaru.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Av. Rio Branco, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3721-5011 * Caruaru Park Hotel [https://www.caruaruparkhotel.com.br]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, BR-232, km 128, Agamenon Magalhães; tel.: +55 81 3722-9191 * Hotel Village [http://www.hoteisvillage.com.br/?p=hotel_caruaru], BR-232, km 129, Petrópolis; tel.: +55 81 3722-5544 * Hotel Central [http://citihoteis.com.br/], Rua Vigário Freire, 71, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3721-5880 * Palace Hotel [https://m.facebook.com/palacehotel20018/] {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}}, Avenida Campina Grande, 241, São Francisco; tel.: +55 81 3724-5880 * Caruaru Pallace Hotel [http://www.caruarupallacehotel.com.br/], Rua Amélia Maria da Conceição, 148, Pinheirópolis; tel.: +55 81 3724-8360 * Maysa Plaza Hotel [http://www.maysaplazahotel.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Rua Teófilo Dias, 93, Maurício de Nassau; tel.: +55 81 3725-1900 * Vila Rica Hotel, Rua Dalvino Alves Pedrosa, 160, Pinheirópolis; tel.: +55 81 3722-9666 * Hotel Caruaru, Rua Mestre Pedro, 77, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3722-5011. (Looking extremely dead: don't count on it.) * Camping Empetur, Rua Dois Irmãos, tel.: +55 81 3732-1158 ==Go next== * [[Tracunhaém]], one of Brazil's most important ceramic art production centers. * [[Lagoa do Carro]], famous for its tapestry. You can also visit the Cachaça Museum. * [[Recife]], vibrant capital of Pernambuco state. * [[Olinda]], beautiful colonial town in the Atlantic coast. UNESCO World Heritage Site. * [[Igarassu]], colonial town, home to Brazil's oldest church and Latin America's largest collection of baroque art. * [[Porto de Galinhas]], consistently voted Brazil's best beach. {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-8.283|-35.967}} {{IsPartOf|Pernambuco Interior}} npadhlji8h0z3j7mtsud4lau1ypjox0 5298514 5298513 2026-06-25T23:28:00Z Abcdefyandyou 2426475 /* Twin Town - Sister Cities */ 5298514 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Marcelo Calero conhece o São João de Caruaru (27586973370) (cropped).jpg}} '''Caruaru''' is a city in [[Pernambuco Interior]], [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast Brazil]]. It is famous for its huge São João (St. John's) celebrations in June. The city claims to have "the world's largest São João festivities". [[File:Caruaru-figuras-de-barro.jpg|thumb|Clay [[Sculpture|sculptures]] in Caruaru]] == Twin Town - Sister Cities == === National === * [[Recife]], [[Pernambuco]] * [[Campina Grande]], [[Paraíba]] * [[Petrolina]], [[Pernambuco]] * [[Uruguaiana]], [[Rio Grande do Sul]] * [[Parintins]], [[Amazonas (Brazil)]] * [[Rondonópolis]], [[Mato Grosso]] * [[Corumbá]], [[Mato Grosso do Sul]] * [[Foz do Iguaçu]], [[Paraná]] === International === === Africa === * [[Lubumbashi]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] * [[Kampala]], [[Uganda]] * [[Entebbe]], [[Uganda]] * [[Gaborone]], [[Botswana]] * [[Nouakchott]], [[Mauritania]] === Europe === * [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]] * [[Novi Sad]], [[Serbia]] * [[Aveiro]], [[Portugal]] * [[Bratislava]], [[Slovakia]] * [[Örebro]], [[Sweden]] * [[Joensuu]], [[Finland]] * [[Bath]], [[England]] * [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]] === Asia === * [[Tacloban]], [[Philippines]] * [[Tainan]], [[Taiwan]] * [[Fukuyama]], [[Japan]] * [[Yakutsk]], [[Russia]] * [[Phnom Penh]], [[Cambodia]] === Oceania === * [[Canberra|Camberra]], [[Australia]] * [[Nadi]], [[Fiji]] * [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]] ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Oscar Laranjeiras Airport | alt={{IATA|CAU}} Aeroporto de Caruaru | url= | email= | address= | lat=-8.284444 | long=-36.010833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Caruaru Airport | wikidata=Q1962787 | lastedit=2021-03-16 | content=It has scheduled flights from Recife Airport with the operator Azul Connecta. }} * [[Recife]]'s airport is at accessible road distance. ===By bus/car=== * Along '''BR-232''' - from [[Recife]] - travel by bus (about 1 hour 30 minutes) is simple and comfortable. The Caruaruense line costs about R$20 each way. * Along '''BR-104''' - from [[Campina Grande]] Main Distances: * [[Recife]]: 137&nbsp;km * Garanhuns: 106&nbsp;km * [[Campina Grande]]: 173&nbsp;km * Maceió: 240&nbsp;km * Serra Talhada: 299&nbsp;km * Salgueiro: 404&nbsp;km ==Get around== ==See== * '''Alto do Moura''', recognized by UNESCO as the largest center for figurative arts in the Americas. Home to famous ceramist Mestre Vitalino and other artists * '''Casa-Museu Mestre Vitalino''' (Mestre Vitalino's House), open Monday through Saturday, 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-12:00. At Rua Mestre Vitalino, Alto do Moura * '''Memorial Mestre Galdino''', open Tuesday through Saturday, 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-13:00; at Rua São Sebastião, 181, Alto do Moura * {{see | name=Museu do Barro e da Cerâmica | alt=Clay and Ceramics Museum | url=http://www.cultura.pe.gov.br/pagina/espacosculturais/museu-do-barro-de-caruaru-mubac/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Open Tuesday-Saturday, 08:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-13:00; at Espaço Cultural Tancredo Neves, bloco B. Praça Cel. José de Vasconcellos, 100, Centro; tel.: (81) 3701.1533 }} * '''Memorial de Caruaru''', a multifaceted cultural center with three key components: the City Museum (Museu Celso Galvão or Museu da Cidade), Memorial da Feira de Caruaru and an exhibit on popular folk art. Open: Tuesday through Saturday, 08:00-17:00, at Rua Duque de Caxias, 1000, Centro; tel.: (81) 3721.1039 * '''Museu do Forró Luiz Gonzaga''' (Forró Museum) * '''Museu do Cordel''' (Cordel Museum). Museum dedicated to "Cordel" literature, a traditional pamphlet literature that was typical in Europe in the Middle Ages. Northeastern Brazil is one of the few place in the world where this type of literature is still alive. * '''Feira de Caruaru''' (Caruaru Street Market), Brazil's largest street market (handicrafts, lace and embroidery, leather products, traditional medicinal products, typical food, and almost anything you might want) * '''Feira do Troca-Troca''' (Exchange-Exchange Street Market), a street market in which you can exchange the most strange goods, such as chickens for a watch, a parakeet for a bicycle, and the like. Takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. * '''Museu da Fábrica de Caroá''' (Caroá Factory Museum), installed in what used to be Fábrica Caroá (1935-1978), Brazil's first factory to produce fiber products from the caroá plant. * '''Pátio do Forró''', where all the action is. It is the main attraction during São João (Saint John's) and São Pedro (Saint Peter's) festivals. There is lots of forró dancing going on with live music on three stages. ==Do== June Festivals (primarily St. John's) * '''St. Gonçalvo''' - First Saturday in June * '''St. Anthony''' - June 13 * '''St. John's''' celebrations (São João) - June 24 * '''Sts. Peter & Paul''' - June 29 * '''St. Martial''' - June 30 <!-- * {{do | name=2011 São João Festivities | url=https://cid-2197427ae5e1b55a.office.live.com/view.aspx/A%20prefeitura%20de%20Caruaru%20anunciou%20a%20programa%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20completa%20do%20S%C3%A3o%20Jo%C3%A3o%202011.docx?Bsrc=Docmail&Bpub=SDX.Docs | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This page lists the schedule for the shows which are scheduled for this year. }} --> ==Buy== * '''Handicrafts''' (pottery art) from one of the 200 artists at the Alto do Moura neighborhood. * '''Feira de Caruaru''': Brazil's largest street market (handicrafts, lace and embroidery, leather products, traditional medicinal products, typical food, and almost anything you might want) * Caruaru has a very active commerce downtown. It serves as a commercial and services hubs for an important part of the interior of Pernambuco. Outside the city center, Caruaru Shopping https://www.caruarushopping.com] is a modern shopping mall with movie theaters and fast-food restaurants. ==Eat== Local gastronomy includes several goat and bovine meat dishes, such as "buchada", "carne de sol", "chambarril" and "sarapatel". Green beans and melted butter are also typical. Restaurants (typical Northeastern food): * Bode Assado do Luciano, R. Mestre Vitalino, 511, Alto do Moura * La Carne, Av. Cícero José Dutra, s/n, Petrópolis * Mestre Vitalino, Rua Leão Dourado, 13, São Francisco * Mandacaru, R. São Domingos, 160, Pinheirópolis * Rei do Bode, Rua Mestre Vitalino, 570, Alto do Moura * Gostim de Feira, Caruaru Shopping Restaurants (other food): * Bistrô do Chef Adolfo, Caruaru Shopping * O Nelore, R. Bogotá, 50, Divinópolis (feijoada) * Papillon, Av. Prof. José Leão, 425, Maurício de Nassau (local and international food) * Mister Pizza, Av.Agamenon Magalhães, s/n, Maurício de Nassau (fast food pizza) * Chinatown, Caruaru Shopping (Chinese food) ==Drink== Bars: * Bar da Perua, R. Aliança, 175, Cohab I * Mulungu, R. Mestre Vitalino, 595, Alto do Moura * Universidade da Cerveja, Av. Agamenon Magalhães, 1351, Maurício de Nassau ==Sleep== * Grande Hotel São Vicente de Paulo [http://www.grandehotelcaruaru.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Av. Rio Branco, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3721-5011 * Caruaru Park Hotel [https://www.caruaruparkhotel.com.br]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, BR-232, km 128, Agamenon Magalhães; tel.: +55 81 3722-9191 * Hotel Village [http://www.hoteisvillage.com.br/?p=hotel_caruaru], BR-232, km 129, Petrópolis; tel.: +55 81 3722-5544 * Hotel Central [http://citihoteis.com.br/], Rua Vigário Freire, 71, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3721-5880 * Palace Hotel [https://m.facebook.com/palacehotel20018/] {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}}, Avenida Campina Grande, 241, São Francisco; tel.: +55 81 3724-5880 * Caruaru Pallace Hotel [http://www.caruarupallacehotel.com.br/], Rua Amélia Maria da Conceição, 148, Pinheirópolis; tel.: +55 81 3724-8360 * Maysa Plaza Hotel [http://www.maysaplazahotel.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Rua Teófilo Dias, 93, Maurício de Nassau; tel.: +55 81 3725-1900 * Vila Rica Hotel, Rua Dalvino Alves Pedrosa, 160, Pinheirópolis; tel.: +55 81 3722-9666 * Hotel Caruaru, Rua Mestre Pedro, 77, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3722-5011. (Looking extremely dead: don't count on it.) * Camping Empetur, Rua Dois Irmãos, tel.: +55 81 3732-1158 ==Go next== * [[Tracunhaém]], one of Brazil's most important ceramic art production centers. * [[Lagoa do Carro]], famous for its tapestry. You can also visit the Cachaça Museum. * [[Recife]], vibrant capital of Pernambuco state. * [[Olinda]], beautiful colonial town in the Atlantic coast. UNESCO World Heritage Site. * [[Igarassu]], colonial town, home to Brazil's oldest church and Latin America's largest collection of baroque art. * [[Porto de Galinhas]], consistently voted Brazil's best beach. {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-8.283|-35.967}} {{IsPartOf|Pernambuco Interior}} 94heo47cfz9me1a187sgegmkbvsw0ka 5298528 5298514 2026-06-26T00:11:44Z Ground Zero 1423298 /* Twin Town - Sister Cities */ that would be good text to add to Wikipedia, but it does not belong in Wikivoyage 5298528 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Marcelo Calero conhece o São João de Caruaru (27586973370) (cropped).jpg}} '''Caruaru''' is a city in [[Pernambuco Interior]], [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast Brazil]]. It is famous for its huge São João (St. John's) celebrations in June. The city claims to have "the world's largest São João festivities". [[File:Caruaru-figuras-de-barro.jpg|thumb|Clay [[Sculpture|sculptures]] in Caruaru]] ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Oscar Laranjeiras Airport | alt={{IATA|CAU}} Aeroporto de Caruaru | url= | email= | address= | lat=-8.284444 | long=-36.010833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Caruaru Airport | wikidata=Q1962787 | lastedit=2021-03-16 | content=It has scheduled flights from Recife Airport with the operator Azul Connecta. }} * [[Recife]]'s airport is at accessible road distance. ===By bus/car=== * Along '''BR-232''' - from [[Recife]] - travel by bus (about 1 hour 30 minutes) is simple and comfortable. The Caruaruense line costs about R$20 each way. * Along '''BR-104''' - from [[Campina Grande]] Main Distances: * [[Recife]]: 137&nbsp;km * Garanhuns: 106&nbsp;km * [[Campina Grande]]: 173&nbsp;km * Maceió: 240&nbsp;km * Serra Talhada: 299&nbsp;km * Salgueiro: 404&nbsp;km ==Get around== ==See== * '''Alto do Moura''', recognized by UNESCO as the largest center for figurative arts in the Americas. Home to famous ceramist Mestre Vitalino and other artists * '''Casa-Museu Mestre Vitalino''' (Mestre Vitalino's House), open Monday through Saturday, 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-12:00. At Rua Mestre Vitalino, Alto do Moura * '''Memorial Mestre Galdino''', open Tuesday through Saturday, 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-13:00; at Rua São Sebastião, 181, Alto do Moura * {{see | name=Museu do Barro e da Cerâmica | alt=Clay and Ceramics Museum | url=http://www.cultura.pe.gov.br/pagina/espacosculturais/museu-do-barro-de-caruaru-mubac/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Open Tuesday-Saturday, 08:00-17:00; Sunday, 08:00-13:00; at Espaço Cultural Tancredo Neves, bloco B. Praça Cel. José de Vasconcellos, 100, Centro; tel.: (81) 3701.1533 }} * '''Memorial de Caruaru''', a multifaceted cultural center with three key components: the City Museum (Museu Celso Galvão or Museu da Cidade), Memorial da Feira de Caruaru and an exhibit on popular folk art. Open: Tuesday through Saturday, 08:00-17:00, at Rua Duque de Caxias, 1000, Centro; tel.: (81) 3721.1039 * '''Museu do Forró Luiz Gonzaga''' (Forró Museum) * '''Museu do Cordel''' (Cordel Museum). Museum dedicated to "Cordel" literature, a traditional pamphlet literature that was typical in Europe in the Middle Ages. Northeastern Brazil is one of the few place in the world where this type of literature is still alive. * '''Feira de Caruaru''' (Caruaru Street Market), Brazil's largest street market (handicrafts, lace and embroidery, leather products, traditional medicinal products, typical food, and almost anything you might want) * '''Feira do Troca-Troca''' (Exchange-Exchange Street Market), a street market in which you can exchange the most strange goods, such as chickens for a watch, a parakeet for a bicycle, and the like. Takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. * '''Museu da Fábrica de Caroá''' (Caroá Factory Museum), installed in what used to be Fábrica Caroá (1935-1978), Brazil's first factory to produce fiber products from the caroá plant. * '''Pátio do Forró''', where all the action is. It is the main attraction during São João (Saint John's) and São Pedro (Saint Peter's) festivals. There is lots of forró dancing going on with live music on three stages. ==Do== June Festivals (primarily St. John's) * '''St. Gonçalvo''' - First Saturday in June * '''St. Anthony''' - June 13 * '''St. John's''' celebrations (São João) - June 24 * '''Sts. Peter & Paul''' - June 29 * '''St. Martial''' - June 30 <!-- * {{do | name=2011 São João Festivities | url=https://cid-2197427ae5e1b55a.office.live.com/view.aspx/A%20prefeitura%20de%20Caruaru%20anunciou%20a%20programa%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20completa%20do%20S%C3%A3o%20Jo%C3%A3o%202011.docx?Bsrc=Docmail&Bpub=SDX.Docs | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This page lists the schedule for the shows which are scheduled for this year. }} --> ==Buy== * '''Handicrafts''' (pottery art) from one of the 200 artists at the Alto do Moura neighborhood. * '''Feira de Caruaru''': Brazil's largest street market (handicrafts, lace and embroidery, leather products, traditional medicinal products, typical food, and almost anything you might want) * Caruaru has a very active commerce downtown. It serves as a commercial and services hubs for an important part of the interior of Pernambuco. Outside the city center, Caruaru Shopping https://www.caruarushopping.com] is a modern shopping mall with movie theaters and fast-food restaurants. ==Eat== Local gastronomy includes several goat and bovine meat dishes, such as "buchada", "carne de sol", "chambarril" and "sarapatel". Green beans and melted butter are also typical. Restaurants (typical Northeastern food): * Bode Assado do Luciano, R. Mestre Vitalino, 511, Alto do Moura * La Carne, Av. Cícero José Dutra, s/n, Petrópolis * Mestre Vitalino, Rua Leão Dourado, 13, São Francisco * Mandacaru, R. São Domingos, 160, Pinheirópolis * Rei do Bode, Rua Mestre Vitalino, 570, Alto do Moura * Gostim de Feira, Caruaru Shopping Restaurants (other food): * Bistrô do Chef Adolfo, Caruaru Shopping * O Nelore, R. Bogotá, 50, Divinópolis (feijoada) * Papillon, Av. Prof. José Leão, 425, Maurício de Nassau (local and international food) * Mister Pizza, Av.Agamenon Magalhães, s/n, Maurício de Nassau (fast food pizza) * Chinatown, Caruaru Shopping (Chinese food) ==Drink== Bars: * Bar da Perua, R. Aliança, 175, Cohab I * Mulungu, R. Mestre Vitalino, 595, Alto do Moura * Universidade da Cerveja, Av. Agamenon Magalhães, 1351, Maurício de Nassau ==Sleep== * Grande Hotel São Vicente de Paulo [http://www.grandehotelcaruaru.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Av. Rio Branco, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3721-5011 * Caruaru Park Hotel [https://www.caruaruparkhotel.com.br]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, BR-232, km 128, Agamenon Magalhães; tel.: +55 81 3722-9191 * Hotel Village [http://www.hoteisvillage.com.br/?p=hotel_caruaru], BR-232, km 129, Petrópolis; tel.: +55 81 3722-5544 * Hotel Central [http://citihoteis.com.br/], Rua Vigário Freire, 71, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3721-5880 * Palace Hotel [https://m.facebook.com/palacehotel20018/] {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}}, Avenida Campina Grande, 241, São Francisco; tel.: +55 81 3724-5880 * Caruaru Pallace Hotel [http://www.caruarupallacehotel.com.br/], Rua Amélia Maria da Conceição, 148, Pinheirópolis; tel.: +55 81 3724-8360 * Maysa Plaza Hotel [http://www.maysaplazahotel.com.br/]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Rua Teófilo Dias, 93, Maurício de Nassau; tel.: +55 81 3725-1900 * Vila Rica Hotel, Rua Dalvino Alves Pedrosa, 160, Pinheirópolis; tel.: +55 81 3722-9666 * Hotel Caruaru, Rua Mestre Pedro, 77, Centro; tel.: +55 81 3722-5011. (Looking extremely dead: don't count on it.) * Camping Empetur, Rua Dois Irmãos, tel.: +55 81 3732-1158 ==Go next== * [[Tracunhaém]], one of Brazil's most important ceramic art production centers. * [[Lagoa do Carro]], famous for its tapestry. You can also visit the Cachaça Museum. * [[Recife]], vibrant capital of Pernambuco state. * [[Olinda]], beautiful colonial town in the Atlantic coast. UNESCO World Heritage Site. * [[Igarassu]], colonial town, home to Brazil's oldest church and Latin America's largest collection of baroque art. * [[Porto de Galinhas]], consistently voted Brazil's best beach. {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-8.283|-35.967}} {{IsPartOf|Pernambuco Interior}} sz048s51drhcfsxmijq58eu0pdpjwll 0 6185 5298619 4963853 2026-06-26T07:40:56Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 5 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298619 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Cassis, Provence, France (6052996072)-banner.jpg}} '''Cassis''' is a city in [[Provence]] in southern [[France]]. The little fishing port, tucked between two exceptional natural sites (the celebrated Calanques and the majestic Cap Canaille) offers a concentrated version of Provence and the Mediterranean. The magic begins to work on the little road that leads to the village, winding between vineyards and pine trees. Walk along charming back roads lined with the brightly coloured homes of fishermen. Cassis will be forever remembered by those who see its port, boats and welcoming terraces for the first time. ==Understand== [[File:Fontaine Cassis.JPG|thumb|Fountain at avenue Victor Hugo]] ''"Qu'a vist Paris, se noun a vist Cassis, pou dire: n'ai rèn vist"'' ("One who has seen Paris and who has not seen Cassis can say: I saw nothing") — these words, spoken by Nobel-prize winning writer ''Federique Mistral'' in the local [[Provençal phrasebook|Provençal]] language, reflect the great attraction that Cassis exerts on all those who go there. Celebrated for its cliffs and calanques, it is also known for the Cassis wines (white, but also rosé) produced in the region. * {{listing | name=Office de Tourisme | alt=Tourist Office | url=http://www.ot-cassis.com/ | email= | address=Quai des Moulins | lat=43.2134335 | long=5.536691 | directions= | phone=+33 892 25 98 92 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 09:00–18:30; Su and holidays 09:30-12:30, 15:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content= }} ==Get in== {{mapframe | 43.216 | 5.539 | height=500 | width=500 | zoom=14 }} ===By train=== * {{go | name=Gare Cassis | alt=Railway station | url=http://www.ter.sncf.com/paca/gares/87751776/Cassis/pratique | email= | address=Quartier de la gare | lat=43.2341354 | long=5.5531597 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=08:40-12:15, 13:45-17:25 | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content=The station is on the edge of the town and is approximately 3.5 km, or 40 minutes walk from the centre of Cassis. There are foot paths the entire way, but not all of them are concreted so it's not especially suitable for wheeled bags (but it's not too bad). }} ===By bus=== There are some bus [http://www.ot-cassis.com/en/by-bus.html services]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} to [[La Ciotat]] and [[Marseille]]. ===By plane=== The Marseille-Provence Airport is 55&nbsp;km from Cassis. ===By car=== Some of the roads around Cassis have many sharp bends. ==Get around== ===By foot=== You can walk pretty much everywhere, it is a very small town. ===By bus=== * [http://www.ot-cassis.com/en/urban-bus-marcouline.html ''Marcouline'' bus service]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} connects the train station with the town centre ([http://www.ot-cassis.com/en/assets/images/venir/se_deplacer/marcouline.pdf approx. every hour]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, single €0.80) * [http://www.ot-cassis.com/fr/la-navette-port-miou.html ''Navette'']{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (shuttle) to the {{marker|name=Calanque de Port-Miou|lat=43.2109704|long= 5.5211717}} (Jul-Aug) * [http://www.ot-cassis.com/en/parking-des-gorguettes.html Shuttle service]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} to the free {{marker|name=park and ride “Gorguettes” |lat=43.22907|long=5.5380964}} ===By taxi=== '''Les Taxis Cassidains:''' are happy to take tourists on a route which exhibits the charms of the region: a visit to the Calanques, the village of Castellet, the vineyards of Cassis. For all enquiries phone: 04 42 01 78 96 ==See== [[File:Cassis Fontaine.jpg|thumb|Fountain at the Place Baragnon]] [[File:Cassis-Chateau.jpg|thumb|Château de Cassis]] * {{see | name=Place Baragnon | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2142819 | long=5.5396467 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content=This square and the adjacent ''Place de la République'' are the centre of the town. There are the 17th-century building of ''Mairie'' (Town Hall), ''Musée d'Art et Traditions Populaires de Cassis'' (Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions). You could also see a couple of fountains there. On Wednesdays and Fridays in the morning a local market is located there. }} * {{see | name=Eglise Saint Michel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2157949 | long=5.5378604 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content=Opened in 1875. }} * {{see | name=Prud'homie de Pêche | alt=Fishing Court | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2147227 | long=5.5364402 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content= }} * {{see | name=Villa l'Ariane | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2166198 | long=5.5383164 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content=Now a public library. }} * {{see | name=Château de Cassis | alt=Castle | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2124014 | long=5.5393249 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content=Not open to the public. }} * {{see | name=La Villa Mauresque | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2118501 | long=5.5395019 | directions=just behind the castle | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content=Closed due to restoration. }} * {{see | name=Statue de Calendal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.2130269 | long=5.5355269 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-30 | content=A fictional hero from Cassis. }} ==Do== [[File:Cassis beach.JPG|thumb|One of the beaches in Cassis]] [[File:Plage de la Calanque dEn-Vau.jpg|thumb|Take a boat trip to the beautiful Calanques from Cassis]] [[File:Route des Crêtes from La Ciotat to Cassis.JPG|thumb|Route des Crêtes from Cassis to [[La Ciotat]]]] The beaches (remember your swimming costume). These can get very busy in the summer months though. By far the biggest attraction in Cassis is the ''Calanques''. They are very steep walled inlets and bays along the coast between Marseille and Cassis. You can visit them by boat, or you can hike from bay to bay. * {{do | name=Hike the Calanques | alt= | url= | email= | address= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= You can easily walk to the Calanques from the centre of Cassis. It's sign-posted but if you have a map head to Av. des Calanques where you'll find the first bay which is full of yachts. From there the trails start and you can wander from bay to bay over the hills. You'll need good shoes, and probably a map. The further you go the rockier, steeper and more slippery it gets. [http://www.accompagnateur-montagne-pyrenees.com/pages/calanques_de_marseille_a_cassispag.html Walking tours are also available] }} * {{do | name=Hike Cap Canaille | alt= route des Crêtes | url= | email= | address= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cap Canaille is a headland to the east of Cassis. It is the highest sea cliff in France and offers fantastic views of Cassis. To get to the top it takes approximately an hour and a half. The first hour is on roads and the last half is on walking tracks. Be careful near the top, it can get quite windy. }} * {{do | name=Take a Boat to the Calanques | alt= | url= | email= | address= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The boat trips to the Calanques are definitely worthwhile. A choice of trips is available, either tours or drop-on or pick-ups from the Calanques. }} * {{do | name=Rent a Kayak | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=You can rent kayaks from the first Calanque. The kayaks are on the left hand (eastern) side of the first calanque (the one with all the yachts). }} * {{do | name=Rock Climbing | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The calanques are a top spot for rock climbers. If you like rock climbing, don't forget your climbing shoes! }} ==Buy== There are plenty of souvenirs available, ranging from the tacky to the upmarket. Some of them can be quite expensive so do shop around. * {{buy | name=La Savonnerie de Cassis | alt= | url=http://lasavonneriedecassis.com/ | email= | address=13 Avenue du Revestel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=€2-5 per bar of soap (depending on size) | content=A small boutique that sells handmade (on site) soaps, moisturisers, massage oils and other bath products. Everything is made from natural products such as olive oil. A good place to find inexpensive but pretty presents. }} * {{buy | name=L'Atelier des Calanques | alt= | url= | email= | address=3 Rue du Four, 13260 Cassis | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+33 6 28 97 33 05 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A boutique that sells handmade candles and candle holders. All very pretty. The owner will also make candles to your specifications if you can wait overnight. }} * {{buy | name=The Town Flea Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=Pl. Baragnon | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=In the centre of town on a Sunday morning, there is a small flea market where the locals sell all sorts of pre-loved knick knacks. }} ==Eat== The sea provides a variety of flavours: sardines, tuna, redfish, bass, cuttlefish, sea bream, conger, grey mullet, eel, red mullet, mussels, sea urchins, and squid. The earth provides vegetables coloured by the sun and cut when ripe, honey, herbs, olives.... The seafront is lined with seafood restaurants but they tend to have higher prices than the restaurants away from the waterfront. Just like Marseille, Cassis is a good place to try bouillabaisse. It's an entire dining experience rather than just a dish. It starts with a thick fish soup and croutons covered in a special sauce, then is followed by a variety of fish and more of the soup. You usually need to book a day ahead because they need to get the right fish in for the meal. * {{eat | name=Chez Gilbert | alt= | url= | email= | address=19 quai des Baux | lat=43.2148253 | long=5.5374205 | directions= | phone=+33 4 42 01 71 36 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content=A member of the ''Bouillabaisse Charter'' }} * {{eat | name=La Poissonnerie Laurent| alt= | url= | email= | address=5 Quai Jean Jacques Barthélémy | lat=43.2147217 | long=5.5361947 | directions= | phone=+33 4 42 01 71 56 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content=A fishmonger's restaurant }} * {{eat | name=Romano | alt= | url= | email= | address=15 Quai Jean Jacques Barthélémy | lat=43.2146592 | long=5.5358836 | directions= | phone=+33 4 42 01 08 16 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Villa Madie | alt= | url= http://lavillamadie.com/en| email= | address= Avenue de Revestel-anse de Corton| lat=43.2111033 | long=5.5450916 | directions=SE out of the centre | phone=+33 4 96 18 00 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content=One Michelin star. }} * {{eat | name=Le Bonaparte | alt= | url= | email= | address=14 Rue du Général Bonaparte | lat=43.2147823 | long=5.5386946 | directions= | phone=+33 4 42 01 80 84 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=€30 per head for Bouillabaisse | content=A good and relatively inexpensive place to try Bouillabaisse (which can range from €30-50pp depending on the restaurant). Make sure you book it a day ahead though, otherwise they might not have the correct fish to make it for you. }} * {{eat | name=Le Chaudron | alt= | url= | email= | address=4 Rue Adolphe Thiers, 13260 Cassis | lat=43.214757 | long=5.539312 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=€25-30 for a menu including entree, meal and dessert | content=On a quiet street just off the main road, Le Chaudron offers local style food with a good selection of seafood and other classic French dishes. The duck with lavender and honey sauce was a particular highlight. }} * {{eat | name=La Vieille Auberge | alt= | url=http://www.restaurantvieilleaubergecassis.com/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=14 Quai Jean Jacques Barthélémy | lat=43.2146123 | long=5.5358005 | directions= | phone=+33 4 42 01 73 54 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-05-29 | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== == Connect == As of July 2023, Cassis and its approach roads have 5G from all French carriers. ==Go next== * [[Aix-en-Provence]] - Open to the world, it is a city of human dimension where the preserved heritage and the city of tomorrow blend perfectly. * [[La Ciotat]] - another end of the ''route des Crêtes'' along the Cap Canaille. A town associated with ''Lumière Brothers'' and their first films. {{geo|43.2167|5.5389}} {{IsPartOf|Bouches-du-Rhône}} {{outlinecity}} rwcpw6sm1pbax3g8y3ul92qql6fz7ag 0 6423 5298646 5217928 2026-06-26T08:24:42Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298646 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Central Aegean (Turkey) banner Boat.jpg|caption=Idylling away off the "White Rocks", near Mordoğan in the Karaburun Peninsula}} '''Central Aegean''' is the central section of the [[Aegean Turkey | Aegean coast of Turkey]]. Although it's named for the bordering sea, this region stretches over 200 km inland, comprising the provinces and cities of Izmir, Manissa and Uşak. It has a string of beach resorts along its convoluted coastline, and historic sites such as Ephesus. == Cities == {{mapframe | 38.410 | 27.870 | height=400 | width=600 | zoom=8 }} * {{marker | name=[[Izmir]] | type=city | wikidata=Q35997}}, Turkey's third largest city, has fine neighbourhoods and waterfront promenades. * {{marker | name=[[Alaşehir]] | type=city | wikidata=Q138280}} is a humdrum agricultural town, but once a major centre of early Christianity. * {{marker | name=[[Akhisar]] | type=city | wikidata=Q209905}} is an atmospheric city with the ruins of Thyatira. * {{marker | name=[[Birgi]] | type=city | wikidata=Q2220449}} is an old-style village overlooking Küçükmenderes Valley. * {{marker | name=Urla | type=city | lat=38.325 | long=26.770 }}, itself agricultural, is the hub for small resorts on the peninsula west of Izmir. * {{marker | name=[[Alaçatı]] | type=city | wikidata=Q941328}} on the peninsula is a village with well preserved stone architecture, ancient windmills, and a cove for windsurfing. * {{marker | name=[[Çeşme]] | type=city | lat=38.322 | long=26.298 }} at the tip of that peninsula has an impressive citadel. * {{marker | name=[[Foça]] | type=city | wikidata=Q1921294}} has old architecture. Its nearby islands are one of the last refuges for monk seals. * {{marker | name=[[Kula]] | type=city | wikidata=Q64831}} is set in a strange volcanic badlands, a [[UNESCO Global Geoparks Network | UNESCO Global Geopark]]. * {{marker | name=[[Kuşadası]] | type=city | wikidata=Q211952}} is the main resort for western tourists. * {{marker | name=[[Manisa]] | type=city | wikidata=Q147089}} is modern but with restored old mosques. * {{marker | name=[[Selçuk]] | type=city | wikidata=Q876176}} is the gateway to [[Ephesus]], but also a historic centre in its own right. * {{marker | name=Tire | type=city | wikidata=Q630533}} has an old quarter with a lively street market. * {{marker | name=[[Uşak]] | type=city | wikidata=Q189134}} gives its name to ''Ushak'' rugs and has an excellent museum. == Other destinations == [[Image:Ephesus Celsus Library Façade.jpg | thumb | 300px | Library of Ephesus]] * {{marker | name=[[Kuşadası#See | Dilek Peninsula]] | wikidata=Q20650897}} is a rare stretch of undeveloped coastline. * '''[[Ephesus]]''' just west of [[Selçuk]] is a must-see, the extensive and well-preserved ruins of a Roman city. * {{marker | name=[[Şirince]] | wikidata=Q4116807}} is a charming village in the hills above Selçuk. * {{marker | name=[[Sardis]] | wikidata=Q232615}} is a ruined city, the capital of Roman Lydia. == Understand == Ancient people preferred to get about by sea instead of struggling over rugged hills with their pack-horses, and the Aegean coast was settled by Hellenistic people that we call Ionians. Inland in the Iron Age was the kingdom of Lydia, later absorbed into the Roman empire. Even under the Ottomans, coastal cities had large Greek-speaking populations, Orthodox Christians who controlled merchant trade and city life, especially in Smyrna. Ethnic tensions rose in the 19th century as Ottoman power weakened. In the First World War of 1914-18 Turkey sided with Germany and Austria, was defeated, and lost large tracts of territory to the victorious western nations. Greece was awarded Smyrna, and used this as a springboard to grab more: they were almost at the gates of Ankara before Mustafa Kemal Atatürk rallied resistance and drove them back. The subsequent Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 redrew the borders on their present footprint, whereby Greece retained the islands to within 10 km of the Turkish mainland. Greeks were deported from Turkey and vice versa, and Smyrna became Izmir. Some of the region's empty Orthodox churches and monasteries were converted to mosques, others were left derelict. Izmir grew with industry during the 20th century but other places here were slow to develop until modern tourism arrived. Much of this was domestic, as city dwellers escaped Istanbul for their seaside apartments, and the coast was marred by concrete. Western tourism was a niche affair until the 1980s, when wide-bodied jets, a relaxed visa regime and a favourable exchange rate drew a mass crowd. Hotel and catering standards improved under pressure from package operators. Even for independent travellers, these packages are an excellent deal - you can have a comfortable base, and hire a car or negotiate a tour by taxi to get round the sites of interest. == Get in == * '''Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport''' ({{IATA|ADB}}) is south of [[Izmir]]. It has domestic flights from all major Turkish cities (hourly from Istanbul) and good connections across western Europe. * '''Buses''' are the primary mode of public transport and run from many Turkish cities to Izmir. * '''Ferries''' connect Çeşme to [[Chios]] and Kuşadası to [[Samos]]. * '''Trains''' are mighty slow. They trundle overnight to Izmir from [[Bandırma]] on the Marmara coast and from Ankara. * '''[[Istanbul to Izmir]]''' describes various itineraries you can take from the north. == Get around == [[File:Birgi de yanlız ev.jpg | thumb | 300px | Old house in Birgi ]] === By road === You need your own wheels to explore this region. Buses link all the towns but their routes and schedules seldom fit with what you want to see. A [https://eurovelo.izmir.bel.tr/en/ section]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} of [[EuroVelo cycling routes|EuroVelo 8]] cycling route runs from [[Dikili]] and [[Bergama]] in the north, through Foça and Izmir, to Çeşme in the west and Ephesus in the south. === By train === IZBAN is the Izmir suburban railway. The Green Line runs north-south from Aliağa (for Bergama), Hatundre (for Foça), downtown Izmir (where Hilal is the main interchange), Adnan Menderes Airport, and Tepeköy where you change to the Southern Extension train every 90 min to Selçuk (for Ephesus). A TCDD regional train runs six times a day from Izmir Basmane via the airport and Tepeköy, taking 90 min to Selçuk and continuing via Çamlık, Aydın and a dozen other places to Denizli (another 3 hr, for Pamukkale). Other mainline TCDD trains (eg to Manisa) are at inconvenient hours. == See == * Ephesus is the best of the many Graeco-Roman ruins in this region. * Museums: all the main towns have a good selection of local artefacts. == Do == [[File:MOKFC14.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rock formations near Kula ]] * [[Scuba diving]]: the coastal resorts have dive shacks with kit hire and dives suitable for beginners and mellow occasional divers. * [https://www.efeleryolu.com/ Efeler Yolu] is a 500-km [[hiking]] trail from Izmir to Selçuk, crossing the mountains and commemorating the ''efe''s, noble outlaws of bygone centuries. * Skydive at Efes airfield next to Ephesus. The usual jump for a beginner is a tandem freefall coupled to an instructor, so minimum training, fitness and skill are needed. == Eat == It's trad Mediterranean and Turkish fare, there's little cosmopolitan cuisine. == Drink == The water is safe to drink. Drink plenty, as the sun will parch you. Beach resort cafes and restaurants serve alcohol; fewer in the conservative inland. == Stay safe == [[File:Zeus Caves, Kusadasi, Turke.jpg | thumb | 300px | Zeus Cave near Kuşadası ]] Beware traffic (including water traffic), safeguard valuables and stay clear of idiot drunks, same as anywhere else. == Go next == * [[Northern Aegean]] has small coastal resorts with domestic tourism, but western mass tourism hasn't arrived. Top sight is the ancient city of Pergamon above Bergama. * [[Southern Aegean]] is prime tourist territory, with Bodrum the chief resort. Top sights are the travertine pools of Pamukkale, and the trio of ancient cities at Priene, Miletus and Didyma. * [[Western Anatolia]] is the rugged interior. Afyon has an impressive hilltop citadel and Kütahya has fabulous tilework. * [[Ankara]] is the fascinating national capital further inland. * [[East Aegean Islands]], reached by a short ferry ride, are part of Greece. The largest are Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria and Fourni. {{geo|38.530|27.090|zoom=9 }} {{IsPartOf|Aegean Turkey}} {{usableregion}} 3tp2q3j8ceculg5i50oanb5v9dpnor6 0 7672 5298463 5084831 2026-06-25T16:28:34Z BKHealy 2426419 5298463 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Clark_Banner.jpg}} {{confused|[[Clark Airport]] in the Philippines}} '''[http://www.ourclark.com/ Clark]''' is a city in [[Union County (New Jersey) |Union County]], [[New Jersey]]. It is a suburban town of around 16,000 (2019) that is 13 miles from [[Newark (New Jersey) |Newark]]. The town was founded in 1864 when the residents of the 5th ward of [[Rahway]] city decided to break away to establish the city. They named it after '''[[wikipedia:Abraham_Clark|Abraham Clark]]''', one of the signatories to the [[wikipedia:United_States_Declaration_of_Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. What used to be a predominantly agricultural area till the middle of the twentieth century enjoyed a housing boom after 1949 when the '''[[Garden State Parkway]]''' cut through this town. The town is not a tourist attraction by any stretch. If you are visiting, you're probably here on business. [[File:WilliamRobinsonPlantationHouse.jpg|thumb|Dr. William Robinson Plantation House Museum]] ==Get in== ===By plane=== The closest airport is the '''[[Newark Liberty International Airport]]'''. As this is one of the busiest airports in the country, you should not have any trouble reaching there. ===By car=== Clark lies on '''Exit 135''' of the Garden State Parkway. ===By bus=== [http://www.njtranist.com NJ Transit] runs a solitary bus service to Clark, the bus number 112 starting from the terminal in [[New York City | New York]]. Of course, transfers are available. Use their trip planner to plan your commute. ===By train=== The nearest railroad station is [[Garwood]] on the '''Raritan valley line''', which goes both to the '''[[Newark Penn Station|Newark Penn station]]''' and the '''[[New York Penn Station|New York Penn station]]'''. ==Get around== The city may be small, but it is not small enough to be covered on foot. You can rent a car from [[Rahway]]. If you plan to walk it, some places away from the shopping areas can be lonely at night. ==See== * {{see | name=Dr. Wm. Robinson Plantation Museum | alt=Robinson Plantation House | url=http://www.drrobinsonmuseum.org/ | email=info@drrobinsonmuseum.org | address=593 Madison Hill Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732-340-1571 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Mar-Jun Sep-Dec: every 3rd Sunday, noon-4PM; private tours and school tours available by appointment | price= | lastedit=2015-11-17 | content=From the website: "Listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, the Dr. William Robinson plantation is a rare example of late 17th century frame construction." }} ==Do== ==Buy== '''Central Avenue''' is the shopping area. * {{buy | name=Shoprite | alt= | url=https://www.shoprite.com/ | email= | address=76 Central Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732 381-2025 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Target | alt= | url=https://www.target.com/sl/clark/1467 | email= | address=45 Central Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732 882-0736 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Barnes and Noble | alt= | url=http://storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/storedetail.do?store=2946 | email= | address=1180 Raritan Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 574-1818 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Thailand Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=291 Central Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 388-4441 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Try the '''Red panang curry''' in coconut milk (Vegetarian version available). When the chirpy waitress warns you that the spicy version might be too much for you, it is to be taken as friendly advice, not as a challenge to prove her wrong. Settle for the medium version. $7-$9 for the main course. }} * {{eat | name=Tarantella's Ristorante | alt= | url=http://www.tarantellasristorante.com/ | email= | address=1199 Raritan Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 396-3700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Italian joint. Also has a bar. }} * {{eat | name=Main Moon Chinese Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=1129 Raritan Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 499-7000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Ordinary Chinese takeout with okay food at reasonable prices. $3 for the main course. }} * {{eat | name=White Diamond Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=1207 Raritan Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 574-8053 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Molly Maguires | alt= | url=http://www.mollymaguires.com/ {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}} | email= | address=1085 Central Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 388-6511 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Irish pub and restaurant. The place is crowded in the evenings with yuppies. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza | alt= | url=http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hd/clknj | email=aalfonso@lanehospitality.com | address=36 Valley Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732 574-0100 | tollfree=+1-877-227-6963 (reservations) | fax=+1 732 815-0661 | checkin= | checkout= | price=$85-100 | content=Pretty much the only hotel in Clark. }} ==Go next== {{routebox | image1=GSPkwy Shield.svg | imagesize1=22 | caption1=Garden State Parkway | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]] | minorl1=[[Cranford]] | directionr1=S | majorr1=[[Cape May]] | minorr1=[[Woodbridge (New Jersey)|Woodbridge]] }} {{geo|40.64083|-74.31083}} {{IsPartOf|Union County (New Jersey)}} {{usablecity}} f19csxyvhrn8ltgpu5wtbggpj5iij2n 5298468 5298463 2026-06-25T17:00:43Z Ibaman 195012 Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298463|5298463]] by [[Special:Contributions/BKHealy|BKHealy]] ([[User talk:BKHealy|talk]]) per [[WV:Links to Wikipedia]] 5298468 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Clark_Banner.jpg}} {{confused|[[Clark Airport]] in the Philippines}} '''[http://www.ourclark.com/ Clark]''' is a city in [[Union County (New Jersey) | Union County]], [[New Jersey]]. It is a suburban town of around 16,000 (2019) that is 13 miles from [[Newark (New Jersey) | Newark]]. The town was founded in 1864 when the residents of the 5th ward of [[Rahway]] city decided to break away to establish the city. They named it after '''Abraham Clark''', one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence. What used to be a predominantly agricultural area till the middle of the twentieth century enjoyed a housing boom after 1949 when the '''Garden State Parkway''' cut through this town. The town is not a tourist attraction by any stretch. If you are visiting, you're probably here on business. [[File:WilliamRobinsonPlantationHouse.jpg|thumb|Dr. William Robinson Plantation House Museum]] ==Get in== ===By plane=== The closest airport is the '''[[Newark Liberty International Airport]]'''. As this is one of the busiest airports in the country, you should not have any trouble reaching there. ===By car=== Clark lies on '''Exit 135''' of the Garden State Parkway. ===By bus=== [http://www.njtranist.com NJ Transit] runs a solitary bus service to Clark, the bus number 112 starting from the terminal in [[New York City | New York]]. Of course, transfers are available. Use their trip planner to plan your commute. ===By train=== The nearest railroad station is [[Garwood]] on the '''Raritan valley line''', which goes both to the '''Newark Penn station''' and the '''New York Penn station'''. ==Get around== The city may be small, but it is not small enough to be covered on foot. You can rent a car from [[Rahway]]. If you plan to walk it, some places away from the shopping areas can be lonely at night. ==See== * {{see | name=Dr. Wm. Robinson Plantation Museum | alt=Robinson Plantation House | url=http://www.drrobinsonmuseum.org/ | email=info@drrobinsonmuseum.org | address=593 Madison Hill Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732-340-1571 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Mar-Jun Sep-Dec: every 3rd Sunday, noon-4PM; private tours and school tours available by appointment | price= | lastedit=2015-11-17 | content=From the website: "Listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, the Dr. William Robinson plantation is a rare example of late 17th century frame construction." }} ==Do== ==Buy== '''Central Avenue''' is the shopping area. * {{buy | name=Shoprite | alt= | url=https://www.shoprite.com/ | email= | address=76 Central Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732 381-2025 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Target | alt= | url=https://www.target.com/sl/clark/1467 | email= | address=45 Central Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732 882-0736 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{buy | name=Barnes and Noble | alt= | url=http://storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/storedetail.do?store=2946 | email= | address=1180 Raritan Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 574-1818 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Thailand Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=291 Central Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 388-4441 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Try the '''Red panang curry''' in coconut milk (Vegetarian version available). When the chirpy waitress warns you that the spicy version might be too much for you, it is to be taken as friendly advice, not as a challenge to prove her wrong. Settle for the medium version. $7-$9 for the main course. }} * {{eat | name=Tarantella's Ristorante | alt= | url=http://www.tarantellasristorante.com/ | email= | address=1199 Raritan Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 396-3700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Italian joint. Also has a bar. }} * {{eat | name=Main Moon Chinese Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=1129 Raritan Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 499-7000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Ordinary Chinese takeout with okay food at reasonable prices. $3 for the main course. }} * {{eat | name=White Diamond Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=1207 Raritan Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 574-8053 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Molly Maguires | alt= | url=http://www.mollymaguires.com/ {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}} | email= | address=1085 Central Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone =+1 732 388-6511 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Irish pub and restaurant. The place is crowded in the evenings with yuppies. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Crowne Plaza | alt= | url=http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hd/clknj | email=aalfonso@lanehospitality.com | address=36 Valley Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 732 574-0100 | tollfree=+1-877-227-6963 (reservations) | fax=+1 732 815-0661 | checkin= | checkout= | price=$85-100 | content=Pretty much the only hotel in Clark. }} ==Go next== {{routebox | image1=GSPkwy Shield.svg | imagesize1=22 | caption1=Garden State Parkway | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]] | minorl1=[[Cranford]] | directionr1=S | majorr1=[[Cape May]] | minorr1=[[Woodbridge (New Jersey)|Woodbridge]] }} {{geo|40.64083|-74.31083}} {{IsPartOf|Union County (New Jersey)}} {{usablecity}} 9hqy98bb1zglxx6hb6m6lrfyuko5lxp 0 8182 5298615 5298018 2026-06-26T07:29:27Z ~2026-33378-46 2418994 /* Fares */ Correct name in Danish 5298615 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Copenhagen banner Nyhavn canal.jpg|dotm=yes|star=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Copenhagen''' ([[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''København'') is the capital city of [[Denmark]] and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife ''par excellence'', yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to [[Sweden]] by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the [[Nordic countries]] and [[central Europe]]. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. __TOC__ <div style="clear:both;"></div> ==Districts== {{Mapframe|55.655|12.443|width=500|height=500|zoom=10|name=Unofficial but quite widely perceived district division of Copenhagen|staticmap=Cph_districts.png|show=other,go,mask}} {{Mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Copenhagen_Districts.map}} {{mapshapes|Q212741}}<!--Metro--> {{Mapshapes|Q585154}}<!--S-tog--> {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] | region1color=#ac5c91 | region1items= | region1description=Centrum, the Medieval City — a place of many names, and the historical heart of Copenhagen, dotted with church spires, historic buildings, narrow alleys and excellent shopping. | region2name=[[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] | region2color=#ffd0d0 | region2items= | region2description=A thriving area notable for its many canals and cozy cafes. The '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Freetown of Christiania]]''' is situated in the eastern section of Christianshavn, along with the old naval area, turned trendy: '''Holmen'''. | region3name=[[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=This district still has a few sex shops and sleazy hotels left, but is now one of the hippest places to live, with cafes and bars dotted along its main artery, '''Istedgade'''. | region4name=[[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] | region4color=#acaa78 | region4items= | region4description=An area which formed around Frederiksberg Castle. It remains an independent municipality. Surrounded by the City of Copenhagen, the area has preserved a special conservative, upscale feel. | region5name=[[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] | region5color=#d56d76 | region5items= | region5description=One of the most vibrant parts of Copenhagen, especially along Nørrebrogade, with a mix of immigrants, students, and original working-class Nørrebro-inhabitants. | region6name=[[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] | region6color=#71b37b | region6items= | region6description=A affluent and cozy neighbourhood north of the centre. Less vibrant than Nørrebro and Vesterbro, and less quaint than Frederiksberg, it is the home of the famous Little Mermaid statue, and the beautifully preserved Kastellet Citadel. The area west of the train track is very popular with young families. | region7name=[[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items=Including Saltholm | region7description=Once a bastion of the working class, this island with its own distinct atmosphere is booming with new development. Also home of the airport and the biggest shopping mall in Copenhagen. | region8name=[[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Northern suburbs]] | region8color=#d09440 | region8items= | region8description=A visit to these green suburbs, beaches, parks, and Dyrehavsbakken — the world's oldest running amusement park; Frilandsmuseet — the world's largest open air museum; or canoeing down the Mill River, will leave no doubt that this is an altogether different kind of suburbia. It is colloquially known to locals as the "whisky belt", due to its many well-heeled residents. '''[[Ballerup]]''', which has a charming museum of local history, is covered in a separate article. | region9name=[[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|Vestegnen]] | region9color=#d5dc76 | region9items= | region9description=The suburbs west and south of the city. Except for the good and very popular Arken art museum most attractions are small but still interesting. It has some good beaches and camping opportunities. }} == Understand == [[File:CPH Rundetaarnview.jpg|thumb|250px|View from Rundetårn]] ===History=== ==== Beginnings as a merchant harbour ==== If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." ==== Archbishop Absalon ==== Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of [[Roskilde]]. Absalon, archbishop of [[Lund]] 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today ''Slotsholmen'' (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital [[Roskilde]] and [[Lund]] in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent. But with prosperity comes envy and in the years to follow Copenhagen was laid waste and pillaged time and time again, mainly by the members of the German Hanseatic League, which at one point completely destroyed the city. {{infobox|Wonderful Copenhagen?|In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' featured in the 1952 film ''Hans Christian Andersen''. Sung by Danny Kaye, it is a bit of an evergreen, and — not being accustomed to Hollywood attention — the city has stuck to it ever since. What also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it is "''koh-pehn-HAY-gehn''", not "''koh-pehn-HAH-gehn''".}} ==== Becoming the capital of Denmark ==== Like the phoenix, however, Copenhagen repeatedly rose from its ashes. When the Danes kicked out the Pope during the 16th century [[Protestant Reformation]], Roskilde lost its importance as a Roman bishopric and, having taken control of the city 20 years earlier, the Danish king moved his residence to Copenhagen. Not terribly keen on seeing their new capital laid waste once more, successive Danish monarchs built massive fortifications around the city. None more so than King Christian IV, who embarked on a building rampage which not only included the ramparts still visible throughout much of the city, but also many present day landmarks like the Round Tower and the Stock Exchange. Since then Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes, and then bombarded, set ablaze, and nearly destroyed by the British Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, who in one of two battles for Copenhagen, responded to the order to withdraw by saying "You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes," and then raised the telescope to his blind eye and touted "I really do not see the signal." This was the first ever civilian bombardment performed as part of war. ==== Outgrowing the city walls ==== Again, the city shook off its struggles and the population mushroomed during industrialization. When a cholera epidemic did a fine job of killing nearly everyone there wasn't room for, the King finally conceded that long range cannons would render its constraining walls irrelevant, and thus allowed the city to grow outside the now antiquated ramparts. But it was not long before a new modern fortification was built (known as Vestvolden today), which made Copenhagen Europe's most fortified city of the late 19th century. After being subjected to yet another, German invasion during World War II, the whole idea of a fortified city was thrown out the window and replaced with one of the finest examples of urban planning anywhere — the ''Finger Plan''. Copenhagen is one of few cities in the world to devise a long-term plan for growth and then actually stick to it; try placing your hand over a map of Copenhagen with the palm as the city centre, and it's quite obvious why it's called the finger plan. Despite being the laughing stock of the country through the 1970s and 1980s, when wealthy residents all moved out into the fingers leaving behind an impoverished bankrupt inner city, a visit these days will prove that the phoenix has risen once more. ===Read and watch=== * ''Pelle the Conqueror'' (Martin Andersen Nexø, 1906–10). An epic novel in three parts and an integral part of the Danish school curriculum portraying the life of two poor Swedish immigrants — a father and son. The two last volumes take place in Copenhagen and describe the rise and the conflicts of the labour movement and global socialism which are so crucial to understanding Danish society today. All in all, it's a very good historical account of life in the city during that period, and above all, a good book. * ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (Peter Høeg, 1992). Dive into Denmark's curious post-colonial history in this international best seller. Partly set in Copenhagen, partly in Greenland, you are whirled through a murder mystery by Ms. Smilla, a half-Danish Inuit brought up in poor Greenland, but now living in the kingdom's affluent and orderly capital. It is a good account of the conflicts and contrasts between two very different parts of the Kingdom, and it offers some spot-on social critique of Danish society in a very engaging way. * The Copenhagen Quartet (Thomas E. Kennedy). Four novels totaling well over a thousand pages. Each book is set against the backdrop of one of the four seasons of the Danish capital: ''Kerrigan in Copenhagen'' (spring) (2013), ''Falling Sideways'' (autumn) (2011), ''In the Company of Angels'' (summer) (2010), and ''Beneath the Neon Egg'' (winter) (scheduled for publication, 2014). The novelist, an American expat, somewhat autobiographically portrays an American writer trying to come to terms with his past with the help of Copenhagen's many bars, with the Danish capital as the co-star. All of the places described in the books are real places that you can go discover. Copenhagen is also the setting of several [[Nordic Noir]] films and series, such as the Pusher series, ''The Bridge'', and ''The Killing''. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Copenhagen |-0.7 |3.4 |53.0 |-0.8 |3.6 |36.9 |0.7 |6.5 |42.3 |4.2 |11.8 |35.8 |8.6 |16.7 |47.2 |11.9 |19.6 |63.9 |14.3 |22.2 |60.9 |14.1 |21.8 |67.5 |10.8 |17.5 |61.0 |7.1 |12.6 |63.3 |3.3 |7.6 |56.4 |0.5 |4.4 |57.4 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Copenhagen]] | description = Averages of Copenhagen 1981–2010 }} Copenhagen, like the rest of [[Denmark]], has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the [http://dmi.dk/eng/index/forecasts.htm Danish Meteorological Institute website]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. '''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. '''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets. '''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into cosiness. It is the local way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family. Weather in Copenhagen can be unstable and highly unpredictable. Make sure you pack clothes in case of sudden rain or spell of cold (or, in the summer, of warmth) even despite long-term forecasts telling you otherwise. An umbrella, rain coat and shoes that will withstand torrential downpour may come in handy. Copenhageners dress very well, but at the same time very practically and with the realization that rain can assault their carefully chosen styling any minute. ===Tourist information=== Copenhagen's official tourist agency is ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' * {{listing | name=Copenhagen Visitor Service | alt= | url=http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/tourist-offices/copenhagen-visitor-service | email=touristinfo@woco.dk | address=Vesterbrogade 4A | lat=55.67486 | long=12.56438 | directions=Across from Tivoli's main entrance, near the central station (2&nbsp;km walk) | phone=+45 70 22 24 42 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 22 24 52 | hours=Jan–Apr M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 09:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 09:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 09:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00 | price= | content=The tourist information office is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within this office and they provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen including museums, concerts and festivals. Furthermore there is a free WiFi service available. }} ==Get in== [[File:Flughafen Kopenhagen Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|CPH seen from above]] ===By plane=== [[File:Couloir-aéroport-Copenhague-2.jpg|thumb|The cathedral-like passageway linking terminals]] ==== Copenhagen Airport (CPH) ==== {{main|Copenhagen Airport}} {{marker|type=go|name=Copenhagen Airport|url=https://www.cph.dk/en/|lat=55.6287|long=12.6486|image=Copenhagen Airport Mai 2009 PD 112.JPG}} ({{IATA|CPH}}) on the nearby island of [[Amager]] is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier '''[https://www.flysas.com/ SAS — Scandinavian Airlines]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] or [[Frankfurt]] and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''[http://easyjet.com/ EasyJet]''' serves Copenhagen from [[London]] Gatwick, [[Manchester]], [[Milan]], [[Geneva]], [[Paris]] CDG and [[Berlin]]. '''[http://norwegian.com/ Norwegian]''' offers budget flights to (among others) [[Liverpool]], [[Oslo]], [[Stockholm]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Budapest]], [[Paris]], [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]]. While CPH is one of Europe's busiest airports, with a flight taking off every 2 minutes on average well into the night, many facilities have limited opening hours. Little in the way of gastronomy or retail remains open after 20:00, even the ''CPH Apartment Lounge'' closes at 20:00 and the frequent fliers and business/first class passengers are required to wait in the empty terminal halls. If your flight is in the early hours, you can take advantage of the facilities (snacks, drinks, free Wi-Fi, relaxation and work facilities) of the ''CPH Apartment'' 05:00–20:00 for DKK239 (as of August 2022), unless your frequent-flyer plan or ticket tariff covers that already. [[File:COPENHAGEN KASTRUP AIRPORT RAILWAY STATION DENMARK SEP 2013 (9912940653).jpg|thumb|The Copenhagen Airport Station has separate platforms for trains going towards Copenhagen and towards [[Scania]] in [[Sweden]], so make sure you access the right one.]] ===== Transport to/from Copenhagen Airport ===== It takes 12 minutes by train to travel from Copenhagen Airport to the Central Station (Hovedbanegården) in Copenhagen city centre. You need a ticket for 3 zones (30kr) which can be purchased from one of the machines in the arrivals hall. The [https://intl.m.dk/ Copenhagen Metro] also connects the airport with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every 4 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes at night, taking 14 minutes to the city centre (for the same ticket and same price of 30 kr). Consider buying a City Pass or Copenhagen Card instead if you plan on visiting attractions the same day. The airport has different stations for mainline trains (underneath the arrivals hall) and for the metro (upstairs from the arrivals hall), both are in Terminal 3. The next metro station is named Kastrup — the historic name for the airport — but has nothing to do with the airport. ====Malmö Airport==== '''[https://www.swedavia.com/malmo/ Malmö Airport]''' ({{IATA|MMX}}) across the Øresund bridge has flights with ''[https://wizzair.com/ Wizzair]'' from [[Budapest]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Katowice]], and [[Warsaw]]. ''[https://www.neptunbus.dk/ Neptunbus]'' provide connecting buses from Malmö Airport to Copenhagen Central Station, these are timed in accordance with the Wizzair flights. Domestic flights within Sweden also serve Malmö Airport, but do not have direct bus connections — see [[Malmö#Get%20in]] for routes. ===By train=== [[File:Cph central.jpg|thumb|Train waiting at Copenhagen Central station]] Links between the capital and the rest of the country are frequent and excellent. There are several trains each hour to Malmö and further to Lund and Gothenburg. There are 12 daily connections on weekdays to Stockholm. There are further train services in the direction of Karlskrona and Kalmar. There are six fast connections to Hamburg and one to Berlin. From the rest of '''Denmark''' connections are frequent and numerous. In [[Jutland]] several railway branches from [[Aarhus]]/[[Aalborg]] in the North, [[Struer]] in the north-west, [[Esbjerg]] to the west, and finally [[Sønderborg]] in the south convene in [[Fredericia]], where they connect to a main line with up to four intercity trains per hour, divided into Express and Intercity trains, which runs across [[Funen]] before crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt). From there it reaches across the length of [[Zealand]] before terminating at Copenhagen's central station. If you are going in the reverse direction without a seat reservation, be mindful that the train is often broken up at Fredericia to serve the different branches, so if you do not have seat reservation, it is a bad idea just picking a random carriage in Copenhagen — check the screens on the platform to see where you should board, or ask the ticket inspectors once on the train. All cross-belt trains are operated by DSB ([http://dsb.dk Danish State Railways]). From the island of [[Bornholm]], a high speed ferry shuttles passengers to [[Ystad]] in [[Sweden]], where you will have to board the Swedish Pågatåg commuter train, then change trains to the ''Øresundstog (see below)'' again at any of the stations in Malmö to continue on to Copenhagen. A one-way combined ferry/train ticket will only set you back DKK149. Across the Øresund strait in '''Sweden''', the ''[http://dsbfirst.dk Øresundstog]'' trains departs from various towns in [[Scania|Southern Sweden]], and via [[Lund]] and [[Malmö]], crossing the Øresund bridge to Copenhagen, with a stop at the airport. The journey time from Malmö to Copenhagen Central station is 40 minutes and trains run every 15-20 minutes all day on this stretch, and every hour during the night. A single ticket between Malmö and Copenhagen costs DKK92 if using the Rejsekort app or SEK150 if using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken app], with the added benefit of unlimited local public transport on both sides of the border (except the bridge/ferry where only one crossing is permitted) for the highlighted zone until 04.00 the following day. [https://sj.se Swedish Railways]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operates up to seven X2000 express trains from [[Stockholm]] every day (five and a half hours) and one night train that continues on to Hamburg. An easy change in Malmö almost doubles that number (including one additional night train option). Passengers taking a day trip from Scania or are returning within 24 hours may consider purchasing a 24-hour ticket using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken mobile app] or ticket machines as it can cost as little as the price of two single tickets (e.g. SEK150 or approximately 194DKK between Copenhagen and Malmö) and includes unlimited use of public transport in the zones you purchased the ticket for. Foreigners should carry a valid passport or national identity card as identity documents are sometimes checked at the border. To continental '''Europe''', Intercity Express and Eurocity trains (and one Euronight train) connect [[Hamburg]] with Copenhagen, up to seven times per day. Standard prices are €130 from Berlin and €78 from Hamburg (€130 for a couchette space on the night train), but it's often possible to find discounted tickets — in Denmark, those are called ''Orange Europa'' or "sightseeing fares" which are the same price as a bus. If you're taking the day ICE/EC train during the summer, reservations are compulsory. [https://www.snalltaget.se '''Snälltåget'''] operate seasonal night trains between Sweden and Germany with a stop in suburban Copenhagen, the routes vary depending on the time of year. Only some of these trains use Copenhagen Central station, so you may need to search using "København Ørestad" or "København Syd" to find tickets. * {{go | name=Copenhagen Central Station | alt=Københavns Hovedbanegård | url= | email= | address=Bernstorffsgade 16–22 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1495052 | lastedit=2021-08-20 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:Cph oresund.jpg|thumb|The 8-km Øresund bridge leading to Malmö in Sweden]] Buses between Jutland and Copenhagen are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday to Thursday. International buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train, and destinations east of Berlin may also be faster by bus. The new Copenhagen Bus Terminal (''Københavns Busterminal'') next to Dybbølsbro Station in the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] district opened in June 2024. Many of the companies listed below are defunct, or have merged with Flixbus. From '''Jutland''' and '''Fyn''' the bus company ''EkspresRuten'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]], [[Vejle]] and [[Odense|Odense South]] several times per day. There is also a stop in [[Roskilde]]. * {{listing | name=Ekspres Ruten | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/busbestilling/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 40 75 11 71 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} From '''Jutland''' bus number ''888'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]] several times per day. Journey time is 5 hr 15 min from Aalborg. On Zealand there are additional stops in [[Holbæk]] and [[Roskilde]]. Line ''882'' runs between Copenhagen and Fjerritslev in Northwestern Jutland once every day. * {{listing | name=Abildskou | url=http://abildskou.dk | email= | address=M–F 08:00–17:00, Sa 08:00–14:00, Su 09:00–17:00 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 21 08 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} Links from '''Norway and Sweden''' are fairly frequent and very economical compared to the train. Most buses arrive and depart from DGI Byen, near the southern overpass of the central station. Passengers are generally encouraged to buy tickets on-line, but tickets can also be purchased at the ''Copenhagen Right Now'' tourist information desk near the central station. In the winter (Dec-Apr) ''[https://www.fjallexpressen.se Fjällexpressen]'' whisks skiers between Copenhagen and the Swedish ski resorts. When booking online, it's useful to know that Copenhagen is called ''Köpenhamn'' in Swedish. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=http://flixbus.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr); Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=GoByBus | alt= | url=http://gobybus.se | email=info@gobybus.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 23 54 20 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 07:30–18:00, Sa 07:30–17:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=~DKK225 | content=Oslo (8½ hr) via Gothenburg (4½ hr), line 300. }} * {{listing | name=Gråhundbus | alt= | url=http://www.graahundbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 4468 4400 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Local operator Greyhound Bus has several daily connections to Malmö and once daily to Malmö Airport. Also works with partners elsewhere to Europe. }} * {{listing | name=Nettbuss/Bus4you | url=https://www.nettbuss.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express | url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+46 771 218218 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gotenburg (5 hr) ~SEK300, line 820; Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) ~ SEK350, line 832. | content= }} From continental '''Europe''' there are several bus companies which offer numerous daily connections from Germany often at very competitive rates, most run via the ferries from Rødby to Puttgarden or Gedser to Rostock. Many of these services, especially if headed to points east such as Berlin, are considerably faster than the best train connections. Most of these buses stops near DGI byen on Ingerslevsgade. * {{listing | name=Autoprevoz | url=http://autoprevoz.ba | email=info@autoprevoz.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+387 51 317 333 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Banja Luka (25 hr, twice weekly) ~BAM300 (€150) }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express |alt=| url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 80 70 33 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Berlin (7 hr) via Rostock (4½ hr) ~SEK450, line 902 |wikipedia=|wikidata=|lastedit=2016-10-08| content=Tickets sold at the central tourist information desk. This company does allow for bicycles under certain conditions. Please check their website. }} * {{listing | name=Toptourist | url=http://www.toptourist.dk/ | email=info@toptourist.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 48 25 38 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Sarajevo via Salzburg (twice weekly) ~DKK1000 (€140) return | content=Tickets can be paid on the bus, but advance booking and payment is recommended. }} [[File:Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal on Østerbro.JPG|thumb|The Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal in the Østerbro district]] From [[Poland]], there is a host of different bus companies, each with a few weekly scheduled departures. Unfortunately the market is very fluid and routes and operators tend to change rapidly. ''[http://agat.eu/ Agat]'' provides four round trips per week between Copenhagen and [[Katowice]] (20 hr) in Southern Poland, and ''[http://eurobus.pl Eurobus]'' for connections with [[Warsaw]] (20 hr via [[Hamburg]]) once per week. If any of these companies have shut down, try searching for alternatives, as there is a good chance someone else will have taken over the traffic. ===By ferry or cruise ship=== The ferry terminal (Færgeterminal Søndre Frihavn) at Dampfærgevej 30 is close to Nordhavn station. From there the '''[https://www.gonordiccruiseline.com/ Go Nordic Cruiseline]''' departs for [[Oslo]], Norway. '''[https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en City bus line 27]''' commutes between the entrance of the ferry terminal and Østerport Station. There are two regular connections straight into Copenhagen's harbour. The most known is from [[Oslo]], Norway, with daily departures, and an over night trip that takes 16 hours. It is marketed as a cruise line, and occasionally a cruise round-trip fare can be less expensive than a one-way fare. The other ferry connection is the less known round-trip connection to [[Fredericia]], Denmark and [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania. Since the latter is a Ro-Ro freight line, you need to [http://www.dfds.com/freight-shipping/routes-and-schedules/klaipeda-copenhagen-fredericia contact DFDS for more information]. Copenhagen is also a very popular port of call for cruises touring both the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian fjords. The main cruise terminal is on Oceankaj in the North harbour. Bus 27 connects to Østerport station. ===By car=== Visiting Copenhagen by car means planning for where to park. Driving during working hours in the centre of Copenhagen is not advisable, except of course when going to and from your hotel or where you might spend the night. It is quite expensive to park in the medieval part of Copenhagen, 20 to 36 kr (approximately €2.65–4.80) an hour during working hours. If the car is just the means of sightseeing, the cheapest would be to park at one of the S-train or metro stations in the outskirts of Copenhagen Municipality and take the train or a bus to your destination. As of 1 October 2023 a low emission zone have been introduced in Copenhagen, see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. ====Parking==== There is paid parking on public roads for cars and motorcycles in large parts of '''Copenhagen Municipality'''. Paid parking areas are divided into four colour coded zones with different rate levels. There is free parking in all zones for vehicles with a valid and visible disability badge. Parking during weekends from Saturday at 17:00 until Monday at 08:00 is for free, as well as parking on public holidays. Copenhagen Municipality has issued a [https://international.kk.dk/sites/default/files/2021-07/p-miniguide-en_maj_2018.pdf mini parking guide]. Consult the [https://international.kk.dk/live/transport-and-parking/parking-in-copenhagen/public-parking-in-copenhagen map from Copenhagen Municipality] to find areas without paid or time-restricted parking (in white). The map also indicates S-train and metro stations but excludes Frederiksberg. Parking in Copenhagen is subject to stringent regulations aimed at curbing congestion and promoting sustainable transportation methods. The city actively encourages residents and visitors alike to opt for public transit, cycling, or walking whenever feasible. However, for those requiring parking facilities, a range of options exists, including metered street parking, multi-level parking structures, and designated zones.  '''Frederiksberg Municipality''' is encircled by Copenhagen Municipality, and driving around a street corner to find a parking spot could mean entering another municipality with different pricing. Frederiksberg has different rules for parking with a single two-hour parking zone in force on public streets from 07:00 to 24:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays. This means there is 2 hours free parking using a parking app in most places in Frederiksberg. See [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#By car|Frederiksberg#By car]] for details and always look for local restrictions. ===By yacht=== {{see also|Boating on the Baltic Sea}} If you are arriving under your own sail, Copenhagen is on Øresund. There are several marinas, the biggest of which is '''[http://smhavn.dk Svanemøllehavnen]'''. There are no designated visitor berths but it is almost always possible to find one with a green sign. Daily charge: DKK75–120. * {{buy | name=Hellers | alt= | url=https://hellers.dk | email= | address=Kastrup strandpark 9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=The biggest shop for boat equipment. }} ==Get around== Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two interchange hubs are Central Station (''Københavns Hovedbanegård'' in Danish) with intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/ Rejseplanen]. === Fares === A bewildering number of tickets and passes are available for travel on public transport in Copenhagen. The most practical, convenient and cost effective way to travel is by using the Rejsekort app or the Basiskort card. These can also be used throughout the rest of Denmark. The '''[https://www.rejsekort.dk/rejsekort_app Rejsekort]''' app enables you to ''digitally'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply swipe the green arrow left and right and the app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The app accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. You cannot do so whilst in transit. The [https://www.rejsekort.dk/Basiskort '''Basiskort'''] card enables you to ''physically'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply tap the card on the yellow validators and the card will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The card accommodates adult and child fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The card costs kr 80 and is non-refundable. It can be purchased and topped up at station kiosks and DSB 7-Eleven stores. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. This includes whilst in transit. The default setting is adult and local travel. The default setting can be changed to child, national travel, or both at station kiosks or DSB 7-Elevens. The [https://www.rejsebillet.dk/en-us '''Rejsebillet'''] app enables you to purchase the following tickets and passes: * '''Single tickets''' — gives you one ride on your chosen route within a fixed time period. * '''Zone tickets''' — gives you unlimited rides in your chosen zones for one hour. For example, the two-zone ticket costs kr 24 for adults (kr 12 for children under the age of sixteen) and allows you to travel around central Copenhagen. You can switch freely between trains, metro and buses, as long as your last trip starts before the time is up. * '''City Pass Small''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–4 (including Copenhagen Airport) for 24 hours (kr 100), 48 hours (kr 160), 72 hours (kr 220), 96 hours (kr 280) or 120 hours (kr 340). This pass is the most reasonable choice if you intend to stay in the city itself (and not the remote parts of Copenhagen region). [[Cycling in Copenhagen|Renting a bike]] is also a viable option instead of, or in addition to, obtaining this pass. Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Large''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–99 (including Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Hillerød, Helsingør, etc.) for 24 hours (kr 200), 48 hours (kr 320), 72 hours (kr 440), 96 hours (kr 560) or 120 hours (kr 680). Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. The '''[https://www.copenhagencard.com Copenhagen Card City Guide]''' app enables you to purchase the '''Copenhagen Card'''. This pass gives you unlimited rides throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The pass can be bought for 24 hours (kr 559), 48 hours (kr 819), 72 hours (kr 989), 96 hours (kr 1159) or 120 hours (kr 1339). Many museums are either free or closed on Sundays and Mondays, thus making the pass less valuable on those days. Furthermore, pass holders get discounts to several different tour companies providing experiences in the city. If you expect to visit more than 3 attractions a day, a multi-day pass will most likely be worth it, as most attractions have tickets starting at kr 100. Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. Paper tickets for the train and metro can be purchased at station kiosks and vending machines using a credit card, debit card or cash. Paper tickets for the bus can be purchased onboard using exact cash only. The city is divided into fare zones so choose your paper ticket carefully. The range of a single zone can be roughly translated to around seven minutes on the train or metro, or fifteen minutes on a bus, but always check the zone maps to be sure. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is up to kr 750 and ticket conductors are commonplace. Passengers whose journeys involve Malmö in Sweden should consider using the Skånetrafiken app. The app accepts credit and debit cards (VISA and Mastercard). Select a point in Copenhagen as one of the stops. Single tickets crossing the Oresund bridge start at SEK150 (approximately kr 100) and get more expensive if you select points further away from the city centres of Copenhagen and Malmö so therefore select the farthest points in both cities that you are expected to visit within the day. There is a 20% discount if two adults are travelling together. Single tickets are permitted unlimited travel within the zone you purchased a fare for, except the Oresund bridge crossing itself, where you may cross the bridge only once. Single tickets expire at 0400h the following day. The 24-hour ticket option (from SEK300 or kr 200) on the other hand permits an unlimited number of crossings on the Oresund bridge within 24 hours, thus allowing passengers who plan to stay in the cheaper accommodations Malmö has to offer to return there after a day trip to Copenhagen. You can use the ticket on all public transport in Copenhagen. Note the Skånetrafiken's Reskort card will ''not'' work on Basiskort validators. If you are traveling into Copenhagen with a Reskort card you must instead print a paper "inspection ticket" (inspektionskvitto) at a Skånetrafiken ticket machine beforehand as proof that there is a valid cross-border ticket stored on the Reskort card. Otherwise you will be fined as if you were without a valid ticket. There are Skånetrafiken ticket machines at Copenhagen Airport and Central Station if you have lost your inspection ticket or forgotten to print one beforehand. === By train === The [http://dsb.dk/s-tog S-train (S-tog in Danish)] is the backbone of the city's public transit system, and is very similar to the German S-Bahn and Parisian RER networks. The distinct red trains are clean, modern, and equipped with free WiFi. The system runs from early morning to late night, each line in ten minute intervals during the day (M-F 06:00–18:00) and at twenty minute intervals in the early morning and late at night. On the weekends, the trains run twice an hour at night and some of the lines are extended. Since most lines join on a single railway line through the city centre, there are only a couple of minutes of waiting between each train in the inner districts. The F and C-lines are exceptions, the F line does a half loop outside the central area, with trains every five minutes throughout most of the day. The C-line is extended to [[Frederikssund]] during day time, but scaled back to Ballerup at other times. Announcements are in Danish only; remember to ask your fellow travellers for help though they are mostly cursory. Bikes can be taken for free; special bicycle compartments exist in the carriages. === By metro=== [[File:Metro Airport Copenhagen Denmark 01.jpg|thumb|right|The ends of automated Metro trains provide a full view — even if not all sections of the tracks are interesting, like this one on the way to the airport.]] Copenhagen has a modern, clean and punctual metro system. It's made up of 4 lines: * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m1}}: Vanløse – Vestamager * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m2}}: Vanløse – Copenhagen Airport * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m3}}: City Circle Line * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m4}}: Copenhagen South – Orientkaj Line M1 and M2 run along the same line between Vanløse and Christianshavn. All lines intersect at Kongens Nytorv and a transfer between the M3 and M1 or M2 is also possible at Frederiksberg. [[File:Copenhagen Metro 2020.svg|thumb|Copenhagen Metro Line Map with the 4 lines that are in operation]] The metro operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Frequencies decrease at night, during the day most lines run every 4 minutes. Maintenance work is usually carried out at night, which sometimes results in a changed timetable or replacement buses at night. The Copenhagen Metro is driverless, and doors close at a given time, even if all waiting passengers haven't entered the train. Wait for the next train instead of trying to squeeze through in the last second (that's both dangerous and illegal). The trains run with short intervals (down 2 minutes during peak hours). Because the metro is driverless, the trains have been designed with big windows at each end, and the trains are accordingly fitted with rows of seats facing them. This can be an extra treat to the visitors (and especially children) on the metro. The parts of the system that operate above ground are: Vanløse – Lindevang, DR Byen – Vestamager and Lergravsparken – Copenhagen Airport. The most interesting views are between Islands Brygge and Vestamager. Line M3 runs entirely underground and covers the Central Station. As Line M3 is a circular line, there are no terminating stations and trains run either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The direction the train is travelling in is identified by the next major station in that direction such as 'via Frederiksberg' or 'via Kongens Nytorv' at the central station. It is therefore especially important to check the system map and electronic station boards to ensure you are getting on the train that gets to your intended destination station more quickly. Line M4 share the line with M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport via Kongens Nytorv, before branching out to terminate at Orientkaj. An extension to Copenhagen South opened in 2024.[[File:Copenhagen A-bus 2020 11.png|thumb|right|Schematic map of A-bus lines spanning Copenhagen as of November 2020]] === By bus === Copenhagen has a fairly extensive and efficient [http://www.moviatrafik.dk/dinrejse/kort/trafikkort/Documents/Hovedstadsomraadet/BusserKobenhavnCity.pdf bus network]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. It can be troublesome for visitors to figure out what line to take to their destination as there is little in the way of network maps available at bus stops and schedules rarely include the entire route. That said, many stops do have a small electronic display showing how many minutes are left until the next bus arrives. The front doors are for boarding only — alight using other doors. There are several types of bus available: * '''Regular buses''' are denoted by their number, * '''A buses''' are the backbone of the city's bus network which consists of seven different lines with frequent departures and stops. During the day time there are no schedules as buses usually depart at least every ten minutes. They are also operating at night. * '''5C''' is a special bus line with articulated buses that operates even more frequently than the A buses. It serves the northwestern suburbs and link important locations such as Nørrebro st, Nørreport st, the city hall, Copenhagen Central Station, Amagerbro St., the Blue Planet aquarium and Copenhagen airport. * '''S buses''' are long express services with few stops and extend far into the suburbs, usually across the radial suburban train network or along corridors with no rail service. They can also be useful between points in the centre as they are faster than other lines. * '''E buses''' are express rush-hour services of little use to travellers as they mainly service commuters. * '''N buses''' are a network of ten bus lines operating at night between 01:00–05:00 daily, when normal traffic is halted, and they are much more frequent at weekends. '''[http://sightseeing.dk CitySightseeing]''' runs three hop-on hop-off tours around the city in open-top double-decker buses. The main line leaves every 30 minutes, while the two other lines depart every hour in high season (Jun-Aug). Outside the peak season, services are halved. The price is kr 150 for a one-day ticket or kr 220 for a two-day ticket which also includes the DFDS canal tour boats. === By boat === [[File:Nyhavn, canal tour boats.jpg|thumb|right|The canal tour boats, here seen docking in Nyhavn, are an excellent way to see many of the city's attractions]] Going on a canal tour of the inner harbour and canals is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. *{{listing | name=Canal Tours | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.dk/en/copenhagen/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/ | email=info@stromma.dk | address=Nyhavn 3 | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 96 30 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:30–20:00 | price=Waterbus (unguided): Single kr 40, All day kr 60; Tour (guided): Single kr 60, All day kr 75. Various discounts available | content=Operates both an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have three guided tours, either by a pre-recorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide. Be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. If you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass-roofed boat at this time of the year. An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which for kr 220 gives unlimited transportation for two days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double-decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing. }} *{{listing | name=Netto-bådene | alt= | url=https://www.havnerundfart.dk/canaltours/index.php?page=forside.php | email= | address=Heibergsgade (Nyhavn) | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 54 41 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00–17:00 (19:00 in July & August) | price=kr 50 (July 2019) | content=Offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March. }} A different option is the public harbour bus, which, while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system using the same tickets as buses and trains. *{{listing | name=Movia | url=http://moviatrafik.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK | email= | address=Customer centre at Rådhuspladen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 36 13 14 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:00–19:00 | price=Uses public ticketing system | content= }} === By taxi === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | Taxis are abundant throughout the city and of a very high standard — usually a Mercedes or BMW. They are pricey though, and the wait to get one can be long on a Friday or Saturday night. You can hail a taxi on the street or call for one to come pick you up at a specific address at a specific time for a small extra fee (kr 12-15). At crucial traffic junctures throughout the city, there are special areas where taxis hold in line to pick up customers. Except for a very long trip, it is not common (or recommended) to haggle about the price. All taxis accept major international credit cards and most will accept euro cash payment and some even list prices in euros on the meter. Sometimes taxi drivers request you to withdraw money in an ATM when paying with card, this is mostly a scam to do the trip off-licence. | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | '''Copenhagen Taxi companies''' * {{listing | name=Amager-Øbro Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 32 51 51 51 }} * {{listing | name=Codan Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 25 25 25 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa 4x35 | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 35 35 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=TaxaMotor A/S | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 338 338 }} * {{listing | name=Ballerup-Værløse-Herlev Taxa | alt=Northwestern suburbs | phone=+45 44 85 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa Selandia | alt=Southern suburbs | phone=+45 70 10 66 66 }} * {{listing | name=Taxinord | alt=Northern Suburbs | phone=+45 45 83 83 83 }} * {{listing | name=Vest-Taxa | alt=Western Suburbs | phone=+45 43 45 45 45 }} |} Prices range kr 11-16 per kilometre depending on the time of day and the meter flag-fall charge is kr 25. Generally you can trust taxis with prices and the route taken. Because of the high flag-fall charge, it can be better financially for taxi drivers to have many trips rather than long trips, so it is therefore often in their own interest to take the shortest route. * {{listing | name=TAXA 4x35 | alt= | url=https://taxa.dk/en/service-area/taxi-copenhagen-cab/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Fixed price. }} * {{listing | name=MOOVE | alt= | url=http://www.moove.taxi/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Taxi at a fixed price }} * {{listing | name=Viggo | alt= | url=https://www.viggo.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=Electric taxi at a fixed price }} * [https://dantaxi.dk/english/ '''Dantaxi'''] As of 2023, ride-share services like Uber are '''not legal''' in Copenhagen. Most larger taxi companies have apps that can be used to request cabs Uber-style. === By bicycle === {{main|Cycling in Copenhagen}} [[File:Streets of Copenhagen. Denmark, Northern Europe-2.jpg|thumb|Copenhagen cycling]] The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen and getting around is on a bike (with rentals available from most shops for a price ranging from kr 75 to kr 125 a day). Over sixty percent of Copenhageners use their bike for daily commutes and the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes on most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one-way streets. Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city as this is a common means of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Do not expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone — otherwise you could cause some nasty accidents. When you reach your destination, try to leave the bicycle in a bike rack, or otherwise clear of the sidewalk. === By scooter === Several companies rent out e-scooters using apps. Due to persistent problems with inconsiderate parking, it's forbidden to end a scooter rental within the city centre and neighbouring districts, so they are useless for most tourists — rent a bike instead. There is no restriction on parking a private scooter. Scooter users should follow the same rules and advice as for bicycles. ==See== {{SeeDistricts}} Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this ''usually'' means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour. === History === A visit to the '''Nationalmuseet''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the '''Museum of Copenhagen''' in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is '''Frilandsmuseet''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of '''Dragør''' on the southern tip of [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small '''Mølleå river''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills. ===Art=== [[File:Glyptotek.JPG|thumb|250px|The winter Garden at Glyptotek]] [[File:National_Gallery_of_Denmark_The_Lobby.jpg|alt=|thumb|444x444px|National Gallery of Denmark, The Lobby]] If you are into the arts, Copenhagen has a lot to offer. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst, entry between 95 and 120 kr) where you can feast your eyes on blockbusters from the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. There are also a number of paintings by Danish artists from the "Golden Age". Across the Royal Gardens lies Scandinavia's biggest collection of Islamic art, the '''David Collection''' (Davids Samling) which has free entrance. It also has a smaller collection of Danish paintings including some by Hammershøi and Willumsen. It's a ten-minute walk through the Royal Gardens but you might have to know the address beforehand, since the museum is a bit of a hidden treasure. For a hard-to-beat appreciation of Classical (Greece, Rome) and Near Eastern art (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran), visit the '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', which also has an extensive section devoted to 19th-century French and Danish art, with works by masters like Picasso, Leger, and Matisse. The Winter Garden inside the Glyptotek is a beautiful (and very warm!) place to rest your legs on a rainy day. These museums are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|centre, or Indre By]] area. If you are hungry for more classic art exhibitions, an excursion [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]] to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''' offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings but if you are ready for a change, head [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|south]] to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of contemporary art, mostly Scandinavian, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. However, arguably the best and most visited museum in Denmark is the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', in northern Zealand with a panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum frames the sculpture park facing the sea and the interaction between art, nature and the museum architecture is quite unique. Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art, and hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colour on an art tour, '''The Hirschsprung Collection''' in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] features the top-of-the-pops of Danish artists, with a particular focus on the Skagen painters. For something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much-loved local personality Storm P at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]]. ===Science and Natural History=== [[File:Cph zoo.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic tower of the Copenhagen zoo]] If you want your vacation to be educational, or if you want to sneak some knowledge into the kids during the vacation, there are several options to consider. The best choice for kids is perhaps the hugely entertaining, and well renowned hands-on science museum, the '''Experimentarium''' [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]]. Another popular and well-renowned institution, is the '''Copenhagen Zoo''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]], counting among both the best and oldest zoos in Europe. If you are more into stationary animals, the '''Zoology Museum''' on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] offers a different perspective on the subject. Elsewhere on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]], a little known attraction is a display of famous physicist '''Niels Bohr's Study Room''', along with a setup of his experiments ''(but as this is not a museum, you should have more than passing interest in the subject to bother with them, the tour is one hour long and usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays)''. [[Copenhagen/Indre By|City Centre]], the University of Copenhagen runs two adjacent science museums. The '''Geological Museum''' where dinosaur fossils, moon rock, and glow in the dark minerals should spark some interest in the subject for even the most school-weary kid. The '''Botanical Gardens''' on the opposite side of the street is an excellent place for a stroll in the beautiful park, even if you are not botanically inclined, and the classical palm house is a nice place to relax if it is cold outside. In poor weather, the '''Tycho Brahe Planetarium''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is another option and is part planetarium with an interesting astronomy exhibition and part omnimax theatre where they usually screen science films. === Architecture === [[File:The_Round_Tower_Spiral_Walk.jpg|alt=|thumb|250x250px|The Round Tower spiral walk]] An excellent start to any visit to Copenhagen is to climb the unique 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the observation platform of '''Rundetårn''' (the Round Tower), one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings. The top of the Round Tower offers excellent views and is smack in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|middle of the city]]. If that is not high enough for you head to [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] for a climb up the circular stairs on the outside of the church spire of the '''Church of Our Saviour'''. It is regarded as something of a test of manhood to climb up and touch the globe on the summit, nearly 100 m up in the air. And now that you're in the area, head over to the opposite side of the street to '''Christiania''', a self-governing community that has been squatting on an old naval area since the 1970s. Their inventive, brightly coloured, home built houses are spectacular, as is the relaxed atmosphere — this is truly one of Copenhagen's most unique and best attractions. Due south of Christiania the old, crooked, brightly coloured buildings and soothing canals lined with masted ships make this an excellent place to continue a stroll. Other fine examples of classical architecture include the impressive '''City Hall''' and the massive dome of the '''Frederikskirken''' colloquially known as the '''Marble Church'''. This dome, with a span of 31 meters, is one of the largest in northern Europe. Both are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. For real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and its native masters. '''Jørn Utzon''' (of Sydney Opera House fame) and Son is behind a trio of buildings on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro's]] northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex. There is a fine, but expensive restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy '''Arne Jacobsen's''' work by either sleeping at, or taking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar at the '''Royal Hotel''' which is one of the very few tall buildings in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. Alternatively, head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring his famous furniture and his name. Lastly '''Henning Larsen''', famous for his iconic buildings in [[Riyadh]], is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house overlooking the harbour in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]]. From here you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, the '''Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, after its shiny polished black granite walls. === Royal Copenhagen === [[File:Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg. Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg]] The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', make up the main residence of the Danish royal family. The octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at noon and is a highlight for any royalist visiting the city. There is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small but pretty renaissance palace, surrounded by the lovely '''King's Garden''' which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history and as a home for the crown jewels which are on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. A closed-off wing of Rosenborg serves as barracks for the Royal Guard, and every day a detachment marches through the Copenhagen city centre between Rosenborg and Amalienborg for the changing of the guard. Unusual for a well-founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It is usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try to arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. If you are hungry for more, head [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north]], where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park which formerly served as the king's hunting castle. === Design === Denmark is world-famous for its design tradition and, while the term '''Danish design''' has been devalued over the years due to much misuse, it is still a world-recognized style. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish Design Center''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]], with temporary and permanent exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops relating to the world of Danish design, in a building designed by famous architect '''Henning Larsen'''. Not too far away, '''Kunstindustrimuseet''' is home of a nice collection relating to the study of design and its history in Denmark. Also in the same district, '''Royal Copenhagen''' runs a museum display at its flagship store of its famous porcelain from its beginnings. Meanwhile, '''Cisterne''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] is an enticing museum showing modern glass art, in the intriguing catacomb like cisterns under a large park. '''Meldahls Smedie''' on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] is run by the Royal Danish school of architecture, which organizes exhibitions including final projects from students of the school here. ==Do== === Beach life === In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: '''Copencabana''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] or '''Havnebadet''' at Island Brygge on [[Amager]]. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best. If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at '''Svanemøllen Strand''', '''Charlottenlund Fort''' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and '''Amager Strandpark''' (The Lagoon), on [[Amager]] near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for '''[http://dgi-byen.com DGI Byen]''' which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|central railway station]] or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]]). === Amusement parks === [[File:Cph tivoli.jpg|top|thumb|250px|The Tivoli amusement park's main entrance at nighttime]] Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. '''Bakken''' or ''Dyrehavsbakken'' is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near [[Klampenborg]] north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — '''Tivoli''' — which is in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|city centre]] in a beautiful park surrounding a lake. === Sports === * '''Football:''' [https://www.fck.dk/ FC Copenhagen] play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF. * '''Cycling:''' and see [[Cycling in Denmark]]. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France. * '''Lifting weights:''' a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Crafts Fair | alt= | url=http://www.craftsfair.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held every year in August — Thursday-Saturday — outdoors at Frue Plads in central Copenhagen. The Crafts Fair has more than 130 exhibitors, all members of the Danish Arts and Crafts Association, exhibiting unique and small series of handmade Arts and Crafts in all categories: ceramic, glass, jewelery, textile, mixed media. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Fashion Week | alt=8-12 August 2017 | url=http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in February and August''. Copenhagen is fast emerging as a global fashion centre, with a host of both up-and-coming and already well established names. For two weeks each year more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 guests come together and celebrate their accomplishments with lavish parties, catwalks at city landmarks, and three trade fairs. }} * {{do | name=CPH PIX | alt=Copenhagen International Film Festival | url=http://www.cphpix.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(''28 September – 11 October 2017'') Denmark's largest film festival, first held in 2009 as the result of a merger between Copenhagen's two popular long running festivals — the ''Night Film Festival'' and the ''Copenhagen International Film Festival''. It will feature more than 150 screenings, with a prize of €10,000 awarded to the most promising new filmmaker. }} * {{do | name=International Workers Day | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''1 May''. A major event in Copenhagen. The main festivities are held in Fælledparken on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] and they attract over 100,000 visitors in what has lately become a 50/50 mix of a gigantic party and a political rally with speeches, happenings, and concerts. Two travelling amusement parks also set up their gear for the day, one by the main entrance at '''Trianglen''' and one in the eastern part of the park. }} * {{do | name=CPH Distortion | alt= | url=http://cphdistortion.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in the first week of June''. The longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday. }} * {{do | name=Zulu Sommerbio | alt= | url=http://zulu.tv2.dk/sommerbio | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in July and August''. Danish television station 'TV2 Zulu' plays open air films in various parks and squares of Copenhagen. There are movies in Danish and English and they are free to watch. You can buy beer and popcorn. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Jazzfestival | alt= | url=http://jazzfestival.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early July''. Features ten days of jazz everywhere in Copenhagen — parks, cafes, clubs, and theatres. Usually a few headline acts are on the program but there are more than 800 concerts to choose from and the real attraction is often the obscure concerts you bump into randomly in a park or square somewhere in the city. }} * {{do | name=Grøn Koncert | alt= | url=http://groenkoncert.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in late July''. A one day music festival in Valby Parken near Åparken station. It is a major event in Copenhagen with over 40,000 attending. There is usually an international headline act, along with several major Danish bands and the atmosphere is quite unique with people having picnics and beers on a huge field of grass in the park. Tickets are sold through Billetnet, both online and at post offices. }} * {{do | name=Stella Polaris | alt= | url=http://www.stella-polaris.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held the first weekend in August''. A big, free, chill-out event in one of the city parks. Top international DJs spin chill-out tunes on the decks, while people are relaxing in the sun and drinking beer. And the afterparty in one of the major clubs usually attracts some international headline acts. }} * {{do | name=RAW | alt= | url=http://rawcph.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early August''. Scandinavia's largest clubbing event. The organisers rightly pride themselves in carefully selecting high quality acts and more importantly the broad range of genres represented to make this an event with broad appeal to everyone in the Copenhagen nightlife scene. }} * {{do | name=Strøm | alt= | url=http://stromcph.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in August''. An annual electronic music festival. It is a gathering of the best promoters and vibrant venues Copenhagen has to offer, mixed up with events at squares, concert halls, or unusual locations throughout the city. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Pride | alt=12-20 August 2023 | url=http://copenhagenpride.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A lavish LGBT parade. The week leading up to the parade is usually full of community events and parties. Count on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladen) changing its name to Pride Square during the week and hosting live acts, concerts and debates. }} * {{do | name=Night of Culture (Kulturnatten) | alt= | url=http://kulturnatten.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in mid-October, on the last Friday before the school holiday in week 42''. You buy a badge for kr 70 and get access to major museums, exhibitions, churches, libraries, schools, organizations, the parliament and other cultural attractions including some places that are not open to the public during the rest of the year. Open from 18:00 to midnight. Attracts about 100,000 people. }} * {{do | name=MIX Copenhagen — LGBT Film Festival | alt=TBA October 2011 | url=http://cglff.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in Week 43''. Ten days of gay and queer cinema at its very best with more than 130 screenings of the world's best feature films, short films, and documentaries with gay or queer relevance, culminating in a champagne party on the final day, when the best film of the year receives its award. }} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=University of Copenhagen | alt= | url=http://www.ku.dk/english/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest university in Denmark. The university has a large selection of studies which are placed in eight different faculties. The faculties are found around the city and the main building is in central Copenhagen. }} *'''Technical University of Denmark''' This university teaches technical sciences and is in the suburb Lyngby north of Copenhagen. *'''IT University of Copenhagen''' This university teaches information technology studies and is on Amager. *'''Copenhagen Business School''' This university teaches business studies and is in Frederiksberg. ==Buy== [[File:Stroget.pg.jpg|thumb|250px|The 1.1 kilometre Strøget, along with its pedestrianised side streets, is one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe and Copenhagen's premier shopping area]] '''Strøget''' is one of the largest pedestrian malls in the world which links City Hall, Kongens Nytorv, and Nørreport station. Impeccably dressed Copenhageners breeze through high-end fashion and design stores when not zig-zagging through the hordes of tourists during the summer and Christmas seasons. Your fellow visitors can make it all feel rather touristy at times but if nothing else, it is great for people watching. If all this strange outdoor shopping takes you too far from your usual habitat, head for '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv) or '''Illums''' (on Amagertorv) for more familiar surroundings. There is even a real American style mall complete with a gargantuan parking lot out on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]]. Appropriately, it is called '''Fields'''. If you would rather sample smaller and more personal stores, the quarter of narrow streets surrounding ''Strøget'' in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|old city]] (colloquially known as ''Pisserenden'' and ''The Latin Quarter''), has a fantastic, eclectic mix of shopping. This ranges from quirky century-old businesses to the ultra hip in a wide range of fields. It is also much less crowded than Strøget, though unfortunately no less expensive. You can also try Vesterbrogade and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro#Istedgade|Istedgade]] on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]], due west of the central station, although you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/Thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory. Right at the border of this area, [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#Værnedamsvej|Værnedamsvej]] and Tullinsgade are also good bets. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Ravnsborggade|Ravnsborggade]] is well known for its huge number of antique stores that are excellent for bargain hunting and the next street to north, while more modest [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Elmegade|Elmegade]] has some small independent fashion boutiques. ===Flea markets=== Nørrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 m on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetery on Nørrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain or downright rubbish. Open from 4 April until 31 October on Saturdays 06:00 — 15:00. The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is on Israels Plads, close to the Nørreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers sell all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice gramophones and objets d'art. Open from 18 April until 10 October on Saturdays 08:00 — 14:00. ==Eat== {{SeeDistricts}} === On a budget === [[File:Smorrebrod.jpg|thumb|250px|For a hearty and traditional Danish lunch, try out the delicious ''Smørrebrød'' open-faced sandwiches]] If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many '''shawarma and pizza joints''' that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] and Nørrebrogade on [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]]. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try '''Ahaaa''' on Blågårds Plads, or '''Boys Shawarma & Is''' for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to '''Shawarma Grill House''' Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style '''all-you-can eat buffet''' restaurants dotted around the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. '''Nyhavns Faergekro''' at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's '''bakeries''' (''Bager'' — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (~kr 35) such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called ''smørrebrød''. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or with a fork and knife and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (expect to pay kr 8-10 for Danish pastry, here known as ''wienerbrød'') and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating. [[File:Copenhagen polsevogn.jpg|thumb|250px|Pølsevogn]] For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a '''pølsevogn''' (see image on the right), literally "sausage wagon", where you can get your hands on several different forms of tasty hot dogs with a free selection of various toppings for next-to-nothing by local standards. It is also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guests. To blend in, remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night, when the wagons are put into storage, 7-Eleven stores (which are open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog craving. They offer other eat-and-walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls. Also, remember to look out for the term '''''dagens ret''''' on signs and menus — this means "meal of the day" and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price. And finally, if your budget gets really small, buy some of your food in the supermarket. But watch out, prices can vary a lot depending on which supermarket you are going to. "Netto" (e.g. close to Nørrebro metro station) is the one you should look for. Irma, with a lot of fresh and delicious food, is (even for danes) a little expensive. === Michelin dining === Copenhagen has 16 Michelin starred restaurants, which is a huge number for a city of its size. This includes both Italian, French, Thai and of course the new Nordic cuisine. The new Nordic cuisine is headed by world renowned '''noma''', that has two Michelin stars and have been number one in San Pellegrinos "The World's 50 best restaurants in 2013" in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But tables can be extremely difficult to get. But if you still want to try the new Nordic cuisine '''Relæ''' and '''Kadeau''' are great options, both with one Michelin star. All three of them use traditionally Nordic ingredients and give new takes of classic Nordic dishes. '''Marv&Ben''' can be recommended for cheaper non-Michelin starred experience in the Nordic cuisine. '''Manfred og Vin''' is another possibility, Relæ's little sister, opposite Relæ offer a relaxed atmosphere but still playful and delicious organic food, wine and beer with strong Nordic roots. It is also fine just to go for a glass. '''Geranium''' and '''noma''' are the big international stars in Danish cuisine. Geranium's head chef, Rasmus Koefod, won the Bocuse d'Or (World Championship for chefs) in 2011, and Geranium has three Michelin stars. The restaurant is on 8th floor of the national soccer stadium in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro#Eat|Østerbro]]. But don't get frightened by that; there is a beautiful view over the nearby park and most of Copenhagen. The focus is more classic French than Noma, but there are still strong new Nordic vibes. The new Nordic movement have been so strong that it is almost impossible to find a Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen without at least some strong Nordic directions. One of the only exceptions is '''Era Ora''', a classic Italian one Michelin starred restaurant famous for a fantastic (though expensive) wine menu and delicious Italian treats. If the wallet is not that heavy, '''Formel B''' is a good choice. Unlike most other top restaurants there is there no expensive tasting menu or the traditional starter, main and dessert. Here all of the 20 dishes cost the same and you can choose one, two or all twenty. The only Thai restaurant in the guide is in Copenhagen and is owned by a Dane. The restaurant '''Kiin Kiin''' is in the hip and a bit trashy neighborhood [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Eat|Nørrebro]]. An affiliate was opened in Bangkok a few years ago. '''Aroii''' is one of Kiin Kiin's sister restaurants in Copenhagen, it is in the same building and offers very delicious Thai food, for much cheaper prices. Also possible for take away. Other Michelin starred restaurants include: '''Kong Hans Kælder''', which opened in 1976 and has had only have three head chefs in that time. Since then Kong Hans Kælder has been a front runner for top gourmet in Copenhagen. The focus is changing from the classic French cuisine to a new healthy paleo-inspired cuisine, probably the only Michelin starred restaurant in the world to go in that direction. Other one Michelin stars: '''Kokkeriet''', '''Restaurant AOC''', '''I Søllerød Kro''', '''Grønbech&Churchill''' and '''Den Røde Cottage''' Other top picks include: '''1. Th'''. The restaurant is decorated as a normal living room, giving the experience as being to dinner at a friends house. You pay a fixed amount before, and everyone is included. So you don't get a check afterward. A fantastic place. '''Mielcke & Hurtigkarl''' (which has been "cheated" out of a Michelin star for many years, at least according to Danish food critics) '''Marchal''' at luxury hotel D'Angleterre. A newly opened restaurant by rising star head chef Ronny Emborg. '''Alberto K''', a rising star in the Copenhagen culinary environment. '''Restaurationen''', a former Michelin star. But the owner lowered the tempo and still serves delicious food and gives top service. '''Bror''', '''Rebel''', '''Pony''', '''Pluto''', '''Clou''' and ''' Congo''' are all newly opened but show huge potential. === Brunch === Brunch is a Copenhagen institution, especially during the summer, and it is not unusual to hear a serious invitation for a morning brunch together with the ritual goodbye hug when a long night out in town draws to a close. In this way, brunch is intrinsically linked to the second local obsession of drinking. Food and fresh air is a great cure for hangovers as Copenhageners have long since discovered. Most cafés offer brunch, at least on weekends, for upwards of kr 80, often with a theme: American and French are especially widespread. One of the most popular options is '''[http://www.os-american.dk/ O's American]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' in central Copenhagen. Another popular brunch joint in the downtown hotel district, is [https://midwestern.dk/menu/ '''The Midwestern Diner'''], an American diner that is run and owned by Danish-Americans. ==Drink== [[File:Cph nyhavn.jpg|thumb|250px|Nyhavn is a popular place to go for a drink in the summer]] A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life. As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for '''[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Nyhavn]]''' but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the ''Strøget'' pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after ''the lakes'', is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. {{infobox|Drinking dictionary |* '''Cafés''' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine but they usually close around midnight and music is subdued to allow for conversations. They also serve food. * '''Bodegas''' are your average local watering holes, somewhat equivalent to a pub, with prices often much lower than bars and cafés. The clientèle is often a bit shady and you may have people staring at unfamiliar customers but behave nicely and they usually warm up to you. Try to have someone teach you the local ''træmand'', ''meyer'', or ''snyd'' dice games for a fun night. * '''Pubs''' are just that, pubs, the familiar English, Irish, and Scottish-themed exports that often do not have much in common with the actual pubs in those countries other than exported beer and interiors. * '''Bars''' are what locals tend to call everything with loud music that do not have a cover charge. Packed at weekends but more quiet at other times. * '''Clubs''', or discotheques as they are often still referred to here, are bars that have a cover charge and have a dance floor. Often only open Th-Sa. * '''Morgenværtshus'''. If you can get away with pronouncing this when you need it, you will be asking directions to a shady establishment full of people hell bent on not ending the night just yet. They usually open around 17:00 and "classics" include the 24-hour '''Hong Kong''' in Nyhavn, '''Café Guldregn''' on Vesterbro and '''Andy's''' in the city centre.}} === Clubbing === ''You can check for club listings in the various [[#Districts|districts]]'' The club scene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Th-Sa. Most locals have a party at home with friends or frequent their favourite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight and close around 05:00. Most clubs have a kr 40-80 cover charge and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Also expect an additional kr 10-20 for cloakrooms. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back kr 40-50 — a bit more than bars usually charge. ====Gay and lesbian==== For its size, Copenhagen has a rather large gay scene with a good handful of bars and dance clubs in the centre of the city within walking distance of each other. One of the better ones is ''Club Christopher'' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]]. Vela, the only bar/lounge in town that is targeted at lesbians is on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. ===Live venues=== Most of the music venues in Copenhagen also double as nightclubs so watch for them under the club sections in the different districts. Tickets for almost every event in Denmark and Copenhagen are sold through [http://billetnet.dk/ Billetnet]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} which has online sales and a counter available in all post offices. But apart from headline events, tickets are usually also sold at the entrance. Expect to pay 100 kr or more. The major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Østerbro for the biggest stars. [[Copenhagen/Indre By]], '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is a major venue with concerts of almost every genre by national and international acts. [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] has two venues: '''Rust's''' stage mainly hosts mainstream rhythmic music and '''Global''', as its name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]], it is no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera and not to be missed, the different venues of '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]]''' are a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture. Christiania's most famous venue is '''Loppen''' which has hosted many (mostly rock) acts that later grew in popularity to play bigger venues like Vega for far larger prices. ==Sleep== {{SeeDistricts}} Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as '''Scandic''', '''Radisson BLU''', '''First Hotels''' and '''Nordic Choice Hotels''' are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region. The hospitality industry is on the one hand squeezed by the high labour costs, being one of the most labour-intensive business, and on the other spoiled by relatively low competition (there are not many hotels in Copenhagen compared to other cities of a similar size). There generally is a dearth of mid-range hotels, as hotels either position themselves as low-priced (by Copenhagen standards) and limit service and facilities to the minimum, or as luxurious, and charge you every bit they need to recover the increased costs of running a fully-staffed hotel in Denmark. As competition is low and labour costs consume most of the hotels' revenues, even many high-end properties show signs of age and may not be up to the standards found in other European countries. For more accommodation options, you may head across the Øresund bridge to [[Malmö]] and other localities in [[Scania]]. You will find a wider variety of options there, often at lower prices and comparable quality to counterparts in the capital, but will need to factor in the costs (though in most cases the cost of a return fare can still be much lower than the rate differences between comparable hotels across both sides) and travel time across the border (see ''Get In'' section). === Unique accommodation === If you are looking for something unique, Copenhagen has a few surprisingly little known options. Fancy sleeping in an old fort? Then look no further than '''[[Copenhagen/Amager#Flakfortet|Flakfortet]]''' on its very own island out in the sound. Stylish rooms, classic and rather tastefully integrated into the environs of the old fort. Staying here does though exclude spending your evenings in the city, as the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon. You can also opt for the '''Dragør Fort''' on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] although they haven't pulled it off quite so nicely. In the same area, consider the old and historic beach front '''Dragør Badehotel''' in a classic building with great views over Øresund and a nearby beach, but also a fair deal of transportation time to the sights in the city centre. (Although it is close to the airport.) In the same genre, and with the same drawbacks, is '''Skovshoved Hotel''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]]. This is a historic beach hotel with nice views and a fantastic restaurant. You can get even closer to the water on the floating houseboat hotel '''CPH Living''' moored in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] . If you're a rad hipster and would rather sample some of the design for which the city is rightly famous, consider '''Hotel Fox''' where young Danish and international artists have individually decorated and furnished the rooms. Other hip options are '''STAY Copenhagen''' on the waterfront of Islands Brygge or '''Hotel Twentyseven''' near the arty cocktail lounges of the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. Or you could always max out your credit card and splurge at the timeless five star classics of '''D'Angleterre''' or '''Skt Petri Hotel'''. === On a budget === Copenhagen is an expensive city but it ''is'' possible for budget travellers to find reasonably priced accommodations. For those on an ultra low budget there are two free, but completely basic, '''camping''' grounds along the Mølleå river where you can camp for one or two nights. While camping elsewhere is no big sin, it is not legal either. There are plenty of commercial camping grounds available but if you are not used to Scandinavian price ranges, even these could seem expensive (DKK 50-200). The closest camping sites are at ''Charlottenlund Fort'' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and there is also a summer-only camping ground in the outer part of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] within the city proper. If you prefer modern comforts consider one of the [[hospitality exchange]] networks. Couchsurfing.com for instance, is quite popular with the Copenhagers, who provide 6,000 available hosted stays in the city, giving you the added bonus of having a local to point you to the great spots. There are a few '''hostels''' available and the cheapest are two summer-only (July-Aug) hostels in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]: '''YMCA Interpoint''' and '''Sleep in fact'''. Here you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as kr 100. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] the two sleep-in hostels are slightly more expensive but still a bargain compared to the general price range. A good option in this central (also named "the coolest in the world") neighbourhood is [https://urbancamper.dk/ Urban Campers Hostel]. The national hostel system [http://danhostel.dk Danhostel] which is part of Hostelling International, run several hostels in Copenhagen. Danhostel Copenhagen City is right in the centre, next to the harbour. For '''Hotels''' consider the '''[http://cabinn.com/ Cab Inn]''' chain that has three hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from €71 (single) to €103 (triples). The rooms are quite small but have TVs and private showers and toilets. There are several cheap hotels specifically catering to gays and lesbians [http://copenhagen-rainbow.dk Copenhagen Rainbow]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} being one of them. In the city centre, 500 m from Tivoli on the mainstreet of Vesterbrogade there is a few other fairly priced options for accommodation, the [http://loevenhotel.dk Loeven hotel], the [http://savoyhotel.dk Savoy Hotel], prices around €80 for a twin room. A little further out following a side street on your left hand side, in Absalonsgade you will find a youth hostel, also fairly priced although quite noisy. ==Connect== Libraries offer free internet access for one hour at a time, though this often requires signing up in advance. The ''[http://bibliotek.kk.dk/bibliotekerne/findbibliotek/hovedbiblioteket Hovedbibliotek]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'' (main library) at Krystalgade 15 has 12 freely accessible workstations and a wide selection of international newspapers. A cheap (under 20 kr/hour) internet café is in Copenhagen Central Station. Moreover, a lot of bars, cafés, McDonald's, and petrol stations offer WiFi hotspots for people with notebooks, though these are a little more expensive than internet cafés. [http://openwifi.dk/index.php?page=hotspots&search=*all*_1050_K%F8benhavn OpenWiFi]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} maintains a list of hotspots in the city. '''S-trains''' all have free WiFi. But since you must activate your account through an email confirmation, it's a good idea to register beforehand. ==Cope== ===Money=== Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone ('''kr''' or '''DKK'''), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission. Using the exchange machines present at some banks is not recommended, though, as these charge a fee of kr 25 (~€3.35). Credit cards are widely accepted, although this is usually limited to Visa and/or MasterCard. Many supermarkets and small shops will normally only accept the widespread local Danish debit-card, also known as the Dankort. But acceptance of the two major international credit cards is increasing rapidly. Other credit cards like American Express, Diners, JCB, and Unionpay are accepted in some shops in Copenhagen, especially in Strøget, the main shopping district. When accepted, a transaction fee (mandated by credit card companies, not shops) of 0.75% to 4.00% of the amount will usually be charged on credit cards issued by foreign banks. Almost all ATMs accept major international cards, including all the ones mentioned previously. Therefore, it is worth noting that although some shops may not accept all credit cards, an ATM capable of doing so will in most cases be less than 200 m away, particularly in central Copenhagen. ===Press=== The [http://cphpost.dk Copenhagen Post] is the country's sole English language newspaper, it's published weekly on Saturdays, and is available at many bars and cafés, as well as for sale in the Magasin department store, and the kiosks at the Central, Vesterport, Østerport, and Hellerup stations for kr 20. === Embassies and consulates === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=http://edina.cancilleria.gov.ar/ | email= | address=Borgergade 16 | lat=55.6834994 | long=12.5852325 | directions= | phone=+45 33 15 80 82 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=http://denmark.embassy.gov.au | email= | address=Dampfærgevej 26 | lat=55.6998729 | long=12.595523 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 36 76 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-16:30; F 08:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/embassy/copenhagen.html | email= | address=Sølundsvej 1 | lat=55.71894 | long=12.57486 | directions= | phone=+45 39 29 41 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:30-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url=http://diplomatie.be/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Øster Allé 7 | lat=55.70013 | long=12.57417 | directions= | phone=+45 35 25 02 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-16:30; F 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | alt= | url=http://copenhague.itamaraty.gov.br | email= | address=Jens Kofods Gade 1, ST. TH. 1268 Copenhagen K | lat=55.681541 | long=12.5812318 | directions= | phone=+45 3920 6478 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://mfa.bg/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Gamlehave alle 7, 2920 Charlottenlund | lat=55.76051 | long=12.56408 | directions= | phone=+45 39642484, +45 39633872 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://canadainternational.gc.ca/denmark-danemark/ | email= | address=Kristen Bernikowsgade 1 | lat=55.67985 | long=12.58217 | directions= | phone=+45 33 48 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://dk.china-embassy.org/ | email= | address=Øregårds Allé 25 | lat=55.73787 | long=12.57007 | directions= | phone=+45 39460889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/es/dinamarca/embajada-de-cuba-en-dinamarca | email= | address=Kastelsvej 19, 3tv | lat=55.696510 | long=12.587317 | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 15 10 | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 19 | lat=55.696289 | long=12.589366 | directions= | phone=+45 3543 7070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt= | url=http://www.estemb.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 19, 4. sal | lat=55.6845664 | long=12.5915321 | directions= | phone=+45 39463070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=http://www.finland.dk/ | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 24 | lat=55.6809358 | long=12.5929243 | directions= | phone=+45 33 13 42 14 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=http://ambafrance-dk.org | email= | address=Ny Østergade 3, 2nd floor | lat=55.6810503 | long=12.5871581 | directions= | phone=+45 33 67 01 64 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=http://kopenhagen.diplo.de | email= | address=Stockholmsgade 57 | lat=55.692646 | long=12.5833872 | directions= | phone=+45 35 45 99 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 except W 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=http://ghanaembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Egebjerg Allé 13 | lat=55.73778 | long=12.55808 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 82 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | alt= | url=http://mfa.gr/copenhagen | email= | address=Bornholmsgade 3 | lat=55.7408663 | long=12.5836434 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 60 48 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} *{{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://koppenhaga.mfa.gov.hu/ | email=mission.cph@mfa.gov.hu | address=Øregårdsvænget 9, 2900 | lat=55.738826 | long=12.570605 | directions= | phone=+45 39 63 16 88 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 63 00 52 | hours=Tu, Th: 09:00–13:00 W: 13:00–16:00 | price= | content= |wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-07-12}} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url=https://www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-copenhagen/embassy-information | email= | address=Strandgade 89 | lat=55.677386 | long=12.597082 | directions= | phone=+45 33 18 10 50 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=http://indian-embassy.dk | email=visa@indian-embassy.dk | address=Vangehusvej 15 | lat=55.71984 | long=12.57387 | directions= | phone=+45 39182888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/copenhagen/en/default.aspx | email=unitkomkph@kbricph.dk | address=Ørehøj Alle 1, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73829 | long=12.57195 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 44 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 (Visas 09:00-12:00) | price= | content=Also covers as the embassy of Indonesia for Lithuania }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=http://embassyofireland.dk | email= | address=Østbanegade 21 | lat=55.6958684 | long=12.5904463 | directions= | phone=+45 35 47 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:30, 14:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.mfa.gov.il | email= | address=Lundevangsvej 4 | lat=55.72404 | long=12.57081 | directions= | phone=+45 88 18 55 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambcopenaghen.esteri.it/ambasciata_copenaghen/it/| email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 7 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 68 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00, Tu-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | alt= | url=http://www.dk.emb-japan.go.jp/ | email= | address=Pilestræde 61 | lat=55.6816139 | long=12.5778373 | directions= | phone=+45 33 11 33 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Latvia}} {{listing | name=Latvia | alt= | url=http://www.am.gov.lv/copenhagen | email=embassy.denmark@mfa.gov.lv | address=Rosbæksvej 17 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57249 | directions= | phone=+45 39 27 60 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=http://dk.mfa.lt | email=amb.dk@urm.lt | address=Bernstorffsvej 214 | lat=55.75270 | long=12.55844 | directions= | phone=+45 39636207 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=646&lang=en | email=copenhagen@mfa.gov.mk | address=Skindergade 28, A, 1.th., 1159 Copenhagen | lat=55.6794912 | long=12.5742755 | directions= | phone=+45 39 766 920 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 766 923 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt=consulate | url=http://mongolietskonsulat.dk | email= | address=Bolbrovej 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 32 52 44 27 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * [[File:Flag of Nepal.svg|10px]] {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url=https://dk.nepalembassy.gov.np | email= | address=Esplanaden 46, 2 | lat=55.687832 | long=12.595503 | directions= | phone=+45 44 44 40 43 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/denmark/about-us/embassy-in-copenhagen | email= | address=Toldbodgade 33 | lat=55.682127 | long=12.593144 | directions= | phone=+45 33 70 72 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 14:00-15:00, F 14:00-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=http://nzembassy.com/ | email= | address=Store Strandstræde 21, 2.tv | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 37 77 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 13:00-14:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://norsk.dk/ | email=emb.copenhagen@mfa.no | address=Dampfærgevej 10, 4. | lat=55.697091 | long=12.5949066 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 01 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-15:30, F 08:30-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://pakistanembassy.dk | email=info@pakistanembassy.dk | address=Valeursvej 17 | lat=55.73892 | long=12.55760 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 11 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, except W 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.kopenhaga.msz.gov.pl | email= | address=Richelieus Alle 12 | lat=55.7381558 | long=12.5830372 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 77 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-14:00, except W 13:00-18:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url=http://www.embaixadadeportugal.dk/ | email=embport@get2net.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31 | lat=55.6819069 | long=12.5930488 | directions= | phone=+45 33131301 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=http://copenhaga.mae.ro/en | email=copenhaga@mae.ro | address=Strandagervej 27 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 71 77 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-12-03 | content=Also covers as the embassy of Romania for [[Iceland]]. }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | alt= | url=http://denmark.mid.ru/ | email= | address=Kristianiagade 5 | lat=55.694047 | long=12.5860566 | directions= | phone=+45 35 38 23 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/copenhagen | email=sincon@scan-group.dk | address=Snorresgade 18-20 | lat=55.6643606 | long=12.5761839 | directions= | phone=+45-32548360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/dk-ko/index.do | email= | address=Svanemøllevej 104 | lat=55.73087 | long=12.57422 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 04 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:15, 13:00-16:30; Visa Section M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | alt= | url=http://southafrica.dk/ | email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 8 | lat=55.72326 | long=12.57234 | directions= | phone=+45 39180185 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-16:00; F 08:00-13:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 21 | lat=55.6964804 | long=12.5895873 | directions= | phone=+45 35 42 22 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00–17:00, F 09:00–14:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url=http://swedenabroad.com/kopenhamn | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 15 A | lat=55.6817202 | long=12.5918346 | directions= | phone=+45 33 36 03 75 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, W also 14:00–16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/copenhagen | email= | address=Richelieus Allé 14, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73861 | long=12.58301 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 17 96 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | alt= | url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/DK | email=contact@taipeioffice.dk | address=Amaliegade 3, 2F | lat=55.6821714 | long=12.5914206 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 51 52 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url=http://thaiembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Norgesmindevej 18 | lat=55.72568 | long=12.57306 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 50 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ | email= | address=Rosbæksvej 15 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57337 | directions= | phone=+45 39 20 27 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt= | url=http://denmark.mfa.gov.ua/ | email=embassy.ua@mail.tele.dk | address=Toldbodgade 37A, 1. | lat=55.6824312 | long=12.5934775 | directions= | phone=+45 33161635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-13:00, Tu 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=http://ukindenmark.fco.gov.uk/ | email= | address=Kastelsvej 38 | lat=55.69590 | long=12.58559 | directions= | phone=+45 35 44 52 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://dk.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 | lat=55.6945855 | long=12.5830518 | directions= | phone=+45 35 55 31 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:15-23:15 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | alt= | url=http://dinamarca.embajada.gob.ve/ | email=emvendk@mail.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31, 3. | lat=55.681918 | long=12.5930527 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 63 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Vietnam}} {{listing | name=Vietnam | alt= | url=http://vietnamemb.dk/ | email=embvndk@hotmail.com | address=Bernstorffsvej 30C | lat=55.72847 | long=12.55564 | directions= | phone=+45 39 18 26 29 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} |} ==Stay safe== As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial '''112''' for emergencies, and '''114''' for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] and in the [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|western suburbs]]. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While '''racism''' is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination. == Stay healthy == Emergency Rooms (ER) are called ''Skadestue'' in Danish, as with many other health related terms and phrases, the English term may not be understood by some Danes — but conveniently Hospital is the same in Danish. Hospitals with 24 hour Emergency Wards near the city centre include: *{{listing | name=Amager Hospital | alt= | url=http://amagerhospital.dk | email= | address=Italiensvej 1, Amager | lat=55.65471 | long=12.60881 | directions= | phone=+45 32 34 35 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Bispebjerg Hospital | alt= | url=http://bispebjerghospital.dk | email= | address=Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 7C, Nordvest | lat=55.71446 | long=12.54061 | directions= | phone=+45 35 31 23 73 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Frederiksberg Hospital | alt= | url=http://frederiksberghospital.dk | email= | address=Nordre Fasanvej 57, 3A, Frederiksberg | lat=55.68721 | long=12.52576 | directions= | phone=+45 38 16 35 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} The public healthcare system also maintains doctors on call outside normal office hours, calls are screened by medical personnel, and doctors dispatched only when deemed necessary. *{{listing | name=Lægevagten | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 00 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M–F 16:00–8:00, Sa-Su all day | price=From DKK 255, Free for EU citizens | content= }} There is a 24-hour pharmacy in central Copenhagen, and 3 additional ones in the suburbs. *{{listing | name=Steno Apotek | alt= | url=http://183.netapotek.dk/ | email= | address=Vesterbrogade 6C | lat=55.6745156 | long=12.5632472 | directions=Just by the Radisson Royal hotel, near the Central station | phone=+45 33 14 82 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=regular hours: M-F 8:00–20:00,Sa 8:30–17:00 | price=There is a DKK 15 service charge outside those times. | content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Malmö]]''' &mdash; Sweden's third largest city, with a lovely historic city centre and cosy squares. Just a short, convenient train ride away. * '''[[Helsingør]]''' &mdash; Also called '''Elsinore'''. The old city centre with well preserved houses is one of the biggest in Denmark, and famous Kronborg castle, home of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Take the train from Copenhagen Central or Østerport. If you go by car the motorway is the fastest, driving along Strandvejen is the scenic route. * '''[[Hillerød]]''' &mdash; A small town dominated by the huge Frederiksborg palace, but also offers baroque gardens and a laid back city centre. Take the S-train: end of the E-line. * '''[[Roskilde]]''' &mdash; Denmark's ancient capital and a [[World Heritage site]], with a famous cathedral full of the tombs of ancient kings, and the fantastic Viking museum. Home to one of the ''Big Four'' European music festivals, Roskilde Festival, which attracts up to 110,000 visitors each year in July. There are many trains from Copenhagen Central, Nørreport and Østerport. * '''[[Øresund Coast]]''' &mdash; For the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', which is the outstanding museum of modern art in Denmark, in the small town of Humlebæk 35&nbsp;km north of Copenhagen. Via motorway E47/E5 or 35 minutes with DSB rail from the Central Station. When you use the train, special combination tickets for the rail fare and museum entry fee are available. * '''[[Ven]]''' &mdash; Visit the Swedish island Ven. Rent a bicycle and tour the island. The ferry departs from Havnegade 29 at 9:15, returns at 17:30 and costs 210&nbsp;kr for the daytrip. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E20.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Kolding]] | minorl1=[[Køge]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Göteborg]] | minorr1=[[Malmö]] | image2=Tabliczka E47.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Helsingør]] | minorl2=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Lübeck]] | minorr2=[[Køge]] | image3=Tabliczka E55.svg | imagesize3=22 | directionl3=N | majorl3=[[Helsingør]] | minorl3=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr3=S | majorr3=[[Berlin]] | minorr3=[[Køge]] }} {{isPartOf|Zealand}} {{starcity}} {{geo|55.6762|12.5675|zoom=13}} 59vx9jrpzeap0i6yrrp1gmvbb548byr 5298618 5298615 2026-06-26T07:31:55Z ~2026-33378-46 2418994 /* Get around */ Correct name in English 5298618 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Copenhagen banner Nyhavn canal.jpg|dotm=yes|star=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Copenhagen''' ([[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''København'') is the capital city of [[Denmark]] and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife ''par excellence'', yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to [[Sweden]] by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the [[Nordic countries]] and [[central Europe]]. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. __TOC__ <div style="clear:both;"></div> ==Districts== {{Mapframe|55.655|12.443|width=500|height=500|zoom=10|name=Unofficial but quite widely perceived district division of Copenhagen|staticmap=Cph_districts.png|show=other,go,mask}} {{Mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Copenhagen_Districts.map}} {{mapshapes|Q212741}}<!--Metro--> {{Mapshapes|Q585154}}<!--S-tog--> {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] | region1color=#ac5c91 | region1items= | region1description=Centrum, the Medieval City — a place of many names, and the historical heart of Copenhagen, dotted with church spires, historic buildings, narrow alleys and excellent shopping. | region2name=[[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] | region2color=#ffd0d0 | region2items= | region2description=A thriving area notable for its many canals and cozy cafes. The '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Freetown of Christiania]]''' is situated in the eastern section of Christianshavn, along with the old naval area, turned trendy: '''Holmen'''. | region3name=[[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=This district still has a few sex shops and sleazy hotels left, but is now one of the hippest places to live, with cafes and bars dotted along its main artery, '''Istedgade'''. | region4name=[[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] | region4color=#acaa78 | region4items= | region4description=An area which formed around Frederiksberg Castle. It remains an independent municipality. Surrounded by the City of Copenhagen, the area has preserved a special conservative, upscale feel. | region5name=[[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] | region5color=#d56d76 | region5items= | region5description=One of the most vibrant parts of Copenhagen, especially along Nørrebrogade, with a mix of immigrants, students, and original working-class Nørrebro-inhabitants. | region6name=[[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] | region6color=#71b37b | region6items= | region6description=A affluent and cozy neighbourhood north of the centre. Less vibrant than Nørrebro and Vesterbro, and less quaint than Frederiksberg, it is the home of the famous Little Mermaid statue, and the beautifully preserved Kastellet Citadel. The area west of the train track is very popular with young families. | region7name=[[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items=Including Saltholm | region7description=Once a bastion of the working class, this island with its own distinct atmosphere is booming with new development. Also home of the airport and the biggest shopping mall in Copenhagen. | region8name=[[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Northern suburbs]] | region8color=#d09440 | region8items= | region8description=A visit to these green suburbs, beaches, parks, and Dyrehavsbakken — the world's oldest running amusement park; Frilandsmuseet — the world's largest open air museum; or canoeing down the Mill River, will leave no doubt that this is an altogether different kind of suburbia. It is colloquially known to locals as the "whisky belt", due to its many well-heeled residents. '''[[Ballerup]]''', which has a charming museum of local history, is covered in a separate article. | region9name=[[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|Vestegnen]] | region9color=#d5dc76 | region9items= | region9description=The suburbs west and south of the city. Except for the good and very popular Arken art museum most attractions are small but still interesting. It has some good beaches and camping opportunities. }} == Understand == [[File:CPH Rundetaarnview.jpg|thumb|250px|View from Rundetårn]] ===History=== ==== Beginnings as a merchant harbour ==== If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." ==== Archbishop Absalon ==== Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of [[Roskilde]]. Absalon, archbishop of [[Lund]] 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today ''Slotsholmen'' (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital [[Roskilde]] and [[Lund]] in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent. But with prosperity comes envy and in the years to follow Copenhagen was laid waste and pillaged time and time again, mainly by the members of the German Hanseatic League, which at one point completely destroyed the city. {{infobox|Wonderful Copenhagen?|In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' featured in the 1952 film ''Hans Christian Andersen''. Sung by Danny Kaye, it is a bit of an evergreen, and — not being accustomed to Hollywood attention — the city has stuck to it ever since. What also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it is "''koh-pehn-HAY-gehn''", not "''koh-pehn-HAH-gehn''".}} ==== Becoming the capital of Denmark ==== Like the phoenix, however, Copenhagen repeatedly rose from its ashes. When the Danes kicked out the Pope during the 16th century [[Protestant Reformation]], Roskilde lost its importance as a Roman bishopric and, having taken control of the city 20 years earlier, the Danish king moved his residence to Copenhagen. Not terribly keen on seeing their new capital laid waste once more, successive Danish monarchs built massive fortifications around the city. None more so than King Christian IV, who embarked on a building rampage which not only included the ramparts still visible throughout much of the city, but also many present day landmarks like the Round Tower and the Stock Exchange. Since then Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes, and then bombarded, set ablaze, and nearly destroyed by the British Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, who in one of two battles for Copenhagen, responded to the order to withdraw by saying "You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes," and then raised the telescope to his blind eye and touted "I really do not see the signal." This was the first ever civilian bombardment performed as part of war. ==== Outgrowing the city walls ==== Again, the city shook off its struggles and the population mushroomed during industrialization. When a cholera epidemic did a fine job of killing nearly everyone there wasn't room for, the King finally conceded that long range cannons would render its constraining walls irrelevant, and thus allowed the city to grow outside the now antiquated ramparts. But it was not long before a new modern fortification was built (known as Vestvolden today), which made Copenhagen Europe's most fortified city of the late 19th century. After being subjected to yet another, German invasion during World War II, the whole idea of a fortified city was thrown out the window and replaced with one of the finest examples of urban planning anywhere — the ''Finger Plan''. Copenhagen is one of few cities in the world to devise a long-term plan for growth and then actually stick to it; try placing your hand over a map of Copenhagen with the palm as the city centre, and it's quite obvious why it's called the finger plan. Despite being the laughing stock of the country through the 1970s and 1980s, when wealthy residents all moved out into the fingers leaving behind an impoverished bankrupt inner city, a visit these days will prove that the phoenix has risen once more. ===Read and watch=== * ''Pelle the Conqueror'' (Martin Andersen Nexø, 1906–10). An epic novel in three parts and an integral part of the Danish school curriculum portraying the life of two poor Swedish immigrants — a father and son. The two last volumes take place in Copenhagen and describe the rise and the conflicts of the labour movement and global socialism which are so crucial to understanding Danish society today. All in all, it's a very good historical account of life in the city during that period, and above all, a good book. * ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (Peter Høeg, 1992). Dive into Denmark's curious post-colonial history in this international best seller. Partly set in Copenhagen, partly in Greenland, you are whirled through a murder mystery by Ms. Smilla, a half-Danish Inuit brought up in poor Greenland, but now living in the kingdom's affluent and orderly capital. It is a good account of the conflicts and contrasts between two very different parts of the Kingdom, and it offers some spot-on social critique of Danish society in a very engaging way. * The Copenhagen Quartet (Thomas E. Kennedy). Four novels totaling well over a thousand pages. Each book is set against the backdrop of one of the four seasons of the Danish capital: ''Kerrigan in Copenhagen'' (spring) (2013), ''Falling Sideways'' (autumn) (2011), ''In the Company of Angels'' (summer) (2010), and ''Beneath the Neon Egg'' (winter) (scheduled for publication, 2014). The novelist, an American expat, somewhat autobiographically portrays an American writer trying to come to terms with his past with the help of Copenhagen's many bars, with the Danish capital as the co-star. All of the places described in the books are real places that you can go discover. Copenhagen is also the setting of several [[Nordic Noir]] films and series, such as the Pusher series, ''The Bridge'', and ''The Killing''. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Copenhagen |-0.7 |3.4 |53.0 |-0.8 |3.6 |36.9 |0.7 |6.5 |42.3 |4.2 |11.8 |35.8 |8.6 |16.7 |47.2 |11.9 |19.6 |63.9 |14.3 |22.2 |60.9 |14.1 |21.8 |67.5 |10.8 |17.5 |61.0 |7.1 |12.6 |63.3 |3.3 |7.6 |56.4 |0.5 |4.4 |57.4 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Copenhagen]] | description = Averages of Copenhagen 1981–2010 }} Copenhagen, like the rest of [[Denmark]], has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the [http://dmi.dk/eng/index/forecasts.htm Danish Meteorological Institute website]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. '''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. '''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets. '''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into cosiness. It is the local way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family. Weather in Copenhagen can be unstable and highly unpredictable. Make sure you pack clothes in case of sudden rain or spell of cold (or, in the summer, of warmth) even despite long-term forecasts telling you otherwise. An umbrella, rain coat and shoes that will withstand torrential downpour may come in handy. Copenhageners dress very well, but at the same time very practically and with the realization that rain can assault their carefully chosen styling any minute. ===Tourist information=== Copenhagen's official tourist agency is ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' * {{listing | name=Copenhagen Visitor Service | alt= | url=http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/tourist-offices/copenhagen-visitor-service | email=touristinfo@woco.dk | address=Vesterbrogade 4A | lat=55.67486 | long=12.56438 | directions=Across from Tivoli's main entrance, near the central station (2&nbsp;km walk) | phone=+45 70 22 24 42 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 22 24 52 | hours=Jan–Apr M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 09:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 09:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 09:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00 | price= | content=The tourist information office is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within this office and they provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen including museums, concerts and festivals. Furthermore there is a free WiFi service available. }} ==Get in== [[File:Flughafen Kopenhagen Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|CPH seen from above]] ===By plane=== [[File:Couloir-aéroport-Copenhague-2.jpg|thumb|The cathedral-like passageway linking terminals]] ==== Copenhagen Airport (CPH) ==== {{main|Copenhagen Airport}} {{marker|type=go|name=Copenhagen Airport|url=https://www.cph.dk/en/|lat=55.6287|long=12.6486|image=Copenhagen Airport Mai 2009 PD 112.JPG}} ({{IATA|CPH}}) on the nearby island of [[Amager]] is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier '''[https://www.flysas.com/ SAS — Scandinavian Airlines]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] or [[Frankfurt]] and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''[http://easyjet.com/ EasyJet]''' serves Copenhagen from [[London]] Gatwick, [[Manchester]], [[Milan]], [[Geneva]], [[Paris]] CDG and [[Berlin]]. '''[http://norwegian.com/ Norwegian]''' offers budget flights to (among others) [[Liverpool]], [[Oslo]], [[Stockholm]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Budapest]], [[Paris]], [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]]. While CPH is one of Europe's busiest airports, with a flight taking off every 2 minutes on average well into the night, many facilities have limited opening hours. Little in the way of gastronomy or retail remains open after 20:00, even the ''CPH Apartment Lounge'' closes at 20:00 and the frequent fliers and business/first class passengers are required to wait in the empty terminal halls. If your flight is in the early hours, you can take advantage of the facilities (snacks, drinks, free Wi-Fi, relaxation and work facilities) of the ''CPH Apartment'' 05:00–20:00 for DKK239 (as of August 2022), unless your frequent-flyer plan or ticket tariff covers that already. [[File:COPENHAGEN KASTRUP AIRPORT RAILWAY STATION DENMARK SEP 2013 (9912940653).jpg|thumb|The Copenhagen Airport Station has separate platforms for trains going towards Copenhagen and towards [[Scania]] in [[Sweden]], so make sure you access the right one.]] ===== Transport to/from Copenhagen Airport ===== It takes 12 minutes by train to travel from Copenhagen Airport to the Central Station (Hovedbanegården) in Copenhagen city centre. You need a ticket for 3 zones (30kr) which can be purchased from one of the machines in the arrivals hall. The [https://intl.m.dk/ Copenhagen Metro] also connects the airport with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every 4 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes at night, taking 14 minutes to the city centre (for the same ticket and same price of 30 kr). Consider buying a City Pass or Copenhagen Card instead if you plan on visiting attractions the same day. The airport has different stations for mainline trains (underneath the arrivals hall) and for the metro (upstairs from the arrivals hall), both are in Terminal 3. The next metro station is named Kastrup — the historic name for the airport — but has nothing to do with the airport. ====Malmö Airport==== '''[https://www.swedavia.com/malmo/ Malmö Airport]''' ({{IATA|MMX}}) across the Øresund bridge has flights with ''[https://wizzair.com/ Wizzair]'' from [[Budapest]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Katowice]], and [[Warsaw]]. ''[https://www.neptunbus.dk/ Neptunbus]'' provide connecting buses from Malmö Airport to Copenhagen Central Station, these are timed in accordance with the Wizzair flights. Domestic flights within Sweden also serve Malmö Airport, but do not have direct bus connections — see [[Malmö#Get%20in]] for routes. ===By train=== [[File:Cph central.jpg|thumb|Train waiting at Copenhagen Central station]] Links between the capital and the rest of the country are frequent and excellent. There are several trains each hour to Malmö and further to Lund and Gothenburg. There are 12 daily connections on weekdays to Stockholm. There are further train services in the direction of Karlskrona and Kalmar. There are six fast connections to Hamburg and one to Berlin. From the rest of '''Denmark''' connections are frequent and numerous. In [[Jutland]] several railway branches from [[Aarhus]]/[[Aalborg]] in the North, [[Struer]] in the north-west, [[Esbjerg]] to the west, and finally [[Sønderborg]] in the south convene in [[Fredericia]], where they connect to a main line with up to four intercity trains per hour, divided into Express and Intercity trains, which runs across [[Funen]] before crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt). From there it reaches across the length of [[Zealand]] before terminating at Copenhagen's central station. If you are going in the reverse direction without a seat reservation, be mindful that the train is often broken up at Fredericia to serve the different branches, so if you do not have seat reservation, it is a bad idea just picking a random carriage in Copenhagen — check the screens on the platform to see where you should board, or ask the ticket inspectors once on the train. All cross-belt trains are operated by DSB ([http://dsb.dk Danish State Railways]). From the island of [[Bornholm]], a high speed ferry shuttles passengers to [[Ystad]] in [[Sweden]], where you will have to board the Swedish Pågatåg commuter train, then change trains to the ''Øresundstog (see below)'' again at any of the stations in Malmö to continue on to Copenhagen. A one-way combined ferry/train ticket will only set you back DKK149. Across the Øresund strait in '''Sweden''', the ''[http://dsbfirst.dk Øresundstog]'' trains departs from various towns in [[Scania|Southern Sweden]], and via [[Lund]] and [[Malmö]], crossing the Øresund bridge to Copenhagen, with a stop at the airport. The journey time from Malmö to Copenhagen Central station is 40 minutes and trains run every 15-20 minutes all day on this stretch, and every hour during the night. A single ticket between Malmö and Copenhagen costs DKK92 if using the Rejsekort app or SEK150 if using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken app], with the added benefit of unlimited local public transport on both sides of the border (except the bridge/ferry where only one crossing is permitted) for the highlighted zone until 04.00 the following day. [https://sj.se Swedish Railways]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operates up to seven X2000 express trains from [[Stockholm]] every day (five and a half hours) and one night train that continues on to Hamburg. An easy change in Malmö almost doubles that number (including one additional night train option). Passengers taking a day trip from Scania or are returning within 24 hours may consider purchasing a 24-hour ticket using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken mobile app] or ticket machines as it can cost as little as the price of two single tickets (e.g. SEK150 or approximately 194DKK between Copenhagen and Malmö) and includes unlimited use of public transport in the zones you purchased the ticket for. Foreigners should carry a valid passport or national identity card as identity documents are sometimes checked at the border. To continental '''Europe''', Intercity Express and Eurocity trains (and one Euronight train) connect [[Hamburg]] with Copenhagen, up to seven times per day. Standard prices are €130 from Berlin and €78 from Hamburg (€130 for a couchette space on the night train), but it's often possible to find discounted tickets — in Denmark, those are called ''Orange Europa'' or "sightseeing fares" which are the same price as a bus. If you're taking the day ICE/EC train during the summer, reservations are compulsory. [https://www.snalltaget.se '''Snälltåget'''] operate seasonal night trains between Sweden and Germany with a stop in suburban Copenhagen, the routes vary depending on the time of year. Only some of these trains use Copenhagen Central station, so you may need to search using "København Ørestad" or "København Syd" to find tickets. * {{go | name=Copenhagen Central Station | alt=Københavns Hovedbanegård | url= | email= | address=Bernstorffsgade 16–22 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1495052 | lastedit=2021-08-20 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:Cph oresund.jpg|thumb|The 8-km Øresund bridge leading to Malmö in Sweden]] Buses between Jutland and Copenhagen are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday to Thursday. International buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train, and destinations east of Berlin may also be faster by bus. The new Copenhagen Bus Terminal (''Københavns Busterminal'') next to Dybbølsbro Station in the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] district opened in June 2024. Many of the companies listed below are defunct, or have merged with Flixbus. From '''Jutland''' and '''Fyn''' the bus company ''EkspresRuten'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]], [[Vejle]] and [[Odense|Odense South]] several times per day. There is also a stop in [[Roskilde]]. * {{listing | name=Ekspres Ruten | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/busbestilling/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 40 75 11 71 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} From '''Jutland''' bus number ''888'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]] several times per day. Journey time is 5 hr 15 min from Aalborg. On Zealand there are additional stops in [[Holbæk]] and [[Roskilde]]. Line ''882'' runs between Copenhagen and Fjerritslev in Northwestern Jutland once every day. * {{listing | name=Abildskou | url=http://abildskou.dk | email= | address=M–F 08:00–17:00, Sa 08:00–14:00, Su 09:00–17:00 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 21 08 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} Links from '''Norway and Sweden''' are fairly frequent and very economical compared to the train. Most buses arrive and depart from DGI Byen, near the southern overpass of the central station. Passengers are generally encouraged to buy tickets on-line, but tickets can also be purchased at the ''Copenhagen Right Now'' tourist information desk near the central station. In the winter (Dec-Apr) ''[https://www.fjallexpressen.se Fjällexpressen]'' whisks skiers between Copenhagen and the Swedish ski resorts. When booking online, it's useful to know that Copenhagen is called ''Köpenhamn'' in Swedish. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=http://flixbus.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr); Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=GoByBus | alt= | url=http://gobybus.se | email=info@gobybus.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 23 54 20 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 07:30–18:00, Sa 07:30–17:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=~DKK225 | content=Oslo (8½ hr) via Gothenburg (4½ hr), line 300. }} * {{listing | name=Gråhundbus | alt= | url=http://www.graahundbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 4468 4400 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Local operator Greyhound Bus has several daily connections to Malmö and once daily to Malmö Airport. Also works with partners elsewhere to Europe. }} * {{listing | name=Nettbuss/Bus4you | url=https://www.nettbuss.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express | url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+46 771 218218 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gotenburg (5 hr) ~SEK300, line 820; Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) ~ SEK350, line 832. | content= }} From continental '''Europe''' there are several bus companies which offer numerous daily connections from Germany often at very competitive rates, most run via the ferries from Rødby to Puttgarden or Gedser to Rostock. Many of these services, especially if headed to points east such as Berlin, are considerably faster than the best train connections. Most of these buses stops near DGI byen on Ingerslevsgade. * {{listing | name=Autoprevoz | url=http://autoprevoz.ba | email=info@autoprevoz.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+387 51 317 333 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Banja Luka (25 hr, twice weekly) ~BAM300 (€150) }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express |alt=| url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 80 70 33 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Berlin (7 hr) via Rostock (4½ hr) ~SEK450, line 902 |wikipedia=|wikidata=|lastedit=2016-10-08| content=Tickets sold at the central tourist information desk. This company does allow for bicycles under certain conditions. Please check their website. }} * {{listing | name=Toptourist | url=http://www.toptourist.dk/ | email=info@toptourist.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 48 25 38 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Sarajevo via Salzburg (twice weekly) ~DKK1000 (€140) return | content=Tickets can be paid on the bus, but advance booking and payment is recommended. }} [[File:Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal on Østerbro.JPG|thumb|The Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal in the Østerbro district]] From [[Poland]], there is a host of different bus companies, each with a few weekly scheduled departures. Unfortunately the market is very fluid and routes and operators tend to change rapidly. ''[http://agat.eu/ Agat]'' provides four round trips per week between Copenhagen and [[Katowice]] (20 hr) in Southern Poland, and ''[http://eurobus.pl Eurobus]'' for connections with [[Warsaw]] (20 hr via [[Hamburg]]) once per week. If any of these companies have shut down, try searching for alternatives, as there is a good chance someone else will have taken over the traffic. ===By ferry or cruise ship=== The ferry terminal (Færgeterminal Søndre Frihavn) at Dampfærgevej 30 is close to Nordhavn station. From there the '''[https://www.gonordiccruiseline.com/ Go Nordic Cruiseline]''' departs for [[Oslo]], Norway. '''[https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en City bus line 27]''' commutes between the entrance of the ferry terminal and Østerport Station. There are two regular connections straight into Copenhagen's harbour. The most known is from [[Oslo]], Norway, with daily departures, and an over night trip that takes 16 hours. It is marketed as a cruise line, and occasionally a cruise round-trip fare can be less expensive than a one-way fare. The other ferry connection is the less known round-trip connection to [[Fredericia]], Denmark and [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania. Since the latter is a Ro-Ro freight line, you need to [http://www.dfds.com/freight-shipping/routes-and-schedules/klaipeda-copenhagen-fredericia contact DFDS for more information]. Copenhagen is also a very popular port of call for cruises touring both the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian fjords. The main cruise terminal is on Oceankaj in the North harbour. Bus 27 connects to Østerport station. ===By car=== Visiting Copenhagen by car means planning for where to park. Driving during working hours in the centre of Copenhagen is not advisable, except of course when going to and from your hotel or where you might spend the night. It is quite expensive to park in the medieval part of Copenhagen, 20 to 36 kr (approximately €2.65–4.80) an hour during working hours. If the car is just the means of sightseeing, the cheapest would be to park at one of the S-train or metro stations in the outskirts of Copenhagen Municipality and take the train or a bus to your destination. As of 1 October 2023 a low emission zone have been introduced in Copenhagen, see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. ====Parking==== There is paid parking on public roads for cars and motorcycles in large parts of '''Copenhagen Municipality'''. Paid parking areas are divided into four colour coded zones with different rate levels. There is free parking in all zones for vehicles with a valid and visible disability badge. Parking during weekends from Saturday at 17:00 until Monday at 08:00 is for free, as well as parking on public holidays. Copenhagen Municipality has issued a [https://international.kk.dk/sites/default/files/2021-07/p-miniguide-en_maj_2018.pdf mini parking guide]. Consult the [https://international.kk.dk/live/transport-and-parking/parking-in-copenhagen/public-parking-in-copenhagen map from Copenhagen Municipality] to find areas without paid or time-restricted parking (in white). The map also indicates S-train and metro stations but excludes Frederiksberg. Parking in Copenhagen is subject to stringent regulations aimed at curbing congestion and promoting sustainable transportation methods. The city actively encourages residents and visitors alike to opt for public transit, cycling, or walking whenever feasible. However, for those requiring parking facilities, a range of options exists, including metered street parking, multi-level parking structures, and designated zones.  '''Frederiksberg Municipality''' is encircled by Copenhagen Municipality, and driving around a street corner to find a parking spot could mean entering another municipality with different pricing. Frederiksberg has different rules for parking with a single two-hour parking zone in force on public streets from 07:00 to 24:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays. This means there is 2 hours free parking using a parking app in most places in Frederiksberg. See [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#By car|Frederiksberg#By car]] for details and always look for local restrictions. ===By yacht=== {{see also|Boating on the Baltic Sea}} If you are arriving under your own sail, Copenhagen is on Øresund. There are several marinas, the biggest of which is '''[http://smhavn.dk Svanemøllehavnen]'''. There are no designated visitor berths but it is almost always possible to find one with a green sign. Daily charge: DKK75–120. * {{buy | name=Hellers | alt= | url=https://hellers.dk | email= | address=Kastrup strandpark 9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=The biggest shop for boat equipment. }} ==Get around== Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two interchange hubs are Copenhagen Central Station (''Københavns Hovedbanegård'' in Danish) with intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/ Rejseplanen]. === Fares === A bewildering number of tickets and passes are available for travel on public transport in Copenhagen. The most practical, convenient and cost effective way to travel is by using the Rejsekort app or the Basiskort card. These can also be used throughout the rest of Denmark. The '''[https://www.rejsekort.dk/rejsekort_app Rejsekort]''' app enables you to ''digitally'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply swipe the green arrow left and right and the app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The app accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. You cannot do so whilst in transit. The [https://www.rejsekort.dk/Basiskort '''Basiskort'''] card enables you to ''physically'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply tap the card on the yellow validators and the card will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The card accommodates adult and child fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The card costs kr 80 and is non-refundable. It can be purchased and topped up at station kiosks and DSB 7-Eleven stores. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. This includes whilst in transit. The default setting is adult and local travel. The default setting can be changed to child, national travel, or both at station kiosks or DSB 7-Elevens. The [https://www.rejsebillet.dk/en-us '''Rejsebillet'''] app enables you to purchase the following tickets and passes: * '''Single tickets''' — gives you one ride on your chosen route within a fixed time period. * '''Zone tickets''' — gives you unlimited rides in your chosen zones for one hour. For example, the two-zone ticket costs kr 24 for adults (kr 12 for children under the age of sixteen) and allows you to travel around central Copenhagen. You can switch freely between trains, metro and buses, as long as your last trip starts before the time is up. * '''City Pass Small''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–4 (including Copenhagen Airport) for 24 hours (kr 100), 48 hours (kr 160), 72 hours (kr 220), 96 hours (kr 280) or 120 hours (kr 340). This pass is the most reasonable choice if you intend to stay in the city itself (and not the remote parts of Copenhagen region). [[Cycling in Copenhagen|Renting a bike]] is also a viable option instead of, or in addition to, obtaining this pass. Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Large''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–99 (including Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Hillerød, Helsingør, etc.) for 24 hours (kr 200), 48 hours (kr 320), 72 hours (kr 440), 96 hours (kr 560) or 120 hours (kr 680). Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. The '''[https://www.copenhagencard.com Copenhagen Card City Guide]''' app enables you to purchase the '''Copenhagen Card'''. This pass gives you unlimited rides throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The pass can be bought for 24 hours (kr 559), 48 hours (kr 819), 72 hours (kr 989), 96 hours (kr 1159) or 120 hours (kr 1339). Many museums are either free or closed on Sundays and Mondays, thus making the pass less valuable on those days. Furthermore, pass holders get discounts to several different tour companies providing experiences in the city. If you expect to visit more than 3 attractions a day, a multi-day pass will most likely be worth it, as most attractions have tickets starting at kr 100. Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. Paper tickets for the train and metro can be purchased at station kiosks and vending machines using a credit card, debit card or cash. Paper tickets for the bus can be purchased onboard using exact cash only. The city is divided into fare zones so choose your paper ticket carefully. The range of a single zone can be roughly translated to around seven minutes on the train or metro, or fifteen minutes on a bus, but always check the zone maps to be sure. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is up to kr 750 and ticket conductors are commonplace. Passengers whose journeys involve Malmö in Sweden should consider using the Skånetrafiken app. The app accepts credit and debit cards (VISA and Mastercard). Select a point in Copenhagen as one of the stops. Single tickets crossing the Oresund bridge start at SEK150 (approximately kr 100) and get more expensive if you select points further away from the city centres of Copenhagen and Malmö so therefore select the farthest points in both cities that you are expected to visit within the day. There is a 20% discount if two adults are travelling together. Single tickets are permitted unlimited travel within the zone you purchased a fare for, except the Oresund bridge crossing itself, where you may cross the bridge only once. Single tickets expire at 0400h the following day. The 24-hour ticket option (from SEK300 or kr 200) on the other hand permits an unlimited number of crossings on the Oresund bridge within 24 hours, thus allowing passengers who plan to stay in the cheaper accommodations Malmö has to offer to return there after a day trip to Copenhagen. You can use the ticket on all public transport in Copenhagen. Note the Skånetrafiken's Reskort card will ''not'' work on Basiskort validators. If you are traveling into Copenhagen with a Reskort card you must instead print a paper "inspection ticket" (inspektionskvitto) at a Skånetrafiken ticket machine beforehand as proof that there is a valid cross-border ticket stored on the Reskort card. Otherwise you will be fined as if you were without a valid ticket. There are Skånetrafiken ticket machines at Copenhagen Airport and Central Station if you have lost your inspection ticket or forgotten to print one beforehand. === By train === The [http://dsb.dk/s-tog S-train (S-tog in Danish)] is the backbone of the city's public transit system, and is very similar to the German S-Bahn and Parisian RER networks. The distinct red trains are clean, modern, and equipped with free WiFi. The system runs from early morning to late night, each line in ten minute intervals during the day (M-F 06:00–18:00) and at twenty minute intervals in the early morning and late at night. On the weekends, the trains run twice an hour at night and some of the lines are extended. Since most lines join on a single railway line through the city centre, there are only a couple of minutes of waiting between each train in the inner districts. The F and C-lines are exceptions, the F line does a half loop outside the central area, with trains every five minutes throughout most of the day. The C-line is extended to [[Frederikssund]] during day time, but scaled back to Ballerup at other times. Announcements are in Danish only; remember to ask your fellow travellers for help though they are mostly cursory. Bikes can be taken for free; special bicycle compartments exist in the carriages. === By metro=== [[File:Metro Airport Copenhagen Denmark 01.jpg|thumb|right|The ends of automated Metro trains provide a full view — even if not all sections of the tracks are interesting, like this one on the way to the airport.]] Copenhagen has a modern, clean and punctual metro system. It's made up of 4 lines: * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m1}}: Vanløse – Vestamager * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m2}}: Vanløse – Copenhagen Airport * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m3}}: City Circle Line * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m4}}: Copenhagen South – Orientkaj Line M1 and M2 run along the same line between Vanløse and Christianshavn. All lines intersect at Kongens Nytorv and a transfer between the M3 and M1 or M2 is also possible at Frederiksberg. [[File:Copenhagen Metro 2020.svg|thumb|Copenhagen Metro Line Map with the 4 lines that are in operation]] The metro operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Frequencies decrease at night, during the day most lines run every 4 minutes. Maintenance work is usually carried out at night, which sometimes results in a changed timetable or replacement buses at night. The Copenhagen Metro is driverless, and doors close at a given time, even if all waiting passengers haven't entered the train. Wait for the next train instead of trying to squeeze through in the last second (that's both dangerous and illegal). The trains run with short intervals (down 2 minutes during peak hours). Because the metro is driverless, the trains have been designed with big windows at each end, and the trains are accordingly fitted with rows of seats facing them. This can be an extra treat to the visitors (and especially children) on the metro. The parts of the system that operate above ground are: Vanløse – Lindevang, DR Byen – Vestamager and Lergravsparken – Copenhagen Airport. The most interesting views are between Islands Brygge and Vestamager. Line M3 runs entirely underground and covers the Central Station. As Line M3 is a circular line, there are no terminating stations and trains run either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The direction the train is travelling in is identified by the next major station in that direction such as 'via Frederiksberg' or 'via Kongens Nytorv' at the central station. It is therefore especially important to check the system map and electronic station boards to ensure you are getting on the train that gets to your intended destination station more quickly. Line M4 share the line with M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport via Kongens Nytorv, before branching out to terminate at Orientkaj. An extension to Copenhagen South opened in 2024.[[File:Copenhagen A-bus 2020 11.png|thumb|right|Schematic map of A-bus lines spanning Copenhagen as of November 2020]] === By bus === Copenhagen has a fairly extensive and efficient [http://www.moviatrafik.dk/dinrejse/kort/trafikkort/Documents/Hovedstadsomraadet/BusserKobenhavnCity.pdf bus network]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. It can be troublesome for visitors to figure out what line to take to their destination as there is little in the way of network maps available at bus stops and schedules rarely include the entire route. That said, many stops do have a small electronic display showing how many minutes are left until the next bus arrives. The front doors are for boarding only — alight using other doors. There are several types of bus available: * '''Regular buses''' are denoted by their number, * '''A buses''' are the backbone of the city's bus network which consists of seven different lines with frequent departures and stops. During the day time there are no schedules as buses usually depart at least every ten minutes. They are also operating at night. * '''5C''' is a special bus line with articulated buses that operates even more frequently than the A buses. It serves the northwestern suburbs and link important locations such as Nørrebro st, Nørreport st, the city hall, Copenhagen Central Station, Amagerbro St., the Blue Planet aquarium and Copenhagen airport. * '''S buses''' are long express services with few stops and extend far into the suburbs, usually across the radial suburban train network or along corridors with no rail service. They can also be useful between points in the centre as they are faster than other lines. * '''E buses''' are express rush-hour services of little use to travellers as they mainly service commuters. * '''N buses''' are a network of ten bus lines operating at night between 01:00–05:00 daily, when normal traffic is halted, and they are much more frequent at weekends. '''[http://sightseeing.dk CitySightseeing]''' runs three hop-on hop-off tours around the city in open-top double-decker buses. The main line leaves every 30 minutes, while the two other lines depart every hour in high season (Jun-Aug). Outside the peak season, services are halved. The price is kr 150 for a one-day ticket or kr 220 for a two-day ticket which also includes the DFDS canal tour boats. === By boat === [[File:Nyhavn, canal tour boats.jpg|thumb|right|The canal tour boats, here seen docking in Nyhavn, are an excellent way to see many of the city's attractions]] Going on a canal tour of the inner harbour and canals is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. *{{listing | name=Canal Tours | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.dk/en/copenhagen/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/ | email=info@stromma.dk | address=Nyhavn 3 | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 96 30 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:30–20:00 | price=Waterbus (unguided): Single kr 40, All day kr 60; Tour (guided): Single kr 60, All day kr 75. Various discounts available | content=Operates both an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have three guided tours, either by a pre-recorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide. Be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. If you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass-roofed boat at this time of the year. An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which for kr 220 gives unlimited transportation for two days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double-decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing. }} *{{listing | name=Netto-bådene | alt= | url=https://www.havnerundfart.dk/canaltours/index.php?page=forside.php | email= | address=Heibergsgade (Nyhavn) | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 54 41 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00–17:00 (19:00 in July & August) | price=kr 50 (July 2019) | content=Offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March. }} A different option is the public harbour bus, which, while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system using the same tickets as buses and trains. *{{listing | name=Movia | url=http://moviatrafik.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK | email= | address=Customer centre at Rådhuspladen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 36 13 14 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:00–19:00 | price=Uses public ticketing system | content= }} === By taxi === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | Taxis are abundant throughout the city and of a very high standard — usually a Mercedes or BMW. They are pricey though, and the wait to get one can be long on a Friday or Saturday night. You can hail a taxi on the street or call for one to come pick you up at a specific address at a specific time for a small extra fee (kr 12-15). At crucial traffic junctures throughout the city, there are special areas where taxis hold in line to pick up customers. Except for a very long trip, it is not common (or recommended) to haggle about the price. All taxis accept major international credit cards and most will accept euro cash payment and some even list prices in euros on the meter. Sometimes taxi drivers request you to withdraw money in an ATM when paying with card, this is mostly a scam to do the trip off-licence. | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | '''Copenhagen Taxi companies''' * {{listing | name=Amager-Øbro Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 32 51 51 51 }} * {{listing | name=Codan Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 25 25 25 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa 4x35 | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 35 35 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=TaxaMotor A/S | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 338 338 }} * {{listing | name=Ballerup-Værløse-Herlev Taxa | alt=Northwestern suburbs | phone=+45 44 85 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa Selandia | alt=Southern suburbs | phone=+45 70 10 66 66 }} * {{listing | name=Taxinord | alt=Northern Suburbs | phone=+45 45 83 83 83 }} * {{listing | name=Vest-Taxa | alt=Western Suburbs | phone=+45 43 45 45 45 }} |} Prices range kr 11-16 per kilometre depending on the time of day and the meter flag-fall charge is kr 25. Generally you can trust taxis with prices and the route taken. Because of the high flag-fall charge, it can be better financially for taxi drivers to have many trips rather than long trips, so it is therefore often in their own interest to take the shortest route. * {{listing | name=TAXA 4x35 | alt= | url=https://taxa.dk/en/service-area/taxi-copenhagen-cab/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Fixed price. }} * {{listing | name=MOOVE | alt= | url=http://www.moove.taxi/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Taxi at a fixed price }} * {{listing | name=Viggo | alt= | url=https://www.viggo.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=Electric taxi at a fixed price }} * [https://dantaxi.dk/english/ '''Dantaxi'''] As of 2023, ride-share services like Uber are '''not legal''' in Copenhagen. Most larger taxi companies have apps that can be used to request cabs Uber-style. === By bicycle === {{main|Cycling in Copenhagen}} [[File:Streets of Copenhagen. Denmark, Northern Europe-2.jpg|thumb|Copenhagen cycling]] The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen and getting around is on a bike (with rentals available from most shops for a price ranging from kr 75 to kr 125 a day). Over sixty percent of Copenhageners use their bike for daily commutes and the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes on most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one-way streets. Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city as this is a common means of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Do not expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone — otherwise you could cause some nasty accidents. When you reach your destination, try to leave the bicycle in a bike rack, or otherwise clear of the sidewalk. === By scooter === Several companies rent out e-scooters using apps. Due to persistent problems with inconsiderate parking, it's forbidden to end a scooter rental within the city centre and neighbouring districts, so they are useless for most tourists — rent a bike instead. There is no restriction on parking a private scooter. Scooter users should follow the same rules and advice as for bicycles. ==See== {{SeeDistricts}} Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this ''usually'' means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour. === History === A visit to the '''Nationalmuseet''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the '''Museum of Copenhagen''' in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is '''Frilandsmuseet''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of '''Dragør''' on the southern tip of [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small '''Mølleå river''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills. ===Art=== [[File:Glyptotek.JPG|thumb|250px|The winter Garden at Glyptotek]] [[File:National_Gallery_of_Denmark_The_Lobby.jpg|alt=|thumb|444x444px|National Gallery of Denmark, The Lobby]] If you are into the arts, Copenhagen has a lot to offer. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst, entry between 95 and 120 kr) where you can feast your eyes on blockbusters from the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. There are also a number of paintings by Danish artists from the "Golden Age". Across the Royal Gardens lies Scandinavia's biggest collection of Islamic art, the '''David Collection''' (Davids Samling) which has free entrance. It also has a smaller collection of Danish paintings including some by Hammershøi and Willumsen. It's a ten-minute walk through the Royal Gardens but you might have to know the address beforehand, since the museum is a bit of a hidden treasure. For a hard-to-beat appreciation of Classical (Greece, Rome) and Near Eastern art (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran), visit the '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', which also has an extensive section devoted to 19th-century French and Danish art, with works by masters like Picasso, Leger, and Matisse. The Winter Garden inside the Glyptotek is a beautiful (and very warm!) place to rest your legs on a rainy day. These museums are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|centre, or Indre By]] area. If you are hungry for more classic art exhibitions, an excursion [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]] to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''' offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings but if you are ready for a change, head [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|south]] to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of contemporary art, mostly Scandinavian, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. However, arguably the best and most visited museum in Denmark is the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', in northern Zealand with a panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum frames the sculpture park facing the sea and the interaction between art, nature and the museum architecture is quite unique. Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art, and hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colour on an art tour, '''The Hirschsprung Collection''' in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] features the top-of-the-pops of Danish artists, with a particular focus on the Skagen painters. For something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much-loved local personality Storm P at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]]. ===Science and Natural History=== [[File:Cph zoo.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic tower of the Copenhagen zoo]] If you want your vacation to be educational, or if you want to sneak some knowledge into the kids during the vacation, there are several options to consider. The best choice for kids is perhaps the hugely entertaining, and well renowned hands-on science museum, the '''Experimentarium''' [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]]. Another popular and well-renowned institution, is the '''Copenhagen Zoo''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]], counting among both the best and oldest zoos in Europe. If you are more into stationary animals, the '''Zoology Museum''' on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] offers a different perspective on the subject. Elsewhere on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]], a little known attraction is a display of famous physicist '''Niels Bohr's Study Room''', along with a setup of his experiments ''(but as this is not a museum, you should have more than passing interest in the subject to bother with them, the tour is one hour long and usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays)''. [[Copenhagen/Indre By|City Centre]], the University of Copenhagen runs two adjacent science museums. The '''Geological Museum''' where dinosaur fossils, moon rock, and glow in the dark minerals should spark some interest in the subject for even the most school-weary kid. The '''Botanical Gardens''' on the opposite side of the street is an excellent place for a stroll in the beautiful park, even if you are not botanically inclined, and the classical palm house is a nice place to relax if it is cold outside. In poor weather, the '''Tycho Brahe Planetarium''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is another option and is part planetarium with an interesting astronomy exhibition and part omnimax theatre where they usually screen science films. === Architecture === [[File:The_Round_Tower_Spiral_Walk.jpg|alt=|thumb|250x250px|The Round Tower spiral walk]] An excellent start to any visit to Copenhagen is to climb the unique 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the observation platform of '''Rundetårn''' (the Round Tower), one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings. The top of the Round Tower offers excellent views and is smack in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|middle of the city]]. If that is not high enough for you head to [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] for a climb up the circular stairs on the outside of the church spire of the '''Church of Our Saviour'''. It is regarded as something of a test of manhood to climb up and touch the globe on the summit, nearly 100 m up in the air. And now that you're in the area, head over to the opposite side of the street to '''Christiania''', a self-governing community that has been squatting on an old naval area since the 1970s. Their inventive, brightly coloured, home built houses are spectacular, as is the relaxed atmosphere — this is truly one of Copenhagen's most unique and best attractions. Due south of Christiania the old, crooked, brightly coloured buildings and soothing canals lined with masted ships make this an excellent place to continue a stroll. Other fine examples of classical architecture include the impressive '''City Hall''' and the massive dome of the '''Frederikskirken''' colloquially known as the '''Marble Church'''. This dome, with a span of 31 meters, is one of the largest in northern Europe. Both are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. For real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and its native masters. '''Jørn Utzon''' (of Sydney Opera House fame) and Son is behind a trio of buildings on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro's]] northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex. There is a fine, but expensive restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy '''Arne Jacobsen's''' work by either sleeping at, or taking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar at the '''Royal Hotel''' which is one of the very few tall buildings in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. Alternatively, head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring his famous furniture and his name. Lastly '''Henning Larsen''', famous for his iconic buildings in [[Riyadh]], is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house overlooking the harbour in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]]. From here you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, the '''Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, after its shiny polished black granite walls. === Royal Copenhagen === [[File:Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg. Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg]] The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', make up the main residence of the Danish royal family. The octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at noon and is a highlight for any royalist visiting the city. There is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small but pretty renaissance palace, surrounded by the lovely '''King's Garden''' which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history and as a home for the crown jewels which are on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. A closed-off wing of Rosenborg serves as barracks for the Royal Guard, and every day a detachment marches through the Copenhagen city centre between Rosenborg and Amalienborg for the changing of the guard. Unusual for a well-founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It is usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try to arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. If you are hungry for more, head [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north]], where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park which formerly served as the king's hunting castle. === Design === Denmark is world-famous for its design tradition and, while the term '''Danish design''' has been devalued over the years due to much misuse, it is still a world-recognized style. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish Design Center''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]], with temporary and permanent exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops relating to the world of Danish design, in a building designed by famous architect '''Henning Larsen'''. Not too far away, '''Kunstindustrimuseet''' is home of a nice collection relating to the study of design and its history in Denmark. Also in the same district, '''Royal Copenhagen''' runs a museum display at its flagship store of its famous porcelain from its beginnings. Meanwhile, '''Cisterne''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] is an enticing museum showing modern glass art, in the intriguing catacomb like cisterns under a large park. '''Meldahls Smedie''' on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] is run by the Royal Danish school of architecture, which organizes exhibitions including final projects from students of the school here. ==Do== === Beach life === In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: '''Copencabana''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] or '''Havnebadet''' at Island Brygge on [[Amager]]. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best. If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at '''Svanemøllen Strand''', '''Charlottenlund Fort''' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and '''Amager Strandpark''' (The Lagoon), on [[Amager]] near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for '''[http://dgi-byen.com DGI Byen]''' which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|central railway station]] or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]]). === Amusement parks === [[File:Cph tivoli.jpg|top|thumb|250px|The Tivoli amusement park's main entrance at nighttime]] Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. '''Bakken''' or ''Dyrehavsbakken'' is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near [[Klampenborg]] north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — '''Tivoli''' — which is in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|city centre]] in a beautiful park surrounding a lake. === Sports === * '''Football:''' [https://www.fck.dk/ FC Copenhagen] play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF. * '''Cycling:''' and see [[Cycling in Denmark]]. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France. * '''Lifting weights:''' a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Crafts Fair | alt= | url=http://www.craftsfair.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held every year in August — Thursday-Saturday — outdoors at Frue Plads in central Copenhagen. The Crafts Fair has more than 130 exhibitors, all members of the Danish Arts and Crafts Association, exhibiting unique and small series of handmade Arts and Crafts in all categories: ceramic, glass, jewelery, textile, mixed media. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Fashion Week | alt=8-12 August 2017 | url=http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in February and August''. Copenhagen is fast emerging as a global fashion centre, with a host of both up-and-coming and already well established names. For two weeks each year more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 guests come together and celebrate their accomplishments with lavish parties, catwalks at city landmarks, and three trade fairs. }} * {{do | name=CPH PIX | alt=Copenhagen International Film Festival | url=http://www.cphpix.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(''28 September – 11 October 2017'') Denmark's largest film festival, first held in 2009 as the result of a merger between Copenhagen's two popular long running festivals — the ''Night Film Festival'' and the ''Copenhagen International Film Festival''. It will feature more than 150 screenings, with a prize of €10,000 awarded to the most promising new filmmaker. }} * {{do | name=International Workers Day | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''1 May''. A major event in Copenhagen. The main festivities are held in Fælledparken on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] and they attract over 100,000 visitors in what has lately become a 50/50 mix of a gigantic party and a political rally with speeches, happenings, and concerts. Two travelling amusement parks also set up their gear for the day, one by the main entrance at '''Trianglen''' and one in the eastern part of the park. }} * {{do | name=CPH Distortion | alt= | url=http://cphdistortion.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in the first week of June''. The longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday. }} * {{do | name=Zulu Sommerbio | alt= | url=http://zulu.tv2.dk/sommerbio | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in July and August''. Danish television station 'TV2 Zulu' plays open air films in various parks and squares of Copenhagen. There are movies in Danish and English and they are free to watch. You can buy beer and popcorn. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Jazzfestival | alt= | url=http://jazzfestival.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early July''. Features ten days of jazz everywhere in Copenhagen — parks, cafes, clubs, and theatres. Usually a few headline acts are on the program but there are more than 800 concerts to choose from and the real attraction is often the obscure concerts you bump into randomly in a park or square somewhere in the city. }} * {{do | name=Grøn Koncert | alt= | url=http://groenkoncert.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in late July''. A one day music festival in Valby Parken near Åparken station. It is a major event in Copenhagen with over 40,000 attending. There is usually an international headline act, along with several major Danish bands and the atmosphere is quite unique with people having picnics and beers on a huge field of grass in the park. Tickets are sold through Billetnet, both online and at post offices. }} * {{do | name=Stella Polaris | alt= | url=http://www.stella-polaris.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held the first weekend in August''. A big, free, chill-out event in one of the city parks. Top international DJs spin chill-out tunes on the decks, while people are relaxing in the sun and drinking beer. And the afterparty in one of the major clubs usually attracts some international headline acts. }} * {{do | name=RAW | alt= | url=http://rawcph.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early August''. Scandinavia's largest clubbing event. The organisers rightly pride themselves in carefully selecting high quality acts and more importantly the broad range of genres represented to make this an event with broad appeal to everyone in the Copenhagen nightlife scene. }} * {{do | name=Strøm | alt= | url=http://stromcph.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in August''. An annual electronic music festival. It is a gathering of the best promoters and vibrant venues Copenhagen has to offer, mixed up with events at squares, concert halls, or unusual locations throughout the city. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Pride | alt=12-20 August 2023 | url=http://copenhagenpride.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A lavish LGBT parade. The week leading up to the parade is usually full of community events and parties. Count on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladen) changing its name to Pride Square during the week and hosting live acts, concerts and debates. }} * {{do | name=Night of Culture (Kulturnatten) | alt= | url=http://kulturnatten.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in mid-October, on the last Friday before the school holiday in week 42''. You buy a badge for kr 70 and get access to major museums, exhibitions, churches, libraries, schools, organizations, the parliament and other cultural attractions including some places that are not open to the public during the rest of the year. Open from 18:00 to midnight. Attracts about 100,000 people. }} * {{do | name=MIX Copenhagen — LGBT Film Festival | alt=TBA October 2011 | url=http://cglff.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in Week 43''. Ten days of gay and queer cinema at its very best with more than 130 screenings of the world's best feature films, short films, and documentaries with gay or queer relevance, culminating in a champagne party on the final day, when the best film of the year receives its award. }} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=University of Copenhagen | alt= | url=http://www.ku.dk/english/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest university in Denmark. The university has a large selection of studies which are placed in eight different faculties. The faculties are found around the city and the main building is in central Copenhagen. }} *'''Technical University of Denmark''' This university teaches technical sciences and is in the suburb Lyngby north of Copenhagen. *'''IT University of Copenhagen''' This university teaches information technology studies and is on Amager. *'''Copenhagen Business School''' This university teaches business studies and is in Frederiksberg. ==Buy== [[File:Stroget.pg.jpg|thumb|250px|The 1.1 kilometre Strøget, along with its pedestrianised side streets, is one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe and Copenhagen's premier shopping area]] '''Strøget''' is one of the largest pedestrian malls in the world which links City Hall, Kongens Nytorv, and Nørreport station. Impeccably dressed Copenhageners breeze through high-end fashion and design stores when not zig-zagging through the hordes of tourists during the summer and Christmas seasons. Your fellow visitors can make it all feel rather touristy at times but if nothing else, it is great for people watching. If all this strange outdoor shopping takes you too far from your usual habitat, head for '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv) or '''Illums''' (on Amagertorv) for more familiar surroundings. There is even a real American style mall complete with a gargantuan parking lot out on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]]. Appropriately, it is called '''Fields'''. If you would rather sample smaller and more personal stores, the quarter of narrow streets surrounding ''Strøget'' in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|old city]] (colloquially known as ''Pisserenden'' and ''The Latin Quarter''), has a fantastic, eclectic mix of shopping. This ranges from quirky century-old businesses to the ultra hip in a wide range of fields. It is also much less crowded than Strøget, though unfortunately no less expensive. You can also try Vesterbrogade and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro#Istedgade|Istedgade]] on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]], due west of the central station, although you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/Thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory. Right at the border of this area, [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#Værnedamsvej|Værnedamsvej]] and Tullinsgade are also good bets. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Ravnsborggade|Ravnsborggade]] is well known for its huge number of antique stores that are excellent for bargain hunting and the next street to north, while more modest [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Elmegade|Elmegade]] has some small independent fashion boutiques. ===Flea markets=== Nørrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 m on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetery on Nørrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain or downright rubbish. Open from 4 April until 31 October on Saturdays 06:00 — 15:00. The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is on Israels Plads, close to the Nørreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers sell all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice gramophones and objets d'art. Open from 18 April until 10 October on Saturdays 08:00 — 14:00. ==Eat== {{SeeDistricts}} === On a budget === [[File:Smorrebrod.jpg|thumb|250px|For a hearty and traditional Danish lunch, try out the delicious ''Smørrebrød'' open-faced sandwiches]] If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many '''shawarma and pizza joints''' that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] and Nørrebrogade on [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]]. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try '''Ahaaa''' on Blågårds Plads, or '''Boys Shawarma & Is''' for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to '''Shawarma Grill House''' Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style '''all-you-can eat buffet''' restaurants dotted around the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. '''Nyhavns Faergekro''' at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's '''bakeries''' (''Bager'' — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (~kr 35) such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called ''smørrebrød''. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or with a fork and knife and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (expect to pay kr 8-10 for Danish pastry, here known as ''wienerbrød'') and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating. [[File:Copenhagen polsevogn.jpg|thumb|250px|Pølsevogn]] For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a '''pølsevogn''' (see image on the right), literally "sausage wagon", where you can get your hands on several different forms of tasty hot dogs with a free selection of various toppings for next-to-nothing by local standards. It is also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guests. To blend in, remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night, when the wagons are put into storage, 7-Eleven stores (which are open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog craving. They offer other eat-and-walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls. Also, remember to look out for the term '''''dagens ret''''' on signs and menus — this means "meal of the day" and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price. And finally, if your budget gets really small, buy some of your food in the supermarket. But watch out, prices can vary a lot depending on which supermarket you are going to. "Netto" (e.g. close to Nørrebro metro station) is the one you should look for. Irma, with a lot of fresh and delicious food, is (even for danes) a little expensive. === Michelin dining === Copenhagen has 16 Michelin starred restaurants, which is a huge number for a city of its size. This includes both Italian, French, Thai and of course the new Nordic cuisine. The new Nordic cuisine is headed by world renowned '''noma''', that has two Michelin stars and have been number one in San Pellegrinos "The World's 50 best restaurants in 2013" in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But tables can be extremely difficult to get. But if you still want to try the new Nordic cuisine '''Relæ''' and '''Kadeau''' are great options, both with one Michelin star. All three of them use traditionally Nordic ingredients and give new takes of classic Nordic dishes. '''Marv&Ben''' can be recommended for cheaper non-Michelin starred experience in the Nordic cuisine. '''Manfred og Vin''' is another possibility, Relæ's little sister, opposite Relæ offer a relaxed atmosphere but still playful and delicious organic food, wine and beer with strong Nordic roots. It is also fine just to go for a glass. '''Geranium''' and '''noma''' are the big international stars in Danish cuisine. Geranium's head chef, Rasmus Koefod, won the Bocuse d'Or (World Championship for chefs) in 2011, and Geranium has three Michelin stars. The restaurant is on 8th floor of the national soccer stadium in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro#Eat|Østerbro]]. But don't get frightened by that; there is a beautiful view over the nearby park and most of Copenhagen. The focus is more classic French than Noma, but there are still strong new Nordic vibes. The new Nordic movement have been so strong that it is almost impossible to find a Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen without at least some strong Nordic directions. One of the only exceptions is '''Era Ora''', a classic Italian one Michelin starred restaurant famous for a fantastic (though expensive) wine menu and delicious Italian treats. If the wallet is not that heavy, '''Formel B''' is a good choice. Unlike most other top restaurants there is there no expensive tasting menu or the traditional starter, main and dessert. Here all of the 20 dishes cost the same and you can choose one, two or all twenty. The only Thai restaurant in the guide is in Copenhagen and is owned by a Dane. The restaurant '''Kiin Kiin''' is in the hip and a bit trashy neighborhood [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Eat|Nørrebro]]. An affiliate was opened in Bangkok a few years ago. '''Aroii''' is one of Kiin Kiin's sister restaurants in Copenhagen, it is in the same building and offers very delicious Thai food, for much cheaper prices. Also possible for take away. Other Michelin starred restaurants include: '''Kong Hans Kælder''', which opened in 1976 and has had only have three head chefs in that time. Since then Kong Hans Kælder has been a front runner for top gourmet in Copenhagen. The focus is changing from the classic French cuisine to a new healthy paleo-inspired cuisine, probably the only Michelin starred restaurant in the world to go in that direction. Other one Michelin stars: '''Kokkeriet''', '''Restaurant AOC''', '''I Søllerød Kro''', '''Grønbech&Churchill''' and '''Den Røde Cottage''' Other top picks include: '''1. Th'''. The restaurant is decorated as a normal living room, giving the experience as being to dinner at a friends house. You pay a fixed amount before, and everyone is included. So you don't get a check afterward. A fantastic place. '''Mielcke & Hurtigkarl''' (which has been "cheated" out of a Michelin star for many years, at least according to Danish food critics) '''Marchal''' at luxury hotel D'Angleterre. A newly opened restaurant by rising star head chef Ronny Emborg. '''Alberto K''', a rising star in the Copenhagen culinary environment. '''Restaurationen''', a former Michelin star. But the owner lowered the tempo and still serves delicious food and gives top service. '''Bror''', '''Rebel''', '''Pony''', '''Pluto''', '''Clou''' and ''' Congo''' are all newly opened but show huge potential. === Brunch === Brunch is a Copenhagen institution, especially during the summer, and it is not unusual to hear a serious invitation for a morning brunch together with the ritual goodbye hug when a long night out in town draws to a close. In this way, brunch is intrinsically linked to the second local obsession of drinking. Food and fresh air is a great cure for hangovers as Copenhageners have long since discovered. Most cafés offer brunch, at least on weekends, for upwards of kr 80, often with a theme: American and French are especially widespread. One of the most popular options is '''[http://www.os-american.dk/ O's American]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' in central Copenhagen. Another popular brunch joint in the downtown hotel district, is [https://midwestern.dk/menu/ '''The Midwestern Diner'''], an American diner that is run and owned by Danish-Americans. ==Drink== [[File:Cph nyhavn.jpg|thumb|250px|Nyhavn is a popular place to go for a drink in the summer]] A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life. As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for '''[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Nyhavn]]''' but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the ''Strøget'' pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after ''the lakes'', is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. {{infobox|Drinking dictionary |* '''Cafés''' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine but they usually close around midnight and music is subdued to allow for conversations. They also serve food. * '''Bodegas''' are your average local watering holes, somewhat equivalent to a pub, with prices often much lower than bars and cafés. The clientèle is often a bit shady and you may have people staring at unfamiliar customers but behave nicely and they usually warm up to you. Try to have someone teach you the local ''træmand'', ''meyer'', or ''snyd'' dice games for a fun night. * '''Pubs''' are just that, pubs, the familiar English, Irish, and Scottish-themed exports that often do not have much in common with the actual pubs in those countries other than exported beer and interiors. * '''Bars''' are what locals tend to call everything with loud music that do not have a cover charge. Packed at weekends but more quiet at other times. * '''Clubs''', or discotheques as they are often still referred to here, are bars that have a cover charge and have a dance floor. Often only open Th-Sa. * '''Morgenværtshus'''. If you can get away with pronouncing this when you need it, you will be asking directions to a shady establishment full of people hell bent on not ending the night just yet. They usually open around 17:00 and "classics" include the 24-hour '''Hong Kong''' in Nyhavn, '''Café Guldregn''' on Vesterbro and '''Andy's''' in the city centre.}} === Clubbing === ''You can check for club listings in the various [[#Districts|districts]]'' The club scene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Th-Sa. Most locals have a party at home with friends or frequent their favourite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight and close around 05:00. Most clubs have a kr 40-80 cover charge and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Also expect an additional kr 10-20 for cloakrooms. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back kr 40-50 — a bit more than bars usually charge. ====Gay and lesbian==== For its size, Copenhagen has a rather large gay scene with a good handful of bars and dance clubs in the centre of the city within walking distance of each other. One of the better ones is ''Club Christopher'' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]]. Vela, the only bar/lounge in town that is targeted at lesbians is on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. ===Live venues=== Most of the music venues in Copenhagen also double as nightclubs so watch for them under the club sections in the different districts. Tickets for almost every event in Denmark and Copenhagen are sold through [http://billetnet.dk/ Billetnet]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} which has online sales and a counter available in all post offices. But apart from headline events, tickets are usually also sold at the entrance. Expect to pay 100 kr or more. The major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Østerbro for the biggest stars. [[Copenhagen/Indre By]], '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is a major venue with concerts of almost every genre by national and international acts. [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] has two venues: '''Rust's''' stage mainly hosts mainstream rhythmic music and '''Global''', as its name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]], it is no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera and not to be missed, the different venues of '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]]''' are a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture. Christiania's most famous venue is '''Loppen''' which has hosted many (mostly rock) acts that later grew in popularity to play bigger venues like Vega for far larger prices. ==Sleep== {{SeeDistricts}} Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as '''Scandic''', '''Radisson BLU''', '''First Hotels''' and '''Nordic Choice Hotels''' are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region. The hospitality industry is on the one hand squeezed by the high labour costs, being one of the most labour-intensive business, and on the other spoiled by relatively low competition (there are not many hotels in Copenhagen compared to other cities of a similar size). There generally is a dearth of mid-range hotels, as hotels either position themselves as low-priced (by Copenhagen standards) and limit service and facilities to the minimum, or as luxurious, and charge you every bit they need to recover the increased costs of running a fully-staffed hotel in Denmark. As competition is low and labour costs consume most of the hotels' revenues, even many high-end properties show signs of age and may not be up to the standards found in other European countries. For more accommodation options, you may head across the Øresund bridge to [[Malmö]] and other localities in [[Scania]]. You will find a wider variety of options there, often at lower prices and comparable quality to counterparts in the capital, but will need to factor in the costs (though in most cases the cost of a return fare can still be much lower than the rate differences between comparable hotels across both sides) and travel time across the border (see ''Get In'' section). === Unique accommodation === If you are looking for something unique, Copenhagen has a few surprisingly little known options. Fancy sleeping in an old fort? Then look no further than '''[[Copenhagen/Amager#Flakfortet|Flakfortet]]''' on its very own island out in the sound. Stylish rooms, classic and rather tastefully integrated into the environs of the old fort. Staying here does though exclude spending your evenings in the city, as the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon. You can also opt for the '''Dragør Fort''' on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] although they haven't pulled it off quite so nicely. In the same area, consider the old and historic beach front '''Dragør Badehotel''' in a classic building with great views over Øresund and a nearby beach, but also a fair deal of transportation time to the sights in the city centre. (Although it is close to the airport.) In the same genre, and with the same drawbacks, is '''Skovshoved Hotel''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]]. This is a historic beach hotel with nice views and a fantastic restaurant. You can get even closer to the water on the floating houseboat hotel '''CPH Living''' moored in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] . If you're a rad hipster and would rather sample some of the design for which the city is rightly famous, consider '''Hotel Fox''' where young Danish and international artists have individually decorated and furnished the rooms. Other hip options are '''STAY Copenhagen''' on the waterfront of Islands Brygge or '''Hotel Twentyseven''' near the arty cocktail lounges of the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. Or you could always max out your credit card and splurge at the timeless five star classics of '''D'Angleterre''' or '''Skt Petri Hotel'''. === On a budget === Copenhagen is an expensive city but it ''is'' possible for budget travellers to find reasonably priced accommodations. For those on an ultra low budget there are two free, but completely basic, '''camping''' grounds along the Mølleå river where you can camp for one or two nights. While camping elsewhere is no big sin, it is not legal either. There are plenty of commercial camping grounds available but if you are not used to Scandinavian price ranges, even these could seem expensive (DKK 50-200). The closest camping sites are at ''Charlottenlund Fort'' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and there is also a summer-only camping ground in the outer part of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] within the city proper. If you prefer modern comforts consider one of the [[hospitality exchange]] networks. Couchsurfing.com for instance, is quite popular with the Copenhagers, who provide 6,000 available hosted stays in the city, giving you the added bonus of having a local to point you to the great spots. There are a few '''hostels''' available and the cheapest are two summer-only (July-Aug) hostels in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]: '''YMCA Interpoint''' and '''Sleep in fact'''. Here you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as kr 100. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] the two sleep-in hostels are slightly more expensive but still a bargain compared to the general price range. A good option in this central (also named "the coolest in the world") neighbourhood is [https://urbancamper.dk/ Urban Campers Hostel]. The national hostel system [http://danhostel.dk Danhostel] which is part of Hostelling International, run several hostels in Copenhagen. Danhostel Copenhagen City is right in the centre, next to the harbour. For '''Hotels''' consider the '''[http://cabinn.com/ Cab Inn]''' chain that has three hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from €71 (single) to €103 (triples). The rooms are quite small but have TVs and private showers and toilets. There are several cheap hotels specifically catering to gays and lesbians [http://copenhagen-rainbow.dk Copenhagen Rainbow]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} being one of them. In the city centre, 500 m from Tivoli on the mainstreet of Vesterbrogade there is a few other fairly priced options for accommodation, the [http://loevenhotel.dk Loeven hotel], the [http://savoyhotel.dk Savoy Hotel], prices around €80 for a twin room. A little further out following a side street on your left hand side, in Absalonsgade you will find a youth hostel, also fairly priced although quite noisy. ==Connect== Libraries offer free internet access for one hour at a time, though this often requires signing up in advance. The ''[http://bibliotek.kk.dk/bibliotekerne/findbibliotek/hovedbiblioteket Hovedbibliotek]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'' (main library) at Krystalgade 15 has 12 freely accessible workstations and a wide selection of international newspapers. A cheap (under 20 kr/hour) internet café is in Copenhagen Central Station. Moreover, a lot of bars, cafés, McDonald's, and petrol stations offer WiFi hotspots for people with notebooks, though these are a little more expensive than internet cafés. [http://openwifi.dk/index.php?page=hotspots&search=*all*_1050_K%F8benhavn OpenWiFi]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} maintains a list of hotspots in the city. '''S-trains''' all have free WiFi. But since you must activate your account through an email confirmation, it's a good idea to register beforehand. ==Cope== ===Money=== Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone ('''kr''' or '''DKK'''), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission. Using the exchange machines present at some banks is not recommended, though, as these charge a fee of kr 25 (~€3.35). Credit cards are widely accepted, although this is usually limited to Visa and/or MasterCard. Many supermarkets and small shops will normally only accept the widespread local Danish debit-card, also known as the Dankort. But acceptance of the two major international credit cards is increasing rapidly. Other credit cards like American Express, Diners, JCB, and Unionpay are accepted in some shops in Copenhagen, especially in Strøget, the main shopping district. When accepted, a transaction fee (mandated by credit card companies, not shops) of 0.75% to 4.00% of the amount will usually be charged on credit cards issued by foreign banks. Almost all ATMs accept major international cards, including all the ones mentioned previously. Therefore, it is worth noting that although some shops may not accept all credit cards, an ATM capable of doing so will in most cases be less than 200 m away, particularly in central Copenhagen. ===Press=== The [http://cphpost.dk Copenhagen Post] is the country's sole English language newspaper, it's published weekly on Saturdays, and is available at many bars and cafés, as well as for sale in the Magasin department store, and the kiosks at the Central, Vesterport, Østerport, and Hellerup stations for kr 20. === Embassies and consulates === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=http://edina.cancilleria.gov.ar/ | email= | address=Borgergade 16 | lat=55.6834994 | long=12.5852325 | directions= | phone=+45 33 15 80 82 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=http://denmark.embassy.gov.au | email= | address=Dampfærgevej 26 | lat=55.6998729 | long=12.595523 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 36 76 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-16:30; F 08:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/embassy/copenhagen.html | email= | address=Sølundsvej 1 | lat=55.71894 | long=12.57486 | directions= | phone=+45 39 29 41 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:30-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url=http://diplomatie.be/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Øster Allé 7 | lat=55.70013 | long=12.57417 | directions= | phone=+45 35 25 02 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-16:30; F 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | alt= | url=http://copenhague.itamaraty.gov.br | email= | address=Jens Kofods Gade 1, ST. TH. 1268 Copenhagen K | lat=55.681541 | long=12.5812318 | directions= | phone=+45 3920 6478 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://mfa.bg/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Gamlehave alle 7, 2920 Charlottenlund | lat=55.76051 | long=12.56408 | directions= | phone=+45 39642484, +45 39633872 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://canadainternational.gc.ca/denmark-danemark/ | email= | address=Kristen Bernikowsgade 1 | lat=55.67985 | long=12.58217 | directions= | phone=+45 33 48 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://dk.china-embassy.org/ | email= | address=Øregårds Allé 25 | lat=55.73787 | long=12.57007 | directions= | phone=+45 39460889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/es/dinamarca/embajada-de-cuba-en-dinamarca | email= | address=Kastelsvej 19, 3tv | lat=55.696510 | long=12.587317 | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 15 10 | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 19 | lat=55.696289 | long=12.589366 | directions= | phone=+45 3543 7070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt= | url=http://www.estemb.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 19, 4. sal | lat=55.6845664 | long=12.5915321 | directions= | phone=+45 39463070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=http://www.finland.dk/ | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 24 | lat=55.6809358 | long=12.5929243 | directions= | phone=+45 33 13 42 14 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=http://ambafrance-dk.org | email= | address=Ny Østergade 3, 2nd floor | lat=55.6810503 | long=12.5871581 | directions= | phone=+45 33 67 01 64 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=http://kopenhagen.diplo.de | email= | address=Stockholmsgade 57 | lat=55.692646 | long=12.5833872 | directions= | phone=+45 35 45 99 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 except W 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=http://ghanaembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Egebjerg Allé 13 | lat=55.73778 | long=12.55808 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 82 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | alt= | url=http://mfa.gr/copenhagen | email= | address=Bornholmsgade 3 | lat=55.7408663 | long=12.5836434 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 60 48 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} *{{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://koppenhaga.mfa.gov.hu/ | email=mission.cph@mfa.gov.hu | address=Øregårdsvænget 9, 2900 | lat=55.738826 | long=12.570605 | directions= | phone=+45 39 63 16 88 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 63 00 52 | hours=Tu, Th: 09:00–13:00 W: 13:00–16:00 | price= | content= |wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-07-12}} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url=https://www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-copenhagen/embassy-information | email= | address=Strandgade 89 | lat=55.677386 | long=12.597082 | directions= | phone=+45 33 18 10 50 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=http://indian-embassy.dk | email=visa@indian-embassy.dk | address=Vangehusvej 15 | lat=55.71984 | long=12.57387 | directions= | phone=+45 39182888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/copenhagen/en/default.aspx | email=unitkomkph@kbricph.dk | address=Ørehøj Alle 1, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73829 | long=12.57195 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 44 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 (Visas 09:00-12:00) | price= | content=Also covers as the embassy of Indonesia for Lithuania }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=http://embassyofireland.dk | email= | address=Østbanegade 21 | lat=55.6958684 | long=12.5904463 | directions= | phone=+45 35 47 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:30, 14:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.mfa.gov.il | email= | address=Lundevangsvej 4 | lat=55.72404 | long=12.57081 | directions= | phone=+45 88 18 55 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambcopenaghen.esteri.it/ambasciata_copenaghen/it/| email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 7 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 68 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00, Tu-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | alt= | url=http://www.dk.emb-japan.go.jp/ | email= | address=Pilestræde 61 | lat=55.6816139 | long=12.5778373 | directions= | phone=+45 33 11 33 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Latvia}} {{listing | name=Latvia | alt= | url=http://www.am.gov.lv/copenhagen | email=embassy.denmark@mfa.gov.lv | address=Rosbæksvej 17 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57249 | directions= | phone=+45 39 27 60 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=http://dk.mfa.lt | email=amb.dk@urm.lt | address=Bernstorffsvej 214 | lat=55.75270 | long=12.55844 | directions= | phone=+45 39636207 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=646&lang=en | email=copenhagen@mfa.gov.mk | address=Skindergade 28, A, 1.th., 1159 Copenhagen | lat=55.6794912 | long=12.5742755 | directions= | phone=+45 39 766 920 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 766 923 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt=consulate | url=http://mongolietskonsulat.dk | email= | address=Bolbrovej 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 32 52 44 27 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * [[File:Flag of Nepal.svg|10px]] {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url=https://dk.nepalembassy.gov.np | email= | address=Esplanaden 46, 2 | lat=55.687832 | long=12.595503 | directions= | phone=+45 44 44 40 43 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/denmark/about-us/embassy-in-copenhagen | email= | address=Toldbodgade 33 | lat=55.682127 | long=12.593144 | directions= | phone=+45 33 70 72 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 14:00-15:00, F 14:00-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=http://nzembassy.com/ | email= | address=Store Strandstræde 21, 2.tv | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 37 77 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 13:00-14:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://norsk.dk/ | email=emb.copenhagen@mfa.no | address=Dampfærgevej 10, 4. | lat=55.697091 | long=12.5949066 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 01 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-15:30, F 08:30-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://pakistanembassy.dk | email=info@pakistanembassy.dk | address=Valeursvej 17 | lat=55.73892 | long=12.55760 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 11 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, except W 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.kopenhaga.msz.gov.pl | email= | address=Richelieus Alle 12 | lat=55.7381558 | long=12.5830372 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 77 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-14:00, except W 13:00-18:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url=http://www.embaixadadeportugal.dk/ | email=embport@get2net.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31 | lat=55.6819069 | long=12.5930488 | directions= | phone=+45 33131301 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=http://copenhaga.mae.ro/en | email=copenhaga@mae.ro | address=Strandagervej 27 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 71 77 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-12-03 | content=Also covers as the embassy of Romania for [[Iceland]]. }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | alt= | url=http://denmark.mid.ru/ | email= | address=Kristianiagade 5 | lat=55.694047 | long=12.5860566 | directions= | phone=+45 35 38 23 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/copenhagen | email=sincon@scan-group.dk | address=Snorresgade 18-20 | lat=55.6643606 | long=12.5761839 | directions= | phone=+45-32548360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/dk-ko/index.do | email= | address=Svanemøllevej 104 | lat=55.73087 | long=12.57422 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 04 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:15, 13:00-16:30; Visa Section M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | alt= | url=http://southafrica.dk/ | email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 8 | lat=55.72326 | long=12.57234 | directions= | phone=+45 39180185 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-16:00; F 08:00-13:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 21 | lat=55.6964804 | long=12.5895873 | directions= | phone=+45 35 42 22 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00–17:00, F 09:00–14:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url=http://swedenabroad.com/kopenhamn | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 15 A | lat=55.6817202 | long=12.5918346 | directions= | phone=+45 33 36 03 75 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, W also 14:00–16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/copenhagen | email= | address=Richelieus Allé 14, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73861 | long=12.58301 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 17 96 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | alt= | url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/DK | email=contact@taipeioffice.dk | address=Amaliegade 3, 2F | lat=55.6821714 | long=12.5914206 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 51 52 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url=http://thaiembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Norgesmindevej 18 | lat=55.72568 | long=12.57306 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 50 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ | email= | address=Rosbæksvej 15 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57337 | directions= | phone=+45 39 20 27 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt= | url=http://denmark.mfa.gov.ua/ | email=embassy.ua@mail.tele.dk | address=Toldbodgade 37A, 1. | lat=55.6824312 | long=12.5934775 | directions= | phone=+45 33161635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-13:00, Tu 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=http://ukindenmark.fco.gov.uk/ | email= | address=Kastelsvej 38 | lat=55.69590 | long=12.58559 | directions= | phone=+45 35 44 52 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://dk.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 | lat=55.6945855 | long=12.5830518 | directions= | phone=+45 35 55 31 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:15-23:15 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | alt= | url=http://dinamarca.embajada.gob.ve/ | email=emvendk@mail.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31, 3. | lat=55.681918 | long=12.5930527 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 63 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Vietnam}} {{listing | name=Vietnam | alt= | url=http://vietnamemb.dk/ | email=embvndk@hotmail.com | address=Bernstorffsvej 30C | lat=55.72847 | long=12.55564 | directions= | phone=+45 39 18 26 29 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} |} ==Stay safe== As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial '''112''' for emergencies, and '''114''' for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] and in the [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|western suburbs]]. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While '''racism''' is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination. == Stay healthy == Emergency Rooms (ER) are called ''Skadestue'' in Danish, as with many other health related terms and phrases, the English term may not be understood by some Danes — but conveniently Hospital is the same in Danish. Hospitals with 24 hour Emergency Wards near the city centre include: *{{listing | name=Amager Hospital | alt= | url=http://amagerhospital.dk | email= | address=Italiensvej 1, Amager | lat=55.65471 | long=12.60881 | directions= | phone=+45 32 34 35 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Bispebjerg Hospital | alt= | url=http://bispebjerghospital.dk | email= | address=Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 7C, Nordvest | lat=55.71446 | long=12.54061 | directions= | phone=+45 35 31 23 73 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Frederiksberg Hospital | alt= | url=http://frederiksberghospital.dk | email= | address=Nordre Fasanvej 57, 3A, Frederiksberg | lat=55.68721 | long=12.52576 | directions= | phone=+45 38 16 35 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} The public healthcare system also maintains doctors on call outside normal office hours, calls are screened by medical personnel, and doctors dispatched only when deemed necessary. *{{listing | name=Lægevagten | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 00 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M–F 16:00–8:00, Sa-Su all day | price=From DKK 255, Free for EU citizens | content= }} There is a 24-hour pharmacy in central Copenhagen, and 3 additional ones in the suburbs. *{{listing | name=Steno Apotek | alt= | url=http://183.netapotek.dk/ | email= | address=Vesterbrogade 6C | lat=55.6745156 | long=12.5632472 | directions=Just by the Radisson Royal hotel, near the Central station | phone=+45 33 14 82 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=regular hours: M-F 8:00–20:00,Sa 8:30–17:00 | price=There is a DKK 15 service charge outside those times. | content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Malmö]]''' &mdash; Sweden's third largest city, with a lovely historic city centre and cosy squares. Just a short, convenient train ride away. * '''[[Helsingør]]''' &mdash; Also called '''Elsinore'''. The old city centre with well preserved houses is one of the biggest in Denmark, and famous Kronborg castle, home of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Take the train from Copenhagen Central or Østerport. If you go by car the motorway is the fastest, driving along Strandvejen is the scenic route. * '''[[Hillerød]]''' &mdash; A small town dominated by the huge Frederiksborg palace, but also offers baroque gardens and a laid back city centre. Take the S-train: end of the E-line. * '''[[Roskilde]]''' &mdash; Denmark's ancient capital and a [[World Heritage site]], with a famous cathedral full of the tombs of ancient kings, and the fantastic Viking museum. Home to one of the ''Big Four'' European music festivals, Roskilde Festival, which attracts up to 110,000 visitors each year in July. There are many trains from Copenhagen Central, Nørreport and Østerport. * '''[[Øresund Coast]]''' &mdash; For the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', which is the outstanding museum of modern art in Denmark, in the small town of Humlebæk 35&nbsp;km north of Copenhagen. Via motorway E47/E5 or 35 minutes with DSB rail from the Central Station. When you use the train, special combination tickets for the rail fare and museum entry fee are available. * '''[[Ven]]''' &mdash; Visit the Swedish island Ven. Rent a bicycle and tour the island. The ferry departs from Havnegade 29 at 9:15, returns at 17:30 and costs 210&nbsp;kr for the daytrip. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E20.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Kolding]] | minorl1=[[Køge]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Göteborg]] | minorr1=[[Malmö]] | image2=Tabliczka E47.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Helsingør]] | minorl2=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Lübeck]] | minorr2=[[Køge]] | image3=Tabliczka E55.svg | imagesize3=22 | directionl3=N | majorl3=[[Helsingør]] | minorl3=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr3=S | majorr3=[[Berlin]] | minorr3=[[Køge]] }} {{isPartOf|Zealand}} {{starcity}} {{geo|55.6762|12.5675|zoom=13}} g5vish19bcgf08cgfnokker7mfai6k1 5298644 5298618 2026-06-26T08:21:16Z ~2026-33378-46 2418994 /* Fares */ Updated single tickets 5298644 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Copenhagen banner Nyhavn canal.jpg|dotm=yes|star=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Copenhagen''' ([[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''København'') is the capital city of [[Denmark]] and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife ''par excellence'', yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to [[Sweden]] by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the [[Nordic countries]] and [[central Europe]]. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. __TOC__ <div style="clear:both;"></div> ==Districts== {{Mapframe|55.655|12.443|width=500|height=500|zoom=10|name=Unofficial but quite widely perceived district division of Copenhagen|staticmap=Cph_districts.png|show=other,go,mask}} {{Mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Copenhagen_Districts.map}} {{mapshapes|Q212741}}<!--Metro--> {{Mapshapes|Q585154}}<!--S-tog--> {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] | region1color=#ac5c91 | region1items= | region1description=Centrum, the Medieval City — a place of many names, and the historical heart of Copenhagen, dotted with church spires, historic buildings, narrow alleys and excellent shopping. | region2name=[[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] | region2color=#ffd0d0 | region2items= | region2description=A thriving area notable for its many canals and cozy cafes. The '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Freetown of Christiania]]''' is situated in the eastern section of Christianshavn, along with the old naval area, turned trendy: '''Holmen'''. | region3name=[[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=This district still has a few sex shops and sleazy hotels left, but is now one of the hippest places to live, with cafes and bars dotted along its main artery, '''Istedgade'''. | region4name=[[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] | region4color=#acaa78 | region4items= | region4description=An area which formed around Frederiksberg Castle. It remains an independent municipality. Surrounded by the City of Copenhagen, the area has preserved a special conservative, upscale feel. | region5name=[[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] | region5color=#d56d76 | region5items= | region5description=One of the most vibrant parts of Copenhagen, especially along Nørrebrogade, with a mix of immigrants, students, and original working-class Nørrebro-inhabitants. | region6name=[[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] | region6color=#71b37b | region6items= | region6description=A affluent and cozy neighbourhood north of the centre. Less vibrant than Nørrebro and Vesterbro, and less quaint than Frederiksberg, it is the home of the famous Little Mermaid statue, and the beautifully preserved Kastellet Citadel. The area west of the train track is very popular with young families. | region7name=[[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items=Including Saltholm | region7description=Once a bastion of the working class, this island with its own distinct atmosphere is booming with new development. Also home of the airport and the biggest shopping mall in Copenhagen. | region8name=[[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Northern suburbs]] | region8color=#d09440 | region8items= | region8description=A visit to these green suburbs, beaches, parks, and Dyrehavsbakken — the world's oldest running amusement park; Frilandsmuseet — the world's largest open air museum; or canoeing down the Mill River, will leave no doubt that this is an altogether different kind of suburbia. It is colloquially known to locals as the "whisky belt", due to its many well-heeled residents. '''[[Ballerup]]''', which has a charming museum of local history, is covered in a separate article. | region9name=[[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|Vestegnen]] | region9color=#d5dc76 | region9items= | region9description=The suburbs west and south of the city. Except for the good and very popular Arken art museum most attractions are small but still interesting. It has some good beaches and camping opportunities. }} == Understand == [[File:CPH Rundetaarnview.jpg|thumb|250px|View from Rundetårn]] ===History=== ==== Beginnings as a merchant harbour ==== If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." ==== Archbishop Absalon ==== Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of [[Roskilde]]. Absalon, archbishop of [[Lund]] 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today ''Slotsholmen'' (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital [[Roskilde]] and [[Lund]] in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent. But with prosperity comes envy and in the years to follow Copenhagen was laid waste and pillaged time and time again, mainly by the members of the German Hanseatic League, which at one point completely destroyed the city. {{infobox|Wonderful Copenhagen?|In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' featured in the 1952 film ''Hans Christian Andersen''. Sung by Danny Kaye, it is a bit of an evergreen, and — not being accustomed to Hollywood attention — the city has stuck to it ever since. What also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it is "''koh-pehn-HAY-gehn''", not "''koh-pehn-HAH-gehn''".}} ==== Becoming the capital of Denmark ==== Like the phoenix, however, Copenhagen repeatedly rose from its ashes. When the Danes kicked out the Pope during the 16th century [[Protestant Reformation]], Roskilde lost its importance as a Roman bishopric and, having taken control of the city 20 years earlier, the Danish king moved his residence to Copenhagen. Not terribly keen on seeing their new capital laid waste once more, successive Danish monarchs built massive fortifications around the city. None more so than King Christian IV, who embarked on a building rampage which not only included the ramparts still visible throughout much of the city, but also many present day landmarks like the Round Tower and the Stock Exchange. Since then Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes, and then bombarded, set ablaze, and nearly destroyed by the British Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, who in one of two battles for Copenhagen, responded to the order to withdraw by saying "You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes," and then raised the telescope to his blind eye and touted "I really do not see the signal." This was the first ever civilian bombardment performed as part of war. ==== Outgrowing the city walls ==== Again, the city shook off its struggles and the population mushroomed during industrialization. When a cholera epidemic did a fine job of killing nearly everyone there wasn't room for, the King finally conceded that long range cannons would render its constraining walls irrelevant, and thus allowed the city to grow outside the now antiquated ramparts. But it was not long before a new modern fortification was built (known as Vestvolden today), which made Copenhagen Europe's most fortified city of the late 19th century. After being subjected to yet another, German invasion during World War II, the whole idea of a fortified city was thrown out the window and replaced with one of the finest examples of urban planning anywhere — the ''Finger Plan''. Copenhagen is one of few cities in the world to devise a long-term plan for growth and then actually stick to it; try placing your hand over a map of Copenhagen with the palm as the city centre, and it's quite obvious why it's called the finger plan. Despite being the laughing stock of the country through the 1970s and 1980s, when wealthy residents all moved out into the fingers leaving behind an impoverished bankrupt inner city, a visit these days will prove that the phoenix has risen once more. ===Read and watch=== * ''Pelle the Conqueror'' (Martin Andersen Nexø, 1906–10). An epic novel in three parts and an integral part of the Danish school curriculum portraying the life of two poor Swedish immigrants — a father and son. The two last volumes take place in Copenhagen and describe the rise and the conflicts of the labour movement and global socialism which are so crucial to understanding Danish society today. All in all, it's a very good historical account of life in the city during that period, and above all, a good book. * ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (Peter Høeg, 1992). Dive into Denmark's curious post-colonial history in this international best seller. Partly set in Copenhagen, partly in Greenland, you are whirled through a murder mystery by Ms. Smilla, a half-Danish Inuit brought up in poor Greenland, but now living in the kingdom's affluent and orderly capital. It is a good account of the conflicts and contrasts between two very different parts of the Kingdom, and it offers some spot-on social critique of Danish society in a very engaging way. * The Copenhagen Quartet (Thomas E. Kennedy). Four novels totaling well over a thousand pages. Each book is set against the backdrop of one of the four seasons of the Danish capital: ''Kerrigan in Copenhagen'' (spring) (2013), ''Falling Sideways'' (autumn) (2011), ''In the Company of Angels'' (summer) (2010), and ''Beneath the Neon Egg'' (winter) (scheduled for publication, 2014). The novelist, an American expat, somewhat autobiographically portrays an American writer trying to come to terms with his past with the help of Copenhagen's many bars, with the Danish capital as the co-star. All of the places described in the books are real places that you can go discover. Copenhagen is also the setting of several [[Nordic Noir]] films and series, such as the Pusher series, ''The Bridge'', and ''The Killing''. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Copenhagen |-0.7 |3.4 |53.0 |-0.8 |3.6 |36.9 |0.7 |6.5 |42.3 |4.2 |11.8 |35.8 |8.6 |16.7 |47.2 |11.9 |19.6 |63.9 |14.3 |22.2 |60.9 |14.1 |21.8 |67.5 |10.8 |17.5 |61.0 |7.1 |12.6 |63.3 |3.3 |7.6 |56.4 |0.5 |4.4 |57.4 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Copenhagen]] | description = Averages of Copenhagen 1981–2010 }} Copenhagen, like the rest of [[Denmark]], has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the [http://dmi.dk/eng/index/forecasts.htm Danish Meteorological Institute website]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. '''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. '''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets. '''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into cosiness. It is the local way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family. Weather in Copenhagen can be unstable and highly unpredictable. Make sure you pack clothes in case of sudden rain or spell of cold (or, in the summer, of warmth) even despite long-term forecasts telling you otherwise. An umbrella, rain coat and shoes that will withstand torrential downpour may come in handy. Copenhageners dress very well, but at the same time very practically and with the realization that rain can assault their carefully chosen styling any minute. ===Tourist information=== Copenhagen's official tourist agency is ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' * {{listing | name=Copenhagen Visitor Service | alt= | url=http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/tourist-offices/copenhagen-visitor-service | email=touristinfo@woco.dk | address=Vesterbrogade 4A | lat=55.67486 | long=12.56438 | directions=Across from Tivoli's main entrance, near the central station (2&nbsp;km walk) | phone=+45 70 22 24 42 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 22 24 52 | hours=Jan–Apr M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 09:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 09:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 09:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00 | price= | content=The tourist information office is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within this office and they provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen including museums, concerts and festivals. Furthermore there is a free WiFi service available. }} ==Get in== [[File:Flughafen Kopenhagen Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|CPH seen from above]] ===By plane=== [[File:Couloir-aéroport-Copenhague-2.jpg|thumb|The cathedral-like passageway linking terminals]] ==== Copenhagen Airport (CPH) ==== {{main|Copenhagen Airport}} {{marker|type=go|name=Copenhagen Airport|url=https://www.cph.dk/en/|lat=55.6287|long=12.6486|image=Copenhagen Airport Mai 2009 PD 112.JPG}} ({{IATA|CPH}}) on the nearby island of [[Amager]] is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier '''[https://www.flysas.com/ SAS — Scandinavian Airlines]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] or [[Frankfurt]] and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''[http://easyjet.com/ EasyJet]''' serves Copenhagen from [[London]] Gatwick, [[Manchester]], [[Milan]], [[Geneva]], [[Paris]] CDG and [[Berlin]]. '''[http://norwegian.com/ Norwegian]''' offers budget flights to (among others) [[Liverpool]], [[Oslo]], [[Stockholm]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Budapest]], [[Paris]], [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]]. While CPH is one of Europe's busiest airports, with a flight taking off every 2 minutes on average well into the night, many facilities have limited opening hours. Little in the way of gastronomy or retail remains open after 20:00, even the ''CPH Apartment Lounge'' closes at 20:00 and the frequent fliers and business/first class passengers are required to wait in the empty terminal halls. If your flight is in the early hours, you can take advantage of the facilities (snacks, drinks, free Wi-Fi, relaxation and work facilities) of the ''CPH Apartment'' 05:00–20:00 for DKK239 (as of August 2022), unless your frequent-flyer plan or ticket tariff covers that already. [[File:COPENHAGEN KASTRUP AIRPORT RAILWAY STATION DENMARK SEP 2013 (9912940653).jpg|thumb|The Copenhagen Airport Station has separate platforms for trains going towards Copenhagen and towards [[Scania]] in [[Sweden]], so make sure you access the right one.]] ===== Transport to/from Copenhagen Airport ===== It takes 12 minutes by train to travel from Copenhagen Airport to the Central Station (Hovedbanegården) in Copenhagen city centre. You need a ticket for 3 zones (30kr) which can be purchased from one of the machines in the arrivals hall. The [https://intl.m.dk/ Copenhagen Metro] also connects the airport with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every 4 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes at night, taking 14 minutes to the city centre (for the same ticket and same price of 30 kr). Consider buying a City Pass or Copenhagen Card instead if you plan on visiting attractions the same day. The airport has different stations for mainline trains (underneath the arrivals hall) and for the metro (upstairs from the arrivals hall), both are in Terminal 3. The next metro station is named Kastrup — the historic name for the airport — but has nothing to do with the airport. ====Malmö Airport==== '''[https://www.swedavia.com/malmo/ Malmö Airport]''' ({{IATA|MMX}}) across the Øresund bridge has flights with ''[https://wizzair.com/ Wizzair]'' from [[Budapest]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Katowice]], and [[Warsaw]]. ''[https://www.neptunbus.dk/ Neptunbus]'' provide connecting buses from Malmö Airport to Copenhagen Central Station, these are timed in accordance with the Wizzair flights. Domestic flights within Sweden also serve Malmö Airport, but do not have direct bus connections — see [[Malmö#Get%20in]] for routes. ===By train=== [[File:Cph central.jpg|thumb|Train waiting at Copenhagen Central station]] Links between the capital and the rest of the country are frequent and excellent. There are several trains each hour to Malmö and further to Lund and Gothenburg. There are 12 daily connections on weekdays to Stockholm. There are further train services in the direction of Karlskrona and Kalmar. There are six fast connections to Hamburg and one to Berlin. From the rest of '''Denmark''' connections are frequent and numerous. In [[Jutland]] several railway branches from [[Aarhus]]/[[Aalborg]] in the North, [[Struer]] in the north-west, [[Esbjerg]] to the west, and finally [[Sønderborg]] in the south convene in [[Fredericia]], where they connect to a main line with up to four intercity trains per hour, divided into Express and Intercity trains, which runs across [[Funen]] before crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt). From there it reaches across the length of [[Zealand]] before terminating at Copenhagen's central station. If you are going in the reverse direction without a seat reservation, be mindful that the train is often broken up at Fredericia to serve the different branches, so if you do not have seat reservation, it is a bad idea just picking a random carriage in Copenhagen — check the screens on the platform to see where you should board, or ask the ticket inspectors once on the train. All cross-belt trains are operated by DSB ([http://dsb.dk Danish State Railways]). From the island of [[Bornholm]], a high speed ferry shuttles passengers to [[Ystad]] in [[Sweden]], where you will have to board the Swedish Pågatåg commuter train, then change trains to the ''Øresundstog (see below)'' again at any of the stations in Malmö to continue on to Copenhagen. A one-way combined ferry/train ticket will only set you back DKK149. Across the Øresund strait in '''Sweden''', the ''[http://dsbfirst.dk Øresundstog]'' trains departs from various towns in [[Scania|Southern Sweden]], and via [[Lund]] and [[Malmö]], crossing the Øresund bridge to Copenhagen, with a stop at the airport. The journey time from Malmö to Copenhagen Central station is 40 minutes and trains run every 15-20 minutes all day on this stretch, and every hour during the night. A single ticket between Malmö and Copenhagen costs DKK92 if using the Rejsekort app or SEK150 if using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken app], with the added benefit of unlimited local public transport on both sides of the border (except the bridge/ferry where only one crossing is permitted) for the highlighted zone until 04.00 the following day. [https://sj.se Swedish Railways]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operates up to seven X2000 express trains from [[Stockholm]] every day (five and a half hours) and one night train that continues on to Hamburg. An easy change in Malmö almost doubles that number (including one additional night train option). Passengers taking a day trip from Scania or are returning within 24 hours may consider purchasing a 24-hour ticket using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken mobile app] or ticket machines as it can cost as little as the price of two single tickets (e.g. SEK150 or approximately 194DKK between Copenhagen and Malmö) and includes unlimited use of public transport in the zones you purchased the ticket for. Foreigners should carry a valid passport or national identity card as identity documents are sometimes checked at the border. To continental '''Europe''', Intercity Express and Eurocity trains (and one Euronight train) connect [[Hamburg]] with Copenhagen, up to seven times per day. Standard prices are €130 from Berlin and €78 from Hamburg (€130 for a couchette space on the night train), but it's often possible to find discounted tickets — in Denmark, those are called ''Orange Europa'' or "sightseeing fares" which are the same price as a bus. If you're taking the day ICE/EC train during the summer, reservations are compulsory. [https://www.snalltaget.se '''Snälltåget'''] operate seasonal night trains between Sweden and Germany with a stop in suburban Copenhagen, the routes vary depending on the time of year. Only some of these trains use Copenhagen Central station, so you may need to search using "København Ørestad" or "København Syd" to find tickets. * {{go | name=Copenhagen Central Station | alt=Københavns Hovedbanegård | url= | email= | address=Bernstorffsgade 16–22 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1495052 | lastedit=2021-08-20 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:Cph oresund.jpg|thumb|The 8-km Øresund bridge leading to Malmö in Sweden]] Buses between Jutland and Copenhagen are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday to Thursday. International buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train, and destinations east of Berlin may also be faster by bus. The new Copenhagen Bus Terminal (''Københavns Busterminal'') next to Dybbølsbro Station in the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] district opened in June 2024. Many of the companies listed below are defunct, or have merged with Flixbus. From '''Jutland''' and '''Fyn''' the bus company ''EkspresRuten'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]], [[Vejle]] and [[Odense|Odense South]] several times per day. There is also a stop in [[Roskilde]]. * {{listing | name=Ekspres Ruten | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/busbestilling/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 40 75 11 71 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} From '''Jutland''' bus number ''888'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]] several times per day. Journey time is 5 hr 15 min from Aalborg. On Zealand there are additional stops in [[Holbæk]] and [[Roskilde]]. Line ''882'' runs between Copenhagen and Fjerritslev in Northwestern Jutland once every day. * {{listing | name=Abildskou | url=http://abildskou.dk | email= | address=M–F 08:00–17:00, Sa 08:00–14:00, Su 09:00–17:00 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 21 08 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} Links from '''Norway and Sweden''' are fairly frequent and very economical compared to the train. Most buses arrive and depart from DGI Byen, near the southern overpass of the central station. Passengers are generally encouraged to buy tickets on-line, but tickets can also be purchased at the ''Copenhagen Right Now'' tourist information desk near the central station. In the winter (Dec-Apr) ''[https://www.fjallexpressen.se Fjällexpressen]'' whisks skiers between Copenhagen and the Swedish ski resorts. When booking online, it's useful to know that Copenhagen is called ''Köpenhamn'' in Swedish. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=http://flixbus.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr); Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=GoByBus | alt= | url=http://gobybus.se | email=info@gobybus.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 23 54 20 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 07:30–18:00, Sa 07:30–17:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=~DKK225 | content=Oslo (8½ hr) via Gothenburg (4½ hr), line 300. }} * {{listing | name=Gråhundbus | alt= | url=http://www.graahundbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 4468 4400 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Local operator Greyhound Bus has several daily connections to Malmö and once daily to Malmö Airport. Also works with partners elsewhere to Europe. }} * {{listing | name=Nettbuss/Bus4you | url=https://www.nettbuss.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express | url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+46 771 218218 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gotenburg (5 hr) ~SEK300, line 820; Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) ~ SEK350, line 832. | content= }} From continental '''Europe''' there are several bus companies which offer numerous daily connections from Germany often at very competitive rates, most run via the ferries from Rødby to Puttgarden or Gedser to Rostock. Many of these services, especially if headed to points east such as Berlin, are considerably faster than the best train connections. Most of these buses stops near DGI byen on Ingerslevsgade. * {{listing | name=Autoprevoz | url=http://autoprevoz.ba | email=info@autoprevoz.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+387 51 317 333 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Banja Luka (25 hr, twice weekly) ~BAM300 (€150) }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express |alt=| url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 80 70 33 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Berlin (7 hr) via Rostock (4½ hr) ~SEK450, line 902 |wikipedia=|wikidata=|lastedit=2016-10-08| content=Tickets sold at the central tourist information desk. This company does allow for bicycles under certain conditions. Please check their website. }} * {{listing | name=Toptourist | url=http://www.toptourist.dk/ | email=info@toptourist.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 48 25 38 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Sarajevo via Salzburg (twice weekly) ~DKK1000 (€140) return | content=Tickets can be paid on the bus, but advance booking and payment is recommended. }} [[File:Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal on Østerbro.JPG|thumb|The Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal in the Østerbro district]] From [[Poland]], there is a host of different bus companies, each with a few weekly scheduled departures. Unfortunately the market is very fluid and routes and operators tend to change rapidly. ''[http://agat.eu/ Agat]'' provides four round trips per week between Copenhagen and [[Katowice]] (20 hr) in Southern Poland, and ''[http://eurobus.pl Eurobus]'' for connections with [[Warsaw]] (20 hr via [[Hamburg]]) once per week. If any of these companies have shut down, try searching for alternatives, as there is a good chance someone else will have taken over the traffic. ===By ferry or cruise ship=== The ferry terminal (Færgeterminal Søndre Frihavn) at Dampfærgevej 30 is close to Nordhavn station. From there the '''[https://www.gonordiccruiseline.com/ Go Nordic Cruiseline]''' departs for [[Oslo]], Norway. '''[https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en City bus line 27]''' commutes between the entrance of the ferry terminal and Østerport Station. There are two regular connections straight into Copenhagen's harbour. The most known is from [[Oslo]], Norway, with daily departures, and an over night trip that takes 16 hours. It is marketed as a cruise line, and occasionally a cruise round-trip fare can be less expensive than a one-way fare. The other ferry connection is the less known round-trip connection to [[Fredericia]], Denmark and [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania. Since the latter is a Ro-Ro freight line, you need to [http://www.dfds.com/freight-shipping/routes-and-schedules/klaipeda-copenhagen-fredericia contact DFDS for more information]. Copenhagen is also a very popular port of call for cruises touring both the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian fjords. The main cruise terminal is on Oceankaj in the North harbour. Bus 27 connects to Østerport station. ===By car=== Visiting Copenhagen by car means planning for where to park. Driving during working hours in the centre of Copenhagen is not advisable, except of course when going to and from your hotel or where you might spend the night. It is quite expensive to park in the medieval part of Copenhagen, 20 to 36 kr (approximately €2.65–4.80) an hour during working hours. If the car is just the means of sightseeing, the cheapest would be to park at one of the S-train or metro stations in the outskirts of Copenhagen Municipality and take the train or a bus to your destination. As of 1 October 2023 a low emission zone have been introduced in Copenhagen, see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. ====Parking==== There is paid parking on public roads for cars and motorcycles in large parts of '''Copenhagen Municipality'''. Paid parking areas are divided into four colour coded zones with different rate levels. There is free parking in all zones for vehicles with a valid and visible disability badge. Parking during weekends from Saturday at 17:00 until Monday at 08:00 is for free, as well as parking on public holidays. Copenhagen Municipality has issued a [https://international.kk.dk/sites/default/files/2021-07/p-miniguide-en_maj_2018.pdf mini parking guide]. Consult the [https://international.kk.dk/live/transport-and-parking/parking-in-copenhagen/public-parking-in-copenhagen map from Copenhagen Municipality] to find areas without paid or time-restricted parking (in white). The map also indicates S-train and metro stations but excludes Frederiksberg. Parking in Copenhagen is subject to stringent regulations aimed at curbing congestion and promoting sustainable transportation methods. The city actively encourages residents and visitors alike to opt for public transit, cycling, or walking whenever feasible. However, for those requiring parking facilities, a range of options exists, including metered street parking, multi-level parking structures, and designated zones.  '''Frederiksberg Municipality''' is encircled by Copenhagen Municipality, and driving around a street corner to find a parking spot could mean entering another municipality with different pricing. Frederiksberg has different rules for parking with a single two-hour parking zone in force on public streets from 07:00 to 24:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays. This means there is 2 hours free parking using a parking app in most places in Frederiksberg. See [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#By car|Frederiksberg#By car]] for details and always look for local restrictions. ===By yacht=== {{see also|Boating on the Baltic Sea}} If you are arriving under your own sail, Copenhagen is on Øresund. There are several marinas, the biggest of which is '''[http://smhavn.dk Svanemøllehavnen]'''. There are no designated visitor berths but it is almost always possible to find one with a green sign. Daily charge: DKK75–120. * {{buy | name=Hellers | alt= | url=https://hellers.dk | email= | address=Kastrup strandpark 9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=The biggest shop for boat equipment. }} ==Get around== Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two interchange hubs are Copenhagen Central Station (''Københavns Hovedbanegård'' in Danish) with intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/ Rejseplanen]. === Fares === A bewildering number of tickets and passes are available for travel on public transport in Copenhagen. The most practical, convenient and cost effective way to travel is by using the Rejsekort app or the Basiskort card. These can also be used throughout the rest of Denmark. The '''[https://www.rejsekort.dk/rejsekort_app Rejsekort]''' app enables you to ''digitally'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply swipe the green arrow left and right and the app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The app accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. You cannot do so whilst in transit. The [https://www.rejsekort.dk/Basiskort '''Basiskort'''] card enables you to ''physically'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply tap the card on the yellow validators and the card will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The card accommodates adult and child fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The card costs kr 80 and is non-refundable. It can be purchased and topped up at station kiosks and DSB 7-Eleven stores. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. This includes whilst in transit. The default setting is adult and local travel. The default setting can be changed to child, national travel, or both at station kiosks or DSB 7-Elevens. The [https://www.rejsebillet.dk/en-us '''Rejsebillet'''] app enables you to purchase the following tickets and passes: * '''Single Ticket 2-8 Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses in your chosen zones for a fixed time period. For example, a two-zone ticket costs kr 24 and allows you to travel around central Copenhagen for one hour and 15 minutes. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''Single Ticket 9+ Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses from point A to point B. For example, a nine-zone ticket costs kr 66 and allows you to travel from Copenhagen to Hillerød. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Small''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–4 (including Copenhagen Airport) for 24 hours (kr 100), 48 hours (kr 160), 72 hours (kr 220), 96 hours (kr 280) or 120 hours (kr 340). This pass is the most reasonable choice if you intend to stay in the city itself (not the remote parts of Copenhagen region). [[Cycling in Copenhagen|Renting a bike]] is also a viable option instead of, or in addition to, obtaining this pass. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Large''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–99 (including Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Hillerød, Helsingør, etc.) for 24 hours (kr 200), 48 hours (kr 320), 72 hours (kr 440), 96 hours (kr 560) or 120 hours (kr 680). Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. The '''[https://www.copenhagencard.com Copenhagen Card City Guide]''' app enables you to purchase the '''Copenhagen Card'''. This pass gives you unlimited rides throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The pass can be bought for 24 hours (kr 559), 48 hours (kr 819), 72 hours (kr 989), 96 hours (kr 1159) or 120 hours (kr 1339). Many museums are either free or closed on Sundays and Mondays, thus making the pass less valuable on those days. Furthermore, pass holders get discounts to several different tour companies providing experiences in the city. If you expect to visit more than three attractions a day, a multi-day pass will most likely be worth it, as most attractions have tickets starting at kr 100. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. Paper tickets for the train and metro can be purchased at station kiosks and vending machines using a credit card, debit card or cash. Paper tickets for the bus can be purchased onboard using exact cash only. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is up to kr 750 and ticket inspectors are commonplace. Passengers whose journeys involve Malmö in Sweden should consider using the Skånetrafiken app. The app accepts credit and debit cards (VISA and Mastercard). Select a point in Copenhagen as one of the stops. Single tickets crossing the Oresund bridge start at SEK150 (approximately kr 100) and get more expensive if you select points further away from the city centres of Copenhagen and Malmö so therefore select the farthest points in both cities that you are expected to visit within the day. There is a 20% discount if two adults are travelling together. Single tickets are permitted unlimited travel within the zone you purchased a fare for, except the Oresund bridge crossing itself, where you may cross the bridge only once. Single tickets expire at 0400h the following day. The 24-hour ticket option (from SEK300 or kr 200) on the other hand permits an unlimited number of crossings on the Oresund bridge within 24 hours, thus allowing passengers who plan to stay in the cheaper accommodations Malmö has to offer to return there after a day trip to Copenhagen. You can use the ticket on all public transport in Copenhagen. Note the Skånetrafiken's Reskort card will ''not'' work on Basiskort validators. If you are traveling into Copenhagen with a Reskort card you must instead print a paper "inspection ticket" (inspektionskvitto) at a Skånetrafiken ticket machine beforehand as proof that there is a valid cross-border ticket stored on the Reskort card. Otherwise you will be fined as if you were without a valid ticket. There are Skånetrafiken ticket machines at Copenhagen Airport and Central Station if you have lost your inspection ticket or forgotten to print one beforehand. === By train === The [http://dsb.dk/s-tog S-train (S-tog in Danish)] is the backbone of the city's public transit system, and is very similar to the German S-Bahn and Parisian RER networks. The distinct red trains are clean, modern, and equipped with free WiFi. The system runs from early morning to late night, each line in ten minute intervals during the day (M-F 06:00–18:00) and at twenty minute intervals in the early morning and late at night. On the weekends, the trains run twice an hour at night and some of the lines are extended. Since most lines join on a single railway line through the city centre, there are only a couple of minutes of waiting between each train in the inner districts. The F and C-lines are exceptions, the F line does a half loop outside the central area, with trains every five minutes throughout most of the day. The C-line is extended to [[Frederikssund]] during day time, but scaled back to Ballerup at other times. Announcements are in Danish only; remember to ask your fellow travellers for help though they are mostly cursory. Bikes can be taken for free; special bicycle compartments exist in the carriages. === By metro=== [[File:Metro Airport Copenhagen Denmark 01.jpg|thumb|right|The ends of automated Metro trains provide a full view — even if not all sections of the tracks are interesting, like this one on the way to the airport.]] Copenhagen has a modern, clean and punctual metro system. It's made up of 4 lines: * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m1}}: Vanløse – Vestamager * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m2}}: Vanløse – Copenhagen Airport * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m3}}: City Circle Line * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m4}}: Copenhagen South – Orientkaj Line M1 and M2 run along the same line between Vanløse and Christianshavn. All lines intersect at Kongens Nytorv and a transfer between the M3 and M1 or M2 is also possible at Frederiksberg. [[File:Copenhagen Metro 2020.svg|thumb|Copenhagen Metro Line Map with the 4 lines that are in operation]] The metro operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Frequencies decrease at night, during the day most lines run every 4 minutes. Maintenance work is usually carried out at night, which sometimes results in a changed timetable or replacement buses at night. The Copenhagen Metro is driverless, and doors close at a given time, even if all waiting passengers haven't entered the train. Wait for the next train instead of trying to squeeze through in the last second (that's both dangerous and illegal). The trains run with short intervals (down 2 minutes during peak hours). Because the metro is driverless, the trains have been designed with big windows at each end, and the trains are accordingly fitted with rows of seats facing them. This can be an extra treat to the visitors (and especially children) on the metro. The parts of the system that operate above ground are: Vanløse – Lindevang, DR Byen – Vestamager and Lergravsparken – Copenhagen Airport. The most interesting views are between Islands Brygge and Vestamager. Line M3 runs entirely underground and covers the Central Station. As Line M3 is a circular line, there are no terminating stations and trains run either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The direction the train is travelling in is identified by the next major station in that direction such as 'via Frederiksberg' or 'via Kongens Nytorv' at the central station. It is therefore especially important to check the system map and electronic station boards to ensure you are getting on the train that gets to your intended destination station more quickly. Line M4 share the line with M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport via Kongens Nytorv, before branching out to terminate at Orientkaj. An extension to Copenhagen South opened in 2024.[[File:Copenhagen A-bus 2020 11.png|thumb|right|Schematic map of A-bus lines spanning Copenhagen as of November 2020]] === By bus === Copenhagen has a fairly extensive and efficient [http://www.moviatrafik.dk/dinrejse/kort/trafikkort/Documents/Hovedstadsomraadet/BusserKobenhavnCity.pdf bus network]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. It can be troublesome for visitors to figure out what line to take to their destination as there is little in the way of network maps available at bus stops and schedules rarely include the entire route. That said, many stops do have a small electronic display showing how many minutes are left until the next bus arrives. The front doors are for boarding only — alight using other doors. There are several types of bus available: * '''Regular buses''' are denoted by their number, * '''A buses''' are the backbone of the city's bus network which consists of seven different lines with frequent departures and stops. During the day time there are no schedules as buses usually depart at least every ten minutes. They are also operating at night. * '''5C''' is a special bus line with articulated buses that operates even more frequently than the A buses. It serves the northwestern suburbs and link important locations such as Nørrebro st, Nørreport st, the city hall, Copenhagen Central Station, Amagerbro St., the Blue Planet aquarium and Copenhagen airport. * '''S buses''' are long express services with few stops and extend far into the suburbs, usually across the radial suburban train network or along corridors with no rail service. They can also be useful between points in the centre as they are faster than other lines. * '''E buses''' are express rush-hour services of little use to travellers as they mainly service commuters. * '''N buses''' are a network of ten bus lines operating at night between 01:00–05:00 daily, when normal traffic is halted, and they are much more frequent at weekends. '''[http://sightseeing.dk CitySightseeing]''' runs three hop-on hop-off tours around the city in open-top double-decker buses. The main line leaves every 30 minutes, while the two other lines depart every hour in high season (Jun-Aug). Outside the peak season, services are halved. The price is kr 150 for a one-day ticket or kr 220 for a two-day ticket which also includes the DFDS canal tour boats. === By boat === [[File:Nyhavn, canal tour boats.jpg|thumb|right|The canal tour boats, here seen docking in Nyhavn, are an excellent way to see many of the city's attractions]] Going on a canal tour of the inner harbour and canals is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. *{{listing | name=Canal Tours | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.dk/en/copenhagen/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/ | email=info@stromma.dk | address=Nyhavn 3 | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 96 30 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:30–20:00 | price=Waterbus (unguided): Single kr 40, All day kr 60; Tour (guided): Single kr 60, All day kr 75. Various discounts available | content=Operates both an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have three guided tours, either by a pre-recorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide. Be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. If you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass-roofed boat at this time of the year. An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which for kr 220 gives unlimited transportation for two days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double-decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing. }} *{{listing | name=Netto-bådene | alt= | url=https://www.havnerundfart.dk/canaltours/index.php?page=forside.php | email= | address=Heibergsgade (Nyhavn) | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 54 41 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00–17:00 (19:00 in July & August) | price=kr 50 (July 2019) | content=Offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March. }} A different option is the public harbour bus, which, while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system using the same tickets as buses and trains. *{{listing | name=Movia | url=http://moviatrafik.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK | email= | address=Customer centre at Rådhuspladen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 36 13 14 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:00–19:00 | price=Uses public ticketing system | content= }} === By taxi === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | Taxis are abundant throughout the city and of a very high standard — usually a Mercedes or BMW. They are pricey though, and the wait to get one can be long on a Friday or Saturday night. You can hail a taxi on the street or call for one to come pick you up at a specific address at a specific time for a small extra fee (kr 12-15). At crucial traffic junctures throughout the city, there are special areas where taxis hold in line to pick up customers. Except for a very long trip, it is not common (or recommended) to haggle about the price. All taxis accept major international credit cards and most will accept euro cash payment and some even list prices in euros on the meter. Sometimes taxi drivers request you to withdraw money in an ATM when paying with card, this is mostly a scam to do the trip off-licence. | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | '''Copenhagen Taxi companies''' * {{listing | name=Amager-Øbro Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 32 51 51 51 }} * {{listing | name=Codan Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 25 25 25 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa 4x35 | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 35 35 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=TaxaMotor A/S | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 338 338 }} * {{listing | name=Ballerup-Værløse-Herlev Taxa | alt=Northwestern suburbs | phone=+45 44 85 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa Selandia | alt=Southern suburbs | phone=+45 70 10 66 66 }} * {{listing | name=Taxinord | alt=Northern Suburbs | phone=+45 45 83 83 83 }} * {{listing | name=Vest-Taxa | alt=Western Suburbs | phone=+45 43 45 45 45 }} |} Prices range kr 11-16 per kilometre depending on the time of day and the meter flag-fall charge is kr 25. Generally you can trust taxis with prices and the route taken. Because of the high flag-fall charge, it can be better financially for taxi drivers to have many trips rather than long trips, so it is therefore often in their own interest to take the shortest route. * {{listing | name=TAXA 4x35 | alt= | url=https://taxa.dk/en/service-area/taxi-copenhagen-cab/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Fixed price. }} * {{listing | name=MOOVE | alt= | url=http://www.moove.taxi/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Taxi at a fixed price }} * {{listing | name=Viggo | alt= | url=https://www.viggo.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=Electric taxi at a fixed price }} * [https://dantaxi.dk/english/ '''Dantaxi'''] As of 2023, ride-share services like Uber are '''not legal''' in Copenhagen. Most larger taxi companies have apps that can be used to request cabs Uber-style. === By bicycle === {{main|Cycling in Copenhagen}} [[File:Streets of Copenhagen. Denmark, Northern Europe-2.jpg|thumb|Copenhagen cycling]] The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen and getting around is on a bike (with rentals available from most shops for a price ranging from kr 75 to kr 125 a day). Over sixty percent of Copenhageners use their bike for daily commutes and the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes on most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one-way streets. Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city as this is a common means of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Do not expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone — otherwise you could cause some nasty accidents. When you reach your destination, try to leave the bicycle in a bike rack, or otherwise clear of the sidewalk. === By scooter === Several companies rent out e-scooters using apps. Due to persistent problems with inconsiderate parking, it's forbidden to end a scooter rental within the city centre and neighbouring districts, so they are useless for most tourists — rent a bike instead. There is no restriction on parking a private scooter. Scooter users should follow the same rules and advice as for bicycles. ==See== {{SeeDistricts}} Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this ''usually'' means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour. === History === A visit to the '''Nationalmuseet''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the '''Museum of Copenhagen''' in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is '''Frilandsmuseet''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of '''Dragør''' on the southern tip of [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small '''Mølleå river''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills. ===Art=== [[File:Glyptotek.JPG|thumb|250px|The winter Garden at Glyptotek]] [[File:National_Gallery_of_Denmark_The_Lobby.jpg|alt=|thumb|444x444px|National Gallery of Denmark, The Lobby]] If you are into the arts, Copenhagen has a lot to offer. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst, entry between 95 and 120 kr) where you can feast your eyes on blockbusters from the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. There are also a number of paintings by Danish artists from the "Golden Age". Across the Royal Gardens lies Scandinavia's biggest collection of Islamic art, the '''David Collection''' (Davids Samling) which has free entrance. It also has a smaller collection of Danish paintings including some by Hammershøi and Willumsen. It's a ten-minute walk through the Royal Gardens but you might have to know the address beforehand, since the museum is a bit of a hidden treasure. For a hard-to-beat appreciation of Classical (Greece, Rome) and Near Eastern art (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran), visit the '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', which also has an extensive section devoted to 19th-century French and Danish art, with works by masters like Picasso, Leger, and Matisse. The Winter Garden inside the Glyptotek is a beautiful (and very warm!) place to rest your legs on a rainy day. These museums are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|centre, or Indre By]] area. If you are hungry for more classic art exhibitions, an excursion [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]] to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''' offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings but if you are ready for a change, head [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|south]] to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of contemporary art, mostly Scandinavian, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. However, arguably the best and most visited museum in Denmark is the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', in northern Zealand with a panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum frames the sculpture park facing the sea and the interaction between art, nature and the museum architecture is quite unique. Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art, and hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colour on an art tour, '''The Hirschsprung Collection''' in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] features the top-of-the-pops of Danish artists, with a particular focus on the Skagen painters. For something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much-loved local personality Storm P at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]]. ===Science and Natural History=== [[File:Cph zoo.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic tower of the Copenhagen zoo]] If you want your vacation to be educational, or if you want to sneak some knowledge into the kids during the vacation, there are several options to consider. The best choice for kids is perhaps the hugely entertaining, and well renowned hands-on science museum, the '''Experimentarium''' [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]]. Another popular and well-renowned institution, is the '''Copenhagen Zoo''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]], counting among both the best and oldest zoos in Europe. If you are more into stationary animals, the '''Zoology Museum''' on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] offers a different perspective on the subject. Elsewhere on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]], a little known attraction is a display of famous physicist '''Niels Bohr's Study Room''', along with a setup of his experiments ''(but as this is not a museum, you should have more than passing interest in the subject to bother with them, the tour is one hour long and usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays)''. [[Copenhagen/Indre By|City Centre]], the University of Copenhagen runs two adjacent science museums. The '''Geological Museum''' where dinosaur fossils, moon rock, and glow in the dark minerals should spark some interest in the subject for even the most school-weary kid. The '''Botanical Gardens''' on the opposite side of the street is an excellent place for a stroll in the beautiful park, even if you are not botanically inclined, and the classical palm house is a nice place to relax if it is cold outside. In poor weather, the '''Tycho Brahe Planetarium''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is another option and is part planetarium with an interesting astronomy exhibition and part omnimax theatre where they usually screen science films. === Architecture === [[File:The_Round_Tower_Spiral_Walk.jpg|alt=|thumb|250x250px|The Round Tower spiral walk]] An excellent start to any visit to Copenhagen is to climb the unique 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the observation platform of '''Rundetårn''' (the Round Tower), one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings. The top of the Round Tower offers excellent views and is smack in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|middle of the city]]. If that is not high enough for you head to [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] for a climb up the circular stairs on the outside of the church spire of the '''Church of Our Saviour'''. It is regarded as something of a test of manhood to climb up and touch the globe on the summit, nearly 100 m up in the air. And now that you're in the area, head over to the opposite side of the street to '''Christiania''', a self-governing community that has been squatting on an old naval area since the 1970s. Their inventive, brightly coloured, home built houses are spectacular, as is the relaxed atmosphere — this is truly one of Copenhagen's most unique and best attractions. Due south of Christiania the old, crooked, brightly coloured buildings and soothing canals lined with masted ships make this an excellent place to continue a stroll. Other fine examples of classical architecture include the impressive '''City Hall''' and the massive dome of the '''Frederikskirken''' colloquially known as the '''Marble Church'''. This dome, with a span of 31 meters, is one of the largest in northern Europe. Both are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. For real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and its native masters. '''Jørn Utzon''' (of Sydney Opera House fame) and Son is behind a trio of buildings on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro's]] northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex. There is a fine, but expensive restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy '''Arne Jacobsen's''' work by either sleeping at, or taking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar at the '''Royal Hotel''' which is one of the very few tall buildings in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. Alternatively, head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring his famous furniture and his name. Lastly '''Henning Larsen''', famous for his iconic buildings in [[Riyadh]], is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house overlooking the harbour in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]]. From here you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, the '''Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, after its shiny polished black granite walls. === Royal Copenhagen === [[File:Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg. Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg]] The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', make up the main residence of the Danish royal family. The octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at noon and is a highlight for any royalist visiting the city. There is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small but pretty renaissance palace, surrounded by the lovely '''King's Garden''' which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history and as a home for the crown jewels which are on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. A closed-off wing of Rosenborg serves as barracks for the Royal Guard, and every day a detachment marches through the Copenhagen city centre between Rosenborg and Amalienborg for the changing of the guard. Unusual for a well-founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It is usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try to arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. If you are hungry for more, head [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north]], where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park which formerly served as the king's hunting castle. === Design === Denmark is world-famous for its design tradition and, while the term '''Danish design''' has been devalued over the years due to much misuse, it is still a world-recognized style. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish Design Center''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]], with temporary and permanent exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops relating to the world of Danish design, in a building designed by famous architect '''Henning Larsen'''. Not too far away, '''Kunstindustrimuseet''' is home of a nice collection relating to the study of design and its history in Denmark. Also in the same district, '''Royal Copenhagen''' runs a museum display at its flagship store of its famous porcelain from its beginnings. Meanwhile, '''Cisterne''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] is an enticing museum showing modern glass art, in the intriguing catacomb like cisterns under a large park. '''Meldahls Smedie''' on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] is run by the Royal Danish school of architecture, which organizes exhibitions including final projects from students of the school here. ==Do== === Beach life === In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: '''Copencabana''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] or '''Havnebadet''' at Island Brygge on [[Amager]]. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best. If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at '''Svanemøllen Strand''', '''Charlottenlund Fort''' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and '''Amager Strandpark''' (The Lagoon), on [[Amager]] near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for '''[http://dgi-byen.com DGI Byen]''' which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|central railway station]] or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]]). === Amusement parks === [[File:Cph tivoli.jpg|top|thumb|250px|The Tivoli amusement park's main entrance at nighttime]] Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. '''Bakken''' or ''Dyrehavsbakken'' is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near [[Klampenborg]] north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — '''Tivoli''' — which is in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|city centre]] in a beautiful park surrounding a lake. === Sports === * '''Football:''' [https://www.fck.dk/ FC Copenhagen] play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF. * '''Cycling:''' and see [[Cycling in Denmark]]. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France. * '''Lifting weights:''' a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Crafts Fair | alt= | url=http://www.craftsfair.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held every year in August — Thursday-Saturday — outdoors at Frue Plads in central Copenhagen. The Crafts Fair has more than 130 exhibitors, all members of the Danish Arts and Crafts Association, exhibiting unique and small series of handmade Arts and Crafts in all categories: ceramic, glass, jewelery, textile, mixed media. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Fashion Week | alt=8-12 August 2017 | url=http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in February and August''. Copenhagen is fast emerging as a global fashion centre, with a host of both up-and-coming and already well established names. For two weeks each year more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 guests come together and celebrate their accomplishments with lavish parties, catwalks at city landmarks, and three trade fairs. }} * {{do | name=CPH PIX | alt=Copenhagen International Film Festival | url=http://www.cphpix.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(''28 September – 11 October 2017'') Denmark's largest film festival, first held in 2009 as the result of a merger between Copenhagen's two popular long running festivals — the ''Night Film Festival'' and the ''Copenhagen International Film Festival''. It will feature more than 150 screenings, with a prize of €10,000 awarded to the most promising new filmmaker. }} * {{do | name=International Workers Day | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''1 May''. A major event in Copenhagen. The main festivities are held in Fælledparken on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] and they attract over 100,000 visitors in what has lately become a 50/50 mix of a gigantic party and a political rally with speeches, happenings, and concerts. Two travelling amusement parks also set up their gear for the day, one by the main entrance at '''Trianglen''' and one in the eastern part of the park. }} * {{do | name=CPH Distortion | alt= | url=http://cphdistortion.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in the first week of June''. The longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday. }} * {{do | name=Zulu Sommerbio | alt= | url=http://zulu.tv2.dk/sommerbio | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in July and August''. Danish television station 'TV2 Zulu' plays open air films in various parks and squares of Copenhagen. There are movies in Danish and English and they are free to watch. You can buy beer and popcorn. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Jazzfestival | alt= | url=http://jazzfestival.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early July''. Features ten days of jazz everywhere in Copenhagen — parks, cafes, clubs, and theatres. Usually a few headline acts are on the program but there are more than 800 concerts to choose from and the real attraction is often the obscure concerts you bump into randomly in a park or square somewhere in the city. }} * {{do | name=Grøn Koncert | alt= | url=http://groenkoncert.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in late July''. A one day music festival in Valby Parken near Åparken station. It is a major event in Copenhagen with over 40,000 attending. There is usually an international headline act, along with several major Danish bands and the atmosphere is quite unique with people having picnics and beers on a huge field of grass in the park. Tickets are sold through Billetnet, both online and at post offices. }} * {{do | name=Stella Polaris | alt= | url=http://www.stella-polaris.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held the first weekend in August''. A big, free, chill-out event in one of the city parks. Top international DJs spin chill-out tunes on the decks, while people are relaxing in the sun and drinking beer. And the afterparty in one of the major clubs usually attracts some international headline acts. }} * {{do | name=RAW | alt= | url=http://rawcph.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early August''. Scandinavia's largest clubbing event. The organisers rightly pride themselves in carefully selecting high quality acts and more importantly the broad range of genres represented to make this an event with broad appeal to everyone in the Copenhagen nightlife scene. }} * {{do | name=Strøm | alt= | url=http://stromcph.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in August''. An annual electronic music festival. It is a gathering of the best promoters and vibrant venues Copenhagen has to offer, mixed up with events at squares, concert halls, or unusual locations throughout the city. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Pride | alt=12-20 August 2023 | url=http://copenhagenpride.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A lavish LGBT parade. The week leading up to the parade is usually full of community events and parties. Count on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladen) changing its name to Pride Square during the week and hosting live acts, concerts and debates. }} * {{do | name=Night of Culture (Kulturnatten) | alt= | url=http://kulturnatten.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in mid-October, on the last Friday before the school holiday in week 42''. You buy a badge for kr 70 and get access to major museums, exhibitions, churches, libraries, schools, organizations, the parliament and other cultural attractions including some places that are not open to the public during the rest of the year. Open from 18:00 to midnight. Attracts about 100,000 people. }} * {{do | name=MIX Copenhagen — LGBT Film Festival | alt=TBA October 2011 | url=http://cglff.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in Week 43''. Ten days of gay and queer cinema at its very best with more than 130 screenings of the world's best feature films, short films, and documentaries with gay or queer relevance, culminating in a champagne party on the final day, when the best film of the year receives its award. }} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=University of Copenhagen | alt= | url=http://www.ku.dk/english/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest university in Denmark. The university has a large selection of studies which are placed in eight different faculties. The faculties are found around the city and the main building is in central Copenhagen. }} *'''Technical University of Denmark''' This university teaches technical sciences and is in the suburb Lyngby north of Copenhagen. *'''IT University of Copenhagen''' This university teaches information technology studies and is on Amager. *'''Copenhagen Business School''' This university teaches business studies and is in Frederiksberg. ==Buy== [[File:Stroget.pg.jpg|thumb|250px|The 1.1 kilometre Strøget, along with its pedestrianised side streets, is one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe and Copenhagen's premier shopping area]] '''Strøget''' is one of the largest pedestrian malls in the world which links City Hall, Kongens Nytorv, and Nørreport station. Impeccably dressed Copenhageners breeze through high-end fashion and design stores when not zig-zagging through the hordes of tourists during the summer and Christmas seasons. Your fellow visitors can make it all feel rather touristy at times but if nothing else, it is great for people watching. If all this strange outdoor shopping takes you too far from your usual habitat, head for '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv) or '''Illums''' (on Amagertorv) for more familiar surroundings. There is even a real American style mall complete with a gargantuan parking lot out on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]]. Appropriately, it is called '''Fields'''. If you would rather sample smaller and more personal stores, the quarter of narrow streets surrounding ''Strøget'' in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|old city]] (colloquially known as ''Pisserenden'' and ''The Latin Quarter''), has a fantastic, eclectic mix of shopping. This ranges from quirky century-old businesses to the ultra hip in a wide range of fields. It is also much less crowded than Strøget, though unfortunately no less expensive. You can also try Vesterbrogade and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro#Istedgade|Istedgade]] on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]], due west of the central station, although you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/Thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory. Right at the border of this area, [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#Værnedamsvej|Værnedamsvej]] and Tullinsgade are also good bets. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Ravnsborggade|Ravnsborggade]] is well known for its huge number of antique stores that are excellent for bargain hunting and the next street to north, while more modest [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Elmegade|Elmegade]] has some small independent fashion boutiques. ===Flea markets=== Nørrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 m on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetery on Nørrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain or downright rubbish. Open from 4 April until 31 October on Saturdays 06:00 — 15:00. The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is on Israels Plads, close to the Nørreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers sell all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice gramophones and objets d'art. Open from 18 April until 10 October on Saturdays 08:00 — 14:00. ==Eat== {{SeeDistricts}} === On a budget === [[File:Smorrebrod.jpg|thumb|250px|For a hearty and traditional Danish lunch, try out the delicious ''Smørrebrød'' open-faced sandwiches]] If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many '''shawarma and pizza joints''' that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] and Nørrebrogade on [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]]. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try '''Ahaaa''' on Blågårds Plads, or '''Boys Shawarma & Is''' for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to '''Shawarma Grill House''' Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style '''all-you-can eat buffet''' restaurants dotted around the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. '''Nyhavns Faergekro''' at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's '''bakeries''' (''Bager'' — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (~kr 35) such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called ''smørrebrød''. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or with a fork and knife and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (expect to pay kr 8-10 for Danish pastry, here known as ''wienerbrød'') and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating. [[File:Copenhagen polsevogn.jpg|thumb|250px|Pølsevogn]] For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a '''pølsevogn''' (see image on the right), literally "sausage wagon", where you can get your hands on several different forms of tasty hot dogs with a free selection of various toppings for next-to-nothing by local standards. It is also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guests. To blend in, remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night, when the wagons are put into storage, 7-Eleven stores (which are open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog craving. They offer other eat-and-walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls. Also, remember to look out for the term '''''dagens ret''''' on signs and menus — this means "meal of the day" and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price. And finally, if your budget gets really small, buy some of your food in the supermarket. But watch out, prices can vary a lot depending on which supermarket you are going to. "Netto" (e.g. close to Nørrebro metro station) is the one you should look for. Irma, with a lot of fresh and delicious food, is (even for danes) a little expensive. === Michelin dining === Copenhagen has 16 Michelin starred restaurants, which is a huge number for a city of its size. This includes both Italian, French, Thai and of course the new Nordic cuisine. The new Nordic cuisine is headed by world renowned '''noma''', that has two Michelin stars and have been number one in San Pellegrinos "The World's 50 best restaurants in 2013" in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But tables can be extremely difficult to get. But if you still want to try the new Nordic cuisine '''Relæ''' and '''Kadeau''' are great options, both with one Michelin star. All three of them use traditionally Nordic ingredients and give new takes of classic Nordic dishes. '''Marv&Ben''' can be recommended for cheaper non-Michelin starred experience in the Nordic cuisine. '''Manfred og Vin''' is another possibility, Relæ's little sister, opposite Relæ offer a relaxed atmosphere but still playful and delicious organic food, wine and beer with strong Nordic roots. It is also fine just to go for a glass. '''Geranium''' and '''noma''' are the big international stars in Danish cuisine. Geranium's head chef, Rasmus Koefod, won the Bocuse d'Or (World Championship for chefs) in 2011, and Geranium has three Michelin stars. The restaurant is on 8th floor of the national soccer stadium in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro#Eat|Østerbro]]. But don't get frightened by that; there is a beautiful view over the nearby park and most of Copenhagen. The focus is more classic French than Noma, but there are still strong new Nordic vibes. The new Nordic movement have been so strong that it is almost impossible to find a Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen without at least some strong Nordic directions. One of the only exceptions is '''Era Ora''', a classic Italian one Michelin starred restaurant famous for a fantastic (though expensive) wine menu and delicious Italian treats. If the wallet is not that heavy, '''Formel B''' is a good choice. Unlike most other top restaurants there is there no expensive tasting menu or the traditional starter, main and dessert. Here all of the 20 dishes cost the same and you can choose one, two or all twenty. The only Thai restaurant in the guide is in Copenhagen and is owned by a Dane. The restaurant '''Kiin Kiin''' is in the hip and a bit trashy neighborhood [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Eat|Nørrebro]]. An affiliate was opened in Bangkok a few years ago. '''Aroii''' is one of Kiin Kiin's sister restaurants in Copenhagen, it is in the same building and offers very delicious Thai food, for much cheaper prices. Also possible for take away. Other Michelin starred restaurants include: '''Kong Hans Kælder''', which opened in 1976 and has had only have three head chefs in that time. Since then Kong Hans Kælder has been a front runner for top gourmet in Copenhagen. The focus is changing from the classic French cuisine to a new healthy paleo-inspired cuisine, probably the only Michelin starred restaurant in the world to go in that direction. Other one Michelin stars: '''Kokkeriet''', '''Restaurant AOC''', '''I Søllerød Kro''', '''Grønbech&Churchill''' and '''Den Røde Cottage''' Other top picks include: '''1. Th'''. The restaurant is decorated as a normal living room, giving the experience as being to dinner at a friends house. You pay a fixed amount before, and everyone is included. So you don't get a check afterward. A fantastic place. '''Mielcke & Hurtigkarl''' (which has been "cheated" out of a Michelin star for many years, at least according to Danish food critics) '''Marchal''' at luxury hotel D'Angleterre. A newly opened restaurant by rising star head chef Ronny Emborg. '''Alberto K''', a rising star in the Copenhagen culinary environment. '''Restaurationen''', a former Michelin star. But the owner lowered the tempo and still serves delicious food and gives top service. '''Bror''', '''Rebel''', '''Pony''', '''Pluto''', '''Clou''' and ''' Congo''' are all newly opened but show huge potential. === Brunch === Brunch is a Copenhagen institution, especially during the summer, and it is not unusual to hear a serious invitation for a morning brunch together with the ritual goodbye hug when a long night out in town draws to a close. In this way, brunch is intrinsically linked to the second local obsession of drinking. Food and fresh air is a great cure for hangovers as Copenhageners have long since discovered. Most cafés offer brunch, at least on weekends, for upwards of kr 80, often with a theme: American and French are especially widespread. One of the most popular options is '''[http://www.os-american.dk/ O's American]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' in central Copenhagen. Another popular brunch joint in the downtown hotel district, is [https://midwestern.dk/menu/ '''The Midwestern Diner'''], an American diner that is run and owned by Danish-Americans. ==Drink== [[File:Cph nyhavn.jpg|thumb|250px|Nyhavn is a popular place to go for a drink in the summer]] A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life. As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for '''[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Nyhavn]]''' but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the ''Strøget'' pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after ''the lakes'', is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. {{infobox|Drinking dictionary |* '''Cafés''' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine but they usually close around midnight and music is subdued to allow for conversations. They also serve food. * '''Bodegas''' are your average local watering holes, somewhat equivalent to a pub, with prices often much lower than bars and cafés. The clientèle is often a bit shady and you may have people staring at unfamiliar customers but behave nicely and they usually warm up to you. Try to have someone teach you the local ''træmand'', ''meyer'', or ''snyd'' dice games for a fun night. * '''Pubs''' are just that, pubs, the familiar English, Irish, and Scottish-themed exports that often do not have much in common with the actual pubs in those countries other than exported beer and interiors. * '''Bars''' are what locals tend to call everything with loud music that do not have a cover charge. Packed at weekends but more quiet at other times. * '''Clubs''', or discotheques as they are often still referred to here, are bars that have a cover charge and have a dance floor. Often only open Th-Sa. * '''Morgenværtshus'''. If you can get away with pronouncing this when you need it, you will be asking directions to a shady establishment full of people hell bent on not ending the night just yet. They usually open around 17:00 and "classics" include the 24-hour '''Hong Kong''' in Nyhavn, '''Café Guldregn''' on Vesterbro and '''Andy's''' in the city centre.}} === Clubbing === ''You can check for club listings in the various [[#Districts|districts]]'' The club scene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Th-Sa. Most locals have a party at home with friends or frequent their favourite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight and close around 05:00. Most clubs have a kr 40-80 cover charge and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Also expect an additional kr 10-20 for cloakrooms. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back kr 40-50 — a bit more than bars usually charge. ====Gay and lesbian==== For its size, Copenhagen has a rather large gay scene with a good handful of bars and dance clubs in the centre of the city within walking distance of each other. One of the better ones is ''Club Christopher'' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]]. Vela, the only bar/lounge in town that is targeted at lesbians is on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. ===Live venues=== Most of the music venues in Copenhagen also double as nightclubs so watch for them under the club sections in the different districts. Tickets for almost every event in Denmark and Copenhagen are sold through [http://billetnet.dk/ Billetnet]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} which has online sales and a counter available in all post offices. But apart from headline events, tickets are usually also sold at the entrance. Expect to pay 100 kr or more. The major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Østerbro for the biggest stars. [[Copenhagen/Indre By]], '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is a major venue with concerts of almost every genre by national and international acts. [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] has two venues: '''Rust's''' stage mainly hosts mainstream rhythmic music and '''Global''', as its name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]], it is no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera and not to be missed, the different venues of '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]]''' are a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture. Christiania's most famous venue is '''Loppen''' which has hosted many (mostly rock) acts that later grew in popularity to play bigger venues like Vega for far larger prices. ==Sleep== {{SeeDistricts}} Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as '''Scandic''', '''Radisson BLU''', '''First Hotels''' and '''Nordic Choice Hotels''' are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region. The hospitality industry is on the one hand squeezed by the high labour costs, being one of the most labour-intensive business, and on the other spoiled by relatively low competition (there are not many hotels in Copenhagen compared to other cities of a similar size). There generally is a dearth of mid-range hotels, as hotels either position themselves as low-priced (by Copenhagen standards) and limit service and facilities to the minimum, or as luxurious, and charge you every bit they need to recover the increased costs of running a fully-staffed hotel in Denmark. As competition is low and labour costs consume most of the hotels' revenues, even many high-end properties show signs of age and may not be up to the standards found in other European countries. For more accommodation options, you may head across the Øresund bridge to [[Malmö]] and other localities in [[Scania]]. You will find a wider variety of options there, often at lower prices and comparable quality to counterparts in the capital, but will need to factor in the costs (though in most cases the cost of a return fare can still be much lower than the rate differences between comparable hotels across both sides) and travel time across the border (see ''Get In'' section). === Unique accommodation === If you are looking for something unique, Copenhagen has a few surprisingly little known options. Fancy sleeping in an old fort? Then look no further than '''[[Copenhagen/Amager#Flakfortet|Flakfortet]]''' on its very own island out in the sound. Stylish rooms, classic and rather tastefully integrated into the environs of the old fort. Staying here does though exclude spending your evenings in the city, as the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon. You can also opt for the '''Dragør Fort''' on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] although they haven't pulled it off quite so nicely. In the same area, consider the old and historic beach front '''Dragør Badehotel''' in a classic building with great views over Øresund and a nearby beach, but also a fair deal of transportation time to the sights in the city centre. (Although it is close to the airport.) In the same genre, and with the same drawbacks, is '''Skovshoved Hotel''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]]. This is a historic beach hotel with nice views and a fantastic restaurant. You can get even closer to the water on the floating houseboat hotel '''CPH Living''' moored in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] . If you're a rad hipster and would rather sample some of the design for which the city is rightly famous, consider '''Hotel Fox''' where young Danish and international artists have individually decorated and furnished the rooms. Other hip options are '''STAY Copenhagen''' on the waterfront of Islands Brygge or '''Hotel Twentyseven''' near the arty cocktail lounges of the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. Or you could always max out your credit card and splurge at the timeless five star classics of '''D'Angleterre''' or '''Skt Petri Hotel'''. === On a budget === Copenhagen is an expensive city but it ''is'' possible for budget travellers to find reasonably priced accommodations. For those on an ultra low budget there are two free, but completely basic, '''camping''' grounds along the Mølleå river where you can camp for one or two nights. While camping elsewhere is no big sin, it is not legal either. There are plenty of commercial camping grounds available but if you are not used to Scandinavian price ranges, even these could seem expensive (DKK 50-200). The closest camping sites are at ''Charlottenlund Fort'' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and there is also a summer-only camping ground in the outer part of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] within the city proper. If you prefer modern comforts consider one of the [[hospitality exchange]] networks. Couchsurfing.com for instance, is quite popular with the Copenhagers, who provide 6,000 available hosted stays in the city, giving you the added bonus of having a local to point you to the great spots. There are a few '''hostels''' available and the cheapest are two summer-only (July-Aug) hostels in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]: '''YMCA Interpoint''' and '''Sleep in fact'''. Here you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as kr 100. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] the two sleep-in hostels are slightly more expensive but still a bargain compared to the general price range. A good option in this central (also named "the coolest in the world") neighbourhood is [https://urbancamper.dk/ Urban Campers Hostel]. The national hostel system [http://danhostel.dk Danhostel] which is part of Hostelling International, run several hostels in Copenhagen. Danhostel Copenhagen City is right in the centre, next to the harbour. For '''Hotels''' consider the '''[http://cabinn.com/ Cab Inn]''' chain that has three hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from €71 (single) to €103 (triples). The rooms are quite small but have TVs and private showers and toilets. There are several cheap hotels specifically catering to gays and lesbians [http://copenhagen-rainbow.dk Copenhagen Rainbow]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} being one of them. In the city centre, 500 m from Tivoli on the mainstreet of Vesterbrogade there is a few other fairly priced options for accommodation, the [http://loevenhotel.dk Loeven hotel], the [http://savoyhotel.dk Savoy Hotel], prices around €80 for a twin room. A little further out following a side street on your left hand side, in Absalonsgade you will find a youth hostel, also fairly priced although quite noisy. ==Connect== Libraries offer free internet access for one hour at a time, though this often requires signing up in advance. The ''[http://bibliotek.kk.dk/bibliotekerne/findbibliotek/hovedbiblioteket Hovedbibliotek]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'' (main library) at Krystalgade 15 has 12 freely accessible workstations and a wide selection of international newspapers. A cheap (under 20 kr/hour) internet café is in Copenhagen Central Station. Moreover, a lot of bars, cafés, McDonald's, and petrol stations offer WiFi hotspots for people with notebooks, though these are a little more expensive than internet cafés. [http://openwifi.dk/index.php?page=hotspots&search=*all*_1050_K%F8benhavn OpenWiFi]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} maintains a list of hotspots in the city. '''S-trains''' all have free WiFi. But since you must activate your account through an email confirmation, it's a good idea to register beforehand. ==Cope== ===Money=== Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone ('''kr''' or '''DKK'''), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission. Using the exchange machines present at some banks is not recommended, though, as these charge a fee of kr 25 (~€3.35). Credit cards are widely accepted, although this is usually limited to Visa and/or MasterCard. Many supermarkets and small shops will normally only accept the widespread local Danish debit-card, also known as the Dankort. But acceptance of the two major international credit cards is increasing rapidly. Other credit cards like American Express, Diners, JCB, and Unionpay are accepted in some shops in Copenhagen, especially in Strøget, the main shopping district. When accepted, a transaction fee (mandated by credit card companies, not shops) of 0.75% to 4.00% of the amount will usually be charged on credit cards issued by foreign banks. Almost all ATMs accept major international cards, including all the ones mentioned previously. Therefore, it is worth noting that although some shops may not accept all credit cards, an ATM capable of doing so will in most cases be less than 200 m away, particularly in central Copenhagen. ===Press=== The [http://cphpost.dk Copenhagen Post] is the country's sole English language newspaper, it's published weekly on Saturdays, and is available at many bars and cafés, as well as for sale in the Magasin department store, and the kiosks at the Central, Vesterport, Østerport, and Hellerup stations for kr 20. === Embassies and consulates === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=http://edina.cancilleria.gov.ar/ | email= | address=Borgergade 16 | lat=55.6834994 | long=12.5852325 | directions= | phone=+45 33 15 80 82 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=http://denmark.embassy.gov.au | email= | address=Dampfærgevej 26 | lat=55.6998729 | long=12.595523 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 36 76 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-16:30; F 08:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/embassy/copenhagen.html | email= | address=Sølundsvej 1 | lat=55.71894 | long=12.57486 | directions= | phone=+45 39 29 41 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:30-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url=http://diplomatie.be/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Øster Allé 7 | lat=55.70013 | long=12.57417 | directions= | phone=+45 35 25 02 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-16:30; F 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | alt= | url=http://copenhague.itamaraty.gov.br | email= | address=Jens Kofods Gade 1, ST. TH. 1268 Copenhagen K | lat=55.681541 | long=12.5812318 | directions= | phone=+45 3920 6478 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://mfa.bg/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Gamlehave alle 7, 2920 Charlottenlund | lat=55.76051 | long=12.56408 | directions= | phone=+45 39642484, +45 39633872 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://canadainternational.gc.ca/denmark-danemark/ | email= | address=Kristen Bernikowsgade 1 | lat=55.67985 | long=12.58217 | directions= | phone=+45 33 48 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://dk.china-embassy.org/ | email= | address=Øregårds Allé 25 | lat=55.73787 | long=12.57007 | directions= | phone=+45 39460889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/es/dinamarca/embajada-de-cuba-en-dinamarca | email= | address=Kastelsvej 19, 3tv | lat=55.696510 | long=12.587317 | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 15 10 | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 19 | lat=55.696289 | long=12.589366 | directions= | phone=+45 3543 7070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt= | url=http://www.estemb.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 19, 4. sal | lat=55.6845664 | long=12.5915321 | directions= | phone=+45 39463070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=http://www.finland.dk/ | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 24 | lat=55.6809358 | long=12.5929243 | directions= | phone=+45 33 13 42 14 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=http://ambafrance-dk.org | email= | address=Ny Østergade 3, 2nd floor | lat=55.6810503 | long=12.5871581 | directions= | phone=+45 33 67 01 64 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=http://kopenhagen.diplo.de | email= | address=Stockholmsgade 57 | lat=55.692646 | long=12.5833872 | directions= | phone=+45 35 45 99 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 except W 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=http://ghanaembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Egebjerg Allé 13 | lat=55.73778 | long=12.55808 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 82 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | alt= | url=http://mfa.gr/copenhagen | email= | address=Bornholmsgade 3 | lat=55.7408663 | long=12.5836434 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 60 48 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} *{{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://koppenhaga.mfa.gov.hu/ | email=mission.cph@mfa.gov.hu | address=Øregårdsvænget 9, 2900 | lat=55.738826 | long=12.570605 | directions= | phone=+45 39 63 16 88 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 63 00 52 | hours=Tu, Th: 09:00–13:00 W: 13:00–16:00 | price= | content= |wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-07-12}} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url=https://www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-copenhagen/embassy-information | email= | address=Strandgade 89 | lat=55.677386 | long=12.597082 | directions= | phone=+45 33 18 10 50 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=http://indian-embassy.dk | email=visa@indian-embassy.dk | address=Vangehusvej 15 | lat=55.71984 | long=12.57387 | directions= | phone=+45 39182888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/copenhagen/en/default.aspx | email=unitkomkph@kbricph.dk | address=Ørehøj Alle 1, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73829 | long=12.57195 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 44 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 (Visas 09:00-12:00) | price= | content=Also covers as the embassy of Indonesia for Lithuania }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=http://embassyofireland.dk | email= | address=Østbanegade 21 | lat=55.6958684 | long=12.5904463 | directions= | phone=+45 35 47 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:30, 14:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.mfa.gov.il | email= | address=Lundevangsvej 4 | lat=55.72404 | long=12.57081 | directions= | phone=+45 88 18 55 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambcopenaghen.esteri.it/ambasciata_copenaghen/it/| email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 7 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 68 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00, Tu-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | alt= | url=http://www.dk.emb-japan.go.jp/ | email= | address=Pilestræde 61 | lat=55.6816139 | long=12.5778373 | directions= | phone=+45 33 11 33 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Latvia}} {{listing | name=Latvia | alt= | url=http://www.am.gov.lv/copenhagen | email=embassy.denmark@mfa.gov.lv | address=Rosbæksvej 17 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57249 | directions= | phone=+45 39 27 60 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=http://dk.mfa.lt | email=amb.dk@urm.lt | address=Bernstorffsvej 214 | lat=55.75270 | long=12.55844 | directions= | phone=+45 39636207 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=646&lang=en | email=copenhagen@mfa.gov.mk | address=Skindergade 28, A, 1.th., 1159 Copenhagen | lat=55.6794912 | long=12.5742755 | directions= | phone=+45 39 766 920 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 766 923 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt=consulate | url=http://mongolietskonsulat.dk | email= | address=Bolbrovej 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 32 52 44 27 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * [[File:Flag of Nepal.svg|10px]] {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url=https://dk.nepalembassy.gov.np | email= | address=Esplanaden 46, 2 | lat=55.687832 | long=12.595503 | directions= | phone=+45 44 44 40 43 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/denmark/about-us/embassy-in-copenhagen | email= | address=Toldbodgade 33 | lat=55.682127 | long=12.593144 | directions= | phone=+45 33 70 72 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 14:00-15:00, F 14:00-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=http://nzembassy.com/ | email= | address=Store Strandstræde 21, 2.tv | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 37 77 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 13:00-14:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://norsk.dk/ | email=emb.copenhagen@mfa.no | address=Dampfærgevej 10, 4. | lat=55.697091 | long=12.5949066 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 01 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-15:30, F 08:30-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://pakistanembassy.dk | email=info@pakistanembassy.dk | address=Valeursvej 17 | lat=55.73892 | long=12.55760 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 11 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, except W 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.kopenhaga.msz.gov.pl | email= | address=Richelieus Alle 12 | lat=55.7381558 | long=12.5830372 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 77 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-14:00, except W 13:00-18:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url=http://www.embaixadadeportugal.dk/ | email=embport@get2net.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31 | lat=55.6819069 | long=12.5930488 | directions= | phone=+45 33131301 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=http://copenhaga.mae.ro/en | email=copenhaga@mae.ro | address=Strandagervej 27 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 71 77 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-12-03 | content=Also covers as the embassy of Romania for [[Iceland]]. }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | alt= | url=http://denmark.mid.ru/ | email= | address=Kristianiagade 5 | lat=55.694047 | long=12.5860566 | directions= | phone=+45 35 38 23 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/copenhagen | email=sincon@scan-group.dk | address=Snorresgade 18-20 | lat=55.6643606 | long=12.5761839 | directions= | phone=+45-32548360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/dk-ko/index.do | email= | address=Svanemøllevej 104 | lat=55.73087 | long=12.57422 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 04 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:15, 13:00-16:30; Visa Section M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | alt= | url=http://southafrica.dk/ | email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 8 | lat=55.72326 | long=12.57234 | directions= | phone=+45 39180185 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-16:00; F 08:00-13:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 21 | lat=55.6964804 | long=12.5895873 | directions= | phone=+45 35 42 22 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00–17:00, F 09:00–14:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url=http://swedenabroad.com/kopenhamn | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 15 A | lat=55.6817202 | long=12.5918346 | directions= | phone=+45 33 36 03 75 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, W also 14:00–16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/copenhagen | email= | address=Richelieus Allé 14, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73861 | long=12.58301 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 17 96 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | alt= | url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/DK | email=contact@taipeioffice.dk | address=Amaliegade 3, 2F | lat=55.6821714 | long=12.5914206 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 51 52 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url=http://thaiembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Norgesmindevej 18 | lat=55.72568 | long=12.57306 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 50 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ | email= | address=Rosbæksvej 15 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57337 | directions= | phone=+45 39 20 27 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt= | url=http://denmark.mfa.gov.ua/ | email=embassy.ua@mail.tele.dk | address=Toldbodgade 37A, 1. | lat=55.6824312 | long=12.5934775 | directions= | phone=+45 33161635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-13:00, Tu 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=http://ukindenmark.fco.gov.uk/ | email= | address=Kastelsvej 38 | lat=55.69590 | long=12.58559 | directions= | phone=+45 35 44 52 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://dk.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 | lat=55.6945855 | long=12.5830518 | directions= | phone=+45 35 55 31 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:15-23:15 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | alt= | url=http://dinamarca.embajada.gob.ve/ | email=emvendk@mail.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31, 3. | lat=55.681918 | long=12.5930527 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 63 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Vietnam}} {{listing | name=Vietnam | alt= | url=http://vietnamemb.dk/ | email=embvndk@hotmail.com | address=Bernstorffsvej 30C | lat=55.72847 | long=12.55564 | directions= | phone=+45 39 18 26 29 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} |} ==Stay safe== As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial '''112''' for emergencies, and '''114''' for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] and in the [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|western suburbs]]. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While '''racism''' is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination. == Stay healthy == Emergency Rooms (ER) are called ''Skadestue'' in Danish, as with many other health related terms and phrases, the English term may not be understood by some Danes — but conveniently Hospital is the same in Danish. Hospitals with 24 hour Emergency Wards near the city centre include: *{{listing | name=Amager Hospital | alt= | url=http://amagerhospital.dk | email= | address=Italiensvej 1, Amager | lat=55.65471 | long=12.60881 | directions= | phone=+45 32 34 35 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Bispebjerg Hospital | alt= | url=http://bispebjerghospital.dk | email= | address=Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 7C, Nordvest | lat=55.71446 | long=12.54061 | directions= | phone=+45 35 31 23 73 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Frederiksberg Hospital | alt= | url=http://frederiksberghospital.dk | email= | address=Nordre Fasanvej 57, 3A, Frederiksberg | lat=55.68721 | long=12.52576 | directions= | phone=+45 38 16 35 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} The public healthcare system also maintains doctors on call outside normal office hours, calls are screened by medical personnel, and doctors dispatched only when deemed necessary. *{{listing | name=Lægevagten | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 00 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M–F 16:00–8:00, Sa-Su all day | price=From DKK 255, Free for EU citizens | content= }} There is a 24-hour pharmacy in central Copenhagen, and 3 additional ones in the suburbs. *{{listing | name=Steno Apotek | alt= | url=http://183.netapotek.dk/ | email= | address=Vesterbrogade 6C | lat=55.6745156 | long=12.5632472 | directions=Just by the Radisson Royal hotel, near the Central station | phone=+45 33 14 82 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=regular hours: M-F 8:00–20:00,Sa 8:30–17:00 | price=There is a DKK 15 service charge outside those times. | content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Malmö]]''' &mdash; Sweden's third largest city, with a lovely historic city centre and cosy squares. Just a short, convenient train ride away. * '''[[Helsingør]]''' &mdash; Also called '''Elsinore'''. The old city centre with well preserved houses is one of the biggest in Denmark, and famous Kronborg castle, home of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Take the train from Copenhagen Central or Østerport. If you go by car the motorway is the fastest, driving along Strandvejen is the scenic route. * '''[[Hillerød]]''' &mdash; A small town dominated by the huge Frederiksborg palace, but also offers baroque gardens and a laid back city centre. Take the S-train: end of the E-line. * '''[[Roskilde]]''' &mdash; Denmark's ancient capital and a [[World Heritage site]], with a famous cathedral full of the tombs of ancient kings, and the fantastic Viking museum. Home to one of the ''Big Four'' European music festivals, Roskilde Festival, which attracts up to 110,000 visitors each year in July. There are many trains from Copenhagen Central, Nørreport and Østerport. * '''[[Øresund Coast]]''' &mdash; For the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', which is the outstanding museum of modern art in Denmark, in the small town of Humlebæk 35&nbsp;km north of Copenhagen. Via motorway E47/E5 or 35 minutes with DSB rail from the Central Station. When you use the train, special combination tickets for the rail fare and museum entry fee are available. * '''[[Ven]]''' &mdash; Visit the Swedish island Ven. Rent a bicycle and tour the island. The ferry departs from Havnegade 29 at 9:15, returns at 17:30 and costs 210&nbsp;kr for the daytrip. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E20.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Kolding]] | minorl1=[[Køge]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Göteborg]] | minorr1=[[Malmö]] | image2=Tabliczka E47.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Helsingør]] | minorl2=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Lübeck]] | minorr2=[[Køge]] | image3=Tabliczka E55.svg | imagesize3=22 | directionl3=N | majorl3=[[Helsingør]] | minorl3=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr3=S | majorr3=[[Berlin]] | minorr3=[[Køge]] }} {{isPartOf|Zealand}} {{starcity}} {{geo|55.6762|12.5675|zoom=13}} pvozqq6uu3nj1jlgd15caxqkev4eakx 5298650 5298644 2026-06-26T08:32:51Z ~2026-33378-46 2418994 /* Connect */ Update to 21st century 5298650 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Copenhagen banner Nyhavn canal.jpg|dotm=yes|star=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Copenhagen''' ([[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''København'') is the capital city of [[Denmark]] and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife ''par excellence'', yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to [[Sweden]] by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the [[Nordic countries]] and [[central Europe]]. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. __TOC__ <div style="clear:both;"></div> ==Districts== {{Mapframe|55.655|12.443|width=500|height=500|zoom=10|name=Unofficial but quite widely perceived district division of Copenhagen|staticmap=Cph_districts.png|show=other,go,mask}} {{Mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Copenhagen_Districts.map}} {{mapshapes|Q212741}}<!--Metro--> {{Mapshapes|Q585154}}<!--S-tog--> {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] | region1color=#ac5c91 | region1items= | region1description=Centrum, the Medieval City — a place of many names, and the historical heart of Copenhagen, dotted with church spires, historic buildings, narrow alleys and excellent shopping. | region2name=[[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] | region2color=#ffd0d0 | region2items= | region2description=A thriving area notable for its many canals and cozy cafes. The '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Freetown of Christiania]]''' is situated in the eastern section of Christianshavn, along with the old naval area, turned trendy: '''Holmen'''. | region3name=[[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=This district still has a few sex shops and sleazy hotels left, but is now one of the hippest places to live, with cafes and bars dotted along its main artery, '''Istedgade'''. | region4name=[[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] | region4color=#acaa78 | region4items= | region4description=An area which formed around Frederiksberg Castle. It remains an independent municipality. Surrounded by the City of Copenhagen, the area has preserved a special conservative, upscale feel. | region5name=[[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] | region5color=#d56d76 | region5items= | region5description=One of the most vibrant parts of Copenhagen, especially along Nørrebrogade, with a mix of immigrants, students, and original working-class Nørrebro-inhabitants. | region6name=[[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] | region6color=#71b37b | region6items= | region6description=A affluent and cozy neighbourhood north of the centre. Less vibrant than Nørrebro and Vesterbro, and less quaint than Frederiksberg, it is the home of the famous Little Mermaid statue, and the beautifully preserved Kastellet Citadel. The area west of the train track is very popular with young families. | region7name=[[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items=Including Saltholm | region7description=Once a bastion of the working class, this island with its own distinct atmosphere is booming with new development. Also home of the airport and the biggest shopping mall in Copenhagen. | region8name=[[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Northern suburbs]] | region8color=#d09440 | region8items= | region8description=A visit to these green suburbs, beaches, parks, and Dyrehavsbakken — the world's oldest running amusement park; Frilandsmuseet — the world's largest open air museum; or canoeing down the Mill River, will leave no doubt that this is an altogether different kind of suburbia. It is colloquially known to locals as the "whisky belt", due to its many well-heeled residents. '''[[Ballerup]]''', which has a charming museum of local history, is covered in a separate article. | region9name=[[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|Vestegnen]] | region9color=#d5dc76 | region9items= | region9description=The suburbs west and south of the city. Except for the good and very popular Arken art museum most attractions are small but still interesting. It has some good beaches and camping opportunities. }} == Understand == [[File:CPH Rundetaarnview.jpg|thumb|250px|View from Rundetårn]] ===History=== ==== Beginnings as a merchant harbour ==== If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." ==== Archbishop Absalon ==== Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of [[Roskilde]]. Absalon, archbishop of [[Lund]] 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today ''Slotsholmen'' (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital [[Roskilde]] and [[Lund]] in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent. But with prosperity comes envy and in the years to follow Copenhagen was laid waste and pillaged time and time again, mainly by the members of the German Hanseatic League, which at one point completely destroyed the city. {{infobox|Wonderful Copenhagen?|In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' featured in the 1952 film ''Hans Christian Andersen''. Sung by Danny Kaye, it is a bit of an evergreen, and — not being accustomed to Hollywood attention — the city has stuck to it ever since. What also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it is "''koh-pehn-HAY-gehn''", not "''koh-pehn-HAH-gehn''".}} ==== Becoming the capital of Denmark ==== Like the phoenix, however, Copenhagen repeatedly rose from its ashes. When the Danes kicked out the Pope during the 16th century [[Protestant Reformation]], Roskilde lost its importance as a Roman bishopric and, having taken control of the city 20 years earlier, the Danish king moved his residence to Copenhagen. Not terribly keen on seeing their new capital laid waste once more, successive Danish monarchs built massive fortifications around the city. None more so than King Christian IV, who embarked on a building rampage which not only included the ramparts still visible throughout much of the city, but also many present day landmarks like the Round Tower and the Stock Exchange. Since then Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes, and then bombarded, set ablaze, and nearly destroyed by the British Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, who in one of two battles for Copenhagen, responded to the order to withdraw by saying "You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes," and then raised the telescope to his blind eye and touted "I really do not see the signal." This was the first ever civilian bombardment performed as part of war. ==== Outgrowing the city walls ==== Again, the city shook off its struggles and the population mushroomed during industrialization. When a cholera epidemic did a fine job of killing nearly everyone there wasn't room for, the King finally conceded that long range cannons would render its constraining walls irrelevant, and thus allowed the city to grow outside the now antiquated ramparts. But it was not long before a new modern fortification was built (known as Vestvolden today), which made Copenhagen Europe's most fortified city of the late 19th century. After being subjected to yet another, German invasion during World War II, the whole idea of a fortified city was thrown out the window and replaced with one of the finest examples of urban planning anywhere — the ''Finger Plan''. Copenhagen is one of few cities in the world to devise a long-term plan for growth and then actually stick to it; try placing your hand over a map of Copenhagen with the palm as the city centre, and it's quite obvious why it's called the finger plan. Despite being the laughing stock of the country through the 1970s and 1980s, when wealthy residents all moved out into the fingers leaving behind an impoverished bankrupt inner city, a visit these days will prove that the phoenix has risen once more. ===Read and watch=== * ''Pelle the Conqueror'' (Martin Andersen Nexø, 1906–10). An epic novel in three parts and an integral part of the Danish school curriculum portraying the life of two poor Swedish immigrants — a father and son. The two last volumes take place in Copenhagen and describe the rise and the conflicts of the labour movement and global socialism which are so crucial to understanding Danish society today. All in all, it's a very good historical account of life in the city during that period, and above all, a good book. * ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (Peter Høeg, 1992). Dive into Denmark's curious post-colonial history in this international best seller. Partly set in Copenhagen, partly in Greenland, you are whirled through a murder mystery by Ms. Smilla, a half-Danish Inuit brought up in poor Greenland, but now living in the kingdom's affluent and orderly capital. It is a good account of the conflicts and contrasts between two very different parts of the Kingdom, and it offers some spot-on social critique of Danish society in a very engaging way. * The Copenhagen Quartet (Thomas E. Kennedy). Four novels totaling well over a thousand pages. Each book is set against the backdrop of one of the four seasons of the Danish capital: ''Kerrigan in Copenhagen'' (spring) (2013), ''Falling Sideways'' (autumn) (2011), ''In the Company of Angels'' (summer) (2010), and ''Beneath the Neon Egg'' (winter) (scheduled for publication, 2014). The novelist, an American expat, somewhat autobiographically portrays an American writer trying to come to terms with his past with the help of Copenhagen's many bars, with the Danish capital as the co-star. All of the places described in the books are real places that you can go discover. Copenhagen is also the setting of several [[Nordic Noir]] films and series, such as the Pusher series, ''The Bridge'', and ''The Killing''. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Copenhagen |-0.7 |3.4 |53.0 |-0.8 |3.6 |36.9 |0.7 |6.5 |42.3 |4.2 |11.8 |35.8 |8.6 |16.7 |47.2 |11.9 |19.6 |63.9 |14.3 |22.2 |60.9 |14.1 |21.8 |67.5 |10.8 |17.5 |61.0 |7.1 |12.6 |63.3 |3.3 |7.6 |56.4 |0.5 |4.4 |57.4 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Copenhagen]] | description = Averages of Copenhagen 1981–2010 }} Copenhagen, like the rest of [[Denmark]], has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the [http://dmi.dk/eng/index/forecasts.htm Danish Meteorological Institute website]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. '''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. '''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets. '''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into cosiness. It is the local way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family. Weather in Copenhagen can be unstable and highly unpredictable. Make sure you pack clothes in case of sudden rain or spell of cold (or, in the summer, of warmth) even despite long-term forecasts telling you otherwise. An umbrella, rain coat and shoes that will withstand torrential downpour may come in handy. Copenhageners dress very well, but at the same time very practically and with the realization that rain can assault their carefully chosen styling any minute. ===Tourist information=== Copenhagen's official tourist agency is ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' * {{listing | name=Copenhagen Visitor Service | alt= | url=http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/tourist-offices/copenhagen-visitor-service | email=touristinfo@woco.dk | address=Vesterbrogade 4A | lat=55.67486 | long=12.56438 | directions=Across from Tivoli's main entrance, near the central station (2&nbsp;km walk) | phone=+45 70 22 24 42 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 22 24 52 | hours=Jan–Apr M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 09:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 09:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 09:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00 | price= | content=The tourist information office is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within this office and they provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen including museums, concerts and festivals. Furthermore there is a free WiFi service available. }} ==Get in== [[File:Flughafen Kopenhagen Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|CPH seen from above]] ===By plane=== [[File:Couloir-aéroport-Copenhague-2.jpg|thumb|The cathedral-like passageway linking terminals]] ==== Copenhagen Airport (CPH) ==== {{main|Copenhagen Airport}} {{marker|type=go|name=Copenhagen Airport|url=https://www.cph.dk/en/|lat=55.6287|long=12.6486|image=Copenhagen Airport Mai 2009 PD 112.JPG}} ({{IATA|CPH}}) on the nearby island of [[Amager]] is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier '''[https://www.flysas.com/ SAS — Scandinavian Airlines]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] or [[Frankfurt]] and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''[http://easyjet.com/ EasyJet]''' serves Copenhagen from [[London]] Gatwick, [[Manchester]], [[Milan]], [[Geneva]], [[Paris]] CDG and [[Berlin]]. '''[http://norwegian.com/ Norwegian]''' offers budget flights to (among others) [[Liverpool]], [[Oslo]], [[Stockholm]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Budapest]], [[Paris]], [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]]. While CPH is one of Europe's busiest airports, with a flight taking off every 2 minutes on average well into the night, many facilities have limited opening hours. Little in the way of gastronomy or retail remains open after 20:00, even the ''CPH Apartment Lounge'' closes at 20:00 and the frequent fliers and business/first class passengers are required to wait in the empty terminal halls. If your flight is in the early hours, you can take advantage of the facilities (snacks, drinks, free Wi-Fi, relaxation and work facilities) of the ''CPH Apartment'' 05:00–20:00 for DKK239 (as of August 2022), unless your frequent-flyer plan or ticket tariff covers that already. [[File:COPENHAGEN KASTRUP AIRPORT RAILWAY STATION DENMARK SEP 2013 (9912940653).jpg|thumb|The Copenhagen Airport Station has separate platforms for trains going towards Copenhagen and towards [[Scania]] in [[Sweden]], so make sure you access the right one.]] ===== Transport to/from Copenhagen Airport ===== It takes 12 minutes by train to travel from Copenhagen Airport to the Central Station (Hovedbanegården) in Copenhagen city centre. You need a ticket for 3 zones (30kr) which can be purchased from one of the machines in the arrivals hall. The [https://intl.m.dk/ Copenhagen Metro] also connects the airport with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every 4 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes at night, taking 14 minutes to the city centre (for the same ticket and same price of 30 kr). Consider buying a City Pass or Copenhagen Card instead if you plan on visiting attractions the same day. The airport has different stations for mainline trains (underneath the arrivals hall) and for the metro (upstairs from the arrivals hall), both are in Terminal 3. The next metro station is named Kastrup — the historic name for the airport — but has nothing to do with the airport. ====Malmö Airport==== '''[https://www.swedavia.com/malmo/ Malmö Airport]''' ({{IATA|MMX}}) across the Øresund bridge has flights with ''[https://wizzair.com/ Wizzair]'' from [[Budapest]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Katowice]], and [[Warsaw]]. ''[https://www.neptunbus.dk/ Neptunbus]'' provide connecting buses from Malmö Airport to Copenhagen Central Station, these are timed in accordance with the Wizzair flights. Domestic flights within Sweden also serve Malmö Airport, but do not have direct bus connections — see [[Malmö#Get%20in]] for routes. ===By train=== [[File:Cph central.jpg|thumb|Train waiting at Copenhagen Central station]] Links between the capital and the rest of the country are frequent and excellent. There are several trains each hour to Malmö and further to Lund and Gothenburg. There are 12 daily connections on weekdays to Stockholm. There are further train services in the direction of Karlskrona and Kalmar. There are six fast connections to Hamburg and one to Berlin. From the rest of '''Denmark''' connections are frequent and numerous. In [[Jutland]] several railway branches from [[Aarhus]]/[[Aalborg]] in the North, [[Struer]] in the north-west, [[Esbjerg]] to the west, and finally [[Sønderborg]] in the south convene in [[Fredericia]], where they connect to a main line with up to four intercity trains per hour, divided into Express and Intercity trains, which runs across [[Funen]] before crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt). From there it reaches across the length of [[Zealand]] before terminating at Copenhagen's central station. If you are going in the reverse direction without a seat reservation, be mindful that the train is often broken up at Fredericia to serve the different branches, so if you do not have seat reservation, it is a bad idea just picking a random carriage in Copenhagen — check the screens on the platform to see where you should board, or ask the ticket inspectors once on the train. All cross-belt trains are operated by DSB ([http://dsb.dk Danish State Railways]). From the island of [[Bornholm]], a high speed ferry shuttles passengers to [[Ystad]] in [[Sweden]], where you will have to board the Swedish Pågatåg commuter train, then change trains to the ''Øresundstog (see below)'' again at any of the stations in Malmö to continue on to Copenhagen. A one-way combined ferry/train ticket will only set you back DKK149. Across the Øresund strait in '''Sweden''', the ''[http://dsbfirst.dk Øresundstog]'' trains departs from various towns in [[Scania|Southern Sweden]], and via [[Lund]] and [[Malmö]], crossing the Øresund bridge to Copenhagen, with a stop at the airport. The journey time from Malmö to Copenhagen Central station is 40 minutes and trains run every 15-20 minutes all day on this stretch, and every hour during the night. A single ticket between Malmö and Copenhagen costs DKK92 if using the Rejsekort app or SEK150 if using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken app], with the added benefit of unlimited local public transport on both sides of the border (except the bridge/ferry where only one crossing is permitted) for the highlighted zone until 04.00 the following day. [https://sj.se Swedish Railways]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operates up to seven X2000 express trains from [[Stockholm]] every day (five and a half hours) and one night train that continues on to Hamburg. An easy change in Malmö almost doubles that number (including one additional night train option). Passengers taking a day trip from Scania or are returning within 24 hours may consider purchasing a 24-hour ticket using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken mobile app] or ticket machines as it can cost as little as the price of two single tickets (e.g. SEK150 or approximately 194DKK between Copenhagen and Malmö) and includes unlimited use of public transport in the zones you purchased the ticket for. Foreigners should carry a valid passport or national identity card as identity documents are sometimes checked at the border. To continental '''Europe''', Intercity Express and Eurocity trains (and one Euronight train) connect [[Hamburg]] with Copenhagen, up to seven times per day. Standard prices are €130 from Berlin and €78 from Hamburg (€130 for a couchette space on the night train), but it's often possible to find discounted tickets — in Denmark, those are called ''Orange Europa'' or "sightseeing fares" which are the same price as a bus. If you're taking the day ICE/EC train during the summer, reservations are compulsory. [https://www.snalltaget.se '''Snälltåget'''] operate seasonal night trains between Sweden and Germany with a stop in suburban Copenhagen, the routes vary depending on the time of year. Only some of these trains use Copenhagen Central station, so you may need to search using "København Ørestad" or "København Syd" to find tickets. * {{go | name=Copenhagen Central Station | alt=Københavns Hovedbanegård | url= | email= | address=Bernstorffsgade 16–22 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1495052 | lastedit=2021-08-20 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:Cph oresund.jpg|thumb|The 8-km Øresund bridge leading to Malmö in Sweden]] Buses between Jutland and Copenhagen are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday to Thursday. International buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train, and destinations east of Berlin may also be faster by bus. The new Copenhagen Bus Terminal (''Københavns Busterminal'') next to Dybbølsbro Station in the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] district opened in June 2024. Many of the companies listed below are defunct, or have merged with Flixbus. From '''Jutland''' and '''Fyn''' the bus company ''EkspresRuten'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]], [[Vejle]] and [[Odense|Odense South]] several times per day. There is also a stop in [[Roskilde]]. * {{listing | name=Ekspres Ruten | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/busbestilling/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 40 75 11 71 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} From '''Jutland''' bus number ''888'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]] several times per day. Journey time is 5 hr 15 min from Aalborg. On Zealand there are additional stops in [[Holbæk]] and [[Roskilde]]. Line ''882'' runs between Copenhagen and Fjerritslev in Northwestern Jutland once every day. * {{listing | name=Abildskou | url=http://abildskou.dk | email= | address=M–F 08:00–17:00, Sa 08:00–14:00, Su 09:00–17:00 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 21 08 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} Links from '''Norway and Sweden''' are fairly frequent and very economical compared to the train. Most buses arrive and depart from DGI Byen, near the southern overpass of the central station. Passengers are generally encouraged to buy tickets on-line, but tickets can also be purchased at the ''Copenhagen Right Now'' tourist information desk near the central station. In the winter (Dec-Apr) ''[https://www.fjallexpressen.se Fjällexpressen]'' whisks skiers between Copenhagen and the Swedish ski resorts. When booking online, it's useful to know that Copenhagen is called ''Köpenhamn'' in Swedish. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=http://flixbus.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr); Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=GoByBus | alt= | url=http://gobybus.se | email=info@gobybus.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 23 54 20 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 07:30–18:00, Sa 07:30–17:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=~DKK225 | content=Oslo (8½ hr) via Gothenburg (4½ hr), line 300. }} * {{listing | name=Gråhundbus | alt= | url=http://www.graahundbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 4468 4400 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Local operator Greyhound Bus has several daily connections to Malmö and once daily to Malmö Airport. Also works with partners elsewhere to Europe. }} * {{listing | name=Nettbuss/Bus4you | url=https://www.nettbuss.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express | url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+46 771 218218 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gotenburg (5 hr) ~SEK300, line 820; Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) ~ SEK350, line 832. | content= }} From continental '''Europe''' there are several bus companies which offer numerous daily connections from Germany often at very competitive rates, most run via the ferries from Rødby to Puttgarden or Gedser to Rostock. Many of these services, especially if headed to points east such as Berlin, are considerably faster than the best train connections. Most of these buses stops near DGI byen on Ingerslevsgade. * {{listing | name=Autoprevoz | url=http://autoprevoz.ba | email=info@autoprevoz.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+387 51 317 333 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Banja Luka (25 hr, twice weekly) ~BAM300 (€150) }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express |alt=| url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 80 70 33 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Berlin (7 hr) via Rostock (4½ hr) ~SEK450, line 902 |wikipedia=|wikidata=|lastedit=2016-10-08| content=Tickets sold at the central tourist information desk. This company does allow for bicycles under certain conditions. Please check their website. }} * {{listing | name=Toptourist | url=http://www.toptourist.dk/ | email=info@toptourist.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 48 25 38 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Sarajevo via Salzburg (twice weekly) ~DKK1000 (€140) return | content=Tickets can be paid on the bus, but advance booking and payment is recommended. }} [[File:Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal on Østerbro.JPG|thumb|The Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal in the Østerbro district]] From [[Poland]], there is a host of different bus companies, each with a few weekly scheduled departures. Unfortunately the market is very fluid and routes and operators tend to change rapidly. ''[http://agat.eu/ Agat]'' provides four round trips per week between Copenhagen and [[Katowice]] (20 hr) in Southern Poland, and ''[http://eurobus.pl Eurobus]'' for connections with [[Warsaw]] (20 hr via [[Hamburg]]) once per week. If any of these companies have shut down, try searching for alternatives, as there is a good chance someone else will have taken over the traffic. ===By ferry or cruise ship=== The ferry terminal (Færgeterminal Søndre Frihavn) at Dampfærgevej 30 is close to Nordhavn station. From there the '''[https://www.gonordiccruiseline.com/ Go Nordic Cruiseline]''' departs for [[Oslo]], Norway. '''[https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en City bus line 27]''' commutes between the entrance of the ferry terminal and Østerport Station. There are two regular connections straight into Copenhagen's harbour. The most known is from [[Oslo]], Norway, with daily departures, and an over night trip that takes 16 hours. It is marketed as a cruise line, and occasionally a cruise round-trip fare can be less expensive than a one-way fare. The other ferry connection is the less known round-trip connection to [[Fredericia]], Denmark and [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania. Since the latter is a Ro-Ro freight line, you need to [http://www.dfds.com/freight-shipping/routes-and-schedules/klaipeda-copenhagen-fredericia contact DFDS for more information]. Copenhagen is also a very popular port of call for cruises touring both the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian fjords. The main cruise terminal is on Oceankaj in the North harbour. Bus 27 connects to Østerport station. ===By car=== Visiting Copenhagen by car means planning for where to park. Driving during working hours in the centre of Copenhagen is not advisable, except of course when going to and from your hotel or where you might spend the night. It is quite expensive to park in the medieval part of Copenhagen, 20 to 36 kr (approximately €2.65–4.80) an hour during working hours. If the car is just the means of sightseeing, the cheapest would be to park at one of the S-train or metro stations in the outskirts of Copenhagen Municipality and take the train or a bus to your destination. As of 1 October 2023 a low emission zone have been introduced in Copenhagen, see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. ====Parking==== There is paid parking on public roads for cars and motorcycles in large parts of '''Copenhagen Municipality'''. Paid parking areas are divided into four colour coded zones with different rate levels. There is free parking in all zones for vehicles with a valid and visible disability badge. Parking during weekends from Saturday at 17:00 until Monday at 08:00 is for free, as well as parking on public holidays. Copenhagen Municipality has issued a [https://international.kk.dk/sites/default/files/2021-07/p-miniguide-en_maj_2018.pdf mini parking guide]. Consult the [https://international.kk.dk/live/transport-and-parking/parking-in-copenhagen/public-parking-in-copenhagen map from Copenhagen Municipality] to find areas without paid or time-restricted parking (in white). The map also indicates S-train and metro stations but excludes Frederiksberg. Parking in Copenhagen is subject to stringent regulations aimed at curbing congestion and promoting sustainable transportation methods. The city actively encourages residents and visitors alike to opt for public transit, cycling, or walking whenever feasible. However, for those requiring parking facilities, a range of options exists, including metered street parking, multi-level parking structures, and designated zones.  '''Frederiksberg Municipality''' is encircled by Copenhagen Municipality, and driving around a street corner to find a parking spot could mean entering another municipality with different pricing. Frederiksberg has different rules for parking with a single two-hour parking zone in force on public streets from 07:00 to 24:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays. This means there is 2 hours free parking using a parking app in most places in Frederiksberg. See [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#By car|Frederiksberg#By car]] for details and always look for local restrictions. ===By yacht=== {{see also|Boating on the Baltic Sea}} If you are arriving under your own sail, Copenhagen is on Øresund. There are several marinas, the biggest of which is '''[http://smhavn.dk Svanemøllehavnen]'''. There are no designated visitor berths but it is almost always possible to find one with a green sign. Daily charge: DKK75–120. * {{buy | name=Hellers | alt= | url=https://hellers.dk | email= | address=Kastrup strandpark 9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=The biggest shop for boat equipment. }} ==Get around== Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two interchange hubs are Copenhagen Central Station (''Københavns Hovedbanegård'' in Danish) with intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/ Rejseplanen]. === Fares === A bewildering number of tickets and passes are available for travel on public transport in Copenhagen. The most practical, convenient and cost effective way to travel is by using the Rejsekort app or the Basiskort card. These can also be used throughout the rest of Denmark. The '''[https://www.rejsekort.dk/rejsekort_app Rejsekort]''' app enables you to ''digitally'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply swipe the green arrow left and right and the app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The app accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. You cannot do so whilst in transit. The [https://www.rejsekort.dk/Basiskort '''Basiskort'''] card enables you to ''physically'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply tap the card on the yellow validators and the card will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The card accommodates adult and child fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The card costs kr 80 and is non-refundable. It can be purchased and topped up at station kiosks and DSB 7-Eleven stores. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. This includes whilst in transit. The default setting is adult and local travel. The default setting can be changed to child, national travel, or both at station kiosks or DSB 7-Elevens. The [https://www.rejsebillet.dk/en-us '''Rejsebillet'''] app enables you to purchase the following tickets and passes: * '''Single Ticket 2-8 Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses in your chosen zones for a fixed time period. For example, a two-zone ticket costs kr 24 and allows you to travel around central Copenhagen for one hour and 15 minutes. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''Single Ticket 9+ Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses from point A to point B. For example, a nine-zone ticket costs kr 66 and allows you to travel from Copenhagen to Hillerød. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Small''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–4 (including Copenhagen Airport) for 24 hours (kr 100), 48 hours (kr 160), 72 hours (kr 220), 96 hours (kr 280) or 120 hours (kr 340). This pass is the most reasonable choice if you intend to stay in the city itself (not the remote parts of Copenhagen region). [[Cycling in Copenhagen|Renting a bike]] is also a viable option instead of, or in addition to, obtaining this pass. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Large''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–99 (including Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Hillerød, Helsingør, etc.) for 24 hours (kr 200), 48 hours (kr 320), 72 hours (kr 440), 96 hours (kr 560) or 120 hours (kr 680). Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. The '''[https://www.copenhagencard.com Copenhagen Card City Guide]''' app enables you to purchase the '''Copenhagen Card'''. This pass gives you unlimited rides throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The pass can be bought for 24 hours (kr 559), 48 hours (kr 819), 72 hours (kr 989), 96 hours (kr 1159) or 120 hours (kr 1339). Many museums are either free or closed on Sundays and Mondays, thus making the pass less valuable on those days. Furthermore, pass holders get discounts to several different tour companies providing experiences in the city. If you expect to visit more than three attractions a day, a multi-day pass will most likely be worth it, as most attractions have tickets starting at kr 100. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. Paper tickets for the train and metro can be purchased at station kiosks and vending machines using a credit card, debit card or cash. Paper tickets for the bus can be purchased onboard using exact cash only. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is up to kr 750 and ticket inspectors are commonplace. Passengers whose journeys involve Malmö in Sweden should consider using the Skånetrafiken app. The app accepts credit and debit cards (VISA and Mastercard). Select a point in Copenhagen as one of the stops. Single tickets crossing the Oresund bridge start at SEK150 (approximately kr 100) and get more expensive if you select points further away from the city centres of Copenhagen and Malmö so therefore select the farthest points in both cities that you are expected to visit within the day. There is a 20% discount if two adults are travelling together. Single tickets are permitted unlimited travel within the zone you purchased a fare for, except the Oresund bridge crossing itself, where you may cross the bridge only once. Single tickets expire at 0400h the following day. The 24-hour ticket option (from SEK300 or kr 200) on the other hand permits an unlimited number of crossings on the Oresund bridge within 24 hours, thus allowing passengers who plan to stay in the cheaper accommodations Malmö has to offer to return there after a day trip to Copenhagen. You can use the ticket on all public transport in Copenhagen. Note the Skånetrafiken's Reskort card will ''not'' work on Basiskort validators. If you are traveling into Copenhagen with a Reskort card you must instead print a paper "inspection ticket" (inspektionskvitto) at a Skånetrafiken ticket machine beforehand as proof that there is a valid cross-border ticket stored on the Reskort card. Otherwise you will be fined as if you were without a valid ticket. There are Skånetrafiken ticket machines at Copenhagen Airport and Central Station if you have lost your inspection ticket or forgotten to print one beforehand. === By train === The [http://dsb.dk/s-tog S-train (S-tog in Danish)] is the backbone of the city's public transit system, and is very similar to the German S-Bahn and Parisian RER networks. The distinct red trains are clean, modern, and equipped with free WiFi. The system runs from early morning to late night, each line in ten minute intervals during the day (M-F 06:00–18:00) and at twenty minute intervals in the early morning and late at night. On the weekends, the trains run twice an hour at night and some of the lines are extended. Since most lines join on a single railway line through the city centre, there are only a couple of minutes of waiting between each train in the inner districts. The F and C-lines are exceptions, the F line does a half loop outside the central area, with trains every five minutes throughout most of the day. The C-line is extended to [[Frederikssund]] during day time, but scaled back to Ballerup at other times. Announcements are in Danish only; remember to ask your fellow travellers for help though they are mostly cursory. Bikes can be taken for free; special bicycle compartments exist in the carriages. === By metro=== [[File:Metro Airport Copenhagen Denmark 01.jpg|thumb|right|The ends of automated Metro trains provide a full view — even if not all sections of the tracks are interesting, like this one on the way to the airport.]] Copenhagen has a modern, clean and punctual metro system. It's made up of 4 lines: * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m1}}: Vanløse – Vestamager * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m2}}: Vanløse – Copenhagen Airport * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m3}}: City Circle Line * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m4}}: Copenhagen South – Orientkaj Line M1 and M2 run along the same line between Vanløse and Christianshavn. All lines intersect at Kongens Nytorv and a transfer between the M3 and M1 or M2 is also possible at Frederiksberg. [[File:Copenhagen Metro 2020.svg|thumb|Copenhagen Metro Line Map with the 4 lines that are in operation]] The metro operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Frequencies decrease at night, during the day most lines run every 4 minutes. Maintenance work is usually carried out at night, which sometimes results in a changed timetable or replacement buses at night. The Copenhagen Metro is driverless, and doors close at a given time, even if all waiting passengers haven't entered the train. Wait for the next train instead of trying to squeeze through in the last second (that's both dangerous and illegal). The trains run with short intervals (down 2 minutes during peak hours). Because the metro is driverless, the trains have been designed with big windows at each end, and the trains are accordingly fitted with rows of seats facing them. This can be an extra treat to the visitors (and especially children) on the metro. The parts of the system that operate above ground are: Vanløse – Lindevang, DR Byen – Vestamager and Lergravsparken – Copenhagen Airport. The most interesting views are between Islands Brygge and Vestamager. Line M3 runs entirely underground and covers the Central Station. As Line M3 is a circular line, there are no terminating stations and trains run either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The direction the train is travelling in is identified by the next major station in that direction such as 'via Frederiksberg' or 'via Kongens Nytorv' at the central station. It is therefore especially important to check the system map and electronic station boards to ensure you are getting on the train that gets to your intended destination station more quickly. Line M4 share the line with M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport via Kongens Nytorv, before branching out to terminate at Orientkaj. An extension to Copenhagen South opened in 2024.[[File:Copenhagen A-bus 2020 11.png|thumb|right|Schematic map of A-bus lines spanning Copenhagen as of November 2020]] === By bus === Copenhagen has a fairly extensive and efficient [http://www.moviatrafik.dk/dinrejse/kort/trafikkort/Documents/Hovedstadsomraadet/BusserKobenhavnCity.pdf bus network]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. It can be troublesome for visitors to figure out what line to take to their destination as there is little in the way of network maps available at bus stops and schedules rarely include the entire route. That said, many stops do have a small electronic display showing how many minutes are left until the next bus arrives. The front doors are for boarding only — alight using other doors. There are several types of bus available: * '''Regular buses''' are denoted by their number, * '''A buses''' are the backbone of the city's bus network which consists of seven different lines with frequent departures and stops. During the day time there are no schedules as buses usually depart at least every ten minutes. They are also operating at night. * '''5C''' is a special bus line with articulated buses that operates even more frequently than the A buses. It serves the northwestern suburbs and link important locations such as Nørrebro st, Nørreport st, the city hall, Copenhagen Central Station, Amagerbro St., the Blue Planet aquarium and Copenhagen airport. * '''S buses''' are long express services with few stops and extend far into the suburbs, usually across the radial suburban train network or along corridors with no rail service. They can also be useful between points in the centre as they are faster than other lines. * '''E buses''' are express rush-hour services of little use to travellers as they mainly service commuters. * '''N buses''' are a network of ten bus lines operating at night between 01:00–05:00 daily, when normal traffic is halted, and they are much more frequent at weekends. '''[http://sightseeing.dk CitySightseeing]''' runs three hop-on hop-off tours around the city in open-top double-decker buses. The main line leaves every 30 minutes, while the two other lines depart every hour in high season (Jun-Aug). Outside the peak season, services are halved. The price is kr 150 for a one-day ticket or kr 220 for a two-day ticket which also includes the DFDS canal tour boats. === By boat === [[File:Nyhavn, canal tour boats.jpg|thumb|right|The canal tour boats, here seen docking in Nyhavn, are an excellent way to see many of the city's attractions]] Going on a canal tour of the inner harbour and canals is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. *{{listing | name=Canal Tours | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.dk/en/copenhagen/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/ | email=info@stromma.dk | address=Nyhavn 3 | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 96 30 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:30–20:00 | price=Waterbus (unguided): Single kr 40, All day kr 60; Tour (guided): Single kr 60, All day kr 75. Various discounts available | content=Operates both an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have three guided tours, either by a pre-recorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide. Be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. If you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass-roofed boat at this time of the year. An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which for kr 220 gives unlimited transportation for two days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double-decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing. }} *{{listing | name=Netto-bådene | alt= | url=https://www.havnerundfart.dk/canaltours/index.php?page=forside.php | email= | address=Heibergsgade (Nyhavn) | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 54 41 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00–17:00 (19:00 in July & August) | price=kr 50 (July 2019) | content=Offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March. }} A different option is the public harbour bus, which, while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system using the same tickets as buses and trains. *{{listing | name=Movia | url=http://moviatrafik.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK | email= | address=Customer centre at Rådhuspladen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 36 13 14 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:00–19:00 | price=Uses public ticketing system | content= }} === By taxi === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | Taxis are abundant throughout the city and of a very high standard — usually a Mercedes or BMW. They are pricey though, and the wait to get one can be long on a Friday or Saturday night. You can hail a taxi on the street or call for one to come pick you up at a specific address at a specific time for a small extra fee (kr 12-15). At crucial traffic junctures throughout the city, there are special areas where taxis hold in line to pick up customers. Except for a very long trip, it is not common (or recommended) to haggle about the price. All taxis accept major international credit cards and most will accept euro cash payment and some even list prices in euros on the meter. Sometimes taxi drivers request you to withdraw money in an ATM when paying with card, this is mostly a scam to do the trip off-licence. | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | '''Copenhagen Taxi companies''' * {{listing | name=Amager-Øbro Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 32 51 51 51 }} * {{listing | name=Codan Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 25 25 25 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa 4x35 | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 35 35 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=TaxaMotor A/S | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 338 338 }} * {{listing | name=Ballerup-Værløse-Herlev Taxa | alt=Northwestern suburbs | phone=+45 44 85 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa Selandia | alt=Southern suburbs | phone=+45 70 10 66 66 }} * {{listing | name=Taxinord | alt=Northern Suburbs | phone=+45 45 83 83 83 }} * {{listing | name=Vest-Taxa | alt=Western Suburbs | phone=+45 43 45 45 45 }} |} Prices range kr 11-16 per kilometre depending on the time of day and the meter flag-fall charge is kr 25. Generally you can trust taxis with prices and the route taken. Because of the high flag-fall charge, it can be better financially for taxi drivers to have many trips rather than long trips, so it is therefore often in their own interest to take the shortest route. * {{listing | name=TAXA 4x35 | alt= | url=https://taxa.dk/en/service-area/taxi-copenhagen-cab/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Fixed price. }} * {{listing | name=MOOVE | alt= | url=http://www.moove.taxi/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Taxi at a fixed price }} * {{listing | name=Viggo | alt= | url=https://www.viggo.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=Electric taxi at a fixed price }} * [https://dantaxi.dk/english/ '''Dantaxi'''] As of 2023, ride-share services like Uber are '''not legal''' in Copenhagen. Most larger taxi companies have apps that can be used to request cabs Uber-style. === By bicycle === {{main|Cycling in Copenhagen}} [[File:Streets of Copenhagen. Denmark, Northern Europe-2.jpg|thumb|Copenhagen cycling]] The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen and getting around is on a bike (with rentals available from most shops for a price ranging from kr 75 to kr 125 a day). Over sixty percent of Copenhageners use their bike for daily commutes and the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes on most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one-way streets. Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city as this is a common means of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Do not expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone — otherwise you could cause some nasty accidents. When you reach your destination, try to leave the bicycle in a bike rack, or otherwise clear of the sidewalk. === By scooter === Several companies rent out e-scooters using apps. Due to persistent problems with inconsiderate parking, it's forbidden to end a scooter rental within the city centre and neighbouring districts, so they are useless for most tourists — rent a bike instead. There is no restriction on parking a private scooter. Scooter users should follow the same rules and advice as for bicycles. ==See== {{SeeDistricts}} Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this ''usually'' means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour. === History === A visit to the '''Nationalmuseet''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the '''Museum of Copenhagen''' in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is '''Frilandsmuseet''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of '''Dragør''' on the southern tip of [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small '''Mølleå river''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills. ===Art=== [[File:Glyptotek.JPG|thumb|250px|The winter Garden at Glyptotek]] [[File:National_Gallery_of_Denmark_The_Lobby.jpg|alt=|thumb|444x444px|National Gallery of Denmark, The Lobby]] If you are into the arts, Copenhagen has a lot to offer. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst, entry between 95 and 120 kr) where you can feast your eyes on blockbusters from the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. There are also a number of paintings by Danish artists from the "Golden Age". Across the Royal Gardens lies Scandinavia's biggest collection of Islamic art, the '''David Collection''' (Davids Samling) which has free entrance. It also has a smaller collection of Danish paintings including some by Hammershøi and Willumsen. It's a ten-minute walk through the Royal Gardens but you might have to know the address beforehand, since the museum is a bit of a hidden treasure. For a hard-to-beat appreciation of Classical (Greece, Rome) and Near Eastern art (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran), visit the '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', which also has an extensive section devoted to 19th-century French and Danish art, with works by masters like Picasso, Leger, and Matisse. The Winter Garden inside the Glyptotek is a beautiful (and very warm!) place to rest your legs on a rainy day. These museums are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|centre, or Indre By]] area. If you are hungry for more classic art exhibitions, an excursion [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]] to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''' offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings but if you are ready for a change, head [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|south]] to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of contemporary art, mostly Scandinavian, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. However, arguably the best and most visited museum in Denmark is the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', in northern Zealand with a panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum frames the sculpture park facing the sea and the interaction between art, nature and the museum architecture is quite unique. Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art, and hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colour on an art tour, '''The Hirschsprung Collection''' in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] features the top-of-the-pops of Danish artists, with a particular focus on the Skagen painters. For something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much-loved local personality Storm P at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]]. ===Science and Natural History=== [[File:Cph zoo.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic tower of the Copenhagen zoo]] If you want your vacation to be educational, or if you want to sneak some knowledge into the kids during the vacation, there are several options to consider. The best choice for kids is perhaps the hugely entertaining, and well renowned hands-on science museum, the '''Experimentarium''' [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]]. Another popular and well-renowned institution, is the '''Copenhagen Zoo''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]], counting among both the best and oldest zoos in Europe. If you are more into stationary animals, the '''Zoology Museum''' on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] offers a different perspective on the subject. Elsewhere on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]], a little known attraction is a display of famous physicist '''Niels Bohr's Study Room''', along with a setup of his experiments ''(but as this is not a museum, you should have more than passing interest in the subject to bother with them, the tour is one hour long and usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays)''. [[Copenhagen/Indre By|City Centre]], the University of Copenhagen runs two adjacent science museums. The '''Geological Museum''' where dinosaur fossils, moon rock, and glow in the dark minerals should spark some interest in the subject for even the most school-weary kid. The '''Botanical Gardens''' on the opposite side of the street is an excellent place for a stroll in the beautiful park, even if you are not botanically inclined, and the classical palm house is a nice place to relax if it is cold outside. In poor weather, the '''Tycho Brahe Planetarium''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is another option and is part planetarium with an interesting astronomy exhibition and part omnimax theatre where they usually screen science films. === Architecture === [[File:The_Round_Tower_Spiral_Walk.jpg|alt=|thumb|250x250px|The Round Tower spiral walk]] An excellent start to any visit to Copenhagen is to climb the unique 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the observation platform of '''Rundetårn''' (the Round Tower), one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings. The top of the Round Tower offers excellent views and is smack in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|middle of the city]]. If that is not high enough for you head to [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] for a climb up the circular stairs on the outside of the church spire of the '''Church of Our Saviour'''. It is regarded as something of a test of manhood to climb up and touch the globe on the summit, nearly 100 m up in the air. And now that you're in the area, head over to the opposite side of the street to '''Christiania''', a self-governing community that has been squatting on an old naval area since the 1970s. Their inventive, brightly coloured, home built houses are spectacular, as is the relaxed atmosphere — this is truly one of Copenhagen's most unique and best attractions. Due south of Christiania the old, crooked, brightly coloured buildings and soothing canals lined with masted ships make this an excellent place to continue a stroll. Other fine examples of classical architecture include the impressive '''City Hall''' and the massive dome of the '''Frederikskirken''' colloquially known as the '''Marble Church'''. This dome, with a span of 31 meters, is one of the largest in northern Europe. Both are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. For real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and its native masters. '''Jørn Utzon''' (of Sydney Opera House fame) and Son is behind a trio of buildings on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro's]] northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex. There is a fine, but expensive restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy '''Arne Jacobsen's''' work by either sleeping at, or taking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar at the '''Royal Hotel''' which is one of the very few tall buildings in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. Alternatively, head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring his famous furniture and his name. Lastly '''Henning Larsen''', famous for his iconic buildings in [[Riyadh]], is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house overlooking the harbour in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]]. From here you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, the '''Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, after its shiny polished black granite walls. === Royal Copenhagen === [[File:Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg. Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg]] The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', make up the main residence of the Danish royal family. The octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at noon and is a highlight for any royalist visiting the city. There is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small but pretty renaissance palace, surrounded by the lovely '''King's Garden''' which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history and as a home for the crown jewels which are on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. A closed-off wing of Rosenborg serves as barracks for the Royal Guard, and every day a detachment marches through the Copenhagen city centre between Rosenborg and Amalienborg for the changing of the guard. Unusual for a well-founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It is usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try to arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. If you are hungry for more, head [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north]], where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park which formerly served as the king's hunting castle. === Design === Denmark is world-famous for its design tradition and, while the term '''Danish design''' has been devalued over the years due to much misuse, it is still a world-recognized style. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish Design Center''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]], with temporary and permanent exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops relating to the world of Danish design, in a building designed by famous architect '''Henning Larsen'''. Not too far away, '''Kunstindustrimuseet''' is home of a nice collection relating to the study of design and its history in Denmark. Also in the same district, '''Royal Copenhagen''' runs a museum display at its flagship store of its famous porcelain from its beginnings. Meanwhile, '''Cisterne''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] is an enticing museum showing modern glass art, in the intriguing catacomb like cisterns under a large park. '''Meldahls Smedie''' on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] is run by the Royal Danish school of architecture, which organizes exhibitions including final projects from students of the school here. ==Do== === Beach life === In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: '''Copencabana''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] or '''Havnebadet''' at Island Brygge on [[Amager]]. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best. If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at '''Svanemøllen Strand''', '''Charlottenlund Fort''' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and '''Amager Strandpark''' (The Lagoon), on [[Amager]] near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for '''[http://dgi-byen.com DGI Byen]''' which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|central railway station]] or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]]). === Amusement parks === [[File:Cph tivoli.jpg|top|thumb|250px|The Tivoli amusement park's main entrance at nighttime]] Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. '''Bakken''' or ''Dyrehavsbakken'' is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near [[Klampenborg]] north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — '''Tivoli''' — which is in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|city centre]] in a beautiful park surrounding a lake. === Sports === * '''Football:''' [https://www.fck.dk/ FC Copenhagen] play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF. * '''Cycling:''' and see [[Cycling in Denmark]]. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France. * '''Lifting weights:''' a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Crafts Fair | alt= | url=http://www.craftsfair.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held every year in August — Thursday-Saturday — outdoors at Frue Plads in central Copenhagen. The Crafts Fair has more than 130 exhibitors, all members of the Danish Arts and Crafts Association, exhibiting unique and small series of handmade Arts and Crafts in all categories: ceramic, glass, jewelery, textile, mixed media. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Fashion Week | alt=8-12 August 2017 | url=http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in February and August''. Copenhagen is fast emerging as a global fashion centre, with a host of both up-and-coming and already well established names. For two weeks each year more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 guests come together and celebrate their accomplishments with lavish parties, catwalks at city landmarks, and three trade fairs. }} * {{do | name=CPH PIX | alt=Copenhagen International Film Festival | url=http://www.cphpix.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(''28 September – 11 October 2017'') Denmark's largest film festival, first held in 2009 as the result of a merger between Copenhagen's two popular long running festivals — the ''Night Film Festival'' and the ''Copenhagen International Film Festival''. It will feature more than 150 screenings, with a prize of €10,000 awarded to the most promising new filmmaker. }} * {{do | name=International Workers Day | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''1 May''. A major event in Copenhagen. The main festivities are held in Fælledparken on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] and they attract over 100,000 visitors in what has lately become a 50/50 mix of a gigantic party and a political rally with speeches, happenings, and concerts. Two travelling amusement parks also set up their gear for the day, one by the main entrance at '''Trianglen''' and one in the eastern part of the park. }} * {{do | name=CPH Distortion | alt= | url=http://cphdistortion.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in the first week of June''. The longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday. }} * {{do | name=Zulu Sommerbio | alt= | url=http://zulu.tv2.dk/sommerbio | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in July and August''. Danish television station 'TV2 Zulu' plays open air films in various parks and squares of Copenhagen. There are movies in Danish and English and they are free to watch. You can buy beer and popcorn. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Jazzfestival | alt= | url=http://jazzfestival.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early July''. Features ten days of jazz everywhere in Copenhagen — parks, cafes, clubs, and theatres. Usually a few headline acts are on the program but there are more than 800 concerts to choose from and the real attraction is often the obscure concerts you bump into randomly in a park or square somewhere in the city. }} * {{do | name=Grøn Koncert | alt= | url=http://groenkoncert.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in late July''. A one day music festival in Valby Parken near Åparken station. It is a major event in Copenhagen with over 40,000 attending. There is usually an international headline act, along with several major Danish bands and the atmosphere is quite unique with people having picnics and beers on a huge field of grass in the park. Tickets are sold through Billetnet, both online and at post offices. }} * {{do | name=Stella Polaris | alt= | url=http://www.stella-polaris.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held the first weekend in August''. A big, free, chill-out event in one of the city parks. Top international DJs spin chill-out tunes on the decks, while people are relaxing in the sun and drinking beer. And the afterparty in one of the major clubs usually attracts some international headline acts. }} * {{do | name=RAW | alt= | url=http://rawcph.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early August''. Scandinavia's largest clubbing event. The organisers rightly pride themselves in carefully selecting high quality acts and more importantly the broad range of genres represented to make this an event with broad appeal to everyone in the Copenhagen nightlife scene. }} * {{do | name=Strøm | alt= | url=http://stromcph.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in August''. An annual electronic music festival. It is a gathering of the best promoters and vibrant venues Copenhagen has to offer, mixed up with events at squares, concert halls, or unusual locations throughout the city. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Pride | alt=12-20 August 2023 | url=http://copenhagenpride.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A lavish LGBT parade. The week leading up to the parade is usually full of community events and parties. Count on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladen) changing its name to Pride Square during the week and hosting live acts, concerts and debates. }} * {{do | name=Night of Culture (Kulturnatten) | alt= | url=http://kulturnatten.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in mid-October, on the last Friday before the school holiday in week 42''. You buy a badge for kr 70 and get access to major museums, exhibitions, churches, libraries, schools, organizations, the parliament and other cultural attractions including some places that are not open to the public during the rest of the year. Open from 18:00 to midnight. Attracts about 100,000 people. }} * {{do | name=MIX Copenhagen — LGBT Film Festival | alt=TBA October 2011 | url=http://cglff.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in Week 43''. Ten days of gay and queer cinema at its very best with more than 130 screenings of the world's best feature films, short films, and documentaries with gay or queer relevance, culminating in a champagne party on the final day, when the best film of the year receives its award. }} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=University of Copenhagen | alt= | url=http://www.ku.dk/english/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest university in Denmark. The university has a large selection of studies which are placed in eight different faculties. The faculties are found around the city and the main building is in central Copenhagen. }} *'''Technical University of Denmark''' This university teaches technical sciences and is in the suburb Lyngby north of Copenhagen. *'''IT University of Copenhagen''' This university teaches information technology studies and is on Amager. *'''Copenhagen Business School''' This university teaches business studies and is in Frederiksberg. ==Buy== [[File:Stroget.pg.jpg|thumb|250px|The 1.1 kilometre Strøget, along with its pedestrianised side streets, is one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe and Copenhagen's premier shopping area]] '''Strøget''' is one of the largest pedestrian malls in the world which links City Hall, Kongens Nytorv, and Nørreport station. Impeccably dressed Copenhageners breeze through high-end fashion and design stores when not zig-zagging through the hordes of tourists during the summer and Christmas seasons. Your fellow visitors can make it all feel rather touristy at times but if nothing else, it is great for people watching. If all this strange outdoor shopping takes you too far from your usual habitat, head for '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv) or '''Illums''' (on Amagertorv) for more familiar surroundings. There is even a real American style mall complete with a gargantuan parking lot out on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]]. Appropriately, it is called '''Fields'''. If you would rather sample smaller and more personal stores, the quarter of narrow streets surrounding ''Strøget'' in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|old city]] (colloquially known as ''Pisserenden'' and ''The Latin Quarter''), has a fantastic, eclectic mix of shopping. This ranges from quirky century-old businesses to the ultra hip in a wide range of fields. It is also much less crowded than Strøget, though unfortunately no less expensive. You can also try Vesterbrogade and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro#Istedgade|Istedgade]] on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]], due west of the central station, although you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/Thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory. Right at the border of this area, [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#Værnedamsvej|Værnedamsvej]] and Tullinsgade are also good bets. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Ravnsborggade|Ravnsborggade]] is well known for its huge number of antique stores that are excellent for bargain hunting and the next street to north, while more modest [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Elmegade|Elmegade]] has some small independent fashion boutiques. ===Flea markets=== Nørrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 m on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetery on Nørrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain or downright rubbish. Open from 4 April until 31 October on Saturdays 06:00 — 15:00. The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is on Israels Plads, close to the Nørreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers sell all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice gramophones and objets d'art. Open from 18 April until 10 October on Saturdays 08:00 — 14:00. ==Eat== {{SeeDistricts}} === On a budget === [[File:Smorrebrod.jpg|thumb|250px|For a hearty and traditional Danish lunch, try out the delicious ''Smørrebrød'' open-faced sandwiches]] If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many '''shawarma and pizza joints''' that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] and Nørrebrogade on [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]]. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try '''Ahaaa''' on Blågårds Plads, or '''Boys Shawarma & Is''' for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to '''Shawarma Grill House''' Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style '''all-you-can eat buffet''' restaurants dotted around the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. '''Nyhavns Faergekro''' at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's '''bakeries''' (''Bager'' — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (~kr 35) such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called ''smørrebrød''. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or with a fork and knife and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (expect to pay kr 8-10 for Danish pastry, here known as ''wienerbrød'') and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating. [[File:Copenhagen polsevogn.jpg|thumb|250px|Pølsevogn]] For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a '''pølsevogn''' (see image on the right), literally "sausage wagon", where you can get your hands on several different forms of tasty hot dogs with a free selection of various toppings for next-to-nothing by local standards. It is also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guests. To blend in, remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night, when the wagons are put into storage, 7-Eleven stores (which are open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog craving. They offer other eat-and-walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls. Also, remember to look out for the term '''''dagens ret''''' on signs and menus — this means "meal of the day" and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price. And finally, if your budget gets really small, buy some of your food in the supermarket. But watch out, prices can vary a lot depending on which supermarket you are going to. "Netto" (e.g. close to Nørrebro metro station) is the one you should look for. Irma, with a lot of fresh and delicious food, is (even for danes) a little expensive. === Michelin dining === Copenhagen has 16 Michelin starred restaurants, which is a huge number for a city of its size. This includes both Italian, French, Thai and of course the new Nordic cuisine. The new Nordic cuisine is headed by world renowned '''noma''', that has two Michelin stars and have been number one in San Pellegrinos "The World's 50 best restaurants in 2013" in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But tables can be extremely difficult to get. But if you still want to try the new Nordic cuisine '''Relæ''' and '''Kadeau''' are great options, both with one Michelin star. All three of them use traditionally Nordic ingredients and give new takes of classic Nordic dishes. '''Marv&Ben''' can be recommended for cheaper non-Michelin starred experience in the Nordic cuisine. '''Manfred og Vin''' is another possibility, Relæ's little sister, opposite Relæ offer a relaxed atmosphere but still playful and delicious organic food, wine and beer with strong Nordic roots. It is also fine just to go for a glass. '''Geranium''' and '''noma''' are the big international stars in Danish cuisine. Geranium's head chef, Rasmus Koefod, won the Bocuse d'Or (World Championship for chefs) in 2011, and Geranium has three Michelin stars. The restaurant is on 8th floor of the national soccer stadium in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro#Eat|Østerbro]]. But don't get frightened by that; there is a beautiful view over the nearby park and most of Copenhagen. The focus is more classic French than Noma, but there are still strong new Nordic vibes. The new Nordic movement have been so strong that it is almost impossible to find a Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen without at least some strong Nordic directions. One of the only exceptions is '''Era Ora''', a classic Italian one Michelin starred restaurant famous for a fantastic (though expensive) wine menu and delicious Italian treats. If the wallet is not that heavy, '''Formel B''' is a good choice. Unlike most other top restaurants there is there no expensive tasting menu or the traditional starter, main and dessert. Here all of the 20 dishes cost the same and you can choose one, two or all twenty. The only Thai restaurant in the guide is in Copenhagen and is owned by a Dane. The restaurant '''Kiin Kiin''' is in the hip and a bit trashy neighborhood [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Eat|Nørrebro]]. An affiliate was opened in Bangkok a few years ago. '''Aroii''' is one of Kiin Kiin's sister restaurants in Copenhagen, it is in the same building and offers very delicious Thai food, for much cheaper prices. Also possible for take away. Other Michelin starred restaurants include: '''Kong Hans Kælder''', which opened in 1976 and has had only have three head chefs in that time. Since then Kong Hans Kælder has been a front runner for top gourmet in Copenhagen. The focus is changing from the classic French cuisine to a new healthy paleo-inspired cuisine, probably the only Michelin starred restaurant in the world to go in that direction. Other one Michelin stars: '''Kokkeriet''', '''Restaurant AOC''', '''I Søllerød Kro''', '''Grønbech&Churchill''' and '''Den Røde Cottage''' Other top picks include: '''1. Th'''. The restaurant is decorated as a normal living room, giving the experience as being to dinner at a friends house. You pay a fixed amount before, and everyone is included. So you don't get a check afterward. A fantastic place. '''Mielcke & Hurtigkarl''' (which has been "cheated" out of a Michelin star for many years, at least according to Danish food critics) '''Marchal''' at luxury hotel D'Angleterre. A newly opened restaurant by rising star head chef Ronny Emborg. '''Alberto K''', a rising star in the Copenhagen culinary environment. '''Restaurationen''', a former Michelin star. But the owner lowered the tempo and still serves delicious food and gives top service. '''Bror''', '''Rebel''', '''Pony''', '''Pluto''', '''Clou''' and ''' Congo''' are all newly opened but show huge potential. === Brunch === Brunch is a Copenhagen institution, especially during the summer, and it is not unusual to hear a serious invitation for a morning brunch together with the ritual goodbye hug when a long night out in town draws to a close. In this way, brunch is intrinsically linked to the second local obsession of drinking. Food and fresh air is a great cure for hangovers as Copenhageners have long since discovered. Most cafés offer brunch, at least on weekends, for upwards of kr 80, often with a theme: American and French are especially widespread. One of the most popular options is '''[http://www.os-american.dk/ O's American]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' in central Copenhagen. Another popular brunch joint in the downtown hotel district, is [https://midwestern.dk/menu/ '''The Midwestern Diner'''], an American diner that is run and owned by Danish-Americans. ==Drink== [[File:Cph nyhavn.jpg|thumb|250px|Nyhavn is a popular place to go for a drink in the summer]] A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life. As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for '''[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Nyhavn]]''' but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the ''Strøget'' pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after ''the lakes'', is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. {{infobox|Drinking dictionary |* '''Cafés''' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine but they usually close around midnight and music is subdued to allow for conversations. They also serve food. * '''Bodegas''' are your average local watering holes, somewhat equivalent to a pub, with prices often much lower than bars and cafés. The clientèle is often a bit shady and you may have people staring at unfamiliar customers but behave nicely and they usually warm up to you. Try to have someone teach you the local ''træmand'', ''meyer'', or ''snyd'' dice games for a fun night. * '''Pubs''' are just that, pubs, the familiar English, Irish, and Scottish-themed exports that often do not have much in common with the actual pubs in those countries other than exported beer and interiors. * '''Bars''' are what locals tend to call everything with loud music that do not have a cover charge. Packed at weekends but more quiet at other times. * '''Clubs''', or discotheques as they are often still referred to here, are bars that have a cover charge and have a dance floor. Often only open Th-Sa. * '''Morgenværtshus'''. If you can get away with pronouncing this when you need it, you will be asking directions to a shady establishment full of people hell bent on not ending the night just yet. They usually open around 17:00 and "classics" include the 24-hour '''Hong Kong''' in Nyhavn, '''Café Guldregn''' on Vesterbro and '''Andy's''' in the city centre.}} === Clubbing === ''You can check for club listings in the various [[#Districts|districts]]'' The club scene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Th-Sa. Most locals have a party at home with friends or frequent their favourite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight and close around 05:00. Most clubs have a kr 40-80 cover charge and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Also expect an additional kr 10-20 for cloakrooms. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back kr 40-50 — a bit more than bars usually charge. ====Gay and lesbian==== For its size, Copenhagen has a rather large gay scene with a good handful of bars and dance clubs in the centre of the city within walking distance of each other. One of the better ones is ''Club Christopher'' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]]. Vela, the only bar/lounge in town that is targeted at lesbians is on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. ===Live venues=== Most of the music venues in Copenhagen also double as nightclubs so watch for them under the club sections in the different districts. Tickets for almost every event in Denmark and Copenhagen are sold through [http://billetnet.dk/ Billetnet]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} which has online sales and a counter available in all post offices. But apart from headline events, tickets are usually also sold at the entrance. Expect to pay 100 kr or more. The major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Østerbro for the biggest stars. [[Copenhagen/Indre By]], '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is a major venue with concerts of almost every genre by national and international acts. [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] has two venues: '''Rust's''' stage mainly hosts mainstream rhythmic music and '''Global''', as its name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]], it is no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera and not to be missed, the different venues of '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]]''' are a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture. Christiania's most famous venue is '''Loppen''' which has hosted many (mostly rock) acts that later grew in popularity to play bigger venues like Vega for far larger prices. ==Sleep== {{SeeDistricts}} Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as '''Scandic''', '''Radisson BLU''', '''First Hotels''' and '''Nordic Choice Hotels''' are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region. The hospitality industry is on the one hand squeezed by the high labour costs, being one of the most labour-intensive business, and on the other spoiled by relatively low competition (there are not many hotels in Copenhagen compared to other cities of a similar size). There generally is a dearth of mid-range hotels, as hotels either position themselves as low-priced (by Copenhagen standards) and limit service and facilities to the minimum, or as luxurious, and charge you every bit they need to recover the increased costs of running a fully-staffed hotel in Denmark. As competition is low and labour costs consume most of the hotels' revenues, even many high-end properties show signs of age and may not be up to the standards found in other European countries. For more accommodation options, you may head across the Øresund bridge to [[Malmö]] and other localities in [[Scania]]. You will find a wider variety of options there, often at lower prices and comparable quality to counterparts in the capital, but will need to factor in the costs (though in most cases the cost of a return fare can still be much lower than the rate differences between comparable hotels across both sides) and travel time across the border (see ''Get In'' section). === Unique accommodation === If you are looking for something unique, Copenhagen has a few surprisingly little known options. Fancy sleeping in an old fort? Then look no further than '''[[Copenhagen/Amager#Flakfortet|Flakfortet]]''' on its very own island out in the sound. Stylish rooms, classic and rather tastefully integrated into the environs of the old fort. Staying here does though exclude spending your evenings in the city, as the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon. You can also opt for the '''Dragør Fort''' on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] although they haven't pulled it off quite so nicely. In the same area, consider the old and historic beach front '''Dragør Badehotel''' in a classic building with great views over Øresund and a nearby beach, but also a fair deal of transportation time to the sights in the city centre. (Although it is close to the airport.) In the same genre, and with the same drawbacks, is '''Skovshoved Hotel''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]]. This is a historic beach hotel with nice views and a fantastic restaurant. You can get even closer to the water on the floating houseboat hotel '''CPH Living''' moored in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] . If you're a rad hipster and would rather sample some of the design for which the city is rightly famous, consider '''Hotel Fox''' where young Danish and international artists have individually decorated and furnished the rooms. Other hip options are '''STAY Copenhagen''' on the waterfront of Islands Brygge or '''Hotel Twentyseven''' near the arty cocktail lounges of the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. Or you could always max out your credit card and splurge at the timeless five star classics of '''D'Angleterre''' or '''Skt Petri Hotel'''. === On a budget === Copenhagen is an expensive city but it ''is'' possible for budget travellers to find reasonably priced accommodations. For those on an ultra low budget there are two free, but completely basic, '''camping''' grounds along the Mølleå river where you can camp for one or two nights. While camping elsewhere is no big sin, it is not legal either. There are plenty of commercial camping grounds available but if you are not used to Scandinavian price ranges, even these could seem expensive (DKK 50-200). The closest camping sites are at ''Charlottenlund Fort'' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and there is also a summer-only camping ground in the outer part of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] within the city proper. If you prefer modern comforts consider one of the [[hospitality exchange]] networks. Couchsurfing.com for instance, is quite popular with the Copenhagers, who provide 6,000 available hosted stays in the city, giving you the added bonus of having a local to point you to the great spots. There are a few '''hostels''' available and the cheapest are two summer-only (July-Aug) hostels in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]: '''YMCA Interpoint''' and '''Sleep in fact'''. Here you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as kr 100. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] the two sleep-in hostels are slightly more expensive but still a bargain compared to the general price range. A good option in this central (also named "the coolest in the world") neighbourhood is [https://urbancamper.dk/ Urban Campers Hostel]. The national hostel system [http://danhostel.dk Danhostel] which is part of Hostelling International, run several hostels in Copenhagen. Danhostel Copenhagen City is right in the centre, next to the harbour. For '''Hotels''' consider the '''[http://cabinn.com/ Cab Inn]''' chain that has three hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from €71 (single) to €103 (triples). The rooms are quite small but have TVs and private showers and toilets. There are several cheap hotels specifically catering to gays and lesbians [http://copenhagen-rainbow.dk Copenhagen Rainbow]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} being one of them. In the city centre, 500 m from Tivoli on the mainstreet of Vesterbrogade there is a few other fairly priced options for accommodation, the [http://loevenhotel.dk Loeven hotel], the [http://savoyhotel.dk Savoy Hotel], prices around €80 for a twin room. A little further out following a side street on your left hand side, in Absalonsgade you will find a youth hostel, also fairly priced although quite noisy. ==Connect== Many bars, cafés, restaurants, trains and petrol stations offer free WiFi, including McDonalds. Libraries offer free internet access for one hour at a time, though this often requires signing up in advance. ''[https://bibliotek.kk.dk/hovedbiblioteket Københavns Hovedbiblioteket]'' has freely accessible workstations and a wide selection of international newspapers. ==Cope== ===Money=== Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone ('''kr''' or '''DKK'''), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission. Using the exchange machines present at some banks is not recommended, though, as these charge a fee of kr 25 (~€3.35). Credit cards are widely accepted, although this is usually limited to Visa and/or MasterCard. Many supermarkets and small shops will normally only accept the widespread local Danish debit-card, also known as the Dankort. But acceptance of the two major international credit cards is increasing rapidly. Other credit cards like American Express, Diners, JCB, and Unionpay are accepted in some shops in Copenhagen, especially in Strøget, the main shopping district. When accepted, a transaction fee (mandated by credit card companies, not shops) of 0.75% to 4.00% of the amount will usually be charged on credit cards issued by foreign banks. Almost all ATMs accept major international cards, including all the ones mentioned previously. Therefore, it is worth noting that although some shops may not accept all credit cards, an ATM capable of doing so will in most cases be less than 200 m away, particularly in central Copenhagen. ===Press=== The [http://cphpost.dk Copenhagen Post] is the country's sole English language newspaper, it's published weekly on Saturdays, and is available at many bars and cafés, as well as for sale in the Magasin department store, and the kiosks at the Central, Vesterport, Østerport, and Hellerup stations for kr 20. === Embassies and consulates === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=http://edina.cancilleria.gov.ar/ | email= | address=Borgergade 16 | lat=55.6834994 | long=12.5852325 | directions= | phone=+45 33 15 80 82 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=http://denmark.embassy.gov.au | email= | address=Dampfærgevej 26 | lat=55.6998729 | long=12.595523 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 36 76 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-16:30; F 08:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/embassy/copenhagen.html | email= | address=Sølundsvej 1 | lat=55.71894 | long=12.57486 | directions= | phone=+45 39 29 41 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:30-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url=http://diplomatie.be/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Øster Allé 7 | lat=55.70013 | long=12.57417 | directions= | phone=+45 35 25 02 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-16:30; F 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | alt= | url=http://copenhague.itamaraty.gov.br | email= | address=Jens Kofods Gade 1, ST. TH. 1268 Copenhagen K | lat=55.681541 | long=12.5812318 | directions= | phone=+45 3920 6478 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://mfa.bg/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Gamlehave alle 7, 2920 Charlottenlund | lat=55.76051 | long=12.56408 | directions= | phone=+45 39642484, +45 39633872 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://canadainternational.gc.ca/denmark-danemark/ | email= | address=Kristen Bernikowsgade 1 | lat=55.67985 | long=12.58217 | directions= | phone=+45 33 48 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://dk.china-embassy.org/ | email= | address=Øregårds Allé 25 | lat=55.73787 | long=12.57007 | directions= | phone=+45 39460889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/es/dinamarca/embajada-de-cuba-en-dinamarca | email= | address=Kastelsvej 19, 3tv | lat=55.696510 | long=12.587317 | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 15 10 | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 19 | lat=55.696289 | long=12.589366 | directions= | phone=+45 3543 7070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt= | url=http://www.estemb.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 19, 4. sal | lat=55.6845664 | long=12.5915321 | directions= | phone=+45 39463070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=http://www.finland.dk/ | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 24 | lat=55.6809358 | long=12.5929243 | directions= | phone=+45 33 13 42 14 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=http://ambafrance-dk.org | email= | address=Ny Østergade 3, 2nd floor | lat=55.6810503 | long=12.5871581 | directions= | phone=+45 33 67 01 64 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=http://kopenhagen.diplo.de | email= | address=Stockholmsgade 57 | lat=55.692646 | long=12.5833872 | directions= | phone=+45 35 45 99 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 except W 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=http://ghanaembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Egebjerg Allé 13 | lat=55.73778 | long=12.55808 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 82 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | alt= | url=http://mfa.gr/copenhagen | email= | address=Bornholmsgade 3 | lat=55.7408663 | long=12.5836434 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 60 48 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} *{{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://koppenhaga.mfa.gov.hu/ | email=mission.cph@mfa.gov.hu | address=Øregårdsvænget 9, 2900 | lat=55.738826 | long=12.570605 | directions= | phone=+45 39 63 16 88 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 63 00 52 | hours=Tu, Th: 09:00–13:00 W: 13:00–16:00 | price= | content= |wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-07-12}} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url=https://www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-copenhagen/embassy-information | email= | address=Strandgade 89 | lat=55.677386 | long=12.597082 | directions= | phone=+45 33 18 10 50 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=http://indian-embassy.dk | email=visa@indian-embassy.dk | address=Vangehusvej 15 | lat=55.71984 | long=12.57387 | directions= | phone=+45 39182888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/copenhagen/en/default.aspx | email=unitkomkph@kbricph.dk | address=Ørehøj Alle 1, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73829 | long=12.57195 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 44 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 (Visas 09:00-12:00) | price= | content=Also covers as the embassy of Indonesia for Lithuania }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=http://embassyofireland.dk | email= | address=Østbanegade 21 | lat=55.6958684 | long=12.5904463 | directions= | phone=+45 35 47 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:30, 14:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.mfa.gov.il | email= | address=Lundevangsvej 4 | lat=55.72404 | long=12.57081 | directions= | phone=+45 88 18 55 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambcopenaghen.esteri.it/ambasciata_copenaghen/it/| email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 7 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 68 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00, Tu-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | alt= | url=http://www.dk.emb-japan.go.jp/ | email= | address=Pilestræde 61 | lat=55.6816139 | long=12.5778373 | directions= | phone=+45 33 11 33 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Latvia}} {{listing | name=Latvia | alt= | url=http://www.am.gov.lv/copenhagen | email=embassy.denmark@mfa.gov.lv | address=Rosbæksvej 17 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57249 | directions= | phone=+45 39 27 60 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=http://dk.mfa.lt | email=amb.dk@urm.lt | address=Bernstorffsvej 214 | lat=55.75270 | long=12.55844 | directions= | phone=+45 39636207 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=646&lang=en | email=copenhagen@mfa.gov.mk | address=Skindergade 28, A, 1.th., 1159 Copenhagen | lat=55.6794912 | long=12.5742755 | directions= | phone=+45 39 766 920 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 766 923 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt=consulate | url=http://mongolietskonsulat.dk | email= | address=Bolbrovej 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 32 52 44 27 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * [[File:Flag of Nepal.svg|10px]] {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url=https://dk.nepalembassy.gov.np | email= | address=Esplanaden 46, 2 | lat=55.687832 | long=12.595503 | directions= | phone=+45 44 44 40 43 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/denmark/about-us/embassy-in-copenhagen | email= | address=Toldbodgade 33 | lat=55.682127 | long=12.593144 | directions= | phone=+45 33 70 72 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 14:00-15:00, F 14:00-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=http://nzembassy.com/ | email= | address=Store Strandstræde 21, 2.tv | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 37 77 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 13:00-14:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://norsk.dk/ | email=emb.copenhagen@mfa.no | address=Dampfærgevej 10, 4. | lat=55.697091 | long=12.5949066 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 01 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-15:30, F 08:30-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://pakistanembassy.dk | email=info@pakistanembassy.dk | address=Valeursvej 17 | lat=55.73892 | long=12.55760 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 11 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, except W 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.kopenhaga.msz.gov.pl | email= | address=Richelieus Alle 12 | lat=55.7381558 | long=12.5830372 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 77 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-14:00, except W 13:00-18:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url=http://www.embaixadadeportugal.dk/ | email=embport@get2net.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31 | lat=55.6819069 | long=12.5930488 | directions= | phone=+45 33131301 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=http://copenhaga.mae.ro/en | email=copenhaga@mae.ro | address=Strandagervej 27 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 71 77 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-12-03 | content=Also covers as the embassy of Romania for [[Iceland]]. }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | alt= | url=http://denmark.mid.ru/ | email= | address=Kristianiagade 5 | lat=55.694047 | long=12.5860566 | directions= | phone=+45 35 38 23 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/copenhagen | email=sincon@scan-group.dk | address=Snorresgade 18-20 | lat=55.6643606 | long=12.5761839 | directions= | phone=+45-32548360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/dk-ko/index.do | email= | address=Svanemøllevej 104 | lat=55.73087 | long=12.57422 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 04 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:15, 13:00-16:30; Visa Section M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | alt= | url=http://southafrica.dk/ | email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 8 | lat=55.72326 | long=12.57234 | directions= | phone=+45 39180185 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-16:00; F 08:00-13:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 21 | lat=55.6964804 | long=12.5895873 | directions= | phone=+45 35 42 22 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00–17:00, F 09:00–14:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url=http://swedenabroad.com/kopenhamn | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 15 A | lat=55.6817202 | long=12.5918346 | directions= | phone=+45 33 36 03 75 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, W also 14:00–16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/copenhagen | email= | address=Richelieus Allé 14, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73861 | long=12.58301 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 17 96 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | alt= | url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/DK | email=contact@taipeioffice.dk | address=Amaliegade 3, 2F | lat=55.6821714 | long=12.5914206 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 51 52 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url=http://thaiembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Norgesmindevej 18 | lat=55.72568 | long=12.57306 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 50 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ | email= | address=Rosbæksvej 15 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57337 | directions= | phone=+45 39 20 27 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt= | url=http://denmark.mfa.gov.ua/ | email=embassy.ua@mail.tele.dk | address=Toldbodgade 37A, 1. | lat=55.6824312 | long=12.5934775 | directions= | phone=+45 33161635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-13:00, Tu 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=http://ukindenmark.fco.gov.uk/ | email= | address=Kastelsvej 38 | lat=55.69590 | long=12.58559 | directions= | phone=+45 35 44 52 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://dk.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 | lat=55.6945855 | long=12.5830518 | directions= | phone=+45 35 55 31 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:15-23:15 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | alt= | url=http://dinamarca.embajada.gob.ve/ | email=emvendk@mail.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31, 3. | lat=55.681918 | long=12.5930527 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 63 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Vietnam}} {{listing | name=Vietnam | alt= | url=http://vietnamemb.dk/ | email=embvndk@hotmail.com | address=Bernstorffsvej 30C | lat=55.72847 | long=12.55564 | directions= | phone=+45 39 18 26 29 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} |} ==Stay safe== As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial '''112''' for emergencies, and '''114''' for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] and in the [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|western suburbs]]. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While '''racism''' is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination. == Stay healthy == Emergency Rooms (ER) are called ''Skadestue'' in Danish, as with many other health related terms and phrases, the English term may not be understood by some Danes — but conveniently Hospital is the same in Danish. Hospitals with 24 hour Emergency Wards near the city centre include: *{{listing | name=Amager Hospital | alt= | url=http://amagerhospital.dk | email= | address=Italiensvej 1, Amager | lat=55.65471 | long=12.60881 | directions= | phone=+45 32 34 35 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Bispebjerg Hospital | alt= | url=http://bispebjerghospital.dk | email= | address=Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 7C, Nordvest | lat=55.71446 | long=12.54061 | directions= | phone=+45 35 31 23 73 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Frederiksberg Hospital | alt= | url=http://frederiksberghospital.dk | email= | address=Nordre Fasanvej 57, 3A, Frederiksberg | lat=55.68721 | long=12.52576 | directions= | phone=+45 38 16 35 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} The public healthcare system also maintains doctors on call outside normal office hours, calls are screened by medical personnel, and doctors dispatched only when deemed necessary. *{{listing | name=Lægevagten | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 00 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M–F 16:00–8:00, Sa-Su all day | price=From DKK 255, Free for EU citizens | content= }} There is a 24-hour pharmacy in central Copenhagen, and 3 additional ones in the suburbs. *{{listing | name=Steno Apotek | alt= | url=http://183.netapotek.dk/ | email= | address=Vesterbrogade 6C | lat=55.6745156 | long=12.5632472 | directions=Just by the Radisson Royal hotel, near the Central station | phone=+45 33 14 82 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=regular hours: M-F 8:00–20:00,Sa 8:30–17:00 | price=There is a DKK 15 service charge outside those times. | content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Malmö]]''' &mdash; Sweden's third largest city, with a lovely historic city centre and cosy squares. Just a short, convenient train ride away. * '''[[Helsingør]]''' &mdash; Also called '''Elsinore'''. The old city centre with well preserved houses is one of the biggest in Denmark, and famous Kronborg castle, home of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Take the train from Copenhagen Central or Østerport. If you go by car the motorway is the fastest, driving along Strandvejen is the scenic route. * '''[[Hillerød]]''' &mdash; A small town dominated by the huge Frederiksborg palace, but also offers baroque gardens and a laid back city centre. Take the S-train: end of the E-line. * '''[[Roskilde]]''' &mdash; Denmark's ancient capital and a [[World Heritage site]], with a famous cathedral full of the tombs of ancient kings, and the fantastic Viking museum. Home to one of the ''Big Four'' European music festivals, Roskilde Festival, which attracts up to 110,000 visitors each year in July. There are many trains from Copenhagen Central, Nørreport and Østerport. * '''[[Øresund Coast]]''' &mdash; For the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', which is the outstanding museum of modern art in Denmark, in the small town of Humlebæk 35&nbsp;km north of Copenhagen. Via motorway E47/E5 or 35 minutes with DSB rail from the Central Station. When you use the train, special combination tickets for the rail fare and museum entry fee are available. * '''[[Ven]]''' &mdash; Visit the Swedish island Ven. Rent a bicycle and tour the island. The ferry departs from Havnegade 29 at 9:15, returns at 17:30 and costs 210&nbsp;kr for the daytrip. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E20.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Kolding]] | minorl1=[[Køge]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Göteborg]] | minorr1=[[Malmö]] | image2=Tabliczka E47.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Helsingør]] | minorl2=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Lübeck]] | minorr2=[[Køge]] | image3=Tabliczka E55.svg | imagesize3=22 | directionl3=N | majorl3=[[Helsingør]] | minorl3=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr3=S | majorr3=[[Berlin]] | minorr3=[[Køge]] }} {{isPartOf|Zealand}} {{starcity}} {{geo|55.6762|12.5675|zoom=13}} o3ydpbgpse7m9clp3s1rarib6xsjooz 5298652 5298650 2026-06-26T08:37:03Z ~2026-33378-46 2418994 /* Get in */ Ce, amended to be clear and concise 5298652 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Copenhagen banner Nyhavn canal.jpg|dotm=yes|star=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Copenhagen''' ([[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''København'') is the capital city of [[Denmark]] and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife ''par excellence'', yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to [[Sweden]] by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the [[Nordic countries]] and [[central Europe]]. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. __TOC__ <div style="clear:both;"></div> ==Districts== {{Mapframe|55.655|12.443|width=500|height=500|zoom=10|name=Unofficial but quite widely perceived district division of Copenhagen|staticmap=Cph_districts.png|show=other,go,mask}} {{Mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Copenhagen_Districts.map}} {{mapshapes|Q212741}}<!--Metro--> {{Mapshapes|Q585154}}<!--S-tog--> {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] | region1color=#ac5c91 | region1items= | region1description=Centrum, the Medieval City — a place of many names, and the historical heart of Copenhagen, dotted with church spires, historic buildings, narrow alleys and excellent shopping. | region2name=[[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] | region2color=#ffd0d0 | region2items= | region2description=A thriving area notable for its many canals and cozy cafes. The '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Freetown of Christiania]]''' is situated in the eastern section of Christianshavn, along with the old naval area, turned trendy: '''Holmen'''. | region3name=[[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=This district still has a few sex shops and sleazy hotels left, but is now one of the hippest places to live, with cafes and bars dotted along its main artery, '''Istedgade'''. | region4name=[[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] | region4color=#acaa78 | region4items= | region4description=An area which formed around Frederiksberg Castle. It remains an independent municipality. Surrounded by the City of Copenhagen, the area has preserved a special conservative, upscale feel. | region5name=[[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] | region5color=#d56d76 | region5items= | region5description=One of the most vibrant parts of Copenhagen, especially along Nørrebrogade, with a mix of immigrants, students, and original working-class Nørrebro-inhabitants. | region6name=[[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] | region6color=#71b37b | region6items= | region6description=A affluent and cozy neighbourhood north of the centre. Less vibrant than Nørrebro and Vesterbro, and less quaint than Frederiksberg, it is the home of the famous Little Mermaid statue, and the beautifully preserved Kastellet Citadel. The area west of the train track is very popular with young families. | region7name=[[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items=Including Saltholm | region7description=Once a bastion of the working class, this island with its own distinct atmosphere is booming with new development. Also home of the airport and the biggest shopping mall in Copenhagen. | region8name=[[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Northern suburbs]] | region8color=#d09440 | region8items= | region8description=A visit to these green suburbs, beaches, parks, and Dyrehavsbakken — the world's oldest running amusement park; Frilandsmuseet — the world's largest open air museum; or canoeing down the Mill River, will leave no doubt that this is an altogether different kind of suburbia. It is colloquially known to locals as the "whisky belt", due to its many well-heeled residents. '''[[Ballerup]]''', which has a charming museum of local history, is covered in a separate article. | region9name=[[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|Vestegnen]] | region9color=#d5dc76 | region9items= | region9description=The suburbs west and south of the city. Except for the good and very popular Arken art museum most attractions are small but still interesting. It has some good beaches and camping opportunities. }} == Understand == [[File:CPH Rundetaarnview.jpg|thumb|250px|View from Rundetårn]] ===History=== ==== Beginnings as a merchant harbour ==== If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." ==== Archbishop Absalon ==== Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of [[Roskilde]]. Absalon, archbishop of [[Lund]] 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today ''Slotsholmen'' (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital [[Roskilde]] and [[Lund]] in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent. But with prosperity comes envy and in the years to follow Copenhagen was laid waste and pillaged time and time again, mainly by the members of the German Hanseatic League, which at one point completely destroyed the city. {{infobox|Wonderful Copenhagen?|In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' featured in the 1952 film ''Hans Christian Andersen''. Sung by Danny Kaye, it is a bit of an evergreen, and — not being accustomed to Hollywood attention — the city has stuck to it ever since. What also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it is "''koh-pehn-HAY-gehn''", not "''koh-pehn-HAH-gehn''".}} ==== Becoming the capital of Denmark ==== Like the phoenix, however, Copenhagen repeatedly rose from its ashes. When the Danes kicked out the Pope during the 16th century [[Protestant Reformation]], Roskilde lost its importance as a Roman bishopric and, having taken control of the city 20 years earlier, the Danish king moved his residence to Copenhagen. Not terribly keen on seeing their new capital laid waste once more, successive Danish monarchs built massive fortifications around the city. None more so than King Christian IV, who embarked on a building rampage which not only included the ramparts still visible throughout much of the city, but also many present day landmarks like the Round Tower and the Stock Exchange. Since then Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes, and then bombarded, set ablaze, and nearly destroyed by the British Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, who in one of two battles for Copenhagen, responded to the order to withdraw by saying "You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes," and then raised the telescope to his blind eye and touted "I really do not see the signal." This was the first ever civilian bombardment performed as part of war. ==== Outgrowing the city walls ==== Again, the city shook off its struggles and the population mushroomed during industrialization. When a cholera epidemic did a fine job of killing nearly everyone there wasn't room for, the King finally conceded that long range cannons would render its constraining walls irrelevant, and thus allowed the city to grow outside the now antiquated ramparts. But it was not long before a new modern fortification was built (known as Vestvolden today), which made Copenhagen Europe's most fortified city of the late 19th century. After being subjected to yet another, German invasion during World War II, the whole idea of a fortified city was thrown out the window and replaced with one of the finest examples of urban planning anywhere — the ''Finger Plan''. Copenhagen is one of few cities in the world to devise a long-term plan for growth and then actually stick to it; try placing your hand over a map of Copenhagen with the palm as the city centre, and it's quite obvious why it's called the finger plan. Despite being the laughing stock of the country through the 1970s and 1980s, when wealthy residents all moved out into the fingers leaving behind an impoverished bankrupt inner city, a visit these days will prove that the phoenix has risen once more. ===Read and watch=== * ''Pelle the Conqueror'' (Martin Andersen Nexø, 1906–10). An epic novel in three parts and an integral part of the Danish school curriculum portraying the life of two poor Swedish immigrants — a father and son. The two last volumes take place in Copenhagen and describe the rise and the conflicts of the labour movement and global socialism which are so crucial to understanding Danish society today. All in all, it's a very good historical account of life in the city during that period, and above all, a good book. * ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (Peter Høeg, 1992). Dive into Denmark's curious post-colonial history in this international best seller. Partly set in Copenhagen, partly in Greenland, you are whirled through a murder mystery by Ms. Smilla, a half-Danish Inuit brought up in poor Greenland, but now living in the kingdom's affluent and orderly capital. It is a good account of the conflicts and contrasts between two very different parts of the Kingdom, and it offers some spot-on social critique of Danish society in a very engaging way. * The Copenhagen Quartet (Thomas E. Kennedy). Four novels totaling well over a thousand pages. Each book is set against the backdrop of one of the four seasons of the Danish capital: ''Kerrigan in Copenhagen'' (spring) (2013), ''Falling Sideways'' (autumn) (2011), ''In the Company of Angels'' (summer) (2010), and ''Beneath the Neon Egg'' (winter) (scheduled for publication, 2014). The novelist, an American expat, somewhat autobiographically portrays an American writer trying to come to terms with his past with the help of Copenhagen's many bars, with the Danish capital as the co-star. All of the places described in the books are real places that you can go discover. Copenhagen is also the setting of several [[Nordic Noir]] films and series, such as the Pusher series, ''The Bridge'', and ''The Killing''. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Copenhagen |-0.7 |3.4 |53.0 |-0.8 |3.6 |36.9 |0.7 |6.5 |42.3 |4.2 |11.8 |35.8 |8.6 |16.7 |47.2 |11.9 |19.6 |63.9 |14.3 |22.2 |60.9 |14.1 |21.8 |67.5 |10.8 |17.5 |61.0 |7.1 |12.6 |63.3 |3.3 |7.6 |56.4 |0.5 |4.4 |57.4 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Copenhagen]] | description = Averages of Copenhagen 1981–2010 }} Copenhagen, like the rest of [[Denmark]], has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the [http://dmi.dk/eng/index/forecasts.htm Danish Meteorological Institute website]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. '''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. '''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets. '''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into cosiness. It is the local way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family. Weather in Copenhagen can be unstable and highly unpredictable. Make sure you pack clothes in case of sudden rain or spell of cold (or, in the summer, of warmth) even despite long-term forecasts telling you otherwise. An umbrella, rain coat and shoes that will withstand torrential downpour may come in handy. Copenhageners dress very well, but at the same time very practically and with the realization that rain can assault their carefully chosen styling any minute. ===Tourist information=== Copenhagen's official tourist agency is ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' * {{listing | name=Copenhagen Visitor Service | alt= | url=http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/tourist-offices/copenhagen-visitor-service | email=touristinfo@woco.dk | address=Vesterbrogade 4A | lat=55.67486 | long=12.56438 | directions=Across from Tivoli's main entrance, near the central station (2&nbsp;km walk) | phone=+45 70 22 24 42 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 22 24 52 | hours=Jan–Apr M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 09:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 09:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 09:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00 | price= | content=The tourist information office is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within this office and they provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen including museums, concerts and festivals. Furthermore there is a free WiFi service available. }} ==Get in== [[File:Flughafen Kopenhagen Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|CPH seen from above]] ===By plane=== [[File:Couloir-aéroport-Copenhague-2.jpg|thumb|The cathedral-like passageway linking terminals]] ==== Copenhagen Airport (CPH) ==== {{main|Copenhagen Airport}} {{marker|type=go|name=Copenhagen Airport|url=https://www.cph.dk/en/|lat=55.6287|long=12.6486|image=Copenhagen Airport Mai 2009 PD 112.JPG}} ({{IATA|CPH}}) on the nearby island of [[Amager]] is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier '''[https://www.flysas.com/ SAS — Scandinavian Airlines]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] or [[Frankfurt]] and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''[http://easyjet.com/ EasyJet]''' serves Copenhagen from [[London]] Gatwick, [[Manchester]], [[Milan]], [[Geneva]], [[Paris]] CDG and [[Berlin]]. '''[http://norwegian.com/ Norwegian]''' offers budget flights to (among others) [[Liverpool]], [[Oslo]], [[Stockholm]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Budapest]], [[Paris]], [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]]. While CPH is one of Europe's busiest airports, with a flight taking off every 2 minutes on average well into the night, many facilities have limited opening hours. Little in the way of gastronomy or retail remains open after 20:00, even the ''CPH Apartment Lounge'' closes at 20:00 and the frequent fliers and business/first class passengers are required to wait in the empty terminal halls. If your flight is in the early hours, you can take advantage of the facilities (snacks, drinks, free Wi-Fi, relaxation and work facilities) of the ''CPH Apartment'' 05:00–20:00 for DKK239 (as of August 2022), unless your frequent-flyer plan or ticket tariff covers that already. [[File:COPENHAGEN KASTRUP AIRPORT RAILWAY STATION DENMARK SEP 2013 (9912940653).jpg|thumb|The Copenhagen Airport Station has separate platforms for trains going towards Copenhagen and towards [[Scania]] in [[Sweden]], so make sure you access the right one.]] ===== Transport to/from Copenhagen Airport ===== It takes 12 minutes by train to travel from Copenhagen Airport to the Central Station (Hovedbanegården) in Copenhagen city centre. You need a ticket for 3 zones (30kr) which can be purchased from one of the machines in the arrivals hall. The [https://intl.m.dk/ Copenhagen Metro] also connects the airport with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every 4 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes at night, taking 14 minutes to the city centre (for the same ticket and same price of 30 kr). Consider buying a City Pass or Copenhagen Card instead if you plan on visiting attractions the same day. The airport has different stations for mainline trains (underneath the arrivals hall) and for the metro (upstairs from the arrivals hall), both are in Terminal 3. The next metro station is named Kastrup — the historic name for the airport — but has nothing to do with the airport. ====Malmö Airport==== '''[https://www.swedavia.com/malmo/ Malmö Airport]''' ({{IATA|MMX}}) across the Øresund bridge has flights with ''[https://wizzair.com/ Wizzair]'' from [[Budapest]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Katowice]], and [[Warsaw]]. ''[https://www.neptunbus.dk/ Neptunbus]'' provide connecting buses from Malmö Airport to Copenhagen Central Station, these are timed in accordance with the Wizzair flights. Domestic flights within Sweden also serve Malmö Airport, but do not have direct bus connections — see [[Malmö#Get%20in]] for routes. ===By train=== [[File:Cph central.jpg|thumb|Train waiting at Copenhagen Central station]] Links between the capital and the rest of the country are frequent and excellent. There are several trains each hour to Malmö and further to Lund and Gothenburg. There are 12 daily connections on weekdays to Stockholm. There are further train services in the direction of Karlskrona and Kalmar. There are six fast connections to Hamburg and one to Berlin. From the rest of '''Denmark''' connections are frequent and numerous. In [[Jutland]] several railway branches from [[Aarhus]]/[[Aalborg]] in the North, [[Struer]] in the north-west, [[Esbjerg]] to the west, and finally [[Sønderborg]] in the south convene in [[Fredericia]], where they connect to a main line with up to four intercity trains per hour, divided into Express and Intercity trains, which runs across [[Funen]] before crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt). From there it reaches across the length of [[Zealand]] before terminating at Copenhagen's central station. If you are going in the reverse direction without a seat reservation, be mindful that the train is often broken up at Fredericia to serve the different branches, so if you do not have seat reservation, it is a bad idea just picking a random carriage in Copenhagen — check the screens on the platform to see where you should board, or ask the ticket inspectors once on the train. All cross-belt trains are operated by DSB ([http://dsb.dk Danish State Railways]). From the island of [[Bornholm]], a high speed ferry shuttles passengers to [[Ystad]] in [[Sweden]], where you will have to board the Swedish Pågatåg commuter train, then change trains to the ''Øresundstog (see below)'' again at any of the stations in Malmö to continue on to Copenhagen. A one-way combined ferry/train ticket will only set you back DKK149. Across the Øresund strait in '''Sweden''', the ''[http://dsbfirst.dk Øresundstog]'' trains departs from various towns in [[Scania|Southern Sweden]], and via [[Lund]] and [[Malmö]], crossing the Øresund bridge to Copenhagen, with a stop at the airport. The journey time from Malmö to Copenhagen Central station is 40 minutes and trains run every 15-20 minutes all day on this stretch, and every hour during the night. A single ticket between Malmö and Copenhagen costs DKK92 if using the Rejsekort app or SEK150 if using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken app], with the added benefit of unlimited local public transport on both sides of the border (except the bridge/ferry where only one crossing is permitted) for the highlighted zone until 04.00 the following day. [https://sj.se Swedish Railways]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operates up to seven X2000 express trains from [[Stockholm]] every day (five and a half hours) and one night train that continues on to Hamburg. An easy change in Malmö almost doubles that number (including one additional night train option). Passengers taking a day trip from Scania or are returning within 24 hours may consider purchasing a 24-hour ticket using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken mobile app] or ticket machines as it can cost as little as the price of two single tickets (e.g. SEK150 or approximately 194DKK between Copenhagen and Malmö) and includes unlimited use of public transport in the zones you purchased the ticket for. Foreigners should carry a valid passport or national identity card as identity documents are sometimes checked at the border. To continental '''Europe''', Intercity Express and Eurocity trains (and one Euronight train) connect [[Hamburg]] with Copenhagen, up to seven times per day. Standard prices are €130 from Berlin and €78 from Hamburg (€130 for a couchette space on the night train), but it's often possible to find discounted tickets — in Denmark, those are called ''Orange Europa'' or "sightseeing fares" which are the same price as a bus. If you're taking the day ICE/EC train during the summer, reservations are compulsory. [https://www.snalltaget.se '''Snälltåget'''] operate seasonal night trains between Sweden and Germany with a stop in suburban Copenhagen, the routes vary depending on the time of year. Only some of these trains use Copenhagen Central station, so you may need to search using "København Ørestad" or "København Syd" to find tickets. * {{go | name=Copenhagen Central Station | alt=Københavns Hovedbanegård | url= | email= | address=Bernstorffsgade 16–22 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1495052 | lastedit=2021-08-20 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:Cph oresund.jpg|thumb|The 8-km Øresund bridge leading to Malmö in Sweden]] Buses between Jutland and Copenhagen are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday to Thursday. International buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train, and destinations east of Berlin may also be faster by bus. The new Copenhagen Bus Terminal (''Københavns Busterminal'') next to Dybbølsbro Station in the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] district opened in June 2024. Many of the companies listed below are defunct, or have merged with Flixbus. From '''Jutland''' and '''Fyn''' the bus company ''EkspresRuten'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]], [[Vejle]] and [[Odense|Odense South]] several times per day. There is also a stop in [[Roskilde]]. * {{listing | name=Ekspres Ruten | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/busbestilling/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 40 75 11 71 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} From '''Jutland''' bus number ''888'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]] several times per day. Journey time is 5 hr 15 min from Aalborg. On Zealand there are additional stops in [[Holbæk]] and [[Roskilde]]. Line ''882'' runs between Copenhagen and Fjerritslev in Northwestern Jutland once every day. * {{listing | name=Abildskou | url=http://abildskou.dk | email= | address=M–F 08:00–17:00, Sa 08:00–14:00, Su 09:00–17:00 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 21 08 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} Links from '''Norway and Sweden''' are fairly frequent and very economical compared to the train. Most buses arrive and depart from DGI Byen, near the southern overpass of the central station. Passengers are generally encouraged to buy tickets on-line, but tickets can also be purchased at the ''Copenhagen Right Now'' tourist information desk near the central station. In the winter (Dec-Apr) ''[https://www.fjallexpressen.se Fjällexpressen]'' whisks skiers between Copenhagen and the Swedish ski resorts. When booking online, it's useful to know that Copenhagen is called ''Köpenhamn'' in Swedish. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=http://flixbus.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr); Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=GoByBus | alt= | url=http://gobybus.se | email=info@gobybus.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 23 54 20 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 07:30–18:00, Sa 07:30–17:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=~DKK225 | content=Oslo (8½ hr) via Gothenburg (4½ hr), line 300. }} * {{listing | name=Gråhundbus | alt= | url=http://www.graahundbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 4468 4400 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Local operator Greyhound Bus has several daily connections to Malmö and once daily to Malmö Airport. Also works with partners elsewhere to Europe. }} * {{listing | name=Nettbuss/Bus4you | url=https://www.nettbuss.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express | url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+46 771 218218 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gotenburg (5 hr) ~SEK300, line 820; Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) ~ SEK350, line 832. | content= }} From continental '''Europe''' there are several bus companies which offer numerous daily connections from Germany often at very competitive rates, most run via the ferries from Rødby to Puttgarden or Gedser to Rostock. Many of these services, especially if headed to points east such as Berlin, are considerably faster than the best train connections. Most of these buses stops near DGI byen on Ingerslevsgade. * {{listing | name=Autoprevoz | url=http://autoprevoz.ba | email=info@autoprevoz.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+387 51 317 333 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Banja Luka (25 hr, twice weekly) ~BAM300 (€150) }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express |alt=| url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 80 70 33 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Berlin (7 hr) via Rostock (4½ hr) ~SEK450, line 902 |wikipedia=|wikidata=|lastedit=2016-10-08| content=Tickets sold at the central tourist information desk. This company does allow for bicycles under certain conditions. Please check their website. }} * {{listing | name=Toptourist | url=http://www.toptourist.dk/ | email=info@toptourist.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 48 25 38 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Sarajevo via Salzburg (twice weekly) ~DKK1000 (€140) return | content=Tickets can be paid on the bus, but advance booking and payment is recommended. }} [[File:Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal on Østerbro.JPG|thumb|The Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal in the Østerbro district]] From [[Poland]], there is a host of different bus companies, each with a few weekly scheduled departures. Unfortunately the market is very fluid and routes and operators tend to change rapidly. ''[http://agat.eu/ Agat]'' provides four round trips per week between Copenhagen and [[Katowice]] (20 hr) in Southern Poland, and ''[http://eurobus.pl Eurobus]'' for connections with [[Warsaw]] (20 hr via [[Hamburg]]) once per week. If any of these companies have shut down, try searching for alternatives, as there is a good chance someone else will have taken over the traffic. ===By boat=== {{see also|Boating on the Baltic Sea}} The ferry terminal (Færgeterminal Søndre Frihavn) at Dampfærgevej 30 is close to Nordhavn station. From there the '''[https://www.gonordiccruiseline.com/ Go Nordic Cruiseline]''' departs for [[Oslo]], Norway. '''[https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en City bus line 27]''' commutes between the entrance of the ferry terminal and Østerport Station. There are two regular connections straight into Copenhagen's harbour. The most known is from [[Oslo]], Norway, with daily departures, and an over night trip that takes 16 hours. It is marketed as a cruise line, and occasionally a cruise round-trip fare can be less expensive than a one-way fare. The other ferry connection is the less known round-trip connection to [[Fredericia]], Denmark and [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania. Since the latter is a Ro-Ro freight line, you need to [http://www.dfds.com/freight-shipping/routes-and-schedules/klaipeda-copenhagen-fredericia contact DFDS for more information]. Copenhagen is also a very popular port of call for cruises touring both the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian fjords. The main cruise terminal is on Oceankaj in the North harbour. Bus 27 connects to Østerport station. If you are arriving under your own sail, Copenhagen is on Øresund. There are several marinas, the biggest of which is '''[http://smhavn.dk Svanemøllehavnen]'''. There are no designated visitor berths but it is almost always possible to find one with a green sign. Daily charge: DKK75–120. * {{buy | name=Hellers | alt= | url=https://hellers.dk | email= | address=Kastrup strandpark 9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=The biggest shop for boat equipment. }} ===By car=== Visiting Copenhagen by car means planning for where to park. Driving during working hours in the centre of Copenhagen is not advisable, except of course when going to and from your hotel or where you might spend the night. It is quite expensive to park in the medieval part of Copenhagen, 20 to 36 kr (approximately €2.65–4.80) an hour during working hours. If the car is just the means of sightseeing, the cheapest would be to park at one of the S-train or metro stations in the outskirts of Copenhagen Municipality and take the train or a bus to your destination. As of 1 October 2023 a low emission zone have been introduced in Copenhagen, see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. There is paid parking on public roads for cars and motorcycles in large parts of '''Copenhagen Municipality'''. Paid parking areas are divided into four colour coded zones with different rate levels. There is free parking in all zones for vehicles with a valid and visible disability badge. Parking during weekends from Saturday at 17:00 until Monday at 08:00 is for free, as well as parking on public holidays. Copenhagen Municipality has issued a [https://international.kk.dk/sites/default/files/2021-07/p-miniguide-en_maj_2018.pdf mini parking guide]. Consult the [https://international.kk.dk/live/transport-and-parking/parking-in-copenhagen/public-parking-in-copenhagen map from Copenhagen Municipality] to find areas without paid or time-restricted parking (in white). The map also indicates S-train and metro stations but excludes Frederiksberg. Parking in Copenhagen is subject to stringent regulations aimed at curbing congestion and promoting sustainable transportation methods. The city actively encourages residents and visitors alike to opt for public transit, cycling, or walking whenever feasible. However, for those requiring parking facilities, a range of options exists, including metered street parking, multi-level parking structures, and designated zones.  '''Frederiksberg Municipality''' is encircled by Copenhagen Municipality, and driving around a street corner to find a parking spot could mean entering another municipality with different pricing. Frederiksberg has different rules for parking with a single two-hour parking zone in force on public streets from 07:00 to 24:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays. This means there is 2 hours free parking using a parking app in most places in Frederiksberg. See [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#By car|Frederiksberg#By car]] for details and always look for local restrictions. ==Get around== Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two interchange hubs are Copenhagen Central Station (''Københavns Hovedbanegård'' in Danish) with intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/ Rejseplanen]. === Fares === A bewildering number of tickets and passes are available for travel on public transport in Copenhagen. The most practical, convenient and cost effective way to travel is by using the Rejsekort app or the Basiskort card. These can also be used throughout the rest of Denmark. The '''[https://www.rejsekort.dk/rejsekort_app Rejsekort]''' app enables you to ''digitally'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply swipe the green arrow left and right and the app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The app accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. You cannot do so whilst in transit. The [https://www.rejsekort.dk/Basiskort '''Basiskort'''] card enables you to ''physically'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply tap the card on the yellow validators and the card will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The card accommodates adult and child fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The card costs kr 80 and is non-refundable. It can be purchased and topped up at station kiosks and DSB 7-Eleven stores. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. This includes whilst in transit. The default setting is adult and local travel. The default setting can be changed to child, national travel, or both at station kiosks or DSB 7-Elevens. The [https://www.rejsebillet.dk/en-us '''Rejsebillet'''] app enables you to purchase the following tickets and passes: * '''Single Ticket 2-8 Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses in your chosen zones for a fixed time period. For example, a two-zone ticket costs kr 24 and allows you to travel around central Copenhagen for one hour and 15 minutes. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''Single Ticket 9+ Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses from point A to point B. For example, a nine-zone ticket costs kr 66 and allows you to travel from Copenhagen to Hillerød. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Small''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–4 (including Copenhagen Airport) for 24 hours (kr 100), 48 hours (kr 160), 72 hours (kr 220), 96 hours (kr 280) or 120 hours (kr 340). This pass is the most reasonable choice if you intend to stay in the city itself (not the remote parts of Copenhagen region). [[Cycling in Copenhagen|Renting a bike]] is also a viable option instead of, or in addition to, obtaining this pass. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Large''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–99 (including Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Hillerød, Helsingør, etc.) for 24 hours (kr 200), 48 hours (kr 320), 72 hours (kr 440), 96 hours (kr 560) or 120 hours (kr 680). Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. The '''[https://www.copenhagencard.com Copenhagen Card City Guide]''' app enables you to purchase the '''Copenhagen Card'''. This pass gives you unlimited rides throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The pass can be bought for 24 hours (kr 559), 48 hours (kr 819), 72 hours (kr 989), 96 hours (kr 1159) or 120 hours (kr 1339). Many museums are either free or closed on Sundays and Mondays, thus making the pass less valuable on those days. Furthermore, pass holders get discounts to several different tour companies providing experiences in the city. If you expect to visit more than three attractions a day, a multi-day pass will most likely be worth it, as most attractions have tickets starting at kr 100. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. Paper tickets for the train and metro can be purchased at station kiosks and vending machines using a credit card, debit card or cash. Paper tickets for the bus can be purchased onboard using exact cash only. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is up to kr 750 and ticket inspectors are commonplace. Passengers whose journeys involve Malmö in Sweden should consider using the Skånetrafiken app. The app accepts credit and debit cards (VISA and Mastercard). Select a point in Copenhagen as one of the stops. Single tickets crossing the Oresund bridge start at SEK150 (approximately kr 100) and get more expensive if you select points further away from the city centres of Copenhagen and Malmö so therefore select the farthest points in both cities that you are expected to visit within the day. There is a 20% discount if two adults are travelling together. Single tickets are permitted unlimited travel within the zone you purchased a fare for, except the Oresund bridge crossing itself, where you may cross the bridge only once. Single tickets expire at 0400h the following day. The 24-hour ticket option (from SEK300 or kr 200) on the other hand permits an unlimited number of crossings on the Oresund bridge within 24 hours, thus allowing passengers who plan to stay in the cheaper accommodations Malmö has to offer to return there after a day trip to Copenhagen. You can use the ticket on all public transport in Copenhagen. Note the Skånetrafiken's Reskort card will ''not'' work on Basiskort validators. If you are traveling into Copenhagen with a Reskort card you must instead print a paper "inspection ticket" (inspektionskvitto) at a Skånetrafiken ticket machine beforehand as proof that there is a valid cross-border ticket stored on the Reskort card. Otherwise you will be fined as if you were without a valid ticket. There are Skånetrafiken ticket machines at Copenhagen Airport and Central Station if you have lost your inspection ticket or forgotten to print one beforehand. === By train === The [http://dsb.dk/s-tog S-train (S-tog in Danish)] is the backbone of the city's public transit system, and is very similar to the German S-Bahn and Parisian RER networks. The distinct red trains are clean, modern, and equipped with free WiFi. The system runs from early morning to late night, each line in ten minute intervals during the day (M-F 06:00–18:00) and at twenty minute intervals in the early morning and late at night. On the weekends, the trains run twice an hour at night and some of the lines are extended. Since most lines join on a single railway line through the city centre, there are only a couple of minutes of waiting between each train in the inner districts. The F and C-lines are exceptions, the F line does a half loop outside the central area, with trains every five minutes throughout most of the day. The C-line is extended to [[Frederikssund]] during day time, but scaled back to Ballerup at other times. Announcements are in Danish only; remember to ask your fellow travellers for help though they are mostly cursory. Bikes can be taken for free; special bicycle compartments exist in the carriages. === By metro=== [[File:Metro Airport Copenhagen Denmark 01.jpg|thumb|right|The ends of automated Metro trains provide a full view — even if not all sections of the tracks are interesting, like this one on the way to the airport.]] Copenhagen has a modern, clean and punctual metro system. It's made up of 4 lines: * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m1}}: Vanløse – Vestamager * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m2}}: Vanløse – Copenhagen Airport * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m3}}: City Circle Line * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m4}}: Copenhagen South – Orientkaj Line M1 and M2 run along the same line between Vanløse and Christianshavn. All lines intersect at Kongens Nytorv and a transfer between the M3 and M1 or M2 is also possible at Frederiksberg. [[File:Copenhagen Metro 2020.svg|thumb|Copenhagen Metro Line Map with the 4 lines that are in operation]] The metro operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Frequencies decrease at night, during the day most lines run every 4 minutes. Maintenance work is usually carried out at night, which sometimes results in a changed timetable or replacement buses at night. The Copenhagen Metro is driverless, and doors close at a given time, even if all waiting passengers haven't entered the train. Wait for the next train instead of trying to squeeze through in the last second (that's both dangerous and illegal). The trains run with short intervals (down 2 minutes during peak hours). Because the metro is driverless, the trains have been designed with big windows at each end, and the trains are accordingly fitted with rows of seats facing them. This can be an extra treat to the visitors (and especially children) on the metro. The parts of the system that operate above ground are: Vanløse – Lindevang, DR Byen – Vestamager and Lergravsparken – Copenhagen Airport. The most interesting views are between Islands Brygge and Vestamager. Line M3 runs entirely underground and covers the Central Station. As Line M3 is a circular line, there are no terminating stations and trains run either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The direction the train is travelling in is identified by the next major station in that direction such as 'via Frederiksberg' or 'via Kongens Nytorv' at the central station. It is therefore especially important to check the system map and electronic station boards to ensure you are getting on the train that gets to your intended destination station more quickly. Line M4 share the line with M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport via Kongens Nytorv, before branching out to terminate at Orientkaj. An extension to Copenhagen South opened in 2024.[[File:Copenhagen A-bus 2020 11.png|thumb|right|Schematic map of A-bus lines spanning Copenhagen as of November 2020]] === By bus === Copenhagen has a fairly extensive and efficient [http://www.moviatrafik.dk/dinrejse/kort/trafikkort/Documents/Hovedstadsomraadet/BusserKobenhavnCity.pdf bus network]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. It can be troublesome for visitors to figure out what line to take to their destination as there is little in the way of network maps available at bus stops and schedules rarely include the entire route. That said, many stops do have a small electronic display showing how many minutes are left until the next bus arrives. The front doors are for boarding only — alight using other doors. There are several types of bus available: * '''Regular buses''' are denoted by their number, * '''A buses''' are the backbone of the city's bus network which consists of seven different lines with frequent departures and stops. During the day time there are no schedules as buses usually depart at least every ten minutes. They are also operating at night. * '''5C''' is a special bus line with articulated buses that operates even more frequently than the A buses. It serves the northwestern suburbs and link important locations such as Nørrebro st, Nørreport st, the city hall, Copenhagen Central Station, Amagerbro St., the Blue Planet aquarium and Copenhagen airport. * '''S buses''' are long express services with few stops and extend far into the suburbs, usually across the radial suburban train network or along corridors with no rail service. They can also be useful between points in the centre as they are faster than other lines. * '''E buses''' are express rush-hour services of little use to travellers as they mainly service commuters. * '''N buses''' are a network of ten bus lines operating at night between 01:00–05:00 daily, when normal traffic is halted, and they are much more frequent at weekends. '''[http://sightseeing.dk CitySightseeing]''' runs three hop-on hop-off tours around the city in open-top double-decker buses. The main line leaves every 30 minutes, while the two other lines depart every hour in high season (Jun-Aug). Outside the peak season, services are halved. The price is kr 150 for a one-day ticket or kr 220 for a two-day ticket which also includes the DFDS canal tour boats. === By boat === [[File:Nyhavn, canal tour boats.jpg|thumb|right|The canal tour boats, here seen docking in Nyhavn, are an excellent way to see many of the city's attractions]] Going on a canal tour of the inner harbour and canals is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. *{{listing | name=Canal Tours | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.dk/en/copenhagen/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/ | email=info@stromma.dk | address=Nyhavn 3 | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 96 30 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:30–20:00 | price=Waterbus (unguided): Single kr 40, All day kr 60; Tour (guided): Single kr 60, All day kr 75. Various discounts available | content=Operates both an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have three guided tours, either by a pre-recorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide. Be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. If you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass-roofed boat at this time of the year. An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which for kr 220 gives unlimited transportation for two days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double-decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing. }} *{{listing | name=Netto-bådene | alt= | url=https://www.havnerundfart.dk/canaltours/index.php?page=forside.php | email= | address=Heibergsgade (Nyhavn) | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 54 41 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00–17:00 (19:00 in July & August) | price=kr 50 (July 2019) | content=Offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March. }} A different option is the public harbour bus, which, while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system using the same tickets as buses and trains. *{{listing | name=Movia | url=http://moviatrafik.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK | email= | address=Customer centre at Rådhuspladen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 36 13 14 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:00–19:00 | price=Uses public ticketing system | content= }} === By taxi === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | Taxis are abundant throughout the city and of a very high standard — usually a Mercedes or BMW. They are pricey though, and the wait to get one can be long on a Friday or Saturday night. You can hail a taxi on the street or call for one to come pick you up at a specific address at a specific time for a small extra fee (kr 12-15). At crucial traffic junctures throughout the city, there are special areas where taxis hold in line to pick up customers. Except for a very long trip, it is not common (or recommended) to haggle about the price. All taxis accept major international credit cards and most will accept euro cash payment and some even list prices in euros on the meter. Sometimes taxi drivers request you to withdraw money in an ATM when paying with card, this is mostly a scam to do the trip off-licence. | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | '''Copenhagen Taxi companies''' * {{listing | name=Amager-Øbro Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 32 51 51 51 }} * {{listing | name=Codan Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 25 25 25 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa 4x35 | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 35 35 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=TaxaMotor A/S | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 338 338 }} * {{listing | name=Ballerup-Værløse-Herlev Taxa | alt=Northwestern suburbs | phone=+45 44 85 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa Selandia | alt=Southern suburbs | phone=+45 70 10 66 66 }} * {{listing | name=Taxinord | alt=Northern Suburbs | phone=+45 45 83 83 83 }} * {{listing | name=Vest-Taxa | alt=Western Suburbs | phone=+45 43 45 45 45 }} |} Prices range kr 11-16 per kilometre depending on the time of day and the meter flag-fall charge is kr 25. Generally you can trust taxis with prices and the route taken. Because of the high flag-fall charge, it can be better financially for taxi drivers to have many trips rather than long trips, so it is therefore often in their own interest to take the shortest route. * {{listing | name=TAXA 4x35 | alt= | url=https://taxa.dk/en/service-area/taxi-copenhagen-cab/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Fixed price. }} * {{listing | name=MOOVE | alt= | url=http://www.moove.taxi/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Taxi at a fixed price }} * {{listing | name=Viggo | alt= | url=https://www.viggo.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=Electric taxi at a fixed price }} * [https://dantaxi.dk/english/ '''Dantaxi'''] As of 2023, ride-share services like Uber are '''not legal''' in Copenhagen. Most larger taxi companies have apps that can be used to request cabs Uber-style. === By bicycle === {{main|Cycling in Copenhagen}} [[File:Streets of Copenhagen. Denmark, Northern Europe-2.jpg|thumb|Copenhagen cycling]] The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen and getting around is on a bike (with rentals available from most shops for a price ranging from kr 75 to kr 125 a day). Over sixty percent of Copenhageners use their bike for daily commutes and the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes on most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one-way streets. Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city as this is a common means of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Do not expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone — otherwise you could cause some nasty accidents. When you reach your destination, try to leave the bicycle in a bike rack, or otherwise clear of the sidewalk. === By scooter === Several companies rent out e-scooters using apps. Due to persistent problems with inconsiderate parking, it's forbidden to end a scooter rental within the city centre and neighbouring districts, so they are useless for most tourists — rent a bike instead. There is no restriction on parking a private scooter. Scooter users should follow the same rules and advice as for bicycles. ==See== {{SeeDistricts}} Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this ''usually'' means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour. === History === A visit to the '''Nationalmuseet''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the '''Museum of Copenhagen''' in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is '''Frilandsmuseet''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of '''Dragør''' on the southern tip of [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small '''Mølleå river''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills. ===Art=== [[File:Glyptotek.JPG|thumb|250px|The winter Garden at Glyptotek]] [[File:National_Gallery_of_Denmark_The_Lobby.jpg|alt=|thumb|444x444px|National Gallery of Denmark, The Lobby]] If you are into the arts, Copenhagen has a lot to offer. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst, entry between 95 and 120 kr) where you can feast your eyes on blockbusters from the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. There are also a number of paintings by Danish artists from the "Golden Age". Across the Royal Gardens lies Scandinavia's biggest collection of Islamic art, the '''David Collection''' (Davids Samling) which has free entrance. It also has a smaller collection of Danish paintings including some by Hammershøi and Willumsen. It's a ten-minute walk through the Royal Gardens but you might have to know the address beforehand, since the museum is a bit of a hidden treasure. For a hard-to-beat appreciation of Classical (Greece, Rome) and Near Eastern art (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran), visit the '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', which also has an extensive section devoted to 19th-century French and Danish art, with works by masters like Picasso, Leger, and Matisse. The Winter Garden inside the Glyptotek is a beautiful (and very warm!) place to rest your legs on a rainy day. These museums are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|centre, or Indre By]] area. If you are hungry for more classic art exhibitions, an excursion [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]] to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''' offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings but if you are ready for a change, head [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|south]] to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of contemporary art, mostly Scandinavian, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. However, arguably the best and most visited museum in Denmark is the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', in northern Zealand with a panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum frames the sculpture park facing the sea and the interaction between art, nature and the museum architecture is quite unique. Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art, and hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colour on an art tour, '''The Hirschsprung Collection''' in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] features the top-of-the-pops of Danish artists, with a particular focus on the Skagen painters. For something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much-loved local personality Storm P at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]]. ===Science and Natural History=== [[File:Cph zoo.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic tower of the Copenhagen zoo]] If you want your vacation to be educational, or if you want to sneak some knowledge into the kids during the vacation, there are several options to consider. The best choice for kids is perhaps the hugely entertaining, and well renowned hands-on science museum, the '''Experimentarium''' [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]]. Another popular and well-renowned institution, is the '''Copenhagen Zoo''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]], counting among both the best and oldest zoos in Europe. If you are more into stationary animals, the '''Zoology Museum''' on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] offers a different perspective on the subject. Elsewhere on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]], a little known attraction is a display of famous physicist '''Niels Bohr's Study Room''', along with a setup of his experiments ''(but as this is not a museum, you should have more than passing interest in the subject to bother with them, the tour is one hour long and usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays)''. [[Copenhagen/Indre By|City Centre]], the University of Copenhagen runs two adjacent science museums. The '''Geological Museum''' where dinosaur fossils, moon rock, and glow in the dark minerals should spark some interest in the subject for even the most school-weary kid. The '''Botanical Gardens''' on the opposite side of the street is an excellent place for a stroll in the beautiful park, even if you are not botanically inclined, and the classical palm house is a nice place to relax if it is cold outside. In poor weather, the '''Tycho Brahe Planetarium''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is another option and is part planetarium with an interesting astronomy exhibition and part omnimax theatre where they usually screen science films. === Architecture === [[File:The_Round_Tower_Spiral_Walk.jpg|alt=|thumb|250x250px|The Round Tower spiral walk]] An excellent start to any visit to Copenhagen is to climb the unique 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the observation platform of '''Rundetårn''' (the Round Tower), one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings. The top of the Round Tower offers excellent views and is smack in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|middle of the city]]. If that is not high enough for you head to [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] for a climb up the circular stairs on the outside of the church spire of the '''Church of Our Saviour'''. It is regarded as something of a test of manhood to climb up and touch the globe on the summit, nearly 100 m up in the air. And now that you're in the area, head over to the opposite side of the street to '''Christiania''', a self-governing community that has been squatting on an old naval area since the 1970s. Their inventive, brightly coloured, home built houses are spectacular, as is the relaxed atmosphere — this is truly one of Copenhagen's most unique and best attractions. Due south of Christiania the old, crooked, brightly coloured buildings and soothing canals lined with masted ships make this an excellent place to continue a stroll. Other fine examples of classical architecture include the impressive '''City Hall''' and the massive dome of the '''Frederikskirken''' colloquially known as the '''Marble Church'''. This dome, with a span of 31 meters, is one of the largest in northern Europe. Both are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. For real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and its native masters. '''Jørn Utzon''' (of Sydney Opera House fame) and Son is behind a trio of buildings on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro's]] northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex. There is a fine, but expensive restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy '''Arne Jacobsen's''' work by either sleeping at, or taking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar at the '''Royal Hotel''' which is one of the very few tall buildings in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. Alternatively, head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring his famous furniture and his name. Lastly '''Henning Larsen''', famous for his iconic buildings in [[Riyadh]], is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house overlooking the harbour in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]]. From here you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, the '''Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, after its shiny polished black granite walls. === Royal Copenhagen === [[File:Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg. Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg]] The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', make up the main residence of the Danish royal family. The octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at noon and is a highlight for any royalist visiting the city. There is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small but pretty renaissance palace, surrounded by the lovely '''King's Garden''' which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history and as a home for the crown jewels which are on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. A closed-off wing of Rosenborg serves as barracks for the Royal Guard, and every day a detachment marches through the Copenhagen city centre between Rosenborg and Amalienborg for the changing of the guard. Unusual for a well-founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It is usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try to arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. If you are hungry for more, head [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north]], where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park which formerly served as the king's hunting castle. === Design === Denmark is world-famous for its design tradition and, while the term '''Danish design''' has been devalued over the years due to much misuse, it is still a world-recognized style. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish Design Center''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]], with temporary and permanent exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops relating to the world of Danish design, in a building designed by famous architect '''Henning Larsen'''. Not too far away, '''Kunstindustrimuseet''' is home of a nice collection relating to the study of design and its history in Denmark. Also in the same district, '''Royal Copenhagen''' runs a museum display at its flagship store of its famous porcelain from its beginnings. Meanwhile, '''Cisterne''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] is an enticing museum showing modern glass art, in the intriguing catacomb like cisterns under a large park. '''Meldahls Smedie''' on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] is run by the Royal Danish school of architecture, which organizes exhibitions including final projects from students of the school here. ==Do== === Beach life === In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: '''Copencabana''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] or '''Havnebadet''' at Island Brygge on [[Amager]]. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best. If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at '''Svanemøllen Strand''', '''Charlottenlund Fort''' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and '''Amager Strandpark''' (The Lagoon), on [[Amager]] near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for '''[http://dgi-byen.com DGI Byen]''' which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|central railway station]] or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]]). === Amusement parks === [[File:Cph tivoli.jpg|top|thumb|250px|The Tivoli amusement park's main entrance at nighttime]] Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. '''Bakken''' or ''Dyrehavsbakken'' is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near [[Klampenborg]] north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — '''Tivoli''' — which is in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|city centre]] in a beautiful park surrounding a lake. === Sports === * '''Football:''' [https://www.fck.dk/ FC Copenhagen] play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF. * '''Cycling:''' and see [[Cycling in Denmark]]. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France. * '''Lifting weights:''' a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Crafts Fair | alt= | url=http://www.craftsfair.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held every year in August — Thursday-Saturday — outdoors at Frue Plads in central Copenhagen. The Crafts Fair has more than 130 exhibitors, all members of the Danish Arts and Crafts Association, exhibiting unique and small series of handmade Arts and Crafts in all categories: ceramic, glass, jewelery, textile, mixed media. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Fashion Week | alt=8-12 August 2017 | url=http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in February and August''. Copenhagen is fast emerging as a global fashion centre, with a host of both up-and-coming and already well established names. For two weeks each year more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 guests come together and celebrate their accomplishments with lavish parties, catwalks at city landmarks, and three trade fairs. }} * {{do | name=CPH PIX | alt=Copenhagen International Film Festival | url=http://www.cphpix.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(''28 September – 11 October 2017'') Denmark's largest film festival, first held in 2009 as the result of a merger between Copenhagen's two popular long running festivals — the ''Night Film Festival'' and the ''Copenhagen International Film Festival''. It will feature more than 150 screenings, with a prize of €10,000 awarded to the most promising new filmmaker. }} * {{do | name=International Workers Day | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''1 May''. A major event in Copenhagen. The main festivities are held in Fælledparken on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] and they attract over 100,000 visitors in what has lately become a 50/50 mix of a gigantic party and a political rally with speeches, happenings, and concerts. Two travelling amusement parks also set up their gear for the day, one by the main entrance at '''Trianglen''' and one in the eastern part of the park. }} * {{do | name=CPH Distortion | alt= | url=http://cphdistortion.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in the first week of June''. The longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday. }} * {{do | name=Zulu Sommerbio | alt= | url=http://zulu.tv2.dk/sommerbio | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in July and August''. Danish television station 'TV2 Zulu' plays open air films in various parks and squares of Copenhagen. There are movies in Danish and English and they are free to watch. You can buy beer and popcorn. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Jazzfestival | alt= | url=http://jazzfestival.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early July''. Features ten days of jazz everywhere in Copenhagen — parks, cafes, clubs, and theatres. Usually a few headline acts are on the program but there are more than 800 concerts to choose from and the real attraction is often the obscure concerts you bump into randomly in a park or square somewhere in the city. }} * {{do | name=Grøn Koncert | alt= | url=http://groenkoncert.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in late July''. A one day music festival in Valby Parken near Åparken station. It is a major event in Copenhagen with over 40,000 attending. There is usually an international headline act, along with several major Danish bands and the atmosphere is quite unique with people having picnics and beers on a huge field of grass in the park. Tickets are sold through Billetnet, both online and at post offices. }} * {{do | name=Stella Polaris | alt= | url=http://www.stella-polaris.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held the first weekend in August''. A big, free, chill-out event in one of the city parks. Top international DJs spin chill-out tunes on the decks, while people are relaxing in the sun and drinking beer. And the afterparty in one of the major clubs usually attracts some international headline acts. }} * {{do | name=RAW | alt= | url=http://rawcph.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early August''. Scandinavia's largest clubbing event. The organisers rightly pride themselves in carefully selecting high quality acts and more importantly the broad range of genres represented to make this an event with broad appeal to everyone in the Copenhagen nightlife scene. }} * {{do | name=Strøm | alt= | url=http://stromcph.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in August''. An annual electronic music festival. It is a gathering of the best promoters and vibrant venues Copenhagen has to offer, mixed up with events at squares, concert halls, or unusual locations throughout the city. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Pride | alt=12-20 August 2023 | url=http://copenhagenpride.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A lavish LGBT parade. The week leading up to the parade is usually full of community events and parties. Count on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladen) changing its name to Pride Square during the week and hosting live acts, concerts and debates. }} * {{do | name=Night of Culture (Kulturnatten) | alt= | url=http://kulturnatten.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in mid-October, on the last Friday before the school holiday in week 42''. You buy a badge for kr 70 and get access to major museums, exhibitions, churches, libraries, schools, organizations, the parliament and other cultural attractions including some places that are not open to the public during the rest of the year. Open from 18:00 to midnight. Attracts about 100,000 people. }} * {{do | name=MIX Copenhagen — LGBT Film Festival | alt=TBA October 2011 | url=http://cglff.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in Week 43''. Ten days of gay and queer cinema at its very best with more than 130 screenings of the world's best feature films, short films, and documentaries with gay or queer relevance, culminating in a champagne party on the final day, when the best film of the year receives its award. }} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=University of Copenhagen | alt= | url=http://www.ku.dk/english/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest university in Denmark. The university has a large selection of studies which are placed in eight different faculties. The faculties are found around the city and the main building is in central Copenhagen. }} *'''Technical University of Denmark''' This university teaches technical sciences and is in the suburb Lyngby north of Copenhagen. *'''IT University of Copenhagen''' This university teaches information technology studies and is on Amager. *'''Copenhagen Business School''' This university teaches business studies and is in Frederiksberg. ==Buy== [[File:Stroget.pg.jpg|thumb|250px|The 1.1 kilometre Strøget, along with its pedestrianised side streets, is one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe and Copenhagen's premier shopping area]] '''Strøget''' is one of the largest pedestrian malls in the world which links City Hall, Kongens Nytorv, and Nørreport station. Impeccably dressed Copenhageners breeze through high-end fashion and design stores when not zig-zagging through the hordes of tourists during the summer and Christmas seasons. Your fellow visitors can make it all feel rather touristy at times but if nothing else, it is great for people watching. If all this strange outdoor shopping takes you too far from your usual habitat, head for '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv) or '''Illums''' (on Amagertorv) for more familiar surroundings. There is even a real American style mall complete with a gargantuan parking lot out on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]]. Appropriately, it is called '''Fields'''. If you would rather sample smaller and more personal stores, the quarter of narrow streets surrounding ''Strøget'' in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|old city]] (colloquially known as ''Pisserenden'' and ''The Latin Quarter''), has a fantastic, eclectic mix of shopping. This ranges from quirky century-old businesses to the ultra hip in a wide range of fields. It is also much less crowded than Strøget, though unfortunately no less expensive. You can also try Vesterbrogade and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro#Istedgade|Istedgade]] on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]], due west of the central station, although you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/Thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory. Right at the border of this area, [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#Værnedamsvej|Værnedamsvej]] and Tullinsgade are also good bets. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Ravnsborggade|Ravnsborggade]] is well known for its huge number of antique stores that are excellent for bargain hunting and the next street to north, while more modest [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Elmegade|Elmegade]] has some small independent fashion boutiques. ===Flea markets=== Nørrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 m on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetery on Nørrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain or downright rubbish. Open from 4 April until 31 October on Saturdays 06:00 — 15:00. The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is on Israels Plads, close to the Nørreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers sell all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice gramophones and objets d'art. Open from 18 April until 10 October on Saturdays 08:00 — 14:00. ==Eat== {{SeeDistricts}} === On a budget === [[File:Smorrebrod.jpg|thumb|250px|For a hearty and traditional Danish lunch, try out the delicious ''Smørrebrød'' open-faced sandwiches]] If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many '''shawarma and pizza joints''' that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] and Nørrebrogade on [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]]. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try '''Ahaaa''' on Blågårds Plads, or '''Boys Shawarma & Is''' for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to '''Shawarma Grill House''' Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style '''all-you-can eat buffet''' restaurants dotted around the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. '''Nyhavns Faergekro''' at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's '''bakeries''' (''Bager'' — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (~kr 35) such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called ''smørrebrød''. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or with a fork and knife and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (expect to pay kr 8-10 for Danish pastry, here known as ''wienerbrød'') and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating. [[File:Copenhagen polsevogn.jpg|thumb|250px|Pølsevogn]] For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a '''pølsevogn''' (see image on the right), literally "sausage wagon", where you can get your hands on several different forms of tasty hot dogs with a free selection of various toppings for next-to-nothing by local standards. It is also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guests. To blend in, remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night, when the wagons are put into storage, 7-Eleven stores (which are open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog craving. They offer other eat-and-walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls. Also, remember to look out for the term '''''dagens ret''''' on signs and menus — this means "meal of the day" and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price. And finally, if your budget gets really small, buy some of your food in the supermarket. But watch out, prices can vary a lot depending on which supermarket you are going to. "Netto" (e.g. close to Nørrebro metro station) is the one you should look for. Irma, with a lot of fresh and delicious food, is (even for danes) a little expensive. === Michelin dining === Copenhagen has 16 Michelin starred restaurants, which is a huge number for a city of its size. This includes both Italian, French, Thai and of course the new Nordic cuisine. The new Nordic cuisine is headed by world renowned '''noma''', that has two Michelin stars and have been number one in San Pellegrinos "The World's 50 best restaurants in 2013" in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But tables can be extremely difficult to get. But if you still want to try the new Nordic cuisine '''Relæ''' and '''Kadeau''' are great options, both with one Michelin star. All three of them use traditionally Nordic ingredients and give new takes of classic Nordic dishes. '''Marv&Ben''' can be recommended for cheaper non-Michelin starred experience in the Nordic cuisine. '''Manfred og Vin''' is another possibility, Relæ's little sister, opposite Relæ offer a relaxed atmosphere but still playful and delicious organic food, wine and beer with strong Nordic roots. It is also fine just to go for a glass. '''Geranium''' and '''noma''' are the big international stars in Danish cuisine. Geranium's head chef, Rasmus Koefod, won the Bocuse d'Or (World Championship for chefs) in 2011, and Geranium has three Michelin stars. The restaurant is on 8th floor of the national soccer stadium in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro#Eat|Østerbro]]. But don't get frightened by that; there is a beautiful view over the nearby park and most of Copenhagen. The focus is more classic French than Noma, but there are still strong new Nordic vibes. The new Nordic movement have been so strong that it is almost impossible to find a Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen without at least some strong Nordic directions. One of the only exceptions is '''Era Ora''', a classic Italian one Michelin starred restaurant famous for a fantastic (though expensive) wine menu and delicious Italian treats. If the wallet is not that heavy, '''Formel B''' is a good choice. Unlike most other top restaurants there is there no expensive tasting menu or the traditional starter, main and dessert. Here all of the 20 dishes cost the same and you can choose one, two or all twenty. The only Thai restaurant in the guide is in Copenhagen and is owned by a Dane. The restaurant '''Kiin Kiin''' is in the hip and a bit trashy neighborhood [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Eat|Nørrebro]]. An affiliate was opened in Bangkok a few years ago. '''Aroii''' is one of Kiin Kiin's sister restaurants in Copenhagen, it is in the same building and offers very delicious Thai food, for much cheaper prices. Also possible for take away. Other Michelin starred restaurants include: '''Kong Hans Kælder''', which opened in 1976 and has had only have three head chefs in that time. Since then Kong Hans Kælder has been a front runner for top gourmet in Copenhagen. The focus is changing from the classic French cuisine to a new healthy paleo-inspired cuisine, probably the only Michelin starred restaurant in the world to go in that direction. Other one Michelin stars: '''Kokkeriet''', '''Restaurant AOC''', '''I Søllerød Kro''', '''Grønbech&Churchill''' and '''Den Røde Cottage''' Other top picks include: '''1. Th'''. The restaurant is decorated as a normal living room, giving the experience as being to dinner at a friends house. You pay a fixed amount before, and everyone is included. So you don't get a check afterward. A fantastic place. '''Mielcke & Hurtigkarl''' (which has been "cheated" out of a Michelin star for many years, at least according to Danish food critics) '''Marchal''' at luxury hotel D'Angleterre. A newly opened restaurant by rising star head chef Ronny Emborg. '''Alberto K''', a rising star in the Copenhagen culinary environment. '''Restaurationen''', a former Michelin star. But the owner lowered the tempo and still serves delicious food and gives top service. '''Bror''', '''Rebel''', '''Pony''', '''Pluto''', '''Clou''' and ''' Congo''' are all newly opened but show huge potential. === Brunch === Brunch is a Copenhagen institution, especially during the summer, and it is not unusual to hear a serious invitation for a morning brunch together with the ritual goodbye hug when a long night out in town draws to a close. In this way, brunch is intrinsically linked to the second local obsession of drinking. Food and fresh air is a great cure for hangovers as Copenhageners have long since discovered. Most cafés offer brunch, at least on weekends, for upwards of kr 80, often with a theme: American and French are especially widespread. One of the most popular options is '''[http://www.os-american.dk/ O's American]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' in central Copenhagen. Another popular brunch joint in the downtown hotel district, is [https://midwestern.dk/menu/ '''The Midwestern Diner'''], an American diner that is run and owned by Danish-Americans. ==Drink== [[File:Cph nyhavn.jpg|thumb|250px|Nyhavn is a popular place to go for a drink in the summer]] A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life. As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for '''[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Nyhavn]]''' but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the ''Strøget'' pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after ''the lakes'', is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. {{infobox|Drinking dictionary |* '''Cafés''' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine but they usually close around midnight and music is subdued to allow for conversations. They also serve food. * '''Bodegas''' are your average local watering holes, somewhat equivalent to a pub, with prices often much lower than bars and cafés. The clientèle is often a bit shady and you may have people staring at unfamiliar customers but behave nicely and they usually warm up to you. Try to have someone teach you the local ''træmand'', ''meyer'', or ''snyd'' dice games for a fun night. * '''Pubs''' are just that, pubs, the familiar English, Irish, and Scottish-themed exports that often do not have much in common with the actual pubs in those countries other than exported beer and interiors. * '''Bars''' are what locals tend to call everything with loud music that do not have a cover charge. Packed at weekends but more quiet at other times. * '''Clubs''', or discotheques as they are often still referred to here, are bars that have a cover charge and have a dance floor. Often only open Th-Sa. * '''Morgenværtshus'''. If you can get away with pronouncing this when you need it, you will be asking directions to a shady establishment full of people hell bent on not ending the night just yet. They usually open around 17:00 and "classics" include the 24-hour '''Hong Kong''' in Nyhavn, '''Café Guldregn''' on Vesterbro and '''Andy's''' in the city centre.}} === Clubbing === ''You can check for club listings in the various [[#Districts|districts]]'' The club scene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Th-Sa. Most locals have a party at home with friends or frequent their favourite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight and close around 05:00. Most clubs have a kr 40-80 cover charge and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Also expect an additional kr 10-20 for cloakrooms. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back kr 40-50 — a bit more than bars usually charge. ====Gay and lesbian==== For its size, Copenhagen has a rather large gay scene with a good handful of bars and dance clubs in the centre of the city within walking distance of each other. One of the better ones is ''Club Christopher'' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]]. Vela, the only bar/lounge in town that is targeted at lesbians is on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. ===Live venues=== Most of the music venues in Copenhagen also double as nightclubs so watch for them under the club sections in the different districts. Tickets for almost every event in Denmark and Copenhagen are sold through [http://billetnet.dk/ Billetnet]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} which has online sales and a counter available in all post offices. But apart from headline events, tickets are usually also sold at the entrance. Expect to pay 100 kr or more. The major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Østerbro for the biggest stars. [[Copenhagen/Indre By]], '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is a major venue with concerts of almost every genre by national and international acts. [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] has two venues: '''Rust's''' stage mainly hosts mainstream rhythmic music and '''Global''', as its name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]], it is no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera and not to be missed, the different venues of '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]]''' are a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture. Christiania's most famous venue is '''Loppen''' which has hosted many (mostly rock) acts that later grew in popularity to play bigger venues like Vega for far larger prices. ==Sleep== {{SeeDistricts}} Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as '''Scandic''', '''Radisson BLU''', '''First Hotels''' and '''Nordic Choice Hotels''' are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region. The hospitality industry is on the one hand squeezed by the high labour costs, being one of the most labour-intensive business, and on the other spoiled by relatively low competition (there are not many hotels in Copenhagen compared to other cities of a similar size). There generally is a dearth of mid-range hotels, as hotels either position themselves as low-priced (by Copenhagen standards) and limit service and facilities to the minimum, or as luxurious, and charge you every bit they need to recover the increased costs of running a fully-staffed hotel in Denmark. As competition is low and labour costs consume most of the hotels' revenues, even many high-end properties show signs of age and may not be up to the standards found in other European countries. For more accommodation options, you may head across the Øresund bridge to [[Malmö]] and other localities in [[Scania]]. You will find a wider variety of options there, often at lower prices and comparable quality to counterparts in the capital, but will need to factor in the costs (though in most cases the cost of a return fare can still be much lower than the rate differences between comparable hotels across both sides) and travel time across the border (see ''Get In'' section). === Unique accommodation === If you are looking for something unique, Copenhagen has a few surprisingly little known options. Fancy sleeping in an old fort? Then look no further than '''[[Copenhagen/Amager#Flakfortet|Flakfortet]]''' on its very own island out in the sound. Stylish rooms, classic and rather tastefully integrated into the environs of the old fort. Staying here does though exclude spending your evenings in the city, as the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon. You can also opt for the '''Dragør Fort''' on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] although they haven't pulled it off quite so nicely. In the same area, consider the old and historic beach front '''Dragør Badehotel''' in a classic building with great views over Øresund and a nearby beach, but also a fair deal of transportation time to the sights in the city centre. (Although it is close to the airport.) In the same genre, and with the same drawbacks, is '''Skovshoved Hotel''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]]. This is a historic beach hotel with nice views and a fantastic restaurant. You can get even closer to the water on the floating houseboat hotel '''CPH Living''' moored in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] . If you're a rad hipster and would rather sample some of the design for which the city is rightly famous, consider '''Hotel Fox''' where young Danish and international artists have individually decorated and furnished the rooms. Other hip options are '''STAY Copenhagen''' on the waterfront of Islands Brygge or '''Hotel Twentyseven''' near the arty cocktail lounges of the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. Or you could always max out your credit card and splurge at the timeless five star classics of '''D'Angleterre''' or '''Skt Petri Hotel'''. === On a budget === Copenhagen is an expensive city but it ''is'' possible for budget travellers to find reasonably priced accommodations. For those on an ultra low budget there are two free, but completely basic, '''camping''' grounds along the Mølleå river where you can camp for one or two nights. While camping elsewhere is no big sin, it is not legal either. There are plenty of commercial camping grounds available but if you are not used to Scandinavian price ranges, even these could seem expensive (DKK 50-200). The closest camping sites are at ''Charlottenlund Fort'' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and there is also a summer-only camping ground in the outer part of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] within the city proper. If you prefer modern comforts consider one of the [[hospitality exchange]] networks. Couchsurfing.com for instance, is quite popular with the Copenhagers, who provide 6,000 available hosted stays in the city, giving you the added bonus of having a local to point you to the great spots. There are a few '''hostels''' available and the cheapest are two summer-only (July-Aug) hostels in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]: '''YMCA Interpoint''' and '''Sleep in fact'''. Here you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as kr 100. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] the two sleep-in hostels are slightly more expensive but still a bargain compared to the general price range. A good option in this central (also named "the coolest in the world") neighbourhood is [https://urbancamper.dk/ Urban Campers Hostel]. The national hostel system [http://danhostel.dk Danhostel] which is part of Hostelling International, run several hostels in Copenhagen. Danhostel Copenhagen City is right in the centre, next to the harbour. For '''Hotels''' consider the '''[http://cabinn.com/ Cab Inn]''' chain that has three hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from €71 (single) to €103 (triples). The rooms are quite small but have TVs and private showers and toilets. There are several cheap hotels specifically catering to gays and lesbians [http://copenhagen-rainbow.dk Copenhagen Rainbow]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} being one of them. In the city centre, 500 m from Tivoli on the mainstreet of Vesterbrogade there is a few other fairly priced options for accommodation, the [http://loevenhotel.dk Loeven hotel], the [http://savoyhotel.dk Savoy Hotel], prices around €80 for a twin room. A little further out following a side street on your left hand side, in Absalonsgade you will find a youth hostel, also fairly priced although quite noisy. ==Connect== Many bars, cafés, restaurants, trains and petrol stations offer free WiFi, including McDonalds. Libraries offer free internet access for one hour at a time, though this often requires signing up in advance. ''[https://bibliotek.kk.dk/hovedbiblioteket Københavns Hovedbiblioteket]'' has freely accessible workstations and a wide selection of international newspapers. ==Cope== ===Money=== Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone ('''kr''' or '''DKK'''), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission. Using the exchange machines present at some banks is not recommended, though, as these charge a fee of kr 25 (~€3.35). Credit cards are widely accepted, although this is usually limited to Visa and/or MasterCard. Many supermarkets and small shops will normally only accept the widespread local Danish debit-card, also known as the Dankort. But acceptance of the two major international credit cards is increasing rapidly. Other credit cards like American Express, Diners, JCB, and Unionpay are accepted in some shops in Copenhagen, especially in Strøget, the main shopping district. When accepted, a transaction fee (mandated by credit card companies, not shops) of 0.75% to 4.00% of the amount will usually be charged on credit cards issued by foreign banks. Almost all ATMs accept major international cards, including all the ones mentioned previously. Therefore, it is worth noting that although some shops may not accept all credit cards, an ATM capable of doing so will in most cases be less than 200 m away, particularly in central Copenhagen. ===Press=== The [http://cphpost.dk Copenhagen Post] is the country's sole English language newspaper, it's published weekly on Saturdays, and is available at many bars and cafés, as well as for sale in the Magasin department store, and the kiosks at the Central, Vesterport, Østerport, and Hellerup stations for kr 20. === Embassies and consulates === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=http://edina.cancilleria.gov.ar/ | email= | address=Borgergade 16 | lat=55.6834994 | long=12.5852325 | directions= | phone=+45 33 15 80 82 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=http://denmark.embassy.gov.au | email= | address=Dampfærgevej 26 | lat=55.6998729 | long=12.595523 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 36 76 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-16:30; F 08:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/embassy/copenhagen.html | email= | address=Sølundsvej 1 | lat=55.71894 | long=12.57486 | directions= | phone=+45 39 29 41 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:30-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url=http://diplomatie.be/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Øster Allé 7 | lat=55.70013 | long=12.57417 | directions= | phone=+45 35 25 02 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-16:30; F 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | alt= | url=http://copenhague.itamaraty.gov.br | email= | address=Jens Kofods Gade 1, ST. TH. 1268 Copenhagen K | lat=55.681541 | long=12.5812318 | directions= | phone=+45 3920 6478 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://mfa.bg/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Gamlehave alle 7, 2920 Charlottenlund | lat=55.76051 | long=12.56408 | directions= | phone=+45 39642484, +45 39633872 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://canadainternational.gc.ca/denmark-danemark/ | email= | address=Kristen Bernikowsgade 1 | lat=55.67985 | long=12.58217 | directions= | phone=+45 33 48 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://dk.china-embassy.org/ | email= | address=Øregårds Allé 25 | lat=55.73787 | long=12.57007 | directions= | phone=+45 39460889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/es/dinamarca/embajada-de-cuba-en-dinamarca | email= | address=Kastelsvej 19, 3tv | lat=55.696510 | long=12.587317 | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 15 10 | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 19 | lat=55.696289 | long=12.589366 | directions= | phone=+45 3543 7070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt= | url=http://www.estemb.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 19, 4. sal | lat=55.6845664 | long=12.5915321 | directions= | phone=+45 39463070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=http://www.finland.dk/ | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 24 | lat=55.6809358 | long=12.5929243 | directions= | phone=+45 33 13 42 14 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=http://ambafrance-dk.org | email= | address=Ny Østergade 3, 2nd floor | lat=55.6810503 | long=12.5871581 | directions= | phone=+45 33 67 01 64 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=http://kopenhagen.diplo.de | email= | address=Stockholmsgade 57 | lat=55.692646 | long=12.5833872 | directions= | phone=+45 35 45 99 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 except W 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=http://ghanaembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Egebjerg Allé 13 | lat=55.73778 | long=12.55808 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 82 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | alt= | url=http://mfa.gr/copenhagen | email= | address=Bornholmsgade 3 | lat=55.7408663 | long=12.5836434 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 60 48 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} *{{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://koppenhaga.mfa.gov.hu/ | email=mission.cph@mfa.gov.hu | address=Øregårdsvænget 9, 2900 | lat=55.738826 | long=12.570605 | directions= | phone=+45 39 63 16 88 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 63 00 52 | hours=Tu, Th: 09:00–13:00 W: 13:00–16:00 | price= | content= |wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-07-12}} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url=https://www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-copenhagen/embassy-information | email= | address=Strandgade 89 | lat=55.677386 | long=12.597082 | directions= | phone=+45 33 18 10 50 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=http://indian-embassy.dk | email=visa@indian-embassy.dk | address=Vangehusvej 15 | lat=55.71984 | long=12.57387 | directions= | phone=+45 39182888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/copenhagen/en/default.aspx | email=unitkomkph@kbricph.dk | address=Ørehøj Alle 1, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73829 | long=12.57195 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 44 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 (Visas 09:00-12:00) | price= | content=Also covers as the embassy of Indonesia for Lithuania }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=http://embassyofireland.dk | email= | address=Østbanegade 21 | lat=55.6958684 | long=12.5904463 | directions= | phone=+45 35 47 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:30, 14:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.mfa.gov.il | email= | address=Lundevangsvej 4 | lat=55.72404 | long=12.57081 | directions= | phone=+45 88 18 55 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambcopenaghen.esteri.it/ambasciata_copenaghen/it/| email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 7 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 68 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00, Tu-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | alt= | url=http://www.dk.emb-japan.go.jp/ | email= | address=Pilestræde 61 | lat=55.6816139 | long=12.5778373 | directions= | phone=+45 33 11 33 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Latvia}} {{listing | name=Latvia | alt= | url=http://www.am.gov.lv/copenhagen | email=embassy.denmark@mfa.gov.lv | address=Rosbæksvej 17 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57249 | directions= | phone=+45 39 27 60 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=http://dk.mfa.lt | email=amb.dk@urm.lt | address=Bernstorffsvej 214 | lat=55.75270 | long=12.55844 | directions= | phone=+45 39636207 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=646&lang=en | email=copenhagen@mfa.gov.mk | address=Skindergade 28, A, 1.th., 1159 Copenhagen | lat=55.6794912 | long=12.5742755 | directions= | phone=+45 39 766 920 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 766 923 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt=consulate | url=http://mongolietskonsulat.dk | email= | address=Bolbrovej 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 32 52 44 27 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * [[File:Flag of Nepal.svg|10px]] {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url=https://dk.nepalembassy.gov.np | email= | address=Esplanaden 46, 2 | lat=55.687832 | long=12.595503 | directions= | phone=+45 44 44 40 43 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/denmark/about-us/embassy-in-copenhagen | email= | address=Toldbodgade 33 | lat=55.682127 | long=12.593144 | directions= | phone=+45 33 70 72 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 14:00-15:00, F 14:00-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=http://nzembassy.com/ | email= | address=Store Strandstræde 21, 2.tv | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 37 77 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 13:00-14:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://norsk.dk/ | email=emb.copenhagen@mfa.no | address=Dampfærgevej 10, 4. | lat=55.697091 | long=12.5949066 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 01 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-15:30, F 08:30-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://pakistanembassy.dk | email=info@pakistanembassy.dk | address=Valeursvej 17 | lat=55.73892 | long=12.55760 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 11 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, except W 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.kopenhaga.msz.gov.pl | email= | address=Richelieus Alle 12 | lat=55.7381558 | long=12.5830372 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 77 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-14:00, except W 13:00-18:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url=http://www.embaixadadeportugal.dk/ | email=embport@get2net.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31 | lat=55.6819069 | long=12.5930488 | directions= | phone=+45 33131301 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=http://copenhaga.mae.ro/en | email=copenhaga@mae.ro | address=Strandagervej 27 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 71 77 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-12-03 | content=Also covers as the embassy of Romania for [[Iceland]]. }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | alt= | url=http://denmark.mid.ru/ | email= | address=Kristianiagade 5 | lat=55.694047 | long=12.5860566 | directions= | phone=+45 35 38 23 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/copenhagen | email=sincon@scan-group.dk | address=Snorresgade 18-20 | lat=55.6643606 | long=12.5761839 | directions= | phone=+45-32548360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/dk-ko/index.do | email= | address=Svanemøllevej 104 | lat=55.73087 | long=12.57422 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 04 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:15, 13:00-16:30; Visa Section M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | alt= | url=http://southafrica.dk/ | email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 8 | lat=55.72326 | long=12.57234 | directions= | phone=+45 39180185 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-16:00; F 08:00-13:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 21 | lat=55.6964804 | long=12.5895873 | directions= | phone=+45 35 42 22 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00–17:00, F 09:00–14:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url=http://swedenabroad.com/kopenhamn | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 15 A | lat=55.6817202 | long=12.5918346 | directions= | phone=+45 33 36 03 75 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, W also 14:00–16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/copenhagen | email= | address=Richelieus Allé 14, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73861 | long=12.58301 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 17 96 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | alt= | url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/DK | email=contact@taipeioffice.dk | address=Amaliegade 3, 2F | lat=55.6821714 | long=12.5914206 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 51 52 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url=http://thaiembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Norgesmindevej 18 | lat=55.72568 | long=12.57306 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 50 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ | email= | address=Rosbæksvej 15 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57337 | directions= | phone=+45 39 20 27 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt= | url=http://denmark.mfa.gov.ua/ | email=embassy.ua@mail.tele.dk | address=Toldbodgade 37A, 1. | lat=55.6824312 | long=12.5934775 | directions= | phone=+45 33161635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-13:00, Tu 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=http://ukindenmark.fco.gov.uk/ | email= | address=Kastelsvej 38 | lat=55.69590 | long=12.58559 | directions= | phone=+45 35 44 52 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://dk.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 | lat=55.6945855 | long=12.5830518 | directions= | phone=+45 35 55 31 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:15-23:15 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | alt= | url=http://dinamarca.embajada.gob.ve/ | email=emvendk@mail.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31, 3. | lat=55.681918 | long=12.5930527 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 63 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Vietnam}} {{listing | name=Vietnam | alt= | url=http://vietnamemb.dk/ | email=embvndk@hotmail.com | address=Bernstorffsvej 30C | lat=55.72847 | long=12.55564 | directions= | phone=+45 39 18 26 29 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} |} ==Stay safe== As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial '''112''' for emergencies, and '''114''' for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] and in the [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|western suburbs]]. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While '''racism''' is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination. == Stay healthy == Emergency Rooms (ER) are called ''Skadestue'' in Danish, as with many other health related terms and phrases, the English term may not be understood by some Danes — but conveniently Hospital is the same in Danish. Hospitals with 24 hour Emergency Wards near the city centre include: *{{listing | name=Amager Hospital | alt= | url=http://amagerhospital.dk | email= | address=Italiensvej 1, Amager | lat=55.65471 | long=12.60881 | directions= | phone=+45 32 34 35 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Bispebjerg Hospital | alt= | url=http://bispebjerghospital.dk | email= | address=Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 7C, Nordvest | lat=55.71446 | long=12.54061 | directions= | phone=+45 35 31 23 73 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Frederiksberg Hospital | alt= | url=http://frederiksberghospital.dk | email= | address=Nordre Fasanvej 57, 3A, Frederiksberg | lat=55.68721 | long=12.52576 | directions= | phone=+45 38 16 35 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} The public healthcare system also maintains doctors on call outside normal office hours, calls are screened by medical personnel, and doctors dispatched only when deemed necessary. *{{listing | name=Lægevagten | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 00 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M–F 16:00–8:00, Sa-Su all day | price=From DKK 255, Free for EU citizens | content= }} There is a 24-hour pharmacy in central Copenhagen, and 3 additional ones in the suburbs. *{{listing | name=Steno Apotek | alt= | url=http://183.netapotek.dk/ | email= | address=Vesterbrogade 6C | lat=55.6745156 | long=12.5632472 | directions=Just by the Radisson Royal hotel, near the Central station | phone=+45 33 14 82 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=regular hours: M-F 8:00–20:00,Sa 8:30–17:00 | price=There is a DKK 15 service charge outside those times. | content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Malmö]]''' &mdash; Sweden's third largest city, with a lovely historic city centre and cosy squares. Just a short, convenient train ride away. * '''[[Helsingør]]''' &mdash; Also called '''Elsinore'''. The old city centre with well preserved houses is one of the biggest in Denmark, and famous Kronborg castle, home of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Take the train from Copenhagen Central or Østerport. If you go by car the motorway is the fastest, driving along Strandvejen is the scenic route. * '''[[Hillerød]]''' &mdash; A small town dominated by the huge Frederiksborg palace, but also offers baroque gardens and a laid back city centre. Take the S-train: end of the E-line. * '''[[Roskilde]]''' &mdash; Denmark's ancient capital and a [[World Heritage site]], with a famous cathedral full of the tombs of ancient kings, and the fantastic Viking museum. Home to one of the ''Big Four'' European music festivals, Roskilde Festival, which attracts up to 110,000 visitors each year in July. There are many trains from Copenhagen Central, Nørreport and Østerport. * '''[[Øresund Coast]]''' &mdash; For the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', which is the outstanding museum of modern art in Denmark, in the small town of Humlebæk 35&nbsp;km north of Copenhagen. Via motorway E47/E5 or 35 minutes with DSB rail from the Central Station. When you use the train, special combination tickets for the rail fare and museum entry fee are available. * '''[[Ven]]''' &mdash; Visit the Swedish island Ven. Rent a bicycle and tour the island. The ferry departs from Havnegade 29 at 9:15, returns at 17:30 and costs 210&nbsp;kr for the daytrip. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E20.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Kolding]] | minorl1=[[Køge]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Göteborg]] | minorr1=[[Malmö]] | image2=Tabliczka E47.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Helsingør]] | minorl2=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Lübeck]] | minorr2=[[Køge]] | image3=Tabliczka E55.svg | imagesize3=22 | directionl3=N | majorl3=[[Helsingør]] | minorl3=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr3=S | majorr3=[[Berlin]] | minorr3=[[Køge]] }} {{isPartOf|Zealand}} {{starcity}} {{geo|55.6762|12.5675|zoom=13}} hbyoj9c2d6rn131nzi1blupg0u9dxsq 5298653 5298652 2026-06-26T08:39:08Z ~2026-33378-46 2418994 /* By plane */ Ce, to match 5298653 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Copenhagen banner Nyhavn canal.jpg|dotm=yes|star=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Copenhagen''' ([[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''København'') is the capital city of [[Denmark]] and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife ''par excellence'', yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to [[Sweden]] by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the [[Nordic countries]] and [[central Europe]]. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. __TOC__ <div style="clear:both;"></div> ==Districts== {{Mapframe|55.655|12.443|width=500|height=500|zoom=10|name=Unofficial but quite widely perceived district division of Copenhagen|staticmap=Cph_districts.png|show=other,go,mask}} {{Mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Copenhagen_Districts.map}} {{mapshapes|Q212741}}<!--Metro--> {{Mapshapes|Q585154}}<!--S-tog--> {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] | region1color=#ac5c91 | region1items= | region1description=Centrum, the Medieval City — a place of many names, and the historical heart of Copenhagen, dotted with church spires, historic buildings, narrow alleys and excellent shopping. | region2name=[[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] | region2color=#ffd0d0 | region2items= | region2description=A thriving area notable for its many canals and cozy cafes. The '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Freetown of Christiania]]''' is situated in the eastern section of Christianshavn, along with the old naval area, turned trendy: '''Holmen'''. | region3name=[[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=This district still has a few sex shops and sleazy hotels left, but is now one of the hippest places to live, with cafes and bars dotted along its main artery, '''Istedgade'''. | region4name=[[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] | region4color=#acaa78 | region4items= | region4description=An area which formed around Frederiksberg Castle. It remains an independent municipality. Surrounded by the City of Copenhagen, the area has preserved a special conservative, upscale feel. | region5name=[[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] | region5color=#d56d76 | region5items= | region5description=One of the most vibrant parts of Copenhagen, especially along Nørrebrogade, with a mix of immigrants, students, and original working-class Nørrebro-inhabitants. | region6name=[[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] | region6color=#71b37b | region6items= | region6description=A affluent and cozy neighbourhood north of the centre. Less vibrant than Nørrebro and Vesterbro, and less quaint than Frederiksberg, it is the home of the famous Little Mermaid statue, and the beautifully preserved Kastellet Citadel. The area west of the train track is very popular with young families. | region7name=[[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] | region7color=#69999f | region7items=Including Saltholm | region7description=Once a bastion of the working class, this island with its own distinct atmosphere is booming with new development. Also home of the airport and the biggest shopping mall in Copenhagen. | region8name=[[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Northern suburbs]] | region8color=#d09440 | region8items= | region8description=A visit to these green suburbs, beaches, parks, and Dyrehavsbakken — the world's oldest running amusement park; Frilandsmuseet — the world's largest open air museum; or canoeing down the Mill River, will leave no doubt that this is an altogether different kind of suburbia. It is colloquially known to locals as the "whisky belt", due to its many well-heeled residents. '''[[Ballerup]]''', which has a charming museum of local history, is covered in a separate article. | region9name=[[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|Vestegnen]] | region9color=#d5dc76 | region9items= | region9description=The suburbs west and south of the city. Except for the good and very popular Arken art museum most attractions are small but still interesting. It has some good beaches and camping opportunities. }} == Understand == [[File:CPH Rundetaarnview.jpg|thumb|250px|View from Rundetårn]] ===History=== ==== Beginnings as a merchant harbour ==== If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." ==== Archbishop Absalon ==== Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of [[Roskilde]]. Absalon, archbishop of [[Lund]] 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today ''Slotsholmen'' (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital [[Roskilde]] and [[Lund]] in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent. But with prosperity comes envy and in the years to follow Copenhagen was laid waste and pillaged time and time again, mainly by the members of the German Hanseatic League, which at one point completely destroyed the city. {{infobox|Wonderful Copenhagen?|In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' featured in the 1952 film ''Hans Christian Andersen''. Sung by Danny Kaye, it is a bit of an evergreen, and — not being accustomed to Hollywood attention — the city has stuck to it ever since. What also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it is "''koh-pehn-HAY-gehn''", not "''koh-pehn-HAH-gehn''".}} ==== Becoming the capital of Denmark ==== Like the phoenix, however, Copenhagen repeatedly rose from its ashes. When the Danes kicked out the Pope during the 16th century [[Protestant Reformation]], Roskilde lost its importance as a Roman bishopric and, having taken control of the city 20 years earlier, the Danish king moved his residence to Copenhagen. Not terribly keen on seeing their new capital laid waste once more, successive Danish monarchs built massive fortifications around the city. None more so than King Christian IV, who embarked on a building rampage which not only included the ramparts still visible throughout much of the city, but also many present day landmarks like the Round Tower and the Stock Exchange. Since then Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes, and then bombarded, set ablaze, and nearly destroyed by the British Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, who in one of two battles for Copenhagen, responded to the order to withdraw by saying "You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes," and then raised the telescope to his blind eye and touted "I really do not see the signal." This was the first ever civilian bombardment performed as part of war. ==== Outgrowing the city walls ==== Again, the city shook off its struggles and the population mushroomed during industrialization. When a cholera epidemic did a fine job of killing nearly everyone there wasn't room for, the King finally conceded that long range cannons would render its constraining walls irrelevant, and thus allowed the city to grow outside the now antiquated ramparts. But it was not long before a new modern fortification was built (known as Vestvolden today), which made Copenhagen Europe's most fortified city of the late 19th century. After being subjected to yet another, German invasion during World War II, the whole idea of a fortified city was thrown out the window and replaced with one of the finest examples of urban planning anywhere — the ''Finger Plan''. Copenhagen is one of few cities in the world to devise a long-term plan for growth and then actually stick to it; try placing your hand over a map of Copenhagen with the palm as the city centre, and it's quite obvious why it's called the finger plan. Despite being the laughing stock of the country through the 1970s and 1980s, when wealthy residents all moved out into the fingers leaving behind an impoverished bankrupt inner city, a visit these days will prove that the phoenix has risen once more. ===Read and watch=== * ''Pelle the Conqueror'' (Martin Andersen Nexø, 1906–10). An epic novel in three parts and an integral part of the Danish school curriculum portraying the life of two poor Swedish immigrants — a father and son. The two last volumes take place in Copenhagen and describe the rise and the conflicts of the labour movement and global socialism which are so crucial to understanding Danish society today. All in all, it's a very good historical account of life in the city during that period, and above all, a good book. * ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (Peter Høeg, 1992). Dive into Denmark's curious post-colonial history in this international best seller. Partly set in Copenhagen, partly in Greenland, you are whirled through a murder mystery by Ms. Smilla, a half-Danish Inuit brought up in poor Greenland, but now living in the kingdom's affluent and orderly capital. It is a good account of the conflicts and contrasts between two very different parts of the Kingdom, and it offers some spot-on social critique of Danish society in a very engaging way. * The Copenhagen Quartet (Thomas E. Kennedy). Four novels totaling well over a thousand pages. Each book is set against the backdrop of one of the four seasons of the Danish capital: ''Kerrigan in Copenhagen'' (spring) (2013), ''Falling Sideways'' (autumn) (2011), ''In the Company of Angels'' (summer) (2010), and ''Beneath the Neon Egg'' (winter) (scheduled for publication, 2014). The novelist, an American expat, somewhat autobiographically portrays an American writer trying to come to terms with his past with the help of Copenhagen's many bars, with the Danish capital as the co-star. All of the places described in the books are real places that you can go discover. Copenhagen is also the setting of several [[Nordic Noir]] films and series, such as the Pusher series, ''The Bridge'', and ''The Killing''. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Copenhagen |-0.7 |3.4 |53.0 |-0.8 |3.6 |36.9 |0.7 |6.5 |42.3 |4.2 |11.8 |35.8 |8.6 |16.7 |47.2 |11.9 |19.6 |63.9 |14.3 |22.2 |60.9 |14.1 |21.8 |67.5 |10.8 |17.5 |61.0 |7.1 |12.6 |63.3 |3.3 |7.6 |56.4 |0.5 |4.4 |57.4 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Copenhagen]] | description = Averages of Copenhagen 1981–2010 }} Copenhagen, like the rest of [[Denmark]], has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the [http://dmi.dk/eng/index/forecasts.htm Danish Meteorological Institute website]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. '''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. '''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets. '''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into cosiness. It is the local way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family. Weather in Copenhagen can be unstable and highly unpredictable. Make sure you pack clothes in case of sudden rain or spell of cold (or, in the summer, of warmth) even despite long-term forecasts telling you otherwise. An umbrella, rain coat and shoes that will withstand torrential downpour may come in handy. Copenhageners dress very well, but at the same time very practically and with the realization that rain can assault their carefully chosen styling any minute. ===Tourist information=== Copenhagen's official tourist agency is ''Wonderful Copenhagen'' * {{listing | name=Copenhagen Visitor Service | alt= | url=http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/tourist-offices/copenhagen-visitor-service | email=touristinfo@woco.dk | address=Vesterbrogade 4A | lat=55.67486 | long=12.56438 | directions=Across from Tivoli's main entrance, near the central station (2&nbsp;km walk) | phone=+45 70 22 24 42 | tollfree= | fax=+45 70 22 24 52 | hours=Jan–Apr M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 09:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 09:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 09:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 09:00–16:00, Sa 09:00–14:00 | price= | content=The tourist information office is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within this office and they provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen including museums, concerts and festivals. Furthermore there is a free WiFi service available. }} ==Get in== [[File:Flughafen Kopenhagen Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|CPH seen from above]] ===By plane=== [[File:Couloir-aéroport-Copenhague-2.jpg|thumb|The cathedral-like passageway linking terminals]] ==== Copenhagen Airport ==== {{main|Copenhagen Airport}} {{marker|type=go|name=Copenhagen Airport|url=https://www.cph.dk/en/|lat=55.6287|long=12.6486|image=Copenhagen Airport Mai 2009 PD 112.JPG}} ({{IATA|CPH}}) on the nearby island of [[Amager]] is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier '''[https://www.flysas.com/ SAS — Scandinavian Airlines]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] or [[Frankfurt]] and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''[http://easyjet.com/ EasyJet]''' serves Copenhagen from [[London]] Gatwick, [[Manchester]], [[Milan]], [[Geneva]], [[Paris]] CDG and [[Berlin]]. '''[http://norwegian.com/ Norwegian]''' offers budget flights to (among others) [[Liverpool]], [[Oslo]], [[Stockholm]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Budapest]], [[Paris]], [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]]. While CPH is one of Europe's busiest airports, with a flight taking off every 2 minutes on average well into the night, many facilities have limited opening hours. Little in the way of gastronomy or retail remains open after 20:00, even the ''CPH Apartment Lounge'' closes at 20:00 and the frequent fliers and business/first class passengers are required to wait in the empty terminal halls. If your flight is in the early hours, you can take advantage of the facilities (snacks, drinks, free Wi-Fi, relaxation and work facilities) of the ''CPH Apartment'' 05:00–20:00 for DKK239 (as of August 2022), unless your frequent-flyer plan or ticket tariff covers that already. [[File:COPENHAGEN KASTRUP AIRPORT RAILWAY STATION DENMARK SEP 2013 (9912940653).jpg|thumb|The Copenhagen Airport Station has separate platforms for trains going towards Copenhagen and towards [[Scania]] in [[Sweden]], so make sure you access the right one.]] ===== Transport to/from Copenhagen Airport ===== It takes 12 minutes by train to travel from Copenhagen Airport to the Central Station (Hovedbanegården) in Copenhagen city centre. You need a ticket for 3 zones (30kr) which can be purchased from one of the machines in the arrivals hall. The [https://intl.m.dk/ Copenhagen Metro] also connects the airport with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every 4 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes at night, taking 14 minutes to the city centre (for the same ticket and same price of 30 kr). Consider buying a City Pass or Copenhagen Card instead if you plan on visiting attractions the same day. The airport has different stations for mainline trains (underneath the arrivals hall) and for the metro (upstairs from the arrivals hall), both are in Terminal 3. The next metro station is named Kastrup — the historic name for the airport — but has nothing to do with the airport. ====Malmö Airport==== '''[https://www.swedavia.com/malmo/ Malmö Airport]''' ({{IATA|MMX}}) across the Øresund bridge has flights with ''[https://wizzair.com/ Wizzair]'' from [[Budapest]], [[Gdańsk]], [[Katowice]], and [[Warsaw]]. ''[https://www.neptunbus.dk/ Neptunbus]'' provide connecting buses from Malmö Airport to Copenhagen Central Station, these are timed in accordance with the Wizzair flights. Domestic flights within Sweden also serve Malmö Airport, but do not have direct bus connections — see [[Malmö#Get%20in]] for routes. ===By train=== [[File:Cph central.jpg|thumb|Train waiting at Copenhagen Central station]] Links between the capital and the rest of the country are frequent and excellent. There are several trains each hour to Malmö and further to Lund and Gothenburg. There are 12 daily connections on weekdays to Stockholm. There are further train services in the direction of Karlskrona and Kalmar. There are six fast connections to Hamburg and one to Berlin. From the rest of '''Denmark''' connections are frequent and numerous. In [[Jutland]] several railway branches from [[Aarhus]]/[[Aalborg]] in the North, [[Struer]] in the north-west, [[Esbjerg]] to the west, and finally [[Sønderborg]] in the south convene in [[Fredericia]], where they connect to a main line with up to four intercity trains per hour, divided into Express and Intercity trains, which runs across [[Funen]] before crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt). From there it reaches across the length of [[Zealand]] before terminating at Copenhagen's central station. If you are going in the reverse direction without a seat reservation, be mindful that the train is often broken up at Fredericia to serve the different branches, so if you do not have seat reservation, it is a bad idea just picking a random carriage in Copenhagen — check the screens on the platform to see where you should board, or ask the ticket inspectors once on the train. All cross-belt trains are operated by DSB ([http://dsb.dk Danish State Railways]). From the island of [[Bornholm]], a high speed ferry shuttles passengers to [[Ystad]] in [[Sweden]], where you will have to board the Swedish Pågatåg commuter train, then change trains to the ''Øresundstog (see below)'' again at any of the stations in Malmö to continue on to Copenhagen. A one-way combined ferry/train ticket will only set you back DKK149. Across the Øresund strait in '''Sweden''', the ''[http://dsbfirst.dk Øresundstog]'' trains departs from various towns in [[Scania|Southern Sweden]], and via [[Lund]] and [[Malmö]], crossing the Øresund bridge to Copenhagen, with a stop at the airport. The journey time from Malmö to Copenhagen Central station is 40 minutes and trains run every 15-20 minutes all day on this stretch, and every hour during the night. A single ticket between Malmö and Copenhagen costs DKK92 if using the Rejsekort app or SEK150 if using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken app], with the added benefit of unlimited local public transport on both sides of the border (except the bridge/ferry where only one crossing is permitted) for the highlighted zone until 04.00 the following day. [https://sj.se Swedish Railways]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operates up to seven X2000 express trains from [[Stockholm]] every day (five and a half hours) and one night train that continues on to Hamburg. An easy change in Malmö almost doubles that number (including one additional night train option). Passengers taking a day trip from Scania or are returning within 24 hours may consider purchasing a 24-hour ticket using the [https://www.skanetrafiken.dk/danska-sidor/appen/ Skånetrafiken mobile app] or ticket machines as it can cost as little as the price of two single tickets (e.g. SEK150 or approximately 194DKK between Copenhagen and Malmö) and includes unlimited use of public transport in the zones you purchased the ticket for. Foreigners should carry a valid passport or national identity card as identity documents are sometimes checked at the border. To continental '''Europe''', Intercity Express and Eurocity trains (and one Euronight train) connect [[Hamburg]] with Copenhagen, up to seven times per day. Standard prices are €130 from Berlin and €78 from Hamburg (€130 for a couchette space on the night train), but it's often possible to find discounted tickets — in Denmark, those are called ''Orange Europa'' or "sightseeing fares" which are the same price as a bus. If you're taking the day ICE/EC train during the summer, reservations are compulsory. [https://www.snalltaget.se '''Snälltåget'''] operate seasonal night trains between Sweden and Germany with a stop in suburban Copenhagen, the routes vary depending on the time of year. Only some of these trains use Copenhagen Central station, so you may need to search using "København Ørestad" or "København Syd" to find tickets. * {{go | name=Copenhagen Central Station | alt=Københavns Hovedbanegård | url= | email= | address=Bernstorffsgade 16–22 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1495052 | lastedit=2021-08-20 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:Cph oresund.jpg|thumb|The 8-km Øresund bridge leading to Malmö in Sweden]] Buses between Jutland and Copenhagen are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday to Thursday. International buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train, and destinations east of Berlin may also be faster by bus. The new Copenhagen Bus Terminal (''Københavns Busterminal'') next to Dybbølsbro Station in the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] district opened in June 2024. Many of the companies listed below are defunct, or have merged with Flixbus. From '''Jutland''' and '''Fyn''' the bus company ''EkspresRuten'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]], [[Vejle]] and [[Odense|Odense South]] several times per day. There is also a stop in [[Roskilde]]. * {{listing | name=Ekspres Ruten | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/busbestilling/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 40 75 11 71 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} From '''Jutland''' bus number ''888'' connects Copenhagen with [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]] several times per day. Journey time is 5 hr 15 min from Aalborg. On Zealand there are additional stops in [[Holbæk]] and [[Roskilde]]. Line ''882'' runs between Copenhagen and Fjerritslev in Northwestern Jutland once every day. * {{listing | name=Abildskou | url=http://abildskou.dk | email= | address=M–F 08:00–17:00, Sa 08:00–14:00, Su 09:00–17:00 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 21 08 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} Links from '''Norway and Sweden''' are fairly frequent and very economical compared to the train. Most buses arrive and depart from DGI Byen, near the southern overpass of the central station. Passengers are generally encouraged to buy tickets on-line, but tickets can also be purchased at the ''Copenhagen Right Now'' tourist information desk near the central station. In the winter (Dec-Apr) ''[https://www.fjallexpressen.se Fjällexpressen]'' whisks skiers between Copenhagen and the Swedish ski resorts. When booking online, it's useful to know that Copenhagen is called ''Köpenhamn'' in Swedish. * {{listing | name=Flixbus | alt= | url=http://flixbus.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr); Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=GoByBus | alt= | url=http://gobybus.se | email=info@gobybus.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 23 54 20 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 07:30–18:00, Sa 07:30–17:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=~DKK225 | content=Oslo (8½ hr) via Gothenburg (4½ hr), line 300. }} * {{listing | name=Gråhundbus | alt= | url=http://www.graahundbus.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 4468 4400 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Local operator Greyhound Bus has several daily connections to Malmö and once daily to Malmö Airport. Also works with partners elsewhere to Europe. }} * {{listing | name=Nettbuss/Bus4you | url=https://www.nettbuss.se | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gothenburg (5 hr) | content= }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express | url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+46 771 218218 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Oslo (9 hr) via Gotenburg (5 hr) ~SEK300, line 820; Stockholm (9 hr) via Jonköping (4½ hr) ~ SEK350, line 832. | content= }} From continental '''Europe''' there are several bus companies which offer numerous daily connections from Germany often at very competitive rates, most run via the ferries from Rødby to Puttgarden or Gedser to Rostock. Many of these services, especially if headed to points east such as Berlin, are considerably faster than the best train connections. Most of these buses stops near DGI byen on Ingerslevsgade. * {{listing | name=Autoprevoz | url=http://autoprevoz.ba | email=info@autoprevoz.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+387 51 317 333 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Banja Luka (25 hr, twice weekly) ~BAM300 (€150) }} * {{listing | name=Swebus Express |alt=| url=http://swebusexpress.se | email=info@swebusexpress.se | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 80 70 33 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00–18:00, Sa 09:00–15:00, Su 09:00–18:00 | price=Berlin (7 hr) via Rostock (4½ hr) ~SEK450, line 902 |wikipedia=|wikidata=|lastedit=2016-10-08| content=Tickets sold at the central tourist information desk. This company does allow for bicycles under certain conditions. Please check their website. }} * {{listing | name=Toptourist | url=http://www.toptourist.dk/ | email=info@toptourist.dk | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 48 25 38 37 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Sarajevo via Salzburg (twice weekly) ~DKK1000 (€140) return | content=Tickets can be paid on the bus, but advance booking and payment is recommended. }} [[File:Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal on Østerbro.JPG|thumb|The Oslo ferry docked at the DFDS terminal in the Østerbro district]] From [[Poland]], there is a host of different bus companies, each with a few weekly scheduled departures. Unfortunately the market is very fluid and routes and operators tend to change rapidly. ''[http://agat.eu/ Agat]'' provides four round trips per week between Copenhagen and [[Katowice]] (20 hr) in Southern Poland, and ''[http://eurobus.pl Eurobus]'' for connections with [[Warsaw]] (20 hr via [[Hamburg]]) once per week. If any of these companies have shut down, try searching for alternatives, as there is a good chance someone else will have taken over the traffic. ===By boat=== {{see also|Boating on the Baltic Sea}} The ferry terminal (Færgeterminal Søndre Frihavn) at Dampfærgevej 30 is close to Nordhavn station. From there the '''[https://www.gonordiccruiseline.com/ Go Nordic Cruiseline]''' departs for [[Oslo]], Norway. '''[https://dinoffentligetransport.dk/en City bus line 27]''' commutes between the entrance of the ferry terminal and Østerport Station. There are two regular connections straight into Copenhagen's harbour. The most known is from [[Oslo]], Norway, with daily departures, and an over night trip that takes 16 hours. It is marketed as a cruise line, and occasionally a cruise round-trip fare can be less expensive than a one-way fare. The other ferry connection is the less known round-trip connection to [[Fredericia]], Denmark and [[Klaipėda]], Lithuania. Since the latter is a Ro-Ro freight line, you need to [http://www.dfds.com/freight-shipping/routes-and-schedules/klaipeda-copenhagen-fredericia contact DFDS for more information]. Copenhagen is also a very popular port of call for cruises touring both the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian fjords. The main cruise terminal is on Oceankaj in the North harbour. Bus 27 connects to Østerport station. If you are arriving under your own sail, Copenhagen is on Øresund. There are several marinas, the biggest of which is '''[http://smhavn.dk Svanemøllehavnen]'''. There are no designated visitor berths but it is almost always possible to find one with a green sign. Daily charge: DKK75–120. * {{buy | name=Hellers | alt= | url=https://hellers.dk | email= | address=Kastrup strandpark 9 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=The biggest shop for boat equipment. }} ===By car=== Visiting Copenhagen by car means planning for where to park. Driving during working hours in the centre of Copenhagen is not advisable, except of course when going to and from your hotel or where you might spend the night. It is quite expensive to park in the medieval part of Copenhagen, 20 to 36 kr (approximately €2.65–4.80) an hour during working hours. If the car is just the means of sightseeing, the cheapest would be to park at one of the S-train or metro stations in the outskirts of Copenhagen Municipality and take the train or a bus to your destination. As of 1 October 2023 a low emission zone have been introduced in Copenhagen, see [[Driving in Denmark#Low Emission Zones]]. There is paid parking on public roads for cars and motorcycles in large parts of '''Copenhagen Municipality'''. Paid parking areas are divided into four colour coded zones with different rate levels. There is free parking in all zones for vehicles with a valid and visible disability badge. Parking during weekends from Saturday at 17:00 until Monday at 08:00 is for free, as well as parking on public holidays. Copenhagen Municipality has issued a [https://international.kk.dk/sites/default/files/2021-07/p-miniguide-en_maj_2018.pdf mini parking guide]. Consult the [https://international.kk.dk/live/transport-and-parking/parking-in-copenhagen/public-parking-in-copenhagen map from Copenhagen Municipality] to find areas without paid or time-restricted parking (in white). The map also indicates S-train and metro stations but excludes Frederiksberg. Parking in Copenhagen is subject to stringent regulations aimed at curbing congestion and promoting sustainable transportation methods. The city actively encourages residents and visitors alike to opt for public transit, cycling, or walking whenever feasible. However, for those requiring parking facilities, a range of options exists, including metered street parking, multi-level parking structures, and designated zones.  '''Frederiksberg Municipality''' is encircled by Copenhagen Municipality, and driving around a street corner to find a parking spot could mean entering another municipality with different pricing. Frederiksberg has different rules for parking with a single two-hour parking zone in force on public streets from 07:00 to 24:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays. This means there is 2 hours free parking using a parking app in most places in Frederiksberg. See [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#By car|Frederiksberg#By car]] for details and always look for local restrictions. ==Get around== Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two interchange hubs are Copenhagen Central Station (''Københavns Hovedbanegård'' in Danish) with intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via [https://www.rejseplanen.dk/ Rejseplanen]. === Fares === A bewildering number of tickets and passes are available for travel on public transport in Copenhagen. The most practical, convenient and cost effective way to travel is by using the Rejsekort app or the Basiskort card. These can also be used throughout the rest of Denmark. The '''[https://www.rejsekort.dk/rejsekort_app Rejsekort]''' app enables you to ''digitally'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply swipe the green arrow left and right and the app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The app accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. You cannot do so whilst in transit. The [https://www.rejsekort.dk/Basiskort '''Basiskort'''] card enables you to ''physically'' "check in" before boarding and "check out" after alighting. Simply tap the card on the yellow validators and the card will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. The card accommodates adult and child fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The card costs kr 80 and is non-refundable. It can be purchased and topped up at station kiosks and DSB 7-Eleven stores. Ensure you check in ''before'' boarding and check out ''after'' alighting. This includes whilst in transit. The default setting is adult and local travel. The default setting can be changed to child, national travel, or both at station kiosks or DSB 7-Elevens. The [https://www.rejsebillet.dk/en-us '''Rejsebillet'''] app enables you to purchase the following tickets and passes: * '''Single Ticket 2-8 Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses in your chosen zones for a fixed time period. For example, a two-zone ticket costs kr 24 and allows you to travel around central Copenhagen for one hour and 15 minutes. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''Single Ticket 9+ Zones''' — gives you unlimited rides on trains, metro and buses from point A to point B. For example, a nine-zone ticket costs kr 66 and allows you to travel from Copenhagen to Hillerød. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Small''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–4 (including Copenhagen Airport) for 24 hours (kr 100), 48 hours (kr 160), 72 hours (kr 220), 96 hours (kr 280) or 120 hours (kr 340). This pass is the most reasonable choice if you intend to stay in the city itself (not the remote parts of Copenhagen region). [[Cycling in Copenhagen|Renting a bike]] is also a viable option instead of, or in addition to, obtaining this pass. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. * '''City Pass Large''' — gives you unlimited rides in zones 1–99 (including Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Hillerød, Helsingør, etc.) for 24 hours (kr 200), 48 hours (kr 320), 72 hours (kr 440), 96 hours (kr 560) or 120 hours (kr 680). Children up to 11 years old are included in an adult ticket. The '''[https://www.copenhagencard.com Copenhagen Card City Guide]''' app enables you to purchase the '''Copenhagen Card'''. This pass gives you unlimited rides throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The pass can be bought for 24 hours (kr 559), 48 hours (kr 819), 72 hours (kr 989), 96 hours (kr 1159) or 120 hours (kr 1339). Many museums are either free or closed on Sundays and Mondays, thus making the pass less valuable on those days. Furthermore, pass holders get discounts to several different tour companies providing experiences in the city. If you expect to visit more than three attractions a day, a multi-day pass will most likely be worth it, as most attractions have tickets starting at kr 100. Children under 12 are included in an adult ticket. Paper tickets for the train and metro can be purchased at station kiosks and vending machines using a credit card, debit card or cash. Paper tickets for the bus can be purchased onboard using exact cash only. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is up to kr 750 and ticket inspectors are commonplace. Passengers whose journeys involve Malmö in Sweden should consider using the Skånetrafiken app. The app accepts credit and debit cards (VISA and Mastercard). Select a point in Copenhagen as one of the stops. Single tickets crossing the Oresund bridge start at SEK150 (approximately kr 100) and get more expensive if you select points further away from the city centres of Copenhagen and Malmö so therefore select the farthest points in both cities that you are expected to visit within the day. There is a 20% discount if two adults are travelling together. Single tickets are permitted unlimited travel within the zone you purchased a fare for, except the Oresund bridge crossing itself, where you may cross the bridge only once. Single tickets expire at 0400h the following day. The 24-hour ticket option (from SEK300 or kr 200) on the other hand permits an unlimited number of crossings on the Oresund bridge within 24 hours, thus allowing passengers who plan to stay in the cheaper accommodations Malmö has to offer to return there after a day trip to Copenhagen. You can use the ticket on all public transport in Copenhagen. Note the Skånetrafiken's Reskort card will ''not'' work on Basiskort validators. If you are traveling into Copenhagen with a Reskort card you must instead print a paper "inspection ticket" (inspektionskvitto) at a Skånetrafiken ticket machine beforehand as proof that there is a valid cross-border ticket stored on the Reskort card. Otherwise you will be fined as if you were without a valid ticket. There are Skånetrafiken ticket machines at Copenhagen Airport and Central Station if you have lost your inspection ticket or forgotten to print one beforehand. === By train === The [http://dsb.dk/s-tog S-train (S-tog in Danish)] is the backbone of the city's public transit system, and is very similar to the German S-Bahn and Parisian RER networks. The distinct red trains are clean, modern, and equipped with free WiFi. The system runs from early morning to late night, each line in ten minute intervals during the day (M-F 06:00–18:00) and at twenty minute intervals in the early morning and late at night. On the weekends, the trains run twice an hour at night and some of the lines are extended. Since most lines join on a single railway line through the city centre, there are only a couple of minutes of waiting between each train in the inner districts. The F and C-lines are exceptions, the F line does a half loop outside the central area, with trains every five minutes throughout most of the day. The C-line is extended to [[Frederikssund]] during day time, but scaled back to Ballerup at other times. Announcements are in Danish only; remember to ask your fellow travellers for help though they are mostly cursory. Bikes can be taken for free; special bicycle compartments exist in the carriages. === By metro=== [[File:Metro Airport Copenhagen Denmark 01.jpg|thumb|right|The ends of automated Metro trains provide a full view — even if not all sections of the tracks are interesting, like this one on the way to the airport.]] Copenhagen has a modern, clean and punctual metro system. It's made up of 4 lines: * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m1}}: Vanløse – Vestamager * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m2}}: Vanløse – Copenhagen Airport * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m3}}: City Circle Line * Line {{rint|copenhagen|m4}}: Copenhagen South – Orientkaj Line M1 and M2 run along the same line between Vanløse and Christianshavn. All lines intersect at Kongens Nytorv and a transfer between the M3 and M1 or M2 is also possible at Frederiksberg. [[File:Copenhagen Metro 2020.svg|thumb|Copenhagen Metro Line Map with the 4 lines that are in operation]] The metro operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Frequencies decrease at night, during the day most lines run every 4 minutes. Maintenance work is usually carried out at night, which sometimes results in a changed timetable or replacement buses at night. The Copenhagen Metro is driverless, and doors close at a given time, even if all waiting passengers haven't entered the train. Wait for the next train instead of trying to squeeze through in the last second (that's both dangerous and illegal). The trains run with short intervals (down 2 minutes during peak hours). Because the metro is driverless, the trains have been designed with big windows at each end, and the trains are accordingly fitted with rows of seats facing them. This can be an extra treat to the visitors (and especially children) on the metro. The parts of the system that operate above ground are: Vanløse – Lindevang, DR Byen – Vestamager and Lergravsparken – Copenhagen Airport. The most interesting views are between Islands Brygge and Vestamager. Line M3 runs entirely underground and covers the Central Station. As Line M3 is a circular line, there are no terminating stations and trains run either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The direction the train is travelling in is identified by the next major station in that direction such as 'via Frederiksberg' or 'via Kongens Nytorv' at the central station. It is therefore especially important to check the system map and electronic station boards to ensure you are getting on the train that gets to your intended destination station more quickly. Line M4 share the line with M3 between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport via Kongens Nytorv, before branching out to terminate at Orientkaj. An extension to Copenhagen South opened in 2024.[[File:Copenhagen A-bus 2020 11.png|thumb|right|Schematic map of A-bus lines spanning Copenhagen as of November 2020]] === By bus === Copenhagen has a fairly extensive and efficient [http://www.moviatrafik.dk/dinrejse/kort/trafikkort/Documents/Hovedstadsomraadet/BusserKobenhavnCity.pdf bus network]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. It can be troublesome for visitors to figure out what line to take to their destination as there is little in the way of network maps available at bus stops and schedules rarely include the entire route. That said, many stops do have a small electronic display showing how many minutes are left until the next bus arrives. The front doors are for boarding only — alight using other doors. There are several types of bus available: * '''Regular buses''' are denoted by their number, * '''A buses''' are the backbone of the city's bus network which consists of seven different lines with frequent departures and stops. During the day time there are no schedules as buses usually depart at least every ten minutes. They are also operating at night. * '''5C''' is a special bus line with articulated buses that operates even more frequently than the A buses. It serves the northwestern suburbs and link important locations such as Nørrebro st, Nørreport st, the city hall, Copenhagen Central Station, Amagerbro St., the Blue Planet aquarium and Copenhagen airport. * '''S buses''' are long express services with few stops and extend far into the suburbs, usually across the radial suburban train network or along corridors with no rail service. They can also be useful between points in the centre as they are faster than other lines. * '''E buses''' are express rush-hour services of little use to travellers as they mainly service commuters. * '''N buses''' are a network of ten bus lines operating at night between 01:00–05:00 daily, when normal traffic is halted, and they are much more frequent at weekends. '''[http://sightseeing.dk CitySightseeing]''' runs three hop-on hop-off tours around the city in open-top double-decker buses. The main line leaves every 30 minutes, while the two other lines depart every hour in high season (Jun-Aug). Outside the peak season, services are halved. The price is kr 150 for a one-day ticket or kr 220 for a two-day ticket which also includes the DFDS canal tour boats. === By boat === [[File:Nyhavn, canal tour boats.jpg|thumb|right|The canal tour boats, here seen docking in Nyhavn, are an excellent way to see many of the city's attractions]] Going on a canal tour of the inner harbour and canals is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. *{{listing | name=Canal Tours | alt= | url=https://www.stromma.dk/en/copenhagen/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/ | email=info@stromma.dk | address=Nyhavn 3 | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 96 30 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:30–20:00 | price=Waterbus (unguided): Single kr 40, All day kr 60; Tour (guided): Single kr 60, All day kr 75. Various discounts available | content=Operates both an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have three guided tours, either by a pre-recorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide. Be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. If you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass-roofed boat at this time of the year. An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which for kr 220 gives unlimited transportation for two days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double-decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing. }} *{{listing | name=Netto-bådene | alt= | url=https://www.havnerundfart.dk/canaltours/index.php?page=forside.php | email= | address=Heibergsgade (Nyhavn) | lat= | long= | directions=Offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel Strand (opposite the parliament) | phone=+45 32 54 41 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00–17:00 (19:00 in July & August) | price=kr 50 (July 2019) | content=Offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March. }} A different option is the public harbour bus, which, while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system using the same tickets as buses and trains. *{{listing | name=Movia | url=http://moviatrafik.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK | email= | address=Customer centre at Rådhuspladen | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 36 13 14 15 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:00–19:00 | price=Uses public ticketing system | content= }} === By taxi === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | Taxis are abundant throughout the city and of a very high standard — usually a Mercedes or BMW. They are pricey though, and the wait to get one can be long on a Friday or Saturday night. You can hail a taxi on the street or call for one to come pick you up at a specific address at a specific time for a small extra fee (kr 12-15). At crucial traffic junctures throughout the city, there are special areas where taxis hold in line to pick up customers. Except for a very long trip, it is not common (or recommended) to haggle about the price. All taxis accept major international credit cards and most will accept euro cash payment and some even list prices in euros on the meter. Sometimes taxi drivers request you to withdraw money in an ATM when paying with card, this is mostly a scam to do the trip off-licence. | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | '''Copenhagen Taxi companies''' * {{listing | name=Amager-Øbro Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 32 51 51 51 }} * {{listing | name=Codan Taxi | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 25 25 25 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa 4x35 | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 35 35 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=TaxaMotor A/S | alt=Central Copenhagen | phone=+45 70 338 338 }} * {{listing | name=Ballerup-Værløse-Herlev Taxa | alt=Northwestern suburbs | phone=+45 44 85 35 35 }} * {{listing | name=Taxa Selandia | alt=Southern suburbs | phone=+45 70 10 66 66 }} * {{listing | name=Taxinord | alt=Northern Suburbs | phone=+45 45 83 83 83 }} * {{listing | name=Vest-Taxa | alt=Western Suburbs | phone=+45 43 45 45 45 }} |} Prices range kr 11-16 per kilometre depending on the time of day and the meter flag-fall charge is kr 25. Generally you can trust taxis with prices and the route taken. Because of the high flag-fall charge, it can be better financially for taxi drivers to have many trips rather than long trips, so it is therefore often in their own interest to take the shortest route. * {{listing | name=TAXA 4x35 | alt= | url=https://taxa.dk/en/service-area/taxi-copenhagen-cab/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Fixed price. }} * {{listing | name=MOOVE | alt= | url=http://www.moove.taxi/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-08-06 | content=Taxi at a fixed price }} * {{listing | name=Viggo | alt= | url=https://www.viggo.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2022-05-17 | content=Electric taxi at a fixed price }} * [https://dantaxi.dk/english/ '''Dantaxi'''] As of 2023, ride-share services like Uber are '''not legal''' in Copenhagen. Most larger taxi companies have apps that can be used to request cabs Uber-style. === By bicycle === {{main|Cycling in Copenhagen}} [[File:Streets of Copenhagen. Denmark, Northern Europe-2.jpg|thumb|Copenhagen cycling]] The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen and getting around is on a bike (with rentals available from most shops for a price ranging from kr 75 to kr 125 a day). Over sixty percent of Copenhageners use their bike for daily commutes and the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes on most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one-way streets. Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city as this is a common means of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Do not expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone — otherwise you could cause some nasty accidents. When you reach your destination, try to leave the bicycle in a bike rack, or otherwise clear of the sidewalk. === By scooter === Several companies rent out e-scooters using apps. Due to persistent problems with inconsiderate parking, it's forbidden to end a scooter rental within the city centre and neighbouring districts, so they are useless for most tourists — rent a bike instead. There is no restriction on parking a private scooter. Scooter users should follow the same rules and advice as for bicycles. ==See== {{SeeDistricts}} Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this ''usually'' means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour. === History === A visit to the '''Nationalmuseet''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the '''Museum of Copenhagen''' in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is '''Frilandsmuseet''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of '''Dragør''' on the southern tip of [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small '''Mølleå river''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]] through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills. ===Art=== [[File:Glyptotek.JPG|thumb|250px|The winter Garden at Glyptotek]] [[File:National_Gallery_of_Denmark_The_Lobby.jpg|alt=|thumb|444x444px|National Gallery of Denmark, The Lobby]] If you are into the arts, Copenhagen has a lot to offer. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst, entry between 95 and 120 kr) where you can feast your eyes on blockbusters from the likes of Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. There are also a number of paintings by Danish artists from the "Golden Age". Across the Royal Gardens lies Scandinavia's biggest collection of Islamic art, the '''David Collection''' (Davids Samling) which has free entrance. It also has a smaller collection of Danish paintings including some by Hammershøi and Willumsen. It's a ten-minute walk through the Royal Gardens but you might have to know the address beforehand, since the museum is a bit of a hidden treasure. For a hard-to-beat appreciation of Classical (Greece, Rome) and Near Eastern art (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran), visit the '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', which also has an extensive section devoted to 19th-century French and Danish art, with works by masters like Picasso, Leger, and Matisse. The Winter Garden inside the Glyptotek is a beautiful (and very warm!) place to rest your legs on a rainy day. These museums are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|centre, or Indre By]] area. If you are hungry for more classic art exhibitions, an excursion [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]] to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''' offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings but if you are ready for a change, head [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|south]] to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of contemporary art, mostly Scandinavian, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. However, arguably the best and most visited museum in Denmark is the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', in northern Zealand with a panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum frames the sculpture park facing the sea and the interaction between art, nature and the museum architecture is quite unique. Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art, and hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colour on an art tour, '''The Hirschsprung Collection''' in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] features the top-of-the-pops of Danish artists, with a particular focus on the Skagen painters. For something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much-loved local personality Storm P at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]]. ===Science and Natural History=== [[File:Cph zoo.jpg|thumb|250px|The iconic tower of the Copenhagen zoo]] If you want your vacation to be educational, or if you want to sneak some knowledge into the kids during the vacation, there are several options to consider. The best choice for kids is perhaps the hugely entertaining, and well renowned hands-on science museum, the '''Experimentarium''' [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north of Copenhagen]]. Another popular and well-renowned institution, is the '''Copenhagen Zoo''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]], counting among both the best and oldest zoos in Europe. If you are more into stationary animals, the '''Zoology Museum''' on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] offers a different perspective on the subject. Elsewhere on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]], a little known attraction is a display of famous physicist '''Niels Bohr's Study Room''', along with a setup of his experiments ''(but as this is not a museum, you should have more than passing interest in the subject to bother with them, the tour is one hour long and usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays)''. [[Copenhagen/Indre By|City Centre]], the University of Copenhagen runs two adjacent science museums. The '''Geological Museum''' where dinosaur fossils, moon rock, and glow in the dark minerals should spark some interest in the subject for even the most school-weary kid. The '''Botanical Gardens''' on the opposite side of the street is an excellent place for a stroll in the beautiful park, even if you are not botanically inclined, and the classical palm house is a nice place to relax if it is cold outside. In poor weather, the '''Tycho Brahe Planetarium''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is another option and is part planetarium with an interesting astronomy exhibition and part omnimax theatre where they usually screen science films. === Architecture === [[File:The_Round_Tower_Spiral_Walk.jpg|alt=|thumb|250x250px|The Round Tower spiral walk]] An excellent start to any visit to Copenhagen is to climb the unique 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the observation platform of '''Rundetårn''' (the Round Tower), one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings. The top of the Round Tower offers excellent views and is smack in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|middle of the city]]. If that is not high enough for you head to [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] for a climb up the circular stairs on the outside of the church spire of the '''Church of Our Saviour'''. It is regarded as something of a test of manhood to climb up and touch the globe on the summit, nearly 100 m up in the air. And now that you're in the area, head over to the opposite side of the street to '''Christiania''', a self-governing community that has been squatting on an old naval area since the 1970s. Their inventive, brightly coloured, home built houses are spectacular, as is the relaxed atmosphere — this is truly one of Copenhagen's most unique and best attractions. Due south of Christiania the old, crooked, brightly coloured buildings and soothing canals lined with masted ships make this an excellent place to continue a stroll. Other fine examples of classical architecture include the impressive '''City Hall''' and the massive dome of the '''Frederikskirken''' colloquially known as the '''Marble Church'''. This dome, with a span of 31 meters, is one of the largest in northern Europe. Both are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. For real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and its native masters. '''Jørn Utzon''' (of Sydney Opera House fame) and Son is behind a trio of buildings on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro's]] northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex. There is a fine, but expensive restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy '''Arne Jacobsen's''' work by either sleeping at, or taking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar at the '''Royal Hotel''' which is one of the very few tall buildings in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. Alternatively, head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring his famous furniture and his name. Lastly '''Henning Larsen''', famous for his iconic buildings in [[Riyadh]], is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house overlooking the harbour in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]]. From here you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, the '''Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, after its shiny polished black granite walls. === Royal Copenhagen === [[File:Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg. Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Moltke's Palace, Frederik's Church (The Marble Church), Levetzau's Palace (left to right) as seen from Amalienborg]] The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', make up the main residence of the Danish royal family. The octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at noon and is a highlight for any royalist visiting the city. There is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small but pretty renaissance palace, surrounded by the lovely '''King's Garden''' which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history and as a home for the crown jewels which are on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. A closed-off wing of Rosenborg serves as barracks for the Royal Guard, and every day a detachment marches through the Copenhagen city centre between Rosenborg and Amalienborg for the changing of the guard. Unusual for a well-founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It is usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try to arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. If you are hungry for more, head [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|north]], where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park which formerly served as the king's hunting castle. === Design === Denmark is world-famous for its design tradition and, while the term '''Danish design''' has been devalued over the years due to much misuse, it is still a world-recognized style. A natural starting point is a visit to the '''Danish Design Center''' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]], with temporary and permanent exhibitions, showrooms, and workshops relating to the world of Danish design, in a building designed by famous architect '''Henning Larsen'''. Not too far away, '''Kunstindustrimuseet''' is home of a nice collection relating to the study of design and its history in Denmark. Also in the same district, '''Royal Copenhagen''' runs a museum display at its flagship store of its famous porcelain from its beginnings. Meanwhile, '''Cisterne''' on [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg|Frederiksberg]] is an enticing museum showing modern glass art, in the intriguing catacomb like cisterns under a large park. '''Meldahls Smedie''' on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] is run by the Royal Danish school of architecture, which organizes exhibitions including final projects from students of the school here. ==Do== === Beach life === In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: '''Copencabana''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] or '''Havnebadet''' at Island Brygge on [[Amager]]. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best. If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at '''Svanemøllen Strand''', '''Charlottenlund Fort''' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and '''Amager Strandpark''' (The Lagoon), on [[Amager]] near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for '''[http://dgi-byen.com DGI Byen]''' which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|central railway station]] or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]]). === Amusement parks === [[File:Cph tivoli.jpg|top|thumb|250px|The Tivoli amusement park's main entrance at nighttime]] Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. '''Bakken''' or ''Dyrehavsbakken'' is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near [[Klampenborg]] north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — '''Tivoli''' — which is in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|city centre]] in a beautiful park surrounding a lake. === Sports === * '''Football:''' [https://www.fck.dk/ FC Copenhagen] play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF. * '''Cycling:''' and see [[Cycling in Denmark]]. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France. * '''Lifting weights:''' a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Crafts Fair | alt= | url=http://www.craftsfair.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Held every year in August — Thursday-Saturday — outdoors at Frue Plads in central Copenhagen. The Crafts Fair has more than 130 exhibitors, all members of the Danish Arts and Crafts Association, exhibiting unique and small series of handmade Arts and Crafts in all categories: ceramic, glass, jewelery, textile, mixed media. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Fashion Week | alt=8-12 August 2017 | url=http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in February and August''. Copenhagen is fast emerging as a global fashion centre, with a host of both up-and-coming and already well established names. For two weeks each year more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 guests come together and celebrate their accomplishments with lavish parties, catwalks at city landmarks, and three trade fairs. }} * {{do | name=CPH PIX | alt=Copenhagen International Film Festival | url=http://www.cphpix.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(''28 September – 11 October 2017'') Denmark's largest film festival, first held in 2009 as the result of a merger between Copenhagen's two popular long running festivals — the ''Night Film Festival'' and the ''Copenhagen International Film Festival''. It will feature more than 150 screenings, with a prize of €10,000 awarded to the most promising new filmmaker. }} * {{do | name=International Workers Day | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''1 May''. A major event in Copenhagen. The main festivities are held in Fælledparken on [[Copenhagen/Østerbro|Østerbro]] and they attract over 100,000 visitors in what has lately become a 50/50 mix of a gigantic party and a political rally with speeches, happenings, and concerts. Two travelling amusement parks also set up their gear for the day, one by the main entrance at '''Trianglen''' and one in the eastern part of the park. }} * {{do | name=CPH Distortion | alt= | url=http://cphdistortion.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in the first week of June''. The longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday. }} * {{do | name=Zulu Sommerbio | alt= | url=http://zulu.tv2.dk/sommerbio | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in July and August''. Danish television station 'TV2 Zulu' plays open air films in various parks and squares of Copenhagen. There are movies in Danish and English and they are free to watch. You can buy beer and popcorn. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Jazzfestival | alt= | url=http://jazzfestival.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early July''. Features ten days of jazz everywhere in Copenhagen — parks, cafes, clubs, and theatres. Usually a few headline acts are on the program but there are more than 800 concerts to choose from and the real attraction is often the obscure concerts you bump into randomly in a park or square somewhere in the city. }} * {{do | name=Grøn Koncert | alt= | url=http://groenkoncert.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in late July''. A one day music festival in Valby Parken near Åparken station. It is a major event in Copenhagen with over 40,000 attending. There is usually an international headline act, along with several major Danish bands and the atmosphere is quite unique with people having picnics and beers on a huge field of grass in the park. Tickets are sold through Billetnet, both online and at post offices. }} * {{do | name=Stella Polaris | alt= | url=http://www.stella-polaris.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held the first weekend in August''. A big, free, chill-out event in one of the city parks. Top international DJs spin chill-out tunes on the decks, while people are relaxing in the sun and drinking beer. And the afterparty in one of the major clubs usually attracts some international headline acts. }} * {{do | name=RAW | alt= | url=http://rawcph.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in early August''. Scandinavia's largest clubbing event. The organisers rightly pride themselves in carefully selecting high quality acts and more importantly the broad range of genres represented to make this an event with broad appeal to everyone in the Copenhagen nightlife scene. }} * {{do | name=Strøm | alt= | url=http://stromcph.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in August''. An annual electronic music festival. It is a gathering of the best promoters and vibrant venues Copenhagen has to offer, mixed up with events at squares, concert halls, or unusual locations throughout the city. }} * {{do | name=Copenhagen Pride | alt=12-20 August 2023 | url=http://copenhagenpride.dk/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A lavish LGBT parade. The week leading up to the parade is usually full of community events and parties. Count on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladen) changing its name to Pride Square during the week and hosting live acts, concerts and debates. }} * {{do | name=Night of Culture (Kulturnatten) | alt= | url=http://kulturnatten.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in mid-October, on the last Friday before the school holiday in week 42''. You buy a badge for kr 70 and get access to major museums, exhibitions, churches, libraries, schools, organizations, the parliament and other cultural attractions including some places that are not open to the public during the rest of the year. Open from 18:00 to midnight. Attracts about 100,000 people. }} * {{do | name=MIX Copenhagen — LGBT Film Festival | alt=TBA October 2011 | url=http://cglff.dk | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=''Held in Week 43''. Ten days of gay and queer cinema at its very best with more than 130 screenings of the world's best feature films, short films, and documentaries with gay or queer relevance, culminating in a champagne party on the final day, when the best film of the year receives its award. }} ==Learn== * {{listing | name=University of Copenhagen | alt= | url=http://www.ku.dk/english/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest university in Denmark. The university has a large selection of studies which are placed in eight different faculties. The faculties are found around the city and the main building is in central Copenhagen. }} *'''Technical University of Denmark''' This university teaches technical sciences and is in the suburb Lyngby north of Copenhagen. *'''IT University of Copenhagen''' This university teaches information technology studies and is on Amager. *'''Copenhagen Business School''' This university teaches business studies and is in Frederiksberg. ==Buy== [[File:Stroget.pg.jpg|thumb|250px|The 1.1 kilometre Strøget, along with its pedestrianised side streets, is one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe and Copenhagen's premier shopping area]] '''Strøget''' is one of the largest pedestrian malls in the world which links City Hall, Kongens Nytorv, and Nørreport station. Impeccably dressed Copenhageners breeze through high-end fashion and design stores when not zig-zagging through the hordes of tourists during the summer and Christmas seasons. Your fellow visitors can make it all feel rather touristy at times but if nothing else, it is great for people watching. If all this strange outdoor shopping takes you too far from your usual habitat, head for '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv) or '''Illums''' (on Amagertorv) for more familiar surroundings. There is even a real American style mall complete with a gargantuan parking lot out on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]]. Appropriately, it is called '''Fields'''. If you would rather sample smaller and more personal stores, the quarter of narrow streets surrounding ''Strøget'' in the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|old city]] (colloquially known as ''Pisserenden'' and ''The Latin Quarter''), has a fantastic, eclectic mix of shopping. This ranges from quirky century-old businesses to the ultra hip in a wide range of fields. It is also much less crowded than Strøget, though unfortunately no less expensive. You can also try Vesterbrogade and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro#Istedgade|Istedgade]] on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]], due west of the central station, although you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/Thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory. Right at the border of this area, [[Copenhagen/Frederiksberg#Værnedamsvej|Værnedamsvej]] and Tullinsgade are also good bets. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Ravnsborggade|Ravnsborggade]] is well known for its huge number of antique stores that are excellent for bargain hunting and the next street to north, while more modest [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Elmegade|Elmegade]] has some small independent fashion boutiques. ===Flea markets=== Nørrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 m on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetery on Nørrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain or downright rubbish. Open from 4 April until 31 October on Saturdays 06:00 — 15:00. The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is on Israels Plads, close to the Nørreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers sell all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice gramophones and objets d'art. Open from 18 April until 10 October on Saturdays 08:00 — 14:00. ==Eat== {{SeeDistricts}} === On a budget === [[File:Smorrebrod.jpg|thumb|250px|For a hearty and traditional Danish lunch, try out the delicious ''Smørrebrød'' open-faced sandwiches]] If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many '''shawarma and pizza joints''' that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] and Nørrebrogade on [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]]. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try '''Ahaaa''' on Blågårds Plads, or '''Boys Shawarma & Is''' for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to '''Shawarma Grill House''' Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style '''all-you-can eat buffet''' restaurants dotted around the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|inner city]]. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. '''Nyhavns Faergekro''' at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's '''bakeries''' (''Bager'' — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (~kr 35) such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called ''smørrebrød''. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or with a fork and knife and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (expect to pay kr 8-10 for Danish pastry, here known as ''wienerbrød'') and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating. [[File:Copenhagen polsevogn.jpg|thumb|250px|Pølsevogn]] For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a '''pølsevogn''' (see image on the right), literally "sausage wagon", where you can get your hands on several different forms of tasty hot dogs with a free selection of various toppings for next-to-nothing by local standards. It is also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guests. To blend in, remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night, when the wagons are put into storage, 7-Eleven stores (which are open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog craving. They offer other eat-and-walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls. Also, remember to look out for the term '''''dagens ret''''' on signs and menus — this means "meal of the day" and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price. And finally, if your budget gets really small, buy some of your food in the supermarket. But watch out, prices can vary a lot depending on which supermarket you are going to. "Netto" (e.g. close to Nørrebro metro station) is the one you should look for. Irma, with a lot of fresh and delicious food, is (even for danes) a little expensive. === Michelin dining === Copenhagen has 16 Michelin starred restaurants, which is a huge number for a city of its size. This includes both Italian, French, Thai and of course the new Nordic cuisine. The new Nordic cuisine is headed by world renowned '''noma''', that has two Michelin stars and have been number one in San Pellegrinos "The World's 50 best restaurants in 2013" in 2010, 2011 and 2012. But tables can be extremely difficult to get. But if you still want to try the new Nordic cuisine '''Relæ''' and '''Kadeau''' are great options, both with one Michelin star. All three of them use traditionally Nordic ingredients and give new takes of classic Nordic dishes. '''Marv&Ben''' can be recommended for cheaper non-Michelin starred experience in the Nordic cuisine. '''Manfred og Vin''' is another possibility, Relæ's little sister, opposite Relæ offer a relaxed atmosphere but still playful and delicious organic food, wine and beer with strong Nordic roots. It is also fine just to go for a glass. '''Geranium''' and '''noma''' are the big international stars in Danish cuisine. Geranium's head chef, Rasmus Koefod, won the Bocuse d'Or (World Championship for chefs) in 2011, and Geranium has three Michelin stars. The restaurant is on 8th floor of the national soccer stadium in [[Copenhagen/Østerbro#Eat|Østerbro]]. But don't get frightened by that; there is a beautiful view over the nearby park and most of Copenhagen. The focus is more classic French than Noma, but there are still strong new Nordic vibes. The new Nordic movement have been so strong that it is almost impossible to find a Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen without at least some strong Nordic directions. One of the only exceptions is '''Era Ora''', a classic Italian one Michelin starred restaurant famous for a fantastic (though expensive) wine menu and delicious Italian treats. If the wallet is not that heavy, '''Formel B''' is a good choice. Unlike most other top restaurants there is there no expensive tasting menu or the traditional starter, main and dessert. Here all of the 20 dishes cost the same and you can choose one, two or all twenty. The only Thai restaurant in the guide is in Copenhagen and is owned by a Dane. The restaurant '''Kiin Kiin''' is in the hip and a bit trashy neighborhood [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro#Eat|Nørrebro]]. An affiliate was opened in Bangkok a few years ago. '''Aroii''' is one of Kiin Kiin's sister restaurants in Copenhagen, it is in the same building and offers very delicious Thai food, for much cheaper prices. Also possible for take away. Other Michelin starred restaurants include: '''Kong Hans Kælder''', which opened in 1976 and has had only have three head chefs in that time. Since then Kong Hans Kælder has been a front runner for top gourmet in Copenhagen. The focus is changing from the classic French cuisine to a new healthy paleo-inspired cuisine, probably the only Michelin starred restaurant in the world to go in that direction. Other one Michelin stars: '''Kokkeriet''', '''Restaurant AOC''', '''I Søllerød Kro''', '''Grønbech&Churchill''' and '''Den Røde Cottage''' Other top picks include: '''1. Th'''. The restaurant is decorated as a normal living room, giving the experience as being to dinner at a friends house. You pay a fixed amount before, and everyone is included. So you don't get a check afterward. A fantastic place. '''Mielcke & Hurtigkarl''' (which has been "cheated" out of a Michelin star for many years, at least according to Danish food critics) '''Marchal''' at luxury hotel D'Angleterre. A newly opened restaurant by rising star head chef Ronny Emborg. '''Alberto K''', a rising star in the Copenhagen culinary environment. '''Restaurationen''', a former Michelin star. But the owner lowered the tempo and still serves delicious food and gives top service. '''Bror''', '''Rebel''', '''Pony''', '''Pluto''', '''Clou''' and ''' Congo''' are all newly opened but show huge potential. === Brunch === Brunch is a Copenhagen institution, especially during the summer, and it is not unusual to hear a serious invitation for a morning brunch together with the ritual goodbye hug when a long night out in town draws to a close. In this way, brunch is intrinsically linked to the second local obsession of drinking. Food and fresh air is a great cure for hangovers as Copenhageners have long since discovered. Most cafés offer brunch, at least on weekends, for upwards of kr 80, often with a theme: American and French are especially widespread. One of the most popular options is '''[http://www.os-american.dk/ O's American]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' in central Copenhagen. Another popular brunch joint in the downtown hotel district, is [https://midwestern.dk/menu/ '''The Midwestern Diner'''], an American diner that is run and owned by Danish-Americans. ==Drink== [[File:Cph nyhavn.jpg|thumb|250px|Nyhavn is a popular place to go for a drink in the summer]] A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life. As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for '''[[Copenhagen/Indre By|Nyhavn]]''' but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the ''Strøget'' pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]], the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after ''the lakes'', is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. {{infobox|Drinking dictionary |* '''Cafés''' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine but they usually close around midnight and music is subdued to allow for conversations. They also serve food. * '''Bodegas''' are your average local watering holes, somewhat equivalent to a pub, with prices often much lower than bars and cafés. The clientèle is often a bit shady and you may have people staring at unfamiliar customers but behave nicely and they usually warm up to you. Try to have someone teach you the local ''træmand'', ''meyer'', or ''snyd'' dice games for a fun night. * '''Pubs''' are just that, pubs, the familiar English, Irish, and Scottish-themed exports that often do not have much in common with the actual pubs in those countries other than exported beer and interiors. * '''Bars''' are what locals tend to call everything with loud music that do not have a cover charge. Packed at weekends but more quiet at other times. * '''Clubs''', or discotheques as they are often still referred to here, are bars that have a cover charge and have a dance floor. Often only open Th-Sa. * '''Morgenværtshus'''. If you can get away with pronouncing this when you need it, you will be asking directions to a shady establishment full of people hell bent on not ending the night just yet. They usually open around 17:00 and "classics" include the 24-hour '''Hong Kong''' in Nyhavn, '''Café Guldregn''' on Vesterbro and '''Andy's''' in the city centre.}} === Clubbing === ''You can check for club listings in the various [[#Districts|districts]]'' The club scene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Th-Sa. Most locals have a party at home with friends or frequent their favourite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight and close around 05:00. Most clubs have a kr 40-80 cover charge and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Also expect an additional kr 10-20 for cloakrooms. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back kr 40-50 — a bit more than bars usually charge. ====Gay and lesbian==== For its size, Copenhagen has a rather large gay scene with a good handful of bars and dance clubs in the centre of the city within walking distance of each other. One of the better ones is ''Club Christopher'' in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]]. Vela, the only bar/lounge in town that is targeted at lesbians is on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. ===Live venues=== Most of the music venues in Copenhagen also double as nightclubs so watch for them under the club sections in the different districts. Tickets for almost every event in Denmark and Copenhagen are sold through [http://billetnet.dk/ Billetnet]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} which has online sales and a counter available in all post offices. But apart from headline events, tickets are usually also sold at the entrance. Expect to pay 100 kr or more. The major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Østerbro for the biggest stars. [[Copenhagen/Indre By]], '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]] is a major venue with concerts of almost every genre by national and international acts. [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] has two venues: '''Rust's''' stage mainly hosts mainstream rhythmic music and '''Global''', as its name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]], it is no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera and not to be missed, the different venues of '''[[Copenhagen/Christiania|Christiania]]''' are a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture. Christiania's most famous venue is '''Loppen''' which has hosted many (mostly rock) acts that later grew in popularity to play bigger venues like Vega for far larger prices. ==Sleep== {{SeeDistricts}} Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] and [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as '''Scandic''', '''Radisson BLU''', '''First Hotels''' and '''Nordic Choice Hotels''' are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region. The hospitality industry is on the one hand squeezed by the high labour costs, being one of the most labour-intensive business, and on the other spoiled by relatively low competition (there are not many hotels in Copenhagen compared to other cities of a similar size). There generally is a dearth of mid-range hotels, as hotels either position themselves as low-priced (by Copenhagen standards) and limit service and facilities to the minimum, or as luxurious, and charge you every bit they need to recover the increased costs of running a fully-staffed hotel in Denmark. As competition is low and labour costs consume most of the hotels' revenues, even many high-end properties show signs of age and may not be up to the standards found in other European countries. For more accommodation options, you may head across the Øresund bridge to [[Malmö]] and other localities in [[Scania]]. You will find a wider variety of options there, often at lower prices and comparable quality to counterparts in the capital, but will need to factor in the costs (though in most cases the cost of a return fare can still be much lower than the rate differences between comparable hotels across both sides) and travel time across the border (see ''Get In'' section). === Unique accommodation === If you are looking for something unique, Copenhagen has a few surprisingly little known options. Fancy sleeping in an old fort? Then look no further than '''[[Copenhagen/Amager#Flakfortet|Flakfortet]]''' on its very own island out in the sound. Stylish rooms, classic and rather tastefully integrated into the environs of the old fort. Staying here does though exclude spending your evenings in the city, as the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon. You can also opt for the '''Dragør Fort''' on [[Copenhagen/Amager|Amager]] although they haven't pulled it off quite so nicely. In the same area, consider the old and historic beach front '''Dragør Badehotel''' in a classic building with great views over Øresund and a nearby beach, but also a fair deal of transportation time to the sights in the city centre. (Although it is close to the airport.) In the same genre, and with the same drawbacks, is '''Skovshoved Hotel''' in the [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|northern suburbs]]. This is a historic beach hotel with nice views and a fantastic restaurant. You can get even closer to the water on the floating houseboat hotel '''CPH Living''' moored in [[Copenhagen/Christianshavn|Christianshavn]] . If you're a rad hipster and would rather sample some of the design for which the city is rightly famous, consider '''Hotel Fox''' where young Danish and international artists have individually decorated and furnished the rooms. Other hip options are '''STAY Copenhagen''' on the waterfront of Islands Brygge or '''Hotel Twentyseven''' near the arty cocktail lounges of the [[Copenhagen/Indre By|Indre By]] area. Or you could always max out your credit card and splurge at the timeless five star classics of '''D'Angleterre''' or '''Skt Petri Hotel'''. === On a budget === Copenhagen is an expensive city but it ''is'' possible for budget travellers to find reasonably priced accommodations. For those on an ultra low budget there are two free, but completely basic, '''camping''' grounds along the Mølleå river where you can camp for one or two nights. While camping elsewhere is no big sin, it is not legal either. There are plenty of commercial camping grounds available but if you are not used to Scandinavian price ranges, even these could seem expensive (DKK 50-200). The closest camping sites are at ''Charlottenlund Fort'' in [[Copenhagen/Northern suburbs|Charlottenlund]] and there is also a summer-only camping ground in the outer part of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] within the city proper. If you prefer modern comforts consider one of the [[hospitality exchange]] networks. Couchsurfing.com for instance, is quite popular with the Copenhagers, who provide 6,000 available hosted stays in the city, giving you the added bonus of having a local to point you to the great spots. There are a few '''hostels''' available and the cheapest are two summer-only (July-Aug) hostels in [[Copenhagen/Vesterbro|Vesterbro]]: '''YMCA Interpoint''' and '''Sleep in fact'''. Here you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as kr 100. In [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] the two sleep-in hostels are slightly more expensive but still a bargain compared to the general price range. A good option in this central (also named "the coolest in the world") neighbourhood is [https://urbancamper.dk/ Urban Campers Hostel]. The national hostel system [http://danhostel.dk Danhostel] which is part of Hostelling International, run several hostels in Copenhagen. Danhostel Copenhagen City is right in the centre, next to the harbour. For '''Hotels''' consider the '''[http://cabinn.com/ Cab Inn]''' chain that has three hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from €71 (single) to €103 (triples). The rooms are quite small but have TVs and private showers and toilets. There are several cheap hotels specifically catering to gays and lesbians [http://copenhagen-rainbow.dk Copenhagen Rainbow]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} being one of them. In the city centre, 500 m from Tivoli on the mainstreet of Vesterbrogade there is a few other fairly priced options for accommodation, the [http://loevenhotel.dk Loeven hotel], the [http://savoyhotel.dk Savoy Hotel], prices around €80 for a twin room. A little further out following a side street on your left hand side, in Absalonsgade you will find a youth hostel, also fairly priced although quite noisy. ==Connect== Many bars, cafés, restaurants, trains and petrol stations offer free WiFi, including McDonalds. Libraries offer free internet access for one hour at a time, though this often requires signing up in advance. ''[https://bibliotek.kk.dk/hovedbiblioteket Københavns Hovedbiblioteket]'' has freely accessible workstations and a wide selection of international newspapers. ==Cope== ===Money=== Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone ('''kr''' or '''DKK'''), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission. Using the exchange machines present at some banks is not recommended, though, as these charge a fee of kr 25 (~€3.35). Credit cards are widely accepted, although this is usually limited to Visa and/or MasterCard. Many supermarkets and small shops will normally only accept the widespread local Danish debit-card, also known as the Dankort. But acceptance of the two major international credit cards is increasing rapidly. Other credit cards like American Express, Diners, JCB, and Unionpay are accepted in some shops in Copenhagen, especially in Strøget, the main shopping district. When accepted, a transaction fee (mandated by credit card companies, not shops) of 0.75% to 4.00% of the amount will usually be charged on credit cards issued by foreign banks. Almost all ATMs accept major international cards, including all the ones mentioned previously. Therefore, it is worth noting that although some shops may not accept all credit cards, an ATM capable of doing so will in most cases be less than 200 m away, particularly in central Copenhagen. ===Press=== The [http://cphpost.dk Copenhagen Post] is the country's sole English language newspaper, it's published weekly on Saturdays, and is available at many bars and cafés, as well as for sale in the Magasin department store, and the kiosks at the Central, Vesterport, Østerport, and Hellerup stations for kr 20. === Embassies and consulates === {| |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=http://edina.cancilleria.gov.ar/ | email= | address=Borgergade 16 | lat=55.6834994 | long=12.5852325 | directions= | phone=+45 33 15 80 82 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=http://denmark.embassy.gov.au | email= | address=Dampfærgevej 26 | lat=55.6998729 | long=12.595523 | directions= | phone=+45 70 26 36 76 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-16:30; F 08:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/embassy/copenhagen.html | email= | address=Sølundsvej 1 | lat=55.71894 | long=12.57486 | directions= | phone=+45 39 29 41 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:30-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url=http://diplomatie.be/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Øster Allé 7 | lat=55.70013 | long=12.57417 | directions= | phone=+45 35 25 02 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-16:30; F 09:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | alt= | url=http://copenhague.itamaraty.gov.br | email= | address=Jens Kofods Gade 1, ST. TH. 1268 Copenhagen K | lat=55.681541 | long=12.5812318 | directions= | phone=+45 3920 6478 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://mfa.bg/copenhagen/ | email= | address=Gamlehave alle 7, 2920 Charlottenlund | lat=55.76051 | long=12.56408 | directions= | phone=+45 39642484, +45 39633872 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Canada}} {{listing | name=Canada | alt= | url=http://canadainternational.gc.ca/denmark-danemark/ | email= | address=Kristen Bernikowsgade 1 | lat=55.67985 | long=12.58217 | directions= | phone=+45 33 48 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:00 & 13:00-16:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://dk.china-embassy.org/ | email= | address=Øregårds Allé 25 | lat=55.73787 | long=12.57007 | directions= | phone=+45 39460889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=http://www.cubadiplomatica.cu/es/dinamarca/embajada-de-cuba-en-dinamarca | email= | address=Kastelsvej 19, 3tv | lat=55.696510 | long=12.587317 | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 15 10 | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Egypt}} {{listing | name=Egypt | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 19 | lat=55.696289 | long=12.589366 | directions= | phone=+45 3543 7070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Estonia}} {{listing | name=Estonia | alt= | url=http://www.estemb.dk/ | email= | address=Frederiksgade 19, 4. sal | lat=55.6845664 | long=12.5915321 | directions= | phone=+45 39463070 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=http://www.finland.dk/ | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 24 | lat=55.6809358 | long=12.5929243 | directions= | phone=+45 33 13 42 14 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 & 13:00-15:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=http://ambafrance-dk.org | email= | address=Ny Østergade 3, 2nd floor | lat=55.6810503 | long=12.5871581 | directions= | phone=+45 33 67 01 64 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:30-12:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=http://kopenhagen.diplo.de | email= | address=Stockholmsgade 57 | lat=55.692646 | long=12.5833872 | directions= | phone=+45 35 45 99 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 except W 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=http://ghanaembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Egebjerg Allé 13 | lat=55.73778 | long=12.55808 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 82 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | alt= | url=http://mfa.gr/copenhagen | email= | address=Bornholmsgade 3 | lat=55.7408663 | long=12.5836434 | directions= | phone=+45 33 34 60 48 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} *{{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://koppenhaga.mfa.gov.hu/ | email=mission.cph@mfa.gov.hu | address=Øregårdsvænget 9, 2900 | lat=55.738826 | long=12.570605 | directions= | phone=+45 39 63 16 88 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 63 00 52 | hours=Tu, Th: 09:00–13:00 W: 13:00–16:00 | price= | content= |wikidata=|wikipedia=|image=|lastedit=2018-07-12}} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url=https://www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-copenhagen/embassy-information | email= | address=Strandgade 89 | lat=55.677386 | long=12.597082 | directions= | phone=+45 33 18 10 50 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | alt= | url=http://indian-embassy.dk | email=visa@indian-embassy.dk | address=Vangehusvej 15 | lat=55.71984 | long=12.57387 | directions= | phone=+45 39182888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/copenhagen/en/default.aspx | email=unitkomkph@kbricph.dk | address=Ørehøj Alle 1, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73829 | long=12.57195 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 44 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 (Visas 09:00-12:00) | price= | content=Also covers as the embassy of Indonesia for Lithuania }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=http://embassyofireland.dk | email= | address=Østbanegade 21 | lat=55.6958684 | long=12.5904463 | directions= | phone=+45 35 47 32 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:30, 14:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.mfa.gov.il | email= | address=Lundevangsvej 4 | lat=55.72404 | long=12.57081 | directions= | phone=+45 88 18 55 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambcopenaghen.esteri.it/ambasciata_copenaghen/it/| email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 7 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 68 77 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-16:00, Tu-F 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | alt= | url=http://www.dk.emb-japan.go.jp/ | email= | address=Pilestræde 61 | lat=55.6816139 | long=12.5778373 | directions= | phone=+45 33 11 33 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Latvia}} {{listing | name=Latvia | alt= | url=http://www.am.gov.lv/copenhagen | email=embassy.denmark@mfa.gov.lv | address=Rosbæksvej 17 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57249 | directions= | phone=+45 39 27 60 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 10:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=http://dk.mfa.lt | email=amb.dk@urm.lt | address=Bernstorffsvej 214 | lat=55.75270 | long=12.55844 | directions= | phone=+45 39636207 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300&Itemid=646&lang=en | email=copenhagen@mfa.gov.mk | address=Skindergade 28, A, 1.th., 1159 Copenhagen | lat=55.6794912 | long=12.5742755 | directions= | phone=+45 39 766 920 | tollfree= | fax=+45 39 766 923 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt=consulate | url=http://mongolietskonsulat.dk | email= | address=Bolbrovej 20 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 32 52 44 27 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * [[File:Flag of Nepal.svg|10px]] {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url=https://dk.nepalembassy.gov.np | email= | address=Esplanaden 46, 2 | lat=55.687832 | long=12.595503 | directions= | phone=+45 44 44 40 43 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Netherlands}} {{listing | name=The Netherlands | alt= | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/denmark/about-us/embassy-in-copenhagen | email= | address=Toldbodgade 33 | lat=55.682127 | long=12.593144 | directions= | phone=+45 33 70 72 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 14:00-15:00, F 14:00-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=http://nzembassy.com/ | email= | address=Store Strandstræde 21, 2.tv | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 33 37 77 02 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 13:00-14:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://norsk.dk/ | email=emb.copenhagen@mfa.no | address=Dampfærgevej 10, 4. | lat=55.697091 | long=12.5949066 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 01 24 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 08:30-15:30, F 08:30-15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://pakistanembassy.dk | email=info@pakistanembassy.dk | address=Valeursvej 17 | lat=55.73892 | long=12.55760 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 11 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, except W 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.kopenhaga.msz.gov.pl | email= | address=Richelieus Alle 12 | lat=55.7381558 | long=12.5830372 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 77 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-14:00, except W 13:00-18:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url=http://www.embaixadadeportugal.dk/ | email=embport@get2net.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31 | lat=55.6819069 | long=12.5930488 | directions= | phone=+45 33131301 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=http://copenhaga.mae.ro/en | email=copenhaga@mae.ro | address=Strandagervej 27 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 39 40 71 77 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-12-03 | content=Also covers as the embassy of Romania for [[Iceland]]. }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | alt= | url=http://denmark.mid.ru/ | email= | address=Kristianiagade 5 | lat=55.694047 | long=12.5860566 | directions= | phone=+45 35 38 23 70 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/copenhagen | email=sincon@scan-group.dk | address=Snorresgade 18-20 | lat=55.6643606 | long=12.5761839 | directions= | phone=+45-32548360 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By appointment only | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url=http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/dk-ko/index.do | email= | address=Svanemøllevej 104 | lat=55.73087 | long=12.57422 | directions= | phone=+45 39 46 04 00 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:15, 13:00-16:30; Visa Section M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:30-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | alt= | url=http://southafrica.dk/ | email= | address=Gammel Vartov Vej 8 | lat=55.72326 | long=12.57234 | directions= | phone=+45 39180185 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:00-16:00; F 08:00-13:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kristianiagade 21 | lat=55.6964804 | long=12.5895873 | directions= | phone=+45 35 42 22 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 09:00–17:00, F 09:00–14:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url=http://swedenabroad.com/kopenhamn | email= | address=Sankt Annæ Plads 15 A | lat=55.6817202 | long=12.5918346 | directions= | phone=+45 33 36 03 75 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-12:00, W also 14:00–16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/copenhagen | email= | address=Richelieus Allé 14, 2900 Hellerup | lat=55.73861 | long=12.58301 | directions= | phone=+45 33 14 17 96 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | alt= | url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/DK | email=contact@taipeioffice.dk | address=Amaliegade 3, 2F | lat=55.6821714 | long=12.5914206 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 51 52 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url=http://thaiembassy.dk/ | email= | address=Norgesmindevej 18 | lat=55.72568 | long=12.57306 | directions= | phone=+45 39 62 50 10 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=http://copenhagen.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ | email= | address=Rosbæksvej 15 | lat=55.72244 | long=12.57337 | directions= | phone=+45 39 20 27 88 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-17:30 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{listing | name=Ukraine | alt= | url=http://denmark.mfa.gov.ua/ | email=embassy.ua@mail.tele.dk | address=Toldbodgade 37A, 1. | lat=55.6824312 | long=12.5934775 | directions= | phone=+45 33161635 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M W F 10:00-13:00, Tu 15:00-17:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | alt= | url=http://ukindenmark.fco.gov.uk/ | email= | address=Kastelsvej 38 | lat=55.69590 | long=12.58559 | directions= | phone=+45 35 44 52 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–15:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://dk.usembassy.gov/ | email= | address=Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24 | lat=55.6945855 | long=12.5830518 | directions= | phone=+45 35 55 31 44 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 08:15-23:15 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Venezuela}} {{listing | name=Venezuela | alt= | url=http://dinamarca.embajada.gob.ve/ | email=emvendk@mail.dk | address=Toldbodgade 31, 3. | lat=55.681918 | long=12.5930527 | directions= | phone=+45 33 93 63 11 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Vietnam}} {{listing | name=Vietnam | alt= | url=http://vietnamemb.dk/ | email=embvndk@hotmail.com | address=Bernstorffsvej 30C | lat=55.72847 | long=12.55564 | directions= | phone=+45 39 18 26 29 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 10:00-13:00 | price= | content= }} |} ==Stay safe== As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial '''112''' for emergencies, and '''114''' for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of [[Copenhagen/Nørrebro|Nørrebro]] and in the [[Copenhagen/Vestegnen|western suburbs]]. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While '''racism''' is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination. == Stay healthy == Emergency Rooms (ER) are called ''Skadestue'' in Danish, as with many other health related terms and phrases, the English term may not be understood by some Danes — but conveniently Hospital is the same in Danish. Hospitals with 24 hour Emergency Wards near the city centre include: *{{listing | name=Amager Hospital | alt= | url=http://amagerhospital.dk | email= | address=Italiensvej 1, Amager | lat=55.65471 | long=12.60881 | directions= | phone=+45 32 34 35 00 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Bispebjerg Hospital | alt= | url=http://bispebjerghospital.dk | email= | address=Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 7C, Nordvest | lat=55.71446 | long=12.54061 | directions= | phone=+45 35 31 23 73 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Frederiksberg Hospital | alt= | url=http://frederiksberghospital.dk | email= | address=Nordre Fasanvej 57, 3A, Frederiksberg | lat=55.68721 | long=12.52576 | directions= | phone=+45 38 16 35 22 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} The public healthcare system also maintains doctors on call outside normal office hours, calls are screened by medical personnel, and doctors dispatched only when deemed necessary. *{{listing | name=Lægevagten | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+45 70 13 00 41 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M–F 16:00–8:00, Sa-Su all day | price=From DKK 255, Free for EU citizens | content= }} There is a 24-hour pharmacy in central Copenhagen, and 3 additional ones in the suburbs. *{{listing | name=Steno Apotek | alt= | url=http://183.netapotek.dk/ | email= | address=Vesterbrogade 6C | lat=55.6745156 | long=12.5632472 | directions=Just by the Radisson Royal hotel, near the Central station | phone=+45 33 14 82 66 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=regular hours: M-F 8:00–20:00,Sa 8:30–17:00 | price=There is a DKK 15 service charge outside those times. | content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Malmö]]''' &mdash; Sweden's third largest city, with a lovely historic city centre and cosy squares. Just a short, convenient train ride away. * '''[[Helsingør]]''' &mdash; Also called '''Elsinore'''. The old city centre with well preserved houses is one of the biggest in Denmark, and famous Kronborg castle, home of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Take the train from Copenhagen Central or Østerport. If you go by car the motorway is the fastest, driving along Strandvejen is the scenic route. * '''[[Hillerød]]''' &mdash; A small town dominated by the huge Frederiksborg palace, but also offers baroque gardens and a laid back city centre. Take the S-train: end of the E-line. * '''[[Roskilde]]''' &mdash; Denmark's ancient capital and a [[World Heritage site]], with a famous cathedral full of the tombs of ancient kings, and the fantastic Viking museum. Home to one of the ''Big Four'' European music festivals, Roskilde Festival, which attracts up to 110,000 visitors each year in July. There are many trains from Copenhagen Central, Nørreport and Østerport. * '''[[Øresund Coast]]''' &mdash; For the '''Louisiana Museum of Modern Art''', which is the outstanding museum of modern art in Denmark, in the small town of Humlebæk 35&nbsp;km north of Copenhagen. Via motorway E47/E5 or 35 minutes with DSB rail from the Central Station. When you use the train, special combination tickets for the rail fare and museum entry fee are available. * '''[[Ven]]''' &mdash; Visit the Swedish island Ven. Rent a bicycle and tour the island. The ferry departs from Havnegade 29 at 9:15, returns at 17:30 and costs 210&nbsp;kr for the daytrip. {{routebox | image1=Tabliczka E20.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Kolding]] | minorl1=[[Køge]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Göteborg]] | minorr1=[[Malmö]] | image2=Tabliczka E47.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Helsingør]] | minorl2=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Lübeck]] | minorr2=[[Køge]] | image3=Tabliczka E55.svg | imagesize3=22 | directionl3=N | majorl3=[[Helsingør]] | minorl3=[[Vedbæk]] | directionr3=S | majorr3=[[Berlin]] | minorr3=[[Køge]] }} {{isPartOf|Zealand}} {{starcity}} {{geo|55.6762|12.5675|zoom=13}} 3jja0z5kasv3ko3ysxmmnuo0ylvrk1a 0 8467 5298414 5288492 2026-06-25T12:25:17Z Ground Zero 1423298 /* Scuba diving */ 5298414 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Cozumel_Panorama_Wikivoyage_banner.jpg}} '''Cozumel''' is a [[Caribbean]] island just off the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]] in southeastern [[Mexico]]. It has great diving, nice people, safe streets, and prices comparable to other Mexican tourist destinations. The diving is the main draw to Cozumel; if you prefer white sandy beaches then other nearby destinations would be a better bet (e.g., Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Isla Mujeres.) Cozumel is a popular port among cruise lines, particularly from December through April when a half dozen large ships may converge on the port each day. ==Get in== [[File:Scuba tanks, San Miguel de Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico.jpg|thumb|Tanks for all the scuba memories!]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Cozumel International Airport | alt={{IATA|CZM}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.515 | long=-86.928889 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Cozumel International Airport | wikidata=Q1431147 | content=This airport built in the 1970s receives direct flights from [[Atlanta Airport]], [[Charlotte]], [[Chicago]], [[Dallas]], [[Denver Airport]], [[Halifax (Nova Scotia)|Halifax]], [[Houston]], [[Miami]], [[Minneapolis]], and [[Toronto]] as well regional flights from [[Mexico City]]. }} Alternatively, you can fly into [[Cancún International Airport]] ({{IATA|CUN}}) or [[Tulum]] International Airport ({{IATA|TQO}}). These airports generally have more flights, particularly to international destinations. Once you arrive in CUN or TQO, take a bus, combi or van south to [[Playa del Carmen]] and take the ferry across to Cozumel. A shared van from Cancun airport to Playa Del Carmen will cost around M$300 ([[Mexico#Currency|pesos]]) per person one-way. A bus to the ferry terminal will be M$216 (or equivalent US dollars if you do not have pesos handy) as of February 2022 per person one-way. Also you can take a small plane to Cozumel from Cancun airport's domestic terminal on Aerus (verify with the airline as MayaAir flights to Cozumel use the FBO terminal). The flight takes 15 minutes and the trip is an amazing experience for about US$50 per person one way. (Aerus also operates flights to Chetumal). ===By boat=== * {{marker | type=go | name=Ferry from and to Playa del Carmen | lat=20.5112563 | long=-86.9498898}}. There are hourly ferries costing about US$13 per adult each way (Feb 2022). There are two companies: Winjet and Ultramar. So buy a single (one-way) ticket because you may need to use the other ferry company coming back and the tickets aren't transferable (two one-way tickets cost the same as a return anyhow). * {{marker | type=go | name=Car ferry from and to Calica | lat=20.4956477 | long=-86.9638862 }}. It leaves a few kilometers south of Playa del Carmen (pass [[Xcaret]]). There are 4 ferries each day, but the first at 4AM and the second at 8AM are specially for supply and logistics of the locals and islander. So take the ferry at 12:15PM and 6PM. From Cozumel back to the mainland you can take all ferries: 6AM, 10AM, 4PM and 8PM. Rental cars are not allowed on the car ferry and you wouldn't want to do it in any case as taking the car ferry is a huge hassle involving a lot of waiting on both ends. Not recommended for anyone on a one- to two-week vacation. * {{marker | type=go | name=Cruise Ship Terminal | lat=20.480863624209327 | long=-86.97318077184754}} [[Cruise ships]] often visit the island (several each day during the busy winter cruise season). A few can dock at the piers downtown. A larger pair of piers lies about two miles south of downtown San Miguel, and primarily serves Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ships. If many ships arrive the same day (occasionally in "high season"), some may moor offshore and tender passengers to docks downtown. ==Get around== {{mapframe|20.4497|-86.8792|zoom=10}} Walk, rent a car, or take a taxi; there is no public transit out of town. The docks are saturated by pushy touts trying to lure you into car rentals and activities. Be skeptical to avoid getting scammed into a timeshare sales pitch (what a horrible waste of your precious vacation!). A regular 1-day car rental is around US$55, but speaking Spanish will get you a discount 95% of the places if you ask. For example, the posted price for a VW Pointer at Less-Pay (next to Hotel Barracuda) was US$40, without insurance and taxes. As an American who speaks Spanish, you can get that same car for M$350, with insurance and taxes. Even if prices are posted, they can be bargained. Scooters half that (~US$25). Alternatively, taxis are always available and will take you to the west-shore beaches for US$20 onwards, depending on distance and number of people. Taxis cost M$30-60 for intra-town destinations. Like most businesses on Cozumel, they accept US dollars at a disadvantageous exchange rate. ===Car rentals=== Scooters can be a great way to explore the island, but should only be driven by experienced riders. If you are not experienced, please do not rent them. The majority of traffic accidents that befall tourists involve scooters (known locally as "motos"). These accidents seem to be due to a few factors: * Some inexperienced riders expect that if they can drive a car, then they can drive a scooter. * Some riders are unfamiliar with driving practices and conditions in Mexico. * Roads are not always in the best condition, and potholes are generally unmarked. * Scooters offer substantially less protection from accidents than anything with four wheels. * Many accidents are also caused by tourists having too many alcoholic drinks and then driving "motos." Car rentals are widely available and most popular are Jeeps, dune buggies, and modified Chevy economy sedans with the doors and roof removed. * {{listing | name=Ernestos Rental | alt= | url=http://www.ernestosrental.com | email=ernesto@ernestosrental.com | address=Carretera costera sur km4 | lat= | long= | directions=Right Across from Park Royal hotel | phone=+52 98787-112233 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 08:00-18:00 | price=Scooters US$15/20 for 12/24hr; Jeep Wranglers for US$45 for 24hr, unlimited mileage and liability insurance included | content=Scooter and Jeep rentals. }} ==See== [[File:Cozumel San gervasio Manitas feb 2011.JPG|thumb|Columns at the San Gervasio archaeological site]] Most visitors travel to Cozumel to dive and see its wonderful underwater life. While there are quite a few beach clubs that offer snorkeling, the main attractions are the reefs offshore and the multiple dive shops and operations are always ready to take you there. The main town, San Miguel, and dive operations are on the west side of the island, but if you rent a car or scooter then the east side of the island is the place to go. The east side of the island is mostly undeveloped, but there are beautiful beaches, big waves, and rocky outcrops over the ocean. If the waves are sufficient you can find a few small blow holes. The waves and attendant undertows can make swimming on the east side very dangerous, however. You will also find a restaurant on the beach every few kilometers. Cozumel also offers several Mayan archaeological sites. The most extensive vestiges are those at "San Gervasio", an inland site a few kilometers north of the "Carretera Transversal" highway. Another site is located near the village of El Cedral, inland from the "Carretera Costera Sur" highway. In Punta Sur Park, at the southern tip of the island, there is the "El Caracol" temple, believed to have been used as a lighthouse by the Mayans. * {{see | name=San Gervasio | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carretera Costera Sur Km. 9 | lat=20.504829 | long=-86.825637 | directions= | phone=+52 9838370796 | tollfree= | hours=09:00 - 15:45 | price=M$193 | lastedit=2022-12-19 | content=Small archaeological site for a Mayan worship center dedicated to the goddess Ixchel. The site comprises six architectural groups, generally focused on a single temple or other building. Snacks, souvenirs, restrooms available. }} ==Do== ===Scuba diving=== [[File:Buceo en Cozumel.jpg|thumb|Shipwreck near Cozumel]] Cozumel is [[Diving in Mexico|Mexico's top diving destination]] and is one of the premier [[scuba diving]] destinations in the western hemisphere. The island abounds with dive shops, most willing to give you a scuba class (resort course) and take you out if you are not yet certified. A boat dive for certified divers (two tanks) will cost around US$70, plus any equipment rental and Marine Park Fee. Most dive sites are located well south of the city proper, as are a number of dive shops if you want a short boat ride. Most diving in Cozumel is drift diving, where you are dropped off by the boat at the beginning of the dive, are carried along the reef by the current, and picked up at the end of your dive by the boat. There is some shore diving, but it is limited compared with what you can enjoy further out and places like Palancar Reef and the walls. Along with other marine life divers are able to see seahorses and eagle rays and turtles especially during turtle nesting season sees large numbers of Turtles on Cozumel's beaches during nesting seasons. * {{do | name=Aldora Divers | alt= | url=http://aldora.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification and fast 6-person boats with high capacity steel tanks and long surface intervals, usually at Palancar Beach Club. Rental equipment. Night Dives. Nitrox available. Villa Aldora room and suite rentals. }} * {{do | name=Aqua Safari | alt= | url=http://aquasafari.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification and two types of daily dive trips (fast or large boat). Good company but they tend to pack more people on a dive trip (up to 16 on the big boats). When the wind is blowing and the small boats cannot go out, their seaworthy boats often still can provide service. They also have a 8-person fast boat available. 1 tank afternoon dives are a very good deal. Night dives Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Nitrox Available. Hotel packages with Safari Inn, Cozumel Palace and several other hotels. }} * {{do | name=Blue Angel | alt= | url=http://blueangelresort.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification and equipment rental are available from this dive op. Three two tank dives available each day with the additional options of Twilight and Night dives given a party larger than 3. PADI instruction available up to Instructor level. Excellent staff and crew. }} * {{do | name=Blue Magic | alt= | url=http://www.bluemagicscuba.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Compared to most other companies here, operates much faster and smaller (8-person) boats with good local divemasters. Office in downtown Cozumel, with free taxi service. }} * {{do | name=Blue XT~Sea Diving | alt= | url=http://www.bluextseadiving.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification, equipment rental, and nitrox are available from this dive op. Personalized service, max 6 divers per fast boat. They'll keep and clean your dive gear (except wetsuit) if you wish and have it on the boat the next morning. Night and Afternoon dives based on demand, and hotel packages with decent savings are offered. }} * {{do | name=Bottom Time Divers | alt= | url=http://www.bottomtimedivers.net/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification and 6 pack diver fast boat are available from this very popular family run dive op. Owner/instructor with excellent local knowledge, beach SI's and dive gear overnight wash and rinse etc. Private groups accepted. }} * {{do | name=Buena Ventura Diving | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Tour-Agency/Buena-Ventura-Diving-187813318369/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A small, personable dive outfit dedicated to the specialized needs of its diving clients. }} * {{do | name=Cozumel Divers | alt= | url=https://cozumeldivers.org | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 5576950997 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-12 | content=Diving tours, training, certification, boats diving, private diving, this dive center usually works with small groups. }} * {{do | name=Deep Blue | alt= | url=http://deepbluecozumel.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification, nitrox, technical and known for fast boats. At most 8 divers with 2 divemasters or as few as 4 divers with 1 divemaster. Rental equipment. Night dives. Hotel and dive package is available through numerous hotels. Dive shop is in town across the street from La Choza. Divers are usually called the day before diving to arrange dive location and possible divemaster. }} * {{do | name=Dive Paradise | alt= | url=http://www.diveparadise.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Training, certification and two types of daily dive trips (fast or slow boat). Night dives. Numerous dive and hotel packages. Several dive shops. Rental equipment. In Cozumel since 1984. }} * {{do | name=Living Underwater | alt= | url=http://www.living-underwater.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Small, personalized service offering steel 120s (super-long dives). Best for advanced divers. }} * {{do | name=Mestizo Divers | alt= | url=http://www.mestizodivers.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Small groups of divers on a modern fast boat. Custom trips to the dive sites of your choice. When not diving they also offer fishing charters. }} *{{do | name=Ocean Tours Scuba and Water Sports | alt=At Cozumeleño Beach Resort & Hotel | url=http://www.islacozumel.net/diving/oceantur/ | email=oceantours@usa.net | address=North Hotel Zone | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 9878721379 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 07:00-19:00 | price= | content=Since 1986, Laura and José De la Fuente have been hosting and diving with Cozumel´s visitors. PADI scuba dive operation, fully equipped with top of the line gear available. Dive Trips for certified divers, scuba school all levels, equipment rental, repair and retail. Deep sea fishing charters. }} * {{do | name=Scuba Mau | alt= | url=https://scubamau.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Training, Discover Scuba, Hotel/Dive packages, Dive trips. Utilizes small boats (six people) with a well-trained but personality-filled dive staff. Located next to the Villablanca Hotel. $60 per day for two tanks, US$10 per day for full equipment rental. }} *{{do | name=Go Divers | url=https://www.godivers.mx | email= | address=5th str. just before the crossing of 5th Av. Cozumel center | lat=20.50712 | long=-86.95217 | directions= | phone=+52 987 878 4257, +52 987 878 5437 (Cel) | tollfree= | fax= | hours=everyday 8:30AM till 7PM, a bit sooner on sundays | price=US$70 for a 2 tank dive trip, US$75 for a discovery dive | content=The ScubaGamma trilingual team provides the same attention whether you are a beginner or experienced. The shop can deal with individuals as well as small groups, typically up to 7 divers by trip, but will also handle larger groups. The boat used is a 25-foot small cabin cruiser with a 225 hp engine. IAHD certified staff, and handicapped divers are welcome! }} * {{do | name=Blue Note Scuba | alt= | url=http://bluenotescuba.com | email=info@bluenotescuba.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-01-31 | content=This dive center is owner-operated and has a fast boat. Personalized service and training with local divemasters. }} * {{do | name=Salty Endeavors Scuba Center | alt= | url=https://cozumelscuba.com | email=letsgodiving@saltyendeavors.com | address=65 Ave entre 21 y 23 Calle #1380 | lat=20.4918 | long=86.94948 | directions= | phone=+52 9871193731 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:30-21:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-04-19 | content=Quintana Roo's only Platinum 5000 Instructor Trainer on staff. Three boats for certified divers and training from beginner to instructor. }} * {{do | name=[[Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= Q4795893 | lastedit= | content=It protects the offshore reefs along the western and southern sides of Cozumel, it includes dozens of popular dive sites where you can see tropical fish, coral formations, and other kinds of marine life at depths from 30 feet to more than 150 feet. Many of the sites visited by local dive shops are part of the [[Mexico national parks|national park]]. }} ===Other activities=== If diving or tours are not what you're looking for, there are still plenty of to do: *'''Snorkeling''' &mdash; logically enough, the second most popular activity after diving. Many beach-side dive shops rent equipment for US$7–10. Even though all beaches in Mexico are public some require fees to enter and use the facilities. Beaches with a rocky limestone shoreline on the west coast are the best for snorkeling or shore dives since less sand is disturbed so visibility and coral growth are better. *'''Catamaran Sail and Snorkel Excursion''' &mdash; a great excursion operated by Cozumel Water Sports taking you snorkeling to 2 reefs with music, open bar, snacks of fresh fruit and guacamole, 2 daily departures. *'''Glass Bottom Boat Tour''' &mdash; a twist to snorkeling. You visit about two or three reefs, which are small parts of the second largest coral reef in the world. It costs at the most about US$40 a couple but you can get it a little cheaper depending on where you buy your tickets. While heading to the snorkeling sites you have the privilege of looking through the glass bottom of the boat to see all the sea-life you pass on your way. Very fun to do as a couple or a family. *'''Mini Submarine Tour''' &mdash; a new way of exploring the underwater world. This new activity by Cozumel Water Sports offers all non divers and non snorkelers to explore the reefs and sea life of Cozumel. Riding your underwater scooter with your head dry in the air filled helmet, you can drive around the reefs. Especially great for people who wear glasses as you can have them on under water. *'''[https://ccrrp.mx/ Learn about Coral Restoration]''' &mdash; Visit the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program and learn about the corals and fish that form the Mesoamerican reef. They run a [https://www.ccrrp.mx/coral-garden-snorkeling-tour snorkel tour] and [https://www.ccrrp.mx/coral-garden-discover-dive intro scuba dive] of their coral nursery and you will get see first hand how the organization is reversing the damage caused to the Villa Blanca reefs. There is the [https://www.ccrrp.mx/padi-coral-reef-conservation-course PADI Coral Restoration] certificates you can take if you wish more hands-on coral restoration experience. *'''Beach lounging''' &mdash; most of the calm western side of Cozumel has rough rocky beaches not suitable for swimming or sun bathing. The areas that are suitable have been turned into small parks. Some charge entrance fees which includes a beach chair and umbrella as well as access to the washroom and shower facilities; others are free to use, and offer many of the same amenities, while relying on visitors to purchase food or drinks. Playa San Francisco is 20 minutes by taxi south of town and has a restaurant on site. *'''The "Other Side"''' &mdash; the beaches on the east (windward) side of the island. Sandy surf and large waves alternating with rocky limestone coastlines on the east side of the island are beautiful but can be dangerous for swimmers. The roaring surf creates strong breakers and undertows in many areas. Never enter the water alone. There are now many areas where flags are displayed showing the level of safety for a particular area. Despite the potentially dangerous swimming conditions, these beaches are stunning and serene for enjoying sunbathing, long walks or playing in the water very close to shore. These beaches are popular with surfers and kite surfers, and with locals on the weekends. *{{do | name=Chankanaab Beach Adventure Park | alt= | url=http://www.cozumelparks.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=about 9 km south of town | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 07:00-19:00 | price=approx. US$21 for adults | content=The park includes a beach, restaurant, bar, changing rooms, walking trails, crocodile enclosure, and a lagoon with a large iguana population. Activities include snorkeling & diving, swimming with captive dolphins/manatees/sea-lions, kayak, snuba, and Seatrek. $2 coupon and packages available at their website. The dolphins are kept in cages on the beach which are at sea temperature. Cameras are strictly prohibited and photographs are available for a predictably extortionate fee after the swim. }} *{{do | name=Deep Sea Fishing |alt=| url= | email= | address=Puerto Abrigo Marina | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2019-07-10| content=Cozumel is rated as one of the top ten sport fishing "hotspots" in the world. Fishing is enhanced by the deep-water channel between the Yucatan Coast and the Cozumel Island. The channel "squeezes" the Gulf Stream as it passes by Cozumel on its journey northward. This "funnel" effect causes an upwelling and an abundance of fish. The nutrient rich Caribbean waters around Cozumel support a vast array of sport fish with exceptional fishing opportunities all year long. }} *{{do | name=Paradise Beach | alt= | url=https://paradisebeachcozumel.com | email= | address=Carretera Sur Km 14.5 | lat= | long= | directions=5 miles South of Int.Cruise Ship Pier, 7 miles South of downtown | phone=+52 987 872 6177 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 09:00-17:00| price=Free entrance | content=Free admission, beach chairs US$2. Beautiful sandy beach, one of Cozumel´s largest swimming pools, an US$18 FunPass is available for unlimited access to over 14 land&ocean activities, including snorkel equipment, kayaks, paddleboards, waterslides, water trampolines, bungee trampoline, coconut tree climb, a 14-ft climbing iceberg, and more. Fabulous food and drinks served right on the beach or at the restaurant. Clean bathrooms, showers, change rooms and lockers. Beachwear boutique, parasailing, waverunners, massage, etc. also available. 14 km (9 mi) south of San Miguel (Downtown) - Cozumel, 5 miles south of the International Cruise Ship Pier. }} *{{do | name=Playa Palancar | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10:00-17:00 | price= | content=This west-side park features a quiet white-sand beach, lounge chairs and hammocks under shady palm trees, and a well-stocked bar and restaurant. It's about a US$20 taxi ride south of San Miguel, but you'll be free to spend the day with the purchase of food. Equipment for shore-based snorkeling can be rented for US$10, and it's not difficult to find schools of colorful fish even in the shallow waters. }} * {{do | name=Punta Sur Eco Beach Park | alt= | url=https://www.cozumelparks.com/en/punta_sur/ | email= | address=Autopista Km. 30 Sur Matamoros Norte-Centro-Sur, Guaycura | lat=20.2990133 | long=-87.008091 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872 0833 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 09:00-16:00 | price=$19.95 | lastedit=2023-09-27 | content=Eco park with lighthouse and critters like raccoons and alligators in an estuary/sea environment. }} ==Buy== ATMs with low withdrawal fees in the center are:<br> • Banco Azteca<br> • banamex<br> • Santander<br> • Banorte (near the ferry to Playa del Carmen)<br> For buying groceries are Oxxo and minimarkets ''(tiendas)'' around. A bigger variety of products have the Dunosusa and Waldo's. A large supermarket called Súper Aki is in the east of the center. In the town is also a Soriana Súper available. Silver is cheaper here than in the U.S. but be sure to look for the .925 stamp as some places do sell fake silver jewelry. Tip: To avoid being caught out, ''carry a small magnet'' when you shop. If the silver sticks to the magnet then it is not sterling silver. *{{buy | name=Sergio's Silver and More | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Two locations on the island. Very low key approach to sales. Selection is good and prices more than fair. Service is the best. Can size rings and very patient with novice buyers of silver. Between Avenidas 10 and 15 past Palmira's and The Square. }} ==Eat== Local restaurants, most fairly good and fairly similar to each other, are plentiful in and around the city's "downtown" main square. ===Budget=== ====San Miguel city center==== *{{eat | name=Casa Denis | url=http://www.casadenis.com/ | email= | address= | lat=20.5093314 | long= -86.9493326 | directions=Near San Miguel main square | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=This self-declared "oldest restaurant in Cozumel" has very good, reasonably priced entrees featuring some Mayan and Yucatan specialties, along with more conventional Mexican fare like tacos and enchiladas. The Mayan Pork is an interesting take on conventional barbecue - tender with a slightly sweet marinade, and no sauce needed - and margaritas are freshly made and strong. Dinner comes with a free Tequila shot at the end. }} * {{eat | name=La Choza | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.5080036 | long= -86.9498476 | directions= | phone=+52 987-872-0958 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Calle Adolfo Rosado Salas #198, at Avenue 10. Great homestyle, local Mexican food served in a relaxed atmosphere. Fish is excellent, tasty fajitas and guacamole. Only one Margarita needed here! }} * {{eat | name=Crazy King Burrito | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 4 Nte | lat=20.5120593 | long= -86.9473169 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Guisados | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av Lic Benito Juárez 254 | lat=20.5094749 | long=-86.9476388 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Casa Cuzamil | alt= | url= | email= | address=5a Avenida Sur 16-166 | lat=20.5084445 | long= -86.9508722 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Colores y Sabores | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 5 entre Av. Rafael y Calle 5 Sur | lat=20.508122 | long=-86.952798 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Choza Cozumel | alt= | url= | email= | address=10 Avenida Nte. # 216 | lat=20.5079930 | long=-86.9498368 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ====Elsewhere in San Miguel==== *{{eat | name=Doña Quela | url=https://dona-quela.business.site/ | email= | address= 50 Ave Sur | lat=20.493654526686857 | long=-86.9512439036328 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10:00 - 19:00 | price=M$150 | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content= Quite near to the municipal market, an excellent, inexpensive place for breakfast or lunch. It's run by a Mexican couple who lived in the US (and worked at Denny's) for quite some time, so in addition to fresh Mexican food, they also know how to prepare a Grand Slam, if that's what you're after. }} ===Mid-range=== *{{eat | name=Alberto's Beach Bar | alt= | url=http://albertosbeachbarcozumel.blogspot.com/ | email= | address=Carretera Costera Sur km 18 | lat=20.372207 | long=-87.023783 | directions=a few km north of Playa Palancar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-01-01 | content=This isolated beach-side bar and restaurant distinguishes itself by catching its own seafood daily. The grilled Mahi-mahi filet is a definitely a worthy experience. Tables are literally setup on the beach, so it's also a great place to watch the sunset. Atmosphere is very informal, with a live DJ most nights. (Although not officially recommended, it's possible to walk the 1.6-2.4 km (1-1.5 miles) up the beach from Playa Palancar if you're not afraid of a small hike.). }} [[File:CZM-RastaBar.jpg|thumb|Rasta Bar]] *{{eat | name=Rasta Bar | url= | address=Carretera Costera Sur | lat=20.293226576258693 | long=-86.95818683370649 | directions=at Punta Sur | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-01-01 | content=Isolated beach bar with a delightfully dumpy laid-back atmosphere where the beers are always cold and the music is always by Bob Marley. Never crowded, even when 6 cruise ships are in port on the same day. Good place to spend a day, exploring the beach and waves or hiking to the nearby caves. }} * {{eat | name=Casa Mission | alt= | url=http://www.casamissionrestaurant.com/ | email= | address=Av Lic Benito Juárez 55, Adolfo López Mateos | lat=20.50376883217045 | long=-86.94133263915643 | directions= | phone=+529876884712 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 08:00 - 22:00 | price=M$150 | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content=Corner of Avenidas Benito Juarez and 55. Casa Mission offers superb food, however the real attraction here is not the food, but the setting. Located off the beaten path, the restaurant is the veranda area of a large hacienda style Mexican home. It is surrounded on all sides by an extensive garden that combines perfectly with the colonial hacienda ambiance. There are no longer any lions or monkeys, but there still are a number of beautiful caged birds. One of the most romantic spots on the island for cocktails or dinner. One margarita is sufficient. }} *{{eat | name=La Cocay | url=http://m.lacocay.com | email= | address= Calle 8 Nte 208, Centro| lat=20.512645292713376 | long=-86.94523646130273 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872 5533 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 16:00 - 23:00 | price=M$200 | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content= Off the beaten path but worth the finding. La Cocay is Mayan for the Firefly. The food is delicious emblematic of regional Yucatecan cuisine and is presented extremely well. }} * {{eat | name=Coconuts Bar & Grill | alt= | url=http://www.coconutscozumel.com | email= | address=Carratera Costera Oriental KM 43.5 | lat=20.392586062071068 | long=-86.87216143475828 | directions= | phone=+52 987 107 7622 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 09:30 - 19:00 | price=M$200 | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content=Pretty decent Mexican food. Guacamole and chips are excellent, as are the Margaritas. The highlight of this place though is the view. It sits perched up on a cliff overlooking the ocean and pristine white beaches on the east side of the island. }} * {{eat | name=El Morrito | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Lic. Pedro Joaquin Coldwell 2, Centro | lat=20.51141863508582 | long=-86.94141588088362 | directions=6th Street North between Rafael E. Melgar Avenue and 5a North Avenue | phone=+52 987 113 7701 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 08:30 - 22:30, Su 10:00 - 19:00 | price=M$150 | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content=This tiny restaurant is located in a Mexican home off the beaten path. It offers cheap (cheap for Cozumel, although expensive compared to the rest of Mexico) authentic Mexican food. Tacos are ok (again, not as good as other places in Mexico), and cost about US$1.25 apiece. The atmosphere is unbeatable though! }} * {{eat | name=Senor Frogs | alt= | url=http://www.senorfrogs.com/ | email= | address=Av. Rafael Melgar 551 | lat=20.508420386174826 | long=-86.94465620621084 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872 6132 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10:00 - 00:00 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2026-05-28 | content=Above Carlos 'n Charlies. Senor Frogs is a hotspot for young people and tourists. A very laid back atmosphere with very few rules. There is a bar incorporated with tire swings; just to have fun while you drink. Also, they have a dance floor and a stage for the live music they sometimes provide. If there is not a band, there is always a DJ to keep the party going. Prices vary depending on the drink. }} ==Drink== Downtown, bottled liquor prices seldom vary, though you'll find some dropoff the farther you get from the center of the city. Don Julio Tequila runs $45–50 at the tourist shops, but if you have time find a local grocery and get it at half price. Kahlua runs $10. Bars seldom monitor customers for age or drunkenness, so take care driving or walking as the evening wears on. Scuba divers should avoid alcoholic beverages for at least 12 hours before a dive (some say 24 hours). Additionally, divers should refrain from drinking alcohol for about 12 hours ''after'' a dive. * {{drink | name=Cerveceria Punta Sur | alt= | url=https://www.cerveceriapuntasur.com/ | email= | address=10a Avenida Sur 229, Centro | lat=20.507913331108504| long=-86.94990785798944 | directions= | phone=+52 987 117 4215 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 11:00 - 23:00 | price=M$200 | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Small craft brewery with five house beers on tap. Beers range from a fairly light cream ale to a couple of IPAs that are better than most because their hopping level doesn't try to be stupidly high (as is typical in the U.S.) The best beer is their Eagle Ray Stout with a firm malty body with hints of coffee. They also had a weizenbier that's quite good, well balanced, and true to the best German examples of the style. They have light food including pizzas and empanadas and locals rave about the lionfish pizza. }} *{{drink | name=No Name Bar | url= | email= | address=Avenida Rafael Melgar | lat=20.50610746448455 | long=-86.95705395830844 | directions=next to Hotel Barracuda | phone=+52 987 878 4020 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 08:00 - 23:00 | price=M$200 | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Quiet place, friendly atmosphere, sometimes air conditioned. A traditional expat hangout with an excellent selection of semi-pricey tequilas. Good food including tacos, seafood and guacamole. }} *{{drink | name=Skyreef Beach Bar | url=http://skyreefcozumel.com/ | email= | address=Carratera Costera KM 10 | lat=20.44768841028109 | long=-87.00391674359778 | directions= | phone=+52 987 118 2451 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 08:00 - 19:00 | price=US$1.50 beers | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Beach bar catering to day-trip visitors with "all-in" packages that include food and drink as well as a beach chair and snorkling gear. Food includes good ceviche and fish tacos. }} * {{drink | name=Thirsty Cougar | alt= | url=https://thirstycougar.shop/ | email= | address=Calle 3 Sur 317-Local 6, entre Rafael E. Melgar y Av. 5, Centro | lat=20.509006327536138 | long=-86.95210608682467 | directions= | phone=+52 987 869 0214 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00 - 02:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Downtown bar across the street from the harbor with sidewalk tables, big margaritas, buckets of ice cold beers, and light bar bites including ceviche and shrimp tacos. }} * {{drink | name=Una Mas | alt= | url= | email= | address=10a Av. Nte. entre calle 2 y calle 4, San Miguel Centro | lat=20.511058817125218 | long=-86.94709324449514 | directions= | phone=+52 987 101 4232 | tollfree= | hours=W-M 16:00 - 01:00, closed Tu | price=M$150 | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=Lively sports bar with boring TVs blasting games nobody cares about on most evenings but occasional live music. Food is casual burgers, tacos, fries, etc. with affordable prices and generous portions. }} *{{drink | name=Wet Wendy's | url=http://www.wetwendys.com/ | email= | address=#53 Avenida 5, Entre Calle 2 y Juarez | lat=20.51120780316416 | long=-86.94848734956128 | directions= | phone=+52 987-872-4970 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-30 | content=All American staff is very friendly, laid back. They have their own house-brand of tequila that is astonishingly good for the price. Excellent margaritas the size of Mt. Everest. }} ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Las Anclas | url=http://www.hotelvillalasanclas.com | email= | address=325 south 5th Avenue | lat=20.508295298089383 | long=-86.95134598995148 | directions= | phone=+52 987 8725476 | tollfree= | fax= | price=US$80-120 | checkin=13:00 | checkout=12:00 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Offers spacious suites in a serene tropical garden. }} * {{sleep | name=El Cid La Ceiba Beach Hotel | url=https://www.elcid.com/es/el-cid-la-ceiba-resort-cozumel | email= | address=Carretera A Chankanaab Km 4.5, | lat=20.4803768456473 | long=-86.97258573412898 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872-0844 | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=A member of El Cid Resorts, this beachfront hotel near the cruise ship terminal features private balconies, all inclusive plans, ocean view swimming pools, an oceanfront restaurant,and snorkel and shore diving. }} * {{sleep | name=Casa del Mar Cozumel Hotel & Dive Resort | url=https://casadelmarcozumel.com/ | email= | address=Carretera a Chankanaab Km 4 | lat=20.48240414925571 | long=-86.97156874477527 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872 1900 | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Two reasonably priced and convenient hotels and dive shops located near all of the major dive locations, The Casa Del Mar is generally less expensive than La Ceiba. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Flamingo | url=https://www.hotelflamingo.com/ | email= | address=Calle 6 Norte | lat=20.51339690308301 | long=-86.94745924946942 | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1 800-806-1601 | fax= | price=M$1000 (June 2026) | checkin=14:30 | checkout=11:30 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Simple but comfortable rooms, available for very affordable package rates through many common travel booking sites. The daily included breakfast is high-quality and a welcome bonus. This is a small business so some minor imperfections may need to be tolerated (e.g., sometimes the water heater needs to be restarted), but the staff is quick to help whenever possible. }} * {{sleep | name=Occidental Allegro Resort | url=https://www.barcelo.com/en-us/allegro-cozumel/ | email= | address=Kilómetro 17.5, Carretera Sur | lat=20.382558479998988 | long=-87.0189736629672 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872 9770 | tollfree= | fax= | price=M$3000 (June 2026) | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=A five-star resort on the beach offering all-inclusive packages. 3 on-site restaurants, still included in your stay, a snack bar equipped with a buffet for lunch and late-night snacks. They also have a swim-up bar, direct access to the beach and docks for any snorkeling or scuba diving. }} * {{sleep | name=The Summer Place Inn | url=http://www.summerplaceinn.net/ | email=info@cozumelinn.com | address=Av. 10 | lat=20.500298815800434 | long=-86.95717837830513 | directions=between 17 and 19 | phone=+52 987 872-6300 | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Private units and a condo which can be booked nightly, weekly or monthly, run by a Canadian family. You can also call in Cozumel on +52-987-872-6300 or in Canada/US on +1 604-755 4539. }} * {{sleep | name=Villas El Encanto | alt= | url=https://www.villaselencantocozumel.com/ | email= | address=Calle 21 sur No.44 entre Av.Rafael E Melgar y Av 5, Col. Andres Quintana | lat=20.500214 | long=-86.959434 | directions= | phone=+52 987 869 0008 | tollfree= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=rates start at $1000 (US$50) | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=This hotel offers cozy and well-appointed rooms, all of which have air-conditioning, cable TV, and Internet access. Some of its amenities include swimming pool, spa services, and assistance for yoga sessions, scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing trips, sea treks, golf, shopping. }} * {{sleep | name=Villablanca Garden Beach Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.villablanca.net/ | email=info@villablanca.net | address=Costera Sur Km 3 | lat=20.488434 | long=-86.967910 | directions=3 km south of town | phone=+52 987 872 0730 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$1000-3000 (US$50-150) per night | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Located outside of town, this hotel is adjacent to three scuba shops (Dive Paradise, Scuba Mau, Papa Hogs), making it a good option for divers. Hotel amenities include a pool, tennis courts, restaurant, free (albeit slow) wireless internet in the lobby, air-conditioning, and an appointment-only spa/gym. }} *{{sleep | name=Villas Deja Blue | url=https://www.villadejablue.com/ | email= | address=Calle 21 Sur esq. 5av #101 | lat=20.499950969269882 | long=-86.95851510344566 | directions= | phone=+52 987 111 1261 | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Villas Deja Blue provides twin, queen, king, double, deluxe and deja blue villas with central air-conditioning, cable TV and wireless internet access. Its facilities and services include on-site restaurant, salt-water pool, pool deck, scuba diving arrangements and housekeeping services. }} * {{sleep | name=Cozumel Palace | alt= | url=https://cozumel.palaceresorts.com/ | email=info@thepalacecompany.com | address=Sur Avenida Rafael E. Melgar Km 1.5.55 Hotel Zone | lat=20.50289 | long=-86.95908 | directions= | phone=+52 987-872-9430 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$7000 | lastedit=2025-07-29 | content=5-star all-inclusive resort just south of downtown Cozumel. Beachfront suites with ocean views, pools, an on-site dive center, and direct access to snorkeling. Meals, drinks, and 24-hour room service included. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Cozumel | alt= | url=http://www.cozumelhotel.com.mx/ | email= | address=Carretera Costera Sur Kilometro 1-7 | lat=20.499174276274875 | long=-86.96065480460814 | directions= | phone=+52 987 872 9020 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$1200 (June 2026) | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-05 | content=Dive resort on the beach with pier for dive boat pickup/dropoff. Large outdoor swimming pool with daily entertainment and activities. On-site restaurant available. Large, comfortable, clean rooms. Friendly, helpful staff. }} ==Cope== ===Consulates=== * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | url= | email=usgov@cozumel.net; usca@cozumel.net | address=Btwn Melgar and 5th Aves | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 987 872-4574 | tollfree= | fax=+52 987 872-6662 | hours= | price= | content=Emergency services only. For other services, contact the consulate in [[Mérida (Mexico)|Mérida]]. }} ==Go next== Hostels and private rooms are available ...: ===To the west:=== * [[Playa del Carmen]] * [[Valladolid (Mexico)|Valladolid]] * [[Tulum]] * [[Felipe Carrillo Puerto]] ===To the north:=== * [[Cancún]] ===By air=== Cozumel has direct low-cost flights to [[Mexico City]] on Volaris and [[Monterrey]] on Viva (updated June 2026). You have more options from the [[Cancún International Airport|Cancún airport]]. {{guidecity}} {{geo|20.4167|-86.9167}} {{IsPartOf|Quintana Roo}} frevi58ts3j3g0b03o40jdmouj21qsd 0 10132 5298405 5298366 2026-06-25T12:06:06Z Ikan Kekek 36420 Great, but not really travel-related. Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298366|5298366]] by [[Special:Contributions/DumagueteAAMeetings|DumagueteAAMeetings]] ([[User talk:DumagueteAAMeetings|talk]]) 5298405 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dumaguete 1 banner.jpg|dotm=yes|caption=Boulevard, looking north toward the port}} [https://web.facebook.com/dgte.tourism '''Dumaguete'''] is the capital city and main port of [[Negros Oriental]], the province that occupies the south-eastern part of [[Negros Island]], in the [[Philippines]]. It is sometimes called the "City of Gentle People". A laid-back university town with a charming sea-front boulevard and a good selection of tourist-oriented services, Dumaguete is a good place to relax for anything from a few days to a few decades. There are many tourists and a large contingent of resident foreigners. According to the Philippine government Dumaguete is the most popular destination in the country for [[retiring abroad]], and Forbes magazine included it in a list of the [https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/08/25/the-7-best-places-to-retire-around-the-world/?sh=346f306f79a2 seven best places to retire worldwide]. Dumaguete is a major transport hub for reaching destinations anywhere on the large island of Negros which is split into two provinces, [[Negros Oriental]] and [[Negros Occidental]]. In particular, it often serves as an entry point for trips to the diving on [[Apo Island]] or dolphin chasing and [[whale watching]] near [[Bais]]. The small island province of [[Siquijor]], with its many beaches and legends of sorcery, is also often reached via Dumaguete; it is visible from the downtown seafront. The economy is quite diverse and is doing well; a 2009 survey showed Dumaguete with the lowest incidence of poverty of all cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. The city has been a center of education for over a century, and the transport, market and administrative hub of its region for even longer. Tourism and hi-tech have become important; Dumaguete is among the top ten tourist destinations in the country and has quite a few call centers, business process outsourcing companies and other IT-related enterprises. ==Understand== This article covers four towns that are administratively separate but effectively one city: [[File:St.Catherine of Alexandria Church, Dumaguete City.jpg|thumb|Saint Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral]] * '''Dumaguete City''' proper (134,100 in 2020 census) * '''Bacong''', south along the coast (41,200) * '''Valencia''', on higher ground inland to the southwest (38,700) : Dumaguete, Valencia and Bacong are connected by three roads, approximately an equilateral triangle 8&nbsp;km (5&nbsp;miles) on a side. * '''Sibulan''', north along the coast; the two town centers are about 12&nbsp;km apart (64,300) Dumaguete is not a large city in population but is spread out over quite a wide area. All three suburbs mentioned above have experienced considerable residential development in this century; many people live in them but come into Dumaguete to work or shop, or for restaurants and nightlife. Valencia is in a [[volcanoes|volcanic]] area, though the volcanoes are dormant. The volcanic soil is fertile, and there is plenty of rain. The area has long been known for agriculture, especially fruit and vegetable production. There is a large farmers' market in the center of Valencia, right where the jeepney from Dumaguete arrives. The urban part of Valencia is over 200 m (660 ft) above sea level so the town is significantly cooler than Dumaguete on the coast. Partly because of this, it has several new upmarket real estate developments which attract both well-off Dumaguetinos and expatriates. Bacong and [[Dauin]], the next coastal town south, also have a lot of upmarket housing development. The '''climate''' is tropical with an average daily high of 30.6°C (87°F) and low of 24.8°C (77°F); this does not vary much from month to month. Precipitation does vary considerably with a dry season January to May and wet season June to December. Average annual rainfall is 807 mm (32&nbsp;inches); for comparison, San Francisco and London each get about 600 mm while [[Metro Cebu]] gets about 1700 and Hong Kong 2400. As anywhere in the Philippines, there is some risk of [[earthquake]]s and [[typhoon]]s. However, compared to other areas in the country Dumaguete has relatively low risk of either. Sometimes it gets side effects of typhoons elsewhere; for example in October 2017, heavy rain associated with Typhoon Paolo caused some flooding in Dumaguete. ==Get in== The country's two largest cities, and its main hubs for international flights, are [[Metro Manila]] and [[Metro Cebu]]; from either, there are flights, ferries, and buses (which ride ferries for part of the route) to Dumaguete. Cebu is considerably closer and [[Mactan-Cebu International Airport]] is a more pleasant airport to arrive at with an international connection. If you change planes in Manila or Cebu, allow plenty of time since the security controls to ''enter'' each terminal &mdash; before you can even join the queue to check in &mdash; sometimes cause long delays. On a busy day at Manila Airport it can take almost two hours! You will also need a paper print out of your confirmed flight itinerary. There are also international flights to [[Davao]], [[Iloilo City|Iloilo]], or [[Clark Airport]] near [[Angeles]]. Cebu Pacific have Davao-Dumaguete and Clark-Dumaguete flights, and from Iloilo one can take a ferry to [[Bacolod]], then bus. Since the new [[TAG|Panglao Airport]] opened there are now international flights to [[Bohol]] and there are good ferry connections from there to Dumaguete. [[Kalibo]] (nearest airport to [[Boracay]]) also has international flights, but most are charters for package holidays and there is no good connection to Dumaguete. You could take a bus to Iloilo, ferry to Bacolod, then another bus to Dumaguete, but each bus ride would be about six hours. ===By plane=== [http://www.cebupacificair.com '''Cebu Pacific'''] has flights from [[Ninoy Aquino International Airport|Manila]], [[Mactan-Cebu International Airport|Cebu]], [[Davao]], and [[Cagayan de Oro]], and [http://www.philippineairlines.com '''Philippine Airlines'''] has flights from Manila. [[File:File Dumaguete airport - 2.jpg|thumb|Dumaguete airport terminal is small with no air-bridges. Umbrellas are provided if there is a rain shower]] *{{go | name=Sibulan Airport | alt={{IATA|DGT}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.334 | long=123.296 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225 0900 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Sibulan Airport | wikidata=Q2022069 | lastedit=2022-04-03 | content=The airport is in Sibulan, the next town to the north, but is not far from Dumaguete city center (3 km). It has a runway that in many countries would be considered too short for medium sized civilian jet aircraft, but both Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines fly in and out with Airbus and Boeing jets daily. Most jets take off toward the sea, where the runway ends abruptly at the salt water of the Tañon Strait/Bohol Sea, so both takeoffs and landings are thrilling affairs.<br />For '''ground transportation''' there is a sign on the terminal building stating fixed rates. As of mid-2020 cost to city center was {{PHP|100}} by [[traysikel|tricycle]], {{PHP|300}} by van. To return to the airport, tricycles will quote {{PHP|100-150}}. [[Jeepney]]s go between the highway next to the airport and Dumaguete Public Market downtown for {{PHP|8}} either way, but you have to walk a few hundred meters from the terminal to the highway. }} There is a plan to build a new and larger airport in Bacong, south of the city center; there are no international flights to Dumaguete now, but the new airport will handle larger planes and is expected to have many. President Marcos has said it will be completed during his term in office, i.e. by early 2028. The transportation department says 2030. However, as of late 2023 construction has not started and neither any politician's promise nor any Philippine schedule should be considered entirely reliable. ===By boat=== Frequent sailings from Manila, Cebu City, [[Tagbilaran]], [[Siquijor]] and [[Dapitan]] are offered with Cebu having the most options and trips. *{{listing | name=Dumaguete Port | alt= | url= | email= | wikipedia=Port of Dumaguete | address= | lat=9.3127 | long=123.3109 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=All the direct-to-Dumaguete ferries arrive and depart here, though other ferries run from southern parts of [[Cebu Island]] to Sibulan. Most of the traffic is ferries, though there are some small-to-midsize freighters and container ships. There are no cruise ships and the local fishing boats anchor elsewhere. There may be a few private [[cruising on small craft|small cruising vessels]], but [[Tambobo Bay]] to the south is the main port for those on Negros. }} A comfortable way to reach Dumaguete is on one of the better ferries. However, this is considerably more expensive than other ferry or mixed bus/ferry options. Also, they are for passengers only; you cannot bring a vehicle. * {{listing | name=Ocean Jet | url=http://www.oceanjet.net | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Tourist Class: {{PHP|900}}, Business Class: {{PHP|1200}} | content=Fast hydrofoil ferries to and from Cebu via [[Tagbilaran]] on [[Bohol]]. From Dumaguete, departs 7:30AM (arrives 11:10AM) and 2:20PM (arrives 7:20PM). }} : If you want to stop on Bohol, you have a choice of several fast ferries for the Cebu-Tagbilaran leg of the trip (see [[Tagbilaran#Fast_ferries]]) or you might reach Bohol from the south on a [[CDO]]-[[Jagna]] ferry. However, Ocean Jet is the only fast ferry for the Tagbilaran-Dumaguete journey. *{{listing | name=2Go | alt= | url=http://travel.2go.com.ph/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=larger than most other ferries. They have one Manila-Dumaguete departure a week leaving Manila Sunday evening, arriving Tuesday morning, and leaving Wednesday for the return voyage. They also have a ferry from Dumaguete to Zamboanga via Dipolog. }} Ro-Ro's are also available; these are slower and cheaper ferries where cars can '''r'''oll '''o'''n and '''r'''oll '''o'''ff. * {{listing | name=Cokaliong Shipping Lines | alt= | url=http://www.cokaliongshipping.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=from {{PHP|355}} | content=Daily from Cebu City (7 hours, {{PHP|355}} and up). They also sail from [[Dapitan]] on Mindanao Tu-Th & Sa at 4 PM and return the same days at 7AM. for Dapitan departs at 7AM. }} * {{listing | name=George and Peter Shipping | alt= | url=http://www.gplines.com.ph/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= '''out of service''' }} * {{listing | name=Montenegro shipping lines | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/montenegroinc/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=to and from [[Dapitan]] and [[Siquijor]]. }} * {{listing | name=Aleson Shipping Lines | alt= | url=http://aleson-shipping.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Daily to and from [[Dapitan]] and [[Siquijor]]. }} * {{listing | name=Super Shuttle Ferry | alt= | url=http://supershuttleroro.com/en/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= {{PHP|385}} | content=Daily to and from [[Dapitan]]. }} * {{listing | name=FastCat | alt= | url=http://fastcat.com.ph/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price={{PHP|520}} | content=Dumaguete to [[Dapitan]]. }} *'''Medallion Transport''' 5am daily Dumaguete to [[Dapitan]]. For trips from Dumaguete to Cebu, the best option is often the overnight boat with Cokaliong or George and Peter lines. These cost {{PHP|300}}-odd, depart at 11PM or midnight, and reach Cebu around 7AM. Neither company has departures every night, but usually at least one does. Ticketing offices for most boats are either along the road leading into the port (George & Peter, Cokaliong) or nearby on the main road just north of the port (Ocean Jet, Aleson). 2GO are further along the main road, past the first intersection north of the port. Most travel agents and some hotels can also get tickets. The boats, especially Ocean Jet, often get quite full so booking a day or two in advance is advisable. ===By bus === [[File:Ph_locator_negros_oriental_dumaguete.png|thumb|Location]] *{{listing | name=Ceres | alt= | url=https://ceresliner.com/ | email= | address= | lat=9.2993 | long=123.3057 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q17064804 | content=A major bus line serving Cebu and Negros islands. Their buses are a conspicuously bright yellow. Like the other bus lines, their drivers are recklessly fast and drive on the klaxon. }} ====From Cebu==== The Ceres line has direct buses from the south bus station in [[Cebu City]] to Dumaguete; they go down to the south end of Cebu Island, across to Negros Island via a short ferry ride that lands in [[San Jose (Negros Oriental)|San Jose]] just north of Sibulan, then on to Dumaguete. Total travel time is typically about six hours but may be an hour or so less or considerably longer depending on traffic, weather and whether there is a delay waiting for the ferry. From Cebu, the Dumaguete buses are scheduled at 6AM, 7:30AM, 10AM, 11:30AM, 1PM, 2:30PM, 4PM, and 6PM. The first bus for Cebu from Dumaguete leaves at 3:15AM and the last at 2PM; there are many trips in between, scheduled every hour or two. Scheduling is not at all strict; a bus will leave early if it is full, sometimes more than an hour early. Cost for the bus (Feb 2018) is {{PHP|235}}, paid to the conductor. There is a separate {{PHP|70}} charge for the ferry; someone comes round to collect it. A senior's discount is available on both fares, making them {{PHP|192}} and {{PHP|55}}. You can also take a non-air-conditioned Ceres bus from the Cebu south bus terminal to Liloan ferry terminal for {{PHP|165}}, then get a ferry over to Sibulan ferry terminal for {{PHP|48}}, then a [[jeepney]] to Dumaguete downtown market for {{PHP|12}}. Total {{PHP|225}}. At busy times, such as major holidays, you may be better off taking a boat or even plane since you can book tickets in advance for those rather than just queuing up and hoping. For example, during Cebu's [[Sinulog]] festival it will be slow and difficult to get a bus and when you do it may be very slow as the many parades cause traffic jams. ====From Negros Occidental==== There are Ceres buses to and from [[Bacolod]], capital of the western province of [[Negros Occidental]] (which shares the island of Negros with Negros Oriental whose capital is Dumaguete). Possible stops along that route include [[Kabankalan]] which has some beach resorts, [[Mabinay]] which is a caving destination, and [[Bais]] which has beaches, dolphins and whale sharks. *'''Bacolod to Dumaguete''': first trip at 2AM and last trip at 7PM. *'''Dumaguete to Bacolod''': first trip at 2:30AM last trip at 7:30PM. There are many trips a day. Fare for a non-air-conditioned bus is {{PHP|300}} each way. and for the air-conditioned bus is {{PHP|377}}. Travel time is 6-7 hours. An alternative route, longer and more expensive, would be to follow the coast rather than cutting across the center of the island. This would give the opportunity to stop at several beach areas along the way, notably [[Sipalay]]. See [[#Outside_town]] for places nearer Dumaguete on this route. ====From Luzon==== Ceres also now have a bus from the [[Cubao]] district of [[Quezon City]] (which is part of [[Metro Manila]]) to Dumaguete. It goes by land to [[Batangas City]], by ferry to [[Caticlan]] on [[Panay]], by land to [[Iloilo City|Iloilo]], ferry to [[Bacolod]], and finally by land to Dumaguete. [http://www.dltbbus.com.ph/ DLTB] also have a bus route that goes from Cubao down to [[Bicol]] at the southern end of Luzon, across to [[Samar]] on a ferry, then overland to [[Ormoc]]. From Ormoc, one can reach [[Cebu City]] by ferry, and from Cebu there are both boats and buses to Dumaguete. For most travellers, the buses from Cubao are not a desirable choice; either has travel time over 36 hours and cost above {{PHP|2500}}, which is higher than some flights or some classes of travel on the luxurious 2Go boats. However, one of them may be a good choice if you want intermediate stops. For example, one might visit two of the country's best-known tourist destinations by taking the bus from Cubao to Batangas, ferry across to [[Puerto Galera]], back to Batangas for the ferry to Caticlan, short ferry ride to [[Boracay]], and back to the bus for the run to Dumaguete. === Alternative routes === If you want to see more of the southern parts of [[Cebu Island]], you can travel south from Cebu City on your own, then reach Dumaguete with smaller hops from there. All these ferries are ro-ros so bringing a vehicle is possible, * Take a bus to the San Sebastian (Bato) area of [[Samboan]], then take a 20-30 minute ferry ride to Sibulan, 20 minutes away from the centre of Dumaguete. Ferries leave from Sibulan 5AM-5PM. To get this bus you must play the game chasing against time; seats are limited and if you don't get a chance to be an early bird in booking a ticket, you'll probably end up sleeping in the bus terminal waiting for the next day's departures. * Ro-ro from {{Marker|type=listing |lat=9.5175 |long=123.3010 |zoom=16 |name=Samboan |image=}}, on [[Cebu Island]] to {{Marker|type=listing |lat=9.3717 |long=123.2667 |zoom=16 |name=Looc |image=}}, Sibulan operated by Lite Shipping Corporation at 4PM, 7PM, 8:30PM & 10PM with journeys to Cebu Island at 5AM, 8:30AM, 11:30AM & 1PM with an 80-min journey time. {{phone|+63 915 780 0252 (Globe network)}}, {{phone|+63 929 586 1702 (Smart network)}}. Return vehicle fare (for a [[multicab]]) of {{PHP|1080}} includes driver and one passenger with additional passengers at {{PHP|70}} each. It is also possible to go west from Cebu City to [[Toledo (Cebu)|Toledo]] and get a ferry to [[San Carlos (Negros Occidental)]] there, or get a direct bus from the North Bus Terminal in [[Mandaue]] to San Carlos. From San Carlos, you can then travel south along the coast of Negros via [[Bais]] and [[Tanjay]] toward Dumaguete. This route is longer, slower and less travelled. From [[Iloilo City]], the easiest route is by ferry to Bacolod then bus to Dumaguete. From [[Palawan]] one can take a plane or ferry to Iloilo, or fly to Cebu City. From [[Manila]] one could get a direct flight or boat, but it is also possible take a ferry or plane to any of Iloilo City, Bacolod, Cebu City or [[Tagbilaran]] then continue to Dumaguete. From [[Mindanao]], there are direct connections to Dumaguete by boat from [[Dapitan]]. From [[Cagayan de Oro]] or [[Camiguin]] it is also possible to take a ferry to [[Bohol]] and change to another for Dumaguete. ==Get around== {{Mapframe|9.307|123.30655|zoom=13|height=400|width=400}} Dumaguete has few taxis and almost none of the jeepneys you'll see in other cities in the Philippines. There are some jeepneys going to nearby towns but, unlike other cities, there are no jeepneys with general-purpose downtown routes. Most in-town transit is by motorcycle/sidecar rigs called [[traysikel]]s or pedicabs. Locals in the Philippines name a landmark or commercial establishment near their destinations, street names are rarely used or known. Many travellers will be able to get around knowing only the names of three landmarks: Rizal Boulevard, Lee Plaza and Robinson's Place; most other places of interest are within easy walking distance of one of those. If you must have air conditioning and are willing to pay for it, then the few '''taxis''' are often found near the Bethel Guest House or at Robinson's Place Mall. Neither the locals nor the resident foreigners use these much; they either have their own vehicles or take pedicabs which are easier to find and cheaper. '''Motorcycles''' are also popular; the roads have considerably more of them than cars. They can be rented in several shops along Perdices St, near the corners of Pinili and Santa Rosa Streets, typically for {{PHP|300}} a day. Few locals use helmets; if you plan to ride it is a good idea to bring a good-quality helmet with you. ===By pedicab=== The standard transport option is a three-wheeled contraption usually called a [[Philippines#By_tricycle|'''pedicab''']]. In parts of the Philippines a "pedicab" is human-powered, but in Dumaguete it is a motorcycle with a sidecar. In other areas, that might be called a traysikel. These are cheap by foreign standards, usually easily found, and very convenient. [[File:Tricycle-Philippines-Dumaguete.JPG|thumb|A "pedicab" motorcycle/sidecar rig]] These do have a windshield and a roof so there is some protection from the elements, but they are neither quiet nor very comfortable. The sidecar has seating for four, two facing forward and two back, but it is designed for Filipinos and four Westerners will not usually fit unless one rides pillion behind the operator. These are shared vehicles; expect to ride along with whoever happens to be going the same way, and to take the odd detour as the driver diverts to deliver other passengers to their destinations. Fare is regulated at {{PHP|9}} per person for trips of up to 3 km, more for longer distances and an extra charge for luggage is allowed. For most trips within town, just give the driver {{PHP|10}}, or even {{PHP|20}} for longer distances or at night. When travelling to further-out destinations (airport, etc.), or if you want the machine to yourself, expect to pay more and negotiate, probably before you get in. Coming from the airport, there are flat rates posted on signs outside the terminal, {{PHP|100}} for downtown and {{PHP|120}} for the south side of town, e.g. Robinson Mall. Prices can be high for a journey to a suburb; for example most drivers ask {{PHP|150}} or more for Valencia, and most customers take a jeepney for {{PHP|12}} instead. A family with luggage going from downtown to [[Dauin]] might be asked for {{PHP|400}}. ===By jeepney=== There are various terminals for [[Philippines#By_jeepney|jeepneys]] to nearby towns or suburbs; these are cheap and interesting, but often quite crowded. Sit up front with the driver if you can; this is more comfortable and has a better view. Most jeepneys give a discount for students or seniors. The Jeepney terminals are mostly in the area around the cathedral or the market west of it. *{{listing | name=Jeepneys to Dauin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3047 | long=123.3075 | directions=around the corner from the bell tower | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Jeepneys to Sibulan | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3063 | long=123.3058 | directions=northwest corner of the market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Jeepneys to San Jose | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3064 | long=123.3078 | directions=next to the park, just off Perdices | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Jeepneys to Valencia | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3036 | long=123.3054 | directions=southwest of the market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price={{PHP|12}} per person, {{PHP|10}} for seniors | content= }} *{{listing | name=Jeepneys Valencia-to-Dumaguete | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2807 | long=123.2451 | directions=next to the market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price={{PHP|12}} | content=This is where jeepneys from Dumaguete arrive and the ones going back depart. }} *{{listing | name=Jeepneys to Zamboanguita | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2994 | long=123.3027 | directions=across from Robinson Place | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Some park a bit north of the corner, pointing south on the highway, others just west of the corner, ready to turn south. [[Zamboanguita]] is a seaside town south of the city. }} *{{listing | name=Jeepneys to several places | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2983 | long=123.3058 | directions=behind Robinson's Place | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This terminus has jeepneys to Bacong, Dauin, Zamboanguita and Valencia. }} Jeepneys or buses northbound to Sibulan, San Jose or [[Tanjay]] can sometimes be flagged down on Rizal Boulevard or on the highway going north out of the city, and jeepneys for many places can sometimes be found near the pier, but your chances of a comfortable seat are better at the terminal. ==See== [[File:Dumaguete Belfry.jpg|thumb|Dumaguete bell tower]] *{{see | name=Bell Tower | alt=Campanario de Dumaguete | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.30512 | long=123.30768 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is the oldest surviving structure in the city, a relic of the long Spanish occupation of Negros Island. It used to be a watchtower to warn the locals against marauding pirates from [[Mindanao]]. The first two storeys date from the mid-1700s with the structure above that added later. Its largest bell is engraved with a date of 1818. }} *{{see | name=Cathedral of Santa Catalina | alt=Dumaguete Cathedral | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3054 | long=123.3069 | directions=next to the bell tower | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q105772173 | content=A fine old Roman Catholic church, built under Spanish rule in the 1700s and consequently the oldest stone church in the whole of the province of Negros Oriental. It's dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria who is the patron saint of the city. Her festival is vigorously celebrated around the end of November each year since a Mass celebrating liberation from the Spanish took place in its grounds on the 24 November 1898. The entrance gates are supported by sculptures of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on tall pedestals. }} Dumaguete is a university town; there are four universities plus various colleges, and about a quarter of the population of the city proper are students. Foremost of the city's educational institutions is [[#Silliman University|Silliman University]]. [[File:SUHall2.jpg|thumb|Silliman Hall]] *{{see | name=Silliman University Hall | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3108 | long=123.3089 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Built in 1902-1903, this is the oldest U.S. structure in the Philippines still standing. Its architecture is reminiscent of the Stick Style or Victorian type of architecture that characterized U.S. buildings in the late 19th century. On the east or ocean side of the hall is a bronze bust of Horace Silliman. }} **{{see | name=Luce Auditorium | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=NA | long=NA | directions=in Silliman Hall | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Considered the cultural center of the South. Named for the American Luce family, media magnates who owned ''Time'', ''Life'' and other magazines. The tin ceiling was salvaged from an old theater in New York. }} ** {{see | name=Marine Laboratory Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=NA | long=NA | directions=in Silliman Hall | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Houses the second-largest whale bone collection in the world. }} [[File:Silliman University Church.jpg|thumb|Silliman University Church]] *{{see | name=Silliman University Church | alt= | url=http://v3.su.edu.ph/church/ | email= | address= | lat=9.3108 | long=123.3055 | directions=on Silliman campus | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-01-02 | content=A Protestant church with some fine stained glass windows. Like the university, it was set up by American Presbyterian missionaries, but its outlook today is very ecumenical; it describes itself as "''a church ministering to all Sillimanians, regardless of their denomination and religious affiliations''". }} *{{see | name=Silliman University Anthropology Museum | alt= | url=http://su.edu.ph/academics/museums/anthropology-museum/ | email= | address=Rizal Boulevard | lat= 9.3105 | long=123.3068 | directions=on Silliman campus | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Base rate {{PHP|40}} for locals, {{PHP|60}} for others, with discounts for children and seniors. Rates double on weekends or holidays. | content=The Anthropology Museum houses some Philippine artifacts that were excavated from many parts of the country dating back hundreds or thousands of years. A good example of how to make interesting stuff intensely boring. A smart move was to forbid any photographic record of the mediocre displays. }} *{{see | name=Silliman Zoo | url= | email= | address=near Silliman Medical Center | lat=9.3198 | long=123.3039 | directions=signs opposite Silliman medical centre | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-4PM | price={{PHP|10}} | content=It conserves endangered Philippine native animals which are rarely seen; eg, spotted deer, warty pigs and crocodiles. Well worth the {{PHP|10}} entry fee. They also need financial support. It's a 15-min walk from the city center or a {{PHP|8}} pedicab ride. }} Inland (west) of Dumaguete are a range of volcanic mountains running from well south of the city to well north of it. None of the [[volcanoes]] are active but several of them are not extinct either; experts say they have the potential to erupt again. Travel services in Dumaguete or local guides closer to the sites can arrange trips. Some of the main sites are: [[File:Puhagan geothermal plant.jpg|thumb|The Philippines is second only to the US in producing electricity from geothermal sources]] *{{see | name=Mt. Talinis | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.242 | long=123.177 | directions=Southwest of the city in Valencia Municipality | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1143188 | content=The second-highest mountain in Negros Oriental at 1903&nbsp;m, a [[volcanoes|dormant volcano]], one of a group called the '''Cuernos de Negros''' (Horns of Negros). It has lakes, waterfalls and a mossy forest as well as a stream with sulfur vents. Local mountaineering groups frequent the mountain. }} *{{see | name=Palinpinon Geothermal Plant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2953 | long=123.1725 | directions=Palinpinon is a [[barangay]] of Valencia | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q113457448 | content=This geothermal plant provides electric power for all of [[Negros Island]], [[Panay]], and [[Guimaras]], plus parts of [[Cebu Province]]. The power station plaza is closed to visitors at the guard house. }} *{{see |name=Volcanic Road | directions=On the way to the power station | content=Get up close and personal with some sulphur vents along the roadside |lat=9.3138 |long=123.2007 }} *{{see | name=Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.352 | long=123.182 | directions=northwest of the city in Sibulan Municipality | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q804980 | content=A large protected forest area centered on two volcanic crater lakes. The flora and fauna have been considerably degraded, but it's still an interesting daytrip. }} Each of the suburbs we include in this article &mdash; Valencia, Sibulan and Bacong &mdash; is administered as a separate town and all have been towns since the era of Spanish rule. They all have some buildings going back to that era, clustered around a central plaza; the ones in Bacong include the oldest church in the province. ==Do== [[File:Casaroro Falls.jpg|thumb|The Casaroro Falls in [[Valencia]] make a nice day trip from Dumaguete]] The free public urban beach is Silliman Beach, just south of the airport (3 km north of downtown). While often crowded and usually littered, it has three advantages over many other beaches of Negros: the bottom is all sand without mud or rocks, it's deep enough so that the sea does not retreat far from the beach even at low tide, and mature trees provide a good amount of shade in the afternoon. There are several popular '''seaside resort areas''' nearby and it is common for travellers to use Dumaguete as a base for visiting one or more of them, since the beaches in town are often highly polluted. Many hotels and all travel agencies in Dumaguete can arrange trips to any of them. * [[Apo Island]] - a small island somewhat south of Dumaguete with excellent diving * [[Bais]] - a city on the coast to the north, known for dolphin and whale watching * [[Siquijor]] - an island province with good beaches and many tales of witches and sorcerers, visible from the Dumaguete boulevard and accessible via frequent ferries. There are many '''dive shops''' in Dumaguete. Some of them are: *{{do | name=Adventure Diving | alt= | url=http://adventurediveshop.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35 422-1781 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{do | name=Harold's Dive Center | url=http://haroldsdivecenter.com/ | email=info@haroldsdivecenter.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=At Harold's Mansion hotel | phone=+63 35 522-0144 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Has its own dive boats }} *{{do | name=SCUBA Ventures | url=http://www.dumaguetedive.com/ | email=info@dumaguetedive.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=At Harold's Mansion hotel | phone=+63 35 225 7716 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=PADI instruction and other services. }} *{{do | name=Cheeki Diver | url=https://dive-guide-dauin.com/ | email=brendawoodyatt@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Between Dumaguete and Dauin | phone=+639175553855 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=private Dive Guide for diving Dumaguete, Dauin, Siquijor and Apo-Island​. |lastedit=2025-09-21}} See also [[Diving in the Philippines]]. There are also some '''golf courses''': * {{do | name=Bravo Golf Course | alt=Dumaguete Golf Course | url=http://www.bravogolfhotel.com/ | email= | address=San Antonio Barangay Rd, Pancil, Looc, Sibulan | lat=9.3541 | long=123.2621 | directions= | phone=+63 35 400-3504 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Beautifully kept 18-hole course with plenty of shade trees and Zebu cattle has a view of the sea and an air-conditioned club room. Quarterly green fees are {{PHP|15000}} while 'walk-ins' pay {{PHP|750}} for 9 holes, {{PHP|1250}} for 18 holes M-Th rising to {{PHP|1000}} & {{PHP|1500}} at weekends. Caddy fees are {{PHP|175}} or {{PHP|275}}, golf cart rental {{PHP|400}} or {{PHP|650}}, an umbrella girl {{PHP|120}} or {{PHP|180}} and golf set rental {{PHP|650}} or {{PHP|650}} for 9 or 18 holes respectively.<br /> There is a hotel on-site with rooms from {{PHP|2250}}. The restaurant has a large, brick pizza oven and some other Italian dishes on the menu. }} *{{do | name=Ang Tay Golf Course | url=http://www.angtaygolf.com/ | email=japatitong7@yahoo.com | address=East Rovira Dr | lat=9.3295 | long=123.2995 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225 2109 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A 9-hole course close to downtown, before the airport. }} Several of the resorts have swimming pools, but the public pool downtown is cheaper: * '''Aqua Swimming pool''' Largest swimming pool in Dumaguete (Capital area) behind Freedom Park. {{PHP|20}} per person. There are decorated '''horse-drawn carts''' offering scenic rides around town. There are sometimes '''dragon boat races''' in the harbor, with a large crowd watching from the boulevard. The traditional date for the dragon boat festival is the 5th day of the 5th Chinese lunar month, which usually falls in June of the Gregorian calendar. However, Dumaguete often has races somewhat earlier (perhaps regional events to qualify for later national events?); for example in 2017 and 2018 there were races in early April. ==Learn== There are many small colleges and vocational schools, some English-teaching mainly for Chinese and Koreans, and four universities: * {{listing | type=learn | name=Silliman University | alt= | url=http://su.edu.ph/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=north end of the boulevard | wikidata=Q1583940 | content=The oldest American university in Asia and the first Protestant college to be founded in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. The main street running north-south through the campus is Hibbard Avenue, named for the missionary couple who founded it in 1901 as a high school. The street that borders the campus on the south is Silliman Avenue; like the university, it is named for the New England industrialist who financed the project. }} * {{listing | type=learn | name=Saint Paul University | alt= | url=http://www.spud.edu.ph/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3578244 | content= }} * {{listing | type=learn | name=Foundation University | alt= | url=http://foundationu.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5474366 | content= }} * {{listing | type=learn | name=Negros Oriental State University | alt=NORSU | url=http://www.norsu.edu.ph/ | email= | address= | lat=9.3122 | long=123.3037 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3603764 | content=The main campus is in Dumaguete, and there are satellite campuses in other towns. }} The '''Silliman University Library''' is one of the best in the Visayas with more than 100,000 volumes, and provides a relatively quiet and air conditioned sanctuary from the perpetual hum and throb of the streets. It's not usually open to the public, but for a purely nominal fee and a courteous word with the librarian you might be admitted as an overseas visitor. There is a '''public library''' in the cluster of municipal buildings on Colon Street, next to the fire station and near the post office, with free WiFi. ==Buy== The main shopping area downtown is Perdices Street from around the Bell Tower to the edge of Silliman University. The street continues north into the university, but the name changes to Hibbard Avenue. ===Downtown=== *{{buy | name=Cang's Department Store | alt= | url= | email= | address=East Rovira Dr | lat=9.3156 | long=123.3023 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-7:30PM, Su 10AM-7:30PM | price= | content=Moderate prices with UnionPay, Visa, JCB and MasterCards accepted, this is a good option for a weekly grocery shop on the ground floor since the basement car park is both free and underutilised. There is a food court on the top floor and the Filomena Cafe 2 (of Bethel Guest House fame) accepts cards too. Purified and cooled water is available free of charge from a self-service drinking fountain with glasses. On the first floor above the ground, small Philippines flags at {{PHP|6}} each make good value and lightweight souvenirs if you are flying from nearby Dumaguete airport. }} *{{buy | name=Cang's downtown | url= | email= | address=San Jose, corner of Maria Christina | lat=9.3080 | long=123.3067 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Newer and smaller second location, with no cafe. }} *{{buy | name=Lee Plaza & Supermarket | alt= | url=http://www.leeplazashopping.com | email= | address=Perdices St | lat=9.3080 | long=123.3075 | directions=near the middle of the town's main commercial street | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-8PM | price= | content=Main department store in the city centre with a large supermarket in the basement; accepts Visa, JCB and MasterCard. Two bakeries, ground floor and basement; the basement one may be the only place in town with '''bagels'''. Food court on top floor. }} *{{buy | name=Robinson's | alt= | url=http://www.robinsons-supermarket.com.ph | email= | address= | lat=9.3075 | long=123.3077 | directions=in the same block of Perdices Street as Lee Plaza but on the opposite side of the road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8AM-9PM | price= | content=Supermarket, bakery (with seating & coffee) and drugstore on ground floor. Appliances and hardware store in basement. }} <!-- This existed as late as early January 2016 but vanished by the end of January Leaving text here in case it needs to be restored later *{{buy | name=Open air market area | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3063 | long=123.3082 | directions=around the park by the bell tower, a few blocks south of Lee Plaza along Perdices | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Many small stalls, mainly selling cheap clothing and tourist items. Some street food as well. }} --> *{{buy | name=AAC Tech | url=http://www.aactech.net | email= | address=RHD Building, Ma. Cristina St | lat=9.3098 | long=123.3064 | directions= | phone=+63 35 226-2830 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Computers, Apple products from laptops to i-Pods, other gadgets. }} * {{buy | name=Unitop Department Store | alt= | url= | email= | address=Percides Street Cor Locsin street | lat=9.3068 | long=123.3076 | directions=Park bldg. | phone=+63 35-4228223 | tollfree= | hours=9AM-8PM | price= | lastedit=2018-04-05 | content=Generally cheaper than Lee or Robinson, popular with locals. }} *{{buy | name=YanYan Baking and Culinary | address=corner of Mabini St and Santa Rosa St | directions=a few blocks south of Dumaguete Market | lat=9.30357 | long=123.30683 | content=Primarily supplies bakers with all imaginable and unimaginable ingredients, but also carries an interesting selection of other hard-to-find groceries. }} On the boulevard, '''Why Not?''' has imported (mainly European) groceries, including some things you cannot find elsewhere. Prices tend to be high but are sometimes better than in the imported foods section of a supermarket. ===Outside downtown=== * {{buy | name=Lee Plaza Hypermart | alt= | url=http://www.leeplazashopping.com | email= | address=Valencia Rd | lat=9.3013 | long=123.2977 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-7PM | price= | content=One large store, plus a food court. }} *{{buy | name=Robinson's Place Mall | alt= | url=http://www.robinsonsmalls.com | email= | address=Dumaguete Business Park | lat=9.2987 | long=123.3031 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Expensive, but there is no surcharge for Visa or MasterCards in its supermarket, although none of the chain eateries take plastic | content=This is a large, air-conditioned suburban mall. }} *{{buy | name=Silliman Farm | alt= | url=http://su.edu.ph/schools-colleges/college-of-agriculture/ | email=aggies@silliman.edu.ph | address= | lat=9.3319 | long=123.3073 | directions=north of the campus, toward the airport | phone=+63 35 422 5654 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-10-01 | content=A 24-hectare (60-acre) farm run by the university's College of Agriculture. High-quality milk and eggs, sometimes other products including turkeys. }} * {{buy | name=Citi Mall | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/City-Mall-Dumaguete-1035552379791266/ | email= | address=Dumaguete North Road | lat=9.3233 | long=123.2988 | directions=On the highway, just before the airport | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-9PM | price= | lastedit=2017-10-05 | content=Has a Savemore supermarket. Watsons pharmacy, Ace hardware, and many fast food outlets. Coffee shop. }} If you want a lot of stuff, for example if you are setting up housekeeping, then the Hypermart may be preferable to Robinson's Place. Robinson's have four separate stores in their mall &mdash; supermarket, department store, TV & appliances, and other hardware &mdash; with separate delivery systems for each, and they refuse to combine purchases from multiple stores into one delivery. At the Hypermart you can get groceries, appliances, bedding and furniture in one store, get them all delivered in one load, and pay only one delivery fee. ===Other shopping=== There are '''farmers' markets''' near the center of every town; all are very good for fruit and vegetables and have other things as well. All these markets except Valencia are right on the main north-south coastal highway through the region. The one in Dumaguete is just west of the cathedral and the one in Valencia is where the jeepneys deliver you if you arrive that way. *{{buy | name=Dumaguete market | lat=9.3055 | long=123.3061 | content=Around this market is the best place in town to look for small services: key cutting, shoe or bicycle repair, tailors, manicure. }} *{{buy | name=Valencia market | content=Has several restaurants. | lat=9.2808 | long=123.2447 }} *{{buy |name=Sibulan market | lat=9.3601 | long=123.2851 | content= }} *{{buy | name=Bacong market | lat=9.2453 | long=123.2951 | content= }} [[Zamboanguita]], south of Dumaguete, also has a market. Every Wednesday, the village of Malatapay there has a large market; the specialties are handicrafts and seafood. Robinson's Place has two '''bookstores''', both part of nationwide chains and both with a reasonable selection of books in English. National Bookstore on the ground floor has new books while Book Sale, upstairs, sells used books. There is also a book store downtown on Perdices a little north of Lee Plaza; it has a lot of children's books and textbooks, but almost nothing for general adult readers. On the hallway leading to the immigration office (listed under [[#Cope]]) is the small family-owned X.I.Q. bookstore (which also is a book ''rental'' place) which seems to be the only establishment in town with a good selection of '''sci-fi and fantasy'''; they also have a large selection of romances and children's books. The second floor of that building also has a bookstore. ==Eat== There are restaurants all over Dumaguete and some of the plainer ones with Filipino customers away from the central strip may be the best places to search for low prices or local color. In particular, places catering to the student market near any of the universities (especially along Hibbard Avenue near Silliman University or the North Highway near Negros Oriental U) are often cheap and lively. All the places listed under [[#Drink]] below also serve food, though not all have a large menu. ===Budget=== {{eatpricerange|under {{PHP|200}}|{{PHP|200-400}}|over {{PHP|400}}}} Most of these places &mdash; at least Chow King, Filomena, Food Net and Scooby's &mdash; offer free filtered and chilled water from a self-service fountain with a supply of glasses. Most also have soft drinks around {{PHP|10}}, and some have tea, coffee or juices. None serve alcohol. * {{eat | name=Albertos Pizza | alt= | url= | email= | address=Real Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35-4226392 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-11PM | price=from {{PHP|75}} | lastedit=2017-02-27 | content=Free home delivery. }} *{{eat | name=Bakery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=basement of Lee Plaza | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A range of espresso variants and baked goods, done well enough that the regulars include a group of European French speakers. One of very few places in town that sell '''bagels'''. Cheapest brewed coffee downtown at {{PHP|36}}, though some people prefer Scooby's at {{PHP|50}} for larger cups and better chairs. }} *{{eat | name=Chow King | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3083 | long=123.3078 | directions=on Perdices, diagonally opposite Lee Plaza | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A chain offering moderately-priced Chinese (mainly Cantonese) food. Pork or beef fried rice, with four shui mai (small noodle-wrapped pork items) and a soft drink, {{PHP|99}}. }} *{{eat | name=Filomena Cafe | alt= | url=http://www.bethelguesthouse.com/?p=Filomena | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=two locations: see Bethel Guest House listing under [[#Sleep]], and Cang's under [[#Buy]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A very hygienic, air-conditioned cafeteria-style place with a good selection of reasonably priced dishes. Their vegetable fried rice is particularly tasty. All-you-can-eat '''buffet''' on Friday evenings for {{PHP|200}}. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. They give a 20% discount on most things for seniors with Philippine ID, such as the government ACR card which many longer-term visitors have. }} *{{eat | name=Food Net | alt= | url= | email= | address=corner of Noblefranca & Santa Catalina | lat=9.30848 | long=123.30866 | directions=a block inland from the boulevard | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Food Net are a chain with several locations around town. They have cafeteria-style service, Filipino food, moderate prices and a largely student crowd. A basic meal &mdash; meat dish, veggie dish, rice, soft drink &mdash; is about {{PHP|90}}. }} : Next to Food Net on Noblefranca is a small stand with cheap Filipino food. Their '''deep-fried bananas''' (cut up, coated with batter and optionally with sugar) make a tasty cheap dessert at {{PHP|10}} a stick. Two sticks would be a light meal. *{{eat | name=Food Net | url= | email= | address=Hibbard Ave | lat=9.3151 | long=123.3073 | directions=across the street from the Coco Grande hotel | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Food Net | url= | email= | address=South end of Perdices | directions=close to bus station | lat=9.3009 | long=123.3077 }} *{{eat | name=Gyro Monsters | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3081 | long=123.3087 | directions=a block east of Lee Plaza | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM to 9PM | price= | lastedit=2020-03-23 | content=Cheap and tasty shawarma; the best seller is beef or chicken shawarma wrapped in pita at {{PHP|30}}, or 35 with cheese. The most expensive thing on the menu is shawarma rice for {{PHP|50}}; two of the sandwiches are a better buy.</br>If you expect shawarma as you would find it in the Middle East, you will be disappointed here. For that, at slightly higher prices, walk a block north to Mediterranean Food (Turkish, listed at [[#Other downtown places]]) or go to Tarbush (Lebanese, [[#North of the center]]). }} *{{eat | name=Scooby's | alt= | url= | email= | address=San Jose St | lat=9.3082 | long=123.3080 | directions=a bit east of Lee Plaza | phone= | tollfree= | hours=7:30AM-10PM | price= | lastedit=2020-03-23 | content=Scooby's is a chain with various locations around town. Their brewed coffee at {{PHP|50}} is both a larger serving and (at least for some tastes) better quality than most coffee offered on Rizal Boulevard at {{PHP|70-120}}. They also have all the usual variations on espresso, several types of herbal tea, a range of mostly western-style baked goods, and moderately-priced mostly Filipino hot foods. There is a seniors' discount if you have a Philippine senior ID. ACR card not accepted.</br>For Western tastes, most Filipino spaghetti sauces are appallingly sweet, and many will find the spaghetti here downright ghastly. Order the lasagna here ({{PHP|55}}) or go to Filomena for a much better cheap ({{PHP|45}}) spaghetti. For excellent pasta at considerably higher prices, try Mafioso or Pasta King. }} *{{eat | name=Scooby's | alt= | url= | email= | address=Silliman Ave | lat=9.3104 | long=123.3070 | directions=In the university's Portal West building | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8AM-midnight | price= | lastedit=2019-01-01 | content=Another location. }} * {{eat | name=Wah Crepe | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ever Mall, Perdices St | lat=9.3086 | long=123.3074 | directions=ground floor, back right hand corner | phone= | tollfree= | hours=9AM-6:30PM | price={{PHP|50-80}} for most items | lastedit=2018-03-28 | content=A small stand selling coffee, crepes, waffles & fruit shakes. All are freshly made and good quality; plum crepes and avocado shakes are remarkable. Best buy is a combo, shake plus waffle. It is only one of a group of food stands, so ordering a shake here and getting food elsewhere is possible.<br />The place is popular with the town's resident foreigners; it gets more younger ones and fewer drunks than their other hangouts. }} There are also two small cheap burger places on the Boulevard. See [[#Along the boulevard]]. ===Mid-range=== A major area for restaurants and bars is the scenic seafront strip along Rizal Boulevard, plus the streets just behind it up to or a bit beyond Perdices. The cheapest food in this area is from street vendors who appear along the sea front, mainly near the north end, in the evenings selling tempura and corn-on-the-cob. The restaurants are generally mid-range in pricing, with main courses in the {{PHP|150-350}} range, though an imported steak can be up to {{PHP|1200}}. The food is generally quite good and the range of choices is large, but prices are often somewhat higher than in other areas of town. Quality of the coffee varies rather widely, and much of it is not worth the prices charged here; see [[#Budget]] above for alternatives. However the boulevard places more-or-less all have cold beer ({{PHP|50-60}}) and many serve good milkshakes ({{PHP|60-110}}). Tea, juices, wine and mixed drinks are also on offer in many places. Many offer calamansi juice, from a local fruit similar to a lime; this is worth trying if you like citrus drinks. Nearly all these places have patios with a view of the sea; this is a mixed blessing. The view is lovely and there is often a welcome sea breeze, but there is no air conditioning, the traffic noise can be distinctly unpleasant, during storms the rain blows in, and people on the patios will be bothered by beggars and vendors of various things. ====Along the boulevard==== We list the boulevard restaurants here in north-to-south order: [[File:Dumaguete Boulevard.jpg|thumb|Seaside promenade next to the boulevard, looking north with the port in the distance]] [[File:Phils Dumaguete City Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.JPG|thumb|Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres statue on the boulevard]] * The Blue Monkey Grill, on the corner of Rizal and Silliman, closed in early 2018. As of the start of 2020, something is actively under construction on their former site. * '''The Bricks Hotel''' has a restaurant and bar. {{PHP|50}} beer, smoking area out back. *{{eat | name=Kimstaurant | content=New in 2019, large, clean and modern. Korean food. }} *{{eat | name=Tom 'n Tom's Coffee | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3100 | long=123.3092 | directions=ground floor | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Part of a chain, large with nice decor. Has good air conditioning, free Wifi, and a good selection of both baked goods and variations on the theme of espresso. Prices might be considered good by tourists but are high by local standards. }} *{{eat | name=Just Do Eat | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=on the second floor, above Tom 'n Tom's | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016 | content=Large, with much seafood on the menu. Popular with Asian tourists. The city's resident foreigners more often go to Lantaw, listed at [[#North of the center]]. }} *{{eat | name=Bo's Coffee | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3098 | long=123.3092 | directions=inside an office building, on the ground floor | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A national chain with several locations in Dumaguete, serving mainly coffee & baked goods. Prices are high by local standards. }} *{{eat | name=La Residencia Almar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(listed under [[#Sleep]]) has three upmarket restaurants. All are somewhat expensive, and all have some customers who consider them worth it. There is also a moderately priced burger bar. }} **{{eat | name=Don Atilano | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=La Residencia Almar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Spanish decor & menu, steaks a specialty. All-you-can eat lunch '''buffet''' Friday & Saturday, {{PHP|339}}. }} **{{eat | name=Wakagi | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=La Residencia Almar | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Japanese food. }} **{{eat | name=The Filipino | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=La Residencia Almar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Filipino food. }} **{{eat | name=Das Bürgery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=La Residencia Almar | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=burgers {{PHP|80-230}}, fries {{PHP|50-160}}, drinks {{PHP|45}} | content=Small, clean & modern. Menu is limited &mdash; only burgers, fries and soft drinks &mdash; but quality is good & prices are quite reasonable for what you get. No beer and not much seating, so do not plan an evening here; just grab a burger then go elsewhere for the beer. }} *{{eat | name=Hamburg joints | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price={{PHP|25-40}} | content=Two small cheap places with mostly Filipino customers, one with BBQ chicken as well as burgers. The burgers are not nearly as good as in the tourist restaurants on the Boulevard, and they are smaller as well, but then they are about a quarter the price. The waitress who brings you the expensive burger elsewhere quite likely eats here on her breaks. }} * {{eat | name=GameOn Sportsbar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/game.on.sportsbar.dgte | email= | address=48 Rizal Blvd | lat=9.30901 | long=123.30946 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-04-15 | content=Small and plain compared to other places, with no a/c but many fans, big-screen TVs for sports, sometimes live music. }} **{{eat | name=Japanese place | directions=down a hallway beside Bogart's | content=Nice decor, sake and other Japanese drinks. }} * {{eat | name=Sans Rival | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.30850 | long=123.30949 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One of the oldest cake shops in the city. They occupy a pair of buildings on a corner with the cake shop in the smaller one on the side street and "Sans Rival Bistro" on Rizal. }} **{{eat | name=Sans Rival cake shop | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/sansrivalcakesandpastries/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Offers baked goods (surprise!), drinks, and some pasta and salad dishes. }} **{{eat | name=Sans Rival Bistro | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The bistro offers a broader range including a half dozen breakfast options at {{PHP|200}}-odd. All-you-can-eat breakfast '''buffet''' on Sunday 7:30-10AM for {{PHP|285}}. }} *{{eat | name=Chin Loong | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3081 | long=123.3096 | directions=Rizal Boulevard | phone=+63 35 422-6933 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Good Chinese (Cantonese) food, with reasonable service and prices. Large covered patio. }} *{{eat | name=Casablanca | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.30796 | long=123.30959 | directions=Rizal Boulevard | phone=+63 35 422-4080 | tollfree= | hours=open for breakfast at 6:30AM | price= | lastedit=2020-08-10 | content=European food, elegant décor, and a good wine list. Their patio is above street level and has a wall, so customers here are not bothered by beggars or street vendors as often as at other establishments.<br />There are several breakfast options starting at {{PHP|230}}, all including unlimited coffee and a glass of juice. The American breakfast at {{PHP|295}} is bacon, two eggs, bread, and some fried tomatoes and onions.<br />The Austrian owner/chef sold the place to Filipinos in 2021 and some say it has gone downhill since then. }} *{{eat | name=7-Eleven | alt= | url=http://www.7-eleven.com.ph | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-12-18 | content=Chain convenience store with a few tables; the best-selling item is a large soft ice cream cone for {{PHP|15}}. It also sells soft drinks, snacks and cigarettes; for those it is more expensive than supermarkets but cheaper than the bars. The chain is expanding; there are several other locations around town and more coming. }} *{{eat | name=Paseo Perdices | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3077 | long=123.3097 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A building with two floors, built on the location of the Perdices family home; one family member was the provincial governor and has one of the town's main streets named for him. There are two levels, and the lower level has a large shaded central courtyard. }} **{{eat | name=Yellow Cab Pizza | alt= | url=http://yellowcabpizza.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Lower level | phone=+63 35 421 1111 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-05-22 | content=Part of a chain. Delivery available; they use yellow scooters. }} **{{eat | name=Max's Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Lower level | phone=+63 35 421 0615 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Part of a chain. Their specialty is fried chicken. Breakfast from 7:30AM. }} **{{eat | name=Infini Tea | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Upper level | phone=+63 35 522 2991 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Their specialty is [[Western_food_in_Asia#Tea|milk tea]]. }} **{{eat | name=Gabby's Bistro | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Upper level | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Second location; the first one is an in-house restaurant at Hotel Florentina. }} **{{eat | name=Thai Massage | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Upper level | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Why Not? | alt= | url=http://whynotdumaguete.com/ | email= | address= | lat=9.3075 | long=123.3097 | directions=70 Rizal Boulevard | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=One-stop shopping? Restaurant, deli, disco, karaoke, cyber cafe, billiard room, and travel agent under one roof. Beer here is sometimes among the cheapest in town, at {{PHP|42}} in the restaurants in the afternoon, but higher at other times and {{PHP|90}} at the disco. }} **{{eat | name=Le Chalet | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Part of Why Not? | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Salads, pasta, other types of European and American food, with decent quality and prices. Inside with a/c or patio. The current chef is from Milan but the menu emphasizes German and Swiss specialities. There are also a few Thai dishes, competently done, for those who prefer something spicier. All-you-can eat breakfast '''buffet''' on Sundays, {{PHP|331}}. }} **{{eat | name=Chiccos Deli | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Part of Why Not? | phone= | tollfree= | hours=open until 1AM weekends | price= | content=Selling meats, wines, cheese & chocolate, with many imported European items. Has a bakery with good '''croissants''' and '''pretzels'''. There are few tables inside and a small patio in front. Both offer the same menu as Le Chalet, but many customers just come for coffee or beer. }} **{{eat | name=Why Not? disco | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Part of Why Not? | phone= | tollfree= | hours=9PM until wee hours | price= | lastedit=2020-03-23 | content=A lively and very loud disco, popular with both travellers and locals, and well known as a pick-up bar. A mix of people come for the dancing, for flirting, or to find a partner for the night or longer. Prostitution is present but not the primary character of the place. The occasional drunken brawl is not unheard of. Attitudes among resident foreigners range from enthusiastic regulars to those who avoid it entirely. }} *{{eat | name=Honeycomb Tourist Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=(listed under [[#Sleep]]) has a restaurant with a large patio area out front, with live music most evenings. Around the side is a small Japanese restaurant, and inside the building a disco and a sports bar. }} * {{eat | name=Allegre | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3068 | long=123.3099 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A large restaurant offering mainly Italian and Filipino dishes. Highest prices in town for pasta.<br />Pool table downstairs, table is in better shape than at the one at Why Not? and there are usually fewer players competing for it. }} * Bethel Guest House (listed under [[#Sleep]]) has Filomena Cafe (listed under [[#Budget]]). *{{eat | name=Starbucks | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Another place for coffee and baked goods at prices that are high by local standards. }} *{{eat | name=Gerry's Bar and Grill | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3058 | long=123.3102 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A fine old house renovated in 2018 to become a large restaurant. Part of a large chain with reasonable quality but some unreasonable prices. }} '''Parents bringing kids''' to the boulevard fairly often get them either hot dogs at the cheap burger places or ice cream cones at 7-Eleven. ====Other downtown places==== There are also a number of restaurants that are not on the boulevard but are within easy walking distance. Many are either on Santa Catalina (parallel to the boulevard, a short block inland) or on Silliman Avenue (running inland from the north end of the boulevard). Along Silliman: *{{eat | name=Mooon Cafe | alt=The 3rd 'o' in the name is deliberate | url=https://www.facebook.com/moooncafeph/ | email= | address=Silliman Ave | lat=9.3103 | long=123.3087 | directions=just off the boulevard | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-04-05 | content=Part of a chain that advertises "Mexican-inspired" food. They offer that, various pizza and pasta dishes, and other western dishes; most of it is done competently. Good soups {{PHP|59}}, burrito {{PHP|139}} (quite good, provided you tell them not to put lettuce in it!), pizza from {{PHP|165}}, small but good steak {{PHP|300}}. The best-buy drink is bottomless iced tea at {{PHP|58}}. Other dishes, such as the "nachos" (overpriced chips & salsa) or the "enchiladas" (a salad served in a tortilla), are distinctly unimpressive. Senior's discount 20% but you may need the Philippines senior's ID to claim it; sometimes they will take an ACR card, but not always. }} *{{eat | name=El Amigo | directions=next door to Mooon | content='''Live jazz''' on weekends }} *{{eat | name=Captain Ribber's | directions=next door to El Amigo | content=The specialty is ribs, but they have a range of other dishes. }} *{{eat | name=Jo's Chicken Inato | alt= | url= | email= | address=Silliman Ave | lat=9.31031 | long=123.30810 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Part of a chain specializing in barbeque chicken. Favorite among locals and tourists. }} * There is another Jo's in Sibulan, a km or two beyond the market, with a large patio and a fine sea view. * {{eat | name=Poppy Coffee and Cupcakes | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3104 | long=123.3074 | directions=corner of Silliman and Hibbard, facing Hibbard | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=In a Silliman University building called Portal West which also has a bank, Scooby's, and several other shops. They also have sandwiches and a breakfast menu. }} *{{eat | name=Harbour City Dim Sum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3101 | long=123.307 | directions=Silliman Avenue, across from Portal West | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price={{PHP|40-90}} per dish | content=Many types of dim sum, plus various soups and rice or noodle dishes. }} Along Santa Catalina: * {{eat | name=Cafe Antonio | alt= | url=http://cafeantonio.blogspot.com | email= | address=Santa Catalina | lat=9.3095 | long=123.3089 | directions=2nd floor, Spanish Heritage Building, entrance on Santa C | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Fantastic wide-ranging menu, very reasonable prices, lovely chilled out studenty vibe and a great building to host it. Quite honestly a breath of fresh air in the Philippines. Wonderful coffee too! }} *{{eat | name=Mediterranean Food | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.30865 | long=123.30883 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-10PM | price=most dishes {{PHP|80-140}} | lastedit=2017-12 | content=Good Turkish kebabs and donair. They have distinctly unexciting hamburgs for {{PHP|30}}. }} *{{eat | name=Mifune | alt= | url=http://www.mifunedumaguete.com | email=mifunedumaguete@gmail.com | address=Santa Catalina | lat=9.30837 | long=123.30884 | directions= | phone=+63 35 422-8307 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Japanese restaurant. All-you-can eat '''buffet''' {{PHP|333}}, Tu & Sa evenings. }} *{{eat | name=MELs Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=2nd Floor UTH Bldg, Sta Catalina St., near Cnr Locsin St | lat=9.3072 | long=123.3090 | directions= | phone=+63 917 835-8337 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price={{PHP|30-100}} | content=This place serves and advocates healthy food, has a certified nutritionist supervising the food. It is small and a bit difficult to find, but worth the trouble. Serves great four season themed salads, a variety of scrumptious sandwiches and unique rice meals like CoFFeeCHoP (pork chop marinated in coffee) or their cheesy delightful fish dish called 'cheesy dory' a favorite among the locals. You can also try their Butter beer in variety of flavors, including vanilla and banana. It is the only place in town that serves beer (non-alcoholic) to minors. }} *{{eat | name=Pasta King | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Pasta-King-Dumaguete-233015520877321/ | email= | address=Santa Catalina, corner of Locsin | lat=9.3068 | long=123.3088 | directions= | phone=+63 35 421-0865 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 11AM-9PM, Su 4-9PM | price= | lastedit=2016-05-14 | content=Pizza and many pasta dishes, done very well. Pasta in two serving sizes, around {{PHP|179}} or 319. The small one will be enough for most people, perhaps with a soup or salad if you are quite hungry. }} *{{eat | name=Roti Boss | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ROTIBOSS1/ | email= | address=Santa Catalina | lat=9.3045 | long=123.3087 | directions=near southeast corner of the park | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price={{PHP|50-150}} | content=Indian and Malay food. Small, no a/c, a limited menu, and rather slow service. It is well worth putting up with these minor annoyances, though, since the food is good and prices moderate. }} Elsewhere downtown: *{{eat | name=Halang Halang | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3097 | long=123.3089 | directions=on San Juan, corner of Santa Catalina, behind Bo's Coffee | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Excellent '''Sichuan food''', authentic so much of it is ''very spicy''. }} *{{eat | name=Fish153 | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3119 | long=123.3083 | directions=on street running inland from ferry terminal | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Korean restaurant and grocery store. Neighborhood has a few other restaurants and some guesthouses. }} *{{eat | name=Panda Ice Cream House | url=http://www.pandaicecream.net | email= | address=Ma. Cristina St | lat=9.31000 | long=123.30634 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225-9644 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Locally-produced fresh fruit ice cream. Try the fried ice cream! This is a chain with several locations in Dumaguete and a few in nearby towns. }} Perdices Street has several chain restaurants; Jollibee's and McDonald's each have two, while Dunkin Donuts, Chow King, Greenwich Pizza and Mang Inasal (Filipino BBQ chicken) each have one. Fruit is available in the supermarkets, from fruit shops, or from street vendors. There are many bakeries; Lee Plaza has two (one listed at [[#Budget]] and another on the ground floor), Robinson's has one, and there are several more along the street. ====South of the center==== There are also some restaurants south of downtown either on Jose Romero (the road that goes west to Valencia) or on the highway south toward Bacong. Many of these are popular with local expats. *{{eat | name=Flip-Flops Restobar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flip-Flops-Restobar/659115710862030 | email= | address=Jose Romero Road | lat=9.3009 | long=123.2990 | directions=a bit east of Lee Hypermart | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Large shaded patio, big TV with sports, live band Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Open mic on Tuesdays, acoustic performances or karaoke other nights. }} * {{eat | name=Happy Jack's Restobar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/HAPPY-JACKS-Restobar-509015812601197/ | email=happyjacksbar@yahoo.com.ph | address=Banilad Barangay | lat=9.2928 | long=123.2982 | directions=1.5 km south of Robinsons Mall | phone=+63 920 458 1625 | tollfree= | hours=11AM-10PM | price= | lastedit=2016-02-14 | content=Restobar serving cold drinks and both Asian and Western food. Full meals plus a mix and match bar snack menu. Billiard and poker tables plus live music on a couple of nights. }} * {{eat | name=Katz Restobar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/KatzResto/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | phone=+63 905 343 6231 | hours=7:30AM-9PM | lat=9.2592 | long=123.2948 | content=Pool table, darts, sometimes live music. }} *{{eat | name=Octagon Sports Bar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Octagonsportsbar/ | email= | address= | lat=9.2725 | long=123.2924 | directions=South Highway, Bacong | phone=+63 35 424 8356 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Big-screen TV mostly showing sports. Live music and {{PHP|250}} '''all-you-can-eat BBQ''' on weekend evenings. }} * {{eat | name=Pastry Dream | url=https://www.facebook.com/29BakewithLove?mibextid=ZbWKwL | phone=+63 9455471018 | hours=9am-7pm | address=Colon Street, Brgy. Bagacay | directions=Beside Hypermart | content=Offers wide a variety of European pastry, like eclairs, fruit tarts and French macarons. They also have refreshments and coffee. }} *{{eat | name=Senorita's Mexican Grill | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/SenoritasMexicanGrill/ | email= | address= | lat=9.2636 | long=123.2929 | directions=South Highway, Bacong | phone=+63 905 382 1325 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Tex-Mex food, done well. }} Lobos Sports Bar is located on the Diversion Road near the intersection with the Western Nautical Highway. Showing sports from around the world with ice cold beer and great food. 2 billiards tables, 3 dart boards, 1 shuffle board, and 1 set of corn hole. The waitresses and staff are friendly and they are ready to serve. Robinson's mall has many chain restaurants including Shakey's Pizza, Jollibee, Mister Donut, Krispy Kreme, Mang Inasal and KFC inside the mall. A courtyard at the east of the mall has several more, including Bo's Coffee and Mooon Cafe. A food court at the north end of the second floor has many places, mostly with Filipino food. ====North of the center==== The area Where EJ Blanco reaches the coast north of town is developing rapidly. Flores Avenue along the coast has been widened, there is a large upmarket condo/mall project ([[#Marina Spatial]]) at the Flores/EJ Blanco intersection, and there are many restaurants in the area: *{{eat | name=Hayahay Bar | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/HayahayDGTE | email= | address=Flores Ave | lat=9.3206 | long=123.3122 | directions=Escao Beach | phone=+63 35 225 3536 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Large and popular. Often has live music, reggae every Wednesday. There are several separate places selling food within the complex; one has good pizza and another offers fine Jamaican food. }} * There is a small stand with Filipino-style barbecue chicken between Hayahay and Lantaw. *{{eat | name=Lantaw | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3213 | long=123.3123 | directions=Corner of Flores and EJ Blanco | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A large place with upmarket Filipino food, much of it seafood. Popular with prosperous locals and with seafood-loving foreigners. Possibly the best place in town to take a Filipina out to dinner; she will probably both like the food and be impressed by the decor. }} *{{eat | name=Cafe Racer | alt= | url= | email= | address=E J Blanco Road | lat=9.3213 | long=123.3119 | directions=next to Lantaw | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A diner in the style of mid-20th century America. Decor includes some old cars and a gorgeous motorcycle; the bar is built inside an old VW van. Menu to match; decent burgers, small but excellent milkshakes, etc. Live music sometimes. }} '''Families with kids''' may appreciate either Racer or Lantaw. Between the two is a small playground with swings, slides and a grassy area to run around on; kids can reach it without either going on a road or being out of the parents' sight. *{{eat | name=Low & Slow | alt= | url= | email= | address=EJ Blanco | lat= | long= | directions=just west of Racer | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A fairly large place with nice decor, offering both American and Filipino styles of barbecue. Prices are reasonable. BBQ is good, burgers decent but nothing special. Margueritas are awful; have a milkshake or {{PHP|50}} beer. }} Elsewhere north of downtown are: * {{eat | name=Tarbush | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.321 | long=123.3069 | directions=corner of EJ Blanco & Hibbard | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Two Lebanese brothers running a small place for Middle Eastern food. Good shawarma and juices. }} * {{eat | name=Cafe Mafioso | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3238 | long=123.3117 | directions=Plaza Escano, along the beach north of EJ Blanco | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Another Italian place, good quality and cheaper than most of the others, with pasta dishes around {{PHP|140}}. }} ====Valencia==== Valencia has a market near the center of town with bakeries, fruit vendors, several restaurants with Filipino food, and two pizza places. On Sundays many additional vendors appear; along the north side of the market is (mostly used) clothing at good prices, while to the west is a park with vendors of interesting food including European sausage-in-a-bun and good cheap ({{PHP|10}} for a small loaf) French bread. Delicious Spanish Omelettes and Croquetas and a fantastic Greek Yoghurt are also available around the kiosk area of the Sunday Market. On the streets on the south and west sides of the market are many restaurants, including some that are quite popular with the town's large expatriate community: *{{eat | name=Ayla's Breakfast Restaurant | alt=Red tables | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2811 | long=123.2442 | directions=west of market | lastedit=2020-03-23 | content=A good variety of breakfast dishes, including some less common ones like eggs benedict or biscuits & gravy, plus a few other things like chile con carne. They rent the space from the municipality which sets limits on their prices, so they have the '''cheapest beer in the region''' at {{PHP|40}}. }} *{{eat | name=Pacos | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=right next to Ayla's | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-03-23 | content=A tiny stand with a few tables and good '''Mexican food''', owned by Americans. Ayla's will not complain if you sit at one of their tables and buy beer from them but get food from Paco's. }} *{{eat | name=La Cocina by Beth | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2805 | long=123.2447 | directions=south of market, above 7-Eleven | phone=+63 961 589 1830 | tollfree= | hours=closed on Monday | price= | content=Run by a Filipino chef who trained in Mexico . If you like flavorful food, there are '''Mexican dishes'''. Cold drinks and margaritas, fresh lemonades, the only air conditioned restaurant in the town with a perfect view. }} ===Splurge=== Competition is stiff for restaurants in Dumaguete, and the restaurants listed above all have many moderately-priced items on their menus so we have listed them all as "Mid-range". If you want elegant decor and a menu that includes upmarket offerings, then your best bets are Casablanca, La Residencia Almar, or Lantaw. ==Drink== Tourists and resident expatriates do much of their imbibing in the strip of restaurants and bars along Rizal Boulevard; those are listed under [[#Along the boulevard]] above. There are also a number of other restaurants, plus some discos and karaoke places, just inland from there. [[File:Brahminy-kite.jpg|thumb|Brahminy kites (''Haliastur indus intermedius'') are commonly seen hovering in the mountains behind Dumaguete, and occasionally over the sea downtown]] Some bars outside that central region, but within a few minutes pedicab ride, are: *{{drink | name=Gmik Bar | url= | email= | address=Dr V Locsin St | lat=9.3070 | long=123.3053 | directions=in Daro | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{drink | name=Kamalig | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3227 | long=123.3073 | directions=E side of Hibbard, N of EJ Blanco | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A large semi-outdoor (covered patio) place with live music, Filipino BBQ and some other food, and beverages. }} *{{drink | name=Tiki Bar | lat=9.3245 | long=123.3114 | url=https://www.facebook.com/TIKIDUMAGUETE/ | content=A large place with a patio and often live music. }} When ordering a rum & coke in Dumaguete, a double usually costs less than a single; Philippine rum is cheaper than the mixer. For those who enjoy '''karaoke''', there is a KTV place above Mooon Cafe on Silliman Avenue, and another a few doors further west; these cater to a mainly student crowd. As anywhere in the country, there are also many "videoke" places scattered around town, generally loud, cheap, in low-rent neighborhoods, and catering to the working class. For tourists, one of these might be a good choice if you are out with Filipino friends, but otherwise probably not. Unlike some places in the Philippines, Dumaguete does not have a flourishing sex trade. As anywhere on Earth, there is prostitution, but it is not nearly as blatant as in places like [[Angeles]] or [[Puerto Galera]]. There are some girlie bars outside Dumaguete city limits in Sibulan along the North Highway beyond the airport, but nothing so obvious in town. ==Sleep== Dumaguete is a tourist town with a large number of hotels, not all listed here. Walk down almost any street near the center of town and you are bound to find several. ===Budget=== {{Sleeppricerange|under {{PHP|1000}}|{{PHP|1000-2000}}|over {{PHP|2000}}}} * {{sleep | name=Avenue Park Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Perdices St | lat=9.3089 | long=123.3075 | directions=beside Crown Pharmacy. | phone=+63 35 421-0710 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|275}}/{{PHP|395}}/{{PHP|450}}/{{PHP|550}} | content=Fan single with common bath/ fan double with common bath/ air-con single with common bath, cable TV/ air-con double with common bath, cable TV. }} *{{sleep | name=Harold's Mansion | alt= | url=http://www.haroldsmansion.com/ | email= | address=Hibbard Ave | lat=9.3164 | long=123.3075 | directions= | phone=+63 35 228-000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=single {{PHP|400}} and up; bed in dormitory: {{PHP|300}} | lastedit=2019-04-22 | content=Popular backpacker hotel. Rooms are spacious and clean with a/c or fans. Free coffee all day & rate includes a small breakfast in the upstairs cafe. Free Internet/Wi-Fi. This is where many of the foreign tourists stay, especially divers. If you are travelling out to Apo island you can leave your large bags there safely. Harold himself is extremely friendly and helpful. Harold is happy to have Peace Corps volunteers visit. There is also an attached massage place that is clean and cheap. Dive shop in the same building, tours arranged. }} *{{sleep | name=Negros Lodging House | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.2997 | long=123.3036 | directions=Opposite the Robinsons Mall | phone=+63 35 225-9622 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single {{PHP|130}} (shared WC, fan), double {{PHP|300}} (own WC, fan), twin {{PHP|350}} (own WC, fan) | content=In particular, the single rooms with fan are quite cheap for Dumaguete. }} *{{sleep | name=Piapi Beach | alt=Flores Ave | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3225 | long=123.3123 | directions=along the coast, north of downtown | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A beach area with several budget places }} **{{sleep | name=J & J Hotellier | alt= | url= | email= | address=Flores Ave | lat= | long= | directions=Piapi beach | phone=+63 35 423-1375 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=single ''en suite'' {{PHP|600}} with air-con but no window. Has cable TV | lastedit=2018-03-14 | content=free Wifi. }} **{{sleep | name=Crisfils Lodge | alt= | url= | email= | address=Flores Ave | lat= | long= | directions=Piapi beach | phone=+63 35 225-7147 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Double {{PHP|200}} (shared WC, fan), {{PHP|350}} (shared WC, air-con), {{PHP|425}} (private WC, air-con) | content=All rooms have TV. }} *{{sleep | name=RM Guesthouse | url= | email=rm_guesthouse@yahoo.com.ph | address=2F RM Building, North National Highway corner East Rovira Road, Bantayan | lat=9.3260 | long=123.2980 | directions= | phone=+63 35 422-4000, +63 917 474 2724 (mobile) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|550-1000}}; dorm bed {{PHP|175-400}} | content=Wi-Fi available. }} *{{sleep | name=Vintage Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address=Legaspi Street | lat=9.30677 | long=123.30619 | directions=right by the main market | phone=+63 35 225-1076 or +63-35-4229106 | tollfree= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=Fan room from {{PHP|500}} | lastedit=2019-04-22 | content=A decent budget option in the center of town. Has fan and AC single/double rooms all rooms have own bathroom. Free Wifi. }} *{{sleep | name=Worldview Pension Plaza | alt= | url= | email= | address=Perdices St | lat=9.3100 | long=123.3075 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225 4410 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|650}} | content=AC single room with hot water bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Moriah Pension Inn | alt= | url=http://www.dmgte.com | email= | address=Molave Street Daro Dumaguete | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35-4220073 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price={{PHP|550}} | lastedit=2016-05-14 | content=AC double room with own hot water bathroom. Cable TV. Free Wi-fi. Has a nice garden to sit in. Can buy breakfast. }} * {{sleep | name=OK Pension House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santa Rosa Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35 225-5702 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=550 | lastedit=2016-05-22 | content=AC double room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Camila | alt= | url= | email= | address=Real Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35 212 3008 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=From {{PHP|599}} | lastedit=2016-06-01 | content=AC double room with own bathroom and cable TV. Free Wi-fi. }} * {{sleep | name=Gabbys Bed and Breakfast | alt= | url= | email= | address=Cimafranca subdivision clay town daro | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35-522-2203 | tollfree= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=from {{PHP|499}} | lastedit=2016-06-01 | content=AC single room with own bathroom and cable TV free breakfast, free Wi-fi. }} *{{sleep | name=White Knights Inn Main | alt= | url=http://www.whiteknights.club | email= | address=Dr E Meciano Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 9159527594 | tollfree= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=M-Th from {{PHP|400}}. F-Su from {{PHP|500}} | content=A/C double with queen size bed good for 2 with cable TV and free Wifi. }} * {{sleep | name=New White Knights Inn two | alt=cell phone +63 915 952 7594 | url=http://www.whiteknights.club | email= | address=300 m from White Knights' main | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35 522 3118 | tollfree= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=M-Th from {{PHP|400}}, F-Su from {{PHP|500}} | lastedit=2016-06-01 | content=A/C queen size bed good for two with shared bathroom all rooms have cable TV and DVD player. Free Wi-Fi. }} * {{sleep | name=Joraville Pension House | alt= | url= | email= | address=Valencia Drive | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63-35-5223937 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price={{PHP|700}} | lastedit=2017-02-21 | content=A/C double rooms with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Dastraum Guest House | alt= | url= | email= | address=San Jose Extension | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout=noon | price=Single: {{PHP|350}}, double: {{PHP|450}} | lastedit=2017-03-21 | content=Fan single/double rooms with own bathroom and cable TV. }} ===Mid-range=== *{{sleep | name=Bethel Guest House | url=http://bethelguesthouse.com/ | email= | address= | lat=9.3063 | long=123.3100 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225-2000 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price={{PHP|850-4000}} | content=Don't let the name fool you, this is a five-storey, squeaky clean, modern building with a whip-cracking management style that can shame the Swiss. Flunky to open the door to the large and comfortable lobby and its own large generators to power the air-conditioning during frequent brown-outs. Well equipped, en-suite shower rooms and free, cooled, filtered water. 1270 m from the port terminal. This is a non-smoking, no-liquor hotel and pets are not allowed. }} *{{sleep | name=Check Inn | url=http://www.checinn.com.ph/ | email= | address=Locsin St | lat=9.30720 | long=123.30755 | directions= | phone=+63 35 422-9000 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|850-1800}} | content=50 air con spacious and clean rooms in this hotel. Cable TV, free Internet in rooms, laundry, restaurant. }} *{{sleep | name=GoHotels Dumaguete | alt= | url=https://www.gohotels.ph/go-hotels/branch/dumaguete | email= | address=Dumaguete Central Business District Calindagan, cor Negros South Road, Dumaguete, 6200 Negros Oriental | lat=9.2975 | long=123.3054 | directions=just east of Robinson Mall | phone=+63 9988402608 | tollfree=+63 (35) 522 1100 | checkin=11AM | checkout=2PM | price={{PHP|888}} & up | wikipedia=Go Hotels | content=Local location of a national chain. Set in a colorful, low-rise building, Go Hotels Bacolod is 1 km from the 18th-century Dumaguete Cathedral, 5 km from Ang Tay Golf Course, and a 3-minute walk from Robinsons Place Dumaguete shopping center. Brand new budget hotel with 102 rooms (60 Queen, 42 Twin, some without windows) 16-22 m², free Wi-Fi, Asian Gourmet & Cafe }} *{{sleep | name=Honeycomb Tourist Inn | url=http://www.honeycombtouristinn.com | email= | address=Rizal Boulevard, corner Dr. V. Locsin St. | lat=9.3071 | long=123.3098 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225-1181 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|800-1500}} | content=16 air-conditioned rooms, with hot & cold shower, cable TV, PABX telephone, Wi-Fi in the Coffee Shop, ample parking area and 24/7 standby power generator. With Restobar and Coffee Shop offering food, music and nightly fun! Complementary Filipino breakfast. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Nicanor | url=http://www.hotelnicanor.com/ | email=hotelnicanor@yahoo.com | address=San Jose St | lat=9.3079 | long=123.3082 | directions= | phone=+63 35 226-3330 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From {{PHP|1050}} | content=A/C, free Internet, hot & cold showers. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Palwa |alt=| url=https://hotel-palwa.com/ | email= | address=Dr. V. Locsin St | lat=9.3070 | long=123.3061 | directions= | phone=+63 35 226-2775 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= |lastedit=2019-08-14| content=Near international ATM. }} *{{sleep | name=Plaza Maria Luisa Suites Inn | url= | email= | address=Bishop Epifanio Surban St | lat=9.3068 | long=123.3084 | directions=on park square near Rizal Blvd | phone=+63 35 225-3267 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout=noon | price=single {{PHP|800}}, double {{PHP|950-1500}} | content=22 air-con rooms. Clean and modern interior, local breakfast, internet, money change }} ===Splurge=== At mid-2024 exchange rates {{PHP|2000}} is a bit under $40 US, so even these upmarket places are cheap by Western standards. *{{sleep | name=The Bricks Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Rizal Boulevard | lat=9.3102 | long=123.3092 | directions= | phone=+63 936 927 0638 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{PHP|2000}} | content=Opened in 2018 in a renovated building. }} *{{sleep | name=Coco Grande | alt= | url=http://www.cocograndehotel.com/ | email= | address=Hibbard Ave | lat=9.3151 | long=123.3075 | directions= | phone=+63 35 422-1328 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From {{PHP|1400}} | content=Rooms are nice, all with fridge, Wi-Fi and shower. Price includes Western or Filipino breakfast, OK but by no means great.<br />The same company have a beach/diving resort called '''Coco Grove''' on the nearby island of [[Siquijor]], and the '''Apo Island Beach Resort''' on [[Apo Island]]. They have several vans for moving customers around, mainly between those. }} *{{sleep | name=La Residencia Almar | alt= | url=http://laresidencialmar.com/ | email= | address=Rizal Blvd | lat=9.3095 | long=123.3093 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From {{PHP|1350}} | content=Spanish-influenced style, very central. The building includes three upmarket restaurants (one Spanish, one Filipino and one Japanese) and a moderately-priced burger bar. }} * {{sleep | name=Bravo Golf Course | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Sibulan | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=(listed under [[#Do]]) has a hotel with rooms from {{PHP|2200}}. }} * {{sleep | name=Loly's Place | alt= | url=http://lolysplace.com | email=lolysplace@gmail.com | address=Rovira Road, Purok Bantayan | lat=9.327561 | long=123.304495 | directions=across from Florentina Hotel/Gabby's Bistro, next to the Mormon Church | phone=+63 9171224107 | tollfree= | checkin=4 pm | checkout=11 am | price=₱1,500 (Private Room + shared CR) ₱2,200 (Private Suite) ₱3,500 (Private Suite+Kitchen) | lastedit=2022-03-11 | content=Built on two floors with all modern-day amenities. It has four spacious bedrooms each with a private balcony, a large living room, a modern gourmet kitchen, ample parking, and an outside garden. Amenities include free high-speed WiFi, TV, Netflix, hot/cold shower, air conditioning, and utilities. The home can accommodate 8 guests. Other services can be arranged such as airport transfer, on-site chef, restaurant recommendation, grocery pickup, rental transportation, laundry service, and child care. }} ===Long-term stays=== It is fairly common for travellers to stay in Dumaguete for long periods, in particular for most or all of what would be the winter season back home. Some even settle permanently; this is a prime destination for [[retiring abroad]]. Many hotels and some small guest houses offer by-the-week or by-the-month deals. *{{sleep | name=DND Suites | alt= | url=https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016153149562 | email= | address=Perdices St | lat=9.3098 | long=123.3075 | directions=Above the Frozen Throne Internet cafe | phone=+63 35 225 8982 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|800}}/day, {{PHP|3000}}/week, {{PHP|10000}}/month | content=Good '''hotel''' for longer-term stay, central location. Large rooms with a/c, cable TV (not many channels), free Wi-Fi, fridge (but no cooking facilities), bathroom and shower (with hot water in some rooms, not in others). Rooms are on 2nd and 3rd floor and there is no elevator. No laundry facilities but nearby Silliman Road has both a do-it-yourself laundromat and a do-it-for-you laundry place.<br/>Weekly & monthly rates are not always available; when it is busy they will rent only by the day. For weekly or monthly stays, electricity bill is extra. }} There are also places catering mainly to long-term guests. Prices start around {{PHP|1200}}/month for a room in a house full of students. Studio apartments start around {{PHP|5000}}/month, but the cheaper ones are usually unfurnished and lack features many visitors consider essential, such as hot water and air conditioning. Most of the resident foreigners have nice places &mdash; either apartments or houses &mdash; in the {{PHP|10,000-40,000}} range, and many of those are furnished, but finding vacancies for such places may be difficult and you need to sign at least a six-month lease for most of them. *{{sleep | name=Dumaguete Studio Apartments | alt= | url=http://www.dumaguete-studio-apartments.com/ | email=dwms07@gmail.com | address=Palinpinon Rd | lat=9.312 | long=123.268 | directions= | phone=+63 35 421 1343 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|24000-30600}} a month | content=Furnished, with A/C, Internet, cable TV, microwave & gas stove, swimming pool. No children. Strictly no smoking, anywhere in the compound. Inhabited mostly by retired western men with Filipina wives or girlfriends. Rent includes fast Internet and a motorcycle. }} *{{sleep | name=Hermogina | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ehikarus/ | email= | address= | lat=9.2955 | long=123.3010 | directions=just off the highway, south of Robinson Mall | phone=+63 917 329 3479 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|10000}} to {{PHP|30000}} | lastedit=2020-03-22 | content=Apartments from studio to three bedroom. Fully furnished, free wired Internet, in a walled compound with security guards and parking. They have a second location further from the city, to the south, with only studio units. }} * {{sleep | name=Villa Prescilla | alt= | url=http://www.villaprescilla.com | email=villaprescilla@yahoo.se | address=E.J. Blanco Extension, Daro | lat=9.3192 | long=123.2926 | directions= | phone=+63 906 221 7632 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from {{PHP|15000}} a month | lastedit=2020-03-22 | content=Furnished apartments, owned & run by a Swedish/Filipina couple. Rent includes Internet connection, cable TV, and access to laundry area and swimming pool. There is a small eatery next to the pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Dumaguete Springs Apartments | alt= | url=http://www.dumaguetesprings.com | email=info@dumaguetesprings.com | address= | lat=9.3003 | long=123.2977 | directions=across the road from Hypermarket | phone=+63-35 422 4284 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=daily {{PHP|1900}} 1 bedroom, 2600 for 2. Monthly {{PHP|24,400}}-31,600 | content=Swimming pool plus access to the beach at the company's resort in Bacong. High-speed Internet available for 1400/month. }} * {{sleep | name=Andy's Private Garden | alt= | url= | email=andiflip@yahoo.com | address=Noreco Road, Mangnao | lat= | long= | directions=Turn towards the sea at the Shell Gas Station, go to the end of the road, right side with red gate. | phone=+63 9662343682 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₱12,000 per month | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=On the beach. All rooms studio type with queen size beds, stove, fridge, aircon, hot water shower, wifi, cable TV. Water included, and electric up to 2000 pesos per month. All rooms have their own electric meters. Kids two years plus accepted, pets possibly depending on size. Has a resto/bar with a fairly simple menu, Western and Filipino food. Great expat breakfasts. }} A foreigner cannot legally own land in the Philippines, but they can buy a condo. It is common to buy land in the name of a Filipina wife or girlfriend; that often works well, but it can be problematic if the couple split up. A good lawyer can make it much safer; for example he might pay for land and house which she legally owns, but he gets a 99-year lease at 1 peso a year. However a foreigner can buy a condo in their own name, and that is safer yet. * {{sleep | name=Marina Spatial | alt= | url=https://futurabyfilinvest.com/project/marina-spatial | email= | address= | lat=9.3216 | long=123.3122 | directions=Flores Boulevard, near EJ Blanco | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=A condo development with units from 20 to 64 sq m (220 to 740 sq ft) at prices from 1.94 to 6.29 million pesos. }} There are real estate agents (web search will find a dozen, or you may notice signs around town) who can connect you to anything from by-the-month accommodation to buying property of various types. Why Not? on the boulevard and Red Tables in Valencia have notice boards with ads to rent or sell property, cars and motorcycles. The Facebook group Dumaguete Marketplace often lists apartments for rent. ===Outside town=== West of downtown there are several '''highland resorts''' mainly oriented to '''outdoor activities'''. These are in a forested area and are reached via Taft Street which starts a bit north of downtown Valencia and runs west along a river. *{{sleep | name=Valencia Forest Camp | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/forestcampresort/ | email= | address=Taft Street, Valencia | lat=9.2879 | long=123.2311 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price={{PHP|90}} per person for swimming | content=Accommodation includes a backpacker dormitory, treehouses and nipa huts. Has two swimming pools. }} *{{sleep | name=Tejero Highland Resort and Adventure Park | alt= | url=http://tejerohighlandresort.com/ | email= | address=Taft Street, Valencia | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35 400 3977 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=swimming {{PHP|60}} per person | content=A development with ziplines, ATVs, Segways, slide, and natural pools, a {{PHP|12}} Jeepeny ride from downtown Dumaguete. }} *{{sleep | name=Harold's Eco-lodge | alt= | url=http://haroldsmansion.com/harolds-ecolodge-and-organic-farm/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm bed {{PHP|250}}, rooms from {{PHP|500}} | content=This place has the same owner as [[#Harold's Mansion|Harold's Mansion]] in downtown Dumaguete; you can book and arrange transport there. }} South of the city is a coastline well provided with '''dive resorts''', which we cover in the articles on the coastal towns. Listed north-to-south, those are: * Bacong, included in this article * [[Dauin]] - about 20 km from Dumaguete * [[Zamboanguita]] : Either Dauin or Zamboanguita has boats to [[Apo Island]] which has some of the best diving in the region. Transport to the island, and accommodation there, can also be arranged through tour agencies or hotels in Dumaguete. * [[Siaton]] - near the southern tip of the island, with the scenic Lake Balanan in the mountains inland of it and a harbor popular with people [[Cruising on small craft]]. Beyond Siaton, around the corner onto the southwest coast of the island, are several more towns, also often reached via Dumaguete. These are a bit off-the-beaten-path, not well-developed as resort destinations. Listed east-to-west: * [[Santa Catalina (Negros Oriental)|Santa Catalina]] * [[Bayawan]] * [[Basay (Negros Oriental)|Basay]] has some of the finest '''fishing''' in the country. Beyond those is [[Negros Occidental]]; the nearest resort area there is [[Sipalay]], not highly developed or heavily touristed but with good beaches and diving. This is a popular destination for Dumaguete or Bacolod residents who want to get away from it all. ==Stay safe== Dumaguete is generally a safe city. There are enough [[beggars]] and touts to be annoying, but by Asian standards these problems are relatively mild. Police are quite visible, especially along Rizal Boulevard. You do see evidence that locals are concerned about security. Many of the larger old houses and more-or-less all the new luxury housing are in walled compounds, and barbed wire, spikes or broken glass to discourage people from climbing the walls are common, as are bars to keep burglars from entering windows. Most businesses have roll-down metal doors for protection when they are closed. Many businesses and some residential compounds have armed guards. Guards at the entrances to many department stores or malls use metal-detecting wands to scan customers before entry. All of this, however, is true in most areas of the Philippines, and much of it is common to most low-income countries. '''Traffic''' can be distinctly hectic; there are '''no traffic lights and few stop signs''' in the town, and you only occasionally see policemen directing traffic. Most of the oddities of Asian driving are seen in Dumaguete: running without lights at night is common, motorcycles fairly often do interesting things like going down the wrong side of the road or ignoring one-way traffic signs, and so on. On the positive side, the traffic is not remarkably fast, there are few traffic jams and, compared to some other Asian cities, Dumaguete has fewer drivers who seem obviously insane to western observers. '''Pedestrians should be quite cautious''' in Dumaguete. The traffic is dangerous, some roads lack sidewalks, and even if there is a sidewalk, it may be blocked by parked motorcycles. Both roads and sidewalks are often seriously uneven &mdash; some have holes that could easily break a leg, and many more could turn an ankle &mdash; so it is essential to watch your step. As in any tropical area, there is risk of [[sunburn]]; it is quite important for newly arrived visitors to exercise caution. ==Stay healthy== Health risks in Dumaguete are not large but, as for most travel, it is worth checking with your doctor and possibly getting some vaccines before setting out. The area is tropical, so see also [[hot weather]] and [[tropical diseases]]. A few vaccines may be of particular concern: * The city has many stray dogs and cats, and some rats and bats, so [[rabies]] vaccine may be a good idea. It takes three shots spaced over a month; cost in the Philippines is {{PHP|2000}}-3000 per shot. * Two vaccines for the mosquito-borne disease [[dengue fever]] are now available in some countries. Dengue is widespread in the Philippines and Dumaguete has some [[mosquitoes]] (though not many), so one of those might be a wise precaution. See [[Dengue_fever#Vaccine]] for details. The city has many health services &mdash; doctors, dentists, pharmacies, optometrists &mdash; and, as elsewhere in the Philippines and indeed most of Asia, these services are often much cheaper than in higher-income countries. There are exceptions when imported products, such as dental implants or certain drugs, are required for the treatment. *{{listing | name=Dr. Myrine Garupa | alt=dentist |email=maimai161093@gmail.com | phone=+63 920 918 7821 | lat=9.3070 | long=123.3064 | hours=M-Sa 8AM-6PM | content=A dentist many of the local expatriates use. Implants are expensive at {{PHP|65000}} but most services are cheap by western standards. She does not offer procedures under general anesthesia. }} ===Hospitals & clinics=== The city has five hospitals: *{{listing | name=Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital | lat=9.3243 | long=123.2991 | phone=+63 35 225-0950 | content=A public hospital (the others are privately run). It has the lowest costs, but sometimes the longest waiting times. }} *{{listing | name=Silliman University Medical Center | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3166 | long=123.3041 | directions= | phone=+63 35 225 0839 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q104852724 | content=Where many of the local expatriates go. }} *{{listing | name=Holy Child Hospital | alt= | url= | email=holychild@yahoo.com | address= | lat=9.3062 | long=123.3075 | directions= | phone=+63 352250510 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Next to the cathedral, very central. It has a large '''eye clinic''' with a good reputation. }} *{{listing | name=ACE Dumaguete Doctors Hospital | alt= | url=http://acedumaguetedoctors.org/ | email= | address=Claytown Road | lat=9.3176 | long=123.2964 | directions= | phone=+63 35 523 5957 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-06-25 | content=Some expatriates have bought shares in the company. According to them the investment gives a reasonable return, and it gets you a discount on many services. }} *{{listing | name=Negros Polymedic Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ENHANEGROSPOLYMEDIC/ | email= | address= | lat=9.347527 | long=123.28673 | directions=Sibulan, on highway from Dumaguete | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Newest hospital; they opened in early 2021. 100 beds. }} The '''Social Hygiene Clinic''', part of the city health office at the City Hall on Colon Street, offers free testing for '''sexually transmitted diseases''' including HIV. The [[Central Visayas]] region ranks third in the country for the most cases of HIV. ===Pharmacies=== *{{listing | name=The Generics Pharmacy | alt=TGP | url=https://tgp.com.ph/ | address=Door No. 4 GF Forex Bldg No. 46 San Jose Street | directions=across the street from the side door of Lee Plaza | content=A national chain with several branches in Dumaguete. }} * {{listing | name=Generika Drug Stores | alt= | url= | email= | address=Noblefranca Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+63 35-4210421 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Negros Grace Pharmacies | alt= | url= | email= | address=Twin arcade building. Perdices Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} The erection-enhancing drugs Viagra and Cialis are available from most pharmacies without prescription. There are also vendors who patrol the boulevard bars selling them; they are considerably cheaper provided you [[bargain]] the price down some, and the products do work, but the pharmacies are probably safer. In any case, you should not take these without consulting a doctor since they affect the circulatory system and may be quite dangerous for some men. ==Connect== Internet service is generally very good; Dumaguete is one of the hubs of the fiber optic network that connects the country. Most hotels and many restaurants offer free Wi-Fi; connection speed is fine for text, photos and most graphics but music or video streaming is sometimes jerky. There are a number of fairly large Internet cafés; they cater mainly to people playing online games, so they provide reasonably powerful computers with decent screens and a fast connection. One is above the [[#Budget|Scoobie's]] coffee shop on San José, another is at Harold's Mansion, and several are around the corner of Perdices and Silliman to catch the student trade; one of the largest and most popular is Frozen Throne a half-block south on Perdices. If you rent or buy a place, home Internet service starts around {{PHP|700}} a month and ranges up to over {{PHP|10000}}. Most foreign residents opt for a package that includes cable TV and fast Internet for something in the {{PHP|1400-2500}} range. Cell phone connections are fast and reliable anywhere in the city itself or in central areas of the major suburbs, but can be quite flaky in some outlying areas. ==Cope== [[File:Oriental Negros Capitol.jpg|thumb|Negros Oriental Capitol]] Dumaguete has frequent (once every few weeks) "brownouts", the local term for a complete shutdown of electrical power; these are nearly all planned shutdowns announced in advance by the power company, and are usually several hours on a Sunday. Locals often cope with them by having a day out at a resort in some nearby area, most commonly [[Dauin]] to the south or Amlan to the north. Valencia may also be an alternative, and has a Sunday market, but some Dumaguete brownouts include Valencia. *{{listing | name=Caltex Filling Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3213 | long=123.2996 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=24/7 | price= | content=Accepts AmEx, JCB, UnionPay, Visa & MasterCards for fuel and knicknacks in the air-conditioned mini-bar attached. }} *{{listing | name=Bureau of Immigration Dumaguete Office | alt= | url= | email= | address=Door 8 Lu Paga Bldg 38 Dr V. Locsin St | lat=9.3070 | long=123.3072 | directions=a bit hard to find, down a long alley/hallway off to the right. There is a small sign near a large Huillier pawnshop sign | phone=+63 35 225-4401 | tollfree= | hours=8AM-5PM | price=from {{PHP|2930}} per two month extension | content=The Dumaguete office is small and sometimes overloaded because there are so many foreigners in town so you will often need to wait a while, at least in winter when demand is highest. Get a number from the security guard when you arrive. As of early 2018, they accept extension applications only up to 2PM Monday-Friday and you can usually pick up the passport after 2PM on the next working day. }} *{{listing | name=Negros Oriental provincial tourism headquarters | alt= | url=http://negrostourism.com | email=negortourism@cvpc.gov.ph | address=EJ Blanco Drive, Piapi | lat=9.3215 | long=123.3019 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8AM-5PM | price= | content=Near the Sidiakan Negros handicraft outlet. }} *{{listing | name=Post Office | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.3047 | long=123.3096 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{listing | name=Buglas Isla Co-working | directions=above Allegre restaurant on the boulevard | content=Space and services for [[digital nomad]] workers. }} ===Smoking=== Smoking is not encouraged in Dumaguete; a [http://www.dumagueteinfo.com/news/smoke-free-ordinance-of-city-of-dumaguete/ municipal ordinance] prohibits smoking in public places, including on the streets or in restaurants and bars, and there are officers on scooters who give out tickets for this, {{PHP|500}} for a first offense. Most or all hotels prohibit smoking in the rooms. However, a few bars have smoking areas and some hotels provide a patio or balcony area where nicotine addicts can indulge. *{{buy | name=Lighters Galore | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=small stand, upper floor at Robinson's Place | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A wide selection of lighters and cigarette cases.</br>They have a range of electric lighters from around {{PHP|250}} up to {{PHP|1800}}. These are not supposed to be disposable and do not burn a fossil fuel (recharged via a USB port), so arguably they are rather green. Also convenient, completely windproof and unlikely to set hair or beard afire. However, they are generally not a good buy, except perhaps for a cheap one treated as disposable. They often fail after a few months use; the vendor knows this and gives only a ''two week'' warranty. }} For those who prefer a vaporizer: * {{buy | name=Vape Avenue | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santa Catalina, corner of Nobelfranca | lat=9.3085 | long=123.3088 | directions=above a restaurant | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Vaporizers, spare parts, and a good range of liquids for them }} For chewing tobacco, Bogart's Bar on the boulevard stocks a Swedish product called Snus. ==Go next== Nearby major cities are [[Bacolod]] and [[Cebu City]]; there are buses to both and boats to Cebu. Popular tourist destinations nearby include [[Siquijor]], [[Bohol]] and [[Apo Island]]. The Dumaguete-Bacolod bus route passes through several places that may be worth a stop. [[Mabinay]], up in the mountains about halfway, is a center for spelunking; the area around it has many caves but accommodation choices are not brilliant. [[Kabankalan]] is where the road reaches the sea again, on the west coast south of Bacolod, and has some beach resorts. [[Bais]], 44 km north of Dumaguete, is known for dolphin and whale watching, and also has public ballroom dancing in the plaza, mangrove swamps, and a 7-km long white sand bar that is washed clean twice a day by each high tide. [[Oslob]] on [[Cebu Island]] is known for whale sharks. {{geo|9.3081|123.3056|zoom=13}} {{IsPartOf|Negros Oriental}} {{guidecity}} exga66d1i69qi6ztjj3czdonrmz6z4q 0 11447 5298594 5292525 2026-06-26T03:20:33Z OhanaUnited 76122 /* Connect */ purchase sim card location 5298594 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Faroe Islands banner.jpg}} The '''Faroe''' or '''Faeroe Islands''' ([[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]: ''Føroyar''; [[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''Færøerne'') are an archipelago of 18 islands in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, with roughly 54,000 inhabitants (2022). Like [[Greenland]], the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of [[Denmark]]. When visiting the Faroes you are never more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. The countryside is dominated by steep mountains and there are about 70,000 sheep and some 2 million pairs of sea birds, including the largest colony of storm petrels in the world. The Faroe Islands are undeniably beautiful: green, rugged and wind-swept. Most visitors to the islands come between early July and late August. == Regions == The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 1,399&nbsp;km² (545.3&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi) and is 113&nbsp;km (70&nbsp;mi) long and 75&nbsp;km (47&nbsp;mi) wide. 17 islands are inhabited, leaving just one uninhabited island, the smallest island, Lítla Dímum. There are a lot of smaller islets and skerries around the Faroe Islands. Including the 18 islands, there are 779 islands, islets and skerries in the Faroe Islands. A large part of these are around the island Suðuroy, which consists of 263 islets and skerries, including the island itself. The precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands. The islands are connected by tunnels, causeways and a regular public ferry service. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Faeroe Islands Regions map.png | regionmaptext=Map of the Faroe Islands | regionmapsize=450px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | region1name=[[Northern Islands]] (''Norðoyar'') | region1color=#ABC09B | region1description=The six Northern Islands (Borðoy, Kunoy, Kalsoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy) have made up one administrative area since Norse times and is home to the archipelago's second-largest city, [[Klaksvík]]. The volcanic origin of the Faroe Islands is more pronounced here than anywhere else. The landscape is very dramatic. | region2name=[[Eysturoy]] | region2color=#9C759C | region2description=The second largest island. The landscape in the north is very steep. | region3name=[[Streymoy]] | region3color=#4F93C0 | region3description=Streymoy is the largest and main island. The north is less densely populated but there are some wonderful villages. In the south the capital [[Tórshavn]] is situated and the area surrounding the capital is where the largest number of people live. The smaller islands of Nólsoy, Hestur, and Koltur are also included in this region. | region5name=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]] | region5color=#C8B7B7 | region5description=[[Vágar]] is the third largest island and is where the airport is situated. [[Mykines]], the small island to the west, is well known for its bird life and remote location. | region6name= [[Sandoyar]] | region6color=#578E86 | region6description=The region is made up of three islands with the largest being Sandoy, the other two are Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun. | region7name=[[Suðuroy]] | region7color=#6D926D | region7description=The most southerly island and Lítla Dímun - the smallest island, which is uninhabited. }} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q207675|group=map1|fill=#C8B7B7|title=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q208321|group=map1|fill=#578E86|title=[[Sandoyar]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q210309|group=map1|fill=#6D926D|title=[[Suðuroy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q977685|group=map1|fill=#ABC09B|title=[[Northern Islands]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q200939|group=map1|fill=#9C759C|title=[[Eysturoy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q192540|group=map1|fill=#4F93C0|title=[[Streymoy]]}} ==Settlements== [[Image:Sumba, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|The village Sumba in [[Suðuroy]].]] [[Image:Oyndarfjørður, Faroe Islands (4).JPG|thumb|The village Oyndarfjørður]] <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are LIMITED TO 9 ITEMS. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page. --> Until the late 19th century, people spent most of their lives in the same village. Towns didn’t start to appear until very late. For instance, the capital, Tórshavn, only counted about 100 inhabitants in 1900, whereas today the population is nearly 20,000. In the Faroe Islands the traditional village was to a certain extent self-sufficient. Historically there was a limit to how many families it could support. When the fishing industry took off in 1872, it was the beginning of the end for the traditional way of life in the small villages as fishing replaced farming and the growing population chose to settle in fast-growing towns instead. Today there are still over a hundred villages in the Faroe Islands. Nearly every one of them is near the ocean, and to new visitors they may all seem to be very much alike. The houses are painted either in bright colours or the traditional black, whilst the roofs are often turf-covered. The buildings are usually built very close to each other, which is very cosy. Each village is surrounded by a cultivated infield, surrounded by an uncultivated outfield. In most places, the sheep occupy the outfield throughout the year. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tórshavn]]|url=|lat=62.0117|long=-6.7675 |wikidata=Q10704}} – the capital and largest city * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Klaksvík]]|url=|lat=62.2239|long=-6.5786}} – the main industrial centre and the largest town in the [[Northern Islands]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hoyvík]]|url=|lat=62.0256|long=-6.7589 }} – north of Tórshavn, nowadays effectively a suburb * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tvøroyri]]|url=|lat=61.5558|long=-6.8033 |wikidata=Q754666}} – the second largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Vágur]]|url=|lat=61.4753|long=-6.8072|wikidata=Q7547}} – the largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Runavík]]|url=|lat=62.1094|long=-6.7192}} – the largest village on Eysturoy, kind of an agglomeration together with Toftir and Saltangrá * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Fuglafjørður]]|url=|lat=62.2444|long=-6.8144}} – its cultural centre has become one of the main cultural attractions on Eysturoy ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Vestmannabjørgini|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Vestmanna Birdcliffs'') – The bird cliffs are situated north of Vestmanna. The half of a kilometre high cliffs are one of the high points of a trip to the Faroes. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mjørkadalur|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Foggy Valley'') – A valley overlooking the Kalbaksfjørður fjord, rising to the peak of Sornfelli mountain. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Tinganes|url=|lat=|long=}} – The old town of [[Tórshavn]]. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Coal Mines|url=|lat=|long=}} in [[Hvalba]], [[Suðuroy]]. ==Understand== {{NordicCountries}} {{quickbar|location=LocationFaroeIslands.png}} The Faroe Islands are a self-governing island territory of [[Denmark]], although they aim politically for greater independence. The islands have a population of 51,000 (2018), and a language and culture of their own. The Faroese tourist season is very short. It begins in May and ends by September. Most visitors come between July and August by far. If you would like to avoid the busiest season, it is best to visit the Faroes in late May or early June. The Faroese weather has its own temperament and is a lot like the weather in neighbouring regions, just more unpredictable. One of the main reasons that people visit the Faroe Islands is the incredible nature and scenery. The Faroe Islands turn extraordinarily green during the summertime. The fresh air, the deep blue ocean, the vertical sea cliffs and the green mountains with their picturesque valleys, is something which would amaze anyone who enjoys being surrounded by nature. There are bus rides, horse trekking, mountain hikes and boat trips which allow you to enjoy the magnificent wild green landscape. Sometimes the summer fog creates a mystical landscape, in which you may vividly imagine the great history and mystical stories belonging to the islands. Some have said that when the landscape is surrounded by this sort of weather it reminds them of the landscape in J.R.R Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. The tranquility of the islands are great if you want to escape from big city madness. The Faroese love to take things easy and are not at all worried about arriving on time. But if you ever find yourself in the mood for a night out in town, you will find that Tórshavn caters for your every need with its great shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. Because the islands are so close to the Arctic Circle, the amount of daylight varies by season. The sun sets briefly each night in June, so there are several hours of twilight, before the sun comes back up again. During the winter there are no days of complete darkness, but about five hours of daylight. The Faroe Islands' primary industry is the fishing industry and the islands have one of the smallest independent economic entities in the world. The fishing industry accounts for over 80% of the total export value of goods, which are mainly processed fish products and fish farming. Tourism is the second largest industry, followed by woollen and other manufactured products. The unemployment rate in the Faroes is extremely low. The Faroese are trying to diversify their economy, but are divided about how to go about it. Most Faroese people work in the public sector as teachers, caretakers or having office jobs, etc. The rise in the public sector workforce is highlighted by the fact that it is getting less and less popular to work in the fishing industry, and the private sector isn't big enough to support an educated and more demanding workforce. ===People=== [[File:Tambar, a 20 feet Faroese wooden boat, belonging to the rowing club Róðrarfelagið Knørrur. Photo by Ólavur Frederiksen, July 21, 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Young rowers of Róðrarfelagið Knørrur]] The Faroes were colonised by Norwegians in the 9th century – according to history the first settler was Grímur Kamban, a Norwegian Viking who made his home in [[Funningur]] on [[Eysturoy]] in 825. The Faroese population has largely descended from these settlers. Recent DNA analyses have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian. However, the studies also show that mitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Celtic. About 20,000 people live in the metropolitan area which comprises Tórshavn, Kirkjubøur, Velbastaður, Nólsoy, Hestur, Koltur, Hoyvík, Argir, Kaldbak, Kaldbaksbotnur, Kollafjørður, Signabøur and Oyrareingir (Tórshavn Municipality). About 4,700 people live in Klaksvík, the second largest town in the islands. 4,750 people live in [[Suðuroy]], the southernmost islands (2010) and 1330 people live on Sandoy island (2010). Faroese, the national language, is rooted in Old Norse. ===Politics=== [[File:Lagting.tórshavn.jpg|thumb|The Faroese Parliament building]] The [[Vikings and the old Norse|Viking settlers]] established their own parliament, called a "ting", around 800. The main ting was established on Tinganes in Tórshavn and local tings were established in various parts of the islands. Around the turn of the millennium, the Faroes came under the control of the Norwegian king. In 1380 the Faroes, along with [[Orkney Islands | Orkney]], [[Shetland Islands | Shetland]], [[Iceland]] and [[Greenland]], joined [[Norway]] in a union with [[Denmark]]. At the end of the Napoleonic wars, in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel forced Denmark to cede Norway to [[Sweden]], but it kept the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. Two years later, in 1816, the Faroes became a Danish county and the old parliament was abolished. The Danish Governor became the highest authority in the Faroes. In 1849 the Danish parliamentary constitution was made to apply in the Faroe Islands. In 1852 the Faroese parliament was reinstated as a county council, but served mainly as an advisory power. The Danish governor presided at all meetings and was a co-opted member. At the same time, the Faroes came to be represented in the Danish parliament. Although the Faroe Islands recognise the Royal powers, they have never been a part of Denmark, only the Danish kingdom. During [[World War II]], Denmark was occupied by the Germans, while the Faroes had a friendly occupation by the British. During this time the Faroese parliament carried both the legislative and the fiscal responsibility. The Faroese people had a taste of self-government and a return to the status quo seemed impossible. After a referendum, which led to a very small majority voting for independence, in 1946 negotiations took place between the two countries and the outcome was the Home Rule Act in 1948. The Faroese were from then on responsible for most matters of government except for foreign affairs and defence. The Faroe Islands has its own prime minister, and its parliament may legislate on matters of local importance and reject Danish laws. The Faroes are still represented in the Danish parliament by two representatives. Also, since 1970 the Faroes have had independent status in the Nordic Council. Furthermore, the Faroes have their own flag. Unlike Denmark, the Faroe Islands is not part of the EU or the Schengen Area, meaning that non-Nordic EU and EEA citizens do not have work or residency rights. However, Faroe Islanders are full Danish citizens and carry Danish passports for international travel, making them eligible to reside and work in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. ===Climate=== The weather is maritime and quite unpredictable. It can change quickly and it varies extremely, from moments of brilliant sunshine to misty hill fog, to showers: there can be sunshine on one side of the mountain range, while it's raining on the other side. During the summer the islands are often overcast by summer fog. The Gulf Stream south of the islands tempers the climate. The harbours never freeze and the temperature in winter time is very moderate considering the high latitude. Snowfall occurs, but it is short-lived. The average temperature ranges from 3°C in the wintertime to 11°C during the summer. The temperature can be much higher, but the air is always fresh and clean no matter the season. ===Landscape=== With their volcanic origin the 18 islands are rugged and rocky. The average height above sea level for the country is 300&nbsp;m (982&nbsp;ft). The highest peak, Slættaratindur, is 880&nbsp;m (2887&nbsp;ft) above sea level. There are 1,100&nbsp;km (687&nbsp;mi) of coastline and at no time is one more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. Mountains and valleys mostly characterize the inner landscape. The Faroese west coast is characterized by steep slopes and bird cliffs, that in the summertime are full of nesting seabirds such as puffins. Something that first meets the eye of a traveller is the lack of trees in the Faroes. The reason for this are the thousands of sheep that occupy the islands. ===Visitor information=== * [https://visitfaroeislands.com/en Official tourism website] ==Talk== {{seealso|Faroese phrasebook}} The main official language of the Faroe Islands is '''[[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]''', which is the mother tongue of most inhabitants. '''[[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]''' has a co-official status; it is taught in schools and most services and official documents are available in Danish. Faroese is a Germanic language stemming from Old Norse and mutually intelligible to some extent with Icelandic. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish share these roots, but have been much more influenced by especially Low German. English speakers will recognise some cognates from Old Norse and other influences, but modern loanwords are quite few. Most locals speak '''English''' as a second language; it is compulsory in Faroese schools. However, learning some basic Faroese greetings will help to endear you to the locals. == Get in == === Visas === Although part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are not part of the [[European Union]] or the [[Travelling around the Schengen Area|Schengen Area]]. If you do not need a visa for Denmark, you can generally visit the Faroe Islands visa-free for up to 90 days, provided your passport is valid for at least 3 months beyond your intended departure date. Citizens of the [[Nordic countries]] may stay in the Faroe Islands indefinitely with no restrictions including on employment. If you need a visa for Denmark, inform the embassy when you apply that you'll be visiting the Faroe Islands, as Schengen visas issued for the mainland are not valid for the Faroe Islands (or Greenland). Citizens of all EU and Schengen countries can enter with only a valid ID card, but should still carry their passport as a backup, since it is possible for flights to be diverted to Scotland where such cards are not valid. ===By plane=== [[File:Atlantic Airways A319 OY-RCG.JPG|thumb|An Atlantic Airways aircraft at Vágar Airport]] *{{go | name=Vágar Airport | alt=Vága Floghavn {{IATA|FAE}} | url=http://www.floghavn.fo | email= | address= | lat=62.063611 | long=-7.277222 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vágar Airport | image=Vágar Airport, Faroe Islands.JPG | wikidata=Q371471 | content=The Faroe Islands are served by one airport. The airport is on the island of Vágar and the location was chosen by the British during their occupation of the islands during World War II. About 300,000 (and increasing) passengers fly to and from the airport every year. Vágar is connected to the largest island, Streymoy (on which the capital Tórshavn is situated) by a sub-sea tunnel. There are buses to Torshavn (line 300 on [http://www.ssl.fo/ ssl.fo]); the schedules are aligned (more or less) with the arrival of all flights. The price to Tórshavn is {{DKK|90}}. You need to change buses if you are going to Klaksvik. Taxis serve the airport at fixed rates (Tórshavn costs {{DKK|220}} per passenger, not per cab). Advance bookings can be made through the [https://taxi.fo/en/airporttaxi/ taxi company's website]. }} Airlines serving the airport are: *[https://www.atlanticairways.com/en '''Atlantic Airways'''] is the national carrier and connects the Faroes with several places in Scandinavia and continental Europe. The Faroes are accessible by regular commercial air service from [[Copenhagen]] (3 times a day), as well as [[Billund]] and [[Aalborg]] in Denmark. From Norway there are direct flights from [[Oslo]]. From Iceland there are direct flights from Keflavík airport near [[Reykjavík]] (twice a week). From Britain there are direct flights from [[Edinburgh]]. From Spain there are direct flights from [[Barcelona]], [[Mallorca]], and [[Gran Canaria]]. From France there are direct flights from [[Paris]]-CDG. *[https://www.flysas.com/ '''SAS'''] flies almost daily from Copenhagen (April - October only). *[https://www.wideroe.no/en '''Widerøe'''] flies regularly from [[Bergen]], Norway. Summer fog is a problem when flying to the Faroes in the summer months. The planes cannot land in this weather and will often divert to Iceland or Scotland where you will stay until the weather clears. This also means that flights out of the Faroes can be disrupted too. Allow yourself a few days either side of your visit to the Faroes in case of flight delays. ===By boat=== * [http://www.smyril-line.com '''Smyril Line'''] operates a year-round passenger and car ferry service to the Faroe Islands, twice a week in summer. The ferry sails between [[Hirtshals]] (North Jutland, [[Denmark]]) and [[Seyðisfjörður]] (on the east coast of [[Iceland]]). It is the only ferry service with scheduled services to Iceland. Getting to the Faroes by boat takes longer than by plane but has the advantage of allowing you to take your own vehicle. As of 2023, prices for single passage without vehicle start at {{EUR|92}} in off-season and {{EUR|112}} in high season. For people arriving by yacht, there are several harbours around the islands. The best are found in Tórshavn (the capital), Klaksvík, Tvøroyri, Vágur, Vestmanna, Sørvágur, Miðvágur, Runavík, and Fuglafjørður. ==Get around== [[File:Krambatangi ferry port and Tvoroyri.JPG|thumb|The ferry Smyril M/F, here leaving Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy, heading for Tórshavn, the capital.]] [[File:Map_of_the_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_Islands.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the tunnels of the Faroe Islands]] The Faroe Islands are a small country and getting around is easy. All of the Islands are connected by public transport. === Travelling between islands === The two largest islands, Streymoy and Eysturoy, are connected by a bridge, Sundabrúgvin ("the Channel Bridge"). Toll tunnels connect the islands of Vágar with Streymoy, and also Borðoy to Eysturoy. Road causeways connect Borðoy with Viðoy and Kunoy. The other main islands [[Sandoy]] and [[Suðuroy]] have excellent car-ferry connections to Streymoy, making driving in the Faroes easy and pleasant. * '''Route 7 Tvøroyri - Tórshavn:''' M/F Smyril has 2–3 daily departures from Tórshavn, sailing to Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy. * '''Route 36 Sørvágur - Mykines:''' M/F Jósup has 2 daily departures in summer from Sørvágur on Vágar island to Mykines island, less in winter time. Due to the popularity of the destination, this is the only route that requires booking tickets in advance (via [https://www.mykines.fo/search/mykines/ mykines.fo]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}). * '''Route 56 Klaksvík - Syðradalur:''' M/F Sam has up to 7 daily departures from Klaksvík to Syðradalur on Kalsoy island. * '''Route 58 Hvannasund - Hattarvík:''' M/F Ritan has 3 daily departures from Hvannasund on Viðoy island to the islands Svínoy and Fugloy in summertime, less in wintertime. * '''Route 60 Skopun - Gamlarætt''' & '''61 Gamlarætt - Hestur:''' M/F Teistin has around 8 daily departures from Gamlarætt ferry port to Skopun on Sandoy island. Teistin has also a few departures to Hestur island, but only on request. Gamlarætt is located on the west coast of Streymoy, not far from Tórshavn and near the villages Kirkjubøur and Velbastaður. * '''Route 66 Sandur - Skúvoy:''' M/F Sildberin has only one regular daily connection between Sandur and Skúvoy, all others must be requested by phone some hours prior to departure. * '''Route 90 Tórshavn - Nólsoy:''' M/F Ternan has 5–7 daily departures from Tórshavn to Nólsoy. ''Strandfaraskip Landsins'', the Faroese public transport service, publishes an annual timetable ([https://www.ssl.fo/en/timetable/ferry/7-tvoroyri-torshavn/ Ferðaætlan]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}) containing details of all ferry and bus schedules. It is available from the Passenger Terminal in Tórshavn, and all tourist information centres. It is not possible to make advance bookings on car ferries. You should be at the pier at least 20 minutes before scheduled departure, and much earlier on Friday and Saturday evenings. ===By bus=== Passenger road transport is run by private companies, but is coordinated by a public body, [http://www.ssl.fo/ Strandfaraskip Landsins]. The inter-town bus system (Bygdaleiðir) and the public ferry company have established a coherent and well-developed public transport system which takes in all settlements on the islands. This means that there are bus services to all places - maybe not often, but every day! Bygdaleiðir's buses are blue. A schedule (Ferðaætlan) listing the various timetables for the inter-town buses (and ferries) may be purchased from the tourist office, as well as the central bus station near the harbour in Tórshavn. Transport is quite expensive, so check for student discount or multiple-ride-cards. Students, children and pensioners are eligible for discounts on fares provided they show a student or pensioner identity card. As of Mar. 2026, there is a four-day (adult 500 kr, child 250 kr) and seven-day (adult 700 kr, child 350 kr) [https://www.ssl.fo/en/prices/tourist-travel-card Travel Card] meant for tourists which is valid for all buses and ferries except routes 36 and 90. It is well worth its price if you are planning to get around the islands by public transport. The buses are equipped with radios. If you are planning to change buses, do tell the driver in advance, as he will make sure the other bus waits for you. The capital Tórshavn offers a local bus service (Bussleiðin) with seven routes that reach most area of the town which is free. The red coloured-buses operate every 15-30 mins during the day throughout the week and every 30-60 mins on weekday evenings. Several routes run hourly on Saturdays and Sundays. Route maps and schedules may be obtained on the buses, at Kiosk Steinatún in the centre of town, or at Kunningarstovan, the local tourist information in Tórshavn. ===By car=== [[File:Faroe Islands, Eysturoy, road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta.jpg|thumb|Road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta]] The first motor road connecting two villages wasn’t built until 1916, and travellers were limited to mountain paths and rowing boats. Nevertheless, today driving is easy with an excellent 600&nbsp;km network of well maintained tarmaced roads and tunnels. The density of cars is one of the highest in Europe. The numerous road tunnels in the Faroe Islands mean that drivers of large vehicles must plan their routes by finding out in advance which tunnel they can enter. Driving is on the right and most road signs follow international standards. Headlights and seat belts must be on when driving. The speed limit is 80&nbsp;km/h (50&nbsp;mph) outside towns and villages, and 50&nbsp;km/h (30&nbsp;mph) in the towns and villages. For cars with trailers, the speed limit is 50&nbsp;km/h and for caravans the speed limit is 60&nbsp;km/h. The consequences for speeding are severe. Sheep graze freely on both sides of the main roads and will cross at will. Also they may hide from bad weather just inside the tunnels, which causes many collisions each year. Parking in the towns of Tórshavn, Klaksvík and Runavík is restricted and parking fines cost {{DKK|200}}. The times in black (or white if it's on a dark background) are for weekdays' limited time parking period. The times with brackets are for Saturday. There is typically no time limit on Sunday and public holidays, but if there is, the time limit is written in red. Parking discs must be displayed in the lower right hand corner of the front windscreen showing the time you parked your car. These display discs are available for free at banks and tourist offices. Off-road driving is prohibited by law in the Faroe Islands. Respect the islands' pristine nature by keeping to sealed roads. ====Sub-sea tunnel fares==== You have to pay a toll to use the sub-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands. As of summer 2022, there are 3 tunnels that charge tolls: {| class="wikitable" ! Tunnel !! Cars !! Vehicles<br>> 6 m and/or > 3,500 kg !! Motorcycles !! Remark |- | Vágatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Vágar. |- | Norðoyatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Klaksvík. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Streymoy - Eysturoy) || {{DKK|175}} || {{DKK|800}} || {{DKK|160}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Strendur - Runavík)|| {{DKK|125}} || {{DKK|200}} || {{DKK|120}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |} Two more large sub-sea tunnels are under construction in 2022, connecting the southern islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy to the overall road network. You have three days to pay after using the tunnel before an invoice is sent to the car owner. If you have rented the car, the rental agency will charge a large fee if this occurs. You may pay at any petrol station on the islands or [https://www.tunnil.fo/english online]. Most car rental companies offer flat rates at the equivalent of 3–5 return tunnel trips. If you prefer to pay for all your tunnel trips yourself, make it clear when you hire the car. The rental company will charge you if it is unaware that you have already paid the tunnel operator. If travelling with your own car it is also possible to purchase a subscription by registering at tunnil.fo and paying a non-refundable fee of {{DKK|400}} (or {{DKK|600}} when also using the Eysturoyartunnel) (2022). This will give you access to discounted tunnel prices, but you will have to pre-pay for your trips by loading money into your account at the website ({{DKK|400}} minimum for each payment). ==== Car rental ==== ''' Vágar ''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo]. {{phone|716 060}}, {{email|info@rent.fo}} New rental vehicles. Responsive to emails. * Avis Føroyar, Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|358800, 212765}}. * [https://www.62n.fo/en/car-rental/ 62N.fo] (formerly Hertz), Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|733 510}}, {{email|car@62n.fo}} '''Tórshavn''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo], R. C. Effersøesgøta 17, Tórshavn. Tel: 716 060, [mailto:info@rent.fo info@rent.fo] * 62N.fo, Tórshavn city centre, 100 Tórshavn. Tel: 733 510, [mailto:car@62n.fo car@62n.fo] '''Miðvágur''' * [https://unicar.fo Unicar], Ytra bryggja 4, 370 Miðvágur. {{phone|544 000}}, {{email|unicar@unicar.fo}} ===By helicopter=== You can splurge, and take a helicopter (instead of the cheaper ferry) to all the faraway islands – for example to Mykines, the picturesque island far west. Atlantic Airways offers a [https://www.atlanticairways.com/en/helicopter helicopter service] to selected towns and villages throughout the Faroes. Contact Atlantic Airways directly ({{phone|+298 341060}}). Booking is required. The service is intended for locals on remote islands, and as such tourists can only book one way of a journey but you can use the ferry and bus services to make the return journey. Bad weather may result in helicopter flights being cancelled. Non-residents don't get subsidised prices any more; tickets cost about thrice as much as for locals. === Hitchhiking === [[File:Hitchhiking near Torshavn.jpg|thumb|Hitchhiking near Torshavn]] The Faroe Islands are the ideal for hitchhiking, as they are amongst the easiest places in the world to secure a lift. To begin with, the vast majority of locals speak excellent English, allowing for genuine conversation and unique insights into their culture. Furthermore, the Faroese are naturally curious about visitors and often take pleasure in acting as impromptu guides; it is not uncommon for a driver to go out of their way to show you a hidden gem while chatting along the route. The islands have a prosperous economy, meaning there is a high volume of private motorcars on the well-maintained roads. Safety is rarely a concern either; the small population and robust education system contribute to an exceptionally low crime rate. Finally, because distances are so short, you are never committed to a single vehicle for too long. Given the high cost of car hire, the infrequent public transport schedules, and the sheer ease of the experience, hitchhiking is can be a wonderful transport choice. In most instances, you will find yourself picked up by the first or second car to pass by. == See == [[Image:Hesturin and Beinisvord, Vertical Cliffs of Suduroy, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|Beinisvørð in [[Suðuroy]] is a 470-m-high sea cliff.]] * '''Slættaratindur''' on [[Eysturoy#Q738746|Eysturoy]]: at 880 m, is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. It is well worth climbing. The only downside is that the summit is often wrapped in fog. * '''Beinisvord''' (Beinisvørð) is the highest sea cliff in Suðuroy and the second-highest in the Faroe Islands at 470 m. The views down to the sea and towards north to the west coast of Suðuroy are breathtaking. You can see or climb Beinisvørð from a place named Hesturin, which is between the villages Lopra and [[Suðuroy#Q792079|Sumba]]. You can drive to Sumba through the tunnel and then follow the old road to the highest point. From there the edge is only a few metres away. Be careful not to walk too far out on the edge, as the cliff ends all of a sudden. * '''Rinkusteinar''' near Oyndarfjørður on [[Eysturoy#Q730352|Esturoy]], is a strange natural phenomenon, two very large boulders which permanently stand rocking in the ocean, just a few metres from the shore. The stones have been rocking as far back as anyone can tell. * '''Risin og Kellingin''' (the Giant and his Wife) on [[Eysturoy#Q1269020|Esturoy]], close to the village of Eiði, are two magnificent basalt sea stacks off the northern tip of the island. Legend has it that the two giants had come to tow the Faroes back with them to Iceland, However, the sun rose and they were turned into stone. They stand looking towards [[Iceland]], which they will never reach. <!-- -->[[File:Gasadalur village and a waterfall.jpg|thumb|Gásadalur village]][[File:Viðareiði sunset.jpg|thumb|Viðareiði settlement]] * '''Gásadalur ''' on [[Vágar#Q226056|Vágar]] is both a village and waterfall. This village is one of the most iconic representations of the Faroe Islands. Here, you'll be treated to a picturesque scene where a few traditional, environmentally-friendly houses stand against the backdrop of a hill perched on a high cliff, with a majestic waterfall. * '''Viðareiði''' on the [[Northern Islands#Q901774|Northern Islands]] is the northernmost settlement in the Faroe Islands. It is situated between two stunning hills, one of them the third highest in the archipelago. ===Lakes=== Nestled amidst the stunning landscapes lies the tranquil lakes of the Faroe Islands. These lakes mirror the surrounding emerald hills and can even [[Vágar#Sørvágsvatn|cause you to question]] your perception of vision. * '''Sørvágsvatn''', perhaps nicknamed as the lake above the ocean, is the largest lake in the Faroes. It is 30–40 m above the sea and its curve sweeps close to sheer cliffs in [[Vágar]]. * ''' Lake Toftir''' (''Toftavatn'') south of [[Eysturoy]] is a lake that's one of its kind. The low rolling hills around the idyllic lake have the widest stretches of heather on the islands. They are considered unique in the Faroes. Furthermore, the terrain is a splendid choice for an outing. ==Do== * '''[[Sea kayaking]]'''. Kayaks are widely available for rent. * '''[[Birdwatching]]'''. ===Hiking=== It is possible to hike in Faroe Islands, however, you must stick to prepared trails, and it is not permitted to put up tents outside designated areas. Most famous hikes are accessible only by paying a fee (e.g. the hike along Leitisvatn/Sørvágsvatn out to Trælanípa and Bøsdalafossur waterfall for {{DKK|200}} or Mykines past the village for {{DKK|250}}, as of 2022). Credit card payment is available everywhere. Weather is unpredictable, there might be rain storms, so bring suitable clothes. A combination of hiking and bus transport is advised, so you don't need to walk back the same way again. The tourism authority produced a hiking guide which is available from their [https://visitfaroeislands.com/see-do/hiking/ website]. It offers detailed descriptions with small maps for 23 short tours on virtually all of the islands. Going on your own, check with the regional information centres about farming and hunting activities. Tourist information offices, including the one in the airport, distributes booklets about hiking around the Faroe Islands, suggesting various routes. Another great source for hiking tracks is the mobile application called ''Maps.me'' which displays walking paths as well as roads. In any case, one is not far away from picturesque paths in any given location. In the worst case, one can walk along the roads as cars rarely pass by. ==Buy== Almost everything in the Faroe Islands is expensive. All consumer sales include 25% VAT (sales tax) and displayed prices always include this. ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Danish kroner | currencyCodeAfter=&nbsp;kr | date=January 2026 | USD=6.4 | EUR=7.5 | GBP=8.6 | NOK=0.6 | SEK=0.7 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/dkk-danish-krone?r= XE.com] }} The Faroese currency is the '''Danish krone''' (plural: ''kroner''), abbreviated "'''kr.'''" (ISO code: '''DKK'''). The Faroese government prints its own banknotes, '''[http://www.nationalbanken.dk/DNUK/NotesAndCoins.nsf/side/The_new_Faroese_banknote_series?OpenDocument the Króna]''', although Danish coins are used. The coins come in 50 oyra (half of a króna), 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 króna. Paper notes come in 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 króna. Their exchange value is equivalent to the Danish crown, and there is no service charge on exchange, as Danish notes are just as acceptable and used interchangbly in the Faroe Islands. Before leaving the Faroes, exchange Faroese notes for Danish notes or other currency, since Faroese notes are usually not recognized by banks outside of Denmark. ===Shopping=== Opening hours in the Faroes are longer than they used to be, but many smaller shops still close early on Saturday (usually at 14:00) and nearly everything is closed on Sundays. Tórshavn is the obvious choice for shopping, although both Runavík and especially Klaksvik have some nice shops selling clothes and knick-knacks. Wool and woollen clothing are popular on the Islands, and you will find some fashionable sweaters, jackets and (cheaper) hats, shawls and gloves. Check out the shops "Sirri" and "Guðrun og Guðrun". There is only one proper shopping centre: SMS (Sølumiðstøð), containing the largest supermarket, Miklagarður, and some different shops and a few chains including Burger King, Bath and Body Works and Vero Moda. Yasmin sells women’s clothing. The Shopping Centre has glass art-work by artist Tróndur Patursson. There are a few second hand shops in Tórshavn. If you are from outside the EU/Scandinavia you can have your [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/duty-free/tax-free-shopping/ 25% VAT refunded] when leaving the country, for certain purchases not for use in the Faroes. Only purchases with at least 399 kr on a single receipt will be eligible for tax refund. Smaller stores or those in remote villages may not be participating in the VAT refund scheme. For shops that offer VAT refund, they will attach a sticker to the back of your receipt. Take this receipt to the information desk in Vágar airport if departing by plane, onboard the Norrøna ferry or at the Visit North (Visit Norðoy) tourist information centre if departing by cruise ship or sailboat. ==Eat== {{seealso|Nordic cuisine}} Most traditional Faroese cuisine involves either lamb or fish. The traditional Faroese kitchen mainly owes its food traditions to the archipelago's harsh climate, similar to [[Iceland#Eat|the cuisine of Iceland]]. This is because in earlier days the food culture on the islands was not very extensive. It is hard to find a Faroese dish on the menu of a restaurant, but it is possible at certain restaurants and hotels. [[File:Tvost og spik.jpg|thumb|Tvøst og spik]] Distinctive Faroese foods include: *Wild seabirds, e.g. '''puffins'''. The puffins are stuffed with cake and served with potatoes and wild berries *''Skerpikjøt'', dried mutton that has been hung for over a year and is eaten raw *''Ræst kjøt'', meat that has been hung for a couple of months to mature before cooking *''Ræstur fiskur'', dried fish that has been hung in the same way as ræstkjøt *''Turrur fiskur'', dried fish * ''Tvøst og spik'', whale meat and blubber *'''Rhubarb''', since it is easy to cultivate While the capital, Tórshavn, offers a variety of dining options, the selection remains somewhat limited. Beyond the capital, the number of establishments and the standard of cuisine drop significantly. Although McDonald’s has no presence in the Faroe Islands, Burger King has opened a branch. In Tórshavn, there are fast-food outlets and one City Burger in the town centre. Across the islands, petrol station, primarily '''Effo''' and '''Mag''', are common. Almost all of these serve quick snacks and hot food, with sausages being a particular staple. * '''KOKS:''' — at Hotel Føroyar, this restaurant boasts an excellent view across Tórshavn. The menu features both local Faroese specialities and international dishes. * '''Áarstova:''' — near the harbour and adjacent to Café Natúr, which specialises in traditional Faroese fare. * '''Toscana:''' — a charming, boutique Italian restaurant in the town centre. * '''Etika:''' — a delicatessen and takeaway offering high-quality sushi, made using the islands' exceptionally fresh local fish. == Drink == [[File:Okkara Klassik (øl).JPG|thumb|upright|A can of Okkara beer]] The legal drinking age in the Faroes is 18. The Faroese love to party, and drinking is much more popular than doing drugs. There are two brands of Faroese beer: Føroya Bjór and Okkara. Føroya Bjór is well-established and is the oldest of the two breweries. It has received awards abroad. Okkara was established in 2010 and is growing in popularity, mainly for their craft beer. Alcohol is very expensive. Light beer may be purchased in shops and unlicensed restaurants and cafés. Stronger beer, wine and spirits can only be purchased in the Government Monopoly stores ([http://www.rusan.fo Rúsdrekkasøla]) in major towns and in licensed restaurants, cafés and bars etc. How much you can bring to the Faroe Islands as duty-free imports is listed on the taxation office's website, [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/customs/duty-free-imports-to-the-faroe-islands taks.fo]. === Government Monopoly Stores === '''Streymoy''' *Hoyvíksvegur 51, Tórshavn *Á Hjalla 14, Tórshavn *Niðari Vegur 81, Vestmanna '''Eysturoy''' *Svartheyggj 2, Norðskáli *Heiðavegur 25, Saltangará '''Borðoy''' *Sævargøta 6, Klaksvík '''Sandoy''' * Heimasandsvegur 58, Sandur '''Suðuroy''' * Langabakki 5, Trongisvágur '''Vágar''' *Skaldarvegur 5, Miðvágur === Nightlife === Outside the capital, bars and nightclubs are few and far between. In Tórshavn, the heart of the nightlife is centred around the harbour. Here, is Cirkus Føroyar, a popular haunt for local musicians. Directly across the street, also overlooking the water, is Hvonn; located within Hotel Tórshavn, it is a favourite weekend destination for the city's youth. The bar Café Natúr is close by. Every Wednesday there is a pub quiz at Café Natúr. The wooden interiors are similar to English or Irish pubs, and have live music (usually in the form of a singer or guitarist). Another place is Cleopatra right in the town centre which has a restaurant on the lower floor, with the main bar on the next floor up. The entrance to the bar is up some green felt stairs. A nightclub is Rex, on the third floor in the same building as "Havnar Bio", the cinema. You need to be 21 or over to get in. For young people the nightclub Deep is a place to visit. It is the same as in most European cities a you have to be eighteen or older to get in. ===Cafés=== For a coffee go to the Western harbour "Vágsbotn", just below Tórshavn Dome and have a cup of coffee at café Kaffihúsið. Kaffihúsi is located down by the sea and has a very nice atmosphere. The Café Dugni is in the middle of town. Bill Clinton had a cup of coffee there when he visited the islands a few years back. At Dugni you can buy Faroes handicrafts while having coffee and homemade faroese cakes. Other cafés include Café Kaspar at hotel Hafnia, and Baresso at the shopping centre SMS. Hvonn is one of the most popular places at night, keeping it sophisticated and clean, and also includes a brasserie. == Sleep == [[File:Tinganes, Torshavn 2005.jpg|thumb|Torshavn]] === Youth hostels === The youth hostels of the Faroes are spread across the islands. The small size of the Faroes ensures that the next youth hostel is always well within one day’s walking distance allowing visitors to travel from one youth hostel to the next one at will. Accommodation is mostly in 2 to 6 rooms of limited size but of good standard. There are few dormitory accommodations at the Faroese, with one exception being at Bládýpi which has 2 dorms, as well as apartments. Most of the youth hostels don´t have a regular reception with daily opening hours, so be sure to make arrangements with your host by e-mail or phone before arrival. Prices vary slightly with the cheapest being around {{DKK|200}} per night/person for adults. Variable discounts for children 2–11 years old. YHF members get a {{DKK|20}} discount while groups get special discounts. === Camping === Legally camping is only allowed in designated places but in reality, you can camp anywhere as long as you are not impudent. Locals are aware that camping prohibition law is few centuries old and might not apply these days. Safe distance might be half an hour walk away from the village. There are few objects to hide behind so you would be visible from far away, but as long as you pitch a tent in evening and pick up early morning, you should be fine. Once again, camping outside designated areas is not legal but locals do this too. [[File:Camping in Nolsoy.jpg|thumb|Camping with a wind-break]] If you decide to break the law and camp in the wild, be aware of frequently changing weather conditions. It's advisable to look for a hideout from the wind and pitch a tent to sustain from strong gusts. No one would like to wake-up in a night to repitch a tent. One can easily find a stretch of land just to oneself to enjoy the tranquillity the Faroe islands gives after a sunset. Also, be considerate and take your rubbish with you. Or as a saying goes "leave no trace, only footprints".<!--== Learn == .--> == Learn == The main university in the Faroe Islands is the '''[https://www.setur.fo/en/ University of the Faroe Islands]'''. Most classes are conducted entirely in Faroese, so if you don't know any Faroese, courses are unlikely to be of any interest. Every summer the university hosts a program that allows people to get a good introduction to Faroese language and literature. More information can be found [https://www.setur.fo/education/faroese-summer-institute here]. If you are deeply fascinated with Nordic culture, the islands are a great place to start. == Work == To work in the Faroe Islands, most foreigners, including citizens of most EU and Schengen countries, require a work permit. Only citizens of the Nordic countries are exempt form having to obtain one. ==Stay safe== The Faroe Islands are generally safe. Crime and traffic are minor risks. While there are no major natural disasters or [[dangerous animals]], fog can be a danger for hikers and drivers. Sheep may be startled by cars, and leap out in front of them. If you happen to [[animal collision|collide with a sheep]], you should immediately contact the police in Tórshavn at telephone number {{phone|+298 351448}} for assistance. This ensures that the farmer can apply for compensation from their own insurance company. You do not need to pay compensation to the farmer for lost income. Hare hunting takes place in November and December, mostly on Saturdays, but also in weekdays. Hiking is safe on Sundays. == Stay healthy == There are emergency services at the hospital in Tórshavn, Klaksvík on Borðoy and Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Doctors around the islands provide emergency assistance. A lot of hospital staff are residents of Denmark who spend periods on the Faroes to supplement the local health staff. The coast guard and Atlantic Airways have helicopters that may be used in emergencies. Police stations are found in most parts of the Country. '''[[Tap water]]''' is safe to drink. === Health insurance === Citizens of the Nordic countries and the UK are covered by their own national health insurance. It is advisable for citizens of other countries to take out travel health insurance. === Emergency or Fire === * Dial 112 === Pharmacies === * Tórshavn (by the SMS shopping centre) on Streymoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 341100}} * Klaksvík on Borðoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 455055}} * Runavík on Eysturoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 471200}} * Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Tel: {{phone|+298 371076}} === Car problems === For breakdown and immediate help on the two larger islands Streymoy and Eysturoy, contact the fire station in Tórshavn, telephone number {{phone|+298 302100}}. It is advisable to arrange for insurance coverage for your car to save you the worry of a spoilt holiday due to unexpected garage bills. == Respect == [[File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.jpg|thumb|The Faroese flag]] Faroese people are known to be very helpful, friendly and hospitable. * The Faroese are not Danes. They are a separate ethnic group altogether. Keep that in mind when conversing with local people, and never say that you are in Denmark when visiting the Faroe Islands. * The Faroese are often stereotyped negatively in [[Denmark]]. Try to avoid perpetuating any negative stereotypes about them; it is a quick ticket to getting yourself on someone's bad side. * '''Whale hunting''' is a practice viewed by some islanders as a vital cornerstone of their culture. Each year, hundreds of participants engage in these seasonal hunts, which result in the slaughter of 700–1,000 long-finned pilot whales; in 2021, over 1,400 were killed in a single day. Despite widespread international condemnation, including from the EU, comments by outsiders about the killings and the cruelty may cause offence. * The possibility of the Faroe Islands becoming independent is a sensitive issue and is certainly much debated. Unless you have a heart for lengthy, passionate debates, try not to discuss it. * The old part of Tórshavn, around Tinganes, is visited by many tourists. Respect the privacy of people living there. == Connect == There is widespread cellular phone and Internet access. The islands do not belong to the EU, and the roaming charges are much higher than they are inside EU. However, some prepaid SIMs from Denmark available to tourists (specifically Lebara) include a roaming allowance good in the Faroes, although it will be significantly smaller (for example, a {{DKK|100}} plan with 100 GB of data in Denmark will only have 5 GB available to use in the Faroes). It can be a good idea to buy a SIM in Denmark if you are transiting there on your way in, as a local SIM with the same {{DKK|100}} will only get you 2 GB. Tourist SIM cards can be purchased at the information desk in Vágar airport. Many tourists use the Town library or the National library to go on-line instead. They are both in Tórshavn. Public Wi-Fi are widely available for example in ferries, but establishments often lock their network and post their passwords within the business. [https://www.posta.fo/en/private/home Posta] is the Faroese postal service and they issue own postage stamps (postage stamps from Denmark are not valid). A mailed postcard from the Faroe Islands is very much appreciated amongst collectors. As of January 2025 an ordinary letter/postcard (sized max. 23x33x1 cm) to destinations worldwide (incl. Denmark), with a weight of up to 100 grams, cost {{DKK|35}}. {{outlinecountry}} {{geo|61.9|-6.7833|zoom=9}} {{IsPartOf|Nordic countries}} ccs4q7ce4m4euez3l70kckf3nknwb3h 5298596 5298594 2026-06-26T03:35:56Z OhanaUnited 76122 /* Connect */ local Faroese SIM price obtained from https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Faroe_Islands (which is CC-BY-SA), other contents are gathered through online research 5298596 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Faroe Islands banner.jpg}} The '''Faroe''' or '''Faeroe Islands''' ([[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]: ''Føroyar''; [[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''Færøerne'') are an archipelago of 18 islands in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, with roughly 54,000 inhabitants (2022). Like [[Greenland]], the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of [[Denmark]]. When visiting the Faroes you are never more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. The countryside is dominated by steep mountains and there are about 70,000 sheep and some 2 million pairs of sea birds, including the largest colony of storm petrels in the world. The Faroe Islands are undeniably beautiful: green, rugged and wind-swept. Most visitors to the islands come between early July and late August. == Regions == The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 1,399&nbsp;km² (545.3&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi) and is 113&nbsp;km (70&nbsp;mi) long and 75&nbsp;km (47&nbsp;mi) wide. 17 islands are inhabited, leaving just one uninhabited island, the smallest island, Lítla Dímum. There are a lot of smaller islets and skerries around the Faroe Islands. Including the 18 islands, there are 779 islands, islets and skerries in the Faroe Islands. A large part of these are around the island Suðuroy, which consists of 263 islets and skerries, including the island itself. The precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands. The islands are connected by tunnels, causeways and a regular public ferry service. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Faeroe Islands Regions map.png | regionmaptext=Map of the Faroe Islands | regionmapsize=450px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | region1name=[[Northern Islands]] (''Norðoyar'') | region1color=#ABC09B | region1description=The six Northern Islands (Borðoy, Kunoy, Kalsoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy) have made up one administrative area since Norse times and is home to the archipelago's second-largest city, [[Klaksvík]]. The volcanic origin of the Faroe Islands is more pronounced here than anywhere else. The landscape is very dramatic. | region2name=[[Eysturoy]] | region2color=#9C759C | region2description=The second largest island. The landscape in the north is very steep. | region3name=[[Streymoy]] | region3color=#4F93C0 | region3description=Streymoy is the largest and main island. The north is less densely populated but there are some wonderful villages. In the south the capital [[Tórshavn]] is situated and the area surrounding the capital is where the largest number of people live. The smaller islands of Nólsoy, Hestur, and Koltur are also included in this region. | region5name=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]] | region5color=#C8B7B7 | region5description=[[Vágar]] is the third largest island and is where the airport is situated. [[Mykines]], the small island to the west, is well known for its bird life and remote location. | region6name= [[Sandoyar]] | region6color=#578E86 | region6description=The region is made up of three islands with the largest being Sandoy, the other two are Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun. | region7name=[[Suðuroy]] | region7color=#6D926D | region7description=The most southerly island and Lítla Dímun - the smallest island, which is uninhabited. }} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q207675|group=map1|fill=#C8B7B7|title=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q208321|group=map1|fill=#578E86|title=[[Sandoyar]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q210309|group=map1|fill=#6D926D|title=[[Suðuroy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q977685|group=map1|fill=#ABC09B|title=[[Northern Islands]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q200939|group=map1|fill=#9C759C|title=[[Eysturoy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q192540|group=map1|fill=#4F93C0|title=[[Streymoy]]}} ==Settlements== [[Image:Sumba, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|The village Sumba in [[Suðuroy]].]] [[Image:Oyndarfjørður, Faroe Islands (4).JPG|thumb|The village Oyndarfjørður]] <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are LIMITED TO 9 ITEMS. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page. --> Until the late 19th century, people spent most of their lives in the same village. Towns didn’t start to appear until very late. For instance, the capital, Tórshavn, only counted about 100 inhabitants in 1900, whereas today the population is nearly 20,000. In the Faroe Islands the traditional village was to a certain extent self-sufficient. Historically there was a limit to how many families it could support. When the fishing industry took off in 1872, it was the beginning of the end for the traditional way of life in the small villages as fishing replaced farming and the growing population chose to settle in fast-growing towns instead. Today there are still over a hundred villages in the Faroe Islands. Nearly every one of them is near the ocean, and to new visitors they may all seem to be very much alike. The houses are painted either in bright colours or the traditional black, whilst the roofs are often turf-covered. The buildings are usually built very close to each other, which is very cosy. Each village is surrounded by a cultivated infield, surrounded by an uncultivated outfield. In most places, the sheep occupy the outfield throughout the year. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tórshavn]]|url=|lat=62.0117|long=-6.7675 |wikidata=Q10704}} – the capital and largest city * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Klaksvík]]|url=|lat=62.2239|long=-6.5786}} – the main industrial centre and the largest town in the [[Northern Islands]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hoyvík]]|url=|lat=62.0256|long=-6.7589 }} – north of Tórshavn, nowadays effectively a suburb * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tvøroyri]]|url=|lat=61.5558|long=-6.8033 |wikidata=Q754666}} – the second largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Vágur]]|url=|lat=61.4753|long=-6.8072|wikidata=Q7547}} – the largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Runavík]]|url=|lat=62.1094|long=-6.7192}} – the largest village on Eysturoy, kind of an agglomeration together with Toftir and Saltangrá * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Fuglafjørður]]|url=|lat=62.2444|long=-6.8144}} – its cultural centre has become one of the main cultural attractions on Eysturoy ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Vestmannabjørgini|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Vestmanna Birdcliffs'') – The bird cliffs are situated north of Vestmanna. The half of a kilometre high cliffs are one of the high points of a trip to the Faroes. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mjørkadalur|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Foggy Valley'') – A valley overlooking the Kalbaksfjørður fjord, rising to the peak of Sornfelli mountain. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Tinganes|url=|lat=|long=}} – The old town of [[Tórshavn]]. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Coal Mines|url=|lat=|long=}} in [[Hvalba]], [[Suðuroy]]. ==Understand== {{NordicCountries}} {{quickbar|location=LocationFaroeIslands.png}} The Faroe Islands are a self-governing island territory of [[Denmark]], although they aim politically for greater independence. The islands have a population of 51,000 (2018), and a language and culture of their own. The Faroese tourist season is very short. It begins in May and ends by September. Most visitors come between July and August by far. If you would like to avoid the busiest season, it is best to visit the Faroes in late May or early June. The Faroese weather has its own temperament and is a lot like the weather in neighbouring regions, just more unpredictable. One of the main reasons that people visit the Faroe Islands is the incredible nature and scenery. The Faroe Islands turn extraordinarily green during the summertime. The fresh air, the deep blue ocean, the vertical sea cliffs and the green mountains with their picturesque valleys, is something which would amaze anyone who enjoys being surrounded by nature. There are bus rides, horse trekking, mountain hikes and boat trips which allow you to enjoy the magnificent wild green landscape. Sometimes the summer fog creates a mystical landscape, in which you may vividly imagine the great history and mystical stories belonging to the islands. Some have said that when the landscape is surrounded by this sort of weather it reminds them of the landscape in J.R.R Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. The tranquility of the islands are great if you want to escape from big city madness. The Faroese love to take things easy and are not at all worried about arriving on time. But if you ever find yourself in the mood for a night out in town, you will find that Tórshavn caters for your every need with its great shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. Because the islands are so close to the Arctic Circle, the amount of daylight varies by season. The sun sets briefly each night in June, so there are several hours of twilight, before the sun comes back up again. During the winter there are no days of complete darkness, but about five hours of daylight. The Faroe Islands' primary industry is the fishing industry and the islands have one of the smallest independent economic entities in the world. The fishing industry accounts for over 80% of the total export value of goods, which are mainly processed fish products and fish farming. Tourism is the second largest industry, followed by woollen and other manufactured products. The unemployment rate in the Faroes is extremely low. The Faroese are trying to diversify their economy, but are divided about how to go about it. Most Faroese people work in the public sector as teachers, caretakers or having office jobs, etc. The rise in the public sector workforce is highlighted by the fact that it is getting less and less popular to work in the fishing industry, and the private sector isn't big enough to support an educated and more demanding workforce. ===People=== [[File:Tambar, a 20 feet Faroese wooden boat, belonging to the rowing club Róðrarfelagið Knørrur. Photo by Ólavur Frederiksen, July 21, 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Young rowers of Róðrarfelagið Knørrur]] The Faroes were colonised by Norwegians in the 9th century – according to history the first settler was Grímur Kamban, a Norwegian Viking who made his home in [[Funningur]] on [[Eysturoy]] in 825. The Faroese population has largely descended from these settlers. Recent DNA analyses have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian. However, the studies also show that mitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Celtic. About 20,000 people live in the metropolitan area which comprises Tórshavn, Kirkjubøur, Velbastaður, Nólsoy, Hestur, Koltur, Hoyvík, Argir, Kaldbak, Kaldbaksbotnur, Kollafjørður, Signabøur and Oyrareingir (Tórshavn Municipality). About 4,700 people live in Klaksvík, the second largest town in the islands. 4,750 people live in [[Suðuroy]], the southernmost islands (2010) and 1330 people live on Sandoy island (2010). Faroese, the national language, is rooted in Old Norse. ===Politics=== [[File:Lagting.tórshavn.jpg|thumb|The Faroese Parliament building]] The [[Vikings and the old Norse|Viking settlers]] established their own parliament, called a "ting", around 800. The main ting was established on Tinganes in Tórshavn and local tings were established in various parts of the islands. Around the turn of the millennium, the Faroes came under the control of the Norwegian king. In 1380 the Faroes, along with [[Orkney Islands | Orkney]], [[Shetland Islands | Shetland]], [[Iceland]] and [[Greenland]], joined [[Norway]] in a union with [[Denmark]]. At the end of the Napoleonic wars, in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel forced Denmark to cede Norway to [[Sweden]], but it kept the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. Two years later, in 1816, the Faroes became a Danish county and the old parliament was abolished. The Danish Governor became the highest authority in the Faroes. In 1849 the Danish parliamentary constitution was made to apply in the Faroe Islands. In 1852 the Faroese parliament was reinstated as a county council, but served mainly as an advisory power. The Danish governor presided at all meetings and was a co-opted member. At the same time, the Faroes came to be represented in the Danish parliament. Although the Faroe Islands recognise the Royal powers, they have never been a part of Denmark, only the Danish kingdom. During [[World War II]], Denmark was occupied by the Germans, while the Faroes had a friendly occupation by the British. During this time the Faroese parliament carried both the legislative and the fiscal responsibility. The Faroese people had a taste of self-government and a return to the status quo seemed impossible. After a referendum, which led to a very small majority voting for independence, in 1946 negotiations took place between the two countries and the outcome was the Home Rule Act in 1948. The Faroese were from then on responsible for most matters of government except for foreign affairs and defence. The Faroe Islands has its own prime minister, and its parliament may legislate on matters of local importance and reject Danish laws. The Faroes are still represented in the Danish parliament by two representatives. Also, since 1970 the Faroes have had independent status in the Nordic Council. Furthermore, the Faroes have their own flag. Unlike Denmark, the Faroe Islands is not part of the EU or the Schengen Area, meaning that non-Nordic EU and EEA citizens do not have work or residency rights. However, Faroe Islanders are full Danish citizens and carry Danish passports for international travel, making them eligible to reside and work in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. ===Climate=== The weather is maritime and quite unpredictable. It can change quickly and it varies extremely, from moments of brilliant sunshine to misty hill fog, to showers: there can be sunshine on one side of the mountain range, while it's raining on the other side. During the summer the islands are often overcast by summer fog. The Gulf Stream south of the islands tempers the climate. The harbours never freeze and the temperature in winter time is very moderate considering the high latitude. Snowfall occurs, but it is short-lived. The average temperature ranges from 3°C in the wintertime to 11°C during the summer. The temperature can be much higher, but the air is always fresh and clean no matter the season. ===Landscape=== With their volcanic origin the 18 islands are rugged and rocky. The average height above sea level for the country is 300&nbsp;m (982&nbsp;ft). The highest peak, Slættaratindur, is 880&nbsp;m (2887&nbsp;ft) above sea level. There are 1,100&nbsp;km (687&nbsp;mi) of coastline and at no time is one more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. Mountains and valleys mostly characterize the inner landscape. The Faroese west coast is characterized by steep slopes and bird cliffs, that in the summertime are full of nesting seabirds such as puffins. Something that first meets the eye of a traveller is the lack of trees in the Faroes. The reason for this are the thousands of sheep that occupy the islands. ===Visitor information=== * [https://visitfaroeislands.com/en Official tourism website] ==Talk== {{seealso|Faroese phrasebook}} The main official language of the Faroe Islands is '''[[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]''', which is the mother tongue of most inhabitants. '''[[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]''' has a co-official status; it is taught in schools and most services and official documents are available in Danish. Faroese is a Germanic language stemming from Old Norse and mutually intelligible to some extent with Icelandic. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish share these roots, but have been much more influenced by especially Low German. English speakers will recognise some cognates from Old Norse and other influences, but modern loanwords are quite few. Most locals speak '''English''' as a second language; it is compulsory in Faroese schools. However, learning some basic Faroese greetings will help to endear you to the locals. == Get in == === Visas === Although part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are not part of the [[European Union]] or the [[Travelling around the Schengen Area|Schengen Area]]. If you do not need a visa for Denmark, you can generally visit the Faroe Islands visa-free for up to 90 days, provided your passport is valid for at least 3 months beyond your intended departure date. Citizens of the [[Nordic countries]] may stay in the Faroe Islands indefinitely with no restrictions including on employment. If you need a visa for Denmark, inform the embassy when you apply that you'll be visiting the Faroe Islands, as Schengen visas issued for the mainland are not valid for the Faroe Islands (or Greenland). Citizens of all EU and Schengen countries can enter with only a valid ID card, but should still carry their passport as a backup, since it is possible for flights to be diverted to Scotland where such cards are not valid. ===By plane=== [[File:Atlantic Airways A319 OY-RCG.JPG|thumb|An Atlantic Airways aircraft at Vágar Airport]] *{{go | name=Vágar Airport | alt=Vága Floghavn {{IATA|FAE}} | url=http://www.floghavn.fo | email= | address= | lat=62.063611 | long=-7.277222 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vágar Airport | image=Vágar Airport, Faroe Islands.JPG | wikidata=Q371471 | content=The Faroe Islands are served by one airport. The airport is on the island of Vágar and the location was chosen by the British during their occupation of the islands during World War II. About 300,000 (and increasing) passengers fly to and from the airport every year. Vágar is connected to the largest island, Streymoy (on which the capital Tórshavn is situated) by a sub-sea tunnel. There are buses to Torshavn (line 300 on [http://www.ssl.fo/ ssl.fo]); the schedules are aligned (more or less) with the arrival of all flights. The price to Tórshavn is {{DKK|90}}. You need to change buses if you are going to Klaksvik. Taxis serve the airport at fixed rates (Tórshavn costs {{DKK|220}} per passenger, not per cab). Advance bookings can be made through the [https://taxi.fo/en/airporttaxi/ taxi company's website]. }} Airlines serving the airport are: *[https://www.atlanticairways.com/en '''Atlantic Airways'''] is the national carrier and connects the Faroes with several places in Scandinavia and continental Europe. The Faroes are accessible by regular commercial air service from [[Copenhagen]] (3 times a day), as well as [[Billund]] and [[Aalborg]] in Denmark. From Norway there are direct flights from [[Oslo]]. From Iceland there are direct flights from Keflavík airport near [[Reykjavík]] (twice a week). From Britain there are direct flights from [[Edinburgh]]. From Spain there are direct flights from [[Barcelona]], [[Mallorca]], and [[Gran Canaria]]. From France there are direct flights from [[Paris]]-CDG. *[https://www.flysas.com/ '''SAS'''] flies almost daily from Copenhagen (April - October only). *[https://www.wideroe.no/en '''Widerøe'''] flies regularly from [[Bergen]], Norway. Summer fog is a problem when flying to the Faroes in the summer months. The planes cannot land in this weather and will often divert to Iceland or Scotland where you will stay until the weather clears. This also means that flights out of the Faroes can be disrupted too. Allow yourself a few days either side of your visit to the Faroes in case of flight delays. ===By boat=== * [http://www.smyril-line.com '''Smyril Line'''] operates a year-round passenger and car ferry service to the Faroe Islands, twice a week in summer. The ferry sails between [[Hirtshals]] (North Jutland, [[Denmark]]) and [[Seyðisfjörður]] (on the east coast of [[Iceland]]). It is the only ferry service with scheduled services to Iceland. Getting to the Faroes by boat takes longer than by plane but has the advantage of allowing you to take your own vehicle. As of 2023, prices for single passage without vehicle start at {{EUR|92}} in off-season and {{EUR|112}} in high season. For people arriving by yacht, there are several harbours around the islands. The best are found in Tórshavn (the capital), Klaksvík, Tvøroyri, Vágur, Vestmanna, Sørvágur, Miðvágur, Runavík, and Fuglafjørður. ==Get around== [[File:Krambatangi ferry port and Tvoroyri.JPG|thumb|The ferry Smyril M/F, here leaving Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy, heading for Tórshavn, the capital.]] [[File:Map_of_the_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_Islands.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the tunnels of the Faroe Islands]] The Faroe Islands are a small country and getting around is easy. All of the Islands are connected by public transport. === Travelling between islands === The two largest islands, Streymoy and Eysturoy, are connected by a bridge, Sundabrúgvin ("the Channel Bridge"). Toll tunnels connect the islands of Vágar with Streymoy, and also Borðoy to Eysturoy. Road causeways connect Borðoy with Viðoy and Kunoy. The other main islands [[Sandoy]] and [[Suðuroy]] have excellent car-ferry connections to Streymoy, making driving in the Faroes easy and pleasant. * '''Route 7 Tvøroyri - Tórshavn:''' M/F Smyril has 2–3 daily departures from Tórshavn, sailing to Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy. * '''Route 36 Sørvágur - Mykines:''' M/F Jósup has 2 daily departures in summer from Sørvágur on Vágar island to Mykines island, less in winter time. Due to the popularity of the destination, this is the only route that requires booking tickets in advance (via [https://www.mykines.fo/search/mykines/ mykines.fo]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}). * '''Route 56 Klaksvík - Syðradalur:''' M/F Sam has up to 7 daily departures from Klaksvík to Syðradalur on Kalsoy island. * '''Route 58 Hvannasund - Hattarvík:''' M/F Ritan has 3 daily departures from Hvannasund on Viðoy island to the islands Svínoy and Fugloy in summertime, less in wintertime. * '''Route 60 Skopun - Gamlarætt''' & '''61 Gamlarætt - Hestur:''' M/F Teistin has around 8 daily departures from Gamlarætt ferry port to Skopun on Sandoy island. Teistin has also a few departures to Hestur island, but only on request. Gamlarætt is located on the west coast of Streymoy, not far from Tórshavn and near the villages Kirkjubøur and Velbastaður. * '''Route 66 Sandur - Skúvoy:''' M/F Sildberin has only one regular daily connection between Sandur and Skúvoy, all others must be requested by phone some hours prior to departure. * '''Route 90 Tórshavn - Nólsoy:''' M/F Ternan has 5–7 daily departures from Tórshavn to Nólsoy. ''Strandfaraskip Landsins'', the Faroese public transport service, publishes an annual timetable ([https://www.ssl.fo/en/timetable/ferry/7-tvoroyri-torshavn/ Ferðaætlan]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}) containing details of all ferry and bus schedules. It is available from the Passenger Terminal in Tórshavn, and all tourist information centres. It is not possible to make advance bookings on car ferries. You should be at the pier at least 20 minutes before scheduled departure, and much earlier on Friday and Saturday evenings. ===By bus=== Passenger road transport is run by private companies, but is coordinated by a public body, [http://www.ssl.fo/ Strandfaraskip Landsins]. The inter-town bus system (Bygdaleiðir) and the public ferry company have established a coherent and well-developed public transport system which takes in all settlements on the islands. This means that there are bus services to all places - maybe not often, but every day! Bygdaleiðir's buses are blue. A schedule (Ferðaætlan) listing the various timetables for the inter-town buses (and ferries) may be purchased from the tourist office, as well as the central bus station near the harbour in Tórshavn. Transport is quite expensive, so check for student discount or multiple-ride-cards. Students, children and pensioners are eligible for discounts on fares provided they show a student or pensioner identity card. As of Mar. 2026, there is a four-day (adult 500 kr, child 250 kr) and seven-day (adult 700 kr, child 350 kr) [https://www.ssl.fo/en/prices/tourist-travel-card Travel Card] meant for tourists which is valid for all buses and ferries except routes 36 and 90. It is well worth its price if you are planning to get around the islands by public transport. The buses are equipped with radios. If you are planning to change buses, do tell the driver in advance, as he will make sure the other bus waits for you. The capital Tórshavn offers a local bus service (Bussleiðin) with seven routes that reach most area of the town which is free. The red coloured-buses operate every 15-30 mins during the day throughout the week and every 30-60 mins on weekday evenings. Several routes run hourly on Saturdays and Sundays. Route maps and schedules may be obtained on the buses, at Kiosk Steinatún in the centre of town, or at Kunningarstovan, the local tourist information in Tórshavn. ===By car=== [[File:Faroe Islands, Eysturoy, road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta.jpg|thumb|Road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta]] The first motor road connecting two villages wasn’t built until 1916, and travellers were limited to mountain paths and rowing boats. Nevertheless, today driving is easy with an excellent 600&nbsp;km network of well maintained tarmaced roads and tunnels. The density of cars is one of the highest in Europe. The numerous road tunnels in the Faroe Islands mean that drivers of large vehicles must plan their routes by finding out in advance which tunnel they can enter. Driving is on the right and most road signs follow international standards. Headlights and seat belts must be on when driving. The speed limit is 80&nbsp;km/h (50&nbsp;mph) outside towns and villages, and 50&nbsp;km/h (30&nbsp;mph) in the towns and villages. For cars with trailers, the speed limit is 50&nbsp;km/h and for caravans the speed limit is 60&nbsp;km/h. The consequences for speeding are severe. Sheep graze freely on both sides of the main roads and will cross at will. Also they may hide from bad weather just inside the tunnels, which causes many collisions each year. Parking in the towns of Tórshavn, Klaksvík and Runavík is restricted and parking fines cost {{DKK|200}}. The times in black (or white if it's on a dark background) are for weekdays' limited time parking period. The times with brackets are for Saturday. There is typically no time limit on Sunday and public holidays, but if there is, the time limit is written in red. Parking discs must be displayed in the lower right hand corner of the front windscreen showing the time you parked your car. These display discs are available for free at banks and tourist offices. Off-road driving is prohibited by law in the Faroe Islands. Respect the islands' pristine nature by keeping to sealed roads. ====Sub-sea tunnel fares==== You have to pay a toll to use the sub-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands. As of summer 2022, there are 3 tunnels that charge tolls: {| class="wikitable" ! Tunnel !! Cars !! Vehicles<br>> 6 m and/or > 3,500 kg !! Motorcycles !! Remark |- | Vágatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Vágar. |- | Norðoyatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Klaksvík. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Streymoy - Eysturoy) || {{DKK|175}} || {{DKK|800}} || {{DKK|160}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Strendur - Runavík)|| {{DKK|125}} || {{DKK|200}} || {{DKK|120}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |} Two more large sub-sea tunnels are under construction in 2022, connecting the southern islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy to the overall road network. You have three days to pay after using the tunnel before an invoice is sent to the car owner. If you have rented the car, the rental agency will charge a large fee if this occurs. You may pay at any petrol station on the islands or [https://www.tunnil.fo/english online]. Most car rental companies offer flat rates at the equivalent of 3–5 return tunnel trips. If you prefer to pay for all your tunnel trips yourself, make it clear when you hire the car. The rental company will charge you if it is unaware that you have already paid the tunnel operator. If travelling with your own car it is also possible to purchase a subscription by registering at tunnil.fo and paying a non-refundable fee of {{DKK|400}} (or {{DKK|600}} when also using the Eysturoyartunnel) (2022). This will give you access to discounted tunnel prices, but you will have to pre-pay for your trips by loading money into your account at the website ({{DKK|400}} minimum for each payment). ==== Car rental ==== ''' Vágar ''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo]. {{phone|716 060}}, {{email|info@rent.fo}} New rental vehicles. Responsive to emails. * Avis Føroyar, Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|358800, 212765}}. * [https://www.62n.fo/en/car-rental/ 62N.fo] (formerly Hertz), Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|733 510}}, {{email|car@62n.fo}} '''Tórshavn''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo], R. C. Effersøesgøta 17, Tórshavn. Tel: 716 060, [mailto:info@rent.fo info@rent.fo] * 62N.fo, Tórshavn city centre, 100 Tórshavn. Tel: 733 510, [mailto:car@62n.fo car@62n.fo] '''Miðvágur''' * [https://unicar.fo Unicar], Ytra bryggja 4, 370 Miðvágur. {{phone|544 000}}, {{email|unicar@unicar.fo}} ===By helicopter=== You can splurge, and take a helicopter (instead of the cheaper ferry) to all the faraway islands – for example to Mykines, the picturesque island far west. Atlantic Airways offers a [https://www.atlanticairways.com/en/helicopter helicopter service] to selected towns and villages throughout the Faroes. Contact Atlantic Airways directly ({{phone|+298 341060}}). Booking is required. The service is intended for locals on remote islands, and as such tourists can only book one way of a journey but you can use the ferry and bus services to make the return journey. Bad weather may result in helicopter flights being cancelled. Non-residents don't get subsidised prices any more; tickets cost about thrice as much as for locals. === Hitchhiking === [[File:Hitchhiking near Torshavn.jpg|thumb|Hitchhiking near Torshavn]] The Faroe Islands are the ideal for hitchhiking, as they are amongst the easiest places in the world to secure a lift. To begin with, the vast majority of locals speak excellent English, allowing for genuine conversation and unique insights into their culture. Furthermore, the Faroese are naturally curious about visitors and often take pleasure in acting as impromptu guides; it is not uncommon for a driver to go out of their way to show you a hidden gem while chatting along the route. The islands have a prosperous economy, meaning there is a high volume of private motorcars on the well-maintained roads. Safety is rarely a concern either; the small population and robust education system contribute to an exceptionally low crime rate. Finally, because distances are so short, you are never committed to a single vehicle for too long. Given the high cost of car hire, the infrequent public transport schedules, and the sheer ease of the experience, hitchhiking is can be a wonderful transport choice. In most instances, you will find yourself picked up by the first or second car to pass by. == See == [[Image:Hesturin and Beinisvord, Vertical Cliffs of Suduroy, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|Beinisvørð in [[Suðuroy]] is a 470-m-high sea cliff.]] * '''Slættaratindur''' on [[Eysturoy#Q738746|Eysturoy]]: at 880 m, is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. It is well worth climbing. The only downside is that the summit is often wrapped in fog. * '''Beinisvord''' (Beinisvørð) is the highest sea cliff in Suðuroy and the second-highest in the Faroe Islands at 470 m. The views down to the sea and towards north to the west coast of Suðuroy are breathtaking. You can see or climb Beinisvørð from a place named Hesturin, which is between the villages Lopra and [[Suðuroy#Q792079|Sumba]]. You can drive to Sumba through the tunnel and then follow the old road to the highest point. From there the edge is only a few metres away. Be careful not to walk too far out on the edge, as the cliff ends all of a sudden. * '''Rinkusteinar''' near Oyndarfjørður on [[Eysturoy#Q730352|Esturoy]], is a strange natural phenomenon, two very large boulders which permanently stand rocking in the ocean, just a few metres from the shore. The stones have been rocking as far back as anyone can tell. * '''Risin og Kellingin''' (the Giant and his Wife) on [[Eysturoy#Q1269020|Esturoy]], close to the village of Eiði, are two magnificent basalt sea stacks off the northern tip of the island. Legend has it that the two giants had come to tow the Faroes back with them to Iceland, However, the sun rose and they were turned into stone. They stand looking towards [[Iceland]], which they will never reach. <!-- -->[[File:Gasadalur village and a waterfall.jpg|thumb|Gásadalur village]][[File:Viðareiði sunset.jpg|thumb|Viðareiði settlement]] * '''Gásadalur ''' on [[Vágar#Q226056|Vágar]] is both a village and waterfall. This village is one of the most iconic representations of the Faroe Islands. Here, you'll be treated to a picturesque scene where a few traditional, environmentally-friendly houses stand against the backdrop of a hill perched on a high cliff, with a majestic waterfall. * '''Viðareiði''' on the [[Northern Islands#Q901774|Northern Islands]] is the northernmost settlement in the Faroe Islands. It is situated between two stunning hills, one of them the third highest in the archipelago. ===Lakes=== Nestled amidst the stunning landscapes lies the tranquil lakes of the Faroe Islands. These lakes mirror the surrounding emerald hills and can even [[Vágar#Sørvágsvatn|cause you to question]] your perception of vision. * '''Sørvágsvatn''', perhaps nicknamed as the lake above the ocean, is the largest lake in the Faroes. It is 30–40 m above the sea and its curve sweeps close to sheer cliffs in [[Vágar]]. * ''' Lake Toftir''' (''Toftavatn'') south of [[Eysturoy]] is a lake that's one of its kind. The low rolling hills around the idyllic lake have the widest stretches of heather on the islands. They are considered unique in the Faroes. Furthermore, the terrain is a splendid choice for an outing. ==Do== * '''[[Sea kayaking]]'''. Kayaks are widely available for rent. * '''[[Birdwatching]]'''. ===Hiking=== It is possible to hike in Faroe Islands, however, you must stick to prepared trails, and it is not permitted to put up tents outside designated areas. Most famous hikes are accessible only by paying a fee (e.g. the hike along Leitisvatn/Sørvágsvatn out to Trælanípa and Bøsdalafossur waterfall for {{DKK|200}} or Mykines past the village for {{DKK|250}}, as of 2022). Credit card payment is available everywhere. Weather is unpredictable, there might be rain storms, so bring suitable clothes. A combination of hiking and bus transport is advised, so you don't need to walk back the same way again. The tourism authority produced a hiking guide which is available from their [https://visitfaroeislands.com/see-do/hiking/ website]. It offers detailed descriptions with small maps for 23 short tours on virtually all of the islands. Going on your own, check with the regional information centres about farming and hunting activities. Tourist information offices, including the one in the airport, distributes booklets about hiking around the Faroe Islands, suggesting various routes. Another great source for hiking tracks is the mobile application called ''Maps.me'' which displays walking paths as well as roads. In any case, one is not far away from picturesque paths in any given location. In the worst case, one can walk along the roads as cars rarely pass by. ==Buy== Almost everything in the Faroe Islands is expensive. All consumer sales include 25% VAT (sales tax) and displayed prices always include this. ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Danish kroner | currencyCodeAfter=&nbsp;kr | date=January 2026 | USD=6.4 | EUR=7.5 | GBP=8.6 | NOK=0.6 | SEK=0.7 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/dkk-danish-krone?r= XE.com] }} The Faroese currency is the '''Danish krone''' (plural: ''kroner''), abbreviated "'''kr.'''" (ISO code: '''DKK'''). The Faroese government prints its own banknotes, '''[http://www.nationalbanken.dk/DNUK/NotesAndCoins.nsf/side/The_new_Faroese_banknote_series?OpenDocument the Króna]''', although Danish coins are used. The coins come in 50 oyra (half of a króna), 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 króna. Paper notes come in 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 króna. Their exchange value is equivalent to the Danish crown, and there is no service charge on exchange, as Danish notes are just as acceptable and used interchangbly in the Faroe Islands. Before leaving the Faroes, exchange Faroese notes for Danish notes or other currency, since Faroese notes are usually not recognized by banks outside of Denmark. ===Shopping=== Opening hours in the Faroes are longer than they used to be, but many smaller shops still close early on Saturday (usually at 14:00) and nearly everything is closed on Sundays. Tórshavn is the obvious choice for shopping, although both Runavík and especially Klaksvik have some nice shops selling clothes and knick-knacks. Wool and woollen clothing are popular on the Islands, and you will find some fashionable sweaters, jackets and (cheaper) hats, shawls and gloves. Check out the shops "Sirri" and "Guðrun og Guðrun". There is only one proper shopping centre: SMS (Sølumiðstøð), containing the largest supermarket, Miklagarður, and some different shops and a few chains including Burger King, Bath and Body Works and Vero Moda. Yasmin sells women’s clothing. The Shopping Centre has glass art-work by artist Tróndur Patursson. There are a few second hand shops in Tórshavn. If you are from outside the EU/Scandinavia you can have your [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/duty-free/tax-free-shopping/ 25% VAT refunded] when leaving the country, for certain purchases not for use in the Faroes. Only purchases with at least 399 kr on a single receipt will be eligible for tax refund. Smaller stores or those in remote villages may not be participating in the VAT refund scheme. For shops that offer VAT refund, they will attach a sticker to the back of your receipt. Take this receipt to the information desk in Vágar airport if departing by plane, onboard the Norrøna ferry or at the Visit North (Visit Norðoy) tourist information centre if departing by cruise ship or sailboat. ==Eat== {{seealso|Nordic cuisine}} Most traditional Faroese cuisine involves either lamb or fish. The traditional Faroese kitchen mainly owes its food traditions to the archipelago's harsh climate, similar to [[Iceland#Eat|the cuisine of Iceland]]. This is because in earlier days the food culture on the islands was not very extensive. It is hard to find a Faroese dish on the menu of a restaurant, but it is possible at certain restaurants and hotels. [[File:Tvost og spik.jpg|thumb|Tvøst og spik]] Distinctive Faroese foods include: *Wild seabirds, e.g. '''puffins'''. The puffins are stuffed with cake and served with potatoes and wild berries *''Skerpikjøt'', dried mutton that has been hung for over a year and is eaten raw *''Ræst kjøt'', meat that has been hung for a couple of months to mature before cooking *''Ræstur fiskur'', dried fish that has been hung in the same way as ræstkjøt *''Turrur fiskur'', dried fish * ''Tvøst og spik'', whale meat and blubber *'''Rhubarb''', since it is easy to cultivate While the capital, Tórshavn, offers a variety of dining options, the selection remains somewhat limited. Beyond the capital, the number of establishments and the standard of cuisine drop significantly. Although McDonald’s has no presence in the Faroe Islands, Burger King has opened a branch. In Tórshavn, there are fast-food outlets and one City Burger in the town centre. Across the islands, petrol station, primarily '''Effo''' and '''Mag''', are common. Almost all of these serve quick snacks and hot food, with sausages being a particular staple. * '''KOKS:''' — at Hotel Føroyar, this restaurant boasts an excellent view across Tórshavn. The menu features both local Faroese specialities and international dishes. * '''Áarstova:''' — near the harbour and adjacent to Café Natúr, which specialises in traditional Faroese fare. * '''Toscana:''' — a charming, boutique Italian restaurant in the town centre. * '''Etika:''' — a delicatessen and takeaway offering high-quality sushi, made using the islands' exceptionally fresh local fish. == Drink == [[File:Okkara Klassik (øl).JPG|thumb|upright|A can of Okkara beer]] The legal drinking age in the Faroes is 18. The Faroese love to party, and drinking is much more popular than doing drugs. There are two brands of Faroese beer: Føroya Bjór and Okkara. Føroya Bjór is well-established and is the oldest of the two breweries. It has received awards abroad. Okkara was established in 2010 and is growing in popularity, mainly for their craft beer. Alcohol is very expensive. Light beer may be purchased in shops and unlicensed restaurants and cafés. Stronger beer, wine and spirits can only be purchased in the Government Monopoly stores ([http://www.rusan.fo Rúsdrekkasøla]) in major towns and in licensed restaurants, cafés and bars etc. How much you can bring to the Faroe Islands as duty-free imports is listed on the taxation office's website, [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/customs/duty-free-imports-to-the-faroe-islands taks.fo]. === Government Monopoly Stores === '''Streymoy''' *Hoyvíksvegur 51, Tórshavn *Á Hjalla 14, Tórshavn *Niðari Vegur 81, Vestmanna '''Eysturoy''' *Svartheyggj 2, Norðskáli *Heiðavegur 25, Saltangará '''Borðoy''' *Sævargøta 6, Klaksvík '''Sandoy''' * Heimasandsvegur 58, Sandur '''Suðuroy''' * Langabakki 5, Trongisvágur '''Vágar''' *Skaldarvegur 5, Miðvágur === Nightlife === Outside the capital, bars and nightclubs are few and far between. In Tórshavn, the heart of the nightlife is centred around the harbour. Here, is Cirkus Føroyar, a popular haunt for local musicians. Directly across the street, also overlooking the water, is Hvonn; located within Hotel Tórshavn, it is a favourite weekend destination for the city's youth. The bar Café Natúr is close by. Every Wednesday there is a pub quiz at Café Natúr. The wooden interiors are similar to English or Irish pubs, and have live music (usually in the form of a singer or guitarist). Another place is Cleopatra right in the town centre which has a restaurant on the lower floor, with the main bar on the next floor up. The entrance to the bar is up some green felt stairs. A nightclub is Rex, on the third floor in the same building as "Havnar Bio", the cinema. You need to be 21 or over to get in. For young people the nightclub Deep is a place to visit. It is the same as in most European cities a you have to be eighteen or older to get in. ===Cafés=== For a coffee go to the Western harbour "Vágsbotn", just below Tórshavn Dome and have a cup of coffee at café Kaffihúsið. Kaffihúsi is located down by the sea and has a very nice atmosphere. The Café Dugni is in the middle of town. Bill Clinton had a cup of coffee there when he visited the islands a few years back. At Dugni you can buy Faroes handicrafts while having coffee and homemade faroese cakes. Other cafés include Café Kaspar at hotel Hafnia, and Baresso at the shopping centre SMS. Hvonn is one of the most popular places at night, keeping it sophisticated and clean, and also includes a brasserie. == Sleep == [[File:Tinganes, Torshavn 2005.jpg|thumb|Torshavn]] === Youth hostels === The youth hostels of the Faroes are spread across the islands. The small size of the Faroes ensures that the next youth hostel is always well within one day’s walking distance allowing visitors to travel from one youth hostel to the next one at will. Accommodation is mostly in 2 to 6 rooms of limited size but of good standard. There are few dormitory accommodations at the Faroese, with one exception being at Bládýpi which has 2 dorms, as well as apartments. Most of the youth hostels don´t have a regular reception with daily opening hours, so be sure to make arrangements with your host by e-mail or phone before arrival. Prices vary slightly with the cheapest being around {{DKK|200}} per night/person for adults. Variable discounts for children 2–11 years old. YHF members get a {{DKK|20}} discount while groups get special discounts. === Camping === Legally camping is only allowed in designated places but in reality, you can camp anywhere as long as you are not impudent. Locals are aware that camping prohibition law is few centuries old and might not apply these days. Safe distance might be half an hour walk away from the village. There are few objects to hide behind so you would be visible from far away, but as long as you pitch a tent in evening and pick up early morning, you should be fine. Once again, camping outside designated areas is not legal but locals do this too. [[File:Camping in Nolsoy.jpg|thumb|Camping with a wind-break]] If you decide to break the law and camp in the wild, be aware of frequently changing weather conditions. It's advisable to look for a hideout from the wind and pitch a tent to sustain from strong gusts. No one would like to wake-up in a night to repitch a tent. One can easily find a stretch of land just to oneself to enjoy the tranquillity the Faroe islands gives after a sunset. Also, be considerate and take your rubbish with you. Or as a saying goes "leave no trace, only footprints".<!--== Learn == .--> == Learn == The main university in the Faroe Islands is the '''[https://www.setur.fo/en/ University of the Faroe Islands]'''. Most classes are conducted entirely in Faroese, so if you don't know any Faroese, courses are unlikely to be of any interest. Every summer the university hosts a program that allows people to get a good introduction to Faroese language and literature. More information can be found [https://www.setur.fo/education/faroese-summer-institute here]. If you are deeply fascinated with Nordic culture, the islands are a great place to start. == Work == To work in the Faroe Islands, most foreigners, including citizens of most EU and Schengen countries, require a work permit. Only citizens of the Nordic countries are exempt form having to obtain one. ==Stay safe== The Faroe Islands are generally safe. Crime and traffic are minor risks. While there are no major natural disasters or [[dangerous animals]], fog can be a danger for hikers and drivers. Sheep may be startled by cars, and leap out in front of them. If you happen to [[animal collision|collide with a sheep]], you should immediately contact the police in Tórshavn at telephone number {{phone|+298 351448}} for assistance. This ensures that the farmer can apply for compensation from their own insurance company. You do not need to pay compensation to the farmer for lost income. Hare hunting takes place in November and December, mostly on Saturdays, but also in weekdays. Hiking is safe on Sundays. == Stay healthy == There are emergency services at the hospital in Tórshavn, Klaksvík on Borðoy and Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Doctors around the islands provide emergency assistance. A lot of hospital staff are residents of Denmark who spend periods on the Faroes to supplement the local health staff. The coast guard and Atlantic Airways have helicopters that may be used in emergencies. Police stations are found in most parts of the Country. '''[[Tap water]]''' is safe to drink. === Health insurance === Citizens of the Nordic countries and the UK are covered by their own national health insurance. It is advisable for citizens of other countries to take out travel health insurance. === Emergency or Fire === * Dial 112 === Pharmacies === * Tórshavn (by the SMS shopping centre) on Streymoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 341100}} * Klaksvík on Borðoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 455055}} * Runavík on Eysturoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 471200}} * Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Tel: {{phone|+298 371076}} === Car problems === For breakdown and immediate help on the two larger islands Streymoy and Eysturoy, contact the fire station in Tórshavn, telephone number {{phone|+298 302100}}. It is advisable to arrange for insurance coverage for your car to save you the worry of a spoilt holiday due to unexpected garage bills. == Respect == [[File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.jpg|thumb|The Faroese flag]] Faroese people are known to be very helpful, friendly and hospitable. * The Faroese are not Danes. They are a separate ethnic group altogether. Keep that in mind when conversing with local people, and never say that you are in Denmark when visiting the Faroe Islands. * The Faroese are often stereotyped negatively in [[Denmark]]. Try to avoid perpetuating any negative stereotypes about them; it is a quick ticket to getting yourself on someone's bad side. * '''Whale hunting''' is a practice viewed by some islanders as a vital cornerstone of their culture. Each year, hundreds of participants engage in these seasonal hunts, which result in the slaughter of 700–1,000 long-finned pilot whales; in 2021, over 1,400 were killed in a single day. Despite widespread international condemnation, including from the EU, comments by outsiders about the killings and the cruelty may cause offence. * The possibility of the Faroe Islands becoming independent is a sensitive issue and is certainly much debated. Unless you have a heart for lengthy, passionate debates, try not to discuss it. * The old part of Tórshavn, around Tinganes, is visited by many tourists. Respect the privacy of people living there. == Connect == There is widespread cellular phone and Internet access. The islands do not belong to the EU, and the roaming charges are much higher than they are inside EU. However, some prepaid tourist SIM cards such as Lebara (Denmark) or Síminn (Iceland) include a roaming allowance in the Faroes, although it can be significantly smaller amount (for example, a {{DKK|100}} plan with 100 GB of data in Denmark will only have 20 GB available to use in the Faroes). It can be a good idea to buy a SIM in Denmark or Iceland if you are transiting there on your way in, as a local Føroya Tele SIM costs {{DKK|197}} will only get you 7 GB and 50 kr credit as of Jun 2026. Føroya Tele tourist SIM cards can be purchased at the information desk in Vágar airport. Many tourists use the Town library or the National library to go on-line instead. They are both in Tórshavn. Public Wi-Fi are widely available for example in ferries, but establishments often lock their network and post their passwords within the business. [https://www.posta.fo/en/private/home Posta] is the Faroese postal service and they issue own postage stamps (postage stamps from Denmark are not valid). A mailed postcard from the Faroe Islands is very much appreciated amongst collectors. As of January 2025 an ordinary letter/postcard (sized max. 23x33x1 cm) to destinations worldwide (incl. Denmark), with a weight of up to 100 grams, cost {{DKK|35}}. {{outlinecountry}} {{geo|61.9|-6.7833|zoom=9}} {{IsPartOf|Nordic countries}} pvxw5jhxl9ukk2g1j1uiar8o6huvwym 5298597 5298596 2026-06-26T03:46:50Z OhanaUnited 76122 /* Connect */ public toilet 5298597 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Faroe Islands banner.jpg}} The '''Faroe''' or '''Faeroe Islands''' ([[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]: ''Føroyar''; [[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''Færøerne'') are an archipelago of 18 islands in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, with roughly 54,000 inhabitants (2022). Like [[Greenland]], the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of [[Denmark]]. When visiting the Faroes you are never more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. The countryside is dominated by steep mountains and there are about 70,000 sheep and some 2 million pairs of sea birds, including the largest colony of storm petrels in the world. The Faroe Islands are undeniably beautiful: green, rugged and wind-swept. Most visitors to the islands come between early July and late August. == Regions == The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 1,399&nbsp;km² (545.3&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi) and is 113&nbsp;km (70&nbsp;mi) long and 75&nbsp;km (47&nbsp;mi) wide. 17 islands are inhabited, leaving just one uninhabited island, the smallest island, Lítla Dímum. There are a lot of smaller islets and skerries around the Faroe Islands. Including the 18 islands, there are 779 islands, islets and skerries in the Faroe Islands. A large part of these are around the island Suðuroy, which consists of 263 islets and skerries, including the island itself. The precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands. The islands are connected by tunnels, causeways and a regular public ferry service. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Faeroe Islands Regions map.png | regionmaptext=Map of the Faroe Islands | regionmapsize=450px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | region1name=[[Northern Islands]] (''Norðoyar'') | region1color=#ABC09B | region1description=The six Northern Islands (Borðoy, Kunoy, Kalsoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy) have made up one administrative area since Norse times and is home to the archipelago's second-largest city, [[Klaksvík]]. The volcanic origin of the Faroe Islands is more pronounced here than anywhere else. The landscape is very dramatic. | region2name=[[Eysturoy]] | region2color=#9C759C | region2description=The second largest island. The landscape in the north is very steep. | region3name=[[Streymoy]] | region3color=#4F93C0 | region3description=Streymoy is the largest and main island. The north is less densely populated but there are some wonderful villages. In the south the capital [[Tórshavn]] is situated and the area surrounding the capital is where the largest number of people live. The smaller islands of Nólsoy, Hestur, and Koltur are also included in this region. | region5name=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]] | region5color=#C8B7B7 | region5description=[[Vágar]] is the third largest island and is where the airport is situated. [[Mykines]], the small island to the west, is well known for its bird life and remote location. | region6name= [[Sandoyar]] | region6color=#578E86 | region6description=The region is made up of three islands with the largest being Sandoy, the other two are Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun. | region7name=[[Suðuroy]] | region7color=#6D926D | region7description=The most southerly island and Lítla Dímun - the smallest island, which is uninhabited. }} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q207675|group=map1|fill=#C8B7B7|title=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q208321|group=map1|fill=#578E86|title=[[Sandoyar]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q210309|group=map1|fill=#6D926D|title=[[Suðuroy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q977685|group=map1|fill=#ABC09B|title=[[Northern Islands]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q200939|group=map1|fill=#9C759C|title=[[Eysturoy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q192540|group=map1|fill=#4F93C0|title=[[Streymoy]]}} ==Settlements== [[Image:Sumba, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|The village Sumba in [[Suðuroy]].]] [[Image:Oyndarfjørður, Faroe Islands (4).JPG|thumb|The village Oyndarfjørður]] <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are LIMITED TO 9 ITEMS. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page. --> Until the late 19th century, people spent most of their lives in the same village. Towns didn’t start to appear until very late. For instance, the capital, Tórshavn, only counted about 100 inhabitants in 1900, whereas today the population is nearly 20,000. In the Faroe Islands the traditional village was to a certain extent self-sufficient. Historically there was a limit to how many families it could support. When the fishing industry took off in 1872, it was the beginning of the end for the traditional way of life in the small villages as fishing replaced farming and the growing population chose to settle in fast-growing towns instead. Today there are still over a hundred villages in the Faroe Islands. Nearly every one of them is near the ocean, and to new visitors they may all seem to be very much alike. The houses are painted either in bright colours or the traditional black, whilst the roofs are often turf-covered. The buildings are usually built very close to each other, which is very cosy. Each village is surrounded by a cultivated infield, surrounded by an uncultivated outfield. In most places, the sheep occupy the outfield throughout the year. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tórshavn]]|url=|lat=62.0117|long=-6.7675 |wikidata=Q10704}} – the capital and largest city * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Klaksvík]]|url=|lat=62.2239|long=-6.5786}} – the main industrial centre and the largest town in the [[Northern Islands]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hoyvík]]|url=|lat=62.0256|long=-6.7589 }} – north of Tórshavn, nowadays effectively a suburb * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tvøroyri]]|url=|lat=61.5558|long=-6.8033 |wikidata=Q754666}} – the second largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Vágur]]|url=|lat=61.4753|long=-6.8072|wikidata=Q7547}} – the largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Runavík]]|url=|lat=62.1094|long=-6.7192}} – the largest village on Eysturoy, kind of an agglomeration together with Toftir and Saltangrá * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Fuglafjørður]]|url=|lat=62.2444|long=-6.8144}} – its cultural centre has become one of the main cultural attractions on Eysturoy ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Vestmannabjørgini|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Vestmanna Birdcliffs'') – The bird cliffs are situated north of Vestmanna. The half of a kilometre high cliffs are one of the high points of a trip to the Faroes. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mjørkadalur|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Foggy Valley'') – A valley overlooking the Kalbaksfjørður fjord, rising to the peak of Sornfelli mountain. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Tinganes|url=|lat=|long=}} – The old town of [[Tórshavn]]. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Coal Mines|url=|lat=|long=}} in [[Hvalba]], [[Suðuroy]]. ==Understand== {{NordicCountries}} {{quickbar|location=LocationFaroeIslands.png}} The Faroe Islands are a self-governing island territory of [[Denmark]], although they aim politically for greater independence. The islands have a population of 51,000 (2018), and a language and culture of their own. The Faroese tourist season is very short. It begins in May and ends by September. Most visitors come between July and August by far. If you would like to avoid the busiest season, it is best to visit the Faroes in late May or early June. The Faroese weather has its own temperament and is a lot like the weather in neighbouring regions, just more unpredictable. One of the main reasons that people visit the Faroe Islands is the incredible nature and scenery. The Faroe Islands turn extraordinarily green during the summertime. The fresh air, the deep blue ocean, the vertical sea cliffs and the green mountains with their picturesque valleys, is something which would amaze anyone who enjoys being surrounded by nature. There are bus rides, horse trekking, mountain hikes and boat trips which allow you to enjoy the magnificent wild green landscape. Sometimes the summer fog creates a mystical landscape, in which you may vividly imagine the great history and mystical stories belonging to the islands. Some have said that when the landscape is surrounded by this sort of weather it reminds them of the landscape in J.R.R Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. The tranquility of the islands are great if you want to escape from big city madness. The Faroese love to take things easy and are not at all worried about arriving on time. But if you ever find yourself in the mood for a night out in town, you will find that Tórshavn caters for your every need with its great shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. Because the islands are so close to the Arctic Circle, the amount of daylight varies by season. The sun sets briefly each night in June, so there are several hours of twilight, before the sun comes back up again. During the winter there are no days of complete darkness, but about five hours of daylight. The Faroe Islands' primary industry is the fishing industry and the islands have one of the smallest independent economic entities in the world. The fishing industry accounts for over 80% of the total export value of goods, which are mainly processed fish products and fish farming. Tourism is the second largest industry, followed by woollen and other manufactured products. The unemployment rate in the Faroes is extremely low. The Faroese are trying to diversify their economy, but are divided about how to go about it. Most Faroese people work in the public sector as teachers, caretakers or having office jobs, etc. The rise in the public sector workforce is highlighted by the fact that it is getting less and less popular to work in the fishing industry, and the private sector isn't big enough to support an educated and more demanding workforce. ===People=== [[File:Tambar, a 20 feet Faroese wooden boat, belonging to the rowing club Róðrarfelagið Knørrur. Photo by Ólavur Frederiksen, July 21, 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Young rowers of Róðrarfelagið Knørrur]] The Faroes were colonised by Norwegians in the 9th century – according to history the first settler was Grímur Kamban, a Norwegian Viking who made his home in [[Funningur]] on [[Eysturoy]] in 825. The Faroese population has largely descended from these settlers. Recent DNA analyses have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian. However, the studies also show that mitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Celtic. About 20,000 people live in the metropolitan area which comprises Tórshavn, Kirkjubøur, Velbastaður, Nólsoy, Hestur, Koltur, Hoyvík, Argir, Kaldbak, Kaldbaksbotnur, Kollafjørður, Signabøur and Oyrareingir (Tórshavn Municipality). About 4,700 people live in Klaksvík, the second largest town in the islands. 4,750 people live in [[Suðuroy]], the southernmost islands (2010) and 1330 people live on Sandoy island (2010). Faroese, the national language, is rooted in Old Norse. ===Politics=== [[File:Lagting.tórshavn.jpg|thumb|The Faroese Parliament building]] The [[Vikings and the old Norse|Viking settlers]] established their own parliament, called a "ting", around 800. The main ting was established on Tinganes in Tórshavn and local tings were established in various parts of the islands. Around the turn of the millennium, the Faroes came under the control of the Norwegian king. In 1380 the Faroes, along with [[Orkney Islands | Orkney]], [[Shetland Islands | Shetland]], [[Iceland]] and [[Greenland]], joined [[Norway]] in a union with [[Denmark]]. At the end of the Napoleonic wars, in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel forced Denmark to cede Norway to [[Sweden]], but it kept the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. Two years later, in 1816, the Faroes became a Danish county and the old parliament was abolished. The Danish Governor became the highest authority in the Faroes. In 1849 the Danish parliamentary constitution was made to apply in the Faroe Islands. In 1852 the Faroese parliament was reinstated as a county council, but served mainly as an advisory power. The Danish governor presided at all meetings and was a co-opted member. At the same time, the Faroes came to be represented in the Danish parliament. Although the Faroe Islands recognise the Royal powers, they have never been a part of Denmark, only the Danish kingdom. During [[World War II]], Denmark was occupied by the Germans, while the Faroes had a friendly occupation by the British. During this time the Faroese parliament carried both the legislative and the fiscal responsibility. The Faroese people had a taste of self-government and a return to the status quo seemed impossible. After a referendum, which led to a very small majority voting for independence, in 1946 negotiations took place between the two countries and the outcome was the Home Rule Act in 1948. The Faroese were from then on responsible for most matters of government except for foreign affairs and defence. The Faroe Islands has its own prime minister, and its parliament may legislate on matters of local importance and reject Danish laws. The Faroes are still represented in the Danish parliament by two representatives. Also, since 1970 the Faroes have had independent status in the Nordic Council. Furthermore, the Faroes have their own flag. Unlike Denmark, the Faroe Islands is not part of the EU or the Schengen Area, meaning that non-Nordic EU and EEA citizens do not have work or residency rights. However, Faroe Islanders are full Danish citizens and carry Danish passports for international travel, making them eligible to reside and work in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. ===Climate=== The weather is maritime and quite unpredictable. It can change quickly and it varies extremely, from moments of brilliant sunshine to misty hill fog, to showers: there can be sunshine on one side of the mountain range, while it's raining on the other side. During the summer the islands are often overcast by summer fog. The Gulf Stream south of the islands tempers the climate. The harbours never freeze and the temperature in winter time is very moderate considering the high latitude. Snowfall occurs, but it is short-lived. The average temperature ranges from 3°C in the wintertime to 11°C during the summer. The temperature can be much higher, but the air is always fresh and clean no matter the season. ===Landscape=== With their volcanic origin the 18 islands are rugged and rocky. The average height above sea level for the country is 300&nbsp;m (982&nbsp;ft). The highest peak, Slættaratindur, is 880&nbsp;m (2887&nbsp;ft) above sea level. There are 1,100&nbsp;km (687&nbsp;mi) of coastline and at no time is one more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. Mountains and valleys mostly characterize the inner landscape. The Faroese west coast is characterized by steep slopes and bird cliffs, that in the summertime are full of nesting seabirds such as puffins. Something that first meets the eye of a traveller is the lack of trees in the Faroes. The reason for this are the thousands of sheep that occupy the islands. ===Visitor information=== * [https://visitfaroeislands.com/en Official tourism website] ==Talk== {{seealso|Faroese phrasebook}} The main official language of the Faroe Islands is '''[[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]''', which is the mother tongue of most inhabitants. '''[[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]''' has a co-official status; it is taught in schools and most services and official documents are available in Danish. Faroese is a Germanic language stemming from Old Norse and mutually intelligible to some extent with Icelandic. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish share these roots, but have been much more influenced by especially Low German. English speakers will recognise some cognates from Old Norse and other influences, but modern loanwords are quite few. Most locals speak '''English''' as a second language; it is compulsory in Faroese schools. However, learning some basic Faroese greetings will help to endear you to the locals. == Get in == === Visas === Although part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are not part of the [[European Union]] or the [[Travelling around the Schengen Area|Schengen Area]]. If you do not need a visa for Denmark, you can generally visit the Faroe Islands visa-free for up to 90 days, provided your passport is valid for at least 3 months beyond your intended departure date. Citizens of the [[Nordic countries]] may stay in the Faroe Islands indefinitely with no restrictions including on employment. If you need a visa for Denmark, inform the embassy when you apply that you'll be visiting the Faroe Islands, as Schengen visas issued for the mainland are not valid for the Faroe Islands (or Greenland). Citizens of all EU and Schengen countries can enter with only a valid ID card, but should still carry their passport as a backup, since it is possible for flights to be diverted to Scotland where such cards are not valid. ===By plane=== [[File:Atlantic Airways A319 OY-RCG.JPG|thumb|An Atlantic Airways aircraft at Vágar Airport]] *{{go | name=Vágar Airport | alt=Vága Floghavn {{IATA|FAE}} | url=http://www.floghavn.fo | email= | address= | lat=62.063611 | long=-7.277222 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vágar Airport | image=Vágar Airport, Faroe Islands.JPG | wikidata=Q371471 | content=The Faroe Islands are served by one airport. The airport is on the island of Vágar and the location was chosen by the British during their occupation of the islands during World War II. About 300,000 (and increasing) passengers fly to and from the airport every year. Vágar is connected to the largest island, Streymoy (on which the capital Tórshavn is situated) by a sub-sea tunnel. There are buses to Torshavn (line 300 on [http://www.ssl.fo/ ssl.fo]); the schedules are aligned (more or less) with the arrival of all flights. The price to Tórshavn is {{DKK|90}}. You need to change buses if you are going to Klaksvik. Taxis serve the airport at fixed rates (Tórshavn costs {{DKK|220}} per passenger, not per cab). Advance bookings can be made through the [https://taxi.fo/en/airporttaxi/ taxi company's website]. }} Airlines serving the airport are: *[https://www.atlanticairways.com/en '''Atlantic Airways'''] is the national carrier and connects the Faroes with several places in Scandinavia and continental Europe. The Faroes are accessible by regular commercial air service from [[Copenhagen]] (3 times a day), as well as [[Billund]] and [[Aalborg]] in Denmark. From Norway there are direct flights from [[Oslo]]. From Iceland there are direct flights from Keflavík airport near [[Reykjavík]] (twice a week). From Britain there are direct flights from [[Edinburgh]]. From Spain there are direct flights from [[Barcelona]], [[Mallorca]], and [[Gran Canaria]]. From France there are direct flights from [[Paris]]-CDG. *[https://www.flysas.com/ '''SAS'''] flies almost daily from Copenhagen (April - October only). *[https://www.wideroe.no/en '''Widerøe'''] flies regularly from [[Bergen]], Norway. Summer fog is a problem when flying to the Faroes in the summer months. The planes cannot land in this weather and will often divert to Iceland or Scotland where you will stay until the weather clears. This also means that flights out of the Faroes can be disrupted too. Allow yourself a few days either side of your visit to the Faroes in case of flight delays. ===By boat=== * [http://www.smyril-line.com '''Smyril Line'''] operates a year-round passenger and car ferry service to the Faroe Islands, twice a week in summer. The ferry sails between [[Hirtshals]] (North Jutland, [[Denmark]]) and [[Seyðisfjörður]] (on the east coast of [[Iceland]]). It is the only ferry service with scheduled services to Iceland. Getting to the Faroes by boat takes longer than by plane but has the advantage of allowing you to take your own vehicle. As of 2023, prices for single passage without vehicle start at {{EUR|92}} in off-season and {{EUR|112}} in high season. For people arriving by yacht, there are several harbours around the islands. The best are found in Tórshavn (the capital), Klaksvík, Tvøroyri, Vágur, Vestmanna, Sørvágur, Miðvágur, Runavík, and Fuglafjørður. ==Get around== [[File:Krambatangi ferry port and Tvoroyri.JPG|thumb|The ferry Smyril M/F, here leaving Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy, heading for Tórshavn, the capital.]] [[File:Map_of_the_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_Islands.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the tunnels of the Faroe Islands]] The Faroe Islands are a small country and getting around is easy. All of the Islands are connected by public transport. === Travelling between islands === The two largest islands, Streymoy and Eysturoy, are connected by a bridge, Sundabrúgvin ("the Channel Bridge"). Toll tunnels connect the islands of Vágar with Streymoy, and also Borðoy to Eysturoy. Road causeways connect Borðoy with Viðoy and Kunoy. The other main islands [[Sandoy]] and [[Suðuroy]] have excellent car-ferry connections to Streymoy, making driving in the Faroes easy and pleasant. * '''Route 7 Tvøroyri - Tórshavn:''' M/F Smyril has 2–3 daily departures from Tórshavn, sailing to Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy. * '''Route 36 Sørvágur - Mykines:''' M/F Jósup has 2 daily departures in summer from Sørvágur on Vágar island to Mykines island, less in winter time. Due to the popularity of the destination, this is the only route that requires booking tickets in advance (via [https://www.mykines.fo/search/mykines/ mykines.fo]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}). * '''Route 56 Klaksvík - Syðradalur:''' M/F Sam has up to 7 daily departures from Klaksvík to Syðradalur on Kalsoy island. * '''Route 58 Hvannasund - Hattarvík:''' M/F Ritan has 3 daily departures from Hvannasund on Viðoy island to the islands Svínoy and Fugloy in summertime, less in wintertime. * '''Route 60 Skopun - Gamlarætt''' & '''61 Gamlarætt - Hestur:''' M/F Teistin has around 8 daily departures from Gamlarætt ferry port to Skopun on Sandoy island. Teistin has also a few departures to Hestur island, but only on request. Gamlarætt is located on the west coast of Streymoy, not far from Tórshavn and near the villages Kirkjubøur and Velbastaður. * '''Route 66 Sandur - Skúvoy:''' M/F Sildberin has only one regular daily connection between Sandur and Skúvoy, all others must be requested by phone some hours prior to departure. * '''Route 90 Tórshavn - Nólsoy:''' M/F Ternan has 5–7 daily departures from Tórshavn to Nólsoy. ''Strandfaraskip Landsins'', the Faroese public transport service, publishes an annual timetable ([https://www.ssl.fo/en/timetable/ferry/7-tvoroyri-torshavn/ Ferðaætlan]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}) containing details of all ferry and bus schedules. It is available from the Passenger Terminal in Tórshavn, and all tourist information centres. It is not possible to make advance bookings on car ferries. You should be at the pier at least 20 minutes before scheduled departure, and much earlier on Friday and Saturday evenings. ===By bus=== Passenger road transport is run by private companies, but is coordinated by a public body, [http://www.ssl.fo/ Strandfaraskip Landsins]. The inter-town bus system (Bygdaleiðir) and the public ferry company have established a coherent and well-developed public transport system which takes in all settlements on the islands. This means that there are bus services to all places - maybe not often, but every day! Bygdaleiðir's buses are blue. A schedule (Ferðaætlan) listing the various timetables for the inter-town buses (and ferries) may be purchased from the tourist office, as well as the central bus station near the harbour in Tórshavn. Transport is quite expensive, so check for student discount or multiple-ride-cards. Students, children and pensioners are eligible for discounts on fares provided they show a student or pensioner identity card. As of Mar. 2026, there is a four-day (adult 500 kr, child 250 kr) and seven-day (adult 700 kr, child 350 kr) [https://www.ssl.fo/en/prices/tourist-travel-card Travel Card] meant for tourists which is valid for all buses and ferries except routes 36 and 90. It is well worth its price if you are planning to get around the islands by public transport. The buses are equipped with radios. If you are planning to change buses, do tell the driver in advance, as he will make sure the other bus waits for you. The capital Tórshavn offers a local bus service (Bussleiðin) with seven routes that reach most area of the town which is free. The red coloured-buses operate every 15-30 mins during the day throughout the week and every 30-60 mins on weekday evenings. Several routes run hourly on Saturdays and Sundays. Route maps and schedules may be obtained on the buses, at Kiosk Steinatún in the centre of town, or at Kunningarstovan, the local tourist information in Tórshavn. ===By car=== [[File:Faroe Islands, Eysturoy, road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta.jpg|thumb|Road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta]] The first motor road connecting two villages wasn’t built until 1916, and travellers were limited to mountain paths and rowing boats. Nevertheless, today driving is easy with an excellent 600&nbsp;km network of well maintained tarmaced roads and tunnels. The density of cars is one of the highest in Europe. The numerous road tunnels in the Faroe Islands mean that drivers of large vehicles must plan their routes by finding out in advance which tunnel they can enter. Driving is on the right and most road signs follow international standards. Headlights and seat belts must be on when driving. The speed limit is 80&nbsp;km/h (50&nbsp;mph) outside towns and villages, and 50&nbsp;km/h (30&nbsp;mph) in the towns and villages. For cars with trailers, the speed limit is 50&nbsp;km/h and for caravans the speed limit is 60&nbsp;km/h. The consequences for speeding are severe. Sheep graze freely on both sides of the main roads and will cross at will. Also they may hide from bad weather just inside the tunnels, which causes many collisions each year. Parking in the towns of Tórshavn, Klaksvík and Runavík is restricted and parking fines cost {{DKK|200}}. The times in black (or white if it's on a dark background) are for weekdays' limited time parking period. The times with brackets are for Saturday. There is typically no time limit on Sunday and public holidays, but if there is, the time limit is written in red. Parking discs must be displayed in the lower right hand corner of the front windscreen showing the time you parked your car. These display discs are available for free at banks and tourist offices. Off-road driving is prohibited by law in the Faroe Islands. Respect the islands' pristine nature by keeping to sealed roads. ====Sub-sea tunnel fares==== You have to pay a toll to use the sub-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands. As of summer 2022, there are 3 tunnels that charge tolls: {| class="wikitable" ! Tunnel !! Cars !! Vehicles<br>> 6 m and/or > 3,500 kg !! Motorcycles !! Remark |- | Vágatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Vágar. |- | Norðoyatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Klaksvík. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Streymoy - Eysturoy) || {{DKK|175}} || {{DKK|800}} || {{DKK|160}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Strendur - Runavík)|| {{DKK|125}} || {{DKK|200}} || {{DKK|120}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |} Two more large sub-sea tunnels are under construction in 2022, connecting the southern islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy to the overall road network. You have three days to pay after using the tunnel before an invoice is sent to the car owner. If you have rented the car, the rental agency will charge a large fee if this occurs. You may pay at any petrol station on the islands or [https://www.tunnil.fo/english online]. Most car rental companies offer flat rates at the equivalent of 3–5 return tunnel trips. If you prefer to pay for all your tunnel trips yourself, make it clear when you hire the car. The rental company will charge you if it is unaware that you have already paid the tunnel operator. If travelling with your own car it is also possible to purchase a subscription by registering at tunnil.fo and paying a non-refundable fee of {{DKK|400}} (or {{DKK|600}} when also using the Eysturoyartunnel) (2022). This will give you access to discounted tunnel prices, but you will have to pre-pay for your trips by loading money into your account at the website ({{DKK|400}} minimum for each payment). ==== Car rental ==== ''' Vágar ''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo]. {{phone|716 060}}, {{email|info@rent.fo}} New rental vehicles. Responsive to emails. * Avis Føroyar, Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|358800, 212765}}. * [https://www.62n.fo/en/car-rental/ 62N.fo] (formerly Hertz), Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|733 510}}, {{email|car@62n.fo}} '''Tórshavn''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo], R. C. Effersøesgøta 17, Tórshavn. Tel: 716 060, [mailto:info@rent.fo info@rent.fo] * 62N.fo, Tórshavn city centre, 100 Tórshavn. Tel: 733 510, [mailto:car@62n.fo car@62n.fo] '''Miðvágur''' * [https://unicar.fo Unicar], Ytra bryggja 4, 370 Miðvágur. {{phone|544 000}}, {{email|unicar@unicar.fo}} ===By helicopter=== You can splurge, and take a helicopter (instead of the cheaper ferry) to all the faraway islands – for example to Mykines, the picturesque island far west. Atlantic Airways offers a [https://www.atlanticairways.com/en/helicopter helicopter service] to selected towns and villages throughout the Faroes. Contact Atlantic Airways directly ({{phone|+298 341060}}). Booking is required. The service is intended for locals on remote islands, and as such tourists can only book one way of a journey but you can use the ferry and bus services to make the return journey. Bad weather may result in helicopter flights being cancelled. Non-residents don't get subsidised prices any more; tickets cost about thrice as much as for locals. === Hitchhiking === [[File:Hitchhiking near Torshavn.jpg|thumb|Hitchhiking near Torshavn]] The Faroe Islands are the ideal for hitchhiking, as they are amongst the easiest places in the world to secure a lift. To begin with, the vast majority of locals speak excellent English, allowing for genuine conversation and unique insights into their culture. Furthermore, the Faroese are naturally curious about visitors and often take pleasure in acting as impromptu guides; it is not uncommon for a driver to go out of their way to show you a hidden gem while chatting along the route. The islands have a prosperous economy, meaning there is a high volume of private motorcars on the well-maintained roads. Safety is rarely a concern either; the small population and robust education system contribute to an exceptionally low crime rate. Finally, because distances are so short, you are never committed to a single vehicle for too long. Given the high cost of car hire, the infrequent public transport schedules, and the sheer ease of the experience, hitchhiking is can be a wonderful transport choice. In most instances, you will find yourself picked up by the first or second car to pass by. == See == [[Image:Hesturin and Beinisvord, Vertical Cliffs of Suduroy, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|Beinisvørð in [[Suðuroy]] is a 470-m-high sea cliff.]] * '''Slættaratindur''' on [[Eysturoy#Q738746|Eysturoy]]: at 880 m, is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. It is well worth climbing. The only downside is that the summit is often wrapped in fog. * '''Beinisvord''' (Beinisvørð) is the highest sea cliff in Suðuroy and the second-highest in the Faroe Islands at 470 m. The views down to the sea and towards north to the west coast of Suðuroy are breathtaking. You can see or climb Beinisvørð from a place named Hesturin, which is between the villages Lopra and [[Suðuroy#Q792079|Sumba]]. You can drive to Sumba through the tunnel and then follow the old road to the highest point. From there the edge is only a few metres away. Be careful not to walk too far out on the edge, as the cliff ends all of a sudden. * '''Rinkusteinar''' near Oyndarfjørður on [[Eysturoy#Q730352|Esturoy]], is a strange natural phenomenon, two very large boulders which permanently stand rocking in the ocean, just a few metres from the shore. The stones have been rocking as far back as anyone can tell. * '''Risin og Kellingin''' (the Giant and his Wife) on [[Eysturoy#Q1269020|Esturoy]], close to the village of Eiði, are two magnificent basalt sea stacks off the northern tip of the island. Legend has it that the two giants had come to tow the Faroes back with them to Iceland, However, the sun rose and they were turned into stone. They stand looking towards [[Iceland]], which they will never reach. <!-- -->[[File:Gasadalur village and a waterfall.jpg|thumb|Gásadalur village]][[File:Viðareiði sunset.jpg|thumb|Viðareiði settlement]] * '''Gásadalur ''' on [[Vágar#Q226056|Vágar]] is both a village and waterfall. This village is one of the most iconic representations of the Faroe Islands. Here, you'll be treated to a picturesque scene where a few traditional, environmentally-friendly houses stand against the backdrop of a hill perched on a high cliff, with a majestic waterfall. * '''Viðareiði''' on the [[Northern Islands#Q901774|Northern Islands]] is the northernmost settlement in the Faroe Islands. It is situated between two stunning hills, one of them the third highest in the archipelago. ===Lakes=== Nestled amidst the stunning landscapes lies the tranquil lakes of the Faroe Islands. These lakes mirror the surrounding emerald hills and can even [[Vágar#Sørvágsvatn|cause you to question]] your perception of vision. * '''Sørvágsvatn''', perhaps nicknamed as the lake above the ocean, is the largest lake in the Faroes. It is 30–40 m above the sea and its curve sweeps close to sheer cliffs in [[Vágar]]. * ''' Lake Toftir''' (''Toftavatn'') south of [[Eysturoy]] is a lake that's one of its kind. The low rolling hills around the idyllic lake have the widest stretches of heather on the islands. They are considered unique in the Faroes. Furthermore, the terrain is a splendid choice for an outing. ==Do== * '''[[Sea kayaking]]'''. Kayaks are widely available for rent. * '''[[Birdwatching]]'''. ===Hiking=== It is possible to hike in Faroe Islands, however, you must stick to prepared trails, and it is not permitted to put up tents outside designated areas. Most famous hikes are accessible only by paying a fee (e.g. the hike along Leitisvatn/Sørvágsvatn out to Trælanípa and Bøsdalafossur waterfall for {{DKK|200}} or Mykines past the village for {{DKK|250}}, as of 2022). Credit card payment is available everywhere. Weather is unpredictable, there might be rain storms, so bring suitable clothes. A combination of hiking and bus transport is advised, so you don't need to walk back the same way again. The tourism authority produced a hiking guide which is available from their [https://visitfaroeislands.com/see-do/hiking/ website]. It offers detailed descriptions with small maps for 23 short tours on virtually all of the islands. Going on your own, check with the regional information centres about farming and hunting activities. Tourist information offices, including the one in the airport, distributes booklets about hiking around the Faroe Islands, suggesting various routes. Another great source for hiking tracks is the mobile application called ''Maps.me'' which displays walking paths as well as roads. In any case, one is not far away from picturesque paths in any given location. In the worst case, one can walk along the roads as cars rarely pass by. ==Buy== Almost everything in the Faroe Islands is expensive. All consumer sales include 25% VAT (sales tax) and displayed prices always include this. ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Danish kroner | currencyCodeAfter=&nbsp;kr | date=January 2026 | USD=6.4 | EUR=7.5 | GBP=8.6 | NOK=0.6 | SEK=0.7 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/dkk-danish-krone?r= XE.com] }} The Faroese currency is the '''Danish krone''' (plural: ''kroner''), abbreviated "'''kr.'''" (ISO code: '''DKK'''). The Faroese government prints its own banknotes, '''[http://www.nationalbanken.dk/DNUK/NotesAndCoins.nsf/side/The_new_Faroese_banknote_series?OpenDocument the Króna]''', although Danish coins are used. The coins come in 50 oyra (half of a króna), 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 króna. Paper notes come in 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 króna. Their exchange value is equivalent to the Danish crown, and there is no service charge on exchange, as Danish notes are just as acceptable and used interchangbly in the Faroe Islands. Before leaving the Faroes, exchange Faroese notes for Danish notes or other currency, since Faroese notes are usually not recognized by banks outside of Denmark. ===Shopping=== Opening hours in the Faroes are longer than they used to be, but many smaller shops still close early on Saturday (usually at 14:00) and nearly everything is closed on Sundays. Tórshavn is the obvious choice for shopping, although both Runavík and especially Klaksvik have some nice shops selling clothes and knick-knacks. Wool and woollen clothing are popular on the Islands, and you will find some fashionable sweaters, jackets and (cheaper) hats, shawls and gloves. Check out the shops "Sirri" and "Guðrun og Guðrun". There is only one proper shopping centre: SMS (Sølumiðstøð), containing the largest supermarket, Miklagarður, and some different shops and a few chains including Burger King, Bath and Body Works and Vero Moda. Yasmin sells women’s clothing. The Shopping Centre has glass art-work by artist Tróndur Patursson. There are a few second hand shops in Tórshavn. If you are from outside the EU/Scandinavia you can have your [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/duty-free/tax-free-shopping/ 25% VAT refunded] when leaving the country, for certain purchases not for use in the Faroes. Only purchases with at least 399 kr on a single receipt will be eligible for tax refund. Smaller stores or those in remote villages may not be participating in the VAT refund scheme. For shops that offer VAT refund, they will attach a sticker to the back of your receipt. Take this receipt to the information desk in Vágar airport if departing by plane, onboard the Norrøna ferry or at the Visit North (Visit Norðoy) tourist information centre if departing by cruise ship or sailboat. ==Eat== {{seealso|Nordic cuisine}} Most traditional Faroese cuisine involves either lamb or fish. The traditional Faroese kitchen mainly owes its food traditions to the archipelago's harsh climate, similar to [[Iceland#Eat|the cuisine of Iceland]]. This is because in earlier days the food culture on the islands was not very extensive. It is hard to find a Faroese dish on the menu of a restaurant, but it is possible at certain restaurants and hotels. [[File:Tvost og spik.jpg|thumb|Tvøst og spik]] Distinctive Faroese foods include: *Wild seabirds, e.g. '''puffins'''. The puffins are stuffed with cake and served with potatoes and wild berries *''Skerpikjøt'', dried mutton that has been hung for over a year and is eaten raw *''Ræst kjøt'', meat that has been hung for a couple of months to mature before cooking *''Ræstur fiskur'', dried fish that has been hung in the same way as ræstkjøt *''Turrur fiskur'', dried fish * ''Tvøst og spik'', whale meat and blubber *'''Rhubarb''', since it is easy to cultivate While the capital, Tórshavn, offers a variety of dining options, the selection remains somewhat limited. Beyond the capital, the number of establishments and the standard of cuisine drop significantly. Although McDonald’s has no presence in the Faroe Islands, Burger King has opened a branch. In Tórshavn, there are fast-food outlets and one City Burger in the town centre. Across the islands, petrol station, primarily '''Effo''' and '''Mag''', are common. Almost all of these serve quick snacks and hot food, with sausages being a particular staple. * '''KOKS:''' — at Hotel Føroyar, this restaurant boasts an excellent view across Tórshavn. The menu features both local Faroese specialities and international dishes. * '''Áarstova:''' — near the harbour and adjacent to Café Natúr, which specialises in traditional Faroese fare. * '''Toscana:''' — a charming, boutique Italian restaurant in the town centre. * '''Etika:''' — a delicatessen and takeaway offering high-quality sushi, made using the islands' exceptionally fresh local fish. == Drink == [[File:Okkara Klassik (øl).JPG|thumb|upright|A can of Okkara beer]] The legal drinking age in the Faroes is 18. The Faroese love to party, and drinking is much more popular than doing drugs. There are two brands of Faroese beer: Føroya Bjór and Okkara. Føroya Bjór is well-established and is the oldest of the two breweries. It has received awards abroad. Okkara was established in 2010 and is growing in popularity, mainly for their craft beer. Alcohol is very expensive. Light beer may be purchased in shops and unlicensed restaurants and cafés. Stronger beer, wine and spirits can only be purchased in the Government Monopoly stores ([http://www.rusan.fo Rúsdrekkasøla]) in major towns and in licensed restaurants, cafés and bars etc. How much you can bring to the Faroe Islands as duty-free imports is listed on the taxation office's website, [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/customs/duty-free-imports-to-the-faroe-islands taks.fo]. === Government Monopoly Stores === '''Streymoy''' *Hoyvíksvegur 51, Tórshavn *Á Hjalla 14, Tórshavn *Niðari Vegur 81, Vestmanna '''Eysturoy''' *Svartheyggj 2, Norðskáli *Heiðavegur 25, Saltangará '''Borðoy''' *Sævargøta 6, Klaksvík '''Sandoy''' * Heimasandsvegur 58, Sandur '''Suðuroy''' * Langabakki 5, Trongisvágur '''Vágar''' *Skaldarvegur 5, Miðvágur === Nightlife === Outside the capital, bars and nightclubs are few and far between. In Tórshavn, the heart of the nightlife is centred around the harbour. Here, is Cirkus Føroyar, a popular haunt for local musicians. Directly across the street, also overlooking the water, is Hvonn; located within Hotel Tórshavn, it is a favourite weekend destination for the city's youth. The bar Café Natúr is close by. Every Wednesday there is a pub quiz at Café Natúr. The wooden interiors are similar to English or Irish pubs, and have live music (usually in the form of a singer or guitarist). Another place is Cleopatra right in the town centre which has a restaurant on the lower floor, with the main bar on the next floor up. The entrance to the bar is up some green felt stairs. A nightclub is Rex, on the third floor in the same building as "Havnar Bio", the cinema. You need to be 21 or over to get in. For young people the nightclub Deep is a place to visit. It is the same as in most European cities a you have to be eighteen or older to get in. ===Cafés=== For a coffee go to the Western harbour "Vágsbotn", just below Tórshavn Dome and have a cup of coffee at café Kaffihúsið. Kaffihúsi is located down by the sea and has a very nice atmosphere. The Café Dugni is in the middle of town. Bill Clinton had a cup of coffee there when he visited the islands a few years back. At Dugni you can buy Faroes handicrafts while having coffee and homemade faroese cakes. Other cafés include Café Kaspar at hotel Hafnia, and Baresso at the shopping centre SMS. Hvonn is one of the most popular places at night, keeping it sophisticated and clean, and also includes a brasserie. == Sleep == [[File:Tinganes, Torshavn 2005.jpg|thumb|Torshavn]] === Youth hostels === The youth hostels of the Faroes are spread across the islands. The small size of the Faroes ensures that the next youth hostel is always well within one day’s walking distance allowing visitors to travel from one youth hostel to the next one at will. Accommodation is mostly in 2 to 6 rooms of limited size but of good standard. There are few dormitory accommodations at the Faroese, with one exception being at Bládýpi which has 2 dorms, as well as apartments. Most of the youth hostels don´t have a regular reception with daily opening hours, so be sure to make arrangements with your host by e-mail or phone before arrival. Prices vary slightly with the cheapest being around {{DKK|200}} per night/person for adults. Variable discounts for children 2–11 years old. YHF members get a {{DKK|20}} discount while groups get special discounts. === Camping === Legally camping is only allowed in designated places but in reality, you can camp anywhere as long as you are not impudent. Locals are aware that camping prohibition law is few centuries old and might not apply these days. Safe distance might be half an hour walk away from the village. There are few objects to hide behind so you would be visible from far away, but as long as you pitch a tent in evening and pick up early morning, you should be fine. Once again, camping outside designated areas is not legal but locals do this too. [[File:Camping in Nolsoy.jpg|thumb|Camping with a wind-break]] If you decide to break the law and camp in the wild, be aware of frequently changing weather conditions. It's advisable to look for a hideout from the wind and pitch a tent to sustain from strong gusts. No one would like to wake-up in a night to repitch a tent. One can easily find a stretch of land just to oneself to enjoy the tranquillity the Faroe islands gives after a sunset. Also, be considerate and take your rubbish with you. Or as a saying goes "leave no trace, only footprints".<!--== Learn == .--> == Learn == The main university in the Faroe Islands is the '''[https://www.setur.fo/en/ University of the Faroe Islands]'''. Most classes are conducted entirely in Faroese, so if you don't know any Faroese, courses are unlikely to be of any interest. Every summer the university hosts a program that allows people to get a good introduction to Faroese language and literature. More information can be found [https://www.setur.fo/education/faroese-summer-institute here]. If you are deeply fascinated with Nordic culture, the islands are a great place to start. == Work == To work in the Faroe Islands, most foreigners, including citizens of most EU and Schengen countries, require a work permit. Only citizens of the Nordic countries are exempt form having to obtain one. ==Stay safe== The Faroe Islands are generally safe. Crime and traffic are minor risks. While there are no major natural disasters or [[dangerous animals]], fog can be a danger for hikers and drivers. Sheep may be startled by cars, and leap out in front of them. If you happen to [[animal collision|collide with a sheep]], you should immediately contact the police in Tórshavn at telephone number {{phone|+298 351448}} for assistance. This ensures that the farmer can apply for compensation from their own insurance company. You do not need to pay compensation to the farmer for lost income. Hare hunting takes place in November and December, mostly on Saturdays, but also in weekdays. Hiking is safe on Sundays. == Stay healthy == There are emergency services at the hospital in Tórshavn, Klaksvík on Borðoy and Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Doctors around the islands provide emergency assistance. A lot of hospital staff are residents of Denmark who spend periods on the Faroes to supplement the local health staff. The coast guard and Atlantic Airways have helicopters that may be used in emergencies. Police stations are found in most parts of the Country. '''[[Tap water]]''' is safe to drink. === Health insurance === Citizens of the Nordic countries and the UK are covered by their own national health insurance. It is advisable for citizens of other countries to take out travel health insurance. === Emergency or Fire === * Dial 112 === Pharmacies === * Tórshavn (by the SMS shopping centre) on Streymoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 341100}} * Klaksvík on Borðoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 455055}} * Runavík on Eysturoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 471200}} * Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Tel: {{phone|+298 371076}} === Car problems === For breakdown and immediate help on the two larger islands Streymoy and Eysturoy, contact the fire station in Tórshavn, telephone number {{phone|+298 302100}}. It is advisable to arrange for insurance coverage for your car to save you the worry of a spoilt holiday due to unexpected garage bills. == Respect == [[File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.jpg|thumb|The Faroese flag]] Faroese people are known to be very helpful, friendly and hospitable. * The Faroese are not Danes. They are a separate ethnic group altogether. Keep that in mind when conversing with local people, and never say that you are in Denmark when visiting the Faroe Islands. * The Faroese are often stereotyped negatively in [[Denmark]]. Try to avoid perpetuating any negative stereotypes about them; it is a quick ticket to getting yourself on someone's bad side. * '''Whale hunting''' is a practice viewed by some islanders as a vital cornerstone of their culture. Each year, hundreds of participants engage in these seasonal hunts, which result in the slaughter of 700–1,000 long-finned pilot whales; in 2021, over 1,400 were killed in a single day. Despite widespread international condemnation, including from the EU, comments by outsiders about the killings and the cruelty may cause offence. * The possibility of the Faroe Islands becoming independent is a sensitive issue and is certainly much debated. Unless you have a heart for lengthy, passionate debates, try not to discuss it. * The old part of Tórshavn, around Tinganes, is visited by many tourists. Respect the privacy of people living there. == Connect == There is widespread cellular phone and Internet access. The islands do not belong to the EU, and the roaming charges are much higher than they are inside EU. However, some prepaid tourist SIM cards such as Lebara (Denmark) or Síminn (Iceland) include a roaming allowance in the Faroes, although it can be significantly smaller amount (for example, a {{DKK|100}} plan with 100 GB of data in Denmark will only have 20 GB available to use in the Faroes). It can be a good idea to buy a SIM in Denmark or Iceland if you are transiting there on your way in, as a local Føroya Tele SIM costs {{DKK|197}} will only get you 7 GB and 50 kr credit as of Jun 2026. Føroya Tele tourist SIM cards can be purchased at the information desk in Vágar airport. Many tourists use the Town library or the National library to go on-line instead. They are both in Tórshavn. Public Wi-Fi are widely available for example in ferries, but establishments often lock their network and post their passwords within the business. [https://www.posta.fo/en/private/home Posta] is the Faroese postal service and they issue own postage stamps (postage stamps from Denmark are not valid). A mailed postcard from the Faroe Islands is very much appreciated amongst collectors. As of January 2025 an ordinary letter/postcard (sized max. 23x33x1 cm) to destinations worldwide (incl. Denmark), with a weight of up to 100 grams, cost {{DKK|35}}. == Cope == Public toilets are available even in small villages. They are clearly identified with signs, clean and practically all of them are free to use. {{outlinecountry}} {{geo|61.9|-6.7833|zoom=9}} {{IsPartOf|Nordic countries}} qhm3obuq2glnxcewvuxpy0i6d4mrmwh 5298599 5298597 2026-06-26T04:03:57Z OhanaUnited 76122 /* Connect */ SMS does have public WiFi, but the password is posted in their mall office on 2nd floor 5298599 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Faroe Islands banner.jpg}} The '''Faroe''' or '''Faeroe Islands''' ([[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]: ''Føroyar''; [[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]: ''Færøerne'') are an archipelago of 18 islands in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, with roughly 54,000 inhabitants (2022). Like [[Greenland]], the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of [[Denmark]]. When visiting the Faroes you are never more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. The countryside is dominated by steep mountains and there are about 70,000 sheep and some 2 million pairs of sea birds, including the largest colony of storm petrels in the world. The Faroe Islands are undeniably beautiful: green, rugged and wind-swept. Most visitors to the islands come between early July and late August. == Regions == The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 1,399&nbsp;km² (545.3&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi) and is 113&nbsp;km (70&nbsp;mi) long and 75&nbsp;km (47&nbsp;mi) wide. 17 islands are inhabited, leaving just one uninhabited island, the smallest island, Lítla Dímum. There are a lot of smaller islets and skerries around the Faroe Islands. Including the 18 islands, there are 779 islands, islets and skerries in the Faroe Islands. A large part of these are around the island Suðuroy, which consists of 263 islets and skerries, including the island itself. The precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands. The islands are connected by tunnels, causeways and a regular public ferry service. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Faeroe Islands Regions map.png | regionmaptext=Map of the Faroe Islands | regionmapsize=450px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | region1name=[[Northern Islands]] (''Norðoyar'') | region1color=#ABC09B | region1description=The six Northern Islands (Borðoy, Kunoy, Kalsoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy) have made up one administrative area since Norse times and is home to the archipelago's second-largest city, [[Klaksvík]]. The volcanic origin of the Faroe Islands is more pronounced here than anywhere else. The landscape is very dramatic. | region2name=[[Eysturoy]] | region2color=#9C759C | region2description=The second largest island. The landscape in the north is very steep. | region3name=[[Streymoy]] | region3color=#4F93C0 | region3description=Streymoy is the largest and main island. The north is less densely populated but there are some wonderful villages. In the south the capital [[Tórshavn]] is situated and the area surrounding the capital is where the largest number of people live. The smaller islands of Nólsoy, Hestur, and Koltur are also included in this region. | region5name=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]] | region5color=#C8B7B7 | region5description=[[Vágar]] is the third largest island and is where the airport is situated. [[Mykines]], the small island to the west, is well known for its bird life and remote location. | region6name= [[Sandoyar]] | region6color=#578E86 | region6description=The region is made up of three islands with the largest being Sandoy, the other two are Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun. | region7name=[[Suðuroy]] | region7color=#6D926D | region7description=The most southerly island and Lítla Dímun - the smallest island, which is uninhabited. }} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q207675|group=map1|fill=#C8B7B7|title=[[Vágar]] and [[Mykines]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q208321|group=map1|fill=#578E86|title=[[Sandoyar]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q210309|group=map1|fill=#6D926D|title=[[Suðuroy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q977685|group=map1|fill=#ABC09B|title=[[Northern Islands]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q200939|group=map1|fill=#9C759C|title=[[Eysturoy]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q192540|group=map1|fill=#4F93C0|title=[[Streymoy]]}} ==Settlements== [[Image:Sumba, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|The village Sumba in [[Suðuroy]].]] [[Image:Oyndarfjørður, Faroe Islands (4).JPG|thumb|The village Oyndarfjørður]] <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are LIMITED TO 9 ITEMS. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page. --> Until the late 19th century, people spent most of their lives in the same village. Towns didn’t start to appear until very late. For instance, the capital, Tórshavn, only counted about 100 inhabitants in 1900, whereas today the population is nearly 20,000. In the Faroe Islands the traditional village was to a certain extent self-sufficient. Historically there was a limit to how many families it could support. When the fishing industry took off in 1872, it was the beginning of the end for the traditional way of life in the small villages as fishing replaced farming and the growing population chose to settle in fast-growing towns instead. Today there are still over a hundred villages in the Faroe Islands. Nearly every one of them is near the ocean, and to new visitors they may all seem to be very much alike. The houses are painted either in bright colours or the traditional black, whilst the roofs are often turf-covered. The buildings are usually built very close to each other, which is very cosy. Each village is surrounded by a cultivated infield, surrounded by an uncultivated outfield. In most places, the sheep occupy the outfield throughout the year. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tórshavn]]|url=|lat=62.0117|long=-6.7675 |wikidata=Q10704}} – the capital and largest city * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Klaksvík]]|url=|lat=62.2239|long=-6.5786}} – the main industrial centre and the largest town in the [[Northern Islands]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hoyvík]]|url=|lat=62.0256|long=-6.7589 }} – north of Tórshavn, nowadays effectively a suburb * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tvøroyri]]|url=|lat=61.5558|long=-6.8033 |wikidata=Q754666}} – the second largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Vágur]]|url=|lat=61.4753|long=-6.8072|wikidata=Q7547}} – the largest town on Suðuroy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Runavík]]|url=|lat=62.1094|long=-6.7192}} – the largest village on Eysturoy, kind of an agglomeration together with Toftir and Saltangrá * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Fuglafjørður]]|url=|lat=62.2444|long=-6.8144}} – its cultural centre has become one of the main cultural attractions on Eysturoy ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Vestmannabjørgini|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Vestmanna Birdcliffs'') – The bird cliffs are situated north of Vestmanna. The half of a kilometre high cliffs are one of the high points of a trip to the Faroes. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mjørkadalur|url=|lat=|long=}} (''Foggy Valley'') – A valley overlooking the Kalbaksfjørður fjord, rising to the peak of Sornfelli mountain. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Tinganes|url=|lat=|long=}} – The old town of [[Tórshavn]]. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Coal Mines|url=|lat=|long=}} in [[Hvalba]], [[Suðuroy]]. ==Understand== {{NordicCountries}} {{quickbar|location=LocationFaroeIslands.png}} The Faroe Islands are a self-governing island territory of [[Denmark]], although they aim politically for greater independence. The islands have a population of 51,000 (2018), and a language and culture of their own. The Faroese tourist season is very short. It begins in May and ends by September. Most visitors come between July and August by far. If you would like to avoid the busiest season, it is best to visit the Faroes in late May or early June. The Faroese weather has its own temperament and is a lot like the weather in neighbouring regions, just more unpredictable. One of the main reasons that people visit the Faroe Islands is the incredible nature and scenery. The Faroe Islands turn extraordinarily green during the summertime. The fresh air, the deep blue ocean, the vertical sea cliffs and the green mountains with their picturesque valleys, is something which would amaze anyone who enjoys being surrounded by nature. There are bus rides, horse trekking, mountain hikes and boat trips which allow you to enjoy the magnificent wild green landscape. Sometimes the summer fog creates a mystical landscape, in which you may vividly imagine the great history and mystical stories belonging to the islands. Some have said that when the landscape is surrounded by this sort of weather it reminds them of the landscape in J.R.R Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. The tranquility of the islands are great if you want to escape from big city madness. The Faroese love to take things easy and are not at all worried about arriving on time. But if you ever find yourself in the mood for a night out in town, you will find that Tórshavn caters for your every need with its great shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. Because the islands are so close to the Arctic Circle, the amount of daylight varies by season. The sun sets briefly each night in June, so there are several hours of twilight, before the sun comes back up again. During the winter there are no days of complete darkness, but about five hours of daylight. The Faroe Islands' primary industry is the fishing industry and the islands have one of the smallest independent economic entities in the world. The fishing industry accounts for over 80% of the total export value of goods, which are mainly processed fish products and fish farming. Tourism is the second largest industry, followed by woollen and other manufactured products. The unemployment rate in the Faroes is extremely low. The Faroese are trying to diversify their economy, but are divided about how to go about it. Most Faroese people work in the public sector as teachers, caretakers or having office jobs, etc. The rise in the public sector workforce is highlighted by the fact that it is getting less and less popular to work in the fishing industry, and the private sector isn't big enough to support an educated and more demanding workforce. ===People=== [[File:Tambar, a 20 feet Faroese wooden boat, belonging to the rowing club Róðrarfelagið Knørrur. Photo by Ólavur Frederiksen, July 21, 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Young rowers of Róðrarfelagið Knørrur]] The Faroes were colonised by Norwegians in the 9th century – according to history the first settler was Grímur Kamban, a Norwegian Viking who made his home in [[Funningur]] on [[Eysturoy]] in 825. The Faroese population has largely descended from these settlers. Recent DNA analyses have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian. However, the studies also show that mitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Celtic. About 20,000 people live in the metropolitan area which comprises Tórshavn, Kirkjubøur, Velbastaður, Nólsoy, Hestur, Koltur, Hoyvík, Argir, Kaldbak, Kaldbaksbotnur, Kollafjørður, Signabøur and Oyrareingir (Tórshavn Municipality). About 4,700 people live in Klaksvík, the second largest town in the islands. 4,750 people live in [[Suðuroy]], the southernmost islands (2010) and 1330 people live on Sandoy island (2010). Faroese, the national language, is rooted in Old Norse. ===Politics=== [[File:Lagting.tórshavn.jpg|thumb|The Faroese Parliament building]] The [[Vikings and the old Norse|Viking settlers]] established their own parliament, called a "ting", around 800. The main ting was established on Tinganes in Tórshavn and local tings were established in various parts of the islands. Around the turn of the millennium, the Faroes came under the control of the Norwegian king. In 1380 the Faroes, along with [[Orkney Islands | Orkney]], [[Shetland Islands | Shetland]], [[Iceland]] and [[Greenland]], joined [[Norway]] in a union with [[Denmark]]. At the end of the Napoleonic wars, in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel forced Denmark to cede Norway to [[Sweden]], but it kept the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. Two years later, in 1816, the Faroes became a Danish county and the old parliament was abolished. The Danish Governor became the highest authority in the Faroes. In 1849 the Danish parliamentary constitution was made to apply in the Faroe Islands. In 1852 the Faroese parliament was reinstated as a county council, but served mainly as an advisory power. The Danish governor presided at all meetings and was a co-opted member. At the same time, the Faroes came to be represented in the Danish parliament. Although the Faroe Islands recognise the Royal powers, they have never been a part of Denmark, only the Danish kingdom. During [[World War II]], Denmark was occupied by the Germans, while the Faroes had a friendly occupation by the British. During this time the Faroese parliament carried both the legislative and the fiscal responsibility. The Faroese people had a taste of self-government and a return to the status quo seemed impossible. After a referendum, which led to a very small majority voting for independence, in 1946 negotiations took place between the two countries and the outcome was the Home Rule Act in 1948. The Faroese were from then on responsible for most matters of government except for foreign affairs and defence. The Faroe Islands has its own prime minister, and its parliament may legislate on matters of local importance and reject Danish laws. The Faroes are still represented in the Danish parliament by two representatives. Also, since 1970 the Faroes have had independent status in the Nordic Council. Furthermore, the Faroes have their own flag. Unlike Denmark, the Faroe Islands is not part of the EU or the Schengen Area, meaning that non-Nordic EU and EEA citizens do not have work or residency rights. However, Faroe Islanders are full Danish citizens and carry Danish passports for international travel, making them eligible to reside and work in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. ===Climate=== The weather is maritime and quite unpredictable. It can change quickly and it varies extremely, from moments of brilliant sunshine to misty hill fog, to showers: there can be sunshine on one side of the mountain range, while it's raining on the other side. During the summer the islands are often overcast by summer fog. The Gulf Stream south of the islands tempers the climate. The harbours never freeze and the temperature in winter time is very moderate considering the high latitude. Snowfall occurs, but it is short-lived. The average temperature ranges from 3°C in the wintertime to 11°C during the summer. The temperature can be much higher, but the air is always fresh and clean no matter the season. ===Landscape=== With their volcanic origin the 18 islands are rugged and rocky. The average height above sea level for the country is 300&nbsp;m (982&nbsp;ft). The highest peak, Slættaratindur, is 880&nbsp;m (2887&nbsp;ft) above sea level. There are 1,100&nbsp;km (687&nbsp;mi) of coastline and at no time is one more than 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) away from the ocean. Mountains and valleys mostly characterize the inner landscape. The Faroese west coast is characterized by steep slopes and bird cliffs, that in the summertime are full of nesting seabirds such as puffins. Something that first meets the eye of a traveller is the lack of trees in the Faroes. The reason for this are the thousands of sheep that occupy the islands. ===Visitor information=== * [https://visitfaroeislands.com/en Official tourism website] ==Talk== {{seealso|Faroese phrasebook}} The main official language of the Faroe Islands is '''[[Faroese phrasebook|Faroese]]''', which is the mother tongue of most inhabitants. '''[[Danish phrasebook|Danish]]''' has a co-official status; it is taught in schools and most services and official documents are available in Danish. Faroese is a Germanic language stemming from Old Norse and mutually intelligible to some extent with Icelandic. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish share these roots, but have been much more influenced by especially Low German. English speakers will recognise some cognates from Old Norse and other influences, but modern loanwords are quite few. Most locals speak '''English''' as a second language; it is compulsory in Faroese schools. However, learning some basic Faroese greetings will help to endear you to the locals. == Get in == === Visas === Although part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are not part of the [[European Union]] or the [[Travelling around the Schengen Area|Schengen Area]]. If you do not need a visa for Denmark, you can generally visit the Faroe Islands visa-free for up to 90 days, provided your passport is valid for at least 3 months beyond your intended departure date. Citizens of the [[Nordic countries]] may stay in the Faroe Islands indefinitely with no restrictions including on employment. If you need a visa for Denmark, inform the embassy when you apply that you'll be visiting the Faroe Islands, as Schengen visas issued for the mainland are not valid for the Faroe Islands (or Greenland). Citizens of all EU and Schengen countries can enter with only a valid ID card, but should still carry their passport as a backup, since it is possible for flights to be diverted to Scotland where such cards are not valid. ===By plane=== [[File:Atlantic Airways A319 OY-RCG.JPG|thumb|An Atlantic Airways aircraft at Vágar Airport]] *{{go | name=Vágar Airport | alt=Vága Floghavn {{IATA|FAE}} | url=http://www.floghavn.fo | email= | address= | lat=62.063611 | long=-7.277222 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vágar Airport | image=Vágar Airport, Faroe Islands.JPG | wikidata=Q371471 | content=The Faroe Islands are served by one airport. The airport is on the island of Vágar and the location was chosen by the British during their occupation of the islands during World War II. About 300,000 (and increasing) passengers fly to and from the airport every year. Vágar is connected to the largest island, Streymoy (on which the capital Tórshavn is situated) by a sub-sea tunnel. There are buses to Torshavn (line 300 on [http://www.ssl.fo/ ssl.fo]); the schedules are aligned (more or less) with the arrival of all flights. The price to Tórshavn is {{DKK|90}}. You need to change buses if you are going to Klaksvik. Taxis serve the airport at fixed rates (Tórshavn costs {{DKK|220}} per passenger, not per cab). Advance bookings can be made through the [https://taxi.fo/en/airporttaxi/ taxi company's website]. }} Airlines serving the airport are: *[https://www.atlanticairways.com/en '''Atlantic Airways'''] is the national carrier and connects the Faroes with several places in Scandinavia and continental Europe. The Faroes are accessible by regular commercial air service from [[Copenhagen]] (3 times a day), as well as [[Billund]] and [[Aalborg]] in Denmark. From Norway there are direct flights from [[Oslo]]. From Iceland there are direct flights from Keflavík airport near [[Reykjavík]] (twice a week). From Britain there are direct flights from [[Edinburgh]]. From Spain there are direct flights from [[Barcelona]], [[Mallorca]], and [[Gran Canaria]]. From France there are direct flights from [[Paris]]-CDG. *[https://www.flysas.com/ '''SAS'''] flies almost daily from Copenhagen (April - October only). *[https://www.wideroe.no/en '''Widerøe'''] flies regularly from [[Bergen]], Norway. Summer fog is a problem when flying to the Faroes in the summer months. The planes cannot land in this weather and will often divert to Iceland or Scotland where you will stay until the weather clears. This also means that flights out of the Faroes can be disrupted too. Allow yourself a few days either side of your visit to the Faroes in case of flight delays. ===By boat=== * [http://www.smyril-line.com '''Smyril Line'''] operates a year-round passenger and car ferry service to the Faroe Islands, twice a week in summer. The ferry sails between [[Hirtshals]] (North Jutland, [[Denmark]]) and [[Seyðisfjörður]] (on the east coast of [[Iceland]]). It is the only ferry service with scheduled services to Iceland. Getting to the Faroes by boat takes longer than by plane but has the advantage of allowing you to take your own vehicle. As of 2023, prices for single passage without vehicle start at {{EUR|92}} in off-season and {{EUR|112}} in high season. For people arriving by yacht, there are several harbours around the islands. The best are found in Tórshavn (the capital), Klaksvík, Tvøroyri, Vágur, Vestmanna, Sørvágur, Miðvágur, Runavík, and Fuglafjørður. ==Get around== [[File:Krambatangi ferry port and Tvoroyri.JPG|thumb|The ferry Smyril M/F, here leaving Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy, heading for Tórshavn, the capital.]] [[File:Map_of_the_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_Islands.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the tunnels of the Faroe Islands]] The Faroe Islands are a small country and getting around is easy. All of the Islands are connected by public transport. === Travelling between islands === The two largest islands, Streymoy and Eysturoy, are connected by a bridge, Sundabrúgvin ("the Channel Bridge"). Toll tunnels connect the islands of Vágar with Streymoy, and also Borðoy to Eysturoy. Road causeways connect Borðoy with Viðoy and Kunoy. The other main islands [[Sandoy]] and [[Suðuroy]] have excellent car-ferry connections to Streymoy, making driving in the Faroes easy and pleasant. * '''Route 7 Tvøroyri - Tórshavn:''' M/F Smyril has 2–3 daily departures from Tórshavn, sailing to Krambatangi ferry port in Suðuroy. * '''Route 36 Sørvágur - Mykines:''' M/F Jósup has 2 daily departures in summer from Sørvágur on Vágar island to Mykines island, less in winter time. Due to the popularity of the destination, this is the only route that requires booking tickets in advance (via [https://www.mykines.fo/search/mykines/ mykines.fo]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}). * '''Route 56 Klaksvík - Syðradalur:''' M/F Sam has up to 7 daily departures from Klaksvík to Syðradalur on Kalsoy island. * '''Route 58 Hvannasund - Hattarvík:''' M/F Ritan has 3 daily departures from Hvannasund on Viðoy island to the islands Svínoy and Fugloy in summertime, less in wintertime. * '''Route 60 Skopun - Gamlarætt''' & '''61 Gamlarætt - Hestur:''' M/F Teistin has around 8 daily departures from Gamlarætt ferry port to Skopun on Sandoy island. Teistin has also a few departures to Hestur island, but only on request. Gamlarætt is located on the west coast of Streymoy, not far from Tórshavn and near the villages Kirkjubøur and Velbastaður. * '''Route 66 Sandur - Skúvoy:''' M/F Sildberin has only one regular daily connection between Sandur and Skúvoy, all others must be requested by phone some hours prior to departure. * '''Route 90 Tórshavn - Nólsoy:''' M/F Ternan has 5–7 daily departures from Tórshavn to Nólsoy. ''Strandfaraskip Landsins'', the Faroese public transport service, publishes an annual timetable ([https://www.ssl.fo/en/timetable/ferry/7-tvoroyri-torshavn/ Ferðaætlan]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}) containing details of all ferry and bus schedules. It is available from the Passenger Terminal in Tórshavn, and all tourist information centres. It is not possible to make advance bookings on car ferries. You should be at the pier at least 20 minutes before scheduled departure, and much earlier on Friday and Saturday evenings. ===By bus=== Passenger road transport is run by private companies, but is coordinated by a public body, [http://www.ssl.fo/ Strandfaraskip Landsins]. The inter-town bus system (Bygdaleiðir) and the public ferry company have established a coherent and well-developed public transport system which takes in all settlements on the islands. This means that there are bus services to all places - maybe not often, but every day! Bygdaleiðir's buses are blue. A schedule (Ferðaætlan) listing the various timetables for the inter-town buses (and ferries) may be purchased from the tourist office, as well as the central bus station near the harbour in Tórshavn. Transport is quite expensive, so check for student discount or multiple-ride-cards. Students, children and pensioners are eligible for discounts on fares provided they show a student or pensioner identity card. As of Mar. 2026, there is a four-day (adult 500 kr, child 250 kr) and seven-day (adult 700 kr, child 350 kr) [https://www.ssl.fo/en/prices/tourist-travel-card Travel Card] meant for tourists which is valid for all buses and ferries except routes 36 and 90. It is well worth its price if you are planning to get around the islands by public transport. The buses are equipped with radios. If you are planning to change buses, do tell the driver in advance, as he will make sure the other bus waits for you. The capital Tórshavn offers a local bus service (Bussleiðin) with seven routes that reach most area of the town which is free. The red coloured-buses operate every 15-30 mins during the day throughout the week and every 30-60 mins on weekday evenings. Several routes run hourly on Saturdays and Sundays. Route maps and schedules may be obtained on the buses, at Kiosk Steinatún in the centre of town, or at Kunningarstovan, the local tourist information in Tórshavn. ===By car=== [[File:Faroe Islands, Eysturoy, road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta.jpg|thumb|Road from Skipanes to Syðrugøta]] The first motor road connecting two villages wasn’t built until 1916, and travellers were limited to mountain paths and rowing boats. Nevertheless, today driving is easy with an excellent 600&nbsp;km network of well maintained tarmaced roads and tunnels. The density of cars is one of the highest in Europe. The numerous road tunnels in the Faroe Islands mean that drivers of large vehicles must plan their routes by finding out in advance which tunnel they can enter. Driving is on the right and most road signs follow international standards. Headlights and seat belts must be on when driving. The speed limit is 80&nbsp;km/h (50&nbsp;mph) outside towns and villages, and 50&nbsp;km/h (30&nbsp;mph) in the towns and villages. For cars with trailers, the speed limit is 50&nbsp;km/h and for caravans the speed limit is 60&nbsp;km/h. The consequences for speeding are severe. Sheep graze freely on both sides of the main roads and will cross at will. Also they may hide from bad weather just inside the tunnels, which causes many collisions each year. Parking in the towns of Tórshavn, Klaksvík and Runavík is restricted and parking fines cost {{DKK|200}}. The times in black (or white if it's on a dark background) are for weekdays' limited time parking period. The times with brackets are for Saturday. There is typically no time limit on Sunday and public holidays, but if there is, the time limit is written in red. Parking discs must be displayed in the lower right hand corner of the front windscreen showing the time you parked your car. These display discs are available for free at banks and tourist offices. Off-road driving is prohibited by law in the Faroe Islands. Respect the islands' pristine nature by keeping to sealed roads. ====Sub-sea tunnel fares==== You have to pay a toll to use the sub-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands. As of summer 2022, there are 3 tunnels that charge tolls: {| class="wikitable" ! Tunnel !! Cars !! Vehicles<br>> 6 m and/or > 3,500 kg !! Motorcycles !! Remark |- | Vágatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Vágar. |- | Norðoyatunnel || {{DKK|100}} || {{DKK|300}} || Free || Price for return trip; charge applies when driving from Klaksvík. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Streymoy - Eysturoy) || {{DKK|175}} || {{DKK|800}} || {{DKK|160}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |- | Eysturoyartunnel<br>(Strendur - Runavík)|| {{DKK|125}} || {{DKK|200}} || {{DKK|120}} || Charged every time you drive through the tunnel. |} Two more large sub-sea tunnels are under construction in 2022, connecting the southern islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy to the overall road network. You have three days to pay after using the tunnel before an invoice is sent to the car owner. If you have rented the car, the rental agency will charge a large fee if this occurs. You may pay at any petrol station on the islands or [https://www.tunnil.fo/english online]. Most car rental companies offer flat rates at the equivalent of 3–5 return tunnel trips. If you prefer to pay for all your tunnel trips yourself, make it clear when you hire the car. The rental company will charge you if it is unaware that you have already paid the tunnel operator. If travelling with your own car it is also possible to purchase a subscription by registering at tunnil.fo and paying a non-refundable fee of {{DKK|400}} (or {{DKK|600}} when also using the Eysturoyartunnel) (2022). This will give you access to discounted tunnel prices, but you will have to pre-pay for your trips by loading money into your account at the website ({{DKK|400}} minimum for each payment). ==== Car rental ==== ''' Vágar ''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo]. {{phone|716 060}}, {{email|info@rent.fo}} New rental vehicles. Responsive to emails. * Avis Føroyar, Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|358800, 212765}}. * [https://www.62n.fo/en/car-rental/ 62N.fo] (formerly Hertz), Vágar airport, FO-380 Sørvágur. {{phone|733 510}}, {{email|car@62n.fo}} '''Tórshavn''' * [https://rent.fo/ Rent.fo], R. C. Effersøesgøta 17, Tórshavn. Tel: 716 060, [mailto:info@rent.fo info@rent.fo] * 62N.fo, Tórshavn city centre, 100 Tórshavn. Tel: 733 510, [mailto:car@62n.fo car@62n.fo] '''Miðvágur''' * [https://unicar.fo Unicar], Ytra bryggja 4, 370 Miðvágur. {{phone|544 000}}, {{email|unicar@unicar.fo}} ===By helicopter=== You can splurge, and take a helicopter (instead of the cheaper ferry) to all the faraway islands – for example to Mykines, the picturesque island far west. Atlantic Airways offers a [https://www.atlanticairways.com/en/helicopter helicopter service] to selected towns and villages throughout the Faroes. Contact Atlantic Airways directly ({{phone|+298 341060}}). Booking is required. The service is intended for locals on remote islands, and as such tourists can only book one way of a journey but you can use the ferry and bus services to make the return journey. Bad weather may result in helicopter flights being cancelled. Non-residents don't get subsidised prices any more; tickets cost about thrice as much as for locals. === Hitchhiking === [[File:Hitchhiking near Torshavn.jpg|thumb|Hitchhiking near Torshavn]] The Faroe Islands are the ideal for hitchhiking, as they are amongst the easiest places in the world to secure a lift. To begin with, the vast majority of locals speak excellent English, allowing for genuine conversation and unique insights into their culture. Furthermore, the Faroese are naturally curious about visitors and often take pleasure in acting as impromptu guides; it is not uncommon for a driver to go out of their way to show you a hidden gem while chatting along the route. The islands have a prosperous economy, meaning there is a high volume of private motorcars on the well-maintained roads. Safety is rarely a concern either; the small population and robust education system contribute to an exceptionally low crime rate. Finally, because distances are so short, you are never committed to a single vehicle for too long. Given the high cost of car hire, the infrequent public transport schedules, and the sheer ease of the experience, hitchhiking is can be a wonderful transport choice. In most instances, you will find yourself picked up by the first or second car to pass by. == See == [[Image:Hesturin and Beinisvord, Vertical Cliffs of Suduroy, Faroe Islands.JPG|thumb|Beinisvørð in [[Suðuroy]] is a 470-m-high sea cliff.]] * '''Slættaratindur''' on [[Eysturoy#Q738746|Eysturoy]]: at 880 m, is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. It is well worth climbing. The only downside is that the summit is often wrapped in fog. * '''Beinisvord''' (Beinisvørð) is the highest sea cliff in Suðuroy and the second-highest in the Faroe Islands at 470 m. The views down to the sea and towards north to the west coast of Suðuroy are breathtaking. You can see or climb Beinisvørð from a place named Hesturin, which is between the villages Lopra and [[Suðuroy#Q792079|Sumba]]. You can drive to Sumba through the tunnel and then follow the old road to the highest point. From there the edge is only a few metres away. Be careful not to walk too far out on the edge, as the cliff ends all of a sudden. * '''Rinkusteinar''' near Oyndarfjørður on [[Eysturoy#Q730352|Esturoy]], is a strange natural phenomenon, two very large boulders which permanently stand rocking in the ocean, just a few metres from the shore. The stones have been rocking as far back as anyone can tell. * '''Risin og Kellingin''' (the Giant and his Wife) on [[Eysturoy#Q1269020|Esturoy]], close to the village of Eiði, are two magnificent basalt sea stacks off the northern tip of the island. Legend has it that the two giants had come to tow the Faroes back with them to Iceland, However, the sun rose and they were turned into stone. They stand looking towards [[Iceland]], which they will never reach. <!-- -->[[File:Gasadalur village and a waterfall.jpg|thumb|Gásadalur village]][[File:Viðareiði sunset.jpg|thumb|Viðareiði settlement]] * '''Gásadalur ''' on [[Vágar#Q226056|Vágar]] is both a village and waterfall. This village is one of the most iconic representations of the Faroe Islands. Here, you'll be treated to a picturesque scene where a few traditional, environmentally-friendly houses stand against the backdrop of a hill perched on a high cliff, with a majestic waterfall. * '''Viðareiði''' on the [[Northern Islands#Q901774|Northern Islands]] is the northernmost settlement in the Faroe Islands. It is situated between two stunning hills, one of them the third highest in the archipelago. ===Lakes=== Nestled amidst the stunning landscapes lies the tranquil lakes of the Faroe Islands. These lakes mirror the surrounding emerald hills and can even [[Vágar#Sørvágsvatn|cause you to question]] your perception of vision. * '''Sørvágsvatn''', perhaps nicknamed as the lake above the ocean, is the largest lake in the Faroes. It is 30–40 m above the sea and its curve sweeps close to sheer cliffs in [[Vágar]]. * ''' Lake Toftir''' (''Toftavatn'') south of [[Eysturoy]] is a lake that's one of its kind. The low rolling hills around the idyllic lake have the widest stretches of heather on the islands. They are considered unique in the Faroes. Furthermore, the terrain is a splendid choice for an outing. ==Do== * '''[[Sea kayaking]]'''. Kayaks are widely available for rent. * '''[[Birdwatching]]'''. ===Hiking=== It is possible to hike in Faroe Islands, however, you must stick to prepared trails, and it is not permitted to put up tents outside designated areas. Most famous hikes are accessible only by paying a fee (e.g. the hike along Leitisvatn/Sørvágsvatn out to Trælanípa and Bøsdalafossur waterfall for {{DKK|200}} or Mykines past the village for {{DKK|250}}, as of 2022). Credit card payment is available everywhere. Weather is unpredictable, there might be rain storms, so bring suitable clothes. A combination of hiking and bus transport is advised, so you don't need to walk back the same way again. The tourism authority produced a hiking guide which is available from their [https://visitfaroeislands.com/see-do/hiking/ website]. It offers detailed descriptions with small maps for 23 short tours on virtually all of the islands. Going on your own, check with the regional information centres about farming and hunting activities. Tourist information offices, including the one in the airport, distributes booklets about hiking around the Faroe Islands, suggesting various routes. Another great source for hiking tracks is the mobile application called ''Maps.me'' which displays walking paths as well as roads. In any case, one is not far away from picturesque paths in any given location. In the worst case, one can walk along the roads as cars rarely pass by. ==Buy== Almost everything in the Faroe Islands is expensive. All consumer sales include 25% VAT (sales tax) and displayed prices always include this. ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Danish kroner | currencyCodeAfter=&nbsp;kr | date=January 2026 | USD=6.4 | EUR=7.5 | GBP=8.6 | NOK=0.6 | SEK=0.7 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/dkk-danish-krone?r= XE.com] }} The Faroese currency is the '''Danish krone''' (plural: ''kroner''), abbreviated "'''kr.'''" (ISO code: '''DKK'''). The Faroese government prints its own banknotes, '''[http://www.nationalbanken.dk/DNUK/NotesAndCoins.nsf/side/The_new_Faroese_banknote_series?OpenDocument the Króna]''', although Danish coins are used. The coins come in 50 oyra (half of a króna), 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 króna. Paper notes come in 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 króna. Their exchange value is equivalent to the Danish crown, and there is no service charge on exchange, as Danish notes are just as acceptable and used interchangbly in the Faroe Islands. Before leaving the Faroes, exchange Faroese notes for Danish notes or other currency, since Faroese notes are usually not recognized by banks outside of Denmark. ===Shopping=== Opening hours in the Faroes are longer than they used to be, but many smaller shops still close early on Saturday (usually at 14:00) and nearly everything is closed on Sundays. Tórshavn is the obvious choice for shopping, although both Runavík and especially Klaksvik have some nice shops selling clothes and knick-knacks. Wool and woollen clothing are popular on the Islands, and you will find some fashionable sweaters, jackets and (cheaper) hats, shawls and gloves. Check out the shops "Sirri" and "Guðrun og Guðrun". There is only one proper shopping centre: SMS (Sølumiðstøð), containing the largest supermarket, Miklagarður, and some different shops and a few chains including Burger King, Bath and Body Works and Vero Moda. Yasmin sells women’s clothing. The Shopping Centre has glass art-work by artist Tróndur Patursson. There are a few second hand shops in Tórshavn. If you are from outside the EU/Scandinavia you can have your [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/duty-free/tax-free-shopping/ 25% VAT refunded] when leaving the country, for certain purchases not for use in the Faroes. Only purchases with at least 399 kr on a single receipt will be eligible for tax refund. Smaller stores or those in remote villages may not be participating in the VAT refund scheme. For shops that offer VAT refund, they will attach a sticker to the back of your receipt. Take this receipt to the information desk in Vágar airport if departing by plane, onboard the Norrøna ferry or at the Visit North (Visit Norðoy) tourist information centre if departing by cruise ship or sailboat. ==Eat== {{seealso|Nordic cuisine}} Most traditional Faroese cuisine involves either lamb or fish. The traditional Faroese kitchen mainly owes its food traditions to the archipelago's harsh climate, similar to [[Iceland#Eat|the cuisine of Iceland]]. This is because in earlier days the food culture on the islands was not very extensive. It is hard to find a Faroese dish on the menu of a restaurant, but it is possible at certain restaurants and hotels. [[File:Tvost og spik.jpg|thumb|Tvøst og spik]] Distinctive Faroese foods include: *Wild seabirds, e.g. '''puffins'''. The puffins are stuffed with cake and served with potatoes and wild berries *''Skerpikjøt'', dried mutton that has been hung for over a year and is eaten raw *''Ræst kjøt'', meat that has been hung for a couple of months to mature before cooking *''Ræstur fiskur'', dried fish that has been hung in the same way as ræstkjøt *''Turrur fiskur'', dried fish * ''Tvøst og spik'', whale meat and blubber *'''Rhubarb''', since it is easy to cultivate While the capital, Tórshavn, offers a variety of dining options, the selection remains somewhat limited. Beyond the capital, the number of establishments and the standard of cuisine drop significantly. Although McDonald’s has no presence in the Faroe Islands, Burger King has opened a branch. In Tórshavn, there are fast-food outlets and one City Burger in the town centre. Across the islands, petrol station, primarily '''Effo''' and '''Mag''', are common. Almost all of these serve quick snacks and hot food, with sausages being a particular staple. * '''KOKS:''' — at Hotel Føroyar, this restaurant boasts an excellent view across Tórshavn. The menu features both local Faroese specialities and international dishes. * '''Áarstova:''' — near the harbour and adjacent to Café Natúr, which specialises in traditional Faroese fare. * '''Toscana:''' — a charming, boutique Italian restaurant in the town centre. * '''Etika:''' — a delicatessen and takeaway offering high-quality sushi, made using the islands' exceptionally fresh local fish. == Drink == [[File:Okkara Klassik (øl).JPG|thumb|upright|A can of Okkara beer]] The legal drinking age in the Faroes is 18. The Faroese love to party, and drinking is much more popular than doing drugs. There are two brands of Faroese beer: Føroya Bjór and Okkara. Føroya Bjór is well-established and is the oldest of the two breweries. It has received awards abroad. Okkara was established in 2010 and is growing in popularity, mainly for their craft beer. Alcohol is very expensive. Light beer may be purchased in shops and unlicensed restaurants and cafés. Stronger beer, wine and spirits can only be purchased in the Government Monopoly stores ([http://www.rusan.fo Rúsdrekkasøla]) in major towns and in licensed restaurants, cafés and bars etc. How much you can bring to the Faroe Islands as duty-free imports is listed on the taxation office's website, [https://www.taks.fo/en/individuals/customs/duty-free-imports-to-the-faroe-islands taks.fo]. === Government Monopoly Stores === '''Streymoy''' *Hoyvíksvegur 51, Tórshavn *Á Hjalla 14, Tórshavn *Niðari Vegur 81, Vestmanna '''Eysturoy''' *Svartheyggj 2, Norðskáli *Heiðavegur 25, Saltangará '''Borðoy''' *Sævargøta 6, Klaksvík '''Sandoy''' * Heimasandsvegur 58, Sandur '''Suðuroy''' * Langabakki 5, Trongisvágur '''Vágar''' *Skaldarvegur 5, Miðvágur === Nightlife === Outside the capital, bars and nightclubs are few and far between. In Tórshavn, the heart of the nightlife is centred around the harbour. Here, is Cirkus Føroyar, a popular haunt for local musicians. Directly across the street, also overlooking the water, is Hvonn; located within Hotel Tórshavn, it is a favourite weekend destination for the city's youth. The bar Café Natúr is close by. Every Wednesday there is a pub quiz at Café Natúr. The wooden interiors are similar to English or Irish pubs, and have live music (usually in the form of a singer or guitarist). Another place is Cleopatra right in the town centre which has a restaurant on the lower floor, with the main bar on the next floor up. The entrance to the bar is up some green felt stairs. A nightclub is Rex, on the third floor in the same building as "Havnar Bio", the cinema. You need to be 21 or over to get in. For young people the nightclub Deep is a place to visit. It is the same as in most European cities a you have to be eighteen or older to get in. ===Cafés=== For a coffee go to the Western harbour "Vágsbotn", just below Tórshavn Dome and have a cup of coffee at café Kaffihúsið. Kaffihúsi is located down by the sea and has a very nice atmosphere. The Café Dugni is in the middle of town. Bill Clinton had a cup of coffee there when he visited the islands a few years back. At Dugni you can buy Faroes handicrafts while having coffee and homemade faroese cakes. Other cafés include Café Kaspar at hotel Hafnia, and Baresso at the shopping centre SMS. Hvonn is one of the most popular places at night, keeping it sophisticated and clean, and also includes a brasserie. == Sleep == [[File:Tinganes, Torshavn 2005.jpg|thumb|Torshavn]] === Youth hostels === The youth hostels of the Faroes are spread across the islands. The small size of the Faroes ensures that the next youth hostel is always well within one day’s walking distance allowing visitors to travel from one youth hostel to the next one at will. Accommodation is mostly in 2 to 6 rooms of limited size but of good standard. There are few dormitory accommodations at the Faroese, with one exception being at Bládýpi which has 2 dorms, as well as apartments. Most of the youth hostels don´t have a regular reception with daily opening hours, so be sure to make arrangements with your host by e-mail or phone before arrival. Prices vary slightly with the cheapest being around {{DKK|200}} per night/person for adults. Variable discounts for children 2–11 years old. YHF members get a {{DKK|20}} discount while groups get special discounts. === Camping === Legally camping is only allowed in designated places but in reality, you can camp anywhere as long as you are not impudent. Locals are aware that camping prohibition law is few centuries old and might not apply these days. Safe distance might be half an hour walk away from the village. There are few objects to hide behind so you would be visible from far away, but as long as you pitch a tent in evening and pick up early morning, you should be fine. Once again, camping outside designated areas is not legal but locals do this too. [[File:Camping in Nolsoy.jpg|thumb|Camping with a wind-break]] If you decide to break the law and camp in the wild, be aware of frequently changing weather conditions. It's advisable to look for a hideout from the wind and pitch a tent to sustain from strong gusts. No one would like to wake-up in a night to repitch a tent. One can easily find a stretch of land just to oneself to enjoy the tranquillity the Faroe islands gives after a sunset. Also, be considerate and take your rubbish with you. Or as a saying goes "leave no trace, only footprints".<!--== Learn == .--> == Learn == The main university in the Faroe Islands is the '''[https://www.setur.fo/en/ University of the Faroe Islands]'''. Most classes are conducted entirely in Faroese, so if you don't know any Faroese, courses are unlikely to be of any interest. Every summer the university hosts a program that allows people to get a good introduction to Faroese language and literature. More information can be found [https://www.setur.fo/education/faroese-summer-institute here]. If you are deeply fascinated with Nordic culture, the islands are a great place to start. == Work == To work in the Faroe Islands, most foreigners, including citizens of most EU and Schengen countries, require a work permit. Only citizens of the Nordic countries are exempt form having to obtain one. ==Stay safe== The Faroe Islands are generally safe. Crime and traffic are minor risks. While there are no major natural disasters or [[dangerous animals]], fog can be a danger for hikers and drivers. Sheep may be startled by cars, and leap out in front of them. If you happen to [[animal collision|collide with a sheep]], you should immediately contact the police in Tórshavn at telephone number {{phone|+298 351448}} for assistance. This ensures that the farmer can apply for compensation from their own insurance company. You do not need to pay compensation to the farmer for lost income. Hare hunting takes place in November and December, mostly on Saturdays, but also in weekdays. Hiking is safe on Sundays. == Stay healthy == There are emergency services at the hospital in Tórshavn, Klaksvík on Borðoy and Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Doctors around the islands provide emergency assistance. A lot of hospital staff are residents of Denmark who spend periods on the Faroes to supplement the local health staff. The coast guard and Atlantic Airways have helicopters that may be used in emergencies. Police stations are found in most parts of the Country. '''[[Tap water]]''' is safe to drink. === Health insurance === Citizens of the Nordic countries and the UK are covered by their own national health insurance. It is advisable for citizens of other countries to take out travel health insurance. === Emergency or Fire === * Dial 112 === Pharmacies === * Tórshavn (by the SMS shopping centre) on Streymoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 341100}} * Klaksvík on Borðoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 455055}} * Runavík on Eysturoy. Tel: {{phone|+298 471200}} * Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. Tel: {{phone|+298 371076}} === Car problems === For breakdown and immediate help on the two larger islands Streymoy and Eysturoy, contact the fire station in Tórshavn, telephone number {{phone|+298 302100}}. It is advisable to arrange for insurance coverage for your car to save you the worry of a spoilt holiday due to unexpected garage bills. == Respect == [[File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.jpg|thumb|The Faroese flag]] Faroese people are known to be very helpful, friendly and hospitable. * The Faroese are not Danes. They are a separate ethnic group altogether. Keep that in mind when conversing with local people, and never say that you are in Denmark when visiting the Faroe Islands. * The Faroese are often stereotyped negatively in [[Denmark]]. Try to avoid perpetuating any negative stereotypes about them; it is a quick ticket to getting yourself on someone's bad side. * '''Whale hunting''' is a practice viewed by some islanders as a vital cornerstone of their culture. Each year, hundreds of participants engage in these seasonal hunts, which result in the slaughter of 700–1,000 long-finned pilot whales; in 2021, over 1,400 were killed in a single day. Despite widespread international condemnation, including from the EU, comments by outsiders about the killings and the cruelty may cause offence. * The possibility of the Faroe Islands becoming independent is a sensitive issue and is certainly much debated. Unless you have a heart for lengthy, passionate debates, try not to discuss it. * The old part of Tórshavn, around Tinganes, is visited by many tourists. Respect the privacy of people living there. == Connect == There is widespread cellular phone and Internet access. The islands do not belong to the EU, and the roaming charges are much higher than they are inside EU. However, some prepaid tourist SIM cards such as Lebara (Denmark) or Síminn (Iceland) include a roaming allowance in the Faroes, although it can be significantly smaller amount (for example, a {{DKK|100}} plan with 100 GB of data in Denmark will only have 20 GB available to use in the Faroes). It can be a good idea to buy a SIM in Denmark or Iceland if you are transiting there on your way in, as a local Føroya Tele SIM costs {{DKK|197}} will only get you 7 GB and 50 kr credit as of Jun 2026. Føroya Tele tourist SIM cards can be purchased at the information desk in Vágar airport. Many tourists use the Town library or the National library to go on-line instead. They are both in Tórshavn. Public Wi-Fi are widely available for example in ferries or SMS shopping mall in Tórshavn, but establishments often lock their networks and post their passwords within the business. [https://www.posta.fo/en/private/home Posta] is the Faroese postal service and they issue own postage stamps (postage stamps from Denmark are not valid). A mailed postcard from the Faroe Islands is very much appreciated amongst collectors. As of January 2025 an ordinary letter/postcard (sized max. 23x33x1 cm) to destinations worldwide (incl. Denmark), with a weight of up to 100 grams, cost {{DKK|35}}. == Cope == Public toilets are available even in small villages. They are clearly identified with signs, clean and practically all of them are free to use. {{outlinecountry}} {{geo|61.9|-6.7833|zoom=9}} {{IsPartOf|Nordic countries}} nu3o3wit1a9h5eaol6fb9hcwvbq2k62 0 11613 5298651 5233623 2026-06-26T08:36:00Z ~2026-36757-10 2426553 /* By plane */ updates 5298651 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Finistère''' in [[Brittany]] is the westernmost French department. Its name comes from the Latin from "end of the earth". The abers, rugged fjord-like inlets on the north coast, are a notable feature of the landscape. The westernmost point of continental France, known as the Pointe de Corsen, extends from the northwestern tip of Finistère. About 40 km to the south is the slightly less westerly, but rugged and isolated, headland of Pointe du Raz. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Brest (France)|Brest]]|image=Brest - Le Château - PA00089847 - 011.JPG|wikidata=Q12193}} &ndash; the largest city in Finistère, it is an important port city with large tides * {{marker|type=city|name=Concarneau|wikidata=Q17393}} &ndash; an old city, built by Vauban * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Douarnenez]]|wikidata=Q240189}} &ndash; a historical sardine-fishing and canning town * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Quimper]]|image=Odet in Quimper.jpg|wikidata=Q342}} &ndash; capital of Finistère and famous for its Quimper faience, a type of white glazed pottery * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Roscoff]]|wikidata=Q245297}} &ndash; characteristically Breton city ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=Monts d'Arrée|url=|image=Plounéour-Ménez 2008 PD 14.JPG|lat=48.4333|long=-3.9167|wikidata=Q2607651}} &ndash; a mountainous area in Finistère, with heathland * {{marker|type=vicinity|name= Île-de-Batz|image=Ile de Batz vue générale 2.jpg|wikidata=Q292275}} — (pronounced ''eel-de-ba'') has a botanical garden with exotic species * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Molène]]|image=Île Molène - Trébeurden.JPG|wikidata=Q223711}} — you can walk its coastal path in about an hour * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=Ushant|image=Rivage d'Ouessant 3.JPG|wikidata=Q202378}} — rich in religious and agricultural heritage ==Understand== Finistère (Breton: ''Penn ar Bed'', the end of the world) unites two territories that were not intended to be: the bishopric of Cornouaille (bishop of Quimper) to the south and that of Léon (bishop of St Pol de Léon) to the north, the border between the two being located on the harbor of Brest. If Léon has disappeared, the rivalry has taken another form, that between the large city of the north (Brest) and the administrative capital (Quimper). This rivalry, if it is not exacerbated, never misses an opportunity to resurface. The department is literally cut in two, both geographically and demographically. If, in Brest, someone tells you that he comes from the south, don't immediately imagine him as a Marseilles resident, he probably only comes from Quimper. ==Get in== ===By train=== The TGV serves Quimper and Brest from Paris in just over 4 hours. Regional trains connect Rennes to Brest and Quimper, and Nantes to Quimper. ===By plane=== Brest-Bretagne Airport, in Guipavas, connects Brest to Paris (CDG), Lyon, Marseille, London and other cities in France and Europe. You can reach Ouessant by air from Brest airport in around 15 min: * Finist'air airline: around € 70 one way. (2018) ===By car=== Two expressways serve Finistère: *the national 12 serves Brest from Rennes *the national 165 serves Quimper and Brest from Nantes and passing through Vannes and Lorient. ===By boat=== The port of Roscoff has ferry connections with the ports of Plymouth (United Kingdom), Cork and Rosslare (Ireland). Ferries connect the continent to the surrounding islands: * {{go | name=Penn ar bed | alt= | url=http://www.pennarbed.fr/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+33 2 98 808080 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3374752 | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=It serves the ports of Brest, Le Conquet, Camaret and Audierne on the continent, and the islands of Ouessant, Molène and Sein. There are 1 to 3 crossings per day, with a duration of 1 hr to 2 hr 30 min, depending on the route. }} * {{go | name=Finist'mer | alt= | url=http://www.finist-mer.fr/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3072614 | lastedit=2018-02-27 | content=serves the ports of Le Conquet, Camaret, Audierne and Lanildut on the continent, and the islands of Ouessant, Molène and Sein. It also offers guided tourist cruises in the Iroise Sea. }} ==Get around== ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Réseau Penn-ar-Bed | alt= | url= http://www.viaoo29.fr/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+33 2 98 908889 | tollfree= | hours= | price=€2 | wikidata=Q3374749 | lastedit=2019-09-17 | content=Intercity bus network, managed by the department. The Quimper—Brest connection is divided into 3 sections and therefore costs €6. }} ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Brittany}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|48.25|-4|zoom=9}} apzjow6054f63k7lcs6jt4kvrlo9d18 0 11804 5298437 5298190 2026-06-25T14:06:53Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298437 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. The elite tournament for men's national teams is the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ '''UEFA''' '''European Championships'''], often shortened to just '''Euros'''. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ UEFA Women's European Championships]''' shortened to '''Women's Euro'''. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} nh3ipovacqhuadm2p3xse9o94gkph9m 5298613 5298437 2026-06-26T07:25:02Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Czech */ added 5298613 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. The elite tournament for men's national teams is the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ '''UEFA''' '''European Championships'''], often shortened to just '''Euros'''. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ UEFA Women's European Championships]''' shortened to '''Women's Euro'''. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} 4h5z6dhntx4ieg572qkfrnv09putwip 5298614 5298613 2026-06-26T07:28:50Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Austria */ added 5298614 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. The elite tournament for men's national teams is the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ '''UEFA''' '''European Championships'''], often shortened to just '''Euros'''. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ UEFA Women's European Championships]''' shortened to '''Women's Euro'''. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Austria == The men’s national team usually play in Vienna. 12 men’s clubs play in Bundesliga the top tier, such as LASK (in Linz), Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg and Austria Wien. Another 16 play in 2. Liga the second tier. 10 women’s teams play in Frauen Bundesliga. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} dmky4eqm0gmur0x0wsaiyzrzithk7oo 5298622 5298614 2026-06-26T07:43:52Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Understand */ global context 5298622 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. '''Internationals:''' 55 nations affiliate to UEFA the European branch of FIFA, and they all play qualifiers towards the World Cup and UEFA Cup. The main quirk is that the United Kingdom doesn’t play as a combined team, but separately as England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. Transient UK or Great Britain teams for the Olympics were disbanded after the event. World Cup qualification culminates in the Finals, most recently in 2026 in North America, where 16 of Europe’s 55 qualified – so just under a third. The next Finals are in 2030, 2034, and so on, offset by two years from the Summer Olympics, and this cycle interlocks with every other football tournament. Within Europe the elite tournament for men's national teams is the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ '''UEFA''' '''European Championships'''], often shortened to just '''Euros'''. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ UEFA Women's European Championships]''' shortened to '''Women's Euro'''. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. '''Club tournaments:''' AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Austria == The men’s national team usually play in Vienna. 12 men’s clubs play in Bundesliga the top tier, such as LASK (in Linz), Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg and Austria Wien. Another 16 play in 2. Liga the second tier. 10 women’s teams play in Frauen Bundesliga. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} f7psbvnf6a6nu7n0ttwecjhwv0zedap 5298628 5298622 2026-06-26T07:50:29Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Understand */ mascot pic from W Commons 5298628 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. [[File:Stoke City mascots.jpg | thumb | 300px | "My grandmother could have scored from there!" ]] '''Internationals:''' 55 nations affiliate to UEFA the European branch of FIFA, and they all play qualifiers towards the World Cup and UEFA Cup. The main quirk is that the United Kingdom doesn’t play as a combined team, but separately as England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. Transient UK or Great Britain teams for the Olympics were disbanded after the event. World Cup qualification culminates in the Finals, most recently in 2026 in North America, where 16 of Europe’s 55 qualified – so just under a third. The next Finals are in 2030, 2034, and so on, offset by two years from the Summer Olympics, and this cycle interlocks with every other football tournament. Within Europe the elite tournament for men's national teams is the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ '''UEFA''' '''European Championships'''], often shortened to just '''Euros'''. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ UEFA Women's European Championships]''' shortened to '''Women's Euro'''. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. '''Club tournaments:''' AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Austria == The men’s national team usually play in Vienna. 12 men’s clubs play in Bundesliga the top tier, such as LASK (in Linz), Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg and Austria Wien. Another 16 play in 2. Liga the second tier. 10 women’s teams play in Frauen Bundesliga. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} iqgnextry5nmg4k99g5mpc22pgfu1eb 5298639 5298628 2026-06-26T08:13:35Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Understand */ Euros 5298639 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. [[File:Stoke City mascots.jpg | thumb | 300px | "My grandmother could have scored from there!" ]] '''Internationals:''' 55 nations affiliate to UEFA the European branch of FIFA, and they all (even the tiniest) play qualifiers towards the World Cup and Euros. The main quirk is that the United Kingdom doesn’t play as a combined team, but separately as England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. Occasional UK or Great Britain teams for the Olympics were disbanded after the event. The World Cup culminates in the Finals, most recently in 2026 in North America, for which 16 of Europe’s 55 qualified – about 30%. The next Finals are in 2030 (in Morocco, Portugal and Spain), then 2034 and so on, offset by two years from the Summer Olympics, and this cycle interlocks with every other football tournament. The women's World Cup is one year later than the men's. Within Europe the elite tournament for men's national teams is the Euros, the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ UEFA European Championships]. The most recent Finals were in Germany in 2024, with 24 qualifying. The next are in 2028 across the United Kingdom and Ireland, then in 2032 in Italy and Turkey, and so on. These are Olympic years, but it's a manageable problem. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ UEFA Women's European Championships]''' shortened to '''Women's Euro'''. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. '''Club tournaments:''' AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Austria == The men’s national team usually play in Vienna. 12 men’s clubs play in Bundesliga the top tier, such as LASK (in Linz), Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg and Austria Wien. Another 16 play in 2. Liga the second tier. 10 women’s teams play in Frauen Bundesliga. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} 6ukzny90eqcvvfs3ptei0ejbw6b47ug 5298645 5298639 2026-06-26T08:23:06Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Understand */ women's euros 5298645 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. [[File:Stoke City mascots.jpg | thumb | 300px | "My grandmother could have scored from there!" ]] '''Internationals:''' 55 nations affiliate to UEFA the European branch of FIFA, and they all (even the tiniest) play qualifiers towards the World Cup and Euros. The main quirk is that the United Kingdom doesn’t play as a combined team, but separately as England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. Occasional UK or Great Britain teams for the Olympics were disbanded after the event. The World Cup culminates in the Finals, most recently in 2026 in North America, for which 16 of Europe’s 55 qualified – about 30%. The next Finals are in 2030 (in Morocco, Portugal and Spain), then 2034 and so on, offset by two years from the Summer Olympics, and this cycle interlocks with every other football tournament. The women's World Cup is one year later than the men's. Within Europe the elite tournament for men's national teams is the Euros, the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ UEFA European Championships]. The most recent Finals were in Germany in 2024, with 24 qualifying. The next are in 2028 across the United Kingdom and Ireland, then in 2032 in Italy and Turkey, and so on. These are Olympic years, but that's a manageable problem. Again, the [https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ Women's Euros] come one year later, with the next Finals in 2029 in Germany. UEFA also operates the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/ UEFA Nations League]''' (men) and '''[https://www.uefa.com/womensnationsleague/ UEFA Women's Nations League]''', biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level; while only teams in the top league compete for the championship, the leagues operate with promotion and relegation. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands and Spain have emerged as major contenders. '''Club tournaments:''' AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Austria == The men’s national team usually play in Vienna. 12 men’s clubs play in Bundesliga the top tier, such as LASK (in Linz), Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg and Austria Wien. Another 16 play in 2. Liga the second tier. 10 women’s teams play in Frauen Bundesliga. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} gxrj3adnaxqyzb3hj37m2nkbyv1nfyt 5298649 5298645 2026-06-26T08:32:33Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Understand */ Nations League 5298649 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Football in Europe Pagebanner.png}} Europe is obsessed by '''[[Association football | football]]''' - soccer - year-round. Bars show matches, huge arenas host games, an army of travelling supporters throng railway stations and motorway service areas, children scuff balls in parks and streets, overweight adults play badly in pub teams then go home and scream at games on TV - "My grandmother could have scored from there!". Football is a global game, but two aspects set Europe apart. First is the dominance of its leading clubs, which buy up talent from the rest of the world, often with money they don't have. Second is its strength in depth, so even lower-tier clubs have strong local following. == Understand == Football in Europe is nominally a winter game, but in reality there’s only a one week lull at the end of July. Club warm-up games start in August then the regular season runs through to mid-May. International games are interspersed throughout the season to climax in a tournament in June / July. Then it’s time to start over. [[File:Stoke City mascots.jpg | thumb | 300px | "My grandmother could have scored from there!" ]] '''Internationals:''' 55 nations affiliate to UEFA the European branch of FIFA, and they all (even the tiniest) play qualifiers towards the World Cup and Euros. The main quirk is that the United Kingdom doesn’t play as a combined team, but separately as England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. Occasional UK or Great Britain teams for the Olympics were disbanded after the event. The World Cup culminates in the Finals, most recently in 2026 in North America, for which 16 of Europe’s 55 qualified – about 30%. The next Finals are in 2030 (in Morocco, Portugal and Spain), then 2034 and so on, offset by two years from the Summer Olympics, and this cycle interlocks with every other football tournament. The women's World Cup is one year later than the men's. Within Europe the elite tournament for men's national teams is the Euros, the [https://www.uefa.com/euro2028/ UEFA European Championships]. The most recent Finals were in Germany in 2024, with 24 qualifying. The next are in 2028 across the United Kingdom and Ireland, then in 2032 in Italy and Turkey, and so on. These are Olympic years, but that's a manageable problem. Again, the [https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ Women's Euros] come one year later, with the next Finals in 2029 in Germany. UEFA Nations League is a filler competition in the off-years between World and Euro events, just to give national teams something to play for and minimise non-competitive matches. Nations are in four tiers by ability (with promotion / relegation), with each tier divided into four groups. The top tier winners then slug it out for a trophy though there’s little kudos in winning this one; but woe betide the team and coach that does badly. '''Club tournaments:''' AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and perhaps the world, is the '''[http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League]'''. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/ UEFA Europa League]''' and '''[https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/ UEFA Conference League]''', as well as the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/ UEFA Women's Champions League]''' and, the '''[https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropacup/ UEFA Women's Europa Cup]'''. [[File:AC Oulu vs IFK Mariehamn in Oulu 20211016 03.jpg|thumb|The 2021 Veikkausliiga match between AC Oulu and IFK Mariehamn at Raatti Stadium in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]]]] Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters. == Austria == The men’s national team usually play in Vienna. 12 men’s clubs play in Bundesliga the top tier, such as LASK (in Linz), Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg and Austria Wien. Another 16 play in 2. Liga the second tier. 10 women’s teams play in Frauen Bundesliga. == Belgium == The men’s national team usually play at King Baudouin Stadium (capacity 50,000) in Brussels. 18 professional clubs compete in Pro League the top tier: leading clubs include Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège. 15 play in Challenger Pro League the second tier. The semi-pro tiers below are divided into the Flemish-speaking VV and the French-speaking FFA. Belgian Cup is a knockout competition. The women’s tournament is Super League, with 8 clubs. Belgian football’s greatest contribution to Europe came in the Bosman ruling of 1995, which enshrined free movement of workers within the EU. Jean-Marc Bosman (b 1964) came to the end of his contract with RFC Liège and sought to move to Dunkerque in France, but Liège demanded a hefty fee. The courts ruled this illegal, and that not only footballers but every EU citizen had the right to work in any other EU country. But Bosman's own football career never recovered, and his later years have been sad. == Czech Republic == The men’s national team don’t have a fixed stadium but often play at Fortuna Arena in Prague, home of Slavia Prague. The women’s team also rove, often playing in [[Uherské Hradiště]]. 16 men’s clubs play in First League, the top tier, best known being Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzeň. Another 16 play in Fotbalová národní liga (National Football League) the second tier. == England == [[File:Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg|thumb|270px|Inside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United]] [[File:This is Anfield.jpg|thumb|180px|''This is Anfield'', Liverpool FC]] England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entirely separate for soccer – there is no UK- or GB-wide team or tournament in men's football. Wales is mostly separate, but its four professional teams play in the English leagues. In women's football, the four home nations combine every four years to form a unified Great Britain team for the Olympics, if they qualify that is. England men’s national team usually play at Wembley Stadium in North London. They routinely qualify for major tournaments, where their performance is okay-ish rather than compelling. They haven’t won a big one since the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, when Bobby Moore was the Yuri Gagarin of English football, with his cheekbones and trophy lifting the English game to a high lyric place, from which it would surely go on to conquer the universe. '''The Football League''' is the principal men’s club tournament, with four professional tiers: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24), 92 clubs in all. The fifth tier of 24 teams, National League, is semi-pro, and below are regional and local amateur leagues. Games are traditionally on Saturdays, kick-off 3PM, but often also at other times, and fixture congestion is a recurrent complaint by clubs. Many would say that the gulf between tiers is dwarfed by the gulf between top and bottom of the Premier League. The top teams are mega-rich, qualify for European competitions (described above) and are globally recognised, as much for their branded merchandise as their football. Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Manchester City, Liverpool: these matches sell out. The lower teams are scrabbling (and spending more than they can afford) to join or re-join this elite, as much as they’re fighting relegation: Spurs and West Ham in London, Everton in Liverpool, Aston Villa in the Midlands. The Premier League is keenly followed by football fans from across the former British Empire. [[File:London Wembley.jpg|thumb|Wembley Stadium, England's home ground and is widely recognised as the 'home of football'.]] The second, third and fourth tiers have many famous teams whose glory days are long behind them. These are mostly in the Midlands and North, where the waning of traditional smokestack industry and of club fortunes are intertwined: Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End. And for similar reasons, the National Football Museum is no longer in Preston but [[Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District | Manchester Victoria]]. But it’s the strength in depth that is the striking feature of English football. Even fifth tier games draw fair-sized crowds: 2700 is the average, better than Italy’s third or Portugal’s second tiers. The relevant city pages therefore describe all clubs down to the fifth tier: if you happened to be stuck in Scunthorpe on a winter weekend, this might be your best hope of amusement. At all levels, tickets are best bought through the club website, but you can often buy at the gate. All pro games are televised, with highlights on free-to-view TV and full coverage on pay channels. Many pubs have wide screen TVs and their street blackboard indicates what’s showing, the way bistros chalk up the fish of the day. England is home to many iconic and bitter rivalries, with perhaps the best known being the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United. Other notable rivalries include the ones between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Leeds United, Newcastle United and Sunderland, as well as Aston Villa and Birmingham City. '''The FA Cup''' is a grand old English institution. It’s a straight knock-out that every affiliated club can join, and each year some 700 do so - the first task for village amateurs is to clear the cows off the pitch for the preliminary rounds. 32 of them will get as far as the “First Round Proper” in November when League One and Two clubs join, then the Premier League and Championship sides join in the Third in January. It’s a random draw with no seeding, so top teams knock each other out while some unheard-of place enjoys a longer run, giant-kills a pro team and starts to dream. Even if they then get drubbed by Liverpool, they enjoy fame and a financial windfall. The EFL or '''League Cup''' is also knock-out, and only open to clubs in the four pro tiers. (The FA Trophy is the equivalent for non-league sides.) Clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye to the third round. As with the FA Cup, winning it qualifies teams for European tournaments, so for lower-Premier teams these are back doors into the big time. '''Women's football''' in England has a long history, much of which involved the Football Association trying to kill it off, especially in the immediate post-war years when the women looked like beating the men. Once let that dangerous notion take root and what might follow? It grew slowly in the 21st century, with poor facilities and worse pay, and games played on dank distant training pitches watched by a handful. But from 2010 it professionalised, “The Lionesses” won international honours that eluded the men, and the Women’s Super League nowadays has well-attended club matches in big stadiums. Women also referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport. They also draw a new audience of young spectators. == France == Top sides compete in France's '''[https://www.ligue1.com Ligue 1]''', the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the [https://www.fff.fr/ France Football Federation]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (website in French only). The cup competition is the '''[https://www.fff.fr/coupes/fff/federation-francaise-de-football/2019/360548-coupe-de-france/actualites Coupe de France]''', open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the ''Coupe de la Ligue'', open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the legacy of [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]], the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African and Arab descent. Top clubs include: * '''[https://www.ol.fr/en Olympique Lyonnais]''' (''[[Lyon]]'') play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. However, OL fell into financial troubles in the 2020s, with the club now facing the prospect of an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2024–25 season. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, now owned separately from the OL men and known as '''OL Lyonnes''', but still playing at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and have stretched their current domestic title streak to four. * '''[https://www.om.net/en Olympique de Marseille]''' (''[[Marseille#See|Marseille]]'') play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s. * '''[https://en.psg.fr/ Paris Saint-Germain]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''[[Paris]]'') play at Parc des Princes (''[[Paris/16th arrondissement]]''). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and is now on a four-year title streak (2022–2025). The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. PSG also became the most recent team to win a European treble, adding the 2025 Champions League and Coupe de France titles to their collection. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona). * '''[https://www.girondins.com/fr Girondins de Bordeaux]''' (''[[Bordeaux]]'') play at Stade Chaban Delmas. A longtime fixture in the top flight, but fell into even more serious financial trouble than OL in the first half of the 2020s, and were forcibly relegated to the country's regionalized semi-pro fourth level, Championnat National 2, in 2024. * '''[https://www.losc.fr Lille OSC]''' (''[[Lille]]'') play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.) * '''[http://www.asmonaco.com/en/ AS Monaco]''' (''[[Monaco]]'') play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process. * '''[https://www.asse.fr/en/ AS Saint-Étienne]''' (''[[Saint-Étienne]]'') play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions. Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is ''Le Classique'' between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille. == Germany == {{quote|Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.|author=Former England international Gary Lineker}} The highest level league in [http://www.dfb.de Germany] is called [https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga Bundesliga]. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga (often colloquially shortened to "Buli") has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. [[File:Fans from Bor. Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu..JPG|thumb|500px|Borussia Dortmund supporters]] [[File:Allianz Arena Illumination UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 2.jpeg|thumb|270px|Allianz Arena, home of Bayern München, lit up during the 2011-2012 Champions League Final]] The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa). * '''Bayern München''' ([[Munich]]) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has four of the five most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023–2025). * '''Borussia [[Dortmund]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.) * '''1. FC Union [[Berlin]]''' — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. * '''Werder [[Bremen]]''' — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season. * '''1. FC Köln''' ([[Cologne]]) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. They returned to the Buli as 2024–25 champions of the 2. Buli. * '''Eintracht [[Frankfurt]]''' — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020. * '''[[Hamburg]]er SV''' — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. They were stuck in the 2. Bundesliga for a few years, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, but have secured a Buli return for 2025–26. * '''1899 Hoffenheim''' ([[Sinsheim]]) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club. * '''RB [[Leipzig]]''' — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as ''the'' most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement * '''Bayer 04 [[Leverkusen]]''' — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company. * '''Borussia [[Mönchengladbach]]''' — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then. * '''FC St Pauli''' – [[Hamburg]] "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Buli in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade. * '''VfB [[Stuttgart]]''' * '''VfL [[Wolfsburg]]''' — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice. The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the ''Revierderby'' between [[Gelsenkirchen]]-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia [[Dortmund]], and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's been dormant since 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same division. As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg. The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: * '''Hertha BSC''' ([[Berlin]]) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season. * '''Dynamo [[Dresden]]''' — An ex-GDR club that has been promoted to the 2. Buli for 2025–26 with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent. * '''Fortuna [[Düsseldorf]]''' (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen") *'''SpVgg Greuther [[Fürth]]''' (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany) * '''FC Schalke 04''' ([[Gelsenkirchen]]) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. * '''1. FC [[Kaiserslautern]]''' (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted) *'''1. FC [[Nuremberg|Nürnberg]]''' (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s) About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is no weaker than in the Bundesliga, and some say it is even better. Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right. There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th-level ''Regionalligen'' ("Regional Leagues"). == Greece == Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is '''[https://www.slgr.gr/en/ Super League Greece]''' (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are: * '''[https://www.olympiacos.org/en/ Olympiacos]''' ([[Piraeus]]) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024. * '''[https://www.pao.gr/en/ Panathinaikos]''' ([[Athens]]) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup. *'''[https://www.paokfc.gr/en/ PAOK]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory. * '''[https://www.aekfc.gr/?lang=en AEK]''' ([[Athens]]) — the third most successful Greek team. * '''[https://arisfc.com.gr/index.php/en/ Aris]''' ([[Thessaloniki]]) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki. By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the ''Derby of the eternal enemies'' (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility. == Italy == [[File:Luci a San Siro.jpg|thumb|270px|The San Siro is shared by Inter and AC Milan and is electric during a derby]] The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in [http://www.figc.it/ Italy]'s Serie A are: *'''[https://inter.it/en Internazionale]''' ([[Milan]]) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the ''scudetto'' (league title — literally "small shield", reflecting the badge that the champion wears on its shirt in the next season) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 ''scudetto'' with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A. *'''[https://www.acmilan.com/en AC Milan]''' ([[Milan]]) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name. *'''[http://www.sslazio.it/en Lazio]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma. Unfortunately, elements of its fanbase are notorious for openly fascist sympathies, leading detractors to call the club "Nazio". *'''[http://www.asroma.com/en AS Roma]''' ([[Rome]]) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022. *'''[http://www.juventus.com/en/ Juventus]''' ([[Turin]]) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, ''Juve'' is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide. *'''[https://sscnapoli.it/en Napoli]''' ([[Naples]]) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off with ''scudetti'' in 2023 and 2025. *'''[http://genoacfc.it/ Genoa]''' ([[Genoa]]) *'''[https://www.acffiorentina.com/en ACF Fiorentina]''' ([[Florence]]) * '''[https://www.atalanta.it/en/ Atalanta]''' ([[Bergamo]]) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in the early 2020s. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions. Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the ''Derby della Madonnina'' between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the ''Derby della Capitale'' between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the ''Derby d'Italia'', which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football. == Netherlands == [[File:Amsterdam ArenA 15-09-2012 02.jpg|thumb|400px|Ajax' supporters during a match of one of the better football teams of the Netherlands.]] The top league in the [http://www.knvb.nl/ Netherlands] is the [[W:Eredivisie|Eredivisie]]. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then): * '''[http://english.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-now.htm Ajax]''' (''[[Amsterdam]]'') — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 36 national titles, 20 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup). The Amsterdam-based club has won the Champions League/Europacup I four times, the Europacup II and UEFA Cup twice, and the UEFA Super Cup thrice. * '''[https://www.feyenoordkampioen.nl/ Feyenoord]''' (''[[Rotterdam]]'') — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 16 national titles, 14 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups. * '''[https://www.psv.nl/en/home PSV]''' (''[[Eindhoven]]'') — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 26. Also has 10 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be [[Alkmaar|AZ]], [[Enschede|FC Twente]], Sparta [[Rotterdam]] and FC [[Utrecht]]. The 2025/26 season of the Eredivisie sees FC [[Volendam]] and Excelsior [[Rotterdam]] promoted to the top league, taking the place of RKC Waalwijk and [[Almere]] City, who are degraded to the Eerste Divisie. The [[W:KNVB Beker|KNVB Beker]], as per the 2018 edition of the cup the ''Toto KNVB Beker'' is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the [[W:Derde Divisie|Topklasse]], and clubs that have won the [[W:KNVB District Cup|district cups]]. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie ''and'' KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC [[Zwolle]], FC [[Groningen]], Feyenoord, [[Arnhem|Vitesse]] and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. == Portugal == The top [http://www.fpf.pt Portuguese] league, the [http://www.lpfp.pt/liga_zon_sagres/Pages/Jornada.aspx Primeira Liga]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date. * '''[http://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/home.aspx S.L. Benfica]''' ([[Lisbon]]) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s. * '''[http://www.sporting.pt/en Sporting Clube de Portugal]''' (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. * '''[http://www.fcporto.pt/en/Pages/fc-porto.aspx FC Porto]''' ([[Porto]])— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice: in 2003 and in 2011. The most famous rivalry in Portugal is ''O Clássico'' between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the ''Derby de Lisboa'' between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years. == Scotland == [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/ Scotland] is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the ''UEFA Champions League'') when they defeated Internazionale of [[Milan]] in the 1967 final in [[Lisbon]]. ===Teams=== 42 clubs play in the [https://spfl.co.uk Scottish Professional Football League], the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club '''[https://spfl.co.uk/league/premiership Scottish Premiership]'''; below that are the '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/championship/ Scottish Championship]''', '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-one/ Scottish League One]''' and '''[https://www.spfl.co.uk/league/league-two/ Scottish League Two]''', each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the '''Scottish Cup''', open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the '''Scottish League Cup''', open only to the 42 SPFL clubs. [[Image:Glasgow Derby.JPG|thumb|270px|Supporters of Celtic and Rangers display their banners at half time in a derby match]] The top football clubs in Scotland include: * '''[http://www.afc.co.uk/ Aberdeen]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ([[Aberdeen]]). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic. * '''[http://www.celticfc.com/ Celtic]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24). * '''[http://dufc.co Dundee United]''' ([[Dundee]]). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return. * '''[http://www.heartsfc.co.uk Heart of Midlothian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2015. * '''[http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/ Hibernian]''' ([[Edinburgh]]). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. They were promoted to the Premiership in 2017. * '''[http://www.rangers.co.uk Rangers]''' ([[Glasgow]]). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season. Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in [[Northern Ireland]] — perhaps as much as in Glasgow itself. ===Stay safe=== Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions. == Spain == [[File:Camp Nou aerial (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|Camp Nou]] Spain's Primera División, more often known as [https://www.laliga.com/en-US La Liga], is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of [[Latin America]]. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include: * '''[https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en FC Barcelona]''' (''[[Barcelona#See|Barcelona]]''), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe * '''[https://www.realmadrid.com/en Real Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]''), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 15 times * '''[https://valenciacf.com/en Valencia]''' (''[[Valencia (city)|Valencia]]'') * '''[https://en.atleticodemadrid.com/ Atlético Madrid]''' (''[[Madrid#Do|Madrid]]'') * '''[http://www.villarrealcf.es/en Villarreal]''' (''[[Villarreal]]'') * '''[http://sevillafc.es Sevilla] ''' (''[[Seville]]'') * '''[http://www.athletic-club.eus/en/ Athletic Bilbao]''' (''[[Bilbao]]''), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga. The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is ''El Clásico'' between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics. Spain's top women's league, [https://www.ligaf.es/ Liga F], has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup. == Turkey == While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish [http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=449 Süper Lig] has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, [[Istanbul]]. * '''[http://www.fenerbahce.org/ Fenerbahçe S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa Galatasaray S.K.]''' * '''[http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr Beşiktaş J.K.]''' The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the ''Intercontinental Derby'' (Turkish: ''Kıtalararası Derbi'') between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class. == Wales == ''Pêl-droed'' is the Welsh word for soccer; the popularity of Rugby Union here limits the available talent and audiences. The men's national team usually play at Millennium Stadium (aka Principality Stadium) in Cardiff. In the past they rarely qualified for major international tournaments but as those have expanded, Wales' form suggests they will often do so. Four professional teams play in the English football leagues but with that exception the structure is separate. Those four are [[Cardiff]] City, [[Swansea]], [[Wrexham]] and [[Newport (Wales) | Newport]] County. The famous example is Wrexham, bought in 2020 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and rocketing up the rankings ever since. Cymru Premier is the top tier for other teams: in 2026 it expanded from 12 to 16 semi-pro clubs. The New Saints often win it, and thereby qualify for European tournaments; they play in Oswestry just over the border into England. On the second tier are Cymru North and Cymru South both with 16 teams, and below are the ''Ardal'' leagues (meaning "district"). The Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup are knock-out competitions. Yes, The New Saints win those also. == Summer == Soccer is mostly a winter game, but some European countries have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far. These summer nations do not include Russia, where the men's league takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May; however the women's league does play a summer season. Georgia is a hybrid, playing in spring and autumn to conclude in December. Most of the national teams play in their capital city, which usually has the strongest club sides. Exceptions include Lithuania, which plays in Kaunas, which is more central than Vilnius the capital, and Scotland, which plays in the largest city Glasgow instead of the capital Edinburgh. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Russia rotate their home games among various cities. * '''Sweden''' is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top club tier is ''Allsvenskan'', with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to ''Superettan'' the second tier. There's also a knock-out, ''Svenska Cupen''. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is ''Damallsvenskan'', with 14 teams. * '''Ireland''' is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union, hurling, and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin, and the top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Unlike rugby, Northern Ireland play separately as a nation and as clubs, with the same winter season as Britain. This means that the lucky people of Derry in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter watch Institute FC playing in the NIFL. * '''Kazakhstan''' is about as central in Asia as you can get, but it has a fingernail of territory west of the Volga in Europe and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The men's national team usually plays in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. == Stay safe == Top tier professional games are [[Stay safe#Mass gatherings | mass spectator events]] so they carry a risk of [[pickpocketing]], crowd collapse / stampede, and violence. The 1970s / 80s saw large-scale organised violence, when gangs assembled with the primary object of laying into rival fans rather than watching a game. This is nowadays much reduced, thanks to seating replacing stands, high-profile policing and stewarding, separation of rival supporters, restrictions on alcohol, glass containers, flares and the like, and CCTV to spot known troublemakers. Individual travellers should avoid wearing team colours, even for the home team, and even if there's no game today: these mark you out as a member of a tribe, and may elicit atavistic tribal reactions. Okay to wear them if you go as a group, and stick together as a group, but an individual risks being targeted and victimised. Pubs and other amenities often prohibit wearing of football colours of any sort. == Go next == * The next FIFA World Cup is 11 June–19 July 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most matches in the US. * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is 5-27 Sept 2026 in Poland, where it's more snappily known as ''Mistrzostwa Świata FIFA U-20 Kobiet Polska 2026''. * The next FIFA Women's World Cup is in Brazil 24 June–25 July 2027. == See also == * [[Cricket]] * [[Handball in Europe|Handball]] * [[Ice hockey in Europe]] * [[Motorcycle speedway]] * [[Rugby football|Rugby]] {{PartOfTopic|Association football|Europe}} {{usabletopic}} 8asvwnwmci4dq1ic4u5dr0jc60500pd 0 12094 5298516 5297970 2026-06-25T23:30:49Z ThunderingTyphoons! 106394 /* Basics */ sp 5298516 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner | French phrasebook banner Sign in Geneva.jpg | caption=Sign in Geneva asking nightly bar patrons not to disturb people who sleep|ftt=yes}} [[File:Map-Francophone World.svg|thumb|upright=2|French-speaking areas]] '''French''' (''français'') is a Romance language (descended from Latin), and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world: 277 million people speak French, including about 100 million native speakers. While the French language originated in [[France]], in modern times it is spoken on every continent; it is an official language of 29 countries, an important business, cultural, or minority language in dozens of other countries and regions, and is used officially by scores of international organisations including the United Nations, the European Union, and the International Olympic Committee. French was the main international lingua franca well into the 20th century, and at one point, French was the language spoken in most of the royal courts of Europe. To this day, it remains ''de rigueur'' for educated people in many societies around the world to have some level of basic French ability. French is the sole official language of France, including all of its overseas departments and territories, and is the only language you will need to communicate with French nationals. Beyond France, French is widely spoken in many nearby countries in '''Europe''', including the southern half of [[Belgium]] ([[Wallonia]] and [[Brussels]]), western [[Switzerland]], [[Monaco]], [[Luxembourg]], and the [[Aosta Valley]] of northwestern [[Italy]]. A small number of second-language speakers are also found on the [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] of [[Jersey]] (where a dialect of Norman extremely similar to French persists) and in the tiny Pyrenean country of [[Andorra]]. In the '''Americas''', French is spoken primarily in the Canadian provinces of [[Quebec]], [[New Brunswick]], the northern and eastern parts of [[Ontario]], around the Winnipeg area of [[Manitoba]], and the city of Whitehorse in [[Yukon]]. Indeed, [[Canada]] is an officially bilingual nation and there are Francophone enclaves in almost every province, though outside of the four provinces and territory mentioned, it's quite rare to encounter anyone in Canada who speaks more than a few words of French without hunting down off-the-beaten-track French-speaking communities. French is also spoken in a few parts of the [[United States]], namely parts of [[Louisiana]] and northern [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], and [[Vermont]]. In the Caribbean, French is an official language of [[Haiti]], a former colonial possession of France. The Americas also host the French departments of [[Martinique]], [[Guadeloupe]], and [[French Guiana]], plus the overseas collectivities of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], [[Saint Barthélemy]], and the northern half of [[Saint Martin]]. '''Elsewhere''', French is an official language of many former French and Belgian colonies in Africa, like [[Cameroon]], the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], and the [[Republic of the Congo]], and is unofficial but carries prestige in others, namely [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], and [[Morocco]]. It is an important administrative, educational, and cultural language in the former French Southeast Asian possessions of [[Vietnam]], [[Laos]], and [[Cambodia]]. In the Indian Ocean, [[Réunion]] and [[Mayotte]] are French overseas departments, while French is also an official language in [[Mauritius]], the [[Seychelles]], and [[Comoros]]. In Oceania, [[New Caledonia]], [[French Polynesia]], and [[Wallis and Futuna]] remain overseas territories of France, and French is also one of the official languages of [[Vanuatu]]. The French Wikivoyage's page [[:fr:Francophonie|Francophonie]] can help you locate French-speaking regions. ==Pronunciation== [[File:Moliere-statue.jpg|thumb|300px|French is often called the "language of Molière". The Parisian playwright is celebrated in stone on the city hall of his hometown.]] French spelling is '''not very phonetic'''. The same letter used in two different words can make two different sounds, and many letters are not pronounced at all. The good news, though, is that French generally has more regular pronunciation rules than English. This means that with sufficient practice, one can generally pronounce written French fairly accurately. However, the large number of homophones and silent letters make it such that attempting to write down spoken French often results in spelling mistakes, even for native speakers. Some rules are as follows: * '''Stress''' is fairly even in French, but the stress almost always falls on the last syllable. In words where the stress falls on an earlier syllable, it's not uncommon to hear the last syllable or sound of some words cut off or "swallowed." For example, ''Possible'' can sound like ''poss-EEB'' and ''hymne'' can sound like ''eem''. This is particularly noticeable in Quebec, but exists in other accents too. * The '''final consonant''' of a word is usually silent except for c, f, l, q, and r. Thus, ''allez'' (go) is pronounced ''al-AY'', not ''al-AYZ''; ''tard'' (late) is pronounced ''tar'', not ''tard''. * If the next word begins with a vowel, a consonant may be pronounced; this is called '''''liaison'''''. For example, ''allez-y'' (≈ go ahead / off you go), is pronounced ''al-ay-ZEE'', while ''mes amis'' (my friends) is pronounced ''MEZ-ah-MEE'' . * A '''final e''' is also usually silent if the word has more than one syllable, except in parts of southern France and when singing or reciting poetry. Guess what? Those pronunciation "rules" you just read have a ton of '''exceptions'''! For example, the rule that a final r is pronounced is not true in the combination "-er", normally found in verb infinitives; this letter combination is pronounced ''ay''. The plural ending "-ent" for verbs is silent (except for the t, in cases of liaison), even though it is pronounced when it appears in other words. Sometimes, whether to pronounce the final consonant of a word is denoted by its grammatical function; for example, the final "s" in ''tous'' (all) is silent when used as an adjective, but pronounced when used as a pronoun, while the final "f" in nouns such as ''cerf'' (deer) and ''œuf'' (egg) is pronounced in the singular form, but in the plural form (''cerfs'', ''œufs'') the "f" and the "s" are both silent. A final warning: for many French words, it is impossible to write something which an English speaker can easily read and reproduce without compromising on the French pronunciation. This means that '''the pronunciation guides in this very phrasebook are open to interpretation!''' Use the transliteration provided with each phrase as a guide to ''liaison'', but refer to the following letter lists in order to correctly pronounce the vowels and consonants. ===Vowels=== Vowels in French can have '''accent marks''', which generally have no noticeable impact on pronunciation, but they often distinguish between homophones in writing (''ou'', meaning "or", and ''où'', meaning "where", are pronounced the same). The only really important ones which affect pronunciation are é, è, and ê, which are called ''e accent aigu'', ''e accent grave'', and ''e accent circonflexe'', respectively. The grave and circumflex accents have the same name when they appear on other letters, while the umlaut (ë, ï, ü) is called ''e/i/u tréma''. ; a, à, â : like f'''a'''ther (U.S. English) or c'''a'''t (UK English); {{IPA|a}}. In Quebec French, sometimes more like "aw" as in the standard UK pronunciation of n'''o'''t {{IPA|ɔ}} ; e : in most cases a central neutral vowel ("schwa") like in '''a'''bout {{IPA|ə}}, sometimes like "é" or "è". At the end of a word, it's usually not pronounced at all ; é, ai, -er, -es, -ez, -et : similar to d'''ay''' but shorter {{IPA|e}} ; è, ê : more open, like s'''e'''t {{IPA|ɛ}}. Sometimes diphthongised in Quebec French {{IPA|ɛɪ̯}} ; i, î : like s'''ee''', but shorter and tenser {{IPA|i}} ; o, ô, au, eau : generally like b'''oa'''t {{IPA|o}} ; u, ù : like a very tight, frontal "oo" sound (purse your lips as if to say "oo" as in "soon" but try to make your tongue say "ee") - {{IPA|y}}, ''uu'' in transcriptions, similar to the German ü. Sometimes pronounced more like "eu" in Quebec French ; ou : like f'''oo'''d, but rounder {{IPA|u}} ; y : when followed by a consonant, like s'''ee''' {{IPA|i}}. When followed by another vowel, it's used as a consonant, pronounced '''y'''es {{IPA|j}} ; eu : between d'''ew''' and b'''u'''rp {{IPA|ø}}; written as ''eu'' in transcriptions [[Image:Ouagadougou place nations unies.JPG|thumb|300px|Like many ex-colonial placenames, '''[[Ouagadougou]]''' mixes French spelling convention with words from a local language, in this case Mooré]] ===Semi-vowels=== ; oi : like '''wha'''m {{IPA|wa}}, or when followed by a nasal more like '''we'''t {{IPA|wɛ̃}}. In Quebec French, sometimes like th'''ough'''t {{IPA|ɔ}} ; oui : like '''wee'''k {{IPA|wi}} ; ui : like '''wee'''k, but with a French u instead of the w {{IPA|ɥi}} ; œ : a bit like ''eu'', but more open {{IPA|œ}}. The distinction between ''œ'' (called ''o e entrelacés'') and ''eu'' is very subtle and often irrelevant. ===Consonants=== ; b : {{pron|b|b}} ; c : {{pron|k|c|notes=before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant}}, {{pron|s̪|c|notes=before "e", "i", and "y"}} ; ç : like the second pronunciation of ''c''. This letter, called a "cedilla" (''cédille''), can only be written before "a", "o", or "u" ; ch : {{pron|ʃ|ch}}; sometimes like k (in words of Greek origin mostly) ; d : {{pron|d̪|d}}. In Quebec, like "dz" or "ds" when before "i" or "y" ; dj : {{pron|d͡ʒ|dj}} ; f : {{pron|f|f}} ; g : {{pron|ɡ|g|notes=before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant}}, {{pron|ʒ|g|notes=before "e", "i" and "y"}} ; gu : like the first pronunciation of g (before "e", "i", "y"); if the u is to be pronounced, it will be written with a diaresis (e.g. ''aigüe'') ; gn : {{pron|ɲ|gn}}. This is particularly difficult when followed by '''oi''', as in '''baignoire''' (''beh-NYWAR'') "bathtub". ; h : silent, but may sometimes prevent a ''liaison'' with the former word (this is called an ''h aspiré'') ; j : like the second pronunciation of g ; k : {{pron|k|k|notes=only used for loanwords, but common in Alsatian and Breton placenames}} ; l, ll : {{pron|l|l}}; some exceptions for "ll" in the combination "ille" (sometimes pronounced ee-yuh, {{IPA|j|noparen=y}}), or in "guillotine". ; m : {{pron|m|m}} ; n: pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth {{IPA|n̪}}, except when followed by a vowel, when it is pronounced like '''n'''ose {{IPA|n}}. See [[#Nasals|Nasals]] below}} ; p : {{pron|p|p}} ; ph : like f ; pn : like a'''pn'''ea {{IPA|pn}} ; ps: like sli'''ps''' {{IPA|ps}} ; q(u) : most of the time k, like '''qu'''ick only in loanwords ; r : guttural r, pronounced at the back of the throat {{IPA|ʁ}} ; s : usually like the second pronunciation of c; like ''z'' when between two vowels (unless doubled), or in a liaison ; t, th : {{pron|t̪|t}}; in Quebec, {{pron|t͡s|t}} when before "i" or "y"; like the second pronunciation of c in ''tion'' ; tch : {{pron|t͡ʃ|tch}} ; v : {{pron|v|v}} ; w : only in foreign words, mostly {{pron|w|w}} and sometimes like v (in particular, "wagon" is "vagon" and "WC" is "VC"!) ; x : either ks, gz or s ; z : {{pron|z̪|z}} [[File:Home Alone House.jpg|thumb|300px|Remember the scene in the movie ''Home Alone'' where Kevin's sister mockingly told him "you're what the French call ''les incompétents''"? Even though grammar Nazis might deduct points for addressing a singular subject in the plural, any phonicist will tell you she got the sound of the French nasal vowel pretty much down pat.]] ===Nasals=== ; an, en, em : nasal a {{IPA|ɑ̃}}. Not always pronounced as a nasal, especially if the n or m is doubled: ''Emmanuel'' is pronounced as a normal "emm" sound ; on : nasal o {{IPA|ɔ̃}} - distinguishing between this and "an" is tricky, it's a deeper, more closed sound ; in, ain : nasal è {{IPA|ɛ̃}} ; un : nasal eu {{IPA|œ̃}}. In northern France and particularly around Paris, pronounced the same as 'in' {{IPA|ɛ̃}} ; oin : nasal "wè" {{IPA|wɛ̃}} ===Diphthongs=== ; aï, ail : like the English pronoun '''I''' {{IPA|aj}} ; ay, éi : ''é'' and ''i'' smooshed together {{IPA|ɛ.i}} ; ill : either literally, or like "y" in "three years", with some exceptions (''ville'' is ''veel'', ''fille'' is ''fiy'') Quebec French sometimes has vestigial diphthongs where French from France no longer does. For example, while a Parisian would pronounce the word ''maître'' as ''MET-ruh'', a Québécois would pronounce it more like ''MIGHT-ruh''. ===Exceptions=== * When there is an accent mark on "e", it prevents diphthongs. Letters should be pronounced separately, following the rule for the accented letter. Example: ''réunion'' (meeting). * A diaeresis (''tréma'') may also be used to prevent diphthongs on "e", "u" and "i". Example: ''maïs'' (Indian corn or maize). * In the combination "geo" (as in ''pigeon'' or ''bourgeois''), the "e" should not be pronounced, as it is only there to force the pronunciation of the soft "g" {{IPA|ʒ}}. When the e is marked with an acute accent (as in ''géologie'') it is pronounced the normal way. ==Grammar== [[File:Institut de France - Académie française et pont des Arts.jpg|thumb|300px|Like Spanish and German, but unlike English, the French language is governed by an official regulator: ''L'Académie française''. Headquartered in Paris (shown here), the Académie issues guidance and recommendations on good French, and its occasional spelling reforms are often controversial.]] ===Gender and its complications=== French nouns are divided into two different '''genders''': masculine and feminine. Unlike in English, all inanimate objects have a gender assigned to them: for example, ''pain'' (bread) is masculine, while ''confiture'' (jam) is feminine. The grammatical gender of nouns denoting persons generally follows the person's natural sex; for instance, ''mère'' (mother) is feminine, while ''père'' (father) is masculine. However, some nouns are always of the same gender regardless of the natural gender of the person they are referring to: ''personne'' is always feminine even if the person in question is a man. It is not always easy to tell at a glance which gender a noun is but, in general, if it ends in a consonant, or by the letter combinations ''-age'', ''-au'', ''-é'', ''-ège'', ''ème'', or ''-isme'' / ''-iste'', or is a foreign (particularly English) loanword, it's likely to be masculine. On the other hand, if a noun ends in ''-ace'', ''-ance'' / ''-ence'', ''-ée'', ''-elle'' / ''-erre'' / ''-esse'' / ''-ette'', ''-ie'', ''-ice'', ''-ine'', ''-ise'', ''-que'', or ''-tion / sion'', it's probably feminine. There are plenty of exceptions, however. The singular '''definite article''' ("the" in English) of each noun depends on its gender: ''le'' (m), ''la'' (f) or ''l’'' (before all singular nouns starting with a vowel and some starting with "h", regardless of gender). The plural definite article for both genders is ''les''. Thus: * le garçon – the boy → les garçons – the boys * la fille – the girl → les filles – the girls * l'homme – the man → les hommes – the men The singular '''indefinite article''' ("a" and "an" in English) also corresponds to the noun's gender: ''un'' for masculine and ''une'' for feminine. Unlike English, French has a plural indefinite article – ''des'', which works for both genders – and three '''partitive articles''' – ''du'' (m), ''de la'' (f), and ''de l’'' (before vowels and some instances of the letter "h"), which precede uncountable nouns (all of these can mean "of the", but they are sometimes needed where no article would be used in English). Thus: * un homme – a man → des hommes – men * une femme – a woman → des femmes – women * du vin – wine * de la confiture – jam * de l'eau – water Similarly, the '''third person pronouns''' also depend on the grammatical gender of the subject: ''il'' (m – he or it) or ''elle'' (f – she or it), with ''ils'' and ''elles'' respectively being the masculine and feminine plurals (they). When there are groups of mixed-gender people or objects, ''ils'' is always used. ===Formal and informal speech=== In French, there are two equivalents of the English word '''"you"'''. When addressing one person you know well such as a family member or a friend, plus any time you speak to one child or one animal, the word to use will be ''tu''. In '''''all''''' other situations, including when addressing a group of people regardless of who they are, the word to use will be ''vous''. This means that in practice, as a traveller and novice French speaker, most of the time you will be using ''vous''. It is important to know the distinction, as while addressing a pet dog with the ''vous'' form might just raise a chuckle, using ''tu'' with somebody you've just met is inappropriate and may offend the person whom you are addressing. After initially using the ''vous'' form, a person may say to you ''"On peut se tutoyer"''; this is a polite invitation for you to use the ''tu'' form with them. The default '''title''' used when addressing a man is ''monsieur'', while a woman would be addressed as ''madame''. ''Mademoiselle'' was traditionally used to address young, unmarried women, but this is now controversial and arguably sexist, so unless the other person tells you otherwise, it is best to default to ''madame''. The respective plurals are ''messieurs'' and ''mesdames'', so the French equivalent of "ladies and gentlemen" is "''mesdames et messieurs''", though often in speech this is rendered as "''messieurs-dames''". ===Verbs=== In a manner similar to many other Romance languages, French '''verbs''' all end in either ''-er'', ''-ir'', or ''-re'' in their infinitive forms, for example ''écouter'' (to listen), ''finir'' (to finish), and ''vendre'' (to sell). Verbs in French '''conjugate''' differently according to tense, mood, aspect and voice. This means that there are many more possible conjugations for French verbs than English verbs, and learning how to conjugate each verb in different scenarios can be a challenge for English speakers. Fortunately for you, the vast majority of verbs follow a regular conjugation pattern. Here are three examples of regular verbs conjugated in the present tense, which can be used as a model for all other present-tense regular verbs. For the regular conjugations, remove the ''-er'', ''-ir'', or ''-re'' ending from the infinitive and add the letters in bold from the table below: {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !regular<br>''-er'' verb example: ÉCOUTER !to listen !regular<br>''-ir'' verb example: FINIR !to finish !regular<br>''-re'' verb example: VENDRE !to sell |- |j'écout'''e''' |I listen |je fin'''is''' |I finish |je vend'''s''' |I sell |- |tu écout'''es''' |you listen (informal) |tu fin'''is''' |you finish (informal) |tu vend'''s''' |you sell (informal) |- |il écout'''e''' elle écout'''e''' |he listens / it listens (masculine inanimate) she listens / it listens (feminine inanimate) |il fin'''it''' elle fin'''it''' |he finishes / it finishes (masculine inanimate) she finishes / it finishes (feminine inanimate) |il vend elle vend |he sells / it sells (masculine inanimate) she sells / it sells (feminine inanimate) |- |on écout'''e''' |one listens we listen |on fin'''it''' |one finishes we finish |on vend |one sells we sell |- |nous écout'''ons''' |we listen |nous fin'''issons''' |we finish |nous vend'''ons''' |we sell |- |vous écout'''ez''' |you listen (formal / plural) |vous fin'''issez''' |you finish (formal / plural) |vous vend'''ez''' |you sell (formal / plural) |- |ils écout'''ent''' elles écout'''ent''' |they listen |ils fin'''issent''' elles fin'''issent''' |they finish |ils vend'''ent''' elles vend'''ent''' |they sell |- |} Common regular verbs that you can use the above models for include: ''aimer'' (to like/love), ''chercher'' (to search), ''parler'' (to speak), ''demander'' (to ask), ''trouver'' (to find), ''penser'' (to think), ''visiter'' (to visit), ''voyager'' (to travel), ''choisir'' (to choose), ''attendre'' (to wait), ''perdre'' (to lose), and ''répondre'' (to answer). Some verbs are '''irregular''', meaning that they use different roots when conjugated. The good news is that irregular verbs are very much in the minority. The bad news is that nearly all of the most useful everyday verbs are irregular; you will have to learn their conjugations individually if you wish to use them effectively: ''aller'' (to go), ''venir'' (to come), ''voir'' (to see), ''faire'' (to do), ''acheter'' (to buy), ''manger'' (to eat), ''boire'' (to drink), ''sortir'' (to go out), ''dormir'' (to sleep), ''pouvoir'' (to be able to), ''devoir'' (to have to), and ''vouloir'' (to want). The worst of these are probably ''être'' (to be) and ''avoir'' (to have), by far the most common verbs for everyday communication. Here are the present tense conjugations of each; you'll notice the entire word changes for each form of the verb: [[Image:Eclairs at Fauchon in Paris.jpg|thumb|300px|If you hate grammar, just think of éclairs. ''Éclair'', by the way, is a masculine noun.]] {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !AVOIR !to have !ÊTRE !to be |- |j''''ai''' |I have |je '''suis''' |I am |- |tu '''as''' |you have (informal) |tu '''es''' |you are (informal) |- |il '''a''' elle '''a''' |he has / it has (masculine inanimate) she has / it has (feminine inanimate) |il '''est''' elle '''est''' |he is / it is (masculine inanimate) she is / it is (feminine inanimate) |- |on '''a''' |one has we have |on '''est''' |one is we are |- |nous '''avons''' |we have |nous '''sommes''' |we are |- |vous '''avez''' |you have (formal / plural) |vous '''êtes''' |you are (formal / plural) |- |ils '''ont''' elles '''ont''' |they have |ils '''sont''' elles '''sont''' |they are |} ==International varieties of French== [[Image:Guadeloupe creole 2010-03-30.JPG|thumb|300px|"Levez le pied, il y a des enfants qui jouent ici !" – Lift your foot [off the gas pedal], there are children playing here! (Guadeloupe Creole)]] For its size, [[France]] is quite a linguistically-diverse country. Aside from languages which are very clearly separate from French (e.g. [[Basque]] and [[Breton]]), there is a whole slew of local ''parlers'' (e.g. Angevin, Lorrain, Norman, Picard, Savoyard...) which are just similar enough to standard French that, depending on whom you ask, they can be considered either separate languages in their own right, or simply dialects (''patois'') of the mother tongue. These local languages/dialects also influence the accents of standard French within their region, from the strange vowels and increased nasalisation of the far north to the 'singing' accents of the deep south. The varieties of French which are spoken in Belgium and Switzerland differ slightly from the French spoken in France, though they are similar enough to be mutually intelligible. In particular, the numbering system in French-speaking [[Belgium]] and [[Switzerland]] has some slight peculiarities that are different from the French spoken in France, and the pronunciation of some words is slightly different. Nevertheless, all French-speaking Belgians and Swiss would have learned standard French in school, so they would be able to understand you even if you used the standard French numbering system. Aside from Europe and Canada (see below), many French-speaking regions have incorporated the words of local languages, and on occasion have formed distinctive dialects or languages known as '''creoles'''. French-based creoles today enjoy wide use and often official status in the [[Seychelles]], [[Mauritius]], [[New Caledonia]], [[Haiti]] (see [[Haitian Creole phrasebook|Haitian creole]]), [[Réunion]], and the French overseas territories in the Antilles. A dialect of French known as [[Louisiana]] French or Cajun, which is similar to the Acadian French spoken in parts of New Brunswick, and a distinct French-based creole known as Louisiana Creole are both still spoken by some residents in the southern U.S. state, while parts of [[New England]] near the Canadian border are home to speakers of a dialect known as New England French, which bears many similarities to Québécois. ===Canada=== {{see also|Quebec#Talk}} [[Image:Arrêt - Stop Sign, Montreal, Canada (28389217345).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Stop sign in Montreal]] There are many phonological and lexical differences between the French spoken in Quebec and that spoken in France. Quebec has retained many 18th- & 19th-century French words, while in France the language has moved on, as well as incorporating many English words in the modern era. On the other side, Québécois borrowed English terms from their Anglophone neighbours as early as the 19th century, but the onset of the "Quiet Revolution" and the Quebec sovereignty movement in the 1960s led to laws that strictly limited the usage and influence of English in the public sphere, with the result that, etymologically speaking, Quebec French is in many ways more "purely" French than that spoken in France. For instance, the [[Fast food in the United States and Canada#Chicken|fast-food chain]] called "Kentucky Fried Chicken" (KFC) in both the United States and France is known in Quebec as ''Poulet Frit Kentucky'' (PFK). In addition, menus are all translated, resulting in ''le Joyeux Festin'' at McDonald's in Quebec, rather than ''le Happy Meal'' as in the rest of the French-speaking world. Some examples of everyday words which differ between Québécois and standard French: {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !English !France ! Canada !Notes |- |car |voiture |auto, char |''Char'' is very informal, while ''auto'' is more formal. In France, ''un char'' is 'a tank'. ''Voiture'' and ''auto'' are feminine; ''char'' is masculine. |- |car park |parking |stationnement | |- |to park (a car) |garer |parker | |- |to drive |conduire |chauffer |In France, ''chauffer'' means 'to heat' |- |stop (on a road sign) |stop |arrêt | |- |pavement/sidewalk |trottoir |cotteur | |- |washing machine |machine à laver |laveuse | |- |breakfast, lunch, dinner |petit déjeuner, déjeuner, dîner |déjeuner, dîner, souper |Belgium and Switzerland use the same terms as Quebec |- |shopping |shopping/courses |magasinage | |- |bicycle |vélo |bicyclette |''vélo'' is masculine; ''bicyclette'' is feminine |- |weekend |week-end |fin de semaine |''week-end'' is masculine; ''fin de semaine'' is feminine <br> In France, ''fin de semaine'' refers to the end of the working week (typically Thursday-Friday). |- |toothpaste |dentifrice |pâte à dents |Canadian toothpaste packaging still says ''dentifrice'' |- |email |e-mail/mail |courriel |Use of ''courriel'', short for ''courrier électronique'' (electronic mail), is recommended by the ''Académie française'', but this is all but ignored in France |- |ice cream |glace |crème glacée |''Crème glacée'' is a direct translation of English 'ice cream' |- |corn |maïs |blé d'inde | |- |} Each of Canada's other provinces has a Francophone population, who are not Québécois. Some of these groups have been settled for hundreds of years. Another distinct dialect of French, known as Acadian French, is spoken commonly in parts of [[New Brunswick]], with smaller populations in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Many of these people were expelled by the British during the French and Indian War, and settled in [[Louisiana]], where they would later become known as the Cajuns. Nevertheless, all Francophone Canadians, including Québécois, learn standard French in school, and most of the differences between the two varieties are limited to informal speech. This means that while you may not understand conversation among locals, they will be able to converse with you in standard French if required. ==Cognates in English== English has borrowed a huge number of French words since the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and also shares a large number of cognates that English borrowed directly from Latin, so you will recognize many French words, especially after you get used to French pronunciation. For example, a large number of words ending in -tion are spelled the same way in French, although the pronunciation is different. Among these words are ''production'', ''introduction'', ''participation'' and ''indication''. Also, words ending in -ty in English normally end in -té in French, including ''personnalité'' (personality), ''université'' (university), ''responsabilité'' (responsibility) and ''sécurité'' (safety/security). Another signpost to look for is words that end in -ous in English usually end in -eux (masculine singular) or -euse (feminine singular) in French. Examples include ''sérieux/sérieuse'' (serious), ''dangereux/dangereuse'' (dangerous) and ''joyeux/joyeuse'' (happy/joyous). When it comes to culinary terms, the meat of specific animals is often referred to using a loan word from French, while the animal itself is referred to using the original Germanic term. For example English pork is cognate with French ''porc'', English beef is cognate with French ''bœuf'', and English mutton is cognate with French ''mouton''. In French, the distinction between animal and meat isn't made. There are many other French words that were borrowed with little or no change in spelling into English, such as ''hommage'' (homage), ''instrument'' (instrument), ''concert'' (concert), ''préférence'' (preference) and ''honneur'' (honour). There are sometimes differences in meaning or usage between the languages, though, as the French word ''cuisine'' means not only a style of cooking as in English usage but also a kitchen; ''café'', similarly, means "coffee" and not just a place where you can have some along with food; and the verb ''conduire'', whose noun form is ''conduction'', is used more often to mean "to drive" than "to conduct". Similarly, ''un conducteur'' would usually mean "a driver" or "an operator", rather than "a conductor". ''Chauffeur'' is another generic term for a driver, not necessarily a private driver as in English. As well as a place to stay, ''hôtel'' can refer to many types of large urban building in French, so ''un hôtel particulier'' is a grand townhouse or mansion, ''l'hôtel de ville'' is the city or town hall, while ''l'hôtel du parlement'' is the parliament building. The ''entrée'' isn't just a course in a meal, but also the word for any kind of entrance. By the way, ''entrée'' refers to a smaller dish before the main course in French, and this original meaning is retained in Australian and British English, but has shifted to refer to the main course itself in American and Canadian English. ''Sensible'' typically means "sensitive", and not "sensible" in the usual English sense (you can use a word like ''raisonnable'', the cognate for "reasonable", instead). Also, watch out for the French word ''préservatif'', which does not mean a preservative but a condom! If you want to refer to preservatives in food, use the word ''conservateurs''. Disclaimers aside, there are quite a lot of French words you can guess correctly by understanding the equivalents and seeing some patterns of how similar words differ between the languages. There are also some English words that are commonly used in French, including ''week-end'' and ''sandwich'', and with slightly less equivalency, ''parking'' for carpark and ''shampooing'' for shampoo. The most common word for "tracksuit" is ''jogging'', a word which can also refer to jogging for exercise; the latter is also called ''footing'', a false friend. ==Phrase list== ===Basics=== {{infobox|Common signs |; OPEN : Ouvert (''oo-VAIR'') ; CLOSED : Fermé (''FEHR-may'') ; OPENING HOURS : Horaires d'ouverture (''Oh-RAIR doo-VAIR-tuur'') ; ENTRANCE : Entrée (''AHN-tray'') ; EXIT : Sortie (''sor-TEE'') ; PUSH : Poussez (''POO-say'') ; PULL : Tirez (''TEE-ray'') ; TOILET : Toilettes (''twah-LET'') ; MEN : Hommes (''om'') ; WOMEN : Femmes (''fam'') ; DISABLED : Handicapés (''on-dee-KAP-ay'') ; EMERGENCY EXIT : Sortie de secours (''sor-TEE duh suh-COOR'') ; FORBIDDEN : Interdit, Défendu (''ehn-tair-DEE, day-fahn-DUU'') ; NO PARKING : Stationnement interdit, Défense de stationner (''STAH-syonn-mon an-tair-DEE, day-FAHNS duh STAH-syonn-ay'') ; YIELD / GIVE WAY : Cédez le passage (''SAY-day luh pah-SAHZH'') ; STOP : Stop (''stop'') / Arrêt (''Ah-RAY'')}} ; Hello. (formal): Bonjour. (''bawn-ZHOOR'') (in the day) / Bonsoir. (''bawn-SWAHR'') (in evening ( after 5 pm ) ) ; Hello. (informal) : Salut. (''sah-LUU'') ; How are you? (formal) : Comment allez-vous ? (''koh-moh t-AH-lay VOO'') ; How are you? (informal) : Comment vas-tu ? (''koh-mahng va TUU''); Comment ça va ? (''koh-moh sah VAH''): Ça va ? ( sah VAH ) ; Fine, thank you. : (Ça va) Bien, merci. (''byang, merr-SEE'') ; What is your name? : Comment vous appelez-vous ? (''koh-moh vooz AHP-lay VOO?''); lit. "How do you call yourself?" ; What is your name? (informal) : Comment t'appelles-tu ? (''koh-moh tah-pell TOO?''): Comments tu t'appelles ? ( koj-mang too tah-pell ) ; My name is ______ . : Je m'appelle ______ . (''zhuh mah-PELL _____'') ; Nice to meet you. : Enchanté(e). (''ahn-shan-TAY'') : You add an "e" when you're a woman ; Please. (formal) : S'il vous plaît. (''seel voo PLEH''); Je vous prie. (''zhuh voo PREE'') ; Please. (informal) : S'il te plaît. (''seel tuh PLEH''): S'te plaît ( stuh PLEH ) ; Thank you. : Merci. (''merr-SEE'') ; You're welcome. : De rien. (''duh RYEHNG''), Bienvenue. (''bee-ain-veuh-nu'') [Quebec only]; Je vous en prie. (''zhuh voo-zahn PREE'') (more polite); J't'en prie ( zhtang prie ) ; Yes. : Oui. (''WEE'') ; No. : Non. (''NOH'') ; Excuse me. : Pardon. (''pahr-DOHN'')( informal ); Excusez-moi. (''ehk-SKEW-zay MWAH'') ( formal ) ; (I am) Sorry. : (Je suis) Désolé(e). (''zhuh swee DAY-zoh-LAY''); Je m'excuse. (''zhuh me-SKEWZ'') Pardon ( par-DONG ) ; Goodbye : Au revoir. (''oh ruh-VWAHR''): Salut ( saa-LU ) ( informal ) ; Goodbye (informal) : Salut. (''sah-LUU'') ; I can't speak French [well]. : Je ne parle pas [bien] français. (''zhuh nuh PAHRL pah [byang] frahn-SEH '') ; Do you speak English? :Parlez-vous anglais ? (''par-lay VOO ahng-LEH?'') ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un ici qui parle anglais ? (''ess keel-ee-AH kel-KUHN ee-see kee PAHRL ahng-LEH'')/ Y a-t-il quelqu'un ici qui parle anglais ? (''ee yah-TEEL kel-KUHN ee-see kee PAHRL ahng-LEH'') ; Help! : Au secours ! (''oh suh-KOOR'') ; Look out! : Attention ! (''ah-tahn-SYONG'') ; Good day / good morning : Bonjour (''bong̠-ZHOO(R)'') ; Have a nice day: Bonne journée (''bon zhoor-NAY'') ; Good evening. : Bonsoir. (''bong-SWAHR'') ; Good night. (at the end of an evening) : Bonne soirée (''bon swahr-RAY'') ; Good night. (when going to bed) : Bonne nuit. (''bon NWEE'') ; Sweet dreams : Faites de beaux rêves (''FEHT duh bo REV'') ; I don't understand. : Je ne comprends pas. (''zhuh nuh KOHM-prahn pah'') ; I don't know. : Je ne sais pas. (''zhuh nuh say pah'') ; I can't. : Je ne peux pas. (''zhuh nuh puh pah'') ; Where is the toilet? : Où sont les toilettes ? (''OOH sohn leh twah-LET?'') ; What is it? : Qu'est-ce que c'est ? (''KES-kuh-SAY'') ; How do you say _____ in French / in English? : Comment dit-on _____ en français / en anglais ? (''koh-moh dee-TONG _____ ahn frahn-SEH / ahn ahng-LEH ?'') ; What is this/that called? :Comment appelle-t-on ça ? (''koh-moh ah-pell-TONG SAH?'') ; How is that spelt? : Comment ça s'écrit ? (''koh-moh sah SAY-cree?'') ===Problems=== ; Leave me alone. :Laissez-moi tranquille ! (''lay-say mwah trahn-KEEL!'') ; Buzz off. : Dégage ! (''day-GAHZH!'') / Va-t'en ! (''va TAHN'') ; Don't touch me! : Ne me touchez pas ! (''nuh muh TOOSH-ay PAH!'') ; I'm calling the police. : Je vais appeler la police. (''zhuh VAYZ a-pell-AY la poh-LEES'') ; Police! : Police ! (''poh-LEES'') ; Stop! Thief! : Arrêtez ! Au voleur ! (''ah-reh-TAY! oh vo-LEUR!'') ; Stop! Rapist! : Arrêtez ! Au viol ! (''ah-reh-TAY! oh vee-YOL!'') ; Help! : Au secours ! (''oh suh-KOOR!'') ; Fire! : Au feu ! (''oh FEUH!'') ; Help me, please!. : Aidez-moi, s'il vous plaît ! (''aih-day MWAH, SEEL voo PLEH!'') ; It's an emergency. : C'est urgent ! (''seh toor-ZHAHN'') ; I'm lost. : Je me suis perdu(e). (''ZHUH muh swee pehr-DUU'') ; I've lost my bag. : J'ai perdu mon sac. (''zhay pehr-DUU mon SAK'') ; I've lost my wallet. :J'ai perdu mon portefeuille. (''zhay pehr-DUU mon POHR-tuh-fuhye'') ; My things have been stolen. : On m'a volé mes affaires. (''o(n) ma vo-LAY may-zaf-FAIR'') ; Someone / This man / This woman is harassing me : Quelqu'un / Cet homme / Cette femme me harcèle (''kel-ku(n) / set om / set fam muh ar-SELL'') ; I'm sick. : Je suis malade. (''zhuh swee mah-LAHD'') ; I've been injured. : Je me suis blessé. (''zhuh muh swee bleh-SAY'') ; I've been bitten by a dog. : Je me suis fait mordre par un chien. (''zhuh muh swee fay MOR-druh par u(n) shee-AH(N)'') ; I need a doctor. : J'ai besoin d'un médecin. (''zhay buh-ZWAHN duun may-TSAN'') ; Can I use your phone? : Puis-je utiliser votre téléphone ? (''PWEEZH oo-tee-lee-ZAY vot-ruh tay-lay-FUN'') ; Call an ambulance. :Appelez une ambulance. (''ah-puh-lay uun OM-boo-lo(n)ss'') ; Call the fire brigade. :Appelez les pompiers. (''ah-puh-lay lay pom-PEE-ay'') ; Call the police. :Appelez la police. (''ah-puh-lay la poh-LEES'') ; Call the coastguard. :Appelez les gardes-côtes. (''ah-puh-lay lay garde cot'') ===Numbers=== [[File:Reunion BrasDeLaPlaine.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Réunion]]]] Unlike English, French uses the long scale, so ''un billion'' and ''un trillion'' are not the same as the English "one billion" and "one trillion". ; 0 : zéro (''zairro'') ; 1 : un/une (''uhn'')/(''uun'') ; 2 : deux (''deu'') ; 3 : trois (''trwah'') ; 4 : quatre (''kahtr'') ; 5 :cinq (''sank'') ; 6 : six (''sees'') ; 7 : sept (''set'') ; 8 : huit (''weet'') ; 9 : neuf (''neuf'') ; 10 : dix (''deece'') ; 11 : onze (''onz'') ; 12 : douze (''dooz'') ; 13 : treize (''trayz'') ; 14 : quatorze (''kat-ORZ'') ; 15 : quinze (''kihnz'') ; 16 : seize (''says'') ; 17 : dix-sept (''dee-SET'') ; 18 : dix-huit (''dee-ZWEET'') ; 19 : dix-neuf (''deez-NUF'') ; 20 : vingt (''vihnt'') ; 21 : vingt-et-un (''vihng-tay-UHN'') ; 22 : vingt-deux (''vihn-teu-DEU'') ; 23 : vingt-trois (''vin-teu-TRWAH'') ; 30 : trente (''trahnt'') ; 40 : quarante (''kar-AHNT'') ; 50 : cinquante (''sank-AHNT'') ; 60 : soixante (''swah-SAHNT'') ; 70 : soixante-dix (''swah-sahnt-DEES'') or septante (''sep-TAHNGT'') in Belgium and Switzerland ; 80 : quatre-vingts (''kaht-ruh-VIHN''); huitante (''weet-AHNT'') in Belgium and Switzerland (except Geneva); octante (''oct-AHNT'') in Switzerland ; 90 : quatre-vingt-dix (''katr-vihn-DEES''); nonante (''noh-NAHNT'') in Belgium and Switzerland ; 100 : cent (''sahn'') ; 200 : deux cents (''deu sahng'') ; 300 : trois cents (''trrwa sahng'') [[File:Купюра в 500 франков КФА. Лицевая сторона.jpg|thumb|300px|Cinq cents francs, used in several countries in Central Africa]] ; 1000 : mille (''meel'') ; 2000 : deux mille (''deu meel'') ; 1,000,000 : un million (''ung mee-LYOHN'') (treated as a noun when alone: one million euros would be ''un million d'euros''). ; 1,000,000,000 : un milliard ; 1,000,000,000,000 : un billion ; number _____ (''train, bus, etc.'') : numéro _____ (''nuu-may-ROH'') ; half : demi (''duh-MEE''), moitié (''mwah-tee-AY'') ; less : moins (''mwihn'') ; more : plus (''pluus'') / no more : plus (''pluu'') so this time, the "S" is mute ===Time=== [[File:A sculpture at the entrance to the palace of Versailles.jpg|thumb|300px|A sculpture at the entrance to the palace of Versailles]] ; now : maintenant (''mant-NAHN'') ; earlier : plus tôt (''pluu to'') ; later : plus tard (''pluu TAHR'') ; before : avant (''ah-VAHN'') ; after : après (''ah-PREH'') ; morning : le matin (''luh mah-TAN'') ; in the morning : dans la matinée (''dahn lah mah-tee-NAY'') ; afternoon : l'après-midi (''lah-preh-mee-DEE'') ; in the afternoon : dans l'après-midi (''dahn lah-preh-mee-DEE'') ; evening : le soir (''luh SWAHR'') ; in the evening: dans la soirée (''dahn lah swah-RAY'') ; night : la nuit (''lah NWEE'') ; in the night : pendant la nuit (''pehndahn lah NWEE'') ====Clock time==== French speakers most commonly use the 24-hour clock, even in Quebec (whereas most other Canadians use the 12-hour clock). In Europe, an 'h' is used as a separator between hours and minutes, as opposed to the colon that is used in Quebec and English-speaking countries. Therefore, midnight is written as ''0h00'', 1AM as ''1h00'', and 1PM as ''13h00''; more details and examples below. However, the 12-hour clock is making some inroads in speech, and saying 1-11 in the afternoon or evening will be understood. ; What's the time? : Quelle heure est-il ? (''kel euhr et-EEL?''); ; hour : heure (''eur'') ; minute : minute (''mee-NUUT'') ; From 1 minute past to 30 minutes past the hour: [hour] + [number of minutes] : Example: 10<nowiki>:</nowiki>20 or "twenty past ten" = <nowiki>10h20</nowiki>; "dix heures vingt" (''deez eur va(n)'') ; For 31 minutes past to 59 minutes past the hour : [next hour] + moins (''mwa(n)'') : Example: 10<nowiki>:</nowiki>40 or "twenty to eleven" = <nowiki>10h40</nowiki>; "onze heures moins vingt" (''onz eur mwa(n) va(n)'') ; quarter past : [hour] et quart (''ay kahr'') : Example: 07<nowiki>:</nowiki>15 or "quarter past seven" = <nowiki>7h15</nowiki>; "sept heures et quart" (''set eur eh kahr'') ; quarter to :[hour] moins le quart (''mwa(n) luh kahr'') : Example: 16<nowiki>:</nowiki>45 or "quarter to five" = <nowiki>16h45</nowiki>; "dix sept heures moins le quart" (''dee-set eur mwan luh kahr'') ; half-past : et demie (''eh duh-MEE''); et demi (after midnight or noon, ''eh duh-MEE'') : Example : 10<nowiki>:</nowiki>30 or "half past ten" = <nowiki>10h30</nowiki>; "dix heures et demie" (''deez eur eh duh-MEE'') : Example : 12<nowiki>:</nowiki>30 or "half past twelve" = <nowiki>12h30</nowiki>; "douze heures et demi" (''dooz eur eh duh-MEE'') ; 1AM, 01<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>1h00</nowiki>; une heure du matin (''uun eur duu ma-TAN'') ; 2AM, 02<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>2h00</nowiki>; deux heures du matin (''dooz eur duu ma-TAN'') ; noon, 12<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>12h00</nowiki>; midi (''mee-DEE'') ; 1PM, 13<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>13h00</nowiki>; treize heures (''traiyz er'') : une heure de l'après-midi (''uun eur duh la-preh-mee-DEE'') ; 2PM, 14<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>14h00</nowiki>; quatorze heures (''KAH-torz er'') : deux heures de l'après-midi (''duz er duh la-preh-mee-DEE'') ; 6PM, 18<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>18h00</nowiki>; dix-huit heures (''deez-weet ER'') : six heures du soir (''seez er duu SWAR'') ; 7<nowiki>:</nowiki>30PM, 19<nowiki>:</nowiki>30 : <nowiki>19h30</nowiki>; dix-neuf heures trente (''DEE-znuf er TRAHNT'') : sept heures et demie (''SET er eh duh-MEE'') ; midnight, 00<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>0h00</nowiki>; minuit (''mee-NWEE'') ====Duration==== [[File:Fontevraud3.jpg|thumb|300px|Abbaye de Fontevraud]] ; _____ minute(s) : _____ minute(s) (''mee-NOOT'') ; _____ hour(s) :_____ heure(s) (''eur'') ; _____ day(s) : _____ jour(s) (''zhoor'') ; _____ week(s) : _____ semaine(s) (''suh-MEN'') ; _____ month(s) : _____ mois (''mwa'') ; _____ year(s) : _____ an(s) (''ahng''), année(s) (''ah-NAY'') ; hourly : horaire (''oh-RAIR'') ; daily : quotidien / quotidienne (''ko-tee-DYAN'' / ''ko-tee-DYEN'') ; weekly : hebdomadaire (''eb-doh-ma-DAIYR'') ; monthly : mensuel / mensuelle (''mang-suu-WEL'') ; seasonal : saisonnier / saisonnière (''SEH-zon-ee-ay'' / ''SEH-zon-ee-air'') ; yearly : annuel / annuelle (''ah-nuu-WEL'') ; How long is your vacation? : Combien de temps restez-vous en vacances ? (''com-bee-AN duh ton res-TAY voo on VAH-kons''); ; I am in France for ten days : Je reste en France pendant dix jours. (''zhuh rest on frons pon-don dee zhoor'') ; How long is the journey? : Combien de temps le voyage dure-t-il ? (''com-bee-AN duh ton luh vwoi-YAHZH dyoor-TEEL'') ; It takes an hour and a half : Cela dure une heure et demie. (''suh-LAH dyoor uun er ay duh-MEE'') ===Days=== ; today : aujourd'hui (''oh-zhoor-DWEE'') ; yesterday : hier (''yare'') ; tomorrow : demain (''duh-MAN'') ; this week : cette semaine (''set suh-MEN'') ; last week : la semaine dernière (''lah suh-MEN dehr-NYAIR'') ; next week : la semaine prochaine (''lah suh-MEN pro-SHEN'') ; the weekend : le week-end (France) / la fin de semaine (Canada) (''luh week-end / lah fah(n) duh suh-MEN'') French calendars normally start on Monday. Unlike in English, the names of days are not capitalised in French: ; Monday : lundi (''luhn-DEE'') ; Tuesday : mardi (''mahr-DEE'') ; Wednesday : mercredi (''mehr-kruh-DEE'') ; Thursday : jeudi (''juh-DEE'') ; Friday : vendredi (''vahn-druh-DEE'') ; Saturday : samedi (''sahm-DEE'') ; Sunday : dimanche (''dee-MAHNSH'') ===Months=== [[File:Fontaine d'Octon.JPG|thumb|300px|The revolutionary calendar isn't in use any longer, but inscriptions where it's been used can be seen here and there]] Unlike English, the names of months are not capitalised in French: ; January : janvier (''ZHO(N)-vee-yeh'') ; February : février (''FEH-vree-yeh'') ; March :mars (''mar''s) ; April :avril (''av-REEL'') ; May :mai (''meh'') ; June :juin (''zh-WAH(N)'') ; July : juillet (''zh-WEE-eh'') ; August : août (''oot'') ; September : septembre (''sep-TOMBR'') ; October : octobre (''oc-TOBR'') ; November : novembre (''no-VOMBR'') ; December : décembre (''deh-SOMBR'') ===Seasons=== ; spring : le printemps (''luh PRAH(N)-toh(m)'') ; summer : l'été (''LAY-tay'') ; autumn : l'automne (''loh-TOMNUH'') ; winter : l'hiver (''LEE-vair'') ===Holidays=== [[File:FréjusPlageSaint-Aygulf.jpg|thumb|300px|France has many beaches, and they are popular destinations during ''les vacances d'été'']] ; Enjoy your holiday/vacation! : Bonnes vacances ! (''bon vah-KOH(N)S'') ; Happy holidays! (festival) : Bonnes fêtes ! (''bon fet'') ; Happy birthday! : Joyeux anniversaire ! (''ZHWY-yeuz-AN-ee-vair-SAIR'') ; Happy New Year! : Bonne année ! (''BON-a-NAY'') ; New Year's Day : le jour de l'an (''luh zhoor duh lah(n)'') ; Shrove Tuesday : le mardi gras (''luh MAR-dee grah'') ; Easter : les Pâques (''lay pak'') ; Passover : la Pâque juive / le Pessa'h (''lah pak zh-WEEV'' / ''luh pess-AKH'') ; Ramadan : le Ramadan (''luh RAH-mah-doh(n)'') (the other Muslim festivals are also called by their Arabic names) ; Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (24 June, Quebec) : la Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste (''lah fet duh lah sa(n)-JOH(N)-bap-TEEST'') ; Canada Day (1 July) : la Fête du Canada (''lah fet duu CA-na-DA'') ; Bastille Day (14 July, France) : le Quatorze Juillet / la Fête Nationale (''luh kat-ORZ zh-WEE-eh / lah fet nah-syon-NAL'') ; summer holidays : les vacances d'été (''lay vah-KOH(N)S DAY-tay'') ; school holidays : les vacances scolaires (''lay vah-KOH(N)S skoh-LAIR'') ; beginning of the school year : la rentrée (''lah roh(n)-TRAY'') ; Thanksgiving (2nd Su of Oct, Canada) : l'Action de grâce (''LAC-sio(n)-duh-GRASS'') ; All Saints' Day : la Toussaint (''lah TOO-sahn'') ; Hanukkah : Hanoucca (''ah-NOO-kah'') ; Christmas : Noël (''noh-EL'') ; Merry Christmas! : Joyeux Noël ! (''ZHWY-euh noh-EL!'') ===Colours=== Like in other Romance languages, nouns in French are either "masculine" or "feminine"; adjectives vary accordingly. For instance, a lady may be ''blonde'' or ''brunette'' while a gentleman with hair of the corresponding hue is ''blond'' or ''brunet''. ; black : noir/noire (''nwahr'') ; white : blanc/blanche (''blahng/blahnsh'') ; grey : gris/grise (''gree/greez'') ; red : rouge (''roozh'') ; blue : bleu/bleue (''bluh'') ; yellow : jaune (''zhone'') ; green : vert/verte (''verre/vehrt'') ; orange : orange (''oh-RAHNZH'') ; purple : violet/violette (''vee-oh-LEH/vee-oh-LET'') ; brown : brun/brune (''bruh/bruhn''); marron (''MAH-rohn'') ; pink : rose (''roz'') ===Adjectives=== Like in other Romance languages, nouns in French are either "masculine" or "feminine"; adjectives vary accordingly. ; Good :Bon (m.) (''bo(n)'') / Bonne (f.) (''bon'') ; Bad : Mauvais (''MO-vay'') / Mauvaise (f.) (''MO-vez'') ; Big : Grand (m.) (''gro(n)'') / Grande (f.) (''grond'') ; Small : Petit (m.) (''puh-TEE'') / Petite (f.) (''puh-TEET'') ; Hot : Chaud (m.) (''sho'') / Chaude (f.) (''shode'') [[File:Mont Blanc Gipfelpano.jpg|thumb|300px|The summit of [[Mont Blanc]], at about 4800 m above sea level, is ''froid toute l'année'']] ; Cold : Froid (m.) (''frwah'') / Froide (f.) (''frwahd'') ; Fast : Rapide / Vite (both genders) (''rah-PEED / veet'') ; Slow : Lent (m.) (''lo(n)'') / Lente (f.) (''lont'') ; Expensive : Cher (m.) (''shair'') / Chère (f.) (''shairr'') ; Cheap : Bon marché (both genders) (''bo(n) mar-SHAY'') ; Rich : Riche (both genders) (''reesh'') ; Poor : Pauvre (both genders) (''pov-ruh'') ===Transportation=== [[File:SNCF TGV Duplex Viaduc de Cize - Bolozon.jpg|thumb|300px|France's famous TGV (''train à grande vitesse'' - high speed train) crossing the Ain river]] ; car : voiture / char (Quebec) (''vwa-TOOR / shar'' ) ; motorbike : moto (''MO-to'') ; bicycle : vélo / bicyclette (Quebec) (''VAY-lo / BEE-see-KLET'') ; bus : bus (most common) / autobus (''boos / o-to-BOOS'') ; coach : car / autocar (''car / o-to-CAR'') ; train : train (''trahn'') ; underground / subway : métro (MAY-tro ) ; tram / streetcar / light rail : tramway (''TRAM-way'') ; boat : bateau (''BA-to'') ; ship : navire (''NA-veer'') ; ferry : ferry / car-ferry / traversière (Quebec) (''FEH-ree / car FEH-ree / tra-VAIR-see-AIR'') ; plane : avion (''AH-vyohn'') ; flight : vol (''vole'') ====Bus and train==== ; How much is a ticket to _____? : Combien coûte le billet pour _____ ? (''kom-BYAN koot luh bee-YEH poor'') ; One ticket to _____, please. : Un billet pour _____, s'il vous plaît. (''ung bee-YEH poor ____ seel voo pleh'') ; Where does this train/bus go? : Où va ce train/bus ? (''OO va suh trahn/boos?'') ; Where is the train/bus to _____? : Où est le train/bus pour _____ ? (''OO eh luh trahn/buus poor ____'') ; Does this train/bus stop in _____? : Ce train/bus s'arrête-t-il à _____ ? (''suh trahn/buus sah-reh-tuh-TEEL ah _____'') ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : Quand part le train/bus pour _____? (''kahn par luh trahn/buus poor _____'') ; When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : Quand ce train/bus arrivera à _____ ? (''kahn suh trahn/buus ah-ree-vuh-RAH ah _____'') ; the/this shuttle : la/cette navette (''lah/set nah-VET'') ; a one-way ticket: un aller simple (''uhn ah-LAY SAM-pluh'') ; a return/round trip ticket: un aller-retour (''uhn ah-LAY ruh-TOOR'') ; I would like to rent a car. : J'aimerais louer une voiture. (''ZHEM-eu-ray LOO-way oon VWA-tuur'') ====Directions==== ; Where is / are _____? : Où se trouve / trouvent _____ ? / (''oo suh tr-OO-v _____'') ; ...the train station? : ...la gare ? (''lah gahr'') ; ...the bus station? : ...la gare routière ? (''lah gahr roo-TYEHR'') ; ...the nearest metro station? : ...la station de métro la plus proche ? (''lah stah-syon duh MAY-tro lah ploo prosh'') ; ...the airport? : ...l'aéroport ? (''lehr-oh-POR?'') ; ...the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy? : ...l'ambassade américaine/australienne/britannique/canadienne ? (''lahm-bah-SAHD a-may-ree-KEN / os-trah-lee-EN / bree-tah-NEEK / ka-na-DYEN'') ; ...the (nearest) hotel? :...l'hôtel (le plus proche) ? (''loh-tel luh ploo prohsh'') ; ...the town / city hall? : ...l'hôtel de ville / la mairie ? (''loh-tel duh veel / lah mair-REE'') ; ...the police station? : ...le commissariat de police ? (''luh com-mee-SAHR-ee-ah duh po-LEES'') ; ...the tourist information centre? : ...le syndicat d'initiative ? / l'office de tourisme ? / le bureau touristique ? (Quebec) (''luh SAN-dee-kah dee-NEE-sya-teev'' / ''loff-EES duh toor-REEZ-muh'' / ''luh BOOR-oh toor-REES-teek'') ; ...the nearest bank / ATM? : ...la banque la plus proche ? (''lah bonk lah ploo prosh'') / le distributeur de billets le plus proche ?(''luh dees-tree-buu-TEUR duh bee-YAY luh ploo prosh'') / le guichet automatique le plus proche? (Quebec) (''luh GEE-shay oh-toh-mah-TEEK luh ploo prosh'') ; ...the nearest petrol/gas station ? : ...la station-service la plus proche ? (''lah sth-syon-SAIR-vees lah pluu prosh'') ; ...the market? :...les halles ? (city or large town) / le marché ? (small town or village) (''layz AL-uh'' / ''luh MAR-shay'') ; ...the beach? : ...la plage ? (''lah plaazh'') ; ...the best bars? :...les meilleurs bars ? (''leh meh-YUHR bahr'') ; ...the best restaurants? : ...les meilleurs restaurants ? (''leh meh-YUHR res-toh-RO(N)'') ; _____ Street : la rue _____ (''lah RUU'') e.g. ''rue de l'Église, rue Victor Hugo, rue de Rivoli...'' ; Please could you show me it on the map? : S'il vous plaît, pourriez-vous me l'indiquer sur la carte ? (''SEE-voo-PLEH POO-ree-yeh-voo muh la(n)-DEE-keh syoor la cart'' ; Is it far? : C'est loin ? (''seh lwa(n)'') ; No, it's quite close. :Non, c'est tout proche. (''No(n) seh too prohsh'') ; Straight on : tout droit (''too drwah'') ; turn right : tournez à droite (''TOOR-neh a drwaht'') ; turn left : tournez à gauche (''TOOR-neh a gohsh'') ; towards the... : vers le / la / les... (''vehr luh'') ; past the... : après que vous passiez le / la / les... (''ap-REH kuh voo PASS-see-yeh luh / la / leh'') ; before the... : avant que vous arriviez au / à la / aux (''av-O(N) kuh vooz-a-REEV-ee-yeh o / a la / o'') ; next to the... : à côté du / de la / des (''a COH-teh duu / duh la / deh'') ; opposite the... : en face du / de la / des (''o(n) fass duu / duh la / deh'') ; follow : suivre : (''sweevr'') ; the north : le nord (''luh nor'') ; the east : l'est (''lest'') ; the south : le sud (''luh suud'') ; the west : l'ouest (''loo-WEST'') ; the (next) exit : la (prochaine) sortie (''lah pro-SHEN SOR-tee'') ; here : ici (''ee-SEE'') ; there : là(-bas/-haut) (lah (BAH / OH) ; Watch out for... : Repérez... (''ruh-PAIR-ray luh / lah / lay'') ; ...the road : ...la route (''lah root'') ; ...the street : ...la rue (''lah ruu'') ; ...the intersection : ...le carrefour (''luh car-FOOR'') ; ...the bend : ...le virage (''luh vee-RAAZH'') ; ...the slope : ... la pente (''lah po(n)t'') ; ...the traffic lights : ...les feux (''lay fuh'') ; ...the roundabout : ...le rond-point (''luh ro(n)-pwa(n)'') ; ...the motorway : ...l'autoroute (''loh-to-ROOT'') ; ...the railway : ...le chemin de fer (''luh shuh-MA(N) duh fehr'') ; ...the level crossing : ...le passage à niveau (''luh pah-SAAZH-ah-NEE-vo'') ; ...the bridge : ... le pont (''luh po(n)'') ; ...the tunnel : ... le tunnel (''luh tuu-nell'') ; ...the toll booth : le péage (''luh pay-ahzh'') ; queue : bouchon (''boo-sho(n)'') ; roadworks : travaux (''trah-vo'') ; road closed : route barrée (''root BAH-ray'') ; diversion : déviation (''day-vee-ah-SYO(N)'') ; give way / yield : cédez le passage (''SAY-day luh pah-SAAZH'') ====Taxi==== [[File:20151107 lyon236.jpg|thumb|300px|Taxi in Lyon]] ; Taxi! : Taxi ! (''tahk-SEE!'') ; Take me to _____, please. : Déposez-moi à _____, je vous prie. (''DAY-poh-zay-MWAH ah _____, zhuh voo PREE'') ; How much does it cost to get to _____? : Combien ça coûte d'aller à _____ ? (''kahm-BYENG suh-LA koo-TEEL dah-LAY ah _____?'') ; Take me there, please. : Amenez-moi là, je vous prie. (''AH-muh-nay-mwah LAH, zhuh voo PREE'') ; I want to get out here. : Je veux descendre ici. (''zhuh vuh duh-SO(N)D-rr EE-SEE'') ; Thank you! Keep the change. : Merci ! Gardez la monnaie. (''MERR-see GARR-day lah moh-NAY'') ===Lodging=== [[File:Hôtel du Palais de Biarritz.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Hotel du Palais in [[Biarritz]]]] ; Bed and breakfast : Chambres d'hôte (''SHAHM-bruh dote'') ; Campsite : Camping (''CAHM-ping'') ; Hotel : Hôtel (''OH-tel'') ; Self-catering cottage / holiday rental : Gîte / Location de vacances (''zheet / lo-cah-syo(n) duh vah-CAHNS'') ; (Youth) hostel : Auberge (de jeunesse) (''oh-BAIRZH duh zheuh-NESS'') ; Do you have any rooms available? : Avez-vous des chambres libres ? (''ah-veh VOO day SHAHM-bruh leeb'') ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : Combien coûte une chambre pour une personne/deux personnes ? (''com-BYA(N) coot uun SHAHM-bruh poor uun PAIR-son / duh PAIR-son'') ; Does the room come with... : Dans la chambre, y a-t-il... (''dah(n) la SHAHM-bruh, ee-ya-tee'') ; ...bedsheets? : ...des draps de lit ? (''...day dra duh lee?'') ; ...a bathroom? : ...une salle de bain ? (''...uun sal duh bah(n)?'') ; ...a telephone? : ...un téléphone ? (''...u(n) teh-leh-fone?'') ; ...a TV? : ...une télévision ? (''...uun teh-leh-VEEZ-yo(n)?'') ; ...a refrigerator? : ...un réfrigérateur / un frigo ? (''...u(n) ray-FREEZH-ay-rah-teur / u(n) FREE-go''?) ; ...a kettle? : ...une bouilloire ? (''...uun boo-WEE-wah?'') [[File:Bungalows la salamandre à foulpointe.JPG|thumb|300px|Bungalows in Foulpointe, [[Madagascar]]]] ; May I see the room first? : Pourrais-je voir la chambre ? (''poo-RAY zhuh vwaah la SHAHM-bruh?'') ; Do you have anything quieter? : Avez-vous une chambre plus tranquille ? (''ah-veh VOO uun SHAHM-bruh ploo trahn-KEE?'') ; ...bigger? : ...plus grande ? (''ploo grahnd?'') ; ...cleaner? : ...plus propre? (''ploo prop?'') ; ...cheaper? : ...moins chère? (''mwahn shair?'') ; OK, I'll take it. : Bon, je la prends. (''bo(n), zhuh lah proh(n)'') ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : Je compte rester pour _____ nuits. (''zhuh compt REH-stay poor _____ nwee'') ; Can you suggest another hotel? : Pourriez-vous me suggérer un autre hôtel ? (''poo-REE-ay voo muh soo-ZHAY-ray u(n) OH-truh OH-tel ?'') ; Do you have a safe? : Avez-vous un coffre-fort ? (''ah-veh VOO u(n) COFF-ruh-FOR?'') ; ...lockers? : ...un vestiaire ? (''u(n) ves-tee-AIR?'') ; Is breakfast/supper included? : Le petit-déjeuner/le dîner est-il compris ? (''luh puh-TEE DAY-zhuh-nay / luh DEE-nay eh-TEE com-PREE?'') ; What time is breakfast/supper? : À quelle heure est servi le petit-déjeuner/le dîner ? (''ah kell euhrr eh SAIR-vee luh puh-TEE DAY-zhuh-nay / luh DEE-nay?'') ; Please clean my room. : Veuillez faire le ménage. (''vuh-YEH fair luh MEH-naazh'') ; Can you wake me at _____? : Pourriez-vous me réveiller à _____? (''poo-REE-ay voo muh REH-veh-yeh ah _____? '') ; You have a bedbug / cockroach / fly / mouse infestation here. : Vous êtes envahi par des punaises / blattes / mouches / souris ici. (''voo ZET O(N)-vah-YEE duh poo-NEZ / blat / moosh / soo-REE ee-see'') ; I want to check out. : Je voudrais régler la note. (''zhuh VOO-dray REH-glay lah note'') ===Money=== ; Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : Acceptez-vous les dollars américains/australiens/canadiens ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO leh doh-LAHR ah-may-ree-KANG/aws-trah-LYAHNG/kah-nah-DYAHNG?'') ; Do you accept British pounds? : Acceptez-vous les livres Sterling ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO leh leevr stehr-LING?'') ; Do you accept euros? : Acceptez-vous les euros ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO lehz-OO-roh'') ; Do you accept credit cards? : Acceptez-vous les cartes de crédit ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO leh kahrt duh kray-DEE?'') ; Can you change it (the money) for me? : Pouvez-vous me le faire changer ? (''poo-vay-VOO muh luh fehr SHAHNZHAY?'') ; Where can I get it (the money) changed? : Où puis-je le faire changer ? (''oo PWEEZH luh fehr SHAHNZHAY?'') ; Can you change a traveler's check for me? : Pouvez-vous me faire le change sur un chèque de voyage ? (''poo-vay-VOO muh fehr luh SHAHNZH suur ung shek duh vwoy-AHZH?'') ; Where can I get a traveler's check changed? : Où puis-je changer un chèque de voyage ? (''oo PWEEZH shahng-ZHAY ung shek duh vwoy-AHZH?'') ; What is the exchange rate? : Quel est le taux de change ? (''KELL eh luh TAW duh SHAHNZH?'') ; Where can I find a cash point / ATM? : Où puis-je trouver un distributeur de billets ? (''oo PWEEZH troo-VAY ung dees-tree-buu-TEUR duh bee-YAY?'') ===Eating=== [[File:Belon oysters at Belon river, France.jpg|thumb|300px|Belon oysters]] ; A table for one / two. : Une table pour une personne / deux personnes. (''uun TAH-bluh poor oon PAIR-son / duh PAIR-son'') ; I'd like to reserve a table for tonight/tomorrow. : Je voudrais réserver une table pour ce soir/demain. (''zhuh voo-DREH REH-sair-VEH uun TAH-bluh poor suh SWAAH / duh-MAHN(G)'') ; set menu : menu (''muh-NUU'') ; à la carte : à la carte (''ah lah KAHRT'') ; the dish of the day : le plat du jour (''luh PLA duu ZHOOR'') ; serves food all day : service continu (''SAIR-vees con-tee-NOO'') ; For here or to go? : Sur place ou à emporter ? (''syoor PLAS oo AH om-POR-tay?'') ; breakfast : '''France:''' petit-déjeuner (''ptee-day-zheu-NAY''); '''Switzerland/Belgium/Canada''': déjeuner (''day-zheu-NAY'') ; lunch : '''France''': déjeuner (''day-zheu-NAY''); '''Elsewhere''': dîner (''dee-NAY'') ; dinner/supper : '''France''': dîner (''dee-NAY''); '''Elsewhere''': souper (''soo-PAY'') ; I would like _____. : Je voudrais _____. (''zhuh voo-DREH _____'') ; something local : un plat typique (de la région) (''uhn pla tee-PEEK (duh lah RAY-zhyong)'') ; I would like a dish containing _____. : Je voudrais un plat avec _____. (''zhuh voo-DREHZ ung plaht ah-VEK _____'') ; meat : de la viande (''duh lah vee-AWND'') ; chicken : du poulet / de la volaille (''duu poo-LEH / duh lah voh-LIE'') : Note: ''volaille'' literally means "poultry", but nearly always means "chicken" on menus ; ; turkey: de la dinde (''duh lah DAND'') ; duck : du canard (''duu can-AR'') ; lamb : de l'agneau (''duh LAN-yo'') ; pork : du porc / du cochon (''duu POHR''/''duu coh-SHONG''). ; ham : du jambon (''duu zhahng-BONG'') ; beef : du bœuf (''duu BUFF'') {{infobox|Quelle cuisson ?|A common question when ordering meat (especially, but not only, steak) is how long you want it cooked for: rare, medium, or well done? Simple enough, you might think. But if you're from an English-speaking country, then as a general rule of thumb, you'll find that if you ask for what you're used to at home, the meat will be rarer than you'd like. Therefore, it's worth getting to know these terms: * '''Bleu''' – "Blue", almost raw, meat that is cooked for less than a minute each side. * '''Saignant''' – "Bloody", i.e. very rare, but cooked slightly longer than a ''bleu'' steak. * '''À point''' – "Perfectly cooked", and the most popular among the French, but still rare by British or American standards. * '''Bien cuit''' – "Well cooked", but not well done. More like medium, with pink on the inside, though there should be no blood. * '''Très bien cuit''' – This should get you a "well done" steak that is totally cooked through. ''Mais, attention !'' If chef is not used to catering to ''les Anglo-Saxons'', he might just overdo it and give you a plate of leather.}} ; steak : du steak / du bifteck (''duu stek / duu BEEF-tek'') ; sausage : des saucisses (hot) / du saucisson (cold) (''deh saw-SEESS / duu saw-see-SON'') ; game: du gibier (''duu ZHI-bee-ay'') : Note: ''gibier'' may also mean specifically venison ; boar : du sanglier (''duu sahng-GLYAY'') ; venison : du cerf / du chevreuil / de la venaison (''duu SEHR / duu shev-REUY / duh lah vu-NAY-so(n)'') ; rabbit: du lapin (''duu lap-ANG'') ; fish : du poisson (''duu pwa-SONG'') ; salmon : du saumon (''duu saw-MONG'') ; tuna : du thon (''duu TONG'') ; whiting : du merlan (''duu mehr-LANG'') ; cod : de la morue (''duh lah moh-RUU'') ; seabass : du loup (de mer) / du bar (''duu LOO (duh MAIR) / duu BARR'') ; seafood : des fruits de mer (''deh frwee duh MEHR''); literally: "fruits of the sea" ; dulse : de la dulse (''duh lah DUULS'') ; lobster : du homard (''duu oh-MAR''), de la langouste (''duh lah lan-goost'') (rock lobster) ; clams : des palourdes (''deh pah-LOORD'') ; oysters : des huîtres (''dez WEETR'') ; mussels : des moules (''deh MOOL'') ; scallops : des coquilles Saint-Jacques (''deh kok-EE-sah(n)-ZHAK'') [[File:Marchés des Producteurs de Pays 11 16 12.jpg|thumb|300px|Escargots at a farmers market in Paris]] ; snails : des escargots (''dez es-car-GOH'') ; frogs' legs : des cuisses de grenouille (''deh gruh-NOOEY'') ; cheese : du fromage (''duu froh-MAHZH'') ; cow's cheese : du fromage de lait de vache (''duu froh-MAHZH duh leh duh vash'') ; goat's / sheep's cheese : du fromage de chèvre / de brebis (''duu froh-MAHZH duh SHEV-ruh / duh bruh-BEE'') ; eggs : des œufs (''dehz UH'') ; one egg : un œuf (''un UF'') ; (fresh) vegetables : des légumes (frais) (''deh lay-guum (FREH)'') ; onions : des oignons (''DEZ-on-yon'') ; carrots : des carottes (''deh kah-ROT'') ; peas : des (petits) pois (''deh (PUH-tee) PWAH'') ; broccoli : du brocoli (''duu broh-COLEE'') ; sweetcorn : du maïs (''duu my-YEES'') ; mushrooms : des champignons (''deh SHAM-pee-nyon'') ; cabbage : du chou (''duu shoo'') ; spinach : des épinards (''DEZ-ep-ee-NARR'') ; green / French beans : des haricots verts (''DEZ-ah-REE-ko VAIRR'') ; white / haricot beans : des haricots blancs (''DEZ-ah-REE-ko BLAWNG'') ; Brussels sprouts : des choux de Bruxelles (''deh shoo duh bruu-SEL'') ; lentils : des lentilles (''deh lon-TEE'') ; potatoes : des pommes de terre (''deh POM-duh-TAIR'') ; French fries : des frites (''day freet'') ; (fresh) fruit : des fruits (frais) (''deh frwee (freh)'') ; an apple : une pomme (''uun pom'') ; a pear : une poire (''uun pwarr'') ; a plum : une prune (''uun pruun'') ; a peach : une pêche (''uun pesh'') ; grapes : des raisins (''deh RAY-zan'') ; cherries : des cerises (''deh suh-REEZ'') ; an orange : une orange (''uun oh-RAWNZH'') ; a banana : une banane (''uun bah-NAN'') ; a mango : une mangue (''uun mawngg'') ; a lemon : un citron (''un SEE-trong'') ; a lime : un citron vert / un limon / une lime (''un SEE-trong vair / un LEE-mon / uun leem'') ; berries : des fruits rouges (''deh frwee roozh'') ; strawberries : des fraises (''deh frez'') ; raspberries : des framboises (''deh from-BWAHZ'') ; blackberries : des mûres (''deh muur'') ; blueberries : des myrtilles (''deh MIRR-tee'') ; blackcurrant : des cassis (''deh kah-SEES'') ; a salad : une salade (''uun sah-LAHD'') ; cucumber : du concombre (''duu cong-COMBRR'') ; tomatoes : des tomates (''deh toh-MAT'') ; lettuce : de la laitue (''duh lah LEH-tuu'') ; red / yellow / green pepper : du poivron rouge / jaune / vert (''duu PWAH-vrong roozh / zhoan / vairr'') ; spring onions : des oignons nouveaux (''DEZ-on-YONG NOO-vo'') ; radish : du radis (''duu RAH-dee'') ; chives : de la ciboulette (''duh lah SEE-boo-LET'') ; mixed herbs : des herbes de Provence (''dez-AIRB-duh-pro-VAWNSS'') ; bread : du pain (''duu pang'') ; toast : des toasts (''deh toast'') ; (milky) coffee : du café (au lait) (''duu kah-FAY (oh LEH)'') : Note: Coffee will always be served black unless you ask for milk ; tea : du thé (''duu tay'') ; juice : du jus (''duu zhuu'') ; milk : du lait (''duu leh'') ; fresh / sparkling water : de l'eau plate / gazeuse (''duh loh PLAT / gah-ZUHZ'') : Note: If you ask for "water", you will get mineral water. To specify "tap water", say "eau du robinet" (''OH duu roh-bee-NEH'') or ask for a jug of water "une carafe d'eau" (''uun cahr-AHF doh''). ; (draught) beer : de la bière (pression) (''duh lah byehr'') ; red / white / rosé wine : du vin rouge / blanc / rosé (''duu vang roozh / blahng / ro-ZAY'') ; May I have some _____? : Puis-je avoir _____ ? (''pweezh ah-VWAHR duu'') ; salt : du sel (''duu sel'') ; black pepper : du poivre (''duu pwavr'') ; garlic : de l'ail (''duh lie'') ; butter : du beurre (''duu bur'') ; olive oil : de l'huile d'olive (''duh LWEEL-doh-LEEV'') ; ketchup/mayonnaise/mustard/alioli : du ketchup / de la mayonnaise / de la moutarde / de l'aïoli (''duu KECH-up / duh lah MIE-oh-NEZ / duh lah MOO-tard / duh LIE-oh-lee'') ; Excuse me, waiter / waitress? : S'il vous plaît, monsieur / madame ? (''seell voo PLEH muh-SYUH/ma-DAHM'') : Note: "garçon" (boy) is offensive and should be avoided. ; I'm finished. : J'ai terminé. (''zhay TAIRH-mee-NAY'') ; It was delicious. : C'était délicieux. (''seh-tay de-li-SYUH'') ; Can you please clear the plates? : Pouvez-vous débarrasser la table, s'il vous plaît ? (''poovay voo DEH-bahr-a-seh lah tah-bluh seel voo play'') ; The check (bill), please. : L'addition, s'il vous plaît. (''lah-dee-SYOHN seel voo play'') ====Dietary requirements==== [[File:20170329 ratatouille-fin-cuisson.jpg|thumb|300px|Ratatouille]] ; I am _____. : Je suis _____. (''zhuh swee'') ; ...vegan : végétalien (''vey-zhey-tal-YENG'') (m); végétalienne (''vey-zhey-tal-YEN'') (f) ; ...vegetarian : végétarien (''vey-zhey-tar-YENG'') (m); végétarienne (''vey-zhey-tar-YEN'') (f) ; I do not eat eggs, milk, or cheese. : Je ne mange pas d'œufs, de lait ni de fromage. (''zhuh nuh monzh pah dooh, duh leh, nee duh froh-MAHZH'') ; I do not eat meat, chicken, or pork. : Je ne mange pas de viande, de poulet, ni de porc. (''zhuh nuh monzh pah duh vee ahnd, duh poo-LEH, nee duh pohr'') ; I do not eat _____. : Je ne mange pas_____. (''zhuh nuh monzh pah'') ; ...honey. : de miel. (''duh mee ehl'') ; ...animal products. : de produits animaux. (''duh pro-dweez-ah-nee-mo'') ; ...dairy. : de laitage. (''duh leh tazh'') ; ...wheat. : de blé. (''duh blay'') ; ...seafood. : de fruits de mer. (''duh frwee duh MEHR'') ; ...nuts. : de noix (''duh nwaah'') ; ...gluten : de gluten (''duh gluu-TEN'') ; I do eat _____. : Je mange _____. (''zhuh monzh'') ; ...grains. : des céréales. (''deh say-ray-ahl'') ; ...vegetables. : des légumes. (''deh lay-guum'') ; ...beans. : des fèves. (''deh fehv'') ; ...fruit : des fruits. (''deh frwee'') ; I only eat kosher / halal food. : Je ne mange que de la nourriture kasher (casher, cachère) / halal. (''zhuh nuh monzh kuh duh la noo-ri-toor CASH-eh / alal'') ; I am allergic to... : Je suis allergique à... (''zhuh sweez ah-lair-ZHEEK ah...'') ===Bars=== [[File:Chai-barrique.JPG|thumb|300px|Cognac barrels]] ; A table for one / two. : Une table pour une personne / deux personnes. (''uun TAH-bluh poor oon PAIR-son / duh PAIR-son'') ; Do you serve alcohol? : Servez-vous des boissons alcoolisées ? (''sair-vay VOO day bwa-songz al-co-ol-ee-SAY'') ; Is there table service? : Est-ce que vous servez à la table ? (''ess-kuh voo ser-VAYZ ah lah TAHBL?'') ; A beer/two beers, please. : Une bière/deux bières, s'il vous plaît. (''uun BYEHR/deuh BYEHR, seel voo PLEH'') ; A draught beer, please. : Une pression, s'il vous plaît (''uun pres-SYON, seel voo PLEH'') ; A glass of red/white/rosé/sparkling wine, please. :Un verre de vin rouge/blanc/rosé/pétillant, s'il vous plaît. (''an ver duh van rooj / blan / ro-ZAY / PET-ee-YAUN, seel voo PLEH'') ; A quarter litre of beer, please : Un demi, s'il-vous-plaît. (''an deh-mee, seel voo PLEH'') ; A pint, please. : Une pinte, s'il vous plaît. (''uun pannt, seel-voo-PLEH'') ; A bottle, please. : Une bouteille, s'il vous plaît. (''uun boo-tay, seel voo PLEH'') ; _____ (''spirit'') and _____ (''mixer''), please. :_____ et _____, s'il vous plaît. (''____ eh ____, seel voo PLEH'') ; whisky : whisky (m.) (''wee-skee'') ; vodka : vodka (f.) (''VOD-kah'') ; rum : rhum (m.) (''room'') ; cider : cidre (m.) (''seedr'') ; water : eau (f.) (''oh'') ; club soda : soda (m.) (''so-dah'') ; tonic water : Schweppes (m. or f.) (''shwep'') ; orange juice : jus d'orange (m.) (''joo d'or-AHNJ'') ; Coke (''soda'') : Coca (m.) (''koh-KAH'') ; One more, please. : Un/une autre, s'il vous plaît. (''uhn / uun OH-truh, seel-voo-PLEH'') ; Another round, please. : Un autre pour la table, s'il vous plaît. (''ahn OH-truh poor la tah-bluh, seel voo PLEH'') ; When is closing time? : À quelle heure fermez-vous ? (''ah kell EUR fer-MAY voo'') ===Shopping=== [[File:Marigot Market Saint Martin.JPG|thumb|300px|Marigot Market, [[Saint Martin]]]] ; Do you have this in my size? : Avez-vous ceci dans ma taille ? (''AH-veh-VOO say-SEE dan sma THAI'') ; How much (is this)? : Combien (ça) coûte ? (''COMM-bee-yan (SAH) coot'') ; That's too expensive. : C'est trop cher. (''say-TRO-shair'') ; Would you take _____? : Pourriez-vous accepter _____ ? (''poor-yay-VOOZ ahk-sep-TAY'') ; expensive : cher (''shehr'') ; cheap :bon marché (''bong mar-SHAY'') (Note: this doesn't change with the gender or number of the noun. ''Elles sont bon marché'' is correct''.'') ; I can't afford it. : Je n'ai pas les moyens. (''zhe nay pah leh mwah-YAHNG'') ; I don't want it. : Je n'en veux pas. (''zhe nahng veu pah'') ; You're cheating me. : Vous me trompez. (''voo muh TROM-pay'') ; I'm not interested. : Je ne suis pas intéressé. (''zhen swee pahz-ann-tay-ress-SAY'') ; OK, I'll take it. : D'accord, je le/la prends. (''dah-kor zhe luh/lah prahn'') ; Can I have a bag? : Pourrais-je avoir un sac ? (''poo-REHZH ah-VWAR ung sahk'') ; Do you ship (overseas)? : Livrez-vous (outre-mer/à l'étranger) ? (''leev-ray-VOO ootr-MEHR/ah lay-trahn-ZHAY'') ; I need... : J'ai besoin... (''zhay buh-ZWAHN'') ; ...toothpaste. : ...de dentifrice. (''duh dahn-tee-FREESS'') ; ...a toothbrush. : ...d'une brosse à dents. (''duun bross ah DAHN'') ; ...tampons. : ...de tampons. (''duh tahm-POHN'') ; ...soap. : ...de savon. (''duh sah-VOHN'') ; ...shampoo. : ...de shampooing. (''duh shahm-PWAHN'') ; ...pain reliever. (''e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen'') : ...d'un analgésique (''d'aspirine, d'ibuprofène'');. (''dun ah-nal-zhay-ZEEK (dahs-pee-REEN/dee-buu-proh-FEN)'') ; ...cold medicine. :...d'un médicament pour le rhume. (''dun may-dee-kah-MAHNG poor luh RUUM'') ; ...stomach medicine. :...d'un remède pour l'estomac. (''dun ray-MED poor less-toh-MAHK'') ; ...an antihistamine :...d'un antihistaminique (''dun on-tee-STAM-eek'') ; ...a razor. :...d'un rasoir. (''dun rah-ZWAR'') ; ...batteries. : ...de piles. (''duh PEEL'') ; ...a SIM card. : ...d'une carte SIM (''duun cahrrt seem'') ; ...an umbrella. (rain) : ...d'un parapluie. (''dun pah-ra-ploo-ee'') ; ...an umbrella. (sun) : ...d'une ombrelle. (''duun ohm-brehl'') ; ...sunblock lotion. : ...de crème solaire. (''duh crehm so-LEHR'') ; ...a postcard. : ...d'une carte postale. (''duun kahrt post-AL'') ; ...a postage stamp. : ...d'un timbre. (''dun TAHM(br)'') ; ...writing paper. : ...de papier à lettres. (''duh pap-YEH ah LEH-TR'') ; ...a pen. :...d'un stylo. (''dun STEE-loh'') ; ...English-language books. : ...de livres en anglais. (''duh LEE-vruh-zahn ahngh-LEH'') ; ...English-language magazines. : ...de revues en anglais. (''duh REH-voo-zahn ahngh-LEH'') ; ...an English-language newspaper. : ...d'un journal en anglais. (''dun zhoar-NAL ahn ahng-LEH'') ; ...a French-English dictionary. :...d'un dictionnaire français-anglais. (''dun deect-see-ohn-AIR frahn-SEH ahng-LEH'') ===Authority=== ; I haven't done anything wrong. : Je n'ai rien fait de mal. (''zhuh nay ree-AHN fay duh MAL'') ; It was a misunderstanding. : C'est une erreur. (''set uhn air-UR'') ; Where are you taking me? : Où m'emmenez-vous ? (''ooh mehm-en-EH voo'') ; Am I under arrest? : Suis-je en état d'arrestation ? (''SWEEZH ahn EH-tah dahr-es-ta-SYONG'') ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. (m) : Je suis un citoyen américain/australien/britannique/canadien. (''zhuh sweez uhn see-twa-YEN a-may-ree-CAN/os-trah-LYEN/bree-tah-NEEK/ka-na-DYEN'') ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. (f) : Je suis une citoyenne américaine/australienne/britannique/canadienne. (''zhuh sweez uhn see-twa-YEN a-may-ree-CAN/os-trah-LYEN/bree-tah-NEEK/ka-na-DYEN'') ; I want to speak to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy or consulate. : Je veux parler à l'ambassade ou au consulat américain/australien/britannique/canadien. (''ZHUH vuh pahr-LAY ah lahm-ba-SAHD oo oh kon-soo-LAHT a-may-ree-CAN/os-trah-lee-AHN/ahn-GLEH/ka-na-DYAN'') ; I want to speak to a lawyer. : Je voudrais parler à un avocat. (''ZHUH vood-RAY par-lehr ah uhn AH-vo-cah'') ; Can I just pay a fine now? : Pourrais-je simplement payer une amende ? (''poo-RAYZH sampl-MANG pay-AY yn ah-MAHND'') ; [offering bribe] Will you accept this in place of my fine? : Acceptez-vous ceci au lieu de mon amende ? (''accept-eh voo suh-see oh LOO duh mon ah-MAND'') : ''Note: Only consider attempting this in third world countries. ''Do not'' try to do this in European Francophone countries or in Canada as it will get you in worse trouble!'' {{guidephrasebook}} {{PartOfPhrasebook|Europe|Oceania|Africa|North America|South America}} scm6i6av18wwg0u88audhdealnni9nw 5298521 5298516 2026-06-25T23:42:57Z ThunderingTyphoons! 106394 /* Basics */ Add 'ne... pas' infobox and parentheses. 5298521 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner | French phrasebook banner Sign in Geneva.jpg | caption=Sign in Geneva asking nightly bar patrons not to disturb people who sleep|ftt=yes}} [[File:Map-Francophone World.svg|thumb|upright=2|French-speaking areas]] '''French''' (''français'') is a Romance language (descended from Latin), and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world: 277 million people speak French, including about 100 million native speakers. While the French language originated in [[France]], in modern times it is spoken on every continent; it is an official language of 29 countries, an important business, cultural, or minority language in dozens of other countries and regions, and is used officially by scores of international organisations including the United Nations, the European Union, and the International Olympic Committee. French was the main international lingua franca well into the 20th century, and at one point, French was the language spoken in most of the royal courts of Europe. To this day, it remains ''de rigueur'' for educated people in many societies around the world to have some level of basic French ability. French is the sole official language of France, including all of its overseas departments and territories, and is the only language you will need to communicate with French nationals. Beyond France, French is widely spoken in many nearby countries in '''Europe''', including the southern half of [[Belgium]] ([[Wallonia]] and [[Brussels]]), western [[Switzerland]], [[Monaco]], [[Luxembourg]], and the [[Aosta Valley]] of northwestern [[Italy]]. A small number of second-language speakers are also found on the [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] of [[Jersey]] (where a dialect of Norman extremely similar to French persists) and in the tiny Pyrenean country of [[Andorra]]. In the '''Americas''', French is spoken primarily in the Canadian provinces of [[Quebec]], [[New Brunswick]], the northern and eastern parts of [[Ontario]], around the Winnipeg area of [[Manitoba]], and the city of Whitehorse in [[Yukon]]. Indeed, [[Canada]] is an officially bilingual nation and there are Francophone enclaves in almost every province, though outside of the four provinces and territory mentioned, it's quite rare to encounter anyone in Canada who speaks more than a few words of French without hunting down off-the-beaten-track French-speaking communities. French is also spoken in a few parts of the [[United States]], namely parts of [[Louisiana]] and northern [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], and [[Vermont]]. In the Caribbean, French is an official language of [[Haiti]], a former colonial possession of France. The Americas also host the French departments of [[Martinique]], [[Guadeloupe]], and [[French Guiana]], plus the overseas collectivities of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], [[Saint Barthélemy]], and the northern half of [[Saint Martin]]. '''Elsewhere''', French is an official language of many former French and Belgian colonies in Africa, like [[Cameroon]], the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], and the [[Republic of the Congo]], and is unofficial but carries prestige in others, namely [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], and [[Morocco]]. It is an important administrative, educational, and cultural language in the former French Southeast Asian possessions of [[Vietnam]], [[Laos]], and [[Cambodia]]. In the Indian Ocean, [[Réunion]] and [[Mayotte]] are French overseas departments, while French is also an official language in [[Mauritius]], the [[Seychelles]], and [[Comoros]]. In Oceania, [[New Caledonia]], [[French Polynesia]], and [[Wallis and Futuna]] remain overseas territories of France, and French is also one of the official languages of [[Vanuatu]]. The French Wikivoyage's page [[:fr:Francophonie|Francophonie]] can help you locate French-speaking regions. ==Pronunciation== [[File:Moliere-statue.jpg|thumb|300px|French is often called the "language of Molière". The Parisian playwright is celebrated in stone on the city hall of his hometown.]] French spelling is '''not very phonetic'''. The same letter used in two different words can make two different sounds, and many letters are not pronounced at all. The good news, though, is that French generally has more regular pronunciation rules than English. This means that with sufficient practice, one can generally pronounce written French fairly accurately. However, the large number of homophones and silent letters make it such that attempting to write down spoken French often results in spelling mistakes, even for native speakers. Some rules are as follows: * '''Stress''' is fairly even in French, but the stress almost always falls on the last syllable. In words where the stress falls on an earlier syllable, it's not uncommon to hear the last syllable or sound of some words cut off or "swallowed." For example, ''Possible'' can sound like ''poss-EEB'' and ''hymne'' can sound like ''eem''. This is particularly noticeable in Quebec, but exists in other accents too. * The '''final consonant''' of a word is usually silent except for c, f, l, q, and r. Thus, ''allez'' (go) is pronounced ''al-AY'', not ''al-AYZ''; ''tard'' (late) is pronounced ''tar'', not ''tard''. * If the next word begins with a vowel, a consonant may be pronounced; this is called '''''liaison'''''. For example, ''allez-y'' (≈ go ahead / off you go), is pronounced ''al-ay-ZEE'', while ''mes amis'' (my friends) is pronounced ''MEZ-ah-MEE'' . * A '''final e''' is also usually silent if the word has more than one syllable, except in parts of southern France and when singing or reciting poetry. Guess what? Those pronunciation "rules" you just read have a ton of '''exceptions'''! For example, the rule that a final r is pronounced is not true in the combination "-er", normally found in verb infinitives; this letter combination is pronounced ''ay''. The plural ending "-ent" for verbs is silent (except for the t, in cases of liaison), even though it is pronounced when it appears in other words. Sometimes, whether to pronounce the final consonant of a word is denoted by its grammatical function; for example, the final "s" in ''tous'' (all) is silent when used as an adjective, but pronounced when used as a pronoun, while the final "f" in nouns such as ''cerf'' (deer) and ''œuf'' (egg) is pronounced in the singular form, but in the plural form (''cerfs'', ''œufs'') the "f" and the "s" are both silent. A final warning: for many French words, it is impossible to write something which an English speaker can easily read and reproduce without compromising on the French pronunciation. This means that '''the pronunciation guides in this very phrasebook are open to interpretation!''' Use the transliteration provided with each phrase as a guide to ''liaison'', but refer to the following letter lists in order to correctly pronounce the vowels and consonants. ===Vowels=== Vowels in French can have '''accent marks''', which generally have no noticeable impact on pronunciation, but they often distinguish between homophones in writing (''ou'', meaning "or", and ''où'', meaning "where", are pronounced the same). The only really important ones which affect pronunciation are é, è, and ê, which are called ''e accent aigu'', ''e accent grave'', and ''e accent circonflexe'', respectively. The grave and circumflex accents have the same name when they appear on other letters, while the umlaut (ë, ï, ü) is called ''e/i/u tréma''. ; a, à, â : like f'''a'''ther (U.S. English) or c'''a'''t (UK English); {{IPA|a}}. In Quebec French, sometimes more like "aw" as in the standard UK pronunciation of n'''o'''t {{IPA|ɔ}} ; e : in most cases a central neutral vowel ("schwa") like in '''a'''bout {{IPA|ə}}, sometimes like "é" or "è". At the end of a word, it's usually not pronounced at all ; é, ai, -er, -es, -ez, -et : similar to d'''ay''' but shorter {{IPA|e}} ; è, ê : more open, like s'''e'''t {{IPA|ɛ}}. Sometimes diphthongised in Quebec French {{IPA|ɛɪ̯}} ; i, î : like s'''ee''', but shorter and tenser {{IPA|i}} ; o, ô, au, eau : generally like b'''oa'''t {{IPA|o}} ; u, ù : like a very tight, frontal "oo" sound (purse your lips as if to say "oo" as in "soon" but try to make your tongue say "ee") - {{IPA|y}}, ''uu'' in transcriptions, similar to the German ü. Sometimes pronounced more like "eu" in Quebec French ; ou : like f'''oo'''d, but rounder {{IPA|u}} ; y : when followed by a consonant, like s'''ee''' {{IPA|i}}. When followed by another vowel, it's used as a consonant, pronounced '''y'''es {{IPA|j}} ; eu : between d'''ew''' and b'''u'''rp {{IPA|ø}}; written as ''eu'' in transcriptions [[Image:Ouagadougou place nations unies.JPG|thumb|300px|Like many ex-colonial placenames, '''[[Ouagadougou]]''' mixes French spelling convention with words from a local language, in this case Mooré]] ===Semi-vowels=== ; oi : like '''wha'''m {{IPA|wa}}, or when followed by a nasal more like '''we'''t {{IPA|wɛ̃}}. In Quebec French, sometimes like th'''ough'''t {{IPA|ɔ}} ; oui : like '''wee'''k {{IPA|wi}} ; ui : like '''wee'''k, but with a French u instead of the w {{IPA|ɥi}} ; œ : a bit like ''eu'', but more open {{IPA|œ}}. The distinction between ''œ'' (called ''o e entrelacés'') and ''eu'' is very subtle and often irrelevant. ===Consonants=== ; b : {{pron|b|b}} ; c : {{pron|k|c|notes=before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant}}, {{pron|s̪|c|notes=before "e", "i", and "y"}} ; ç : like the second pronunciation of ''c''. This letter, called a "cedilla" (''cédille''), can only be written before "a", "o", or "u" ; ch : {{pron|ʃ|ch}}; sometimes like k (in words of Greek origin mostly) ; d : {{pron|d̪|d}}. In Quebec, like "dz" or "ds" when before "i" or "y" ; dj : {{pron|d͡ʒ|dj}} ; f : {{pron|f|f}} ; g : {{pron|ɡ|g|notes=before "a", "o", and "u" or before a consonant}}, {{pron|ʒ|g|notes=before "e", "i" and "y"}} ; gu : like the first pronunciation of g (before "e", "i", "y"); if the u is to be pronounced, it will be written with a diaresis (e.g. ''aigüe'') ; gn : {{pron|ɲ|gn}}. This is particularly difficult when followed by '''oi''', as in '''baignoire''' (''beh-NYWAR'') "bathtub". ; h : silent, but may sometimes prevent a ''liaison'' with the former word (this is called an ''h aspiré'') ; j : like the second pronunciation of g ; k : {{pron|k|k|notes=only used for loanwords, but common in Alsatian and Breton placenames}} ; l, ll : {{pron|l|l}}; some exceptions for "ll" in the combination "ille" (sometimes pronounced ee-yuh, {{IPA|j|noparen=y}}), or in "guillotine". ; m : {{pron|m|m}} ; n: pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth {{IPA|n̪}}, except when followed by a vowel, when it is pronounced like '''n'''ose {{IPA|n}}. See [[#Nasals|Nasals]] below}} ; p : {{pron|p|p}} ; ph : like f ; pn : like a'''pn'''ea {{IPA|pn}} ; ps: like sli'''ps''' {{IPA|ps}} ; q(u) : most of the time k, like '''qu'''ick only in loanwords ; r : guttural r, pronounced at the back of the throat {{IPA|ʁ}} ; s : usually like the second pronunciation of c; like ''z'' when between two vowels (unless doubled), or in a liaison ; t, th : {{pron|t̪|t}}; in Quebec, {{pron|t͡s|t}} when before "i" or "y"; like the second pronunciation of c in ''tion'' ; tch : {{pron|t͡ʃ|tch}} ; v : {{pron|v|v}} ; w : only in foreign words, mostly {{pron|w|w}} and sometimes like v (in particular, "wagon" is "vagon" and "WC" is "VC"!) ; x : either ks, gz or s ; z : {{pron|z̪|z}} [[File:Home Alone House.jpg|thumb|300px|Remember the scene in the movie ''Home Alone'' where Kevin's sister mockingly told him "you're what the French call ''les incompétents''"? Even though grammar Nazis might deduct points for addressing a singular subject in the plural, any phonicist will tell you she got the sound of the French nasal vowel pretty much down pat.]] ===Nasals=== ; an, en, em : nasal a {{IPA|ɑ̃}}. Not always pronounced as a nasal, especially if the n or m is doubled: ''Emmanuel'' is pronounced as a normal "emm" sound ; on : nasal o {{IPA|ɔ̃}} - distinguishing between this and "an" is tricky, it's a deeper, more closed sound ; in, ain : nasal è {{IPA|ɛ̃}} ; un : nasal eu {{IPA|œ̃}}. In northern France and particularly around Paris, pronounced the same as 'in' {{IPA|ɛ̃}} ; oin : nasal "wè" {{IPA|wɛ̃}} ===Diphthongs=== ; aï, ail : like the English pronoun '''I''' {{IPA|aj}} ; ay, éi : ''é'' and ''i'' smooshed together {{IPA|ɛ.i}} ; ill : either literally, or like "y" in "three years", with some exceptions (''ville'' is ''veel'', ''fille'' is ''fiy'') Quebec French sometimes has vestigial diphthongs where French from France no longer does. For example, while a Parisian would pronounce the word ''maître'' as ''MET-ruh'', a Québécois would pronounce it more like ''MIGHT-ruh''. ===Exceptions=== * When there is an accent mark on "e", it prevents diphthongs. Letters should be pronounced separately, following the rule for the accented letter. Example: ''réunion'' (meeting). * A diaeresis (''tréma'') may also be used to prevent diphthongs on "e", "u" and "i". Example: ''maïs'' (Indian corn or maize). * In the combination "geo" (as in ''pigeon'' or ''bourgeois''), the "e" should not be pronounced, as it is only there to force the pronunciation of the soft "g" {{IPA|ʒ}}. When the e is marked with an acute accent (as in ''géologie'') it is pronounced the normal way. ==Grammar== [[File:Institut de France - Académie française et pont des Arts.jpg|thumb|300px|Like Spanish and German, but unlike English, the French language is governed by an official regulator: ''L'Académie française''. Headquartered in Paris (shown here), the Académie issues guidance and recommendations on good French, and its occasional spelling reforms are often controversial.]] ===Gender and its complications=== French nouns are divided into two different '''genders''': masculine and feminine. Unlike in English, all inanimate objects have a gender assigned to them: for example, ''pain'' (bread) is masculine, while ''confiture'' (jam) is feminine. The grammatical gender of nouns denoting persons generally follows the person's natural sex; for instance, ''mère'' (mother) is feminine, while ''père'' (father) is masculine. However, some nouns are always of the same gender regardless of the natural gender of the person they are referring to: ''personne'' is always feminine even if the person in question is a man. It is not always easy to tell at a glance which gender a noun is but, in general, if it ends in a consonant, or by the letter combinations ''-age'', ''-au'', ''-é'', ''-ège'', ''ème'', or ''-isme'' / ''-iste'', or is a foreign (particularly English) loanword, it's likely to be masculine. On the other hand, if a noun ends in ''-ace'', ''-ance'' / ''-ence'', ''-ée'', ''-elle'' / ''-erre'' / ''-esse'' / ''-ette'', ''-ie'', ''-ice'', ''-ine'', ''-ise'', ''-que'', or ''-tion / sion'', it's probably feminine. There are plenty of exceptions, however. The singular '''definite article''' ("the" in English) of each noun depends on its gender: ''le'' (m), ''la'' (f) or ''l’'' (before all singular nouns starting with a vowel and some starting with "h", regardless of gender). The plural definite article for both genders is ''les''. Thus: * le garçon – the boy → les garçons – the boys * la fille – the girl → les filles – the girls * l'homme – the man → les hommes – the men The singular '''indefinite article''' ("a" and "an" in English) also corresponds to the noun's gender: ''un'' for masculine and ''une'' for feminine. Unlike English, French has a plural indefinite article – ''des'', which works for both genders – and three '''partitive articles''' – ''du'' (m), ''de la'' (f), and ''de l’'' (before vowels and some instances of the letter "h"), which precede uncountable nouns (all of these can mean "of the", but they are sometimes needed where no article would be used in English). Thus: * un homme – a man → des hommes – men * une femme – a woman → des femmes – women * du vin – wine * de la confiture – jam * de l'eau – water Similarly, the '''third person pronouns''' also depend on the grammatical gender of the subject: ''il'' (m – he or it) or ''elle'' (f – she or it), with ''ils'' and ''elles'' respectively being the masculine and feminine plurals (they). When there are groups of mixed-gender people or objects, ''ils'' is always used. ===Formal and informal speech=== In French, there are two equivalents of the English word '''"you"'''. When addressing one person you know well such as a family member or a friend, plus any time you speak to one child or one animal, the word to use will be ''tu''. In '''''all''''' other situations, including when addressing a group of people regardless of who they are, the word to use will be ''vous''. This means that in practice, as a traveller and novice French speaker, most of the time you will be using ''vous''. It is important to know the distinction, as while addressing a pet dog with the ''vous'' form might just raise a chuckle, using ''tu'' with somebody you've just met is inappropriate and may offend the person whom you are addressing. After initially using the ''vous'' form, a person may say to you ''"On peut se tutoyer"''; this is a polite invitation for you to use the ''tu'' form with them. The default '''title''' used when addressing a man is ''monsieur'', while a woman would be addressed as ''madame''. ''Mademoiselle'' was traditionally used to address young, unmarried women, but this is now controversial and arguably sexist, so unless the other person tells you otherwise, it is best to default to ''madame''. The respective plurals are ''messieurs'' and ''mesdames'', so the French equivalent of "ladies and gentlemen" is "''mesdames et messieurs''", though often in speech this is rendered as "''messieurs-dames''". ===Verbs=== In a manner similar to many other Romance languages, French '''verbs''' all end in either ''-er'', ''-ir'', or ''-re'' in their infinitive forms, for example ''écouter'' (to listen), ''finir'' (to finish), and ''vendre'' (to sell). Verbs in French '''conjugate''' differently according to tense, mood, aspect and voice. This means that there are many more possible conjugations for French verbs than English verbs, and learning how to conjugate each verb in different scenarios can be a challenge for English speakers. Fortunately for you, the vast majority of verbs follow a regular conjugation pattern. Here are three examples of regular verbs conjugated in the present tense, which can be used as a model for all other present-tense regular verbs. For the regular conjugations, remove the ''-er'', ''-ir'', or ''-re'' ending from the infinitive and add the letters in bold from the table below: {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !regular<br>''-er'' verb example: ÉCOUTER !to listen !regular<br>''-ir'' verb example: FINIR !to finish !regular<br>''-re'' verb example: VENDRE !to sell |- |j'écout'''e''' |I listen |je fin'''is''' |I finish |je vend'''s''' |I sell |- |tu écout'''es''' |you listen (informal) |tu fin'''is''' |you finish (informal) |tu vend'''s''' |you sell (informal) |- |il écout'''e''' elle écout'''e''' |he listens / it listens (masculine inanimate) she listens / it listens (feminine inanimate) |il fin'''it''' elle fin'''it''' |he finishes / it finishes (masculine inanimate) she finishes / it finishes (feminine inanimate) |il vend elle vend |he sells / it sells (masculine inanimate) she sells / it sells (feminine inanimate) |- |on écout'''e''' |one listens we listen |on fin'''it''' |one finishes we finish |on vend |one sells we sell |- |nous écout'''ons''' |we listen |nous fin'''issons''' |we finish |nous vend'''ons''' |we sell |- |vous écout'''ez''' |you listen (formal / plural) |vous fin'''issez''' |you finish (formal / plural) |vous vend'''ez''' |you sell (formal / plural) |- |ils écout'''ent''' elles écout'''ent''' |they listen |ils fin'''issent''' elles fin'''issent''' |they finish |ils vend'''ent''' elles vend'''ent''' |they sell |- |} Common regular verbs that you can use the above models for include: ''aimer'' (to like/love), ''chercher'' (to search), ''parler'' (to speak), ''demander'' (to ask), ''trouver'' (to find), ''penser'' (to think), ''visiter'' (to visit), ''voyager'' (to travel), ''choisir'' (to choose), ''attendre'' (to wait), ''perdre'' (to lose), and ''répondre'' (to answer). Some verbs are '''irregular''', meaning that they use different roots when conjugated. The good news is that irregular verbs are very much in the minority. The bad news is that nearly all of the most useful everyday verbs are irregular; you will have to learn their conjugations individually if you wish to use them effectively: ''aller'' (to go), ''venir'' (to come), ''voir'' (to see), ''faire'' (to do), ''acheter'' (to buy), ''manger'' (to eat), ''boire'' (to drink), ''sortir'' (to go out), ''dormir'' (to sleep), ''pouvoir'' (to be able to), ''devoir'' (to have to), and ''vouloir'' (to want). The worst of these are probably ''être'' (to be) and ''avoir'' (to have), by far the most common verbs for everyday communication. Here are the present tense conjugations of each; you'll notice the entire word changes for each form of the verb: [[Image:Eclairs at Fauchon in Paris.jpg|thumb|300px|If you hate grammar, just think of éclairs. ''Éclair'', by the way, is a masculine noun.]] {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !AVOIR !to have !ÊTRE !to be |- |j''''ai''' |I have |je '''suis''' |I am |- |tu '''as''' |you have (informal) |tu '''es''' |you are (informal) |- |il '''a''' elle '''a''' |he has / it has (masculine inanimate) she has / it has (feminine inanimate) |il '''est''' elle '''est''' |he is / it is (masculine inanimate) she is / it is (feminine inanimate) |- |on '''a''' |one has we have |on '''est''' |one is we are |- |nous '''avons''' |we have |nous '''sommes''' |we are |- |vous '''avez''' |you have (formal / plural) |vous '''êtes''' |you are (formal / plural) |- |ils '''ont''' elles '''ont''' |they have |ils '''sont''' elles '''sont''' |they are |} ==International varieties of French== [[Image:Guadeloupe creole 2010-03-30.JPG|thumb|300px|"Levez le pied, il y a des enfants qui jouent ici !" – Lift your foot [off the gas pedal], there are children playing here! (Guadeloupe Creole)]] For its size, [[France]] is quite a linguistically-diverse country. Aside from languages which are very clearly separate from French (e.g. [[Basque]] and [[Breton]]), there is a whole slew of local ''parlers'' (e.g. Angevin, Lorrain, Norman, Picard, Savoyard...) which are just similar enough to standard French that, depending on whom you ask, they can be considered either separate languages in their own right, or simply dialects (''patois'') of the mother tongue. These local languages/dialects also influence the accents of standard French within their region, from the strange vowels and increased nasalisation of the far north to the 'singing' accents of the deep south. The varieties of French which are spoken in Belgium and Switzerland differ slightly from the French spoken in France, though they are similar enough to be mutually intelligible. In particular, the numbering system in French-speaking [[Belgium]] and [[Switzerland]] has some slight peculiarities that are different from the French spoken in France, and the pronunciation of some words is slightly different. Nevertheless, all French-speaking Belgians and Swiss would have learned standard French in school, so they would be able to understand you even if you used the standard French numbering system. Aside from Europe and Canada (see below), many French-speaking regions have incorporated the words of local languages, and on occasion have formed distinctive dialects or languages known as '''creoles'''. French-based creoles today enjoy wide use and often official status in the [[Seychelles]], [[Mauritius]], [[New Caledonia]], [[Haiti]] (see [[Haitian Creole phrasebook|Haitian creole]]), [[Réunion]], and the French overseas territories in the Antilles. A dialect of French known as [[Louisiana]] French or Cajun, which is similar to the Acadian French spoken in parts of New Brunswick, and a distinct French-based creole known as Louisiana Creole are both still spoken by some residents in the southern U.S. state, while parts of [[New England]] near the Canadian border are home to speakers of a dialect known as New England French, which bears many similarities to Québécois. ===Canada=== {{see also|Quebec#Talk}} [[Image:Arrêt - Stop Sign, Montreal, Canada (28389217345).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Stop sign in Montreal]] There are many phonological and lexical differences between the French spoken in Quebec and that spoken in France. Quebec has retained many 18th- & 19th-century French words, while in France the language has moved on, as well as incorporating many English words in the modern era. On the other side, Québécois borrowed English terms from their Anglophone neighbours as early as the 19th century, but the onset of the "Quiet Revolution" and the Quebec sovereignty movement in the 1960s led to laws that strictly limited the usage and influence of English in the public sphere, with the result that, etymologically speaking, Quebec French is in many ways more "purely" French than that spoken in France. For instance, the [[Fast food in the United States and Canada#Chicken|fast-food chain]] called "Kentucky Fried Chicken" (KFC) in both the United States and France is known in Quebec as ''Poulet Frit Kentucky'' (PFK). In addition, menus are all translated, resulting in ''le Joyeux Festin'' at McDonald's in Quebec, rather than ''le Happy Meal'' as in the rest of the French-speaking world. Some examples of everyday words which differ between Québécois and standard French: {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !English !France ! Canada !Notes |- |car |voiture |auto, char |''Char'' is very informal, while ''auto'' is more formal. In France, ''un char'' is 'a tank'. ''Voiture'' and ''auto'' are feminine; ''char'' is masculine. |- |car park |parking |stationnement | |- |to park (a car) |garer |parker | |- |to drive |conduire |chauffer |In France, ''chauffer'' means 'to heat' |- |stop (on a road sign) |stop |arrêt | |- |pavement/sidewalk |trottoir |cotteur | |- |washing machine |machine à laver |laveuse | |- |breakfast, lunch, dinner |petit déjeuner, déjeuner, dîner |déjeuner, dîner, souper |Belgium and Switzerland use the same terms as Quebec |- |shopping |shopping/courses |magasinage | |- |bicycle |vélo |bicyclette |''vélo'' is masculine; ''bicyclette'' is feminine |- |weekend |week-end |fin de semaine |''week-end'' is masculine; ''fin de semaine'' is feminine <br> In France, ''fin de semaine'' refers to the end of the working week (typically Thursday-Friday). |- |toothpaste |dentifrice |pâte à dents |Canadian toothpaste packaging still says ''dentifrice'' |- |email |e-mail/mail |courriel |Use of ''courriel'', short for ''courrier électronique'' (electronic mail), is recommended by the ''Académie française'', but this is all but ignored in France |- |ice cream |glace |crème glacée |''Crème glacée'' is a direct translation of English 'ice cream' |- |corn |maïs |blé d'inde | |- |} Each of Canada's other provinces has a Francophone population, who are not Québécois. Some of these groups have been settled for hundreds of years. Another distinct dialect of French, known as Acadian French, is spoken commonly in parts of [[New Brunswick]], with smaller populations in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Many of these people were expelled by the British during the French and Indian War, and settled in [[Louisiana]], where they would later become known as the Cajuns. Nevertheless, all Francophone Canadians, including Québécois, learn standard French in school, and most of the differences between the two varieties are limited to informal speech. This means that while you may not understand conversation among locals, they will be able to converse with you in standard French if required. ==Cognates in English== English has borrowed a huge number of French words since the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and also shares a large number of cognates that English borrowed directly from Latin, so you will recognize many French words, especially after you get used to French pronunciation. For example, a large number of words ending in -tion are spelled the same way in French, although the pronunciation is different. Among these words are ''production'', ''introduction'', ''participation'' and ''indication''. Also, words ending in -ty in English normally end in -té in French, including ''personnalité'' (personality), ''université'' (university), ''responsabilité'' (responsibility) and ''sécurité'' (safety/security). Another signpost to look for is words that end in -ous in English usually end in -eux (masculine singular) or -euse (feminine singular) in French. Examples include ''sérieux/sérieuse'' (serious), ''dangereux/dangereuse'' (dangerous) and ''joyeux/joyeuse'' (happy/joyous). When it comes to culinary terms, the meat of specific animals is often referred to using a loan word from French, while the animal itself is referred to using the original Germanic term. For example English pork is cognate with French ''porc'', English beef is cognate with French ''bœuf'', and English mutton is cognate with French ''mouton''. In French, the distinction between animal and meat isn't made. There are many other French words that were borrowed with little or no change in spelling into English, such as ''hommage'' (homage), ''instrument'' (instrument), ''concert'' (concert), ''préférence'' (preference) and ''honneur'' (honour). There are sometimes differences in meaning or usage between the languages, though, as the French word ''cuisine'' means not only a style of cooking as in English usage but also a kitchen; ''café'', similarly, means "coffee" and not just a place where you can have some along with food; and the verb ''conduire'', whose noun form is ''conduction'', is used more often to mean "to drive" than "to conduct". Similarly, ''un conducteur'' would usually mean "a driver" or "an operator", rather than "a conductor". ''Chauffeur'' is another generic term for a driver, not necessarily a private driver as in English. As well as a place to stay, ''hôtel'' can refer to many types of large urban building in French, so ''un hôtel particulier'' is a grand townhouse or mansion, ''l'hôtel de ville'' is the city or town hall, while ''l'hôtel du parlement'' is the parliament building. The ''entrée'' isn't just a course in a meal, but also the word for any kind of entrance. By the way, ''entrée'' refers to a smaller dish before the main course in French, and this original meaning is retained in Australian and British English, but has shifted to refer to the main course itself in American and Canadian English. ''Sensible'' typically means "sensitive", and not "sensible" in the usual English sense (you can use a word like ''raisonnable'', the cognate for "reasonable", instead). Also, watch out for the French word ''préservatif'', which does not mean a preservative but a condom! If you want to refer to preservatives in food, use the word ''conservateurs''. Disclaimers aside, there are quite a lot of French words you can guess correctly by understanding the equivalents and seeing some patterns of how similar words differ between the languages. There are also some English words that are commonly used in French, including ''week-end'' and ''sandwich'', and with slightly less equivalency, ''parking'' for carpark and ''shampooing'' for shampoo. The most common word for "tracksuit" is ''jogging'', a word which can also refer to jogging for exercise; the latter is also called ''footing'', a false friend. ==Phrase list== ===Basics=== {{infobox|Common signs |; OPEN : Ouvert (''oo-VAIR'') ; CLOSED : Fermé (''FEHR-may'') ; OPENING HOURS : Horaires d'ouverture (''Oh-RAIR doo-VAIR-tuur'') ; ENTRANCE : Entrée (''AHN-tray'') ; EXIT : Sortie (''sor-TEE'') ; PUSH : Poussez (''POO-say'') ; PULL : Tirez (''TEE-ray'') ; TOILET : Toilettes (''twah-LET'') ; MEN : Hommes (''om'') ; WOMEN : Femmes (''fam'') ; DISABLED : Handicapés (''on-dee-KAP-ay'') ; EMERGENCY EXIT : Sortie de secours (''sor-TEE duh suh-COOR'') ; FORBIDDEN : Interdit, Défendu (''ehn-tair-DEE, day-fahn-DUU'') ; NO PARKING : Stationnement interdit, Défense de stationner (''STAH-syonn-mon an-tair-DEE, day-FAHNS duh STAH-syonn-ay'') ; YIELD / GIVE WAY : Cédez le passage (''SAY-day luh pah-SAHZH'') ; STOP : Stop (''stop'') / Arrêt (''Ah-RAY'')}} ; Hello. (formal): Bonjour. (''bawn-ZHOOR'') (in the day) / Bonsoir. (''bawn-SWAHR'') (in evening ( after 5 pm ) ) ; Hello. (informal) : Salut. (''sah-LUU'') ; How are you? (formal) : Comment allez-vous ? (''koh-moh t-AH-lay VOO'') ; How are you? (informal) : Comment vas-tu ? (''koh-mahng va TUU''); Comment ça va ? (''koh-moh sah VAH''): Ça va ? ( sah VAH ) ; Fine, thank you. : (Ça va) Bien, merci. (''byang, merr-SEE'') ; What is your name? : Comment vous appelez-vous ? (''koh-moh vooz AHP-lay VOO?''); lit. "How do you call yourself?" ; What is your name? (informal) : Comment t'appelles-tu ? (''koh-moh tah-pell TOO?''): Comments tu t'appelles ? ( koj-mang too tah-pell ) ; My name is ______ . : Je m'appelle ______ . (''zhuh mah-PELL _____'') ; Nice to meet you. : Enchanté(e). (''ahn-shan-TAY'') : You add an "e" when you're a woman ; Please. (formal) : S'il vous plaît. (''seel voo PLEH''); Je vous prie. (''zhuh voo PREE'') ; Please. (informal) : S'il te plaît. (''seel tuh PLEH''): S'te plaît ( stuh PLEH ) ; Thank you. : Merci. (''merr-SEE'') ; You're welcome. : De rien. (''duh RYEHNG''), Bienvenue. (''bee-ain-veuh-nu'') [Quebec only]; Je vous en prie. (''zhuh voo-zahn PREE'') (more polite); J't'en prie ( zhtang prie ) ; Yes. : Oui. (''WEE'') ; No. : Non. (''NOH'') ; Excuse me. : Pardon. (''pahr-DOHN'')( informal ); Excusez-moi. (''ehk-SKEW-zay MWAH'') ( formal ) ; (I am) Sorry. : (Je suis) Désolé(e). (''zhuh swee DAY-zoh-LAY''); Je m'excuse. (''zhuh me-SKEWZ'') Pardon ( par-DONG ) ; Goodbye : Au revoir. (''oh ruh-VWAHR''): Salut ( saa-LU ) ( informal ) ; Goodbye (informal) : Salut. (''sah-LUU'') ; I can't speak French [well]. : Je (ne) parle pas [bien] français. (''zhuh nuh PAHRL pah [byang] frahn-SEH '') ; Do you speak English? :Parlez-vous anglais ? (''par-lay VOO ahng-LEH?'') ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un ici qui parle anglais ? (''ess keel-ee-AH kel-KUHN ee-see kee PAHRL ahng-LEH'')/ Y a-t-il quelqu'un ici qui parle anglais ? (''ee yah-TEEL kel-KUHN ee-see kee PAHRL ahng-LEH'') ; Help! : Au secours ! (''oh suh-KOOR'') ; Look out! : Attention ! (''ah-tahn-SYONG'') ; Good day / good morning : Bonjour (''bong̠-ZHOO(R)'') ; Have a nice day: Bonne journée (''bon zhoor-NAY'') ; Good evening. : Bonsoir. (''bong-SWAHR'') ; Good night. (at the end of an evening) : Bonne soirée (''bon swahr-RAY'') ; Good night. (when going to bed) : Bonne nuit. (''bon NWEE'') ; Sweet dreams : Faites de beaux rêves (''FEHT duh bo REV'') {{infobox|Don't be so negative!|When writing, proper French grammar requires the adverbs ''ne'' and ''pas'' to surround any verb being negated. Thus, "I&nbsp;'''don't''' understand" is ''Je '''ne''' comprends '''pas'''.'' However, in spoken French it is very common to drop the initial ''ne'', making phrases like '''''Je comprends pas'''''. This phrasebook tries to provide examples of both.}} ; I don't understand. : Je (ne) comprends pas. (''zhuh nuh KOHM-prahn pah'') ; I don't know. : Je (ne) sais pas. (''zhuh nuh say pah'') / J'sais pas (''cheh pah'') ; I can't. : Je (ne) peux pas. (''zhuh nuh puh pah'') ; Where is the toilet? : Où sont les toilettes ? (''OOH sohn leh twah-LET?'') ; What is it? : Qu'est-ce que c'est ? (''KES-kuh-SAY'') ; How do you say _____ in French / in English? : Comment dit-on _____ en français / en anglais ? (''koh-moh dee-TONG _____ ahn frahn-SEH / ahn ahng-LEH ?'') ; What is this/that called? :Comment appelle-t-on ça ? (''koh-moh ah-pell-TONG SAH?'') ; How is that spelt? : Comment ça s'écrit ? (''koh-moh sah SAY-cree?'') ===Problems=== ; Leave me alone. :Laissez-moi tranquille ! (''lay-say mwah trahn-KEEL!'') ; Buzz off. : Dégage ! (''day-GAHZH!'') / Va-t'en ! (''va TAHN'') ; Don't touch me! : Ne me touchez pas ! (''nuh muh TOOSH-ay PAH!'') ; I'm calling the police. : Je vais appeler la police. (''zhuh VAYZ a-pell-AY la poh-LEES'') ; Police! : Police ! (''poh-LEES'') ; Stop! Thief! : Arrêtez ! Au voleur ! (''ah-reh-TAY! oh vo-LEUR!'') ; Stop! Rapist! : Arrêtez ! Au viol ! (''ah-reh-TAY! oh vee-YOL!'') ; Help! : Au secours ! (''oh suh-KOOR!'') ; Fire! : Au feu ! (''oh FEUH!'') ; Help me, please!. : Aidez-moi, s'il vous plaît ! (''aih-day MWAH, SEEL voo PLEH!'') ; It's an emergency. : C'est urgent ! (''seh toor-ZHAHN'') ; I'm lost. : Je me suis perdu(e). (''ZHUH muh swee pehr-DUU'') ; I've lost my bag. : J'ai perdu mon sac. (''zhay pehr-DUU mon SAK'') ; I've lost my wallet. :J'ai perdu mon portefeuille. (''zhay pehr-DUU mon POHR-tuh-fuhye'') ; My things have been stolen. : On m'a volé mes affaires. (''o(n) ma vo-LAY may-zaf-FAIR'') ; Someone / This man / This woman is harassing me : Quelqu'un / Cet homme / Cette femme me harcèle (''kel-ku(n) / set om / set fam muh ar-SELL'') ; I'm sick. : Je suis malade. (''zhuh swee mah-LAHD'') ; I've been injured. : Je me suis blessé. (''zhuh muh swee bleh-SAY'') ; I've been bitten by a dog. : Je me suis fait mordre par un chien. (''zhuh muh swee fay MOR-druh par u(n) shee-AH(N)'') ; I need a doctor. : J'ai besoin d'un médecin. (''zhay buh-ZWAHN duun may-TSAN'') ; Can I use your phone? : Puis-je utiliser votre téléphone ? (''PWEEZH oo-tee-lee-ZAY vot-ruh tay-lay-FUN'') ; Call an ambulance. :Appelez une ambulance. (''ah-puh-lay uun OM-boo-lo(n)ss'') ; Call the fire brigade. :Appelez les pompiers. (''ah-puh-lay lay pom-PEE-ay'') ; Call the police. :Appelez la police. (''ah-puh-lay la poh-LEES'') ; Call the coastguard. :Appelez les gardes-côtes. (''ah-puh-lay lay garde cot'') ===Numbers=== [[File:Reunion BrasDeLaPlaine.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Réunion]]]] Unlike English, French uses the long scale, so ''un billion'' and ''un trillion'' are not the same as the English "one billion" and "one trillion". ; 0 : zéro (''zairro'') ; 1 : un/une (''uhn'')/(''uun'') ; 2 : deux (''deu'') ; 3 : trois (''trwah'') ; 4 : quatre (''kahtr'') ; 5 :cinq (''sank'') ; 6 : six (''sees'') ; 7 : sept (''set'') ; 8 : huit (''weet'') ; 9 : neuf (''neuf'') ; 10 : dix (''deece'') ; 11 : onze (''onz'') ; 12 : douze (''dooz'') ; 13 : treize (''trayz'') ; 14 : quatorze (''kat-ORZ'') ; 15 : quinze (''kihnz'') ; 16 : seize (''says'') ; 17 : dix-sept (''dee-SET'') ; 18 : dix-huit (''dee-ZWEET'') ; 19 : dix-neuf (''deez-NUF'') ; 20 : vingt (''vihnt'') ; 21 : vingt-et-un (''vihng-tay-UHN'') ; 22 : vingt-deux (''vihn-teu-DEU'') ; 23 : vingt-trois (''vin-teu-TRWAH'') ; 30 : trente (''trahnt'') ; 40 : quarante (''kar-AHNT'') ; 50 : cinquante (''sank-AHNT'') ; 60 : soixante (''swah-SAHNT'') ; 70 : soixante-dix (''swah-sahnt-DEES'') or septante (''sep-TAHNGT'') in Belgium and Switzerland ; 80 : quatre-vingts (''kaht-ruh-VIHN''); huitante (''weet-AHNT'') in Belgium and Switzerland (except Geneva); octante (''oct-AHNT'') in Switzerland ; 90 : quatre-vingt-dix (''katr-vihn-DEES''); nonante (''noh-NAHNT'') in Belgium and Switzerland ; 100 : cent (''sahn'') ; 200 : deux cents (''deu sahng'') ; 300 : trois cents (''trrwa sahng'') [[File:Купюра в 500 франков КФА. Лицевая сторона.jpg|thumb|300px|Cinq cents francs, used in several countries in Central Africa]] ; 1000 : mille (''meel'') ; 2000 : deux mille (''deu meel'') ; 1,000,000 : un million (''ung mee-LYOHN'') (treated as a noun when alone: one million euros would be ''un million d'euros''). ; 1,000,000,000 : un milliard ; 1,000,000,000,000 : un billion ; number _____ (''train, bus, etc.'') : numéro _____ (''nuu-may-ROH'') ; half : demi (''duh-MEE''), moitié (''mwah-tee-AY'') ; less : moins (''mwihn'') ; more : plus (''pluus'') / no more : plus (''pluu'') so this time, the "S" is mute ===Time=== [[File:A sculpture at the entrance to the palace of Versailles.jpg|thumb|300px|A sculpture at the entrance to the palace of Versailles]] ; now : maintenant (''mant-NAHN'') ; earlier : plus tôt (''pluu to'') ; later : plus tard (''pluu TAHR'') ; before : avant (''ah-VAHN'') ; after : après (''ah-PREH'') ; morning : le matin (''luh mah-TAN'') ; in the morning : dans la matinée (''dahn lah mah-tee-NAY'') ; afternoon : l'après-midi (''lah-preh-mee-DEE'') ; in the afternoon : dans l'après-midi (''dahn lah-preh-mee-DEE'') ; evening : le soir (''luh SWAHR'') ; in the evening: dans la soirée (''dahn lah swah-RAY'') ; night : la nuit (''lah NWEE'') ; in the night : pendant la nuit (''pehndahn lah NWEE'') ====Clock time==== French speakers most commonly use the 24-hour clock, even in Quebec (whereas most other Canadians use the 12-hour clock). In Europe, an 'h' is used as a separator between hours and minutes, as opposed to the colon that is used in Quebec and English-speaking countries. Therefore, midnight is written as ''0h00'', 1AM as ''1h00'', and 1PM as ''13h00''; more details and examples below. However, the 12-hour clock is making some inroads in speech, and saying 1-11 in the afternoon or evening will be understood. ; What's the time? : Quelle heure est-il ? (''kel euhr et-EEL?''); ; hour : heure (''eur'') ; minute : minute (''mee-NUUT'') ; From 1 minute past to 30 minutes past the hour: [hour] + [number of minutes] : Example: 10<nowiki>:</nowiki>20 or "twenty past ten" = <nowiki>10h20</nowiki>; "dix heures vingt" (''deez eur va(n)'') ; For 31 minutes past to 59 minutes past the hour : [next hour] + moins (''mwa(n)'') : Example: 10<nowiki>:</nowiki>40 or "twenty to eleven" = <nowiki>10h40</nowiki>; "onze heures moins vingt" (''onz eur mwa(n) va(n)'') ; quarter past : [hour] et quart (''ay kahr'') : Example: 07<nowiki>:</nowiki>15 or "quarter past seven" = <nowiki>7h15</nowiki>; "sept heures et quart" (''set eur eh kahr'') ; quarter to :[hour] moins le quart (''mwa(n) luh kahr'') : Example: 16<nowiki>:</nowiki>45 or "quarter to five" = <nowiki>16h45</nowiki>; "dix sept heures moins le quart" (''dee-set eur mwan luh kahr'') ; half-past : et demie (''eh duh-MEE''); et demi (after midnight or noon, ''eh duh-MEE'') : Example : 10<nowiki>:</nowiki>30 or "half past ten" = <nowiki>10h30</nowiki>; "dix heures et demie" (''deez eur eh duh-MEE'') : Example : 12<nowiki>:</nowiki>30 or "half past twelve" = <nowiki>12h30</nowiki>; "douze heures et demi" (''dooz eur eh duh-MEE'') ; 1AM, 01<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>1h00</nowiki>; une heure du matin (''uun eur duu ma-TAN'') ; 2AM, 02<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>2h00</nowiki>; deux heures du matin (''dooz eur duu ma-TAN'') ; noon, 12<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>12h00</nowiki>; midi (''mee-DEE'') ; 1PM, 13<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>13h00</nowiki>; treize heures (''traiyz er'') : une heure de l'après-midi (''uun eur duh la-preh-mee-DEE'') ; 2PM, 14<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>14h00</nowiki>; quatorze heures (''KAH-torz er'') : deux heures de l'après-midi (''duz er duh la-preh-mee-DEE'') ; 6PM, 18<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>18h00</nowiki>; dix-huit heures (''deez-weet ER'') : six heures du soir (''seez er duu SWAR'') ; 7<nowiki>:</nowiki>30PM, 19<nowiki>:</nowiki>30 : <nowiki>19h30</nowiki>; dix-neuf heures trente (''DEE-znuf er TRAHNT'') : sept heures et demie (''SET er eh duh-MEE'') ; midnight, 00<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 : <nowiki>0h00</nowiki>; minuit (''mee-NWEE'') ====Duration==== [[File:Fontevraud3.jpg|thumb|300px|Abbaye de Fontevraud]] ; _____ minute(s) : _____ minute(s) (''mee-NOOT'') ; _____ hour(s) :_____ heure(s) (''eur'') ; _____ day(s) : _____ jour(s) (''zhoor'') ; _____ week(s) : _____ semaine(s) (''suh-MEN'') ; _____ month(s) : _____ mois (''mwa'') ; _____ year(s) : _____ an(s) (''ahng''), année(s) (''ah-NAY'') ; hourly : horaire (''oh-RAIR'') ; daily : quotidien / quotidienne (''ko-tee-DYAN'' / ''ko-tee-DYEN'') ; weekly : hebdomadaire (''eb-doh-ma-DAIYR'') ; monthly : mensuel / mensuelle (''mang-suu-WEL'') ; seasonal : saisonnier / saisonnière (''SEH-zon-ee-ay'' / ''SEH-zon-ee-air'') ; yearly : annuel / annuelle (''ah-nuu-WEL'') ; How long is your vacation? : Combien de temps restez-vous en vacances ? (''com-bee-AN duh ton res-TAY voo on VAH-kons''); ; I am in France for ten days : Je reste en France pendant dix jours. (''zhuh rest on frons pon-don dee zhoor'') ; How long is the journey? : Combien de temps le voyage dure-t-il ? (''com-bee-AN duh ton luh vwoi-YAHZH dyoor-TEEL'') ; It takes an hour and a half : Cela dure une heure et demie. (''suh-LAH dyoor uun er ay duh-MEE'') ===Days=== ; today : aujourd'hui (''oh-zhoor-DWEE'') ; yesterday : hier (''yare'') ; tomorrow : demain (''duh-MAN'') ; this week : cette semaine (''set suh-MEN'') ; last week : la semaine dernière (''lah suh-MEN dehr-NYAIR'') ; next week : la semaine prochaine (''lah suh-MEN pro-SHEN'') ; the weekend : le week-end (France) / la fin de semaine (Canada) (''luh week-end / lah fah(n) duh suh-MEN'') French calendars normally start on Monday. Unlike in English, the names of days are not capitalised in French: ; Monday : lundi (''luhn-DEE'') ; Tuesday : mardi (''mahr-DEE'') ; Wednesday : mercredi (''mehr-kruh-DEE'') ; Thursday : jeudi (''juh-DEE'') ; Friday : vendredi (''vahn-druh-DEE'') ; Saturday : samedi (''sahm-DEE'') ; Sunday : dimanche (''dee-MAHNSH'') ===Months=== [[File:Fontaine d'Octon.JPG|thumb|300px|The revolutionary calendar isn't in use any longer, but inscriptions where it's been used can be seen here and there]] Unlike English, the names of months are not capitalised in French: ; January : janvier (''ZHO(N)-vee-yeh'') ; February : février (''FEH-vree-yeh'') ; March :mars (''mar''s) ; April :avril (''av-REEL'') ; May :mai (''meh'') ; June :juin (''zh-WAH(N)'') ; July : juillet (''zh-WEE-eh'') ; August : août (''oot'') ; September : septembre (''sep-TOMBR'') ; October : octobre (''oc-TOBR'') ; November : novembre (''no-VOMBR'') ; December : décembre (''deh-SOMBR'') ===Seasons=== ; spring : le printemps (''luh PRAH(N)-toh(m)'') ; summer : l'été (''LAY-tay'') ; autumn : l'automne (''loh-TOMNUH'') ; winter : l'hiver (''LEE-vair'') ===Holidays=== [[File:FréjusPlageSaint-Aygulf.jpg|thumb|300px|France has many beaches, and they are popular destinations during ''les vacances d'été'']] ; Enjoy your holiday/vacation! : Bonnes vacances ! (''bon vah-KOH(N)S'') ; Happy holidays! (festival) : Bonnes fêtes ! (''bon fet'') ; Happy birthday! : Joyeux anniversaire ! (''ZHWY-yeuz-AN-ee-vair-SAIR'') ; Happy New Year! : Bonne année ! (''BON-a-NAY'') ; New Year's Day : le jour de l'an (''luh zhoor duh lah(n)'') ; Shrove Tuesday : le mardi gras (''luh MAR-dee grah'') ; Easter : les Pâques (''lay pak'') ; Passover : la Pâque juive / le Pessa'h (''lah pak zh-WEEV'' / ''luh pess-AKH'') ; Ramadan : le Ramadan (''luh RAH-mah-doh(n)'') (the other Muslim festivals are also called by their Arabic names) ; Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (24 June, Quebec) : la Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste (''lah fet duh lah sa(n)-JOH(N)-bap-TEEST'') ; Canada Day (1 July) : la Fête du Canada (''lah fet duu CA-na-DA'') ; Bastille Day (14 July, France) : le Quatorze Juillet / la Fête Nationale (''luh kat-ORZ zh-WEE-eh / lah fet nah-syon-NAL'') ; summer holidays : les vacances d'été (''lay vah-KOH(N)S DAY-tay'') ; school holidays : les vacances scolaires (''lay vah-KOH(N)S skoh-LAIR'') ; beginning of the school year : la rentrée (''lah roh(n)-TRAY'') ; Thanksgiving (2nd Su of Oct, Canada) : l'Action de grâce (''LAC-sio(n)-duh-GRASS'') ; All Saints' Day : la Toussaint (''lah TOO-sahn'') ; Hanukkah : Hanoucca (''ah-NOO-kah'') ; Christmas : Noël (''noh-EL'') ; Merry Christmas! : Joyeux Noël ! (''ZHWY-euh noh-EL!'') ===Colours=== Like in other Romance languages, nouns in French are either "masculine" or "feminine"; adjectives vary accordingly. For instance, a lady may be ''blonde'' or ''brunette'' while a gentleman with hair of the corresponding hue is ''blond'' or ''brunet''. ; black : noir/noire (''nwahr'') ; white : blanc/blanche (''blahng/blahnsh'') ; grey : gris/grise (''gree/greez'') ; red : rouge (''roozh'') ; blue : bleu/bleue (''bluh'') ; yellow : jaune (''zhone'') ; green : vert/verte (''verre/vehrt'') ; orange : orange (''oh-RAHNZH'') ; purple : violet/violette (''vee-oh-LEH/vee-oh-LET'') ; brown : brun/brune (''bruh/bruhn''); marron (''MAH-rohn'') ; pink : rose (''roz'') ===Adjectives=== Like in other Romance languages, nouns in French are either "masculine" or "feminine"; adjectives vary accordingly. ; Good :Bon (m.) (''bo(n)'') / Bonne (f.) (''bon'') ; Bad : Mauvais (''MO-vay'') / Mauvaise (f.) (''MO-vez'') ; Big : Grand (m.) (''gro(n)'') / Grande (f.) (''grond'') ; Small : Petit (m.) (''puh-TEE'') / Petite (f.) (''puh-TEET'') ; Hot : Chaud (m.) (''sho'') / Chaude (f.) (''shode'') [[File:Mont Blanc Gipfelpano.jpg|thumb|300px|The summit of [[Mont Blanc]], at about 4800 m above sea level, is ''froid toute l'année'']] ; Cold : Froid (m.) (''frwah'') / Froide (f.) (''frwahd'') ; Fast : Rapide / Vite (both genders) (''rah-PEED / veet'') ; Slow : Lent (m.) (''lo(n)'') / Lente (f.) (''lont'') ; Expensive : Cher (m.) (''shair'') / Chère (f.) (''shairr'') ; Cheap : Bon marché (both genders) (''bo(n) mar-SHAY'') ; Rich : Riche (both genders) (''reesh'') ; Poor : Pauvre (both genders) (''pov-ruh'') ===Transportation=== [[File:SNCF TGV Duplex Viaduc de Cize - Bolozon.jpg|thumb|300px|France's famous TGV (''train à grande vitesse'' - high speed train) crossing the Ain river]] ; car : voiture / char (Quebec) (''vwa-TOOR / shar'' ) ; motorbike : moto (''MO-to'') ; bicycle : vélo / bicyclette (Quebec) (''VAY-lo / BEE-see-KLET'') ; bus : bus (most common) / autobus (''boos / o-to-BOOS'') ; coach : car / autocar (''car / o-to-CAR'') ; train : train (''trahn'') ; underground / subway : métro (MAY-tro ) ; tram / streetcar / light rail : tramway (''TRAM-way'') ; boat : bateau (''BA-to'') ; ship : navire (''NA-veer'') ; ferry : ferry / car-ferry / traversière (Quebec) (''FEH-ree / car FEH-ree / tra-VAIR-see-AIR'') ; plane : avion (''AH-vyohn'') ; flight : vol (''vole'') ====Bus and train==== ; How much is a ticket to _____? : Combien coûte le billet pour _____ ? (''kom-BYAN koot luh bee-YEH poor'') ; One ticket to _____, please. : Un billet pour _____, s'il vous plaît. (''ung bee-YEH poor ____ seel voo pleh'') ; Where does this train/bus go? : Où va ce train/bus ? (''OO va suh trahn/boos?'') ; Where is the train/bus to _____? : Où est le train/bus pour _____ ? (''OO eh luh trahn/buus poor ____'') ; Does this train/bus stop in _____? : Ce train/bus s'arrête-t-il à _____ ? (''suh trahn/buus sah-reh-tuh-TEEL ah _____'') ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : Quand part le train/bus pour _____? (''kahn par luh trahn/buus poor _____'') ; When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : Quand ce train/bus arrivera à _____ ? (''kahn suh trahn/buus ah-ree-vuh-RAH ah _____'') ; the/this shuttle : la/cette navette (''lah/set nah-VET'') ; a one-way ticket: un aller simple (''uhn ah-LAY SAM-pluh'') ; a return/round trip ticket: un aller-retour (''uhn ah-LAY ruh-TOOR'') ; I would like to rent a car. : J'aimerais louer une voiture. (''ZHEM-eu-ray LOO-way oon VWA-tuur'') ====Directions==== ; Where is / are _____? : Où se trouve / trouvent _____ ? / (''oo suh tr-OO-v _____'') ; ...the train station? : ...la gare ? (''lah gahr'') ; ...the bus station? : ...la gare routière ? (''lah gahr roo-TYEHR'') ; ...the nearest metro station? : ...la station de métro la plus proche ? (''lah stah-syon duh MAY-tro lah ploo prosh'') ; ...the airport? : ...l'aéroport ? (''lehr-oh-POR?'') ; ...the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy? : ...l'ambassade américaine/australienne/britannique/canadienne ? (''lahm-bah-SAHD a-may-ree-KEN / os-trah-lee-EN / bree-tah-NEEK / ka-na-DYEN'') ; ...the (nearest) hotel? :...l'hôtel (le plus proche) ? (''loh-tel luh ploo prohsh'') ; ...the town / city hall? : ...l'hôtel de ville / la mairie ? (''loh-tel duh veel / lah mair-REE'') ; ...the police station? : ...le commissariat de police ? (''luh com-mee-SAHR-ee-ah duh po-LEES'') ; ...the tourist information centre? : ...le syndicat d'initiative ? / l'office de tourisme ? / le bureau touristique ? (Quebec) (''luh SAN-dee-kah dee-NEE-sya-teev'' / ''loff-EES duh toor-REEZ-muh'' / ''luh BOOR-oh toor-REES-teek'') ; ...the nearest bank / ATM? : ...la banque la plus proche ? (''lah bonk lah ploo prosh'') / le distributeur de billets le plus proche ?(''luh dees-tree-buu-TEUR duh bee-YAY luh ploo prosh'') / le guichet automatique le plus proche? (Quebec) (''luh GEE-shay oh-toh-mah-TEEK luh ploo prosh'') ; ...the nearest petrol/gas station ? : ...la station-service la plus proche ? (''lah sth-syon-SAIR-vees lah pluu prosh'') ; ...the market? :...les halles ? (city or large town) / le marché ? (small town or village) (''layz AL-uh'' / ''luh MAR-shay'') ; ...the beach? : ...la plage ? (''lah plaazh'') ; ...the best bars? :...les meilleurs bars ? (''leh meh-YUHR bahr'') ; ...the best restaurants? : ...les meilleurs restaurants ? (''leh meh-YUHR res-toh-RO(N)'') ; _____ Street : la rue _____ (''lah RUU'') e.g. ''rue de l'Église, rue Victor Hugo, rue de Rivoli...'' ; Please could you show me it on the map? : S'il vous plaît, pourriez-vous me l'indiquer sur la carte ? (''SEE-voo-PLEH POO-ree-yeh-voo muh la(n)-DEE-keh syoor la cart'' ; Is it far? : C'est loin ? (''seh lwa(n)'') ; No, it's quite close. :Non, c'est tout proche. (''No(n) seh too prohsh'') ; Straight on : tout droit (''too drwah'') ; turn right : tournez à droite (''TOOR-neh a drwaht'') ; turn left : tournez à gauche (''TOOR-neh a gohsh'') ; towards the... : vers le / la / les... (''vehr luh'') ; past the... : après que vous passiez le / la / les... (''ap-REH kuh voo PASS-see-yeh luh / la / leh'') ; before the... : avant que vous arriviez au / à la / aux (''av-O(N) kuh vooz-a-REEV-ee-yeh o / a la / o'') ; next to the... : à côté du / de la / des (''a COH-teh duu / duh la / deh'') ; opposite the... : en face du / de la / des (''o(n) fass duu / duh la / deh'') ; follow : suivre : (''sweevr'') ; the north : le nord (''luh nor'') ; the east : l'est (''lest'') ; the south : le sud (''luh suud'') ; the west : l'ouest (''loo-WEST'') ; the (next) exit : la (prochaine) sortie (''lah pro-SHEN SOR-tee'') ; here : ici (''ee-SEE'') ; there : là(-bas/-haut) (lah (BAH / OH) ; Watch out for... : Repérez... (''ruh-PAIR-ray luh / lah / lay'') ; ...the road : ...la route (''lah root'') ; ...the street : ...la rue (''lah ruu'') ; ...the intersection : ...le carrefour (''luh car-FOOR'') ; ...the bend : ...le virage (''luh vee-RAAZH'') ; ...the slope : ... la pente (''lah po(n)t'') ; ...the traffic lights : ...les feux (''lay fuh'') ; ...the roundabout : ...le rond-point (''luh ro(n)-pwa(n)'') ; ...the motorway : ...l'autoroute (''loh-to-ROOT'') ; ...the railway : ...le chemin de fer (''luh shuh-MA(N) duh fehr'') ; ...the level crossing : ...le passage à niveau (''luh pah-SAAZH-ah-NEE-vo'') ; ...the bridge : ... le pont (''luh po(n)'') ; ...the tunnel : ... le tunnel (''luh tuu-nell'') ; ...the toll booth : le péage (''luh pay-ahzh'') ; queue : bouchon (''boo-sho(n)'') ; roadworks : travaux (''trah-vo'') ; road closed : route barrée (''root BAH-ray'') ; diversion : déviation (''day-vee-ah-SYO(N)'') ; give way / yield : cédez le passage (''SAY-day luh pah-SAAZH'') ====Taxi==== [[File:20151107 lyon236.jpg|thumb|300px|Taxi in Lyon]] ; Taxi! : Taxi ! (''tahk-SEE!'') ; Take me to _____, please. : Déposez-moi à _____, je vous prie. (''DAY-poh-zay-MWAH ah _____, zhuh voo PREE'') ; How much does it cost to get to _____? : Combien ça coûte d'aller à _____ ? (''kahm-BYENG suh-LA koo-TEEL dah-LAY ah _____?'') ; Take me there, please. : Amenez-moi là, je vous prie. (''AH-muh-nay-mwah LAH, zhuh voo PREE'') ; I want to get out here. : Je veux descendre ici. (''zhuh vuh duh-SO(N)D-rr EE-SEE'') ; Thank you! Keep the change. : Merci ! Gardez la monnaie. (''MERR-see GARR-day lah moh-NAY'') ===Lodging=== [[File:Hôtel du Palais de Biarritz.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Hotel du Palais in [[Biarritz]]]] ; Bed and breakfast : Chambres d'hôte (''SHAHM-bruh dote'') ; Campsite : Camping (''CAHM-ping'') ; Hotel : Hôtel (''OH-tel'') ; Self-catering cottage / holiday rental : Gîte / Location de vacances (''zheet / lo-cah-syo(n) duh vah-CAHNS'') ; (Youth) hostel : Auberge (de jeunesse) (''oh-BAIRZH duh zheuh-NESS'') ; Do you have any rooms available? : Avez-vous des chambres libres ? (''ah-veh VOO day SHAHM-bruh leeb'') ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : Combien coûte une chambre pour une personne/deux personnes ? (''com-BYA(N) coot uun SHAHM-bruh poor uun PAIR-son / duh PAIR-son'') ; Does the room come with... : Dans la chambre, y a-t-il... (''dah(n) la SHAHM-bruh, ee-ya-tee'') ; ...bedsheets? : ...des draps de lit ? (''...day dra duh lee?'') ; ...a bathroom? : ...une salle de bain ? (''...uun sal duh bah(n)?'') ; ...a telephone? : ...un téléphone ? (''...u(n) teh-leh-fone?'') ; ...a TV? : ...une télévision ? (''...uun teh-leh-VEEZ-yo(n)?'') ; ...a refrigerator? : ...un réfrigérateur / un frigo ? (''...u(n) ray-FREEZH-ay-rah-teur / u(n) FREE-go''?) ; ...a kettle? : ...une bouilloire ? (''...uun boo-WEE-wah?'') [[File:Bungalows la salamandre à foulpointe.JPG|thumb|300px|Bungalows in Foulpointe, [[Madagascar]]]] ; May I see the room first? : Pourrais-je voir la chambre ? (''poo-RAY zhuh vwaah la SHAHM-bruh?'') ; Do you have anything quieter? : Avez-vous une chambre plus tranquille ? (''ah-veh VOO uun SHAHM-bruh ploo trahn-KEE?'') ; ...bigger? : ...plus grande ? (''ploo grahnd?'') ; ...cleaner? : ...plus propre? (''ploo prop?'') ; ...cheaper? : ...moins chère? (''mwahn shair?'') ; OK, I'll take it. : Bon, je la prends. (''bo(n), zhuh lah proh(n)'') ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : Je compte rester pour _____ nuits. (''zhuh compt REH-stay poor _____ nwee'') ; Can you suggest another hotel? : Pourriez-vous me suggérer un autre hôtel ? (''poo-REE-ay voo muh soo-ZHAY-ray u(n) OH-truh OH-tel ?'') ; Do you have a safe? : Avez-vous un coffre-fort ? (''ah-veh VOO u(n) COFF-ruh-FOR?'') ; ...lockers? : ...un vestiaire ? (''u(n) ves-tee-AIR?'') ; Is breakfast/supper included? : Le petit-déjeuner/le dîner est-il compris ? (''luh puh-TEE DAY-zhuh-nay / luh DEE-nay eh-TEE com-PREE?'') ; What time is breakfast/supper? : À quelle heure est servi le petit-déjeuner/le dîner ? (''ah kell euhrr eh SAIR-vee luh puh-TEE DAY-zhuh-nay / luh DEE-nay?'') ; Please clean my room. : Veuillez faire le ménage. (''vuh-YEH fair luh MEH-naazh'') ; Can you wake me at _____? : Pourriez-vous me réveiller à _____? (''poo-REE-ay voo muh REH-veh-yeh ah _____? '') ; You have a bedbug / cockroach / fly / mouse infestation here. : Vous êtes envahi par des punaises / blattes / mouches / souris ici. (''voo ZET O(N)-vah-YEE duh poo-NEZ / blat / moosh / soo-REE ee-see'') ; I want to check out. : Je voudrais régler la note. (''zhuh VOO-dray REH-glay lah note'') ===Money=== ; Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : Acceptez-vous les dollars américains/australiens/canadiens ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO leh doh-LAHR ah-may-ree-KANG/aws-trah-LYAHNG/kah-nah-DYAHNG?'') ; Do you accept British pounds? : Acceptez-vous les livres Sterling ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO leh leevr stehr-LING?'') ; Do you accept euros? : Acceptez-vous les euros ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO lehz-OO-roh'') ; Do you accept credit cards? : Acceptez-vous les cartes de crédit ? (''ahk-sep-tay VOO leh kahrt duh kray-DEE?'') ; Can you change it (the money) for me? : Pouvez-vous me le faire changer ? (''poo-vay-VOO muh luh fehr SHAHNZHAY?'') ; Where can I get it (the money) changed? : Où puis-je le faire changer ? (''oo PWEEZH luh fehr SHAHNZHAY?'') ; Can you change a traveler's check for me? : Pouvez-vous me faire le change sur un chèque de voyage ? (''poo-vay-VOO muh fehr luh SHAHNZH suur ung shek duh vwoy-AHZH?'') ; Where can I get a traveler's check changed? : Où puis-je changer un chèque de voyage ? (''oo PWEEZH shahng-ZHAY ung shek duh vwoy-AHZH?'') ; What is the exchange rate? : Quel est le taux de change ? (''KELL eh luh TAW duh SHAHNZH?'') ; Where can I find a cash point / ATM? : Où puis-je trouver un distributeur de billets ? (''oo PWEEZH troo-VAY ung dees-tree-buu-TEUR duh bee-YAY?'') ===Eating=== [[File:Belon oysters at Belon river, France.jpg|thumb|300px|Belon oysters]] ; A table for one / two. : Une table pour une personne / deux personnes. (''uun TAH-bluh poor oon PAIR-son / duh PAIR-son'') ; I'd like to reserve a table for tonight/tomorrow. : Je voudrais réserver une table pour ce soir/demain. (''zhuh voo-DREH REH-sair-VEH uun TAH-bluh poor suh SWAAH / duh-MAHN(G)'') ; set menu : menu (''muh-NUU'') ; à la carte : à la carte (''ah lah KAHRT'') ; the dish of the day : le plat du jour (''luh PLA duu ZHOOR'') ; serves food all day : service continu (''SAIR-vees con-tee-NOO'') ; For here or to go? : Sur place ou à emporter ? (''syoor PLAS oo AH om-POR-tay?'') ; breakfast : '''France:''' petit-déjeuner (''ptee-day-zheu-NAY''); '''Switzerland/Belgium/Canada''': déjeuner (''day-zheu-NAY'') ; lunch : '''France''': déjeuner (''day-zheu-NAY''); '''Elsewhere''': dîner (''dee-NAY'') ; dinner/supper : '''France''': dîner (''dee-NAY''); '''Elsewhere''': souper (''soo-PAY'') ; I would like _____. : Je voudrais _____. (''zhuh voo-DREH _____'') ; something local : un plat typique (de la région) (''uhn pla tee-PEEK (duh lah RAY-zhyong)'') ; I would like a dish containing _____. : Je voudrais un plat avec _____. (''zhuh voo-DREHZ ung plaht ah-VEK _____'') ; meat : de la viande (''duh lah vee-AWND'') ; chicken : du poulet / de la volaille (''duu poo-LEH / duh lah voh-LIE'') : Note: ''volaille'' literally means "poultry", but nearly always means "chicken" on menus ; ; turkey: de la dinde (''duh lah DAND'') ; duck : du canard (''duu can-AR'') ; lamb : de l'agneau (''duh LAN-yo'') ; pork : du porc / du cochon (''duu POHR''/''duu coh-SHONG''). ; ham : du jambon (''duu zhahng-BONG'') ; beef : du bœuf (''duu BUFF'') {{infobox|Quelle cuisson ?|A common question when ordering meat (especially, but not only, steak) is how long you want it cooked for: rare, medium, or well done? Simple enough, you might think. But if you're from an English-speaking country, then as a general rule of thumb, you'll find that if you ask for what you're used to at home, the meat will be rarer than you'd like. Therefore, it's worth getting to know these terms: * '''Bleu''' – "Blue", almost raw, meat that is cooked for less than a minute each side. * '''Saignant''' – "Bloody", i.e. very rare, but cooked slightly longer than a ''bleu'' steak. * '''À point''' – "Perfectly cooked", and the most popular among the French, but still rare by British or American standards. * '''Bien cuit''' – "Well cooked", but not well done. More like medium, with pink on the inside, though there should be no blood. * '''Très bien cuit''' – This should get you a "well done" steak that is totally cooked through. ''Mais, attention !'' If chef is not used to catering to ''les Anglo-Saxons'', he might just overdo it and give you a plate of leather.}} ; steak : du steak / du bifteck (''duu stek / duu BEEF-tek'') ; sausage : des saucisses (hot) / du saucisson (cold) (''deh saw-SEESS / duu saw-see-SON'') ; game: du gibier (''duu ZHI-bee-ay'') : Note: ''gibier'' may also mean specifically venison ; boar : du sanglier (''duu sahng-GLYAY'') ; venison : du cerf / du chevreuil / de la venaison (''duu SEHR / duu shev-REUY / duh lah vu-NAY-so(n)'') ; rabbit: du lapin (''duu lap-ANG'') ; fish : du poisson (''duu pwa-SONG'') ; salmon : du saumon (''duu saw-MONG'') ; tuna : du thon (''duu TONG'') ; whiting : du merlan (''duu mehr-LANG'') ; cod : de la morue (''duh lah moh-RUU'') ; seabass : du loup (de mer) / du bar (''duu LOO (duh MAIR) / duu BARR'') ; seafood : des fruits de mer (''deh frwee duh MEHR''); literally: "fruits of the sea" ; dulse : de la dulse (''duh lah DUULS'') ; lobster : du homard (''duu oh-MAR''), de la langouste (''duh lah lan-goost'') (rock lobster) ; clams : des palourdes (''deh pah-LOORD'') ; oysters : des huîtres (''dez WEETR'') ; mussels : des moules (''deh MOOL'') ; scallops : des coquilles Saint-Jacques (''deh kok-EE-sah(n)-ZHAK'') [[File:Marchés des Producteurs de Pays 11 16 12.jpg|thumb|300px|Escargots at a farmers market in Paris]] ; snails : des escargots (''dez es-car-GOH'') ; frogs' legs : des cuisses de grenouille (''deh gruh-NOOEY'') ; cheese : du fromage (''duu froh-MAHZH'') ; cow's cheese : du fromage de lait de vache (''duu froh-MAHZH duh leh duh vash'') ; goat's / sheep's cheese : du fromage de chèvre / de brebis (''duu froh-MAHZH duh SHEV-ruh / duh bruh-BEE'') ; eggs : des œufs (''dehz UH'') ; one egg : un œuf (''un UF'') ; (fresh) vegetables : des légumes (frais) (''deh lay-guum (FREH)'') ; onions : des oignons (''DEZ-on-yon'') ; carrots : des carottes (''deh kah-ROT'') ; peas : des (petits) pois (''deh (PUH-tee) PWAH'') ; broccoli : du brocoli (''duu broh-COLEE'') ; sweetcorn : du maïs (''duu my-YEES'') ; mushrooms : des champignons (''deh SHAM-pee-nyon'') ; cabbage : du chou (''duu shoo'') ; spinach : des épinards (''DEZ-ep-ee-NARR'') ; green / French beans : des haricots verts (''DEZ-ah-REE-ko VAIRR'') ; white / haricot beans : des haricots blancs (''DEZ-ah-REE-ko BLAWNG'') ; Brussels sprouts : des choux de Bruxelles (''deh shoo duh bruu-SEL'') ; lentils : des lentilles (''deh lon-TEE'') ; potatoes : des pommes de terre (''deh POM-duh-TAIR'') ; French fries : des frites (''day freet'') ; (fresh) fruit : des fruits (frais) (''deh frwee (freh)'') ; an apple : une pomme (''uun pom'') ; a pear : une poire (''uun pwarr'') ; a plum : une prune (''uun pruun'') ; a peach : une pêche (''uun pesh'') ; grapes : des raisins (''deh RAY-zan'') ; cherries : des cerises (''deh suh-REEZ'') ; an orange : une orange (''uun oh-RAWNZH'') ; a banana : une banane (''uun bah-NAN'') ; a mango : une mangue (''uun mawngg'') ; a lemon : un citron (''un SEE-trong'') ; a lime : un citron vert / un limon / une lime (''un SEE-trong vair / un LEE-mon / uun leem'') ; berries : des fruits rouges (''deh frwee roozh'') ; strawberries : des fraises (''deh frez'') ; raspberries : des framboises (''deh from-BWAHZ'') ; blackberries : des mûres (''deh muur'') ; blueberries : des myrtilles (''deh MIRR-tee'') ; blackcurrant : des cassis (''deh kah-SEES'') ; a salad : une salade (''uun sah-LAHD'') ; cucumber : du concombre (''duu cong-COMBRR'') ; tomatoes : des tomates (''deh toh-MAT'') ; lettuce : de la laitue (''duh lah LEH-tuu'') ; red / yellow / green pepper : du poivron rouge / jaune / vert (''duu PWAH-vrong roozh / zhoan / vairr'') ; spring onions : des oignons nouveaux (''DEZ-on-YONG NOO-vo'') ; radish : du radis (''duu RAH-dee'') ; chives : de la ciboulette (''duh lah SEE-boo-LET'') ; mixed herbs : des herbes de Provence (''dez-AIRB-duh-pro-VAWNSS'') ; bread : du pain (''duu pang'') ; toast : des toasts (''deh toast'') ; (milky) coffee : du café (au lait) (''duu kah-FAY (oh LEH)'') : Note: Coffee will always be served black unless you ask for milk ; tea : du thé (''duu tay'') ; juice : du jus (''duu zhuu'') ; milk : du lait (''duu leh'') ; fresh / sparkling water : de l'eau plate / gazeuse (''duh loh PLAT / gah-ZUHZ'') : Note: If you ask for "water", you will get mineral water. To specify "tap water", say "eau du robinet" (''OH duu roh-bee-NEH'') or ask for a jug of water "une carafe d'eau" (''uun cahr-AHF doh''). ; (draught) beer : de la bière (pression) (''duh lah byehr'') ; red / white / rosé wine : du vin rouge / blanc / rosé (''duu vang roozh / blahng / ro-ZAY'') ; May I have some _____? : Puis-je avoir _____ ? (''pweezh ah-VWAHR duu'') ; salt : du sel (''duu sel'') ; black pepper : du poivre (''duu pwavr'') ; garlic : de l'ail (''duh lie'') ; butter : du beurre (''duu bur'') ; olive oil : de l'huile d'olive (''duh LWEEL-doh-LEEV'') ; ketchup/mayonnaise/mustard/alioli : du ketchup / de la mayonnaise / de la moutarde / de l'aïoli (''duu KECH-up / duh lah MIE-oh-NEZ / duh lah MOO-tard / duh LIE-oh-lee'') ; Excuse me, waiter / waitress? : S'il vous plaît, monsieur / madame ? (''seell voo PLEH muh-SYUH/ma-DAHM'') : Note: "garçon" (boy) is offensive and should be avoided. ; I'm finished. : J'ai terminé. (''zhay TAIRH-mee-NAY'') ; It was delicious. : C'était délicieux. (''seh-tay de-li-SYUH'') ; Can you please clear the plates? : Pouvez-vous débarrasser la table, s'il vous plaît ? (''poovay voo DEH-bahr-a-seh lah tah-bluh seel voo play'') ; The check (bill), please. : L'addition, s'il vous plaît. (''lah-dee-SYOHN seel voo play'') ====Dietary requirements==== [[File:20170329 ratatouille-fin-cuisson.jpg|thumb|300px|Ratatouille]] ; I am _____. : Je suis _____. (''zhuh swee'') ; ...vegan : végétalien (''vey-zhey-tal-YENG'') (m); végétalienne (''vey-zhey-tal-YEN'') (f) ; ...vegetarian : végétarien (''vey-zhey-tar-YENG'') (m); végétarienne (''vey-zhey-tar-YEN'') (f) ; I do not eat eggs, milk, or cheese. : Je ne mange pas d'œufs, de lait ni de fromage. (''zhuh nuh monzh pah dooh, duh leh, nee duh froh-MAHZH'') ; I do not eat meat, chicken, or pork. : Je ne mange pas de viande, de poulet, ni de porc. (''zhuh nuh monzh pah duh vee ahnd, duh poo-LEH, nee duh pohr'') ; I do not eat _____. : Je ne mange pas_____. (''zhuh nuh monzh pah'') ; ...honey. : de miel. (''duh mee ehl'') ; ...animal products. : de produits animaux. (''duh pro-dweez-ah-nee-mo'') ; ...dairy. : de laitage. (''duh leh tazh'') ; ...wheat. : de blé. (''duh blay'') ; ...seafood. : de fruits de mer. (''duh frwee duh MEHR'') ; ...nuts. : de noix (''duh nwaah'') ; ...gluten : de gluten (''duh gluu-TEN'') ; I do eat _____. : Je mange _____. (''zhuh monzh'') ; ...grains. : des céréales. (''deh say-ray-ahl'') ; ...vegetables. : des légumes. (''deh lay-guum'') ; ...beans. : des fèves. (''deh fehv'') ; ...fruit : des fruits. (''deh frwee'') ; I only eat kosher / halal food. : Je ne mange que de la nourriture kasher (casher, cachère) / halal. (''zhuh nuh monzh kuh duh la noo-ri-toor CASH-eh / alal'') ; I am allergic to... : Je suis allergique à... (''zhuh sweez ah-lair-ZHEEK ah...'') ===Bars=== [[File:Chai-barrique.JPG|thumb|300px|Cognac barrels]] ; A table for one / two. : Une table pour une personne / deux personnes. (''uun TAH-bluh poor oon PAIR-son / duh PAIR-son'') ; Do you serve alcohol? : Servez-vous des boissons alcoolisées ? (''sair-vay VOO day bwa-songz al-co-ol-ee-SAY'') ; Is there table service? : Est-ce que vous servez à la table ? (''ess-kuh voo ser-VAYZ ah lah TAHBL?'') ; A beer/two beers, please. : Une bière/deux bières, s'il vous plaît. (''uun BYEHR/deuh BYEHR, seel voo PLEH'') ; A draught beer, please. : Une pression, s'il vous plaît (''uun pres-SYON, seel voo PLEH'') ; A glass of red/white/rosé/sparkling wine, please. :Un verre de vin rouge/blanc/rosé/pétillant, s'il vous plaît. (''an ver duh van rooj / blan / ro-ZAY / PET-ee-YAUN, seel voo PLEH'') ; A quarter litre of beer, please : Un demi, s'il-vous-plaît. (''an deh-mee, seel voo PLEH'') ; A pint, please. : Une pinte, s'il vous plaît. (''uun pannt, seel-voo-PLEH'') ; A bottle, please. : Une bouteille, s'il vous plaît. (''uun boo-tay, seel voo PLEH'') ; _____ (''spirit'') and _____ (''mixer''), please. :_____ et _____, s'il vous plaît. (''____ eh ____, seel voo PLEH'') ; whisky : whisky (m.) (''wee-skee'') ; vodka : vodka (f.) (''VOD-kah'') ; rum : rhum (m.) (''room'') ; cider : cidre (m.) (''seedr'') ; water : eau (f.) (''oh'') ; club soda : soda (m.) (''so-dah'') ; tonic water : Schweppes (m. or f.) (''shwep'') ; orange juice : jus d'orange (m.) (''joo d'or-AHNJ'') ; Coke (''soda'') : Coca (m.) (''koh-KAH'') ; One more, please. : Un/une autre, s'il vous plaît. (''uhn / uun OH-truh, seel-voo-PLEH'') ; Another round, please. : Un autre pour la table, s'il vous plaît. (''ahn OH-truh poor la tah-bluh, seel voo PLEH'') ; When is closing time? : À quelle heure fermez-vous ? (''ah kell EUR fer-MAY voo'') ===Shopping=== [[File:Marigot Market Saint Martin.JPG|thumb|300px|Marigot Market, [[Saint Martin]]]] ; Do you have this in my size? : Avez-vous ceci dans ma taille ? (''AH-veh-VOO say-SEE dan sma THAI'') ; How much (is this)? : Combien (ça) coûte ? (''COMM-bee-yan (SAH) coot'') ; That's too expensive. : C'est trop cher. (''say-TRO-shair'') ; Would you take _____? : Pourriez-vous accepter _____ ? (''poor-yay-VOOZ ahk-sep-TAY'') ; expensive : cher (''shehr'') ; cheap :bon marché (''bong mar-SHAY'') (Note: this doesn't change with the gender or number of the noun. ''Elles sont bon marché'' is correct''.'') ; I can't afford it. : Je n'ai pas les moyens. (''zhe nay pah leh mwah-YAHNG'') ; I don't want it. : Je n'en veux pas. (''zhe nahng veu pah'') ; You're cheating me. : Vous me trompez. (''voo muh TROM-pay'') ; I'm not interested. : Je ne suis pas intéressé. (''zhen swee pahz-ann-tay-ress-SAY'') ; OK, I'll take it. : D'accord, je le/la prends. (''dah-kor zhe luh/lah prahn'') ; Can I have a bag? : Pourrais-je avoir un sac ? (''poo-REHZH ah-VWAR ung sahk'') ; Do you ship (overseas)? : Livrez-vous (outre-mer/à l'étranger) ? (''leev-ray-VOO ootr-MEHR/ah lay-trahn-ZHAY'') ; I need... : J'ai besoin... (''zhay buh-ZWAHN'') ; ...toothpaste. : ...de dentifrice. (''duh dahn-tee-FREESS'') ; ...a toothbrush. : ...d'une brosse à dents. (''duun bross ah DAHN'') ; ...tampons. : ...de tampons. (''duh tahm-POHN'') ; ...soap. : ...de savon. (''duh sah-VOHN'') ; ...shampoo. : ...de shampooing. (''duh shahm-PWAHN'') ; ...pain reliever. (''e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen'') : ...d'un analgésique (''d'aspirine, d'ibuprofène'');. (''dun ah-nal-zhay-ZEEK (dahs-pee-REEN/dee-buu-proh-FEN)'') ; ...cold medicine. :...d'un médicament pour le rhume. (''dun may-dee-kah-MAHNG poor luh RUUM'') ; ...stomach medicine. :...d'un remède pour l'estomac. (''dun ray-MED poor less-toh-MAHK'') ; ...an antihistamine :...d'un antihistaminique (''dun on-tee-STAM-eek'') ; ...a razor. :...d'un rasoir. (''dun rah-ZWAR'') ; ...batteries. : ...de piles. (''duh PEEL'') ; ...a SIM card. : ...d'une carte SIM (''duun cahrrt seem'') ; ...an umbrella. (rain) : ...d'un parapluie. (''dun pah-ra-ploo-ee'') ; ...an umbrella. (sun) : ...d'une ombrelle. (''duun ohm-brehl'') ; ...sunblock lotion. : ...de crème solaire. (''duh crehm so-LEHR'') ; ...a postcard. : ...d'une carte postale. (''duun kahrt post-AL'') ; ...a postage stamp. : ...d'un timbre. (''dun TAHM(br)'') ; ...writing paper. : ...de papier à lettres. (''duh pap-YEH ah LEH-TR'') ; ...a pen. :...d'un stylo. (''dun STEE-loh'') ; ...English-language books. : ...de livres en anglais. (''duh LEE-vruh-zahn ahngh-LEH'') ; ...English-language magazines. : ...de revues en anglais. (''duh REH-voo-zahn ahngh-LEH'') ; ...an English-language newspaper. : ...d'un journal en anglais. (''dun zhoar-NAL ahn ahng-LEH'') ; ...a French-English dictionary. :...d'un dictionnaire français-anglais. (''dun deect-see-ohn-AIR frahn-SEH ahng-LEH'') ===Authority=== ; I haven't done anything wrong. : Je n'ai rien fait de mal. (''zhuh nay ree-AHN fay duh MAL'') ; It was a misunderstanding. : C'est une erreur. (''set uhn air-UR'') ; Where are you taking me? : Où m'emmenez-vous ? (''ooh mehm-en-EH voo'') ; Am I under arrest? : Suis-je en état d'arrestation ? (''SWEEZH ahn EH-tah dahr-es-ta-SYONG'') ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. (m) : Je suis un citoyen américain/australien/britannique/canadien. (''zhuh sweez uhn see-twa-YEN a-may-ree-CAN/os-trah-LYEN/bree-tah-NEEK/ka-na-DYEN'') ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. (f) : Je suis une citoyenne américaine/australienne/britannique/canadienne. (''zhuh sweez uhn see-twa-YEN a-may-ree-CAN/os-trah-LYEN/bree-tah-NEEK/ka-na-DYEN'') ; I want to speak to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy or consulate. : Je veux parler à l'ambassade ou au consulat américain/australien/britannique/canadien. (''ZHUH vuh pahr-LAY ah lahm-ba-SAHD oo oh kon-soo-LAHT a-may-ree-CAN/os-trah-lee-AHN/ahn-GLEH/ka-na-DYAN'') ; I want to speak to a lawyer. : Je voudrais parler à un avocat. (''ZHUH vood-RAY par-lehr ah uhn AH-vo-cah'') ; Can I just pay a fine now? : Pourrais-je simplement payer une amende ? (''poo-RAYZH sampl-MANG pay-AY yn ah-MAHND'') ; [offering bribe] Will you accept this in place of my fine? : Acceptez-vous ceci au lieu de mon amende ? (''accept-eh voo suh-see oh LOO duh mon ah-MAND'') : ''Note: Only consider attempting this in third world countries. ''Do not'' try to do this in European Francophone countries or in Canada as it will get you in worse trouble!'' {{guidephrasebook}} {{PartOfPhrasebook|Europe|Oceania|Africa|North America|South America}} 7c221hb7df8hgnyv4tf8xf1y6yj8zi2 0 12641 5298402 5294699 2026-06-25T12:03:25Z Ikan Kekek 36420 /* Cognates in English */ Flur is one I misunderstood until it was explained to me. 5298402 wikitext text/x-wiki :''For a phrasebook specifically about the German dialects spoken in Switzerland, see [[Swiss-German phrasebook]].'' {{pagebanner|Goethe Faust banner.jpg}} [[File:Legal status of German in the world.svg|thumb|500px|German Speaking Areas.]] '''German''' (''Deutsch'') is a Germanic language spoken by over 100 million people worldwide. It is the official and main language of [[Germany]], [[Austria]], and [[Liechtenstein]]. It is also an official language of [[Switzerland]], [[Luxembourg]] and [[Belgium]], and a national language in [[Namibia]]. German is also spoken by minorities in the French regions of [[Alsace]] and [[Lorraine]], in the northern Italian province of [[South Tyrol]], and in a small part of southern [[Denmark]]. Standard German (''Hochdeutsch'', or High German) is also generally spoken by many as a second language in much of [[Central Europe]], with small groups of native speakers as well due to the historical influence of Austria (the former [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]) and Germany over the region. Small isolated communities can be found elsewhere in the world, though their language may be far from standard German and interspersed with loanwords from other languages. ==Dialects== [[File: Continental West Germanic languages.png|thumb|275px|A rough division of the dialects of the German language.]] There are very strong accentual and dialectic differences in German-speaking countries. Despite forty years of East–West partition, virtually all important distinguishing marks between dialects scale from North to South rather than from East to West and isoglosses (lines separating different ways of saying the same word) are almost always aligned with parallels rather than meridians. A German from the north and one from the south of the country can have great difficulty understanding each other's dialects. A particularly striking mark of standard German and Southern dialects is the "High German consonant shift" that marks High German separate from all other Germanic languages, giving rise to words like "Apfel" (Appel in Low German, apple in English) "Pfirsich" (peach) "Kirche" (church), "machen" (maken in Low German, make in English) or "Kind" (child, pronounced with a hint of "ch" between the K and the i in the extreme South) that sound similar in Low German and all other Germanic languages but different in High German. Standard German, or '''Hochdeutsch''', is universally known and taught, and although not everyone speaks it well, it can be understood by most German speakers. "Broad" dialect has faced a lot of stigma in much of Germany throughout the twentieth century and with increasing media exposure, social and geographic mobility, many people haven't been taught any nonstandard dialect by their parents and hardly picked anything up from their peers. Slightly "colored" German however is still common and the expert will be able to pinpoint the region of origin even though communication isn't usually hindered by these aspects. Generally, the further south one travels, the broader the influence of dialect on standard speech, with the Main River as a rough "border" between the northern and southern German-speaking cultural worlds. In Switzerland a (slightly adjusted for local needs) standard form of High German was kept, but the local dialects have retained so much ground - even the evening news might conduct an interview in Swiss German - that some Swiss fear a loss of ''standard'' German proficiency, not the "death of dialect" bemoaned in Germany. Austria is in a middle position with a slightly divergent standard and dialectal usage that is closer to the standard than in Switzerland but further from it than in Germany. As a rule, one should not expect everyone (especially in the rural areas) in Alsace, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Austria, South Tyrol and Switzerland to speak standard German well, but a dialect instead. In Alsace most people prefer to speak French with outsiders, and do '''not''' consider their dialect to be German as such! Dialect, where still spoken, is very much for family and home. People in Alsace are often reluctant to speak High German with Germans! They are often less put off speaking their dialect to someone from Switzerland or Baden, due to the fact they are pretty much mutually intelligible. In the north of Germany, some people speak a related Germanic language called {{Lang|de|Plattdüütsch}} or '''Low German''' ({{Lang|de|Plattdeutsch}} in German). It is very similar to [[Dutch phrasebook|Dutch]]. Nearly all Platt speakers also speak German. The German spoken in [[Switzerland]] is referred to as {{Lang|de|Schwiizertüütsch}} ('''[[Swiss German phrasebook|Swiss German]]'''). There are various varieties of Swiss German depending on the region, and it is even widely used in the media, though news broadcasts are in standard German. Dialects are not usually used in the media in Germany, Austria or Liechtenstein except for regional programming. Thus, this is rare in the German speaking world, as "Hochdeutsch" is more or less the sole language of media outside Switzerland. Nevertheless, all German-speaking Swiss learn standard German in school, so unless you approach somebody really old who has never been to school, you'll be fine. The German dialects spoken in Vorarlberg (Austria), Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and Alsace (France) are related to Swiss German. '''Swiss Standard German''' ({{Lang|de|Schweizer Hochdeutsch}}) is not the same as Swiss German, but a variant of standard German used for writing and formal speech in Switzerland. It has a few spelling and vocabulary quirks, but is otherwise only recognizable as distinct from Austrian or German standard German to the trained eye. The letter {{Lang|de|''ß''}} is absent in both Swiss German and Swiss Standard German; being replaced with "ss". And for example, {{Lang|de|''Velo, Grüezi, parkieren''}} is not used in Germany; they will be {{Lang|de|''Fahrrad, hallo, parken''}}. Formal German in what was then East Germany also diverged in some points from West German, though never to the extent that Korean between the two Koreas diverged (North Korea and South Korea even use different terms for "Korea" in their official long form names) and many of the "East German" words fell out of use after reunification due to the thing they describe not existing or having been replaced by the Western counterpart. While dialects, particularly Saxon and Berlin-Brandenburgish still color East German speech, the GDR coinings are now mostly unused and unknown to the younger generation. These words are always labelled ''DDR'' or ''historisch'' in dictionaries. In the Italian South Tyrol, like in most of Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and southern Germany, most people speak a local dialect. However, standard German and Italian are both taught in the schools. The German spoken in South Tyrol is very similar to that of neighboring Austria and Bavaria to the north. Outside Europe, a dialect of German known as '''Pennsylvania Dutch''' is spoken by the Amish community in the [[United States of America|United States]]. A dialect of German is also spoken by the ethnic German community in [[Namibia]]. ==Pronunciation guide== German pronunciation is relatively straightforward, although spelling is somewhat more involved. ''Y'' and ''qu'' are uncommon in standard German, with close to 90% of the words using them being borrowed. ===Vowels=== {|class="wikitable" style="width: 100%;" |- style="color:black; background:lightgray; font-weight:bold;" || vowel || English equiv. || vowel || English equiv. || vowel || English equiv. |- | '''a''' {{IPA|a, ɐ}}|| like 'u' in "cup", 'a' in "target". In Austria, it sounds more like "au" in "Paul". || '''e''' {{IPA|eː, ə, ɛ}}|| like 'e' in "ten", or 'e' in "emotion"; a schwa at the end of words with 2 or more syllables || '''i''' {{IPA|iː, ɪ}}|| like 'i' in "bingo" |- | '''o''' {{IPA|oː, ɔ}}|| like 'oo' in "door", like 'o' in "mole" || '''u''' {{IPA|uː, ʊ}}|| like 'oo' in 'soon' || '''ä''' {{IPA|ɛ}} transcribed as ''ae'' || like 'e' in "ten"; same to ''e'' when being short |- | '''ö''' {{IPA|œ, øː}} transcribed as ''oe'' | like 'i' in "Sir" (not a sound in English) || '''ü''' {{IPA|yː, ʏ}} transcribed as ''ue''|| same to the French 'u' in "tu" and the letter in Hanyu Pinyin || '''y''' || same as 'ü', but also consonant "j" in words of foreign origin ("Yacht"), sometimes pronounced more akin to "i", in general "y" shows the most irregularities in pronunciation of all vowels |} ===Length of vowels=== A vowel is shortened when followed by a double consonant letters. A vowel is lengthened by a subsequent 'h', or by a double vowel, depending on the word. An exception is 'i', which is lengthened by a following 'e' or 'eh'. Examples: the ''h'' in ''Hahn'' makes the ''a'' long; the ''aa'' in ''Haar'' is also long, the ''e'' in ''Tier'' makes the ''i'' long. (See below for "Diphthongs".) In the Austrian and Bavarian dialect, vowel pronunciations are slightly longer and more pronounced. ===Consonants=== Consonants are pronounced quite strongly (except perhaps the 'r'). {|class="wikitable" style="width: 100%;" |- style="color:black; background:lightgray; font-weight:bold;" || Consonant || English equiv. || Consonant || English equiv. || Consonant || English equiv. |- | '''b''' || like 'b' in "bed" || '''c''' || like 'ts' in "bits" before 'i' and 'e'; like 'k' in "kid" otherwise "ck" ''usually'' shortens the vowel before<!--Mecklenburg is technically pronounced with a long e and some north German speakers still follow that older rule, but it is generally unknown--> || '''d''' || like 'd' in "dog" |- | '''f''' || like 'ph' in "phone" || '''g''' || like 'g' in "go"; like 'sh' in "shoot" but closer to the back of the throat when after an "i" at the end of a word || '''h''' || ; h : like 'h' in "help" |- | '''j''' || like 'y' in "yoga" || '''k''' || like 'c' in "cat" || '''l''' || like 'l' in "love" |- | '''m''' || like 'm' in "mother" || '''n''' || like 'n' in "nice" || '''p''' || like 'p' in "pig" |- | '''qu''' || like "kv" in "kvetch" or "bank vault" or like "qu" in "quest". "Q" is always used with "u" in German. || '''r''' || Like 'r' in "arm". Terminal 'r' becomes a vowel like 'a' in "hall" but with the hint of an 'r' sound. 'r' beginning a word or syllable is pronounced from the back of the throat, almost as in French. In southern Germany ([[Bavaria]]), Austria and Switzerland, the 'r' is rolled as in Spanish in all positions except the initial. || '''s''' || like 'z' in "haze" |- | '''v''' || like 'f' in "father"; in some words like 'v' in "victory" || '''w''' || like 'v' in "victory", ''never'' like 'wh' in "whisky" || '''x''' || like 'cks' in "kicks" |- | '''z''' || like 'ts' in "bits" || '''ß''' transcribed as ''ss'' || like 's' in "was" || || |} ===Common diphthongs and other digraphs=== Note: these combinations are not always used as diphthongs. At syllable boundaries and sometimes even in a syllable, they are spoken as separate vowels (e.g. ''soeben'' &mdash; ''zoh-AY-ben'') ; au : like 'ow' in "how" ; ae : transcription for 'ä' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs ; ah : like 'a' in "bar", longer than 'a'. ; {{Lang|de|äu}}: like 'oy' in "boy" ; ei : like 'i' in "wine" ; eu : like 'oy' in "boy" (with some exceptions, such as the German words ''Museum'' and ''Eureka'', in which all vowels are pronounced separately) ; eh : long 'e' ; ie : like 'ee' in "week", longer than 'i'. ; ieh : like 'ee' in "week", longer than 'i', fundamentally no difference to 'ie'. ; oe : transcription for 'ö' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs ; oh : similar to "oo" in "floor" ; ue : transcription for 'ü' or 'y' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs ; uh : like 'ou' in "youth" (without any hint of the "y" sound), longer than 'u'. ; ch after 'a', 'o' and 'u' : {{IPA|x}} like 'ch' in Scottish "loch", spoken in the throat, like 'j' in Spanish ; ch after 'i', 'e' and consonants : {{IPA|ç}} like 'h' in "huge" - many Germans do not perceive the two "ch" sounds to be different, but there ''is'' a difference between the "h" sound and the "ch" sound(s) ; ch at the beginning of a word: like 'ch' in "character"; in the North it is often pronounced like "sh" (e.g. China is /keena/ in Bavaria and /sheena/ in Hamburg) ; ck : like 'ck' in "blocking"; though some words have a long vowel preceding the ck - e.g. [[Mecklenburg Vorpommern|Mecklenburg]] is properly pronounced with a long e ; ng : like 'ng' in "singing", ''never'' like 'ng' in "finger" ; ph : like 'f' in "fish" ; sch : like 'sh' in "sheep" ; sp at the beginning of a word : like 'shp' in "fish pool" ; in the extreme north: like sp in sports ; ss : like 'ss' in "sass"; in contrast to 'ß', makes the preceding vowel shorter. Also used as transcription for 'ß' in URL or on foreign keyboards. ; st at the beginning of a word : like 'sht' in "ashtray" ; in the extreme north like "st" in stand ==Grammar== Many languages in northern Europe belong to the Germanic language family, although German grammar itself retains many conjugations and declensions from proto-Germanic that have since been lost by other language relatives such as English. This also means that speakers of another conservative Germanic language like [[Icelandic phrasebook|Icelandic]] will find many aspects of German grammar familiar. {| class="wikitable" align="right" ! style="color:black; background: #ffffff; color: #000000" height="17" | Pronouns ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | Singular ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | Plural |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | 1st Person | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''ich''' (ih) | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''wir''' (wir) |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" height="16;" | 2nd Person | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''du''' (du) (informal) <br>'''Sie''' (zee) (formal) | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''ihr''' (ir) |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" height="16;" | 3rd Person <br> | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''er''' (er) he <br> '''sie''' (zee) she <br> '''es''' (ez) it | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''sie''' (zee) |} {| class="wikitable" ! style="color:black; background: #ffffff; color: #000000" height="17" | Pronouns ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | Verb conjugation (suffix) |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | ich | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''-e''' |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | du | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''-st''' |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | er/sie/es | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''-t''' |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | wir | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''-en''' |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | ihr | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''-t''' |- ! style="color:black; background: #cedff2; color:#000000;" | Sie/sie | style="color:black; background: #faf5ff; color: black;" | '''-en''' |- |} In common with many other European languages, German has two "you" verb forms which denote the relationship the speaker has to someone else. To express familiarity, one uses the ''du'' form; for formality, the ''Sie'' form. As a general rule the ''Sie'' form is used when one might address someone as "Madam" or "Sir". If on first name terms, one uses the ''du'' form. However, last name and "du" and first name and "Sie" are not entirely unheard of, especially in the context of certain professions. Unless the person you talk to allows you to use "du" (''duzen''), use "Sie" - Germans as a whole are more cautious with friendly terms of address than - say - Americans and some people still address each other with "Sie" despite 20 years or more of working in the same office. German nouns are divided into 3 different genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. The article of a noun depends on the gender: ''der'' (m), ''die'' (f) and ''das'' (n). Unlike in English, inanimate objects frequently have, often arbitrarily, genders assigned to them; for example, ''Tisch'' (table) is male, ''Tür'' (door) is female, while ''Tor'' (gate) is neuter. While the gender of nouns denoting a person usually correspond to their natural gender (for example ''Mutter'' (mother) is female and ''Vater'' (father) is male), there are some exceptions. A grammatical rule that overrides this includes the diminutive ''-chen'' noun ending which will result in a neuter. For example, ''Mädchen'' (girl) is actually neuter, and not female as you'd expect. Third-person pronouns also depend on the grammatical gender of the subject: ''er'' (m), ''sie'' (f) and ''es'' (n). However, you will generally be understood if you use the wrong gender as there are only a few (obscure) nouns which mean different things depending on gender, and their correct meaning will always be clear from the context. {|class="wikitable" align="right" |- style="color:black; background:lightgray; font-weight:bold;" || Nominative article || Akkusativ || Dativ ||Genitiv |- | '''der''' (male)|| '''den'''|| '''dem'''||'''des''' |- | '''die''' (female)|| '''die'''||'''der'''||'''der''' |- | '''das''' (neutral)|| '''das'''||'''dem'''||'''des''' |- | '''die''' (plural)|| '''die'''||'''den'''||'''der''' |} Furthermore, German nouns are declined. There are four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), genitive (possessive), and dative (indirect object). Each varies depending on the noun's gender and whether it is singular or plural. In an example, :'''Ich gebe dem Mann den Apfel der Frau.''' :"I give the man the woman's apple." The '''Dativ''' article is invoked in the noun ''Mann'' to signify '''to whom''' I give the apple, while the '''Akkusativ''' article is invoked in the noun ''Apfel'' to signify '''what''' I am giving, and the '''Genitiv''' article is invoked in the noun ''Frau'' to signify '''whose''' apple I give. In common speech, particularly in certain dialects, the cases - particularly the Genitiv - have a tendency to "disappear" or be rendered in ways that would be seen as "wrong" from the standpoint of prescriptivist linguistics. A particularly common phenomenon is replacing the Genitiv with Dativ and "sein" (in this case a possessive meaning "his" or "its") or "ihr" (a possessive meaning "her"). A famous work on the (supposed or real) decline of the German language has thus been titled "Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod" - which could be rendered "The dative is the genitive his death" in English. All nouns, alongside the word Sie for you, always begin with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence. This is an important way to distinguish between some verbs and objects. It also arguably makes reading easier, though writing is somewhat complicated by the need to find out whether a verb or adjective is used in a substantivized form. Statement sentences generally follow the subject-verb-object structure alongside many other rules which are similar to English. Present tense and present continuous however, are not differentiated by default; one must add the word ''gerade'' or ''jetzt'' to specifically indicate that the action is happening now. :'''Ich esse (nicht) den roten Apfel''' : "I am (not) eating the red apple." In question sentences, the structure would typically be (question word)-verb-subject-noun. :'''Was essen Sie?''' :What are you eating? :'''Essen Sie den roten Apfel?''' :Are you eating the red apple? ===Addressing people=== By default, addressing adult strangers and superiors requires ''Sie'', unless they explicitly use ''du'' when talking to you. The latter is commonly reserved for close friends, children and family members, and people of younger age. Always use ''Sie'' when addressing police officers; the informal address may be taken as insulting otherwise, and the fine for insulting an officer is swingeing. ;Herr (pl., Herren): for men (equivalent to Mister in English). This word also means "master, owner, ruler, gentleman, sir" and is also a form of address for the Christian God (English equivalent: Lord). ;Frau (pl., Frauen): for women (equivalent to Ms. and Mrs. in English). This word means "woman" and is used in everyday speech for "wife". ;Dame (pl. Damen) (''DAH-me'', NOT ''deim''): the formal German word for a woman. The salutation "Ladies and Gentlemen" would be translated to "''meine Damen und Herren''". The term ''Fräulein'', which literally means Miss in English, is now deprecated and even considered condescending. "Frau" (woman) and "Mann" (man) are used in everyday speech to refer to spouses. Typically, the difference between "woman" or "wife" (or man vs husband) is signalled in the pronouns: "eine Frau" refers to a woman generically ("a woman just bought the last ticket"), but "seine Frau" (his wife) or "meine Frau" (my wife) refers to the relationship. If you need to emphasize the legal martial status, then use ''Ehefrau'' (wife; literally "married woman") and ''Ehemann'' (husband, literally "married man"). These are not forms of address, but ordinary nouns. As Germans are particularly fond of their academic degrees, a Mr. Schmidt with a doctoral degree or as a doctor would be called ''Herr Doktor Schmidt''. While this usage is more common in writing a letter than speaking, it is expected in a meeting with someone of a superior position, if they introduce themselves or are introduced with their full titles. Combining all of the above into an example, when Angela Merkel was chancellor, her husband could have introduce her as "meine Ehefrau, Frau Bundeskanzlerin Doktorin Angela Merkel" ("my wife, Ms. Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel"), and she could introduce him as "meine Ehemann, Herr Professor Doktor Joachim Sauer" (my husband, Mr. Prof. Dr. Joachim Sauer). ==Cognates in English== Due to their shared Germanic roots and common borrowings from Latin, Greek and French, English speakers will find many German words easy to understand (for example, ''Glas'' means "glass"; ''gut'' means "good"; ''kommen'' means "come"; ''hier'' means "here", ''Mann'' means "man" or "husband"; ''Schuhe'' are "shoes"; ''Finger'' is "finger"; ''Schule'' is "school", ''Hund'' is "dog" [cognate with "hound"]), and some are even identical, such as ''Hotel'', ''Baby'' and ''Job'' (except that they are capitalized, as are all nouns in German), and also ''Restaurant'', though it's pronounced as in French, with a nasal "N" and no "T" sound at the end; and ''Emotion'', which is pronounced "eh-mo-TSYON". In addition, it is very useful to know that words that take the ending "-less" in English typically take "-los" in German and those that end with "-free" take "-frei", so that the words ''kostenlos'' and ''kostenfrei'', which literally translate as "costless" and "cost-free", both mean free (of charge). Similarly, words ending in "-ful" typically end in "-voll" in German, so that ''wundervoll'' means "wonderful". Moreover, the comparative ending "-er" is used at least as much in German as in English. For example, ''fetter'' is "fatter", ''lauter'' is "louder", ''kalter'' is "colder" and ''besser'' is "better". However, beware that there are many false friends, and quite a few are very common words. For example ''bekommen'' means "get" ("become" is ''werden''), ''wer'' means "who" ("where" is ''wo''), ''denn'' means "since" ("then" is ''dann''), ''weil'' means "because" (not while), ''vor'' means "before" ("for" is ''für''), ''übersehen'' actually means "overlook", in the sense of failing to consider something (the German for "oversee" in the usual sense of "supervise" is ''überwachen'') and ''Flur'' means "corridor" ("floor" in the sense of "storey" is ''Etage'', and in the sense of the surface you walk on is ''Boden'' or ''Fußboden''). Be careful about the usage of the word ''komisch'', which sounds like it should mean "comical" but usually has a negative connotation of "weird", instead. ''Frei'' very commonly means "available", rather than free of charge. Also, ''Eis'' usually means ice cream, so if you ask for ''ein Glas Kaffee mit Eis'', you may get coffee with ice cream, not iced coffee. ''Kalter Kaffee'' ("cold coffee") should be a safe request if you want iced coffee. Even when a word looks identical, the meaning can be completely different, as with ''Gift'', which means "poison", and ''Handy'', which means "mobile phone"! ==Phrase list== The following phrases are for Standard German, and will generally be well understood across the German-speaking world. A local variation of words (such as those limited to Austria or specific regions of Germany) are indicated where necessary. See the [[Swiss-German phrasebook]] for the local variety spoken in [[Switzerland]]. ===Basics=== {{infobox|Common signs |; OPEN : Offen, Geöffnet ; CLOSED : Geschlossen ; ENTRANCE : Eingang ; EXIT : Ausgang ; PUSH : Drücken ; PULL : Ziehen ; TOILET : WC, Toilette(n) ; MEN : Herren, Männer ; WOMEN : Damen, Frauen ; FORBIDDEN : Verboten ; DISABLED : Behinderte ; EMERGENCY EXIT : Notausgang ; NO PARKING : Parken verboten / Parkverbot ; YIELD / GIVE WAY : Vorfahrt gewähren! ; STOP : Halt / Stop}} {{infobox|The right way to say yes| You say '''Ja''' when you confirm an affirmative question: ; Essen Sie gern Wurst? : Do you like eating sausages? ; Ja, ich esse gern Wurst. : Yes, I like eating sausages. If you wish to contradict a negative question, the reply is '''Doch''': ; Essen Sie nicht gern Wurst? : Don't you like eating sausages? ; Doch, ich esse gern Wurst. : Yes, I like eating sausages. }} ; Good day (formal) : Guten Tag. (''GOO-ten tahk'') ; Hello (informal) :Hallo. (HAL-loo)<br>NOTE: In Northern Germany, locals greet each other with ''Moin, Moin'' (''MOH-een MOH-een''). In Bavaria and Austria, they use ''Servus'' (''S-AIR-vus'') or ''Grüß Gott'' (''GREW-SS gaw-t''). In Switzerland, they use ''Grüezi'' (''GREW-tsee''). ; How are you? (informal): Wie geht's? (''vee GATES?'') ''used as a real question, not a form of greeting.'' ; How are you? (formal): Wie geht es Ihnen? (''vee GATE us EE-nun?'') ; Fine, thank you. : Gut, danke. (''goot, DAN-keh'') ; What is your name? (formal) : Wie heißen Sie? (''vee HIGH-sun zee?'') ; What is your name? (informal) : Wie heißt du? (''vee HIGHST doo?'') ; My name is ______ . : Ich heiße ______ . (''eekh HIGH-suh'') / Mein Name ist _____ . (mine NAM-uh ist) ; Nice to meet you. (formal) : Nett, Sie kennen zu lernen. (''net zee KEN-en tsoo LER-nen'') ; Nice to meet you. (informal) : Nett, dich kennen zu lernen. (''net deech KEN-en tsoo LER-nen'') ; Please. : Bitte. (''BEE-tuh'') ; Thank you. : Danke schön. (''DAN-kuh shurn'') ; Thanks. : Danke. (''DAN-kuh'') ; You're welcome. : Bitte schön! (''BIH-tuh shurn'') ; Yes. : Ja. (''yah'') ; No. : Nein. (''nine'') ; Excuse me. (''getting attention'') : Entschuldigen Sie. (''en-TSHOOL-dee-gun zee'') ; Excuse me. (''begging pardon'') : Entschuldigung. (''en-TSHOOL-dee-goong'') ; I'm sorry. :Es tut mir leid. (''es toot meer lite'')<br> Lit: It does sorrow to me. ; Goodbye : Auf Wiedersehen. (''owf VEE-dur-zane'') ; Goodbye (informal): Tschüss (''CHUS'') ; I love you (familial/platonic): Ich habe dich lieb. (''eekh hab-uh deech leeb'') ; I love you (romantic): Ich liebe dich. (''eekh leeb-uh deech'') ; ; I can't speak German (well). :Ich kann nicht [so gut] Deutsch sprechen. (eekh ''kahn nikht [zo goot] doi-ch shprekhen'') better: Ich spreche kein Deutsch (''eekh spreh-khuh kine doi-ch'') ; Do you speak English? (formal) :Sprechen Sie Englisch? (''shprekhun zee ENG-leesh'') ; Is there someone here who speaks English? :Gibt es hier jemanden, der Englisch spricht? (''geept es heer yeh-MAHN-dun dare ENG-leesh shprikht'') ; Help! : Hilfe! (''HEEL-fuh'') ; Good morning. : Guten Morgen. (''GOO-tun MOR-gun'') ; Good evening. : Guten Abend. (''GOO-tun AH-bunt'') ; Good night. : Schönen Abend noch. (''shur-nun AH-bunt nokh'') ; Good night (''to sleep'') : Gute Nacht. (''GOO-tuh nakht'') ; I don't understand. : Ich verstehe das nicht. (''eekh fur-SHTAY-uh dahs nikht'') ; Where is the toilet, please? : Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (''voh eest dee twah-LET-uh BEE-tuh'') ; With pleasure. : Gerne (''GERR-nuh'') ; Do you know where ... is?. (formal) : Wissen Sie, wo ... ist? (''VEE-sun zee voh ... ist'') ===Problems=== [[File:Apotheke.jpg|thumb|In Germany, look for the red ''A'' symbol for a pharmacy.]] ; Leave me alone. :Lass / Lassen Sie mich in Ruhe. (''LAHS(-un) zee meech een ROO-uh'') ; Don't touch me! : Fass / Fassen Sie mich nicht an! (''FAHS(-un) zee meech neekt AHN!'') ; I'll call the police. : Ich rufe die Polizei. (''eekh ROO-fuh dee poh-lee-TSIGH'') ; Police! : Polizei! (''poh-lee-TSIGH!'') ; Stop! Thief! : Halt! Ein Dieb! (''HAHLT! ighn DEEB!'') ; I need your help. : Ich brauche deine/Ihre Hilfe. (''eekh BROW-khuh DIGH-nuh/EE-ruh HEEL-fuh'') ; It's an emergency. : Das ist ein Notfall. (''dahs eest ighn NOHT-fahl'') ; I'm lost. : Ich habe mich verirrt. (eekh ''HAH-buh meesh fer-EERT'') ; I lost my bag. : Ich habe meine Tasche verloren. (''eekh HAH-buh migh-nuh TAH-shuh fer-LOH-run'') ; I lost my wallet. : Ich habe meinen Geldbeutel verloren. (''eekh HAH-buh mighn geh-ld-boy-tehl fer-LOH-run''), or in Austria: Ich habe meine Geldtasche verloren. (''eekh HAH-buh miney geh-ld-ta-chee fer-LOH-run'') ; I'm sick. : Ich bin krank. (''eekh been krahnk'') ; I've been injured. : Ich bin verletzt. (''eesh been fer-LETST'') ; I need a doctor. : Ich brauche einen Arzt. (''eekh BROW-khuh IGH-nuh ARTST'') ; Can I use your phone? : Kann ich dein/Ihr Telefon benutzen? (''kahn eekh dighn/eer tay-lay-FOHN buh-NOOT-sun?'') ; Can I use your mobile? : Kann ich dein/Ihr Handy benutzen? (''kahn eekh dighn/eer handy buh-NOOT-sun?'') ====At the doctor==== {{infobox|Body parts| The following is formatted with singular and where possible, plural forms. Plural words always use the ''die'' article. ; Hands : die Hand (''HAAND''), Hände (''HAEND-de'') ; Arms : der Arm (''AHRM''), Arme (''AHRM-me'') ; Fingers : der Finger (''FING-ger''), plural form same as singular ; Shoulder : die Schulter (''SHOOL-ter''), Schultern (''SCHOOL-tern'') ; Feet : der Fuß (''FOOSS''), Füße (''FUESSE'') ; Toes : der Zeh (''TSEH''), Zehe (''TSEH-he'') ; Legs : das Bein (''BAIN''), Beine (''BAIN-ne'') ; Nails : der Fingernagel (''FING-ger-NAH-gel''), Fingernägel (''FING-ger-NAEH-gel'') ; Body : der Körper (''KOUR-per'') ; Eyes : das Auge (''AUH-ge''), Augen (''AUH-gen'') ; Ears : das Ohr (''OOR''), Ohren (''OO-ren'') ; Nose : die Nase (''NAH-se'') ; Face : das Gesicht (''ge-SIKHT'') ; Head : der Kopf (''KOPF'') | Switzerland: Grind (''GREEND'') ; Neck or throat: der Hals (''HALS'') ; Chest : die Brust (''BROOST'') ; Abdomen : der Bauch (''BAUKH'') ; Hip/Waist : die Taille (''TAIL-le'') ; Buttocks or posterior: das Gesäß (''geh-SAESS'') or der Po (''Po'') ; Back : der Rücken (''RUEK-ken'') ; left : links (''LEENKS'') ; right : recht (''REKHT'') }} ; Doctor : (m) Arzt (''AHRTST''), (f) Ärztin (''ERTS-tin'') ; Nurse : Krankenschwester (''KRAHNK-en-shwe-ster'') ; Hospital: Krankenhaus (''KRAHNK-en-haus'') ; Medicine: Medizin (''ME-di-tsin'') ; Emergency room (ER)/Accident and Emergency (A&E): Notaufnahme (''NOT-auf-nah-me'') ; Pharmacy/drugstore/chemists: Apotheke (''Ah-po-TE-ke'') ; I am sick. :Ich bin krank. (''eekh BEEN krahnk'') ; I am hurt. : Ich bin verletzt. (''eekh been fer-LETST'') ; I feel hot/cold: Mir ist heiß/kalt (''MEER ist HAISS/KALT'')<br>NOTE: Lit: To me it is hot/cold. Simply saying ''Ich bin heiß/kalt'' means you are a hot or cold person in personality. ; My _____ hurts: Mein(e) ____ tut weh. (''MAYN(ne) ____ toot weh'') ; Painful : schmerzhaft (''SHMERts-hahft'') ; Sick/uncomfortable : krank (''KRAHNK'') ; Itchy/ticklish : juckend (''YUK-end'') ; Swollen : geschwollen (''ge-SHWOL-len'') ; Sore : wund (''WOOND'') ; Bleeding : blutend (''BLOO-tend'') ; Dizzy : schwindelig (''SHUIN-de-lig'') ; Swallowed : verschlucken (''ver-SCHLUK-ken'') ; Fever : Fieber (''FEE-ber'') ; Cough : husten (''HOOS-ten'') ; Sneeze : niesen (''NEE-zen'') ; Diarrhea : Durchfall (''DOO-eekh-fall'') ; Vomiting : brechen (''BREKH-hen'') ; Cold/flu : Grippe (''GREEP-pe'') ; Cut/wound: Wunde (''WOON-de'') ; Burn: Brandwunde (''BRAND-woon-de'') ; Bone fracture: Knochenbruch (''K<nowiki>'</nowiki>NO-khen-brookh'') ===Numbers=== [[File:Euro coins and banknotes.jpg|thumb|Know how much to pay when shopping.]] In German, the roles of dot and comma are swapped compared to their English counterparts. The grouping separator in big numbers is a dot (.), not a comma(,); the separator between decimal fractions and integer is a comma (,), not a dot (.). Numbers above twenty are said "backwards". Twenty-one (einundzwanzig) is literally spoken as "one-and-twenty". This takes a bit of getting used to, especially in higher regions. Eg. 53,426 (dreiundfünfzigtausendvierhundertsechsundzwanzig) is spoken as "three-and-fifty-thousand-four-hundred-six-and-twenty". Native English speakers may note that the nursery rhyme 'Four and twenty blackbirds' as well as some older literature (Sherlock Holmes for example) uses this convention from medieval English. It's also helpful in learning the number system in the German language by listening to "Eins, Twei, Polizei" by Mo-Do. Unlike English, German uses the long scale for larger numbers, so ''eine Billion'' and ''eine Trillion'' are not the same as the English "one billion" and "one trillion". ; 0 : null (''null'') ; 1 :eins (''ighnss'') ; 2 : zwei (''tsvigh'') or zwo (''tsuoo'') to distinguish with drei for three. ; 3 : drei (''drigh'' – sounds a bit like the English word ''dry'') ; 4 : vier (''fear'' – sounds like the English word ''fear'') ; 5 : fünf (''fuunf'') ; 6 : sechs (''zekhs'') ; 7 : sieben (''ZEE-ben'') ; 8 : acht (''ahkht'') ; 9 : neun (''noyn'') ; 10 : zehn (''tsayn'') ; 11 : elf (''elf'') ; 12 : zwölf (''tsvoolf'') ; 13 : dreizehn (''DRIGH-tsayn'') ; 14 : vierzehn (''FEER-tsayn'') ; 15 : fünfzehn (''FUUNF-tsayn'') ; 16 : sechzehn (''ZEKH-tsayn'') ; 17 : siebzehn (''ZEEP-tsayn'') ; 18 : achtzehn (''AHKH-tsayn'') ; 19 : neunzehn (''NOYN-tsayn'') ; 20 : zwanzig (''TSVAHN-tsig'') ; 21 : einundzwanzig (''IGHN-oont-tsvahn-tsig'') ; 22 : zweiundzwanzig (''TSVIGH-oont-tsvahn-tsig'') ; 23 : dreiundzwanzig (''DRIGH-oont-tsvahn-tsig'') ; 30 : dreißig (''DRIGH-sig'') ; 40 : vierzig (''FEER-tsig'') ; 50 : fünfzig (''FUUNF-tsig'') ; 60 : sechzig (''ZEKH-tsig'') ; 70 : siebzig (''ZEEP-tsig'') ; 80 : achtzig (''AHKH-tsig'') ; 90 : neunzig (''NOYN-tsig'') ; 100 : (ein)hundert (''[ighn]-HOON-dert'') ; 121 : (ein)hunderteinundzwanzig (''[ighn]-HOON-dert-IGHN-oont-tsvahn-tsig'' ; 200 : zweihundert (''TSVIGH-hoon-dert'') ; 300 : dreihundert (''DRIGH-hoon-dert'') ;1000 : (ein)tausend (''[ighn]-TOW-zent'') ; 2000 : zweitausend (''TSVIGH-tow-zent'') ; 1,000,000 : eine Million (''igh-nuh mill-YOHN''). <br>''Also shortened to 1 Mio.'' ; 1,000,000,000 : eine Milliarde (''igh-nuh mill-YAR-duh'') <br>''Also shortened to 1 Mrd.'' ; 1,000,000,000,000 : eine Billion (''igh-nuh bill-YOHN'') ; number _____ (''train, bus, etc.'') : Nummer/Linie _____ (''NOO-mer/LEE-nee-uh'') ; half : halb (''hahlp'') ; the half : die Hälfte (''dee HELF-tuh'') ; less : weniger (''VAY-nihg-er'') ; more : mehr (''mayr'') ====Ordinal Numbers==== Notation for ordinal numbers are the number followed by a period and then the noun. All numbers from 1 to 19 use the suffix -te. ; first : erste / 1. (''ayr-sta'') ; second : zweite / 2. (''tsvigh-ta'') ; third : dritte / 3. (''dri-ta'') ; fourth : vierte / 4. (''feer-ta'') ; fifth : fünfte / 5. (''fuunf-ta'') ; tenth : zehnte / 10. (''TSAYN-ta'') ; eleventh : elfte / 11. (''ELF-ta'') ; twentieth : zwanzigste / 20. (''TSVAHN-tsikhs-ta'') All numbers above 19 end with -ste; numbers that end with 01 to 19 will still use the aforementioned rule. ===Time=== {{infobox|Telling time|While many Germans use the 24-hour format for times, they often use 12-hour times in conversations. There is not much use of "am" or "pm", although you can add "''vormittags''" (before noon) and "''nachmittags''" (after noon) when it's not clear from the context. A significant difference is the convention for 'half past', when at 07:30 English speakers would say "half (past) seven", whereas Germans say "''halb acht''" ("half {to} eight"). How to express 07:15 or 07:45 is something of a shibboleth for several dialects and even some Germans might not understand the form they did not grow up with. One way to say it is following English logic à la "quarter past x" making 07:15 come out as "viertel nach sieben" and 07:45 as "viertel vor acht". In other areas the hour is told according to the portion of the way to the next hour: "viertel acht" (literally quarter eight) means 07:15, "halb acht" means 07:30 and "dreiviertel acht" means 07:45. People who use the latter system will usually know (but dislike) the former. People who use the former system tend to draw blanks when confronted with the latter. However, it is ''always'' "halb acht" and ''never'' "halb nach sieben". If in doubt, use the twenty-hour clock.}} ; now : jetzt (''yetst'') ; later : später (''SHPET-er'') ; before : vor (''for'') ; morning : Morgen (''MOR-gen'') ; in the morning : morgens (''MOR-genss'') ; tomorrow morning : morgen früh (''MOR-gen FRUU'') ; afternoon : Nachmittag (''NAHKH-mit-tahk'') ; in the afternoon : nachmittags (''NAHKH-mit-tahks'') ; evening : Abend (''AH-bent'') ; in the evening : abends (''AH-bents'') ; night : Nacht (''nahkht'') ; in the night : nachts (''nahkhts'') ====Clock time==== [[File:BahnhofsuhrZuerich RZ.jpg|thumb|Punctuality is of paramount importance in German-speaking countries!]] In German speaking countries as in many other European countries, it's usual to use a 24 hour clock, ranging from 0.00 to 24.00. Okay, 24.00 is actually the same as 0.00, but one day later. In conversation however, a 12-hour format is also commonly used, as long as one understands the context of which time of day it is. ; one o'clock AM (01<nowiki>:</nowiki>00): ein Uhr (''IGHN oor'') ; two o'clock AM (02<nowiki>:</nowiki>00): zwei Uhr (''TSVIGH oor'') ; noon (12<nowiki>:</nowiki>00): zwölf Uhr ''or'' Mittag (''TSVOOLF oor'' or ''MIT-tahk'') ; one o'clock PM (13<nowiki>:</nowiki>00): dreizehn Uhr (''DRIGH-tsayn oor'') ; two o'clock PM (14<nowiki>:</nowiki>00): vierzehn Uhr (''FEER-tsayn oor'') ; midnight (00<nowiki>:</nowiki>00 or 24<nowiki>:</nowiki>00): Mitternacht ''or'' null Uhr ''or'' vierundzwanzig Uhr (''MIT-er-nahkht'' or ''NOOL oor'' or ''FEER-oont-TSVAHN-tsikh oor'') Mentioning the time with the hour and minute is not unlike the English convention. See exceptions below. ; eight oh one AM or one past eight AM (08<nowiki>:</nowiki>01): acht Uhr eins (''AKHT oor IGHNS'') or eins nach acht (''IGHNS nakh AKHT'') ; Seven fifty nine PM or one to eight PM (19<nowiki>:</nowiki>59): neunzehn Uhr neunundfünfzig (''noin-ZEEN oor Fünf-und-noin-TSIG'') or eins vor acht (''IGHNS for TSVAN-tsig'') ("eins vor zwanzig" sounds unidiomatic) Expressing "fractional hours" differs slightly among various regions. The "normal" way of doing it is: <br> * Quarter past one (01<nowiki>:</nowiki>15) - ''Viertel nach eins'' or ''Viertel zwei'' * Half past one (01<nowiki>:</nowiki>30) - ''Halb zwei'' (half two) * A quarter to two (01<nowiki>:</nowiki>45) - ''Viertel vor zwei'' or ''Dreiviertel zwei'' The latter form is common in Eastern Germany, Bavaria, and Austria, although the former is universally understood but not without causing cringes. Outside these regions, many have trouble understanding the latter form. Usually Germans who don't understand you will ask and saying the number (11:45 "elf Uhr fünfundvierzig") is sure to get the confusion out of the way, though it may sound somewhat stilted and bureaucratic. To ask for time: ; What time is it? : Wie spät ist es? (''Wee SPAET ist es?'') <br>Wie viel Uhr ist es? (''Wee VEEL Ur ist es?'') ====Duration==== ; _____ minute(s) : _____ Minute(n) (''mih-NOO-tuh [mih-NOO-ten]'') ; _____ hour(s) : _____ Stunde(n) (''SHTOON-duh [SHTOON-den'') ; _____ day(s) : _____ Tag(e) (''TAHK [TAH-guh]'') ; _____ week(s) : _____ Woche(n) (''VOKH-uh [VOKH-en]'') ; _____ month(s) : _____ Monat(e) (''MOH-naht [moh-NAH-tuh]'') ; _____ year(s) : _____ Jahr(e) (''YAHR[-uh]'') ; in _____ : Im Jahr _____ (''im YAHR _____'') (also: _____ (the year without any further qualifiers)) Sometimes the old dative ending is used making it "im Jahre..." which sounds somewhat antiquated and quaint ====Days==== ; today : heute (''HOY-tuh'') ; the day before yesterday : vorgestern (''FOR-gess-tern'') ; yesterday : gestern (''GESS-tern'') ; tomorrow : morgen (''MOR-gen'') ; the day after tomorrow : übermorgen (''uuber-MOR-gen'') ; this week : diese Woche (''DEE-zuh VOH-khuh'') ; last week : letzte Woche (''LETS-tuh VOH-khuh'') ; the week before last week : vorletzte Woche (''for-LETS-tuh VOH-khuh'') ; next week : nächste Woche (''NEX-tuh VOH-khuh'') ; the week after next week : übernächste Woche (''uuber-NEX-tuh VOH-khuh'') The week is considered starting on Monday in Germany. ; Monday : Montag (''MON-tahk'') ; Tuesday : Dienstag (''DEENS-tahk'') ; Wednesday : Mittwoch (''MIT-vokh'') ; Thursday : Donnerstag (''DON-ers-tahk'') ; Friday : Freitag (''FRIGH-tahk'') ; Saturday : Samstag (''ZAMS-tahk''), in some regions, especially the North, "Sonnabend" (''ZON-ah-bent'') ; Sunday : Sonntag (''ZON-tahk'') ====Months==== [[File:Hermagor Moederndorf Filialkirche hl Martin WSW-Ansicht 08062017 9263.jpg|thumb|300px|Parish Church of St. Martin (Filialkirche hl. Martin) in Möderndorf, Carinthia, Austria, with 2,119-meter Spitzegel in the distance]] ; January : Januar (''YAH-noo-ahr''), in Austria "Jänner" (''YEH-nna'') ; February : Februar (''FAY-broo-ahr.''), in Austria "Feber" (''FAY-ber'') ; March : März (''mehrts'') ; April : April (''ah-PRILL'') ; May : Mai (''migh'') ; June : Juni (''YOO-nee'') ; July : Juli (''YOO-lee'') ; August : August (''ow-GOOST'') ; September : September (''zep-TEM-ber'') ; October : Oktober (''ok-TOH-ber'') ; November : November (''noh-VEM-ber'') ; December : Dezember (''day-TSEM-ber'') ===Time and date format=== In the clock time, hours and minutes are separated by a '.' instead of ':', though the latter is also widely used. Another way is to write the minutes raised like an exponent. The date is always written in the order day, month, year, e.g.: 12/10/2003 is in German 10.12.2003. 10th of December 2003 is in German 10. Dezember 2003. Years prior to 2000 are pronounced like this example: 1957 neunzehn-hundert-sieben-und-fünfzig (the - are only here for clarity, it would be written as one word, when written down, a literal translation would be nineteen-hundred-seven-and-fifty) So far years after 2000 are pronounced like this example: 2014 zwei-tausend-vierzehn (again, written as one word, a literal translation would be two-thousand-fourteen) Dates are always read like an ordinal number. When it stands alone, add the suffix -r at the ordinal number; Germans will also often mention the months in numbers (i.e. 1st of January= erster erster or der erste erste). When the date is used as part of a sentence (e.g. We fly on the 1st of May), a ''dativ'' case is invoked, in which you must add the suffix -n after the ordinal number (i.e. Wir fliegen am ersten Mai). ===Colors=== ; black : schwarz (''shvahrts'') ; white : weiß (''vice'') - as in "miami vice" ; gray : grau (''grou'') - rhymes with "cow" ; red : rot (''roht'') ; blue : blau (''blou'') - rhymes with "cow" ; yellow : gelb (''gelp'') ; green : grün (''gruun'') ; orange : orange (''oh-RAHNGSH'') ; purple : purpurrot (''PURR-purr-rhot''), violett (''veeo-lett'') or lila (''LEE-lah'') ; pink : rosa (''ROH-zah'') or rosarot (''ROH-zah-roht'') ; brown : braun (''brown'') ; silver : silber (''zsil-bur'') ; gold : gold (''gold'') ; light - : hell- (''hell'') as in hellblau ; dark - : dunkel- (''dune-kel'') as in dunkelblau ===Transportation=== ====Bus and Train==== [[File:FallblattanzMuenchen P1010121.JPG|thumb|275px|Pay attention to the signboards for which platform your train is departing from.]] ; How much is a ticket to _____? (bus, train) : Was kostet eine Fahrkarte nach _____? (''vass KOSS-tet igh-nuh FAHR-kahr-tuh nahkh _____?'') ; How much is a ticket to _____? (airplane) : Was kostet ein Flugkarte nach _____? (''vass KOSS-tet ighn TICK-et nahkh _____?'') ; One ticket to _____, please. (bus, train) : Bitte eine Fahrkarte nach _____. (''BIT-tuh IGH-nuh FAHR-kahr-tuh nahkh _____'') ; One ticket to _____, please. (airplane) : Bitte ein Ticket nach _____. (''BIT-tuh ighn TICK-et nahkh _____'') ; Where does this train/bus go? : Wohin fährt dieser Zug/Bus? (''voh-hin FEHRT dee-zer TSOOK/BOOSS?'') ; Where is the train/bus to _____? : Wo ist der Zug/Bus nach _____? (''VOH ist dayr TSOOK/BOOSS nahkh _____?'') ; Does this train/bus stop in/at _____? : Hält dieser Zug/Bus in/bei_____? (''helt DEE-zer TSOOK/BOOSS in/by _____?'') ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : Wann fährt der Zug/Bus nach _____ ab? (''VAHN FEHRT der tsook/booss nahkh _____ ap?'') ; When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : Wann kommt dieser Zug/Bus in _____ an? (''vahn KOMT dee-zer TSOOK/BOOSS in _____ ahn?'') ; On which platform is the bus/train to _____ departing from? : Auf welchem Gleis fährt der Zug/Bus nach _____ ab? (''auf VEL-khem GLAIS fehrt der tsook/booss nahkh _____ ap?'') ; train station/bus terminal: Bahnhof (BAAN-hof) ; main train station: Hauptbahnhof (HAUPT-baahn-hof) ; bus/tram stop: Haltestelle (hal-TE-stel-le) or Halt (halt) ; platform : Gleis (Glais) ====Directions==== ; How do I get to _____ ? (cities) : Wie komme ich nach _____ ? (''vee KOM-muh ikh nahkh _____?'') ; How do I get to _____ ? (places, streets) : Wie komme ich zum/zur _____ ? (''vee KOM-muh ikh tsoom/tsoor _____?'') ; ...the train station? : ...zum Bahnhof? (''tsoom BAHN-hohf?'') ; ...the bus station / bus stop? : ...zum Busbahnhof / zur Bushaltestelle? (''tsoom BOOSS-BAHN-hohf''/''tsoor BOOSS-hahl-tuh-shteh-luh?'') ; ...the airport? : ...zum Flughafen? (''tsoom FLOOG-hah-fen?'') ; ...downtown? : ...zur Stadtmitte? (''tsoor SHTUT-mit-tuh'') ; ...the youth hostel? : ...zur Jugendherberge? (''tsoor YOO-gent-hayr-bayr-guh'') ; ...the _____ hotel? : ...zum _____ Hotel? (''tsoom _____ hoh-TELL'') ; ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? : ...zum amerikanischen/kanadischen/australischen/britischen Konsulat? (''tsoom ah-mayr-ih-KAHN-ish-en/kah-NAH-dish-en/ous-TRAH-lish-en/BRIT-ish-en kon-zoo-LAHT?'') ; Where are there a lot of... : Wo gibt es viele... (?) (''VOU gipt ess FEE-luh...'') ; ...hotels? : ...Hotels? (''hoh-TELLSS'') ; ...restaurants? : ...Restaurants? (''rest-oh-RAHNTS?'') ; ...Bars?: (''bahrss?'') ; ...bars? (pub): ...Kneipen? (''KNIGH-pen?'') (pronounce the K) ; ...sites to see? : ...Sehenswürdigkeiten? (''ZAY-ens-vuur-dikh-kigh-ten?'') ; Can you show me on the map? : Kannst du/Können Sie mir das auf der Karte zeigen? (''kahnst doo/KOON-en zee meer dahss ouf dayr KAHR-tuh TSIGH-gen?'') ; street, road : Straße (''SHTRAH-suh'') ; left : links (''links'') ; right : rechts (''rekhts'') ; Turn left. : Links abbiegen. (''LINKS AHP-bee-gen'') ; Turn right. : Rechts abbiegen. (''REKHTS AHP-bee-gen'') ; straight ahead : geradeaus (''guh-RAH-duh-OWSS'') ; towards the _____ : Richtung _____ (''RIKH-toong'') ; past the _____ : nach dem(m)/der(f)/dem(n) _____ (''nahkh daym/dayr/daym _____'') ; through the _____ : durch den(m)/die(f)/das(n) _____ (''DUIKH dayn/dee/dahss _____'') ; before the _____ : vor dem(m)/der(f)/dem(n) _____ (''for daym/dayr/daym _____'') ; next to the _____ : neben dem(m)/der(f)/dem(n) _____ (''NEH-ben daym/dayr/daym _____'') ; opposite the _____ : gegenüber dem(m)/der(f)/dem(n) _____ (''gay-gen-UEH-ber daym/dayr/daym _____'') ; Watch for the _____. : Achte/Achten Sie auf den(m)/die(f)/das(n) _____. (''AHKH-tuh/AHKH-ten zee ouf dayn/dee/dahss _____'') ; intersection : Kreuzung (''KROY-tsoong'') ; bend : Kurve (''KOOHR-vuh'') ; slope : Steigung (''SHTIGH-gung'') ; traffic lights : Ampel (''AHM-pell'') ; roundabout : Kreisverkehr (''KRIZE-vayr-kayr'') ; motorway : Autobahn (''OW-toh-baan'') ; railway : Bahn (''baan'') ; level crossing : Bahnübergang (''baan-UEH-ber-gang'') ; bridge : Brücke (''BRUEH-kuh'') ; north : Norden (''NOR-den'') ; south : Süden (''ZUU-den'') ; east : Osten (''OST-en'') ; west : Westen (''VEST-en'') ; uphill : bergauf (''bayrk-OUF'') ; downhill : bergab (''bayrk-AHP'') ; opposite : gegenüber (''gay-gen-UEH-ber'') ; along : entlang (''ENT-lang'') ;Taxi!: (''TAHK-see'') ; Take me to _____, please. : Bitte bringen Sie mich zum/zur/nach _____. (''BIT-tuh BRING-en zee mikh tsoom/tsoor/nahkh _____'')<br>Note: ''Use'' 'zu(m,r)' ''for streets and places and'' 'nach' ''for cities and villages.'' ; How much does it cost to get to _____? : Wie viel kostet es bis zum/zur/nach _____? (''vee feel KOSS-tet ess biss tsoom/tsoor/nahkh _____?'') ; Take me there, please. : Bringen Sie mich bitte dahin. (''BRING-en zee mikh BIT-tuh dah-HIN'') ===Lodging=== [[File:Jugendherberge Schloss Ortenberg.jpg|thumb|300px|Yes, you can even stay in a castle!]] ; Do you have any rooms available? : Sind noch Zimmer frei? (''ZINT nokh TSIM-mer FRIGH?'') ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : Wie viel kostet ein Einzelzimmer/Doppelzimmer? (''vee-feel KOSS-tet ighn IGHN-tsel-tsim-mer/DOP-pel-tsim-mer?'') ; Does the room come with... : Hat das Zimmer... (''HAHT dahss TSIM-mer...'') ; ...bedsheets? : ...Bettlaken? (''...BET-lahk-en?'') ; ...a bathroom? (toilet): ...eine Toilette? (''igh-nuh to-ah-LET-tuh?'') ; ...a bathroom? (with cleaning facilities): ...ein Badezimmer? (''igh-n BAH-duh-tsim-er?'') ; ...a telephone? : ...ein Telefon? (''ighn tell-eh-FOHN?'') ; ...a TV? : ...einen Fernseher? (''igh-nen FAYRN-zay-er?'') ; May I see the room first? : Kann ich das Zimmer erstmal sehen? (''kahn ikh dahs TSIM-mer ayrst-mahl ZAY-en?'') ; Do you have anything quieter? :Haben Sie etwas ruhigeres? (''HAH-ben zee ET-vahs ROO-ig-er-ess?'') ; ...bigger? : ...größeres? (''GROO-ser-ess?'') ; ...cheaper? : ...billigeres? (''BILL-ig-er-ess?'') ; OK, I'll take it. : OK, ich nehme es. (''OH-kay, ikh NAY-muh ess'') ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : Ich bleibe eine Nacht (_____ Nächte). (''ihk BLIGH-buh IGH-nuh nahkht/_____ NEKH-tuh'')<br>Note: ''The plural of'' 'Nacht' ''is'' 'Nächte' ''.'' ; Can you suggest another hotel? : Können Sie mir ein anderes Hotel empfehlen? (''KOON-en zee meer ign AHN-der-ess ho-TELL emp-FAY-len?'') Note: It's not a good idea to say this, as it may be taken in an insulting manner. Try saying "Gibt es hier in der Nähe ein Reisebüro?" ("Is there a tourist agency nearby?") instead. ; Do you have a safe? : Haben Sie einen Safe? (''HAH-ben zee IGH-nen SAYF?'') ; ...lockers? : ...Schließfächer? (''SHLEESS-fekh-er?'') ; Is breakfast/supper included? : Ist Frühstück/Abendessen inklusive? (''ist FRUU-shtuuk/AH-bent-ess-en in-kloo-ZEE-vuh?'') ; What time is breakfast/supper? : Wann gibt es Frühstück/Abendessen? (''VAHN gipt ess FRUU-shtuuk/AH-bent-ess-en?'') ; Please clean my room. : Würden Sie bitte mein Zimmer saubermachen? (''VUUR-den zee BIT-tuh mign TSIM-mer ZOW-ber-MAHKH-en?'') ; Can you wake me at _____? : Können Sie mich um _____ Uhr wecken? (''KOON-en zee mikh oom _____ oor VECK-en?'') ; I would like to check out. : Ich möchte auschecken. (''ikh MOOKH-tuh ows-check-en'') ===Money=== {{infobox|Mind your Umlaut| One common mistake that non-native German speakers make, which is embarrassing but forgivable for foreigners, is the difference between the pronunciations and writing of the vocal letters ''a'', ''o'', and ''u'' and its '''umlaut''' counterparts (ä, ö, and ü). Don't forget to write the umlaut where necessary, as a subtle difference changes the meaning by a lot! Here are a few common examples: ; Düsseldorf vs. Dusseldorf : the city in Germany vs. village of fools (Dussel is dumb/fool, dorf means village) ; drücken vs. drucken : to press/push vs. to print ; schön vs. schon : beautiful vs. already ; schwül vs. schwul : humid vs. gay ; Vögel vs. Vogel : birds vs. bird ; Äpfel vs. Apfel: apples vs. apple ; Schüssel vs. Schussel : bowl vs. idiot }} ; Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : Nehmen Sie US-Dollar/australische/kanadische Dollar an? (''NAY-men zee OOH-ESS DOLL-ahr/ouss-TRAHL-ish-uh/kah-NAH-dish-uh DOLL-ahr?'') ; Do you accept British pounds? : Nehmen Sie britische Pfund an? (''NAY-men zee BRIT-ish-uh PFOOND?'') ; Do you accept credit cards? : Kann ich mit Kreditkarte zahlen? (''kahn ikh mit kray-DEET-kahr-tuh TSAH-len?'') ; Can you change money for me? : Können Sie mir Geld wechseln? (''KOON-en zee meer GELT WEKHS-eln?'') ; Where can I get money changed? : Wo kann ich Geld wechseln? (''voh kahn ikh GELT WEKHS-eln?'') ; Can you change a traveller's check for me? : Kann ich hier Travellerschecks einlösen? (''kahn ikh heer TREV-el-er-shecks IGHN-loo-zen?'') ; Where can I get a traveler's check changed? : Wo kann ich Travellerschecks tauschen? (''voh kahn ikh TREV-el-er-shecks TOW-shen?'') (TOW rhymes with "cow") ; What is the exchange rate? : Wie ist der Wechselkurs? (''vee ist dayr VEK-sel-koorss?'') ; Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? : Wo ist ein Geldautomat? (''voh ist ign GELT-ow-toh-maht?'') ===Eating=== [[File:Korb mit Brötchen.JPG|thumb|250px|No one has a more intimate love for bread than Germans!]] {{infobox|Edible adjectives|; Salty : salzig (''ZAL-tsikh'') ; Sour : sauer (''ZAU-er'') ; Sweet : süß (''ZUESS'') ; Spicy : scharf (''SHARF'') ; Bitter : bitter (''BEET-ter'') ; Delicious : lecker (''LEK-ker'') or köstlich (''KOEST-likh'') ; Tasteless : fade (''FAH-deh'') or geschmacklos (''ge-SHMAK-los'') ; Cold : kalt (''KALT'') ; Cool : kühl (''KUEL'') ; Warm : warm (''WARM'') ; Hot (temperature) : heiß (''HAISS'') }} ; A table for one person/two people, please. : Ein Tisch für eine Person/zwei Personen, bitte. (''ighn TISH fuur IGHN-uh payr-ZOHN/TSVIGH payr-ZOHN-nen, BIT-tuh'') ; Can I have the meal as a takeaway?: Könnte ich das Essen mitnehmen? (''KOUN-nte ikh das Es-sen mit-ne-men?'') ; Can I look at the menu, please? : Ich hätte gerne die Speisekarte. (''ikh HET-tuh GAYR-nuh dee SHPIGH-zuh-kahr-tuh'') ; Is there a house specialty? : Gibt es eine Spezialität des Hauses? (''gipt ess igh-nuh shpeh-tsyah-lee-TAYT dess HOW-zess?'') ; Is there a local specialty? : Gibt es eine Spezialität aus dieser Gegend? (''gipt ess igh-nuh shpeh-tsyah-lee-TAYT owss DEE-zer GAY-gent?'') ; I am (severely) allergic to milk/eggs/fish/shellfish/tree nuts/peanuts/wheat/soy. :Ich bin [stark] allergisch gegen Milch/Eier/Fisch/Schalentiere/Nüsse/Erdnüsse/Weizen/Soja. (''ikh bin [shtark] al-LER-gish gay-gent'') ; I'm a vegetarian. : (men) Ich bin Vegetarier. (''ikh bin vay-gay-TAH-ree-er'') (women) Ich bin Vegetarierin (''vay-gay-TAH-ree-er-een'') ; I'm a vegan. : (men) Ich bin Veganer. (''ikh bin vay-GAHN-er'') (women) Ich bin Veganerin (''vay-GAHN-er-een'') ; I don't eat pork. : Ich esse kein Schweinefleisch. (''ikh ESS-uh kign SHVIGN-uh-flighsh'') ; I only eat kosher food. : Ich esse nur koscher. (''ikh ESS-uh noor KOH-sher'') <br>Note: outside major cities and some explicitly kosher restaurants true kosher food is not available. If you are not particularly observant "halal", sometimes spelled "helal" is similar enough if you avoid mixing milk and meat. ; Can you make it "light", please? (''less oil/butter/lard'') : Könnten Sie es bitte nicht so fettig machen? (''KOON-ten zee ess BIT-tuh nikht zo fett MAHKH-en?'') ; fixed-price meal : Tagesessen (''TAHG-ess-ess-en'') / Menü (meh-NUU) <br> Note: While "Tagesessen" should be used in pubs and taverns, "Menü" is the correct word in classic restaurants. ; Without, e.g. I would like spaghetti without cheese : Ich möchte die Spaghetti, ohne Käse (''Ikh merkhte dee schpagetti, ohna kayze''), "Ohne" being the key word here. ; à la carte : a la carte (''ah lah KAHRT'') ; breakfast : Frühstück (''FRUU-shtuuk'') | Switzerland: Zmorge (''TSH-mor-geh'') or Morgenässe (''MOR-gen-aess-e'') ; lunch : Mittagessen (''mit-TAHK-ess-en'') | Switzerland: Zmittag (''TSH-mit-tag'') or Mittagässe (''mit-TAHK-aess-e'') ; tea (''meal'') : Kaffee (''kah-FAY'') ; supper : Abendessen ''or'' Abendbrot (''AH-bent-ess-en'' or ''AH-bent-broht'') | Switzerland: Znacht (''TSH-nakht'') or Nachtässe (''NAKHT-aess-e'') <br>Note: "Abendbrot" is mainly used in rural areas. Most Germans, even the non-English speaking, understand ''dinner'' as well. ; I would like _____. : Ich möchte _____. (''ikh MERKH-tuh'') ; I would like a dish containing ____ : Ich möchte etwas mit ____ (''ikh MOOKH-tuh ett-vahss mit _____'') : Literally means "I want something with ____" ; chicken : Hähnchen (''HAEN-chen'') Austria: Händel (''HAEN-del'') ; beef : Rindfleisch (''RINT-flighsh'') ; fish : Fisch (''fish'') ; ham : Schinken (''SHINK-en'') ; sausage : Wurst (''voorst'') ; pickled cabbage : Sauerkraut (''ZAU-er-kraut'') (lit. sour cabbage) ; cheese : Käse (''KAY-zuh'') ; eggs : Eier (''IGH-er'') ; salad : Salat (''zah-LAHT'') ; potatoes : Kartoffeln (''kar-TOH-phel'n'') | Austria: Erdapfel (''ERD-ah-phel'') ; asparagus : Spargel (''SHPAR-gel'') ; (fresh) vegetables : (frisches) Gemüse (''[FRISH-ess] guh-MUU-zuh'') ; tomato : Tomate (''to-MAH-te'') | Austria: Paradaiser (''pa-ra-da-IH-ser'') ; (fresh) fruit : (frisches) Obst (''[FRISH-ess] OWPST'') ; bread : Brot (''broht'') ; toast : Toast (''tohst'') ; rolls : Brötchen (''BRUHT-chen'') ; noodles : Nudeln (''NOO-deln'') ; rice : Reis (''raighss'') ; beans : Bohnen (''BOH-nen'') ; cake: Kuchen (''KOO-khen'') ; May I have a glass of _____? : Könnte ich ein Glas _____ haben? (''KOON-tuh ikh ighn glahss _____ HAH-ben?'') ; May I have a cup of _____? : Könnte ich eine Tasse _____ haben? (''KOON-tuh ikh IGH-nuh TAH-suh _____ HAH-ben?'') ; May I have a bottle of _____? : Könnte ich eine Flasche _____ haben? (''KOON-tuh ikh IGH-nuh FLAH-shuh _____ HAH-ben?'') ; coffee : Kaffee (''kah-FAY'') ; tea (''drink'') : Tee (''tay'') ; juice : Saft (''zahft'') ; (bubbly) water : Mineralwasser ''or'' Sprudel(-wasser) (''mee-ne-RAHL-wah-ser'' or ''SHPROO-del-[wah-ser]'') ; water (tap) : Leitungswasser (''LIGH-toongs-wah-ser'') : Tap water is quite uncommon in German restaurants; if you ask for it, they may bring you a small cup of room-temperature water, on the assumption that you need to take your medicine with the meal, but you'll really be drinking something else. Plain bottled water without bubbles or extra minerals is called "stilles Wasser" (''SHTILL-ess-wah-ser''); the famous French brand Evian is an example of "''stilles Wasser"''. ; beer : Bier (''beer'')<br>Note: ''At least in Germany and Austria, you should say what kind of beer you want. There are:'' Export (''EKS-port''), known as 'Helles' (''HELL-as'') ''in Bavaria'' and as 'Lager' (''LAH-ger'') ''in Switzerland''; Pils (''pilss''); Hefeweizen (''HAY-fuh-vigh-tsen''), known as 'Weißbier' (''VIGHSS-beer'') ''in Bavaria''; dunkles Hefeweizen (''DOONK-less HAY-fuh-vigh-tsen''); Alt (''ahlt'') ''in the Düsseldorf region''; Kölsch (''koolsh'') ''in Cologne and probably most of the rest of the Rhineland''; Bockbier (''BOCK-beer'') ''sometimes in the South of Germany''. If you only say ''beer'', you will usually get a ''Pils''. ; red/white wine : Rot-/Weißwein (''ROHT-/VIGHSS-vighn'') ; May I have some _____? : Kann ich etwas _____ haben? (''kahn ikh ET-vahss _____ HAH-ben?'') ; salt : Salz (''zahlts'') ; black pepper : Pfeffer (''PFEF-er'') ; butter : Butter (''BOO-ter'') ; Excuse me, waiter! (''getting attention of server'') : Entschuldigung! (''ent-SHOOL-dih-goong'') ; I'm finished. : Ich bin fertig. (''ikh bin FAYR-tikh'') ; It was (not) delicious. :Es war (nicht) lecker. (''ess vahr (neekh) LEK-ker'') or Es schmeckt (nicht). (''ess SHMEKT (neekh)'') ; Please clear the plates. : Würden Sie bitte abräumen? (''VUUR-den zee BIT-tuh ahb-ROY-men?'') ; The check, please. : Zahlen, bitte. (''TSAH-len, BIT-tuh'') ; Keep the change : Stimmt so! (STEEMT zo!) (Lit: Tally it like so) ===Bars=== [[File:Masskruege.jpg|thumb|250px|Märzen at Oktoberfest, served in the traditional 1-litre Maß.]] ; Do you serve alcohol? : Haben Sie alkoholische Getränke? (''HAH-ben zee ahl-koh-HOHL-ish-uh guh-TRENG-kuh?'') ; Is there table service? : Kommt eine Bedienung zum Tisch? (''kommt IGH-nuh buh-DEE-noong tsoom TISH?'') ; A beer/two beers, please. : Ein Bier/zwei Bier, bitte. (''ighn beer/tsvigh beer, BIT-tuh'')<br/>''See note in previous section.'' ; A glass of red/white wine, please. : Ein Glas Rot-/Weißwein, bitte. (''ighn glahss ROHT-/VIGHSS-vign, BIT-tuh'') ; A quarter/eighth of red wine, please. : Ein Viertel/Achtel Rotwein, bitte. (''ign FEER-tel/AHKH-tel ROHT-vign, BIT-tuh'')<br>Note: It's usual to order wine by quarters or eighths (of a liter). ; A little/big beer, please. : Ein kleines/großes Bier, bitte. (''ighn KLIGH-ness/GROH-sess beer, BIT-tuh'') ; Half a liter, please. (of beer) : Eine Halbe, bitte. (''IGH-nuh HAHL-buh, BIT-tuh'')<br>Note: ''This probably won't be understood in the North of Germany.'' ; A bottle, please. : Eine Flasche, bitte. (''IGH-nuh FLAH-shuh, BIT-tuh'') ; Rum and coke, please. : Bitte eine Cola mit Rum. (''BIT-tuh IGH-nuh KOH-lah mit ROOM'')<br>Note: ''In German, the mixer comes first. In common parlance some drinks are just named after a list of their ingredients with the alcoholic part mentioned first (e.g. Wodka [red] Bull)'' ; whiskey : Whiskey (''VIS-kee'') ; vodka : Wodka (''VOT-kah'') ; rum : Rum (''ROOM'') ; water : Wasser (''VAH-ser'') ; club soda : Mineralwasser (''Mee-ne-RAWL-vas-ser'') ; tonic water : Tonicwater ''or simply'' Tonic ; orange juice : Orangensaft ''or simply'' O-Saft (''oh-RAHN-gehn-zahft'' or ''OH-zahft'') ; Coke (''soda'') : Cola (''KOH-lah''), though "coke" is understood and will get you the brand from [[Atlanta]] more likely than not ; Do you have (any) bar snacks? : Haben Sie (irgendwelche) Snacks? (''HAH-ben zee EER-gent-VELL-khe SNEKS?'') ; One more, please. : Noch einen(m)/eine(f)/eins(n), bitte. (''nokh IGH-nen/IGH-nuh/IGHNS, BIT-tuh'') ; Another round, please. : Noch eine Runde, bitte. (''nokh IGH-nuh ROON-duh, BIT-tuh'') ; When is closing time? : Wann schließen Sie? (''vahn SHLEE-sen zee?'') ; Cheers! : Prost! or Zum Wohl! (''zoom wole'') <br>Note: ''"Prost" comes from Latin "prosit" which can be translated as "may it be good/beneficial" and is still understood though somewhat antiquated'' ===Shopping=== [[File:Frankfurt am Main - Frankfurter Weihnachtsmarkt (2025) 1.jpg|thumb|300px|A [[Christmas market]] in [[Frankfurt]], an annual staple for multiple German communities.]] {{infobox|How to build a German noun|In a similar way as English, compound words that make a noun are also common in German. The difference however is that all these words are stacked into a single word ('''agglutinative'''). While initially anyone reading the word is guaranteed to freak out, breaking them one by one would then make sense. While only few words are useful for travelers and even for Germans themselves, cardinal numbers are the most commonly used examples. (e.g. 678429 : ''sechshundertachtundsiebzigtausendvierhundertneunundzwanzig''). If you wish to play with compounding words, here are a few examples: ; Fahrtreppenbenutzungshinweise : Escalator usage advice ; Fußgängerübergang : Pedestrian crossing ; Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften : Legal protection insurance companies. ; Weihnachtskeksdosendeckelbeschriftungsfarbe : The color of the labeling on the lid of the Christmas cookie box ; Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft: Association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services (a pre-war club in Vienna). It is well known as the longest German word ever at 80 letters, even though the organization's actual existence is disputed. In addition to that, another few compound words may sound uncreative and nonsense for English speakers, yet ranging from amusing to sensible once one gives a little more thought. Here are a few examples that a traveler might often see: ; Bettzeug : Bedding or bed sheets (lit. bed thing) ; Durchfall : Diarrhea (lit. through fall) ; Fernseher : Television (lit. distant observer). "To watch TV" is simply translated to ''fernsehen''. ; Feuerzeug : Cigarette lighter (lit. fire thing) ; Flugzeug : Airplane (lit. fly thing) ; Handschuhe : Gloves/mittens (lit. hand shoes) ; Klobrille : toilet seat (lit. toilet glasses) ; Spiegelei : Sunny-side-up or fried egg (lit. mirror egg) ; Rathaus : City hall (lit. advice or council house) ; Regenschirm : Umbrella (lit. rain shield) ; Warteschlange (often just Schlange): Queue/Line (lit. waiting snake) ; Zahnfleisch : Gum (lit. tooth meat) Yet there are also German words that cannot be directly translated into English: ; Backpfeifengesicht : Slappable face (lit. cheek whistle (slap) face) ; Gemütlichkeit : a feeling of coziness, contentedness, comfort and relaxation (the general English translation of coziness is only one part of the equation). ; Kummerspeck : Excess weight gained from comfort overeating (lit. sorrow bacon) ; Ohrwurm : catchy tune (lit. ear worm) (this word is adopted into English) ; Schadenfreude: Joy in another's sadness (lit. pity joy) ; Wanderlust : The desire to wander (this word is adopted into English). Also translated as '''Fernweh''' (lit. remote sore) ; Verschlimmbessern : to make something worse in an attempt of improving it}} ; Do you have this in my size? : Haben Sie das in meiner Größe? (''HAH-ben zee dahs in MIGH-ner GROO-suh?'') ; How much is this? : Was kostet das? (''vahss KOSS-tet dahss?'') or Wie viel kostet das? (''vee FEEL koss-tet dahss'') ; That's too expensive. : Das ist zu teuer. (''dahss ist tsoo TOY-er'') ; Would you take _____? : Würden Sie es für ___ verkaufen? (''VUUR-den zee as fyr _____ vayr-COW-fan?'') ; expensive : teuer (''TOY-er'') ; cheap : billig / günstig (''BILL-ikh/GUUN-stikh'') (Note: "Billig" also can mean "not good/low quality") ; free : kostenlos / gratis (''KOS-ten-los/GRAH-tees'') ; I (don't) like it. :Das gefällt mir (nicht). (''Das ge-PHAELT meer nikth'')<br>Lit: It is (not) pleasing to me. ; I can't afford it. : Ich kann es mir nicht leisten. (''ikh kahn ess meer nikth LIGH-sten'') ; I don't want it. : Ich will es nicht. (''ikh vill ess nikht'') ; I know that this is not the regular price. : Ich weiß, dass das nicht der normale Preis ist. (''ikh vighss, dahss dahss nikht dayr nor-MAH-luh PRIGHSS ist'') ; You're cheating me. : Sie wollen mich abzocken. (''zee VOLL-en mikh AHP-tsock-en'')<br>Note: ''Actually, the translation would be:'' Sie betrügen mich. ''But that sounds too hard. The word'' abzocken ''is a rather familiar use of language.'' ; I'm not interested. : Ich habe kein Interesse. (''ikh hah-buh kighn in-ter-ES-se'') ; OK, I'll take it. : OK, ich nehme es. (''oh-kay, ikh NAY-muh ess'') ; Can I have a bag? : Kann ich eine Tüte haben? (''kahn ikh IGH-nuh TUU-tuh HAH-ben?'') ; Do you ship (overseas)? : Versenden Sie auch (ins Ausland)? (''fayr-ZEN-den zee owkh [ins AUS-land]?'') ; I need... : Ich brauche... (''ikh BROW-khuh...'') (''BROW'' rhymes with ''cow'') ; ...toothpaste. : ...Zahnpaste. (''TSAHN-pahs-teh'') ; ...a toothbrush. : ...eine Zahnbürste. (''IGH-nuh TSAHN-buur-stuh'') ; ...tampons. : ...Tampons. (''TAHM-pohns'') ; ...soap. : ...Seife. (''ZIGH-fuh'') ; ...shampoo. : ...Shampoo. (''SHAHM-poo'') ; ...pain reliever. (''e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen'') : ...Schmerzmittel. (''SHMAYRTS-mit-tel'')<br>Note: ''You will get medicine in pharmacies ("Apotheke", with big red A-Sign) only, not in normal stores'' ; ...cold medicine. : ...etwas gegen Erkältung. (''ET-vahs GAY-gen ayr-KELT-oong'') ; ...stomach medicine. : ....Magentabletten (''MAH-gen-tah-BLET-ten'') ; ...a razor. : ...einen Rasierer. (''IGH-nen rah-ZEER-er'') ; ...a razor (blade): ...eine Rasierklinge. (''IGH-ne rah-ZEER-kling-uh'') ; ...an umbrella. : ...einen Regenschirm. (''IGH-nen RAY-gen-sheerm'') ; ...sunblock lotion. : ...Sonnencreme. (''ZON-nen-kraym'') ; ...a postcard. : ...eine Postkarte. (''IGH-nuh POST-kahr-tuh'') ; ...postage stamps. : ...Briefmarken. (''BREEF-mahr-ken'') ; ...batteries. : ...Batterien. (''baht-uh-REE-en'') ; ...writing paper. : ...Schreibpapier. (''SHRIGHP-pah-peer'') ; ...a pen. : ...einen Stift. (''igh-nen SHTIFT'') ; ...English-language books. : ...englischsprachige Bücher. (''ENG-lish-shprahkh-ig-uh BUUKH-er'') ; ...English-language magazines. : ...englischsprachige Zeitschriften. (''ENG-lish-shprahkh-ig-uh TSIGHT-shrift-en'') ; ...an English-language newspaper. : ...eine englischsprachige Zeitung. (''IGH-nuh ENG-lish-shprahkh-ig-uh TSIGH-toong'') ; ...an English-German dictionary. : ...ein Englisch-Deutsch-Wörterbuch. (''ighn ENG-lish-DOYTCH woor-ter-bookh'') ===Driving=== [[File:Zeichen 393 b - Informationstafel an Grenzübergängen (an sonstigen Straßen außerhalb der Autobahn), StVO 1981.svg|thumb|250px|The general speed limit across Germany. Outside the Autobahn, strictly do not exceed the speed limits as indicated with a red circle; in the Autobahn, the blue square indicates advisory speed - driving beyond the speed will cause you liability in case of an accident.]] ; I want to rent a car. : Ich möchte ein Auto mieten. (''ikh MOOKH-tuh ighn OW-toh mee-ten'') ; Can I get insurance? : Kann ich es versichern lassen? (''kahn ikh es fayr-ZIKH-ern LAH-sen?'') ; stop (''on a street sign'') : stop (''SHTOP'') ; one way : Einbahnstraße (''IGHN-bahn-shtrah-suh'') ; yield : Vorfahrt gewähren (''FOR-fahrt guh-VEHR-ren'') ; freeway: Autobahn (''AU-toh-ban'') ; exit (on highway) : Ausfahrt (''OWS-fahrt'') ; no parking : Parkverbot (''PAHRK-fayr-boht'') ; speed limit : Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkung (''guh-SHVIN-dikh-kights-buh-SHRENG-koong'') (a compound noun made from "Geschwindigkeit" = speed and "Beschränkung" = limit) ; gas (''petrol'') station : Tankstelle (''TAHNK-shtel-luh'') ; petrol : Benzin (''ben-TSEEN'') ; unleaded petrol: Benzin bleifrei (''ben-TSEEN bly-FRY'') ; diesel : Diesel (''DEE-zel'') ; toll : Maut (''MOWT'') ===Authority=== Most police officers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will speak functional English. Even if you have some capability in German, you may still want to stick to English just in case you make a mistake. ; government : Regierung (''RE-ghee-rung'') ; office : Büro (''byu-ro'') ; department : Amt (''ahmt'') ; law : Gesetz (''ge-ze-ts'') ; I haven't done anything. : Ich habe nichts getan. (''eesh HAH-buh nikhts guh-TAHN'') ; It was a misunderstanding. : Das war ein Missverständnis. (''dahs vahr ighn MEES-fayr-shtand-nees'') ; Where are you taking me? : Wohin bringen Sie mich? (''VOH-hin BRING-uhn zee meekh?'') ; Am I under arrest? : Bin ich verhaftet? (''been eekh fayr-HAHF-tut?'') ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. : Ich bin amerikanischer/australischer/britischer/kanadischer Staatsbürger. (''eekh been ah-may-ree-KAH-neesh-er / owss-TRAH-leesh-er / BREET-eesh-er / kah-NAH-deesh-er SHTAHTS-buur-gurr'') or, if female, amerikanische/australische/britische/kanadische Staatsbürgerin (''ah-may-ree-KAH-neesh-uh / owss-TRAH-leesh-uh / BREET-eesh-uh / kah-NAH-deesh-uh SHTAHTS-buur-gurr-een)'') ; I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. : Ich will mit der/dem amerikanischen/australischen/britischen/kanadischen Botschaft/Konsulat sprechen. (''eekh veel meet dayr/dame ah-may-ree-KAHn-eesh-uhn / ows-TRAH-leesh-uhn / BREE-teesh-uhn / kah-NAH-deesh-uhn BOHT-shahft / kohn-zoo-LAHT SHPREKH-uhn'') ; I need a professional translator. : Ich brauche einen professionellen Übersetzer. (eekh - brow-khe I-nehn pro-fe-si-O-ne-len yu-behr-ze-tseh) ; I want to talk to a lawyer. : Ich will mit einem Anwalt sprechen. (''eekh veel meet IGH-nem AHN-vahlt SHPREKH-uhn'') ; Can I just pay a fine now? : Kann ich jetzt einfach eine Strafe zahlen? (''kahn eekh yetst IGHN-fakh igh-nuh SHTRAH-fe TSAH-len?'') : ''Note'': Be sure that it is clear from the context that you aren't offering a bribe. Trying to bribe an official will get you into real trouble. ; Based on which article of a law will I be prosecuted? : Auf Grundlage welchen Gesetzes werde ich angeklagt? (''ow-f GROONT-lage VEL-khen ge-ZE-tses werre-deh eekh AN-ge-klagt?'') ===Country names=== Names of countries in general retain their official name or equivalent to English words, with subtle adaptations suitable for German speakers. Some country names which end with -ia (Latin suffix) are either adapted into -en (e.g.: Egypt to Ägypten, India to Indien, Romania to Rumänien) or retained (e.g. Malaysia, Nigeria, Panama). Some countries also take a ''definite article'' of either "der" (e.g. der Irak, der Iran, der Libanon) or "die" in singular (e.g. die Schweiz, die Ukraine, die Türkei, die Mongolei, die Slowakei, all countries ending with -ei, countries containing the name Republik) or plural form (e.g. die Niederlande, die USA, die VAE (the UAE), all countries of plural form in English). Countries with significant spelling and pronunciation differences compared to English are listed below. In general there has been a tendency since about the 1950s to move away from "Germanized" pronunciations and spellings towards more Anglophone or more akin to the local name ones. A somewhat dicey subject are German names for formerly German places (e.g. [[Wroclaw]]) which will be understood but might be seen as a revanchist statement by some. Similarly in some country names the c used to be replaced with a k but isn't any more (e.g. "Nikaragua" is hardly used any more) whereas for "Mexiko" and "Kolumbien" the k form is standard. For indicating the nationality of a person, add the suffix -er at the end or replacing the -en suffix if the country has the suffix. Leave it as it is for male or add -in for female. In the following list, there are articles like, ''die'' (''dee''): feminine or plural <br/> ''der'' (''deer''): masculine In German grammar, ''das'' is rarely used in countries' names. The grammar needs an article before adjective with the name, e.g. ''das große Spanien'' ('the big Spain'). ; Germany: Deutschland (''DOI-ch-lahnt'') ; Austria: Österreich (''OEST-ter-raikh'') ; Switzerland : ''die'' Schweiz (''di sh-WAITS'') ; Belgium : Belgien (''bell-GHI-uhn'') ; Liechtenstein : (''LEEKH-tuhn-sh-tine'') ; Italy : Italien (''ee-tah-LEE-uhn'') ; Luxembourg : Luxemburg (''LOOK-suhm-bur-k'') ; Poland : Polen (''POH-luhn'') ; the Netherlands : ''die'' Niederlande (''NEE-der-lan-duh'') ; Denmark : Dänemark (''DE-nuh-mark'') ; France: Frankreich (''FRAHN-kraikh''), however a citizen of France is a "Franzose" (male) "Französin" (female) ; Czech Republic: Tschechische Republik (''CHE-hi-she RE-ppoo-blick'') you may also hear the short form "Tschechien" ; The UK/Great Britain: Vereinigtes Königreich (''ver-REIN-ni-tes KOE-nig-raikh'')/Großbritannien (GROSS-bree-TAN-ni-en). The latter is used informally. ; England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland: England (ENG-land), Wales (vaa-lus), Schottland (SHOT-land), Nordirland (Nor-DIR-land), Irland (IR-land) ; Hungary : Ungarn (''OONG-garn'') ; Spain : Spanien (''SHPA-ni-en'') ; Greece : Griechenland (''GREE-khuhn-lahnt'') ; Cyprus: Zypern (''TSYU-pern'') ; Norway : Norwegen (''nor-VEH-ghen'') ; Sweden: Schweden (sh-veh-dun) ; Estonia: Estland (''Est-land'') ; Latvia: Lettland (''LETT-land'') ; Lithuania: Litauen (''LI-tau-en'') ; Belarus: Weißrussland (''WAISS-russ-land'') ; Russia: Russland (''RUSS-land'') ; Moldova: Republik Moldau (''MOL-daw'') or Moldawien ; Turkey: ''die'' Türkei (''di TUER-kai'') ; Azerbaijan: Aserbaidschan (''ah-ser-bai-JAN'') ; Maldives: ''die'' Malediven (''MA-luh-DIH-ven'') ; China: China (''KHEE-nah'') ; Japan: Japan (''YAH-pan'') ; New Zealand: Neuseeland (''NOY-see-land'') ; Fiji: Fidschi (''FI-dgi'') ; Morocco: Marokko (''ma-RO-ko'') ; Djibouti: Dschibuti (''ji-BU-ti'') ; USA: ''die'' Vereinigte Staaten (''ver-RAIN-ni-te STA-ah-ten'') or die USA (''dee UH-ES-AH'') in colloquial parlance a citizen of the U.S. will often be called "Ami" for either gender. ===Place names=== Here are examples of the place names in German-speaking area which is not same to English. ; Südtirol : South Tyrol (''ZYUD-ti-rol'') ; Nordrhein-Westfalen : North Rhine-Westphalia (''NORT-rine VEST-fah-luhn'') ; Köln : Cologne ; München : Munich ; Bayern : Bavaria ; Thüringen : Thuringia (''TYU-ring-uhn'') ; Sachsen : [[Saxony]] (''ZA-xen'') ; Sachsen-Anhalt : [[Saxony-Anhalt]] (''ZA-xen Ahn-hahlt'') ; Niedersachsen : [[Lower Saxony]] (''NEE-der-za-xuhn'') ; Rheinland-Pfalz : Rhineland-Palantine (''RINE-lahnt-p-falts'') ; Oberösterreich : Upper Austria (''OBUR-os-tuh-rike'') ; Zürich : Zurich (''ZYU-rikh'') ; Genf : Geneve (''genf'') ; Wien : Vienne (''veen'') ; Graubünden : [[Grisons]] (''GROUH-byun-duhn'') ; Brüssel : [[Brussels]] (''BRYU-suhl'') ; Lüttich : [[Liege]] (''LYU-tikh'') ; Rom : Rome (''rhom'') ; Den Haag : The Hague ; Tokio : Tokyo (''TO-ki-o'') ; Moskau : Moscow (''MO-skow'') ==Learning more== * [https://en.duolingo.com/course/de/en/Learn-German Duolingo] * [https://deutsch.info/ Course for A1-B2 levels] with grammar, dictionary, media library and forum * [https://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469 Deutsche Welle] A1-C courses {{guidephrasebook}} {{phrasebookguide}} 3cenyz0ms8sld08f62zhmwkk1i1qnzl 0 12666 5298502 5297766 2026-06-25T19:59:46Z Derick Ofosu 2426452 /* Talk */ 5298502 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Cape Coast banner.jpg|caption=Cape Coast}} '''Ghana''' is a country in [[West Africa]]. It's a gratifying destination for first-time visitors to West Africa (it's sometimes called "Africa for beginners"), owing to its good infrastructure, political stability and widespread use of English. The people are generally very helpful and welcoming. While their laid-back attitude and a lack of organised tourist sights or trips can be a little annoying to begin with, you'll quickly realise that it is one of the delights of this country. Tourism in Ghana is growing very quickly, and tour operators are seeing increased requests for Ghana as a travel destination. Ghana has gold mines, and is a stable country with good potential for growth. ==Regions== There are 16 administrative regions in Ghana: Greater Accra region, which includes the country's capital, the Northern Region which is the largest in terms of size, Eastern Region, Western Region, Upper East Region, Upper West Region, Central Region, [[Volta Region]], Oti Region, Western North Region, North East Region, Ahafo Region, Savannah Region, Bono East Region, [[Ashanti Region]], and [[Brong Ahafo Region]] which is the second largest. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Ghana_Regions_map.png | regionmaptext=Map of Ghana with regions colour-coded | regionmapsize=400px | region1name=[[Ghanaian Coastal Plain|Coastal Plain]] | region1color=#71b37b | region1items=[[Accra]], [[Apam]], [[Cape Coast]], [[Elmina]], [[Kakum National Park]], [[Kokrobite]], [[Nzulezo]], [[Sekondi-Takoradi]], [[Ada (Ghana)|Ada]] | region1description=The Gulf of Guinea coastal area with the capital city, several forts, and the best-preserved rainforest in the country. | region2name=[[Ashanti-Kwahu]] | region2color=#64a0c7 | region2items=[[Koforidua]], [[Kumasi]], [[Obuasi]], [[Sunyani]] | region2description=Forested hills and the ancient Ashanti kingdom. | region3name=[[Volta Basin]] | region3color=#bf88bf | region3items= [[Tamale]], [[Yendi]], [[Yeji]], [[Salaga]], [[Atebubu]] | region3description=The massive Lake Volta, the river system that feeds it, and border crossings to [[Togo]]. | region4name=[[Ghanaian Northern Plains|Northern Plains]] | region4color=#b2be9b | region4items=[[Bolgatanga]], [[Mole National Park]], [[Wa]] | region4description= Savanna plains and the traditional trade routes with [[Burkina Faso]]. }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#71b37b|title=[[Ghanaian Coastal Plain|Coastal Plain]]|wikidata=Q14206721}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#64a0c7|title=[[Ashanti-Kwahu]]|wikidata=Q14201940}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#bf88bf|title=[[Volta Basin]]|wikidata=Q14202143}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#b2be9b|title=[[Ghanaian Northern Plains|Northern Plains]]|wikidata=Q14216463}} ==Cities== *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Accra]]|wikidata=Q3761}} — national capital and largest city *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Cape Coast]]|wikidata=Q221283}} — the first capital of Gold Coast (the former name of Ghana), Cape Coast is home to a slave castle that is a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Koforidua]]|wikidata=Q406358}} — regional capital of the Eastern Region *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kumasi]]|wikidata=Q182059}} — former capital of the Ashanti Empire on the [[UNESCO World Heritage List]] for Ashanti traditional buildings, and Ghana's second-largest city *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Obuasi]]|wikidata=Q1020901}} — a mining town *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Sekondi-Takoradi]]|wikidata=Q243293}} — also known as twin city or oil city *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Sunyani]]|wikidata=Q406037}} — the capital of [[Brong Ahafo Region]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tamale]]|wikidata=Q217040}} — largest city in the north, fastest-growing metropolis in Ghana and gateway to Mole National Park *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tema]]|wikidata=Q726143}} — industrial and port city on the Greenwich Meridian ==Other destinations== [[Image:Ghana footbridge1.jpg|thumb|Rainforest canopy walk at Kakum National Park]] * {{marker|name=[[Boti Falls]]|wikidata=Q16845075}} — a spectacular waterfall in a village called Boti in the Manya Krobo district in the Eastern Region. * {{marker|name=Prampram|wikidata=Q15045728}} — a town near [[Accra]], known for beaches, colonial-era fort, and the dancing pallbearers. * {{marker|name=[[Kakum National Park]]|wikidata=Q568693}} — rainforest area with a long canopy walk, delightful to be above the treetops, but rare to see any wildlife except birds. Monkeys, elephants and antelope are said to live in the region. There is a good little museum and a café at the park entrance. *{{marker|name=[[Mole National Park]]|wikidata=Q1585600}} — savannah with buffalo, monkeys, antelope, and reintroduced lions & elephants; driving and walking safaris are popular, you can even camp for the night on the savannah. * {{marker|name=[[Paga]]|wikidata=Q7124132}} &mdash; a town in the north home to "sacred crocodiles" which are tame and live in Paga Crocodile Pond. * {{marker|name=[[Shai Hills Resource Reserve]]|wikidata=Q16734092}} &mdash; a great day trip near Accra home to baboons, parrots, & antelope; you can tour the reserve on horseback. * {{marker|name=Wli Falls|wikidata=Q15560122}} — in the lush Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary near the Togo border. In addition, the forts and castles of [[Elmina]], Cape Coast, Butri, [[Apam]], Abandze, Komenda, [[Axim]], Dixcove, [[Shama]] and Senya Bereku are collectively listed on the [[UNESCO World Heritage List]]. ==Understand== {{quickbar| location=locationGhana.png}} [[File:Fort St Jago from Elmina Castle.JPG|thumb|View of Fort St Jago over [[Elmina]] from Elmina Slave Castle]] Ghana means "Warrior King" and the name of the country is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire. ===History=== ====Early times==== There is archaeological evidence which shows that humans have lived in what is present day Ghana from about 1500 BC. Nonetheless, there is no proof that those early dwellers are related to the current inhabitants of the area. Oral tradition has it that many of Ghana's current ethnic groups such as the multi-ethnic Akan, the Ga and the Ewe arrived around the 13th century AD. However, the Dagombas are believed to be the first settlers, having been fully established by 1210 AD, before the arrival of other ethnic groups. Modern Ghanaian territory includes what was the Empire of Ashanti, one of the most influential states in sub-Saharan Africa before colonial rule. Its capital, [[Kumasi]], was said to be one of the most vibrant and impressive cities in pre-colonial Africa, but was largely destroyed and looted by the British during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1874. ====Colonial era==== Early European contact by the Portuguese, who came to Ghana in the 15th century, focused on the extensive availability of gold. By 1548, the Dutch had joined them, and built forts at Komenda and Kormantsi. Other European traders joined in by the mid 17th century, largely English, Danes and Swedes. British merchants, impressed with the gold resources in the area, named it the Gold Coast, while French merchants, impressed with the trinkets worn by the coastal people, named the area to the west "Côte d'Ivoire", or Ivory Coast. The Gold Coast was known for centuries as 'The White Man's Grave' because many of the Europeans who went there died of malaria and other tropical diseases. After the Dutch withdrew in 1874, Britain made the Gold Coast a protectorate. Following conquest by the British in 1896, until independence in March 1957, the territory of modern Ghana excluding the Volta Region (British Togoland), was known as the Gold Coast. Many wars occurred between the colonial powers and the various nation-states in the area and even under colonial rule the chiefs and people often resisted the policies of the British. Moves toward de-colonisation intensified after World War II and after an intense struggle, on March 6, 1957 elected parliamentary leader Kwame Nkrumah declared Ghana as "free forever". The nation thus became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence. ====Modern era==== Kwame Nkrumah was a champion of pan-Africanism and his popularity was a major concern for the West. Nkrumah was overthrown by the military while he was abroad in February 1966. A series of coups from 1966 to 1981 ended with the ascension to power of the flamboyant Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1981. These changes resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties. The economy suffered a severe decline soon after, and many Ghanaians migrated to other countries. Rawlings changed many old economic policies and the economy soon began to recover. A new constitution restoring multi-party politics was instigated in 1992, and Rawlings was elected as president then and again in 1996. In 2009, John Atta Mills took office as president marking the second time that power had been transferred from one legitimately elected leader to another, and securing Ghana's status as a stable democracy. === Climate === Ghana is a tropical country with a hot and humid climate. Average daily temperatures range from 30°C (86°F) during the day to 24°C (75°F) at night. In northern Ghana, rainy season occurs between April and October, while in the south of the country, rainfall is experienced between April and June and the months of September and October. Southwest Ghana tends to get wetter than the rest of the country. Between December and March, Ghana is affected by the Harmattan, a dry wind coming from the Sahara, causing the humidity to be very low and the air very dry and with dusty fog. ===People=== Akan are the largest ethnic group in Ghana followed by Mole-Dagbani, but there are many others, including the Ashanti, Ewe, Ga-Dangme and so on. ===Holidays=== * '''New Year's Day''' (January 1) * '''Independence Day''' (March 6) * '''Easter''' (Good Friday and Easter Monday) * '''Republic Day''' (July 1) * '''Founder's Day''' (September 21) * '''Eid al-Adha''' (various)-Islamic religious observances * '''December 25''' (Christmas) * '''December 26''' (Boxing Day) ===Tourist information === * [https://www.ghana.travel/ Ghana Travel]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} information ==Get in== [[File:Visa policy of Ghana.svg|thumb|375px|A map showing the visa requirements of Ghana {{legend|#ED1C24|Ghana}} {{legend|#008000|Visa not required}} {{legend|#B5E61D|Free Electronic Travel Authorization (30 days)}} {{legend|#FFD000|Visa issued on arrival}} {{legend|#9FD5BE|eVisa}}]] ===Visa requirements=== [[File:Visa ghana.jpg|thumb|Ghanan visa in a passport]] Foreign nationals of the following countries can enter Ghana for a maximum of 30 days, or for a maximum of 90 days: ECOWAS countries, plus [[Botswana]], [[Colombia]], [[Dominica]], [[Egypt]], [[Eswatini]], [[Kenya]], [[Lesotho]], [[Malawi]], [[Mozambique]], [[Singapore]], [[Tanzania]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[São Tomé and Príncipe]], [[Uganda]] and [[Zimbabwe]]. Otherwise, unless in direct airside transit through a Ghanaian airport, all other foreign nationals require a visa to enter Ghana. For information about obtaining visas for Ghana, visit the [https://home.gis.gov.gh/ official website of the Ghana Immigration Service]{{Dead link|date=February 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Visa on arrival for Western countries is restricted to December only and it's reported that this visa on arrival costs US$200. It's thus best to play it safe and get a visa in advance. The Ghanaian government's online Ghana list of embassies is out of date. A three-month single-entry visa costs US$60; a one-year, multiple-entry visa costs US$100. You must have a yellow fever vaccination certificate which will be presented to customs when entering. For Canadians it is about US$120 for a single entry for 3 months and US$190 for multi-entry. *In [[London]] a 3-month visa cost £60 and takes 10 working days to get. *In September 2024, for a US citizen, a multiple-entry visa with a validity of 3 years cost US$107 and was issued in 15 working days. If you require a visa to enter Ghana, you might be able to apply for one at a British embassy, high commission or consulate in the country where you legally reside if there is no Ghanaian embassy or consulate. For example, the British embassies/consulates in [[Bogotá]], [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/jordan/commonwealth-bots/?langname=null Amman], [[Helsinki]] [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/finland/commonwealth-bots/?langname=UK%20English], [[Hong Kong]] [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/hong-kong/commonwealth-bots/?langname=UK%20English] and [[Tripoli]] [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/libya/commonwealth-bots/?langname=UK%20English] accept Ghanaian visa applications (this list is ''not'' exhaustive). British diplomatic posts charge UK£50 to process a Ghanaian visa application and an extra £70 if the authorities in Ghana require the visa application to be referred to them. The authorities in Ghana can also decide to charge an additional fee if they correspond with you directly. Travellers who are staying longer than their entry visa (a maximum of 30 or 60 days are usually granted for tourists) are advised to bring their passport for visa extension to Immigration Service early and expect delays in getting their passports back. Two weeks are provided as the guideline for processing time, but this can often take much longer. Be careful about what dates are stamped in your passport. Sometimes Immigration puts a 60-day stamp on a visa for 3 months: the stamps is what counts. If you don't want to go through the hassle of Immigration Service, you may consider going to Togo and back to get a visa stamp at the border. ===By plane=== [[File:Kotoka International Airport Accra - Terminal.jpg|thumb|Kotoka International Airport terminal building]] All international flights are through [http://www.gacl.com.gh/ Kotoka International Airport] at Accra (ACC). ACC is very central and there are always airport shuttles and lots of taxis available to connect you to other parts of the city. Terminal 3 at Kotoka International operates as a "first world" facility - very efficient and modern. Almost 29 international airlines fly to Kotoka International Airport with annual air traffic of over 4 million TAP Air Portugal has some of the lowest fares from Europe via [[Lisbon]] to Accra. Air Portugal also fly from [[Accra]] to [[São Tomé]]. Air Delta Air Lines serves Accra from [[New York City]] (JFK) while South African Airlines operates several times a week from Washington-Dulles, with continuing service to Johannesburg. British Airways flies from [[London|London Heathrow]]. KLM flies daily from Schiphol, [[Amsterdam]] and Brussels Airlines operates regular flights to Brussels. Lufthansa daily direct flights from [[Frankfurt]] and [[Milan]] respectively, with a short stop in [[Lagos]], [[Nigeria]]. Emirates flies daily non-stop from [[Dubai]] in the Middle East and Middle East Airlines (with connections to Asia and the Far East). Ethiopian Airlines flies daily non-stops from [[Addis Ababa]] (with stopover, you can visit another African country). Also, Egypt Air flies non-stop to Accra. If coming from [[Brazil]] or nearby, the flight from [[Rio de Janeiro]] to [[Luanda]], [[Angola]] on Angola Airlines or [[São Paulo]] via [[Lomé]], through Ethiopian Airlines and their partner airline ASKY would be the quickest routing. Turkish Airlines flies from [[İstanbul]] to Accra. Royal Air Maroc also has several flights a week to Accra out of [[Casablanca]]. Arik Air and operates flights to [[Nigeria]]. The lowest fares to Ghana outside of [[Africa]] are usually from London, but that doesn't necessarily mean British Airways is the cheapest (i.e. a transfer inside continental Europe may be required). TAP flies daily to Accra from [[Lisbon]]. Those living in [[North America]] might be able to save by getting a cheap ticket to [[London]] from their home country. (There are several London international airports, such as Gatwick and Heathrow, and allow ''lots'' of connection time.) See further down for domestic flight information. ===By train=== No international rail connections exist. However some major mining towns and villages are linked by the rail. ===By car=== The border at [[Aflao]] with [[Togo]] is an entertaining scene. It appears very disorderly and human traffic seems to flow freely. However it is unlikely that a white person can pass through without all the formalities. The border guards are professional enough where you will not be asked for bribes—although some women may get marriage proposals! A visa into Ghana can be bought at the border at double the normal cost (because of the speedy delivery) for some GH₵110. The Togolese 7-day transit visa is a lovely cheap 5,000 CFA francs (2011). Change your money before crossing, if you need to buy a visa. Ideally, change your money at a bank in Aflao (even better to do it in advance at a ForEx in [[Accra]]) or [[Lomé]]. While at the border crossings, keep your cameras stowed in your packs; both Ghanaian and Togolese border guards are sure to take your camera if they spot you snapping a photo, or at the least give you a good chiding. The border with [[Cote d'Ivoire]] at [[Elubo]] takes less time to cross but Ivorian guards seem much more keen on the rules. ===By bus=== Ghana's national bus company, State Transport Corporation, runs an inter-city bus service within Ghana and to some major West African cities. A recent public-private partnership produced Metro Mass Company, which runs services within the capital city, [[Accra]], and within other regions in Ghana. ABC Transport [http://www.abctransport.com], based in [[Nigeria]] has a daily air conditioned bus from [[Lagos]] to Accra for about GH₵45. Coming in from [[Burkina Faso]], the main route is a bus from [[Ouagadougou]] to [[Bolgatanga|Bolgatonga]], [[Tamale]] and Accra. Or you can cross the border at Hamile (or Hamale, as it is called on the BF-side of the border). Take a bus from [[Bobo-Dioulasso]]. You have to cross the border by foot (after leaving Burkina Faso, you walk some 300&nbsp;m through no-man's-land before reaching Ghana customs. Locals will be lingering around and will be looking to change money at fairly reasonable rates). Then take a Metro Mass bus to [[Wa]] (or hop on a tro-tro and do the trip in stages). Be sure to take an early bus from Bobo: if the bus has a delay, you may end up having to spend the night in Hamile. There is a place where you can get a room (GH₵10); the custom officers can help you find it. ===By boat=== There are no authorised boat services to Ghana. There are, however, pantos and ferries that work on the Volta lake linking the eastern region to the Volta region and other areas ==Get around== ===By plane=== The domestic air transportation scene in Ghana is very dynamic and appears to go through regular changes. As of 2019 there are only two registered carriers: Passion Air serving Accra, Kumasi & Tamale, and Africa World Airlines who serve the same centres in addition to Takoradi. All aircraft are of a high standard, as is the service level of airline staff, flights run on time and are reasonably priced. There are no scheduled services to Sunyani or Obuasi. ===By train=== The rail network in Ghana has long been dormant, however as of 2020 there are signs of rehabilitation on some stretches and intercity passenger services might materialize within a few years. The only services that operate as of early 2021 are commuter lines in [[Sekondi-Takoradi]] and between [[Accra]] and [[Tema]]. In Accra, you can join the train from the Central Station in Accra or at other stations and halts along the Accra-Nsawam railway line. Until 2017, the trains did go from Accra to Nsawam. However, it goes to Achimota, before joining the branch line to Tema. In Takoradi, the passenger train runs from Takoradi to Kojokrom, and then joins the branch line from Kojokrom and ends at Sekondi. It is very common to see the train carry freight from Nsuta or Tarkwa to Takoradi. ===By car=== [[File:Road from Kumasi to Obuasi - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Road from Kumasi to Obuasi]] Roads are variable. In Accra most are fairly good. Significant improvements are being made on the main road between Accra and Kumasi. Most of the roads outside Accra apart from the major ones are dirt tracks. The road between Techiman and Bole is particularly bad and should be avoided if possible. For travel on most roads in the North of the country a 4x4 is required, a saloon car will cope with some of them in the dry season but is not recommended. Cars with foreign registration are not allowed to circulate at night 18:00-06:00. Only Ghanaian registered vehicles are allowed on the road at this time. Non-compliance can result in fines and the impounding of the vehicle for the night. When traveling in some parts of the country, there will be police checkpoints on the road, some real, most fake. At the fake checkpoints, they will come up with non-existent laws that you supposedly broke and will try to get a bribe out of you. Usually, you can pay the police GH₵1-5 to let you go. At some checkpoint, they will give you a logbook that you need to show to the officers at the next checkpoint. If you decide not to pay the bribe, traveling even short distances will become ''onerous'', as the police will keep you at the checkpoint for a long time. For brave travelers, it is possible to drive through some of the illegal checkpoints, without stopping to pay the bribe. ===By bus=== Bus transportation is provided by the state-owned transport company (STC), as well as many privately-owned companies such as VIP Bus, VVIP Bus, O.A. Travel and Tours, M Plaza, and Diplomatic Transport. Fare depends on preferred company and destination of travel. Most of these buses are reasonably spacious charter buses with a/c and assigned seats, and there are meal and wash-room stops when aboard. However, bus breakdowns do occur occasionally and seatbelts are not a guarantee. As a general rule, STC is the only operation departing/arriving at posted times. The rest of the companies are still reliable, but you will often have to wait 1-3 hours more. A further exception here is Metro Mass Transit, which can be several hours late and does not provide assigned seating. However these private buses don't travel to rural areas of the country. Metro bus which is a state company is by far the cheapest means of travel between towns. ===By tro-tro=== A 'tro-tro' is almost any sort of vehicle that has been adapted to fit in as many people, possessions, and occasionally livestock, as possible. Tro-tros are typically old, 12-passenger VW or Mercedes-Benz vans. Similarly to 'shared' taxis, tro-tros will run along fixed routes and have fixed fares, and will rarely run with less than capacity (so be prepared to wait). They are inexpensive (cheaper than shared taxis and STC buses) and fares should reflect distance travelled, however they have a questionable safety record and frequently breakdown. Breakdowns however are usually not too much of a problem since they will break down in a route where other tro-tros run, so you can just grab another one. Although they generally run point to point they will usually pick and drop on route if required. They make runs within the city (i.e. Circle to Osu for GH₵0.20) as well as intercity routes. They are often the only option between remote towns but are not recommended for long journeys. Tro-tros are an excellent way to meet Ghanaians, and are always great for a cultural adventure. Sometimes they will make you pay extra for luggage, and occasionally they will try to overcharge (very rarely). If you feel like being an elite tro-tro rider, ask around for '''City Express''', a newish service sporting the usual minivan, but with working brakes, non-stop travel, half the seats, and impressive air conditioning. It mostly runs between the larger cities along the coast, e.g., [[Takoradi]], [[Accra]], [[Aflao]], et al. ===By taxi=== Taxis are prevalent, easy to spot, safe, and as a tourist you will find they find you quick enough if you need one. To charter a taxi is more expensive than to share one, but prices are negotiable and almost always need to be bargained over. Always settle on a fare before getting in. A taxi for a very short route should be no more than GH₵1.00, longer GH₵2.50-5.00 and GH₵8.00 should be enough for most places in the city. As of December 2011, you can use a rough rate of GH₵1.00 for every 1.5&nbsp;km travelled (check Google Maps for the distance between places). Fares continue to fluctuate with the fuel prices on the international market. Almost every taxi driver will start with a high price that is 1.5-3 times the local price if you're a foreigner and then you'll have to bargain them down. You'll get the best price when you start to walk away from the taxi. In Accra and the major cities most taxis that will stop for you assume you require a charter taxi and unless you are on a very strict budget it's usually easiest to do this. In more remote areas, shared taxis are most common. '''[https://little.bz/ Little]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ride-hailing app works in Ghana. ==Talk== English is both the official language and the lingua franca between Ghana's many peoples. English speakers will have no trouble communicating their needs anywhere in the country; Ghanaians usually speak English quite fluently, albeit with a strong accent and some quirks. Official government documents are in English, but there are over 40 distinct languages spoken in Ghana including [[Twi phrasebook|Twi]]/[[Fante phrasebook|Fante]] in the Ashanti and Fante regions, Akuapem/Krobo in the Eastern [[Ga phrasebook|Ga]] in Greater Accra, [[Ewe phrasebook|Ewe]] east of Lake Volta, [[Dagbani phrasebook|Dagbani]], and so on. "Obruni", the Akan word for foreigner literally means "white man", is generally shouted at any tourist in the more heavily trafficked areas, black or white, male or female. In the northern regions and among Ghanaian Muslims in general, the [[Hausa phrasebook|Hausa]] language is also used as a lingua franca. ==See== [[Image:Ghana Elmina slave castle.jpg|thumb|Elmina slave castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site]] ===Historic and UNESCO World Heritage sites=== For many visitors the history of Ghana starts with the [[Atlantic slave trade|slave trade]], and interaction with Europeans, but there was a long and rich history before that. Remnants of thriving civilisations can be seen in the Northern region, at both the Larabanga mosque which dates from the 15th century and the 16th-century Nalerigu Defence Wall. With the growth in power and prestige of the Ashanti Kingdom in the 17th and 19th centuries, the capital Kumasi also grew and now contains a number of historic sights. However the slave trade did leave its mark on Ghana, with forts built by the British, Dutch, Danish, Germans, Portuguese and Swedish dotted all along the coast. Excellent examples of these can be seen at both [[Cape Coast]] and [[Elmina]], these forts give a glimpse of the time of slavery and a view of the last sight of Africa for thousands of people, are [[UNESCO World Heritage sites]]. Another World Heritage site is the village of [[Nzulezo]], which is built on stilts.[[File:Koforidua Boti Falls.jpg|thumb|Boti Falls]] ===Nature=== [[File:Mole National Park from the viewing platform.jpg|thumb|Mole National Park from the viewing platform]] {{seealso|African wildlife}} Ghana is blessed with an abundance of natural treasures, from beautiful beaches such as those at [[Kokrobite]] and Winneba, where you can relax with a cocktail, enjoy a stay at a beach front hotel or watch the fishermen at work. Alternatively you could take the waters inland instead, Volta Lake created by the damming of the River Volta at Akosombo in the mid-1960s to provide a source of electricity to Ghana also provides a wonderful viewing point from the dam or trips out onto the lake itself or you can take a trip on the River Volta instead at Ada. In the Ashanti region not far from [[Kumasi]] is Lake Bosumtwi, a 10.5&nbsp;km diameter meteor impact crater lake, which was created by a meteor strike approximately 1 million years ago, as well a being extremely picturesque the lake holds a spiritual significance to the Ashanti, whose traditional belief asserts that souls of the dead meet the god Twi at the lake. Also inland, are two more national treasures in the form of two world renowned national parks. [[Kakum National Park]] to walk of the elevated rope bridges within the forest, with the opportunity for bird watching and butterfly and other nature spotting or to [[Mole National Park]] to enjoy a safari experience, with the chance to see Elephants, big cats and other animals on the savannah. There is also the mountaintop village of [[Wli Todzi]], in the rain forest near Wli Falls, which is known for its dramatic scenery and is popular for its ecotourism offerings. Ghana is a premier destination for [[birdwatching]], home to over 750 bird species. Its lush rainforests, especially Upper Guinea, support an incredible diversity of colourful species, including turacos, canopy-dwelling hornbills, and elusive forest skulkers. ===Urban=== The 1st and 2nd cities of Ghana offer plenty to see and to do. [[Accra]] offers history at the historic sites, such as Independence Square, the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum and the WB Dubois Centre. Shopping in a number of markets, including Makola market in the centre of the city. Cultural treats include a number of museums and the national theatre. Outside of the city at Aburi are the extensive botanical gardens. [[Kumasi]] offers the sights based around the history of the Ashanti, including the Manhiya Palace, the Asantehene's Palace and Okomfo Anokye Sword. There are also more to discover in terms of artifacts which are deeply rooted in the culture of the Asante people like wood carvings from Ahwiaa, Adinkra designs and clothes from Ntonso and Aboaso, Kente weaving in some part of Kwabre Bonwire, Adanwomasi and Wonoo. ===Rural=== Ghana offers a spiritual heritage, mainly in dozens of the country's rural, traditional communities. Attractions include sacred groves, ancestral shrines and paramount chieftaincies that highlight a deep harmony with nature and lineage. Cocoa plantations are the main highlight of Ghana's agro-tourism experience, concentrated mostly in rural forests. For farm tourists, its areas provide the "bean-to-bar" movement, including the production of cocoa beans, which are an industrial backbone of the national economy. ==Do== * {{do | name=Christmas | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=About 40 percent of Ghana's population is Christian, so the country celebrates Christmas as an official commercial holiday with observances of family gatherings, feasts, carols and church services. The tradition coincides with the country's end-of-year cocoa harvest beginning from December 20th. }} ==Buy== ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Ghana cedis | currencyCode=GH₵ | date=January 2026 | USD=10.4 | EUR=12.3 | GBP=14.1 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/ghs-ghanaian-cedi XE.com] }} The new '''Ghana cedi''', denoted by the symbol "'''GH₵'''" (ISO currency code: '''GHS''') was introduced on 1 July 2007 at a rate equal to 10,000 old cedis. When it was introduced, it was the highest-valued currency unit issued by a sovereign African country. You will encounter a variety of currency notations locally. Banknotes are issued denominations in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 new Ghana cedis. [[File:Paga Crocodile Pond (tourism).jpg|thumb|Paga Crocodile Pond]] One new Ghana cedi is divided into one hundred new Ghana pesewas (Gp). Coins of Ghana come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pesewas GH₵1 and GH₵2. The one pesewa coins are rare in the system since you hardly find items that can be bought for less than 5 pesewas. US dollars are accepted by some of the major tourist hotels, but you shouldn't rely on this. As in all West African countries, '''older US dollar bills will be rejected''' by banks and Forex bureaux. If you intend to take dollar notes make sure that they are all from the 2009 series or later. Euros, dollars and pounds sterling in cash are the most useful currencies to take with you and are easily and safely changed at numerous air con booths open to 21:00. There are many forex bureaux in [[Accra]], and a few in the other major cities. It is very difficult to change travellers cheques and certainly almost impossible outside Accra and [[Kumasi]], unless you change them at a major bank. Barclays has branches in Accra, Kumasi, [[Cape Coast]], and [[Tamale]] where you can change travellers cheques. Expect queues. ===ATMs=== There are Ecobank, Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic Bank and GT Bank ATMs all over Ghana which accept Mastercard and Visa. You can use Mastercard and Visa cards in hotels and some shopping malls and airline offices. Credit card fraud is very common in many places, so be careful. ===Shopping=== Bargaining is very much expected in the markets. Ask for a third of the price and work your way up from there. Large cities such as [[Accra]] have markets open every day, but travelers get the true flavour of the country if they have the opportunity to visit a village market on the day of the week that it is open. Most goods will be staple goods, but cloth, beads, musical instruments, bags, and even CDs are usually available. Kente cloth, drums and wooden designs, such as masks and "sacred stools" can be found on almost any street in any tourist area in Ghana. Ankara and kente cloth have associated symbolism in the colors and patterns. When you are buying it, ask the seller what the design means. The [http://www.accramall.com Accra Mall] is a shopping centre on the spintex road of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange. ===Adinkrah symbols and sacred stools=== The sacred stools have traditional Adinkrah "motif" designs in them that can mean many things having to do with God, love, strength and community. Finding a guidebook which will tell you what each symbol means is advisable to prevent the possibility of buying a stool that doesn't mean what you think it is. Gye Nyame is by far the most popular Adinkrah symbol. It means "Only God". Other popular stools are the "Wisdom Knot" and the one with the character holding many sticks together, which cannot be broken, to symbolize the strength of community. ==Eat== [[File:Fufu with palm nut soup, snail and tilapia.JPG|thumb|Fufu with palm nut soup, snail and tilapia]] Traditional food is fun to try and easy to enjoy. Fufu, the most widely served traditional dish, consists of pounded balls of yam, plantain, or cassava served with a variety of soups and meat or fish stews. Soups are typically made of groundnuts, palm nut, okra and other vegetables. Banku is a fermented corn version of the dish typically eaten with grilled tilapia fish or okra soup. Rice dishes are also typical, but not considered a "real" meal by many Ghanaians, males especially. Jollof rice is a dish as varied as its chef, but generally consists of white rice cooked with vegetables, meat pieces, spices in a tomato based sauce. Waakye is a mix of beans and rice, typically served with gari, a powder of ground cassava. Often rice dishes are served with shredded lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes on the side with a dollop of Heinz salad cream or mayonnaise. Such meals are extremely cheap from street vendors and cost GH₵1.50-2.50. Plantains, yams, and sweet potatoes are prepared in various ways and serve as small snacks. Kelewele, a spiced fried plantain snack, is especially delicious. Fresh fruits such as pineapple, mango, papaya, coconut, oranges, and bananas are delightful when in season and come when applicable by the bag for as little as 10 cents. A great African meal in a restaurant can cost GH₵3-7. For instance, a lobster and shrimp dinner can cost GH₵6. There are also a number of Western and Chinese style restaurants available especially in Osu, a trendy suburb of Accra. There is also banku and tilapia.The price of the tilapia varies based on the size as well as where you buy it from. There are other local traditional meals that are not so common example are the Aprapransa, mpotompoto etc ==Drink== [[File:Club Beer.jpg|thumb|183x183px|Club beer]] In Accra's expat visited bars, a beer will cost GH₵5-10. Fruit juices GH₵7.00, water GH₵5.00-8.50. Star and Club are two of the more popular beers served. For a more interesting and rewarding experience, visit a "spot," a bar signified by the blue and white stripes on the outside of the building. They are cheaper and you will undoubtedly be able to meet some local Ghanaians and hear the newest hip-life songs. A soft drink such as Coke, Alvaro, Fanta, 7UP (called "minerals" by locals) are widely available for GH₵0.70. The bottles that minerals or beer is served to you in are owned by the bottling company: if you do not return it to the seller, they stand to lose GH₵0.50 — more than you most likely paid for the drink. If you are not going to consume the drink at the "spot" or at the roadside stand, make sure you let the seller know. Often, you will be asked for a deposit which will be returned upon the return of the bottle. There are also traditional drinks like "pito", asaana, burkina, and bisarrp drink (sobolo). ==Sleep== There are many wonderful places to stay in Ghana. There are many options including lavish hotels or more rustic places to stay. Cheap, decent hotel rooms can run as low as GH₵300. A better room can go as low as GH₵100. For high-end hotels, prices are higher than a comparable hotel in the USA. For longer stays (a few months) it is possible to rent a house. Houses for rent are advertised in local newspapers and also in those places frequented by expats - Koala supermarket, Ryan's Irish pub, etc. ==Learn== Ghana has three major public universities. The largest of these is the University of Ghana, located in Legon, a suburb of the capital, Accra. Other universities are located at Cape Coast (University of Cape Coast), and Kumasi (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, or "Tech"/KNUST). Smaller public universities include the University of Education at Winneba, the University of Development Studies with a main campus at Tamale and several other campuses around the north, and the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa, Western Region. There are also several private universities and colleges, both religious and non-religious. There are some good schools while others aren't that great. Teachers are usually very strict and respect from the students is very important. ==Work== [[File:Nzulezo1.jpg|thumb|Nzulezo]] A popular method of travelling around Ghana is to volunteer with the many organizations that Ghana boasts. *[http://www.africacalling.org Africa Calling]{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} *[http://www.aiesec.org AIESEC University students] *[http://www.gcs-np.org Global-Cultural Solution (GCS)]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} *[http://www.lightforchildren.com Light for Children] * {{listing | name=Operation Groundswell (OG) | url=http://operationgroundswell.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Nonprofit offers affordable "backpacktivist" volunteer programs which fund local, community-requested projects. }} *[https://www.thriveafrica.ngo Thrive Africa] *[http://www.volunteeringsolutions.co.uk Volunteering Solutions] *[http://vpwa.org Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa] ==Stay safe== The standard emergency number for police, fire and ambulance is '''112'''. Ghana is a very safe, stable country with relatively low crime levels compared to other West African countries. Take sensible precautions but be assured it is quite safe. Male '''homosexuality''' is illegal. While prosecutions are rare, there is widespread targeting and extortion of vulnerable people and anyone suspected to be gay or queer. Female homosexuality is legal. In 2021, Ghanaian police charged a group of LGBT activists with "unlawful assembly" and for "advocating LGBTQ activities", which is not illegal. Cases have also been reported of people '''snatching mobile phones''' in the streets. Avoid using your mobile phone out in the open. Accidental '''gas tanker explosions''', including occurrences in heavily populated residential & industrial areas throughout the country, have been a recurring problem, with eight such cases in 2015–2017. ==Stay healthy== Chloroquine-resistant '''[[malaria]]''' is widespread and you must take sufficient malaria protection including mosquito avoidance, mosquito repellants, and chemical prophylaxis. [[Yellow fever]] vaccination is required for entry into the country. Get vaccinations against '''hepatitis A & B''', '''cholera''' and '''typhoid fever''' if you are planning to travel within the country. There is a very high risk of '''meningitis''' in the northern third of Ghana which is a part of the Meningitis belt of Africa. This applies especially during the dry windy periods from December to June. A polysaccharide vaccine is available for Meningitis types A, C, Y and W135. Although the '''AIDS/HIV''' rate is lower than other sub-Saharan African countries, ''do not have unprotected sex!'' Also you should ''avoid contact with still freshwater'' as there is a risk of '''schistosomiasis'''. Some restaurants will approach high health standards, but be prepared to pay for this. Smaller restaurants, often called "chop bars," will likely not meet these standards. Because of the tropical climate near the coast, travellers will need to stay hydrated. Bottled water is available everywhere. Voltic Water has been a reliable brand over the years, but do check to make sure the seal has not been broken. '''[[Drinking water]]''' from the tap is not generally considered to be safe, so choices include plastic bottled water (e.g. Voltic, 1.5&nbsp;L, c. GH₵1.00), boiled or filtered tap water, and "pure water" sachets. These sachets are filtered and come in 500&nbsp;mL. portions. Many foreigners prefer bottled water. At least one study [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12969499] has suggested bottled water to be the safest choice. Although "pure water" sachets are more easily accessible, 2.3% of sachets tested were found to contain faecal bacteria. If you want to play it safe, stick with carbonated beverages or bottled water. For the latest traveller's health information pertaining to Ghana, including advisories and recommendations, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/ghana.aspx destination Ghana website]. ==Respect== {{ramadandates}} Do try to pick up on respectful practice (such as not eating or offering with your left hand), but in general Ghanaians are quite accepting of tourists getting it wrong. Greetings are very important. Ghanaians are not forgiving of people who do not take time to greet others. Sometimes greetings come in the form of a salute accompanied by a "good morning" or "good afternoon". The expected response is the same (a salute with a "good morning or afternoon"). Inquiring how the person is doing is also a good idea. The Ghanaian hand shake is a typical handshake, quickly followed by the snapping of thumb and middle finger. The technique will be introduced to you the first time you shake hands; it will take you by surprise as it involves sliding your hand down the other persons hand, taking their middle finger between your thumb and middle finger as they take your middle finger between their thumb and middle finger, then snapping your finger together as they do likewise. It is unique. Smile, make new friends, and give them a Ghanaian handshake: they will smile and nod! Travellers are not expected to dress like you are a Ghanaian, but if you are attending a significant event, dress appropriately to convey respect. This could mean wearing black (or black with red), modest clothing to the [[Funeral travel|funeral]] of an adult, but a brightly coloured dress to a wedding. As a country with many traditions, it may be best and simplest to ask your hosts what will be most suitable. For example, the preferred funeral attire may be white with a few black touches if the person was very old, or normally coloured clothing if the family is Muslim. ==Connect== Telephone and postal services can be unreliable within Ghana itself but international post, at least to and from Accra is reasonably reliable (approx a week either way to the UK for example). Ghana Telecom (later re-branded Vodafone) is the most widespread landline phone company, but is not yet entirely reliable or widespread. There are three voice-and-data mobile network operators operating in the country commercially: MTN, Telecel, and AT. MTN and Telecel have 2G GSM (including EDGE), 3G UMTS (including HSPA+), and 4G LTE coverage in the regional capitals and other major cities. AT may start operating 4G services. Coverage is good in the urban areas, and is increasing in the rural areas and along major highways. MTN is likely to have the most coverage. The three mobile phone networks have GSM 900/1800, and UMTS 900 (Band 8)/2100 (Band 1) in common. However, while buying a SIM card (~GH₵10.00), you are expected to present a certain type of ID card (not a visa) issued in Ghana in order to register (activate) it. ID cards of the required type may be issued to resident foreigners (at an initial fee that's fixed at US$120, the card is valid for one year), citizens, and refugees. The Government of Ghana planned to cause an alternative where foreign passports could be used instead (to activate the SIM card for a month) to be implemented, however, the alternative might not be implemented, so you may be required to have a foreign SIM card and a suitable roaming plan in order to make and receive calls. The acceptance of ECOWAS cards issued elsewhere was also planned. If a SIM card is bought in Ghana, it is in a deactivated state until details, including ID and biometric details, are captured in a smartphone app and associated with the SIM card by those authorized to do so. Workers authorized to capture details are disallowed from using their own details, doing so is restricted both by technology (the maximum number of SIMs that can be associated with each individual is capped) and by local laws. In the country's urban areas, you're never too far away from an internet cafe where one hour of internet access should cost ~GH₵1.00. Many hotels also boast broadband access via Wi-Fi. {{geo|8.0|-0.5|zoom=7}} {{isPartOf|West_Africa}} {{outlinecountry}} o5ccvej2xmw8owouny7cbaecio2o66a 0 15268 5298663 5287567 2026-06-26T09:21:40Z BoreasCruises, Egypt 2426562 /* Do */ Added listing for Boreas Cruises - Added local cruise operator. 5298663 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mena-asia_default_banner.jpg}} [[File:Al-Mahmya Beach, Hurghada, Egypt.jpeg|thumb|Hurghada beach]] '''[http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/LastPage.aspx?Category_ID=440 Hurghada]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''Arabic:'' الغردقة [[Egyptian Arabic phrasebook|<span title="how to pronounce">el-ğarda’a</span>]]) is a resort town on the [[Red Sea Coast]] of [[Egypt]]. Famous for its superb diving opportunities, Hurghada is especially appealing to those with little experience of scuba diving, who come to marvel at the underwater reefs and awesome marine life. ==Understand== Hurghada was once a fairly small and unimposing fishing village, next to the Red Sea. It has a number of superb beaches. Today, the resort of Hurghada is almost unrecognizable from its past life and has become a major destination in Egypt for budget tourists especially from Europe and Russia. It has more than 100 hotels, many of which line the shoreline, and numerous flights particularly from airports across Europe. Tourism is now a huge part of Hurghada and each year, many tourists choose to combine their holiday here with visits to other prominent locations along the Nile Valley, including the relatively nearby city of [[Luxor]]. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Hurghada |11.6 |22.2 |0.7 |12.4 |23.5 |0.5 |15.1 |26.2 |1.1 |18.7 |29.9 |0.0 |23.1 |33.7 |0.0 |26.1 |36.3 |0.0 |27.8 |37.4 |0.0 |28.0 |37.5 |0.0 |25.6 |35.3 |0.0 |22.2 |32.1 |2.3 |17.7 |27.8 |2.2 |13.4 |23.8 |0.6 |float=right |clear=right | description = Source: [http://www.worldweather.org/059/c01270.htm World Meteorological Organization] }} : ''See also: [[Egypt#Climate]]'' The climate is very dry and rainfall is very rare. The weather is very hot in summer days and quite hot in summer nights. In winter the weather is generally warm by day but cool by night. Hurghada can be downright cold when the Shamal wind blows down from the northeast. <div style="font-size:smaller; width:70%"> {|class="wikitable" |+[https://www.weather2travel.com/red-sea-egypt/hurghada/climate/ Hurghada mean sea temperature] |- !'''Jan''' !'''Feb''' !'''Mar''' !'''Apr''' !'''May''' !'''Jun''' !'''Jul''' !'''Aug''' !'''Sep''' !'''Oct''' !'''Nov''' !'''Dec''' |- |22&nbsp;°C (72&nbsp;°F) |21&nbsp;°C (70&nbsp;°F) |21&nbsp;°C (70&nbsp;°F) |22&nbsp;°C (72&nbsp;°F) |24&nbsp;°C (75&nbsp;°F) |26&nbsp;°C (79&nbsp;°F) |27&nbsp;°C (81&nbsp;°F) |28&nbsp;°C (82&nbsp;°F) |27&nbsp;°C (81&nbsp;°F) |26&nbsp;°C (79&nbsp;°F) |25&nbsp;°C (77&nbsp;°F) |23&nbsp;°C (73&nbsp;°F) |} </div> ===Orientation=== Miles and miles and miles of concrete, much of it abandoned developments, mar the shoreline. The oldest, most Egyptian part of the city is {{marker|type=around|name=Ad-Dahar|lat=27.25233|long=33.81475}} to the north, with relatively limited tourist facilities. This is separated by a low dusty ridge from {{marker|type=around|name=Sigala|lat=27.22642|long=33.83814}} 4 km south. Sigala is the main downtown strip, with western and traditional restaurants, hotels and general facilities, and has the most buzz about it. Several boat and dive operators run from the marina here. The main drag of Sheraton Road continues south along the coast for 4 km to the disused Sheraton Hotel, a circular 1970s concrete hulk. The road now enters the Village Resort strip, with another rash of hotels. The coral reefs around Hurghada are several miles offshore, unlike the Sinai resorts and Jordan where they hug the coast, so divers and snorkelers will need to take a boat trip to enjoy them. Arid islands dot the sea. The largest is Big Giftun, which has a beach club and (better still) cellphone towers - so mobile reception is good out on the water, to the benefit of skippers and trippers. Modern developers have kind of given up on Hurghada, and have built glossy new resorts further away, notably El Gouna 20 km north, Makadi Bay 30 km south, and Safaga 50 km south. These all use Hurghada airport as their entry point. ==Get in== ===By plane=== Hurghada has frequent direct international flights from Europe including Russia, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Far East, e.g. Bangkok. Most of these travellers are on package tours of Egypt — but not all, as the operators also sell flight-only tickets, a cheap and convenient way to get in. Coming from Rome or Budapest there are ultra low-cost flights operated by Wizz Air. Domestic flights link Hurghada frequently to Cairo, and daily to Alexandria and Sharm el-Sheikh. These are a good way to travel as Hurghada is backed by an awful lot of desert, and road transport to other cities is lengthy, hot, dusty, bumpy and not entirely safe. The main domestic operator is Egyptair, but Nile Air and Al Masria compete on the Cairo route and keep fares low. The package operators, e.g. TUI, also fly domestic legs, but these are mainly to move their own clients around Egypt and are not always available to book point-to-point. * {{go | name=Hurghada International Airport | alt={{IATA|HRG}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178056 | long=33.799167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Hurghada International Airport | image=Hurghada-Airport.jpg | wikidata=Q385191 | lastedit=2026-06-03 | content=Hurghada's airport is about 8 km west of the Hurghada resort strip and about 10 km from Sigala. Terminal use may vary by airline and flight, so check your airline or tour operator before travel. After landing, passengers usually pass through visa formalities, passport control and baggage claim before entering the arrivals hall. The airport is functional, but can become crowded when several charter flights arrive or depart close together. }} There is free Wi-Fi for a short period. After that duration you may need to pay or use mobile data. In the arrivals area, SIM cards with mobile data may be sold by Egyptian mobile network operators. A passport is normally required for registration, and the card should be tested before leaving the counter. Availability, queues and package prices can vary, especially during late arrivals or when several flights land close together. Travellers with eSIM-compatible phones may prefer to arrange mobile data before travel; those needing a physical SIM should allow extra time after baggage claim. Visa-on-arrival procedures may be available for eligible nationalities. Travellers should check current entry rules before departure. If buying a visa mark at the airport, keep cash ready and allow time before passport control, as queues can vary depending on the number of arriving flights. There is no local bus or microbus departing directly from the airport terminal. Package tourist arrivals will usually have their own bus awaiting. Independent travellers normally use an Uber/Careem where available, a taxi, a pre-arranged transfer, or walk out of the airport. The walking distance to the highway is about 1.3 km or 15 min and it is barely shaded. At the highway you can stop a microbus and ask if it heads in your direction. Airport taxis and private transfers are the most common options for independent travellers leaving the airport. Agree the total fare before entering a taxi and make clear whether the price is for the car, not per person. For resort areas outside Hurghada, such as El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga or Marsa Alam, a pre-arranged transfer can be more convenient, especially for late arrivals, families, travellers with luggage or guests going directly to a hotel reception. Taxi fares are high for the short distance from the airport to town or the resort strip. Prices vary by season, time, negotiation and destination. Drivers pay to enter and wait within the airport area, and this is often reflected in the fare. The regular fare towards the airport from town may be cheaper than the fare offered immediately outside the arrivals hall. There is also a toll on the highway south to Safaga that may be included in longer-distance fares. Getting back to the airport is possible by Uber/Careem where available, taxi or pre-arranged transfer. Travellers returning by microbus can go to the Total gas station near the airport and continue from there. At the police checkpoint you may need to show your passport and flight reservation and may undergo a small security check. The departure hall of the airport is upstairs. ===By bus=== The bus operators have different bus stations: * {{go | name=Go Bus Station | alt= | url=https://go-bus.com/en | email= | address= | lat= 27.23818 | long=33.83195 | directions=about 1 km north of High Jet | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-12-12 | content=Many destinations&mdash;check their website. The GoBus website allows you to purchase return tickets on all routes direct to your mobile phone as an e-ticket which is very convenient - you just need to set up an account to do this and foreign tourists are welcome on all services provided you are not travelling on restricted roads. Between Cairo, Luxor and Hurghada is perfectly fine. }} * {{go | name=Super Jet Bus Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2408649 | long=33.8276235 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-12-12 | content=The buses have a golden color with red stripes. 'Super Jet' is written in small letters on the bus. }} * {{go | name=High Jet Bus Station (to/from Cairo) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.228470 | long=33.835990 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-01-22 | content=It covers travel to/from Cairo (6-7 hr). Reserving tickets is barely necessary, considering the frequency of the buses. The buses are not that comfortable, and they have loud and annoying soap operas running in the bus during the whole journey. So, it is probably not a good idea to take a night bus. From Cairo: every 2-3 hr between 8AM-2:30AM. To Cairo: every 2-3 hr between 7AM-3AM. About LE380-450 }} [[Cairo]] &ndash; The trip usually takes approximately 7 hr depending on the operator. Known operators include the Super Jet (ph. 16108), [https://go-bus.com/ Go Bus] (ph. 19567) and HighJet. There are a number of stations which include one behind Cairo railway station '''Ahmed Helmy'''. There are many price options starting from LE380 and rising to LE750, every hour you can find bus to Hurghada (avoid MCV Co). In '''Medan El Giza''' in northwestern Cairo often extremely crowded, or '''Almaza Station''' in the Heliopolis district in northeastern Cairo. Bus schedules often change, but if you go to the bus station without booking you'll find many options. (updated Jan. 2026) [[Alexandria]] &ndash; There are 2 buses from Alexandria to Hurghada. The first one, Upper Egypt Bus Co., leaves at 6:30PM from the new bus station, and costs LE90. It arrives at Hurghada about 4:30AM. It is not recommended because you'll find all the city in deep sleep and seems like ghost city. The second bus, Super Jet Co., leaves the new bus station at 8:30PM and costs LE95. It arrives in the morning so you can find public transport and the taxis. (February 2012) [[Qena]] and [[Luxor]] &ndash; About 4-5 hr by bus. [https://go-bus.com/ Go Bus] has two daily buses at 8:15AM and 3:30PM to and from Luxor from LE90. If you're looking at the GoBus site on a mobile device, you may not be able to find listings for Luxor&mdash;try a laptop or ''desktop view''. Upper Egypt Bus Co. runs between Hurghada, Safagah, Luxor and Aswan. [[Aswan]] &ndash; There's one transport company to the Red Sea, Upper Egypt Bus Co. The buses are new, the ticket costs LE50 (maybe you pay extra LE5 as a foreigner). There are 2 buses: 3:30PM and 5:30PM. The trip takes 8 hours or more, which means you'll arrive in Hurghada after midnight. (February 2012) ===By taxi=== Long-distance "servees" taxis run from Hurghada bus station in El Hegaz Street (which you can reach by bus 4 or 7, or by local taxi). These run to all major cities in Egypt, but consider them especially for the run to Luxor, where the time saved by flying is less compelling. With 2 or 3 of you, you could negotiate a private long-distance taxi; again, the journey to Luxor works well this way. And unlike a "servees", the driver will pause at antiquities and photo opportunities on the way. ===By boat=== Ferry services between Hurghada and [[Sharm el-Sheikh]], on the [[Sinai]] peninsula, were suspended in 2010, and no resumption is in sight. A fast-cat ferry runs between Safaga, 50 km south of Hurghada, to Diba (or Duba) in Saudi Arabia. As this route carries a lot of pilgrims and trucking, it's not been hit by the tourist downtown. You'll need to have sorted your Saudi visa well in advance. ==Get around== {{mapframe|layer=W}} ===By micro bus=== A swarm of white minibuses (Toyota Hiace) called ''micro bus'' serve the area, with a flat fare of LE2–3 (Dec 2022). They run fixed routes, mostly along the coastal strip, picking up and dropping off anywhere along the way. Ask around for your destination before getting in - if it's not this bus, it's probably the next one already pulling up. They're cramped and crowded, and young women may have to ward off pests. Slightly larger minibuses or small regular buses run frequently along the coastal highway to El Gouna and Safaga. ===By e-hailing=== '''Uber''' and '''Careem''' operate in Hurghada and can be convenient for short trips within the city, avoiding much of the haggling required for ordinary taxi rides. Prices are shown in the app, but availability, waiting time and final pickup point can vary by area, time of day and demand. App fares have increased compared with older guidebook prices, so do not rely on past examples. Some drivers may still ask for cash payment or try to negotiate a different fare from the app price. Confirm the destination and payment method before starting the ride. If the driver asks for a substantially higher cash fare, cancel and request another car if possible. E-hailing can be less predictable at certain locations, including the airport, bus station and some hotels or resort gates. Some pickup points may be blocked, restricted or difficult for drivers to access. If the app says that service is not available at your exact location, walk a short distance away from taxi touts and try again from a nearby main street or hotel entrance. For longer journeys to resort areas outside central Hurghada, such as El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga or Marsa Alam, app availability may be limited and drivers may be reluctant to accept the ride at the displayed fare. For these routes, agree the full price in advance or use a pre-arranged taxi or private transfer. ===By taxi=== Taxi drivers in Hurghada have an astonishing talent for spotting tourists from far, far away; look at the approaching car and it may stop for you — at a price. Before stepping in, find out if the driver speaks any English, and show the destination on a map. There are only a few streets with names, so the destination is often specified by a nearby place, such as a hotel, marina or resort. Discuss and agree the total price (''not per person'') before entering the car. Do not assume the meter will be used. After the driver agrees on a price, get in. Pay at the destination, get out and walk away. To avoid confrontation with drivers, have the correct amount of money ready. Hand over the agreed amount at the destination, not before. Keep small notes if possible. Confirm the currency and amount clearly before departure, especially when paying in Egyptian pounds, euros or US dollars. Taxi prices vary widely by negotiation, time of day, route, airport access, vehicle type and tourist season. As a rough local benchmark, short rides within Hurghada may be a few hundred Egyptian pounds, while airport pickups and longer trips to resort areas such as El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga or Marsa Alam can cost considerably more. For longer journeys, agree the full fare in advance or use a pre-arranged taxi or private transfer. * {{go | name=ABC Taxi | alt= | url=https://abctaxi.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 100 222 82 94 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Fares agreed in advance | lastedit=2026-06-03 | content=Professional taxi service with fares agreed in advance. Bookings are usually made by phone from a local mobile number. Suitable for local rides and pre-arranged journeys around Hurghada; confirm the current fare before booking. }} * {{go | name=HurghadaTransfer.de | alt= | url=https://hurghadatransfer.de/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Fares confirmed before the ride | lastedit=2026-06-03 | content=Private airport transfer provider serving Hurghada International Airport and resort areas including Hurghada hotels, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga and Marsa Alam. Fares are confirmed before the ride; useful for airport arrivals, late flights, families and travellers with luggage. }} ==See== Hurghada does not have many spectacular sights except for the Red Sea. However, daily one- or two-day trips are available into both Luxor and Cairo. The Nile at Luxor is popular, as are the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza, Cairo. ==Do== {{cautionbox|For visitors on a package holiday, many of these trips will be offered as excursions by the tour operator. The tour company will add a hefty commission on top of the real price, so it may pay to shop around. However, booking with the tour operator does at least give some protection if things go wrong. Visitors will be approached by many people offering trips. Some will be OK, others not. It pays to search the internet for reviews of good operators. }} If you ''were'' to choose to stay in your hotel complex for the duration of your break, you would miss out on much more than you bargained for. Swimming in the warm sea, windsurfing, para sailing, jetski, good shopping, excellent and varied cuisine from around the world are just a few things to mention, but there is more: * '''Cruise''' across the Red Sea to the uninhabited island of Giftun surrounded by magical coral gardens. Enjoy a lazy day on the white sand or swim among the coral reefs. The reefs near the island have many fish and corals which makes it ideal for snorkelling. There are many types of boat trips available, from half day pirate cruises for youngsters to adult only day cruises. * '''Quad-biking''' hundreds of miles into the Sahara desert for tea with a Bedoin tribe, then camel-riding across Biblical plains to see remote and ancient wonders. For a desert adventure, you can also ride motorbikes or beach buggies into the desert. * You can also ride a '''glass bottom boat''' on which you can see the amazing coral reefs and underwater scenery. * In the evening, you can go for a walk in the '''promenade''' area for some traditional cafes, shopping, or dining. There is a bowling and family entertainment center close by as well as a few malls and restaurants. Night life usually begins quite late, and you can find some clubs in close proximity to the promenade. * {{do | name=Boreas Cruises | alt=Boreas Cruises | url=https://boreascruises.com/ | email=info@boreascruises.com | address=Port Ghalib Marina (or Hurghada Marina, depending on your primary departure point) | lat= | long= | directions=15 minutes from Marsa Alam Airport (RMF) | phone=+33 769 96 37 93 | tollfree= | hours=24/7 | price=€ | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A 50-meter luxury superyacht offering private all-inclusive charters, wellness cruises, and diving safaris on the Red Sea. Itineraries range from 3 to 7 nights with onboard amenities including a spa, yoga sessions, a jacuzzi, a sea pool, and guided scuba diving. Can be combined with private land tours to Cairo and Luxor. }} ===Beaches=== It might be windy in late March (or not). You may want to check if your beach resort hotel provides windscreens on the beach. If your accommodation does not have its own beach: There are no beaches in Hurghada that are for free. You can use for example these ones: * {{do | name=El Sakia Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.221206 | long=33.842636 | directions=Near the marina | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Entry: LE50 | lastedit=2022-10-15 | content= }} * {{do | name=Orange Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.212997 | long=33.842632 | directions=Somewhat more south of the marina | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Entry: LE100 | lastedit=2022-12-15 | content= }} * {{do | name=El Sawaky Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.259237 | long=33.824132 | directions=In Northern Hurghada | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Entry: LE50 | lastedit=2022-11-15 | content=A lot of space and just a few tourists. }} ===Diving=== The main reason to visit Hurghada is the Red Sea, which is excellent for diving or snorkeling. See incredible coral reefs and hundreds of varieties of tropical fish just 10 m from the beach or with boat trips. Either your hotel will have dive escorts on site, or it can arrange a scuba diving expedition with guides. The divers are locals and generally excellent in handling beginners. You don't need to know how to swim to scuba dive. In late March, the water may be a bit cold, so a wet suit might be necessary. Most budget hotels have dives tours (2 regular dives) for €50 on offer, but if you are staying at one of the more posh accommodations, you will end up paying up to US$65. So better to step out of your comfort zone (aka hotel) and ask around for prices. * {{do | name=Ashraf Divers | alt=Ashraf Asheaf | url=https://www.facebook.com/ashraf.divers | email=ashrafdiver1@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 1223848445 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=As inexpensive as other good deals&mdash; $35 for 2 dives inkling full rental equipment (as of Okt.2022), depending on number of people and season | lastedit=2018-09-18 | content=Reliable, relaxed and friendly dive master. His dives include everything; travel, boat, equipment, food, drinks. Though, do not rely on him for booking your accommodation&mdash;read [[Egypt#Cope]]. WhatsApp: see phone number. WeChat: ''ashraf diver''. See also: [https://www.facebook.com/shiko.prince.1 Ashraf Abat]. }} * ===Kitesurfing=== The whole Red Sea coast has superb conditions for kitesurfing. Hurghada is no exception. Here you can find a lot of kite-spots with kite-schools and kite-stations. Here some of them: * [http://www.playkite.com/ '''PlayKite'''], in the next bay from Nubia hotel. This kite spot has a lot of space for beginning and advanced riders * [http://www.kite4fun.cz/ '''Kite4Fun'''], near AMC Azur and Hawaii Le Jardin hotels. This place has shallow lagoon with flat water. * [http://www.masters-surfschool.com/ '''Masters Surf School''']{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, in Panorama Bungalows Aqua Park Hurghada hotel. Small area of shallow water, so it is a good spot for intermediate riders * [https://www.aeros-school.com '''Aeros School''']{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, near Play Kite station. There is also a shallow lagoon where any level rider can ride. ==Buy== : ''See also: [[Egypt#Buy]]'' You can buy many souvenirs from the shops that are spread inside the main town (Sekalla high street) and along the beach areas, also the old town (el Dahar) has a wide selection of bazaars with cheaper prices than Sigala. There is a new shopping mall now open about a 10-minute taxi ride from the town, on Senzo Mall towards the airport road. It has a large Spinneys Hypermarket and many other shops, fast food outlets, a 5-screen cinema, and a moderate sized children's play area. Remember to haggle, haggle and haggle everywhere except in restaurants and pharmacies. You should be able to get 75% off from the price that seller asks at first. This might vary with different products, so remember to check few shops for correct prices. There are souvenir shops that have fixed prices, mostly in New Hurghada area although these maye be higher than if you haggle in the souks. The well known "Cleopatra" shops, in Hurghada city Mamsha and Sheraton road, have a wide range of souvenirs such as shirts, woodwork and silver. For brand-names and higher quality products, go to 'New Marina' and Sheraton road for Adidas, Timberland, Dockers and Levi's. Clothes for sale in the traditional bazaar (''souq'' in Arabic) are often fake, although the banners show the well-known brand names. About the perfume shops the milligram for LE1 that means the best perfume for LE25 because all the perfume are on oil base and rarely that you can find natural or original perfume. Be careful when they drag you inside, they will invite you to drink something often tea. If they feel you are rich they will buy cola, while they are chatting with you and let you smell some strong perfumes, it is advisable to refuse because if you drink you then have to buy. ==Eat== Hurghada offers a variety of cuisine, including fast food, western restaurants, oriental food, and many others. KFC and McDonald's, and local fast food GAD, are present. There some Syrian restaurants in the Sheraton Road and more in the Marina, Indian, Thai, Sea food and Lebanese ===Budget=== ====Around the marina==== * {{eat | name=China Town Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=36 Sheraton Rd, Hurghada 1 | lat= 27.2182408 | long=33.8385025 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Chinese restaurant, which may be a welcome change. }} * {{eat | name= Restaurant مطعم اسماك | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2209200 | long= 33.8366146 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Seafood in an unfussy environment. }} * {{eat | name=Syrian Bakery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2163183 | long= 33.8377394 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Isra Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2197930 | long= 33.8355568 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Abo Omar pizza restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=Elantony Building, Sheraton Rd | lat=27.2175810 | long=33.8371550 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Abo Adam | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2182614 | long= 33.8371829 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=andy foul restaurant مطعم عندى فول | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2111458 | long= 33.8400525 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Acropolis Greek Taverna | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sheraton Rd | lat=27.2179775 | long=33.8381417 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ====Near the Arabia Azur Resort==== * {{eat | name=Al Mustafa Fish Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.240666 | long=33.841399 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=LE30-80 (March 2018) | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Delicious meals, variety of fish, low prices, welcoming host. }} * {{eat | name=Om Ammar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.240943 | long=33.840544 | directions= | phone=+20 1093946226 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=LE20-60 | lastedit=2018-03-17 | content=Small restaurant next to the street, sitting on couches, staff speaks hardly English, many local dishes available including BBQ, very local experience and prices. }} ====North Hurghada==== * {{eat | name=Oriental Dish | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2547 | long=33.8131 | directions=in the northern part of the city | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Falafel sandwich LE2.50 | lastedit=2018-01-08 | content=Arabic, grill, shawarma, falafel. Has delicious and inexpensive falafel sandwiches. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Charly’s Hot Stone Steak Hurghada | alt= | url= | email= | address= Kornesh road - old sheraton| lat= 27.2126792 | long= 33.8415284 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Kahramana | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2249111 | long= 33.8408786 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Cheguevara Hurghada Marina | alt= | url= | email= | address=50 S Marina Dr | lat=27.2275788 | long=33.8424980 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Bordiehns Restaurant Arabia - Arabella | alt= | url= | email= | address=Arabia Azur | lat=27.2399107 | long=33.8450920 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Caribbean Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2143308 | long= 33.8425094 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ===Splurge=== ==Drink== Those new to Egypt will find karkaday (a drink made from an infusion of hibiscus, served hot or cold and reputed to have many health benefits) and chi (local version of tea, usually served in a glass) offered everywhere. Both are delicious and will usually come replete with a smoke on a ''sheesha'' pipe, known in the West as a hookah. Sheeshas are used for smoking molasses tobacco in various flavours, with the smoke passing through water before inhalation through a long tube attached to the bowl. Although they may resemble a device used to smoke illicit substances in the west (a bong), sheesha is legal. Alcoholic drinks can usually be found in bars or hotels. Hurghada has a very western atmosphere so it is much easier to drink than in other areas of Egypt. Non-alcoholic drinks include canned soft drinks and fruit juice, and traditional Egyptian drinks including the aforementioned karkadeh, yansoon (aniseed tea), ganzabeel (ginger tea, reputed to have digestive benefits), irfa (cinnamon tea), and sahlab (a hot, drinkable pudding thickened with orchid-root starch and typically flavored with cinammon). Lemonade is also available both cold and hot, and may be made with mint. Over the years, Hurghada has developed a bubbling reputation for its cosmopolitan nightlife scene, alongside the many bars within the new {{marker|type=drink|name=[https://www.hurghada-marina.com/ Hurghada Marina]|lat=27.22586|long=33.84102}}. There are many bars, nightclubs and discos in Hurghada. Almost every hotel comes equipped with its own disco coupled with the world's first Hed Kandi Beach Bar, other nightlife leaders in the city include Hard Rock Cafe, Little Budha, Calypso Disco, the R&B Club, and throughout the summer months you can find the popular Voodoo parties (every Wednesday) within the Grand Hotel Resorts. There are many other discos and late-night bars dotted around the city, generally speaking ask at your hotel or tour guide to recommend a venue. * {{drink | name=Praha Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.21378 | long=33.83926 | directions=at the end of Sheraton Rd | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-03-17 | content=Czech pub. }} * {{drink | name=Dubai Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2399223 | long=33.8396252 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=cheap | lastedit=2018-03-17 | content=Variety of non-alcoholic drinks and hookah, welcoming local atmosphere, street-side and indoor lounge area. }} ==Sleep== Large tour operators such as Tui have their own resorts or block bookings with newer local groups like Jaz. These are often the "all inclusive" variety. These may not appeal to the independent traveller, but they can still be a good base for exploring the area. There are plenty of internet sites to find reviews and book these. ===Budget=== A little internet searching will throw up some '''private self-catering accommodation''' that is usually owned by Europeans as a holiday home, which gives much more independence than staying in a resort hotel and is potentially much cheaper. '''Budget hotels catering to Egyptians''' with rooms at LE50 can be found near the Upper Egypt bus station. * {{sleep | name=Golden Rose Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.goldenrosehotel.com/ | email= | address=Qesm Hurghada | lat=27.220932 | long=33.84014 | directions= | phone=+20 653440876 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single from LE177 | lastedit=2017-12-28 | content=Good value. Includes access to a beach (200 m) &ndash; not great but free chairs and towels. There is a dog that continuously barks and fights with other dogs or various by-passers, even during the night. }} * {{sleep | name=Snafer Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.26002 | long=33.81954 | directions=in the northern part of the city | phone=+20 653540260 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single from LE100 | lastedit=2018-01-08 | content=Almost even better value than Golden Rose but without free beach access. But there is Sea Sand Resort around the corner, which charges LE50 for a whole day of beach access. However, it is in the northern part of the city, where not much is happening due to the low occupation of the local resorts. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Sunrise Holidays Resort | url=https://www.sunrise-resorts.com/Home/HURGHADA/SUNRISE_Select_Holidays_Resort_Adults_Only | email= | address=Corniche Road | lat=27.20951 | long=33.84595 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit=2017-12-28 | content=Adults only. }} * {{sleep | name=Sunrise Crystal Bay Resort | url=https://www.sunrise-resorts.com/Home/HURGHADA/SUNRISE_Grand_Select_Crystal_Bay_Resort | email= | address=Km 19 Village Road, P.O. Box 20 | lat=27.10195 | long=33.82671 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Sea Star Beau Rivage | url=http://seastarbeaurivage.com/ | email= | address=Al Hilal, Military Hospital Street | lat=27.26572 | long=33.80439 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Giftun Azur Beach Resort | url=https://www.giftunazurresort.com/en/ | email= | address=Village Road | lat=27.18518 | long=33.82692 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Marriott Beach Resort | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/hrgeg-hurghada-marriott-beach-resort/overview/ | email= | address=El Corniche Road, P.O.Box 38 | lat=27.19715 | long=33.84437 | directions=just south of disused Sheraton | phone=+20 65-340 44 20 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=3PM | checkout=Noon | price= | lastedit=2018-02-05 | content=On Resort strip. Small beach but good water-sports facilities, Aquarius Diving is based here. }} * {{sleep | name=Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh | alt= | url=https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-sahl-hasheesh/ | email= | address=The Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh | lat=27.07631 | long=33.88203 | directions=Sahl Hasheesh is 15 km S of downtown Hurghada | phone=+20 65 346 1040 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-05 | content=Opulent Moorish-style hotel }} ==Cope== * {{listing | name=Hurghada Clinic | alt= | url=https://clinica-egypt.com/ | email=info@clinica-egypt.com | address=El Kawther, build. 222, apart. 207, Red Sea | lat=27.25807 | long=33.81207 | directions= | phone=+20 11 148 27733 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-03-17 | content=Medical clinic with doctors who can speak English and Polish. International travel insurance policies are accepted. }} * {{listing | name=El Gouna Hospital | alt= | url=http://www.elgounahospital.com.eg/ | email=info@elgounahospital.com.eg | address=El Gouna, Red Sea | lat=27.39556 | long=33.66987 | directions= | phone=+20 65 358 0011-19 | tollfree= | fax=+20 65 358 0020 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-03-17 | content=Professional medical service across the red Sea. Various departments with staff who can speak English, French Russian and German. International insurance policies are often accepted. }} ===Embassies=== * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambilcairo.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Ilcairo | email= | address=Mastaba Red Sea - Hurgada| lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 65 3449 366| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Stay safe== In 2018, there were complaints of guests falling ill at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel because of possible [[food safety]] issues, including undercooked food and lapses in cleanliness. Two British travellers died; the BBC reports [[travel agency]] Thomas Cook removed its clients from that hotel and in some cases arranged to fly them home. Because of the heat combined with inadequate food hygiene, gastrointestinal ailments are common (sickness and diarrhoea). The better tourist resorts do make an effort to have good hygiene, but nothing is ever certain. ==Go next== * [[Luxor]] &ndash; The obvious and popular next destination. It can be done on a day-trip, though that's a bit mad, and most of a 20-hour day. Ask around for reputable operators: a cheap tour will be overcrowded, first too cold then too hot in a poorly-sprung minibus, and you will see less of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings and a whole heap more of the driver's uncle's souvenir shop. * [[Aswan]] &ndash; Reached via Luxor but less hassle then it. Once a week there's a ferry across Lake Nasser to Wadi Halfa in Sudan, the only surface route between the two countries. {{outlinecity}} {{geo|27.2500|33.8167}} {{IsPartOf|Red Sea Coast}} r70l1d31gbl7apc6j6ovuyimejvwm1m 5298734 5298663 2026-06-26T11:45:47Z Ibaman 195012 rv per [[WV:Tour]], [[WV:Tone]], [[Don't tout]] and [[External links#What not to link to]]. Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298663|5298663]] by [[Special:Contributions/BoreasCruises, Egypt|BoreasCruises, Egypt]] ([[User talk:BoreasCruises, Egypt|talk]]) 5298734 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mena-asia_default_banner.jpg}} [[File:Al-Mahmya Beach, Hurghada, Egypt.jpeg|thumb|Hurghada beach]] '''[http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/LastPage.aspx?Category_ID=440 Hurghada]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (''Arabic:'' الغردقة [[Egyptian Arabic phrasebook|<span title="how to pronounce">el-ğarda’a</span>]]) is a resort town on the [[Red Sea Coast]] of [[Egypt]]. Famous for its superb diving opportunities, Hurghada is especially appealing to those with little experience of scuba diving, who come to marvel at the underwater reefs and awesome marine life. ==Understand== Hurghada was once a fairly small and unimposing fishing village, next to the Red Sea. It has a number of superb beaches. Today, the resort of Hurghada is almost unrecognizable from its past life and has become a major destination in Egypt for budget tourists especially from Europe and Russia. It has more than 100 hotels, many of which line the shoreline, and numerous flights particularly from airports across Europe. Tourism is now a huge part of Hurghada and each year, many tourists choose to combine their holiday here with visits to other prominent locations along the Nile Valley, including the relatively nearby city of [[Luxor]]. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Hurghada |11.6 |22.2 |0.7 |12.4 |23.5 |0.5 |15.1 |26.2 |1.1 |18.7 |29.9 |0.0 |23.1 |33.7 |0.0 |26.1 |36.3 |0.0 |27.8 |37.4 |0.0 |28.0 |37.5 |0.0 |25.6 |35.3 |0.0 |22.2 |32.1 |2.3 |17.7 |27.8 |2.2 |13.4 |23.8 |0.6 |float=right |clear=right | description = Source: [http://www.worldweather.org/059/c01270.htm World Meteorological Organization] }} : ''See also: [[Egypt#Climate]]'' The climate is very dry and rainfall is very rare. The weather is very hot in summer days and quite hot in summer nights. In winter the weather is generally warm by day but cool by night. Hurghada can be downright cold when the Shamal wind blows down from the northeast. <div style="font-size:smaller; width:70%"> {|class="wikitable" |+[https://www.weather2travel.com/red-sea-egypt/hurghada/climate/ Hurghada mean sea temperature] |- !'''Jan''' !'''Feb''' !'''Mar''' !'''Apr''' !'''May''' !'''Jun''' !'''Jul''' !'''Aug''' !'''Sep''' !'''Oct''' !'''Nov''' !'''Dec''' |- |22&nbsp;°C (72&nbsp;°F) |21&nbsp;°C (70&nbsp;°F) |21&nbsp;°C (70&nbsp;°F) |22&nbsp;°C (72&nbsp;°F) |24&nbsp;°C (75&nbsp;°F) |26&nbsp;°C (79&nbsp;°F) |27&nbsp;°C (81&nbsp;°F) |28&nbsp;°C (82&nbsp;°F) |27&nbsp;°C (81&nbsp;°F) |26&nbsp;°C (79&nbsp;°F) |25&nbsp;°C (77&nbsp;°F) |23&nbsp;°C (73&nbsp;°F) |} </div> ===Orientation=== Miles and miles and miles of concrete, much of it abandoned developments, mar the shoreline. The oldest, most Egyptian part of the city is {{marker|type=around|name=Ad-Dahar|lat=27.25233|long=33.81475}} to the north, with relatively limited tourist facilities. This is separated by a low dusty ridge from {{marker|type=around|name=Sigala|lat=27.22642|long=33.83814}} 4 km south. Sigala is the main downtown strip, with western and traditional restaurants, hotels and general facilities, and has the most buzz about it. Several boat and dive operators run from the marina here. The main drag of Sheraton Road continues south along the coast for 4 km to the disused Sheraton Hotel, a circular 1970s concrete hulk. The road now enters the Village Resort strip, with another rash of hotels. The coral reefs around Hurghada are several miles offshore, unlike the Sinai resorts and Jordan where they hug the coast, so divers and snorkelers will need to take a boat trip to enjoy them. Arid islands dot the sea. The largest is Big Giftun, which has a beach club and (better still) cellphone towers - so mobile reception is good out on the water, to the benefit of skippers and trippers. Modern developers have kind of given up on Hurghada, and have built glossy new resorts further away, notably El Gouna 20 km north, Makadi Bay 30 km south, and Safaga 50 km south. These all use Hurghada airport as their entry point. ==Get in== ===By plane=== Hurghada has frequent direct international flights from Europe including Russia, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Far East, e.g. Bangkok. Most of these travellers are on package tours of Egypt — but not all, as the operators also sell flight-only tickets, a cheap and convenient way to get in. Coming from Rome or Budapest there are ultra low-cost flights operated by Wizz Air. Domestic flights link Hurghada frequently to Cairo, and daily to Alexandria and Sharm el-Sheikh. These are a good way to travel as Hurghada is backed by an awful lot of desert, and road transport to other cities is lengthy, hot, dusty, bumpy and not entirely safe. The main domestic operator is Egyptair, but Nile Air and Al Masria compete on the Cairo route and keep fares low. The package operators, e.g. TUI, also fly domestic legs, but these are mainly to move their own clients around Egypt and are not always available to book point-to-point. * {{go | name=Hurghada International Airport | alt={{IATA|HRG}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.178056 | long=33.799167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Hurghada International Airport | image=Hurghada-Airport.jpg | wikidata=Q385191 | lastedit=2026-06-03 | content=Hurghada's airport is about 8 km west of the Hurghada resort strip and about 10 km from Sigala. Terminal use may vary by airline and flight, so check your airline or tour operator before travel. After landing, passengers usually pass through visa formalities, passport control and baggage claim before entering the arrivals hall. The airport is functional, but can become crowded when several charter flights arrive or depart close together. }} There is free Wi-Fi for a short period. After that duration you may need to pay or use mobile data. In the arrivals area, SIM cards with mobile data may be sold by Egyptian mobile network operators. A passport is normally required for registration, and the card should be tested before leaving the counter. Availability, queues and package prices can vary, especially during late arrivals or when several flights land close together. Travellers with eSIM-compatible phones may prefer to arrange mobile data before travel; those needing a physical SIM should allow extra time after baggage claim. Visa-on-arrival procedures may be available for eligible nationalities. Travellers should check current entry rules before departure. If buying a visa mark at the airport, keep cash ready and allow time before passport control, as queues can vary depending on the number of arriving flights. There is no local bus or microbus departing directly from the airport terminal. Package tourist arrivals will usually have their own bus awaiting. Independent travellers normally use an Uber/Careem where available, a taxi, a pre-arranged transfer, or walk out of the airport. The walking distance to the highway is about 1.3 km or 15 min and it is barely shaded. At the highway you can stop a microbus and ask if it heads in your direction. Airport taxis and private transfers are the most common options for independent travellers leaving the airport. Agree the total fare before entering a taxi and make clear whether the price is for the car, not per person. For resort areas outside Hurghada, such as El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga or Marsa Alam, a pre-arranged transfer can be more convenient, especially for late arrivals, families, travellers with luggage or guests going directly to a hotel reception. Taxi fares are high for the short distance from the airport to town or the resort strip. Prices vary by season, time, negotiation and destination. Drivers pay to enter and wait within the airport area, and this is often reflected in the fare. The regular fare towards the airport from town may be cheaper than the fare offered immediately outside the arrivals hall. There is also a toll on the highway south to Safaga that may be included in longer-distance fares. Getting back to the airport is possible by Uber/Careem where available, taxi or pre-arranged transfer. Travellers returning by microbus can go to the Total gas station near the airport and continue from there. At the police checkpoint you may need to show your passport and flight reservation and may undergo a small security check. The departure hall of the airport is upstairs. ===By bus=== The bus operators have different bus stations: * {{go | name=Go Bus Station | alt= | url=https://go-bus.com/en | email= | address= | lat= 27.23818 | long=33.83195 | directions=about 1 km north of High Jet | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-12-12 | content=Many destinations&mdash;check their website. The GoBus website allows you to purchase return tickets on all routes direct to your mobile phone as an e-ticket which is very convenient - you just need to set up an account to do this and foreign tourists are welcome on all services provided you are not travelling on restricted roads. Between Cairo, Luxor and Hurghada is perfectly fine. }} * {{go | name=Super Jet Bus Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2408649 | long=33.8276235 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-12-12 | content=The buses have a golden color with red stripes. 'Super Jet' is written in small letters on the bus. }} * {{go | name=High Jet Bus Station (to/from Cairo) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.228470 | long=33.835990 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-01-22 | content=It covers travel to/from Cairo (6-7 hr). Reserving tickets is barely necessary, considering the frequency of the buses. The buses are not that comfortable, and they have loud and annoying soap operas running in the bus during the whole journey. So, it is probably not a good idea to take a night bus. From Cairo: every 2-3 hr between 8AM-2:30AM. To Cairo: every 2-3 hr between 7AM-3AM. About LE380-450 }} [[Cairo]] &ndash; The trip usually takes approximately 7 hr depending on the operator. Known operators include the Super Jet (ph. 16108), [https://go-bus.com/ Go Bus] (ph. 19567) and HighJet. There are a number of stations which include one behind Cairo railway station '''Ahmed Helmy'''. There are many price options starting from LE380 and rising to LE750, every hour you can find bus to Hurghada (avoid MCV Co). In '''Medan El Giza''' in northwestern Cairo often extremely crowded, or '''Almaza Station''' in the Heliopolis district in northeastern Cairo. Bus schedules often change, but if you go to the bus station without booking you'll find many options. (updated Jan. 2026) [[Alexandria]] &ndash; There are 2 buses from Alexandria to Hurghada. The first one, Upper Egypt Bus Co., leaves at 6:30PM from the new bus station, and costs LE90. It arrives at Hurghada about 4:30AM. It is not recommended because you'll find all the city in deep sleep and seems like ghost city. The second bus, Super Jet Co., leaves the new bus station at 8:30PM and costs LE95. It arrives in the morning so you can find public transport and the taxis. (February 2012) [[Qena]] and [[Luxor]] &ndash; About 4-5 hr by bus. [https://go-bus.com/ Go Bus] has two daily buses at 8:15AM and 3:30PM to and from Luxor from LE90. If you're looking at the GoBus site on a mobile device, you may not be able to find listings for Luxor&mdash;try a laptop or ''desktop view''. Upper Egypt Bus Co. runs between Hurghada, Safagah, Luxor and Aswan. [[Aswan]] &ndash; There's one transport company to the Red Sea, Upper Egypt Bus Co. The buses are new, the ticket costs LE50 (maybe you pay extra LE5 as a foreigner). There are 2 buses: 3:30PM and 5:30PM. The trip takes 8 hours or more, which means you'll arrive in Hurghada after midnight. (February 2012) ===By taxi=== Long-distance "servees" taxis run from Hurghada bus station in El Hegaz Street (which you can reach by bus 4 or 7, or by local taxi). These run to all major cities in Egypt, but consider them especially for the run to Luxor, where the time saved by flying is less compelling. With 2 or 3 of you, you could negotiate a private long-distance taxi; again, the journey to Luxor works well this way. And unlike a "servees", the driver will pause at antiquities and photo opportunities on the way. ===By boat=== Ferry services between Hurghada and [[Sharm el-Sheikh]], on the [[Sinai]] peninsula, were suspended in 2010, and no resumption is in sight. A fast-cat ferry runs between Safaga, 50 km south of Hurghada, to Diba (or Duba) in Saudi Arabia. As this route carries a lot of pilgrims and trucking, it's not been hit by the tourist downtown. You'll need to have sorted your Saudi visa well in advance. ==Get around== {{mapframe|layer=W}} ===By micro bus=== A swarm of white minibuses (Toyota Hiace) called ''micro bus'' serve the area, with a flat fare of LE2–3 (Dec 2022). They run fixed routes, mostly along the coastal strip, picking up and dropping off anywhere along the way. Ask around for your destination before getting in - if it's not this bus, it's probably the next one already pulling up. They're cramped and crowded, and young women may have to ward off pests. Slightly larger minibuses or small regular buses run frequently along the coastal highway to El Gouna and Safaga. ===By e-hailing=== '''Uber''' and '''Careem''' operate in Hurghada and can be convenient for short trips within the city, avoiding much of the haggling required for ordinary taxi rides. Prices are shown in the app, but availability, waiting time and final pickup point can vary by area, time of day and demand. App fares have increased compared with older guidebook prices, so do not rely on past examples. Some drivers may still ask for cash payment or try to negotiate a different fare from the app price. Confirm the destination and payment method before starting the ride. If the driver asks for a substantially higher cash fare, cancel and request another car if possible. E-hailing can be less predictable at certain locations, including the airport, bus station and some hotels or resort gates. Some pickup points may be blocked, restricted or difficult for drivers to access. If the app says that service is not available at your exact location, walk a short distance away from taxi touts and try again from a nearby main street or hotel entrance. For longer journeys to resort areas outside central Hurghada, such as El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga or Marsa Alam, app availability may be limited and drivers may be reluctant to accept the ride at the displayed fare. For these routes, agree the full price in advance or use a pre-arranged taxi or private transfer. ===By taxi=== Taxi drivers in Hurghada have an astonishing talent for spotting tourists from far, far away; look at the approaching car and it may stop for you — at a price. Before stepping in, find out if the driver speaks any English, and show the destination on a map. There are only a few streets with names, so the destination is often specified by a nearby place, such as a hotel, marina or resort. Discuss and agree the total price (''not per person'') before entering the car. Do not assume the meter will be used. After the driver agrees on a price, get in. Pay at the destination, get out and walk away. To avoid confrontation with drivers, have the correct amount of money ready. Hand over the agreed amount at the destination, not before. Keep small notes if possible. Confirm the currency and amount clearly before departure, especially when paying in Egyptian pounds, euros or US dollars. Taxi prices vary widely by negotiation, time of day, route, airport access, vehicle type and tourist season. As a rough local benchmark, short rides within Hurghada may be a few hundred Egyptian pounds, while airport pickups and longer trips to resort areas such as El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga or Marsa Alam can cost considerably more. For longer journeys, agree the full fare in advance or use a pre-arranged taxi or private transfer. * {{go | name=ABC Taxi | alt= | url=https://abctaxi.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 100 222 82 94 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Fares agreed in advance | lastedit=2026-06-03 | content=Professional taxi service with fares agreed in advance. Bookings are usually made by phone from a local mobile number. Suitable for local rides and pre-arranged journeys around Hurghada; confirm the current fare before booking. }} * {{go | name=HurghadaTransfer.de | alt= | url=https://hurghadatransfer.de/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Fares confirmed before the ride | lastedit=2026-06-03 | content=Private airport transfer provider serving Hurghada International Airport and resort areas including Hurghada hotels, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Safaga and Marsa Alam. Fares are confirmed before the ride; useful for airport arrivals, late flights, families and travellers with luggage. }} ==See== Hurghada does not have many spectacular sights except for the Red Sea. However, daily one- or two-day trips are available into both Luxor and Cairo. The Nile at Luxor is popular, as are the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza, Cairo. ==Do== {{cautionbox|For visitors on a package holiday, many of these trips will be offered as excursions by the tour operator. The tour company will add a hefty commission on top of the real price, so it may pay to shop around. However, booking with the tour operator does at least give some protection if things go wrong. Visitors will be approached by many people offering trips. Some will be OK, others not. It pays to search the internet for reviews of good operators. }} If you ''were'' to choose to stay in your hotel complex for the duration of your break, you would miss out on much more than you bargained for. Swimming in the warm sea, windsurfing, para sailing, jetski, good shopping, excellent and varied cuisine from around the world are just a few things to mention, but there is more: * '''Cruise''' across the Red Sea to the uninhabited island of Giftun surrounded by magical coral gardens. Enjoy a lazy day on the white sand or swim among the coral reefs. The reefs near the island have many fish and corals which makes it ideal for snorkelling. There are many types of boat trips available, from half day pirate cruises for youngsters to adult only day cruises. * '''Quad-biking''' hundreds of miles into the Sahara desert for tea with a Bedoin tribe, then camel-riding across Biblical plains to see remote and ancient wonders. For a desert adventure, you can also ride motorbikes or beach buggies into the desert. * You can also ride a '''glass bottom boat''' on which you can see the amazing coral reefs and underwater scenery. * In the evening, you can go for a walk in the '''promenade''' area for some traditional cafes, shopping, or dining. There is a bowling and family entertainment center close by as well as a few malls and restaurants. Night life usually begins quite late, and you can find some clubs in close proximity to the promenade. ===Beaches=== It might be windy in late March (or not). You may want to check if your beach resort hotel provides windscreens on the beach. If your accommodation does not have its own beach: There are no beaches in Hurghada that are for free. You can use for example these ones: * {{do | name=El Sakia Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.221206 | long=33.842636 | directions=Near the marina | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Entry: LE50 | lastedit=2022-10-15 | content= }} * {{do | name=Orange Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.212997 | long=33.842632 | directions=Somewhat more south of the marina | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Entry: LE100 | lastedit=2022-12-15 | content= }} * {{do | name=El Sawaky Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.259237 | long=33.824132 | directions=In Northern Hurghada | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Entry: LE50 | lastedit=2022-11-15 | content=A lot of space and just a few tourists. }} ===Diving=== The main reason to visit Hurghada is the Red Sea, which is excellent for diving or snorkeling. See incredible coral reefs and hundreds of varieties of tropical fish just 10 m from the beach or with boat trips. Either your hotel will have dive escorts on site, or it can arrange a scuba diving expedition with guides. The divers are locals and generally excellent in handling beginners. You don't need to know how to swim to scuba dive. In late March, the water may be a bit cold, so a wet suit might be necessary. Most budget hotels have dives tours (2 regular dives) for €50 on offer, but if you are staying at one of the more posh accommodations, you will end up paying up to US$65. So better to step out of your comfort zone (aka hotel) and ask around for prices. * {{do | name=Ashraf Divers | alt=Ashraf Asheaf | url=https://www.facebook.com/ashraf.divers | email=ashrafdiver1@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 1223848445 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=As inexpensive as other good deals&mdash; $35 for 2 dives inkling full rental equipment (as of Okt.2022), depending on number of people and season | lastedit=2018-09-18 | content=Reliable, relaxed and friendly dive master. His dives include everything; travel, boat, equipment, food, drinks. Though, do not rely on him for booking your accommodation&mdash;read [[Egypt#Cope]]. WhatsApp: see phone number. WeChat: ''ashraf diver''. See also: [https://www.facebook.com/shiko.prince.1 Ashraf Abat]. }} * ===Kitesurfing=== The whole Red Sea coast has superb conditions for kitesurfing. Hurghada is no exception. Here you can find a lot of kite-spots with kite-schools and kite-stations. Here some of them: * [http://www.playkite.com/ '''PlayKite'''], in the next bay from Nubia hotel. This kite spot has a lot of space for beginning and advanced riders * [http://www.kite4fun.cz/ '''Kite4Fun'''], near AMC Azur and Hawaii Le Jardin hotels. This place has shallow lagoon with flat water. * [http://www.masters-surfschool.com/ '''Masters Surf School''']{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, in Panorama Bungalows Aqua Park Hurghada hotel. Small area of shallow water, so it is a good spot for intermediate riders * [https://www.aeros-school.com '''Aeros School''']{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, near Play Kite station. There is also a shallow lagoon where any level rider can ride. ==Buy== : ''See also: [[Egypt#Buy]]'' You can buy many souvenirs from the shops that are spread inside the main town (Sekalla high street) and along the beach areas, also the old town (el Dahar) has a wide selection of bazaars with cheaper prices than Sigala. There is a new shopping mall now open about a 10-minute taxi ride from the town, on Senzo Mall towards the airport road. It has a large Spinneys Hypermarket and many other shops, fast food outlets, a 5-screen cinema, and a moderate sized children's play area. Remember to haggle, haggle and haggle everywhere except in restaurants and pharmacies. You should be able to get 75% off from the price that seller asks at first. This might vary with different products, so remember to check few shops for correct prices. There are souvenir shops that have fixed prices, mostly in New Hurghada area although these maye be higher than if you haggle in the souks. The well known "Cleopatra" shops, in Hurghada city Mamsha and Sheraton road, have a wide range of souvenirs such as shirts, woodwork and silver. For brand-names and higher quality products, go to 'New Marina' and Sheraton road for Adidas, Timberland, Dockers and Levi's. Clothes for sale in the traditional bazaar (''souq'' in Arabic) are often fake, although the banners show the well-known brand names. About the perfume shops the milligram for LE1 that means the best perfume for LE25 because all the perfume are on oil base and rarely that you can find natural or original perfume. Be careful when they drag you inside, they will invite you to drink something often tea. If they feel you are rich they will buy cola, while they are chatting with you and let you smell some strong perfumes, it is advisable to refuse because if you drink you then have to buy. ==Eat== Hurghada offers a variety of cuisine, including fast food, western restaurants, oriental food, and many others. KFC and McDonald's, and local fast food GAD, are present. There some Syrian restaurants in the Sheraton Road and more in the Marina, Indian, Thai, Sea food and Lebanese ===Budget=== ====Around the marina==== * {{eat | name=China Town Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=36 Sheraton Rd, Hurghada 1 | lat= 27.2182408 | long=33.8385025 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Chinese restaurant, which may be a welcome change. }} * {{eat | name= Restaurant مطعم اسماك | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2209200 | long= 33.8366146 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Seafood in an unfussy environment. }} * {{eat | name=Syrian Bakery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2163183 | long= 33.8377394 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Isra Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2197930 | long= 33.8355568 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Abo Omar pizza restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=Elantony Building, Sheraton Rd | lat=27.2175810 | long=33.8371550 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Abo Adam | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2182614 | long= 33.8371829 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=andy foul restaurant مطعم عندى فول | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2111458 | long= 33.8400525 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Acropolis Greek Taverna | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sheraton Rd | lat=27.2179775 | long=33.8381417 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ====Near the Arabia Azur Resort==== * {{eat | name=Al Mustafa Fish Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.240666 | long=33.841399 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=LE30-80 (March 2018) | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Delicious meals, variety of fish, low prices, welcoming host. }} * {{eat | name=Om Ammar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.240943 | long=33.840544 | directions= | phone=+20 1093946226 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=LE20-60 | lastedit=2018-03-17 | content=Small restaurant next to the street, sitting on couches, staff speaks hardly English, many local dishes available including BBQ, very local experience and prices. }} ====North Hurghada==== * {{eat | name=Oriental Dish | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2547 | long=33.8131 | directions=in the northern part of the city | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Falafel sandwich LE2.50 | lastedit=2018-01-08 | content=Arabic, grill, shawarma, falafel. Has delicious and inexpensive falafel sandwiches. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Charly’s Hot Stone Steak Hurghada | alt= | url= | email= | address= Kornesh road - old sheraton| lat= 27.2126792 | long= 33.8415284 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Kahramana | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2249111 | long= 33.8408786 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Cheguevara Hurghada Marina | alt= | url= | email= | address=50 S Marina Dr | lat=27.2275788 | long=33.8424980 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Bordiehns Restaurant Arabia - Arabella | alt= | url= | email= | address=Arabia Azur | lat=27.2399107 | long=33.8450920 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Caribbean Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.2143308 | long= 33.8425094 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ===Splurge=== ==Drink== Those new to Egypt will find karkaday (a drink made from an infusion of hibiscus, served hot or cold and reputed to have many health benefits) and chi (local version of tea, usually served in a glass) offered everywhere. Both are delicious and will usually come replete with a smoke on a ''sheesha'' pipe, known in the West as a hookah. Sheeshas are used for smoking molasses tobacco in various flavours, with the smoke passing through water before inhalation through a long tube attached to the bowl. Although they may resemble a device used to smoke illicit substances in the west (a bong), sheesha is legal. Alcoholic drinks can usually be found in bars or hotels. Hurghada has a very western atmosphere so it is much easier to drink than in other areas of Egypt. Non-alcoholic drinks include canned soft drinks and fruit juice, and traditional Egyptian drinks including the aforementioned karkadeh, yansoon (aniseed tea), ganzabeel (ginger tea, reputed to have digestive benefits), irfa (cinnamon tea), and sahlab (a hot, drinkable pudding thickened with orchid-root starch and typically flavored with cinammon). Lemonade is also available both cold and hot, and may be made with mint. Over the years, Hurghada has developed a bubbling reputation for its cosmopolitan nightlife scene, alongside the many bars within the new {{marker|type=drink|name=[https://www.hurghada-marina.com/ Hurghada Marina]|lat=27.22586|long=33.84102}}. There are many bars, nightclubs and discos in Hurghada. Almost every hotel comes equipped with its own disco coupled with the world's first Hed Kandi Beach Bar, other nightlife leaders in the city include Hard Rock Cafe, Little Budha, Calypso Disco, the R&B Club, and throughout the summer months you can find the popular Voodoo parties (every Wednesday) within the Grand Hotel Resorts. There are many other discos and late-night bars dotted around the city, generally speaking ask at your hotel or tour guide to recommend a venue. * {{drink | name=Praha Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.21378 | long=33.83926 | directions=at the end of Sheraton Rd | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-03-17 | content=Czech pub. }} * {{drink | name=Dubai Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.2399223 | long=33.8396252 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=cheap | lastedit=2018-03-17 | content=Variety of non-alcoholic drinks and hookah, welcoming local atmosphere, street-side and indoor lounge area. }} ==Sleep== Large tour operators such as Tui have their own resorts or block bookings with newer local groups like Jaz. These are often the "all inclusive" variety. These may not appeal to the independent traveller, but they can still be a good base for exploring the area. There are plenty of internet sites to find reviews and book these. ===Budget=== A little internet searching will throw up some '''private self-catering accommodation''' that is usually owned by Europeans as a holiday home, which gives much more independence than staying in a resort hotel and is potentially much cheaper. '''Budget hotels catering to Egyptians''' with rooms at LE50 can be found near the Upper Egypt bus station. * {{sleep | name=Golden Rose Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.goldenrosehotel.com/ | email= | address=Qesm Hurghada | lat=27.220932 | long=33.84014 | directions= | phone=+20 653440876 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single from LE177 | lastedit=2017-12-28 | content=Good value. Includes access to a beach (200 m) &ndash; not great but free chairs and towels. There is a dog that continuously barks and fights with other dogs or various by-passers, even during the night. }} * {{sleep | name=Snafer Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 27.26002 | long=33.81954 | directions=in the northern part of the city | phone=+20 653540260 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single from LE100 | lastedit=2018-01-08 | content=Almost even better value than Golden Rose but without free beach access. But there is Sea Sand Resort around the corner, which charges LE50 for a whole day of beach access. However, it is in the northern part of the city, where not much is happening due to the low occupation of the local resorts. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Sunrise Holidays Resort | url=https://www.sunrise-resorts.com/Home/HURGHADA/SUNRISE_Select_Holidays_Resort_Adults_Only | email= | address=Corniche Road | lat=27.20951 | long=33.84595 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit=2017-12-28 | content=Adults only. }} * {{sleep | name=Sunrise Crystal Bay Resort | url=https://www.sunrise-resorts.com/Home/HURGHADA/SUNRISE_Grand_Select_Crystal_Bay_Resort | email= | address=Km 19 Village Road, P.O. Box 20 | lat=27.10195 | long=33.82671 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Sea Star Beau Rivage | url=http://seastarbeaurivage.com/ | email= | address=Al Hilal, Military Hospital Street | lat=27.26572 | long=33.80439 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Giftun Azur Beach Resort | url=https://www.giftunazurresort.com/en/ | email= | address=Village Road | lat=27.18518 | long=33.82692 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Marriott Beach Resort | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/hrgeg-hurghada-marriott-beach-resort/overview/ | email= | address=El Corniche Road, P.O.Box 38 | lat=27.19715 | long=33.84437 | directions=just south of disused Sheraton | phone=+20 65-340 44 20 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=3PM | checkout=Noon | price= | lastedit=2018-02-05 | content=On Resort strip. Small beach but good water-sports facilities, Aquarius Diving is based here. }} * {{sleep | name=Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh | alt= | url=https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-sahl-hasheesh/ | email= | address=The Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh | lat=27.07631 | long=33.88203 | directions=Sahl Hasheesh is 15 km S of downtown Hurghada | phone=+20 65 346 1040 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-02-05 | content=Opulent Moorish-style hotel }} ==Cope== * {{listing | name=Hurghada Clinic | alt= | url=https://clinica-egypt.com/ | email=info@clinica-egypt.com | address=El Kawther, build. 222, apart. 207, Red Sea | lat=27.25807 | long=33.81207 | directions= | phone=+20 11 148 27733 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-03-17 | content=Medical clinic with doctors who can speak English and Polish. International travel insurance policies are accepted. }} * {{listing | name=El Gouna Hospital | alt= | url=http://www.elgounahospital.com.eg/ | email=info@elgounahospital.com.eg | address=El Gouna, Red Sea | lat=27.39556 | long=33.66987 | directions= | phone=+20 65 358 0011-19 | tollfree= | fax=+20 65 358 0020 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-03-17 | content=Professional medical service across the red Sea. Various departments with staff who can speak English, French Russian and German. International insurance policies are often accepted. }} ===Embassies=== * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.ambilcairo.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Ilcairo | email= | address=Mastaba Red Sea - Hurgada| lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 65 3449 366| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Stay safe== In 2018, there were complaints of guests falling ill at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel because of possible [[food safety]] issues, including undercooked food and lapses in cleanliness. Two British travellers died; the BBC reports [[travel agency]] Thomas Cook removed its clients from that hotel and in some cases arranged to fly them home. Because of the heat combined with inadequate food hygiene, gastrointestinal ailments are common (sickness and diarrhoea). The better tourist resorts do make an effort to have good hygiene, but nothing is ever certain. ==Go next== * [[Luxor]] &ndash; The obvious and popular next destination. It can be done on a day-trip, though that's a bit mad, and most of a 20-hour day. Ask around for reputable operators: a cheap tour will be overcrowded, first too cold then too hot in a poorly-sprung minibus, and you will see less of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings and a whole heap more of the driver's uncle's souvenir shop. * [[Aswan]] &ndash; Reached via Luxor but less hassle then it. Once a week there's a ferry across Lake Nasser to Wadi Halfa in Sudan, the only surface route between the two countries. {{outlinecity}} {{geo|27.2500|33.8167}} {{IsPartOf|Red Sea Coast}} omb9jg2gfpgg374pgtafq60ckp0i210 0 15557 5298723 5296851 2026-06-26T11:28:36Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* ETA / e-Visa */ name of "Karimganj" changed to "Sribhumi" 5298723 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|TajMahal Banner.jpg|caption=Taj Mahal|origin=0,0}} '''India''' ([[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]]: भारत ''Bhārat''), the largest country in [[South Asia]], has many of the world's highest [[Mountain ranges|mountains]], most populated [[cities]], and longest rivers. As one of the great [[historical travel|civilisations]] of the ancient world, once revered as 'the golden bird', India's heritage and [[culture]] are a rich amalgam of the past and present. This vast country, the most populous in the world, offers the traveller a view of fascinating [[religions]] and ethnography, a smorgasbord of languages, diverse food, and architectural masterpieces that were built millennia ago and remain intact today. As the nation opens up to a globalised world, India still has a depth of history and intensity of culture that awe and fascinate the many who visit there. ==Regions== India is administratively divided into 28 states and 8 union territories. The states are broadly demarcated on linguistic lines. They vary in size; the larger ones are bigger and more diverse than some countries of [[Europe]]. The union territories are usually much smaller than the states—sometimes they are just one city—and they have much less autonomy. India has two island chains off the mainland – the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]] and the [[Lakshadweep]] in the Arabian Sea. The states and union territories are grouped by convention into the following regions: {{Regionlist | regionmap=India Wikivoyage map.svg | regionmaptext=Map of India's regions and states | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | regionmapsize=400px | region1name=[[Himalayan North]] | region1color=#d5b66b | region1items=[[Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Uttarakhand]] | region1description=Mountainous and beautiful, a tourist destination for the adventurous and the spiritual. This region contains some of India's most visited hill stations and religious places. | region2name=[[Plains (India)|The Plains]] | region2color=#d5dc76 | region2items=[[Punjab (India)|Punjab]], [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]], [[Chandigarh]], [[Delhi]] | region2description=The plains, India's breadbasket, are watered by the holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna and their tributaries. The region also features the country's capital [[New Delhi]], [[Agra]] of Taj Mahal fame, and the holy cities of [[Mathura]], [[Prayagraj]], [[Varanasi]], [[Bodh Gaya]] and [[Amritsar]]. Many of the events that shaped India's history took place in this region. | region3name=[[Western India]] | region3color=#71b37b | region3items=[[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Goa]], [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]] | region3description= Home to the vast Thar Desert; the colourful palaces, forts and cities of Rajasthan; the country's most vibrant and biggest city, [[Mumbai]]; the mesmerising rock-cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra; pristine forests; the wonderful beaches of Goa; the Asiatic lions of Gujarat in Gir jungles; and the rapidly developing cities of [[Ahmedabad]], [[Surat]], [[Jaipur]] and [[Pune]]. | region4name=[[Central India]] | region4color=#8a84a3 | region4items=[[Chhattisgarh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]] | region4description=Breathtaking and vibrant, a landlocked region that offers everything from rolling hills, dramatic waterfalls and abundant wildlife, to classical architecture, tribal heritage and modern steel industry. Home to the Vindhya and [[Satpura National Park|Satpura]] mountains; the [[Jagdalpur|Chitrakote Falls]]; the prehistoric [[Bhimbetka]] caves; the erotic sculptures of [[Khajuraho]]; and the [[Bhilai]]-[[Durg]] industrial area. | region5name=[[Eastern India]] | region5color=#4da9c4 | region5items=[[Jharkhand]], [[Odisha]], [[Sikkim]], [[West Bengal]] | region5description=Economically less developed, but culturally rich and perhaps the most welcoming to outsiders. Features [[Kolkata]], once the capital of British India, and the temple cities of [[Puri]], [[Bhubaneswar]] and [[Konark]]. The region stretches from the mountains to the coast, resulting in fascinating variations in climate. It is also the mineral storehouse of India, having the country's largest and richest mines. | region6name=[[North-Eastern India]] | region6color=#d56d76 | region6items=[[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Assam]], [[Manipur]], [[Meghalaya]], [[Mizoram]], [[Nagaland]], [[Tripura]] | region6description=Insular and relatively virgin, this is the country's tribal corner, with lush, beautiful landscapes, endemic flora and fauna of the Indo-Malayan group and famed tea gardens. Consists of seven states popularly known as the "Seven Sisters". The world's oldest polo ground, the world's only floating national park, the world's only women-run market and the world's tallest topiary plant can be seen in [[Manipur]]. The state of Meghalaya is depicted as the "Scotland of India" because of its mesmerising environment. | region7name=[[Southern India]] | region7color=#b383b3 | region7items=[[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]], [[Lakshadweep]], [[Pondicherry (union territory)|Pondicherry]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]] | region7description=Features famous and historical temples, tropical forests, backwaters, beaches, hill stations, and three big cities of [[Bangalore]], [[Chennai]], [[Hyderabad]] and other smaller cities. The city of [[Mysore]] is world-renowned for its palaces, especially the Mysore Palace. The island groups of Andaman and Nicobar on the east and Lakshadweep on the west, included in this region for convenience, are far from the mainland and have their unique characteristics, known for beautiful beaches and an off the beaten path tourist getaway. }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d5b66b|title=[[Himalayan North]]|wikidata=Q1180,Q1177,Q1499,Q200667,Q66278313}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d5dc76|title=[[Plains (India)|The Plains]]|wikidata=Q22424,Q1174,Q1498,Q1165,Q43433,Q9357528}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#71b37b|title=[[Western India]]|wikidata=Q1437,Q1061,Q1191,Q1171}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#8a84a3|title=[[Central India]]|wikidata=Q1168,Q1188}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#4da9c4|title=[[Eastern India]]|wikidata=Q22048,Q1356,Q1505,Q1184}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d56d76|title=[[North-Eastern India]]|wikidata=Q1162,Q1164,Q1193,Q1195,Q1502,Q1599,Q1363}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#b383b3|title=[[Southern India]]|wikidata=Q1159,Q677037,Q1186,Q1445,Q1185,Q40888,Q26927}} ==Cities== <!-- Cities and Other destinations lists are limited to 9 items. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page. --> These are some of India's most notable cities. Other cities can be found under their specific regions. [[File:Mumbai 03-2016 40 Bombay High Court.jpg|thumb|[[Mumbai]] is home to a lot of Victorian Gothic wonder.]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Delhi]]|wikidata=Q1353}} – the capital of India and the heart of Northern India * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bangalore]]|wikidata=Q1355}} (''Bengaluru'') – the beautiful garden city, once the sleepy home of pensioners, now transformed into an IT hub for high-technology companies and sprouting pubs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Chennai]]|wikidata=Q1352}} (''Madras'') – the main port in Southern India, cultural centre, automobile capital of India * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hyderabad]]|wikidata=Q1361}} – known for pearl and diamond trading, and for the classic Indian rice dish biryani, now with major manufacturing and financial institutions * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jaipur]]|wikidata=Q66485}} – the Pink City, a major exhibit of the Hindu Rajput culture of medieval Northern India * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Kolkata]]|wikidata=Q1348}} (''Calcutta'') – the cultural capital of India, known as the City of Joy, and home to numerous colonial buildings * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mumbai]]|wikidata=Q1156}} (''Bombay'') – the largest city and the financial capital of India, the city that never sleeps, home of "Bollywood", the Hindi film industry * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Shimla]]|wikidata=Q83786}} – capital of Himachal Pradesh, perched high on the Himalayas, more than 2 km above sea level * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Varanasi]]|wikidata=Q79980}} (''Banaras'') – considered the most sacred Hindu city, on the banks of the Ganges, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world <!-- Cities and Other destinations lists are limited to 9 items. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page. --> ==Other destinations== <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are limited to 9 items. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page.--> India has many outstanding landmarks and areas of outstanding beauty. Here are some of the most notable. *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Bodh Gaya]]|wikidata=Q176767}} — the main temple complex, which includes the Mahabodhi temple, is the place where the Buddha Sakyamuni attained enlightenment *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Ellora]]|wikidata=Q189616}} and {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Ajanta]]|wikidata=Q184427}} — spectacular rock-cut cave monasteries and temples, holy place for the Buddhists, Jains and Hindus *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Amritsar#Golden Temple|Golden Temple]]|wikidata=Q180422}} — Sikh holy site in [[Amritsar]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Hampi]]|wikidata=Q26732}} — the awesome ruins of the empire of Vijayanagara *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Khajuraho]]|wikidata=Q178948}} — temple complexes famed for their erotic sculptures *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Konark]]|wikidata=Q749189}} — Sun Temple, a unique example of Kalingan architecture, which is a [[UNESCO World Heritage]] site *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Madurai#Meenakshi Amman Temple|Meenakshi Temple]]|wikidata=Q1424358}} — a spectacular Hindu temple in [[Madurai]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Agra#Taj Mahal|Taj Mahal]]|wikidata=Q9141}} — the incomparable marble tomb in [[Agra]], one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are limited to 9 items. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page.--> See also: * {{marker|name=[[Forts and palaces of India]]|wikidata=}} * {{marker|name=[[Indian national parks and wildlife sanctuaries]]|wikidata=Q1125269}} * {{marker|name=[[Indian zoos and botanical gardens]]|wikidata=Q20892053}} * {{marker|name=[[Natural wonders of India]]|wikidata=Q28913858}} * {{marker|name=[[Sacred sites of the Indian subcontinent]]|wikidata=Q1372264}} * {{marker|name=[[Hill stations in India]]|wikidata=Q1372264}} * {{marker|name=[[UNESCO World Heritage List (India)]]|wikidata=Q1975374}} ==Understand== {{quickbar|location=LocationIndia.png|capital=New Delhi}} "Incredible India", proclaimed a long-running and for once accurate tourism campaign: India is mind-blowing, in ways good and bad. From opulent luxury to abject misery, congested cities to tranquil countryside, dense [[Tropical rainforests|jungles]] and coral reefs to desolate [[deserts]] and tall [[mountains]], India truly has it all. This extends to people, culture, language and food, which can vary wildly in ways small and large. To give a very simple example, a taxi driver in [[Mumbai]] will without saying a word drop their meter flag and return the exact change, while in [[Delhi]] you have to tell the driver to use the meter and hope you get your change, and in other areas taxi drivers don't even have meters and have fixed the rates for even short distances, and you just pay the amount demanded; if you do get an honest driver, consider yourself lucky. India shows extreme variation in most things, and one needs patience and luck to find the best. Never assume you know everything about any aspect of India; be prepared to see completely new things every day. Indian civilisation has been hugely influential throughout history, and many of the cultures of [[Southeast Asia]] exhibit strong Indian influences. Some Indian influences have also seeped into the cultures of [[East Asia]] through the spread of Buddhism. ===History=== {{see also|South Asian history}} Humans are thought to have first migrated into the [[Indian subcontinent]] around 70,000 BCE, and there are some Stone Age archaeological sites, including [[Mehrgarh]] (Pakistan), with the oldest known evidence of agriculture in the subcontinent, around 7000 BCE. The '''[[Indus Valley Civilisation]]''' (3300-1300&nbsp;BCE) was one of the world's first Bronze Age civilisations and very advanced for its time. At its peak (2600-1900&nbsp;BCE), it covered most of what is now [[Pakistan]], plus some of northern India and eastern [[Afghanistan]]. Although [[Mohenjo-daro]] and [[Harappa]], the two biggest Indus Valley sites, are in [[Pakistan]], there are several other sites in India too, including [[Dholavira]] and [[Lothal]]. Some time after 2000 BCE, the '''Aryans''', herdsmen from somewhere to the northwest, migrated into the region. At about the same time, related groups invaded [[Greece]] (Hellenic Greeks displacing Minoans), Anatolia or [[Turkey]] (the Hittites), [[Persia]] and other areas. It is believed that all these tribes spoke related languages and many modern languages, including most of those spoken in northern India, Europe and some in Central Asia, are descended from them. Linguists classify them all in the Indo-European family. [[File:Varanasikedarghat.JPG|thumb|Hindu pilgrims bathing in the Ganges at Varanasi]] The '''Vedic period''' (1500-500 BCE) was the period when the '''Vedas''', the oldest and holiest books of '''[[Hinduism]]''', were compiled in Vedic [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], an Indo-Aryan language. Although few details and archaeological findings are available for this period, it is thought that many rituals of Hinduism took shape during that period, whicl still influence India through the dharmic religions. Present-day Hinduism traces its roots to the Vedas, but is also heavily influenced by literature that came afterwards, ranging from the '''Upanishads''' and '''Puranas''' to the great epics — '''Ramayana''' and '''Mahabharata'''. By tradition, these texts are claimed to only expand and distil the knowledge that is already present in the Vedas. Among the most widely read works is a section of the Mahabharata called the '''Bhagavad Gita''', which is said to be a concise summary of the four Vedas of Hinduism. Kaal (Kshar Brahm) is said to have described the knowledge of the Gita in 700 verses of 18 chapters after entering Krishna's body. It is a dialogue, just before a great battle at [[Kurukshetra]] featuring the hero Arjuna and Lord Krishna, who serves as his charioteer. Today, Kurukshetra is a destination for both pilgrimage and tourism. In the 1st millennium BCE, various schools of philosophy developed, enriching Hinduism greatly. Most of them claimed to derive from the Vedas. However, some of these schools, including '''[[Buddhism]]''' and '''[[Jainism]]''', questioned the Vedic authority, and they are now recognised as separate religions. [[File:ShoreTemple Approach2.JPG|thumb|Shore Temple (c. 700 CE), [[Mamallapuram]]]] During the '''classical period''' (230 BCE–590 CE), many great empires arose. Notable among them were the '''[[Maurya Empire|Mauryas]]''' and the '''Guptas''', both with their capital in the city of Pataliputra, now called [[Patna]]. The Gupta Empire (3rd century CE to 590 CE) is often called the '''Golden Age''' of India. Further west, Gandhara, an independent kingdom, ruled much of what are now [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]]. Their city [[Taxila]] was a great centre of Buddhist and other learning. South of the Vindhya Range, the '''Pallavas''', '''Cheras''', '''Pandyas''' and '''[[Chola Empire|Cholas]]''' ruled from present-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Among them, the Cholas are widely recognised to be the most powerful of the South Indian kingdoms, with their influence spreading as far east as Sumatra, western Borneo and southern Vietnam at the height of their power. Some of the grandest Hindu and Jain monuments that exist in southern India were built during this time. Over time, there was a gradual decline of Buddhism and Jainism. The practice of Buddhism, in particular, disappeared from India's heartland, though Buddha himself was incorporated into the Hindu pantheon. Jainism continues to be practised by a significant minority who are ambivalent about whether they consider themselves Hindus or not. [[File:Jama Masjid, Delhi, morning view.jpg|thumb|Jama Masjid, [[Delhi]]]] [[Islam]]ic incursions started in the 8th century. Gradually, the raiders started staying as rulers, and soon much of India was ruled by Muslims. The most important Muslim rulers were the '''[[Mughal Empire]]''' that at its peak covered almost the entire subcontinent (save the southern and northeastern extremities), while the major Hindu force that survived in the northwest were the '''Rajputs'''. The bravery of the Rajputs in resisting invasions is legendary and celebrated in ballads all over the forts of [[Rajasthan]]. Prominent among the Rajputs was '''Maha Rana Pratap''', the ruler of [[Chittorgarh]], who spent years in exile fighting '''Akbar''', the third of the Mughals. Eventually, however, the Rajputs were subdued and some Mughal armies had a high proportion of Rajput officers, although some Rajput rebellions still occurred during the reign of Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. This period of India produced the monumental gems of Rajasthan and the Taj Mahal, as well as Hindi and Urdu literatures. During the Islamic period, there were Hindus who converted to Islam, often forcibly, or to avoid the Jizya tax, as told by Muslim chroniclers. Today, around 15% of India's population follows Islam. '''[[Sikhism]]''', another major religion, was established in [[Punjab]] during the Mughal period. The '''Golden Temple''' at [[Amritsar]] was built and recognised all over the world as Sikhism's foremost pilgrimage centre. By the time of its tenth Guru, '''Guru Gobind Singh''', the relations with the Mughlas were hostile, primarily due to the antagonism of '''Aurangzeb''', the most intolerant, brutal and bigoted of the Mughals. The conflict between the Sikhs and the Mughals was one of the causes for the eventual decline of the Mughal Empire. Another reason was the rise of the '''[[Maratha Empire]]''' under '''Shivaji''' and the '''Peshwas''' who established a short-lived confederacy that was almost as large as the Mughal Empire. However, the Marathas lost their command over India after the third battle of Panipat, which in turn paved the way for British colonialism. Twelve military forts from the Maratha period, mainly in the western part of Maharashtra, have been designated by UNESCO as the world heritage site [[Maratha Military Landscapes of India]]. Meanwhile, Northeast India was fairly isolated from the rest of the country until the colonial period. The largest and longest kingdom to rule over the Northeast were the '''Ningthouja dynasty (33–1891 AD)''' of [[Manipur]], followed by the '''[[Ahom Kingdom|Ahoms]]''' who, from the 13th to 19th centuries, successfully defended [[Assam]] and neighbouring regions from Mughal expansion. European traders started visiting India beginning in the late 16th century. Prominent among these were the British, Dutch, French and Portuguese. The British East India Company made [[Calcutta]] their headquarters in 1772, which later went on to become "the second city of the empire after [[London]]". They also established subsidiary cities like [[Bombay]] and [[Madras]]. By the 19th century, the British had, one way or the other, assumed political control of virtually all of India, though the Portuguese, the Dutch and the French too had their enclaves along the coast. The British would send Indian labourers, policemen and soldiers all over the Empire, resulting in the establishment of Indian diaspora communities, the most notable ones in [[Myanmar]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Fiji]], [[South Africa]], [[Mauritius]], [[Kenya]], [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]] and the [[United Kingdom]] itself. [[File:Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata.jpg|thumb|The Victoria Memorial in [[Kolkata]], a large marble building dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria. Kolkata's history is related to the East India Company and to the [[British Raj]], of which the city, then known as Calcutta, became the capital.]] The uprising by sepoys and rulers in 1857 prompted the British government to take over from the Company and make India a part of the [[British Raj]]. It was the period in which some Indians converted to Christianity, though forcible conversions ended in British India after 1859, and Queen Victoria's proclamation promised to respect the religious faiths of Indians. [[Indian independence movement|Non-violent resistance to British colonialism]] led by '''Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi''' (Mahatma Gandhi), combined with other means led to independence on 15 August 1947. However, independence was simultaneously granted to the secular Hindu-majority state of India and the smaller Muslim-majority state of [[Pakistan]], and the orgy of Hindu-Muslim bloodletting that followed '''Partition''' led to the deaths of at least half a million and the migration of more than ten million people. India achieved self-sufficiency in food grains by the 1970s, ensuring that the large-scale famines that had been common are now history. However, these policies also led to shortages, slow growth and large-scale corruption. After a balance-of-payments crisis in 1991, the country adopted free-market reforms, which have continued at a steady pace ever since, fueling strong growth. The information technology (IT), business process outsourcing (BPO) and other industries have been the drivers for the growth, while manufacturing and [[agriculture]], which have not experienced reforms, are lagging. About 42-45% of Indians live on agriculture and around 10% remain in poverty. Relations with Pakistan have been frosty. The two countries have fought four wars, three of them over the status of [[Kashmir]]. The third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming Bangladesh. India continues to experience occasional terrorist attacks, many of which are widely believed to originate in Pakistan and be ordered or assisted by its military-intelligence complex. China and India went to war in 1962 over a Himalayan border dispute. Current relations are largely peaceful but tense. There are no land crossings allowed between the two countries, though one border crossing between [[Sikkim]] and [[Tibet]] was re-opened in 2006 for trade. Security concerns over Pakistan and China prompted India to test '''nuclear weapons''' twice (including the 1974 tests described as "peaceful explosions"). India is campaigning for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat. India is proud of its democratic record. Constitutional government and democratic freedoms have been safeguarded for most of its time as an independent country. Current concerns in India include corruption, poverty, overpopulation, pollution and forms of environmental degradation, ongoing border disputes with Pakistan and China, cross-border terrorism, and ethnic, political and religious strife, which occurs from time to time. India's current obsession, at least among the educated elite, is over whether India will be able to overtake China in economic growth and be an economic and military superpower. Today, many Indians regard their country to be the voice and leader of the entire Global South in international politics. ===Geography=== [[File:Loktak Lake Boat people Moirang Manipur India.jpg|thumb|[[Loktak lake]], the world's only floating lake.]] India covers an area of {{convert|3,287,263|km2|sqmi|0}}, making it the world's seventh-largest country, the third-largest country in [[Asia]] (if you count [[Russia]]), and the largest country in [[South Asia]]. India is three times smaller than the [[United States]], half the size of [[Australia]], and nearly 11,000 times larger than Asia's smallest country, the [[Maldives]]. Mountains, jungles, deserts and beaches, India has it all. It is bounded to the north and northeast by the '''snow-capped Himalayas''', the tallest mountain range in the world. In addition to protecting the country from invaders, they also feed the perennial rivers '''Ganga''' (Ganges), '''Yamuna''' (Jamuna) and '''Sindhu''' (Indus) on whose plains India's civilization flourished. Though most of the Sindhu is in Pakistan now, three of its tributaries flow through [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]. The Ganga has two distributaries, of which the '''Bhagirathi-Hooghly''' runs over India and is the lifeline of [[West Bengal]]. Both distributaries eventually meet at the Bay of Bengal, forming both the largest river delta and the largest mangrove forest in the world. The other Himalayan river, the '''Brahmaputra''', flows through the northeast, mostly through [[Assam]], where it is known by different names. The '''Manipur River''', originating in [[Manipur]], joins the Chindwin-Irrawaddy River System of Myanmar. South of Punjab lies the '''Aravalli''' range, which cuts [[Rajasthan]] into two. The western half of [[Rajasthan]] is occupied by the '''Thar''' desert. The '''Vindhyas''' and '''Satpuras''' cut across [[Central India]], particularly through [[Madhya Pradesh]] and signify the start of the '''[[Deccan]]''' plateau, which covers almost the whole of the southern peninsula, excluding most of [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Kerala]]. The Deccan is bounded by the '''[[Western Ghats]]''' range (called '''Sahyadri''' in Maharashtra) to the west and the '''Eastern Ghats''' to the east. The plateau is more arid than the plains, as the rivers that feed the area, such as the '''Narmada''', '''Godavari''' and the '''Kaveri''' (Cauvery), run dry during the summer. Towards the northeast of the Deccan plateau is what used to be a thickly forested area that covers the states of [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Jharkhand]], the eastern edge of [[Maharashtra]] and the northern tip of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. This area is still forested, poverty stricken and populated by tribal people. This forest acted as a barrier to the invasion of South India. The '''world's only floating lake''' is Loktak Lake in the central bowl like plain of [[Manipur]]. It is remarkably known for its unique circular floating biomasses ([[Manipuri phrasebook|Manipuri]]: Phumdi). India has a long '''coastline'''. The west coast borders the '''Arabian Sea''' and the east coast the '''Bay of Bengal''', both parts of the Indian Ocean. ===Climate=== [[File:A beach side resort at Kadmat Island, Lakshadweep.jpg|thumb|Lakshadweep Islands]] [[File:Jammu and Kashmir 3.JPG|thumb|Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir]] In India, it rains only during a specific time of the year. The season as well as the phenomenon that causes it is called the '''monsoon'''. There are two of them, the '''Southwest''' and the '''Northeast''', both named after the directions the winds come from. The Southwest monsoon is the more important one, as it causes rains over most parts of the country, and is the crucial variable that decides how the crops will do. It lasts from June to September. The Southwest monsoon hits the west coast the most, as crossing the Western Ghats and reaching the rest of India is an uphill task for the winds. The western coastline is therefore much '''greener''' than the interior. The Northeast monsoon hits the east coast between October and February, mostly in the form of occasional '''cyclones''' that cause much devastation every year. The only region that gets rains from both monsoons is North-Eastern India, which consequently experiences the '''highest rainfall in the world'''. India experiences at least three seasons a year, '''Summer''', '''Rainy Season''' (or "Monsoon") and '''Winter''', though in the '''tropical South''' calling the 25°C (77°F) weather "Winter" would be stretching the concept. The North experiences some extremes of heat in Summer and cold in Winter, but except in the Himalayan regions, snow is almost unheard of. November to January is the winter season and April and May are the hot months when everyone eagerly awaits the rains. There is also a brief spring in February and March, especially in North India. Opinions are divided on whether any part of India experiences an '''Autumn''', but the ancients had certainly identified such a season among the '''six seasons''' (or ''ritus'' - ''Vasanta'' - Spring, ''Greeshma'' - Summer, ''Varsha'' - Rainy, ''Sharat'' - Autumn, ''Hemanta'' - "Mild Winter"/"late autumn", ''Sheet'' - Winter) they had divided the year into. ===Units of measure=== India is almost fully metricated. However, a few vestiges from the British imperial system remain. For example: * Clothing sizes are advertised in both inches and centimetres. * The weights of cakes are still measured in pounds, whereas weights of others are measured in kilograms and grams. * Land areas are still measured in acres. * Housing properties are still advertised in square feet. * Screen sizes are still advertised in inches. ===Time zone=== Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC+5:30). Daylight Saving Time is not observed in India. ===Politics=== [[File:Back view of Rashtrapati Bhavan.jpg|thumb|The Rashtrapati Bhavan (literally the "President House"), [[New Delhi]]]] India is a '''parliamentary republic''' and democracy modelled on the British Westminster system. The [[History of justice|president]], indirectly elected, is the head of state, but this position, while not entirely ceremonial, has limited powers. The prime minister runs the government with a cabinet of ministers, and in practice wields the most authority in government. The parliament is bicameral. The Lok Sabha (House of the People), the lower house, is directly elected by universal adult franchise, while the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), or the upper house, is indirectly elected. The Lok Sabha is the more powerful of the two, primarily because a majority in the Lok Sabha is required to form a government and pass budgets, and the prime minister, by convention, is always a member of the Lok Sabha. India is also a federation, divided into '''states''' and '''union territories'''. Each of these has its own legislature, with a government run by a chief minister and a cabinet. The difference between a state and union territory is on how much power is given to the legislature by the central government. Each state or union territory is divided into multiple districts, which are in turn divided into multiple smaller divisions, depending on the state or union territory in question. There are two types of local government in India: the '''urban local bodies''' (ULBs) for cities and towns, and the '''panchayati raj''' (literally the "rule of five officials") for the remaining countryside. The urban local bodies include municipalities, municipal corporations, cantonments, nagar/town panchayats, notified area councils etc. Whereas the panchayati raj is divided into three levels or tiers: '''gram panchayats''' for individual villages, '''panchayat samitis''' for groups of villages, and '''zila panchayats''' (or zila parishads) for districts. India has a vast number of political parties. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is the current ruling party and other political parties part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) the government, and the centre-left Indian National Congress (INC, simply known as "Congress") is the main opposition party, which is part of a larger opposition bloc made up of many political parties called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). India has a strong and independent judiciary and a near-free press, although the press freedom has been questioned for years. Street demonstrations, protests and agitations occur, as they do in any democracy. There are also occasional low levels of political violence, in which a visitor has an extremely small chance of getting caught. ===Culture=== {{infobox|Culture shock|Many visitors expecting maharajas and fabulous palaces are shocked when their first impressions are dominated by poverty instead. Prepare for the following: * '''Attention''' – Some people will unabashedly stare at foreign tourists, who can also be magnets for persistent touts and beggars. People may shove their mobile phones in your face and take pictures; just turn your head. Beggars, especially malnourished children and the badly deformed, can be particularly disturbing. * '''Crowds''' – Many of India's streets, markets and bazaars are jam-packed with people, vehicles and at certain times, animals, and streets tend to be narrow. If you ever travel the cheapest class in buses or trains, these will also get packed a lot, which might be exhausting. * '''Dogs''' – [[Aggressive dogs|Stray dogs]] can be found everywhere in India. Their behaviour can be anything from lying around not caring about people or aggressively barking at them. Sometimes they roam the streets in packs. Either way, it is best to stay away from them, even if they seem friendly. There are no countrywide rabies vaccination programmes for dogs in India and you never know their health status. * '''Filth''' – Dirt, refuse and insects abound in the cities. The roadside can sometimes be a urinal, or even an art of gutka spits. Roads are also often dusty because the asphalt is missing in some parts, so if travelling by bus, be quick in closing the window if it is the right time. * '''Noise''' – Drivers lean on horns, radios and TVs blare Bollywood tracks, and even temples, mosques and churches use loudspeakers to spread their message. The function of using the horn while driving is to make yourself noticed to the other drivers or to pedestrians — Indians will often enter the road without looking right or left, they will just expect someone to sound the horn if there is danger. * '''Pollution''' – Most North Indian cities—especially Delhi—suffer badly. Exhaust combined with dust can make the drier seasons a nightmare for asthma sufferers. Most visitors quickly get inured to these things that are pitfalls of urbanisation and start seeing the good sides too, but take it easy on your first few days and schedule some time to get away from it all. }} India's rich and multi-layered cultures are dominated by religious and spiritual themes. While it is a mistake to assume that there is a single unified Indian culture, there are certainly unifying themes that link the various cultures. India's cultural heritage is expressed through its myriad of languages in which much great literature and poetry has been written. It can be seen in its music, both in its classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) forms and in modern Bollywood music. India also has a vast tradition of classical and folk dances. Art and theatre flourish amongst the bustling cities of the country, against the backdrop of the ever-expanding western influences. Indians greatly value their family system. Typically, an Indian family encompasses what would be called the extended family in the West. It is routine for Indians to live as part of the paternal family unit throughout their lives, i.e. sons live together with their parents all their lives, and daughters live with their parents till they get married. The relationship is mutually self-supporting. Parents may support their children for longer than is common in the West, brothers and sisters may support each other, and sons are expected to take care of their parents in their old age. "Living with parents" does not carry the same stigma as it does in parts of the West. Naturally, the arrangements are not perfect and there are strains and breakups, especially by the time the third generation grows up. Also, it has now become common for children to move away from the parental house for education and employment. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that the extended family is still seen as the norm and an ideal to aspire to, and Indians continue to care about their family's honour, achievements and failures even while they are not living together. Despite the weakening of the caste system (which has officially been outlawed by the Indian government), India remains a fairly stratified society. Indians care more about a person's background and position in society than is the norm in the individualist West. This attitude, when combined with the legacy of colonial rule, results in some rather interesting, if unfortunate consequences. People with white skin are placed high on the societal totem pole, and they may find that Indians are obsequious towards them to the point of embarrassment. People with dark skin, however, may find that they are discriminated against. If it is any consolation, Indians display similar prejudices based on skin colour and ethnicity among themselves and not just towards foreigners. See more in the [[#Stay Safe]] and [[#Respect]] sections. There is also a community known as the Siddis, who are believed to be descended from East African slaves brought to India by the Arab Slave Trade, and mainly found in remote rural villages. Although they speak Indian instead of African languages these days, they still retain many African customs including African dance and music. Although they are Indian citizens, due to a lack of awareness from the general Indian population of their existence, they continue to face much discrimination, and are often presumed to be illegal immigrants from Africa. British colonisation also gave rise to a mixed-raced population known as the Anglo-Indians, and while most of them migrated to Western countries following independence, pockets of these communities remain in India's major cities. ===Holidays and festivals=== There are three national [[holidays]]: '''Republic Day''' (26 January), '''Independence Day''' (15 August), and '''Gandhi's Birthday,''' generally called '''Gandhi Jayanti''' (2 October) which follow the Western calendar and occur on the same day every year. Hindu religious festivals, because they follow the lunisolar calendar, occur on different days every year, but around the same time of the year every time. The major religious festivals of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism are also celebrated. Central government offices are closed for holidays around 17 days a year for these festivals and observances. The significance of these festivals differs across different regions of India. State government offices will have a different holiday schedule based on which festivals are important in that state. Generally, the day on which the state was formed will also be a holiday in that state. [[File:Diwali Lighting Mini Lamps 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|Diwali lighting]] [[File:Durga Puja DS.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Durga Puja]]]] Some of the major Indian festivals are: * '''[[Diwali]]''' (Deepavali), Oct-Nov — The festival of lights, celebrates the return of the Hindu God Rama to the capital of his kingdom, [[Ayodhya]] after an exile of 14 years following the killing of the demon Ravana and victory of justice over injustice when Narakasura was killed by Satyabhama with the help of the Hindu God Krishna. Probably the most lavish festival in the country, reminiscent of Christmas in Europe or Thanksgiving in the US. Houses are decorated, there is glitter everywhere, and if you wander the streets on Diwali night, there will be firecrackers going off everywhere including sometimes under your feet. * '''Ugadhi,''' [sometimes also called 'Yugadhi' and various other names] is one of the main festivals, which is mainly celebrated as the 1st day of the Hindu Calendar New Year. Which is one of the main festivals and is quite widely followed in South India. * '''[[Durga Puja|Durga Puja / Navaratri / Dussehara]]''', Sep-Oct — A nine-day festival culminating in the holy day of Dussehra, when locals worship the deity Durga. Workers are given sweets, cash bonuses, gifts and new clothes. It is also a new year for businesspeople when they are supposed to start new account books. In some places like [[West Bengal]] and [[Odisha]], Durga Puja is ''the'' most important festival. In the north ''Dussehra'' celebrations take place and the slaying of Ravana by Lord Rama is ceremonially reenacted as ''Ram Lila''. In [[Gujarat]] and [[South India]], it is celebrated as Navaratri where the festival is celebrated by dancing to devotional songs and religious observances like fasts extended for nine nights. * '''Holi''', in March — The festival of colour is a major Hindu festival celebrated mainly in North, East and Western India, celebrating the death of the demon Holika. On the first day, people go to temples and light bonfires, but on the second, it's a water fight combined with '''showers of coloured powder'''. This is not a spectator sport: as a visible foreigner, you're a magnet for attention, so you'll either have to barricade yourself inside, or put on your most disposable clothes and join the fray. Alcohol and ''bhang'' (cannabis) are often involved and crowds can get rowdy as the evening wears on. [[File:DagduHalwai2013.jpg|thumb|right|Dagdusheth Halwai Ganesha Idol during Ganesh Chaturthi 2013]] * '''Ganesh Chaturthi''', is celebrated all over India. Ganesh Chaturthi is the festival of Lord Ganesha. Ganesh Chaturthi is most enjoyed in [[Maharashtra]]. It is the best time to visit cities like [[Mumbai]], [[Pune]], [[Nagpur]]. * '''Christmas''' and '''New Year's Day''' are public holidays across the country and Bank Holidays as well. Christmas is a major festival in the regions of Kerala and Goa. * '''Eid-al-Fitr''', '''Eid-al-Adha''', '''Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi''', '''Yawm-e-Aashoora''' and '''Ramadan''' are widely celebrated and observed as public holidays across the country. Apart from these, each state/union territory has its major national festival like '''Onam''' in [[Kerala]], '''Makar Sankranti''' and '''Ugadi''' in Andhra Pradesh, ''Utarayan'' in Gujarat, '''Pongal''' in [[Tamil Nadu]], '''Baisakhi''' for Punjab, Bihu for Assam, ''Rathayatra'' (car festival for Lord Jagannath) in Odisha, ''Nuakhai'' for Western Odisha. India is a diverse nation, and festivals are a significant part of life for the locals, they provide holidays for about a week. Religious holidays occur on different days each year because the Hindu and Islamic festivals are based on their respective calendars and not on the Gregorian calendar. Most of them are celebrated only locally, so check the state or city you are visiting for information on whether there will be closures. Different regions might give somewhat different names to the same festival. To cater to varying religious practices, offices have a list of '''optional holidays''' (called '''restricted holidays''' by the government) from which employees are allowed to pick two, in addition to the list of fixed holidays. This may mean thin attendance and delayed service even when the office is officially open. ===Read=== {{infobox|Kashmir dispute|India and Pakistan have a bitter dispute over Kashmir; each government claims territory that is under the control of the other. They have fought wars over this three times since independence in 1947. China also claims portions of Kashmir and fought two wars with India over the dispute in 1962 and 1967. Wikivoyage, however, deals ''only'' with the current situation on the ground; our maps show and our text describes that without taking sides on the disputes. If you can go there with a Pakistani visa today then we treat it as being in Pakistan, if you need an Indian visa, we treat it as being in India and if you need a Chinese visa then we treat it as being in China. This is the most important distinction for travellers. Visitors should exercise considerable caution in these areas. Both governments consider them highly sensitive, keep large military forces along the border, and restrict travel to border areas. }} * ''An Era of Darkness'' by Shashi Tharoor. Thought provoking account of how the British Raj impoverished the country and caused humanitarian crises. * ''Midnight's Children'', Salman Rushdie's allegory about Independence. It was awarded the "Booker of Bookers" Prize and the best all-time prize winners to celebrate the Booker Prize 25th and 40th anniversary. It was also adapted into a film by Indo-Canadian film director Deepa Mehta (2012). * ''The India they saw : foreign accounts'', by Meenakshi Jain (2011). A compilation of intriguing travel tales and excerpts from travelogues by travellers, writers, pilgrims and missionaries. * ''A Goddess in the Stones: Travels in India'' by Norman Lewis (Cape 1991; US: Holt 1992), In "Goddess in the Stones", influential journalist and author Norman Lewis undertakes a journey of 2500 miles in search of the old India. * ''India: A History'', John Keay; "A superb one-volume history of a land that defies reduction into simple narrative ... Without peer among general studies, a history that is intelligent, incisive, and eminently readable." ({{ISBN|0802137970}}) * ''India: A Million Mutinies Now'', V.S. Naipaul; "With this book he may well have written his own enduring monument, in prose at once stirring and intensely personal, distinguished both by style and critical acumen" ({{ISBN|0670837024}}) * ''In Spite of the Gods'', Edward Luce; an exceptionally insightful and readable book on the unlikely rise of modern India. ({{ISBN|0316729817}}) * ''No Full Stops In India'', Mark Tully; "India's Westernised elite, cut off from local traditions, want to write a full stop in a land where there are no full stops. From that striking insight, Mark Tully has woven a superb series of stories that explore everything from communal conflict in Ahmedabad to communism in Kolkata, from the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad (probably the biggest religious festival in the world) to the televising of a Hindu epic." ({{ISBN|0140104801}}) * ''Mother Pious Lady'', Santosh Desai; An excellent account of middle-class beliefs and customs from the pre-liberalisation era till date. For anyone who wants to understand the culture of present India, this is a must-read where the author cuts through the chaos and confusion letting you see things more clearly. ({{ISBN|9788172238643}}) * ''Indian journals, March 1962-May 1963: Notebooks, diary, blank pages, writings.'' Ginsberg, A. (1970). San Francisco: Dave Haselwood Books. Travel diary written by the famous beat poet Allen Ginsberg. * ''Lion: A Long Way Home'', a book by Saroo Brierley. * ''Spiritual India handbook: A guide to temples, holy sites festivals and traditions'' by Stephen Knapp (2013). Useful for the pilgrim who wants to get the most out of his or her spiritual adventure and experience in India. * ''Meeting Shiva: Falling and Rising in Love in the Indian Himalayas'' by Tiziana Stupia. Changemakers Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1780999166 A spiritual memoir chronicling a Western woman’s adventurous travels and personal quest for healing and self-discovery in the Indian Himalayas, with vivid reflections on ashram life and inner transformation. * ''Thank You India: A German Woman's Journey to the Wisdom of Yoga''. Maria Wirth. 2018. New Delhi, Garuda Prakashan. ISBN ‎978-1942426097 This book recounts the long-term travels of a German woman in India, sharing her transformative experiences in ashrams and encounters with gurus. See also the Wikivoyage article [[On the trail of Kipling's Kim]]. ===Tourist information === * [https://www.incredibleindia.org Incredible India] tourism website ==Talk== [[File:Trilingual signboard in the Imphal International Airport (Tulihal International Airport) displaying in Meitei, Hindi and English languages.jpg|thumb|A trilingual sign in Meitei, Hindi, and English in [[Manipur]]]] At the central (federal) level, the official languages of India are '''[[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]]''' and '''[[English language varieties|English]].''' Most Indians are multilingual. Other languages that are official to some degree (often at state level) are '''[[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]]''', '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', '''[[Bodo phrasebook|Bodo]]''', '''[[Dogri phrasebook|Dogri]]''', '''[[Gujarati phrasebook|Gujarati]]''', '''[[Kannada phrasebook|Kannada]]''', '''[[Kashmiri phrasebook|Kashmiri]]''', '''[[Konkani phrasebook|Konkani]]''', '''[[Maithili phrasebook|Maithili]]''', '''[[Malayalam phrasebook|Malayalam]]''', '''[[Manipuri phrasebook|Manipuri]]''' (also known as Meitei), '''[[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]]''', '''[[Nepali phrasebook|Nepali]]''', '''[[Odia phrasebook|Odia]]''' (also known as Oriya), '''[[Punjabi phrasebook|Punjabi]]''', '''[[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]]''', '''[[Santhali phrasebook|Santhali]]''', '''[[Sindhi phrasebook|Sindhi]]''', '''[[Tamil phrasebook|Tamil]]''', '''[[Telugu phrasebook|Telugu]]''' and '''[[Urdu phrasebook|Urdu]].''' There are also hundreds of less prominent languages like [[Tulu phrasebook|'''Tulu''']], [[Bhojpuri phrasebook|'''Bhojpuri''']] and [[Ladakhi phrasebook|'''Ladakhi''']]. '''Hindi''' is spoken by 40–50% of the population and serves as the "lingua franca" of [[Northern India]]. However, its use at the national level is sometimes a point of contention due to India's linguistic diversity. Very little Hindi is generally spoken in [[Southern India|Southern]] and [[North-Eastern India|North-Eastern]] India. There are also over 120 Hindi dialects in India. One of them is Haryanvi, which is a common dialect around Haryana and the Delhi area. '''English''' is spoken in urban areas, and is the main language in higher education and business. It serves as the de facto lingua franca of the country. Indian English is generally based on British English, but has also acquired a uniquely Indian flavour. Perhaps the most common jibe about the dialect is its use of "improper" grammar, which can sound strange to English speakers from other countries. Indian English is often spoken with a strong accent, which varies depending on the speaker's native language, and incorporates several words from the local languages that are not used in other English dialects, which can make it tricky for non-native English speakers from elsewhere to understand. Learning the basics of Hindi and/or the local language is useful when travelling to rural areas, as English proficiency is limited there. Some features of Indian English: * The most commonly used tag question is ''"isn't it"'', which can be used to indicate a genuine question (e.g. ''He is from Tamil Nadu, isn't it?''), sarcasm, bewilderment, and so on. * Nouns are commonly pluralised (e.g. ''A room full of furnitures'', ''stuffs for eating'' as opposed to ''A room full of furniture'' or ''stuff for eating'') * Verbs conjugate differently (e.g. ''I knowed about it'' or ''I buyed it'' as opposed to ''I knew about it'' or ''I bought it'') * Colloquialisms, slang words and idioms, some of which may be perceived as rude or impolite by non-Indians, are common (e.g. ''Hello, what you want?'' as opposed to ''Hello, what do you want?'') * Prepositions and articles are often dropped or combined strangely (e.g. ''I want computer'' as opposed to ''I want a computer'') * The use of some vocabulary and expressions not used with the same meaning elsewhere (e.g. ''vote bank'', which means a group of people that supports a particular political party) English-language TV shows and movies are common, and English TV channels outnumber those in Indian languages. Some shows may be dubbed in another language depending on where you are. Cable TV channels often have an option to select from multiple audio languages. '''Sanskrit''' is the language in which much of ancient Indian literature and religious texts are written. Today Sanskrit survives primarily as a liturgical language; few if any people speak Sanskrit as a native language, but quite a few scholars or lay-persons know it or are learning it. Many modern Indian languages are descended from Sanskrit, and even those unrelated to Sanskrit have been strongly influenced by it. While most north Indian languages, including Hindi, are descended from Sanskrit, the main languages of the south – [[Telugu phrasebook|Telugu]], [[Tamil phrasebook|Tamil]], [[Kannada phrasebook|Kannada]] and [[Malayalam phrasebook|Malayalam]] – originate from a different ancestral language and are called the Dravidian languages. Ironically, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam are far more Sanskritic than Hindi due to the relative absence of Islamic rule in those regions. In North Eastern India, [[Manipuri phrasebook|Manipuri]] or Meitei is a language of the Sino-Tibetan family, related to Chinese, Burmese and Tibetan, making it distinct from other Indian languages. However, you are better off picking up as many words as you can of the local language of the place you are going to – people are proud of their state's (or region's) culture and language and will appreciate it if an outsider makes an attempt to communicate in it. Code-switching between English and the local language is common among the urban youth, although most educated people would speak standard English (British) when talking to foreigners. Many Indian languages lack a word for please, just like the Scandinavian languages. Instead, verbs have many forms denoting levels of politeness and formality. As there is no such distinction in English, Indians may also seem commanding to a westerner. You may hear phrases like ''come here'' which may sound commanding to Anglophones from Western cultures, but this is not intended to be rude. '''Non-verbal communication''' is also important. Much has been made of the confusing Indian head nod for yes and no, but the only important thing to understand is that Indians have '''different nods for yes, ok and no.''' * If they are nodding their head '''up and down''', they mean '''yes''' or '''I agree''', as in a standard nod. * If they are shaking their head in a '''tilting motion''' from right to left and back, they mean '''I understand''' or '''I get what you said'''. * If they shake their head sideways (left to right to left), they mean '''no'''. * There are differences in the way these signs are used in northern and southern India. The back to forth is yes and a vigorous left-right shift is no in northern India, though the latter may be construed for yes in southern states like Tamil Nadu. Look for verbal cues that accompany these sounds (like 'aaan' for yes) in southern India to get the correct meaning. ==Get in== {{VisaRestriction|Certain states in India require permits to visit. Citizens and former citizens of [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]], [[China]] (including [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]]), and [[Myanmar]] are usually not eligible for them unless they have special permission from the Home Ministry. * '''A Restricted Area Permit (RAP)''' is required to enter parts of the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], and parts of [[Sikkim]]. Citizens and former citizens of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan are required to get a RAP to visit any part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. * '''A Protected Area Permit (PAP)''' is required to enter [[Arunachal Pradesh]], and parts of [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Sikkim]], and [[Uttarakhand]]. * '''An Inner Line Permit (ILP)''' is required to enter [[Mizoram]], [[Manipur]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]], or [[Nagaland]] if you are a citizen of India. Most foreigners can visit without the permit but must register with the local police on arrival. In addition, an ILP is required for all visitors to [[Sikkim]] regardless of citizenship, but foreigners can usually get one at the border. If you are planning to visit any of these areas, you should request the relevant permit when applying for your Indian visa, and it will be added to your visa if approved. This however is not possible with the easily obtainable ETA/e-Visa, but just with regular visas. |lastedit=permanent }}{{VisaRestriction|'''Ebola restrictions''': All people (Indian nationals/foreign nationals) who have visited or transited through [[Uganda]], the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and/or [[South Sudan]] in the past 21 days, will be required to complete a Self-Declaration Form (SDF). You may be asked by Indian Health Authorities to undergo medical examinations, monitoring, isolation or quarantine. Failure to do so may result in penal provisions. If you develop ebola symptoms you must restrict your outdoor movement and contact the nearest health or public health facility.}} ===Entry requirements=== ====Visa==== India's once notoriously convoluted [[visa]] system has been drastically simplified with the introduction of the '''e-visa''', which is now available to citizens of 166 countries including all the usual suspects, and is covered in detail below. Notable exceptions include the following: '''Holders of an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) document''' are permitted to stay in India indefinitely and have the same rights as any Indian citizen, enjoying the prices of Indian citizen at tourist attractions. However, they must apply for permits to visit certain areas in India, cannot buy agricultural land and cannot vote in any election. The OCI certificate is not under any circumstances a proof of Indian citizenship, and the country that you are a passport holder of is still able to offer consular assistance. Citizens of '''[[Nepal]]''' and '''[[Bhutan]]''' may enter and live in India indefinitely without a visa. Citizens of '''[[Maldives]]''' may stay up to 90 days without a visa. Citizens of '''[[Japan]], [[South Korea]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]]''' are eligible for visas on arrival and may stay for up to 60 days. Citizens (current or former) of '''[[Afghanistan]]''', '''[[North Korea]]''' and '''[[Iran]]''' require a minimum of 4 weeks waiting time for their visa. A '''business visa''' may be required if you intend to do anything work related in India (OCIs are exempt from a business visa). The ETA does permit "casual business visits" and will be easier to obtain. If you do need a business visa, then be prepared to provide a great deal of documentation about your company in your home country as well as the company you are visiting in India. This will include (but may not be limited to) an invitation letter from the company that you are visiting as well as business registration documents and possibly tax returns and other sensitive documents. It may be worth applying for a short-term visa (such as 6 months) since the criteria may be less in your case. A special 10-year visa is available to nationals of certain countries, including U.S. citizens (US$100). Regular visa applications for U.S. citizens (for travellers not eligible for ETA) begin at '''[https://services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/ VFS Global]''' before being submitted to a visa application centre either by FedEx or in person. It is always good to ask for a '''multiple-entry''' visa even if you are not planning to use it—they cost the same, are handed out pretty liberally and come in handy if you decide last minute to dip into one of the neighbouring countries. Regular visas can be applied for through the [https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html Government of India website]. ===== Pakistani citizens ===== {{VisaRestriction|'''All''' existing valid visas (except for long-term visas and diplomatic and official visas) issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand '''revoked''' with effect from 27 April 2025. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till 29 April 2025. All Pakistani nationals who are in India '''must leave India''' before the expiry of visas |lastedit=2025-05-11 }} <!--{{disclaimerbox|More information on the visa application process for Pakistani nationals can be [https://www.mha.gov.in/PDF_Other/AnnexV_01022018.pdf found here]. }}--> <!--If you are considered a Pakistani citizen – for example, being a dual citizen of Pakistan, being born in Pakistan, or having a parent who was born in Pakistan – by the Indian authorities, a visa will not be granted to you unless the Ministry of Home Affairs in [[New Delhi]] approves. The approval process is '''notoriously lengthy and highly selective'''; many endure months or even years of waiting, only to face potential disappointment. In addition, dual citizens cannot use another country's passport to apply for an Indian visa. Pakistani citizens are not granted Indian tourist visas and are not allowed to study commerce, humanities, and science courses at Indian universities. Pakistani citizens over the age of 65 are eligible for a visa on arrival, but they are ineligible for the scheme if they've been denied an Indian visa in the past. In addition, they must enter India through [[Wagah]].--> Pakistani dual citizens are not permitted to enter India on their other passport. If you have renounced your Pakistani citizenship, you are eligible to apply for an Indian tourist visa, but you must submit the original copy of your certificate of renunciation when applying for your visa, and you will be limited to only a single-entry 3-month visa. The applicants '''must remain informed about the latest happenings'''. India suspended most of the visa services for Pakistani nationals with immediate effect from April 2025. New visa applications for most categories are therefore not being accepted at the moment. Upon arrival in India there is a very strong possibility of you being subject to additional questioning, searches and/or denied entry outright. ====== Persons of Pakistani origin ====== If you do not have a Pakistani passport but hold a National Identity Card (NIC) or a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistani (NICOP), you must submit a notarised statement declaring the facts about you holding the NIC/NICOP and not holding the passport. You are required to provide all your existing passports and you may be asked to give your previous passports at the discretion of the visa official. Naturalised foreign citizens must provide a certificate declaring their naturalisation and those born outside Pakistan must provide their birth certificate. To save time you can fill a proforma, which consists of mainly yes and no questions. There is a minimum processing time of 7-9 weeks for your visa if you are of Pakistani-origin. ====== Prior visitors to Pakistan ====== If you have visited Pakistan in the last 21 days or have a visa or stamp from Pakistan, you may be denied entry, and your visa may be invalidated. ====ETA / e-Visa==== {{VisaRestriction|If you, or any of your parents or grandparents has ever been a citizen or permanent resident of Pakistan, NIC card of Pakistan or hold a NICOP card (see persons of Pakistani-origin), you are '''not eligible''' for the ETA, and must apply for a visa in person at an Indian diplomatic mission. |lastedit=2026-05-29 }} An ''Electronic Travel Authorization'' (ETA) aka e-Visa is the easiest way to obtain a visa for India. It can only be applied for and granted online, i.e. completion of all your details, upload of a recent photo (JPG, a good quality selfie is fine) and a passport copy (PDF, max. 300kB), as well as payment of the (non-refundable) processing fee (see below) can only be done online via the dedicated '''[https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html Government of India ETA website]'''. Most ETA can be applied for 4–120 days before arrival, just the '''30 days e-Tourist Visa''' is limited to 4–30 days before arrival. Payment can be done by credit/debit card (+2.5% bank fee) via SBIePay (State Bank of India) or Axis Bank—the latter seems more reliable, or by PayPal (+3.5% bank fee). In case of any payment failure, wait for some hours to not send the amount twice. After successful payment the ETA application process starts. It can take up to 72 hr until decision, even though in many cases it just takes 24 hr. The ETA is only available to the citizens of the countries listed under "'''Processing fees'''" below—166 different countries all together. It cannot be obtained at or used for land or rail border crossings into India—leaving by land or rail is possible though (see below). Entry and exit with a new passport is allowed if you carry along your old passport on which the original ETA was issued. There are also commercial websites that offer the same ETAs and e-Visas, but this service is usually not worth the money. Save your money and only go through the official website. The following types of ETA are available: * '''e-Tourist Visa''': ** 30 days – double entry, valid from the first entry ** 1 or 5 years – multiple entry, valid from the date of ETA grant, max. 90 days at once, max. 180 days per calendar year * '''e-Business Visa''' – 1 year, multiple entry, valid from the date of ETA grant, max. 180 days at once * '''e-Conference Visa''' – single entry, valid 30 days from the first entry * '''e-Medical Visa''' – triple entry, valid 60 days from the first entry * '''e-Medical Attendant Visa''' – triple entry, valid 60 days from the first entry, max. 2 attendants per patient '''Entry points''' into India on an ETA are the following only: * Airports – Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra (Siliguri), Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Port Blair, Pune, Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Varanasi, Visakhapatnam * Seaports – Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai '''Exit points''' include all of the foregoing, plus: * Airports – Patna, Srinagar, Surat, Tirupati, Vijaiwada * Seaports – Alang, Bedi Bunder, Bhavnagar, Calicut, Cuddalore, Kakinada, Kandla, Kolkata, Mandvi, Nagapattinum, Nhava Sheva, Paradeep, Porbandar, Port Blair, Tuticorin, Vishakapatnam, Vizhinjam, Agati and Minicoy Island Lakshdwip UT, Vallarpadam, Mundra, Krishnapatnam, Dhubri, Pandu, Nagaon, Sribhumi, Kattupalli * Land ICPs – Attari Road, Akhaura, Banbasa, Changrabandha, Dalu, Dawki, Dhalaighat, Gauriphanta, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Hili, Jaigaon, Jogbani, Kailashahar, Sribhumi, Khowal, Lalgolaghat, Mahadipur, Mankachar, Moreh, Muhurighat, Radhikapur, Ragna, Ranigunj, Raxaul, Rupaidiha, Sabroom, Sonouli, Srimantapur, Sutarkandi, Phulbari, Kawarpuchia, Zorinpuri, Zokhawthar * Rail ICPs – Attari, Chitpur, Gede (rail and road), Haridaspur, Munabao The declared entry and exit points on the ETA application are non-binding. '''Processing fees''' (and eligibility) for [https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/images/Etourist_fee_final.pdf e-Tourist Visa] as well as [https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/images/eTV_revised_fee_final.pdf all other e-Visa] are as follows (as of 2023): {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="margin: auto;" |+ {{nowrap|e-Tourist Visa}} ! Fee !! &nbsp;&nbsp;30&nbsp;days&nbsp;&nbsp;<br/>(Apr-Jun) !! &nbsp;&nbsp;30&nbsp;days&nbsp;&nbsp;<br/>(Jul-Mar) !! 1&nbsp;year !! 5&nbsp;years !! &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Country&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |- | US$ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || Argentina, Cook Islands, Fiji, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu |- | US$ || 10 || 25 || 25 || 25 || Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka |- | US$ || 10 || 25 || 40 || 80 || Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger Republic, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vatican City (Holy See), Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe |} {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="margin: auto;" |+ {{nowrap|e-Business Visa}} ! Fee<br/>(US$) !! &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Country&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |- | 0 || Angola, Argentina, Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Djibouti, East Timor, Eritrea, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea, Jamaica, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Niger Republic, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Zambia |- | 25 || Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka |- | 80 || Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vatican City (Holy See), Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe |- | 100 || Russia, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States |} {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="margin: auto;" |+ {{nowrap|e-Conference Visa, e-Medical Visa, e-Medical Attendant Visa}} ! Fee<br/>(US$) !! &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Country&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |- | 0 || Argentina, Cook Islands, Fiji, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu |- | 25 || Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka |- | 80 || Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger Republic, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vatican City (Holy See), Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe |- | 100 || Benin, Mozambique, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, United States |} The ETA replaced the former limited '''visa-on-arrival''' scheme—there are no longer any visa-on-arrival facilities in India. ====Other information==== There are other categories for specialised purposes. The '''missionary visa''' is mandatory for anyone who is visiting India "primarily to take part in religious activities". This rule is meant to combat religious conversion, particularly of Hindus to Christianity or Islam. There have been cases where preachers have been deported for addressing religious congregations while on a tourist visa. You need not be worried if you are just on a religious tour of churches in India. If you are on a Student, Employment, Research or Missionary visa, you '''need to register''' within 14 days of arrival with the [https://mea.gov.in/foreigners-registration.htm '''Foreigners Regional Registration Office'''] where you will be staying. If the place you are staying at doesn't have one, you need to register at the local police station. All visitors who intend to stay '''more than 180 days''' also need to be registered. === Customs and immigration === Citizens of Yellow Fever affected countries or travellers arriving from any of these countries must carry a '''Yellow Fever Vaccination Card''' at the time of arrival in India, otherwise they may be quarantined for 6 days. All foreign nationals (including OCI cardholders) travelling to India must complete the mandatory '''digital e-Arrival Card''' before arrival. The India e-Arrival Card is a digital version of the traditional paper disembarkation form, introduced on 1 October 2025. It replaces the paper landing card previously filled out on flights or at immigration counters. The e-Arrival Card must be completed online up to 72 hours before arrival in India. After submission, travellers receive a QR code confirmation, which must be presented at immigration upon arrival. The form can be completed via this link: [https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival/ e-Arrival] At 13 international airports, '''FTI-TTP''' is available, for a faster immigration queue, only available for OCI card holders and Indian nationals, for more information see the [[India#by plane%23FTI-TTP|section on this]] in the 'by plane section'. Clearing customs can be a bit of a hassle, though it has improved vastly over the last decade. In general, avoid the touts who will offer to ease your baggage through customs. There are various rules regarding duty-free allowances – there are differing rules for Indian citizens, foreign "tourists", citizens of Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan, non-citizens of Indian origin and people moving to India. Use the website of the [https://www.cbic.gov.in/ Central Board of Excise and Customs] for information about what you can bring in. Foreign tourists other than Nepalis, Bhutanese and Pakistanis and those entering through Nepal, Bhutan or Pakistan are entitled to bring in their "used personal effects and travel souvenirs" and ₹4,000 worth of articles for "gifts". If you are an Indian citizen or are of Indian origin, you are entitled to ₹25,000 worth of articles (provided you aren't entering through Nepal, Bhutan or Pakistan). The other rules are on the web site. If you are bringing any new packaged items, it is a good idea to carry the invoices for them to show their value. You are also allowed to bring in 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco and 1L (2L for Indians) of alcohol duty-free. If you do not have anything to declare, you can go through the '''green channel''' clearly marked at various airports and generally you will not be harassed. Your bags upon arrival at all international airports in India will be screened when leaving through the green channel and red channel. Importing and exporting Indian rupees is '''strictly forbidden''' for foreigners, and limited to ₹25,000 for Indian citizens. Details can be found in the [https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/CR3105F871DDFD343407BA1BC640B96AFB21A.PDF official statement of the Reserve Bank of India]. It is rarely checked at airports, however we still recommend a traveler to do so. There are currency exchange counters at international airports where you are required to change all your excess Indian rupees to foreign currency before leaving. === Leaving India === {{Cautionbox|Overstaying your permitted period in India (''even by a single day'') is treated very seriously now by the authorities and can lead to '''fines, prosecution, delays, and being denied exit''' until you obtain an exit permit from the FRRO/immigration authorities. Longer overstays may result in heavier penalties and can severely harm your chances of receiving an Indian visa in the future. Travellers who overstay due to genuine emergencies (such as medical issues or flight cancellations) must promptly inform the nearest FRRO or police station and keep documentation, as failing to do so may still result in sanctions. Full details are [https://indianfrro.gov.in/frro/Financial_Penalty.pdfI here]|boldtext=Thinking of overstaying?}} If you do not have an entry stamp, for example if you have a newly issued passport or an emergency travel document, you must apply for a special exit permit before you travel. If you need to apply for an exit permit, you can only apply on the Foreigners Regional Registration Office from within India (website not accessible outside India). It can take between 5 and 15 working days for straightforward applications. Factor this into your timeframe to leave India when you are booking flights.    All travellers must undergo immigration checks once leaving India. At airports, travellers proceed to the immigration hall after completing airline check‑in. Officers will inspect your passport, verify your visa or e‑visa details, and confirm that your entry into India was properly recorded. They may ask brief questions about your stay, such as where you travelled or how long you were in the country. It’s common for officers to review supporting documents like your return itinerary or accommodation details, especially if anything in your entry record needs clarification. Once your passport is stamped for departure, you move on to the next stage of the airport process. At land borders, procedures can vary widely depending on the crossing point. Some posts are modern and organised, while others are basic and may involve waiting outdoors or moving between several small offices. You must present your passport at the designated immigration counter, where officers will check your entry stamp, verify your visa, and record your departure in the system. Travellers may be asked additional questions if they entered India at a different border or if their documents require manual verification. Because facilities can be limited, it’s wise to expect slower processing than at airports. At seaports, immigration is usually handled inside the passenger terminal or occasionally onboard the vessel before departure. Officers conduct the same checks as at airports: confirming your identity, reviewing your visa or e‑visa, and ensuring your entry record is in order. Cruise passengers may undergo group processing, while those departing on smaller vessels might be checked individually by port officials. Procedures are generally smooth, but processing times depend on the size of the ship and the number of passengers. Across all modes of exit, the key requirement is that your '''entry stamp and visa details match the records held by immigration'''. ===By plane=== ==== Points of entry ==== [[File:Arrival area at Indira Gandhi International Airport.jpg|thumb|[[Indira Gandhi International Airport]] serves [[Delhi]] and is one of the most important entry points to India.]] The major points of entry are [[Delhi]] ({{IATA|DEL}}) and [[Mumbai]] ({{IATA|BOM}}). There are also many long-haul international flights to [[Bangalore]] ({{IATA|BLR}}), [[Kolkata]] ({{IATA|CCU}}), [[Hyderabad]] ({{IATA|HYD}}), [[Chennai]] ({{IATA|MAA}}) and [[Ahmedabad]] ({{IATA|AMD}}). The airports at these cities are either new or undergoing development. The Hyderabad airport is rated as one of the top five airports in the 10-15 million passenger category. There are many nonstop, direct and connecting choices to these cities from Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Australia. Secondary points of entry typically from Middle-Eastern or South-East Asia include [[Goa]] (({{IATA|GOI}}) and ({{IATA|GOX}})), the [[Malabar]] coast and the [[Plains (India)|Plains]]. There are many connections from the Middle East to Malabar coast cities such as [[Kochi]] ({{IATA|COK}}), [[Kozhikode]] ({{IATA|CCJ}}) and [[Thiruvananthapuram]] ({{IATA|TRV}}). Most of the major Middle Eastern carriers offer one-stop connections to the coast from their Gulf hubs. The Plains offer some flights such as through [[Lucknow]] ({{IATA|LKO}}), [[Amritsar]] ({{IATA|ATQ}}) and [[Chandigarh]] ({{IATA|IXC}}). In [[Western India]], [[Pune]] ({{IATA|PNQ}}) and [[Jaipur]] ({{IATA|JAI}}) are also important airports. Goa is a favourite European tourist destination and thus is connected by many European charter operators like Condor and Thomson Airways. ==== Airlines ==== The Indian [[airlines]] that operate international flights include * '''[https://www.airindia.com/ Air India],''' India’s flag carrier owned by the Tata Group and is a member of the Star Alliance. It is undergoing a major transformation by the Tata Group. * '''[https://www.goindigo.in IndiGo],''' A low-cost airline that serves more than 40 international airports. * '''[https://www.spicejet.com SpiceJet],''' A low-cost airline that serves 13 international destinations * '''Akasa [http://www.akasaair.com Air],''' A low cost airline that serves 5 international destinations. It is the most on-time airline in the Indian airline industry. These airlines offer daily flights to major hubs around the world. You must carry a printed air ticket in order to take many domestic flights. Most Indian airlines have a very unfriendly policy towards upgrading weight allowance and changing dates of flights, and so if you feel that you may need to change anything regarding your flight, it is best to check the company's policy before making a booking. From [[North America]], [https://www.united.com United Airlines] and [https://www.aa.com/homePage.do?locale=en_US American Airlines] in the USA respectively offers non-stop daily services from [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark]], [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York-JFK]] to Delhi and Mumbai; Air India offers daily non-stop service to Delhi from [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York–JFK]], Newark, [[Dulles Airport|Washington–Dulles]], [[San Francisco International Airport|San Francisco]] and [[O'Hare International Airport|Chicago O'Hare]] and to Mumbai from Newark (and soon JFK). [https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home.html?msockid=30464c5e81c56a0929545aa0808b6b61 Air Canada] offers direct flights from [[Toronto Pearson International Airport|Toronto]] and [[Vancouver International Airport|Vancouver]]. Various European airlines offer connecting services through their European hubs from most major U.S. cities and various Asian airlines offer connecting service from West Coast cities through their Asian hubs. There are no direct flights from [[Latin America]] and you should take a connecting service. Entries from [[Europe]] is very common using many European airlines such as [https://www.lufthansa.com Lufthansa], [https://www.finnair.com Finnair], [https://www.britishairways.com British Airways], [https://www.klm.com KLM], [https://www.airfrance.com Air France], [https://www.virginatlantic.com Virgin Atlantic] and [https://www.ita-airways.com/gb/en/homepage?WT.mc_id=search_Bing_Brand_UK&WT.srch=1&gclid=c1c920cfca221f7c690a4ae3edfeb5d2&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=c1c920cfca221f7c690a4ae3edfeb5d2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UK_EN_ACQ_BING_BRAND_EXACT_JKL_000002590018&utm_term=itaairlines&utm_content=EN%20-%20ITA%20Spa ITA Airways]. For long-term visitors (3–12 months), [https://www.swiss.com Swiss Airlines] often have good deals from Switzerland with connecting flights from major European and some American cities as well. To save on ticket prices, consider connecting via [[Middle East|Middle Eastern]] countries, with [https://www.airarabia.com Air Arabia] ([[Sharjah]]-based low cost carrier with some connections to Europe), [https://www.etihadairways.com Etihad] (especially if you need a one-way ticket or are going back to Europe from another Asian country) via [[Abu Dhabi]], [https://www.flydubai.com FlyDubai] and [https://www.emirates.com Emirates] via [[Dubai]], [https://www.qatarairways.com Qatar Airways] via [[Doha]], [https://kuwaitairways.com/en Kuwait Airways] via [[Kuwait City]] and [https://www.omanair.com/en Oman Air] via [[Muscat]] These airlines are also the easiest way to come from the Gulf countries, along with Indian carriers, Air India, Air India Express, Indigo and SpiceJet. In 2023, one-way prices between the Gulf countries and India were US$70–110, and one-way prices between Europe ([[London]], [[Rome]], [[Istanbul]], [[Tel Aviv]]) and the Gulf countries were €50–120, even just 1–2 weeks before flights—Abu Dhabi has cheap accommodation from €10–15. Additionally, [https://www.elal.com/eng El Al] offers flights from [[Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport|Tel Aviv]] and [https://IranAir.com Iran Air] to [[Tehran]] when services are feasibe (also a popular route). From [[Southeast Asia]], [[Singapore Changi Airport|Singapore]] (which is served by Air India, its low-cost subsidiary [https://www.airindiaexpress.in Air India Express], [https://www.singaporeair.com Singapore Airlines] and its low-cost subsidiary [https://www.flyscoot.com Scoot]) has excellent connections with flights to all the major cities and many smaller ones. As for the cheap way from [[Southeast Asia]], Malaysian low-cost carrier [https://www.airasia.com AirAsia] is often the best choice (if booked well in advance, one-way ticket price is normally below US$100, sometimes being less than US$50, they have connections from China, [[Australia]] and most South-east Asian countries). They fly from [[Kuala Lumpur International Airport|Kuala Lumpur]] into New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi and Tiruchirapalli. If you're going from [[Thailand]], Air India Express flies from Chennai and Kolkata to Bangkok. Air India and [https://www.thaiairways.com/en/index.page Thai Airways] fly from there to a range of Indian cities as well. IndiGo, an Indian low-cost-carrier, also offers attractive fares to Singapore and Bangkok. From [[East Asia]], [https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_GB.html Cathay Pacific] offers regular direct flights from [[Hong Kong International Airport|Hong Kong]]. [https://www.koreanair.com/?hl=en Korean Air] offers flights from [[Seoul-Incheon]]. [https://www.jal.co.jp/uk/en/?msockid=30464c5e81c56a0929545aa0808b6b61 Japan Airlines (JAL)] offers direct flights from [[Tokyo Haneda Airport|Tokyo-Haneda]]. [https://www.ceair.com China Eastern Airlines] and [https://csair.com/en China Southern Airlines] connect China to India from [[Shanghai Pudong International Airport|Shanghai]] and [[Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport|Guangzhou]] respectively. Air India offers flights to much of these destinations with the notable exception of China. IndiGo offers cheap flights to Shanghai and Guangzhou from Kolkata and New Delhi respectively. From [[Oceania]], the only direct flights are operated from [[Australia]] through [https://qantas.com Qantas] to Sydney and Melbourne. Air India offers flights to Australia as well. However for destinations to [[New Zealand]] and the rest of Oceania you need to take connecting services (there have been plans for some time of a direct flight to New Zealand, and services are expected in 2028). From [[Africa]], flights are available from the major countries such as [https://ethiopianairlines.com Ethiopian Airlines] from [[Addis Ababa]], [https://www.kenya-airways.com/ke/ Kenya Airways] from [[Nairobi]], [https://www.egyptair.com EgyptAir] from [[Cairo]], [https://www.ugandairlines.com Uganda Airlines] from [[Entebbe]], [https://www.airtanzania.co.tz Air Tanzania] from [[Dar es Salaam]], [https://www.airmauritius.com Air Mauritius] from [[Port Louis]] and [https://flyairpeace.com Air Peace] from [[Lagos City|Lagos]]. These airlines only offer flights to Mumbai with the exception of Ethiopian Airlines, and EgyptAir which offers flights to Delhi/Bangalore as well. Be sure to hold on to your boarding pass, as it will be checked on arrival in India. Some Indian airports, like Delhi, offer wifi access with a passport scan, and offer short–term tourist SIM cards, but the majority offer no wifi or SIM card options. ==== FTI-TTP ==== [https://ftittp.mha.gov.in/fti/ '''FTI‑TTP''' ('''Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme''')]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is India’s system for speeding up immigration checks for travellers who have been pre‑approved by the government. After applying online and completing identity verification, travellers are added to a trusted‑traveller database. When they arrive at one of the participating airports, they can use dedicated fast‑track immigration lanes instead of the regular queues. At these lanes, their passport and biometric details are checked quickly using automated systems, allowing them to clear immigration much faster than usual. It’s designed to make international travel smoother for frequent travellers, families, and anyone who wants a more efficient arrival experience. It is available at 13 major international airports across India, offering expedited immigration clearance for enrolled travellers. The programme operates at Delhi, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Tiruchirappalli, Kozhikode and Amritsar, as of April 2026. ===By boat=== International sea travel to India remains limited in 2026. The only scheduled passenger service is the '''Nagapattinam–Kankesanthurai [[Ferries|ferry]]''' between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka, which usually runs several times a week and takes about four hours. Fares are generally ₹5,000–7,500, and passengers may bring one piece of luggage up to 50 kg. Travellers must have either a paper visa sticker or a previously used e‑visa, as newly issued e‑visas are not accepted for this route. Schedules can vary due to weather or port conditions. No other international passenger ferries operate to or from India. Former routes to the Middle East and Southeast Asia have not resumed. India does, however, receive seasonal [[cruise ships]] on [[Indian Ocean]] and Arabian Sea itineraries. Major ports of call include [[Mumbai/Central and Harbour Suburbs|Mumbai]], [[Goa]] ([[Mormugao]]), [[Chennai/South|Chennai]], [[Cochin]], [[Mangalore|New Mangalore]], [[Visakhapatnam]], and occasionally [[Port Blair]]. Cruise lines that regularly include India on their schedules include [https://www.costacruises.com/ Costa Cruises], [https://aida.de/?msockid=30464c5e81c56a0929545aa0808b6b61 AIDA Cruises], [https://www.msccruises.co.uk/deals/msc-virtuosa-just-for-you?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=77_uk_eng_search_microsoft_conv_52_brand_exact&utm_content=77_uk_eng_search_microsoft_conv_52_brand_exact_cruises&utm_term=msc%20cruises&msclkid=c24b936aceac1442400cf94781d8c58c MSC Cruises], [https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/results/?trade=E&years=8&cid=uk_sea_na_bng_eur_com_gen_traditional_2028europelaunchearlybooking&infinity=ict2~net~mac~ar~76553735304926~kr~76553936992943~kw~cruise%20deals~mt~p~cmp~CAM%3ADeals_THE%3AGen_CFO%3AMMT_CHA%3ASea_OBJ%3AConv_INV%3AMicr_PLA%3ASA360_ADV%3APrincess%20Cruises~ag~Generic%20-%20Cruise%20Deals%20-%20Broad&gclid=52f38f437f1f1c63cc81e56e3098644a&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=52f38f437f1f1c63cc81e56e3098644a Princess Cruises], [https://www.hollandamerica.com/en Holland America Line], [https://www.cunard.com/ Cunard]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and [https://www.azamara.com Azamara]. The island of [[Minicoy]] in [[Lakshadweep]] is also a permitted entry point, though facilities are limited. Travellers arriving by sea must comply with Indian Coast Guard and immigration procedures, which may include identity checks and customs inspections. Processing can take longer than at airports, especially at smaller ports. ===By train=== <!-- There are two links from [[Pakistan]]. The ''Samjhauta Express'' runs from [[Lahore]] to [[Attari]] near [[Amritsar]] in [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]. The ''Thar Express'', restarted in February 2006 after 40 years out of service, runs from Munabao in the Indian state of [[Rajasthan]] to Khokrapar in Pakistan's [[Sindh]] province; however, this crossing is '''not open to foreign tourists'''. Neither train is the fastest, safest or the most practical way to go between India and Pakistan due to the long delay to clear customs and immigration (although the trains are sights in their own right and make for a fascinating trip). Ths Samjhauta express was the victim of a terrorist strike in February 2007, when bombs were set off killing many people. Should you want to get from one country to the other as quickly as possible, walk across at [[Attari]]/[[Wagah]]. --><!-- All are suspended since 2019 --> From [[Nepal]], trains run between [[Khajuri]] in [[Dhanusa]] district of [[Nepal]] and Jainagar in [[Bihar]], operated by Nepal Railways. Neither is of much interest for travellers and there are no onward connections into Nepal, so most travellers opt for the bus or plane instead. Train services from [[Bangladesh]] were suspended for 42 years, but the ''Maitree Express'' started running again between [[Dhaka]] and [[Kolkata]] in April 2008. The service is biweekly: A Bangladeshi train leaves Dhaka every Saturday, returning on Sunday, while an Indian train leaves Kolkata on Saturdays and returns the next day. Besides, there are ''Bandhan Express'' ([[Khulna]]–Kolkata) and ''Mitali Express'' (Dhaka–[[New Jalpaiguri]]) services between the two countries. All train services between [[Pakistan]] and India remain suspended completely including the ''Thar Express'' ([[Karachi]]-[[Jodhpur]]) and the ''Samjhauta Express'' ([[Attari]]-[[Lahore]]). This suspension confirmed by the Pakistani side has been indefinite since 2019, citing political tensions. You can see what trains are available between stations at the following sites: http://www.indianrail.gov.in. However, for booking of rail tickets through the internet you should use the [https://www.india.gov.in/ Government of India's website]. For booking through this site, you have to register (which is free) and you need a credit/debit card. You can also take the services of many travel agents that charge a nominal service fee for booking train tickets. ===By land=== [[File:Wagah Border2014.jpg|thumb|Flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border crossing]] ====Nepal==== From [[Nepal]] buses cross the border daily, usually with connections to [[Delhi]], [[Lucknow]], [[Patna]], [[Siliguri]] and [[Varanasi]]. However, it's cheaper and more reliable to take one bus to the border crossing and another from there on. The border crossings are (India/Nepal side) Sunauli/Bhairawa for Varanasi, Raxaul/Birganj for [[Patna]], Kolkata, [[Kakarbhitta]] for Siliguri and [[Darjeeling]], and Mahendrenagar-Banbassa for Delhi. Buses depart [[Kathmandu]] Kakarbhitta in Nepal (close to Siliguri) (10 hours) from 3-6PM. There's a direct Kathmandu deluxe bus service to Siliguri on alternate days, and NBSTC service Tu Th Sa depart ₹1,500 for the 11-hour journey and also a Kathmandu to [[Dhaka]] deluxe service that halts in Siliguri. All border crossings with Nepal are under the jurisdiction of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and you will be required to comply with these officials who will guide you through the border crossing process. ====Bhutan==== The Bhutanese government runs a service to/from [[Phuentsholing]]. These buses depart from Kolkata's [[Esplanade Bus Terminus]] at 7PM on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and from the Phuentsholing Bhutan Post office at 3PM on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The journey takes around 18 hours and costs ₹300. There is frequent service between '''[[Siliguri]] and Phuentsholing'''. Buses depart for Phuentsholing at 7:30AM and 1:30PM every day from opposite Golden Plaza on Burdwan Road (behind Air View More). Tickets are sold at a counter near the bus. There are more frequent Indian buses to the border town of Jaigaon from Siliguri Bus Station on Hill Cart Road. People who are not citizens of Bhutan or India are required to get their passport stamped at the Indian immigration office, which is located next to the cinema hall (there is a fork in the road when entering the town – marked by a statue – immigration is a short way up the road on the left) before entering and after exiting Bhutan. '''Your passport will not be stamped at the border''', which is customary elsewhere. Indians can get a permit to visit Thimphu or other parts of Bhutan by submitting proof of identities, such as an election card or passport, at the Bhutanese immigration office. All border crossings with Bhutan are under the jurisdiction of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and you will be required to comply with these officials who will guide you through the border crossing process. ====Myanmar==== [[File:India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway.svg|thumb|300px|"India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway" connects Moreh town of Manipur, India with [[Mae Sot]] of Thailand through Myanmar, thereby creating the "[[Imphal]]–[[Mandalay]]–[[Bangkok]]" Route of 1,813 km.]] Entering from [[Myanmar]] is possible at '''[[Tamu|Moreh]]/[[Tamu]]''', which is the most advanced and the only developed route in India to pass to and from between the two nations. This is the route of the '''India-Myanmar Friendship Road''', and the '''India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway'''. This border is in '''politically unstable territory''', as the [[Sagaing Division]] of Myanmar is a major center of resistance to the military junta. Also, there have been protests and two bomb blasts in the Indian town of Moreh (Oct 2019) which briefly closed the border (it is also in Manipur state which has had an insurgency). It is '''advised not to enter through''' Myanmar due to the volatile security situation. All border crossings with Myanmar are under the jurisdiction of the Assam Rifles, and you will be required to comply with military officials who will guide you through the border crossing process. ====Pakistan==== You '''cannot enter''' through the [[Wagah]]/[[Attari]], [[Azad Kashmir|Chakothi]]/[[Uri (India)|Uri]], [[Poonch Division|Chakkan da Bagh]]/[[Poonch]] [[Kasur]]/[[Firozpur]], [[Bahawalnagar]]/[[Bathinda]] and [[Jodhpur Division|Longewala]] ways. They are indefinitely shut because of India's security concerns. You also are not permitted to leave through the crossing into Pakistan, due to border tensions. Many countries continue to '''advise against all travel''' within 10km of this border. All border crossings with Pakistan are under the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF), and you will be required to comply with these officials who will guide you through the border crossing process. <!-- From [[Pakistan]] the only land crossing is from [[Lahore]] to [[Amritsar]] via the [[Attari]]/[[Wagah]] border crossing. Despite tensions between the two countries, there is a steady trickle of travellers passing this way. The immigration procedures are fairly straightforward, but neither [[Pakistan]] nor India issue visas at the border. Expect to take most of the day to go between Lahore and Amritsar on local buses. Normally it's possible to get a direct bus from Amritsar to the border, walk to the other side and catch a direct bus to Lahore, although you may need to change at some point on route. Amritsar and Lahore are both fairly close to the border (about 30–40 minutes drive), so taxis are a faster and easier option. The direct Delhi-Lahore service has restarted, though it is far more costly than local buses/trains, not any faster, and would mean you miss seeing [[Amritsar]]. You will also be stuck at the border for '''much''' longer while the bus is searched and all of the passengers go through immigration. There is now a bus service across the 'Line of control' between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir; however, it is '''not open to foreign tourists'''. For going '''by car''' also see [[Istanbul to New Delhi over land]]. You will need a [[Carnet de Passage]] if crossing with your own vehicle. The process is not particularly lengthy - crossing with your own vehicle from/to Pakistan should take a maximum of 3 hours to clear both borders for you and your vehicle. --> ====Bangladesh==== From [[Bangladesh]] there are a number of land entry points to India. However, many countries advise to check the situation when visiting the India-Bangladesh border due to border skirmishes. All border crossings with Bangladesh are under the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF), and you will be required to comply with these officials who will guide you through the border crossing process. =====Petrapole–Benapole crossing===== {{anchor|Haridaspur–Benapole crossing}} The most common way is the regular air-conditioned and comfortable bus services from Dhaka to Kolkata via [[Benapole|'''Petrapole–Benapole''']] border post near [[Bangaon]]. Private bus companies '''[http://www.shohagh.com/group/ Shohagh]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', '''[http://www.greenlineparibahan.com/ Green Line]''','''[http://shyamolibusservice.com/ Shyamoli]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' and others operate daily bus services on this route. Government organisations like West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) and '''[http://www.brtc.gov.bd/ Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (BRTC) operate buses from Kolkata every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 5:30AM and 8:30AM, and 12:30PM while from Dhaka they leave on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7AM and 7:30AM. The normal journey time is around 12 hours with a one-way fare of ₹400-450 or Tk600-800, roughly US$8–10. If you're only headed to Petrapole the fare is ₹86 (2½ hours). Several travel agencies around this area also sell tickets for these buses, but at very inflated prices. At the border, it's best to change money on the Indian side, but count it carefully and double-check the maths on their calculator. On the Bangladesh side there are some bus stands just behind the border, or you can catch a flat-bed cycle-rickshaw for 5 Bangladeshi takas for the 2-km trip to the bus stand for onward travel, or you can walk, but expect the hopeful rickshaw-wallahs to follow you at least half way. The Indian side is fairly normal as far as land border crossings are concerned. Your passport will change hands several times, and should finally result in a stamp, which doesn't take too long. The Bangladeshi side, however, is another story. Staff seem to have been hired an hour before you arrive - try not to laugh when they ask which visa in your passport is the Bangladesh one. On either side you may be asked for baksheesh by the passport stamper or a boy who grabs your passport and shuttles it between the various officials or the many men who offer to fill your forms in for you. This is not normal for an Indian border crossing, and is entirely avoidable - present your passport yourself, and say 'no' firmly if asked for a bribe. If you're on one of the A/C direct buses then the bus company collects all passenger's passports before the border and facilitates the stamping. The process is better than it once was. The Bangladesh side is simpler than the Indian side where you wind you way through a complex building to get the various stamps. On the Bangladesh side, you will enter one office, be asked to sit while you passport is examined and stamped. While leaving Bangladesh by road, you have to pay a departure tax of Tk300. If you are travelling by one of the direct buses, the bus company will usually collect the amount from you and pay it for you. If you are travelling independently, pay it at the little branch of Sonali Bank next to the immigration office. It seems to be open as long as the border crossing is open. If you arrived by air to Bangladesh, make sure that you have a "change of port" certificate which allows you to leave by land, otherwise you will find yourself being turned back at the border. Change of port certificates are available from the visa office in Dhaka and take about 4 hours to produce. Sometimes you might need to insist here that the office really does provide these certificates and demand that you need one. =====Other crossings===== Another daily bus service by 'Shyamoli' and others under the BRTC label from [[Dhaka]] connects Siliguri, but the buses in this route do not cross the Changrabanda/Burimari or Burungamari border post. Rather, passengers reaching the border have to clear customs, walk a few hundred yards to cross the border and board the awaiting connecting buses on the other end for the final destination. Ticket for Dhaka-Siliguri-Dhaka route costs BDT 1,600, roughly US$20–25 depending on conversion rates. Tickets are purchased either in Dhaka or in Siliguri. There is also a regular bus service between Dhaka and Agartala, capital of Tripura. Two BRTC buses daily from Dhaka and the [https://tsu.trp.nic.in/transport/ Tripura Road Transport Corporation] plying its vehicles six days a week with a round fare costing US$10 connect the two cities. There is only one halt at Ashuganj in Bangladesh during the journey. Other entry points from Bangladesh are Hili, Chilahati/Haldibari, Banglaband border posts for entry to West Bengal; Tamabil border post for a route to [[Shillong]] in Meghalaya, and some others with lesser known routes to north-eastern Indian regions. ====China==== The '''Nathu La pass''' in [[Sikkim]] borders [[Tibet]]. This border is not open to tourists; only local traders are allowed to cross. Special permits are required to visit the pass from either side, and foreigners are not permitted to visit the Indian side of the border. The '''Lipulekh pass''' in [[Uttarakhand]] bordering Tibet is used primarily as a route by Hindu, Buddhist and Jain pilgrims visiting [[Mount Kailash]] as well as the Mansarovar lake. The pass is near the town of Purang in Tibet. Permits are required to visit through this pass. The '''Shipki La''' pass in [[Himachal Pradesh]] bordering Tibet is used only for small-scale local trade across the border. It is not open for non-residents. Therefore, most people travel via land passes in Nepal. All border crossings with China are under the jurisdiction of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and you will be required to comply with these officials who will guide you through the border crossing process. ==Get around== India is '''big''' and there are lots of interesting ways to travel around it, most of which could not very well be described as efficient or punctual. Allow considerable buffer time for any journey with a fixed deadline (e.g. your flight back), and try to remember that getting there should be half the fun. Travelling to much of the [[North-East India|North-East]] (with the notable exception of Assam), the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], [[Sikkim]] and parts of [[Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Lakshadweep]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] and [[Uttarakhand]] will require obtaining a '''Protected Area Permit''' (PAP) or '''Inner Line Permit''' (ILP) — see [[#Inner Line permit|below]]. For foreigners on a regular visa, the easiest way to get these permits would be to request for one when applying for your Indian visa, and it will be added to your visa — not possible with ETA/e-Visa. Otherwise, you will need to hunt down a local Ministry of Home Affairs office (aka DC Magistrate Office) and grapple with bureaucracy. Also, local travel agents can obtain these permits for you, but it might be contingent on booking a tour with them. Indian citizens can apply for these permits online. ===By plane===<!-- Outdated map: [[File:Map of airports in India]] --> India's large size and uncertain roads make '''flying''' a viable option, especially as prices have tumbled in the last few years. Even India's offshore islands and remote mountain states are served by flights. Due to the aviation boom over the last few years, airports have not been able to keep up with the air traffic. Most Indian airports continue to function with one runway and a handful of boarding gates. Check-in and security queues can be quite long, especially in Delhi and Mumbai. India has built two new international airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, which are modern and well-equipped. Delhi airport's newly constructed Terminal 3 is the 8th largest terminal in the world. In northern India, particularly Delhi, '''heavy winter fog''' can wreak havoc on schedules, especially during Christmas Season and January, leading to massive delays across the country. Flights to small airports up in the mountains, especially to [[Leh]] in Ladakh (which is reachable only by plane for most of the year), are erratic at the best of times. ====Airlines==== At one time, domestic flights were the monopoly of the government-owned Indian Airlines, but things have changed dramatically and now there are quite a few competitors, often offering excellent value. These are the operators in India. * [https://www.goindigo.in/ '''IndiGo''']: India's largest airline, a low-cost airline connecting 88 cities throughout the country. They fly a young fleet of Airbus A320s and ATR regional aircraft. *'''[https://www.airindia.com/ Air India]:''' The flag carrier, historically has a poor reputation but is now being rebooted by Tata Group. Has a wide network in the country and provides excellent regional connectivity. It is a member of the Star Alliance. * '''[https://www.airindiaexpress.in/ Air India Express]:''' Low-cost subsidiary of Air India, which flies mainly on trunk routes and to international destinations in the Gulf and Southeast Asia. * [https://www.spicejet.com/ '''SpiceJet''']: A third low-cost airline, serves around 34 domestic destinations. * '''[https://www.akasaair.com/ Akasa Air]:''' A low cost airline serving 20 domestic destinations with a fleet of Boeing 737 Max aircraft. It is the most on-time airline in the Indian airline industry. * '''[https://www.allianceair.in/ Alliance Air]:''' India’s state-owned airline that flies small aircraft to obscure places * '''[http://www.starair.in/ Star Air]:''' A low-cost regional commuter airline based in Bangalore, serving mostly Southern Indian destinations with a fleet of smaller Embraer jets. * '''[https://fly91.in/ Fly91]:''' A low- cost regional airline based in Goa, serving 8 destinations with a fleet of ATR-72 aircraft, connecting towns and cities. ====Fares==== Prices are relatively low and stable, since destinations are often served by several airlines. It doesn't hurt though to check prices a few times on different days during the week. You will hear a lot about air tickets at ₹500, but those are promotional rates for limited seats which are sold out within seconds. In some other cases, the advertised fare may not include charges such as passenger service fees, air fuel surcharge and taxes which will be added subsequently. Nonetheless, you do get good rates from budget airlines. Tickets for small cities will cost more than those for the metros, because of the spotty coverage noted above. Indian ticket pricing has not attained the bewildering complexity that the Americans and European have achieved, but they are moving there. You don't have to worry about higher prices on weekends, lower prices for round-trips, lower prices for travel ''around'' weekends. ====Check-in==== Checking in at Indian airports tends to be slow, involving lots of queues and multiple security checks. A few pointers to smooth your way: * Arrive '''at least two to three hours before departure''' if travelling from the major airports. (For domestic flights from minor airports, 60 or 90 minutes before is fine.) The new rule dictates that check-in closes 45 minutes before departure time and the boarding gate closes 25 minutes before departure. Though the original boarding might take longer, this rule is now being strictly implemented widely to avoid delays in flight departures. * While in the past, airports only allowed passengers to enter the airport a few hours before their flight, this rule has been relaxed and you can often stay overnight in the airport in case you have an early morning flight * '''Bring a print-out of your ticket or a soft copy of your ticket''' and a '''government-issued ID''' (available for domestic and required for international flights- ignore if using Digiyatra), else you are not allowed to enter the airport. They are checked and matched compulsorily at the airport entry gate by security guards. If you possess neither a printout or a soft copy, you can get a copy at the airline offices just outside the airport entry gate. Some airlines have started to charge for this privilege. * Some airports have '''Digiyatra''' available (available only for domestic flights from select destinations), which verifies passenger identities at various checkpoints, such as check-in, security, and boarding gates, without the need for physical documents. Specific queues when entering the airport, check-ins and security have been set up in 15 airports (DEL T1 and T3, Kolkata, Jaipur, BOM all terminals, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Lucknow, Pune, Vijayawada, Bangalore, Guwahati, Kochi) for passengers who have registered through the Digi Yatra app. To register for Digiyatra, you need an ''Aadhaar card''. * Most older airports and many airports outside metro cities require that you screen your checked bags before check-in, usually at a stand near the entrance. In high-security airports like Jammu, Srinagar or anywhere in the Northeast, even carry-on baggage needs to be screened. All carry on baggage will be screened by an X-ray scanner and at the discretion of the security personnel, physically too. * '''Once inside the check-in hall, you cannot leave the airport again unless your flight is delayed or cancelled.''' Make sure to have completed all your "business" before entering the airport. Also, in case you arrive many hours before the flight to be on the safe side, be sure to know how to keep yourself busy once inside the airport. * '''Pick up a tag for every item of your carry-on baggage and attach it to it.''' The staff at the security checkpoint will stamp your boarding pass as well as the tags of your carry-on baggage. Do not put your boarding pass on the X-ray belt, bring it with you when you go through the metal detector. Make sure you received all these stamps before leaving the security check area. Without a stamped boarding pass you will not be allowed to board the plane. You will not be allowed to take any items onboard without a stamped tag attached. Don't hesitate to ask someone if you are unsure about anything. Most staff in airports are very helpful to passengers usually understanding English and will take pains to ensure you catch your flight. There are separate queues for passengers travelling light (without check-in baggage) and these queues are usually less crowded. Different airlines have different standards for what they allow as cabin baggage, so check with your airline’s website on the side of caution, especially if you are travelling by a low-cost airline. Usually, the allowed free baggage limit is 15&nbsp;kg on most airlines. In the unlikely event of an air accident, a helpline has been established, {{Phone|1011}}. === By train === {{see also|Rail travel in India}} [[File:Chhatrapati_Shivaji_Terminus_(Victoria_Terminus).jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, built as Victoria Terminus in Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) from 1878–1887, is a notable example of Anglo-Indian architecture]] India boasts one of the biggest rail networks in the world, and the rail system is very efficient, if rarely on schedule. Travelling on '''Indian Railways''' allows you to discover the landscape and beauty of India, and is generally more economical than flying domestically. With classes ranging from luxurious to regular, it's the best way to get to know the country and its people. Most train passengers will be curious about you and happy to pass the time with a chat. While taking an overnight sleeper train will save the money you would otherwise spend on a hotel, your sleep may not be as comfortable as some routes are known for being overcrowded. In the unlikely event of you being involved in a train accident, the helpline number is {{Phone|1011}} ==== Commuter trains ==== '''<nowiki/>'Local trains'''' are commuter trains in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bangalore, operated by Indian Railways to surrounding towns/suburbs. They are often overcrowded, and platforms on the stations are also often overcrowded. If travelling on a local train, be wary of your surroundings as there may be pickpockets in stations and trains. Despite this, there is a distinct culture surrounding these trains. '''Metro and light rail services''' are available in most major cities, relatively safe and well policed, with CCTV cameras on trains and stations, and well-trained staff. They are of quality comparable to Western countries. To enter you may need to complete a quick security check. For female travelers there are women only carriages in commuter trains (check where they are as they have signs on train windows) ==== Regular trains ==== [[File:Chennai train station.jpg|thumb|The central train station in [[Chennai]]]] Trains come in many varieties. '''Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Vande Bharat trains''' are the most luxurious and fastest trains of the Indian Railways. They are completely air-conditioned and have breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner included in your ticket price. The food is served at your seat during travel. Vande Bharat Express, the second fastest Indian train in service, is equipped with onboard Wi-Fi, infotainment, reading lights and electric outlets. '''Garib Rath''' (literally the "chariot of the poor") is a good option for those who want to use good facilities at low cost. ====Luxury trains==== There are 5 trains offering 12 signature journeys between major tourist destinations in India. By far the most popular of the five are the '''[https://www.palaceonwheels.in/ Palace on Wheels]''' and the '''[https://www.the-maharajas.com/ Maharajas' Express]'''. They offer a wonderful way to experience the sights in India without having to worry about the hassles of travel and accommodation. Journeys on board these trains are all inclusive of accommodation, dining, sightseeing, transportation and porter charges. Each of these luxury trains is equipped with amenities such as live television, individual climate control, restaurant, bar, lounges and cabins with electronic safe and attached bathrooms. The downside is that they are extremely expensive, and would make even business class airtickets look cheap. ====Classes==== India has seven classes of train travel to choose from. Not all classes are available on all trains: for example, Chair Cars are usually found only on short-distance daytime trains, while sleeper classes are only found on overnight journeys. Full information about these classes is [[Rail travel in India#Classes|here]]. ====Train fare==== The average fare for a '''200 km distance''' for different classes is given below (as of 2015): * First Class AC: ₹1,200 * Two Tier AC: ₹617 * Three Tier AC: ₹430 * AC Chair Car: ₹203 * Sleeper Class: ₹120 * Second class seat in Express train: ₹70 * Second class seat in Passenger train: ₹30 ====Ticketing==== Trains tend to fill up early. Tickets can be reserved up to 4 months in advance. School summer vacation time — mid-April to mid-June — is peak season for the railways, which means that you may need to book well in advance. Other festival days, long weekends or holidays may see a similar rush. Tickets can be booked from the [http://www.irctc.co.in/ railway website]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Tickets are also available from counters at most railway stations. Details of facility available for tourists from abroad are available at [https://contents.irctc.co.in/en/ForeignTouristQuotaBooking.pdf IRCTC website] and [http://www.indianrail.gov.in/enquiry/StaticPages/StaticEnquiry.jsp?locale=en&StaticPage=international_Tourist.html Indian Railway Website]. Other authorized ticketing agencies provide a much better user experience, though however you want to book, you will need an IRCTC account. If you have any problem registering via the IRCTC website, try using an Indian phone number, or try registering vial the "rail one" app (an app by Indian Railways). If you have issues paying when booking via IRCTC, try some of these other sites like [https://www.confirmtkt.com/ confirmtkt] and [https://www.indiantrain.in/ IndianTrain]. One day before the departure date of a train at 10AM, the '''Tatkal''' quota seats become available. Tatkal accounts for about 10% of the total number of seats. This allows tourists who like to plan a trip as they go to book seats closer to the day of departure, for an extra fee. It is sometimes difficult to book Tatkal tickets online because of the excess amount of traffic on Indian railway website. The E-wallet facility enables users to keep money on Indian railway website for faster booking of tickets. This facility reduces the time of ticket booking because users skip the payment gateway processing time. You can pay using your debit cards, credit cards, or internet banking. ==== Meals ==== Most long-distance night trains have a '''pantry car''' and if you are in the sleeper or air-con classes, you can buy meals on board the train. The pantry staff will visit your seat to take your order. However, most pantry car meals aren't really good in quality or taste. Bring enough food for the journey including delays. You can purchase drinks, packaged snacks or biscuits from the pantry staff who circulate from one coach to another. At most stations, hawkers selling tea, peanuts, and snack food and complete meals will go up and down the train. You can also get down on the station platform to look for food, but make sure you know the stoppage timing of the train at that station. In the most luxurious 'Rajdhani' & 'Shatabdi' trains, meals are included in your ticket price and served at your seat during travel. There are no dining cars in the Indian Railways except in select luxury trains and in [[w:en:Deccan_Queen|Deccan Queen]] - a daily train which runs between Mumbai and Pune. ===By taxi or ride-hailing=== [[File:Ola car parking near Bhubaneswar railway station (January 2019).jpg|thumb|A line of Ola cabs parked near [[Bhubaneswar]] railway station, 2019]] {{infobox |Farewell to the King |Once upon a time, virtually all Indian taxis were trusty Hindustan Ambassadors, a locally manufactured copy of the 1950s-vintage Morris Oxford, but these days the King of Indian Roads is a critically endangered species. |image=ہندوستان موٹر کی بنائی پیلی ایمبیسڈر۔.jpg |caption=[[Kolkata]]'s iconic yellow Ambassador taxi that ruled the city until 2025. }} There was a time when the metered taxi was unheard of outside India's largest cities, and when it could be found, getting one that would take you to your destination and charge you the right rate was a rare event. This situation has undergone a drastic change for the better in the past few years, with many online companies offering taxi services. The two largest players are '''[http://www.olacabs.com Ola Cabs]''' and '''[https://www.uber.com/in/en/ Uber]''', which operate in all major Indian cities and have ranks at major airports. There are also local companies offering ride-hailing services within their cities. Both pickup and dropoff points can be entered in English, minimising hassle. Besides, companies like '''Rapido''' offer two-wheeler motorcycle rides if you're comfortable with such vehicles, and motorcycles are useful to navigate the more congested areas. Fares are affordable by Western standards, with most city rides under ₹200, although surge pricing can be expensive. However, the very cheapest categories (UberX and Ola Micro/Mini, respectively) often have tiny, run-down cars, so paying the small premium for the next class up (Uber Comfort and Ola Prime) may be worth it. If ride-hailing isn't an option, central locations of big cities like airports or stations have pre-paid taxi services managed by local traffic police officials. However, beware of touts who claim to be running pre-paid taxis. Always collect the receipt from the counter first. The receipt has two parts: one part is for your reference, and the other part you will need to hand to the taxi driver only after you reach your desired destination. The taxi driver will receive their payment by submitting or producing this other part to the pre-paid taxi counter. The taxi driver may not know how to get to your destination, and will not tell you this beforehand. This may result in the taxi stopping at various points during the journey as the driver gets out to ask for directions. Insist on being taken to your original destination, and not a substitute offered by the driver (e.g. a different hotel). Regular metered taxis are also common and can usually be hailed on the street. While they're supposed to use the meter, tales of "broken" meters and hapless fleeced tourists are common, so try to have an idea of the fare before you set off. ===By bus=== [[File:Chennai MTC's ordinary fare bus.jpg|thumb|240px|Ordinary-class Chennai MTC bus in [[Chennai]]]] While you cannot take a cross-country bus journey across India, buses are the second most-popular way of travelling across states and the only cheap way of reaching many places not on the main rail network, such as Dharamsala, Leh, Srinagar, or Gangtok. For short distances, just wait at the road that obviously goes into your direction. Unless you are in the middle of nowhere, there are many buses plying along Indian roads. If in doubt, just ask someone local. Every state has its own '''public bus''' service, usually named "''X'' Road Transport Corporation" (''X''RTC), "''X'' State Transport Corporation" (''X''STC) or "''X'' Transport Corporation" (''X''TC) which primarily connects intrastate routes, but will also have services to neighbouring states. There are usually multiple classes of buses. The '''ordinary''' buses (called differently in different states, e.g. "service bus") are extremely crowded with even standing room rarely available (unless you're among the first on board) as reservations are not possible and they tend to stop at too many places. On the upside, they're ''very'' cheap. Many public transport companies have their own website to find the schedule and prices, but also to book tickets. If searching for connections, the website will sometimes not accept smaller villages along the way and you have to select or search for the next larger town or city, just in case your search is unsuccessful. '''Private buses''' may or may not be available in the area you are travelling to, and even if they are, the quality could vary a lot. Be warned that many of the private buses, especially long-distance lines, play music and/or videos at ear-splitting volume. Even with earplugs it can be nerve-wracking. Restrooms are available in large bus stations but are crowded. The bus industry is '''extremely fragmented''' and there are few operators who offer services in more than 2 or 3 neighbouring states. Travel agents usually ''only'' offer seats on private buses. '''Flixbus''' operates in India. As of April 2024 they offer rides in the north and north-west of India and intend to serve the whole country. Prices between public and private buses do not differ much. The advantage of public buses is that you will get a proper ticket indicating the origin and destination of your journey. Private buses will only give you a paper ticket with a price written on it by the conductor. For buses serving smaller villages there might not even be any ticket at all for private buses — if the other Indian passengers also don't get a ticket, then that's just the way. In general, you can expect to pay as little as ₹1/km in the plains (Punjab) and ₹2-2.30/km in more mountainous areas (Himachal Pradesh) with public and private buses. After a short while you will figure out what is the going local rate. Anything way beyond that rate, especially in private buses, is an indication that the conductor is trying to rip you off. Stand your ground and don't give in, potentially demand your money back and leave the bus. In addition to ordinary public and private buses, there are '''luxury''' or '''express''' buses available, often called "Volvo" buses, and most have air-conditioning these days. These better class "express" or "luxury" buses have assured seating (book in advance), and have limited stops, making them well worth the slight extra expense. But even these better-class buses rarely have toilets and make occasional snack and toilet breaks. Regardless of the class of travel, all buses have to contend with the poor state of Indian highways and the havoc of Indian traffic which usually makes them slower, less comfortable and less safe than trains. Night buses are particularly hazardous, and for long-distance travel it is wise to opt for sleeper train services instead. For major private (Volvo) bus connections, schedules, prices and tickets, try one of the following websites: * [https://www.redbus.in redBus] * [https://www.zingbus.com zingbus] * [https://tickets.paytm.com/bus/ Paytm] * [https://www.makemytrip.com MakeMyTrip]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} ===By car=== {{main|Driving in India}} [[File:Road in India (5472802655).jpg|thumb|View from a car in India]] Our itinerary article [[Grand Trunk Road]] describes one of India's major roads, running east–west through the Ganges valley and west across northern Pakistan to [[Kabul]]. Regular license plates in India are white. Yellow license plates indicate a permit for doing business with that car. Green license plates indicate an electric car. This can be tourism, transport or just office stuff. On all plates the licensing state is indicated by the first two letters, e.g. ''HP'' for Himachal Pradesh, or ''PB'' for Punjab. This rule doesn't apply to cars with the Bharat Series license plates, where the first two numbers indicate the year of registration. ====Driving on your own==== In India driving is on the '''left''' of the road — at least most of the time. You can drive in India if you have a local licence or an International Driving Permit, but unless you are accustomed to driving on extremely chaotic streets, you probably will not want to. In the past decade, the Central government has embarked on an ambitious project to upgrade the highways and the conditions of Indian roads has vastly improved, with smooth '''Expressways''' all across the country. '''National Highways''' are also good, with four to eight laned roads. However, improving the quality of the roads does not improve the way in which people drive and it is very dangerous to drive on the roads in India as people drive as they like without regard to any rules (rules do exist but are not enforced properly). ====Hiring driver with car==== It's quite easy and common to rent a car with a driver in India. If you travel in summer, it is recommended to take a car with air-conditioning. Sometimes you will need to haggle to get a reasonable price, especially for a several days tour. Otherwise, rates for taxis are quoted in rupees per kilometre, and you will have to pay for both ways even if you are going only one way. The driver's salary is so low that it adds little to the cost of renting the car. The driver will find their own accommodation and food wherever you are travelling, although it is customary to give some money to buy some food when you stop somewhere to eat. Rates vary by size and quality of the car. There are numerous advantages to having a car and driver. * A good local driver is the safest means of car travel. * You can keep your bags and shopping goods with you securely wherever you go. * The driver will often have some knowledge of local tourist destinations. However, be aware that the driver will try to make some money on the side and drive you to some shops of relatives, just to get a cut. So, do not trust them too much. Inquire information and then decide what to do for yourself. * The car is at your disposal. You don't need to spend any time finding further transport, or [[haggling]] over price. It is rare to find a driver that speaks more than a few words of English. As a result, misunderstandings are common. Keep sentences short. Use the present tense. Use single words and hand gestures to convey meaning. Also, when haggling about the price make sure the driver fully understands the final price and that it is for the whole tour and not per day or per passenger — potentially write down the price, date of payment and "all included" on a piece of paper and get their signature to be on the safe side. Some drivers will exploit your innocence and pretend that the agreement was different. Make sure you can trust your driver before you leave your goods with them — potentially getting a photo of their ID and definitely a photo of their licence plate. Also, memorise your driver's face and write down their phone number (verify!). If he shows any suspicious behaviour, make sure you keep your bags with you. In any case, it is generally always a good idea to have all your valuables with you. Your driver may in some cases act as a tout, offering to take you to businesses from which he gets a sort of commission. This isn't necessarily a bad thing – the driver may help you find just what you're looking for, and add to their income at the same time. On the other hand, always evaluate for yourself whether you are being sold on a higher-cost or poorer quality product than you want. Avoid touts on the road posing as guides that your driver may stop for because he gets a commission from them; supporting them only promotes this unpleasant practice. The driver might ''ask'' for a tip at the end of the trip. Pay them some amount (₹500/day is generally sufficient) and don't let them guilt-trip you into paying too much. Touts at tourist areas will also try to mislead you into getting into the wrong car when you leave; if you fall for this you will certainly be ripped off, your car may be stolen and you may be sexually assaulted. Be wary of reckless driving when renting a car with a driver. Do not be afraid to tell the driver that you have time to see around and that you are not in a hurry. Make sure also that your driver gets enough rest time and time to eat. In general, as you visit restaurants, the driver may eat at the same time (either separately at the same restaurant or at some other nearby place). ===By motorcycle=== [[File:Royal Enfield 7.jpg|thumb|Royal Enfield motorcycle]] Some people argue that '''the best way to experience India is on a motorbike'''. Riding a motorbike and travelling across India you get a closer look and feel of India along with all the smells and sounds. However, this story seems to be mostly popular among the new emerging Indian middle class, who ply popular Indian travel destinations with their bikes, like [[Ladakh]]. For Westerners it is important to note the state of Indian roads and the chaotic traffic, which has already been mentioned under [[#By car]]. There are many companies which organise package tours or tailor-made tours for enthusiastic bikers and the adventurous, or a safer motorbike experience of India. They will take care of luggage and maintenance of the bike. Another choice, popular with people who like taking risks, is to '''buy a motorcycle'''. Not for the faint of heart or inexperienced rider. India boasts the highest motor vehicle accident rate in the world. The Royal Enfield is a popular (some would say, the only) choice for its classic looks and macho mystique. This is despite its high petrol consumption, 25&nbsp;km/litre to 30&nbsp;km/litre, supposed low reliability (it is "classic" 1940s engineering after all and requires regular service adjustment; you can find an Enfield mechanic with decades of experience in every town in India, who will perform miracles at about ₹100 an hour labour cost), and claimed difficulty to handle (it is quite heavy and the seat can be high for some). You don't want to be riding roads at 4,000-5,000 m in Ladakh and suddenly the bike breaking down — here it will be quite difficult to find a mechanic. Alternatively, one can opt for a smaller yet quicker, more fuel efficient and more versatile bikes like "Hero", "Bajaj" or "Honda". They can range from 100 cc to the newly launched 220 cc bikes. The smaller variants (100–125 cc) can give you a mileage exceeding 50&nbsp;km/litre on the road, while giving less power if one is opting to drive with pillion on the highways. The bigger variants (150–220 cc) are more powerful and one can get a feel of the power especially on highways — the mileage is lesser for these bikes anywhere between 35&nbsp;km/litre to 45&nbsp;km/litre. Preferably tourists should go for second hand bikes rather than purchasing new ones. The smaller 100 cc variants can be purchased for anywhere between ₹15,000–25,000 depending on the year of make and condition of vehicle. The bigger ones can be bought from ₹30,000 onwards. But some people have even travelled the country on a scooter. Note that there might be restrictions in place on crossing from one state to the other—not all license plates may be allowed in all states. ===By thumb=== Hitchhiking in India, especially in remote regions, is very easy due to the enormous number of cargo trucks and local traffic on every highway and road. Most drivers do not speak English or any other international language; however, most have a very keen sense of where the cities and villages are along the road. It is rare for any of them to expect payment. Hitchhiking in cities, highways and crowded places is safe, but refrain from hitchhiking on deserted places, less populated areas, forest roads, etc. However, this rule really also depends on the region. Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh can generally be considered to be safe for hitch-hiking. However, in Bihar, one of the poorest states of India, it is probably not a good idea. Also, it is better to stick to day time travel. When hitchhiking it is important to understand the system of vehicle licence plates in India. There are yellow (commercial) and white (private) ones. White ones are generally always safe for hitch-hiking for free, because these are local people in their own car. For yellow licence plates, it depends, regular cars, vans, mini-buses and Jeeps will mostly always be taxis, and it doesn't make sense to hail them. However, pickup trucks, cargo trucks, and anything that looks like made for transporting goods, is safe to hail. They shouldn't demand any money, but if so, just tell them that they are no taxis but cargo vehicles. ===By rickshaw=== [[File:Havelock Autorickshaw.JPG|thumb|A typical Indian autorickshaw, [[Andaman Islands]]]] The auto-rickshaw, usually abbreviated and referred to as '''auto''' and sometimes as '''rickshaw''', is the most common means of hired transport in India. They are very handy for short-distance travel in cities, especially since they can weave their way through small alleys to bypass larger cars stuck in travel jams, but are not very suitable for long distances. Most are green and yellow, due to the new CNG gas laws, and some may be yellow and black in colour, with one wheel in the front and two in the back, with a leather or soft plastic top. The '''E-Rickshaw''', is electric and often also now an increasingly common means of hired transport in India, being eco-friendly and very cheap. They serve the same purpose as autos, but travel at a lower speed than autos, and are not allowed on some roads. The E-Rickshaw can fit as many as 6 people in 1 vehicle, with some safety features. The '''cycle rickshaw''' is bigger than a tricycle where two people sit on an elevated seat at the back and a person pedals from the front. They can often be quite expensive, however is supported by environmentalists as being more eco-friendly than auto rickshaws. '''Human-pulled rickshaws''' are now rarely available in cities, towns and villages across the country. Many local governments have proposed a ban on these rickshaws describing them as "inhuman". However, human-pulled rickshaws can still sometimes be seen running in Kolkata, however quite rare. When getting a rickshaw, you can either negotiate the fare or go by the meter. In almost all cases it is better to use the meter—a negotiated fare means that you are being charged a higher than normal rate. A metered fare starts around ₹13 (different for different areas), and includes the first 1 to 2 kilometres of travel. '''Never''' get in an auto-rickshaw or E-rickshaw without either the meter being turned on, or the fare negotiated in advance. In nearly all cases the driver will ask an exorbitant sum (for Indian standards) from you later. A normal fare would be ₹11-12 for the first km and ₹7-8 per km after that. In most cities, auto-rickshaw drivers are provided with a rate card that elaborately describes the fares on per kilometre basis. A careful tourist must verify the meter reading against the rate card before making a payment. Auto-rickshaws and E-rickshaws carry either digital or analog meters wherein the analog meters may have been tampered with. It may be a better option to go for a negotiated fare when the auto-rickshaw or E-rickshaw has an analogue meter. Ideally, you should talk with a local to find out what the fare for any estimated route will be. Higher rates may apply at night, and for special destinations such as airports. Finally, factor in that rickshaw drivers may have to pay bribes to join the queue for customers at premium locations such as expensive hotels. The bribe will be factored in the fare. Make sure that the driver knows where they are going. Many rickshaw drivers will claim to know the destination without really having any clue as to where it is. If you know something about the location, quiz them on it to screen out the liars. If you do not know much about the location, make them tell you in no uncertain terms that they know where it is. This is because after they get lost and drive all over the place, they will often demand extra payment for their own mistake. You can then tell them that they lied to you, and wasted your time, so they should be happy to get the agreed-upon fee. ===By boat=== India is known for its multitude of rivers and there are numerous boats and ferries to cross certain rivers. However, boat transport is less important for many budget travellers since they will cross most rivers with bridges anyway. That said, boats are still necessary to access certain islands, like the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], the [[Lakshadweep Islands]], Mumbai's [[Elephanta Island]] and West Bengal's [[Sagar Island|Sagar Island.]] You may also take a luxurious river cruise to visit the cities and towns along Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers. Known as '''Ganga Vilas''' (literally 'Ganga Luxury'), the cruise runs from [[Varanasi]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]] to [[Dibrugarh]] in [[Assam]], with stops at [[Patna]], [[Farakka]], [[Jangipur]], [[Murshidabad]], [[Ambika Kalna]], [[Chandannagar]], [[Kolkata]] and [[Dhaka]]. The river cruise also provides amazing views of the [[Sundarbans]]. ===Addresses=== If you need to get anywhere, call in advance and ask for detailed directions. Bear in mind that street signs in India tend to be rare or nonexistent outside the cities. Postal addresses will often carry landmark details "Opp. Prithvi theatre" or "Behind Maruti Showroom" or "near temple / church / mosque / bank branch / police station / school" to ease the search. Unlike the western system of address, the Indian system uses plot number or house number, street, road followed by landmark and the location pin code instead of street name and block number. Finding a place will usually involve some searching, but you will always find someone around the area willing to guide you. Unlike many other countries, Indians ask passers-by, nearby shopkeepers or cops for guidance on street addresses. So you may do the same, people would be happy to help. Using Google Maps with GPS works well most of the time in major cities but at times may not be accurate due to incorrect spelling of road or incorrect positioning on map. ===Inner Line permit=== Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state. The document is an effort by the Government to regulate movement to certain areas near the international border of India. This is a security measure and it is applicable for the following states: * [[Arunachal Pradesh]] — permits are issued by the Secretary of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. The permits are required for entering the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh through any of the check gates across the inter-state border with Assam or Nagaland. Permits are obtained at Arunachal Bhavan in all major cities. Permits are given to specific districts and therefore plan the itinerary before applying for district entry permits. Checkpoints at every district border only allow locals and permit holders. * [[Manipur]], [[Mizoram]] and [[Nagaland]] — permits are issued by the respective state governments to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into the state for a limited period to avoid uncontrollable influx. Most foreign tourists do not require the permit, but must register with the police within 24 hours of arrival; your hotel will usually handle this for you but check to be sure. Citizens and former citizens of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan need special approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs to visit. * [[Sikkim]] — a permit required for the '[[Nathu La]]' Pass which was an important passage of the silk route in medieval era and now a part of the border between India and China. Foreigners are not eligible for the permits. Only Indian citizens are allowed to visit the pass. Further permits for high altitude regions like '[[Lachung]]-[[Lachen]]' along with a high altitude lake called '[[Gurudongmar Lake]]' can be obtained from Gangtok directly. Foreigners may be allowed. Another point known as 'Zero Point' also requires permits. * [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] — non-Indians need a Restricted Area Permit to visit the islands, but these are now issued on arrival at the Port Blair airport; if you plan to arrive by sea, you'll need to arrange your permit before arrival, either in Chennai or when applying for your Indian visa. Indian nationals do not require a permit to visit the Andamans, but permits are required to visit Nicobar Islands and other tribal areas, and are rarely given. ==See== [[File:Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara.jpg|thumb|Lakshmi Vilas Palace, [[Vadodara]]. Built during the British Raj ]] To see all the places worth visiting in India, even a 6-month visit is arguably inadequate. There are more tourist destinations in India than can be mentioned in a full-length book, let alone a summary. Almost every state in India has over ten major tourist destinations and there are cities which can barely be tasted in a full week. Many Indian states by themselves are bigger and more populous than most of the countries in the world, and there are 28 states and 8 union territories in India, including two island chains outside the mainland. That said, below are some highlights. ===Historical monuments and forts=== Probably the most famous single attraction in India is the '''[[Taj Mahal]]''', widely recognised as the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the [[UNESCO World Heritage List|world's heritage]].[[File:RedFort.jpg|thumb|Red Fort, [[Delhi]]]]The '''Qutb Minar''' and the impressive '''Red Fort''' are the two most prominent historical monuments in [[Delhi]]. [[Jaipur]], the capital of the [[Western India|western]] state of [[Rajasthan]], is incredibly rich in forts and palaces, including the tremendous '''Amber Fort''', beautiful '''Jal Mahal''' (Water Palace) and unique '''Hawa Mahal'''. [[Nalanda]] in [[Bihar]] has the remains of a university of Buddhism that was established in 450 CE. For a rather different and more modern kind of historical monument, the '''Gandhi Ashram''' in [[Ahmedabad]], founded by the Mahatma himself, is a repository of all things Gandhi. ===Houses of worship=== [[File:Christ Church, Shimla.jpg|thumb|Christ Church, [[Shimla]]]] No visit to India would be complete without a trip to some of the country's fantastic temples. All regions of the country are replete with temples. The city of [[Jammu]], the winter capital of [[Jammu and Kashmir]], has so many temples that it's called the '''"City of Temples"''' and is a major draw for Hindu pilgrims. [[Bishnupur (Rarh)|Bishnupur]] in [[West Bengal]] is home to famous '''terracotta temples'''. The '''Sri Venkateswara Temple''' in [[Tirupati]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], is dedicated to Vishnu and is also a major draw for pilgrims. The '''Tantric temple complexes of [[Khajuraho]]''' in [[Madhya Pradesh]] are much beloved for their thousand-year-old sacred erotic wall carvings, considered by some art historians to be the pinnacle of erotic art. The '''Meenakshi Amman Temple''' in the [[Southern India|southern]] city of [[Madurai]] is a centre of worship of Parvati, the consort of Shiva. The [[Tamil Nadu|Tamil]] city of [[Thanjavur]] is known for its grand Chola-era temples. Hinduism is not the only religion represented among the great temples of India. The world headquarters of the Sikh religion are in the '''Golden Temple''' in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]. [[Leh]] and environs, in the union territory of [[Ladakh]], are one of a number of areas that have '''splendid Buddhist temples or monasteries'''. The '''Ranakpur Temple''' in the small Rajasthani town of [[Ranakpur]] is an impressive and historic Jain temple. India's second-largest religion in adherents after Hinduism is Islam, and many parts of India were ruled by Muslim dynasties for hundreds of years, so it's not surprising that India is also home to many magnificent mosques. Some of them, like the mosque in the Taj, are part of historical monuments. One impressive mosque that's very much in use to this day is the lovely 17th-century '''Jama Masjid''' in [[Old Delhi]]. [[Hyderabad]] in [[Southern India|the south]] has several historical mosques, including the '''Charminar''' and '''Mecca Masjid'''. There are also notable Christian churches built during the colonialist era by the British, the Portuguese and the French during 'the evangelisation of India', particularly famous churches such as the '''Basilica of Bom Jesus''' in [[Goa]] and '''St Pauls Cathedral''' in [[Kolkata]]. New Delhi's '''Lotus Temple''' is an important site of worship for members of the [[Baha'i Faith]], with splendid architecture drawing millions of visitors per year. ===Geographical=== [[File:Varanasi Munshi Ghat3.jpg|thumb|Munshi Ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi]] India is a very geographically varied country. In the north of the country, one can see the '''Himalayas''', the Earth's highest mountain range. There are hilly areas in many non-Himalayan states, too. In India, '''hill stations''' — towns in the cooler areas in foothills or high valleys surrounded by mountains, which were favored by rajas, then the British and now Indian tourists in the hot summer months — are considered sights and experiences in themselves. The largest of them is Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, [[Srinagar]], but [[Darjeeling]], in view of Mount Kangchenjunga in northern [[West Bengal]], is very famous for its tea. Other famous hill stations include [[Shimla]], [[Ooty]] and [[Gangtok]], and there are many others – most states have some. India is also a country of numerous rivers. Several of them are traditionally considered holy, but especially the '''Ganges''', locally known as Ganga, which brings life to the [[Plains (India)|Indian Plains]], India's breadbasket, and is not just an impressive body of water but a centre of ritual ablutions, prayer and cremation. There are several holy cities along the river that have many temples, but they are often less places of pilgrimage to specific temples than holy cities whose temples have grown because of the ghats (steps leading down to the holy river) and most interesting to visit for the overall experience of observing or partaking in the way of life and death along the river. Foremost among these holy cities is [[Varanasi]], where some 5,000-year-old rituals are still practised; other cities worth visiting to experience the Ganges include [[Rishikesh]] and [[Haridwar]], much further upstream. India also has a long coastline. The '''beaches''' of [[Goa]], also an interesting former Portuguese colony and the [[Andaman Islands]] are among the most appreciated by domestic and foreign visitors. Finally, India has a vast desert, the '''Thar Desert''' in [[Rajasthan]]. Several Rajasthani cities including [[Jaisalmer]] are good bases for camel safaris. ===Wildlife=== {{see also|Wildlife in South and Southeast Asia|Indian national parks and wildlife sanctuaries}} India is famous for its wildlife, including the Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions and elephants. * [[Keibul Lamjao National Park]] in [[Manipur]] is the world's only floating national park, floating on the mirror like [[Loktak lake]], where the world's only dancing deer species, Brow antlered deer ([[Manipuri phrasebook|Manipuri]]: Sangai) is found. Another one, the [[Sirohi National Park]] is the world's only habitat for the world's only terrestrial lily, the Shirui Lily (Lilium macklineae), which can't be grown in any part of the earth except in the Shirui NP in [[Manipur]], despite innumerable serious experiments of numerous scientists. * [[Bandhavgarh National Park]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Ranthambhore National Park]] in [[Rajasthan]] are the most likely places for you to spot an Indian tiger in the wild, though you will still have to have some luck and persistence. * [[Gir Forest National Park]] in [[Gujarat]] is dedicated to the preservation of Asiatic lions. * The [[Sundarbans (West Bengal)|Sundarbans]], on the border with [[Bangladesh]] is the largest mangrove forest and delta in the world, home to the famous Royal Bengal tigers and estuarine crocodiles but also fascinating as an overall ecosystem. * [[Pench National Park]] in Madhya Pradesh is one of the places that may have inspired Rudyard Kipling's ''Jungle Book''. * [[Kaziranga National Park]] in Assam is home to the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceros. ==Do== ===Fairs and festivals=== [[File:Holi Bonfire Udaipur.jpg|thumb|Holi bonfire in [[Udaipur]]]] '''Goa Fair''' (carnival). February heralds the carnival at [[Goa]]. For three days and nights the streets come alive with colour. Held in mid February the week-long event is a time for lively processions, floats, the strumming of guitars, graceful dances and of non-stop festivity. One of the more famous of Indian carnivals, the Goa Festival is a complete sell out in terms of tourism capacities. '''Surajkund Mela''' (1–15 February). As spring glides in, full of warmth and vibrancy, leaving the grey winter behind, Surajkund adorns itself with colourful traditional crafts of India. Craftsmen from all over the country assemble at Surajkund during the first fortnight of February to participate in the annual celebration that is the Surajkund Crafts Mela. '''Holi'''. The Spring Festival of India, Holi is a festival of colours. Celebrated in March or April, according to the Hindu calendar, it was meant to welcome spring and win the blessings of Gods for good harvests and fertility of the land. As with all Hindu festivals, there are many interesting legends attached to Holi, the most popular being that of Prince Prahlad, who was a devout follower of Lord Vishnu. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali. Holi in India is a festival of fun and frolic and has been associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha. The exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable. '''[[Diwali]]'''. The festival of lights, Diwali, illuminates the darkness of the New Year's moon, and is said to strengthen close friendships and knowledge with a self-realisation. Diwali is celebrated on a nation-wide scale on Amavasya – the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin (Oct/Nov) every year. It symbolises that age-old culture of India which teaches to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. The festival of lights still today projects the rich and glorious past of India. '''Pushkar Mela'''. Every November the sleepy little township of [[Pushkar]] in Rajasthan comes alive in a riot of colours and a frenzied burst of activity during the Pushkar Fair. Few fairs in the world can match the liveliness of Pushkar. It includes the world's largest camel fair, but is much more than that. ===Sports=== [[File:Eden gardens.jpg|thumb|A cricket match at the Eden Gardens, [[Kolkata]]]] * '''[[Cricket]]''' — India is a cricket-obsessed country and cricket is in the blood of most Indians. India plays an important role in world cricket and has been world champion twice in the ICC Cricket World Cup, in 1983 beating the mighty West Indies in the final, and Sri Lanka in 2011. India also emerged triumphant in the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, and then later in 2024 and in 2026 (current champions and they are the most successful). The popularity of cricket in India is second to no other game, so seeing children playing cricket in parks and alleys with rubber balls and makeshift wickets is very common. Until 2008, Indian cricket was all about the national team playing against other countries in one-day matches or epic five-day Test marathons, but the advent of the [https://www.iplt20.com/ Indian Premier League] (IPL) has, for better or worse, brought fast-paced, commercialised "Twenty20" cricket to the fore, complete with cheerleaders and massive salaries. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings is so far the most viewed match and its atmosphere in Chepauk is the second best behind Royal Challengers Bengaluru atmosphere. The Ranji Trophy is the premier Indian five day tournament with over 20 teams competing. India also has state T20 leagues but are not that popular. In international matches, while Australia typically poses the strongest challenge to Indian supremacy, the most intense rivalry by far is with neighbouring Pakistan, and matches between the two sides are often a very charged affair. Don't miss out on those matches. About half-a dozen Indian stadiums have a capacity of over 45,000 and watching a cricket match can be quite an experience. The Narendra Modi Stadium has the most capacity with 136,000 seats. The Eden Gardens in central [[Kolkata]] is India's most iconic cricket stadium with 66,349 seating capacity and is the oldest cricket stadium in the Indian subcontinent, established in 1865, and is comparable to the stadiums of Lords' in London and the MCG in Melbourne. The atmosphere of most matches is electrifying. ''Nearly all'' international matches have sellout crowds, and it is quite normal for fans to bribe officials and make their way in. So book early, because for IPL matches played and India playing in India gets sold out within seconds. Grab a water bottle as well and prepare for the brilliant atmosphere in any stadium. Starting ticket prices are quite cheap; they can be as low as ₹250–300. India and Pakistan are all-time arch rivals, and cricket matches between the two nations attract up to a billion TV viewers, including many people who are otherwise not cricket fans. Watch all the action from dazzling sixes to stunning wickets to heated conversations. * '''[[Association football|Football]]''' (soccer) — You can come across young boys playing with a football on any open space that is available, as with cricket. Club football is very popular, especially among youth and you will find people getting into heated arguments in public places over their favourite teams. Many people also support national teams other than India, but it usually depends on the nationality of their favourite players. Also, many large restaurants and bars offer a view of important European club matches and the World Cup matches. The most famous and electrifying rivalry is the ''Kolkata Derby'' between Mohun Bagan Athletic Club (established 1889) and East Bengal Football club (established 1920) held at Salt Lake Stadium (the second-largest non-auto racing stadium in the world) in eastern [[Kolkata]], the football capital of India and a tremendously football crazy city. This rivalry is widely regarded to be the oldest and most intense football rivalry in Asia. * '''[[Field hockey|Hockey]]''' (field hockey) – commonly called the national game of India, hockey retains a prominent position in the hearts of many Indians, despite the craze for cricket and football. Although the viewership has dwindled significantly (as compared to the golden era before cricket came to the fore in the mid-1980s), it hasn't vanished completely. It still has a significant fan base, especially in North India, some eastern parts like Jharkhand, Odisha and the Northeastern states. The introduction of the Premier Hockey League has helped restore its popularity. Speakers of U.S./Canadian English should also note that 'hockey' refers to field hockey, not ice hockey. * '''Polo''' — Polo's origins can be traced to origins in Manipur state around 3100 BC, when it was played as Sagol Kangjei. It was adopted by the Europeans during the 19th century and spread around the globe. The polo ground in [[Imphal]] is the world's oldest. * '''Kabaddi''' — A sport unique to the Indian subcontinent, it is a contact team sport that involves attempting to tag out your opponents' player before returning to your own half. * '''Kho kho''' — A sport unique to the Indian subcontinent, is a fast-paced Indian tag sport where one team chases the other around a rectangular court using quick turns, strategic passes, and bursts of speed. * '''[[Motor sport]]''' — India has its own motor sport league called Indian Racing League. India used to host an [[F1]] Grand Prix, at Buddh International Circuit in [[Greater Noida]], but there have been plans made by the Adani Group to return F1 to the circuit. MotoGP has returned to India, with the Indian Grand Prix. ==Learn== [[File:Clock Tower Mumbai University (2654091685).jpg|thumb|Rajabai Clock Tower at Mumbai University]] There are many things to learn that interest foreigners all over India, but there are a few destinations that have become particularly well known for certain things: *'''Yoga''' is popular in [[Haridwar]], [[Rishikesh]] and [[Mysore]]. *'''Ayurveda''' is popular in [[Kerala]] (Keralam). The region also boasts of many dance and dramatic forms. *'''[[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]]''' in [[Delhi]] and [[Varanasi]]. *'''Classical musical instruments''' in not only the ancient city of [[Varanasi]] but many parts of India, especially in Southern States, where they form the most integral part of Core Classicals. *'''Classical vocal music''' and '''classical dance forms''' in [[Tamil Nadu]] or [[Manipur]] or [[Karnataka]]. *'''Sanskrit''' at 'Samskrita Bharati' in areas of [[Udupi]], [[Bangalore]] and [[Delhi]]. *'''Buddhism''' in [[Dharamsala]] and [[Bir]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]] as well as in [[Bodh Gaya]] in [[Bihar]]. *'''Cooking''' classes are also popular. The most well-known exported type of Indian food are the cuisines such as Idly, Dosa, Biryanis, Dals etc. and regional cuisines such as Thalis, South Indian, and [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]i, as the Sikhs have been the most successful in spreading Indian restaurants throughout the western world. However, styles vary a lot throughout the country, so if you have the time and appetite it's worth checking out courses in a variety of areas such as [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]], [[Tamil Nadu]], and [[West Bengal]]. There are many universities imparting education but at the helm are '''Indian Institutes of Technology''' (IITs) for technical undergraduates, '''Indian Institutes of Management''' (IIMs) for management postgraduates and '''National Law Universities/Schools''' (NLUs) which are world class institutes. Most of the ambitious students who want to get a good high level education strive to get into these institutes through the fiendishly difficult admission processes, both due to nature of test and the prevailing competition. Admissions to the top 7 IITs - [[Delhi]], [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Chennai|Madras]], [[Kanpur]], [[Kharagpur]], [[Roorkee]] and [[Guwahati]] - are so competitive that it is harder for an Indian student to get into one of them than it is for an American student to get into an Ivy League college, or a British student to get into Oxbridge. The 6 top IIMs (Including the 4 oldest - [[Ahmedabad]], [[Kolkata]], [[Bangalore]] and [[Lucknow]] plus newly established Indore and Kozhikode) together select only about 1,200 students from 350,000 students who appear for CAT exam. But still students have a great desire to get into these institutes. These institutes also offer degrees to foreign students. Apart from undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses, there are many training and diploma-level institutes and polytechnics that cater to the growing demand for skill-based and vocational education. Besides conventional educational institutes, foreigners might also be interested to study with Pandits to learn Hindi and Sanskrit in genuine settings as well as with Mullahs to study Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. They might also like to live with famed Ustads to study traditional Indian music. Whether people are interested in philosophy or religion, cuisine or dance, India will have the right opportunity for them. ==Work== Foreigners need a work permit to be employed in India. A work permit is granted if an application is made to the local Indian embassy along with proof of potential employment and supporting documents. There are many expatriates working in India, mostly for multinational companies. India has always had an expatriate community of reasonable size, and there are many avenues for finding employment, including popular job-hunting websites. Citizens of '''[[Nepal]]''' and '''[[Bhutan]]''' can live and work freely in India, and do not require work permits. There are many volunteer opportunities around the country including teaching. India has a reasonable presence of foreign Christian missionaries, who for the most part form the non-local religious workers, since the other major religions of the world either grew out of India or have had a long-term presence. A living can be made in the traveller scenes by providing some kind of service such as baking Western cakes, tattooing or massage. Previously, an AIDS test result was required as part of the work visa application process. It is highly recommended that applicants obtain test results in their home country beforehand if possible. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Indian rupees | currencyCode=₹ | date=June 2026 | USD=95 | EUR=110 | GBP=128 | CAD=68 | SGD=74 | JPY=59 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/inr-indian-rupee XE.com] }} {{infobox|The money that was|On November 8, 2016, the old yellow ₹500 and red ₹1000 banknotes were demonetised (made invalid) at very short notice in a ham-fisted attempt to fight corruption. The new ₹500 note is grey, and there is no ₹1000 note at all. If you have any of the old notes lying around, they are no longer legal tender and they are impossible to exchange. '''Don't accept these''' if somebody tries to palm any off to you: [[File:India 500 INR, MG series, 2014, obverse.jpg|x117px]] [[File:India 1000 INR, MG series, 2006, obverse.jpg|x117px]] }} The currency in India is the Indian '''rupee''' (sign: ₹; code: '''INR''') (रुपया — ''rupayā'' in Hindi and similarly named in most Indian languages, but ''ṭaka'' in Maithili, ''ṭākā'' in Bengali and ''ṭakā'' in Assamese). The rupee is subdivided into 100 paise (singular: paisa). "5 rupees 50 paise" would normally be written as "₹5.50". You may also see "Rs" for rupees, as well as prices written like 500/- (with a slash and hyphen at the end). Indian banknotes or bills come in denominations of ₹1 (rare), ₹5 (green, printing discontinued), ₹10 (orange and violet/chocolate brown), ₹20 (reddish-orange/greenish yellow), ₹50 (violet/fluorescent blue), ₹100 (greenish blue/lavender), ₹200 (bright yellow) and ₹500 (stone grey). There are two versions of ₹10, ₹20, ₹50 and ₹100 banknotes due to the introduction of a new series of the currency by the government in 2016 following the demonetisation. A magenta ₹2000 banknote exists and remains legal tender, but was withdrawn from circulation in 2023. Indian coins in circulation come in denominations of 50p (rare), ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10 (yellow ring with steel center) and ₹20 (steel ring with yellowish gold center). Coins are useful for buying tea (₹5), for bus fares (₹2 to ₹20), and for giving exact change for an auto-rickshaw. Indians commonly use '''lakh''' and '''crore''' for 100,000 and 10,000,000 respectively. Though these terms come from Sanskrit, they have been adopted so deeply into Indian English that most people are not aware that they are non-existent in other English dialects. You may also find non-standard, although standard in India, placement of commas while writing numerals. One crore rupees would be written as ₹1,00,00,000, so first time you place a comma after three numerals, then after every two numerals. This format may puzzle you till you start thinking in terms of lakhs and crores, after which it will seem natural. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Number !! Western format !! Indian format (In English) !! Indian format (In Hindi) |- | 100 || Hundred || Hundred || Sau |- | 1000 || Thousand || Thousand || Hazār |- | 1,00,000 || Hundred Thousand || One Lakh || Ek Lākh |- | 10,00,000 || Million || Ten Lakhs || Das Lākh |- | 1,00,00,000 || Ten Million || One Crore || Ek Karoṛ |} ====Change==== It is always good to have a number of small bills on hand, as merchants and food stalls are notoriously short on change and cash in general, even if your food was ₹250. Giving a ₹500 note, and they often will be stuck. It is best to ask before whether they have change. This is due to most small shops accepting cashless payment, or just to have as little money in the shops as possible, for safety. The best way to get small change is with bus conductors or other official places, they will readily accept large notes. Also, it seems fruit and vegetable vendors have change. In general, it is best to keep smaller bills (₹10-50) and larger bills separate. Then, it will not be obvious how much money you have. Some shops don't accept bills and coins of very low denominations like ₹1 and ₹5 bills, and 50p, ₹1 and ₹2 coins, despite being legal tenders. So, it is best to change these for larger denominations commonly used instead of arguing with shopkeepers. Also, do not accept any bills that are ripped, taped or look in any way unacceptable. Generally, vendors, etc. will readily give you a better note. But some might struggle to find any cash at all, as mentioned before. Stand your ground, otherwise next time you try to spend such a note it will be your problem and Indians are very selective. ====Mobile payments (UPI)==== Mobile payment apps including [https://www.bhimupi.org.in/ BHIM], [https://www.phonepe.com/ PhonePe], [https://paytm.com/ Paytm], and [https://pay.google.com/ Google Pay] (Not the western version) use the '''UPI (Universal Payment Interface)''' standard. Free and instant, these have exploded in popularity and are increasingly displacing cash across the country. Using your UPI enabled mobile app, you scan a QR Code from your vendor, type in a set amount of money and the money can send. The catch is that as a foreigner without an Indian bank account or phone number, getting UPI set up is quite a hassle. There are several prepaid wallet apps that can work around this, with [https://havemony.com/ Mony] probably the least bad of the bunch, but they still require a copy of your passport and visa, have a manual verification process that can take a few days, charge a 3.5% commission for transferring in money, and can only make payments to merchant accounts. Apple Pay is not supported in India. ====Prepaid cards==== [[File:RuPay Contactless indicator.svg|thumb|RuPay contactless payment logo]] [https://www.rupay.co.in/ RuPay] (NCMC) prepaid cards are an emerging standard for public transport used on all Indian metro systems nationwide and increasingly on buses as well. They're available at metro stations for ₹50, save 5-20% compared to cash fares and can be topped up. RuPay debit and credit cards are also available, but require an Indian bank account. ====Credit cards==== In many cities and towns, credit cards are accepted at larger hotels, retail chain stores and other restaurants and stores. Small businesses and family-run stores almost never accept credit cards, so it is useful to keep a moderate amount of cash on hand. ====ATMs==== Most ATMs will pay out a maximum of ₹10,000 per transaction. Notes are often ₹500 only, so you will have to choose a multiple of this for withdrawals. State Bank of India (SBI) is the biggest bank in India and has the most ATMs. ICICI bank has the second largest network of ATMs and accepts most of the international cards at a nominal charge. International banks like Citibank, HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro and Standard Chartered have a significant presence in major Indian cities. Either way, it is always worthwhile to have bank cards or credit cards from at least two different providers to ensure that you have a backup available in case one card is suspended by your bank or simply does not work work at a particular ATM. Decline any offer of [[Money#Dynamic_currency_conversion|dynamic currency conversion (DCC)]], unless you cannot, or you can verify that the conversion is indeed in your favour – it rarely is. It is often off the market rate by 7% or more, whereas your bank's rate is typically only off 1–3%. While your bank may also charge a fixed fee for its conversion, the exchange rate dominates in typical withdrawals. The ATMs of the State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Canara, Union, HDFC, Baroda, Central, IDBI, DCB and HSBC banks may not charge a withdrawal fee (listed in order from most to fewest branches). The fee charged can vary depending on your card type, where your bank is and sometimes even the specific ATM you're using. Check fees when using an ATM you haven't used before, or the same ATM with a different card. If one of these ATMs is not nearby then check this table to help find a favourable alternative: {| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="margin-left: 1em; text-align:right" |+ {{nowrap|Fees and limits}} {{nowrap|(as of Nov 2024)}} <!-- Table default sort order: 1. Ascending on the fee that would apply to a 10000 INR withdrawal (~100 USD) 2. Ascending on the bank name --> ! Bank !! Fee !! Transaction limit!! DCC |- ! Bank of Baroda | None || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Central Bank | None || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Canara Bank | {{INR|0-200}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! DCB Bank | None || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! HDFC Bank | {{INR|0-200}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! HSBC Bank | None || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! IDBI Bank | None || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Punjab National Bank (PNB) | {{INR|0-150}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! State Bank of India (SBI) | {{INR|0-250}} || {{INR|10000}} | 8% declinable |- ! Union Bank of India | None || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Citibank | {{INR|200}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! ICICI Bank | {{INR|200}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! IndusInd Bank | {{INR|200}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Kotak Mahindra Bank | {{INR|200}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Federal Bank | {{INR|238}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Axis Bank | {{INR|300}} || {{INR|10000}} | |- ! Standard Chartered | {{INR|335}} || {{INR|10000}} | |} ====Money exchange==== [[File:SardarMarket Fabrics.JPG|thumb|Rajasthani fabric for sale, [[Jodhpur]]]] You can change foreign currencies into rupees at any one of the numerous foreign exchange conversion units including banks. The Indian rupee is officially not convertible; foreigners are '''not allowed''' to bring Indian rupees into or out of India, while Indian citizens are restricted to carrying '''up to ₹25,000''' when exiting or entering India. Rates for exchanging rupees overseas are often poor, although places with large Indian populations (e.g. Dubai, Singapore) can give decent rates. ===Costs=== Costs in India can vary widely from region to region, and even in the same city, depending on the quality of service or product, brand, etc. But usually, India is '''very inexpensive''' for Western travellers. ====Budget travellers==== Budget travel around India is surprisingly easy, with the savvy backpacker being able to get by on as little as US$10 per day—but allow US$15–25 for any extra comfort (beer, rickshaws, etc.). It is generally cheaper than South East Asia with a night in a hotel costing as little as ₹200–800—though there will be probably no AC at the lower end. Hostel beds start at ₹150, and generally are ₹300-500. Beach huts in the cheaper places of Goa can cost around ₹800 per night. A meal can be bought from a street trader for as little as ₹30, Samosas and alike go for ₹10–20 per piece, though in a restaurant expect to pay around ₹100-200 for a meal. Overnight buses and trains can cost anywhere from ₹600-1,000 dependent on distance and locations, though an uncomfortable government bus (benches only) may be half of that. Regular bus transport will cost approximately ₹2/km—if you pay considerably more, something is off. Short-distance bus routes of 3–4 hr are seldomly more than ₹200. Otherwise, just exploring places on foot saves a lot of money. Also, many sights are for free and just hanging out at a temple and reading a book is as cheap as it can get. A simple day in Rishikesh or Amritsar could look like this: * Accommodation: ₹0–200 (Temple vs. Hostel) * Food: ₹350 (2 full meals, fruits) * Chai, water, soft drink: ₹100 * Transport: ₹100–200 *'''Total''': ₹400–800 for one person ====Mid-range to splurge travellers==== Add traveling by taxi, staying in 3+-star hotels, and dinning in classy locations, and your daily bill will quickly go up to US$50–100 (per person). A decent room is ₹2,000–5,000 in a good hotel offering PayTV, AC, and sometimes refrigerator. Food will cost at least ₹400 for a decent meal, but the sky is the limit. A taxi or rickshaw may cost ₹20–30/km. There are radio taxis that are available at ₹20–25/km in key Indian cities which have GPS navigation, AC and accept debit/credit cards for payments. So, the total for one day would be about as below: * Hotel: US$30–60 per room for a good place per day * Food: US$15 for a good meal per day * Travel: US$20 taxi and bus together * '''Total''': US$90 for a couple, or US$60 for one person alone ===Discriminatory pricing=== Foreign visitors will quickly encounter the '''special foreigners' rates''' that they are charged in some places in India. This applies to many tourist attractions, such as museums and historical sites. The difference in pricing is because the Indian government subsidises entry fees for local people, to make these attractions more affordable for taxpayers. While this may seem discriminatory, it is practised in most developing countries in Asia and Africa and helps make these attractions more accessible to local people. Some tourist attractions that are run by the Archaeological Survey of India have different rates for Indians and foreigners. These rates are prominently posted at the entrance and ticketing booths. The rates for foreigners may be as many as five to ten times those for Indians. Likewise, if you are reserving a hotel room or an airline ticket over the internet, you may find that paying in euros or US dollars costs significantly more. You can get an Indian friend to book in rupees and in most cases, no one will question you at the time of check in. People who have an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card (see Get In) are exempt from this pricing enjoying the same fare as Indian citizens when visiting tourist attractions. ===Tipping=== In India there has traditionally been little or no tipping, and today tipping is unusual outside of fancier restaurants where up to 10% is appropriate. The fancier restaurants may also levy a service charge of up to 15% apart from government taxes. Some restaurants have also started placing jars at the cashier for people to drop in some change if they feel so, but this is a rather rare phenomenon. Most clubs in India have a complete ban on its members from tipping. Usually no service industry except the food services industry expects a tip. In India, it is unlawful for taxi or rickshaw drivers to charge anything above the meter. ===Shopping=== [[File:Delhi main bazaar.jpg|thumb|At the main bazaar in Delhi]] In India, you are '''''expected'' to negotiate the price''' with street hawkers but not in department stores and the like. If not, you risk overpaying many times, which can be okay if you think that it is cheaper than at home. In most of the big cities and even smaller towns retail chain stores are popping up where the shopping experience is essentially identical to similar stores in the West. There are also some government-run stores like the '''Cottage Emporium''' in New Delhi, where you can sample wares from all across the country in air-conditioned comfort. Although you will pay a little more at these stores, you can be sure that what you are getting is not a cheap knockoff. The harder you [[bargaining|bargain]], the more you save money. A few tries later, you will realise that it is fun. Often, the more time you spend in a shop, the better deals you will get. It is worth spending time getting to know the owner, asking questions, and getting him to show you other products (if you are interested). Once the owner feels that they will make a sufficient profit from you, they will often give you additional goods at a rate close to cost, rather than the common "foreigner rate". You will get better prices and service by buying many items in one store than by bargaining in multiple stores individually. If you see local people buying in a store, you should be able to find out the real Indian prices. Ask someone around you quietly, "How much would you pay for this?" Also, very often you will meet a "friend" in the street inviting you to visit their family's shop. That almost always means that you pay twice as much as when you had been in the shop without your newly found friend. ''Baksheesh'' was originally a Persian word for charity, but it has spread to many languages including most of those in India. Depending on context, its English translation might be any of donation, gift, tip, bribe, alms or commission. Having Indians you deal with want baksheesh is a fairly common phenomenon. While this is sometimes a problem, doing it can ease certain problems and clear some hurdles. Baksheesh is also the term used by beggars when they want money from you and may refer to tips given those who provide you a service. Packaged goods show the '''Maximum Retail Price (MRP)''' on the package. This includes taxes. Retailers are not supposed to charge more than this. Though this rule is adhered to at most places, at tourist destinations or remote places, you may be charged more. This is especially true for cold drinks like Coke or Pepsi, where a bottle (300 ml) costs around ₹33–35 when the actual price is ₹30. Also, keep in mind that a surprising number of things do not come in packaged form. Do check for the authenticity of the MRP, as shopkeepers may put up their own sticker to charge more from you. ===What to look for=== {{see also|Art and antiques shopping}} * '''Wood Carvings''' – India produces a striking variety of carved wood products that can be bought at very low prices. Examples include decorative wooden plates, bowls, artwork, furniture and miscellaneous items that will surprise you. Check the regulations of your home country before attempting to import wooden items. * '''Clothing''' – It depends on the region you are visiting. Most of the states have their speciality to offer. For example, go for silk sarees if you are visiting Varanasi; Block prints if you are in Jaipur. * '''Paintings''' – Paintings come on a wide variety of media, such as cotton, silk, or with frame included. Gemstone paintings incorporate semi-precious stone dust, so they have a glittering appearance to them. * '''Marble and stone carvings''' – Common carved items include elephants, Hindu gods and goddesses. Compare several of the same kind. If they look too similar bargain hard as they are probably machine made. * '''Jewellery''' – Beautiful necklaces, bracelets and other jewellery are very inexpensive in India. Note possible duty on returning home. * '''Pillow covers, bedsets''' – Striking and rich designs are common for pillows and bed covers. * '''Carpets''' – India has a long [[Carpets#Indian subcontinent|history]] of carpet production and makes many today for both domestic and export markets. Designer brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Zara, A & F, all are available in upmarket stores in malls especially in the larger cities. ==Eat== {{see also|South Asian cuisine}} Indian cuisine takes its place among the great cuisines of the world. There is a good chance that you have tasted "Indian food" in your country, especially if you are a traveller from the West. But what India has exported abroad is just one part of its extraordinary range of culinary diversity. Indian food can be spicy: Potent fresh green chillies or red chilli powder will bring tears to the eyes of the uninitiated, and can be found in unexpected places like sweet cornflakes (a snack, not breakfast) or even candies. The degree of spiciness varies widely throughout the country: [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra]] food is famously fiery, while [[Gujarat]]i cuisine is quite mild in taste with the exception of Surti food (from [[Surat]]). To enjoy the local food, start slowly. Don't try everything at once. After a few weeks, you can get accustomed to spicy food. If you would like to order your dish not spicy, simply say so. Most visitors are tempted to try at least some of the spicy concoctions, and most discover that the sting is worth the trouble. Remember, too, that while "spicy" is a convenient short-hand for "chilli-laden", the spiciness of food in India doesn't always mean lots of chilli: Indian cuisines often use a multitude of different spices and other aromatic ingredients in highly creative and flavourful ways, like ginger and garlic. ===Cuisine=== Cuisine in India varies greatly from region to region. ====North Indian==== '''[[Northern India]]''' is a wheat-growing area, so you have '''Indian breads''' (known as ''roti''), including ''chapatti'' (unleavened bread), ''paratha'' (pan-fried layered roti), ''naan'' (cooked in a clay ''tandoor'' oven), ''puri'' (deep-fried and puffed up bread) and many more. A typical meal consists of one or more gravy dishes along with rotis, to be eaten by breaking off a piece of roti, dipping it in the gravy and eating them together. Most of the Hindi heartland of India survives on roti, rice, and '''lentils''' (''dal''), which are prepared in several different ways and made spicy to taste. Served on the side, you will usually find spiced yogurt (''raita'') and either fresh chutney or a tiny piece of exceedingly pungent pickle (''achar'') — very much an acquired taste for most visitors. Try mixing it with curry, not eating it plain. A variety of regional cuisines can be found throughout the North. ''Tandoori'' chicken, prepared in a clay oven called a ''tandoor'', is probably the best-known North Indian dish, innovated by a Punjabi immigrant from present-day Pakistan during the Partition. For a taste of traditional Punjabi folk cooking, try ''dal makhani'' (stewed black lentils and kidney beans in a buttery gravy), or ''sarson da saag'', a yummy gravy dish made with stewed mustard greens, served with ''makke di roti'' (flatbread made from maize). There are also the hearty textures and robust flavours of [[Rajasthan]]i food, the meat-heavy [[Kashmir]]i dishes from the valley of Kashmir, or the mild yet ingratiating [[Himalayan North|Himalayan]] (''pahari'') cuisine found in the higher reaches. North India also has of a variety of snacks like ''samosa'' (vegetables encased in thin pastry of a triangular shape) and ''kachori'' (either vegetable or pulses encased in thin pastry). There is also a vast constellation of sweet desserts like ''jalebi'' (deep-fried pretzel with sugar syrup- shaped like a spiral), ''rasmalai'' (balls of curds soaked in condensed milk) and ''halwa''. Dry fruits and nuts like almonds, cashews and pistachios are used a lot, often in the desserts, but sometimes also in the main meal. Authentic Mughal-style cooking, the royal cuisine of the Mughal Empire, can still be found and savoured in some parts of India, most notably the old Mughal cities of Delhi, [[Agra]] and [[Lucknow]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]], and [[Hyderabad]] in [[Telangana]]. It is a refined blend of [[Iran|Persian]], [[Central Asia|Turkic]] and [[Indian subcontinent|Subcontinent]] cooking, and makes heavy use of meat and spices. The names of some Mughal dishes bear the prefix of ''shahi'' as a sign of its prestige and royal status from a bygone era. Famous Mughal specialties include ''biryani'' (layered meat and rice casserole), ''pulao'' (rice cooked in a meat or vegetable broth), ''kebab'' (grilled meat), ''kofta'' (balls of mincemeat), ''korma'', ''rumali roti'' (flatbread whirled into paper-thin consistency) and ''shahi tukray'' (saffron and cardamom-scented bread pudding). '''Thali''' is a general meal dish often including dal, vegetables, raita, rice, roti. Dal, vegetables and sometimes raita can often be had several times, 4 rotis are generally included (₹10 for additional). They go for ₹100-150. ====South Indian==== [[File:Meal BananaLeaf.JPG|thumb|240px|A typically South Indian banana leaf meal]] {{see also|Southern India#Eat}} In '''[[Southern India]]''', the food is mostly '''rice-based'''. A typical meal includes ''sambhar'' (a thick vegetable and lentil chowder) with rice, ''rasam'' (a thin, peppery soup), or ''avial'' (mixed vegetables) with rice, traditionally served on a banana leaf as a plate. Seasoning in South India differs from northern regions by its ubiquitous use of mustard seeds, curry leaves, pulses, fenugreek seeds, and a variety of souring agents such as tamarind and kokum. There are regional variations too — the coastal regions make greater use of coconut and fish. In [[Kerala]] (Keralam), it is common to use grated coconut in everything and coconut oil for cooking. The South also has some great breakfast dishes like ''idli'' (a steamed cake of lentils and rice), ''dosa'', a thin, crispy pancake often stuffed with spiced potatoes to make ''masala dosa'', ''vada'', a savoury Indian donut, and ''uttapam'', a fried pancake made from a rice and lentil batter with onions and other vegetables mixed in. All of these can be eaten with ''dahi'', plain yogurt, and '''chutney''', a condiment that can be made from practically anything. Try the ever popular masala dosa, which originated from Udupi in [[Karnataka]], in one of the old restaurants of [[Bangalore]]. Seafood is very popular in Kerala and the southern coast of Karnataka. [[Tamil Nadu|Chettinad]] and Hyderabad cuisines use meat heavily, and are a lot spicier. Coffee tends to be the preferred drink to tea in South India. ====Others==== In '''[[Western India]]''', you will find some great cuisine groups. '''[[Gujarat]]i''' cuisine is somewhat similar to Rajastani cooking with the heavy use of dairy products, but differs in that it is predominantly vegetarian, and often sweetened with jaggery or sugar. Gujaratis make some of the best snack items such as the '''Dhokla''' and the '''Muthia'''. [[Mumbai]] is famous for its chaat, as well as the food of the small but visible Irani and Parsi communities concentrated in and around the city. The adjacent states of [[Maharashtra]] and Goa are renowned for their seafood, often simply grilled, fried or poached in coconut milk. A notable feature of Goan cooking is that pork and vinegar is used, a rare sight in the rest of India. Vindaloo originated in Goa and is traditionally cooked with pork. Despite its apparent popularity in Indian restaurants abroad, it is not common in India itself. [[File:A scene from traditional Odia kitchen.jpg|thumb|A traditional Odia kitchen]] The food in '''[[Eastern India]]''' makes heavy use of rice and fish due to the vast river channels and ocean coastline in the region. [[West Bengal|Bengali]] cooking is known for its complexity of flavour and bittersweet balance. Mustard oil is often used in cooking and adds a pungent, slightly sweet flavour and intense heat. Bengalis prefer freshwater fish, in particular the iconic hilsa or ''ilish'': it can be smoked, fried, steamed, baked in young plantain leaves, cooked with curd, aubergine and cumin seeds. It is said that ilish can be prepared in more than 50 ways. Typical Bengali dishes include ''mācher jhāl'', a brothy fish stew which means "fish in sauce", and ''shorshe ilish'' (cooked in a gravy made from mustard seed paste). Eastern India is also famous for its desserts and sweets. Rasgulla is a famous variant of the better-known gulab jamun, a spherical morsel made from cow's milk and soaked in a clear sugar syrup. It's excellent if consumed fresh or within a day after it is made. ''Sandesh'' is another excellent milk-based sweet, best described as the dry equivalent of ras malai. A lot of food has also filtered in from other countries. '''Indian Chinese''' (or ''Chindian'') is far and away the most common adaptation. Most Chinese would barely recognise the stuff, but dishes like "veg manchurian" (deep-fried vegetable balls in a chilli-soy-ginger sauce) and "chilli chicken" are very much a part of the Indian cultural landscape and worth a try. The British left fish and chips and some fusion dishes like mulligatawny soup, while [[Tibet]]an and [[Nepal]]i food, especially ''momo'' dumplings, are not uncommon in northern India. Pizza and pasta have entered India in a big way, and the chains such as Pizza Hut and Domino's have Indianised the pizza and introduced adaptations like paneer-tikka pizza. There is an Indian chain called Smokin Joe's, based in Mumbai, which has mixed Thai curry with pizzas. However, often ready-made sauces with lots of additives and spices are used. Also, the cheese is sometimes of questionable type (some feta-style type) in normal restaurants. So, you are better off asking exactly what ingredients they use, if you don't want to be surprised negatively. It is, of course, impossible to do full justice to the range and diversity of Indian food in this brief section. Not only does every region of India have a distinctive cuisine, but you will also find that even within a region, castes and ethnic communities have different styles of cooking and often have their signature recipes, which you will probably not find in restaurants. The adventurous traveller is advised to wangle invitations to homes, try various bylanes of the city and look for food in unlikely places like temples and Gurudwaras in search of culinary nirvana. ===Fruits=== While a wide variety of fruits are native to India, including the ''chikoo'' and the ''jackfruit'', nothing is closer to an Indian's heart than a juicy ripe mango. Hundreds of varieties are found across most of its regions. In fact, India is the largest producer, growing more than half the world's output. '''Mangoes''' are in season at the hottest part of the year, usually between May and July, and range from small (as big as a fist) to some as big as a small cantaloupe. They can be consumed in their ripe, unripe and also a baby form (the last 2 predominantly in pickles). The best mango (the "King of Mangoes", as Indians call it) is the "Alphonso" or Haapoos (in Marathi), in season in April and May along the western coast of Maharashtra. Buy it from a good fruit shop in Mumbai or Mahatma Phule market (formerly Crawford market) in South Mumbai. Dushheri Mangoes are also popular in North India. Other fruits widely available (depending on the season) are '''bananas, oranges, papayas, guavas, lychees, apples, pineapples, pomegranates, apricots, melons, coconuts, grapes, plums, peaches and berries'''. European fruits like apples and pears can be dull and unjuicy, because they are not perfectly adjusted to the local environment and sometimes suffer from mildew. Papayas are often harvested when they still green, because the fruit vendor will of course not want to be in the situation where he has to sell them all at once. Instead they get ripe each separately after a while. However, this is of course not good for the taste, and it can be hard to find a good and sweet papaya. In general, also note the remarks on fruits and vegetables under [[#Stay healthy]]. But your best bet are probably bananas and mangos. ===Vegetarian=== {{infobox|Know your vegetarians|[[File:Current FSSAI Veg and Non-veg Labels.svg|noframe|150px|right]] Most Indians who practise vegetarianism do so for religious or cultural reasons — though cultural taboos have their roots in ethical concerns. Indians' dietary restrictions come in all shapes and sizes and the two symbols (see right) do not capture the full range. The green dot means pure vegetarian. red triangle means non-vegetarian, including only eggs (as in a fruit-egg cake). Here is a quick guide: * '''Veganism''' is practically unknown in many parts of India, because milk and honey are enthusiastically consumed by virtually everyone. But some restaurants in major cities, such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore increasingly cater for vegans. Foods like tofu, soy chunks (branded Nutrela) and soy milk are readily available in major cities, as well as some minor ones. ** Eggs are considered non-vegetarian by most, though you may encounter people who are otherwise vegetarian eating eggs. These people are often referred to as '''eggetarians'''. That said, there are a number of foods that are vegan by default in India, including standard restaurant dishes such as aloo gobi, channa masala, various types of dal, dosas, and the vast majority of Indo-Chinese dishes. ** Dishes made with dairy products are usually denoted as such (referencing their use of butter or ghee, in particular). Most restaurants will accommodate dietary restrictions and it is advisable to ask if a dish contains milk, butter, cream, yogurt or ghee. Virtually all Indian desserts, however, are non-vegan, with the exception of jalebi, an orange-coloured fried dough commonly found in western and northern India. * The strictest vegetarians are some '''Jains and some Brahmin sects'''. They not only abjure all kinds of meat and eggs, they also refuse to eat onions, potatoes or anything grown under the soil. * Even meat-eating Hindus often follow special diets during religious days or during '''fasts'''. Hindu fasts do not involve giving up all food, just eating a restricted diet, some take only fruits. * A very small group of Indians are, or used to be '''pescatarians''', i.e. they count fish as vegetarian. Among these are Bengali and Konkani Brahmins. Such people are increasingly rare as most have taken to meat-eating. }} [[Travel as a vegetarian|Visiting vegetarians]] will discover a culinary treasure that is found nowhere else in the world. Owing to a large number of strictly vegetarian Hindu Brahmins and Jains, Indian cuisine has evolved an astonishingly rich menu that uses no meat or eggs. Jains in particular practise a strict form of vegetarianism based on the principles of non-violence and peaceful co-operative co-existence. Jains do not consume root vegetables such as potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, radishes, cassava, sweet potatoes and turnips, as the plant needs to be killed prior to its end of normal life cycle, in the process of accessing these. At least half the menus of most restaurants are devoted to vegetarian dishes, and by law all packaged food products in India are tagged with a green dot (vegetarian) or red dot (non-veg). Veganism however is not a well-understood concept in India, and vegans may face a tougher time: milk products like cheese (''paneer''), yogurt (''dahi'') and clarified butter (''ghee'') are used extensively (in particular, ghee can be hard to spot as it can be mixed into curries before they are served), and honey is also commonly used as a sweetener. Milk in India is generally ''not'' pasteurised, and must be boiled before consumption. Even non-vegetarians will soon note that due to the Hindu taboo, '''beef''' is generally not served (except in the Muslim, Christian and Parsi communities, [[Goa]], [[Kerala]] (Keralam) and the [[North-Eastern India|North-Eastern states]]), and '''pork''' is also uncommon due to the Muslim population. Chicken and mutton are thus by far the most common meats used, although "buff" (water buffalo) is occasionally served in backpacker establishments. Seafood is of course ubiquitous in the coastal regions of India, and a few regional cuisines do use duck, venison and other game meats in traditional dishes. ===Kosher and halal=== '''Halal''' meat is easy to find among the Muslim minorities in India. Outside areas with a noticeable Muslim community, halal meat and halal-certified restaurants are scarce. '''Kosher''' food is largely unknown, and certified kosher establishments are extremely limited. While contacting [https://www.chabadindia.org Chabad India] a few days in advance is an option, it is not the most convenient option, unlike in most other Asian countries. Your best bet at finding halal and kosher food is purely vegetarian restaurants, which avoid cross-contamination and can be found nearly everywhere across the country even in coastal areas. However, restaurants in India that also serve meat are almost ''never'' halal or kosher. ===Etiquette=== In India eating with your hand (instead of cutlery like forks and spoons) is very common. There's one basic rule of etiquette to observe, particularly in non-urban India: '''Use only your right hand'''. The left hand is reserved for unhygienic uses. Don't stick either hand into communal serving dishes. Instead, use the spatula with your left hand to serve yourself and then dig in. For all types of breads, the basic technique is to hold down the item with your forefinger and use your middle-finger and thumb to tear off pieces. The pieces can then be dipped in sauce, curry or used to pick up bits before you stuff them in your mouth. Rice is more challenging, but the basic idea is to use four fingers to mix the rice in curry and pack a little ball, before you pop it in your mouth by pushing it with your thumb. Most of the restaurants do provide cutlery and it's pretty safe to use them instead of your hand. Eating by hand is frowned on in some "classier" places. If you are provided with cutlery and nobody else around you seems to be doing it, then take the hint. ===Restaurants=== {{infobox|Menus in English… well, almost|Menus in Indian restaurants are usually written in English, but using Hindi or other local names. Here is a quick decoder key that goes a long way for understanding common dishes like ''aloo gobhi'' and ''muttar paneer''. <!-- please don't repeat words already covered above. --> * ''aloo'' or ''aalu'' — potato * ''baigan'' or ''baingan'' — eggplant/aubergine * ''bhindi'' — okra * ''chana'' — chickpeas * ''dal'' — lentils * ''gobhi'' or ''gobi'' — cauliflower (or other cabbage) * ''machli'' — fish * ''makkhan'' — butter * ''matar'' — green peas * ''mirch'' — chilli pepper * ''murgh'' or ''murg'' — chicken * ''palak'' or ''saag'' — spinach (or other greens) * ''paneer'' — Indian cottage cheese * ''subzi'' — vegetable See also [[South Asian English phrasebook#Eating]]. }} Indian restaurants run the gamut from roadside shacks (''dhabas'') to classy five-star places where the experience is comparable to places anywhere in the world. Away from the big cities and tourist haunts, mid-level restaurants are scarce, and food choices will be limited to the local cuisine, Punjabi/Mughlai, "Chinese"/"Indo-Chinese" and occasionally South Indian. The credit for popularising Punjabi cuisine all over the country goes to the ''dhabas'' that line India's highways. Their patrons are usually the truckers, who happen to be overwhelmingly Punjabi. The authentic dhaba serves up simple yet tasty seasonal dishes like roti and dal with onions. Hygiene can be an issue in many dhabas, so if one's not up to your standards try another. In rural areas, dhabas are usually the only option. In Southern India, a "hotel" is a local restaurant serving South Indian food, usually prepared meals or a ''thali'' or ''plate meal'' — a full plate of food that usually includes a kind of bread and/or rice and an assortment of meat or vegetarian dishes. Although you may be often be handed an extensive menu, most dishes are served only during specific hours, if at all. ==Drink== One of the sweetest and safest beverages you can get is young coconut water (''nariyal paani''). You can almost always find it in any beach or other tourist destinations in the south. In summer (Mar-Jul), you can get fresh sugarcane juice in many places and even a lot of fresh fruit juice varieties. India is famous for its Alphonso variety of mangoes, generally regarded as the King of Mangoes among connoisseurs. ''Frooti'', in its famous tetra-pack, is the most popular processed drink, followed by ''Maaza'' (bottled by Coca-Cola) or ''Slice'' (bottled by PepsiCo), both of which contain about 15% Alphonso mango pulp. Both cost about ₹30-50 for a 600 ml bottle. As for bottled water, make sure that the cap's seal has not been broken; otherwise, it is a tell-tale sign of tampering or that unscrupulous vendors reuse old bottles and fill them with tap water, which is generally unsafe for foreign tourists to drink without prior boiling. Bottled water brands like ''Aquafina'' (by PepsiCo) and ''Kinley'' (by Coca-Cola) are widely available. Local brands like ''Bisleri'', ''Himalayan, Bailley, Evian, Aquafina, Patanjali, Tata and Nestle'' are reputed brands as well. Taste may vary due to the individual brands' mineral contents. In semi-urban or rural areas, it may be appropriate to ask for boiled water as well. ===Tea=== [[File:Indian chai tea - Haridwar - India.jpg|thumb|Making chai]] One can get tea (''chai'' in most North Indian languages) of one variety or the other everywhere in India. The most common method of preparing chai is by brewing tea leaves, milk, and sugar altogether in a pot and keeping it hot until it's all sold. It is sweet and uniquely refreshing once you get the taste for it. * '''Masala chai''' will have a strong brew of black tea simmered with milk, sugar, and spices such as ginger, cardamom, cloves, or cinnamon. For some people, that takes some getting used to. * While masala chai is popular in Northern and Central India, people in Eastern and North-Eastern India ([[West Bengal]] and [[Assam]]), the part of India where most tea is grown, generally consume tea without spices, the English way. '''Assam''' produces bold, malty teas and '''Darjeeling''' is known for its delicate, floral flavours. These teas are considered premium teas abroad. * '''Nilgiri''' teas from South India are fragrant and smooth. South India does produce tea, even though coffee is more common there. * Everyday tea served in homes and cafés is usually a strong CTC (crush‑tear‑curl) blend. * In cities, travellers will also find cafés offering green tea, herbal infusions, and more modern tea‑based drinks, but traditional chai remains the most authentic and widely enjoyed option. Street‑side tea stalls, often called ''tapris'' or ''chaiwalas'', serve small glasses or clay cups of hot, sweet chai throughout the day, making them popular social hubs. ===Coffee=== Coffee in India varies widely by region, style, and quality. * In the south, especially Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, coffee is a long‑standing part of daily life. '''South Indian filter coffee''' is the most iconic preparation (different from Western filter coffee), made with a metal drip filter, producing a strong decoction that’s mixed with hot milk and sugar, then poured back and forth between cups to create a frothy top. These regions also grow much of India’s coffee, including ''Arabica'' from the Western Ghats and the famous ''Monsooned Malabar'' variety. * In northern and western India, coffee culture has grown rapidly in cities, where cafés serve espresso‑based drinks alongside local favourites like ''cold coffee'' (a sweet, milkshake‑like drink). Instant coffee is widely available and often used in homes and small eateries. Travellers seeking high‑quality beans will find specialty roasters in major cities, while rural areas may offer simpler, sweeter preparations. ===Alcohol=== {{infobox|Drinking & driving|Driving under the influence of alcohol is considered as a serious offence in India. In the event of an accident the law deals with drink-drive offenders with severity. The punishment is a fine or imprisonment for up to 6 months. The driving license is suspended for at least six months. }} Drinking alcohol can either be frowned upon or openly accepted, depending on the region and religion of the area within which you are drinking. For example, [[Goa]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] and [[Pondicherry]] tend to be more free-wheeling (and have low taxes on alcohol), while a few southern areas like Chennai are less tolerant of alcohol, and may charge excessive taxes on it. Some states such as Gujarat and Bihar are legally "dry" and alcohol cannot be bought openly there, although there is a substantial bootlegging industry. Bootleg alcohol is unregulated and could kill you or make you sick, and you could also be in legal trouble if you are caught while drunk in a dry state. [[File:Kingfisher beer bottle.jpg|thumb|Kingfisher beer]] Sometimes alcohol selling may vary within states. Check your local area, to see if it is legal or not, with some religious towns having a complete ban of alcohol. Some states may have dry days on particular dates which are Hindu/Muslim festivals, or national holidays. Once again it is advised to check these laws. Favourite Indian tipples include beer and rum. Nowadays beer sold is mostly Tuborg, at around ₹180 for a large bottle of 750 mL in the liquor store. '''Old Monk''' is a popular rum brand. Prices vary by state, especially for hard liquor, but you can expect to pay anywhere between ₹500 and ₹800 for a 750 mL bottle of Old Monk. Mumbai tends to be the most expensive, due to local taxes, which can be three-times as much as Meghalaya. [[File:Wine barrels at Sula Vineyards.jpg|thumb|Wine barrels at Sula Vineyards]] Indian '''wines''' have improved remarkably and there's a booming wine industry in the hills of [[Maharashtra]], particularly in [[Sangli]] and [[Nashik]], with large grape vineyards in these areas.. The good stuff is not particularly cheap (expect to pay around ₹500 a bottle) and selections are mostly limited to white wines, but look out for labels by Chateau Indage or [https://sulavineyards.com Sula]. '''Illegal moonshine''', called ''tharra'' when made from sugar cane and ''toddy'' when made from coconuts, is widely available in some states. It's cheap and strong, but very dangerous as it may contain toxic [[Alcoholic beverages#Stay safe|methanol]]; best avoided entirely. In the former Portuguese colony of Goa you can obtain an extremely pungent liquor called '''''fenny''''' or ''feni'', typically made from cashew fruits or coconuts. It is illegal to sell alcohol within 500 m of a highway. This is controversial as it has hit restaurants, bars and hotels hard. If your hotel does not have alcoholic drinks, this may well be the reason. ===Cannabis=== [[File:Bhang shop in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India on June 6, 2006.jpg|thumb|240px|Government-authorised ''bhang'' shop, [[Jaisalmer]]]] [[Cannabis]] in its many forms, especially ''ganja'' (weed) and ''charas'' (hash), is widely available throughout India, but are all '''illegal''' in the vast majority of the country. The law states that simple possession may mean fines or years in prison, depending on the quantity possessed. However, in some states (notably Uttar Pradesh, [[Bihar]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Uttarakhand]] and [[Odisha]]) the one legal and socially accepted way to consume cannabis is as '''''bhang''''', a low-grade preparation sold at government-licensed shops that is not only smoked, but also made into cookies, chocolate and the infamous ''bhang lassi'', a herb-laced version of the normally innocuous yogurt drink. ''Bhang lassi'' is usually available at varying strengths, so use caution if opting for the stronger versions. It's also occasionally sold as "special lassi", but is usually easily spotted by the special price tag (several times higher than the non-special kinds). Remember that the effects of "Bhang" are slow and heighten when consumed with something sweet. Also, first-time users may want to wait a while before consuming too much in an effort to judge their tolerance. ==Sleep== Make sure to bring your passport and visa/OCI wherever you go, as most hotels will not rent out rooms without a valid passport and visa/OCI. Two important factors to keep in mind when choosing a place to stay are safety and cleanliness. [[Malaria]] and [[Dengue fever]] is present in most areas of India. One way to combat malaria and dengue fever is to choose lodgings with air conditioning and sealed windows. An insect-repellent spray containing DEET will also help, or consider [[Permethrin-treated fabrics]]. Many '''hotels''' listed on western booking websites (Booking.com etc.) are also set at the "tourist price"; try local booking sites like [https://www.goibibo.com/ Goibibo],[https://www.redbus.in/ redBus] or [https://www.makemytrip.com/ MakeMyTrip]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, as these have much better coverage of local hotels and in rural areas. Alternatively, you can also use Google Maps in combination with WhatsApp to inquire the price beforehand. Booking.com will only really work in very touristy places like Dharamsala, Manali, Goa, Pushkar, etc. If you are sure that there are more than enough places around where you are heading, just walking around and asking for the price can be sufficient. But note, overcharging of foreigners is widespread and you will have to [[bargain]] hard. Some cities like Chandigarh have weird regulations for foreigners and walking around inquiring the price with hotels might be frustrating, since many will not accept foreigners. Also, making a reservation through Booking.com in Chandigarh can leave you with an unpleasant surprise, namely the receptionist telling you that they don't accept foreigners, which can be fatal late at night. So, it is always best to check the ratings and reviews of the place you intend to stay in. Accommodation choices vary widely depending on budget and location. Cheap travellers' hotels are available for around ₹300-500. Rooms at guest-houses with a double bed (and often a bathroom) can be found in many tourist places for around ₹1,000 — this seems to be the going rate for most budget accommodations in more frequented places nowadays. Bed and breakfast service providers are coming up offering standard services that can be expected from B&Bs outside India. The basics include: air-conditioner or fan, free food, and free Wi-Fi. '''[[Hostels]]''' are available for as little as ₹200. They generally have a very high standard; clean beds, nice common rooms, etc., since most are new and oriented towards Western style. Most hostels have their own restaurant, and it is their way to make extra money from their guests — they might even be surprised and show it to you if you don't dine with them. Be aware that most people travelling in India nowadays are Indians and they will mostly always outnumber foreigners in hostels and dorms. This can be a problem, because the Indian society is one where publicly the individual comes first, with often no consideration for the needs of their fellow human being. This can lead to situations in dorms where Indian guests call their family or friends in the middle of the night, wake up loudly at 6AM, consume high-odour food in their beds, watch videos on their mobiles without headphones, but also just consider the dorm a social place where they speak loudly with their friends until late. Of course, there is always the option to kindly ask them for some consideration and to be more respectful of the other people in the room. But you can ask yourself, how long before that really gets onto your nerves. So, hostels are not an obvious budget friendly choice for Westerners in India anymore. If you intend to stay longer in one place, there are often places specialised on tourist that offer long term rent for around ₹10,000 per month, including kitchen and bathroom. Most Indian railway stations have rooms or dormitories, just ask the railway officials or reserve it online on the railway website — reserving is highly recommended. If you just show up, the only option left might be the AC waiting room for ₹10/hr. Rooms and dorms are cheap (around ₹800 and ₹300 respectively), relatively well maintained (the beds, sheets, not the showers) and secure. There are also the added bonus of not being accosted by the rickshaw mafia, getting the bags off quickly and, for the adventurous, high likelihood to jump on a cheap public bus back to the train station. Keep in mind you must have an arrival or departure train ticket from the station where you intend to sleep, and there could be a limit on how many nights you may stay. Midrange options are plentiful in the larger cities and expanding fast into second-tier cities as well, and prices vary from ₹1,000 to 4,000 per night. Local, unbranded hotels can be found in any city, but quality varies widely. [[File:Taj hotel mumbai india.jpg|thumb|Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of the most famous landmarks of [[Mumbai]]]] If the wallet allows it, you can try staying like royalty in a maharaja's palace in places like [[Udaipur]] or modern five-star hotels which are now found pretty much all over the country. The top-end of Indian luxury rests with hotel chains like [http://www.oberoihotels.com/ Oberoi], [http://www.tajhotels.com/ Taj] and [https://www.theleela.com/en_us/ The Leela]. The usual international chains also run major 5-star hotels in most Indian metropolises, but due to India's economic boom availability is tight and prices can be crazy — it's not uncommon to be quoted over US$300/night for what would in other countries be a distinctly ordinary business hotel going for a third of the price. Also beware that some jurisdictions including [[Delhi]] and Bangalore charge stiff luxury taxes on the ''rack rate'' of the room, which can lead to nasty surprises at check-out time. One way of meeting interesting Indian travellers is by staying at a "dak bungalow" or "dak bangla". Also, called travellers' bungalows or inspection bungalows, they were built by the British to accommodate travelling officials and are now used by the Central and state governments for the same purpose. They exist in many towns and some rural locations. Most will take tourists at a moderate fee if they have room. They are clean, comfortable and usually in good locations, but plain with ceiling fans rather than air conditioning, shower but no bath. Typically the staff includes a pensioned-off soldier as night watchman and perhaps another as gardener; often the gardens are lovely. Sometimes there may be a cook; his or her services will be free but you should buy ingredients. A similar accommodation are the '''PWD Tourist Rest Houses''', they can also be found in many towns and cities, are mostly for people from the "public workers department" but also accept tourists if not completely booked. ==Stay safe== {{Warningbox|In addition to the warnings provided below and in region articles, check travel advisories, especially for the Indo–Pakistani border, but also for other areas. There are border conflicts and local political unrest. |lastedit=permanent |australia=https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/india |canada=https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/india |uk=https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india |us=https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/india.html |ie=https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/overseas-travel/advice/india/ |nz=https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/Destinations/India |be=https://diplomatie.belgium.be/fr/pays/inde/voyager-en-inde-conseils-aux-voyageurs/derniere-mise-jour-en-inde |de=https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/laender/indien-node/indiensicherheit-205998 |nl=https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/reisadvies/india|hk=https://www.sb.gov.hk/eng/ota/note-India.html }} As a rule India is quite safe for foreigners, apart from instances of petty crime and theft common to any developing country, as long as certain basic precautions and common sense are observed – and women should be cautious travelling alone at night. In India, the '''national emergency helpline number''' is '''{{Phone|112}}''', which connects you to police, fire, and ambulance services. This number is available 24/7 across India to provide immediate assistance during emergencies. There are other numbers which you can see in the below sections. [[File:Holy Cow (7438681490).jpg|thumb|A holy cow in [[Pushkar]]]] While hospitality is important in India, it is not common to see people '''offering to share food''' or cookies while they eat. Some such offers are genuine and some are not. If you are travelling by train and you are offered food by a family group, it is usually safe to take a bite. But if you are offered something by a group of men or even a couple, you should decline, even if they also eat of it, as the part offered might be laced with sedatives. You can politely say no with a smile; those who offer food genuinely won't take it personally. '''Don't trust strangers''' offering assistance or services. Be particularly wary of frauds at tourist attractions such as the temples of [[Kanchipuram]], where they prey on those unfamiliar with local customs. If a priest or guide offers to treat you to a religious ceremony, find out what it will cost you first, and do not allow yourself to be pressured into making "donations" of thousands of rupees — simply walk away if you feel uncomfortable. However, don't get ''too'' paranoid: foreigners on the train, or Indian families who want to take your picture on ''their own'' camera, for example, are often just genuinely curious. Attitudes towards the '''[[LGBT travel|LGBT]]''' community have been changing since the 2000s. In 2018, homosexuality – which was once punishable by life imprisonment – was decriminalised by a court ruling, and since then there have been strong political movements in favour of LGBT rights. There are many pride parades across India's major cities, and some restaurants and bars in the major cities are targeted at the LGBT community. While there is a vibrant gay nightlife in metropolitan areas, a few openly gay celebrities and movements to legalise same-sex marriage, the acceptance is not universal. Many Indians still have conservative opinions on homosexuality and do not fully understand it. Try not to reveal your sexuality in public as you may invite unwanted comments or stares. Heterosexual Indian men often walk hand-in-hand in the streets; don't take this as a sign of anything but friendship. '''Travellers of African heritage''' may encounter prejudices from the police and the general public about being drug dealers. This reaction stems from the fact that more often than not, foreign drug peddlers in India are of Nigerian nationality. Indians find it hard to differentiate between Nigerians and other Africans, others of African descent or even their own Siddi community (Indians of sub-Saharan African descent), so anybody who looks African may be targeted. If that includes you, you may want to keep passports handy at all times, avoid going to areas notorious for illegal activities and maintain contact with respective embassies and, if possible, with other support groups that can vouch for you. The '''cow''' is considered to be a holy animal in Hinduism, and in many Indian states, it is '''illegal''' to slaughter cattle or import beef. Non-Hindus suspected of slaughtering cattle or eating beef are also known to have been lynched by fundamentalist Hindu mobs. Prominent exceptions to this taboo are the state of Kerala and the north-eastern parts of the country, where water buffalo meat is widely consumed, but cattle beef remains rare. You should check with your embassy or ask for local advice before heading to the Himalayan areas, especially [[Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]] and [[North-Eastern India]]. These areas have had serious law-and-order problems for a long time. ===India syndrome=== {{see also|Culture shock}} Some people coming to India for the first time suddenly feel their lives shifting and start believing in reincarnation and other wonderful ideas available throughout India. This is called ''[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/13/india-syndrome-lost-in-the-valley-of-death-harley-rustad The India Syndrome]''. While certain teachings in Indian culture can of course be new and overwhelming, the immediate acceptance of them and following of their principles can be cause for concern. No holy person has ever been enlightened within a few weeks without proper pre-work or pre-existing experiences. Be careful with self-proclaimed ''sādhus'' who wander from temple to temple looking for food and money. While in the past most were authentic holy men, nowadays for many it is just a way to beg. Don't wander off into the woods with such "holy" men just because you suddenly believe in a new reality, especially if you are on your own. They can be dangerous, especially if drugs are involved. And sometimes even the police cannot "touch" them, even in cases of murder. There have been some high-profile disappearances of Westerners in India in connection with sādhus. Sādhus are more likely to be legitimate if they are wandering or meditating in the [[Himalayan North]]. If you want to explore your newly discovered view of the world and the universe, a better option is through official schools (like Ayurveda, etc.), meditation and yoga centres, or in a group setting where you trust the other people. On the opposite side, there are also travellers that get overwhelmed by India so much that they will start showing signs of panic or paranoia. Indian culture is so ruthless that people can find themselves in situations where they feel the whole world is against them, or they feel they cannot trust anyone any more. Or even worse, they suddenly become superstitious and believe in all sorts of negative things happening to them due to some arbitrary reason. At worst, scammers, touts and thieves will try to exploit this situation of yours. These psychological reactions are mostly a threat to younger travellers, those who haven't seen much of the world, and those who don't have their feet planted firmly on the ground. Also the involvement of weed or other drugs, which are popular in certain tourist regions of India, can lead to these issues. For both sides of these problems it is always good to: * let your friends and family regularly know where you are, * call home from time to time to stay in touch with reality, * don't travel on your own, but find a travel buddy or group to go with , * avoid the Indian hassle from time to time, there are many comfortable oases in India where Indian problems seem far far away, * don't be a first-time weed smoker in India, especially not with people you just met, this is not the right setting to have a first and pleasant trip in, * in the event of a crisis, seek the help of an uninvolved fellow (Western) traveller, who often has more connection to you than any Indian will ever have. ===Touts=== Touts are ubiquitous, as in many developing countries, and you should assume that anyone 'proactively' trying to help you has a hidden agenda to part you from your money. However, in areas hardly or not at all visited by tourists, it is not at all uncommon for people to go out of their way to 'proactively' help you when you approach, without expecting anything in return. During your travels in India, you will be deluged with touts trying to get you to buy something or patronise particular establishments. There are a myriad of [[common scams]], which range from telling you your hotel has gone out of business (of course, they'll know of one that's open with vacancies), to giving wrong directions to a government rail ticket booking office (the directions will be to their friend's tour office), to trying to get you to take diamonds back to your home country (the diamonds are worthless crystal), to 'poor students' giving you sightseeing for hours and then with pity make you buy school books for them (tremendously overpriced from a bookstore with whom they are affiliated). There will also be more obvious touts who 'know a very good place for dinner' or want to sell you a chess set on the street. Faced with such an assault, it's very easy to get into a siege mentality where all of India is against you and out to squeeze you dry. This mentality may affect any true appreciation of the country. Dealing with touts is simple: assume anyone offering surprising information (such as "your hotel is shut down") is a tout. Never be afraid to get a second or third answer to a question. To get rid of touts: * Completely ignore them and go about your business until they go away. This may take quite a while, but patience is key to managing India. * Tell them "no", very firmly, and repeatedly. It is also beneficial to have a firm Indian friend whom you can trust. If they show you around, they will act to help you ward off such touts. ===Theft and scams=== [[File:India - Kolkata street beggar - 3246.jpg|thumb|A beggar in Kolkata]] Unfortunately, '''theft''' is quite common in places visited by tourists, but violent thefts hardly ever occur. More likely a thief will [[pickpockets|pickpocket]] or break into your room. Take precautions to firmly lock the door while indoors, and be on guard while outside. Many first-time travellers to India find themselves falling victim to [[Common scams|scams and touts]]. Be on guard for anybody trying to help you by giving you unsolicited directions or travel advice. Do not blindly rely on the advice of taxi and auto drivers. If this is your first time in India, do not openly admit it, as this will make you more vulnerable to touts. Carry your cash, passport and cards in a secure money belt, with only enough cash for a few hours at a time in your wallet or other accessible place. While travelling in public transport, do not accept any food or drink from any local fellow passenger even if they are very friendly or polite. There have been instances in which very friendly fellow passengers offered food or drinks including tea or coffee that contained substances that put the victim to sleep whilst all their possessions, including even their clothing, were stolen. Some people handling your cash will try to '''shortchange you or rip you off'''. In Delhi particularly, this is a universal rule adhered to by all who handle westerners' cash. This does not exclude official ticket sellers at tourist sites, employees at prepaid taxi stands, or merchants in all but the most upscale businesses. Count your cash before handing it over, and ensure that you receive the correct change. Overseas visitors are often magnets for [[begging|beggars]], frauds and touts. Beggars will often go as far as touching you and following you, tugging on your sleeve. It does little good to get angry or to say "No" loudly. The best response is to look unconcerned and ignore the behaviour. The more attention you pay to a beggar or a tout, positive or negative, the longer they will follow you hoping for a donation. Begging is criminalised in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi. It is however common in many cities, and in pilgrim cities, there are sadhus who live an ascetic lifestyle of the seeker that requires them to adopt bhiksha-charya (begging vows) only for sustaining the body. It is advisable or better to agree on the fare before getting inside an auto or a taxi. This avoids any further unpleasant fare-related arguments. If you can take the advice of a local friend or someone manning your hotel's front desk to know how much it should cost to travel between two destinations, you will be a smart traveller. Should you want to visit discos or dance clubs, leave your possessions in your hotel safe, and only carry as much change as you think you would require; it is easy to lose your wallet or passport in these places. ===Traffic=== [[File:Crashed Taxi - Multiple Car Accident - Rabindra Sadan Area - Kolkata 2012-06-13 01323.jpg|thumb|A car crash in Kolkata]] As a former British colony, India drives on the '''left''' side of the road. As a '''pedestrian''', make sure you check for traffic from your right! It is better to avoid going out '''on the roads alone''', especially in remote places or lanes and by-lanes without many people at night. Keeping some company is always advisable. Driving in India can be dangerous. Irresponsible driving habits, insufficient highway infrastructure development, wandering livestock and other hazards make travelling on the country's roads a sometimes nerve-wracking undertaking. More than 150,000 people died on Indian roads in 2019, the highest figure in the world, and that's despite having only 44 cars per 1,000 people. The first encounter with a typical Indian highway will no doubt feature a traffic mix of lumbering trucks, speeding maniacs, blithely wandering cows and suicidal pedestrians, all weaving across a narrow, potholed strip of tarmac. To minimise your risk of becoming a grim statistic, use trains instead of buses, use government bus services instead of private ones (which are more likely to force their drivers into inhuman shifts), use taxis instead of auto-rickshaws, avoid travelling at night, and don't hesitate to change taxis or cars if you feel your driver is unsafe. Of significant concern is that much of the road network is significantly underdeveloped. Most roads are very poorly built and they are full of rubble, large cracks and potholes. Most road signs are not very reliable in the country, and in most cases provide drivers with confusing or inaccurate information. If you are in doubt, ask the locals, normally they are very helpful and willingly provide people with appropriate guidance to a location. Of course, the quality of information and willingness to provide it varies, especially in the larger cities. ===Women travellers=== [[File:Mumbai, India, Bombay, Mumbai city skyline at night.jpg|thumb|Mumbai at dusk]] The sad truth is that [[Tips for women travellers|women travellers]] in India, particularly those travelling solo, are often subjected to sexual harassment or worse. Women should avoid travelling to India alone if at all possible, but if you really have to, be on your guard, avoid making friendly gestures towards men who could misinterpret them, and be particularly cautious in larger cities (especially Delhi) in the [[Plains (India)|Plains]] and [[Eastern India]] at night – try to keep to safe areas only or don't bother to explore in the night. There is an established helpline in India for women, {{Phone|1091}}. Cities in the [[Southern India|south]] are generally better, but still exercise caution. Indian women generally '''dress conservatively''', and tank tops, miniskirts and other revealing or tight-fitting clothing can attract unwanted attention. Dressing in traditional Indian clothes, such as ''salwaar kameez'' (comfortable) or ''saree'' (more formal and difficult to wear) will often garner Western women more respect in the eyes of locals. The idea is to portray yourself as a normal person, instead of a distanced tourist. Easy clothing is to wear a kurta paired up with jeans or a salwar. They are very comfortable and most of the women do the same. Body searches (such as at the airport) by officers of the opposite sex are not allowed in India. Airport security is sex segregated. Befriending Indian women can be a wonderful experience for female visitors, although you might have to initiate conversation. An easy topic to get things going is to talk about [[clothes]] or [[Food and drink|food]]. Sexual harassment cases, especially cases featuring foreigners will often be taken '''very seriously''' by police officers. * White and [[East Asia|East Asian]] females may receive some extra attention, usually in the form of stares, from the locals, and many might even want to take photographs with you. In most cases, these people are from rural areas, and have had little to no contact with foreigners, but some may harass you. If so, don't be afraid to create a scene and don't feel the need to be polite. * Try to avoid being overly friendly and appreciative to Indian men; it could get them to think you are romantically interested in them. If a man and a woman are seen together or talk to each other quite often, locals may assume that there's something going on between them. Make it clear that you are friends or acquaintances; that will usually ward people off. * It's not so safe to walk in isolated places if you are a solo female. Women should also avoid going out alone at night, and be cautious when taking a taxi or auto-rickshaw. There have been some rapes of foreign women and highly publicised rapes of Indian women, some of whom have been murdered, and a large number of rapes go unreported. The willingness to report rape has increased after several incidents received widespread media attention and triggered widespread public protest. The Indian government has also reformed its penal code in relation to crimes of rape and sexual assault. * Avoid staying at cheaper hotels unless you are travelling with a trusted male companion; hotel staff have been known to sexually harass female guests. * On local, suburban and metro trains, there are usually cars reserved for women and designated as such on their front. In the Delhi Metro trains, it is the first compartment. On most buses (private and public) a few seats at the front or at one side of the bus are reserved for women. Usually, these seats will be occupied by men and, very often, they vacate the place when a female stands near gesturing her intention to sit there. In many parts of the country, women will not share a seat with a man other than her spouse. If you sit near a man, he may stand up from the seat and give his seat to you; this is a sign of respect, ''not'' rudeness. * Street parties for holidays are usually filled with crowds of inebriated men. During festivals such as Holi, New Year's Eve, and even Christmas Eve, women can be subjected to groping and sexually aggressive behaviour from a certain section hiding in these crowds. In such an event, scream or make a scene pointing your finger at the person. People will come to your aid. If possible, avoid attending these festivities alone, and always go in a group. * So-called Eve teasing is a common term used in Indian English to refer to anything from unwanted verbal advances to physical sexual assault. Anything overt should be treated in a firm manner and if needed, ask the local populace (women in particular) to try to get the message across. Avoid confrontation if at all possible. Sticking to such an area is not recommended. It's not disrespectful for a woman to tell a man eager to talk to her that she doesn't want to talk: so if a man's behaviour makes you uncomfortable, say so firmly. If he doesn't seem to get the hint, just quietly excuse yourself. ===Police and other emergency services=== [[File:India - Varanasi policemen - 0691.jpg|thumb|Police officers in Varanasi]] Try to speak the words slowly so that the police officer on the phone does not have problems understanding your foreign English accent. For non-emergency crimes, go down to the police station to report them, and insist on getting a receipt of your complaint. The emergency contact numbers for most of India are: '''{{Phone|100}} (Police)''', '''{{Phone|101}} (Fire and rescue)''', and '''{{Phone|102}} (Emergency medical service)'''. Dialling to neighbouring major hospitals may also work in case of medical emergencies. Law enforcement is dealt with by various agencies in India: * General policing is the responsibility of the various state and union territory police forces. * Large cities like [[Mumbai]], [[Kolkata]] or [[Bangalore]] may also have their own police departments, often operating independently from state police forces. * The Central government also maintain federal law-enforcement agencies responsible for specific duties, such as railway policing (Railway Protection Force- RPF), transport security (Highway police) and border patrol. Unfortunately, corruption and inefficiency are present in all Indian police forces, and the quality of the police force varies by officer. You should insist that the police make a '''first information report''' (FIR) and receive a copy of it if you are reporting any serious crimes, as it is a legal requirement for them to do so. The police will only start the investigation after the FIR is made. ===Terrorism and militants=== The '''India-Pakistan conflict''', simmering for decades, has manifested in terrorist attacks on India's main cities: since 1991, there have been bombings in Delhi, Mumbai and other big cities (rare though due to better intelligence). The targets have varied widely, but more recent attacks have been focused on tourists, such as 26/11 in Mumbai in 2008 and the one in [[Pahalgam]], J&K in 2025. There is little you can do to avoid such random attacks, but keep an eye on the national news and any travel advisories from your embassy. If in doubt call the Indian government's '''Anti Terror Helpline at {{Phone|1090}}'''. Most high profile attacks have been concentrated by cross-border terrorism (from Pakistan) in the state of '''Jammu and Kashmir''' by prescribed terrorists such as ''Lakshar-E-Taiba,'' and ''Jaish-E-Mohammed'' (as part of the insurgency in Kashmir), particularly targeting non-Muslims. This has led to many countries advising against all travel to J&K due to this. Other Islamic organisations such as ''Daesh'', ''Al Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent'' (<abbr>AQIS</abbr>) and other groups may also be planning attacks. Terrorist/militant groups in '''North-Eastern India''' have conducted attacks on Indian military convoys and local groups, as part of lesser known insurgency. Violence has died down since the mid-2010s however there has been some sporadic violence in the mid-2020s, particularly in the state of [[Manipur]]. On the side of caution avoid forested areas and remote areas here. It is very unlikely for foreigners to be targeted here. There are terrorist/militant groups in '''Punjab''' (Sikh separatist movement-Khalistan), however, militant numbers have reduced, and many have resorted to more peaceful methods since the mid-2010s. On the err of caution avoid large gatherings such as political rallies in Punjab. === War and conflict === India’s geopolitical tensions with '''Pakistan and China''' occasionally affect travel, particularly in regions close to disputed borders. While the vast majority of India remains peaceful and safe for visitors, it’s important to be aware of the situation in sensitive frontier areas. India and Pakistan maintain a heavily militarized boundary, especially along the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir, where sporadic exchanges of fire, air strikes, and drones as well as security incidents can occur without warning. Travelers should avoid areas within close proximity to the border, as movement may be restricted and conditions can change rapidly during periods of heightened tension. Airspace closures and transport disruptions have occurred during past escalations, sometimes affecting flights across northern India. If there is a terrorist incident in India, as a rule of thumb, stay away from border states unless absolutely necessary. <u>The latest escalation was between April-May 2025 (major)</u>, which was a border conflict. Relations remain extremely volatile and sour between the two countries, so exercise a heightened degree of caution in border states. India’s relationship with China is generally stable but marked by periodic standoffs along the high‑altitude Line of Actual Control, particularly in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of Sikkim. These regions are remote, tightly controlled by the military, and often subject to sudden access restrictions. Although foreign tourists are rarely directly affected, border incidents can lead to increased security measures, temporary closures, or travel permit limitations. Visitors planning trips to Himalayan border regions should stay informed, follow local regulations, and be prepared for unexpected changes to itineraries. <u>The latest escalation was between May 2020-January 2021 (minor)</u>, which was a melee and border standoff. Relations are improving, but remain cautious.<!-- In the event of a new conflict prepare to update this section, to make such up to date --> Travelers are advised to monitor reliable news sources and their home country’s travel advisories, avoid border zones unless absolutely necessary, and follow the instructions of local authorities. In the event of war and conflict, see [[war zone safety]] for more safety information, particularly under [[War zone safety#Airstrikes|airstrikes]] and [[War zone safety#Explosions|explosions]]. When the air raid sirens sound, a blackout may be enforced, so do not go outside, take shelter, switch off all the lights and draw the curtains. The rest of India—including major cities, cultural destinations, and much of India's tourist regions—remains far removed from these tensions and continues to welcome millions of visitors each year. ===Outdoor adventures=== There are many companies in India offering various outdoor activities like paragliding, white water rafting, ballooning, and trekking. For example, the road between Manali and Kullu has dozens of white water and paragliding operators. It is sometimes questionable how these companies and operators, especially their staff, obtained their licences to offer these activities. Especially the number of companies offering these kinds of activities is an indication that it seems to be not that hard to start such a business. But for things like tandem paragliding, which can be lethal, it is probably a bad idea to have to rely on someone who got his licence under questionable circumstances. And even if he did a course with an official body, the standards in India are still comparably lower than Western ones. So, it is very important that you verify the company you go with fully, search for ratings and reviews, verify their licences, and only if you fully trust them to go with them. === Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity === India spans several active seismic zones, and '''[[Earthquake safety|earthquakes]]''' can occur in many parts of the country. The most active region is the Himalayan belt, running from Jammu & Kashmir through Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. This long mountain arc is formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates, making it one of the world’s most earthquake‑prone areas. Strong earthquakes have struck here throughout history, and tremors are common, especially in hill towns and valleys. Large parts of northern and eastern India also experience shaking. The Indo‑Gangetic Plains, including major cities such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Patna, often feel tremors from the Himalayas, and the soft alluvial soil can intensify the shaking. Northeast India is another major hotspot, influenced by the interaction of several tectonic plates; Assam and the surrounding states have recorded some of the strongest earthquakes in modern times. Western India has its own seismic risks. The Kutch region in Gujarat is known for intraplate earthquakes, including the destructive Bhuj quake of 2001. Parts of Maharashtra and Rajasthan also experience occasional tremors. In the east, areas near the Arakan–Yoma range, especially in Mizoram and Tripura, are affected by tectonic movement along the Burmese arc. During an earthquake, drop to the ground, take cover under sturdy furniture, and stay away from windows, balconies, and heavy objects. Outdoors, move to an open area clear of buildings, walls, trees, and power lines. In high‑rise buildings—common in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi—avoid elevators and stay away from glass. After the shaking stops, expect aftershocks, avoid damaged structures, and follow instructions from local authorities and emergency services. India’s long coastline also faces the possibility of '''[[Tsunami|tsunamis]]''', especially after major offshore earthquakes in the Indian Ocean or volcanic eruptions in [[Southeast Asia]], such as happened in 2004. The eastern coast – Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha – is the most exposed. If you are near the shore and feel strong or prolonged shaking, move to higher ground immediately as a precaution, (if there is installed tsunami warning systems follow those). [[Volcanoes|'''Volcanic activity''']] in India is rare, but travellers visiting [[Barren Island]] in the Andamans should stay alert to official advisories, as access is restricted during periods of unrest. Boats are required to keep a safe distance from the island, and eruptions can release ash or gases that make the surrounding waters hazardous. Follow local guidance, avoid approaching restricted zones, and rely on licensed operators who monitor conditions closely. ==Stay healthy== Going to India, you have to adapt to a different climate and food. However, with precautions the chance and severity of any illness can be minimised. Don't stress yourself too much at the beginning of your journey to allow your body to acclimatise to the country. For example, take a day of rest upon arrival, at least on your first visit. Many travellers get ill for wanting to do too much in too little time. Be careful with spicy food if you're not used to it. Six quick tips for avoiding the Delhi belly: * '''Go vegetarian''' – At least for the first week or two. Meat spoils quickly. * '''Avoid raw leafy vegetables''' – They are hard to clean properly. * '''Avoid ice and unbottled water''' – Both the water in it and the way it's transported are suspect. Try to use only commercially available sealed bottled water. * '''Wash hands before eating''' – Always use soap or hand sanitiser, otherwise the dirt of India's streets will find its way onto your ''chapatis'' and into your mouth. In addition, keep nails cut short and clean. That of course will not prevent a food vendor touching your food, so think twice which kind of meal you decide for. In any case, you can always watch how food is prepared. Indians mostly never use soap, plain water seems to be their "magic cure". * '''Prefer metal dishes and cups''' – Stainless steel is more germ-resistant than plastic. So, any restaurant with stainless cutlery, dishes, cups and water container is safer than one with plastic cups and water container, or one-time use dishes. * '''Be cautious around street food''' – Street food can often be made unhygienically, and it is a cause of "Delhi belly" '''Toilets''' can be found for free in most temples, just in case it is urgent. '''Litter''' can be a problem in some cities in India. Many efforts have been made in the 21st century to clean up the country particularly under the ''Swachh Bharat Mission.'' but there is still a long way to go because most people use the many waterways as garbage dumps. It would be unwise to swim in most of the rivers and downright senseless in a lake. If you have '''asthma''', carry enough medication as dust, pollen or pollution may cause trouble. If you venture to forests in India, you may encounter '''venomous snakes'''. If bitten, try to note the markings of the snake so that the snake can be identified and the correct antidote given. In any event, immediately seek medical care. ===Air quality=== [[Air pollution]] is a huge problem in India, particularly in the northern plains during the autumn and winter (October to February), when farmers burning fields, coal and dung fires for heating and lack of rain and wind combine to blanket the Gangetic Plains in toxic murk. [[Delhi]] has ranked the most polluted capital in the world every year since 2015, with an ''average'' AQI of nearly 100. In addition to being a health hazard, flights are often delayed or cancelled when visibility drops to near-zero. Avoid travel in the North at this time of year if you can. If you have no choice, wearing an N95 mask and minimizing time spent outdoors can help. Many cities and villages in India, not particularly in any region, have sanitation and pollution issues. You might find people dumping and burning garbage in the open. Check the air quality of a city before venturing. ===Drinking water=== '''[[Tap water]]''' is normally not safe for drinking. However, some establishments (for example many temples) have water filters/purifiers installed, in which case the water should be safe to drink from them. Otherwise, the water in the mountains is generally clean, just ask your accommodation staff. Packed drinking water (popularly called "mineral water" throughout India) is a good choice. Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina and Health Plus are popular and safe brands. But if the seal has been tampered with, or if the bottle seems crushed, it could be tap water being illegally sold. So always make sure that seal is intact before buying. In Indian Railway stations, a low-priced mineral water brand of Indian Railways is generally available, known as "Rail Neer". For most foreigners, tap water in India is not even safe for brushing your teeth, and you should stick to bottled mineral water even for that. ===Fruits, vegetables and food=== Everything that can be peeled such as apples and bananas, as well as packaged snacks, are always a safe option. Wash any fruit with uncontaminated water and soap before eating it, even if you peel it — while peeling, touching the skin could still deliver bacteria onto the inner fruit. Also avoid cold food from shelves (samosa, sweets, etc.) that is directly touched prepared and handed out. Most Indians don't use soap, and simply water seems to be their magic cure. In general, the regulation of the use of pesticides is very lax in India, because farmers have a high standing in Indian society — they are often the means for political campaigns. So, the underlying quality of fruits and vegetables is doubtful, even if locals claim them to be "green" — they often don't understand the meaning of "green". With some fruits, you will even notice a weird side taste, like tangerines. It is often doubtful where and how they were grown — it might have been next to a large landfill, and you wouldn't know. Also, you may notice the dirtiness of Indian bodies of waters and rivers — this is the very same water that is used to water fruit and vegetable plants in the Indian plains. Fruits and vegetables from more hilly or mountainous regions are probably safe from that latter problem. While Indian food is often freshly prepared with fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, it doesn't mean it is automatically healthy (due to the latter reasons). Also, restaurants often use ready-made sauces and ingredients containing questionable additives and preservatives — not to mention that standard tomato sauce will barely ever contain much tomato, but carrot pulp instead. So, while in the past, Indian food was probably one of the best in the world, commercialisation in the food industry and lax regulation in the agricultural industry have done their parts in making it a doubtful adventure and one should be cautious. ===Diarrhoea and dehydration=== {{see also|Travellers' diarrhea|Dehydration}} [[Diarrhea|Diarrhoea]] and [[dehydration]] are common, and can have many different causes. Dehydration brings along '''dizziness and concentration issues''', sometimes muscle and joint pain. Dehydration doesn't just mean a lack of water, but also a lack of necessary minerals the body needs to function. It can be caused by an unbalanced diet, the wrong drinking water or even exhaustive hiking and travelling. Filtered and purified water (e.g. from temples) often has the disadvantage of the necessary minerals also being filtered out. Therefore, it's best bring a standard first-aid kit, plus extra over-the-counter medicine for diarrhoea and stomach upset. A rehydration kit can also be helpful, rehydration solution is widely available at pharmacies for about ₹25 per pack for 1L of water. In case it is not available, remember the salt/sugar/water ratio for oral rehydration: 1 tsp salt, 8 tsp sugar, for 1L of water — however this will still lack some other minerals, so the rehydration packs from the pharmacy are best. Also, in case you are consuming local drinking water from the tap (in mountain areas) or in restaurants, if your body shows signs of dehydration, it is better to get the correctly-spelt "Bisleri" water bottles from the shop with the green bandage — they have minerals added. Also other brands have added minerals. Indians often have resistance to native bacteria and parasites that visitors do not have. If you have had serious diarrhoea for more than a day or two, it is best to visit a private hospital. Parasites such as Giardia are a common cause of diarrhoea, and may not get better without treatment. Instead of drinking water while having diarrhoea, some people trust in Coke as a quick treatment. And in some cases it seems to prevent further fluid loss in small amounts. ===Vaccinations and tropical diseases=== [[File:Force Traveller Kuoni ambulance, 2008.JPG|thumb|An ambulance in India]] No [[vaccinations]] are required for entry to India, except for '''[[yellow fever]]''' if you are coming from an infected area such as [[Africa]]. However, '''[[Hepatitis]]''' (both A and B, depending on your individual circumstances), '''meningitis''' and '''typhoid''' shots are recommended, as is a booster shot for '''tetanus'''. '''[[Malaria]]''' and other infections like '''chikungunya''' is endemic throughout India. The [http://www.cdc.gov/travel/regionalmalaria/indianrg.htm CDC] states that risk exists in all areas, including the cities of Delhi and Mumbai, and at altitudes of less than 2,000 m in [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Sikkim]]; however, the risk of infection is considered low in Delhi and the [[Plains (India)|Plains]]. Get expert advice on malaria preventatives, and take adequate precautions to prevent [[mosquito]] bites. Use a mosquito repellent when going outside (particularly during the evenings) and also when sleeping in trains and hotels without air conditioning. A local mosquito repellent used by Indians is Odomos which is available over-the-counter at most medical stores. Note, Malaria symptoms can be very similar to a cold or flu; however, if you don't have any fever but still feel dizzy and have muscle and joint pain, it could also just be a case of dehydration — see above. ===Stray dogs=== It is very important to stay away from the many [[Aggressive dogs|stray dogs and cats]] in India, as India has the highest rate of '''rabies''' in the world. If you are bitten, it is extremely urgent to get to a hospital in a major urban area capable of dealing with rabies. You can get treatment at any major hospital. It is very important to get the rabies vaccine within 24 hr of any contact with animals, including contact with saliva or blood. Rabies vaccines only work if the full course is given '''prior''' to symptoms. The disease is almost invariably fatal otherwise. ===Healthcare=== The level of [[Medical tourism|medical care]] in India varies wildly. Public hospitals tend to be unsanitary, overcrowded, understaffed and underequipped. Private hospitals, on the other hand, are usually of an excellent standard and among the best in the world, making India a popular destination for medical tourism. Large corporate hospital chains like [https://www.fortishealthcare.com/ Fortis], [https://www.maxhealthcare.in/ Max], [https://www.apollohospitals.com/ Apollo] and similar places are your best bet for emergency medical care in larger cities, and they have better hygiene and generally well-trained doctors, some from UK and US institutions. The downside is that they are generally much more expensive than public hospitals, though still reasonably priced by Western standards. Many private hospitals accept international health insurance; check with the hospital before you go. Virtually all Indian doctors speak English fluently and are highly qualified. For smaller ailments, private medical practices are common throughout the country and are readily more accessible than hospitals. Hotels can also arrange a doctor to come visit, at a price of course. For travel vaccinations, visit the [http://www.istm.org International Society for Travel Medicine] to find travel health clinics. ==Respect== {{infobox|Kissing in India|India can trace kissing back thousands of years in its literature. Indeed, the well-known ''Kama Sutra'' has an entire chapter devoted to kissing. However, in most cultures of the Subcontinent, public kissing has traditionally been discouraged. Visitors have been surprised to get into serious trouble for kissing in public, regardless of the nature of their relationship or marriage or their nationality. Opposition to public kissing is not a universal opinion in India; many Indians find kissing acceptable, but because of those who don't, it is best to avoid kissing (even on cheeks) in public while you are there. None of this applies to parents and children kissing each other, though; that's universally acceptable in India. }} ===Etiquette=== <!--[[File:Kamya Panjabi at Disney princess' promotion in Mumbai.jpg|thumb|In bigger Indian cities, wearing of shorts by women is generally accepted. Picture shows an Indian woman with her daughter in [[Mumbai]].]] this image violates the image policy as watermarks are not allowed --> {{infobox|Naming conventions| Most Indians follow the naming convention of a given name followed by a family name. '''Tamil''' names, however are an exception to this rule. Tamil names generally follow the convention of given name + father's name, or father's initial + given name. Therefore, someone called Ramasamy Govindasamy would have Ramasamy as his given name, with Govindasamy being his father's name. Alternatively, he might be known as G. Ramasamy. Due to the patronymic nature of the last names, first names are always used when addressing individuals, so the above person would be addressed as Mr Ramasamy. Most '''Telugu''' names (other than those of Muslims) are family name (surname) first, like Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese names.<!--Source: {{cite book|author=Vēlcēru Nārāyaṇarāvu|title=Hibiscus on the Lake Twentieth-century Telugu Poetry from India|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]]|year=2003|isbn=9780299177041 (older: 0299177041)|page=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hibiscus_on_the_Lake/pjxyfqOmOKMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Telugu+names+family+name+last&pg=PR19&printsec=frontcover xix]}}--> '''Meitei''' names are also exception to the general rules of naming in India. Meitei names generally follow the convention of family name + given name + name of the respective "salai". Salai means clan and it is different from family. There are 7 salais in Meitei ethnicity (Manipuri ethnicity). Each salai has many families within it. So, salai is just like a group or aggregation of many families. For instance, a person named "Albert" belongs to the "Oinam" family of the "Khuman" salai. Then, his name will be like this: "Oinam Albert Khuman". In Meitei nomenclature, father's names are not used. The foolproof method, therefore, is to ''ask'' how the person would like to be addressed. }} {{infobox|Honorifics| Like in any English-speaking country, you can address men with "Mr.", married women with "Mrs." and unmarried women with "Miss". "Ms." for women can also be used, albeit far more uncommon than "Mrs." or "Miss". You can also use the Sanskrit counterparts of English honorifics, like '''Shri''' (श्री ''Śrī'') for men, '''Shrimati''' (श्रीमती ''Śrīmatī'', abbreviated '''Smt.''') for women and '''Kumari''' (कुमारी ''Kumārī'') specifically for unmarried women. In [[Tamil Nadu]], you can use '''Thiru''' (கிரு ''Tiru'') for men and '''Thirumathi''' (கிருமகி ''Tirumati'') for women, which are essentially Tamil variants of "Shri" and "Shrimati" respectively. }} Indians, by and large, are '''neutral communicators'''. Although Indians try to be respectful and courteous in social situations, words are often taken at face value. It's important to be explicitly clear and upfront about what you intend to say as euphemisms, idiomatic language, and the like may be misunderstood. Direct '''personal questions''' (based on your personal life, salary, education, and lifestyle) are commonly asked. To Indians, it's not considered impolite, but rather it's a way to get to know someone fully. In some cases, you may find others giving you advice on whatever it is you're doing, either warranted or unwarranted. Don't feel annoyed or irritated by this as Indians don't intend to patronise or pull you down in any way. If you feel the question was too personal, simply give an indirect answer and move along. Indians '''respect their elders''' and it would be seen as rude to directly challenge a statement said by someone older than you. You should always try to address people you don't know as 'ma'am' or 'sir', especially if they're older than you, and always act in a mature, sensible fashion around them. '''Family values''' are highly revered by many Indians, and most Indians still live with their extended families, with three to four generations living under the same roof. Passing unwarranted comments about someone's family life won't win you friends or praise. Outside of the larger cities, it is unusual for people of the opposite sex to touch each other. Even couples (married or otherwise) refrain from public displays of affection. Therefore, it is advised that you do not shake hands with a person of the opposite sex unless the other person extends their hand first. The '''greeting''' by a Hindu is to bring their palms together in front of their chest, or simply saying ''namaste'' or ''namaskar'' or ''namaskaram'' in most Indic languages (Indo-Aryan and Dravidian) and ''khurumjari'' in [[Manipuri phrasebook|Manipuri]] (Meitei). All these forms are equally polite and correct if a little formal. Almost all people (even if they don't know English) do understand a "hi" or a "Hello". In most parts of northern India and cities, it is quite acceptable to offer a "hello" or "good day" followed by a handshake, regardless of gender. Indian women generally '''dress conservatively''', although in metropolitan cities more liberal attire can be seen. Bikinis are acceptable at tourist-oriented beaches, but not at those primarily visited by locals. Wearing one beyond the beach is inappropriate no matter where you are. There are a few beaches where women (mostly foreigners) sunbathe topless, but make sure that it is safe and accepted before you do so. Whereas Indian men can be really eager to talk to foreigners, many Indian '''women avoid interacting with men''' outside their own families. If you are a man and approach an Indian woman even for an innocuous purpose like asking for directions, you are usually putting her on the defensive, especially if she is dressed traditionally. It is best to ask a man if one is available (there usually will be), or be extra respectful if you really need to ask a woman. However, in Ladakh, the relation between sexes is much more equal and nobody will bat an eyelid if you ask a woman for directions. Indians will consider themselves obliged to go out of the way to fulfil a '''guest's request''' and will insist very strongly that it is no inconvenience to do so, even if it is not true. This of course means that there is a reciprocal obligation on you as a guest to take extra care not to be a burden. Most Indians are not aware that the term "'''Negro'''" is considered offensive in some other parts of the world, and they may use it with no intent to offend. Also, some Indians will come up with topics like Hitler, Aryans and other weird stuff — while half of the time this is uneducated and innocent interest, the other half of the time they will know exactly what they are talking about and it is best not to engage on such topics or to make your position very clear. Note '''dietary restrictions''' when inviting Indian friends for a meal. Pork is forbidden to Muslims, while beef is forbidden to Hindus. Although in some states, like Kerala, beef is consumed liberally by Christians and Muslims. Also about 30% of Indians are vegetarian, including all Jains. In some places, people are pescatarians. So, It is better to ask people what they don't eat beforehand. It is customary to put up a token friendly argument with your host or any other member of the group '''when paying bills''' at restaurant or while making purchases. The etiquette for this is somewhat complicated. * If you are someone's personal guest and they take you out to a restaurant, you should offer to pay anyway, and you should insist a lot. Sometimes these fights get a little funny, with each side trying to snatch the bill away from the other, all the time laughing politely. If you don't have experience in these things, chances are, you will lose the chance the first time, but in that case, make sure that you pay the next time (and try to make sure that there is a next time). Unless the bill amount is very large do not offer to share it, and only as a second resort after they have refused to let you pay it all. * The same rule applies when you are making a purchase. If you are purchasing something for yourself, your hosts might still offer to pay for it if the amount is not very high, and sometimes, even if it is. In this situation, unless the amount is very low, you should never lose the fight. (If the amount is ridiculously low, say less than ₹10, then don't insult your hosts by putting up a fight.) Even if by chance you lose the fight to pay the shopkeeper, it is customary to practically thrust (in a nice way, of course) the money into your host's hands. ** These rules do not apply if the host has made it clear beforehand that it is his or her treat, especially for some specific occasion. ===Religious etiquette=== As India has great diversity, people follow different religions, the largest being of course Hinduism. * '''Take off your shoes''' when visiting a temple, mosque, or someone's home. * Christians are a minority in India, but going to church and following your faith are always appreciated. There are different denominations and they differ in their practices. * It is disrespectful to touch people or things with your feet. If done accidentally, you will find that Indians will make a quick gesture of apology that involves touching the offended person with the right hand, and then moving the hand to the chest and to the eyes. It is a good idea to emulate that. * The head is considered to be the holiest part of the body, '''so avoid touching people on the head''', including young children, as this is very offensive to Hindus. * '''The left hand''' is considered unclean in both Hinduism and Islam. Be sure to handle sacred objects and perform religious rituals using only your right hand. * '''Books and written materials are treated with respect''', as they are treated as concrete/physical forms of the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. Hindus typically avoid stepping on them. * '''Anything associated with wealth is treated with respect''' as it is treated as a concrete/physical form of the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. * '''The swastika''' is a common and quite ancient symbol in India. It is also fairly common for Indian parents to name their daughters "Swastika". The Swastika is considered in India a symbol of prosperity and good luck. Drawing parallels between the Swastika and Nazism will not be appreciated and is considered cultural appropriation. Jewish people have lived in India for hundreds of years and have never faced any significant antisemitism. Many Indians have liberal, open-minded attitudes towards religion, although there are some who have rigid, radical viewpoints, and fundamentalist Hinduism has seen growing support in the 21st century. It's not considered impolite to discuss your religious convictions with someone; for the most part, many Indians are open about talking about it. This said, '''do not impose''' your religious beliefs upon someone. Anything hinting at '''proselytisation''' will not be appreciated. * Contrary to popular belief, India is '''not a vegetarian nation'''. However, vegetarians are a very large minority in India, comprising 20-30% of the population, and many northern and western states are majority vegetarian. Jains, a staunchly vegetarian religious group, are approximately 1% of the population. That said, some ardently religious groups and people often try to demonise non-vegetarianism. Many of the more well-aware Indians feel it is a part of a concerted attempt to codify a monolithic idea of Indian culture and do not like it. These vegetarian sentiments are more common in Northern India, but in other places, such as [[Southern India]] and [[North-Eastern India]], people tend to be more liberal and less sensitive towards other beliefs, and don't really mind as much. If visiting someone's house, it's always wise to ask if the person is a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian. '''Do not impose your food preferences upon anyone'''; it is frowned upon. * '''Atheism is not taboo''' in India. This said, you should be careful when discussing religion with those who have rigid, radical viewpoints; some atheists in India have been attacked by radical groups for openly criticising religion. ===Politics=== * Indians, in general, are ardently political, and [[Government and politics tourism|politics]] is a very popular conversational subject amongst many Indians, including the older generation. Many Indians have a breadth of political opinions, including that of their own country; often they express frustration with the government. As always, it is better to listen than to express firm opinions. * The '''Kashmir conflict''' is a highly emotional subject that can very quickly elicit strong reactions from Indian people. The Indian view is that the whole of Kashmir, including [[Azad Kashmir]] and [[Gilgit Baltistan]], the two regions of Kashmir under Pakistani control, ''legally belongs'' to India. * India is made up of 28 states and 8 union territories. Some people in some provinces ([[Punjab]], [[Kashmir]], [[Nagaland]], and [[Assam]]) are sympathetic to full autonomy or '''secession from India'''. Whilst nowhere near as sensitive or divisive as in other parts of the world, try not to bring up such subjects. * Attempting to compliment or say anything that could be perceived as positive about '''[[Pakistan]]''' can evoke a strong response from some Indians. Referring to someone as a "Pakistani" is often used as an insult in India. * Try to avoid being overly enthusiastic about '''[[China]]'''. India's diplomatic relationship with China is tense though improving and '''anti-China sentiments''' are common among the population. The '''1962 Sino-Indian War''' and '''2020 Galwan Valley Clash''' are still very much open wounds in the Indian national consciousness. Some '''Chinese products''' are illegal to possess in India and the mere sight of Chinese products can evoke a strong response from some Indians. * Tread carefully when discussing the history of '''Mughal rule'''. Many Hindu nationalists consider the Mughals to be foreign occupiers akin to the British. * The '''partition of India''' is a sensitive issue. Many may convey bitterness against the British Empire, and some who lived through the horrors of the partition may let this reflect on their view of people from the [[United Kingdom]]. Former British prime minister Winston Churchill is widely regarded as a villain in India due to the Bengal famine in 1943. Nevertheless, the two countries enjoy a positive relationship, and Indians are the largest immigrant group in the UK. Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian descent, even became prime minister of the UK. === Other things to watch out for === * Indians tend to have a strong sense of '''national pride''', in part due to the success enjoyed by the Indian diaspora abroad. If you have Indian roots, even if you were born and raised overseas, be careful with divulging your opinions on the country and the culture: some may expect you to follow Indian norms and nuances, and won't take kindly to negative feedback. It is common for Indians to express a deep sense of pride in the success of their fellow countrymen on the world stage, such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and World Bank President Ajay Banga. * '''Families''' tend to be close-knit. Tread very carefully if you have Indian roots, even if you were born and raised overseas, or if you are in an intimate relationship with an Indian person: You're often expected to align your views with your or their family, and not doing so would result in you being shunned. Living with extended family (i.e. including grandparents and first cousins) is still quite common in India. * '''Saving face''' is a major value in Indian culture. To be polite you should avoid pointing out other people's mistakes or voicing disagreement with someone in public. Doing so can cause a severe blow to another person's reputation, and so to avoid doing so and causing embarrassment, ignore small mistakes. If you must point out someone else's mistake do so in a private setting, and as politely as applicable to the situation. ==Connect== ===By phone=== The country code for India is '''+91'''. In India, area codes are called '''STD''' '''codes''' (Subscriber Trunk Dialing - national long distance) and international dialing is called '''ISD''' (International Subscriber Dialing - international long distance). Local phone numbers can be anywhere from 5-8 digits long. But when the STD code is included, all landline phone numbers in India are 10 digits long. Mobile phone numbers are always 10 digits long and usually start with '9', '8', '7' or '6'. The following table explains how to dial: {| class="wikitable" align="right" ! Calling from || Price || Syntax || Example |- | Same STD code || Local || align=right| ''number'' || align=right| 12345678 |- | Mobile phone || Local || align=right| ''STD code of the town you are in number'' || align=right| 011-12345678 |- | Mobile phone || STD to mobile phone|| align=right| ''number'' || align=right| 012345678 |- | Different STD code|| STD || align=right| '''0'''-''area code''-''number'' || align=right| 022-12345678 |- | Overseas || ISD || align=right| '''+91'''-''area code''-''number'' || align=right| +91-22-12345678 |} Toll-free numbers start with '''1-800''', but are usually ''operator-dependent'': you can't call a BSNL/MTNL toll-free number from an Airtel landline, and vice versa. Often, the numbers may not work from your cellular phone. Other National Numbers that start with '''18xx''' or '''19xx''' may attract special charges. To dial outside the country from India, prefix the country code with 00, e.g. a US number will be dialed as 00-1-555-555-5555. Calling the Canada/UK/US over the normal telephone line will cost you about ₹7.20 per minute. Calls to other countries, particularly to the Middle East, can be more expensive. Payphones, called '''public call offices''' or '''PCOs''' are now increasingly rare with the ubiquitous availability of mobile phones. Where they exist, they are usually staffed, and you dial yourself but pay to the attendant after the call is over. Metering is done per pulse and a service charge of ₹2 is added to the bill. Larger cities also have Western-style unmanned public phones, which are usually red in colour and accept one rupee coins. ====Mobile==== '''[https://www.airtel.in/ Airtel]''', '''[https://www.myvi.in/ Vodafone Idea]''', '''[https://www.jio.com/ Reliance Jio]''' and '''[https://www.bsnl.co.in/ BSNL]-MTNL''' are mobile service providers in India. All of these provide services to the whole of India. Jio has the best coverage throughout the country and Airtel is somewhat behind. Since providers are state-specific, you need to activate roaming, so you can stay connected with the same provider if being in a different state than from where you got the SIM card. No extra costs apply for this kind of roaming within India. As restrictions on internet use increase in India, many mobile stores refuse to sell SIM cards to foreigners (or anyone without local ID, particularly an ''Aadhaar Card'')—though you may find an Indian resident or hotel employee willing to buy one under their name if suitably motivated (i.e. rupees). Also, Jio mobile store owners seem to be sufficiently motivated to sell you a SIM and an initial package for a 20% surcharge if you look reliable enough. To get a SIM card alone as a foreigner, you are recommended to visit the telecom operator's exclusive store. To make calls, send text, or use data, you will always require a (monthly) package or validity plan. Packages start at ₹239 for 28 days, e.g. Jio with 1.5GB/day data, unlimited calls, and 100 SMS. With Airtel the same package was around ₹450. All operators provide unlimited domestic phone calls with their packages. Calling overseas can cost quite a bit and will depend on the location you are calling to. In contrast, the other way round (calling to India from elsewhere) is cheap. You can buy a keypad mobile for ₹500, and touch mobiles retail from ₹4,000. ====Mobile internet==== It is very cheap, especially with the proliferation of low-cost operator Reliance Jio, which has forced the mainstream operators such as Airtel and Vodafone Idea to follow suit. Prices for packages including mobile internet are mentioned above. 5G networks in India now cover 85% of the population. 4G (LTE and VoLTE) networks cover 95% of the population of India (covered nearly everywhere). 3G is available only in some remote locations and in most locations 3G or below is unavailable, unless using the train. 2G and below is now completely unavailable. ====Messaging==== WhatsApp is the main messaging gateway. SMS is only used for things like one-time passwords (OTPs) for Wi-Fi or contract information. ===By internet=== * '''Wi-Fi hotspots''' in India are, for the most part, limited. All airports and railway stations do offer free high speed Wi-Fi. Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai are the only cities with decent Wi-Fi coverage. Many free Wi-Fi services will require entering a One time password (OTP) sent to an Indian cell phone number and are usually operated by Airtel or Jio. * '''Internet cafes''' are common and they charge as little as ₹10-20/hr. Many will ask for your passport or ID. Beware of using your credit cards online as there have been many cases of credit cards thefts using ''keyloggers''. * '''Public libraries''' have PCs with broadband for public use. Most libraries require a membership but government-operated libraries only require a quick registration with the verification of your ID. [[Internet access|Internet]] censorship in India is considered “selective”. There are occasional random, inexplicable and arbitrary attempts by the government to block some sites it considers as carrying hateful propaganda, but enforcement is spotty and the decisions are often forgotten after a few month of being made. The site which are blocked by the courts remain strictly blocked and is different from the vague blocks by the government. For travellers, the most important sites that are blocked are popular Chinese services like TikTok and WeChat, as well as games such as PUBG, for which Indian versions are available (like BGMI). Also, major Pakistani websites, accounts and channels have been blocked on social media, and on the internet. However, you may use a VPN to access other servers. ===By mail=== [[File:India - Varanasi post office - 1584.jpg|thumb|A post office in Varanasi]] Addressing [[mail]] with a properly-formatted address will expedite its journey with government owned [https://www.indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/IndiaPosthome.aspx India Post]. The PIN code (postal index number) is important, and you can look up PIN codes and correct address formats on India Post's website. A 6-digit PIN code identifies the post office of a district; a 4-digit Post box number (recommended but optional) may narrow this to one business or an individual building. Addresses should be written in three to four lines with the name of recipient, house number and suite or apartment or building number, street name, city or town, state name, PIN code, e.g.: <blockquote>United Nations House<br/>55/73 Lodhi Estate<br/>New Delhi, Delhi-110003</blockquote> First class mail travels by air within India. International first class mail has a maximum limit of 20 kg. Prices vary from country to country. A full list related to the pricing can be found in [https://www.indiapost.gov.in/MBE/pages/content/international-air-parcels.aspx India Post's website]. All locations with a PIN code are considered domestic. Military mail is operated by the Army Postal Service through its APOs and FPOs. The rate for domestic post is ₹15/50 g. Private international courier companies like FedEx, DHL and UPS also operate though all major cities. ==Cope== For immediate emergency assistance, you can call '''112'''.<br> The Ministry of Tourism has a 24-hour helpline for tourists in need. You can call the helpline number at '''1800-11-1363''' or just '''1363'''. ===Consular assistance=== All major cities have [[Diplomatic missions|international consular assistance]] which include high commissions, embassies and consulates. More information can be found in respective city articles. Here are links to consular assistance in some cities: * [[Delhi#Embassies & High Commissions|Delhi]] * [[Mumbai#Foreign missions|Mumbai]] * [[Kolkata#Consulates|Kolkata]] * [[Chennai#Consulates|Chennai]] === Television === ''See also: [[Indian cinema tourism]]'' Watch Indian [[Fiction tourism|films]] as the Indian media industry is booming, with '''Bollywood''' (based in Mumbai- for Hindi film networks) churning out popular films and series featuring famous actors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amir Khan, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bhachan, Hritik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, etc. Other languages churning out films and series are '''Pollywood''' (Punjabi), '''Tollywood''' (Telugu) famous for hits such as Baahubali, RRR and Animal, '''Mollywood''' (Malayalam), '''Sandalwood''' (Karnataka). India has a variety of local Indian news channels in English such as [https://www.doordarshan.gov.in/ Doordarshan] India’s state broadcasting network owned by the Indian government; [https://www.indiatoday.in/ India Today]; NDTV [https://www.ndtv.com/ 24x7]; [http://www.news18.com/ CNN-News18]; [http://www.republicworld.com/ Republic TV]; [http://www.timesnownews.com/ Times Now]; [https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now Mirror Now]; [https://www.newsx.com/ NewsX]; [http://wionews.com/ WION]. There are also foreign news channels available such as BBC (World Service), CNN (International South Asia), France 24; Russia Today; ABC Australia; Bloomberg Television; CNA; Al Jazeera English; Deutsche Welle; NHK (World) and Push TV. There are also many Hindi news channels, as well as regional news channels in their respective local languages. Sports can be viewed live on DD [https://prasarbharati.gov.in/dd-sports-homepage/ Sport], [https://eurosport.com Eurosport], [https://www.sonysportsnetwork.com/ Sony Sports Network]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} Sports18 and Star [https://hotstar.com Sports]. There are also many Hindi, English and Regional movies and series channels, children’s and music channels (English, Hindi and regional), lifestyle and teleshopping available on TV networks using cable or satellite These channels can be found on TV using networks such as TataPlay, Airtel and Jio. Disney+ Hotstar and Jio Cinema (owned by JioHotstar), ZEE5, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix India are available for streaming in India. ===Newspapers=== Local Indian English newspapers can be handy and reliable sources for day-to-day updates about the country. India has a number of English newspapers and magazines. You'll find it popular across the country with most households having a newspaper subscription. Some of the major '''newspapers''' are ''[https://www.business-standard.com/ Business Standard]'', ''[https://www.dnaindia.com/ Daily News and Analysis]'', ''[https://www.deccanherald.com/ Deccan Herald]'', ''[https://www.thehindu.com/ The Hindu]'', ''[https://www.thestatesman.com/ The Statesman]'', ''[https://www.telegraphindia.com/ The Telegraph]'', ''[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ The Times of India]'', ''[https://www.tribuneindia.com/ The Tribune]'' and many more. Some popular '''magazines''' are ''[https://www.filmfare.com/ Filmfare]'', ''[https://www.downtoearth.org.in/ Down to Earth]'', ''[https://www.indiatoday.in/ India Today]'', ''[https://www.forbesindia.com/interstitial Forbes India]'' and ''[https://www.vogue.in/ Vogue]''. There are also '''local regional''' newspapers which are either often in English or the local regional language. This depends on which states you go to. ===Radio=== Radio has been a major part in the lives of Indians. During travel, you might switch on the radio for entertainment, and many radio stations are available across India. In rural areas, or impoverished areas, people might switch on the radio for news broadcasts and entertainment. Previously, radio was state-owned with All India Radio (AIR), being the only broadcaster offering mutliple channels, however now private and regional radios have now been made available. * '''AIR FM Rainbow''' offers hourly news broadcasts at '''102.6MHZ'''. * '''AIR FM Gold''' offers hourly news broadcasts at '''100.1MHZ''' * '''Radio One''' offers modern and retro song broadcasts at '''94.3MHZ'''. * '''Radio City''' is known for its blend of Hindi and regional music, India's first private broadcaster at '''91.1MHZ''' * '''Red FM''' offers public talks and entertainment at '''93.5MHZ''' {{geo|22.8|83|zoom=5}} {{isPartOf|South Asia}}There are also many regional radios on their respective frequencies. {{usablecountry}} {{related|Forts_and_Palaces_of_India}} {{related|Indian_National_Parks_and_Wildlife_Sanctuaries}} {{related|Indian_Zoos_and_Botanical_Gardens}} {{related|Natural Wonders of India}} {{related|Sacred_sites_of_the_Indian_sub-continent}} {{related|UNESCO_World_Heritage_List_(India)}} q2cj0a2ab5lw3p7vbxwuctjajvx30g8 0 15956 5298462 5297754 2026-06-25T16:26:21Z BKHealy 2426419 5298462 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Ivano-Frankivsk Wikivoyage Banner.jpg}} '''[http://www.mvk.if.ua/ Ivano-Frankivsk]''' ([[Ukrainian phrasebook|Ukrainian]]: Івано-Франківськ, also transliterated '''Ivano-Frankovsk''' from [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]: Ивано-Франковск) (formerly in Polish: ''Stanisławów'', German: ''Stanislau'') is a city in the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] part of East Galicia. ==Understand== It was built in the mid-17th century as a private fortress of the [[wikipedia:Potocki_family|Potocki family]]. With the partition of Poland in 1772, Ivano-Frankivsk was passed to the [[wikipedia:Habsburg_monarchy|Habsburg Empire]], after which it became the property of the State authorities of the [[Austrian Empire]]. It was during that time that the fortress was transformed into one of the most prominent cities at the foothills of the [[Carpathian Mountains]]. After [[World War I]], for a short stint it served as temporary capital of the [[wikipedia:West_Ukrainian_People's_Republic|West Ukrainian People's Republic]], after the fall of which Stanisławów became part of the Second Polish Republic. At the dawn of [[World War II in Europe|World War II]], the city was annexed by the [[Soviet Union]], only to be occupied by Nazi Germany two years later. With the liberation of Ukraine in 1944, a Soviet regime was established in the city for the next 45 years. A city visitor may find elements of various cultures intertwined within Ivano-Frankivsk, the Polish Rathaus, the Austrian city's business center, the Soviet panel multi-storied residential apartment buildings at the city's urban-rural fringe, and others. The city is in the Carpathian region northeast of the mountain range, sitting approximately 120 m above mean sea level. ===Climate=== The climate is moderate continental with warm summers (in Jul the record high 37.1°C), and fairly cold winters (in Dec the record low is 35.7°C). There are around 60 snowy days per year. ==Get in== ===By plane=== Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine's airspace is closed to civil aviation.<!-- 1 Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport (IFO IATA, Міжнародний аеропорт Івано-Франківськ), Str. Yevgenia Konovaltsya (ул. Евгения Коновальца), 264А (4.4 km south from the town center - Bus 21, 24, 52, 55, 64, 83, 84 to stop 'Аеропорт '), ☏ +380 342 598037, +380 342 598046. It has flights from Kyiv, Moscow (Domodedovo) and Lviv, it is however relatively small. The bigger airport nearby is in LRussia-Ukraine --> ===By train=== * {{listing| image=Ivano-FRANKIVSK (226).jpg|type=go |name=Railway station |alt=Залізничний вокзал |url= |email=| address=Pryvokzal'na sq. (Привокзальна пл). 3| lat=48.9253 |long=24.7239|directions=NE |phone=+380 342 592223, +380 342 224774|fax= |hours= |price=|lastedit=2023-10-07| content= From Ivano-Frankivsk you can get to the [[Kyiv]], [[Bucharest]], [[Varna]] and [[Sofia]] by direct trains. Trains from [[Lviv]] (where you can connect to Poland) or [[Chernivtsi]] (where you can connect to [[Romania]]). }} ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Bus station No.1 | alt=Central Station, Автостанція 1, Автовокзал | url=http://busua.ukr-biz.info/index.php?in=view&id=114 | email= | address=Street Zaliznychna (Вулиця Залізнична), 30 | lat=48.9233 | long=24.7243 | directions=At the Railway station | phone=+380 342 750830 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 07:30-12:00, 13:00-19:30 | price= |lastedit=2023-09-04| content=[http://www.ivfrankivsk.if.ua/menu.php?id=103 Timetable] {{dead link|December 2020}}, buses to [[Chernivtsi]] (24&nbsp;грн, 4 hr, at least 3 daily). [http://ticket.bus.com.ua/ Tickets] }} * {{go | name=Bus station No.2 | alt=Автостанція 2 | url= | email=| address=Street Horbachevskoho (Вулиця Горбачевського), 2 |lat=48.9440 |long=24.6902|directions=north |phone=+380 342 583704 |fax=| hours=Daily 04:40-23:40 | price=| content= }} * {{go | name=Bus station No.3 | alt=Автостанція 3| url= |email=|address=Street Mazepy Het'mana, 166 | lat=48.90827 | long=24.68441| directions=SW| phone=+380 342 753547| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{go | name=Bus station No.4| alt=Автостанція 4 | url= | email=| address=Street Junosty, 1 | lat=48.91077 | long=24.76588| directions=SE| phone=+380 342 554399 | fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe|48.9167|24.7167|zoom=12}} The city centre is manageable by foot but there is an extensive network of public transport including buses, trolleybuses, and taxis. All street names reflecting the city's Soviet or Russian past have been returned to their former names, or given new names of national historic importance, or other non-controversial names. For example, Gagarin Street (connecting the city with its suburbs) became Vovchynets Street, Suvorov Street is now Harbar Street, and Soviet Street is Nezalezhnist (Independence) Street. Around 100 other streets were renamed. The seven main city squares Viche Maidan, Market Square, Sheptytsky Square Pryvokzalna Square, Mickiewicz Square (Mickiewicz Park), Liberation Square, European Square. === By public transport === Ivano-Frankivsk has a convenient public transport system: * 17 [[marshrutka]] routes * 20 bus routes * 8 trolleybus routes Single ride tickets in marshrutkas, buses and trolleybuses cost 10 грн. Schedules are available on [https://if.rozklad.in.ua rozklad.in.ua] (in Ukrainian). You can also check information about public transport on [https://city.dozor.tech/ua/iv-frankivsk/city DozoR] (in Ukrainian), [https://www.eway.in.ua/en/cities/frankivsk EasyWay] and Google Maps. === By taxi === Taxi is the easiest way of getting around the city. Some popular taxi companies include: * {{Listing|name=Uber|alt=Убер|url=https://www.uber.com|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Bolt|alt=Болт|url=https://bolt.eu|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Uklon|alt=Уклон|url=https://uklon.com.ua/en/|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=OnTaxi|alt=ОнТаксі|url=https://ontaxi.com.ua/en|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Opti|alt=Опті|url=https://opti.global/en/|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Shark|alt=Шарк|url=https://shark-taxi.ua/en|lastedit=2023-10-28}} === By scooter === Kick scooter is a funny way to shorten your time while getting around the city. * {{Listing|name=Bolt|alt=Болт|url=https://bolt.eu|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=ECOS|alt=ЕКОС|url=https://ecoscooter.org|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=E-wings|url=https://e-wings.com.ua|lastedit=2023-09-19}} === By car === Those wishing to venture outside of the city by car may want to use a more robust vehicle such as a 4 by 4 as roads in the local area are extremely degraded and incomparable to western roads. ==See== [[File:Ivano-FRANKIVSK (34).jpg|thumb|The Market Square]] [[File:IF court.jpg|thumb|Ivano-Frankivsk Court (Будинок правосуддя), 11 Hriunvaldska Street]] * {{see |image=Townhall ivano-frankivsk.jpg | name=Townhall |alt=Ratusa |url=http://www.mrada.if.ua/ | email=| address=Hrushevskovo (вул. Грушевського), 21 | lat=48.92266 | long=24.71033| directions=Center | phone=+380 342 556515 | hours= | price=| content=Built in Art Deco style. }} * {{see | name=City Brewery | alt= | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | hours= | price=| content= }} * {{see | name=Jesuit College building | alt=Будівля колегії єзуїтів | url= | email= | address= Sheptytskoho sq., 21 | lat=48.9230 | long=24.7089| directions=Center West | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{see | name=Stanislav fortress compound | alt=Фортечна стіна | url= | email= | address= Fortechnyi lane | lat=48.9225 | long=24.7066| directions=Center West| phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Made in the form of regular hexagon (with a width of 400 m side) with additional bastions , redoubts and fort. }} * {{see | name=White Building| alt=Bily Budynok | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions= in the middle of the city and next to the Market place| phone= | fax=| hours= | price=| content=It is the main administration building of Ivano-Frankivsk and the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. In front of the building there are two full-size sculptural monuments of Franko and Shevchenko. }} * {{see | name=Battle of Grunwald monument| alt= | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions=| hours= | price=| content= – commemorating the defeat of the Teutonic Order in 1410 }} * {{see| image=IF Mickiewicz monument.jpg | name=Monument to Adam Mickiewicz | alt=пам'ятник Адамові Міцкевичу | url= | email= | address=Square Mickiewicz | lat=48.9212 | long=24.7115| directions=| phone=| hours= | price=| content=Built in 1930, it was reconstructed in 1989. It is on Adam Mickewicz Square next to a regional concert hall. It is the oldest surviving monument in the city and was built on 20 November 1898. }} * {{see | name=Monument to Stepan Bandera | alt=Пам'ятник С. Бандері | url= | email= | address=European Square (Європейська пл.)| lat=48.90552 | long=24.71354| directions=south ~1 km| hours= | price=| content= Mase in 2009 }} * {{see| image= | name=Palace complex of Pototskyis | alt=Палацовий комплекс Потоцьких | url= | email=| address=Shpytalna str.(Шпитальна вул.,),5 | lat=48.9238 | long=24.7134| directions=Center| phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built 1672 – 1682. }} ===Holy Places=== * {{see | name=Church of the Holy Resurrection | alt=Катедральний собор св. Воскресіння (Катедра) | url= | email= | address=Maidan Sheptitskovo, (майд. Шептицького,) 6 or 22? | lat=48.92236 | long=24.70852 | directions=Centre | phone=+380 342 552931 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Greek Catholic Cathedral. Former Jesuit church. Primitively his foundation was stopped up in 1720 year, and building of church was completed in 1729 year. During 1753 - 1763 under the direction of engineer-fortification S. Pototskyi a new temple was erected in style of baroque. The temple restored: in 1885 and in 1955 years. }} * {{see| image= | name=Armenian Church | alt=Вірме́нська церква або Вірменський костел Непорочного Зачаття Найсвятішої Діви Марії | url= | email= | address=Vul. Vyrmenska (вул. Вірменська), 7 | lat=48.92250 | long=24.71192 | directions=One block East from Town Hall | phone=+380 342 230447 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Used by one of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Baroque. Built in 1743-63. }} * {{see| image= | name=St. Demetrius church |alt=Церква Св. Дмитрія|url= |email= | address=Nechuia -Levytskoho str., (вул. Нечуя-Левицького) 6 |lat=48.9432 | long=24.6948 | directions=NW 2 km |phone= |hours= |price= |content=A wooden church from 1902. Church carpathians type. It belongs to greco-catholic society.}} * {{see | name=Polish Church | alt=Ukrainian: Костел Христа Царя, Polish: Kościół Rzymsko-Katolicki | url= | email= | address=Vulytsya Vovchynetska (Вовчинецька вул), 92 | lat=48.9304 | long=24.7266 | directions=NE cca. 700 m from Ivano-Frankivsk Railway Station | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Roman Catholic Church of Christ the Lord. Built in 1927-1938. }} * {{see | name=Protection of the Virgin church | alt=Церква Покрови Матері Божої | url= | email= | address=Kniahynyn str., (вул Княгинин) 29, | lat=48.93487 | long=24.70868 | directions=N 1km| phone= | hours= | price=| content=Consecrated in 1905. One of the best Ukrainian churches iconostases.}} * {{see | name=St. Joseph the Betrothed church | alt=Церква Св. Йосифа Обручника | url= | email= | address=Vovchynetska Str.,(вул. Вовчинецька,) 52-4 | lat=48.92875 | long=24.72335 | directions=NE 0.6km| phone= | hours= | price= |content=1912.}} * {{see | name=Christ the King Church | alt=Костел Христа Царя, Polish: Cerkiew Chrystusa Króla | url= | email= | address=Vul. Nezalezhnosty (вул. Незалежності, 181) | lat=48.916689 | long= 24.733122 |directions=NE 1 km| phone=|hours= |price= |content=}} * {{see | name=Women's Seminary | alt=Жіноча вчительська семінарія сестер-василіянок | url= | email= | address=Vasyliianok str.,(вул. Василіянок) 17 | lat=48.926239 | long=24.715584 | directions=Centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{see| image=Ivano-Frankivsk Gryunvalds'ka 1-1.jpg | name=Jesuits church | alt=Костел єзуїтів | url= | email=| address=Hriunvaldska str., 3 | lat=48.92518 | long=24.71704 | directions=Center| phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in 1729. }} * {{see| image=Ukraine-Ivano-Frankivsk-Church of Joseph.jpg | name=St. Joseph church | alt=Костел Йосифа | url= | email=| address= Mochulskoho Str., 1 | lat=48.9169 | long=24.7335| directions=E 1 km | phone=| fax= | hours= | price= | content=Neo-Gothic style. }} * {{see | name=Synagogue | alt=Синагога, Темпль | url= | email=| address= Strachenykh str., 7 | lat=48.92204 | long=24.71165| directions=| phone= | hours= | price=Opened in 1899 | content= }} ===Museums=== * {{see| image=Ukraine-Ivano-Frankivsk-Church of Virgin Mary-3.jpg | name=Regional Art Museum | alt=Івано-Франківський обласний художній музей | url=http://en.museum.if.ua/museums/r2/3.html | email= museum_if@inbox.ua| address=Sheptyts'koho sq. (майдан Шептицького), 8 |lat=48.923611|long=24.708889|directions=|phone=|fax=| hours=Tu-Su 10:00-17:00| price=|content=Former Blessed Virgin church or Collegiate Church of Virgin Mary. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Life and Ethnography of the Western Region|alt=Музей побуту та етнографії Західного регіону| url= | email=| address=Troleibusna str., 7|lat=48.9453 |long=24.6998| directions=N 2km| phone=+380 342 583861| fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00. Lunch 12:00-13:00| price=| content=There are ethnography, culture and education exhibitions. }} * {{see |name=The Museum of Liberation Movement in Prykarpattia|alt=Музей визвольних змагань Прикарпатського краю| url= |email=|address=Henerala Tarnavskoho str., 22| lat=48.92836 |long=24.71842|directions=Center|phone=+380 342 48014|hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 Lunch: 12:00-13:00| price=| content=}} * {{see | name=Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Museum|alt=Івано-Франківський краєзнавчий музей | url=http://www.ifkm.if.ua/index.html|email=ifkm@i.ua|address=Haytska (вул. Галицька,) 4а|lat=48.922778|long=24.710278|directions=Center |phone=+380 342 750026| fax= | hours=Tu-Su 10.00-17.30|price=|content=Found in 1940. Former Town hall (Ratusha) - Art Deco building from 1930s standing in the middle of Market Square (''Ploshcha Rynok'').}} * {{see | name=Museum of the Insurgent Army |alt= |url= |email=| address=European Square. | lat=48.90555|long=24.71376| directions=south 1 km |phone= |fax=| hours= |price=| content= }} * {{see | name=Ivano-Frankivsk Historical and Memorial Museum Oleksy Dovbusha| alt=Івано-Франківський історико-меморіальний музей Олекси Довбуша| url= | email=| address=Hetman Mazepa, 1 (вул. Гетьмана Мазепи)| lat=48.92078 | long=24.70628 | directions=Center | phone= | fax= | hours= | price=|content=}} * {{see | name=Literary Museum | alt=Літературний музей Прикарпаття | url= | email= | address=Lepkoho Bohdana str., 27 (вул. Б. Лепкого) | lat=48.92068 | long=24.71936 | directions=Center | phone=+380 432 25047 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:00-17:30, Lunch: 13 to 14 hours | price= | content=It was opened on May 16, 1986. The display of museum tells about development of literary process of our land from the oldest times to the present. Prykarpattia Literary Museum has by 40,000 exhibits. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Prykarpattyaoblenergo| alt=Музей ВАТ «Прикарпаттяобленерго»| url= | email=|address=Industrial, 34 (вул. Індустріальна)| lat=48.9112 | long=24.7250| directions=SE 1.5km| phone=| hours= | price=| content=Electricity museum. }} * {{see | name=Geological Museum | alt=Геологічний музей ІФНТУНГ| url= |email=| address=Carpathska, 15 (Карпатська)|lat=48.9294 |long=24.6956|directions=inside the National Technical University building|phone=| fax=|hours=|price=|content= }} * {{see | name=Ivano-Frankivsk historical and memorial museum of Oleksa Dovbush | alt=Івано-Франківський історико-меморіальний музей Олекси Довбуша | url= | email=| address=Mazepy Het'mana str., 5 | lat=48.9206 | long=24.7055| directions=| phone=+380 342 25729| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Further afield=== * {{see | image=Домініканський Монастир у Богородчанах.jpg | name=Bogorodchany town |alt=Богородчани |url= | address=Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast | lat=48.808056| long=24.538056 |directions=| content=Dominicans monastery (Домініканський монастир), 1742-62. Good for a day (or a half day) tour. }} * {{see | image= |name=Chernelytsya Castle and Dominicans church|alt=Чернелицький замок и Домініканський костел | url=|address=Chernelytsya, Ivano-Frankivsk Region| lat=48.81111| long=25.43 | directions=east 71 km | phone=| hours= | price=| content=A pretty village with the Castle remains, 1670s; Dominicans church ruins, 1661. [http://ua.vlasenko.net/chernelytsia/index.html Pics] }} * {{see | image=Чесники. Миколаївська церква.jpg | name=St.Michael (Ascension) church in Chesnyky village | alt=c.Чесники | url= | email=| address=Rogatyn raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Region | lat=49.3869 | long=24.7282| directions=70 km north from Ivano-Frankivsk| content= An architectural monument of national importance. More than 600 years old, rebuilt in 1800s. }} * {{see | image=Halych (12).jpg | name=Halych Castle, 1590s| alt=Ukrainian: Галич Замок, Halych; Russian: Галич, Galich, German: Halytsch, Polish: Halicz| url= | email=| address= Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast| lat=49.117703| long=24.728653 | directions=26 km North from Ivano-Frankivsk | phone=| hours= | price=| content= Also here the Nativity of Christ church (церква Різдва Христова), 1400s, 1906 }} * {{see | image=ChurchOfImmaculateConceptionOfVirginMaryIinHorodenka.jpg |name=Horodenka town |alt=Gorodenka| url=| address= | lat=48.67| long=25.5 | directions=SE 71 km| content=See here the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary church + cells (костел Непорочного Зачаття Діви Марії), 1743-60; and the Armenian church (вірменський костел), 1706. }} * {{see | image= | name=Kalush| alt=Ukrainian: Калуш, Polish: Kałusz | url= | email=| address= | lat=49.044167| long=24.359722 | directions=Located on the river Sivka 36 km north-west of Ivano-Frankivsk | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Presentation of the Christ at the Temple Church (1899), Museum of Ivan Franko family, St. Nicolas church (1888), St. Apostle Andrew church (1792), St. Valentine church, Museum of Kalush district, St. Archistratigus Michael church (1913), Town hall. }} * {{see | image=Kolomyia City Hall.jpg | name=[[Kolomyia]]| alt=Коломия | url=| address=| lat=48.530556| long=25.040278 | directions=toward Chernivtsi| content= A historical city in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast }} * {{see | image=Kosiv (8207641747).jpg | name=Kosiv | alt=Ukrainian: Косів, German: Kossow, Polish: Kosów, Romanian: Cosău. | url=| address= | lat=48.315 | long=25.095278 | directions=93 km South from Ivano-Frankivsk | content= a small Hutsul settlement with a remnants of a small castle }} * {{see | name=Krylos | alt=Old Halych | url= | email= | address= | lat=49.086009 | long=24.691746 | directions=5 km SW from Halych | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Krylos.jpg | content=It was the Old Halych, there is an etno park with a beautiful wooden church. }} * {{see | image=Maniava3.JPG | name=Manyava Skete|alt=Манявський монастир|url=http://manyava.if.ua/ {{dead link|December 2020}} |email= | address=16, Vul. Skytova, (вул. Скитова), Maniava village |lat=48.656194 | long=24.392778 | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A monastery. It was founded in 1611 by Iov Knyagynytsky. Today it’s a living man’s Orthodox Monastery of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In 1621 Maniava Cell was surrounded by a stone wall with three defensive towers, where the inhabitants of surrounding villages could take a refuge during the attacks of the Turks and Crimean Tatars. It was one of the biggest Christian centers in Galicia. It had a large library and was famous for the main iconostasis. - Maniava Cell is also known because of the Blessed Stone. According to believers, it’s a place of prayer and purification. This is a first shelter, a cell for the Carpathian apostles. The Blessed Stone is almost kilometer distance from the bridge at the Mount Manyavka near the monastery lake. The Stone is located in a huge cave or niche. This is a typical ancient monk’s dwelling. - For day tour }} * {{see | image=Пнівський замок.jpg | name=Pniv town |alt=Пнівський замок |url=| address=| lat=48.6227| long=24.555 |directions=SW 44 km |content=Famous for Kuropatvys castle (Замок Куропатвів), 1580. }} * {{see | image=Rohatyn panoramic.jpg | name=Rohatyn town| alt=Rogatyn, Ukrainian: Рогатин, Polish: Rohatyn |url= |address= |lat=49.416667 |long=24.616667 |directions=62 km North | content= And its sights: the St.Nicolas church (Миколаївський костел), 1538-1555, 1650s; the Holy Spirit church (Святодухівська церква), 1598. }} * {{see | image=Церква Святого Пантелеймона 17.jpg | name=Shevchenkove village|alt=Шевченкове | url= |address=Shevchenkove Шевченкове, Галицький район |lat=49.132222 | long=24.693056 |directions=28 km North | content= Visit the more than 800 years old, St.Pantaleon church (церква св.Пантелеймона), 1194, 1598-1611. If you take public transport (i.e. bus or marshrutka) look for the right place, because two other Shevchenkove are in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.}} * {{see | image=Yaremche.JPG | name=[[Yaremche]] village and Waterfall "Probiy"|alt=Ukrainian: Яремчe і водоспад "Пробій", Polish: Jaremcze or Jaremcza |url= |address=Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk Region|lat=48.460278 | long=24.558611 |directions=65 km south | content= Many outdoor option. Good base for a hike to Peak Hoverla the highest place in Ukraine. Also there is the Vorokhta ski resort. }} ==Do== ===Theaters=== * {{do | image= |name=Academic Regional Music-Drama Theater of IIvana Franka |alt=Івано-Франківський академічний обласний музично-драматичний театр імені Івана Франка |url= |email= |address=Vul. Nezhalezhnosty (вул. Незалежності, 27-а) |lat=48.9177 |long=24.7188| directions=Center |phone= |fax= |hours= |price=|content= }} * {{do | image= | name=Regional Concert Philharmony| alt=Обласна Філармонія| url= |email=| address= Kurbasa Lesia str., 3| lat=48.92149|long=24.71225| directions=Center|phone=+380 342 223146, +380 342 750300 | hours= | price=|content= }} * {{do | image=Театр.jpg | name=Academic Regional Puppet Theater of Pidhiryanka | alt=Академічний обласний театр ляльок ім.М.Підгіранки |url= | email= | address=Nezalezhnosti str., 10А | lat=48.9195 | long=24.7110| directions=Center| phone=+380 342 231553 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{do| name=Central folk house |alt=Центральний народний дім |url= |email= | address=Shevchenka str., 1 | lat=48.91998 | long=24.70656| directions=| phone=+380 342 224709| fax= | hours= | price= | content=Concerts held here. }} ===Cinemas=== [[File:Lumiere cinema in Ivano-Frankivsk.jpg|thumb|Lumiere cinema]] * {{do | image=Lumiere cinema in Ivano-Frankivsk.jpg | name=Lumier Cinema| alt=Former Franko Cinema| url=http://www.kinolumiere.com/new/ | email= | address=Ulitsa Mikhaila Grushevskogo (ул. Михаила Грушевского), 3 | lat=48.92057 | long=24.71038| directions=| phone=+380 342 505500| hours= | price= | content= }} * {{do| name=Cosmos Cinema| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ===Parks=== * {{do | name=City lake | alt=| address= | lat=48.9144 | long=24.6902| directions=Next to Nauka Stadium| phone=| hours=| content=It was the former zoo area of Pototskyi. Now, urban lake - one of the main recreational areas of the City. Here is the romantic Island of Love. }} * {{do | name=Pioneer park | alt=Піонерський парк, Park of Warriors-Internationalists, Park Voinov-Osvoboditeley| url= |email=| address=Street Vasiliyanok (вулиця Василіянок)| lat=48.928921| long=24.712531 | directions=N | hours= | price=| content= }} * {{do | name=Shevchenko Park | alt=Парк им. Тapacy Шевченка | url=http://park-if.org.ua/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email=| address=Vul. Shevchenko, | lat=48.9101 | long=24.6947| directions=| phone= | hours= | price=| content=A big park that consists of an amusement park, a big lake with swans, couple of full-size football fields, and many others interesting places worth of seeing. Founded in 1895. }} * {{do | name=Pryvokzalny park |alt=Привокзальний сквер |url= |address=Pryvokzal'na sq. (Привокзальна пл),|lat=48.9243|long=24.7228|directions=E| phone=| hours=|content= }} * {{do | name=Memorial Park| alt=Меморіальний сквер| url= | email=| address=Street Andriya Melnyka (вул. Андрія Мельника)| lat=48.9166 |long=24.7168 |directions= near the regional Ivan Franko Academic Music-Drama Theater |phone=| hours= |price=|content= }} * {{do | name=Rukh Stadium| alt=Центральний міський стадіон "Рух" | url= | email=| address=Chornovola str., 128| lat=48.9080 | long=24.6961| directions=next to Yunist Stadium (Youth) | phone=+380 3422 750447| hours= | price=| content=This is a sport complex consisting of the major arena and two auxiliary fields. }} * {{do | name=Yunist Stadium | alt=Youth Stadium, Стадіон Юність | url= | email=| address=Street Shukhevychiyv (Шухевичів вул.) | lat=48.9164 | long=24.7218| directions=| phone=| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{do | name=Hirka Stadium | alt=Стадіон Гірка | url= | email=| address=Street Duchymynskoe Olgy ( Дучимінської Ольги вул.)| lat=48.9288 | long=24.7284 | directions=| phone=+380 3422 506794| hours= | price=| content=property of the Ivano-Frankivsk Locomotive Maintenance Plant. }} * {{do | name=Nauka Stadium| alt=Science Stadium, Стадіон "Наука" | url= | email=| address=Mazepy Het'mana str., 144 | lat=48.9126 | long=24.6895| directions=SE shore of CCity Lake| phone=+380 3422 535669| hours=| price=| content= Belongs to Prykarpattia National University of Stefanyk. }} * {{do | name=Stadium of Oil and Gaz University | alt=Стадіон технічного університету нафти і газу | url= | email=| address=Karpats'ka str., 15 | lat=48.9315 | long=24.6949| directions=| phone=+380 342 248094| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{do | name=Sport-Recreational Center Tsunami| alt=Спортивно-розважальний комплекс Цунамі |url=http://cunami.com.ua/ |email=cunami.if@gmail.com|address=Dovzhenka O. str., 29 | lat=48.9001 | long=24.6839| directions=SW | phone=+380 342 714060, +380 342 714070| hours= | price=| content=, contains an ice arena for the city hockey events, an aquapark, hotel (phone +380 342 714069) and restaurant (phone +380 342 714069). }} ==Buy== [[File:Frankivsk1.JPG|thumb|A part of Independence Street called ''stometrivka'']] * {{buy | name=100m stretch (''stometrivka'') | alt=Пішохідна частина вулиці Незалежності ("Стометрівка") | url= | address=Nezalezhnosti str. | lat=48.91981 | long=24.71037| directions=Center | phone= | content=– unofficial local name for part of Independence (Nezalezhnosti) Street that consists of series of shops and restaurants and is restricted to pedestrian traffic only. }} [[File:Ukraine-Ivano-Frankivsk-1.jpg|thumb|Market]] * '''Bazaar''' – a huge area close to the Main Square that covers the old market and the new market with couple of supermarket stores locally known as the universal stores where you can buy everything. * {{buy | name=Bastion | url=http://bastion-if.com.ua/ {{dead link|October 2017|December 2020}} | email= | address=Fortechna 1 | lat= | long=| directions= | phone=| fax= | hours= | price=| content=Several art galleries and shops in a renovated part of old fortress walls. }} * {{buy | name=Central Market| alt=Центральний ринок | url= | email=| address=Dnistrovs'ka str., 5| lat=48.92593 | long=24.71194| directions=| phone=+380 342 227907 | hours= | price=| content= }} ===Malls, shopping centres=== [[File:Ivano-FRANKIVSK (31).jpg|thumb|Icon seller in Ivano-Frankivsk]] * {{buy | name=Arsen Shopping Centre| alt=ТЦ «Арсен» | url=http://www.evrotek.com/ru/arsen/ | email=| address=street Mykolaichuk (вул. Миколайчука), 2 | lat=48.9325 | long=24.7458| directions=east | phone=+380 342 722465 | fax=| hours= | price=| content=- There is an electronics supermarket (Eldorado). }} * {{buy | name=Bison Shopping Center| alt=ТЦ «Бізон» | url= | email=| address=Street Maksimovic (вул. Максимовича), 15|lat=48.9424 |long=24.7295|directions=NE| phone=+380 342 720753, +380 342 500576, +380 342 712165 | fax=| hours=|lastedit=2023-09-11| content= Supermarket [https://www.foxmart.ua «FoxMart»] }} * {{buy | name=Veles Shopping Centre '555'| alt=ТЦ «Велес» | url=http://www.veles.in.ua/ | email=| address=Vul Vovchynetska (вул. Вовчинецька) 225 | lat=48.9399 | long=24.7379| directions=NE | phone=+380 342 779255 | fax=| hours= | price=| content=There is a supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Velmart Shopping Centre | alt='Velike Kishenya' shopping center, ТЦ «ВелМарт», ТЦ "Велика Кишеня" | url=http://kishenya.ua/ru/kiev/--velmart/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Street Yevhena Konovaltsya (вул. Коновальця), 221 | lat=48.9025 | long=24.7139 | directions=S 1.5 km | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Include: supermarket "City.com" (супермаркет електроніки "City.com") }} * {{buy | name=Panorama Plaza shopping center|alt=ТРЦ "Panorama Plaza" |url= |email=|address=Boulevard Pivnichnyy (Північний бульвар), 2-а|lat= | long= |directions=|phone=+380 342 711204 |hours= |price=|content=Here is the food supermarket "Vopak" (супермаркет "Вопак"), tel.:+380 342 710389}} * {{buy | name=Silpo Supermarket| alt=Сільпо | url=http://silpo.ua/ua/ | email=| address=Vul. Hetmana Mazepy (вул. Г. Мазепи), 168 | lat=48.90976 | long=24.68825| directions=SW - next to Bus station No.3| phone= | fax=| hours= | price=| content= Electronic goods here at Supermarket "ABC Technika" (супермаркет електроніки "АБВ Техніка"). More units:: Blvd. Northern University. Pushkin 2a str. Dniester, 3 (бул. Північний ім. Пушкіна, 2а, вул. Дністровська, 3) }} * {{buy | name=Comfy Shopping Center | alt=ТЦ «Comfy»|url=|email=|address=Vul. Getman Mazepi (вул. Гетьмана Мазепи), 168-V| lat=48.90714 | long=24.68211|directions=next the Bus station No.3|phone= |fax=|hours= |price=|content= }} ===Hypermarkets=== * {{buy |name=Epicenter Shopping Center|alt=ТЦ «Епіцентр»|url=http://www.epicentrk.com.ua/ | email=|address=Street Ivasyuka (вул. Івасюка), 17|lat= |long=|directions=|phone= | fax=|hours= |content= - Electronic supermarket "Tekhnoyarmarok" }} * {{buy | name=METRO Cash & Cary Shopping Center| alt=ТЦ «METRO Cash & Cary»| url=http://www.metro.ua/public/ua | email=| address=Vul. Vovchinecka (вул. Вовчинецька), 225 | lat=48.9450 | long=24.7413| directions=NE 3km| phone=+380 800 5014010 | fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ==Eat== Food in Ivano-Frankivsk, like the rest of the Ukraine is fairly good and will sit well in the stomach of most western travelers. If visiting a supermarket, price on items will vary greatly. Western labeled products will be labeled with prices comparable to western prices. Similar goods with non-western labels will sell much cheaper. Two glasses of beer and a bag of potato chips will cost about 200 грн at local bars. ===Pizzeria=== * {{eat | name=Pizza Chelentano|alt=Піцерія Челентано|url= |email=| address=Halytska (вулиця Галицька), 3,|lat=48.92140 |long=24.70743| directions=| phone=+380 342 750544|fax=| hours=| price=| content= }} * {{eat |name=Tsymes Pizzeria |alt=Кафе-Піцерія Цимес |url= |email=|address=Pryvokzalna sq., 9|lat=48.9261|long=24.7222|directions=|phone=+380 97 2175424, +380 34 2714542 |fax=|hours= |price=| content= }} * {{eat | name=Maki&Tavi |alt=Піцерія Макі&Таві |url= |email=| address=Str. Mazepy Hetmana, 168 |lat=48.9075 | long=24.6829| directions=Near to Bus station No.3 | phone=+380 342 710016| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Cafes=== * {{eat | name=Cafe Edelveis| alt=Кафе Едельвейс|url= |email= |address= Horbachevskoho str., 6 |lat=48.9439|long=24.6917|directions=near Bus station No.2| phone=+380 342 584425| hours= |price=| content= }} * {{eat |name=Cafe Rondo|alt=Кафе Рондо|url= |email=|address=Square Pryvokzalna, 3| lat=48.92545|long=24.72330|directions=at the railway station|phone=+380 342 556590 | fax=| hours= |price=|content= }} * {{eat |name=Cafe Mirazh|alt=Кафе Міраж|url=|email=|address=Str. Yunosti, 3|lat=48.9103| long=24.7657|directions=east - near Bus station No.4| phone=+380 342 554461| fax=| hours=| price=| content= }} * {{eat |name=Cafe Stara brama |alt=Cafe Old Tower, Кафе Стара брама| url= |email=| address=Halyts'ka str., 33 |lat=48.92363 | long=24.70980|directions=next to Hotel Atrium|phone=+380 342 225328 | hours= | price=| content= }} * {{eat | name=Yablunevyi sad | alt=Кафе Яблуневий сад| url= | email=| address=Str. Halytska, 2 | lat=48.92143 | long=24.70926| directions=center - at the Medical University| phone=+380 342 584550| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{eat | name=Lviv Handmade Chocolate Cafe-shop | alt=Кав'ярня-магазин Львівська Майстерня Шоколаду| url=http://www.chocolate.lviv.ua/ |email=| address=Str. Mazepy Hetmana, 6| lat=48.9213|long=24.7063|directions=center| phone=+380 98 608-5709 | fax=| hours=09:00-18:00?? | price=| content= }} * {{eat | name= Cafe Tost| alt=Кафе Тост| url= | email=| address=Str. Mazepy Hetmana, 169 | lat=48.9075 | long=24.6864| directions=opp. the Bus station No.3|phone=+380 342 538267| hours=|price=| content= }} ===Confectioneries=== * {{eat | name=Tsukernia Cafe-Confectionery| alt=Кав'ярня-кондитерська Цукерня |url= |email= |address=Nezalezhnosti str., 12 |lat=48.9195 | long=24.7115|directions=Center|phone=| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Fast food=== * {{eat | name=Chicken HUT | alt=Ресторан Chicken HUT| url= | email=| address=Belvederska str., 21 (21а)| lat=48.9223 | long=24.7048| directions=| phone=+380 3422 49384, +380 67 6728447| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Restaurants=== * {{eat | name=Osokory |alt=Ресторан Осокори |url= |email=| address=Str. Dovzhenka O., 26 | lat=48.90509 |long=24.68277|directions=Bus station No.3 0.3km|phone=+380 342 753393, +380 99 0635870, +380 50 6748009 | fax=|hours= |price=|content= }} * {{eat | name=Sadko | alt=Ресторан Садко| url=http://sadko.happypara.com/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Str. Mazepy Het'mana, 138 | lat=48.9121 | long=24.6914| directions=Near to Nauka Stadium | phone=+380 342 710193, +380 68 4698409| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ==Drink== As with other Ukrainian cities of its size a beer should cost under 40 грн and a large bag of crisps (potato chips) in a normal bar/pub should cost a maximum of 40 грн. If you are paying more than that you know you are being ripped off. * {{drink |name=Panorama Plaza Entertaintment Center |alt=ТРЦ «Panorama Plaza»|url=http://panplaza.com.ua/|email=panoramaplaza@ukr.net| address=Beregova, 2-a (former? Boulevard O.S. Pushkina,вул. Північний бульвар ім. О.С. Пушкіна )|lat=48.92948 |long=24.70742| directions=| phone=+380 342 778531, +380 67 3434169, +380 95 5369845| fax=+380 342 778531| hours= | price=| content= There is a night club, a pub (phone +380 342 773010 / 067 3425550), bowling, karaoke bar (phone +380 68 1442855, +380 342 711204)}} * {{drink | name=Pasage Gartenberg | alt=Культурно-розважальний комплекс| url=http://pasage-gartenberg.com |email=|address=Vichova sq., 3|lat=48.92058 | long=24.70838| directions=| phone=+380 342 725101, +380 95 1759000|hours= | price=| content= }} * {{drink | name=Leprekon Pub| alt=Ірландський паб Лепрекон|url= | email=| address=Vovchynets'ka str., 26 |lat=48.9267 | long=24.7196| directions=Near to Train station | phone=+380 342 542324 |fax=| hours= |price=| content= }} * Kilimanjaro * eL Dorado * {{drink |name='Ten' Beer Club|alt=Пивний клуб «ДЕСЯТКА»|url=http://www.beerclub10.if.ua/| email=| address=Shashkevitcha (ул. Шашкевича), 4|lat=48.92008|long=24.71089| directions=center| phone=+380 342 712121| fax=| hours= |price=| content= }} * {{drink | name=Faraon Bar | alt=Бар Фараон| url= |email=| address= Mazepy Het'mana str., 173-1| lat=48.9071 | long=24.6853| directions=opp. the Bus station No.3| phone=+380 342 778666 | hours= | price=| content= }} ===Discos=== * {{drink | name=Panorama Plaza | alt= | url=http://panclub.com.ua/| email=|address= | lat=48.92948 |long=24.70742| directions=| phone=|fax=| hours= |price=|content= }} [[File:Hotel Nadia.jpg|thumb|250px|Nadia hotel]] ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Fenomen | url= | email=| address=38 Str. Pivdenny Bulvar| lat=48.9200 | long=24.6972 | directions=west 1 km | phone=+380 68 1445566 | fax=| hours= | price=From 400 грн| checkin= | checkout=|lastedit=2023-09-08| content=Clean and cozy hostel. }} * {{sleep | name=Dnister Hotel |alt=Готель «Дністер»|url=|email=| address=Str. Sichovykh Striltsiv(вул. Січових Стрільців), 12| lat=48.91979| long=24.70687 |directions=center|phone= |fax=| hours= | price=| checkin= | checkout=|lastedit=2023-09-08| content=Sovietish. Quite big and dark rooms but nice staff with no English, a lift. Several rooms with bathroom en-suite, others with shared. Water supply unreliable. 31 rooms }} * {{sleep| image=Hotel Auskoprut 1.jpg |name=Auscoprut Hotel|alt=Готель «Аускопрут»|url=| email=|address=Str. Grunvaldska (вулиця Грюнвальдська) 7/9 | lat=48.92532 | long=24.7183| directions=NE 0.5 km| phone=|fax= |price=| checkin=|checkout= |lastedit=2023-09-08|content=Three-star hotel. 24 rooms}} * {{sleep | name=Nadiya Hotel | alt=Готель «Надія» | url=https://www.nadiyahotel.com/en/ | email= | address=Str. Independence/Nezhalozhnosty (вулиця Незалежності,), 40 | lat=48.9177 | long=24.7167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From 1,198 грн | image=Banquet Hall Nadia Hotel.jpg |lastedit=2023-09-04| content=Three-star hotel. 380 beds, 244 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Pid Templem hotel| alt=Під «Темпелем» |url=http://www.tempel.if.ua/indexeng.html|email=|address=Str Strachenykh Nationalistiv (вулиця Страчених Націоналістів), 7а|lat=48.9221 |long=24.7113 |directions=Center|phone=| fax=|price=|checkin=|checkout=|content=Eleven rooms }} * {{sleep | name=Optima Collection Park Hotel Ivano-Frankivsk | alt=Optima Collection Парк Готель Івано-Франківськ | url=https://optimahotels.com.ua/en/hotels/ivano-frankivsk/ | email=reception@parkhotel.com.ua | address=146 Hetmana Mazepy Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+380 342595595, +380 673431582 | tollfree= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=From 1,215 грн | lastedit=2023-09-13 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Atrium |alt=«Атріум»| url=http://www.atrium.if.ua/ {{dead link|December 2020}}|email=| address=St. Galicka (вулиця Галицька), 31| lat=48.9236 | long=24.7096|directions=Center|phone=|fax=|price= |checkin= |checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Druzhba| alt=Friendship, «Дружба»|url=|email=|address=Vul. Gorbachevskogo (вул. Горбачевського)),3|lat=48.9435|long=24.6922|directions=near Bus station No.2|phone= |fax=| price=|checkin= |checkout=|content=164 beds, 72 rooms }} * {{sleep | name=Zyrkha |alt=The Star, «Зірка» |url= | email=| address= St. Sichovykh Striltsiv, (вул. Січових Стрільців), 4 |lat= |long= |directions=|phone= |fax=|price= |checkin= | checkout=| content=123 beds, 39 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Naftovyk | alt=Oilman, «Нафтовик»| url= | email=| address=Street Mlynarska (вул. Млинарська), 38а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=65 beds, 27 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Legenda Hotel | alt=Готель «Легенда» | url=https://legenda.if.ua/uk/legenda/ | email= | address=Street V.Ivasyuka (вул. В.Івасюка), 25 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+380 50 4359018 | tollfree= | fax=+380 342 713333 | checkin= | checkout= | price=From 710 грн |lastedit=2023-09-04| content=42 beds, 21 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Niva Hotel| alt=Готель «Нива» |url=https://hotelniva.com.ua/en/|email=| address=Vul. Urozhainaya (вул. Урожайна),5 |lat=48.9345 |long=24.7227| directions=North from Railway station| phone= | fax=| price=From 500 грн |checkin= | checkout=|lastedit=2023-09-08| content=88 beds, 36 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Stanislavsky Yard|alt=«Станіславський Двір»| url= |email=| address=street Depovska (вул. Деповська),97|lat= | long= |directions= |phone= |fax=| price= | checkin= |checkout=| content=17 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Stanislavyv | alt=«Станіславів» | url=http://www.stanislaviv.org.ua | email= | address=Str. Chornovola (вул. Чорновола), 7| lat= |long= |directions=|phone=|fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=17 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Tourist complex "Carpathian" | alt=Туристичний комплекс «Прикарпаття» | url= | email=| address=Street Mazepy (вул. Мазепи), 140а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=86 beds. }} * {{sleep | name=Complex "Black Castle" | alt=Рекреаційно-ресторанний комплекс «Чорний замок» | url=| email=| address=Kaluchke shosse (Калуське шосе), 7 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone=| fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=34 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Galitskha sadyba| alt=Galician manor, «Галицька садиба» | url= | email=| address=(вул. Галицька), 1б | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=8 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Bukhara| alt=Готельний комплекс «Бухара»| url= | email= | address=Street Ukrainskyh Decabristyv (вул. Українських декабристів), 45 b| lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Formula 1| alt=«Формула 1»| url= | email=|address=Str. Konovaltsya (вул. Коновальця), 433а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=28 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Cheremosh |alt=«Черемош»| url= | email=| address=Str. Konovaltsya (вул. Коновальця), 260-а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=12 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Guesthouse Qeens (Kvyns) | alt=Гостинний двір «Квінс»| url=| email=| address=St. Zarichna (вул. Зарічна), 38 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone=| fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Training Houses | alt=Гуртожиток готельного типу курсів підвищення кваліфікації| url= | email=| address=Str. L. Ukrainky (вул. Л. Українки), 4 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone=| fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Mriya | alt=«Мрія» | url= | email=| address=Str. Avtolyvmashivska (вул. Автоливмашівська), 6а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=9 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Venice/Venytsyya| alt=«Венеція» | url= | email=| address=Street Promenade/Naberezhna (вул. Набережна), 25 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=9 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Rest rooms at railway station of "Ivano-Frankivsk" | alt=Кімнати відпочинку вокзалу станції «Івано-Франківськ»| url= | email=| address=Str. Pryvokzalna (вул. Привокзальна), 1 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep| image=Hotel Ukraina Ivano-Frankivsk.jpg | name=Hotel Ukraina | alt= | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= |fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Chernivtsi]]''' - One of the most multinational cities of Ukraine. * '''[[Lviv]]''' - the capital of the Western Ukraine Region, with lot of sights for days * '''[[Ternopil]]''' - An East Galician city with lot of religious buillding and good base for exploring the area * '''[[Uzhhorod]]''' - center of Zakarpatska Oblast. Famous for a millenium-old Uzhhorod Castle inside a big regional history museum. {{usablecity}} {{geo|48.9167|24.7167}} {{isPartOf|Western Ukraine}} kck833mqs7e6mt8a1msura30wrns7tx 5298467 5298462 2026-06-25T17:00:19Z Ibaman 195012 Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298462|5298462]] by [[Special:Contributions/BKHealy|BKHealy]] ([[User talk:BKHealy|talk]]) per [[WV:Links to Wikipedia]] 5298467 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Ivano-Frankivsk Wikivoyage Banner.jpg}} '''[http://www.mvk.if.ua/ Ivano-Frankivsk]''' ([[Ukrainian phrasebook|Ukrainian]]: Івано-Франківськ, also transliterated '''Ivano-Frankovsk''' from [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]: Ивано-Франковск) (formerly in Polish: ''Stanisławów'', German: ''Stanislau'') is a city in the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] part of East Galicia. ==Understand== It was built in the mid-17th century as a private fortress of the Potocki family. With the partition of Poland in 1772, Ivano-Frankivsk was passed to the Habsburg Empire, after which it became the property of the State authorities of the Austrian Empire. It was during that time that the fortress was transformed into one of the most prominent cities at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. After World War I, for a short stint it served as temporary capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic, after the fall of which Stanisławów became part of the Second Polish Republic. At the dawn of [[World War II in Europe|World War II]], the city was annexed by the [[Soviet Union]], only to be occupied by Nazi Germany two years later. With the liberation of Ukraine in 1944, a Soviet regime was established in the city for the next 45 years. A city visitor may find elements of various cultures intertwined within Ivano-Frankivsk, the Polish Rathaus, the Austrian city's business center, the Soviet panel multi-storied residential apartment buildings at the city's urban-rural fringe, and others. The city is in the Carpathian region northeast of the mountain range, sitting approximately 120 m above mean sea level. ===Climate=== The climate is moderate continental with warm summers (in Jul the record high 37.1°C), and fairly cold winters (in Dec the record low is 35.7°C). There are around 60 snowy days per year. ==Get in== ===By plane=== Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine's airspace is closed to civil aviation.<!-- 1 Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport (IFO IATA, Міжнародний аеропорт Івано-Франківськ), Str. Yevgenia Konovaltsya (ул. Евгения Коновальца), 264А (4.4 km south from the town center - Bus 21, 24, 52, 55, 64, 83, 84 to stop 'Аеропорт '), ☏ +380 342 598037, +380 342 598046. It has flights from Kyiv, Moscow (Domodedovo) and Lviv, it is however relatively small. The bigger airport nearby is in LRussia-Ukraine --> ===By train=== * {{listing| image=Ivano-FRANKIVSK (226).jpg|type=go |name=Railway station |alt=Залізничний вокзал |url= |email=| address=Pryvokzal'na sq. (Привокзальна пл). 3| lat=48.9253 |long=24.7239|directions=NE |phone=+380 342 592223, +380 342 224774|fax= |hours= |price=|lastedit=2023-10-07| content= From Ivano-Frankivsk you can get to the [[Kyiv]], [[Bucharest]], [[Varna]] and [[Sofia]] by direct trains. Trains from [[Lviv]] (where you can connect to Poland) or [[Chernivtsi]] (where you can connect to [[Romania]]). }} ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Bus station No.1 | alt=Central Station, Автостанція 1, Автовокзал | url=http://busua.ukr-biz.info/index.php?in=view&id=114 | email= | address=Street Zaliznychna (Вулиця Залізнична), 30 | lat=48.9233 | long=24.7243 | directions=At the Railway station | phone=+380 342 750830 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 07:30-12:00, 13:00-19:30 | price= |lastedit=2023-09-04| content=[http://www.ivfrankivsk.if.ua/menu.php?id=103 Timetable] {{dead link|December 2020}}, buses to [[Chernivtsi]] (24&nbsp;грн, 4 hr, at least 3 daily). [http://ticket.bus.com.ua/ Tickets] }} * {{go | name=Bus station No.2 | alt=Автостанція 2 | url= | email=| address=Street Horbachevskoho (Вулиця Горбачевського), 2 |lat=48.9440 |long=24.6902|directions=north |phone=+380 342 583704 |fax=| hours=Daily 04:40-23:40 | price=| content= }} * {{go | name=Bus station No.3 | alt=Автостанція 3| url= |email=|address=Street Mazepy Het'mana, 166 | lat=48.90827 | long=24.68441| directions=SW| phone=+380 342 753547| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{go | name=Bus station No.4| alt=Автостанція 4 | url= | email=| address=Street Junosty, 1 | lat=48.91077 | long=24.76588| directions=SE| phone=+380 342 554399 | fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe|48.9167|24.7167|zoom=12}} The city centre is manageable by foot but there is an extensive network of public transport including buses, trolleybuses, and taxis. All street names reflecting the city's Soviet or Russian past have been returned to their former names, or given new names of national historic importance, or other non-controversial names. For example, Gagarin Street (connecting the city with its suburbs) became Vovchynets Street, Suvorov Street is now Harbar Street, and Soviet Street is Nezalezhnist (Independence) Street. Around 100 other streets were renamed. The seven main city squares Viche Maidan, Market Square, Sheptytsky Square Pryvokzalna Square, Mickiewicz Square (Mickiewicz Park), Liberation Square, European Square. === By public transport === Ivano-Frankivsk has a convenient public transport system: * 17 marshrutka routes * 20 bus routes * 8 trolleybus routes Single ride tickets in marshrutkas, buses and trolleybuses cost 10 грн. Schedules are available on [https://if.rozklad.in.ua rozklad.in.ua] (in Ukrainian). You can also check information about public transport on [https://city.dozor.tech/ua/iv-frankivsk/city DozoR] (in Ukrainian), [https://www.eway.in.ua/en/cities/frankivsk EasyWay] and Google Maps. === By taxi === Taxi is the easiest way of getting around the city. Some popular taxi companies include: * {{Listing|name=Uber|alt=Убер|url=https://www.uber.com|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Bolt|alt=Болт|url=https://bolt.eu|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Uklon|alt=Уклон|url=https://uklon.com.ua/en/|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=OnTaxi|alt=ОнТаксі|url=https://ontaxi.com.ua/en|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Opti|alt=Опті|url=https://opti.global/en/|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=Shark|alt=Шарк|url=https://shark-taxi.ua/en|lastedit=2023-10-28}} === By scooter === Kick scooter is a funny way to shorten your time while getting around the city. * {{Listing|name=Bolt|alt=Болт|url=https://bolt.eu|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=ECOS|alt=ЕКОС|url=https://ecoscooter.org|lastedit=2023-09-19}} * {{Listing|name=E-wings|url=https://e-wings.com.ua|lastedit=2023-09-19}} === By car === Those wishing to venture outside of the city by car may want to use a more robust vehicle such as a 4 by 4 as roads in the local area are extremely degraded and incomparable to western roads. ==See== [[File:Ivano-FRANKIVSK (34).jpg|thumb|The Market Square]] [[File:IF court.jpg|thumb|Ivano-Frankivsk Court (Будинок правосуддя), 11 Hriunvaldska Street]] * {{see |image=Townhall ivano-frankivsk.jpg | name=Townhall |alt=Ratusa |url=http://www.mrada.if.ua/ | email=| address=Hrushevskovo (вул. Грушевського), 21 | lat=48.92266 | long=24.71033| directions=Center | phone=+380 342 556515 | hours= | price=| content=Built in Art Deco style. }} * {{see | name=City Brewery | alt= | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | hours= | price=| content= }} * {{see | name=Jesuit College building | alt=Будівля колегії єзуїтів | url= | email= | address= Sheptytskoho sq., 21 | lat=48.9230 | long=24.7089| directions=Center West | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{see | name=Stanislav fortress compound | alt=Фортечна стіна | url= | email= | address= Fortechnyi lane | lat=48.9225 | long=24.7066| directions=Center West| phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Made in the form of regular hexagon (with a width of 400 m side) with additional bastions , redoubts and fort. }} * {{see | name=White Building| alt=Bily Budynok | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions= in the middle of the city and next to the Market place| phone= | fax=| hours= | price=| content=It is the main administration building of Ivano-Frankivsk and the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. In front of the building there are two full-size sculptural monuments of Franko and Shevchenko. }} * {{see | name=Battle of Grunwald monument| alt= | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions=| hours= | price=| content= – commemorating the defeat of the Teutonic Order in 1410 }} * {{see| image=IF Mickiewicz monument.jpg | name=Monument to Adam Mickiewicz | alt=пам'ятник Адамові Міцкевичу | url= | email= | address=Square Mickiewicz | lat=48.9212 | long=24.7115| directions=| phone=| hours= | price=| content=Built in 1930, it was reconstructed in 1989. It is on Adam Mickewicz Square next to a regional concert hall. It is the oldest surviving monument in the city and was built on 20 November 1898. }} * {{see | name=Monument to Stepan Bandera | alt=Пам'ятник С. Бандері | url= | email= | address=European Square (Європейська пл.)| lat=48.90552 | long=24.71354| directions=south ~1 km| hours= | price=| content= Mase in 2009 }} * {{see| image= | name=Palace complex of Pototskyis | alt=Палацовий комплекс Потоцьких | url= | email=| address=Shpytalna str.(Шпитальна вул.,),5 | lat=48.9238 | long=24.7134| directions=Center| phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built 1672 – 1682. }} ===Holy Places=== * {{see | name=Church of the Holy Resurrection | alt=Катедральний собор св. Воскресіння (Катедра) | url= | email= | address=Maidan Sheptitskovo, (майд. Шептицького,) 6 or 22? | lat=48.92236 | long=24.70852 | directions=Centre | phone=+380 342 552931 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Greek Catholic Cathedral. Former Jesuit church. Primitively his foundation was stopped up in 1720 year, and building of church was completed in 1729 year. During 1753 - 1763 under the direction of engineer-fortification S. Pototskyi a new temple was erected in style of baroque. The temple restored: in 1885 and in 1955 years. }} * {{see| image= | name=Armenian Church | alt=Вірме́нська церква або Вірменський костел Непорочного Зачаття Найсвятішої Діви Марії | url= | email= | address=Vul. Vyrmenska (вул. Вірменська), 7 | lat=48.92250 | long=24.71192 | directions=One block East from Town Hall | phone=+380 342 230447 | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Used by one of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Baroque. Built in 1743-63. }} * {{see| image= | name=St. Demetrius church |alt=Церква Св. Дмитрія|url= |email= | address=Nechuia -Levytskoho str., (вул. Нечуя-Левицького) 6 |lat=48.9432 | long=24.6948 | directions=NW 2 km |phone= |hours= |price= |content=A wooden church from 1902. Church carpathians type. It belongs to greco-catholic society.}} * {{see | name=Polish Church | alt=Ukrainian: Костел Христа Царя, Polish: Kościół Rzymsko-Katolicki | url= | email= | address=Vulytsya Vovchynetska (Вовчинецька вул), 92 | lat=48.9304 | long=24.7266 | directions=NE cca. 700 m from Ivano-Frankivsk Railway Station | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Roman Catholic Church of Christ the Lord. Built in 1927-1938. }} * {{see | name=Protection of the Virgin church | alt=Церква Покрови Матері Божої | url= | email= | address=Kniahynyn str., (вул Княгинин) 29, | lat=48.93487 | long=24.70868 | directions=N 1km| phone= | hours= | price=| content=Consecrated in 1905. One of the best Ukrainian churches iconostases.}} * {{see | name=St. Joseph the Betrothed church | alt=Церква Св. Йосифа Обручника | url= | email= | address=Vovchynetska Str.,(вул. Вовчинецька,) 52-4 | lat=48.92875 | long=24.72335 | directions=NE 0.6km| phone= | hours= | price= |content=1912.}} * {{see | name=Christ the King Church | alt=Костел Христа Царя, Polish: Cerkiew Chrystusa Króla | url= | email= | address=Vul. Nezalezhnosty (вул. Незалежності, 181) | lat=48.916689 | long= 24.733122 |directions=NE 1 km| phone=|hours= |price= |content=}} * {{see | name=Women's Seminary | alt=Жіноча вчительська семінарія сестер-василіянок | url= | email= | address=Vasyliianok str.,(вул. Василіянок) 17 | lat=48.926239 | long=24.715584 | directions=Centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{see| image=Ivano-Frankivsk Gryunvalds'ka 1-1.jpg | name=Jesuits church | alt=Костел єзуїтів | url= | email=| address=Hriunvaldska str., 3 | lat=48.92518 | long=24.71704 | directions=Center| phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in 1729. }} * {{see| image=Ukraine-Ivano-Frankivsk-Church of Joseph.jpg | name=St. Joseph church | alt=Костел Йосифа | url= | email=| address= Mochulskoho Str., 1 | lat=48.9169 | long=24.7335| directions=E 1 km | phone=| fax= | hours= | price= | content=Neo-Gothic style. }} * {{see | name=Synagogue | alt=Синагога, Темпль | url= | email=| address= Strachenykh str., 7 | lat=48.92204 | long=24.71165| directions=| phone= | hours= | price=Opened in 1899 | content= }} ===Museums=== * {{see| image=Ukraine-Ivano-Frankivsk-Church of Virgin Mary-3.jpg | name=Regional Art Museum | alt=Івано-Франківський обласний художній музей | url=http://en.museum.if.ua/museums/r2/3.html | email= museum_if@inbox.ua| address=Sheptyts'koho sq. (майдан Шептицького), 8 |lat=48.923611|long=24.708889|directions=|phone=|fax=| hours=Tu-Su 10:00-17:00| price=|content=Former Blessed Virgin church or Collegiate Church of Virgin Mary. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Life and Ethnography of the Western Region|alt=Музей побуту та етнографії Західного регіону| url= | email=| address=Troleibusna str., 7|lat=48.9453 |long=24.6998| directions=N 2km| phone=+380 342 583861| fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-16:00. Lunch 12:00-13:00| price=| content=There are ethnography, culture and education exhibitions. }} * {{see |name=The Museum of Liberation Movement in Prykarpattia|alt=Музей визвольних змагань Прикарпатського краю| url= |email=|address=Henerala Tarnavskoho str., 22| lat=48.92836 |long=24.71842|directions=Center|phone=+380 342 48014|hours=M-F 09:00-16:00 Lunch: 12:00-13:00| price=| content=}} * {{see | name=Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Museum|alt=Івано-Франківський краєзнавчий музей | url=http://www.ifkm.if.ua/index.html|email=ifkm@i.ua|address=Haytska (вул. Галицька,) 4а|lat=48.922778|long=24.710278|directions=Center |phone=+380 342 750026| fax= | hours=Tu-Su 10.00-17.30|price=|content=Found in 1940. Former Town hall (Ratusha) - Art Deco building from 1930s standing in the middle of Market Square (''Ploshcha Rynok'').}} * {{see | name=Museum of the Insurgent Army |alt= |url= |email=| address=European Square. | lat=48.90555|long=24.71376| directions=south 1 km |phone= |fax=| hours= |price=| content= }} * {{see | name=Ivano-Frankivsk Historical and Memorial Museum Oleksy Dovbusha| alt=Івано-Франківський історико-меморіальний музей Олекси Довбуша| url= | email=| address=Hetman Mazepa, 1 (вул. Гетьмана Мазепи)| lat=48.92078 | long=24.70628 | directions=Center | phone= | fax= | hours= | price=|content=}} * {{see | name=Literary Museum | alt=Літературний музей Прикарпаття | url= | email= | address=Lepkoho Bohdana str., 27 (вул. Б. Лепкого) | lat=48.92068 | long=24.71936 | directions=Center | phone=+380 432 25047 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10:00-17:30, Lunch: 13 to 14 hours | price= | content=It was opened on May 16, 1986. The display of museum tells about development of literary process of our land from the oldest times to the present. Prykarpattia Literary Museum has by 40,000 exhibits. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Prykarpattyaoblenergo| alt=Музей ВАТ «Прикарпаттяобленерго»| url= | email=|address=Industrial, 34 (вул. Індустріальна)| lat=48.9112 | long=24.7250| directions=SE 1.5km| phone=| hours= | price=| content=Electricity museum. }} * {{see | name=Geological Museum | alt=Геологічний музей ІФНТУНГ| url= |email=| address=Carpathska, 15 (Карпатська)|lat=48.9294 |long=24.6956|directions=inside the National Technical University building|phone=| fax=|hours=|price=|content= }} * {{see | name=Ivano-Frankivsk historical and memorial museum of Oleksa Dovbush | alt=Івано-Франківський історико-меморіальний музей Олекси Довбуша | url= | email=| address=Mazepy Het'mana str., 5 | lat=48.9206 | long=24.7055| directions=| phone=+380 342 25729| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Further afield=== * {{see | image=Домініканський Монастир у Богородчанах.jpg | name=Bogorodchany town |alt=Богородчани |url= | address=Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast | lat=48.808056| long=24.538056 |directions=| content=Dominicans monastery (Домініканський монастир), 1742-62. Good for a day (or a half day) tour. }} * {{see | image= |name=Chernelytsya Castle and Dominicans church|alt=Чернелицький замок и Домініканський костел | url=|address=Chernelytsya, Ivano-Frankivsk Region| lat=48.81111| long=25.43 | directions=east 71 km | phone=| hours= | price=| content=A pretty village with the Castle remains, 1670s; Dominicans church ruins, 1661. [http://ua.vlasenko.net/chernelytsia/index.html Pics] }} * {{see | image=Чесники. Миколаївська церква.jpg | name=St.Michael (Ascension) church in Chesnyky village | alt=c.Чесники | url= | email=| address=Rogatyn raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Region | lat=49.3869 | long=24.7282| directions=70 km north from Ivano-Frankivsk| content= An architectural monument of national importance. More than 600 years old, rebuilt in 1800s. }} * {{see | image=Halych (12).jpg | name=Halych Castle, 1590s| alt=Ukrainian: Галич Замок, Halych; Russian: Галич, Galich, German: Halytsch, Polish: Halicz| url= | email=| address= Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast| lat=49.117703| long=24.728653 | directions=26 km North from Ivano-Frankivsk | phone=| hours= | price=| content= Also here the Nativity of Christ church (церква Різдва Христова), 1400s, 1906 }} * {{see | image=ChurchOfImmaculateConceptionOfVirginMaryIinHorodenka.jpg |name=Horodenka town |alt=Gorodenka| url=| address= | lat=48.67| long=25.5 | directions=SE 71 km| content=See here the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary church + cells (костел Непорочного Зачаття Діви Марії), 1743-60; and the Armenian church (вірменський костел), 1706. }} * {{see | image= | name=Kalush| alt=Ukrainian: Калуш, Polish: Kałusz | url= | email=| address= | lat=49.044167| long=24.359722 | directions=Located on the river Sivka 36 km north-west of Ivano-Frankivsk | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Presentation of the Christ at the Temple Church (1899), Museum of Ivan Franko family, St. Nicolas church (1888), St. Apostle Andrew church (1792), St. Valentine church, Museum of Kalush district, St. Archistratigus Michael church (1913), Town hall. }} * {{see | image=Kolomyia City Hall.jpg | name=[[Kolomyia]]| alt=Коломия | url=| address=| lat=48.530556| long=25.040278 | directions=toward Chernivtsi| content= A historical city in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast }} * {{see | image=Kosiv (8207641747).jpg | name=Kosiv | alt=Ukrainian: Косів, German: Kossow, Polish: Kosów, Romanian: Cosău. | url=| address= | lat=48.315 | long=25.095278 | directions=93 km South from Ivano-Frankivsk | content= a small Hutsul settlement with a remnants of a small castle }} * {{see | name=Krylos | alt=Old Halych | url= | email= | address= | lat=49.086009 | long=24.691746 | directions=5 km SW from Halych | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Krylos.jpg | content=It was the Old Halych, there is an etno park with a beautiful wooden church. }} * {{see | image=Maniava3.JPG | name=Manyava Skete|alt=Манявський монастир|url=http://manyava.if.ua/ {{dead link|December 2020}} |email= | address=16, Vul. Skytova, (вул. Скитова), Maniava village |lat=48.656194 | long=24.392778 | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A monastery. It was founded in 1611 by Iov Knyagynytsky. Today it’s a living man’s Orthodox Monastery of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In 1621 Maniava Cell was surrounded by a stone wall with three defensive towers, where the inhabitants of surrounding villages could take a refuge during the attacks of the Turks and Crimean Tatars. It was one of the biggest Christian centers in Galicia. It had a large library and was famous for the main iconostasis. - Maniava Cell is also known because of the Blessed Stone. According to believers, it’s a place of prayer and purification. This is a first shelter, a cell for the Carpathian apostles. The Blessed Stone is almost kilometer distance from the bridge at the Mount Manyavka near the monastery lake. The Stone is located in a huge cave or niche. This is a typical ancient monk’s dwelling. - For day tour }} * {{see | image=Пнівський замок.jpg | name=Pniv town |alt=Пнівський замок |url=| address=| lat=48.6227| long=24.555 |directions=SW 44 km |content=Famous for Kuropatvys castle (Замок Куропатвів), 1580. }} * {{see | image=Rohatyn panoramic.jpg | name=Rohatyn town| alt=Rogatyn, Ukrainian: Рогатин, Polish: Rohatyn |url= |address= |lat=49.416667 |long=24.616667 |directions=62 km North | content= And its sights: the St.Nicolas church (Миколаївський костел), 1538-1555, 1650s; the Holy Spirit church (Святодухівська церква), 1598. }} * {{see | image=Церква Святого Пантелеймона 17.jpg | name=Shevchenkove village|alt=Шевченкове | url= |address=Shevchenkove Шевченкове, Галицький район |lat=49.132222 | long=24.693056 |directions=28 km North | content= Visit the more than 800 years old, St.Pantaleon church (церква св.Пантелеймона), 1194, 1598-1611. If you take public transport (i.e. bus or marshrutka) look for the right place, because two other Shevchenkove are in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.}} * {{see | image=Yaremche.JPG | name=[[Yaremche]] village and Waterfall "Probiy"|alt=Ukrainian: Яремчe і водоспад "Пробій", Polish: Jaremcze or Jaremcza |url= |address=Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk Region|lat=48.460278 | long=24.558611 |directions=65 km south | content= Many outdoor option. Good base for a hike to Peak Hoverla the highest place in Ukraine. Also there is the Vorokhta ski resort. }} ==Do== ===Theaters=== * {{do | image= |name=Academic Regional Music-Drama Theater of IIvana Franka |alt=Івано-Франківський академічний обласний музично-драматичний театр імені Івана Франка |url= |email= |address=Vul. Nezhalezhnosty (вул. Незалежності, 27-а) |lat=48.9177 |long=24.7188| directions=Center |phone= |fax= |hours= |price=|content= }} * {{do | image= | name=Regional Concert Philharmony| alt=Обласна Філармонія| url= |email=| address= Kurbasa Lesia str., 3| lat=48.92149|long=24.71225| directions=Center|phone=+380 342 223146, +380 342 750300 | hours= | price=|content= }} * {{do | image=Театр.jpg | name=Academic Regional Puppet Theater of Pidhiryanka | alt=Академічний обласний театр ляльок ім.М.Підгіранки |url= | email= | address=Nezalezhnosti str., 10А | lat=48.9195 | long=24.7110| directions=Center| phone=+380 342 231553 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{do| name=Central folk house |alt=Центральний народний дім |url= |email= | address=Shevchenka str., 1 | lat=48.91998 | long=24.70656| directions=| phone=+380 342 224709| fax= | hours= | price= | content=Concerts held here. }} ===Cinemas=== [[File:Lumiere cinema in Ivano-Frankivsk.jpg|thumb|Lumiere cinema]] * {{do | image=Lumiere cinema in Ivano-Frankivsk.jpg | name=Lumier Cinema| alt=Former Franko Cinema| url=http://www.kinolumiere.com/new/ | email= | address=Ulitsa Mikhaila Grushevskogo (ул. Михаила Грушевского), 3 | lat=48.92057 | long=24.71038| directions=| phone=+380 342 505500| hours= | price= | content= }} * {{do| name=Cosmos Cinema| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ===Parks=== * {{do | name=City lake | alt=| address= | lat=48.9144 | long=24.6902| directions=Next to Nauka Stadium| phone=| hours=| content=It was the former zoo area of Pototskyi. Now, urban lake - one of the main recreational areas of the City. Here is the romantic Island of Love. }} * {{do | name=Pioneer park | alt=Піонерський парк, Park of Warriors-Internationalists, Park Voinov-Osvoboditeley| url= |email=| address=Street Vasiliyanok (вулиця Василіянок)| lat=48.928921| long=24.712531 | directions=N | hours= | price=| content= }} * {{do | name=Shevchenko Park | alt=Парк им. Тapacy Шевченка | url=http://park-if.org.ua/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email=| address=Vul. Shevchenko, | lat=48.9101 | long=24.6947| directions=| phone= | hours= | price=| content=A big park that consists of an amusement park, a big lake with swans, couple of full-size football fields, and many others interesting places worth of seeing. Founded in 1895. }} * {{do | name=Pryvokzalny park |alt=Привокзальний сквер |url= |address=Pryvokzal'na sq. (Привокзальна пл),|lat=48.9243|long=24.7228|directions=E| phone=| hours=|content= }} * {{do | name=Memorial Park| alt=Меморіальний сквер| url= | email=| address=Street Andriya Melnyka (вул. Андрія Мельника)| lat=48.9166 |long=24.7168 |directions= near the regional Ivan Franko Academic Music-Drama Theater |phone=| hours= |price=|content= }} * {{do | name=Rukh Stadium| alt=Центральний міський стадіон "Рух" | url= | email=| address=Chornovola str., 128| lat=48.9080 | long=24.6961| directions=next to Yunist Stadium (Youth) | phone=+380 3422 750447| hours= | price=| content=This is a sport complex consisting of the major arena and two auxiliary fields. }} * {{do | name=Yunist Stadium | alt=Youth Stadium, Стадіон Юність | url= | email=| address=Street Shukhevychiyv (Шухевичів вул.) | lat=48.9164 | long=24.7218| directions=| phone=| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{do | name=Hirka Stadium | alt=Стадіон Гірка | url= | email=| address=Street Duchymynskoe Olgy ( Дучимінської Ольги вул.)| lat=48.9288 | long=24.7284 | directions=| phone=+380 3422 506794| hours= | price=| content=property of the Ivano-Frankivsk Locomotive Maintenance Plant. }} * {{do | name=Nauka Stadium| alt=Science Stadium, Стадіон "Наука" | url= | email=| address=Mazepy Het'mana str., 144 | lat=48.9126 | long=24.6895| directions=SE shore of CCity Lake| phone=+380 3422 535669| hours=| price=| content= Belongs to Prykarpattia National University of Stefanyk. }} * {{do | name=Stadium of Oil and Gaz University | alt=Стадіон технічного університету нафти і газу | url= | email=| address=Karpats'ka str., 15 | lat=48.9315 | long=24.6949| directions=| phone=+380 342 248094| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{do | name=Sport-Recreational Center Tsunami| alt=Спортивно-розважальний комплекс Цунамі |url=http://cunami.com.ua/ |email=cunami.if@gmail.com|address=Dovzhenka O. str., 29 | lat=48.9001 | long=24.6839| directions=SW | phone=+380 342 714060, +380 342 714070| hours= | price=| content=, contains an ice arena for the city hockey events, an aquapark, hotel (phone +380 342 714069) and restaurant (phone +380 342 714069). }} ==Buy== [[File:Frankivsk1.JPG|thumb|A part of Independence Street called ''stometrivka'']] * {{buy | name=100m stretch (''stometrivka'') | alt=Пішохідна частина вулиці Незалежності ("Стометрівка") | url= | address=Nezalezhnosti str. | lat=48.91981 | long=24.71037| directions=Center | phone= | content=– unofficial local name for part of Independence (Nezalezhnosti) Street that consists of series of shops and restaurants and is restricted to pedestrian traffic only. }} [[File:Ukraine-Ivano-Frankivsk-1.jpg|thumb|Market]] * '''Bazaar''' – a huge area close to the Main Square that covers the old market and the new market with couple of supermarket stores locally known as the universal stores where you can buy everything. * {{buy | name=Bastion | url=http://bastion-if.com.ua/ {{dead link|October 2017|December 2020}} | email= | address=Fortechna 1 | lat= | long=| directions= | phone=| fax= | hours= | price=| content=Several art galleries and shops in a renovated part of old fortress walls. }} * {{buy | name=Central Market| alt=Центральний ринок | url= | email=| address=Dnistrovs'ka str., 5| lat=48.92593 | long=24.71194| directions=| phone=+380 342 227907 | hours= | price=| content= }} ===Malls, shopping centres=== [[File:Ivano-FRANKIVSK (31).jpg|thumb|Icon seller in Ivano-Frankivsk]] * {{buy | name=Arsen Shopping Centre| alt=ТЦ «Арсен» | url=http://www.evrotek.com/ru/arsen/ | email=| address=street Mykolaichuk (вул. Миколайчука), 2 | lat=48.9325 | long=24.7458| directions=east | phone=+380 342 722465 | fax=| hours= | price=| content=- There is an electronics supermarket (Eldorado). }} * {{buy | name=Bison Shopping Center| alt=ТЦ «Бізон» | url= | email=| address=Street Maksimovic (вул. Максимовича), 15|lat=48.9424 |long=24.7295|directions=NE| phone=+380 342 720753, +380 342 500576, +380 342 712165 | fax=| hours=|lastedit=2023-09-11| content= Supermarket [https://www.foxmart.ua «FoxMart»] }} * {{buy | name=Veles Shopping Centre '555'| alt=ТЦ «Велес» | url=http://www.veles.in.ua/ | email=| address=Vul Vovchynetska (вул. Вовчинецька) 225 | lat=48.9399 | long=24.7379| directions=NE | phone=+380 342 779255 | fax=| hours= | price=| content=There is a supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Velmart Shopping Centre | alt='Velike Kishenya' shopping center, ТЦ «ВелМарт», ТЦ "Велика Кишеня" | url=http://kishenya.ua/ru/kiev/--velmart/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Street Yevhena Konovaltsya (вул. Коновальця), 221 | lat=48.9025 | long=24.7139 | directions=S 1.5 km | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Include: supermarket "City.com" (супермаркет електроніки "City.com") }} * {{buy | name=Panorama Plaza shopping center|alt=ТРЦ "Panorama Plaza" |url= |email=|address=Boulevard Pivnichnyy (Північний бульвар), 2-а|lat= | long= |directions=|phone=+380 342 711204 |hours= |price=|content=Here is the food supermarket "Vopak" (супермаркет "Вопак"), tel.:+380 342 710389}} * {{buy | name=Silpo Supermarket| alt=Сільпо | url=http://silpo.ua/ua/ | email=| address=Vul. Hetmana Mazepy (вул. Г. Мазепи), 168 | lat=48.90976 | long=24.68825| directions=SW - next to Bus station No.3| phone= | fax=| hours= | price=| content= Electronic goods here at Supermarket "ABC Technika" (супермаркет електроніки "АБВ Техніка"). More units:: Blvd. Northern University. Pushkin 2a str. Dniester, 3 (бул. Північний ім. Пушкіна, 2а, вул. Дністровська, 3) }} * {{buy | name=Comfy Shopping Center | alt=ТЦ «Comfy»|url=|email=|address=Vul. Getman Mazepi (вул. Гетьмана Мазепи), 168-V| lat=48.90714 | long=24.68211|directions=next the Bus station No.3|phone= |fax=|hours= |price=|content= }} ===Hypermarkets=== * {{buy |name=Epicenter Shopping Center|alt=ТЦ «Епіцентр»|url=http://www.epicentrk.com.ua/ | email=|address=Street Ivasyuka (вул. Івасюка), 17|lat= |long=|directions=|phone= | fax=|hours= |content= - Electronic supermarket "Tekhnoyarmarok" }} * {{buy | name=METRO Cash & Cary Shopping Center| alt=ТЦ «METRO Cash & Cary»| url=http://www.metro.ua/public/ua | email=| address=Vul. Vovchinecka (вул. Вовчинецька), 225 | lat=48.9450 | long=24.7413| directions=NE 3km| phone=+380 800 5014010 | fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ==Eat== Food in Ivano-Frankivsk, like the rest of the Ukraine is fairly good and will sit well in the stomach of most western travelers. If visiting a supermarket, price on items will vary greatly. Western labeled products will be labeled with prices comparable to western prices. Similar goods with non-western labels will sell much cheaper. Two glasses of beer and a bag of potato chips will cost about 200 грн at local bars. ===Pizzeria=== * {{eat | name=Pizza Chelentano|alt=Піцерія Челентано|url= |email=| address=Halytska (вулиця Галицька), 3,|lat=48.92140 |long=24.70743| directions=| phone=+380 342 750544|fax=| hours=| price=| content= }} * {{eat |name=Tsymes Pizzeria |alt=Кафе-Піцерія Цимес |url= |email=|address=Pryvokzalna sq., 9|lat=48.9261|long=24.7222|directions=|phone=+380 97 2175424, +380 34 2714542 |fax=|hours= |price=| content= }} * {{eat | name=Maki&Tavi |alt=Піцерія Макі&Таві |url= |email=| address=Str. Mazepy Hetmana, 168 |lat=48.9075 | long=24.6829| directions=Near to Bus station No.3 | phone=+380 342 710016| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Cafes=== * {{eat | name=Cafe Edelveis| alt=Кафе Едельвейс|url= |email= |address= Horbachevskoho str., 6 |lat=48.9439|long=24.6917|directions=near Bus station No.2| phone=+380 342 584425| hours= |price=| content= }} * {{eat |name=Cafe Rondo|alt=Кафе Рондо|url= |email=|address=Square Pryvokzalna, 3| lat=48.92545|long=24.72330|directions=at the railway station|phone=+380 342 556590 | fax=| hours= |price=|content= }} * {{eat |name=Cafe Mirazh|alt=Кафе Міраж|url=|email=|address=Str. Yunosti, 3|lat=48.9103| long=24.7657|directions=east - near Bus station No.4| phone=+380 342 554461| fax=| hours=| price=| content= }} * {{eat |name=Cafe Stara brama |alt=Cafe Old Tower, Кафе Стара брама| url= |email=| address=Halyts'ka str., 33 |lat=48.92363 | long=24.70980|directions=next to Hotel Atrium|phone=+380 342 225328 | hours= | price=| content= }} * {{eat | name=Yablunevyi sad | alt=Кафе Яблуневий сад| url= | email=| address=Str. Halytska, 2 | lat=48.92143 | long=24.70926| directions=center - at the Medical University| phone=+380 342 584550| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} * {{eat | name=Lviv Handmade Chocolate Cafe-shop | alt=Кав'ярня-магазин Львівська Майстерня Шоколаду| url=http://www.chocolate.lviv.ua/ |email=| address=Str. Mazepy Hetmana, 6| lat=48.9213|long=24.7063|directions=center| phone=+380 98 608-5709 | fax=| hours=09:00-18:00?? | price=| content= }} * {{eat | name= Cafe Tost| alt=Кафе Тост| url= | email=| address=Str. Mazepy Hetmana, 169 | lat=48.9075 | long=24.6864| directions=opp. the Bus station No.3|phone=+380 342 538267| hours=|price=| content= }} ===Confectioneries=== * {{eat | name=Tsukernia Cafe-Confectionery| alt=Кав'ярня-кондитерська Цукерня |url= |email= |address=Nezalezhnosti str., 12 |lat=48.9195 | long=24.7115|directions=Center|phone=| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Fast food=== * {{eat | name=Chicken HUT | alt=Ресторан Chicken HUT| url= | email=| address=Belvederska str., 21 (21а)| lat=48.9223 | long=24.7048| directions=| phone=+380 3422 49384, +380 67 6728447| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ===Restaurants=== * {{eat | name=Osokory |alt=Ресторан Осокори |url= |email=| address=Str. Dovzhenka O., 26 | lat=48.90509 |long=24.68277|directions=Bus station No.3 0.3km|phone=+380 342 753393, +380 99 0635870, +380 50 6748009 | fax=|hours= |price=|content= }} * {{eat | name=Sadko | alt=Ресторан Садко| url=http://sadko.happypara.com/ {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Str. Mazepy Het'mana, 138 | lat=48.9121 | long=24.6914| directions=Near to Nauka Stadium | phone=+380 342 710193, +380 68 4698409| fax=| hours= | price=| content= }} ==Drink== As with other Ukrainian cities of its size a beer should cost under 40 грн and a large bag of crisps (potato chips) in a normal bar/pub should cost a maximum of 40 грн. If you are paying more than that you know you are being ripped off. * {{drink |name=Panorama Plaza Entertaintment Center |alt=ТРЦ «Panorama Plaza»|url=http://panplaza.com.ua/|email=panoramaplaza@ukr.net| address=Beregova, 2-a (former? Boulevard O.S. Pushkina,вул. Північний бульвар ім. О.С. Пушкіна )|lat=48.92948 |long=24.70742| directions=| phone=+380 342 778531, +380 67 3434169, +380 95 5369845| fax=+380 342 778531| hours= | price=| content= There is a night club, a pub (phone +380 342 773010 / 067 3425550), bowling, karaoke bar (phone +380 68 1442855, +380 342 711204)}} * {{drink | name=Pasage Gartenberg | alt=Культурно-розважальний комплекс| url=http://pasage-gartenberg.com |email=|address=Vichova sq., 3|lat=48.92058 | long=24.70838| directions=| phone=+380 342 725101, +380 95 1759000|hours= | price=| content= }} * {{drink | name=Leprekon Pub| alt=Ірландський паб Лепрекон|url= | email=| address=Vovchynets'ka str., 26 |lat=48.9267 | long=24.7196| directions=Near to Train station | phone=+380 342 542324 |fax=| hours= |price=| content= }} * Kilimanjaro * eL Dorado * {{drink |name='Ten' Beer Club|alt=Пивний клуб «ДЕСЯТКА»|url=http://www.beerclub10.if.ua/| email=| address=Shashkevitcha (ул. Шашкевича), 4|lat=48.92008|long=24.71089| directions=center| phone=+380 342 712121| fax=| hours= |price=| content= }} * {{drink | name=Faraon Bar | alt=Бар Фараон| url= |email=| address= Mazepy Het'mana str., 173-1| lat=48.9071 | long=24.6853| directions=opp. the Bus station No.3| phone=+380 342 778666 | hours= | price=| content= }} ===Discos=== * {{drink | name=Panorama Plaza | alt= | url=http://panclub.com.ua/| email=|address= | lat=48.92948 |long=24.70742| directions=| phone=|fax=| hours= |price=|content= }} [[File:Hotel Nadia.jpg|thumb|250px|Nadia hotel]] ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Fenomen | url= | email=| address=38 Str. Pivdenny Bulvar| lat=48.9200 | long=24.6972 | directions=west 1 km | phone=+380 68 1445566 | fax=| hours= | price=From 400 грн| checkin= | checkout=|lastedit=2023-09-08| content=Clean and cozy hostel. }} * {{sleep | name=Dnister Hotel |alt=Готель «Дністер»|url=|email=| address=Str. Sichovykh Striltsiv(вул. Січових Стрільців), 12| lat=48.91979| long=24.70687 |directions=center|phone= |fax=| hours= | price=| checkin= | checkout=|lastedit=2023-09-08| content=Sovietish. Quite big and dark rooms but nice staff with no English, a lift. Several rooms with bathroom en-suite, others with shared. Water supply unreliable. 31 rooms }} * {{sleep| image=Hotel Auskoprut 1.jpg |name=Auscoprut Hotel|alt=Готель «Аускопрут»|url=| email=|address=Str. Grunvaldska (вулиця Грюнвальдська) 7/9 | lat=48.92532 | long=24.7183| directions=NE 0.5 km| phone=|fax= |price=| checkin=|checkout= |lastedit=2023-09-08|content=Three-star hotel. 24 rooms}} * {{sleep | name=Nadiya Hotel | alt=Готель «Надія» | url=https://www.nadiyahotel.com/en/ | email= | address=Str. Independence/Nezhalozhnosty (вулиця Незалежності,), 40 | lat=48.9177 | long=24.7167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From 1,198 грн | image=Banquet Hall Nadia Hotel.jpg |lastedit=2023-09-04| content=Three-star hotel. 380 beds, 244 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Pid Templem hotel| alt=Під «Темпелем» |url=http://www.tempel.if.ua/indexeng.html|email=|address=Str Strachenykh Nationalistiv (вулиця Страчених Націоналістів), 7а|lat=48.9221 |long=24.7113 |directions=Center|phone=| fax=|price=|checkin=|checkout=|content=Eleven rooms }} * {{sleep | name=Optima Collection Park Hotel Ivano-Frankivsk | alt=Optima Collection Парк Готель Івано-Франківськ | url=https://optimahotels.com.ua/en/hotels/ivano-frankivsk/ | email=reception@parkhotel.com.ua | address=146 Hetmana Mazepy Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+380 342595595, +380 673431582 | tollfree= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=From 1,215 грн | lastedit=2023-09-13 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Atrium |alt=«Атріум»| url=http://www.atrium.if.ua/ {{dead link|December 2020}}|email=| address=St. Galicka (вулиця Галицька), 31| lat=48.9236 | long=24.7096|directions=Center|phone=|fax=|price= |checkin= |checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Druzhba| alt=Friendship, «Дружба»|url=|email=|address=Vul. Gorbachevskogo (вул. Горбачевського)),3|lat=48.9435|long=24.6922|directions=near Bus station No.2|phone= |fax=| price=|checkin= |checkout=|content=164 beds, 72 rooms }} * {{sleep | name=Zyrkha |alt=The Star, «Зірка» |url= | email=| address= St. Sichovykh Striltsiv, (вул. Січових Стрільців), 4 |lat= |long= |directions=|phone= |fax=|price= |checkin= | checkout=| content=123 beds, 39 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Naftovyk | alt=Oilman, «Нафтовик»| url= | email=| address=Street Mlynarska (вул. Млинарська), 38а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=65 beds, 27 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Legenda Hotel | alt=Готель «Легенда» | url=https://legenda.if.ua/uk/legenda/ | email= | address=Street V.Ivasyuka (вул. В.Івасюка), 25 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+380 50 4359018 | tollfree= | fax=+380 342 713333 | checkin= | checkout= | price=From 710 грн |lastedit=2023-09-04| content=42 beds, 21 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Niva Hotel| alt=Готель «Нива» |url=https://hotelniva.com.ua/en/|email=| address=Vul. Urozhainaya (вул. Урожайна),5 |lat=48.9345 |long=24.7227| directions=North from Railway station| phone= | fax=| price=From 500 грн |checkin= | checkout=|lastedit=2023-09-08| content=88 beds, 36 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Stanislavsky Yard|alt=«Станіславський Двір»| url= |email=| address=street Depovska (вул. Деповська),97|lat= | long= |directions= |phone= |fax=| price= | checkin= |checkout=| content=17 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Stanislavyv | alt=«Станіславів» | url=http://www.stanislaviv.org.ua | email= | address=Str. Chornovola (вул. Чорновола), 7| lat= |long= |directions=|phone=|fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=17 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Tourist complex "Carpathian" | alt=Туристичний комплекс «Прикарпаття» | url= | email=| address=Street Mazepy (вул. Мазепи), 140а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=86 beds. }} * {{sleep | name=Complex "Black Castle" | alt=Рекреаційно-ресторанний комплекс «Чорний замок» | url=| email=| address=Kaluchke shosse (Калуське шосе), 7 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone=| fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=34 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Galitskha sadyba| alt=Galician manor, «Галицька садиба» | url= | email=| address=(вул. Галицька), 1б | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=8 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Bukhara| alt=Готельний комплекс «Бухара»| url= | email= | address=Street Ukrainskyh Decabristyv (вул. Українських декабристів), 45 b| lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Formula 1| alt=«Формула 1»| url= | email=|address=Str. Konovaltsya (вул. Коновальця), 433а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=28 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Cheremosh |alt=«Черемош»| url= | email=| address=Str. Konovaltsya (вул. Коновальця), 260-а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=12 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Guesthouse Qeens (Kvyns) | alt=Гостинний двір «Квінс»| url=| email=| address=St. Zarichna (вул. Зарічна), 38 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone=| fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Training Houses | alt=Гуртожиток готельного типу курсів підвищення кваліфікації| url= | email=| address=Str. L. Ukrainky (вул. Л. Українки), 4 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone=| fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep | name=Mriya | alt=«Мрія» | url= | email=| address=Str. Avtolyvmashivska (вул. Автоливмашівська), 6а | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=9 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Motel Venice/Venytsyya| alt=«Венеція» | url= | email=| address=Street Promenade/Naberezhna (вул. Набережна), 25 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content=9 rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Rest rooms at railway station of "Ivano-Frankivsk" | alt=Кімнати відпочинку вокзалу станції «Івано-Франківськ»| url= | email=| address=Str. Pryvokzalna (вул. Привокзальна), 1 | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= | tollfree= | fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} * {{sleep| image=Hotel Ukraina Ivano-Frankivsk.jpg | name=Hotel Ukraina | alt= | url= | email=| address= | lat= | long= | directions=| phone= |fax=| price= | checkin= | checkout=| content= }} ==Go next== * '''[[Chernivtsi]]''' - One of the most multinational cities of Ukraine. * '''[[Lviv]]''' - the capital of the Western Ukraine Region, with lot of sights for days * '''[[Ternopil]]''' - An East Galician city with lot of religious buillding and good base for exploring the area * '''[[Uzhhorod]]''' - center of Zakarpatska Oblast. Famous for a millenium-old Uzhhorod Castle inside a big regional history museum. {{usablecity}} {{geo|48.9167|24.7167}} {{isPartOf|Western Ukraine}} o4izmi1h467jr6cuyfsxh8jq1xnux0g 0 16056 5298602 5298292 2026-06-26T04:40:21Z Sgroey 2240936 /* See */ add listing 5298602 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Jaffna banner Kandasamy temple.jpg}} '''Jaffna District''' is the northernmost region of [[Sri Lanka]], and one of the oldest inhabited places on the island. It is populated mainly by Tamil speaking people. The district encompasses Jaffna and its outlying towns, and the quirky and unique islands surrounding it. It is separated from India by the Palk Strait and the Bay of Bengal. == Understand == [[File:Jaffna fort1.jpg|thumb|Jaffna's Portuguese Fort as seen from the air]] The modern city of Jaffna was founded by the Portuguese in 1621, near Nallur, the capital of the Jaffna Kingdom which they defeated two years previously. Today, Nallur is a suburb of Jaffna, and the home of its most famous kovil (temple), the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil. Before the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009) Jaffna was the second biggest city in Sri Lanka, but now it is only 12th, owing to the destruction, loss of life, and emigration that resulted from the conflict. The civil war also changed the demographic make-up of the city. Before the war, the population was evenly split between Tamils and Sinhalese, but the Sinhalese fled during the rise of the Tamil Tigers. They have not returned, making the city almost entirely Tamil. This area receives relatively few tourists, making it a hidden gem, and has a very different atmosphere to the rest of Sri Lanka. The best time to visit is when the weather is cooler, from December to March. Outside of these months, the region is uncomfortably hot and sticky. ==Get in== [[File:Asian palmyra (Borassus flabellifer).JPG|thumb|Asian palmyras (''Borassus flabellifer)'' are the symbol of Jaffna. Every part of the tree has a use.]] ===By plane=== Jaffna is connected by air to Colombo (both airports) and two cities in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. * {{go | name=Jaffna International Airport | alt={{IATA|JAF}} Formerly known as Palaly Airport. '''யாழ்ப்பாணம் சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம், பலாலி''' | url=https://www.airport.lk/jaf/index | email= | address= | lat=9.792333 | long=80.070083 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jaffna International Airport | image=Jaffna international airport.png | wikidata=Q7390742 | lastedit=2023-11-01 | content=Reopened in October 2019 after being closed due to the civil war. As of March 2025, there are two daily flights between Jaffna and [[Chennai]] (Alliance Air and IndiGo) and one daily flight to [[Tiruchirapalli]] (IndiGo). Two other airlines use light aircraft on their routes to both Colombo Ratmalana airport and the main Bandaranaike airport. }} ===By bus=== There are several private bus companies operating from Colombo to Jaffna, costing around Rs 2700 (2025). One such company is [https://ncgexpress.lk/bus-timetables/ NCG express]. The scheduled travel time is around 7 hours. Buses travel through the night, arriving in Jaffna around 04:00. Tickets can be booked on the [https://busseat.lk/buses/Colombo/Jaffna Bus Seat website]. SLTB bus 88 travels between Jaffna and Trincomalee, taking 8 hours. === By ferry === Since 2023 the HSC Cheriyapani has connected the port of Kankesanthurai on Jaffna's northern coast (near the airport) with the town of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. The ferry takes 4 hours and makes one return trip daily at a cost of INR 6500 + GST. Click the link below for details and how to book. Note that this is nearly as expensive as flying. This ferry is primarily used by locals taking large amounts of cargo or personal items between the two countries. * {{Listing | name = Kankesanthurai Harbour | lat = 9.81749 | long = 80.03661 | url = https://www.kpvs.in/general-8 | price = | lastedit = 2025-04-01 }} ===By train=== Daily intercity trains connect Colombo with Jaffna, with the journey taking approximately eight hours. As of 2025 there are two services per day, one of which is an overnight train with 2nd and 3rd class "sleeperettes" (reclining seats) only. Check for the latest updates at [http://seat61.com/SriLanka.htm#Colombo%20-%20Anuradhapura Seat 61]. * {{go | name=Jaffna railway station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.665218 | long=80.020710 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Jaffna railway station | wikidata=Q140666 | lastedit=2019-12-08 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe|9.6706|80.0251|zoom=10}} Once in Jaffna, there are several modes of transport. The area is rather spread out, so having your own transport would be best. ===By tuk-tuk=== These three-wheelers are the quickest and probably the cheapest way to get around. A rule of thumb is Rs 100 per km. ===By bus=== Jaffna has a public bus system, however no information about it exists online in English. ===By minivan=== There are private hire minivans, a good option if you need transportation for the whole day. ===Other=== The locals get around on cycles and mopeds. Some say cycling is not safe with the number of dogs on the street. Scooters can be rented for Rs 2000 and up per day, Rs 750 and up per day for a bicycle. ==See== * {{see | name=Nallur Kandaswamy temple | alt= | url=http://www.nalluran.com | email= | address= | lat=9.674722 | long=80.029722 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=07:30-18:15 daily, closed between 12:00-15:00 | price=Free | wikipedia=Nallur Kandaswamy temple | image=Nallur temple.jpg | wikidata=Q2607851 | lastedit=2015-04-23 | content=Beautiful and famous Hindu temple. Come at sunset when the orange coloured temple building is at its most vibrant. }} * {{see | name=Thondaimanaru Selva Sannithi Temple | alt=Selvach Sannithi Murugan Kovil | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.812477 | long=80.131454 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Nagapoosani Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.619010 | long=79.774177 | directions=On Nainatheevu island | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.612746 | long=79.773926 | directions=On Nainatheevu island | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Nagadeepa Purana Vihara | image=Nainathivunakaviharai 2.jpg | wikidata=Q6958314 | lastedit=2015-04-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Sri Nagavihara International Buddhist Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.66810 | long=80.01818 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Palaly Raja Rajeswari Amman Kovil | alt= | url= | email= | address=Palaly East | lat=9.80390 | long=80.08855 | directions= near the airport | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-11-07 | content= }} [[Image:Public_Library,_Jaffna.JPG|thumb|The restored Jaffna Library.]] * {{see | name=Jaffna Library | alt=யாழ் பொது நூலகம் | url=http://www.jaffnalibrary.lk/ | email= | address= | lat=9.66206 | long=80.0118 | directions= | phone=+94 212226028 | tollfree= | hours=8:30-18:00 daily, closed Mondays & holidays | price= | wikidata=Q15962212 | lastedit=2025-09-13 | content=This magnificent library, built in 1933, once housed the largest collection in Asia, with over 97,000 books and rare documents. It was burnt in 1981 by Sinhalese police and paramilitaries during a pogrom against the minority Tamil population. As a precursor to the Sri Lankan Civil War, the burning of Jaffna Library remains a controversial and traumatic issue among many in Jaffna. Restored and reopened, it now houses a much smaller collection. It is airconditioned so is a great place to hide from the heat, though much of the library is off limits to visitors. }} * {{See|name=Kankesanthurai|alt=KKS, Port Kankesan|lat=9.8157|long=80.0441|lastedit=2025-04-01|content=A beachside suburb of Jaffna reachable by train or tuk-tuk. It has the port with the ferry to India, Sri Lanka's northernmost railway station, the Keerimalai springs and several temples.|wikidata=Q531494}} * {{see | name=Jaffna Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=1570Rs | wikidata=Q2756663 | lastedit=2025-09-13 | content=The Portuguese built this fort in the 17th century and it has been substantially modified since. Much of the fort is visible outside of the ticketed areas. At sunset, locals like to hang out here, enjoy the sunset, eat ice cream and relax. There is not a whole lot to see inside the ticketed area so nobody would blame you if you don't want to pay the price to go in when you can wander through some of the tunnels and structures of the fort on the other side of the moat and outside the ticketed area. }} * {{see | name=Kachcheri Ruins | alt=பழைய பூங்கா | url= | email= | address=Old Park | lat=9.658722 | long=80.029472 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q15263839 | lastedit=2025-08-22 | content=An interesting old ruin partly engulfed by trees. This British Governor's residence ("Kachcheri") from the 19th century was left in a state of ruin after the civil war, having been used by both Tamil Tiger and government forces. }} * {{See|name=Fish Market|address=Reclamation Rd, Guru Nagar|lat=9.65401|long=80.01431|hours=06:00-10:00|lastedit=2025-11-28|content=A bustling market for locally-caught seafood}} * {{See|name=Jaffna Archaeological Museum|lat=9.66905|long=80.02422|price=Free|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=A small, easy-to-miss museum with a small collection of interesting local history.}} ==Do== There isn't a lot to do in Jaffna unless you arrive at festival times. Nallur Kovil Thiruvizha (festival) is the biggest event in the Jaffna calendar when all the faithful come home to pray. ===Festivals=== *'''Nallur Kovil Thaer Thiruvizha (Chariot Festival):''' is one of the biggest festivals in Jaffna at the greatest temples in Sri Lanka. This is a feast for the senses while the faithful are praying and the chariot is being pulled through the temple grounds. This is the highlight of the months-long annual Nallur festival, in July and August. *'''Thai-Pongal (harvest festival):''' every January 14th the harvest is celebrated with fireworks and celebrations all through the day and night. All temples hold special Pongal poojas where people make pongal in front of the temple. *'''Theepavali:''' the festival of light. *The '''Tamil/Sinhala new year''' is celebrated on the 14th of April. === The Islands === In the western part of Jaffna district, there are large, beautiful islands which are an adventure to get to. These include the islands of Nanaivatu, Velanai, Karaitivu, and the most famous (and remote), [[Delft Island]] (Neduntheevu). These islands feature beaches, ruins, places of worship and low-key villages. [[File:Jaffna market 33.jpg|thumb|Jaffna Market]] The island of Velanai is connected to the mainland by a long, scenic causeway. It has the fishing village of Kayts and Charty Beach. Karaitivu has the excellent Casuarina Beach, however there are no other tourist attractions. ==Buy== Souvenirs are available from stalls at tourist sites and railway stations. {{See|name=Jaffna Market|lat=9.66736|long=80.00988|directions=West of the bus stand|hours=Open daily except Sundays|lastedit=2025-06-23|content=A colourful, bustling market}} ==Eat== Jaffna has a unique cuisine, famous for its savory treats such as Wade (වඩේ- pronounced as ''wah-dei'') and Dhal wade which is an appetiser in Indian Cuisine. Jaffna Kool (கூழ்) is a spicy, complex seafood soup and is probably the most famous dish to come from Jaffna. It is basically impossible to find elsewhere in the country so do try it while you're here. *{{eat | name=Akshathai/Nila | alt=Akshathai | address=60 Stanley Rd | lat=9.66777 | long=80.01764 | phone=+94 212219946| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2025-06-24| content=Delicious vegetarian restaurant serving good Tamil food. Left side of the restaurant is a lunch buffet, the right side ("Nila") is where tourists will be directed. The thaali (meal set) in particular is worth getting. }} * {{listing | type = eat | name = Rio Ice cream | alt = | url = | email = | address = | lat = 9.6734552 | long = 80.0248278 | directions = | phone = +94 212 227 224 | tollfree = | hours = open daily from 09:00-22:00 | price = | lastedit = 2019-08-06 | content = Huge and very busy. If you don't want to wait, head to Lingan Ice Cream around the corner }} * {{Eat|name=Mangos|address=129 Main St|lat=9.65877|long=80.02203|hours=08:00-23:00 daily|lastedit=2025-06-24|content=Iconic Indian restaurant for dosas, uttapam, kotthu parotta, and lassis.}} * {{Eat|name=Malayan Cafe|lat=9.66776|long=80.01022|hours=07:30-21:00 daily|lastedit=2025-06-24|content=Vegetarian brunch spot}} * {{Eat|name=Nallur Bhavan Vegetarian Restaurant|address=250 Temple Rd|lat=9.67261|long=80.02879|lastedit=2025-06-24|content=Try the chilli kotthu parotta. Cheap!}} * {{Eat|name=Rice & Spice|address=321 Kasthuriyar Rd|lat=9.67200|long=80.01220|hours=07:30-21:30 daily|price=Rs 1000|lastedit=2025-06-26|content=Try the mutton biryani}} ==Drink== Do not drink tap water. The local brew is toddy, from the coconut or the palmyrah tree. Toddy from the palmyrah tree is sweeter. You can buy Nelli (Indian Gooseberry) cordial which has a bittersweet flavour. This district has a crazy proliferation of fresh juice stalls, even by Sri Lankan standards! Try {{Eat|name=Juice Spot|lat=9.65856|long=80.018858|hours=08:30-20:30 daily|lastedit=2025-06-24}} There is very little nightlife in Jaffna. Your options are to buy some beers and drink them either at your accommodation, or outside the beer shop with a bunch of drunk old men (not recommended). ==Sleep== === Budget === *{{sleep | name=Tony's Garden House Backpacker's Inn | alt= | url=| email= | address=215 Old Park Rd, Jaffna 40000 | lat=9°39'34.9"N | long=80°01'40.4"E | directions=Go to hospital road from the train station, follow it along to the end, a short distance along Kandy road and then right onto Old Park Road. It is on the right opposite the park. | phone=+94 77 033 9879 | tollfree= | fax= | price=Double 2500Rs Double + Single 3000Rs | checkin= | checkout= | content=Tony is a welcoming host with all the information you need to explore Jaffna and the surrounds. He provides cheap breakfast where you can meet the other travellers who have made it to Jaffna. The location is conveniently close to the train station and not far from the main attractions of the town. |lastedit=2025-09-13 }} * {{sleep | name=Tilko City Hotel | alt= | url=http://tilkohotels.com/ | email=info@tilkohotels.com | address=No: 70/6, K.K.S. Rd | lat=9.66539 | long=80.01073 | directions= | phone=+94 217 200 707 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From USD 29 (2019) | lastedit=2019-06-30 | content=Rooms with TV, safe, bathroom with hot and cold water. Has a bar, restaurant and gym. }} *{{sleep | name=Uthayan Guest House | alt= | url=https://m.facebook.com/uthayanGuest/ | email= | address=392/6, Navalar Rod | lat=9.66917 | long=80.02685 | directions=Close by Nallur Temple | phone=+94 21 567 7608 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USD25 | content=}} * {{sleep | name=Nallur Residence | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.67406 | long=80.03101 | directions= | phone=+94 77 244 6241 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rs 3536 | lastedit=2021-01-02 | content=Tranquil environment with meals available and friendly hosts. }} * {{sleep | name=Thambu Illam | alt= | url=https://thambuillam.com/ | email= | address=107 Brown Road | lat=9.67807 | long=80.01699 | directions= | phone=+94 76 455 0644 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rs 2978 | lastedit=2021-01-02 | content=Another homestay place, with a pool and meals available. }} * {{sleep | name=Wood Rest Guesthouse | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.65931 | long=80.0212 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2025-06-14 | content=A good cheap guest house 1km south of the railway station }} === Midrange === * {{Sleep|name=Fort Hammenhiel|url=https://forthammenhielresort.lk/|address=Off the coast of Karainagar Island|lat=9.71151|long=79.84761|price=From USD 100 room only to USD 180 full board|lastedit=2025-11-28|content=Stay in a Dutch-built island fortress! The rooms are basic but you come here for the experience.}} * {{sleep | name=Jetwing Jaffna | alt=ஜெட்விங் யாழ்ப்பாணம் | url=http://www.jetwinghotels.com/jetwingjaffna/ | email= | address=37, Mahatma Gandhi Road | lat=9.664875 | long=80.013598 | directions= | phone=+94 21 2 215571 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USD 77 room only - USD 135 full board | lastedit=2017-04-23 | content=upscale hotel with rooftop bar and nice restaurant }} * {{sleep | name=The Margosa Villa | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=9.744528 | long=80.049152 | directions= | phone=+94 21 2 240242 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2017-04-23 | content=Small boutique hotel located midway between the airport and city centre. }} ==Stay safe== Landmines from the civil war might still exist in some places. When walking along the beaches, beware of jellyfish which usually wash up on the beach at dawn. Do not go swimming beyond the floating styrofoam markers. ==Connect== ==Go next== If you like Jaffna, you'll like [[Trincomalee]] too. [[Delft Island]] is a popular place to get away from everything and just chill for a while. To get there, take the 776 bus to Kurikattuwan jetty (1hr, departs when full) and then get on the next ferry to Delft (1hr, departs every few hours) {{IsPartOf|Northern Province (Sri Lanka)}} {{usablecity}} {{Geo|9.66|80}} gkpvfk9a2t873nh1zrb3qj0mo0eeq7s 0 16585 5298486 5298400 2026-06-25T18:49:28Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298486 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} 7dlh15zzt41392os4vwbh4xv6o4fujh 5298487 5298486 2026-06-25T18:53:02Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298487 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} * '''Cephas Inn, Makanga Hill.''' * '''White Horse Inn''' ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} onumi3medweb3se5waprgqomp171fm4 5298488 5298487 2026-06-25T18:55:15Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298488 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} * '''Cephas Inn, Makanga Hill.''' * '''White Horse Inn''' * '''T.Wills Hotel,''' Mukikoregi behind all saints Church Kabale * Capricorn Hotel ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} fclf0oyvvwuom5bc21gned25k00uwak 5298489 5298488 2026-06-25T18:56:48Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298489 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. * local porridge know as Enturire commonly found in bugongi ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} * '''Cephas Inn, Makanga Hill.''' * '''White Horse Inn''' * '''T.Wills Hotel,''' Mukikoregi behind all saints Church Kabale * Capricorn Hotel ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} pp0qn92sqk5tllqc6chd485og0zn7o3 5298490 5298489 2026-06-25T18:59:49Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298490 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} * At kings Hotel "Roasted Pork" * Best chips at Manhattan Hotel Kable road ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. * local porridge know as Enturire commonly found in bugongi ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} * '''Cephas Inn, Makanga Hill.''' * '''White Horse Inn''' * '''T.Wills Hotel,''' Mukikoregi behind all saints Church Kabale * Capricorn Hotel ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} km8pogfwgvsf984nr587evvzqah4yi6 5298491 5298490 2026-06-25T19:07:24Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298491 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ** '''Mwanjari Market'''. along kabale katuna road. works every Monday and Friday ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} * At kings Hotel "Roasted Pork" * Best chips at Manhattan Hotel Kable road ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. * local porridge know as Enturire commonly found in bugongi ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} * '''Cephas Inn, Makanga Hill.''' * '''White Horse Inn''' * '''T.Wills Hotel,''' Mukikoregi behind all saints Church Kabale * Capricorn Hotel ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} 944drg2lwdxft2l5exx9037o88u7zbt 5298492 5298491 2026-06-25T19:09:48Z Ninsiimairene 2426443 5298492 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kabale Uganda banner.jpg|pgname=Kabale}} '''Kabale''' is one of the major cities in South-[[Western Uganda]] with major tourist attractions such as [[Lake Bunyonyi]] and the [[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|Bwindi Impenetrable Forest]]. ==Understand== Kabale is about 420 km (260&nbsp;mi), by road, southwest of [[Kampala]], Uganda's capital and largest city and lies 2,000 m (6,600&nbsp;ft) above sea level. Kabale is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town, to the border with Rwanda at [[Katuna]], 10 km (6.2&nbsp;mi) south of Kabale. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travellers may continue to either the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] or the [[Rwanda]]n town of [[Ruhengeri]]. Kabale is often used as a stop-off point for people visiting '''Lake Bunyonyi''' but is a far less convenient base than [[Kisoro]] for those who want to visit the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town. ==Get in== Horizon, Abapakasi, Jaguar, Bismarkan and Gateway have buses from [[Kampala]] take around 8 hours. Link Buses from [[Fort Portal]] take around 8 hours. Buses from [[Mbarara]] take around 3 hours. [[Kasese]] 7 hours. [[Kisoro]] 2 hours. [[Kigali]], [[Rwanda]], is 104.3 km away. ==Get around== ==See== * {{see | name=Home of Edirisa Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=muhumuza Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8:30AM-5PM | price=USh 5000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Has a small gift shop. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Echuya Eco-tourism Association | alt= | url=http://www.echuya.wordpress.com | email=echuyaforest@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256-392-584882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 | lastedit=2016-05-30 | content=A non-profit community group, Echuya Eco-tourism Association is now offering guided hikes in Echuya Central Forest Reserve for USh 30,000. The reserve is located an hour away from Kabale on the Kisoro road. There are two trails which cross forest, bamboo, and a rare high altitude swamp. Cultural visits with Bakiga, Batwa, and Bafumbira communities are also possible. Self-sufficient campground USh 20,000. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Stanbic Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-18 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. Kabale - Kisoro Rd }} * {{buy | name=Equity Bank | alt= | url= | email=info@equitybank.co.ug | address= Plot 2, Kabale Road, Flockline Building| lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256-800 232 700 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1PM, closed Su and public holidays | price= | lastedit=2015-05-25 | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} * {{buy | name=Royal Supermarket. | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kisoro Road | lat= | long= | directions=near the post office | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Well-stocked supermarket. }} * {{buy | name=Crane Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-09-12 | content= }} *'''Active Supermarket''', kisoro Road (few minutes after kabale main stadium on kisoro Road and a main branch at the main Round about). Well-stocked supermarket. * {{see | name= Centenary Bank | alt= | url= | email= | address= Plot 129, Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +256 414 699 594 +256 414 699 548 | tollfree= | hours= M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8:30AM-1:30PM | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content=Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. }} ** '''Mwanjari Market'''. along kabale katuna road. works every Monday and Friday, in the market you find in clothes first class and second hand, all types of shoes, beddings, bags, kitchen wears, foods and snacks ==Eat== [[File:Meat and Irish Potatoe roasting by the roadside in Kabale, Uganda.jpg|thumb|Grilled meats and roast potatoes at a roadside stand]] * {{eat | name=Skyline Hotel and Skyblue Motel Dinner Buffets | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Main Janction. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-09-22 | content=Eat all you can. }} * At kings Hotel "Roasted Pork" * Best chips at Manhattan Hotel Kable road ==Drink== * Locally made poridge known as Obushera. * Brewed beers and spirits in the town bars and clubs. * local porridge know as Enturire commonly found in bugongi ==Sleep== * [[Lake Bunyongyi]] is 7 km away. * {{sleep | name=The Home Of Edirisa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Crane Bank. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Dorm USh 17,000; room (2 beds) USh 25,000 (shared bathroom); room (1 large bed) USh 35,000 (en suite, large bed, Wi-Fi signal in the room) | content=The only place in town with a working Wi-Fi connection (most other places claim to have Wi-Fi, but "it's broken"). Good place to meet other travellers of "volunteers", okay food, free Wi-Fi (Dec 2013). }} * {{sleep | name=Kabale Backpackers | alt= | url= | email= | address=Muhumuza Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Right next to The Home Of Edirisa. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Dorm bed USh 15,000, single room USh 25,000, double room USh 35,000 | content=Good and clean rooms, dorm bed/single/double/twin room with own bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=New Shade tree | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= Single room USh 10,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=. }} * {{sleep | name=Miami Tours and Travel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000 | lastedit=2015-04-02 | content=Fan single room. Has a lunchtime buffet. }} * {{sleep | name=Amagara Guest house | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 20,000/25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Victoria Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+256 486422154 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=USh 30,000/40,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Single/double rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Home Again | alt= | url= | email= | address=Kabale-Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions=500 m from the kabale market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=noon | checkout=11AM | price=From USh 25,000 | lastedit=2015-06-14 | content=Standard room with own bathroom and cable TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel New Africa | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=10AM | checkout=10AM | price=USh 30,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with outside bathroom. }} * {{sleep | name=Kings Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mbarara Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= noon | checkout=10AM | price=USh 40,000 | lastedit=2015-08-05 | content=Double room with own bathroom, fridge and cable TV }} * '''Cephas Inn, Makanga Hill.''' * '''White Horse Inn''' * '''T.Wills Hotel,''' Mukikoregi behind all saints Church Kabale * Capricorn Hotel ==Go next== * [[Lake Bunyonyi]] * [[Rwanda]] * [[Kisoro]] * [[Mbarara]] * [[Fort Portal]] {{IsPartOf|Western Uganda}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-1.2483|29.9897}} dvk4f2v9bhv7jfruksvss7itdu3rviw 0 16837 5298590 5298293 2026-06-26T03:10:08Z Sgroey 2240936 /* By bus */ updates, ce 5298590 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|unesco=yes}} '''Kandy''' is in the centre of [[Sri Lanka]] 125 km away from Colombo and is generally recognised as the island nation's cultural capital. It is on the [[UNESCO World Heritage List]]. ==Understand== This is the last kingdom of the country. Since it was conquered by the British around 1815 you can still see the living traditions. Kandyans are usually proud of their heritage. Since the western elements has played a comparatively little role in the city most Kandyans uphold Buddhist values. Since it is in the cultural triangle the authorities try to retain this values as much as possible. However, don't expect to find the honest Kandyans they describe in the colonial literature now. Be careful with your belongings and the people whom you associate with. But this is a peaceful city compared to most other parts of the country with a lower crime rate. ==Get in== ===By train=== {{Cautionbox|In November/December 2025, Cyclone Ditwah damaged 70% of the Sri Lankan railway network. Repair work is ongoing (as of February 2026) ongoing, but several lines are still out of service: Trains from Badulla and Ella travel as far as Ambewela but don't continue to Kandy or Colombo. There are no trains from Colombo to Kandy, Matale, Ella or Badulla: These trains only travel as far as Rambukkana The lines are still open from Colombo to Galle/Beliatta, Chilaw, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Jaffna. Further information on Sri Lanka Railways' website.|lastedit=2026-06-25}}[[File:Colombo Kandy.JPG|thumb|300px|right|The train ride from Colombo to Kandy]] From [[Colombo]] - Intercity express trains are hassle-free and scenic, 2½-3 hours, 10 trains per day. There is a great observation saloon (first class) on one of these trains, but this often books out. Other trains are usually crowded and depart late. Tickets from [[Colombo]] are Rs 7,000 first class, Rs 500 in second class, Rs 240 in third class (2023). The train line goes further to [[Badulla]], passing on its way [[Nuwara Eliya]] (Nanu Oya station from where one needs to take a short bus or tuk-tuk ride to Nuwara Eliya proper), [[Haputale]] and [[Ella]]. If you are in [[Negombo]] you will have to take some bus, taxi or tuk-tuk to some of the cities where the Main Line train goes to Kandy: Ragama, [[Gampaha]] or Veyangoda, on the trip you will see the '''Bible Rock''', which resembles the more famous [[Sigiriya]] citadel. From Ella, it is a spectacular train ride through hills and tea plantations, 6½ - 8½ hours, Rs 270 / 150 for 2nd / 3rd class. When you arrive, watch out for the tuk-tuk mafia at the railway station. It is better catch a tuk-tuk some distance from the station, or even better use Uber, PickMe or the like (again, some distance from the railway station tuk-tuk stand, as otherwise the tuk-tuk mafia there will threaten and chase your driver away). Train schedule can be found at [https://www.railway.gov.lk/web/index.php?lang=en Sri Lankan Railways website]. * {{go | name=Kandy railway station | alt=මහනුවර දුම්රිය ස්ථානය | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.28942 | long=80.63224 | directions=1 km SW of city centre | phone=+94 081-2222271 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Kandy railway station | image=KANDY RAILWAY STATION SRI LANKA JAN 2013 (8528101214).jpg | wikidata=Q6361715 | lastedit=2021-03-09 | content= }} ===By bus=== [[File:SL Kandy asv2020-01 img01 Bus station.jpg|thumb|300px|The Goods Shed bus station is right near Kandy Railway Station]] From '''Colombo''' take bus #1, more than 70 per day, 3¼ hours. It is a red public bus, it will be crowded, hot and will take ages, but only costs Rs 155 (2023). Alternatively get on Intercity air-conditioned bus from Colombo, which is the next best option to the train. If you are female and travelling alone it is best to either sit next to another female or try to sit as close to the conductor as possible (i.e. up front) to avoid any unnecessary surprises. '''From the Colombo airport'''. Walk or take a tuktuk to the bus terminal, where the friendly locals will direct you to the bus to Kandy, 3½ hr, Rs 150 (as of Jan 2013). From '''[[Dambulla]]''' bus station there are direct buses to Kandy. A non-A/C bus will cost Rs 100 and take about 3 hours. Air-conditioned buses are also available on this route but they do not stop at the bus station in Dambulla. {{go | name=Long-distance bus station | alt= | url= | email= | address= |lat=7.2895 | long=80.6295 | directions=near Kandy Railway Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-25 | content=Large bus stop from where depart long-distance buses, including the ones bound to Dambulla. }} ===By taxi=== If you're just arriving in Sri Lanka, heading for Kandy, you can hire a taxi from one of the stalls in the arrivals hall at Colombo airport for about Rs 6,000. The journey takes about 3 hours. This saves the hassle of going into Colombo, and is a lot quicker and easier. ===By hired mini-vans=== Hired mini-vans with a driver are available from Colombo through travel agencies and hotel concierges. The road to Kandy is astonishingly chaotic and frightening even for seasoned travellers. Be prepared for a long slow slog in traffic, or, if your driver decides to make the journey at a more practical speed, a hair-raising adventure replete with passing around blind corners and games of chicken with the ubiquitous intercity buses. A day trip from Mt. Lavinia to Kandy, including seeing the sights in Kandy, costs around Rs 10,000 (May 2011). ===By air=== '''[http://www.cinnamonair.com/ Cinnamon Air]''' operates daily scheduled flights that depart from [[Colombo]] (Bandaranaike International Airport) which reaches Polgolla Reservoir, Kandy in an hour and from Colombo City (Waters Edge) which reaches the destination in 30 minutes. One-way fare per person is listed as US$153 (without tax). ==Get around== {{Mapframe|7.296389|80.635|zoom=15|height=470|width=470}} The local '''"Three-Wheelers"''' ('''Tuk-Tuk'') are an amazingly cheap (if you know how to haggle! If you can get them for Rs 60-70 per Km you are doing well) and exciting way of seeing the city, and they run virtually all night long. However, beware of the Tuk-Tuk mafia at the Kandy railway station – they are likely to rip you off (and they threaten Uber or PickMe drivers when they collect passengers near their stand). '''Walking''' is also recommended - the centre is not that large - as a way of seeing temples, shops, shopping area and other sights around the lake. You can visit the Temple of the Tooth by on foot as well but you'll have to ask for directions. There are plenty of '''suburban buses''' that pass through the city center. <br clear="all"> ==See== [[Image:SL Kandy asv2020-01 img39 Sacred Tooth Temple.jpg|300px|thumb|The Temple of the Tooth entrance portal]] *{{see | name=Temple of the Tooth | alt=Sri Dalada Maligawa | url=http://www.sridaladamaligawa.lk | email=maligawa@sltnet.lk | address= | lat=7.29365 | long=80.641258 | directions= | phone=+94 812234226 | tollfree= | fax=+94 8112236201 | hours=Dawn to dusk | price=Rs 2,000 (since Jan 2017) for foreigners and Rs 500 for South Asian passport holders | wikipedia=Temple of the Tooth | image=SL Kandy asv2020-01 img33 Sacred Tooth Temple.jpg | wikidata=Q289175 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=It houses a tooth relic of the Lord Buddha, and is consequently considered one of Sri Lanka's most holy shrines. Although you should expect that you will not be able to view the actual tooth itself, the casket within which it is said to be is displayed twice a day. The first is at 5:30AM and the second which could be the best time to view this ornate casket is around 6:30PM. Besides, Sri Dalada Maligawa museum can be found on its second and third floor. }} * {{see | name=Royal Palace of Kandy | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.29474 | long=80.64114 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Till 16:30 | price=Entrance fee included into Temple of the Tooth ticket | wikipedia=Royal Palace of Kandy | image=SL Kandy asv2020-01 img43 Royal Palace.jpg | wikidata=Q3273212 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=It now houses archeological museum. }} * {{see | name=World Buddhist Museum | alt= | url=http://ibm.sridaladamaligawa.lk/ | email= | address=Sri Dalada Maligawa | lat=7.29472 | long=80.6408 | directions= | phone=+94 81 2 234226 | tollfree= | hours=8AM-6:30PM | price=Entrance fee included into Temple of the Tooth ticket | wikipedia=International Buddhist Museum | image=International Buddhist Museum (Temple of the Tooth , Kandy).jpg | wikidata=Q20010624 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=World's first International Buddhist Museum. }} * {{see | name=Raja Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Temple Square | lat=7.29448 | long=80.64175 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=8AM–6PM | price=Entrance fee included into Temple of the Tooth ticket | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=St. Paul Church | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.29452 | long=80.63976 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=National Museum of Kandy | alt='''Under reconstruction since early 2016''' | url=http://www.museum.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_regionalm&task=regionalmuseum&id=4&Itemid=60&lang=en | email= | address= | lat=7.29326 | long=80.64214 | directions=just behind the Temple of the Tooth | phone=+94 81 2223867 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Rs 500, and Rs 250 for a photography permit | wikidata=Q3533580 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=Houses an interesting collection of Sri Lankan relics. It is usually quiet and the museum workers are more than happy to provide a free tour. }} * {{see | name=Queen's Bath | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.29288 | long=80.64118 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-24 | content= }} * {{see | name=British Garrison Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.29298 | long=80.64308 | directions=below the National Museum | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Entrance is free | wikidata=Q20859170 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=Here lie the remains of several dozen, mostly British, soldiers who died from various causes during the colonial era. The cemetery is extremely well-maintained by its caretaker, who will gladly complement some of the more fascinating tombstones with a little back-story. }} * {{see | name=Bahirawakanda temple | alt=Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue | url= | email= | address=Bahirawakanda Lane, Mulgampola | lat=7.29557 | long=80.63087 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Rs 250 | lastedit=2017-09-05 | content=The ominipresent Buddha statue seen from everywhere in Kandy city. Take a tuk tuk ride to the Temple or walk, just 1 km away from the Kandy city. The way to the temple may not be easy to locate, you might have to take a three wheeler or ask a local, when in doubt just walk up and follow the colourful Buddhist flags over the road. This Buddha statue is best viewed from far away. Once you get onto the premises it is no longer easy to see. Plus it is not a very peaceful place as temples go.<br />Buddha statue high is 88 feet (26.8 m) and it's on the top of a hill about 850 feet (259 m) from the city level. }} * {{see | name=Udawattakele Royal Forest Sanctuary | alt=Udawatta Kele Sanctuary | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.2988835 | long=80.6402146 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=7AM–6PM | price=Foreigners Rs 650 | wikidata=Q7876953 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=The forest was planned and maintained as the part of the Royal palace complex of the Sinhala Kings. A patch of tropical rain forest still survives and if you don't come across it, it is still a wonderful walk. You are guaranteed to come across plenty of monkeys and some tranquil ponds. Wear long trousers after rain, and take some salt as there are lots of leeches about. }} ===South of the lake=== * {{see | name=Arthur's Seat Viewpoint | alt= | url= | email= | address=Keerthi Sri Rajashinge Mawatha | lat=7.2890 | long=80.6400 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=It offers panoramic view of Kandy and its artificial lake. }} * {{see | name=Royal Palace Park | alt=Wace Park | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.29047 | long=80.63736 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Foreigners Rs 100 | lastedit=2016-11-24 | content=Small little park with pond with dozens of kissing couples who try to hide from everybody else under their umbrellas. }} * {{see | name=Sangaraja Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.2892 | long=80.6378 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-24 | content= }} === Peradeniya=== [[Image:Peradeniya.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Peradeniya Botanical Gardens]] Peradeniya &mdash; is a big Kandy's suburb 5 km away from it. A lot of local buses go there from Kandy from Kandy's clock-tower bus terminal, including #644 and regular buses headed to Colombo, Rs 50 (as of 2024). Tuk tuk costs Rs 800-1000 for foreigners (2024). * {{see | name=Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya | alt= | url=http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/ | email= | address=Peradeniya Rd | lat=7.2724323 | long=80.5929637 | directions= | phone=+94 81 2 388088 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=7:30AM–6PM, ticket counter closes 1 hour earlier | price=Foreigners Rs 2000, students Rs 1,000 | wikidata=Q3119056 | lastedit=2023-02-04 | content=The best botanical garden in Sri Lanka and one of the best in the region. It dates back to the ancient kings of the country although the British changed the look of it. The British are said to have used the gardens to grow trees that could not be grown at south-west London Kew gardens. The large banyan tree, the orchid house, the suspension bridge, and the bats are some of the main attractions.<br />From bus terminal adjacent to Kandy's clock tower, take any bus headed to Peradeniya, including No 724, and expect a travel time of around half an hour. }} *{{See | name=University of Peradeniya | alt= | url=http://www.pdn.ac.lk | email= | address= | lat=7.25417 | long=80.5967 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=University of Peradeniya | image=University of Peradeniya outside.jpg | wikidata=Q3083280 | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=The second university of Sri Lanka, established in 1942 in affiliation with former 'The University of Ceylon'. This has the largest university library in South Asia which is seven storyed. Tremendous beauty of this university has been appreciated over decades. Off the university bounds, Hanthana mountains can be hiked. On the opposite side, largest river of Sri Lanka, the River Mahaweli flows. The beauty of site can be markedly seen in March–April season. }} * {{see | name=Commonwealth War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address=Deveni (2nd) Rajasinghe mawatha down by the Mahaweli riverside | lat=7.281563 | long=80.60839 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=Formerly known as Pitakande Military Cemetery, it is one of the most beautifully landscaped and maintained war cemeteries in the world. There is one Commonwealth burial of the World War I and a further 196 Commonwealth burials of the World War II commemorated in the cemetery. In addition there are four Foreign National and two non world war burials. The range of nationalities laid to rest comes from the records of the War cemetery, and include 107 Britons, 35 East Africans, 26 Sri Lankans, 23 Indians, six Canadians, three Italians and one Frenchman. }} ===Nearby=== [[File:SL Kandy asv2020-01 img46 Degaldoruwa Temple.jpg|thumb|300px|Degaldoruwa Temple interior]] * {{see | name=Ceylon Tea Museum | alt= | url=http://www.ceylonteamuseum.com | email= | address=Hantana Rd | lat=7.2686647 | long=80.6305451 | directions= | phone=+94 81 3 803204 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 8:30AM-3:45PM, it closes 45 minutes earlier on Sundays | price=Foreigner adult Rs 750, children Rs 400 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=The ancient Tea Factory of Hantana Estate located 5 km away from Kandy has been converted into a museum dedicated to the history of Sri Lankan tea, run by the Sri Lanka Tea Board. Museum excursion takes about 15 minutes and finishes with cup of complimentary tea, after everybody is thrown into a tea shop with quite inflated prices. }} * {{see | name=Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage | alt= | url=http://nationalzoo.gov.lk/elephantorphanage/ | email= | address= | lat=7.300556 | long=80.388333 | directions=40 km west from Kandy | phone=+94 35 2 265284 | tollfree= | hours=8:30AM–6PM | price=Foreigners adult Rs 2500, children Rs 1250 | wikipedia=Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage | image=Pinnawala 01.jpg | wikidata=Q2672104 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=Although more an orphanage to make the owners money than a place caring for elephants, it has about seventy semi-tame elephants roaming "freely" around this wonderful sanctuary. Feeding and bathing times are especially enjoyable. You can either hire a taxi to take you there or, if travelling on a budget, get a bus to Kegalle (about an hour away) for about Rs 200, asking the driver to drop you off at the turn for Pinnewala which is 5 km or so before you reach the town, and catch another local bus for the last 6 km or so. Definitely worth the trip if you support such questionable practices. }} * {{see | name=Gadaladeniya Temple | alt=Gadaladeniya Rajamaha Temple | url= | email= | address=Gadaladeniya Junction, Daulagala-Pilimathalawa Rd | lat=7.2572982 | long=80.5538955 | directions= | phone=+94 71 761 9036 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Wattarantenna Purana Gal Len Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.3160296 | long=80.626774 | directions= | phone=+94 81 2 233208 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Embekka Temple | alt=Embekke Devalaya | url= | email= | address=Embekka Pilimatalawa Road, Embekka | lat=7.2180248 | long=80.5637063 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5370021 | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Dodanwala Devalaya Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Degaldoruwa Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sirimalwatta | lat=7.2180248 | long=80.5637063 | directions= | phone=+94 71 364 2765 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Hindagala Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address=Hindagala | lat=7.240538 | long=80.5989506 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Madawala Rajamaha Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address=Katugastota - Madawala - Bambarella Rd, Madawala | lat=7.329427 | long=80.6699418 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Galmaduwa Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.2857637 | long=80.674377 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} * {{see | name=Ambuluwawa Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.16153 | long=80.54736 | directions=From Kandy clock tower, take a bus to Gampola. From Gampola, either take the hourly bus headed to Hemmathagama or arrange for a tuk tuk. Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex is 4 km west of Gampola and is it another 2 km between the entrance to Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex and Ambuluwawa Tower. The bus between Gampola and Hemmathagama stops at the turn off to Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex, about 100 m north of the entrance gate. From there, you can either walk 2 km up a steep paved road or negotiate a price with one of the tuk tuk drivers. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Rs 2000 for foreigners. Rs 90 for Sri Lankans. There is an additional vehicle fee, if a vehicle is driving you through the entrance gate of Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex | lastedit=2024-01-27 | content=A unique looking spiral tower that you can walk up. The tower is 48 m high and it is located on the top of a mountain, so it has good views of the surrounding hilly area, even when standing at viewpoints beside the tower. The stairs to the top progressively narrow to such an extent that people cannot pass each other going up and down except at certain wider points, creating significant congestion, especially, if you are trying to traveling within the top third of the tower. Given the congestion, most visitors do not travel all the way to the top. The tower is located within Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex and you must pay the entrance fee before going up the mountain to reach the tower. }} == Do == * '''Kandyan dancing''' &mdash; traditional form of dancing, which can be seen at multiple venues including that the "Kandy Cultural Centre" near the Kandy lake. As of 2024, expect prices to range from 2000 to 3500 per ticket for about 1 hour performances, not including intermission time. * {{do | name=Buddhist Publication Society | alt= | url=http://www.bps.lk | email= | address=54 Sangharaja Mawatha | lat=7.28954 | long=80.64635 | directions=near the lake | phone=+94 81 2 237283 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 9AM–4:30PM | price= | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=You can participate in discussions about Buddhism, meditation or you can buy some introductory materials about Buddhism. }} * {{do | name=Nilambe Meditation Centre | alt= | url=http://nilambe.net/ | email= | address=Galaha | lat=7.201908 | long=80.6480179 | directions=take a Galaha bus passing Peradeniya. Get down from Nilambe "office junction" | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A Buddhist retreat which offers experiences of a monastic lifestyle. You can engage in daily activities including yoga classes, meditation and discussions. }} * {{do | name=Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium | alt= | url=http://www.srilankacricket.lk | email= | address=+94 77 226 9192 | lat=7.2997037 | long=80.6315435 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=If there's a cricket match on, spend a day at the Asgiriya Stadium, possibly the world's prettiest test match venue, and certainly the only one that for most of the year is simply a school sports ground (Trinity College). }} ===Treks=== * Within the Kandy city the short walk of Asgiri Maha Viharaya via Bahirawakande hill is an interesting. * Udawattakelle forest reserve has lots of treks. * The secret Walkers Forest upper Hantane trek is on special permission from the Municipal Council of Kandy. * The famous Western Shrines of Kandy Gadaladeniya, Lankathilake temples and Embakke shrine are connected by a very scenic footpath. * Other part of the west of Kandy, a part of Portuguese War Route, via Ihalakotte railway station to Dodanwala Devale shrine is passing forest reserves, Alagalle Mountain, tea estates and kandyan traditional villages. * East of Kandy city the temples of Gangaramaya, Galmaduwa, Degaldoruwa are all well known for paintings, sculptures and architectural techniques. * [[Knuckles Mountain Range]] and its forest trails are the most suitable for trekking in Sri Lanka. * South of Kandy the longest rice field scenery of the island, Lamasuriyagama the rice field was belonging to royal court of Kandy a spectacular trek. It is undisturbed from electricity wires for photographs and with terrace rice fields by a Loggaloya river with watch huts of farmers. Loggaloya riverine forest trail to Victoria – Randenigala – Rantambe sanctuary is also a very interesting trekking. ===Festivals=== * '''Perahera''' is the most famous festival in Kandy and one of the biggest festivals in Asia. It usually takes place in August and lasts 10 days. The intensity, duration as well as number of participants (>1000) and elephants increases from day to day. The last five days are most intense with the last day being the longest and craziest procession. It's a pageant where many elephants participate (maybe 50-70). Many elephants will show behavioural disorders and will be led by their mahouts. Specially trained local vets and international doctors will be present. You can buy expensive seats or can see it with the crowd. Buy a seat from the Queens hotel, which costs around US$40. Buy the tickets from the officials as otherwise through middlemen you will be paying exorbitant prices. Seats in restaurants or cafes on the route will cost around Rs 5000, touts on the street will approach you. People sitting in the street line up early, around midday in front of Queens Hotel and around 4-5pm at other places along the route. Come early to secure a spot. People sit during the whole procession and it standing up is discouraged. Locals usually have a sheet to mark their "spot" and buy food/drinks from the many street vendors. The perahera starts around 7:30PM (the second cannon shot indicates the start of the procession) and can last well over three hours. A typical procession from one of the last five days consists of dancers, musicians, artists and elephants, separates into five distinct groups (one for each temple). A massive array of police will be present. Special forces will search for explosives before procession. ==Buy== [[File:Spice shop in Kandy Market, Sri Lanka.jpg|thumb|300px|A bright display of spices at the Kandy Central Market]] * {{buy | name=Laksala | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sangaraja Mawatha | lat=7.2915957 | long=80.6351423 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=State-owned handicraft shop. You will be able to buy a lot of genuine handicrafts made by traditional artisans (don't be deceived by the fake products available with most tourist shops). }} * {{buy | name=Kandy City Centre | alt= | url=http://www.kandycitycentre.lk | email= | address=Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe Mawatha | lat=7.29231 | long=80.63713 | directions= | phone=+94 81 2 202850 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM–8PM | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content=Ultra modern shopping complex opened in 2009 with space for over 400 shops. By the time of its opening it is the country's most modern and biggest shopping complex. }} *{{buy | name=Waruna Antiques | url= | email= | address=761 Peradeniya Rd | lat= | long= | directions=10 minutes from Kandy, Old Peradeniya Road | phone=+94 777710013 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM | price= | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=Kandyan masks, jewellery, coins, plates, textiles, etc. }} *{{buy | name=Kandy Art Association | url=https://www.facebook.com/KandyanArtAssociation | email= | address=72 Sangaraja Mawatha | lat=7.29203 | long=80.64248 | directions=almost at the rear end of the Maligawa Temple of the Tooth Relic and can be reached by walking along the lake road from the "Ulpenge" situated at the Southern entrance | phone=+94 81 2223100 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-5:30PM | price=Entrance free | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=Visitors can see how these articles are made. This is a centre for traditional arts and crafts with a government-sponsored sales room and fixed prices. }} *{{buy | name=Upali Jayakody Batiks | url=http://www.jayamalibatiks.com/ | email= | address=No.192/2, Dharmashoka Mawatha, Lewella | lat=7.2980666 | long=80.6481403 | directions= | phone=+94 777833938 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=High quality modern batik. }} * {{buy | name=Central Market | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.292147 | long=80.632337 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 8AM–5PM | price= | lastedit=2014-11-23 | content=Stocking the same range of foods, spices, herbal tonics, crafts, textiles and factory-reject designer-brand clothing, it caters to the locals and is government run so there is one price and it is 200-300% cheaper than the tourist shops. Sri Lanka is known for its fabulous spices in diversity, quantity and quality. Cardamom and cinnamon, nutmeg and chili, pepper and turmeric and amazing smelling vanilla. }} There are quite a few road side shoe repairers here. Very skilled, fast and cheap. So if you have any damaged footwear now is a good time to fix them. ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Green Leaf Hotel and Bakers | url= | email= | address=De Soyza Lane | lat= | long= | directions=near corner of Yatinuwara Lane | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Great local eatery just one block back from the main street. Full range of rottis, rice and curry and hoppers (evening only). Good service and very affordable prices. }} * {{eat | name=Bakehouse | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=For snacks or traditional Sri Lankan meals. Scenic view of the City, from its first floor balcony, where they serve a Sri Lankan buffet, but this tends to sell out by about 7:30PM. }} * {{eat | name=Devon Food Court | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Famous for quality snacks. '''Captain's Table''' is upstairs from Devons. Good Sri Lankan and South Indian food. }} * {{eat | name=Avanhala | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=just in front of the Kandy lake | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Good food and best scenery. }} * {{eat | name=Flower Song Chinese Restaurant | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=on Kotugodelle Vidaya just north of the town centre | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=It sells excellent Chinese food with huge portions of rice or noodles. It's clean, air-conditioned, and serves beers and wines. }} *{{eat | name=Dinemore | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Just opposite to the Anniewatta tunnel. On the top of '''Nihal's Super'''. Good quality Mid-Eastern and South-Indian food for affordable prices. }} * {{eat | name=Lyons | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=In front of the Hindu Kovil. Serves good quality food, both Western and Eastern. }} * {{eat | name=The Empire cafe | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Near the Temple of the tooth, it serves good wraps and western and eastern food in a nice environment. }} * {{eat | name=Slightly Chilled Lounge Bar | alt=Bamboo Garden Restaurant | url= | email=mickyrichardson@hotmail.com | address=29a Anagarika | lat= | long= | directions=Best to take Tuk Tuk , all can walk from the city | phone=+94 778037308 | tollfree= | hours=Noon to midnight | price=Free Entry | lastedit=2024-09-22 | content=Slightly Chilled is the most famous restaurant and bar in Kandy. Travellers flock there to catch the sunset, meet other travelers and enjoy the views and the food, which is Asian fusion of Chinese dishes and Western pub grub. Run by an English guy who has lived in Asia since 1993 and his Chinese wife, are very hands-on and try to make everyone feel welcome. With a free pool table at the back and live sports bar showing premiership football, a view of the lake and city, Live music and Dj at night. }} == Drink == * There are two popular bars on the main street (Dalada Vidaya), '''The Pub''' and '''The Pub Royale'''. The former serves quite good (but pricey, perhaps Rs 700) meals, has a large screen for sports inside and a 1st floor outside verandah. * There are a number of cheap bars (Rs 100 or less for a 650 ml bottle of beer) scattered throughout the sidestreets near the town centre. They can be rather seedy and unaccompanied women could be made to feel very uncomfortable. (Usually Local women do not drink) * Victory Hotel, 79 Colombo Road. This bar is a great way to see real Sri Lankans and what they do, downstairs is full of locals knocking back Arrack, the atmosphere may be less than salubrious, in fact it gives the Sidney Hotel, Galle a run for its money, but the people are friendly. Upstairs is slightly less dingy as it serves food, Arrack starts at Rs 700, beer Rs 195 and a cigarette from a waiter Rs 30. ==Sleep== There are many hostels, budget, midrange and splurge hotels in Kandy, where you can stay the night and rest easily. ===Budget=== There are lots of cheapish guest houses to the south and east of the lake, all only a short walk from the town centre, and generally clean and friendly. * {{sleep | name=Burmese Rest | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Room from Rs 300 | content=The cheapest option in the city. The Buddhist monks are friendly and the building is a quiet retreat from Kandy's noisy streets. You'll find it after one kilometre on the right hand side, on the road which begins at the Tooth Temple, leading away from Kandy Lake. }} * {{sleep | name=Kandy City House | alt= | url= | email= | address=No 25/1, Hospital Lane | lat=7.289204 | long=80.6307043 | directions=little lane next to the train station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From Rs 2000 | lastedit=2018-05-14 | content=Family run little guest house. Three rooms only. }} *{{sleep | name=Kandy City Mission | url= | email=tobias_vishvabaratha@yahoo.com | address=125, DS Sennanayake Veediya | lat= | long= | directions=in the centre of Kandy | phone=+94 77 2 203040 (Contact Tobi) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=2PM | checkout=noon | price=US$5-10 person | content=Managed by some of the members of the churches of Kandy. }} * {{sleep | name=Kandy Cottage | url=http://www.kandycottage.com | email=askus@kandycottage.com | address=160 Lady Gordon Dr | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 77 2 203040 (Tobi) | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$22-40 per person, accompanying children free if under 12. Half rate after the second week. | content=Eco-friendly retreat for writers and artists, but it also welcomes general holiday makers with facilities from laundry to laser printing. Although it nestles in a little hollow adjoining a tiny virgin forest 'Udawatta Kele Royal Forest Sanctuary', it is only ten minutes' walk from the city centre. It has two double rooms and one family suite, all of them enabled with broadband internet. }} * {{sleep | name=Rosendale Villa | url= | email=rosendaleres@gmail.com | address=85/A Upul Mawatha,Primrose Gardens | lat= | long= | directions=on the Primrose Hill | phone=+94 771015665 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Room from Rs 4,500 | content= Serves breakfast, lunch & dinner. Offers WiFi, laundry, tuk tuk rides. }} === Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Golden View Rest | url= | email=goldenview@sltnet.lk | address=Saranankara Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 2239418 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Room from Rs 1,500 | content=View on the lake and a part of the city. Hot water and very clean rooms. Air-con and non air-con rooms. The breakfast is not included in the price if not asked. Beware of the owner's "free" tuk-tuk scam: your driver will demand an extortionate sum of money once you arrive at your destination. }} *{{sleep | name=Hill Top Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.aitkenspencehotels.com/factsheets/hotelhilltop/factsheets.pdf | email= | address=200/21, Bahirawakande Peradeniya Rd | lat= | long= | directions=about 2 km to the city centre | phone=+94 81 2224162 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$53-60(2014) | content=Two star hotel. 73 standard rooms. The onsite restaurant serves a variety of local and international dishes. }} *{{sleep | name=McLeod Inn | url= | email=mcleod@sltnet.lk | address=65A Rajapihilla Mawatha | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 222 2832 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Rs 1,300-1,700 | content=The couple who run the place are all smiles and very helpful. Rooms are sparkling clean, comfy beds, en suite with hot and cold water. Some beautiful views across Kandy from their balcony and from a couple of rooms, room 6 especially has floor to ceiling windows. No air-con, but you do not need it. }} [[File:SL Kandy asv2020-01 img04 Queens Hotel.jpg|thumb|300px|Queen's Hotel]] *{{sleep | name=Queen's Hotel | alt= | url=http://www.queenshotel.lk | email= | address=124 Srimath Kuda Ratwatte Mawatha | lat=7.29327 | long=80.63840 | directions=in the middle of the city beside the Temple of the Tooth Relic and the Kandy Lake | phone=+94 81 2233026 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Non-air-con: single US$40-60, double $45-80; Air-con: single $79-94, double $92-122 | content=One of the oldest hotels in Kandy. Offers ideal geataway spots to watch the Maligawa Perahera (the procession). }} *{{sleep | name=Riverdale Hotel | url= | email= | address=32, Aniwatte Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$42 | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Heavens Holiday Resort | alt= | url=http://www.heavensholidayresort.com | email=heavens.holiday@gmail.com | address=23/a arangala nattharanpotha kandy | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 755915211 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Non-air-con: single US$15-20, double $15-20; Air-con: single US$30-40, double $30-40 | content=Heavens Holiday Resort is a nice clean guest house near the Kandy city. They have 3 rooms and 3 bathrooms. One room has a private balcony and others with public balcony. Home made foods are offered the 1st floor restaurant. }} *{{sleep | name=Theva Residency | alt= | url=https://www.theva.lk | email=thevaresidency@gmail.com | address=1/B5/10-1, 6th Lane, Hanthana | lat= | long= | directions=off upper tank road, off circular road 2 | phone=+94 (81) 7388296 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Hotel with scenic hillside views. }} === Splurge === *{{sleep | name=Amaya Hills Kandy | alt= | url=https://www.amayaresorts.com/amayahills/ | email= | address=Heerassagala | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 4474022, +94 77 77772237 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$37 | content=100 rooms. All rooms and suites have private balconies overlooking the valley or mountainside. Offers Ayurvedic spa treatments. }} *{{sleep | name=Cinnamon Citadel Kandy | alt= | url=https://www.cinnamonhotels.com/cinnamoncitadelkandy | email= | address=124 Srimath Kuda Ratwatte Mawatha | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 2233395 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$82 (2021) | content=Located 500 m above sea level with an outdoor pool. It offers air-conditioned rooms featuring spacious interiors. Each room is equipped with a mini-bar, tea/coffee making facilities and a TV with cable channels. }} *{{sleep | name=Earl's Regency | alt= | url=https://www.aitkenspencehotels.com/earlsregency/ | email= | address=Tennekumbura | lat= | long= | directions=4 km from Kandy | phone=+94 81 5873305-7 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$80-210 | content=This 100-room five-star hotel has restaurants with a variety of international cuisine, 24-hour room service, a coffee shop, an Ayurvedic health centre, a shopping arcade, a sauna and wedding, conference and banquet facilities. Evening entertainment includes disco, karaoke, live bands, oriental bands, bingo and cultural shows. }} *{{sleep | name=Forest Villa | alt= | url=http://www.forestvilla.lk/ | email= | address=185 B, Rajapihilla Mawatha | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 812 220 333 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Offers rooms equipped with bathroom amenities, eelcome pack (water, tea, coffee or fruit juice) and coffee/tea maker. On-site restaurant, dining areas, business centre, housekeeping and 24-hours back-up power supply. }} *{{sleep | name=Hunas Falls by Amaya | url=http://www.amayaresorts.com/srilanka/hunas/amayahunas.htm | email= | address=Elkaduwa | lat= | long= | directions=about 26 km away from Kandy | phone=+94 81 4940320 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$133 (2014) | content=Overlooks Hunas Falls. Has nine superior rooms, 19 deluxe rooms and suites. Room facilities include a mini bar, satellite TV and IDD telephone. All rooms are centrally air conditioned. Offers conferencing and banqueting facilities. }} *{{sleep | name=The Kandy Samadhicentre | url=http://www.thekandysamadhicentre.com | email= | address=Kukuloya Rd Narampanawa | lat= | long= | directions=passing Digana | phone=+94 777710013 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Double with hot water B&B from US$95 (2014) | content=Nature resort. }} *{{sleep | name=Mahaweli Reach Hotel | url=http://www.mahaweli.com/ | email= | address=35, P.B.A. Weerakoon Mawatha | lat= | long= | directions=a few minutes away from the city | phone=+94 81 4472727 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Single US$125-180, double $140-200, suites: US$3,000-5,000 | content=Five star hotel. }} * {{sleep | name=Randholee Resort | url=http://www.randholeeresorts.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 2217741 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Sinhle US$170-240, double US$170-300 | content=The view from this resort is one of the better ones in the area, decked in Kandyan décor. Not all rooms have their own private balcony and bathroom. }} *{{sleep | name=Suisse Hotel | url=http://www.hotelsuisse.lk/ | email= | address=30, Sangarajah Mawatha | lat=7.28860 | long=80.64287 | directions=right beside the historic Kandy Lake | phone=+94 81 81 2233024-5 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$110-160 | content=Colonial hotel. 93 rooms. }} *{{sleep | name=Swiss Residence Kandy Hotel | url= | email= | address=23 Bahirawakanda Ln | lat=7.29747 | long=80.63076 | directions=1 km to the city centre | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$70-170 (2014) | content=40 rooms. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Topaz | alt= | url=https://www.topaz.lk/ | email= | address=Anniewatta Circular Rd, මහනුවර | lat=7.28968 | long=80.62291 | directions= | phone=+94 81 7 389000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$59 | content=77 air-con rooms with piped music and hot and cold running water. 40 of them include a TV, a mini bar and bath. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Tourmaline | alt= | url=https://www.topaz.lk/ | email=info@topaz.lk | address=Bahirawakanda Patu Mawatha | lat=7.29174 | long=80.62547 | directions=Few miles up Aniwatte road | phone=+94 81 738 9000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$51 | content=Four-star 29 deluxe room hotel associated with The Topaz Hotel, also on a hilltop. }} * {{sleep | name=Hunas Falls Hotel Kandy | alt= | url=https://www.hunasfallshotelkandy.com/ | email=reservations@hunasfallshotels.com | address=Elkaduwa, Kandy 21012 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 812 476 402 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Starting from US$99 | content= }} === Outside of the city === * {{sleep | name=Mountbatten Bungalow | alt= | url=https://www.themeresorts.com/mountbattenbungalow/ | email=info@mountbattenbungalow.com | address=No 4, Spring Hill Estate, Bowalawatta | lat=7.270321 | long=80.604503 | directions= | phone=+94 081 2054400 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2017-07-17 | content=Spacious rooms, suites and garden chalets. The bungalow maintains its Victorian era architecture and furnishings. }} * {{sleep | name=Santani Wellness Kandy | alt=Santani | url=https://www.santani.com/santaniwellness-kandy/ | email=reservations@santani.com | address=Aratenna Estate, Werapitiya | lat=7.356802 | long=80.742198 | directions= | phone=+94 763991919 | tollfree= | checkin=2PM | checkout=11AM | price=US$450 | lastedit=2023-11-09 | content=Ayurveda, yoga, meditation and other wellness-related packages. Far away from the city on a misty mountain top. Onsite meals, infinity pool, yoga pavilion and spa. }} * {{sleep | name=The Summit | alt= | url=https://summit97.com/ | email=booking@summit97.com | address=97 Thapodaramaya Road | lat=7.279395 | long=80.627118 | directions= | phone=+94-81-205-0909 | tollfree= | checkin=14:00PM | checkout=11:00AM | price=$120 | lastedit=2025-05-19 | content=Panoramic mountain views, serene gardens. }} ==Cope== * {{listing | name=Kandy Tourist Police | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=7.29387 | long=80.63394 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-11-23 | content= }} ===Hospitals=== Major hospitals and health care centres: * {{listing | name=General Hospital Kandy | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 2222261 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Teaching Hospital - Peradeniya | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 2388001 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Sirimavo Bandaranaike Specialised Children's Hospital - Peradeniya | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Suwasewana Hospital | url= | email= | address=532, Peradeniya Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+94 81 2222404 | tollfree= | fax=+94 81 4476763 | hours= | price= | content= }} ===Consulates=== * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=High Commission of India | url=http://www.hcicolombo.org/ | email= | address=31, Rajapihilla Mawatha | lat=7.28956 | long=80.63849 | directions= | phone=+94 81 2222652, +94 81 2223786 | tollfree= | fax=+94 81 2232479 | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Go next== * [[Dambulla]] - 72 km north of Kandy, minibus ("A/C bus") '''No. 43''' to Dambulla departing from SWRD Bandaranayake rd ([https://www.google.com/maps/place/7%C2%B017'28.8%22N+80%C2%B037'59.9%22E/@7.2912755,80.6327891,468m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d7.2913333!4d80.6333056?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwMi4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here]) before T-junction with Keppeticola st, ticket 470LKR (Oct 2024), at irregular times when seats are filled up, duration 2hr to reach Dambulla, setting down at near Cargill Dambulla 1 ([https://www.google.com/maps/place/7%C2%B052'36.0%22N+80%C2%B039'02.8%22E/@7.8766667,80.6507778,467m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d7.8766667!4d80.6507778?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwMi4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here]). With a driver it is possible to do a day trip to Sigiriya (2.5 hour from Kandy)- Dambulla - Matale. * [[Knuckles Mountain Range]] and its forest trails are the most suitable for trekking in Sri Lanka. It has many nature trails cleared through the forest by forest department with campsites. * [[Matale]] is 25 km north of Kandy and connected by train * Take the scenic train to [[Ella]] (or stop at [[Nuwara Eliya]] or [[Haputale]] along the way) {{geo|7.296389|80.635000}} {{IsPartOf|Central Province (Sri Lanka)}} {{usablecity}} 4krk6khf1btoldqxoatqf69fswqw1qq 0 17144 5298586 5273375 2026-06-26T03:06:25Z Brycehughes 43226 /* Eat */ travel website 5298586 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kazakhstan banner 2.jpg|caption=Sunset on the steppe, near Boralday}} '''Kazakhstan''' (Kazakh: Қазақстан ''Qazaqstan''; Russian: Казахстан) is the largest of the states of the former [[Soviet Union]] apart from [[Russia]], and it dwarfs the other countries of [[Central Asia]] and stretches into [[Eastern Europe]]. Kazakhstan is the richest country in the region due to its large oil and natural gas reserves and is also the largest in Central Asia. And while the endless, featureless steppe might repel some visitors the emptiness and mystery of this goliath state keeps many others captivated. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=Kazakhstan regions map.png | regionmapsize=500px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | regionmapZoom=4 | region1name=[[Almaty Province]] | region1color=#a7c8ad | region1description=This is the location of the former capital, with treks into Tian Shan, historic towns, and ancient petroglyphs. | region2name=[[Kazakhstani North]] | region2color=#d6b9e4 | region2description=These are the cold steppes home to the national capital, the country's Russian minority, and industrial cities. | region3name=[[Kazakh Desert]] | region3color=#e7c9a8 | region3description=The location of ancient desert cities dotting the [[Silk Road]]. | region4name=[[Altai (Kazakhstan)|Altai]] | region4color=#a5bad4 | region4description=Includes remote and beautiful alpine scenery. | region5name=[[Caspian Basin]] | region5color=#dbaeb3 | region5description=Includes Caspian beaches and oil industry, and where local tribal affiliations are still strong. | region6name=[[Central Highlands (Kazakhstan)|Central Highlands]] | region6color=#e1e4b7 | region6description=This is a land of endless and sparsely populated steppes. }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a7c8ad|title=[[Almaty Province]]|wikidata=Q186466}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d6b9e4|title=[[Kazakhstani North]]|wikidata=Q485056,Q485605,Q485088,Q486144}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#e7c9a8|title=[[Kazakh Desert]]|wikidata=Q486657,Q485322,Q815330}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a5bad4|title=[[Altai (Kazakhstan)|Altai]]|wikidata=Q1046594,Q2550792,Q2664367,Q2550784,Q2550757,Q893317,Q986100,Q2466428,Q162548,Q2726370}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#dbaeb3|title=[[Caspian Basin]]|wikidata=Q427658,Q238931,Q486007}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#e1e4b7|title=[[Central Highlands (Kazakhstan)|Central Highlands]]|wikidata=Q485437,Q485429,Q2550775,Q613774,Q2726381,Q2466416,Q61944,Q1099244,Q2550754,Q2550803,Q2550746}} ==Cities== <!-- Nine representative cities only to be listed here. Do not make any changes without first discussing on the talk page--> * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Astana]]|wikidata=Q1520}} &mdash; second-largest city, and capital since 1997. Worth visiting, but you only need a few days to get to the most worthwhile sights. This city is brand new and being built very rapidly. If you want to see what the old Aqmola looks like, you need to do it now, as it is disappearing very rapidly. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Almaty]]|wikidata=Q35493}} &mdash; largest city, and capital until 1998. Definitely a must-see. Beside the Soviet-style city, you may want to go to the Medeu and other places in the nearby mountains. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Aktobe]]|wikidata=Q477232}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Atyrau]]|wikidata=Q486913}} &mdash; oil capital of Kazakhstan, with large onshore Tengiz and offshore Kashagan oilfields nearby * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Pavlodar]]|wikidata=Q486282}} &mdash; Kazakh city in the very north of the country, founded in 1720, closed until 1992 for its military significance in tank production, and home to one very impressive mosque, as well as other interesting Orthodox churches and various memorials * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Semey]]|wikidata=Q61944}} (''Semipalatinsk'') &mdash; university city, notorious for the nearby atomic bomb testing site * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Shymkent]]|wikidata=Q485496}} &mdash; Kazakhstan's third-largest city, very crowded with Uzbek people, it is an old market town located near [[Tashkent]] and some beautiful mountains; now booming with oil exploration * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Turkestan]]|wikidata=Q848638}} &mdash; another ancient city, long a border town between the Persian culture to the south and the Turkic nomadic culture to the north, now majority Uzbek and home to several important cultural-historical monuments * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ust-Kamenogorsk]]|wikidata=Q162548}} &mdash; mining city in the Altai mountains; primarily Russian-speaking <!-- Nine representative cities only to be listed here. Do not make any changes without first discussing on the talk page--> ==Other destinations== [[File:Kazakhstan Altay 2.jpg|thumbnail|Landscape in the Altai Mountains]] * {{marker|name=[[Aksu-Zhabagly]]|wikidata=Q1765261}} — a nature reserve * {{marker|name=[[Altai Mountains]]|wikidata=Q5955}} * {{marker|name=[[Baikonur]]|wikidata=Q165413}} — site of the spaceport * {{marker|name=[[Karkaraly National Park]]|wikidata=Q767661}} * {{marker|name=[[Talgar]]|wikidata=Q2302162}} — a town nearby the Talgar Mountains * {{marker|name=[[Zailiysky Alatau]]|wikidata=Q634401}} (''Trans-Ili Alatau'') — a 200 km long mountain range ==Understand== {{quickbar|location=LocationKazakhstan.png}} ===History=== Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were united as a single nation in the mid-16th century. The area was conquered by the [[Russian Empire]] in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] Republic in 1936. The traditionally-nomadic Kazakhs were forced to sedentarize as part of Stalin's collectivization policies. While it became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the country is still home to a large ethnic Russian minority, and the Russian language continues to be widely spoken. During the launching of the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities, including the Volga Germans) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers and their descendants to emigrate. Modern Kazakhstan is a neo-patrimonial state characterized by considerable nepotism and dominance over political and economic affairs by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down in March 2019 after a 29-year-tenure. However, it is not a severely authoritarian government compared to bordering Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China and opposition is not usually sacked or imprisoned. Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kazakh government has allowed foreign investment to flow into the capital to develop. The development of significant oil and gas reserves, particularly in the north and west, has brought a large amount of wealth to the country, though the money falls into the hands of just a few people. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan is now labelled a middle-income country, and is already classified with a high Human Development Index. Corruption in Kazakhstan is ubiquitous compared to China, but it is not as widespread as other countries in the region. ===Religion=== While [[Islam]] is the majority religion, Kazakhstan is nevertheless a secular state with a significant [[Christianity|Christian]] minority, and the variety of Islam practised here tends to be more liberal than that in the Middle East. ===Economy=== Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets (an oil pipeline to China has been built; the gas pipeline is under construction); achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors, and strengthening relations with surrounding states and other foreign powers. Kazakhstan is also a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, with plans for a high-speed rail through Kazakhstan linking China to Europe. ===Visitor information === * [https://kazakhstan.travel/ Kazakhstan Travel]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} website * [https://qaztourism.kz/ Kazakh Tourism] website ==Get in== Entering Kazakhstan is no longer the hassle it used to be. The Kazakh government is keen on opening up Kazakhstan to the rest of the world, and most people can enter the country without a visa. ===Entry requirements=== Citizens of the following countries (ordinary passport holders) may enter Kazakhstan without a visa for up to a certain number of days: *14 days: [[China]] (mainland), [[Hong Kong]], [[India]] and [[Iran]] *30 days: [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Argentina]], [[Bahrain]], [[Belgium]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Brazil]], [[Vatican City]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Hungary]], [[Vietnam]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Denmark]], [[Israel]], [[Indonesia]], [[Ireland]], [[Iceland]], [[Spain]], [[Italy]], [[Canada]], [[Qatar]], [[Cyprus]], [[Colombia]], [[South Korea]], [[Kuwait]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malaysia]], [[Malta]], [[Mexico]], [[Monaco]], [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Norway]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Oman]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Serbia]], [[Singapore]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[United States]], [[Thailand]], [[Turkey]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Philippines]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Croatia]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Chile]], [[Switzerland]], [[Sweden]], [[Ecuador]], [[Estonia]] and [[Japan]] *90 days: [[Azerbaijan]], [[Armenia]], [[Belarus]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Moldova]], [[Mongolia]], [[Russia]], [[Tajikistan]] and [[Ukraine]] Check the [https://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/for_foreigners/visa_regime_for_foreigners Kazakh government website] for the latest list. All other nationalities are required to obtain a visa in advance, which will require you to present a letter of invitation from a resident of Kazakhstan. If you are joining a package tour, the tour company can usually procure the letter of invitation for an additional fee; check with the company to be sure. If you know in advance that your stay will be longer, e.g. for work, then you need a visa, which will need to be supported by an official Letter of Invitation from the employer or agency in Kazakhstan. For more information see [https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa?lang=en Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan]. For tourist visits where you're enjoying the country so much that you want to stay on, the simplest way is to take a trip to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, which also has no visa requirement for many countries, and come straight back to gain another 30-day stay. There's no limit how often you do this. '''Registration (card):''' this practice has been discontinued since [https://caravanistan.com/visa/kazakhstan/registration-ovir/ 2020] - you now only get an entry and an exit stamp. ===By plane=== [[File:Alaport07.JPG|thumbnail|Air Astana plane at the runway of Almaty airport]] Kazakhstan's flag carrier is '''[https://www.airastana.com/ Air Astana]''' which flies into [[Almaty]] and [[Astana]] from [[Abu Dhabi]], [[Moscow]], [[Delhi]], [[Beijing]], [[Istanbul]], [[Bangkok]], [[Baku]], [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Frankfurt]], and [[Seoul]]. Air Astana keeps a monopoly on some international routes by limiting which airlines can fly to Kazakhstan. Lufthansa also has daily flights to Almaty, from where you can go anywhere via local carrier SCAT, which flies to most cities in Kazakhstan. Turkish Airlines is a good passenger carrier, with flights from Istanbul (ask a travel agent about the student fares, which can be a great deal). Many airlines from the Middle East, e.g., FlyDubai and Qatar Airways, fly to Kazakhstan as well. There are twice a week flights from Seoul to Almaty; one is with Asiana Airlines, and the other is Astana. Air Baltic also flies to Almaty; if you reserve tickets in advance, you can go there for €130 (from [[Riga]]). Etihad flies weekly from Abu Dhabi to Astana. Flight time is around 4½ hours. Taxi fares from the airport to the city range are 2,000-3,000&nbsp;tenge. A Russian transit visa is needed if changing planes in Russia when travelling to or from Kazakhstan. ===By train=== {{seealso|Moscow to Urumqi}} Trains in Kazakhstan are slow but comfortable and clean. Popular routes include Almaty to/from Moscow (77 hours), [[Novosibirsk]] (35 hours) and [[Ürümqi]], [[China]] (34 hours). Count on a 3–4&nbsp;hr stay at the Russian border or 6–8&nbsp;hr at the Chinese border. Trains in Kazakhstan can also be booked on-line. For trains use Railways.KZ and book Talgo trains are much more modern and the smell of the bathroom makes the slight increase in price entirely worth it. ===By car=== You can enter Kazakhstan by car through many of the border checkpoints on main roads into the country. However, be prepared to wait up to 24 hours in the queues, with rather poor facilities. ===By bus=== ====From China==== It is fairly easy to travel from [[Ürümqi]] to Almaty via sleeper bus, especially if you aren't in a hurry and don't mind living on a bus for 24 to 36 hours. The border crossing itself is a bit of a hike, and you may be made to carry all of your belongings with you for quite a way in some seriously warm weather. The bus trip and "baggage fees" are around US$45. You can pick up your Kazakhstan visa at the consulate in Ürümqi as well, but be prepared to chill for at least a week waiting, and be sure to get a copy of your passport before handing it over. ====From Kyrgyzstan==== It is a straight forward 3½-4½ hr (mini) bus ride from [[Bishkek]] to [[Almaty]] for about 1,200-1,800 tenge, depending on the option you choose (e.g. 500 som directly from the Bishkek Western Bus Station). For more information, see [[Almaty#Get in|Almaty]]. ===By boat=== {{seealso| Ferries in the Caspian Sea}} Freighters travel regularly between [[Baku]] and [[Aktau]], and it is possible to hitch a ride. It is common for ships to be held up, even for weeks, before entering port, so you had better stock up on food and water before boarding. See [[freighter travel]] to better understand how this works. ==Get around== [[File:Указатель могилы Узбек-хана.jpg|thumbnail|Road sign pointing to Uzbek Khan's grave near [[Aktau]]]] You can travel within the country using taxis, buses, trains and planes, it depends on your budget and demands. ===By bus=== In Semipalatinsk (Semey) a marshrutka costs 35&nbsp;tenge, and a large bus costs 35-40&nbsp;tenge. In Astana it ranges between 60-65&nbsp;tenge. ====Public buses==== Public transportation in big cities is rather popular. You can use buses, trolleys, trams and minibuses. One big minus of all of them is that they never come on schedule and very crowded on peak time. Moreover, there is absolutely no plan with bus stops and schedule whatsoever. If you don't speak Russian, taking the bus will be quite tricky but not impossible. ====Marshrutkas==== Similar to regular buses and another cheap way to get around is by taking a marshrutka. These are the dilapidated transport vans that cruise around or between towns. They usually have a sign (in Russian) listing the destination, and the driver will usually call out where they are going. However, you will not find them operating inside of Almaty city. ====Long-distance buses==== [[File:Bus in Kazakhstan.jpg|thumbnail|"Old bus in Kazakhstan"]] They're a popular alternative to trains and are faster, but less comfortable. Similarly to train travel, you will need to buy your ticket in advance and will be given a seat number. Be careful when the bus makes a toilet stop, the driver often does not check whether all the passengers are on board before driving away! Fares are relatively low, for instance a single from Almaty to Karaganda (14&nbsp;hr) will cost you 2,500&nbsp;tenge&mdash;much cheaper than a flight ticket. ===By taxi=== Use taxis as they are very cheap (€2-6 within the city). You don't have to use official taxis in most cities, basically you can stop almost any car on the street by raising your hand. It works well in Almaty & Astana, but in Karaganda the best way is one of taxis by phone. It some cheaper and even faster than hitch-hike waiting. Apps such as Uber or Bolt do not work in Kazakhstan, but you can download Yandex Go and use this for everything. If you are staying there for any length, this is highly advisable as they are cheap and efficient nationwide. Getting to the Almaty airport can be expensive. Taxis to the airport vary greatly in price. Any foreigner will be quoted a very expensive rate but usually drivers will come down once they see they aren't going to be able to get that much. US$50 is outlandish. Do not accept the first price as it will result in your being overcharged. It should be less than US$15, although it can ''never'' be guaranteed that a foreigner will get that price. A better option are the minibuses and buses that go to the airport. The word "airport" is very similar in Russian and English. A common way to get around is by unofficial taxis. Any time of day, just wave your hand and someone will stop. Locals do this all the time. Negotiate the price and destination before you agree to go. About US$2-4 is fair for a ride within the centre of Almaty. If your Russian is poor or non-existent, you will be charged a lot more than locals; to avoid this, try to use public buses as much as you can and don't hesitate to tell the driver how much you are ready to pay (do this before he tells you how much he wants). To be safe though, do not get in a car if more than one person is driving. Also, do not take these kind of taxis for long distances or anywhere that goes through remote areas, as there are frequent robberies, especially of foreigners. Always try to have exact amount of money in cash (the price which you negotiated with a taxi driver), since usually they will not give you change. So if the price should be 350&nbsp;tenge, give the driver 350&nbsp;tenge, not more (as he or she might not give change). Shared taxis (usually old Mercedeses with room for 4 passengers) are a common means of transport between the big cities in the south (for example: Taraz - Shymkent, Shymkent - Turkestan). They usually leave where the marshrutkas leave from as well, and are slightly more expensive (and slightly faster). Often used by the local elderly and women. ===By rail=== [[File:Railway Map of Kazakhstan (kk).png|thumb|500px|Railway map of Kazakhstan]] Train is the most popular way of covering the huge distances between Kazakhstan's main cities. The main railway stations are in Astana, Karaganda and Almaty, but stations can be found in almost every big city. The rolling stock, train classes, ticket and reservation systems were inherited from the former Soviet Railways, so they are very similar to the [[Rail travel in Russia|Russian train system]]. Ticket prices are slightly lower than in Russia. [https://www.railways.kz/en/ Kazakh Railways] tickets can be bought online. Kazakhstan is a large country. For instance, it will take you almost 24 hours to get from Almaty to Astana. However, going by train is a very fun way of travelling, since the trains are a great way to meet people. A lot has been written about the pitfalls of being included in a vodka drinking party on a train, but for the most part fellow travellers are friendly, and keen to find out about you ("why aren't you married?" and, if you are, "why don't you have children?", and if you do, "why don't they have children?"!) Most travellers take food for the journey, as restaurant car provision is sporadic (and they expect you to share yours too!). If you don't have enough to last the distance, the trains generally stop for 15–20 minutes at each station and there are always people on the platform selling food and drink, at any time of day or night. There is also a train called the Talgo, which can cover the distance from Almaty and Astana in 9 hours. The cost of the ticket is about 9,000&nbsp;tenge. ===By plane=== Air Astana provides offices in a few major hotels in big cities; it's the fastest way of travelling within the city for those who can afford it. Planes are brand new and match European standards in quality. Qazaq Air and SCAT are cheaper alternatives and also provide connections between major Kazakh cities, with the most frequently served connection being the route Astana - Almaty. === By car === Renting a car is rather costly compared to other means of transport. The traffic culture is different from that in the West. Cars and roads in Kazakhstan are often in poor condition. The use of seat belts on the front seats is compulsory and carefully enforced by the police. However, rear seat belts are often not worn or not used. In general, traffic rules are not always respected and speeding is common. There are relatively few petrol stations on the roads, so if you are going on a longer journey, it is a good idea to take enough fuel with you, including for spare tanks. It is a good idea to buy fuel only from well-known petrol station chains because of the uneven quality of the fuel sold. Avoid driving at night. In most urban areas, only the main roads are lit. In winter, road surfaces are often dangerously slippery and in winter, roads outside towns and cities may be closed due to snowstorms or high winds. ==Talk== {{seealso|Kazakh phrasebook|Russian phrasebook}} [[File:Туркестан.jpg|thumbnail|Mausoleum of Khodja Ahmed Yasavi, [[Turkestan]]]] '''[[Kazakh phrasebook|Kazakh]]''' and '''[[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]''' are the two official languages of Kazakhstan. Of the two, Russian is the more useful language. Kazakh is a Turkic language and shares a high degree of mutual intelligibility with [[Kyrgyz phrasebook|Kyrgyz]]. Kazakhs are very proud of their native language; demonstrating interest in or speaking a few words of Kazakh will be met with jovial, delighted reactions! Many people under age 25 will know some English, as will many customs officials and airport staff. It is difficult to get around the country without some Russian or Kazakh language skills; though, within the more modernized cities, it is easier. Have your place of residence written on a card and get a taxi if you get lost (you might be somewhat overcharged by the taxi, but it is better than being lost). ==See== As the Kazakhs were traditionally nomads who lived on horseback, Kazakhstan for the most part lacks the monumental Islamic architecture of neighboring [[Uzbekistan]]. However, Kazakhstan makes up for this with its wealth of natural beauty, which can be seen in the wide open spaces between its cities. Visitors wanting to experience the traditional Kazakh nomadic lifestyle will likely be disappointed. Under Stalin's collectivization policy during the period of Soviet rule, the Kazakhs were forced to sedentarize and become farmers, all but wiping out the nomadic tradition within the borders of modern Kazakhstan. There are opportunities for tourists to stay in Kazakh yurts, but these were re-created in the post-Soviet era as tourist attractions, and are not an authentic part of the daily lives of regular Kazakh people. Nevertheless, traditional Kazakh clothing still reflects that nomadic heritage and traditional life on horseback, the horse remains an important part of Kazakh culture, which visitors can see on display in its full glory during major traditional festivals. Perhaps ironically, the traditional Kazakh nomadic lifestyle is better preserved among the ethnic Kazakh minorities in [[Western Mongolia]] and [[China]]'s [[Xinjiang]] province than in Kazakhstan, making those better destinations if that is what you are looking to experience. Various tour companies operate in Almaty and Astana year-round, shuttling tourists to nature and scenic destinations outside of urban centres. These companies primarily cater to Indian and Mainland Chinese tourists, and their styles of travel, which involve many short photo stops and short visits to as many destinations as possible. Private tours are frequently just private taxi transfers to the entrances of attractions with little to no English commentary. * '''Baikonur''' – The famous cosmodrome site for the launch of the first manned orbital flight by Yuri Gagarin. The modern town of Baikonur was built near the existing village of Tyuratam. As the cosmodrome area (6,000&nbsp;km²) is rented by Russia, no Kazakh visa is needed if you fly in directly from Moscow. Tours can be organised but reportedly these take weeks to be approved by Russian authorities. * '''Köl-Say Lakes''' * The modern '''buildings of [[Astana]]''' – A contrast to most of the rest of Kazakhstan * Endless '''desert and steppe''' in much of the country * The '''Altai mountains''' in eastern Kazakhstan, and other mountain chains along the southern border. ==Do== : Many attractions in Kazakhstan are closed on Monday as a "sanitary day", so that uninterrupted cleaning and maintenance can occur. * '''Saunas:''' Because of its cold and windy weather, visiting saunas with friends is very popular in Kazakhstan. Saunas (Russian banyas or Finnish steam rooms) are an excellent place to discuss business issues or just socialize with friends. Having parties (birthdays, New Year, etc.) in saunas is a normal practice. In fact many modern sauna complexes in Almaty and Astana are usually fully equipped with karaoke, billiards, swimming pools, relax rooms, massage rooms, etc. Some saunas are a cover for sex services, and many will include a "happy end" option when taking a massage. * '''Football:''' Kazakhstan is about as central in Asia as you can get, but does have some territory west of the Ural River (considered to be the continental border between Europe and Asia) and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The domestic playing season is March-Nov to escape the rigours of the steppes winter. The men's national team usually play in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Kazakhstani tenge | currencyCodeAfter=&nbsp;tenge | date=May 2026 | USD=463 | EUR=543 | GBP=630 | RUB=618 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/kzt-kazakhstani-tenge XE.com] }} The national currency is '''tenge''', denoted by the symbol "'''₸'''" or "'''T'''" (Cyrillic: тенге, ISO code: '''KZT'''). On Wikivoyage we use ''tenge'' to denote the currency, e.g. 100&nbsp;tenge. Coins come in denominations of ₸1-, ₸2-, ₸5-, ₸10-, ₸20-, ₸50-, ₸100 and ₸200. Banknotes come in denominations of ₸200-, ₸500-, ₸1,000-, ₸2,000-, ₸5,000-, ₸10,000 and ₸20,000. ===Costs=== {{infobox|What does it cost? (2019)|*Meal, inexpensive restaurant: 2,000&nbsp;tenge *Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant, 3-course: 10,000&nbsp;tenge *Domestic beer (0.5 l draught): 400&nbsp;tenge *Coke/Pepsi (0.33 l bottle): 190&nbsp;tenge *Water (0.33 l bottle): 120&nbsp;tenge *Loaf of bread (500 g): 90&nbsp;tenge *Beef (1 kg): 2,000&nbsp;tenge *Apples (1 kg): 450&nbsp;tenge *One-way ticket (local transport): 80&nbsp;tenge *Taxi start, per km: 425, 100&nbsp;tenge *Gasoline (1 l): 170&nbsp;tenge *Apartment (1 bed) in city centre/month: 111,000&nbsp;tenge *Average monthly net salary (after tax): 139,000&nbsp;tenge |}} Kazakhstan is slightly more expensive than Uzbekistan, but still cheaper than Turkmenistan. A street snack costs around US$0.30-0.70. A night in a dorm in the big cities is US$10-20. A more comfortable double room is US$60-80. ===Shopping=== Even for people who are not big shoppers, the beautifully crafted felt items will appeal. They are also easy to carry and inexpensive to post. Kazakhstan is also home to its own [[carpets|carpet]] weaving tradition, which is similar to that in neighboring [[Kyrgyzstan]]. The two types of traditional rugs in Kazakhstan are called '''syrmak''' and '''tekemet'''. ==Eat== Meat, potatoes, rice and pasta. And lots of it. If you're [[vegetarian]] be wary, because if it doesn't have meat in it, it will be almost certainly cooked in meat stock. [[File:Kazakh beshbarmak.jpg|thumbnail|Beshbarmak]] [[File:Казахские манты.jpg|thumbnail|Manty]] [[File:Korean-style carrot 3.jpg|thumbnail|Korean carrot salad, created by Koryo people (the Korean diaspora in Central Asia)]] Some recommended dishes: * Beshbarmak - "five fingers", a horse meat and pasta dish with potato and onion. The national traditional dish of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan most often served for special occasions. Can also be made with beef or lamb. Most restaurants that serve it will present a portion enough for two or three people. * Kazy - handmade horse meat sausage, could be cooked and served with Beshbarmak, but not at the restaurants, unless you ask to do so when preorder menu. If you did not, it would be served as cold meat appetizer with other types of cold meat appetizers (Zhaya, Basturma, Shyzhyk). And separate price would be charged. Kazakh dish. * Laghman - a thick noodle dish with meat, carrot and onion, usually served as a soup.Some other veggies could be added too. * Manty - large steamed dumplings full of meat and onions. Sometimes made with onions or pumpkin. Traditional Uighur dish. * Plov - wonderful dish of fried rice, meat, carrots, and sometimes other bits such as raisins or tomatoes. Traditional Uzbek dish. * Shashlyk or Shish Kebab - skewered, roasted chunks of marinated meat, served with some sort of flatbread (usually lavash) and onions. Various marinates can be used, and different ways to cook it, open fire or other. * Baursaky - bread best served piping hot. A little like an unsweetened doughnut. Kazakh. * Pelmeni - boiled dumplings made from different kinds of meat or potato. Russian. If you're a vegetarian, you're probably thinking there's nothing for you in Kazakhstan. And you're right, if you eat out. But if you're cooking your own food, you'll be more than satisfied. Kazakhstan has some excellent products available at little markets everywhere. You will be amazed at the taste and availability of fresh organic veggies at low price! For a treat in Almaty, try Govinda's, a delicious vegetarian Hare Krishna restaurant. Malls have food courts with some vegetarian options too. Even some small Kazakh eateries will prepare vegetarian meals for you if you make it very clear to them (e.g. "byez myasa" (without meat), "ya vegeterianetz" (I [male] am a vegetarian), "ya vegetarianka" (I [female] am a vegetarian) in Russian). At some places (e.g. smak) you can even find vegetarian manty made with pumpkin. The legacy of Korean resettlement in Kazakhstan means that Korean dishes, particularly salads, are very common. At the country's many bazaars (independent food and goods markets), look for the Korean ladies selling these. They will wrap you up any number of delicious, often spicy and garlicky salads to take away in plastic bags. If you are vegetarian, this may be the only decent thing you get to eat while you're in the country. On the other hand, in Kazakhstan you can find any dishes you want, but Chinese and Japanese dishes are very expensive. The most delicious is caviar, which is very cheap, you can buy 1 kilo of caviar for less than US$300 in Almaty Zyeloniy Bazaar, but you can't export or take it with you home; you will be stopped at the airport and pay high fines. Eating out is relatively cheap; you basically order the meat dish and then add rice, potatoes, etc. Each element is priced individually, so you can order for instance only meat or only rice. Prices are relatively cheap, count 500&nbsp;tenge for chicken, 1,000&nbsp;tenge for beef, and up to 1,500&nbsp;tenge for horse, a local delicacy. Of course, the fancier the restaurant, the higher the price. If you don't speak Russian, things are relatively hard as the majority of restaurants don't have English menus (with the exception of some hyped places in Almaty). While Kazakhs are not very religious, most do not eat pork. Be aware of this if you are dining out with Kazakhs. Also many dishes that are made elsewhere with pork (such as dumplings or sausage) are made with beef or mutton here. ==Drink== [[File:Kumys-bottle.jpg|thumbnail|Kumys looks just like regular milk (this individual brand is from Russia)]] <!--Unbelievable! Commons had no pics of any specifically Kazakh brand of any of these drinks--> Traditional beverages include: * '''Kumiss''' - fermented mare's milk, up to 6% alcohol content. Imagine tart lemonade, mixed with semi-sour milk. * '''Kumyran''' (Shubat)- fermented camel's milk * '''Kvas''' - described as similar to root beer it can be bought in a bottle in a store, or by the cup from people with giant yellowish tanks of it on the street. * '''Tan'''. Fizzy beverage made of mare's milk. *Cheap alcoholic drinks can be found at every little corner shop (called the astanovka). These places are open 24/7, just knock on their door if the shopkeeper is asleep. Kazakhstan's speciality is cognac, though stores still sell vodka cheaper than bottled water at times. However, some of these astanovka sometimes sell alcohol of dubious origin; for the sake of your stomach you may want to buy your beverage in a supermarket, although the price will definitely be higher. *Several brands of '''beer''', of good quality and flavor, are made in Karaganda. Becker, Staut, Tian-Shan, Derbes, Irbis, Alma-Ata. Local brands brewed in Almaty are pretty good. * '''Juices''', in cartons, are common and delicious, especially peach juice. *'''Tea''' is widely available, mostly very good and often quite strong. If you are on a budget this is the thing to order with your food. Tea is culturally important in Kazakhstan - "shai" time is one of the most important things a visitor can engage in to learn about the culture. *'''Coffee'''. Modern coffee houses and western-style cafés are appearing. They serve good coffee. Coffeedelia (Kabanbai batyr and Furmanov) is popular with expats and does OK coffee. One of the best coffee in Almaty can be found at 4A Coffee where they roast their own daily. Gloria Jeans and Marone Rosso also can be found. *'''Wine'''. Try the local variety. A good one can be had for less than US$4 a bottle. "Bibigul" is perhaps the most consistently good wine, and it comes in a semi-dry red or semi-dry white. Avoid drinking wine in restaurants. It's usually very expensive. *'''Vodka'''. Good vodka at US$8–10 per bottle. In restaurants that do not usually cater to foreigners you get 20(!) cl if you order a vodka, smaller servings not available. Buy a bottle of "Kazakhstan" vodka to take back. It is in a pretty bottle with a picture of Kazakh hunting with a falcon seen through a "window". Try '''Edil''' vodka, which is made with the pantacrene of local deer antlers. ==Sleep== There are numerous hotels, from very cheap ones (€10 per night) to the luxurious ones. You wouldn't find the cheapest ones on the web; the only way to book them is to call directly, but in that case you'll have to speak Russian at the least. There are almost no camping sites except in Burabay/Borovoe in Kazakhstan. You can, however, camp almost anywhere due to the huge uninhabited spots. The scenery is beautiful but because of the very hot weather: don't forget to take plenty of water with you as you can very easily spend many of days without seeing anybody. If you camp near a nomadic tribe, ask for the permission to stay near; it will not be refused. ==Work== Unlike certain European countries still recovering from recession, Kazakhstan abounds in employment or business opportunities. Skilled professionals may be able to find a job in the energy or educational sector. Salaries tend to decrease as the country is working towards ensuring equal pay for locals and expatriate staff. Expatriate candidates must obtain a work permit. It is difficult to get a work permit. ==Stay safe== Generally, Kazakh cities are safe during the day, but certain parts of major cities should be avoided at night to reduce risk, namely, all parts of Almaty below Tashkentskaya street and all microdistrict areas within these zones, certain other remote microdistricts, and areas with high concentrations of shabby private houses (such as Shanyrak) and all smaller towns such as Shar, Stepnogorsk, and Temirtau may present a higher risk of mugging and violent crime. In smaller towns, e.g. [[Taraz]], Balkhash, Shymkent, Taldykorgan, Uralsk, Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk, going out at night should not present a significant risk, though infrequent muggings do occur. Keep your passport (or a certified copy of your passport and visa) with you at all times. While the situation has improved lately, police might still try to extort money from foreigners, especially on trains and long-distance buses. Unless the officers involved are drunk, it is possible to avoid paying them by pretending not to understand, or by claiming poverty. The risk of '''violent crime''' is comparable with Eastern European countries and rougher parts of major US cities. An ordinary tourist should not experience any violent crime and is unlikely to be a target of minor crimes, if their behaviour stays within generally accepted norms in public places. [[File:Almaty, Kazakhstan - panoramio (15).jpg|thumb|Dusk in Almaty]] Excessive consumption of '''alcohol''' and visiting a nightclub will always present a higher risk, especially if a person goes out alone. It is advisable to go out as a group, or even better, with locals. Late at night, people speaking foreign languages may receive extra attention from local police, who have been known to falsely accuse a person of petty crimes, make an arrest, and attempt to obtain a 1,000-5,000&nbsp;tenge cash payment "fine". Mobile phones work in most places and should be used to call a local-language speaking friend. A foreign man soliciting a local woman on the streets or in a nightclub may draw unwanted attention from locals, or might result in arguments. Normal western attention and respect for women and children, including a smile or kind greeting, can be taken by a local husband or father as threatening or offensive. Carrying expensive phones, watches and jewellery; or otherwise demonstrating wealth in public may result in closer attention from '''pickpockets''' and potential criminals. Outside Almaty and Astana, this should be avoided. There is zero tolerance for any drugs, and trace amounts may result in criminal investigation, prosecution and a prison sentence. Prisons are known to be dangerous and often inhumane. Careless and '''drunk driving''' is a problem. It is always advisable to obey traffic rules and wear seat belts. In most cities, using local taxis may present a higher risk than official public transportation due to many taxis operating unlicensed with incompetent drivers. Situations of unlicensed taxi drivers demanding additional fees before releasing luggage from their boot, or driving off and stealing luggage are more common than would be expected in western cities with a well-regulated taxi industry. It's advisable to keep your valuables and passport in your pockets and your most valuable bag on your lap. Public transportation and taxis are much less expensive than in western cities. Major criminal organisations are active in the Shu valley, between Taraz and Almaty. Locals widely report a heavy police presence, and that corrupt police are known to plant drugs on both local and foreign visitors. Watch out for food poisoning from shady vendors in smaller towns. In Astana, completely legitimate cafes may include milder drugs in their drinks menu. A misunderstanding can get the unwary traveler lots more than he bargained for. There have been cases of violence against foreign workers in West Kazakhstan. A housing camp of Turkish workers was destroyed, with many workers assaulted, due to anger about foreigners taking local jobs and an alleged rape of a local woman. ==Stay healthy== In general, the level of health care and hygiene is not up to Western standards. When travelling to smaller places, it is a good idea to bring your own medical supplies. There may also be a shortage of medicines. In an emergency, call an ambulance at the general hospital on duty on 103. However, you should consider using local hospitals. When travelling to forested and mountainous areas, especially in the early summer months, tick-borne encephalitis should be taken into account. Tuberculosis and HIV are also present in the country. There have been a few cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in South Kazakhstan and cases of Lyme disease in rural areas. In order to avoid stomach infections and food poisoning, particular attention should be paid to hygiene when preparing food and drinks, especially during the summer months. The municipal water is more or less drinkable, with no real nasties, but try to boil it if possible. Bottled water is cheap and easily available. When at restaurants, ask specifically for Asu, Borjomi, Sary-Agash or Tassay mineral waters. Many other widely-known water brands can be found in restaurants and supermarkets. If you have to use tap water, it is advisable to boil the water before using it. Travellers should have comprehensive travel insurance, including cover for aircraft evacuation in the event of serious illness or accident. Many hospitals either do not accept international travel insurance at all or only accept it from certain insurance companies. Payment by international credit card is not possible in all hospitals, so payment must be made in local cash (tenge). Before you travel, check with your insurance company which clinic in Kazakhstan you should contact in case of an emergency. ==Respect== Kazakh people have more pride than most Westerners would expect. Therefore, insulting or negative comments about Kazakhstan or local Kazakh people will often result in arguments and possible threats of physical violence. It is not recommended to get into an argument with locals, as Kazakhstan is a nation where physical power is part of the local culture, and can occasionally lead to a fatal last argument. '''Do not associate the country with Borat.''' Kazakhs believe the films misrepresents and defames the country, and are quite tired of hearing Borat jokes and comments. That aside, the catchphrase "Very nice" was used in its tourism promotion campaign. ==Connect== ===Phone numbers=== Phone numbers in Kazakhstan begin with +7 (6xx) xxx xx xx or +7 (7xx) xxx xx xx. The country code +7 is shared with Russia. ==Go next== The land border can be crossed to [[Russia]], [[China]], [[Kyrgyzstan]] and [[Uzbekistan]]. Check the requirements for crossing the border to [[Turkmenistan]]. There is a ferry to [[Azerbaijan]]. {{geo|48|68|zoom=5}} {{isPartOf|Central_Asia}} {{outlinecountry}} i6poir23qyhfazs03vlg8rhx4t93mfa 5298587 5298586 2026-06-26T03:07:04Z Brycehughes 43226 /* Eat */ wording 5298587 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Kazakhstan banner 2.jpg|caption=Sunset on the steppe, near Boralday}} '''Kazakhstan''' (Kazakh: Қазақстан ''Qazaqstan''; Russian: Казахстан) is the largest of the states of the former [[Soviet Union]] apart from [[Russia]], and it dwarfs the other countries of [[Central Asia]] and stretches into [[Eastern Europe]]. Kazakhstan is the richest country in the region due to its large oil and natural gas reserves and is also the largest in Central Asia. And while the endless, featureless steppe might repel some visitors the emptiness and mystery of this goliath state keeps many others captivated. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=Kazakhstan regions map.png | regionmapsize=500px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | regionmapZoom=4 | region1name=[[Almaty Province]] | region1color=#a7c8ad | region1description=This is the location of the former capital, with treks into Tian Shan, historic towns, and ancient petroglyphs. | region2name=[[Kazakhstani North]] | region2color=#d6b9e4 | region2description=These are the cold steppes home to the national capital, the country's Russian minority, and industrial cities. | region3name=[[Kazakh Desert]] | region3color=#e7c9a8 | region3description=The location of ancient desert cities dotting the [[Silk Road]]. | region4name=[[Altai (Kazakhstan)|Altai]] | region4color=#a5bad4 | region4description=Includes remote and beautiful alpine scenery. | region5name=[[Caspian Basin]] | region5color=#dbaeb3 | region5description=Includes Caspian beaches and oil industry, and where local tribal affiliations are still strong. | region6name=[[Central Highlands (Kazakhstan)|Central Highlands]] | region6color=#e1e4b7 | region6description=This is a land of endless and sparsely populated steppes. }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a7c8ad|title=[[Almaty Province]]|wikidata=Q186466}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d6b9e4|title=[[Kazakhstani North]]|wikidata=Q485056,Q485605,Q485088,Q486144}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#e7c9a8|title=[[Kazakh Desert]]|wikidata=Q486657,Q485322,Q815330}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a5bad4|title=[[Altai (Kazakhstan)|Altai]]|wikidata=Q1046594,Q2550792,Q2664367,Q2550784,Q2550757,Q893317,Q986100,Q2466428,Q162548,Q2726370}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#dbaeb3|title=[[Caspian Basin]]|wikidata=Q427658,Q238931,Q486007}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#e1e4b7|title=[[Central Highlands (Kazakhstan)|Central Highlands]]|wikidata=Q485437,Q485429,Q2550775,Q613774,Q2726381,Q2466416,Q61944,Q1099244,Q2550754,Q2550803,Q2550746}} ==Cities== <!-- Nine representative cities only to be listed here. Do not make any changes without first discussing on the talk page--> * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Astana]]|wikidata=Q1520}} &mdash; second-largest city, and capital since 1997. Worth visiting, but you only need a few days to get to the most worthwhile sights. This city is brand new and being built very rapidly. If you want to see what the old Aqmola looks like, you need to do it now, as it is disappearing very rapidly. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Almaty]]|wikidata=Q35493}} &mdash; largest city, and capital until 1998. Definitely a must-see. Beside the Soviet-style city, you may want to go to the Medeu and other places in the nearby mountains. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Aktobe]]|wikidata=Q477232}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Atyrau]]|wikidata=Q486913}} &mdash; oil capital of Kazakhstan, with large onshore Tengiz and offshore Kashagan oilfields nearby * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Pavlodar]]|wikidata=Q486282}} &mdash; Kazakh city in the very north of the country, founded in 1720, closed until 1992 for its military significance in tank production, and home to one very impressive mosque, as well as other interesting Orthodox churches and various memorials * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Semey]]|wikidata=Q61944}} (''Semipalatinsk'') &mdash; university city, notorious for the nearby atomic bomb testing site * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Shymkent]]|wikidata=Q485496}} &mdash; Kazakhstan's third-largest city, very crowded with Uzbek people, it is an old market town located near [[Tashkent]] and some beautiful mountains; now booming with oil exploration * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Turkestan]]|wikidata=Q848638}} &mdash; another ancient city, long a border town between the Persian culture to the south and the Turkic nomadic culture to the north, now majority Uzbek and home to several important cultural-historical monuments * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ust-Kamenogorsk]]|wikidata=Q162548}} &mdash; mining city in the Altai mountains; primarily Russian-speaking <!-- Nine representative cities only to be listed here. Do not make any changes without first discussing on the talk page--> ==Other destinations== [[File:Kazakhstan Altay 2.jpg|thumbnail|Landscape in the Altai Mountains]] * {{marker|name=[[Aksu-Zhabagly]]|wikidata=Q1765261}} — a nature reserve * {{marker|name=[[Altai Mountains]]|wikidata=Q5955}} * {{marker|name=[[Baikonur]]|wikidata=Q165413}} — site of the spaceport * {{marker|name=[[Karkaraly National Park]]|wikidata=Q767661}} * {{marker|name=[[Talgar]]|wikidata=Q2302162}} — a town nearby the Talgar Mountains * {{marker|name=[[Zailiysky Alatau]]|wikidata=Q634401}} (''Trans-Ili Alatau'') — a 200 km long mountain range ==Understand== {{quickbar|location=LocationKazakhstan.png}} ===History=== Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were united as a single nation in the mid-16th century. The area was conquered by the [[Russian Empire]] in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] Republic in 1936. The traditionally-nomadic Kazakhs were forced to sedentarize as part of Stalin's collectivization policies. While it became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the country is still home to a large ethnic Russian minority, and the Russian language continues to be widely spoken. During the launching of the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities, including the Volga Germans) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers and their descendants to emigrate. Modern Kazakhstan is a neo-patrimonial state characterized by considerable nepotism and dominance over political and economic affairs by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down in March 2019 after a 29-year-tenure. However, it is not a severely authoritarian government compared to bordering Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China and opposition is not usually sacked or imprisoned. Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kazakh government has allowed foreign investment to flow into the capital to develop. The development of significant oil and gas reserves, particularly in the north and west, has brought a large amount of wealth to the country, though the money falls into the hands of just a few people. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan is now labelled a middle-income country, and is already classified with a high Human Development Index. Corruption in Kazakhstan is ubiquitous compared to China, but it is not as widespread as other countries in the region. ===Religion=== While [[Islam]] is the majority religion, Kazakhstan is nevertheless a secular state with a significant [[Christianity|Christian]] minority, and the variety of Islam practised here tends to be more liberal than that in the Middle East. ===Economy=== Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets (an oil pipeline to China has been built; the gas pipeline is under construction); achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors, and strengthening relations with surrounding states and other foreign powers. Kazakhstan is also a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, with plans for a high-speed rail through Kazakhstan linking China to Europe. ===Visitor information === * [https://kazakhstan.travel/ Kazakhstan Travel]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} website * [https://qaztourism.kz/ Kazakh Tourism] website ==Get in== Entering Kazakhstan is no longer the hassle it used to be. The Kazakh government is keen on opening up Kazakhstan to the rest of the world, and most people can enter the country without a visa. ===Entry requirements=== Citizens of the following countries (ordinary passport holders) may enter Kazakhstan without a visa for up to a certain number of days: *14 days: [[China]] (mainland), [[Hong Kong]], [[India]] and [[Iran]] *30 days: [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Argentina]], [[Bahrain]], [[Belgium]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Brazil]], [[Vatican City]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Hungary]], [[Vietnam]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Denmark]], [[Israel]], [[Indonesia]], [[Ireland]], [[Iceland]], [[Spain]], [[Italy]], [[Canada]], [[Qatar]], [[Cyprus]], [[Colombia]], [[South Korea]], [[Kuwait]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malaysia]], [[Malta]], [[Mexico]], [[Monaco]], [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Norway]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Oman]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Serbia]], [[Singapore]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[United States]], [[Thailand]], [[Turkey]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Philippines]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Croatia]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Chile]], [[Switzerland]], [[Sweden]], [[Ecuador]], [[Estonia]] and [[Japan]] *90 days: [[Azerbaijan]], [[Armenia]], [[Belarus]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Moldova]], [[Mongolia]], [[Russia]], [[Tajikistan]] and [[Ukraine]] Check the [https://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/for_foreigners/visa_regime_for_foreigners Kazakh government website] for the latest list. All other nationalities are required to obtain a visa in advance, which will require you to present a letter of invitation from a resident of Kazakhstan. If you are joining a package tour, the tour company can usually procure the letter of invitation for an additional fee; check with the company to be sure. If you know in advance that your stay will be longer, e.g. for work, then you need a visa, which will need to be supported by an official Letter of Invitation from the employer or agency in Kazakhstan. For more information see [https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa?lang=en Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan]. For tourist visits where you're enjoying the country so much that you want to stay on, the simplest way is to take a trip to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, which also has no visa requirement for many countries, and come straight back to gain another 30-day stay. There's no limit how often you do this. '''Registration (card):''' this practice has been discontinued since [https://caravanistan.com/visa/kazakhstan/registration-ovir/ 2020] - you now only get an entry and an exit stamp. ===By plane=== [[File:Alaport07.JPG|thumbnail|Air Astana plane at the runway of Almaty airport]] Kazakhstan's flag carrier is '''[https://www.airastana.com/ Air Astana]''' which flies into [[Almaty]] and [[Astana]] from [[Abu Dhabi]], [[Moscow]], [[Delhi]], [[Beijing]], [[Istanbul]], [[Bangkok]], [[Baku]], [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Frankfurt]], and [[Seoul]]. Air Astana keeps a monopoly on some international routes by limiting which airlines can fly to Kazakhstan. Lufthansa also has daily flights to Almaty, from where you can go anywhere via local carrier SCAT, which flies to most cities in Kazakhstan. Turkish Airlines is a good passenger carrier, with flights from Istanbul (ask a travel agent about the student fares, which can be a great deal). Many airlines from the Middle East, e.g., FlyDubai and Qatar Airways, fly to Kazakhstan as well. There are twice a week flights from Seoul to Almaty; one is with Asiana Airlines, and the other is Astana. Air Baltic also flies to Almaty; if you reserve tickets in advance, you can go there for €130 (from [[Riga]]). Etihad flies weekly from Abu Dhabi to Astana. Flight time is around 4½ hours. Taxi fares from the airport to the city range are 2,000-3,000&nbsp;tenge. A Russian transit visa is needed if changing planes in Russia when travelling to or from Kazakhstan. ===By train=== {{seealso|Moscow to Urumqi}} Trains in Kazakhstan are slow but comfortable and clean. Popular routes include Almaty to/from Moscow (77 hours), [[Novosibirsk]] (35 hours) and [[Ürümqi]], [[China]] (34 hours). Count on a 3–4&nbsp;hr stay at the Russian border or 6–8&nbsp;hr at the Chinese border. Trains in Kazakhstan can also be booked on-line. For trains use Railways.KZ and book Talgo trains are much more modern and the smell of the bathroom makes the slight increase in price entirely worth it. ===By car=== You can enter Kazakhstan by car through many of the border checkpoints on main roads into the country. However, be prepared to wait up to 24 hours in the queues, with rather poor facilities. ===By bus=== ====From China==== It is fairly easy to travel from [[Ürümqi]] to Almaty via sleeper bus, especially if you aren't in a hurry and don't mind living on a bus for 24 to 36 hours. The border crossing itself is a bit of a hike, and you may be made to carry all of your belongings with you for quite a way in some seriously warm weather. The bus trip and "baggage fees" are around US$45. You can pick up your Kazakhstan visa at the consulate in Ürümqi as well, but be prepared to chill for at least a week waiting, and be sure to get a copy of your passport before handing it over. ====From Kyrgyzstan==== It is a straight forward 3½-4½ hr (mini) bus ride from [[Bishkek]] to [[Almaty]] for about 1,200-1,800 tenge, depending on the option you choose (e.g. 500 som directly from the Bishkek Western Bus Station). For more information, see [[Almaty#Get in|Almaty]]. ===By boat=== {{seealso| Ferries in the Caspian Sea}} Freighters travel regularly between [[Baku]] and [[Aktau]], and it is possible to hitch a ride. It is common for ships to be held up, even for weeks, before entering port, so you had better stock up on food and water before boarding. See [[freighter travel]] to better understand how this works. ==Get around== [[File:Указатель могилы Узбек-хана.jpg|thumbnail|Road sign pointing to Uzbek Khan's grave near [[Aktau]]]] You can travel within the country using taxis, buses, trains and planes, it depends on your budget and demands. ===By bus=== In Semipalatinsk (Semey) a marshrutka costs 35&nbsp;tenge, and a large bus costs 35-40&nbsp;tenge. In Astana it ranges between 60-65&nbsp;tenge. ====Public buses==== Public transportation in big cities is rather popular. You can use buses, trolleys, trams and minibuses. One big minus of all of them is that they never come on schedule and very crowded on peak time. Moreover, there is absolutely no plan with bus stops and schedule whatsoever. If you don't speak Russian, taking the bus will be quite tricky but not impossible. ====Marshrutkas==== Similar to regular buses and another cheap way to get around is by taking a marshrutka. These are the dilapidated transport vans that cruise around or between towns. They usually have a sign (in Russian) listing the destination, and the driver will usually call out where they are going. However, you will not find them operating inside of Almaty city. ====Long-distance buses==== [[File:Bus in Kazakhstan.jpg|thumbnail|"Old bus in Kazakhstan"]] They're a popular alternative to trains and are faster, but less comfortable. Similarly to train travel, you will need to buy your ticket in advance and will be given a seat number. Be careful when the bus makes a toilet stop, the driver often does not check whether all the passengers are on board before driving away! Fares are relatively low, for instance a single from Almaty to Karaganda (14&nbsp;hr) will cost you 2,500&nbsp;tenge&mdash;much cheaper than a flight ticket. ===By taxi=== Use taxis as they are very cheap (€2-6 within the city). You don't have to use official taxis in most cities, basically you can stop almost any car on the street by raising your hand. It works well in Almaty & Astana, but in Karaganda the best way is one of taxis by phone. It some cheaper and even faster than hitch-hike waiting. Apps such as Uber or Bolt do not work in Kazakhstan, but you can download Yandex Go and use this for everything. If you are staying there for any length, this is highly advisable as they are cheap and efficient nationwide. Getting to the Almaty airport can be expensive. Taxis to the airport vary greatly in price. Any foreigner will be quoted a very expensive rate but usually drivers will come down once they see they aren't going to be able to get that much. US$50 is outlandish. Do not accept the first price as it will result in your being overcharged. It should be less than US$15, although it can ''never'' be guaranteed that a foreigner will get that price. A better option are the minibuses and buses that go to the airport. The word "airport" is very similar in Russian and English. A common way to get around is by unofficial taxis. Any time of day, just wave your hand and someone will stop. Locals do this all the time. Negotiate the price and destination before you agree to go. About US$2-4 is fair for a ride within the centre of Almaty. If your Russian is poor or non-existent, you will be charged a lot more than locals; to avoid this, try to use public buses as much as you can and don't hesitate to tell the driver how much you are ready to pay (do this before he tells you how much he wants). To be safe though, do not get in a car if more than one person is driving. Also, do not take these kind of taxis for long distances or anywhere that goes through remote areas, as there are frequent robberies, especially of foreigners. Always try to have exact amount of money in cash (the price which you negotiated with a taxi driver), since usually they will not give you change. So if the price should be 350&nbsp;tenge, give the driver 350&nbsp;tenge, not more (as he or she might not give change). Shared taxis (usually old Mercedeses with room for 4 passengers) are a common means of transport between the big cities in the south (for example: Taraz - Shymkent, Shymkent - Turkestan). They usually leave where the marshrutkas leave from as well, and are slightly more expensive (and slightly faster). Often used by the local elderly and women. ===By rail=== [[File:Railway Map of Kazakhstan (kk).png|thumb|500px|Railway map of Kazakhstan]] Train is the most popular way of covering the huge distances between Kazakhstan's main cities. The main railway stations are in Astana, Karaganda and Almaty, but stations can be found in almost every big city. The rolling stock, train classes, ticket and reservation systems were inherited from the former Soviet Railways, so they are very similar to the [[Rail travel in Russia|Russian train system]]. Ticket prices are slightly lower than in Russia. [https://www.railways.kz/en/ Kazakh Railways] tickets can be bought online. Kazakhstan is a large country. For instance, it will take you almost 24 hours to get from Almaty to Astana. However, going by train is a very fun way of travelling, since the trains are a great way to meet people. A lot has been written about the pitfalls of being included in a vodka drinking party on a train, but for the most part fellow travellers are friendly, and keen to find out about you ("why aren't you married?" and, if you are, "why don't you have children?", and if you do, "why don't they have children?"!) Most travellers take food for the journey, as restaurant car provision is sporadic (and they expect you to share yours too!). If you don't have enough to last the distance, the trains generally stop for 15–20 minutes at each station and there are always people on the platform selling food and drink, at any time of day or night. There is also a train called the Talgo, which can cover the distance from Almaty and Astana in 9 hours. The cost of the ticket is about 9,000&nbsp;tenge. ===By plane=== Air Astana provides offices in a few major hotels in big cities; it's the fastest way of travelling within the city for those who can afford it. Planes are brand new and match European standards in quality. Qazaq Air and SCAT are cheaper alternatives and also provide connections between major Kazakh cities, with the most frequently served connection being the route Astana - Almaty. === By car === Renting a car is rather costly compared to other means of transport. The traffic culture is different from that in the West. Cars and roads in Kazakhstan are often in poor condition. The use of seat belts on the front seats is compulsory and carefully enforced by the police. However, rear seat belts are often not worn or not used. In general, traffic rules are not always respected and speeding is common. There are relatively few petrol stations on the roads, so if you are going on a longer journey, it is a good idea to take enough fuel with you, including for spare tanks. It is a good idea to buy fuel only from well-known petrol station chains because of the uneven quality of the fuel sold. Avoid driving at night. In most urban areas, only the main roads are lit. In winter, road surfaces are often dangerously slippery and in winter, roads outside towns and cities may be closed due to snowstorms or high winds. ==Talk== {{seealso|Kazakh phrasebook|Russian phrasebook}} [[File:Туркестан.jpg|thumbnail|Mausoleum of Khodja Ahmed Yasavi, [[Turkestan]]]] '''[[Kazakh phrasebook|Kazakh]]''' and '''[[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]''' are the two official languages of Kazakhstan. Of the two, Russian is the more useful language. Kazakh is a Turkic language and shares a high degree of mutual intelligibility with [[Kyrgyz phrasebook|Kyrgyz]]. Kazakhs are very proud of their native language; demonstrating interest in or speaking a few words of Kazakh will be met with jovial, delighted reactions! Many people under age 25 will know some English, as will many customs officials and airport staff. It is difficult to get around the country without some Russian or Kazakh language skills; though, within the more modernized cities, it is easier. Have your place of residence written on a card and get a taxi if you get lost (you might be somewhat overcharged by the taxi, but it is better than being lost). ==See== As the Kazakhs were traditionally nomads who lived on horseback, Kazakhstan for the most part lacks the monumental Islamic architecture of neighboring [[Uzbekistan]]. However, Kazakhstan makes up for this with its wealth of natural beauty, which can be seen in the wide open spaces between its cities. Visitors wanting to experience the traditional Kazakh nomadic lifestyle will likely be disappointed. Under Stalin's collectivization policy during the period of Soviet rule, the Kazakhs were forced to sedentarize and become farmers, all but wiping out the nomadic tradition within the borders of modern Kazakhstan. There are opportunities for tourists to stay in Kazakh yurts, but these were re-created in the post-Soviet era as tourist attractions, and are not an authentic part of the daily lives of regular Kazakh people. Nevertheless, traditional Kazakh clothing still reflects that nomadic heritage and traditional life on horseback, the horse remains an important part of Kazakh culture, which visitors can see on display in its full glory during major traditional festivals. Perhaps ironically, the traditional Kazakh nomadic lifestyle is better preserved among the ethnic Kazakh minorities in [[Western Mongolia]] and [[China]]'s [[Xinjiang]] province than in Kazakhstan, making those better destinations if that is what you are looking to experience. Various tour companies operate in Almaty and Astana year-round, shuttling tourists to nature and scenic destinations outside of urban centres. These companies primarily cater to Indian and Mainland Chinese tourists, and their styles of travel, which involve many short photo stops and short visits to as many destinations as possible. Private tours are frequently just private taxi transfers to the entrances of attractions with little to no English commentary. * '''Baikonur''' – The famous cosmodrome site for the launch of the first manned orbital flight by Yuri Gagarin. The modern town of Baikonur was built near the existing village of Tyuratam. As the cosmodrome area (6,000&nbsp;km²) is rented by Russia, no Kazakh visa is needed if you fly in directly from Moscow. Tours can be organised but reportedly these take weeks to be approved by Russian authorities. * '''Köl-Say Lakes''' * The modern '''buildings of [[Astana]]''' – A contrast to most of the rest of Kazakhstan * Endless '''desert and steppe''' in much of the country * The '''Altai mountains''' in eastern Kazakhstan, and other mountain chains along the southern border. ==Do== : Many attractions in Kazakhstan are closed on Monday as a "sanitary day", so that uninterrupted cleaning and maintenance can occur. * '''Saunas:''' Because of its cold and windy weather, visiting saunas with friends is very popular in Kazakhstan. Saunas (Russian banyas or Finnish steam rooms) are an excellent place to discuss business issues or just socialize with friends. Having parties (birthdays, New Year, etc.) in saunas is a normal practice. In fact many modern sauna complexes in Almaty and Astana are usually fully equipped with karaoke, billiards, swimming pools, relax rooms, massage rooms, etc. Some saunas are a cover for sex services, and many will include a "happy end" option when taking a massage. * '''Football:''' Kazakhstan is about as central in Asia as you can get, but does have some territory west of the Ural River (considered to be the continental border between Europe and Asia) and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The domestic playing season is March-Nov to escape the rigours of the steppes winter. The men's national team usually play in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Kazakhstani tenge | currencyCodeAfter=&nbsp;tenge | date=May 2026 | USD=463 | EUR=543 | GBP=630 | RUB=618 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/kzt-kazakhstani-tenge XE.com] }} The national currency is '''tenge''', denoted by the symbol "'''₸'''" or "'''T'''" (Cyrillic: тенге, ISO code: '''KZT'''). On Wikivoyage we use ''tenge'' to denote the currency, e.g. 100&nbsp;tenge. Coins come in denominations of ₸1-, ₸2-, ₸5-, ₸10-, ₸20-, ₸50-, ₸100 and ₸200. Banknotes come in denominations of ₸200-, ₸500-, ₸1,000-, ₸2,000-, ₸5,000-, ₸10,000 and ₸20,000. ===Costs=== {{infobox|What does it cost? (2019)|*Meal, inexpensive restaurant: 2,000&nbsp;tenge *Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant, 3-course: 10,000&nbsp;tenge *Domestic beer (0.5 l draught): 400&nbsp;tenge *Coke/Pepsi (0.33 l bottle): 190&nbsp;tenge *Water (0.33 l bottle): 120&nbsp;tenge *Loaf of bread (500 g): 90&nbsp;tenge *Beef (1 kg): 2,000&nbsp;tenge *Apples (1 kg): 450&nbsp;tenge *One-way ticket (local transport): 80&nbsp;tenge *Taxi start, per km: 425, 100&nbsp;tenge *Gasoline (1 l): 170&nbsp;tenge *Apartment (1 bed) in city centre/month: 111,000&nbsp;tenge *Average monthly net salary (after tax): 139,000&nbsp;tenge |}} Kazakhstan is slightly more expensive than Uzbekistan, but still cheaper than Turkmenistan. A street snack costs around US$0.30-0.70. A night in a dorm in the big cities is US$10-20. A more comfortable double room is US$60-80. ===Shopping=== Even for people who are not big shoppers, the beautifully crafted felt items will appeal. They are also easy to carry and inexpensive to post. Kazakhstan is also home to its own [[carpets|carpet]] weaving tradition, which is similar to that in neighboring [[Kyrgyzstan]]. The two types of traditional rugs in Kazakhstan are called '''syrmak''' and '''tekemet'''. ==Eat== Meat, potatoes, rice and pasta. And lots of it. If you're [[vegetarian]] be wary, because if it doesn't have meat in it, it will be almost certainly cooked in meat stock. [[File:Kazakh beshbarmak.jpg|thumbnail|Beshbarmak]] [[File:Казахские манты.jpg|thumbnail|Manty]] [[File:Korean-style carrot 3.jpg|thumbnail|Korean carrot salad, created by Koryo people (the Korean diaspora in Central Asia)]] Some recommended dishes: * Beshbarmak - "five fingers", a horse meat and pasta dish with potato and onion. The national traditional dish of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan most often served for special occasions. Can also be made with beef or lamb. Most restaurants that serve it will present a portion enough for two or three people. * Kazy - handmade horse meat sausage, could be cooked and served with Beshbarmak, but not at the restaurants, unless you ask to do so when preorder menu. If you did not, it would be served as cold meat appetizer with other types of cold meat appetizers (Zhaya, Basturma, Shyzhyk). And separate price would be charged. Kazakh dish. * Laghman - a thick noodle dish with meat, carrot and onion, usually served as a soup.Some other veggies could be added too. * Manty - large steamed dumplings full of meat and onions. Sometimes made with onions or pumpkin. Traditional Uighur dish. * Plov - wonderful dish of fried rice, meat, carrots, and sometimes other bits such as raisins or tomatoes. Traditional Uzbek dish. * Shashlyk or Shish Kebab - skewered, roasted chunks of marinated meat, served with some sort of flatbread (usually lavash) and onions. Various marinates can be used, and different ways to cook it, open fire or other. * Baursaky - bread best served piping hot. A little like an unsweetened doughnut. Kazakh. * Pelmeni - boiled dumplings made from different kinds of meat or potato. Russian. If you're a vegetarian, you're probably thinking there's nothing for you in Kazakhstan. And you're right, if you eat out. But if you're cooking your own food, you'll be more than satisfied. Kazakhstan has some excellent products available at little markets everywhere. You will be amazed at the taste and availability of fresh organic veggies at low price! For a treat in Almaty, try Govinda's, a delicious vegetarian Hare Krishna restaurant. Malls have food courts with some vegetarian options too. Even some small Kazakh eateries will prepare vegetarian meals for you if you make it very clear to them (e.g. "byez myasa" (without meat), "ya vegeterianetz" (I [male] am a vegetarian), "ya vegetarianka" (I [female] am a vegetarian) in Russian). At some places (e.g. smak) you can even find vegetarian manty made with pumpkin. The legacy of Korean resettlement in Kazakhstan means that Korean dishes, particularly salads, are very common. At the country's many bazaars (independent food and goods markets), look for the Korean ladies selling these. They will wrap you up any number of delicious, often spicy and garlicky salads to take away in plastic bags. If you are vegetarian, this may be the only decent thing you get to eat while you're in the country. On the other hand, in Kazakhstan you can find any dishes you want, but Chinese and Japanese dishes are very expensive. The most delicious is caviar, which is very cheap, you can buy 1 kilo of caviar for less than US$300 in Almaty Zyeloniy Bazaar, but you can't export or take it with you home; you will be stopped at the airport and pay high fines. Eating out is relatively cheap; you basically order the meat dish and then add rice, potatoes, etc. Each element is priced individually, so you can order for instance only meat or only rice. Prices are relatively cheap, count 500&nbsp;tenge for chicken, 1,000&nbsp;tenge for beef, and up to 1,500&nbsp;tenge for horse, a local delicacy. Of course, the fancier the restaurant, the higher the price. If you don't speak Russian, things are relatively hard as the majority of restaurants don't have English menus (with the exception of some hyped places in Almaty). While Kazakhs are not very religious, most do not eat pork. Be aware of this if you are dining out with Kazakhs. Also many dishes that are made elsewhere with pork (such as dumplings or sausage) are made with beef or mutton. ==Drink== [[File:Kumys-bottle.jpg|thumbnail|Kumys looks just like regular milk (this individual brand is from Russia)]] <!--Unbelievable! Commons had no pics of any specifically Kazakh brand of any of these drinks--> Traditional beverages include: * '''Kumiss''' - fermented mare's milk, up to 6% alcohol content. Imagine tart lemonade, mixed with semi-sour milk. * '''Kumyran''' (Shubat)- fermented camel's milk * '''Kvas''' - described as similar to root beer it can be bought in a bottle in a store, or by the cup from people with giant yellowish tanks of it on the street. * '''Tan'''. Fizzy beverage made of mare's milk. *Cheap alcoholic drinks can be found at every little corner shop (called the astanovka). These places are open 24/7, just knock on their door if the shopkeeper is asleep. Kazakhstan's speciality is cognac, though stores still sell vodka cheaper than bottled water at times. However, some of these astanovka sometimes sell alcohol of dubious origin; for the sake of your stomach you may want to buy your beverage in a supermarket, although the price will definitely be higher. *Several brands of '''beer''', of good quality and flavor, are made in Karaganda. Becker, Staut, Tian-Shan, Derbes, Irbis, Alma-Ata. Local brands brewed in Almaty are pretty good. * '''Juices''', in cartons, are common and delicious, especially peach juice. *'''Tea''' is widely available, mostly very good and often quite strong. If you are on a budget this is the thing to order with your food. Tea is culturally important in Kazakhstan - "shai" time is one of the most important things a visitor can engage in to learn about the culture. *'''Coffee'''. Modern coffee houses and western-style cafés are appearing. They serve good coffee. Coffeedelia (Kabanbai batyr and Furmanov) is popular with expats and does OK coffee. One of the best coffee in Almaty can be found at 4A Coffee where they roast their own daily. Gloria Jeans and Marone Rosso also can be found. *'''Wine'''. Try the local variety. A good one can be had for less than US$4 a bottle. "Bibigul" is perhaps the most consistently good wine, and it comes in a semi-dry red or semi-dry white. Avoid drinking wine in restaurants. It's usually very expensive. *'''Vodka'''. Good vodka at US$8–10 per bottle. In restaurants that do not usually cater to foreigners you get 20(!) cl if you order a vodka, smaller servings not available. Buy a bottle of "Kazakhstan" vodka to take back. It is in a pretty bottle with a picture of Kazakh hunting with a falcon seen through a "window". Try '''Edil''' vodka, which is made with the pantacrene of local deer antlers. ==Sleep== There are numerous hotels, from very cheap ones (€10 per night) to the luxurious ones. You wouldn't find the cheapest ones on the web; the only way to book them is to call directly, but in that case you'll have to speak Russian at the least. There are almost no camping sites except in Burabay/Borovoe in Kazakhstan. You can, however, camp almost anywhere due to the huge uninhabited spots. The scenery is beautiful but because of the very hot weather: don't forget to take plenty of water with you as you can very easily spend many of days without seeing anybody. If you camp near a nomadic tribe, ask for the permission to stay near; it will not be refused. ==Work== Unlike certain European countries still recovering from recession, Kazakhstan abounds in employment or business opportunities. Skilled professionals may be able to find a job in the energy or educational sector. Salaries tend to decrease as the country is working towards ensuring equal pay for locals and expatriate staff. Expatriate candidates must obtain a work permit. It is difficult to get a work permit. ==Stay safe== Generally, Kazakh cities are safe during the day, but certain parts of major cities should be avoided at night to reduce risk, namely, all parts of Almaty below Tashkentskaya street and all microdistrict areas within these zones, certain other remote microdistricts, and areas with high concentrations of shabby private houses (such as Shanyrak) and all smaller towns such as Shar, Stepnogorsk, and Temirtau may present a higher risk of mugging and violent crime. In smaller towns, e.g. [[Taraz]], Balkhash, Shymkent, Taldykorgan, Uralsk, Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk, going out at night should not present a significant risk, though infrequent muggings do occur. Keep your passport (or a certified copy of your passport and visa) with you at all times. While the situation has improved lately, police might still try to extort money from foreigners, especially on trains and long-distance buses. Unless the officers involved are drunk, it is possible to avoid paying them by pretending not to understand, or by claiming poverty. The risk of '''violent crime''' is comparable with Eastern European countries and rougher parts of major US cities. An ordinary tourist should not experience any violent crime and is unlikely to be a target of minor crimes, if their behaviour stays within generally accepted norms in public places. [[File:Almaty, Kazakhstan - panoramio (15).jpg|thumb|Dusk in Almaty]] Excessive consumption of '''alcohol''' and visiting a nightclub will always present a higher risk, especially if a person goes out alone. It is advisable to go out as a group, or even better, with locals. Late at night, people speaking foreign languages may receive extra attention from local police, who have been known to falsely accuse a person of petty crimes, make an arrest, and attempt to obtain a 1,000-5,000&nbsp;tenge cash payment "fine". Mobile phones work in most places and should be used to call a local-language speaking friend. A foreign man soliciting a local woman on the streets or in a nightclub may draw unwanted attention from locals, or might result in arguments. Normal western attention and respect for women and children, including a smile or kind greeting, can be taken by a local husband or father as threatening or offensive. Carrying expensive phones, watches and jewellery; or otherwise demonstrating wealth in public may result in closer attention from '''pickpockets''' and potential criminals. Outside Almaty and Astana, this should be avoided. There is zero tolerance for any drugs, and trace amounts may result in criminal investigation, prosecution and a prison sentence. Prisons are known to be dangerous and often inhumane. Careless and '''drunk driving''' is a problem. It is always advisable to obey traffic rules and wear seat belts. In most cities, using local taxis may present a higher risk than official public transportation due to many taxis operating unlicensed with incompetent drivers. Situations of unlicensed taxi drivers demanding additional fees before releasing luggage from their boot, or driving off and stealing luggage are more common than would be expected in western cities with a well-regulated taxi industry. It's advisable to keep your valuables and passport in your pockets and your most valuable bag on your lap. Public transportation and taxis are much less expensive than in western cities. Major criminal organisations are active in the Shu valley, between Taraz and Almaty. Locals widely report a heavy police presence, and that corrupt police are known to plant drugs on both local and foreign visitors. Watch out for food poisoning from shady vendors in smaller towns. In Astana, completely legitimate cafes may include milder drugs in their drinks menu. A misunderstanding can get the unwary traveler lots more than he bargained for. There have been cases of violence against foreign workers in West Kazakhstan. A housing camp of Turkish workers was destroyed, with many workers assaulted, due to anger about foreigners taking local jobs and an alleged rape of a local woman. ==Stay healthy== In general, the level of health care and hygiene is not up to Western standards. When travelling to smaller places, it is a good idea to bring your own medical supplies. There may also be a shortage of medicines. In an emergency, call an ambulance at the general hospital on duty on 103. However, you should consider using local hospitals. When travelling to forested and mountainous areas, especially in the early summer months, tick-borne encephalitis should be taken into account. Tuberculosis and HIV are also present in the country. There have been a few cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in South Kazakhstan and cases of Lyme disease in rural areas. In order to avoid stomach infections and food poisoning, particular attention should be paid to hygiene when preparing food and drinks, especially during the summer months. The municipal water is more or less drinkable, with no real nasties, but try to boil it if possible. Bottled water is cheap and easily available. When at restaurants, ask specifically for Asu, Borjomi, Sary-Agash or Tassay mineral waters. Many other widely-known water brands can be found in restaurants and supermarkets. If you have to use tap water, it is advisable to boil the water before using it. Travellers should have comprehensive travel insurance, including cover for aircraft evacuation in the event of serious illness or accident. Many hospitals either do not accept international travel insurance at all or only accept it from certain insurance companies. Payment by international credit card is not possible in all hospitals, so payment must be made in local cash (tenge). Before you travel, check with your insurance company which clinic in Kazakhstan you should contact in case of an emergency. ==Respect== Kazakh people have more pride than most Westerners would expect. Therefore, insulting or negative comments about Kazakhstan or local Kazakh people will often result in arguments and possible threats of physical violence. It is not recommended to get into an argument with locals, as Kazakhstan is a nation where physical power is part of the local culture, and can occasionally lead to a fatal last argument. '''Do not associate the country with Borat.''' Kazakhs believe the films misrepresents and defames the country, and are quite tired of hearing Borat jokes and comments. That aside, the catchphrase "Very nice" was used in its tourism promotion campaign. ==Connect== ===Phone numbers=== Phone numbers in Kazakhstan begin with +7 (6xx) xxx xx xx or +7 (7xx) xxx xx xx. The country code +7 is shared with Russia. ==Go next== The land border can be crossed to [[Russia]], [[China]], [[Kyrgyzstan]] and [[Uzbekistan]]. Check the requirements for crossing the border to [[Turkmenistan]]. There is a ferry to [[Azerbaijan]]. {{geo|48|68|zoom=5}} {{isPartOf|Central_Asia}} {{outlinecountry}} cxdxjf36drtovqh65vubq7ulsqzcgzf 0 17571 5298440 5248379 2026-06-25T14:33:49Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Connect */ 5G from all carriers 5298440 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg|thumb|300px|King Puck by the bridge at Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Bus Éireann 279 runs four or five times a day from [[Tralee]] via Castlemaine and Milltown, taking 35 min to Killorglin. Bus 279A runs from four or five times a day from [[Killarney]] via Fossa, taking 30 min to Killorglin. A couple of them continue along the coast to [[Caherciveen]] and Waterville. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} * Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. * Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. But go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. * [http://www.killorglingeneralcycles.com/ KGC]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. * Feertha Greenway hasn't happened. In 1885 a branch railway line was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and from 2013 it was to be converted into a cycling route and footpath. No progress to date, wonder where the funding was squirreled away. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. The driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.073 | long=-9.882 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-6PM | price=Adult €6.50, conc €5.45, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning: since 2008 large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg|thumb|300px|Rossbeigh Strand]] * {{sleep | name=Coffey's River's Edge B&B | alt= | url=http://www.riversedge.ie/ | email= | address=The Bridge, Killorglin V93 E095 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1750 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €110 | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Smart friendly B&B in village centre. }} * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' also include [https://launebridgehouse.com/ Laune Bridge House], [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], Aloha House, [http://torinehouse.com/ Torine House], Lakemount House and [https://westfieldhse.com/ Westfield House]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include Glencurrah House, [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://emirview.kerry-ireland.com/ Emirview House] and [http://www.forestviewhouse.com/ Forest View House]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.059 | long=-9.932 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 5481 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €36 | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open Jun-Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.060 | long=-9.840 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €250 | lastedit=2020-05-29 | content=Simply gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} jrj7jfe275wldrhl5pfl27yifeuxnj9 5298443 5298440 2026-06-25T14:58:24Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Sleep */ Several closed down 5298443 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg|thumb|300px|King Puck by the bridge at Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Bus Éireann 279 runs four or five times a day from [[Tralee]] via Castlemaine and Milltown, taking 35 min to Killorglin. Bus 279A runs from four or five times a day from [[Killarney]] via Fossa, taking 30 min to Killorglin. A couple of them continue along the coast to [[Caherciveen]] and Waterville. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} * Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. * Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. But go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. * [http://www.killorglingeneralcycles.com/ KGC]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. * Feertha Greenway hasn't happened. In 1885 a branch railway line was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and from 2013 it was to be converted into a cycling route and footpath. No progress to date, wonder where the funding was squirreled away. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. The driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.073 | long=-9.882 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-6PM | price=Adult €6.50, conc €5.45, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning: since 2008 large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.059 | long=-9.932 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 5481 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €36 | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open Jun-Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.060 | long=-9.840 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €250 | lastedit=2020-05-29 | content=Simply gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} op7xy0viquyq8544ozwfn058r3a8qlt 5298444 5298443 2026-06-25T15:02:16Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Sleep */ Updated listing for Glenross Caravan & Camping Park - practical info 5298444 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg|thumb|300px|King Puck by the bridge at Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Bus Éireann 279 runs four or five times a day from [[Tralee]] via Castlemaine and Milltown, taking 35 min to Killorglin. Bus 279A runs from four or five times a day from [[Killarney]] via Fossa, taking 30 min to Killorglin. A couple of them continue along the coast to [[Caherciveen]] and Waterville. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} * Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. * Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. But go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. * [http://www.killorglingeneralcycles.com/ KGC]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. * Feertha Greenway hasn't happened. In 1885 a branch railway line was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and from 2013 it was to be converted into a cycling route and footpath. No progress to date, wonder where the funding was squirreled away. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. The driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.073 | long=-9.882 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-6PM | price=Adult €6.50, conc €5.45, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning: since 2008 large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.060 | long=-9.840 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €250 | lastedit=2020-05-29 | content=Simply gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} cmuwuzvhy5j5ae3ytkd65sl0dfqbinh 5298447 5298444 2026-06-25T15:05:43Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Sleep */ Updated listing for Ard na Sidhe - practical info 5298447 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg|thumb|300px|King Puck by the bridge at Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Bus Éireann 279 runs four or five times a day from [[Tralee]] via Castlemaine and Milltown, taking 35 min to Killorglin. Bus 279A runs from four or five times a day from [[Killarney]] via Fossa, taking 30 min to Killorglin. A couple of them continue along the coast to [[Caherciveen]] and Waterville. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} * Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. * Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. But go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. * [http://www.killorglingeneralcycles.com/ KGC]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. * Feertha Greenway hasn't happened. In 1885 a branch railway line was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and from 2013 it was to be converted into a cycling route and footpath. No progress to date, wonder where the funding was squirreled away. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. The driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.073 | long=-9.882 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-6PM | price=Adult €6.50, conc €5.45, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2021-05-07 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning: since 2008 large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} ek0ik16t0pigqhma3mkdcd20c2xrdy7 5298448 5298447 2026-06-25T15:13:20Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* See */ bog village 5298448 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg|thumb|300px|King Puck by the bridge at Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Bus Éireann 279 runs four or five times a day from [[Tralee]] via Castlemaine and Milltown, taking 35 min to Killorglin. Bus 279A runs from four or five times a day from [[Killarney]] via Fossa, taking 30 min to Killorglin. A couple of them continue along the coast to [[Caherciveen]] and Waterville. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} * Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. * Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. But go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. * [http://www.killorglingeneralcycles.com/ KGC]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. * Feertha Greenway hasn't happened. In 1885 a branch railway line was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and from 2013 it was to be converted into a cycling route and footpath. No progress to date, wonder where the funding was squirreled away. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} rolozmkn8j89pbj0nxb8nzf0y18vx38 5298449 5298448 2026-06-25T15:22:10Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Get in */ update 5298449 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} * Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. * Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. But go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. * [http://www.killorglingeneralcycles.com/ KGC]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. * Feertha Greenway hasn't happened. In 1885 a branch railway line was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and from 2013 it was to be converted into a cycling route and footpath. No progress to date, wonder where the funding was squirreled away. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} h3wiydpbhjgod3r9qbedfq02dawni3s 5298450 5298449 2026-06-25T15:30:09Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Get around */ greenway 5298450 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG|thumb|300px|Kerry Bog Village]] * '''Golf:''' [http://killorglingolf.ie/ Killorglin Golf Club]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, one km northeast of the village on N70, is 6467 yards, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71, and a visitor round is €100-150. * '''[https://www.cappanalea.ie/ Cappanlea]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://reeksdistrict.com/providers/culture-heritage/biddys-day/ Biddy's Day]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''[https://www.kfest.ie/ K-Fest]''' is an arts event normally in June. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''Puck Fair''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that could have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's a stratum of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} gmcdef4xhsxcvmqshfyun0qozw19xhe 5298451 5298450 2026-06-25T15:45:46Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Do */ K-Fest folded 5298451 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG | thumb | 300px | Kerry Bog Village ]] * '''Golf:''' [https://mainevalleygolfclub.com/ Maine Valley GC], 2 km northeast of the village on N70, is 6411 yards off white tees, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71. * '''[https://kerrycollege.ie/campus-locations/killorglin-campus/ Cappanlea]''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh, run by Kerry College. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://www.biddysday.ie/ Biddy's Day]''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''[https://puckfair.ie/home/ Puck Fair]''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that would have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's plenty of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} ae8ucm4lxau8to5nwh99kqff4cljncb 5298452 5298451 2026-06-25T15:47:02Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Buy */ store hours 5298452 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG | thumb | 300px | Kerry Bog Village ]] * '''Golf:''' [https://mainevalleygolfclub.com/ Maine Valley GC], 2 km northeast of the village on N70, is 6411 yards off white tees, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71. * '''[https://kerrycollege.ie/campus-locations/killorglin-campus/ Cappanlea]''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh, run by Kerry College. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://www.biddysday.ie/ Biddy's Day]''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''[https://puckfair.ie/home/ Puck Fair]''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that would have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's plenty of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours= | price=B&B double €120 | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} l3j2cmormuppbn17t2rfx2y9b4d2c8v 5298453 5298452 2026-06-25T15:50:57Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Eat */ Updated listing for Bianconi Inn - practical info 5298453 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG | thumb | 300px | Kerry Bog Village ]] * '''Golf:''' [https://mainevalleygolfclub.com/ Maine Valley GC], 2 km northeast of the village on N70, is 6411 yards off white tees, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71. * '''[https://kerrycollege.ie/campus-locations/killorglin-campus/ Cappanlea]''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh, run by Kerry College. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://www.biddysday.ie/ Biddy's Day]''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''[https://puckfair.ie/home/ Puck Fair]''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that would have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's plenty of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg|thumb|300px|View over Cromane]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin V93 XN83 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-11:30PM, Su 5-11PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * {{eat | name=Sol y Sombra | alt= | url=https://www.solysombra.ie/ | email= | address=Bridge St, Killorglin V93 WR28 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 2347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Tapas restaurant in a renovated 19th century church. }} * '''Others''' along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [http://sethucurryhouse.com/ Sethu Curry House]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, and several takeaways. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant W-Su 5-9:30PM, bar food daily 1-3PM | price= | lastedit=2021-05-08 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} 0ewz3y241tjigexp5ah93uqdo083qth 5298454 5298453 2026-06-25T16:01:03Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Eat */ Sol y Sombra disappeared 5298454 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG | thumb | 300px | Kerry Bog Village ]] * '''Golf:''' [https://mainevalleygolfclub.com/ Maine Valley GC], 2 km northeast of the village on N70, is 6411 yards off white tees, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71. * '''[https://kerrycollege.ie/campus-locations/killorglin-campus/ Cappanlea]''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh, run by Kerry College. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://www.biddysday.ie/ Biddy's Day]''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''[https://puckfair.ie/home/ Puck Fair]''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that would have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's plenty of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg | thumb | 300px | View over Cromane ]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin V93 XN83 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-11:30PM, Su 5-11PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * '''Others''' in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [https://sultanacurryhouse.ie/ Sultana Curry House], Starlite Diner, [https://www.peterskillorglin.ie/ Peter's], Dream Chinese and [https://www.realitalianrestaurants.com/ireland/killorglin/mycaf%C3%A8-risto-pizza My Cafe Risto]. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant Th-Sa 6-9PM, Su 1-8PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include JD Falvey's, O'Shea's, Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's and Bunker's Bar. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village and is open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} 5qw82ryp73aq2sdw5opp47cm2ychkrz 5298458 5298454 2026-06-25T16:09:57Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Drink */ update all 5298458 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. So in summer it's very touristy: most just pass through, but its population (as of 2022) of less than 2,200 is greatly swollen by visitors. ==Understand == * The tourist information centre is [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] north end of the village on Sunhill Rd, and open M-F 10AM-4PM. * [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] website == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from [[Tralee]], taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to [[Killarney]], another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG | thumb | 300px | Kerry Bog Village ]] * '''Golf:''' [https://mainevalleygolfclub.com/ Maine Valley GC], 2 km northeast of the village on N70, is 6411 yards off white tees, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71. * '''[https://kerrycollege.ie/campus-locations/killorglin-campus/ Cappanlea]''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh, run by Kerry College. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://www.biddysday.ie/ Biddy's Day]''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''[https://puckfair.ie/home/ Puck Fair]''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that would have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's plenty of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg | thumb | 300px | View over Cromane ]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin V93 XN83 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-11:30PM, Su 5-11PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * '''Others''' in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [https://sultanacurryhouse.ie/ Sultana Curry House], Starlite Diner, [https://www.peterskillorglin.ie/ Peter's], Dream Chinese and [https://www.realitalianrestaurants.com/ireland/killorglin/mycaf%C3%A8-risto-pizza My Cafe Risto]. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant Th-Sa 6-9PM, Su 1-8PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.jdfalveys.ie/ JD Falvey's], [https://kingstonstownhouse.com/ Kingston's], O'Shea's, Francie Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's, O'Grady's and [https://bunkers.ie/ Bunker's Bar]. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village, open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} rfa1svdetwbdax1apvoeh27u4o0ik7w 5298655 5298458 2026-06-26T08:45:02Z Grahamsands 2164467 visitor info 5298655 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Killorglin''' (''Cill Orglan'', "Orgla's Church") is a village in [[County Kerry]] in southwest Ireland. It's by Dingle Bay, at the head of the Iveragh Peninsula, traversed by the scenic "Ring of Kerry" route. In 2022 its population was 2200, but in summer that's greatly swollen by visitors. [https://reeksdistrict.com/ Reeks District Visitor Centre] is central on Iveragh Rd, open M-F 10AM-4PM, Sa 10AM-1:30PM. [https://killorglin.ie/ Killorglin Town Council] also posts visitor information. == Get in == [[File:King puck.jpg | thumb | 300px | King Puck surveys Killorglin ]] See [[Tralee]] and [[Killarney]] for long-distance transport: Kerry Airport is midway between them. Trains run from Dublin Heuston via Mallow to Killarney and Tralee, and buses run from Dublin, Limerick and Cork. [https://www.buseireann.ie/ Bus Éireann] 279 runs every two hours daily from Tralee, taking 45 min via Castlemaine and Milltown. It continues via Fossa to Killarney, another 30 min. == Get around == {{mapframe | 52.100 | -9.850 | height=450 | width=550 | zoom=11 }} Killorglin village is small, but you need wheels for the Bog Village and other outlying attractions. Ring of Kerry is the coast circuit: tour buses start from Killarney and even from Dublin and they always go anti-clockwise, so the Bog Village is an early stop. Independent travellers going the same way should make an early start, then you'll always stay ahead of them. Start later and you'll be stuck behind a caravan of buses, with hordes queuing for the same attraction, you've seen that group from Madrid four times today already. Try to go clockwise and all those buses will be coming at you along narrow roads somewhere around Kenmare. KGC do bicycle hire, sales and repairs. [https://www.discoverkerry.com/greenways/south-kerry/ South Kerry Greenway] is only partially open as of 2026. In 1885 a railway was built from Farranfore to Killorglin, and extended in 1893 to Valentia Harbour. It closed in 1960 but the main viaducts are still standing, and bit by bit it's being converted into a cycling route and footpath. == See == * {{marker | name=Killorglin village | type=see | lat=52.107 | long=-9.785 }} has a typical 19th century layout, with colourful low-rise along the narrow main street; the main road now makes a zigzag to bypass this. The statue of King Puck, a wild billy-goat and Lord of Misrule, stands by the bridge over River Laune. St James Church (Roman Catholic) was built in neo-Gothic style 1888-1891 but the money ran out so they never added the spire. The monument nearby at the top of Market St is to the Blennerhassett family, English gentry who acquired lands here during the Tudor Plantations of Munster. They married into the Conway family and came to own the castle, which is now just a single crumbling wall. Their main family line has died out but the name lives on, for example Frank Blennerhassett (1916-1993) was the judge who chaired the UK government committee on alcohol and driving, and John Blennerhassett (1930-2013) was a Kerry politician. * {{marker | name=Ballykissane | type=see | lat=52.126 | long=-9.786 }} is the pier at the outlet of River Leane, which drains the Killarney lakes. A monument commemorates the first fatal cock-up of the omnishambles of the Easter Rising of 1916. A group of republicans were driving to Caherciveen to seize the radio station and set up a link with Roger Casement, arriving by German sub, and with the gun-running vessel disguised as the Norwegian fishing boat ''Aud''. But the driver took a wrong turn and drove off the edge of the quay, drowning three of them. * {{see | name=Kerry Bog Village Museum | alt= | url=https://www.kerrybogvillage.ie/ | email= | address=Ballincleave, Glenbeigh V93 D92V | lat=52.0738 | long=-9.8821 | directions=8 km southwest of Killorglin on N70 | phone=+353 66 976 9184 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Adult €8, conc €7, child €4.50 | wikipedia=Kerry Bog Village | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Open-air museum of Kerry country life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a series of thatched cottages reconstructed by original techniques. It's often the first stop (rather than Killorglin itself) for tour buses round the Ring of Kerry, so it's a bit [[Bunratty | Bunrattified]]; the bogs of Kerry were never this picturesque and spick-and-span. It's also the home of the Kerry Bog Pony, a distinct breed with a unique gait for crossing gloopy terrain. These almost became extinct, but were re-established from 1994. }} * {{marker | name=Cromane | type=see | lat=52.106 | long=-9.897 }} is a village straggling along a peninsula. The bay here is sheltered and the land is flat and pastoral. It commands great views and has a fine restaurant, see below. * {{marker | name=Rossbeigh Strand | type=see | lat=52.067 | long=-9.976 }} is a 2-km spit of sand and dunes projecting into the bay, with Atlantic waves breaking on its west and lagoon-like calm to the east. The Atlantic is definitely winning, as large chunks have been lost to erosion. == Do == [[File:Kerry Bog Village Museum 02.JPG | thumb | 300px | Kerry Bog Village ]] * '''Golf:''' [https://mainevalleygolfclub.com/ Maine Valley GC], 2 km northeast of the village on N70, is 6411 yards off white tees, par 72. [https://www.dooks.com/ Dooks Golf Club] is a links course west on the coast. It's 6511 yards, par 71. * '''[https://kerrycollege.ie/campus-locations/killorglin-campus/ Cappanlea]''' is an activities centre on Lough Caragh, run by Kerry College. It's mostly about groups and instructor training, but those wannabe instructors need real tyros to demonstrate their skills with, so individuals are welcome by booking. Wide range of water-based and outdoor activities. * '''[[Wild Atlantic Way]]''' is a scenic driving route all the way down the west coast from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. The local section is self-evident: from the north round Dingle Peninsula and Valentia Island and back to Castlemaine, then round Iveragh Peninsula through Killorglin, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Kenmare, thence south to Beara Peninsula and County Cork. The Iveragh loop on N70 is also the Ring of Kerry, which from [[Kenmare]] circles back to Killarney. * '''[https://www.biddysday.ie/ Biddy's Day]''' is celebrated on ''Imbolc'', a Celtic festival at start of spring that's become Christianised as St Brigid's Day, 1 Feb. Costumed groups carry a ''Brídeóg'' effigy from house to house and pub to pub - a blessing for the year, and more ominously a community curse upon you if they shun your door. It ends in a torchlit procession through the streets of Killorglin. * '''Cromane Regatta''' is a series of rowing races in the bay in late July. * '''[https://puckfair.ie/home/ Puck Fair]''' (''Aonach an Phoic'') is held each year on 10-12 August. A group goes into the hills, catches a wild billy-goat and brings it to the village, where it's crowned "King Puck" by a young girl dubbed "Queen of Puck" and the fair begins. Traditionally Day One was a horse fair and Day Two was a cattle mart, with serious pub-going at the close of Day Three. The modern version however spares the horse- or cattle-dealers from any trouble and instead involves merrymaking and hoop-de-hoop on Days 1, 2 and 3. The goat remains an anxious spectator in its cage until on Day Three it's released back on the hillside to tell its mates the tale. There's a hokey tradition that a goat saved the village when its clatter warned of the approach of Cromwell, as if that would have saved any place in Ireland, and it might equally likely have warned of the approach of man-hungry Queen Maebh or the Martians. There's plenty of innuendo and symbolism in the ceremony, even before you recall that Irish ''Ph'' is pronounced "fw", so the police who are irked by rowdiness from the pubs are doubtless also thinking of their safeguarding duties. == Buy == * Aldi west side of Killorglin is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM. * There are ATMs on the main strip outside Bank of Ireland and AIB. == Eat == [[File:Cromane Aerial Shot.jpg | thumb | 300px | View over Cromane ]] * {{eat | name=Bianconi Inn | alt= | url=https://bianconi.ie/ | email= | address=Annadale Rd, Killorglin V93 XN83 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 1146 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 10AM-11:30PM, Su 5-11PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Smart restaurant and bar, named for the fellow from [[Clonmel]] who set up a stagecoach network across Ireland, "one penny-farthing a mile". Food is served M-Sa from noon. They also have rooms. }} * '''Others''' in Killorglin include [https://www.kingdom1795.com/ Kingdom1795], [https://sultanacurryhouse.ie/ Sultana Curry House], Starlite Diner, [https://www.peterskillorglin.ie/ Peter's], Dream Chinese and [https://www.realitalianrestaurants.com/ireland/killorglin/mycaf%C3%A8-risto-pizza My Cafe Risto]. * {{eat | name=Jack's Coastguard Restaurant | alt= | url=https://jackscromane.com/ | email= | address=Cromane Lower V93 Y42F | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9102 | tollfree= | hours=Restaurant Th-Sa 6-9PM, Su 1-8PM | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Looks like a folksy pub from outside, but this is fine smart dining on great seafood. }} == Drink == * Pubs along the main strip in Killorglin include [https://www.jdfalveys.ie/ JD Falvey's], [https://kingstonstownhouse.com/ Kingston's], O'Shea's, Francie Sheahan's, Paud O'Neill's, O'Grady's and [https://bunkers.ie/ Bunker's Bar]. * Red Fox Inn is next to Kerry Bog Village, open daily 9AM-10PM. * Castlemaine on N70 to Tralee does not of course produce Castlemaine XXXX beer, that's from Milton in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, but it's referenced in the folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy". He was Jack Donohue (1806-1830), transported from Ireland to Australia for theft, escaping to become a bush bandit, arrested but again escaping to lead a gang of armed robbers, and killed in a shoot-out with police. == Sleep == [[File:Rossbeigh.jpg | thumb | 300px | Rossbeigh Strand ]] * '''Killorglin B&Bs''' include [http://www.grovelodge.com/ Grove Lodge], [https://torinehouse.com/ Torine House] (room only) and Lakemount House. * '''Glenbeigh B&Bs''' along N70 include [https://glencurrah.inn.fan/ Glencurrah House], [https://glenbeighhotel.com/ Glenbeigh Hotel], [https://liosderrig-house.inn.fan/ Liosderrig House], [https://www.towershotel.com/ Towers Hotel], [https://www.ancapallban.com/ An Capall Bán] and Forest View House. * {{sleep | name=Glenross Caravan & Camping Park | alt= | url=https://www.campingkerry.com/ | email= | address=Glenbeigh V93 HF64 | lat=52.0587 | long=-9.9320 | directions= | phone=+353 87 137 6865 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Pitch €45 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Clean spacious site along the main road open April--Sep. }} * {{sleep | name=Ard na Sidhe | alt= | url=https://www.ardnasidhe.com/ | email= | address=Caragh Lake V93 HV57 | lat=52.0601 | long=-9.8411 | directions= | phone=+353 66 976 9105 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double €400 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Gorgeous hotel in a Victorian mansion. Great dining. Open Apr-Sep, no dogs. }} == Connect == As of June 2026, Killorglin and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers. == Go next == * [[Killarney]] is set by a lake with great views of Ireland's highest mountains. * [[Tralee]] the county town is a pleasant place and transport hub. * [[Caherciveen]] west is your next stop on the Ring of Kerry round Iveragh Peninsula. {{geo|52.1000|-9.7833}} {{usablecity}} {{isPartOf|County Kerry}} 6vxln8fxr9tt7nd2i6zwqih3hnw1j3q 0 21132 5298460 5260963 2026-06-25T16:21:20Z Lazarus1255 2236161 /* Budget */ Closed 5298460 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mandalay Banner.jpg}} {{Warningbox|The conflict is Myanmar is volatile. The security situation may deteriorate at short notice and the military regime can introduce travel restrictions at any time. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to North Mandalay Region; the townships north of Mandalay City and Pyin Oo Lwin. |lastedit=2026-03-01 }} '''Mandalay''' ([[Burmese phrasebook|Burmese]]: မန္တလေး; [[Burmese phrasebook|Shan]]: တႃႈလိူဝ်ႇ) is the second largest city (after [[Yangon]]), and a former capital of [[Myanmar]]. The city is the economic and religious hub of upper Myanmar. The city is centred on the royal palace, and has wide avenues filled with bicycles and motorcycles. Mandalay is known for its millionaires, its monks (half of the country's monks live in Mandalay and surrounding areas) and its cultural diversity. ==Understand== [[File:Mandalay clock tower.jpg|thumb|A busy street scene in Mandalay, with the clock tower built to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee]] ===History=== The very name Mandalay evokes the splendours of old Burma. But most people will be surprised to learn that Mandalay is not an old city, not even a medieval one, but rather a new city created by King Mingdon Min in 1857 as the new capital of the kingdom of Ava. Mingdon moved the capital from [[Amarapura]] to this site at the base of Mandalay Hill as it was more easily defendable against British attack. Only two Burmese kings ruled from there, King Mingdon and King Thibaw, before the British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885. It was a city of splendour between 1858 and 1885, but most of the magnificence has vanished, gone in the fires that consume wooden structures and by intensive Allied bombing during the Second World War. Much of the city, neatly planned with its lettered roads and numbered streets, is a British creation. Though no longer the capital, the city remained the religious and cultural hub of the country during British rule. The once magnificent royal palace and the great Atumashi ("incomparable") pagoda, King Mingdon Min's finest creations, are modern reconstructions. Today, Mandalay lies at the end of the Lashio Rd and it is, by Burmese standards, relatively prosperous as a centre for trade with China and India. Despite the capital having been moved to [[Naypyidaw]], Mandalay remains by far the main commercial centre of Upper Myanmar. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay on 28th March 2025. The Ava Bridge, Mandalay University, parts of the Royal Palace and many ancient pagodas were destroyed. ===People=== Mandalay is ethnically diverse, with the Bamar (Burmans) forming a slight majority. There has been a major influx of Chinese from mainland China, and the Chinese (both recent migrants and descendants of colonial-era immigrants) form 30-40% of the population. Their influence is seen in the Chinese-style glass buildings throughout the city. Other ethnic groups include the Shan, who are ethnically and linguistically related to the Thais and Laotians, and the Karen (Kayin). There is also a sizable ethnic Indian population. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Mandalay |14.2 |29.8 |5.3 |16.3 |33.2 |3.1 |20.9 |37.0 |7.2 |25.0 |39.1 |42.1 |26.0 |37.1 |151.8 |26.3 |35.6 |90.8 |26.3 |35.4 |73.2 |25.9 |34.3 |159.5 |25.6 |34.2 |176.7 |24.2 |33.4 |142.8 |20.3 |31.7 |36.3 |15.8 |29.3 |5.5 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Mandalay]] |description= }} Mandalay has a semi-tropical climate. Winter (which is dry and cold) lasts from Nov-Feb, and summer lasts from Mar-May. Because Mandalay is in the central dry zone, it receives far less rain than the more tropical south. ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Mandalay International Airport | alt={{IATA|MDL}} | url=http://www.mandalayairport.com | email= | address= | lat=21.702222 | long=95.978056 | directions=35 km south of the city centre in Tada-U | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1193001 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content=A gleaming modern facility, serves the area with flights to places in Myanmar and some international flights. There are also 3 flights weekly to and from [[Kunming]] on flight MU2029 for about [[China#Money|CNY]]2,000 one way. Tourist SIM cards can be purchased from a counter at the airport. A mobile plan with 5 GB and 60 minutes costs less than 10,000 kyat. }} Taxis from the airport are 15,000 [[Myanmar#Money|kyat]] or 4,000 kyat per person if you fill the vehicle with others. A shared bus is available for 4,000 kyat but may leave before you can exchange cash and purchase a SIM card. Fill out your entry card while on the plane to avoid being at the back of the queue. Towards the airport taxis cost around 15,000 kyat (Sep 2017) and take roughly ½ hr from the city centre. There is a security check ''before'' check-in, and you need to have your ticket, email verification or something related to your flight to get through. Further security check after check-in. ===By train=== * {{go | name=Mandalay Central Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.97671 | long=96.08601 | directions=at 78th east and 30th north Street | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q6747758 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content= }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There are several trains daily from Yangon. While the tracks are old and, in some cases, the carriages may be old, the fifteen hour journey is quite pleasant. Trains operate during the day so that trains do not cross Pyinmana in the dark, although the privately managed Dagon Mann Express runs overnight. Fares range from about US$15 (ordinary class/hard seat) to US$50 (air-conditioned sleeper on the Dagon Mann Express). * [[Lashio]], [[Hsipaw]] and [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; There are two trains daily from Pyin U Lwin (US$4/2) and one from Lashio via Hsipaw and Pwin U Lwin (US$9/3 from Hsipaw). These trains are slow, crowded, but fascinating. The Pyin U Lwin - Hsipaw section includes the famous Gokteik Viaduct, a feat of Raj ingenuity. Note: the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle in August 2025 and is yet to re-open. * [[Myitkyina]] &ndash; This 24-hr journey is on old rolling stock and even older tracks so expect it to be bumpy. ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Highway Bus Station | alt=Chan Mya Shwe Pyi / Kywe Se Kan | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.92355 | long=96.08959 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-24 | content=You can either take a taxi or pick-up into town. Taxis are overly expensive (quoting prices as high as 2,000 kyat per person; don't pay more than 5,000 kyat for the car), and often bargain in a mob fashion (except they all offer the same price and try to gang-up on you). A far cheaper option is to simply walk out of the bus station yards to the west, and find one of the pick-ups that just ran a load of people to the station from town (500 kyat per person). They are normally more than happy to help and there are no commission issues to worry about.<br />Some bus companies, e.g. OK Bus (btw. Mandalay and Bagan, 9,000 kyat), offer free pick-up from your hostel and will drop you at your next hostel at your destination. }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There is a night bus with air-con (there are 5 options, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00, 21:00, and 21:30 departures, standard 10,500 kyat, VIP 15,000 kyat, 8½-9 hr) running into Mandalay. Almost certainly the cheapest option for getting between the two main cities in Myanmar. From [[Inle Lake]], 10,000 kyat. * [[Inle Lake]], [[Kalaw]] or Mid-Eastern Towns &ndash; There are buses available along this route, either a day minibus (05:00 departure, 9,000 kyat, 9 hr) or a night bus with air-con (18:00 departure). The minibus in the day takes a slightly shorter route than the larger (and some say more comfortable) full-sized night bus. Expect windy and bumpy roads, stops for picking up and putting down passengers, and, if you are lucky, a search of the bus by just-bribed police officers in plain-clothes. * [[Monywa]] &ndash; There are buses apparently every hour. 2,000 kyat. 3½ hr. * [[Tamu]] &ndash; Minivans leave at around 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, for 20,300-30,000 kyat. One Ordinary Express (4 seats across 2 + 2) departs at 11:00, 22,000 kyat. And one VIP Express (3 seats across 2 + 1) departs Tamu at 12:30 (arriving in Mandalay at 03:50), 28,000 kyat. (May 2019) * [[Kalay]] &ndash; The Ordinary Express is at 15:00 and the VIP Express at 16:00, coming from Tamu. Kalay may be a convenient stopover for [[Tamu]] (for [[India]]). (May 2019) ==Get around== {{Mapframe|21.992712|96.095990|zoom=13|height=|width=|layer=|staticmap=|align=|name=}} {{Mapmask |21.8682,96.1240 |21.8719,96.1381 |21.8905,96.1283 |21.9034,96.1400 |21.9419,96.1407 |21.9438,96.1331 |21.9464,96.1305 |21.9485,96.1300 |21.9585,96.1309 |21.9770,96.1326 |21.9851,96.1297 |21.9946,96.1317 |22.0172,96.1309 |22.0255,96.1218 |22.0266,96.0974 |22.0244,96.0772 |22.0147,96.0650 |21.9755,96.0562 |21.9612,96.0516 |21.9493,96.0499 |21.9470,96.0514 |21.9346,96.0548 |21.9294,96.0545 |21.9270,96.0526 |21.9217,96.0530 |21.9172,96.0523 |21.9126,96.0493 |21.9079,96.0432 |21.9036,96.0401 |21.8999,96.0332 |21.8972,96.0224 |21.8950,96.0157 |21.8878,96.0135 |21.8811,96.0090 |21.8734,96.0083 |21.8727,96.0416 |21.8715,96.0596 |21.8752,96.0744 |21.8722,96.0797 |21.8658,96.0789 |21.8589,96.0809 |21.8539,96.0863 |21.8534,96.0916 |21.8526,96.0967 |21.8553,96.1014 |21.8693,96.1029 |21.8720,96.1039 |21.8727,96.1134 |21.8719,96.1178 |21.8682,96.1240}} ===By bicycle=== The best and most flexible way to see the city is by bicycle, as traffic isn't as heavy as in other Asian cities. ===By pickup=== The cheapest local transportation network consists of mini-trucks, loaded with passages on two benches on the back. They run along routes all over Manadaly starting at the centre at the market at 84th/29th. A number (Burmese symbol) defines where the truck is going and usually two people are standing at the back, shouting their destination and helping people get in. If you catch one at the main hub, it is easier to ask people for the right number and price. Usually 500 kyat pp, sitting in cabin might be more expensive. Routes include: *8 (၈): Centre - Aramapura (along Mandalay - Sagaing Rd.) *23 (၂၃): Centre - 78th south along runway - bus station at Aung Myint Mo Hotel (buses to/from Bagan, Myawaddy) ===By moto-taxi=== Motorbike taxis try to charge you overly expensive prices, but they would eventually turn out to be cheaper than car taxis if there are only one or two people. Don't pay more than 1,000 kyat for a ride to the centre, including to Mandalay Hill. You can get full-day (09:00-sunset) tours for 10,000 kyat. The driver will take you to the ancient cities, Sagaing and to Amarapura for sunset. [[File:Mandalay street.jpg|thumb|Mandalay's roads are laid out in a numbered grid pattern]] ===By moto-rental=== Renting a motorcycle can be a dangerous in Mandalay as driving can be chaotic, but it is a great way to see the city if you are experienced. Some hotels on 25th St rent bikes and there is an American expat in the centre who rents dirt bikes and motorbikes that can be delivered to your hotel. ===By taxi=== Taxis are relatively inexpensive and are excellent for travelling around Mandalay. Many sights are centred around Mandalay Hill, which makes walking feasible in that area. However, beware it is not always easy to get hold of a taxi depending on which part of the city you are, so making arrangements beforehand can help. ===By trishaw=== Trishaws (cycle rickshaws) are a convenient way of getting around in Mandalay if you're able to find one. If you find a driver who speaks good English you can have a tour guide and transport together for a reasonable price with a little bargaining. They only hold one or two persons. ==See== Mandalay has a "Mandalay Zone Fee" of 10,000 kyat that covers most of the central attractions and lasts for about a week. Buy it from the first attraction you visit. The tickets are not always checked at all attractions and you might be able to get individual cheaper tickets for some attractions. Access to the Mandalay hill requires an additional entry fee of 1,000 kyat, and Mingung and Sagaing are 5,000 kyat extra both (not always enforced). ===Markets=== * {{see | name=Jade Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat=21.96306 | long=96.07126 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=2500 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=An interesting look at the [[jade]] trade in Mandalay. See raw jade being cut, polished and finally sold (sometimes even over smartphones). There are also stalls selling jade jewellery and furnishings, but be sure to do your homework beforehand or you risk getting ripped off. All foreigners are supposed to pay an entrance fee but it is sporadically enforced. Souvenirs for less than US$1. }} * {{see | name=Flower Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=26 and Pulaing Street | lat=21.98435 | long=96.06162 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=A small market with dozens of vendors selling a wide variety of flowers and greenery. Visitors may also venture into the larger market to the north where vegetables, fish, meat and fruit is sold and repacked for distribution. }} ===Religious sites=== * {{see | name=Maha Myat Muni Paya | alt=''Pronounced,'' ma-ha myah mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.951868 | long=96.078480 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Unlike the other main attractions which are mostly located around Mandalay hill, Myanmar's second holiest pilgrimage site is located to the south-west end of the city. It contains a 4 m high Buddha statue, made of gold and decorated with precious jewels. A few inches worth of gold has been pressed onto the statue in the form of gold-leaves, leaving only the face open. Women are not allowed to enter the main sanctuary where the statue is located, but men may do so and also touch the Muni. The statue was brought from Rakhine State, southeast of Mandalay. Nearby the central hall, there is a hall displaying statues stolen from Rakhine state, which were in turn stolen through a string of robberies from Ang Kor Wat via Thailand. The figures may have belonged to Hindu mythological figures Shiva and Airavat, the elephant of Indra. You will see people rubbing the statues as they believes this cures of them of ailments, especially by touching the corresponding body part on the statue. Visit the site around 04:30–05:00 for the amazing ceremony of washing the Buddha's face, which occurs every day and is attended by hundreds of people. 1,000 kyat surcharge for photography. }} * {{see | name=Kuthodaw Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' ku-tho-dau pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0046 | long=96.1128 | directions=At the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is known as the site of the world's largest book. Built by King Mingdon in the 1800s, 729 white stupas within the complex contain the complete text of the Tripitaka, Theravada Buddhism's most sacred text, which are considered to constitute the largest book. The nearby Sandamuni paya contains a similar set of structures}} * {{see | name=Sandamuni Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' san-da-mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.003377 | long=96.109777 | directions=at the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Similar to Kuthodaw Paya, and next to it, it also contains a large number of white stupas containing the Tripitika. Sandamuni also contains the world's largest iron Buddha image. Quiet and peaceful, similar to Kuthodaw. }} * {{see | name=Shwe Kyi Myin Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' shui ji myin pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.020003 | long=96.107817 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in the 1st century, by Prince Min Shin Saw. }} * {{see | name=Shwenandaw Monastery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000673 | long=96.113730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A monastery made entirely of teak, with beautiful intricate carvings. It was built as part of the royal palace by King Mingdon and moved to its current site by his son, King Thibaw in the late 19th century. It is the only major building from the original wooden royal palace to have survived the bombing of World War II, and thus is the only authentic part of the royal palace which can still be seen today. It was the bedroom in which King Mingdon spent the last of his days. After that, the structure was given to the monks, and became a monastery. The intricate craftwork on the teak pillars, ceilings, roofs and walls, is breathtaking. One can get lost in observing the various animals and mythical creatures, or the thousands of athletic, gracefully twisted and seductive poses and expressions of the dancers seen on the pillars. }} * {{see | name=Atumashi Kyaung | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000944 | long=96.112593 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Located in front of Shwenandaw, it contains a very large hall, with a cool silent ambience suitable for a meditation. It was built in 1857 by King Mingdon using teak, but after being destroyed in fire, it was reconstructed to form the structure that you see today. The structure consists of five rectangular terraces in a graduated form. }} [[File:Mandalay palace.jpg|thumb|325x325px|Mandalay Palace, with Mandalay Hill in the background]] ===Miscellaneous=== * {{see | name=Royal Palace | alt=''pronounced,'' man-da-lei nan-dau | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.992817 | long=96.097236 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=10,000 kyat for foreigners |lastedit=2023-12-13| content=After their defeat in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephant to its current site in Mandalay. The British looted and partly destroyed the palace during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. During World War II the palace grounds were used as a Japanese army storage depot and were completely destroyed by British bombing. The palace complex was rebuilt between 1990-1995. There have been allegations that forced labour was used in its renovation. While the design of the reconstructed buildings is fairly faithful to the original, the materials used are not, with metal and concrete used instead of the original teak wood. The palace contains several pavilions and chambers, most of which are empty. Tourists are only permitted to enter from the East Gate. A 1 km walk connects the entry gate to the palace proper. Replicas of throne rooms and chairs and Madame Tussaud-style images of Kings Mingdon and Thibaw with their chief consorts are on display. At the west end is the Palace Museum where palace memorabilia is on display including religious paraphernalia, court ritual implements, court dresses and uniforms, furniture, palanquins and litters, as well as weaponry. There are also photo exhibits. The surrounding area of the island is a military base, which creates a strange atmosphere. Your passport must be surrendered at the entrance for the duration of your visit. The palace can also be seen from the summit of the Mandalay Hill. }} * {{see | name=U Bein Bridge | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.891772 | long=96.061644 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content= A historic wooden bridge in the south of Mandalay. Due to the level of cleanliness, it may not look particularly attractive, especially if you are there in the dry season when the water is scarce. But this place allows a great slice view of local life, with locals walking back and forth, stopping for food and shopping, or standing in the water fishing. The stilted thatched huts are the homes of many of the poor in the area, some of whom sell snacks along the bridge. }} ==Do== * [[File:Mandalay Hill, Sutaungpyai Temple, Myanmar.jpg|thumb|The temple atop Mandalay Hill]][[File:Mandalay Hill 06.jpg|thumb|Mandalay Hill looking down on the moat]]{{do | name=Mandalay Hill | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.013636 | long=96.108217 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Shared pick-up trucks to the base of Mandalay Hill run along 83rd St, one block from the Clock Tower, and leave every 20 minutes (500-1,000 kyat). Private pick-ups are also available (5,000 kyat). Motorbike taxis from the city centre to and from the base of Mandalay Hill cost 1,000-2,000 kyat. Try not to come down by an obscure entrance to a less crowded area, from where it will be difficult to catch a taxi. | wikipedia=Mandalay Hill | image=Mandalay Hill 3.jpg | wikidata=Q3285419 | lastedit=2018-11-27 | content=One of the favourite sunset spots, and a good quarter-day activity. The climb is enjoyable, providing scenic views of several other attractions and Mandalay. From the base of Mandalay Hill you can either climb the stairs or take a pick-up to Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the top, but the walk is probably worth it in order to catch the scenic views along the way. The climb takes about 30-45 min and requires moderate fitness, but is not overly demanding and is in the shade. Has views of Kuthodaw and Sandamuni paya, and the royal palace in the distance. Plenty of stray dogs, shops and other interesting stops (Buddhas, pagodas, viewpoints) line the path, such as the Gothama Buddha shrine. The two main south entrances are guarded by either Nats (spirit figures) or Chinthes (great mythical lions), but there are several other entrances.<br />Along the climb from the southern stairs near the place where these pathways merge, you come across a large statue of Buddha and his kneeling disciple Ananda, who climbed this very hill two centuries before Mingdon conquered it. Buddha is seen ominously pointing towards Mandalay, indicating that after two centuries, the capital of this region would shift to Mandalay. It is this prophecy that Mingdon fulfilled.<br />Further up, you come across a shrine showing the various stages of a man's life: birth, youth, monk, old age and death. Interestingly, there are similarities between the birth and death stage indicating the cyclical nature of life believed by Buddhism. You can see same set of figures as an image in Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan.<br />At the top, accessed by escalator, is the shrine to the ogress Sandamukhi on the penultimate storey. Sandamukhi is depicted as offering her cut breasts to Buddha in a scary gesture. It is said the ogress took rebirth as King Mingdon.<br />Additional 1,000 kyat for foreigners to enter the topmost level and see the pagoda, which can be avoided by watching the sunset from the Ogress storey. However, the open four-directional view from the top storey may be worth it, apart from the access to the toilets in this area. Footwear including socks are prohibited at the pagoda, which offers nice views of Mandalay and the surrounding plains. At sunset, Sutaungpyei Pagoda crowds with tourists, and many monks and other locals climb the stairs with the hope of talking to foreigners and practicing their English. }} *{{do | name=Gold leaf pressing tour | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= Free | lastedit= May 2016 | content= You can have a free tour to see how gold is pressed into fine gold leaves, that is bought by several thousand devotees all over Myanmar and pressed into several Buddha statues like Maha Myat Muni Paya. There are at least two places where this can be done for free in the city: King Galon and Golden Rose. The staff at both places speak English and guide you through the process, with no pressure to buy.}} *{{do | name=Mandalay Marionettes Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com | email= | address=66th St | lat=21.980520 | long=96.106894 | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 34446 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=daily at 20:30 | price=15,000 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=This is a hard-to-find show, even in Yangon. The show lasts 1h and has a traditional orchestra. Everything will be explained in English. Book in advance during high season. }} *{{do | name=Mintha Theater | url=http://www.minthatheater.com | email=info@minthatheater.com | address=27th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 65th & 66th St | phone=+95 9 6803607 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 20:30 | price=8,000 kyat | content=Classical court and folkloric dances that include a full 8-piece traditional orchestra.}} *{{do | name=Moustache Brothers | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=20:30 | price=10,000 kyat |lastedit=2025-05-25| content=Formerly a comedy trio who served 12 years in prison for their political (anti-government) performances and jokes. Now only one of the three performs. About half is comedy and the other half is traditional dancing performed by his family. They are only allowed to perform in their home and for tourists. They perform every night. The admission fee goes towards helping political prisoners. The show lasts for about 1½ hours and mostly features Burmese dance and some political jokes. Rickshaw drivers will try for a return fee. }} * {{do | name=Waterfall Hill | alt=Yaedagon Taung | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=on the east side of Mandalay | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Outdoor sports, especially caving and rock climbing are popular endeavours here. It is not spoiled, not crowded and not far from the city.}} * {{do | name=A ''Glimpse of Mandalay Cooking'' class and day tour | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/aglimpseofmandalay | email=aglimpseofmandalay@gmail.com | address=between 35th & 36th St, between 57th & 58th St, Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | lat= | long= | directions=free pick up and drop off is included. | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-18:00 | price=US$30 | lastedit=2015-09-08 | content=A combination of cooking class and day tour and the first of its kind in Myanmar. The cooking class is located in a local village about 20-min drive from Mandalay. Hands on teaching while enjoying the green paddy fields. After the cooking class, they will take you a bike tour to see the daily life of the village and end the tour by seeing sunset in a historic place. }} * {{do | name=Amaravati Thai Massage | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 62nd and 37th | lat= | long= | directions=in the east of Mandalay | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=8,000 kyat for 1-hr body massage | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Get body massage, foot massage and aroma massage. They are very professional and the ambience is nice and relaxing. }} * {{do | name=City Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Myo Patt Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=A leisure park with swimming pool. Women are requested to wear a t-shirt and shorts. }} ===Tours=== [[File:The Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) river and Sagaing Township from the Yadanabon Bridge.jpg|thumb|View of Sagaing Hill and surrounds from across the Irrawaddy River]] * '''Daytour "three former capitals": Amarapura, Sagaing, Innwa''' &ndash; You can usually book this tour at your hotel/hostel or directly with a Tuktuk driver (be careful with the price in this case). The normal price for a Tuktuk for the whole day tour is 35,000 kyat (January 2020), which can be divided depending on how many people fit the Tuktuk (usually up to 3 people). The tour starts at 08:30. First place to visit is '''Amarapura'''. You will visit the second biggest monastery in the country and watch the monks preparing their food. After that you will go to '''Sagaing'''. In Sagaing you will visit two pagodas on the Sagaing Hill, where you have a beautiful view too. From there you have lunch near a small river, which you have to cross after (2,500 kyat per person including return) to get to '''Innwa'''. In Innwa you can only get around by horse-drawn carriage (15,000 kyat per person) or walking. The carriage drivers will try to convince you that walking takes too much time, but that's not true. You have enough time to visit all the spots. After visiting Innwa you have to cross the river again. The Tuktuk driver takes you back to Amarapura to watch the sunset on the U Bein Bridge, one of the longest Teakwood bridges in the world. Usually the tour ends at 20:00. * '''Halfday tour to Mingun''' &ndash; For this halfday tour you have to take the ferry at 09:30 in Mandalay and will arrive at 10:30 in Mingun. The ferry (5,000 kyat per person including return) only leaves once a day. Mingun belongs to Sagaing Region and not to Mandalay Region anymore, that's why you have to pay another 5,000 kyat as "entrance fee". In Mingun you can visit the famous Hsinbyume Pagoda (a beautiful white Pagoda also called "photo pagoda") and the Mingun Bell. The ferry back to Mandalay leaves at 13:30. There are no other ferries back to Mandalay later. If you miss it, you can take a Tuktuk back or find a place to stay. (January 2020) [[File:U Pein Bridge Myanmar 15.jpg|thumb|U Bein bridge]] '''Do-it-yourself bicycle tour of Mandalay''': A whole day tour to Maha Muni, Innwa and U Bein Bridge. Sagaing Hill can be included as well. You can visit U Bein Bridge twice: Once during the day and once at sunset. Start early at the Clock Tower in Mandalay (26th Street, 84th Street) and cycle south 84th Street till two streets after the 42nd street. The road will then split into 2, go left. After the next bend you will see the entrance to Maha Muni Image. Lock your bicycle and take your time to explore the temple and the gardens behind. Go back to where the 84th Street splits into two and this time go right. Continue further south. Parallel to your street runs another, getting really close to yours after about 3 km, only to then turn right when yours goes gradually left (there is a petrol station, 100 m to your left is a white pagoda). From there continue on the main road. After 400 m the road bends right, then continues straight for about 1 km and then bends left. You can stop there to visit the Burkayar Monastery. Afterwards, continue straight and leave the main road. After 500 m the railway tracks cross the street. Continue straight through the neighbourhoods for 500 m more until you reach the Taungthaman Lake. Follow the road anti-clockwise along the lake and after 2 km you will reach the parking area of U Bein Bridge. You might have to pay a small parking fee (100-200 kyat). Cross the Bridge and settle in a teahouse on the other side. Get back on the bicycle and go west until you hit the main road (Sagaing-Mandalay Expy) and the tracks. From there you can explore the neighbourhoods and stop by any building where you hear the dominant rattling noise of the looms. There are factory-like businesses and private homes with only one or two machines. There are plenty, and you will be warmly welcomed to any of them to have a look. To go to Innwa follow the main road (Saging-Mandalay Expy) further south for 4.5 km, always straight until you reach a roundabout. Go straight for Innwa, or turn right and cross the bridge to Sagaing. After another kilometre you will reach a crossing. The main road bends right a little and crosses the river to Sagaing, a smaller road bends sharply left to somewhere else. And straight continues a small street of rather poor condition. Take this small street and follow it for another kilometre until you reach the river. You can only cross it by ferry (1 min). 1,000 kyat per person and 200 kyat extra for the bicycle return ticket. Once you leave the ferry you will want to continue as soon as possible as the horse cart tour touts pester you. Follow the horse tracks. Mahar Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery: From the jetty follow the road, go left, then right at the T-crossing. When the road turns left follow the small trail straight instead (no horse cart can pass), cross the tiny bridge. And after 50 m you reach the monastery (zone ticket). Right hand side from the main entrance there is a stupa, walled with two doors each having stairs. The stupa is connected to the monastery. Take 2-3 hr to explore Innwa fully. Then go back the same way to see the sunset at U Bein Bridge. There are street lamps all the way to Mandalay. There are no hills, just flat land. * Mandalay Clock Tower - Maha Mudi Image: 4 km, 20 min * Maha Muni Image - U Bein Bridge: 8 km, 40 min * U Bein Bridge - Innwa: 8 km, 40 min In case you got lost just ask people for the way. As few cycle in the area, not even locals, they are very curious and will gladly help you. Have your destinations written in Myanma as it's easier for people to understand. Try to get a bicycle with lights. Costs: 1,500 kyat for bicycle, 1,200 kyat for the ferry. Alternatively you can rent a motorcycle for 10,000 kyat. But only one can fit at a time on the ferry. ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Zegyo Market | alt=Pronounced ''zei-gyo'' | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.982904 | long=96.077130 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A street bazaar near the city centre. }} Some other markets are listed under [[#See]]. ==Eat== Mandalay is a former capital of Myanmar and a major trading centre between Myanmar and its neighbours, China, India and Bangladesh. As a result, it has a notable array of specialities from various regions in Myanmar and from other countries. Cuisine from the Shan State (usually including fermented pastes, vegetables and meats) is popular in Mandalay which has a sizable Shan minority. Muslim Chinese noodles, pronounced ''pan-THEI-kao-sweh'' (flat thin noodles mixed with an array of spices, chili, and chicken), are also famous in Mandalay and the surrounding hills. Regardless of where you eat, try to leave space for '''Htou moun'''(''to-moh''), a traditional Burmese dessert sold only in Mandalay; it contains a lot of oil and is extremely sweet. * {{eat | name=Myint Myint Khin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.975485 | long=96.08653 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-12 | content=Recognisable by the abbreviation MMK on the company logo, the most famous purveyor of ''Htou moun'' in all of Myanmar. }} *{{eat | name= Unique Bar and Restaurant | url= | email= | address= 66th Street | lat= 22.001714| long= 96.108104| directions= near Mandalay hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= main course at around 5,500 kyat | content= This bar and restaurant is near the foot of the Mandalay hill, and provides an easily accessible lunch spot during a tour of the nearby monasteries and the hill. The cuisine is a mix of Western, local and South-east Asian options. The curries are worth trying for their variety, and the coffee is good. The bar has an extensive range of cocktails, and provides hookahs. Very popular in the evenings, but less so during lunch hours. }} *{{eat | name= Mingalar-bar | url= | email= | address= corner of 71st and 29th Street | lat= 21.977801| long= 96.098550| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= up to 21:30 | price=box from 2,000 kyat; 5,000 kyat for a full main course | content= A good place to try a large variety of local Myanmarese cuisine. Apart from the pun-ny name, the restaurant's dishes are quite creative. The best part about the main course is the large spread of sumptuous appetizers and sauces of different types, served at the beginning of the meal. The local twists on many dishes is great. Don't leave without trying the special dry mango pork curry and mutton curry, and it is also worth attempting the river prawns, and if available, boar. There is a sumptuous dessert platter also available with many local sweets made of unique combinations of glutinous rice, banana, peanut, coconut etc. The service is very friendly. }} *{{eat | name=Shop for Htou moun | alt= | url= | email= | address=78th and 31st Street | lat= | long= | directions=left of the train station | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=box from 1,800 kyat | content=They will normally let you try the different types. You can have mixed boxes as well. Eat them within 4-7 days (depends on type). }} *{{eat | name=Indian Street Restaurant | url= | email= | address=82nd & 27th | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cheap and delicious Indian food, including chapati (2 curries and 2 rotis, for 300 kyat), birmani, and mutton curries. }} * {{eat | name=Mann Restaurant | url= | email= | address=83rd St | lat= | long= | directions=between 25th & 26th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A Chinese restaurant, frequented by locals, but not so much by foreigners. Has a number of basic Chinese meals, at around 2,000 kyat (meat), 1,500 kyat (vegetarian) a plate. Nothing special. Easily recognised from the street by the abundant yellow and black advertising for a local whisky brand. Sells beer and alcohol, Myanmar Beer at 1,500 kyat a bottle compared to 2,000 kyat in Yangon. }} *{{eat | name=Street Pancakes | alt=Indian roti | url= | email= | address=81st & 26th | lat= | long= | directions=in the SW block of 81st & 26th St.; enter the unmarked alley going west, next to Myawaddy Bank | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Afternoons you'll find a pleasant Indian lady making savoury and sweet street pancakes in a cast iron frying pan in front of her house. Cheap, delicious and pleasant company. }} * {{eat | name=Too Too Myanmar Cuisine | alt= | url= | email= | address=28th St | lat=21.981080 | long=96.093192 | directions=Between 74th & 75th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=OK, touristified Burmese curries. }} * {{eat | name=Super 81 | alt= | url= | email= | address=39th Street, between 81st and 82nd, Mandalay | lat=21.9634 | long=96.0810 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 09:00–23:00 | price=5,000–7,500 kyat | lastedit=2015-03-08 | content=Double-storey restaurant with great barbecued seafood. Air-conditioned second floor. The extensive menu includes Thai, Chinese, Indian and western dishes. Popular with locals. }} * {{eat | name=Grand Royal | alt= | url= | email= | address=69th Street, between 34th and 35th | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=from 1,500 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Nice busy restaurant with two floors. English menu available, but no English spoken. Try Tauk Tauk Kyaw (chicken, veggies and spicy mint 2,500 kyat), Pinsein (chicken pie with veggies, 2,000 kyat). They have hand-mixed-pineapple lassi which means yoghurt and pineapple pieces with ice cubes that you eat (and mix) with your spoon. }} * {{eat | name=Nameless Street Stall at corner of 30th and 84th Street | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=dinnertime | price=Set meal with one curry 800 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content= Busy place right at the crossing with more than 10 curries to choose from. The staff just knows enough English to point out what meat (or fish) is in the curry. Choose by the look. The curry traditionally comes with rice, soup and veggy plate. }} * {{eat | name=Night market | alt= | url= | email= | address=along corner of 76th and 34th Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=best time 18:00-19:00 | price= | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Choose a shop where there are many people in order to point at the dish you want as there are no English menus. Stalls sell hot pots, dumplings (soup, steamed, salad), Thai noodles, seafood with flat rice noodles, pig feet with noodles, sticky rice and other sweets. A yoghurt dessert with honey or sugar is popular with locals. }} * {{eat | name=Lashiolay | alt= | url= | email= | address=23rd St. (between 83rd & 84th St.) | lat=21.9872297 | long=96.0789713 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=From 3,000 kyat | lastedit=2017-05-04 | content=Great Shan food. Choose by pointing the main dishes. Always comes with a little salad and rice. Limited English. }} * {{eat | name=Twist Potato | alt= | url= | email= | address=26th street, between 78th & 79th | lat=21.982870 | long=96.086747 | directions=south of the moat, 200 m from the southwest corner | phone=+95 9777788820 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00-21:30 | price= | lastedit=May 2018 | content=As a Korean franchise they do serve twist potato (with or without sausage) their trademark, and spicy food for the ones who like it. But they also offer finger foods and Western dishes (fish and chips, burger, spaghetti), along with fried dishes. For dessert ice cream and waffles (both can be combined). Also offer hot and iced coffees, fresh juices, smoothies and yogurts. Very reasonable prices. Menu in English. Air conditioned. 2 floors. Friendly staff, and management speaks English. Extra service offered: one can rent a motorbike from here (and get a discount on the food) }} ==Drink== *{{drink | name=Golden Coffee Shop | url= | email= | address=No. 80/4, 35th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 88th and 89th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500-2,000 kyat for drinks. Similar for food/snacks | content=Free Wi-Fi. Decently priced fruit shakes and coffees and a good array of snacks. Friendly staff try their best with English, but best take a phrasebook if you want to do more than point at pictures on menus.}} *{{drink | name=Shwe Gokai | url= | email= | address=35th St | lat= | long= | directions=N side of 35th St a few shops W of 68th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is a Chinese BBQ restaurant famous for its BBQ beef tongue and rice noodle soup (ba ba si). There is no English sign, but it is easy enough to find as it is the only BBQ restaurant on the north side of 35th St. It is next to a pottery store with many pots in front.}} *{{drink | name=V Cafe | url= | email= | address=No 408, Corner of 80th & 25th St | lat= | long= | directions=Near Royal Guesthouse | phone=+95 9 6804928 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$5-10 | content=A cool cafe at Mandalay with good food, friendly and attentive service at fair price. A nice escape from the teeming streets for those weary after a tiring day.}} * {{drink | name=Nylon Ice Cream Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 83rd and 25th Streets | lat=21.984647 | long=96.079499 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A bit of a novelty, ice cream, milkshakes, fruit juices and beers that you can drink on the side of the bustling street. Flavours are geared towards Asian tastes, there's no food unless street sellers are operating, and there's usually a gaggle of beggars (who seem to be in league with the owners) harassing drinkers. }} ==Sleep== ===Budget=== Most budget guesthouses are around 25th St, between 81st and 84th Streets. There are many more than those listed here. * {{sleep | name=AD1 Hotel | url= | email= | address=Eindawya Sintada St, Chan Aye Thar San Township | lat= | long= | directions=E of Eindawya Pagoda | phone=+95 2 34505, +95 9 6502430 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$15-30 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Central location in the heart of Zeygo Market. The rooftop is something special. Rooms are tacky and baths dated, but the price is OK.}} * {{sleep | name=Nylon Hotel | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Corner of 83rd & 25th St | phone=+95 2 33460, +95 2 66550, +95 2 60757 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10-20 | checkin=early, if room available | checkout=12:00 | content=Room, bathroom quality is standard for Burma at this price. Basic breakfast and working Wi-Fi in room included. Extremely friendly staff, except for the owner (unfriendly, doesn't care about his guests at all). They may try to scam you on laundry, so clarify the price per unit and count for yourself.}} * {{sleep | name=Mahar Hotel | url= | email=hotelmahar.mdy@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=24 St, between 83 & 84th St | phone=+95 2 22854 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$18-25 | checkin= | checkout=12:00 | content=One block from Nylon Hotel, rooms are very clean and relatively good value for the price (for Mandalay), though single rooms are small. Hot shower, free Wi-Fi in rooms, standard breakfast included, friendly staff.}} * {{sleep | name=Peacock Lodge | url= | email=peacock lodge@gmail.com | address=60th St | lat=21.9825 | long=96.1167 | directions= | phone=+95 9 2042059| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Standard double US$35, Deluxe double US$55 | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit=2014-09 | content=Terrific home stay B&B, with very friendly family staff. A bit out of the centre. Has bike rentals. Free Wi-Fi in the rooms, includes breakfast outside in the garden. Hot shower. Can organise airport transfers, bus tickets, etc. }} * {{sleep | name=Rich Queen | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 260172, +95 9 91028348 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$25 | checkin= | checkout= | content=New and has a flash backpacker feel to it. Has modern facilities including the baths. All rooms have air-con.}} * {{sleep | name=Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Yoe-Yoe-Lay-Homestay-122408557948266/ | email=nanbwe1@gmail.com | address=Between 35th and 36th St & 57th and 58th St, Shwe Gal Pwar | lat= | long= | directions=about 10 min E of downtown; you can also take local pickup Bus 11 from 35th street, RMB300 | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | checkin=12:30 | checkout=12:00 | price=US$7-30 | lastedit=2017-02-08 | content=Great breakfast included with fruits, western and local food, free Wi-Fi & drinking water. Clean bathrooms with warm water. The owner "Mama" and the staff are kind and helpful. Has a homestay feeling. Bicycles for rent (2,000 kyat per day). Motorbikes for rent (10,000 kyat semi automatic and 12,000 kyat automatic. 24 hours). They organize bus tickets and sightseeing tours. Booking through their Facebook page or email. Air-con en suite double: US$30, shared bathroom: US$25, 4- and 6-bed dorm rooms: US$7 per person (not including breakfast. You can have it for additional 2,000 kyat. It is worth it: orange juice, coffee/tea, toasts, jam and butter, eggs, bottle of water, rice or noodles, watermelon). }} * {{sleep | name=Dreamland Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://dreamlandguesthouse.wordpress.com/ | email=dreamlandguesthouse.mdy@gmail.com | address=corner of 69th and 37th street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2-32850 (land-line), +95 9-402544997, +95 9-43068299 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=dorm US$10 | content=Best thing about this hostel is the included breakfast. They cooperate with the small restaurant nextdoor and have a huge number of choices: e.g. pancake (sugar, beans, banana), bread, Mohinga, Shan Noodles, eggs. There is coffee and 3 types of tea on the menu, they have 8 different types of tea, so ask in the hostel. The hostel doubles as an art studio. So during the day children will have violin or piano lessons and there is a small exhibition of paintings. The staff are friendly and helpful. The dorm has air con and the bunk beds have curtains, lamps and sockets. You reach the upper bunk by stairs not by an ordinary ladder. Plenty of bathrooms in the house with hot water. Everywhere Wi-Fi, clean, bicycle and motorcycle renting, free drinking water, free towel. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Bagan King | alt= | url=http://www.bagankinghotel.com/ | email= | address=Blk-732, No (44), Corner of 73rd And 28th Roads ChanAyeTharZan Tsp | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2 67124 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$70 | content=Nice hotel. Friendly staff, restaurant, bar, free Wi-Fi. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Sahara | alt= | url=http://www.hotelsaharamandalay.com | email=hotelsahara.mandalay@gmail.com | address=No. 414/A, 80th Road, between 26th & 27th streets | lat=21.982802 | long=96.084252 | directions=50 m from the southwest corner of the moat | phone=+95 267313 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=Low season, US$16 for standard double, US$19 for superior twin, US$25 for deluxe double. High season, US$20 standard double, US$25 for superior twin, US$30 for deluxe double | lastedit=2018-05-23 | content=2-star hotel in the heart of Mandalay. 29 rooms (3 different kinds), all of which offer AC, TV, fridge, hot/cold showers, comfortable beds; deluxe rooms are bigger and offer a bathtub in addition. Free wifi accessible from all areas. Free buffet breakfast 06:30-09:00. Excellent restaurant recommendations. Friendly & smiling staff who speaks excellent English. }} * {{sleep | name=Mandalay City Hotel | alt= | url=http://mandalaycityhotel.com/ | email= | address=26th Street | lat=21.982636 | long=96.080584 | directions=between 82nd and 83rd Streets | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$80 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Decent hotel, hidden from the noise and traffic inside a courtyard. Has OK rooms, good staff and a tranquil pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Smart Hotel | alt= | url=http://smarthotelmandalay.com | email= | address=No 167 28th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 76th & 77th St, Chan Aye Tharzan Township | phone=+95 2 32682 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60-90 | content=A nice central hotel. Several types of rooms, ranging from fairly basic up to quite nice (even by Bangkok or Singapore standards). Staff very friendly and capable of assisting with tourist plans, onward travel tickets, etc. Onsite restaurant and bar. Free Wi-Fi.}} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Mandalay Hill Resort | alt= | url=http://www.mandalayhillresorthotel.com | email= | address=No 9, Kwin (416B), 10th St | lat=22.006908 | long=96.102281 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$170 | content=An 8-storey hotel at the foot of Mandalay Hill. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Mandalay | email= | address=No 1, Junction of 26th & 66th St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=From US$121 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Formerly the Sedona hotel. Now a full service Hilton blending traditional Burmese and modern architecture that faces the Royal Palace and Mandalay Hill.}} * {{sleep | name=Zegyo Hotel | url= | email= | address=84th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 27th and 28th St, next to Zegyo Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=Great location, clean rooms.}} ==Stay safe== Mandalay is a haven for drug kingpins and is a main trading centre of illicit drugs. In 2005, an explosion occurred at Zegyo Market. However, Mandalay is generally a very safe city. ==Go next== * [[Amarapura]] (Pyi) &ndash; Famous for its ancient sights, and for U Bein bridge, the world's longest teak bridge. * [[Hsipaw]] &ndash; Bus leaves at 06:00 and 14:30 (5,000 kyat), 5 hr. * [[Mawlamyine]] &ndash; Overnight bus '''Shwe Mandalar''' at 18:00 (15,000 kyat), leaves from the Highway Bus Station. Quite luxurious (Swedish) bus, includes a towel, pillow, blanket toothbrushes and water. Arrives at [[Mawlamyine]] at 05:00. * [[Maymyo]] (Pyin U Lwin) &ndash; A former British hill station in a lush alpine forest. The small town contains a variety of colonial relics, and is most famous for its botanical gardens (modelled on England's Kew Gardens). Also known for the Defence Services Academy, the top-ranked military academy in Myanmar. Shared taxis come pick you up (6,500 kyat, back seat, 7,000 kyat front, 1½ hr). Pickups leave from the corner of 27th and 82nd (1,500 kyat, 2 hr). Train is very scenic, and is a must-do train journey if you like trains. It leaves Mandalay at 04:00 (US$3 for upper class). * [[Mingun]] &ndash; Best known for the Mingun Bell (one of the largest bells in the world), is a boat ride away. Boats leave from the Mingun jetty (all drivers know it) at 09:00 and return at 13:00. 5,000 kyat return. * [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; Hill station established by the British. Pick-up trucks run east along 35th street and take about 2 hours and cost 1,500 kyat. Shared taxis leave from 27th and 79th streets (next to the Mother's World Hotel). Depart when full. They will pick-up in Mandalay, and drop off at your desired destination in Pyin U Lwin. Cost was 7000 kyat (May 2019). The train for Pyin U Lwin departs from the railway station each morning at 04:00 (May 2019). * [[Sagaing]] (to the east) &ndash; Has many Buddhist temples and monasteries, especially on Sagaing Hill. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; Overnight buses at 07:00 and 09:00 (10,500 kyat). Luxury bus for 16,000 kyat. Leaves from the Highway Bus Station. * [[Bagan]] by bus (OK-Bus with pick up and drop off at your hotels) 8,000 kyat. By slow boat (13 hr) on Sundays and Wednesdays at 05:30 for US$15 or express boat (8 hr) daily at 07:00 but only Nov-Feb, US$45. Ticket office for both in 35th Street & Sein Pann Road (kyat not accepted) {{usablecity}} {{geo|21.975000|96.083333}} {{IsPartOf|Central Myanmar}} fry970h0gvvv6jclfdm2ydx1dlgk0hf 5298461 5298460 2026-06-25T16:23:52Z Lazarus1255 2236161 /* Splurge */ Also closed 5298461 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mandalay Banner.jpg}} {{Warningbox|The conflict is Myanmar is volatile. The security situation may deteriorate at short notice and the military regime can introduce travel restrictions at any time. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to North Mandalay Region; the townships north of Mandalay City and Pyin Oo Lwin. |lastedit=2026-03-01 }} '''Mandalay''' ([[Burmese phrasebook|Burmese]]: မန္တလေး; [[Burmese phrasebook|Shan]]: တႃႈလိူဝ်ႇ) is the second largest city (after [[Yangon]]), and a former capital of [[Myanmar]]. The city is the economic and religious hub of upper Myanmar. The city is centred on the royal palace, and has wide avenues filled with bicycles and motorcycles. Mandalay is known for its millionaires, its monks (half of the country's monks live in Mandalay and surrounding areas) and its cultural diversity. ==Understand== [[File:Mandalay clock tower.jpg|thumb|A busy street scene in Mandalay, with the clock tower built to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee]] ===History=== The very name Mandalay evokes the splendours of old Burma. But most people will be surprised to learn that Mandalay is not an old city, not even a medieval one, but rather a new city created by King Mingdon Min in 1857 as the new capital of the kingdom of Ava. Mingdon moved the capital from [[Amarapura]] to this site at the base of Mandalay Hill as it was more easily defendable against British attack. Only two Burmese kings ruled from there, King Mingdon and King Thibaw, before the British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885. It was a city of splendour between 1858 and 1885, but most of the magnificence has vanished, gone in the fires that consume wooden structures and by intensive Allied bombing during the Second World War. Much of the city, neatly planned with its lettered roads and numbered streets, is a British creation. Though no longer the capital, the city remained the religious and cultural hub of the country during British rule. The once magnificent royal palace and the great Atumashi ("incomparable") pagoda, King Mingdon Min's finest creations, are modern reconstructions. Today, Mandalay lies at the end of the Lashio Rd and it is, by Burmese standards, relatively prosperous as a centre for trade with China and India. Despite the capital having been moved to [[Naypyidaw]], Mandalay remains by far the main commercial centre of Upper Myanmar. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay on 28th March 2025. The Ava Bridge, Mandalay University, parts of the Royal Palace and many ancient pagodas were destroyed. ===People=== Mandalay is ethnically diverse, with the Bamar (Burmans) forming a slight majority. There has been a major influx of Chinese from mainland China, and the Chinese (both recent migrants and descendants of colonial-era immigrants) form 30-40% of the population. Their influence is seen in the Chinese-style glass buildings throughout the city. Other ethnic groups include the Shan, who are ethnically and linguistically related to the Thais and Laotians, and the Karen (Kayin). There is also a sizable ethnic Indian population. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Mandalay |14.2 |29.8 |5.3 |16.3 |33.2 |3.1 |20.9 |37.0 |7.2 |25.0 |39.1 |42.1 |26.0 |37.1 |151.8 |26.3 |35.6 |90.8 |26.3 |35.4 |73.2 |25.9 |34.3 |159.5 |25.6 |34.2 |176.7 |24.2 |33.4 |142.8 |20.3 |31.7 |36.3 |15.8 |29.3 |5.5 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Mandalay]] |description= }} Mandalay has a semi-tropical climate. Winter (which is dry and cold) lasts from Nov-Feb, and summer lasts from Mar-May. Because Mandalay is in the central dry zone, it receives far less rain than the more tropical south. ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Mandalay International Airport | alt={{IATA|MDL}} | url=http://www.mandalayairport.com | email= | address= | lat=21.702222 | long=95.978056 | directions=35 km south of the city centre in Tada-U | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1193001 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content=A gleaming modern facility, serves the area with flights to places in Myanmar and some international flights. There are also 3 flights weekly to and from [[Kunming]] on flight MU2029 for about [[China#Money|CNY]]2,000 one way. Tourist SIM cards can be purchased from a counter at the airport. A mobile plan with 5 GB and 60 minutes costs less than 10,000 kyat. }} Taxis from the airport are 15,000 [[Myanmar#Money|kyat]] or 4,000 kyat per person if you fill the vehicle with others. A shared bus is available for 4,000 kyat but may leave before you can exchange cash and purchase a SIM card. Fill out your entry card while on the plane to avoid being at the back of the queue. Towards the airport taxis cost around 15,000 kyat (Sep 2017) and take roughly ½ hr from the city centre. There is a security check ''before'' check-in, and you need to have your ticket, email verification or something related to your flight to get through. Further security check after check-in. ===By train=== * {{go | name=Mandalay Central Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.97671 | long=96.08601 | directions=at 78th east and 30th north Street | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q6747758 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content= }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There are several trains daily from Yangon. While the tracks are old and, in some cases, the carriages may be old, the fifteen hour journey is quite pleasant. Trains operate during the day so that trains do not cross Pyinmana in the dark, although the privately managed Dagon Mann Express runs overnight. Fares range from about US$15 (ordinary class/hard seat) to US$50 (air-conditioned sleeper on the Dagon Mann Express). * [[Lashio]], [[Hsipaw]] and [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; There are two trains daily from Pyin U Lwin (US$4/2) and one from Lashio via Hsipaw and Pwin U Lwin (US$9/3 from Hsipaw). These trains are slow, crowded, but fascinating. The Pyin U Lwin - Hsipaw section includes the famous Gokteik Viaduct, a feat of Raj ingenuity. Note: the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle in August 2025 and is yet to re-open. * [[Myitkyina]] &ndash; This 24-hr journey is on old rolling stock and even older tracks so expect it to be bumpy. ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Highway Bus Station | alt=Chan Mya Shwe Pyi / Kywe Se Kan | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.92355 | long=96.08959 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-24 | content=You can either take a taxi or pick-up into town. Taxis are overly expensive (quoting prices as high as 2,000 kyat per person; don't pay more than 5,000 kyat for the car), and often bargain in a mob fashion (except they all offer the same price and try to gang-up on you). A far cheaper option is to simply walk out of the bus station yards to the west, and find one of the pick-ups that just ran a load of people to the station from town (500 kyat per person). They are normally more than happy to help and there are no commission issues to worry about.<br />Some bus companies, e.g. OK Bus (btw. Mandalay and Bagan, 9,000 kyat), offer free pick-up from your hostel and will drop you at your next hostel at your destination. }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There is a night bus with air-con (there are 5 options, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00, 21:00, and 21:30 departures, standard 10,500 kyat, VIP 15,000 kyat, 8½-9 hr) running into Mandalay. Almost certainly the cheapest option for getting between the two main cities in Myanmar. From [[Inle Lake]], 10,000 kyat. * [[Inle Lake]], [[Kalaw]] or Mid-Eastern Towns &ndash; There are buses available along this route, either a day minibus (05:00 departure, 9,000 kyat, 9 hr) or a night bus with air-con (18:00 departure). The minibus in the day takes a slightly shorter route than the larger (and some say more comfortable) full-sized night bus. Expect windy and bumpy roads, stops for picking up and putting down passengers, and, if you are lucky, a search of the bus by just-bribed police officers in plain-clothes. * [[Monywa]] &ndash; There are buses apparently every hour. 2,000 kyat. 3½ hr. * [[Tamu]] &ndash; Minivans leave at around 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, for 20,300-30,000 kyat. One Ordinary Express (4 seats across 2 + 2) departs at 11:00, 22,000 kyat. And one VIP Express (3 seats across 2 + 1) departs Tamu at 12:30 (arriving in Mandalay at 03:50), 28,000 kyat. (May 2019) * [[Kalay]] &ndash; The Ordinary Express is at 15:00 and the VIP Express at 16:00, coming from Tamu. Kalay may be a convenient stopover for [[Tamu]] (for [[India]]). (May 2019) ==Get around== {{Mapframe|21.992712|96.095990|zoom=13|height=|width=|layer=|staticmap=|align=|name=}} {{Mapmask |21.8682,96.1240 |21.8719,96.1381 |21.8905,96.1283 |21.9034,96.1400 |21.9419,96.1407 |21.9438,96.1331 |21.9464,96.1305 |21.9485,96.1300 |21.9585,96.1309 |21.9770,96.1326 |21.9851,96.1297 |21.9946,96.1317 |22.0172,96.1309 |22.0255,96.1218 |22.0266,96.0974 |22.0244,96.0772 |22.0147,96.0650 |21.9755,96.0562 |21.9612,96.0516 |21.9493,96.0499 |21.9470,96.0514 |21.9346,96.0548 |21.9294,96.0545 |21.9270,96.0526 |21.9217,96.0530 |21.9172,96.0523 |21.9126,96.0493 |21.9079,96.0432 |21.9036,96.0401 |21.8999,96.0332 |21.8972,96.0224 |21.8950,96.0157 |21.8878,96.0135 |21.8811,96.0090 |21.8734,96.0083 |21.8727,96.0416 |21.8715,96.0596 |21.8752,96.0744 |21.8722,96.0797 |21.8658,96.0789 |21.8589,96.0809 |21.8539,96.0863 |21.8534,96.0916 |21.8526,96.0967 |21.8553,96.1014 |21.8693,96.1029 |21.8720,96.1039 |21.8727,96.1134 |21.8719,96.1178 |21.8682,96.1240}} ===By bicycle=== The best and most flexible way to see the city is by bicycle, as traffic isn't as heavy as in other Asian cities. ===By pickup=== The cheapest local transportation network consists of mini-trucks, loaded with passages on two benches on the back. They run along routes all over Manadaly starting at the centre at the market at 84th/29th. A number (Burmese symbol) defines where the truck is going and usually two people are standing at the back, shouting their destination and helping people get in. If you catch one at the main hub, it is easier to ask people for the right number and price. Usually 500 kyat pp, sitting in cabin might be more expensive. Routes include: *8 (၈): Centre - Aramapura (along Mandalay - Sagaing Rd.) *23 (၂၃): Centre - 78th south along runway - bus station at Aung Myint Mo Hotel (buses to/from Bagan, Myawaddy) ===By moto-taxi=== Motorbike taxis try to charge you overly expensive prices, but they would eventually turn out to be cheaper than car taxis if there are only one or two people. Don't pay more than 1,000 kyat for a ride to the centre, including to Mandalay Hill. You can get full-day (09:00-sunset) tours for 10,000 kyat. The driver will take you to the ancient cities, Sagaing and to Amarapura for sunset. [[File:Mandalay street.jpg|thumb|Mandalay's roads are laid out in a numbered grid pattern]] ===By moto-rental=== Renting a motorcycle can be a dangerous in Mandalay as driving can be chaotic, but it is a great way to see the city if you are experienced. Some hotels on 25th St rent bikes and there is an American expat in the centre who rents dirt bikes and motorbikes that can be delivered to your hotel. ===By taxi=== Taxis are relatively inexpensive and are excellent for travelling around Mandalay. Many sights are centred around Mandalay Hill, which makes walking feasible in that area. However, beware it is not always easy to get hold of a taxi depending on which part of the city you are, so making arrangements beforehand can help. ===By trishaw=== Trishaws (cycle rickshaws) are a convenient way of getting around in Mandalay if you're able to find one. If you find a driver who speaks good English you can have a tour guide and transport together for a reasonable price with a little bargaining. They only hold one or two persons. ==See== Mandalay has a "Mandalay Zone Fee" of 10,000 kyat that covers most of the central attractions and lasts for about a week. Buy it from the first attraction you visit. The tickets are not always checked at all attractions and you might be able to get individual cheaper tickets for some attractions. Access to the Mandalay hill requires an additional entry fee of 1,000 kyat, and Mingung and Sagaing are 5,000 kyat extra both (not always enforced). ===Markets=== * {{see | name=Jade Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat=21.96306 | long=96.07126 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=2500 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=An interesting look at the [[jade]] trade in Mandalay. See raw jade being cut, polished and finally sold (sometimes even over smartphones). There are also stalls selling jade jewellery and furnishings, but be sure to do your homework beforehand or you risk getting ripped off. All foreigners are supposed to pay an entrance fee but it is sporadically enforced. Souvenirs for less than US$1. }} * {{see | name=Flower Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=26 and Pulaing Street | lat=21.98435 | long=96.06162 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=A small market with dozens of vendors selling a wide variety of flowers and greenery. Visitors may also venture into the larger market to the north where vegetables, fish, meat and fruit is sold and repacked for distribution. }} ===Religious sites=== * {{see | name=Maha Myat Muni Paya | alt=''Pronounced,'' ma-ha myah mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.951868 | long=96.078480 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Unlike the other main attractions which are mostly located around Mandalay hill, Myanmar's second holiest pilgrimage site is located to the south-west end of the city. It contains a 4 m high Buddha statue, made of gold and decorated with precious jewels. A few inches worth of gold has been pressed onto the statue in the form of gold-leaves, leaving only the face open. Women are not allowed to enter the main sanctuary where the statue is located, but men may do so and also touch the Muni. The statue was brought from Rakhine State, southeast of Mandalay. Nearby the central hall, there is a hall displaying statues stolen from Rakhine state, which were in turn stolen through a string of robberies from Ang Kor Wat via Thailand. The figures may have belonged to Hindu mythological figures Shiva and Airavat, the elephant of Indra. You will see people rubbing the statues as they believes this cures of them of ailments, especially by touching the corresponding body part on the statue. Visit the site around 04:30–05:00 for the amazing ceremony of washing the Buddha's face, which occurs every day and is attended by hundreds of people. 1,000 kyat surcharge for photography. }} * {{see | name=Kuthodaw Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' ku-tho-dau pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0046 | long=96.1128 | directions=At the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is known as the site of the world's largest book. Built by King Mingdon in the 1800s, 729 white stupas within the complex contain the complete text of the Tripitaka, Theravada Buddhism's most sacred text, which are considered to constitute the largest book. The nearby Sandamuni paya contains a similar set of structures}} * {{see | name=Sandamuni Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' san-da-mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.003377 | long=96.109777 | directions=at the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Similar to Kuthodaw Paya, and next to it, it also contains a large number of white stupas containing the Tripitika. Sandamuni also contains the world's largest iron Buddha image. Quiet and peaceful, similar to Kuthodaw. }} * {{see | name=Shwe Kyi Myin Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' shui ji myin pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.020003 | long=96.107817 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in the 1st century, by Prince Min Shin Saw. }} * {{see | name=Shwenandaw Monastery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000673 | long=96.113730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A monastery made entirely of teak, with beautiful intricate carvings. It was built as part of the royal palace by King Mingdon and moved to its current site by his son, King Thibaw in the late 19th century. It is the only major building from the original wooden royal palace to have survived the bombing of World War II, and thus is the only authentic part of the royal palace which can still be seen today. It was the bedroom in which King Mingdon spent the last of his days. After that, the structure was given to the monks, and became a monastery. The intricate craftwork on the teak pillars, ceilings, roofs and walls, is breathtaking. One can get lost in observing the various animals and mythical creatures, or the thousands of athletic, gracefully twisted and seductive poses and expressions of the dancers seen on the pillars. }} * {{see | name=Atumashi Kyaung | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000944 | long=96.112593 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Located in front of Shwenandaw, it contains a very large hall, with a cool silent ambience suitable for a meditation. It was built in 1857 by King Mingdon using teak, but after being destroyed in fire, it was reconstructed to form the structure that you see today. The structure consists of five rectangular terraces in a graduated form. }} [[File:Mandalay palace.jpg|thumb|325x325px|Mandalay Palace, with Mandalay Hill in the background]] ===Miscellaneous=== * {{see | name=Royal Palace | alt=''pronounced,'' man-da-lei nan-dau | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.992817 | long=96.097236 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=10,000 kyat for foreigners |lastedit=2023-12-13| content=After their defeat in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephant to its current site in Mandalay. The British looted and partly destroyed the palace during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. During World War II the palace grounds were used as a Japanese army storage depot and were completely destroyed by British bombing. The palace complex was rebuilt between 1990-1995. There have been allegations that forced labour was used in its renovation. While the design of the reconstructed buildings is fairly faithful to the original, the materials used are not, with metal and concrete used instead of the original teak wood. The palace contains several pavilions and chambers, most of which are empty. Tourists are only permitted to enter from the East Gate. A 1 km walk connects the entry gate to the palace proper. Replicas of throne rooms and chairs and Madame Tussaud-style images of Kings Mingdon and Thibaw with their chief consorts are on display. At the west end is the Palace Museum where palace memorabilia is on display including religious paraphernalia, court ritual implements, court dresses and uniforms, furniture, palanquins and litters, as well as weaponry. There are also photo exhibits. The surrounding area of the island is a military base, which creates a strange atmosphere. Your passport must be surrendered at the entrance for the duration of your visit. The palace can also be seen from the summit of the Mandalay Hill. }} * {{see | name=U Bein Bridge | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.891772 | long=96.061644 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content= A historic wooden bridge in the south of Mandalay. Due to the level of cleanliness, it may not look particularly attractive, especially if you are there in the dry season when the water is scarce. But this place allows a great slice view of local life, with locals walking back and forth, stopping for food and shopping, or standing in the water fishing. The stilted thatched huts are the homes of many of the poor in the area, some of whom sell snacks along the bridge. }} ==Do== * [[File:Mandalay Hill, Sutaungpyai Temple, Myanmar.jpg|thumb|The temple atop Mandalay Hill]][[File:Mandalay Hill 06.jpg|thumb|Mandalay Hill looking down on the moat]]{{do | name=Mandalay Hill | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.013636 | long=96.108217 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Shared pick-up trucks to the base of Mandalay Hill run along 83rd St, one block from the Clock Tower, and leave every 20 minutes (500-1,000 kyat). Private pick-ups are also available (5,000 kyat). Motorbike taxis from the city centre to and from the base of Mandalay Hill cost 1,000-2,000 kyat. Try not to come down by an obscure entrance to a less crowded area, from where it will be difficult to catch a taxi. | wikipedia=Mandalay Hill | image=Mandalay Hill 3.jpg | wikidata=Q3285419 | lastedit=2018-11-27 | content=One of the favourite sunset spots, and a good quarter-day activity. The climb is enjoyable, providing scenic views of several other attractions and Mandalay. From the base of Mandalay Hill you can either climb the stairs or take a pick-up to Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the top, but the walk is probably worth it in order to catch the scenic views along the way. The climb takes about 30-45 min and requires moderate fitness, but is not overly demanding and is in the shade. Has views of Kuthodaw and Sandamuni paya, and the royal palace in the distance. Plenty of stray dogs, shops and other interesting stops (Buddhas, pagodas, viewpoints) line the path, such as the Gothama Buddha shrine. The two main south entrances are guarded by either Nats (spirit figures) or Chinthes (great mythical lions), but there are several other entrances.<br />Along the climb from the southern stairs near the place where these pathways merge, you come across a large statue of Buddha and his kneeling disciple Ananda, who climbed this very hill two centuries before Mingdon conquered it. Buddha is seen ominously pointing towards Mandalay, indicating that after two centuries, the capital of this region would shift to Mandalay. It is this prophecy that Mingdon fulfilled.<br />Further up, you come across a shrine showing the various stages of a man's life: birth, youth, monk, old age and death. Interestingly, there are similarities between the birth and death stage indicating the cyclical nature of life believed by Buddhism. You can see same set of figures as an image in Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan.<br />At the top, accessed by escalator, is the shrine to the ogress Sandamukhi on the penultimate storey. Sandamukhi is depicted as offering her cut breasts to Buddha in a scary gesture. It is said the ogress took rebirth as King Mingdon.<br />Additional 1,000 kyat for foreigners to enter the topmost level and see the pagoda, which can be avoided by watching the sunset from the Ogress storey. However, the open four-directional view from the top storey may be worth it, apart from the access to the toilets in this area. Footwear including socks are prohibited at the pagoda, which offers nice views of Mandalay and the surrounding plains. At sunset, Sutaungpyei Pagoda crowds with tourists, and many monks and other locals climb the stairs with the hope of talking to foreigners and practicing their English. }} *{{do | name=Gold leaf pressing tour | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= Free | lastedit= May 2016 | content= You can have a free tour to see how gold is pressed into fine gold leaves, that is bought by several thousand devotees all over Myanmar and pressed into several Buddha statues like Maha Myat Muni Paya. There are at least two places where this can be done for free in the city: King Galon and Golden Rose. The staff at both places speak English and guide you through the process, with no pressure to buy.}} *{{do | name=Mandalay Marionettes Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com | email= | address=66th St | lat=21.980520 | long=96.106894 | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 34446 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=daily at 20:30 | price=15,000 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=This is a hard-to-find show, even in Yangon. The show lasts 1h and has a traditional orchestra. Everything will be explained in English. Book in advance during high season. }} *{{do | name=Mintha Theater | url=http://www.minthatheater.com | email=info@minthatheater.com | address=27th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 65th & 66th St | phone=+95 9 6803607 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 20:30 | price=8,000 kyat | content=Classical court and folkloric dances that include a full 8-piece traditional orchestra.}} *{{do | name=Moustache Brothers | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=20:30 | price=10,000 kyat |lastedit=2025-05-25| content=Formerly a comedy trio who served 12 years in prison for their political (anti-government) performances and jokes. Now only one of the three performs. About half is comedy and the other half is traditional dancing performed by his family. They are only allowed to perform in their home and for tourists. They perform every night. The admission fee goes towards helping political prisoners. The show lasts for about 1½ hours and mostly features Burmese dance and some political jokes. Rickshaw drivers will try for a return fee. }} * {{do | name=Waterfall Hill | alt=Yaedagon Taung | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=on the east side of Mandalay | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Outdoor sports, especially caving and rock climbing are popular endeavours here. It is not spoiled, not crowded and not far from the city.}} * {{do | name=A ''Glimpse of Mandalay Cooking'' class and day tour | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/aglimpseofmandalay | email=aglimpseofmandalay@gmail.com | address=between 35th & 36th St, between 57th & 58th St, Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | lat= | long= | directions=free pick up and drop off is included. | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-18:00 | price=US$30 | lastedit=2015-09-08 | content=A combination of cooking class and day tour and the first of its kind in Myanmar. The cooking class is located in a local village about 20-min drive from Mandalay. Hands on teaching while enjoying the green paddy fields. After the cooking class, they will take you a bike tour to see the daily life of the village and end the tour by seeing sunset in a historic place. }} * {{do | name=Amaravati Thai Massage | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 62nd and 37th | lat= | long= | directions=in the east of Mandalay | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=8,000 kyat for 1-hr body massage | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Get body massage, foot massage and aroma massage. They are very professional and the ambience is nice and relaxing. }} * {{do | name=City Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Myo Patt Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=A leisure park with swimming pool. Women are requested to wear a t-shirt and shorts. }} ===Tours=== [[File:The Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) river and Sagaing Township from the Yadanabon Bridge.jpg|thumb|View of Sagaing Hill and surrounds from across the Irrawaddy River]] * '''Daytour "three former capitals": Amarapura, Sagaing, Innwa''' &ndash; You can usually book this tour at your hotel/hostel or directly with a Tuktuk driver (be careful with the price in this case). The normal price for a Tuktuk for the whole day tour is 35,000 kyat (January 2020), which can be divided depending on how many people fit the Tuktuk (usually up to 3 people). The tour starts at 08:30. First place to visit is '''Amarapura'''. You will visit the second biggest monastery in the country and watch the monks preparing their food. After that you will go to '''Sagaing'''. In Sagaing you will visit two pagodas on the Sagaing Hill, where you have a beautiful view too. From there you have lunch near a small river, which you have to cross after (2,500 kyat per person including return) to get to '''Innwa'''. In Innwa you can only get around by horse-drawn carriage (15,000 kyat per person) or walking. The carriage drivers will try to convince you that walking takes too much time, but that's not true. You have enough time to visit all the spots. After visiting Innwa you have to cross the river again. The Tuktuk driver takes you back to Amarapura to watch the sunset on the U Bein Bridge, one of the longest Teakwood bridges in the world. Usually the tour ends at 20:00. * '''Halfday tour to Mingun''' &ndash; For this halfday tour you have to take the ferry at 09:30 in Mandalay and will arrive at 10:30 in Mingun. The ferry (5,000 kyat per person including return) only leaves once a day. Mingun belongs to Sagaing Region and not to Mandalay Region anymore, that's why you have to pay another 5,000 kyat as "entrance fee". In Mingun you can visit the famous Hsinbyume Pagoda (a beautiful white Pagoda also called "photo pagoda") and the Mingun Bell. The ferry back to Mandalay leaves at 13:30. There are no other ferries back to Mandalay later. If you miss it, you can take a Tuktuk back or find a place to stay. (January 2020) [[File:U Pein Bridge Myanmar 15.jpg|thumb|U Bein bridge]] '''Do-it-yourself bicycle tour of Mandalay''': A whole day tour to Maha Muni, Innwa and U Bein Bridge. Sagaing Hill can be included as well. You can visit U Bein Bridge twice: Once during the day and once at sunset. Start early at the Clock Tower in Mandalay (26th Street, 84th Street) and cycle south 84th Street till two streets after the 42nd street. The road will then split into 2, go left. After the next bend you will see the entrance to Maha Muni Image. Lock your bicycle and take your time to explore the temple and the gardens behind. Go back to where the 84th Street splits into two and this time go right. Continue further south. Parallel to your street runs another, getting really close to yours after about 3 km, only to then turn right when yours goes gradually left (there is a petrol station, 100 m to your left is a white pagoda). From there continue on the main road. After 400 m the road bends right, then continues straight for about 1 km and then bends left. You can stop there to visit the Burkayar Monastery. Afterwards, continue straight and leave the main road. After 500 m the railway tracks cross the street. Continue straight through the neighbourhoods for 500 m more until you reach the Taungthaman Lake. Follow the road anti-clockwise along the lake and after 2 km you will reach the parking area of U Bein Bridge. You might have to pay a small parking fee (100-200 kyat). Cross the Bridge and settle in a teahouse on the other side. Get back on the bicycle and go west until you hit the main road (Sagaing-Mandalay Expy) and the tracks. From there you can explore the neighbourhoods and stop by any building where you hear the dominant rattling noise of the looms. There are factory-like businesses and private homes with only one or two machines. There are plenty, and you will be warmly welcomed to any of them to have a look. To go to Innwa follow the main road (Saging-Mandalay Expy) further south for 4.5 km, always straight until you reach a roundabout. Go straight for Innwa, or turn right and cross the bridge to Sagaing. After another kilometre you will reach a crossing. The main road bends right a little and crosses the river to Sagaing, a smaller road bends sharply left to somewhere else. And straight continues a small street of rather poor condition. Take this small street and follow it for another kilometre until you reach the river. You can only cross it by ferry (1 min). 1,000 kyat per person and 200 kyat extra for the bicycle return ticket. Once you leave the ferry you will want to continue as soon as possible as the horse cart tour touts pester you. Follow the horse tracks. Mahar Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery: From the jetty follow the road, go left, then right at the T-crossing. When the road turns left follow the small trail straight instead (no horse cart can pass), cross the tiny bridge. And after 50 m you reach the monastery (zone ticket). Right hand side from the main entrance there is a stupa, walled with two doors each having stairs. The stupa is connected to the monastery. Take 2-3 hr to explore Innwa fully. Then go back the same way to see the sunset at U Bein Bridge. There are street lamps all the way to Mandalay. There are no hills, just flat land. * Mandalay Clock Tower - Maha Mudi Image: 4 km, 20 min * Maha Muni Image - U Bein Bridge: 8 km, 40 min * U Bein Bridge - Innwa: 8 km, 40 min In case you got lost just ask people for the way. As few cycle in the area, not even locals, they are very curious and will gladly help you. Have your destinations written in Myanma as it's easier for people to understand. Try to get a bicycle with lights. Costs: 1,500 kyat for bicycle, 1,200 kyat for the ferry. Alternatively you can rent a motorcycle for 10,000 kyat. But only one can fit at a time on the ferry. ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Zegyo Market | alt=Pronounced ''zei-gyo'' | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.982904 | long=96.077130 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A street bazaar near the city centre. }} Some other markets are listed under [[#See]]. ==Eat== Mandalay is a former capital of Myanmar and a major trading centre between Myanmar and its neighbours, China, India and Bangladesh. As a result, it has a notable array of specialities from various regions in Myanmar and from other countries. Cuisine from the Shan State (usually including fermented pastes, vegetables and meats) is popular in Mandalay which has a sizable Shan minority. Muslim Chinese noodles, pronounced ''pan-THEI-kao-sweh'' (flat thin noodles mixed with an array of spices, chili, and chicken), are also famous in Mandalay and the surrounding hills. Regardless of where you eat, try to leave space for '''Htou moun'''(''to-moh''), a traditional Burmese dessert sold only in Mandalay; it contains a lot of oil and is extremely sweet. * {{eat | name=Myint Myint Khin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.975485 | long=96.08653 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-12 | content=Recognisable by the abbreviation MMK on the company logo, the most famous purveyor of ''Htou moun'' in all of Myanmar. }} *{{eat | name= Unique Bar and Restaurant | url= | email= | address= 66th Street | lat= 22.001714| long= 96.108104| directions= near Mandalay hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= main course at around 5,500 kyat | content= This bar and restaurant is near the foot of the Mandalay hill, and provides an easily accessible lunch spot during a tour of the nearby monasteries and the hill. The cuisine is a mix of Western, local and South-east Asian options. The curries are worth trying for their variety, and the coffee is good. The bar has an extensive range of cocktails, and provides hookahs. Very popular in the evenings, but less so during lunch hours. }} *{{eat | name= Mingalar-bar | url= | email= | address= corner of 71st and 29th Street | lat= 21.977801| long= 96.098550| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= up to 21:30 | price=box from 2,000 kyat; 5,000 kyat for a full main course | content= A good place to try a large variety of local Myanmarese cuisine. Apart from the pun-ny name, the restaurant's dishes are quite creative. The best part about the main course is the large spread of sumptuous appetizers and sauces of different types, served at the beginning of the meal. The local twists on many dishes is great. Don't leave without trying the special dry mango pork curry and mutton curry, and it is also worth attempting the river prawns, and if available, boar. There is a sumptuous dessert platter also available with many local sweets made of unique combinations of glutinous rice, banana, peanut, coconut etc. The service is very friendly. }} *{{eat | name=Shop for Htou moun | alt= | url= | email= | address=78th and 31st Street | lat= | long= | directions=left of the train station | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=box from 1,800 kyat | content=They will normally let you try the different types. You can have mixed boxes as well. Eat them within 4-7 days (depends on type). }} *{{eat | name=Indian Street Restaurant | url= | email= | address=82nd & 27th | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cheap and delicious Indian food, including chapati (2 curries and 2 rotis, for 300 kyat), birmani, and mutton curries. }} * {{eat | name=Mann Restaurant | url= | email= | address=83rd St | lat= | long= | directions=between 25th & 26th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A Chinese restaurant, frequented by locals, but not so much by foreigners. Has a number of basic Chinese meals, at around 2,000 kyat (meat), 1,500 kyat (vegetarian) a plate. Nothing special. Easily recognised from the street by the abundant yellow and black advertising for a local whisky brand. Sells beer and alcohol, Myanmar Beer at 1,500 kyat a bottle compared to 2,000 kyat in Yangon. }} *{{eat | name=Street Pancakes | alt=Indian roti | url= | email= | address=81st & 26th | lat= | long= | directions=in the SW block of 81st & 26th St.; enter the unmarked alley going west, next to Myawaddy Bank | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Afternoons you'll find a pleasant Indian lady making savoury and sweet street pancakes in a cast iron frying pan in front of her house. Cheap, delicious and pleasant company. }} * {{eat | name=Too Too Myanmar Cuisine | alt= | url= | email= | address=28th St | lat=21.981080 | long=96.093192 | directions=Between 74th & 75th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=OK, touristified Burmese curries. }} * {{eat | name=Super 81 | alt= | url= | email= | address=39th Street, between 81st and 82nd, Mandalay | lat=21.9634 | long=96.0810 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 09:00–23:00 | price=5,000–7,500 kyat | lastedit=2015-03-08 | content=Double-storey restaurant with great barbecued seafood. Air-conditioned second floor. The extensive menu includes Thai, Chinese, Indian and western dishes. Popular with locals. }} * {{eat | name=Grand Royal | alt= | url= | email= | address=69th Street, between 34th and 35th | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=| price=from 1,500 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Nice busy restaurant with two floors. English menu available, but no English spoken. Try Tauk Tauk Kyaw (chicken, veggies and spicy mint 2,500 kyat), Pinsein (chicken pie with veggies, 2,000 kyat). They have hand-mixed-pineapple lassi which means yoghurt and pineapple pieces with ice cubes that you eat (and mix) with your spoon. }} * {{eat | name=Nameless Street Stall at corner of 30th and 84th Street | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=dinnertime | price=Set meal with one curry 800 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content= Busy place right at the crossing with more than 10 curries to choose from. The staff just knows enough English to point out what meat (or fish) is in the curry. Choose by the look. The curry traditionally comes with rice, soup and veggy plate. }} * {{eat | name=Night market | alt= | url= | email= | address=along corner of 76th and 34th Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=best time 18:00-19:00 | price= | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Choose a shop where there are many people in order to point at the dish you want as there are no English menus. Stalls sell hot pots, dumplings (soup, steamed, salad), Thai noodles, seafood with flat rice noodles, pig feet with noodles, sticky rice and other sweets. A yoghurt dessert with honey or sugar is popular with locals. }} * {{eat | name=Lashiolay | alt= | url= | email= | address=23rd St. (between 83rd & 84th St.) | lat=21.9872297 | long=96.0789713 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=From 3,000 kyat | lastedit=2017-05-04 | content=Great Shan food. Choose by pointing the main dishes. Always comes with a little salad and rice. Limited English. }} * {{eat | name=Twist Potato | alt= | url= | email= | address=26th street, between 78th & 79th | lat=21.982870 | long=96.086747 | directions=south of the moat, 200 m from the southwest corner | phone=+95 9777788820 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10:00-21:30 | price= | lastedit=May 2018 | content=As a Korean franchise they do serve twist potato (with or without sausage) their trademark, and spicy food for the ones who like it. But they also offer finger foods and Western dishes (fish and chips, burger, spaghetti), along with fried dishes. For dessert ice cream and waffles (both can be combined). Also offer hot and iced coffees, fresh juices, smoothies and yogurts. Very reasonable prices. Menu in English. Air conditioned. 2 floors. Friendly staff, and management speaks English. Extra service offered: one can rent a motorbike from here (and get a discount on the food) }} ==Drink== *{{drink | name=Golden Coffee Shop | url= | email= | address=No. 80/4, 35th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 88th and 89th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500-2,000 kyat for drinks. Similar for food/snacks | content=Free Wi-Fi. Decently priced fruit shakes and coffees and a good array of snacks. Friendly staff try their best with English, but best take a phrasebook if you want to do more than point at pictures on menus.}} *{{drink | name=Shwe Gokai | url= | email= | address=35th St | lat= | long= | directions=N side of 35th St a few shops W of 68th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is a Chinese BBQ restaurant famous for its BBQ beef tongue and rice noodle soup (ba ba si). There is no English sign, but it is easy enough to find as it is the only BBQ restaurant on the north side of 35th St. It is next to a pottery store with many pots in front.}} *{{drink | name=V Cafe | url= | email= | address=No 408, Corner of 80th & 25th St | lat= | long= | directions=Near Royal Guesthouse | phone=+95 9 6804928 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$5-10 | content=A cool cafe at Mandalay with good food, friendly and attentive service at fair price. A nice escape from the teeming streets for those weary after a tiring day.}} * {{drink | name=Nylon Ice Cream Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 83rd and 25th Streets | lat=21.984647 | long=96.079499 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A bit of a novelty, ice cream, milkshakes, fruit juices and beers that you can drink on the side of the bustling street. Flavours are geared towards Asian tastes, there's no food unless street sellers are operating, and there's usually a gaggle of beggars (who seem to be in league with the owners) harassing drinkers. }} ==Sleep== ===Budget=== Most budget guesthouses are around 25th St, between 81st and 84th Streets. There are many more than those listed here. * {{sleep | name=AD1 Hotel | url= | email= | address=Eindawya Sintada St, Chan Aye Thar San Township | lat= | long= | directions=E of Eindawya Pagoda | phone=+95 2 34505, +95 9 6502430 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$15-30 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Central location in the heart of Zeygo Market. The rooftop is something special. Rooms are tacky and baths dated, but the price is OK.}} * {{sleep | name=Nylon Hotel | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Corner of 83rd & 25th St | phone=+95 2 33460, +95 2 66550, +95 2 60757 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10-20 | checkin=early, if room available | checkout=12:00 | content=Room, bathroom quality is standard for Burma at this price. Basic breakfast and working Wi-Fi in room included. Extremely friendly staff, except for the owner (unfriendly, doesn't care about his guests at all). They may try to scam you on laundry, so clarify the price per unit and count for yourself.}} * {{sleep | name=Mahar Hotel | url= | email=hotelmahar.mdy@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=24 St, between 83 & 84th St | phone=+95 2 22854 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$18-25 | checkin= | checkout=12:00 | content=One block from Nylon Hotel, rooms are very clean and relatively good value for the price (for Mandalay), though single rooms are small. Hot shower, free Wi-Fi in rooms, standard breakfast included, friendly staff.}} * {{sleep | name=Peacock Lodge | url= | email=peacock lodge@gmail.com | address=60th St | lat=21.9825 | long=96.1167 | directions= | phone=+95 9 2042059| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Standard double US$35, Deluxe double US$55 | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit=2014-09 | content=Terrific home stay B&B, with very friendly family staff. A bit out of the centre. Has bike rentals. Free Wi-Fi in the rooms, includes breakfast outside in the garden. Hot shower. Can organise airport transfers, bus tickets, etc. }} * {{sleep | name=Rich Queen | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 260172, +95 9 91028348 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$25 | checkin= | checkout= | content=New and has a flash backpacker feel to it. Has modern facilities including the baths. All rooms have air-con.}} * {{sleep | name=Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Yoe-Yoe-Lay-Homestay-122408557948266/ | email=nanbwe1@gmail.com | address=Between 35th and 36th St & 57th and 58th St, Shwe Gal Pwar | lat= | long= | directions=about 10 min E of downtown; you can also take local pickup Bus 11 from 35th street, RMB300 | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | checkin=12:30 | checkout=12:00 | price=US$7-30 | lastedit=2017-02-08 | content=Great breakfast included with fruits, western and local food, free Wi-Fi & drinking water. Clean bathrooms with warm water. The owner "Mama" and the staff are kind and helpful. Has a homestay feeling. Bicycles for rent (2,000 kyat per day). Motorbikes for rent (10,000 kyat semi automatic and 12,000 kyat automatic. 24 hours). They organize bus tickets and sightseeing tours. Booking through their Facebook page or email. Air-con en suite double: US$30, shared bathroom: US$25, 4- and 6-bed dorm rooms: US$7 per person (not including breakfast. You can have it for additional 2,000 kyat. It is worth it: orange juice, coffee/tea, toasts, jam and butter, eggs, bottle of water, rice or noodles, watermelon). }} * {{sleep | name=Dreamland Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://dreamlandguesthouse.wordpress.com/ | email=dreamlandguesthouse.mdy@gmail.com | address=corner of 69th and 37th street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2-32850 (land-line), +95 9-402544997, +95 9-43068299 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=dorm US$10 | content=Best thing about this hostel is the included breakfast. They cooperate with the small restaurant nextdoor and have a huge number of choices: e.g. pancake (sugar, beans, banana), bread, Mohinga, Shan Noodles, eggs. There is coffee and 3 types of tea on the menu, they have 8 different types of tea, so ask in the hostel. The hostel doubles as an art studio. So during the day children will have violin or piano lessons and there is a small exhibition of paintings. The staff are friendly and helpful. The dorm has air con and the bunk beds have curtains, lamps and sockets. You reach the upper bunk by stairs not by an ordinary ladder. Plenty of bathrooms in the house with hot water. Everywhere Wi-Fi, clean, bicycle and motorcycle renting, free drinking water, free towel. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Bagan King | alt= | url=http://www.bagankinghotel.com/ | email= | address=Blk-732, No (44), Corner of 73rd And 28th Roads ChanAyeTharZan Tsp | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2 67124 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$70 | content=Nice hotel. Friendly staff, restaurant, bar, free Wi-Fi. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Sahara | alt= | url=http://www.hotelsaharamandalay.com | email=hotelsahara.mandalay@gmail.com | address=No. 414/A, 80th Road, between 26th & 27th streets | lat=21.982802 | long=96.084252 | directions=50 m from the southwest corner of the moat | phone=+95 267313 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=Low season, US$16 for standard double, US$19 for superior twin, US$25 for deluxe double. High season, US$20 standard double, US$25 for superior twin, US$30 for deluxe double | lastedit=2018-05-23 | content=2-star hotel in the heart of Mandalay. 29 rooms (3 different kinds), all of which offer AC, TV, fridge, hot/cold showers, comfortable beds; deluxe rooms are bigger and offer a bathtub in addition. Free wifi accessible from all areas. Free buffet breakfast 06:30-09:00. Excellent restaurant recommendations. Friendly & smiling staff who speaks excellent English. }} * {{sleep | name=Mandalay City Hotel | alt= | url=http://mandalaycityhotel.com/ | email= | address=26th Street | lat=21.982636 | long=96.080584 | directions=between 82nd and 83rd Streets | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$80 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Decent hotel, hidden from the noise and traffic inside a courtyard. Has OK rooms, good staff and a tranquil pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Smart Hotel | alt= | url=http://smarthotelmandalay.com | email= | address=No 167 28th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 76th & 77th St, Chan Aye Tharzan Township | phone=+95 2 32682 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60-90 | content=A nice central hotel. Several types of rooms, ranging from fairly basic up to quite nice (even by Bangkok or Singapore standards). Staff very friendly and capable of assisting with tourist plans, onward travel tickets, etc. Onsite restaurant and bar. Free Wi-Fi.}} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Mandalay Hill Resort | alt= | url=http://www.mandalayhillresorthotel.com | email= | address=No 9, Kwin (416B), 10th St | lat=22.006908 | long=96.102281 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$170 | content=An 8-storey hotel at the foot of Mandalay Hill. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Mandalay | email= | address=No 1, Junction of 26th & 66th St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=From US$121 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Formerly the Sedona hotel. Now a full service Hilton blending traditional Burmese and modern architecture that faces the Royal Palace and Mandalay Hill.}} ==Stay safe== Mandalay is a haven for drug kingpins and is a main trading centre of illicit drugs. In 2005, an explosion occurred at Zegyo Market. However, Mandalay is generally a very safe city. ==Go next== * [[Amarapura]] (Pyi) &ndash; Famous for its ancient sights, and for U Bein bridge, the world's longest teak bridge. * [[Hsipaw]] &ndash; Bus leaves at 06:00 and 14:30 (5,000 kyat), 5 hr. * [[Mawlamyine]] &ndash; Overnight bus '''Shwe Mandalar''' at 18:00 (15,000 kyat), leaves from the Highway Bus Station. Quite luxurious (Swedish) bus, includes a towel, pillow, blanket toothbrushes and water. Arrives at [[Mawlamyine]] at 05:00. * [[Maymyo]] (Pyin U Lwin) &ndash; A former British hill station in a lush alpine forest. The small town contains a variety of colonial relics, and is most famous for its botanical gardens (modelled on England's Kew Gardens). Also known for the Defence Services Academy, the top-ranked military academy in Myanmar. Shared taxis come pick you up (6,500 kyat, back seat, 7,000 kyat front, 1½ hr). Pickups leave from the corner of 27th and 82nd (1,500 kyat, 2 hr). Train is very scenic, and is a must-do train journey if you like trains. It leaves Mandalay at 04:00 (US$3 for upper class). * [[Mingun]] &ndash; Best known for the Mingun Bell (one of the largest bells in the world), is a boat ride away. Boats leave from the Mingun jetty (all drivers know it) at 09:00 and return at 13:00. 5,000 kyat return. * [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; Hill station established by the British. Pick-up trucks run east along 35th street and take about 2 hours and cost 1,500 kyat. Shared taxis leave from 27th and 79th streets (next to the Mother's World Hotel). Depart when full. They will pick-up in Mandalay, and drop off at your desired destination in Pyin U Lwin. Cost was 7000 kyat (May 2019). The train for Pyin U Lwin departs from the railway station each morning at 04:00 (May 2019). * [[Sagaing]] (to the east) &ndash; Has many Buddhist temples and monasteries, especially on Sagaing Hill. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; Overnight buses at 07:00 and 09:00 (10,500 kyat). Luxury bus for 16,000 kyat. Leaves from the Highway Bus Station. * [[Bagan]] by bus (OK-Bus with pick up and drop off at your hotels) 8,000 kyat. By slow boat (13 hr) on Sundays and Wednesdays at 05:30 for US$15 or express boat (8 hr) daily at 07:00 but only Nov-Feb, US$45. Ticket office for both in 35th Street & Sein Pann Road (kyat not accepted) {{usablecity}} {{geo|21.975000|96.083333}} {{IsPartOf|Central Myanmar}} c1vxyj1xcdc12jdikf68h07pes691hn 5298509 5298461 2026-06-25T22:19:44Z Lazarus1255 2236161 5298509 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mandalay Banner.jpg}} {{Warningbox|The conflict is Myanmar is volatile. The security situation may deteriorate at short notice and the military regime can introduce travel restrictions at any time. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to North Mandalay Region; the townships north of Mandalay City and Pyin Oo Lwin. |lastedit=2026-03-01 }} '''Mandalay''' ([[Burmese phrasebook|Burmese]]: မန္တလေး; [[Burmese phrasebook|Shan]]: တႃႈလိူဝ်ႇ) is the second largest city (after [[Yangon]]), and a former capital of [[Myanmar]]. The city is the economic and religious hub of upper Myanmar. The city is centred on the royal palace, and has wide avenues filled with bicycles and motorcycles. Mandalay is known for its millionaires, its monks (half of the country's monks live in Mandalay and surrounding areas) and its cultural diversity. ==Understand== [[File:Mandalay clock tower.jpg|thumb|A busy street scene in Mandalay, with the clock tower built to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee]] ===History=== The very name Mandalay evokes the splendours of old Burma. But most people will be surprised to learn that Mandalay is not an old city, not even a medieval one, but rather a new city created by King Mingdon Min in 1857 as the new capital of the kingdom of Ava. Mingdon moved the capital from [[Amarapura]] to this site at the base of Mandalay Hill as it was more easily defendable against British attack. Only two Burmese kings ruled from there, King Mingdon and King Thibaw, before the British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885. It was a city of splendour between 1858 and 1885, but most of the magnificence has vanished, gone in the fires that consume wooden structures and by intensive Allied bombing during the Second World War. Much of the city, neatly planned with its lettered roads and numbered streets, is a British creation. Though no longer the capital, the city remained the religious and cultural hub of the country during British rule. The once magnificent royal palace and the great Atumashi ("incomparable") pagoda, King Mingdon Min's finest creations, are modern reconstructions. Today, Mandalay lies at the end of the Lashio Rd and it is, by Burmese standards, relatively prosperous as a centre for trade with China and India. Despite the capital having been moved to [[Naypyidaw]], Mandalay remains by far the main commercial centre of Upper Myanmar. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay on 28th March 2025. The Ava Bridge, Mandalay University, parts of the Royal Palace and many ancient pagodas were destroyed. ===People=== Mandalay is ethnically diverse, with the Bamar (Burmans) forming a slight majority. There has been a major influx of Chinese from mainland China, and the Chinese (both recent migrants and descendants of colonial-era immigrants) form 30-40% of the population. Their influence is seen in the Chinese-style glass buildings throughout the city. Other ethnic groups include the Shan, who are ethnically and linguistically related to the Thais and Laotians, and the Karen (Kayin). There is also a sizable ethnic Indian population. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Mandalay |14.2 |29.8 |5.3 |16.3 |33.2 |3.1 |20.9 |37.0 |7.2 |25.0 |39.1 |42.1 |26.0 |37.1 |151.8 |26.3 |35.6 |90.8 |26.3 |35.4 |73.2 |25.9 |34.3 |159.5 |25.6 |34.2 |176.7 |24.2 |33.4 |142.8 |20.3 |31.7 |36.3 |15.8 |29.3 |5.5 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Mandalay]] |description= }} Mandalay has a semi-tropical climate. Winter (which is dry and cold) lasts from Nov-Feb, and summer lasts from Mar-May. Because Mandalay is in the central dry zone, it receives far less rain than the more tropical south. ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Mandalay International Airport | alt={{IATA|MDL}} | url=http://www.mandalayairport.com | email= | address= | lat=21.702222 | long=95.978056 | directions=35 km south of the city centre in Tada-U | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1193001 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content=A gleaming modern facility, serves the area with flights to places in Myanmar and some international flights. There are also 3 flights weekly to and from [[Kunming]] on flight MU2029 for about [[China#Money|CNY]]2,000 one way. Tourist SIM cards can be purchased from a counter at the airport. A mobile plan with 5 GB and 60 minutes costs less than 10,000 kyat. }} Taxis from the airport are 15,000 [[Myanmar#Money|kyat]] or 4,000 kyat per person if you fill the vehicle with others. A shared bus is available for 4,000 kyat but may leave before you can exchange cash and purchase a SIM card. Fill out your entry card while on the plane to avoid being at the back of the queue. Towards the airport taxis cost around 15,000 kyat (Sep 2017) and take roughly ½ hr from the city centre. There is a security check ''before'' check-in, and you need to have your ticket, email verification or something related to your flight to get through. Further security check after check-in. ===By train=== * {{go | name=Mandalay Central Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.97671 | long=96.08601 | directions=at 78th east and 30th north Street | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q6747758 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content= }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There are several trains daily from Yangon. While the tracks are old and, in some cases, the carriages may be old, the fifteen hour journey is quite pleasant. Trains operate during the day so that trains do not cross Pyinmana in the dark, although the privately managed Dagon Mann Express runs overnight. Fares range from about US$15 (ordinary class/hard seat) to US$50 (air-conditioned sleeper on the Dagon Mann Express). * [[Lashio]], [[Hsipaw]] and [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; There are two trains daily from Pyin U Lwin (US$4/2) and one from Lashio via Hsipaw and Pwin U Lwin (US$9/3 from Hsipaw). These trains are slow, crowded, but fascinating. The Pyin U Lwin - Hsipaw section includes the famous Gokteik Viaduct, a feat of Raj ingenuity. Note: the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle in August 2025 and is yet to re-open. * [[Myitkyina]] &ndash; This 24-hr journey is on old rolling stock and even older tracks so expect it to be bumpy. ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Highway Bus Station | alt=Chan Mya Shwe Pyi / Kywe Se Kan | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.92355 | long=96.08959 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-24 | content=You can either take a taxi or pick-up into town. Taxis are overly expensive (quoting prices as high as 2,000 kyat per person; don't pay more than 5,000 kyat for the car), and often bargain in a mob fashion (except they all offer the same price and try to gang-up on you). A far cheaper option is to simply walk out of the bus station yards to the west, and find one of the pick-ups that just ran a load of people to the station from town (500 kyat per person). They are normally more than happy to help and there are no commission issues to worry about.<br />Some bus companies, e.g. OK Bus (btw. Mandalay and Bagan, 9,000 kyat), offer free pick-up from your hostel and will drop you at your next hostel at your destination. }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There is a night bus with air-con (there are 5 options, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00, 21:00, and 21:30 departures, standard 10,500 kyat, VIP 15,000 kyat, 8½-9 hr) running into Mandalay. Almost certainly the cheapest option for getting between the two main cities in Myanmar. From [[Inle Lake]], 10,000 kyat. * [[Inle Lake]], [[Kalaw]] or Mid-Eastern Towns &ndash; There are buses available along this route, either a day minibus (05:00 departure, 9,000 kyat, 9 hr) or a night bus with air-con (18:00 departure). The minibus in the day takes a slightly shorter route than the larger (and some say more comfortable) full-sized night bus. Expect windy and bumpy roads, stops for picking up and putting down passengers, and, if you are lucky, a search of the bus by just-bribed police officers in plain-clothes. * [[Monywa]] &ndash; There are buses apparently every hour. 2,000 kyat. 3½ hr. * [[Tamu]] &ndash; Minivans leave at around 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, for 20,300-30,000 kyat. One Ordinary Express (4 seats across 2 + 2) departs at 11:00, 22,000 kyat. And one VIP Express (3 seats across 2 + 1) departs Tamu at 12:30 (arriving in Mandalay at 03:50), 28,000 kyat. (May 2019) * [[Kalay]] &ndash; The Ordinary Express is at 15:00 and the VIP Express at 16:00, coming from Tamu. Kalay may be a convenient stopover for [[Tamu]] (for [[India]]). (May 2019) ==Get around== {{Mapframe|21.992712|96.095990|zoom=13|height=|width=|layer=|staticmap=|align=|name=}} {{Mapmask |21.8682,96.1240 |21.8719,96.1381 |21.8905,96.1283 |21.9034,96.1400 |21.9419,96.1407 |21.9438,96.1331 |21.9464,96.1305 |21.9485,96.1300 |21.9585,96.1309 |21.9770,96.1326 |21.9851,96.1297 |21.9946,96.1317 |22.0172,96.1309 |22.0255,96.1218 |22.0266,96.0974 |22.0244,96.0772 |22.0147,96.0650 |21.9755,96.0562 |21.9612,96.0516 |21.9493,96.0499 |21.9470,96.0514 |21.9346,96.0548 |21.9294,96.0545 |21.9270,96.0526 |21.9217,96.0530 |21.9172,96.0523 |21.9126,96.0493 |21.9079,96.0432 |21.9036,96.0401 |21.8999,96.0332 |21.8972,96.0224 |21.8950,96.0157 |21.8878,96.0135 |21.8811,96.0090 |21.8734,96.0083 |21.8727,96.0416 |21.8715,96.0596 |21.8752,96.0744 |21.8722,96.0797 |21.8658,96.0789 |21.8589,96.0809 |21.8539,96.0863 |21.8534,96.0916 |21.8526,96.0967 |21.8553,96.1014 |21.8693,96.1029 |21.8720,96.1039 |21.8727,96.1134 |21.8719,96.1178 |21.8682,96.1240}} ===By bicycle=== The best and most flexible way to see the city is by bicycle, as traffic isn't as heavy as in other Asian cities. ===By pickup=== The cheapest local transportation network consists of mini-trucks, loaded with passages on two benches on the back. They run along routes all over Manadaly starting at the centre at the market at 84th/29th. A number (Burmese symbol) defines where the truck is going and usually two people are standing at the back, shouting their destination and helping people get in. If you catch one at the main hub, it is easier to ask people for the right number and price. Usually 500 kyat pp, sitting in cabin might be more expensive. Routes include: *8 (၈): Centre - Aramapura (along Mandalay - Sagaing Rd.) *23 (၂၃): Centre - 78th south along runway - bus station at Aung Myint Mo Hotel (buses to/from Bagan, Myawaddy) ===By moto-taxi=== Motorbike taxis try to charge you overly expensive prices, but they would eventually turn out to be cheaper than car taxis if there are only one or two people. Don't pay more than 1,000 kyat for a ride to the centre, including to Mandalay Hill. You can get full-day (09:00-sunset) tours for 10,000 kyat. The driver will take you to the ancient cities, Sagaing and to Amarapura for sunset. [[File:Mandalay street.jpg|thumb|Mandalay's roads are laid out in a numbered grid pattern]] ===By moto-rental=== Renting a motorcycle can be a dangerous in Mandalay as driving can be chaotic, but it is a great way to see the city if you are experienced. Some hotels on 25th St rent bikes and there is an American expat in the centre who rents dirt bikes and motorbikes that can be delivered to your hotel. ===By taxi=== Taxis are relatively inexpensive and are excellent for travelling around Mandalay. Many sights are centred around Mandalay Hill, which makes walking feasible in that area. However, beware it is not always easy to get hold of a taxi depending on which part of the city you are, so making arrangements beforehand can help. ===By trishaw=== Trishaws (cycle rickshaws) are a convenient way of getting around in Mandalay if you're able to find one. If you find a driver who speaks good English you can have a tour guide and transport together for a reasonable price with a little bargaining. They only hold one or two persons. ==See== Mandalay has a "Mandalay Zone Fee" of 10,000 kyat that covers most of the central attractions and lasts for about a week. Buy it from the first attraction you visit. The tickets are not always checked at all attractions and you might be able to get individual cheaper tickets for some attractions. Access to the Mandalay hill requires an additional entry fee of 1,000 kyat, and Mingung and Sagaing are 5,000 kyat extra both (not always enforced). ===Markets=== * {{see | name=Jade Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat=21.96306 | long=96.07126 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=2500 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=An interesting look at the [[jade]] trade in Mandalay. See raw jade being cut, polished and finally sold (sometimes even over smartphones). There are also stalls selling jade jewellery and furnishings, but be sure to do your homework beforehand or you risk getting ripped off. All foreigners are supposed to pay an entrance fee but it is sporadically enforced. Souvenirs for less than US$1. }} * {{see | name=Flower Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=26 and Pulaing Street | lat=21.98435 | long=96.06162 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=A small market with dozens of vendors selling a wide variety of flowers and greenery. Visitors may also venture into the larger market to the north where vegetables, fish, meat and fruit is sold and repacked for distribution. }} ===Religious sites=== * {{see | name=Maha Myat Muni Paya | alt=''Pronounced,'' ma-ha myah mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.951868 | long=96.078480 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Unlike the other main attractions which are mostly located around Mandalay hill, Myanmar's second holiest pilgrimage site is located to the south-west end of the city. It contains a 4 m high Buddha statue, made of gold and decorated with precious jewels. A few inches worth of gold has been pressed onto the statue in the form of gold-leaves, leaving only the face open. Women are not allowed to enter the main sanctuary where the statue is located, but men may do so and also touch the Muni. The statue was brought from Rakhine State, southeast of Mandalay. Nearby the central hall, there is a hall displaying statues stolen from Rakhine state, which were in turn stolen through a string of robberies from Ang Kor Wat via Thailand. The figures may have belonged to Hindu mythological figures Shiva and Airavat, the elephant of Indra. You will see people rubbing the statues as they believes this cures of them of ailments, especially by touching the corresponding body part on the statue. Visit the site around 04:30–05:00 for the amazing ceremony of washing the Buddha's face, which occurs every day and is attended by hundreds of people. 1,000 kyat surcharge for photography. }} * {{see | name=Kuthodaw Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' ku-tho-dau pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0046 | long=96.1128 | directions=At the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is known as the site of the world's largest book. Built by King Mingdon in the 1800s, 729 white stupas within the complex contain the complete text of the Tripitaka, Theravada Buddhism's most sacred text, which are considered to constitute the largest book. The nearby Sandamuni paya contains a similar set of structures}} * {{see | name=Sandamuni Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' san-da-mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.003377 | long=96.109777 | directions=at the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Similar to Kuthodaw Paya, and next to it, it also contains a large number of white stupas containing the Tripitika. Sandamuni also contains the world's largest iron Buddha image. Quiet and peaceful, similar to Kuthodaw. }} * {{see | name=Shwe Kyi Myin Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' shui ji myin pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.020003 | long=96.107817 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in the 1st century, by Prince Min Shin Saw. }} * {{see | name=Shwenandaw Monastery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000673 | long=96.113730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A monastery made entirely of teak, with beautiful intricate carvings. It was built as part of the royal palace by King Mingdon and moved to its current site by his son, King Thibaw in the late 19th century. It is the only major building from the original wooden royal palace to have survived the bombing of World War II, and thus is the only authentic part of the royal palace which can still be seen today. It was the bedroom in which King Mingdon spent the last of his days. After that, the structure was given to the monks, and became a monastery. The intricate craftwork on the teak pillars, ceilings, roofs and walls, is breathtaking. One can get lost in observing the various animals and mythical creatures, or the thousands of athletic, gracefully twisted and seductive poses and expressions of the dancers seen on the pillars. }} * {{see | name=Atumashi Kyaung | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000944 | long=96.112593 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Located in front of Shwenandaw, it contains a very large hall, with a cool silent ambience suitable for a meditation. It was built in 1857 by King Mingdon using teak, but after being destroyed in fire, it was reconstructed to form the structure that you see today. The structure consists of five rectangular terraces in a graduated form. }} [[File:Mandalay palace.jpg|thumb|325x325px|Mandalay Palace, with Mandalay Hill in the background]] ===Miscellaneous=== * {{see | name=Royal Palace | alt=''pronounced,'' man-da-lei nan-dau | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.992817 | long=96.097236 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=10,000 kyat for foreigners |lastedit=2023-12-13| content=After their defeat in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephant to its current site in Mandalay. The British looted and partly destroyed the palace during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. During World War II the palace grounds were used as a Japanese army storage depot and were completely destroyed by British bombing. The palace complex was rebuilt between 1990-1995. There have been allegations that forced labour was used in its renovation. While the design of the reconstructed buildings is fairly faithful to the original, the materials used are not, with metal and concrete used instead of the original teak wood. The palace contains several pavilions and chambers, most of which are empty. Tourists are only permitted to enter from the East Gate. A 1 km walk connects the entry gate to the palace proper. Replicas of throne rooms and chairs and Madame Tussaud-style images of Kings Mingdon and Thibaw with their chief consorts are on display. At the west end is the Palace Museum where palace memorabilia is on display including religious paraphernalia, court ritual implements, court dresses and uniforms, furniture, palanquins and litters, as well as weaponry. There are also photo exhibits. The surrounding area of the island is a military base, which creates a strange atmosphere. Your passport must be surrendered at the entrance for the duration of your visit. The palace can also be seen from the summit of the Mandalay Hill. }} * {{see | name=U Bein Bridge | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.891772 | long=96.061644 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content= A historic wooden bridge in the south of Mandalay. Due to the level of cleanliness, it may not look particularly attractive, especially if you are there in the dry season when the water is scarce. But this place allows a great slice view of local life, with locals walking back and forth, stopping for food and shopping, or standing in the water fishing. The stilted thatched huts are the homes of many of the poor in the area, some of whom sell snacks along the bridge. }} ==Do== * [[File:Mandalay Hill, Sutaungpyai Temple, Myanmar.jpg|thumb|The temple atop Mandalay Hill]][[File:Mandalay Hill 06.jpg|thumb|Mandalay Hill looking down on the moat]]{{do | name=Mandalay Hill | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.013636 | long=96.108217 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Shared pick-up trucks to the base of Mandalay Hill run along 83rd St, one block from the Clock Tower, and leave every 20 minutes (500-1,000 kyat). Private pick-ups are also available (5,000 kyat). Motorbike taxis from the city centre to and from the base of Mandalay Hill cost 1,000-2,000 kyat. Try not to come down by an obscure entrance to a less crowded area, from where it will be difficult to catch a taxi. | wikipedia=Mandalay Hill | image=Mandalay Hill 3.jpg | wikidata=Q3285419 | lastedit=2018-11-27 | content=One of the favourite sunset spots, and a good quarter-day activity. The climb is enjoyable, providing scenic views of several other attractions and Mandalay. From the base of Mandalay Hill you can either climb the stairs or take a pick-up to Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the top, but the walk is probably worth it in order to catch the scenic views along the way. The climb takes about 30-45 min and requires moderate fitness, but is not overly demanding and is in the shade. Has views of Kuthodaw and Sandamuni paya, and the royal palace in the distance. Plenty of stray dogs, shops and other interesting stops (Buddhas, pagodas, viewpoints) line the path, such as the Gothama Buddha shrine. The two main south entrances are guarded by either Nats (spirit figures) or Chinthes (great mythical lions), but there are several other entrances.<br />Along the climb from the southern stairs near the place where these pathways merge, you come across a large statue of Buddha and his kneeling disciple Ananda, who climbed this very hill two centuries before Mingdon conquered it. Buddha is seen ominously pointing towards Mandalay, indicating that after two centuries, the capital of this region would shift to Mandalay. It is this prophecy that Mingdon fulfilled.<br />Further up, you come across a shrine showing the various stages of a man's life: birth, youth, monk, old age and death. Interestingly, there are similarities between the birth and death stage indicating the cyclical nature of life believed by Buddhism. You can see same set of figures as an image in Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan.<br />At the top, accessed by escalator, is the shrine to the ogress Sandamukhi on the penultimate storey. Sandamukhi is depicted as offering her cut breasts to Buddha in a scary gesture. It is said the ogress took rebirth as King Mingdon.<br />Additional 1,000 kyat for foreigners to enter the topmost level and see the pagoda, which can be avoided by watching the sunset from the Ogress storey. However, the open four-directional view from the top storey may be worth it, apart from the access to the toilets in this area. Footwear including socks are prohibited at the pagoda, which offers nice views of Mandalay and the surrounding plains. At sunset, Sutaungpyei Pagoda crowds with tourists, and many monks and other locals climb the stairs with the hope of talking to foreigners and practicing their English. }} *{{do | name=Gold leaf pressing tour | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= Free | lastedit= May 2016 | content= You can have a free tour to see how gold is pressed into fine gold leaves, that is bought by several thousand devotees all over Myanmar and pressed into several Buddha statues like Maha Myat Muni Paya. There are at least two places where this can be done for free in the city: King Galon and Golden Rose. The staff at both places speak English and guide you through the process, with no pressure to buy.}} *{{do | name=Mandalay Marionettes Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com | email= | address=66th St | lat=21.980520 | long=96.106894 | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 34446 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=daily at 20:30 | price=15,000 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=This is a hard-to-find show, even in Yangon. The show lasts 1h and has a traditional orchestra. Everything will be explained in English. Book in advance during high season. }} *{{do | name=Mintha Theater | url=http://www.minthatheater.com | email=info@minthatheater.com | address=27th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 65th & 66th St | phone=+95 9 6803607 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 20:30 | price=8,000 kyat | content=Classical court and folkloric dances that include a full 8-piece traditional orchestra.}} *{{do | name=Moustache Brothers | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=20:30 | price=10,000 kyat |lastedit=2025-05-25| content=Formerly a comedy trio who served 12 years in prison for their political (anti-government) performances and jokes. Now only one of the three performs. About half is comedy and the other half is traditional dancing performed by his family. They are only allowed to perform in their home and for tourists. They perform every night. The admission fee goes towards helping political prisoners. The show lasts for about 1½ hours and mostly features Burmese dance and some political jokes. Rickshaw drivers will try for a return fee. }} * {{do | name=Waterfall Hill | alt=Yaedagon Taung | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=on the east side of Mandalay | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Outdoor sports, especially caving and rock climbing are popular endeavours here. It is not spoiled, not crowded and not far from the city.}} * {{do | name=A ''Glimpse of Mandalay Cooking'' class and day tour | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/aglimpseofmandalay | email=aglimpseofmandalay@gmail.com | address=between 35th & 36th St, between 57th & 58th St, Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | lat= | long= | directions=free pick up and drop off is included. | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-18:00 | price=US$30 | lastedit=2015-09-08 | content=A combination of cooking class and day tour and the first of its kind in Myanmar. The cooking class is located in a local village about 20-min drive from Mandalay. Hands on teaching while enjoying the green paddy fields. After the cooking class, they will take you a bike tour to see the daily life of the village and end the tour by seeing sunset in a historic place. }} * {{do | name=Amaravati Thai Massage | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 62nd and 37th | lat= | long= | directions=in the east of Mandalay | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=8,000 kyat for 1-hr body massage | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Get body massage, foot massage and aroma massage. They are very professional and the ambience is nice and relaxing. }} * {{do | name=City Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Myo Patt Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=A leisure park with swimming pool. Women are requested to wear a t-shirt and shorts. }} ===Tours=== [[File:The Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) river and Sagaing Township from the Yadanabon Bridge.jpg|thumb|View of Sagaing Hill and surrounds from across the Irrawaddy River]] * '''Daytour "three former capitals": Amarapura, Sagaing, Innwa''' &ndash; You can usually book this tour at your hotel/hostel or directly with a Tuktuk driver (be careful with the price in this case). The normal price for a Tuktuk for the whole day tour is 35,000 kyat (January 2020), which can be divided depending on how many people fit the Tuktuk (usually up to 3 people). The tour starts at 08:30. First place to visit is '''Amarapura'''. You will visit the second biggest monastery in the country and watch the monks preparing their food. After that you will go to '''Sagaing'''. In Sagaing you will visit two pagodas on the Sagaing Hill, where you have a beautiful view too. From there you have lunch near a small river, which you have to cross after (2,500 kyat per person including return) to get to '''Innwa'''. In Innwa you can only get around by horse-drawn carriage (15,000 kyat per person) or walking. The carriage drivers will try to convince you that walking takes too much time, but that's not true. You have enough time to visit all the spots. After visiting Innwa you have to cross the river again. The Tuktuk driver takes you back to Amarapura to watch the sunset on the U Bein Bridge, one of the longest Teakwood bridges in the world. Usually the tour ends at 20:00. * '''Halfday tour to Mingun''' &ndash; For this halfday tour you have to take the ferry at 09:30 in Mandalay and will arrive at 10:30 in Mingun. The ferry (5,000 kyat per person including return) only leaves once a day. Mingun belongs to Sagaing Region and not to Mandalay Region anymore, that's why you have to pay another 5,000 kyat as "entrance fee". In Mingun you can visit the famous Hsinbyume Pagoda (a beautiful white Pagoda also called "photo pagoda") and the Mingun Bell. The ferry back to Mandalay leaves at 13:30. There are no other ferries back to Mandalay later. If you miss it, you can take a Tuktuk back or find a place to stay. (January 2020) [[File:U Pein Bridge Myanmar 15.jpg|thumb|U Bein bridge]] '''Do-it-yourself bicycle tour of Mandalay''': A whole day tour to Maha Muni, Innwa and U Bein Bridge. Sagaing Hill can be included as well. You can visit U Bein Bridge twice: Once during the day and once at sunset. Start early at the Clock Tower in Mandalay (26th Street, 84th Street) and cycle south 84th Street till two streets after the 42nd street. The road will then split into 2, go left. After the next bend you will see the entrance to Maha Muni Image. Lock your bicycle and take your time to explore the temple and the gardens behind. Go back to where the 84th Street splits into two and this time go right. Continue further south. Parallel to your street runs another, getting really close to yours after about 3 km, only to then turn right when yours goes gradually left (there is a petrol station, 100 m to your left is a white pagoda). From there continue on the main road. After 400 m the road bends right, then continues straight for about 1 km and then bends left. You can stop there to visit the Burkayar Monastery. Afterwards, continue straight and leave the main road. After 500 m the railway tracks cross the street. Continue straight through the neighbourhoods for 500 m more until you reach the Taungthaman Lake. Follow the road anti-clockwise along the lake and after 2 km you will reach the parking area of U Bein Bridge. You might have to pay a small parking fee (100-200 kyat). Cross the Bridge and settle in a teahouse on the other side. Get back on the bicycle and go west until you hit the main road (Sagaing-Mandalay Expy) and the tracks. From there you can explore the neighbourhoods and stop by any building where you hear the dominant rattling noise of the looms. There are factory-like businesses and private homes with only one or two machines. There are plenty, and you will be warmly welcomed to any of them to have a look. To go to Innwa follow the main road (Saging-Mandalay Expy) further south for 4.5 km, always straight until you reach a roundabout. Go straight for Innwa, or turn right and cross the bridge to Sagaing. After another kilometre you will reach a crossing. The main road bends right a little and crosses the river to Sagaing, a smaller road bends sharply left to somewhere else. And straight continues a small street of rather poor condition. Take this small street and follow it for another kilometre until you reach the river. You can only cross it by ferry (1 min). 1,000 kyat per person and 200 kyat extra for the bicycle return ticket. Once you leave the ferry you will want to continue as soon as possible as the horse cart tour touts pester you. Follow the horse tracks. Mahar Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery: From the jetty follow the road, go left, then right at the T-crossing. When the road turns left follow the small trail straight instead (no horse cart can pass), cross the tiny bridge. And after 50 m you reach the monastery (zone ticket). Right hand side from the main entrance there is a stupa, walled with two doors each having stairs. The stupa is connected to the monastery. Take 2-3 hr to explore Innwa fully. Then go back the same way to see the sunset at U Bein Bridge. There are street lamps all the way to Mandalay. There are no hills, just flat land. * Mandalay Clock Tower - Maha Mudi Image: 4 km, 20 min * Maha Muni Image - U Bein Bridge: 8 km, 40 min * U Bein Bridge - Innwa: 8 km, 40 min In case you got lost just ask people for the way. As few cycle in the area, not even locals, they are very curious and will gladly help you. Have your destinations written in Myanma as it's easier for people to understand. Try to get a bicycle with lights. Costs: 1,500 kyat for bicycle, 1,200 kyat for the ferry. Alternatively you can rent a motorcycle for 10,000 kyat. But only one can fit at a time on the ferry. ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Zegyo Market | alt=Pronounced ''zei-gyo'' | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.982904 | long=96.077130 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A street bazaar near the city centre. }} Some other markets are listed under [[#See]]. ==Eat== Mandalay is a former capital of Myanmar and a major trading centre between Myanmar and its neighbours, China, India and Bangladesh. As a result, it has a notable array of specialities from various regions in Myanmar and from other countries. Cuisine from the Shan State (usually including fermented pastes, vegetables and meats) is popular in Mandalay which has a sizable Shan minority. Muslim Chinese noodles, pronounced ''pan-THEI-kao-sweh'' (flat thin noodles mixed with an array of spices, chili, and chicken), are also famous in Mandalay and the surrounding hills. Regardless of where you eat, try to leave space for '''Htou moun'''(''to-moh''), a traditional Burmese dessert sold only in Mandalay; it contains a lot of oil and is extremely sweet. * {{eat | name=Myint Myint Khin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.975485 | long=96.08653 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-12 | content=Recognisable by the abbreviation MMK on the company logo, the most famous purveyor of ''Htou moun'' in all of Myanmar. }} *{{eat | name= Unique Bar and Restaurant | url= | email= | address= 66th Street | lat= 22.001714| long= 96.108104| directions= near Mandalay hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= main course at around 5,500 kyat | content= This bar and restaurant is near the foot of the Mandalay hill, and provides an easily accessible lunch spot during a tour of the nearby monasteries and the hill. The cuisine is a mix of Western, local and South-east Asian options. The curries are worth trying for their variety, and the coffee is good. The bar has an extensive range of cocktails, and provides hookahs. Very popular in the evenings, but less so during lunch hours. }} *{{eat | name= Mingalar-bar | url= | email= | address= corner of 71st and 29th Street | lat= 21.977801| long= 96.098550| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= up to 21:30 | price=box from 2,000 kyat; 5,000 kyat for a full main course | content= A good place to try a large variety of local Myanmarese cuisine. Apart from the pun-ny name, the restaurant's dishes are quite creative. The best part about the main course is the large spread of sumptuous appetizers and sauces of different types, served at the beginning of the meal. The local twists on many dishes is great. Don't leave without trying the special dry mango pork curry and mutton curry, and it is also worth attempting the river prawns, and if available, boar. There is a sumptuous dessert platter also available with many local sweets made of unique combinations of glutinous rice, banana, peanut, coconut etc. The service is very friendly. }} *{{eat | name=Shop for Htou moun | alt= | url= | email= | address=78th and 31st Street | lat= | long= | directions=left of the train station | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=box from 1,800 kyat | content=They will normally let you try the different types. You can have mixed boxes as well. Eat them within 4-7 days (depends on type). }} *{{eat | name=Street Pancakes | alt=Indian roti | url= | email= | address=81st & 26th | lat= | long= | directions=in the SW block of 81st & 26th St.; enter the unmarked alley going west, next to Myawaddy Bank | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Afternoons you'll find a pleasant Indian lady making savoury and sweet street pancakes in a cast iron frying pan in front of her house. Cheap, delicious and pleasant company. }} * {{eat | name=Super 81 | alt= | url= | email= | address=39th Street, between 81st and 82nd, Mandalay | lat=21.9634 | long=96.0810 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 09:00–23:00 | price=5,000–7,500 kyat | lastedit=2015-03-08 | content=Double-storey restaurant with great barbecued seafood. Air-conditioned second floor. The extensive menu includes Thai, Chinese, Indian and western dishes. Popular with locals. }} * {{eat | name=Nameless Street Stall at corner of 30th and 84th Street | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=dinnertime | price=Set meal with one curry 800 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content= Busy place right at the crossing with more than 10 curries to choose from. The staff just knows enough English to point out what meat (or fish) is in the curry. Choose by the look. The curry traditionally comes with rice, soup and veggy plate. }} * {{eat | name=Night market | alt= | url= | email= | address=along corner of 76th and 34th Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=best time 18:00-19:00 | price= | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Choose a shop where there are many people in order to point at the dish you want as there are no English menus. Stalls sell hot pots, dumplings (soup, steamed, salad), Thai noodles, seafood with flat rice noodles, pig feet with noodles, sticky rice and other sweets. A yoghurt dessert with honey or sugar is popular with locals. }} ==Drink== *{{drink | name=Golden Coffee Shop | url= | email= | address=No. 80/4, 35th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 88th and 89th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500-2,000 kyat for drinks. Similar for food/snacks | content=Free Wi-Fi. Decently priced fruit shakes and coffees and a good array of snacks. Friendly staff try their best with English, but best take a phrasebook if you want to do more than point at pictures on menus.}} *{{drink | name=Shwe Gokai | url= | email= | address=35th St | lat= | long= | directions=N side of 35th St a few shops W of 68th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is a Chinese BBQ restaurant famous for its BBQ beef tongue and rice noodle soup (ba ba si). There is no English sign, but it is easy enough to find as it is the only BBQ restaurant on the north side of 35th St. It is next to a pottery store with many pots in front.}} *{{drink | name=V Cafe | url= | email= | address=No 408, Corner of 80th & 25th St | lat= | long= | directions=Near Royal Guesthouse | phone=+95 9 6804928 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$5-10 | content=A cool cafe at Mandalay with good food, friendly and attentive service at fair price. A nice escape from the teeming streets for those weary after a tiring day.}} * {{drink | name=Nylon Ice Cream Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 83rd and 25th Streets | lat=21.984647 | long=96.079499 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A bit of a novelty, ice cream, milkshakes, fruit juices and beers that you can drink on the side of the bustling street. Flavours are geared towards Asian tastes, there's no food unless street sellers are operating, and there's usually a gaggle of beggars (who seem to be in league with the owners) harassing drinkers. }} ==Sleep== ===Budget=== Most budget guesthouses are around 25th St, between 81st and 84th Streets. There are many more than those listed here. * {{sleep | name=AD1 Hotel | url= | email= | address=Eindawya Sintada St, Chan Aye Thar San Township | lat= | long= | directions=E of Eindawya Pagoda | phone=+95 2 34505, +95 9 6502430 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$15-30 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Central location in the heart of Zeygo Market. The rooftop is something special. Rooms are tacky and baths dated, but the price is OK.}} * {{sleep | name=Nylon Hotel | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Corner of 83rd & 25th St | phone=+95 2 33460, +95 2 66550, +95 2 60757 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10-20 | checkin=early, if room available | checkout=12:00 | content=Room, bathroom quality is standard for Burma at this price. Basic breakfast and working Wi-Fi in room included. Extremely friendly staff, except for the owner (unfriendly, doesn't care about his guests at all). They may try to scam you on laundry, so clarify the price per unit and count for yourself.}} * {{sleep | name=Mahar Hotel | url= | email=hotelmahar.mdy@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=24 St, between 83 & 84th St | phone=+95 2 22854 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$18-25 | checkin= | checkout=12:00 | content=One block from Nylon Hotel, rooms are very clean and relatively good value for the price (for Mandalay), though single rooms are small. Hot shower, free Wi-Fi in rooms, standard breakfast included, friendly staff.}} * {{sleep | name=Peacock Lodge | url= | email=peacock lodge@gmail.com | address=60th St | lat=21.9825 | long=96.1167 | directions= | phone=+95 9 2042059| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Standard double US$35, Deluxe double US$55 | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit=2014-09 | content=Terrific home stay B&B, with very friendly family staff. A bit out of the centre. Has bike rentals. Free Wi-Fi in the rooms, includes breakfast outside in the garden. Hot shower. Can organise airport transfers, bus tickets, etc. }} * {{sleep | name=Rich Queen | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 260172, +95 9 91028348 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$25 | checkin= | checkout= | content=New and has a flash backpacker feel to it. Has modern facilities including the baths. All rooms have air-con.}} * {{sleep | name=Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Yoe-Yoe-Lay-Homestay-122408557948266/ | email=nanbwe1@gmail.com | address=Between 35th and 36th St & 57th and 58th St, Shwe Gal Pwar | lat= | long= | directions=about 10 min E of downtown; you can also take local pickup Bus 11 from 35th street, RMB300 | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | checkin=12:30 | checkout=12:00 | price=US$7-30 | lastedit=2017-02-08 | content=Great breakfast included with fruits, western and local food, free Wi-Fi & drinking water. Clean bathrooms with warm water. The owner "Mama" and the staff are kind and helpful. Has a homestay feeling. Bicycles for rent (2,000 kyat per day). Motorbikes for rent (10,000 kyat semi automatic and 12,000 kyat automatic. 24 hours). They organize bus tickets and sightseeing tours. Booking through their Facebook page or email. Air-con en suite double: US$30, shared bathroom: US$25, 4- and 6-bed dorm rooms: US$7 per person (not including breakfast. You can have it for additional 2,000 kyat. It is worth it: orange juice, coffee/tea, toasts, jam and butter, eggs, bottle of water, rice or noodles, watermelon). }} * {{sleep | name=Dreamland Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://dreamlandguesthouse.wordpress.com/ | email=dreamlandguesthouse.mdy@gmail.com | address=corner of 69th and 37th street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2-32850 (land-line), +95 9-402544997, +95 9-43068299 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=dorm US$10 | content=Best thing about this hostel is the included breakfast. They cooperate with the small restaurant nextdoor and have a huge number of choices: e.g. pancake (sugar, beans, banana), bread, Mohinga, Shan Noodles, eggs. There is coffee and 3 types of tea on the menu, they have 8 different types of tea, so ask in the hostel. The hostel doubles as an art studio. So during the day children will have violin or piano lessons and there is a small exhibition of paintings. The staff are friendly and helpful. The dorm has air con and the bunk beds have curtains, lamps and sockets. You reach the upper bunk by stairs not by an ordinary ladder. Plenty of bathrooms in the house with hot water. Everywhere Wi-Fi, clean, bicycle and motorcycle renting, free drinking water, free towel. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Bagan King | alt= | url=http://www.bagankinghotel.com/ | email= | address=Blk-732, No (44), Corner of 73rd And 28th Roads ChanAyeTharZan Tsp | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2 67124 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$70 | content=Nice hotel. Friendly staff, restaurant, bar, free Wi-Fi. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Sahara | alt= | url=http://www.hotelsaharamandalay.com | email=hotelsahara.mandalay@gmail.com | address=No. 414/A, 80th Road, between 26th & 27th streets | lat=21.982802 | long=96.084252 | directions=50 m from the southwest corner of the moat | phone=+95 267313 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=Low season, US$16 for standard double, US$19 for superior twin, US$25 for deluxe double. High season, US$20 standard double, US$25 for superior twin, US$30 for deluxe double | lastedit=2018-05-23 | content=2-star hotel in the heart of Mandalay. 29 rooms (3 different kinds), all of which offer AC, TV, fridge, hot/cold showers, comfortable beds; deluxe rooms are bigger and offer a bathtub in addition. Free wifi accessible from all areas. Free buffet breakfast 06:30-09:00. Excellent restaurant recommendations. Friendly & smiling staff who speaks excellent English. }} * {{sleep | name=Mandalay City Hotel | alt= | url=http://mandalaycityhotel.com/ | email= | address=26th Street | lat=21.982636 | long=96.080584 | directions=between 82nd and 83rd Streets | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$80 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Decent hotel, hidden from the noise and traffic inside a courtyard. Has OK rooms, good staff and a tranquil pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Smart Hotel | alt= | url=http://smarthotelmandalay.com | email= | address=No 167 28th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 76th & 77th St, Chan Aye Tharzan Township | phone=+95 2 32682 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60-90 | content=A nice central hotel. Several types of rooms, ranging from fairly basic up to quite nice (even by Bangkok or Singapore standards). Staff very friendly and capable of assisting with tourist plans, onward travel tickets, etc. Onsite restaurant and bar. Free Wi-Fi.}} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Mandalay Hill Resort | alt= | url=http://www.mandalayhillresorthotel.com | email= | address=No 9, Kwin (416B), 10th St | lat=22.006908 | long=96.102281 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$170 | content=An 8-storey hotel at the foot of Mandalay Hill. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Mandalay | email= | address=No 1, Junction of 26th & 66th St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=From US$121 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Formerly the Sedona hotel. Now a full service Hilton blending traditional Burmese and modern architecture that faces the Royal Palace and Mandalay Hill.}} ==Stay safe== Mandalay is a haven for drug kingpins and is a main trading centre of illicit drugs. In 2005, an explosion occurred at Zegyo Market. However, Mandalay is generally a very safe city. ==Go next== * [[Amarapura]] (Pyi) &ndash; Famous for its ancient sights, and for U Bein bridge, the world's longest teak bridge. * [[Hsipaw]] &ndash; Bus leaves at 06:00 and 14:30 (5,000 kyat), 5 hr. * [[Mawlamyine]] &ndash; Overnight bus '''Shwe Mandalar''' at 18:00 (15,000 kyat), leaves from the Highway Bus Station. Quite luxurious (Swedish) bus, includes a towel, pillow, blanket toothbrushes and water. Arrives at [[Mawlamyine]] at 05:00. * [[Maymyo]] (Pyin U Lwin) &ndash; A former British hill station in a lush alpine forest. The small town contains a variety of colonial relics, and is most famous for its botanical gardens (modelled on England's Kew Gardens). Also known for the Defence Services Academy, the top-ranked military academy in Myanmar. Shared taxis come pick you up (6,500 kyat, back seat, 7,000 kyat front, 1½ hr). Pickups leave from the corner of 27th and 82nd (1,500 kyat, 2 hr). Train is very scenic, and is a must-do train journey if you like trains. It leaves Mandalay at 04:00 (US$3 for upper class). * [[Mingun]] &ndash; Best known for the Mingun Bell (one of the largest bells in the world), is a boat ride away. Boats leave from the Mingun jetty (all drivers know it) at 09:00 and return at 13:00. 5,000 kyat return. * [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; Hill station established by the British. Pick-up trucks run east along 35th street and take about 2 hours and cost 1,500 kyat. Shared taxis leave from 27th and 79th streets (next to the Mother's World Hotel). Depart when full. They will pick-up in Mandalay, and drop off at your desired destination in Pyin U Lwin. Cost was 7000 kyat (May 2019). The train for Pyin U Lwin departs from the railway station each morning at 04:00 (May 2019). * [[Sagaing]] (to the east) &ndash; Has many Buddhist temples and monasteries, especially on Sagaing Hill. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; Overnight buses at 07:00 and 09:00 (10,500 kyat). Luxury bus for 16,000 kyat. Leaves from the Highway Bus Station. * [[Bagan]] by bus (OK-Bus with pick up and drop off at your hotels) 8,000 kyat. By slow boat (13 hr) on Sundays and Wednesdays at 05:30 for US$15 or express boat (8 hr) daily at 07:00 but only Nov-Feb, US$45. Ticket office for both in 35th Street & Sein Pann Road (kyat not accepted) {{usablecity}} {{geo|21.975000|96.083333}} {{IsPartOf|Central Myanmar}} 3r0gz3rgj6p6rb0c96evkfm29ixc2vv 5298511 5298509 2026-06-25T22:21:59Z Lazarus1255 2236161 /* Eat */ The previous edit involved removing a bunch of restaurants that had closed. Unsure about the pancake lady or Nameless Street Stall. 5298511 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mandalay Banner.jpg}} {{Warningbox|The conflict is Myanmar is volatile. The security situation may deteriorate at short notice and the military regime can introduce travel restrictions at any time. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to North Mandalay Region; the townships north of Mandalay City and Pyin Oo Lwin. |lastedit=2026-03-01 }} '''Mandalay''' ([[Burmese phrasebook|Burmese]]: မန္တလေး; [[Burmese phrasebook|Shan]]: တႃႈလိူဝ်ႇ) is the second largest city (after [[Yangon]]), and a former capital of [[Myanmar]]. The city is the economic and religious hub of upper Myanmar. The city is centred on the royal palace, and has wide avenues filled with bicycles and motorcycles. Mandalay is known for its millionaires, its monks (half of the country's monks live in Mandalay and surrounding areas) and its cultural diversity. ==Understand== [[File:Mandalay clock tower.jpg|thumb|A busy street scene in Mandalay, with the clock tower built to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee]] ===History=== The very name Mandalay evokes the splendours of old Burma. But most people will be surprised to learn that Mandalay is not an old city, not even a medieval one, but rather a new city created by King Mingdon Min in 1857 as the new capital of the kingdom of Ava. Mingdon moved the capital from [[Amarapura]] to this site at the base of Mandalay Hill as it was more easily defendable against British attack. Only two Burmese kings ruled from there, King Mingdon and King Thibaw, before the British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885. It was a city of splendour between 1858 and 1885, but most of the magnificence has vanished, gone in the fires that consume wooden structures and by intensive Allied bombing during the Second World War. Much of the city, neatly planned with its lettered roads and numbered streets, is a British creation. Though no longer the capital, the city remained the religious and cultural hub of the country during British rule. The once magnificent royal palace and the great Atumashi ("incomparable") pagoda, King Mingdon Min's finest creations, are modern reconstructions. Today, Mandalay lies at the end of the Lashio Rd and it is, by Burmese standards, relatively prosperous as a centre for trade with China and India. Despite the capital having been moved to [[Naypyidaw]], Mandalay remains by far the main commercial centre of Upper Myanmar. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay on 28th March 2025. The Ava Bridge, Mandalay University, parts of the Royal Palace and many ancient pagodas were destroyed. ===People=== Mandalay is ethnically diverse, with the Bamar (Burmans) forming a slight majority. There has been a major influx of Chinese from mainland China, and the Chinese (both recent migrants and descendants of colonial-era immigrants) form 30-40% of the population. Their influence is seen in the Chinese-style glass buildings throughout the city. Other ethnic groups include the Shan, who are ethnically and linguistically related to the Thais and Laotians, and the Karen (Kayin). There is also a sizable ethnic Indian population. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Mandalay |14.2 |29.8 |5.3 |16.3 |33.2 |3.1 |20.9 |37.0 |7.2 |25.0 |39.1 |42.1 |26.0 |37.1 |151.8 |26.3 |35.6 |90.8 |26.3 |35.4 |73.2 |25.9 |34.3 |159.5 |25.6 |34.2 |176.7 |24.2 |33.4 |142.8 |20.3 |31.7 |36.3 |15.8 |29.3 |5.5 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Mandalay]] |description= }} Mandalay has a semi-tropical climate. Winter (which is dry and cold) lasts from Nov-Feb, and summer lasts from Mar-May. Because Mandalay is in the central dry zone, it receives far less rain than the more tropical south. ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Mandalay International Airport | alt={{IATA|MDL}} | url=http://www.mandalayairport.com | email= | address= | lat=21.702222 | long=95.978056 | directions=35 km south of the city centre in Tada-U | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1193001 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content=A gleaming modern facility, serves the area with flights to places in Myanmar and some international flights. There are also 3 flights weekly to and from [[Kunming]] on flight MU2029 for about [[China#Money|CNY]]2,000 one way. Tourist SIM cards can be purchased from a counter at the airport. A mobile plan with 5 GB and 60 minutes costs less than 10,000 kyat. }} Taxis from the airport are 15,000 [[Myanmar#Money|kyat]] or 4,000 kyat per person if you fill the vehicle with others. A shared bus is available for 4,000 kyat but may leave before you can exchange cash and purchase a SIM card. Fill out your entry card while on the plane to avoid being at the back of the queue. Towards the airport taxis cost around 15,000 kyat (Sep 2017) and take roughly ½ hr from the city centre. There is a security check ''before'' check-in, and you need to have your ticket, email verification or something related to your flight to get through. Further security check after check-in. ===By train=== * {{go | name=Mandalay Central Railway Station | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.97671 | long=96.08601 | directions=at 78th east and 30th north Street | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q6747758 | lastedit=2019-05-27 | content= }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There are several trains daily from Yangon. While the tracks are old and, in some cases, the carriages may be old, the fifteen hour journey is quite pleasant. Trains operate during the day so that trains do not cross Pyinmana in the dark, although the privately managed Dagon Mann Express runs overnight. Fares range from about US$15 (ordinary class/hard seat) to US$50 (air-conditioned sleeper on the Dagon Mann Express). * [[Lashio]], [[Hsipaw]] and [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; There are two trains daily from Pyin U Lwin (US$4/2) and one from Lashio via Hsipaw and Pwin U Lwin (US$9/3 from Hsipaw). These trains are slow, crowded, but fascinating. The Pyin U Lwin - Hsipaw section includes the famous Gokteik Viaduct, a feat of Raj ingenuity. Note: the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle in August 2025 and is yet to re-open. * [[Myitkyina]] &ndash; This 24-hr journey is on old rolling stock and even older tracks so expect it to be bumpy. ===By bus=== * {{go | name=Highway Bus Station | alt=Chan Mya Shwe Pyi / Kywe Se Kan | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.92355 | long=96.08959 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-05-24 | content=You can either take a taxi or pick-up into town. Taxis are overly expensive (quoting prices as high as 2,000 kyat per person; don't pay more than 5,000 kyat for the car), and often bargain in a mob fashion (except they all offer the same price and try to gang-up on you). A far cheaper option is to simply walk out of the bus station yards to the west, and find one of the pick-ups that just ran a load of people to the station from town (500 kyat per person). They are normally more than happy to help and there are no commission issues to worry about.<br />Some bus companies, e.g. OK Bus (btw. Mandalay and Bagan, 9,000 kyat), offer free pick-up from your hostel and will drop you at your next hostel at your destination. }} From specific destinations: * [[Yangon]] &ndash; There is a night bus with air-con (there are 5 options, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00, 21:00, and 21:30 departures, standard 10,500 kyat, VIP 15,000 kyat, 8½-9 hr) running into Mandalay. Almost certainly the cheapest option for getting between the two main cities in Myanmar. From [[Inle Lake]], 10,000 kyat. * [[Inle Lake]], [[Kalaw]] or Mid-Eastern Towns &ndash; There are buses available along this route, either a day minibus (05:00 departure, 9,000 kyat, 9 hr) or a night bus with air-con (18:00 departure). The minibus in the day takes a slightly shorter route than the larger (and some say more comfortable) full-sized night bus. Expect windy and bumpy roads, stops for picking up and putting down passengers, and, if you are lucky, a search of the bus by just-bribed police officers in plain-clothes. * [[Monywa]] &ndash; There are buses apparently every hour. 2,000 kyat. 3½ hr. * [[Tamu]] &ndash; Minivans leave at around 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, for 20,300-30,000 kyat. One Ordinary Express (4 seats across 2 + 2) departs at 11:00, 22,000 kyat. And one VIP Express (3 seats across 2 + 1) departs Tamu at 12:30 (arriving in Mandalay at 03:50), 28,000 kyat. (May 2019) * [[Kalay]] &ndash; The Ordinary Express is at 15:00 and the VIP Express at 16:00, coming from Tamu. Kalay may be a convenient stopover for [[Tamu]] (for [[India]]). (May 2019) ==Get around== {{Mapframe|21.992712|96.095990|zoom=13|height=|width=|layer=|staticmap=|align=|name=}} {{Mapmask |21.8682,96.1240 |21.8719,96.1381 |21.8905,96.1283 |21.9034,96.1400 |21.9419,96.1407 |21.9438,96.1331 |21.9464,96.1305 |21.9485,96.1300 |21.9585,96.1309 |21.9770,96.1326 |21.9851,96.1297 |21.9946,96.1317 |22.0172,96.1309 |22.0255,96.1218 |22.0266,96.0974 |22.0244,96.0772 |22.0147,96.0650 |21.9755,96.0562 |21.9612,96.0516 |21.9493,96.0499 |21.9470,96.0514 |21.9346,96.0548 |21.9294,96.0545 |21.9270,96.0526 |21.9217,96.0530 |21.9172,96.0523 |21.9126,96.0493 |21.9079,96.0432 |21.9036,96.0401 |21.8999,96.0332 |21.8972,96.0224 |21.8950,96.0157 |21.8878,96.0135 |21.8811,96.0090 |21.8734,96.0083 |21.8727,96.0416 |21.8715,96.0596 |21.8752,96.0744 |21.8722,96.0797 |21.8658,96.0789 |21.8589,96.0809 |21.8539,96.0863 |21.8534,96.0916 |21.8526,96.0967 |21.8553,96.1014 |21.8693,96.1029 |21.8720,96.1039 |21.8727,96.1134 |21.8719,96.1178 |21.8682,96.1240}} ===By bicycle=== The best and most flexible way to see the city is by bicycle, as traffic isn't as heavy as in other Asian cities. ===By pickup=== The cheapest local transportation network consists of mini-trucks, loaded with passages on two benches on the back. They run along routes all over Manadaly starting at the centre at the market at 84th/29th. A number (Burmese symbol) defines where the truck is going and usually two people are standing at the back, shouting their destination and helping people get in. If you catch one at the main hub, it is easier to ask people for the right number and price. Usually 500 kyat pp, sitting in cabin might be more expensive. Routes include: *8 (၈): Centre - Aramapura (along Mandalay - Sagaing Rd.) *23 (၂၃): Centre - 78th south along runway - bus station at Aung Myint Mo Hotel (buses to/from Bagan, Myawaddy) ===By moto-taxi=== Motorbike taxis try to charge you overly expensive prices, but they would eventually turn out to be cheaper than car taxis if there are only one or two people. Don't pay more than 1,000 kyat for a ride to the centre, including to Mandalay Hill. You can get full-day (09:00-sunset) tours for 10,000 kyat. The driver will take you to the ancient cities, Sagaing and to Amarapura for sunset. [[File:Mandalay street.jpg|thumb|Mandalay's roads are laid out in a numbered grid pattern]] ===By moto-rental=== Renting a motorcycle can be a dangerous in Mandalay as driving can be chaotic, but it is a great way to see the city if you are experienced. Some hotels on 25th St rent bikes and there is an American expat in the centre who rents dirt bikes and motorbikes that can be delivered to your hotel. ===By taxi=== Taxis are relatively inexpensive and are excellent for travelling around Mandalay. Many sights are centred around Mandalay Hill, which makes walking feasible in that area. However, beware it is not always easy to get hold of a taxi depending on which part of the city you are, so making arrangements beforehand can help. ===By trishaw=== Trishaws (cycle rickshaws) are a convenient way of getting around in Mandalay if you're able to find one. If you find a driver who speaks good English you can have a tour guide and transport together for a reasonable price with a little bargaining. They only hold one or two persons. ==See== Mandalay has a "Mandalay Zone Fee" of 10,000 kyat that covers most of the central attractions and lasts for about a week. Buy it from the first attraction you visit. The tickets are not always checked at all attractions and you might be able to get individual cheaper tickets for some attractions. Access to the Mandalay hill requires an additional entry fee of 1,000 kyat, and Mingung and Sagaing are 5,000 kyat extra both (not always enforced). ===Markets=== * {{see | name=Jade Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat=21.96306 | long=96.07126 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=2500 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=An interesting look at the [[jade]] trade in Mandalay. See raw jade being cut, polished and finally sold (sometimes even over smartphones). There are also stalls selling jade jewellery and furnishings, but be sure to do your homework beforehand or you risk getting ripped off. All foreigners are supposed to pay an entrance fee but it is sporadically enforced. Souvenirs for less than US$1. }} * {{see | name=Flower Market | alt= | url= | email= | address=26 and Pulaing Street | lat=21.98435 | long=96.06162 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=A small market with dozens of vendors selling a wide variety of flowers and greenery. Visitors may also venture into the larger market to the north where vegetables, fish, meat and fruit is sold and repacked for distribution. }} ===Religious sites=== * {{see | name=Maha Myat Muni Paya | alt=''Pronounced,'' ma-ha myah mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.951868 | long=96.078480 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Unlike the other main attractions which are mostly located around Mandalay hill, Myanmar's second holiest pilgrimage site is located to the south-west end of the city. It contains a 4 m high Buddha statue, made of gold and decorated with precious jewels. A few inches worth of gold has been pressed onto the statue in the form of gold-leaves, leaving only the face open. Women are not allowed to enter the main sanctuary where the statue is located, but men may do so and also touch the Muni. The statue was brought from Rakhine State, southeast of Mandalay. Nearby the central hall, there is a hall displaying statues stolen from Rakhine state, which were in turn stolen through a string of robberies from Ang Kor Wat via Thailand. The figures may have belonged to Hindu mythological figures Shiva and Airavat, the elephant of Indra. You will see people rubbing the statues as they believes this cures of them of ailments, especially by touching the corresponding body part on the statue. Visit the site around 04:30–05:00 for the amazing ceremony of washing the Buddha's face, which occurs every day and is attended by hundreds of people. 1,000 kyat surcharge for photography. }} * {{see | name=Kuthodaw Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' ku-tho-dau pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0046 | long=96.1128 | directions=At the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is known as the site of the world's largest book. Built by King Mingdon in the 1800s, 729 white stupas within the complex contain the complete text of the Tripitaka, Theravada Buddhism's most sacred text, which are considered to constitute the largest book. The nearby Sandamuni paya contains a similar set of structures}} * {{see | name=Sandamuni Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' san-da-mu-ni pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.003377 | long=96.109777 | directions=at the foot of Mandalay Hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Similar to Kuthodaw Paya, and next to it, it also contains a large number of white stupas containing the Tripitika. Sandamuni also contains the world's largest iron Buddha image. Quiet and peaceful, similar to Kuthodaw. }} * {{see | name=Shwe Kyi Myin Paya | alt=''pronounced,'' shui ji myin pei-ya | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.020003 | long=96.107817 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Built in the 1st century, by Prince Min Shin Saw. }} * {{see | name=Shwenandaw Monastery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000673 | long=96.113730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=A monastery made entirely of teak, with beautiful intricate carvings. It was built as part of the royal palace by King Mingdon and moved to its current site by his son, King Thibaw in the late 19th century. It is the only major building from the original wooden royal palace to have survived the bombing of World War II, and thus is the only authentic part of the royal palace which can still be seen today. It was the bedroom in which King Mingdon spent the last of his days. After that, the structure was given to the monks, and became a monastery. The intricate craftwork on the teak pillars, ceilings, roofs and walls, is breathtaking. One can get lost in observing the various animals and mythical creatures, or the thousands of athletic, gracefully twisted and seductive poses and expressions of the dancers seen on the pillars. }} * {{see | name=Atumashi Kyaung | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.000944 | long=96.112593 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Located in front of Shwenandaw, it contains a very large hall, with a cool silent ambience suitable for a meditation. It was built in 1857 by King Mingdon using teak, but after being destroyed in fire, it was reconstructed to form the structure that you see today. The structure consists of five rectangular terraces in a graduated form. }} [[File:Mandalay palace.jpg|thumb|325x325px|Mandalay Palace, with Mandalay Hill in the background]] ===Miscellaneous=== * {{see | name=Royal Palace | alt=''pronounced,'' man-da-lei nan-dau | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.992817 | long=96.097236 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=10,000 kyat for foreigners |lastedit=2023-12-13| content=After their defeat in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the former royal palace of Amarapura was dismantled and moved by elephant to its current site in Mandalay. The British looted and partly destroyed the palace during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. During World War II the palace grounds were used as a Japanese army storage depot and were completely destroyed by British bombing. The palace complex was rebuilt between 1990-1995. There have been allegations that forced labour was used in its renovation. While the design of the reconstructed buildings is fairly faithful to the original, the materials used are not, with metal and concrete used instead of the original teak wood. The palace contains several pavilions and chambers, most of which are empty. Tourists are only permitted to enter from the East Gate. A 1 km walk connects the entry gate to the palace proper. Replicas of throne rooms and chairs and Madame Tussaud-style images of Kings Mingdon and Thibaw with their chief consorts are on display. At the west end is the Palace Museum where palace memorabilia is on display including religious paraphernalia, court ritual implements, court dresses and uniforms, furniture, palanquins and litters, as well as weaponry. There are also photo exhibits. The surrounding area of the island is a military base, which creates a strange atmosphere. Your passport must be surrendered at the entrance for the duration of your visit. The palace can also be seen from the summit of the Mandalay Hill. }} * {{see | name=U Bein Bridge | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.891772 | long=96.061644 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content= A historic wooden bridge in the south of Mandalay. Due to the level of cleanliness, it may not look particularly attractive, especially if you are there in the dry season when the water is scarce. But this place allows a great slice view of local life, with locals walking back and forth, stopping for food and shopping, or standing in the water fishing. The stilted thatched huts are the homes of many of the poor in the area, some of whom sell snacks along the bridge. }} ==Do== * [[File:Mandalay Hill, Sutaungpyai Temple, Myanmar.jpg|thumb|The temple atop Mandalay Hill]][[File:Mandalay Hill 06.jpg|thumb|Mandalay Hill looking down on the moat]]{{do | name=Mandalay Hill | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.013636 | long=96.108217 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Shared pick-up trucks to the base of Mandalay Hill run along 83rd St, one block from the Clock Tower, and leave every 20 minutes (500-1,000 kyat). Private pick-ups are also available (5,000 kyat). Motorbike taxis from the city centre to and from the base of Mandalay Hill cost 1,000-2,000 kyat. Try not to come down by an obscure entrance to a less crowded area, from where it will be difficult to catch a taxi. | wikipedia=Mandalay Hill | image=Mandalay Hill 3.jpg | wikidata=Q3285419 | lastedit=2018-11-27 | content=One of the favourite sunset spots, and a good quarter-day activity. The climb is enjoyable, providing scenic views of several other attractions and Mandalay. From the base of Mandalay Hill you can either climb the stairs or take a pick-up to Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the top, but the walk is probably worth it in order to catch the scenic views along the way. The climb takes about 30-45 min and requires moderate fitness, but is not overly demanding and is in the shade. Has views of Kuthodaw and Sandamuni paya, and the royal palace in the distance. Plenty of stray dogs, shops and other interesting stops (Buddhas, pagodas, viewpoints) line the path, such as the Gothama Buddha shrine. The two main south entrances are guarded by either Nats (spirit figures) or Chinthes (great mythical lions), but there are several other entrances.<br />Along the climb from the southern stairs near the place where these pathways merge, you come across a large statue of Buddha and his kneeling disciple Ananda, who climbed this very hill two centuries before Mingdon conquered it. Buddha is seen ominously pointing towards Mandalay, indicating that after two centuries, the capital of this region would shift to Mandalay. It is this prophecy that Mingdon fulfilled.<br />Further up, you come across a shrine showing the various stages of a man's life: birth, youth, monk, old age and death. Interestingly, there are similarities between the birth and death stage indicating the cyclical nature of life believed by Buddhism. You can see same set of figures as an image in Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan.<br />At the top, accessed by escalator, is the shrine to the ogress Sandamukhi on the penultimate storey. Sandamukhi is depicted as offering her cut breasts to Buddha in a scary gesture. It is said the ogress took rebirth as King Mingdon.<br />Additional 1,000 kyat for foreigners to enter the topmost level and see the pagoda, which can be avoided by watching the sunset from the Ogress storey. However, the open four-directional view from the top storey may be worth it, apart from the access to the toilets in this area. Footwear including socks are prohibited at the pagoda, which offers nice views of Mandalay and the surrounding plains. At sunset, Sutaungpyei Pagoda crowds with tourists, and many monks and other locals climb the stairs with the hope of talking to foreigners and practicing their English. }} *{{do | name=Gold leaf pressing tour | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= Free | lastedit= May 2016 | content= You can have a free tour to see how gold is pressed into fine gold leaves, that is bought by several thousand devotees all over Myanmar and pressed into several Buddha statues like Maha Myat Muni Paya. There are at least two places where this can be done for free in the city: King Galon and Golden Rose. The staff at both places speak English and guide you through the process, with no pressure to buy.}} *{{do | name=Mandalay Marionettes Theatre | alt= | url=http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com | email= | address=66th St | lat=21.980520 | long=96.106894 | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 34446 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=daily at 20:30 | price=15,000 kyat | lastedit=2018-09-11 | content=This is a hard-to-find show, even in Yangon. The show lasts 1h and has a traditional orchestra. Everything will be explained in English. Book in advance during high season. }} *{{do | name=Mintha Theater | url=http://www.minthatheater.com | email=info@minthatheater.com | address=27th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 65th & 66th St | phone=+95 9 6803607 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 20:30 | price=8,000 kyat | content=Classical court and folkloric dances that include a full 8-piece traditional orchestra.}} *{{do | name=Moustache Brothers | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=20:30 | price=10,000 kyat |lastedit=2025-05-25| content=Formerly a comedy trio who served 12 years in prison for their political (anti-government) performances and jokes. Now only one of the three performs. About half is comedy and the other half is traditional dancing performed by his family. They are only allowed to perform in their home and for tourists. They perform every night. The admission fee goes towards helping political prisoners. The show lasts for about 1½ hours and mostly features Burmese dance and some political jokes. Rickshaw drivers will try for a return fee. }} * {{do | name=Waterfall Hill | alt=Yaedagon Taung | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=on the east side of Mandalay | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Outdoor sports, especially caving and rock climbing are popular endeavours here. It is not spoiled, not crowded and not far from the city.}} * {{do | name=A ''Glimpse of Mandalay Cooking'' class and day tour | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/aglimpseofmandalay | email=aglimpseofmandalay@gmail.com | address=between 35th & 36th St, between 57th & 58th St, Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | lat= | long= | directions=free pick up and drop off is included. | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=09:00-18:00 | price=US$30 | lastedit=2015-09-08 | content=A combination of cooking class and day tour and the first of its kind in Myanmar. The cooking class is located in a local village about 20-min drive from Mandalay. Hands on teaching while enjoying the green paddy fields. After the cooking class, they will take you a bike tour to see the daily life of the village and end the tour by seeing sunset in a historic place. }} * {{do | name=Amaravati Thai Massage | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 62nd and 37th | lat= | long= | directions=in the east of Mandalay | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=8,000 kyat for 1-hr body massage | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Get body massage, foot massage and aroma massage. They are very professional and the ambience is nice and relaxing. }} * {{do | name=City Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Myo Patt Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=A leisure park with swimming pool. Women are requested to wear a t-shirt and shorts. }} ===Tours=== [[File:The Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) river and Sagaing Township from the Yadanabon Bridge.jpg|thumb|View of Sagaing Hill and surrounds from across the Irrawaddy River]] * '''Daytour "three former capitals": Amarapura, Sagaing, Innwa''' &ndash; You can usually book this tour at your hotel/hostel or directly with a Tuktuk driver (be careful with the price in this case). The normal price for a Tuktuk for the whole day tour is 35,000 kyat (January 2020), which can be divided depending on how many people fit the Tuktuk (usually up to 3 people). The tour starts at 08:30. First place to visit is '''Amarapura'''. You will visit the second biggest monastery in the country and watch the monks preparing their food. After that you will go to '''Sagaing'''. In Sagaing you will visit two pagodas on the Sagaing Hill, where you have a beautiful view too. From there you have lunch near a small river, which you have to cross after (2,500 kyat per person including return) to get to '''Innwa'''. In Innwa you can only get around by horse-drawn carriage (15,000 kyat per person) or walking. The carriage drivers will try to convince you that walking takes too much time, but that's not true. You have enough time to visit all the spots. After visiting Innwa you have to cross the river again. The Tuktuk driver takes you back to Amarapura to watch the sunset on the U Bein Bridge, one of the longest Teakwood bridges in the world. Usually the tour ends at 20:00. * '''Halfday tour to Mingun''' &ndash; For this halfday tour you have to take the ferry at 09:30 in Mandalay and will arrive at 10:30 in Mingun. The ferry (5,000 kyat per person including return) only leaves once a day. Mingun belongs to Sagaing Region and not to Mandalay Region anymore, that's why you have to pay another 5,000 kyat as "entrance fee". In Mingun you can visit the famous Hsinbyume Pagoda (a beautiful white Pagoda also called "photo pagoda") and the Mingun Bell. The ferry back to Mandalay leaves at 13:30. There are no other ferries back to Mandalay later. If you miss it, you can take a Tuktuk back or find a place to stay. (January 2020) [[File:U Pein Bridge Myanmar 15.jpg|thumb|U Bein bridge]] '''Do-it-yourself bicycle tour of Mandalay''': A whole day tour to Maha Muni, Innwa and U Bein Bridge. Sagaing Hill can be included as well. You can visit U Bein Bridge twice: Once during the day and once at sunset. Start early at the Clock Tower in Mandalay (26th Street, 84th Street) and cycle south 84th Street till two streets after the 42nd street. The road will then split into 2, go left. After the next bend you will see the entrance to Maha Muni Image. Lock your bicycle and take your time to explore the temple and the gardens behind. Go back to where the 84th Street splits into two and this time go right. Continue further south. Parallel to your street runs another, getting really close to yours after about 3 km, only to then turn right when yours goes gradually left (there is a petrol station, 100 m to your left is a white pagoda). From there continue on the main road. After 400 m the road bends right, then continues straight for about 1 km and then bends left. You can stop there to visit the Burkayar Monastery. Afterwards, continue straight and leave the main road. After 500 m the railway tracks cross the street. Continue straight through the neighbourhoods for 500 m more until you reach the Taungthaman Lake. Follow the road anti-clockwise along the lake and after 2 km you will reach the parking area of U Bein Bridge. You might have to pay a small parking fee (100-200 kyat). Cross the Bridge and settle in a teahouse on the other side. Get back on the bicycle and go west until you hit the main road (Sagaing-Mandalay Expy) and the tracks. From there you can explore the neighbourhoods and stop by any building where you hear the dominant rattling noise of the looms. There are factory-like businesses and private homes with only one or two machines. There are plenty, and you will be warmly welcomed to any of them to have a look. To go to Innwa follow the main road (Saging-Mandalay Expy) further south for 4.5 km, always straight until you reach a roundabout. Go straight for Innwa, or turn right and cross the bridge to Sagaing. After another kilometre you will reach a crossing. The main road bends right a little and crosses the river to Sagaing, a smaller road bends sharply left to somewhere else. And straight continues a small street of rather poor condition. Take this small street and follow it for another kilometre until you reach the river. You can only cross it by ferry (1 min). 1,000 kyat per person and 200 kyat extra for the bicycle return ticket. Once you leave the ferry you will want to continue as soon as possible as the horse cart tour touts pester you. Follow the horse tracks. Mahar Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery: From the jetty follow the road, go left, then right at the T-crossing. When the road turns left follow the small trail straight instead (no horse cart can pass), cross the tiny bridge. And after 50 m you reach the monastery (zone ticket). Right hand side from the main entrance there is a stupa, walled with two doors each having stairs. The stupa is connected to the monastery. Take 2-3 hr to explore Innwa fully. Then go back the same way to see the sunset at U Bein Bridge. There are street lamps all the way to Mandalay. There are no hills, just flat land. * Mandalay Clock Tower - Maha Mudi Image: 4 km, 20 min * Maha Muni Image - U Bein Bridge: 8 km, 40 min * U Bein Bridge - Innwa: 8 km, 40 min In case you got lost just ask people for the way. As few cycle in the area, not even locals, they are very curious and will gladly help you. Have your destinations written in Myanma as it's easier for people to understand. Try to get a bicycle with lights. Costs: 1,500 kyat for bicycle, 1,200 kyat for the ferry. Alternatively you can rent a motorcycle for 10,000 kyat. But only one can fit at a time on the ferry. ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Zegyo Market | alt=Pronounced ''zei-gyo'' | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.982904 | long=96.077130 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A street bazaar near the city centre. }} Some other markets are listed under [[#See]]. ==Eat== Mandalay is a former capital of Myanmar and a major trading centre between Myanmar and its neighbours, China, India and Bangladesh. As a result, it has a notable array of specialities from various regions in Myanmar and from other countries. Cuisine from the Shan State (usually including fermented pastes, vegetables and meats) is popular in Mandalay which has a sizable Shan minority. Muslim Chinese noodles, pronounced ''pan-THEI-kao-sweh'' (flat thin noodles mixed with an array of spices, chili, and chicken), are also famous in Mandalay and the surrounding hills. Regardless of where you eat, try to leave space for '''Htou moun'''(''to-moh''), a traditional Burmese dessert sold only in Mandalay; it contains a lot of oil and is extremely sweet. * {{eat | name=Myint Myint Khin | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.975485 | long=96.08653 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-12 | content=Recognisable by the abbreviation MMK on the company logo, the most famous purveyor of ''Htou moun'' in all of Myanmar. }} *{{eat | name= Unique Bar and Restaurant | url= | email= | address= 66th Street | lat= 22.001714| long= 96.108104| directions= near Mandalay hill | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= main course at around 5,500 kyat | content= This bar and restaurant is near the foot of the Mandalay hill, and provides an easily accessible lunch spot during a tour of the nearby monasteries and the hill. The cuisine is a mix of Western, local and South-east Asian options. The curries are worth trying for their variety, and the coffee is good. The bar has an extensive range of cocktails, and provides hookahs. Very popular in the evenings, but less so during lunch hours. }} *{{eat | name= Mingalar-bar | url= | email= | address= corner of 71st and 29th Street | lat= 21.977801| long= 96.098550| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= up to 21:30 | price=box from 2,000 kyat; 5,000 kyat for a full main course | content= A good place to try a large variety of local Myanmarese cuisine. Apart from the pun-ny name, the restaurant's dishes are quite creative. The best part about the main course is the large spread of sumptuous appetizers and sauces of different types, served at the beginning of the meal. The local twists on many dishes is great. Don't leave without trying the special dry mango pork curry and mutton curry, and it is also worth attempting the river prawns, and if available, boar. There is a sumptuous dessert platter also available with many local sweets made of unique combinations of glutinous rice, banana, peanut, coconut etc. The service is very friendly. }} *{{eat | name=Shop for Htou mont | alt= | url= | email= | address=78th and 31st Street | lat= | long= | directions=left of the train station | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=box from 1,800 kyat | content=They will normally let you try the different types. You can have mixed boxes as well. Eat them within 4-7 days (depends on type). }} *{{eat | name=Street Pancakes | alt=Indian roti | url= | email= | address=81st & 26th | lat= | long= | directions=in the SW block of 81st & 26th St.; enter the unmarked alley going west, next to Myawaddy Bank | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Afternoons you'll find a pleasant Indian lady making savoury and sweet street pancakes in a cast iron frying pan in front of her house. Cheap, delicious and pleasant company. }} * {{eat | name=Super 81 | alt= | url= | email= | address=39th Street, between 81st and 82nd, Mandalay | lat=21.9634 | long=96.0810 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 09:00–23:00 | price=5,000–7,500 kyat | lastedit=2015-03-08 | content=Double-storey restaurant with great barbecued seafood. Air-conditioned second floor. The extensive menu includes Thai, Chinese, Indian and western dishes. Popular with locals. }} * {{eat | name=Nameless Street Stall at corner of 30th and 84th Street | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=dinnertime | price=Set meal with one curry 800 kyat | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content= Busy place right at the crossing with more than 10 curries to choose from. The staff just knows enough English to point out what meat (or fish) is in the curry. Choose by the look. The curry traditionally comes with rice, soup and veggy plate. }} * {{eat | name=Night market | alt= | url= | email= | address=along corner of 76th and 34th Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=best time 18:00-19:00 | price= | lastedit=Sep 2015 | content=Choose a shop where there are many people in order to point at the dish you want as there are no English menus. Stalls sell hot pots, dumplings (soup, steamed, salad), Thai noodles, seafood with flat rice noodles, pig feet with noodles, sticky rice and other sweets. A yoghurt dessert with honey or sugar is popular with locals. }} ==Drink== *{{drink | name=Golden Coffee Shop | url= | email= | address=No. 80/4, 35th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 88th and 89th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=500-2,000 kyat for drinks. Similar for food/snacks | content=Free Wi-Fi. Decently priced fruit shakes and coffees and a good array of snacks. Friendly staff try their best with English, but best take a phrasebook if you want to do more than point at pictures on menus.}} *{{drink | name=Shwe Gokai | url= | email= | address=35th St | lat= | long= | directions=N side of 35th St a few shops W of 68th St | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This is a Chinese BBQ restaurant famous for its BBQ beef tongue and rice noodle soup (ba ba si). There is no English sign, but it is easy enough to find as it is the only BBQ restaurant on the north side of 35th St. It is next to a pottery store with many pots in front.}} *{{drink | name=V Cafe | url= | email= | address=No 408, Corner of 80th & 25th St | lat= | long= | directions=Near Royal Guesthouse | phone=+95 9 6804928 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$5-10 | content=A cool cafe at Mandalay with good food, friendly and attentive service at fair price. A nice escape from the teeming streets for those weary after a tiring day.}} * {{drink | name=Nylon Ice Cream Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of 83rd and 25th Streets | lat=21.984647 | long=96.079499 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A bit of a novelty, ice cream, milkshakes, fruit juices and beers that you can drink on the side of the bustling street. Flavours are geared towards Asian tastes, there's no food unless street sellers are operating, and there's usually a gaggle of beggars (who seem to be in league with the owners) harassing drinkers. }} ==Sleep== ===Budget=== Most budget guesthouses are around 25th St, between 81st and 84th Streets. There are many more than those listed here. * {{sleep | name=AD1 Hotel | url= | email= | address=Eindawya Sintada St, Chan Aye Thar San Township | lat= | long= | directions=E of Eindawya Pagoda | phone=+95 2 34505, +95 9 6502430 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$15-30 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Central location in the heart of Zeygo Market. The rooftop is something special. Rooms are tacky and baths dated, but the price is OK.}} * {{sleep | name=Nylon Hotel | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Corner of 83rd & 25th St | phone=+95 2 33460, +95 2 66550, +95 2 60757 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$10-20 | checkin=early, if room available | checkout=12:00 | content=Room, bathroom quality is standard for Burma at this price. Basic breakfast and working Wi-Fi in room included. Extremely friendly staff, except for the owner (unfriendly, doesn't care about his guests at all). They may try to scam you on laundry, so clarify the price per unit and count for yourself.}} * {{sleep | name=Mahar Hotel | url= | email=hotelmahar.mdy@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=24 St, between 83 & 84th St | phone=+95 2 22854 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$18-25 | checkin= | checkout=12:00 | content=One block from Nylon Hotel, rooms are very clean and relatively good value for the price (for Mandalay), though single rooms are small. Hot shower, free Wi-Fi in rooms, standard breakfast included, friendly staff.}} * {{sleep | name=Peacock Lodge | url= | email=peacock lodge@gmail.com | address=60th St | lat=21.9825 | long=96.1167 | directions= | phone=+95 9 2042059| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Standard double US$35, Deluxe double US$55 | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit=2014-09 | content=Terrific home stay B&B, with very friendly family staff. A bit out of the centre. Has bike rentals. Free Wi-Fi in the rooms, includes breakfast outside in the garden. Hot shower. Can organise airport transfers, bus tickets, etc. }} * {{sleep | name=Rich Queen | url= | email= | address=87th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 26th & 27th St | phone=+95 2 260172, +95 9 91028348 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$25 | checkin= | checkout= | content=New and has a flash backpacker feel to it. Has modern facilities including the baths. All rooms have air-con.}} * {{sleep | name=Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Yoe-Yoe-Lay-Homestay-122408557948266/ | email=nanbwe1@gmail.com | address=Between 35th and 36th St & 57th and 58th St, Shwe Gal Pwar | lat= | long= | directions=about 10 min E of downtown; you can also take local pickup Bus 11 from 35th street, RMB300 | phone=+95 944 404 1944 | tollfree= | checkin=12:30 | checkout=12:00 | price=US$7-30 | lastedit=2017-02-08 | content=Great breakfast included with fruits, western and local food, free Wi-Fi & drinking water. Clean bathrooms with warm water. The owner "Mama" and the staff are kind and helpful. Has a homestay feeling. Bicycles for rent (2,000 kyat per day). Motorbikes for rent (10,000 kyat semi automatic and 12,000 kyat automatic. 24 hours). They organize bus tickets and sightseeing tours. Booking through their Facebook page or email. Air-con en suite double: US$30, shared bathroom: US$25, 4- and 6-bed dorm rooms: US$7 per person (not including breakfast. You can have it for additional 2,000 kyat. It is worth it: orange juice, coffee/tea, toasts, jam and butter, eggs, bottle of water, rice or noodles, watermelon). }} * {{sleep | name=Dreamland Guesthouse | alt= | url=https://dreamlandguesthouse.wordpress.com/ | email=dreamlandguesthouse.mdy@gmail.com | address=corner of 69th and 37th street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2-32850 (land-line), +95 9-402544997, +95 9-43068299 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=dorm US$10 | content=Best thing about this hostel is the included breakfast. They cooperate with the small restaurant nextdoor and have a huge number of choices: e.g. pancake (sugar, beans, banana), bread, Mohinga, Shan Noodles, eggs. There is coffee and 3 types of tea on the menu, they have 8 different types of tea, so ask in the hostel. The hostel doubles as an art studio. So during the day children will have violin or piano lessons and there is a small exhibition of paintings. The staff are friendly and helpful. The dorm has air con and the bunk beds have curtains, lamps and sockets. You reach the upper bunk by stairs not by an ordinary ladder. Plenty of bathrooms in the house with hot water. Everywhere Wi-Fi, clean, bicycle and motorcycle renting, free drinking water, free towel. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Bagan King | alt= | url=http://www.bagankinghotel.com/ | email= | address=Blk-732, No (44), Corner of 73rd And 28th Roads ChanAyeTharZan Tsp | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 2 67124 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$70 | content=Nice hotel. Friendly staff, restaurant, bar, free Wi-Fi. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Sahara | alt= | url=http://www.hotelsaharamandalay.com | email=hotelsahara.mandalay@gmail.com | address=No. 414/A, 80th Road, between 26th & 27th streets | lat=21.982802 | long=96.084252 | directions=50 m from the southwest corner of the moat | phone=+95 267313 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=Low season, US$16 for standard double, US$19 for superior twin, US$25 for deluxe double. High season, US$20 standard double, US$25 for superior twin, US$30 for deluxe double | lastedit=2018-05-23 | content=2-star hotel in the heart of Mandalay. 29 rooms (3 different kinds), all of which offer AC, TV, fridge, hot/cold showers, comfortable beds; deluxe rooms are bigger and offer a bathtub in addition. Free wifi accessible from all areas. Free buffet breakfast 06:30-09:00. Excellent restaurant recommendations. Friendly & smiling staff who speaks excellent English. }} * {{sleep | name=Mandalay City Hotel | alt= | url=http://mandalaycityhotel.com/ | email= | address=26th Street | lat=21.982636 | long=96.080584 | directions=between 82nd and 83rd Streets | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$80 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=Decent hotel, hidden from the noise and traffic inside a courtyard. Has OK rooms, good staff and a tranquil pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Smart Hotel | alt= | url=http://smarthotelmandalay.com | email= | address=No 167 28th St | lat= | long= | directions=between 76th & 77th St, Chan Aye Tharzan Township | phone=+95 2 32682 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60-90 | content=A nice central hotel. Several types of rooms, ranging from fairly basic up to quite nice (even by Bangkok or Singapore standards). Staff very friendly and capable of assisting with tourist plans, onward travel tickets, etc. Onsite restaurant and bar. Free Wi-Fi.}} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Mandalay Hill Resort | alt= | url=http://www.mandalayhillresorthotel.com | email= | address=No 9, Kwin (416B), 10th St | lat=22.006908 | long=96.102281 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From US$170 | content=An 8-storey hotel at the foot of Mandalay Hill. }} * {{sleep | name=Hilton Mandalay | email= | address=No 1, Junction of 26th & 66th St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=From US$121 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Formerly the Sedona hotel. Now a full service Hilton blending traditional Burmese and modern architecture that faces the Royal Palace and Mandalay Hill.}} ==Stay safe== Mandalay is a haven for drug kingpins and is a main trading centre of illicit drugs. In 2005, an explosion occurred at Zegyo Market. However, Mandalay is generally a very safe city. ==Go next== * [[Amarapura]] (Pyi) &ndash; Famous for its ancient sights, and for U Bein bridge, the world's longest teak bridge. * [[Hsipaw]] &ndash; Bus leaves at 06:00 and 14:30 (5,000 kyat), 5 hr. * [[Mawlamyine]] &ndash; Overnight bus '''Shwe Mandalar''' at 18:00 (15,000 kyat), leaves from the Highway Bus Station. Quite luxurious (Swedish) bus, includes a towel, pillow, blanket toothbrushes and water. Arrives at [[Mawlamyine]] at 05:00. * [[Maymyo]] (Pyin U Lwin) &ndash; A former British hill station in a lush alpine forest. The small town contains a variety of colonial relics, and is most famous for its botanical gardens (modelled on England's Kew Gardens). Also known for the Defence Services Academy, the top-ranked military academy in Myanmar. Shared taxis come pick you up (6,500 kyat, back seat, 7,000 kyat front, 1½ hr). Pickups leave from the corner of 27th and 82nd (1,500 kyat, 2 hr). Train is very scenic, and is a must-do train journey if you like trains. It leaves Mandalay at 04:00 (US$3 for upper class). * [[Mingun]] &ndash; Best known for the Mingun Bell (one of the largest bells in the world), is a boat ride away. Boats leave from the Mingun jetty (all drivers know it) at 09:00 and return at 13:00. 5,000 kyat return. * [[Pyin U Lwin]] &ndash; Hill station established by the British. Pick-up trucks run east along 35th street and take about 2 hours and cost 1,500 kyat. Shared taxis leave from 27th and 79th streets (next to the Mother's World Hotel). Depart when full. They will pick-up in Mandalay, and drop off at your desired destination in Pyin U Lwin. Cost was 7000 kyat (May 2019). The train for Pyin U Lwin departs from the railway station each morning at 04:00 (May 2019). * [[Sagaing]] (to the east) &ndash; Has many Buddhist temples and monasteries, especially on Sagaing Hill. * [[Yangon]] &ndash; Overnight buses at 07:00 and 09:00 (10,500 kyat). Luxury bus for 16,000 kyat. Leaves from the Highway Bus Station. * [[Bagan]] by bus (OK-Bus with pick up and drop off at your hotels) 8,000 kyat. By slow boat (13 hr) on Sundays and Wednesdays at 05:30 for US$15 or express boat (8 hr) daily at 07:00 but only Nov-Feb, US$45. Ticket office for both in 35th Street & Sein Pann Road (kyat not accepted) {{usablecity}} {{geo|21.975000|96.083333}} {{IsPartOf|Central Myanmar}} cb6tnf2ksnpgldmhfdrdz23ierrihtu 0 22133 5298533 5294185 2026-06-26T00:31:31Z DaGizza 162256 /* Eat */ 5298533 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Teotihuacan Wikivoyage banner.jpg|pgname=Mexico|caption=Teotihuacan}} {{other uses}} '''Mexico''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: ''México'') is known for its [[Mexican cuisine|cuisine]], art, archaeology, history, pyramids, music, museums, haciendas, 9,600 km (6,000 mi) of shoreline, superb architecture, weather from snow-capped mountains in the Sierras to rainy jungles in the southeast and desert in the northwest, many golf courses and excellent fishing. Along with [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], and [[Peru]], this once-poor nation is one of the ''Pacific Pumas'', seeing significant economic growth and improved infrastructure during the 21st century. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=Mexico regions map.png | regionmaptext=Mexico's regions | regionmapsize=450px | region1name=[[Baja California]] | region1color=#65b99f | region1items=[[Baja California (state)|Baja California]], [[Baja California Sur]] | region1description=The vast western peninsula, stretching 1,200 km from Tijuana on the US border to Cabo in the south. A land of deserts and undiscovered beaches. One of the biggest whale migrations takes place here every year from December to April. Also includes the far-off-shore [[Guadalupe Island]]. | region2name=[[Northern Mexico]] | region2color=#b9ad60 | region2items=[[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], [[Coahuila]], [[Durango (state)|Durango]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Sinaloa]], [[Sonora]], [[Tamaulipas]] | region2description=The expansive deserts and mountains of the border states; mostly ignored by tourists. Culturally and physically a world away from the tropical south. Includes the bustling industrial city of Monterrey, Mexico's 3rd-largest and most affluent city, and Copper Canyon, the country's only railroad passing through gorges and indigenous villages. | region3name=[[Bajío|The Bajío]] | region3color=#a463ad | region3items=[[Aguascalientes (state)|Aguascalientes]], [[Guanajuato (state)|Guanajuato]], [[Zacatecas (state)|Zacatecas]], [[San Luis Potosi (state)|San Luis Potosí]], [[Querétaro (state)|Querétaro]] | region3description=The former colonial heartland, this is one of Mexico's most historic regions filled with well-preserved colonial towns that grew rich from silver mining. Includes [[San Miguel de Allende]] and [[Guanajuato]] amongst other lesser known towns. | region4name=[[Central Mexico]] | region4color=#a95858 | region4items=[[Hidalgo]], [[Mexico City]], [[Mexico State]], [[Morelos]], [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]], [[Tlaxcala (state)|Tlaxcala]], [[Veracruz (state)|Veracruz]] | region4description=Mexico City, always the political, cultural and economic center of the country with a sophisticated urban core and a huge urban sprawl surrounding it. Also includes the awesome ruins of Teotihuacan, the historic city of Puebla and Veracruz, one of the country's most overlooked regions. | region5name=[[Pacific Coast (Mexico)|Pacific Coast]] | region5color=#73abab | region5items=[[Colima (state)|Colima]], [[Guerrero]], [[Jalisco]], [[Michoacan]], [[Nayarit]], [[Oaxaca (state)|Oaxaca]] | region5description=Tropical beaches on Mexico's southern coast; Jalisco the birthplace of mariachi and Tequila; Guadalajara, the nation's second largest city; and the Oaxacan highlands, famous for their distinct cuisine. | region6name=[[Yucatán and the South]] | region6color=#67a864 | region6items=[[Campeche (state)|Campeche]], [[Chiapas]], [[Quintana Roo]], [[Tabasco]], [[Yucatán]] | region6description=Jungle and impressive Mayan archaeological sites, along with the Caribbean and Gulf coast with well-known resorts like Tulum and Cancun. The colonial city of Merida and the jungle ruins of Palenque. Geographically isolated from the rest of the country, part of Central America (the dividing line being the Isthmus of Tehuantepec), it is culturally closer to Guatemala and Belize than the rest of Mexico, where Mayan culture is very much alive. }} ==Cities== {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#65b99f|title=[[Baja California]]|wikidata=Q58731,Q46508}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#b9ad60|title=[[Northern Mexico]]|wikidata=Q655,Q53079,Q79918,Q15282,Q80252,Q46422,Q80007}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a463ad|title=[[Bajío|The Bajío]]|wikidata=Q79952,Q46475,Q80269,Q78980,Q79754}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#a95858|title=[[Central Mexico]]|wikidata=Q80903,Q1489,Q82112,Q66117,Q79923,Q82681,Q60130}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#73abab|title=[[Pacific Coast (Mexico)|Pacific Coast]]|wikidata=Q61309,Q60158,Q13160,Q79861,Q79920,Q34110}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#67a864|title=[[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]]|wikidata=Q80908,Q60123,Q80245,Q80914,Q60176}} {{Mapframe|22.53|-102.55|zoom=4}} [[File:Plaza de la Constitucion Ciudad de Mexico City.jpg|thumbnail|Plaza de la Constitución, also known as Zocalo, Mexico City]] <includeonly>THIS LIST SHOULD ONLY INCLUDE 9 CITIES - DO NOT ADD OR REPLACE CITIES WITHOUT FIRST USING DISCUSSION</includeonly> * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mexico City]]|wikidata=Q1489}} – Capital of the republic, one of the three largest cities in the world, and a sophisticated urban hub with a 700-year history. In Mexico City, you will find everything from parks, Aztec ruins, colonial architecture, museums, to nightlife and shopping. <!-- As of November 2021 there are travel warnings for Acapulco and the whole state. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Acapulco]]|wikidata=Q81398}} - A sophisticated urban beach setting known for its top-notch nightlife, elegant dining, and nightmarish traffic. Many of the older (pre-1990s) concrete structures have suffered tropical decay.--> * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Cancún]]|wikidata=Q8969}} – One of the world's most popular and famous beaches, known for its clear Caribbean waters, its lively party atmosphere, and its wealth of recreational facilities. During the U.S. college Spring Break (mid-Feb to the end of March) it is noted for drinking, sunburns, and debauchery. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Guadalajara]]|wikidata=Q9022}} – A traditional city, capital of [[Jalisco]] state, and the home of mariachi music and tequila. Guadalajara is blessed with perpetual spring weather and its colonial downtown is graceful and sophisticated. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mazatlán]]|wikidata=Q40194}} – Lively Pacific coast town, Mazatlán is a shipping port, a transportation hub with ferries to Baja California, and a beach resort destination with miles of sandy shore. It is a popular U.S. college Spring Break destination due to its variety of affordable lodging options. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Monterrey]]|wikidata=Q81033}} – A large modern city that is the commercial and industrial hub of Northern Mexico. Monterrey enjoys a dry, mountainous setting and is known for its high-quality educational and transportation infrastructure. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Puebla]]|wikidata=Q125293}} – Located 110 km (68 mi) southeast of Mexico City, Puebla is one of the largest and oldest cities in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated here more than anywhere else in the country. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[San Luis Potosí]]|wikidata=Q204271}} – A colonial city in central Mexico that was once an important silver producer, but today, relies on manufacturing for its economic base. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Taxco]]|wikidata=Q990095}} – In central Mexico west of [[Cuernavaca]], this steep mountain town was once a major silver producer, and now has a strong place in the trade of decorative silver, from cheap fittings to the most elegant jewelry and elaborate castings. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tijuana]]|wikidata=Q124739}} – Mexico's busiest border crossing for pedestrians and private vehicles, and a long-time bargain Mecca for southern Californians due to its proximity to [[San Diego]]. ==Other destinations== [[File:Barranca del Cobre-El Divisadero17-10-2005CIMG3344.jpg|thumbnail|The moon is rising over Copper Canyon]] <!--This section is to include only destinations that are NOT cities/towns.--> * {{marker|name=[[Copper Canyon]]|wikidata=Q674485}} (Barrancas del Cobre) – An exotic destination for travelers looking for a unique remote adventure! An awesome mountain rail ride -- one of the greatest in the world -- takes you upwards over 2,440 m (8000 feet) on the CHEPE, the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway. Hiking, horseback riding, birding, and Tarahumara Indians. Copper Canyon, the [[Sierra Madre]] and the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico. This area is designed for adventurous individuals who will tolerate some rough travel to get to their points of interest (although the famous train ride isn't demanding at all). Copper Canyon, a magnificent remote wilderness is not likely ever to become a mass market destination. * {{marker|name=Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California)|wikidata=Q132811}} – See whale birthings, swim with dolphins, and sea kayak in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez, along the eastern coast of Baja California, near La Paz. National Geographic says the sunsets at [[San Carlos (Mexico)|San Carlos]] are some of the most spectacular in the world. * {{marker|name=[[Monarch Butterfly Reserves]]|wikidata=Q852546}} – Protected natural areas in the highlands of the state of Michoacán. Millions of butterflies come to the area between November and March of each year, although numbers have declined sharply. This is a {{unesco}}. * {{marker|name=[[Chiapas|Sumidero Canyon]]|wikidata=Q60123}} – From docks on the Rio Grijalva (the only major river within Mexico) near [[Tuxtla Gutiérrez]] in Chiapas state, tour launches take you into this steep-walled [[Mexico national parks|National Park]]. You'll likely see vast flocks of flamingos, pelicans, and other waterfowl, as well as crocodiles. * {{marker|name=[[Mexico national parks]]}} - Mexico has 67 national parks; these include protected natural areas and national monuments and historical sites ===Archaeological sites=== [[File:Palace at Palenque.jpg|thumbnail|Palenque]] * {{marker|name=[[Chichen Itza]]|wikidata=Q5859}} – Majestic Mayan city, declared a {{unesco}} in 1988 and was voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. * {{marker|name=[[Ek Balam]]|wikidata=Q988570}} – A reconstructed Mayan site, famous for its unique decorated stucco and stone-carved temples that you can climb. * {{marker|name=[[El Tajín]]|wikidata=Q753895}} – In the state of Veracruz near the town of Papantla. A {{unesco}}. * {{marker|name=[[Monte Albán]]|wikidata=Q464899}} – In the state of Oaxaca, a Zapotec site dating from about 500 BC. A {{unesco}}. * {{marker|name=[[Palenque]]|wikidata=Q181427}} – Mayan city in the state of Chiapas, Palenque famous for its elaborate paintings. Also well known for having the largest tract of rainforest in Mexico located in the same area. * {{marker|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|wikidata=Q172613}} – An enormous pre-Columbian site with several large pyramids near Mexico City. A {{unesco}}. * {{marker|name=[[Tulum]]|wikidata=Q277408}} – Mayan coastal city with spectacular Caribbean vistas. Dates from late Mayan period. * {{marker|name=[[Uxmal]]|wikidata=Q213232}} – Impressive Mayan city-state in the Puuc Region, declared a {{unesco}} in 1996. ===Small towns=== The Mexican government has designated more than 100 scenic small towns as '''[[Pueblos Mágicos]]'''. States can apply to have towns added to the carefully curated list, but they must provide sites of genuine tourist value (historical or cultural) and guarantee adequate levels of tourism infrastructure. All Pueblos Magicos are within a few hours drive of a major city that has good airline connections. Some of the Pueblos Magicos (such as [[Tequila]]) are well-known and quite popular. Most are off the beaten path and offer rich opportunities for quiet exploration. ==Understand== {{quickbar|location=LocationMexico.png}} Mexico, the '''United Mexican States''' (Spanish: ''Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is one of the most visited countries in the world. Much of the tourist industry is centered around the beach resorts as well as the ''altiplano'' in the central part of the country. Visiting the northern interior allows visitors to get off the beaten path a bit. U.S. American tourists tend to predominate on the [[Baja California]] peninsula and the more modernized beach resorts ([[Cancún]], [[Puerto Vallarta]]), while European tourists congregate around the smaller resort areas in the south like [[Playa del Carmen]] and colonial towns [[San Cristobal de las Casas]]. Canadians often favor smaller beach resorts like [[Huatulco]] or [[Ixtapa]]. ===Climate=== Mexico uses the [[Metric and Imperial equivalents|metric system]] for all measurements. All weather forecasts are in Celsius (°C). ==== Central and southern Mexico==== April is already the hottest month, especially at the coast and on the Yucatán peninsula. Towns which aren't that hot in April and during the summer are [[Mexico City]], [[Toluca]]/[[Metepec]], [[San Cristobal de las Casas]], [[Pachuca]] and [[Zacatecas]]. Hurricanes can be common in the coastal cities specially those near the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. ====Northern Mexico ==== It gets rather cold during the winter except on the coast. There is sometimes snow in certain places like the [[Sierra Madre]] mountains of Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo León and northern Tamaulipas. Northern Mexico gets very hot during the summer with sudden violent storms in the afternoon, with heavy rain and hail. The temperatures during the day can exceed 39°C (100°F). Less hot during the summer is Tijuana. ===Landscape=== [[File:Citlalepetl2.JPG|thumbnail|Pico de Orizaba or Citlaltépetl is Mexico's highest mountain]] High, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; temperate plains with grasslands and Mezquite trees in the northeast, desert and even more rugged mountains in the northwest, tropical rainforests in the south and southeast [[Chiapas]], [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]] semiarid in places like [[Aguascalientes]], [[San Luis Potosí]] and temperate coniferous and deciduous forests in the central part of the country [[Mexico City]], [[Toluca]]. === Holidays === Actual non-working days may shift to the Monday before the holiday, so check an up-to-date calendar. Government offices are closed nationwide on official holidays and on election days. {| class="wikitable" !Date !Name !Things to know !Official? |- |January 1 |New Year's Day (''Año Nuevo'') | |official |- |January 6 |Epiphany (''Día de los Reyes Magos'') |Celebrating arrival of the Three Wise Men to see and bring gifts to the baby Jesus |not official |- |February 2 |Candlemas (''Día de la Candelaria'') |Catholic holiday related to Christmas |not official |- |First Monday of February |Constitution Day |For the events of 1917 |official |- |February 24 |Flag Day (''Día de la Bandera'') | |not official |- |Monday on or before March 21 |Birth of Benito Juárez |Mexico's first president of indigenous origin. |official |- |March or April |Easter (''Pascua'') |Easter is widely observed nationwide, according to the yearly Catholic calendar (the first Sunday after the first full moon in Spring). | |- |April 30 |Children's Day (''Día del Niño'') | | |- |May 1 |Labor Day (''Día del Trabajo'' ) | |official |- |May 5 |Cinco de Mayo |For the Battle of Puebla against the French army in 1862. Visitors from the U.S. may be surprised to learn that it is not a major holiday in Mexico, and is not much celebrated by locals, except in the [[Puebla (state)|state of Puebla]]. |not official |- |May 10 |Mother's Day |A particularly important family-centric holiday. Some cities hold parades. Offices may be closed, restaurants will be packed full, and mariachi bands will race from one family to the next. If you are visiting someone's home, bring flowers for the mothers and grandmothers. | |- |May 15 |Teacher's Day (''Día del Maestro'') |A day to appreciate schoolteachers. Some schools close and others have special activities. |not official |- |September 1 |Presidential Address Day | | |- |September 15 |Cry of Dolores (''Grito de Dolores'') |A patriotic holiday to celebrate the first event of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810, especially in the city of [[Dolores Hidalgo]] |not official |- |September 16 |Independence Day |Celebrates the start of the 11-year-long fight for the independence from Spain that began in 1810 |official |- |October 12 |Day of the Race (''Día de la Raza'') |Related to Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492 |not official |- |November 2 |[[Day of the Dead]](''Día de Muertos'') |The Mexican answer to Halloween celebrates family and friends who have died. Expect sugar candy shaped like skulls and ''pan de muerto'' (a somewhat sweet type of white bread). |not official |- |Third Monday of November |Mexican Revolution Day |For the events of 1910. |official |- |December 12 |Virgin Mary of Guadalupe Day |A Catholic religious holiday, and one of the most important Mexican holidays |not official |- |December 24 |Christmas Eve (''Nochebuena'') |Normally a full non-working day. Usually a family-centered evening. May be preceded by nine days of parties in the evenings, called ''Las Posadas'' ("the inns")''.'' |not official |- |December 25 |Christmas (''Navidad'') | |official |- |December 31 |New Year's Eve |Normally a full non-working day. Expect firecrackers and lots of noise at midnight. |not official |} ===Time=== [[File:Mexico time zones map en.svg|300px|thumbnail|Mexican time zones]] The 24-hour clock system has traditionally been used for time keeping. Today, both the 24-hour clock and the 12-hour clock are commonly used (roughtly equally), though the younger generation seems more inclined to express times using the 12-hour clock. Mexico uses these four time zones: * '''Northwest Zone''' (UTC−8, corresponds to U.S. Pacific Time): [[Baja California (state)]] * '''Pacific Zone''' (UTC−7, corresponds to U.S. Mountain Time): [[Baja California Sur]], [[Chihuahua (state)]], [[Nayarit]], [[Sinaloa]], [[Sonora]] * '''Central Zone''' (UTC−6, corresponds to U.S. Central Time): The rest of the country, except [[Quintana Roo]] * '''Southeastern Zone''' (UTC−5, corresponds to U.S. Eastern Time): [[Quintana Roo]] Most of Mexico is on standard time year round. Daylight savings time is observed only in a few places. Communities on the U.S. border, except in Sonora, observe DST on the U.S. schedule. The state of Baja California also observes DST on the U.S. schedule (but Baja California Sur does not). ===History=== ====Pre-Columbian==== {{see also|Indigenous cultures of North America|Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica}} Among the earliest complex civilizations in Mexico was the '''Olmec''' culture that flourished on the Gulf Coast in 1500 BCE. Olmec culture diffused through Mexico into formative era cultures in Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Valley of Mexico. In Central Mexico the height of the classical period saw the ascendancy of Teotihuacan, which formed a military and commercial empire. It had the largest structures of pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas. During the early post-classic Mexico was dominated by '''Toltec culture''', and the lowland '''Maya''' had important areas at Calakmul and Chichen Itza. At the end of the post-Classical period, the '''Aztecs''' built a tributary empire covering most of Central Mexico. The Mesoamerican cultural traditions ended in the 16th century and over the next centuries, Mexican indigenous cultures were under Spanish colonial rule. However, contrary to popular misconceptions neither the Maya nor the Aztec culture ever entirely "disappeared" and to this day many Mexicans trace at least part of their heritage to indigenous roots and language such as Nahuatl and numerous Maya tongues are still spoken by hundreds of thousands or even millions of Mexicans. Indigenous elements are visible even today in loanwords in Mexican Spanish, traditional dress, Mexican cuisine, architecture and even religious observances (nominally "catholic" to varying degrees). The eagle and the snake on a cactus depicted on the Mexican flag, for example, refers to an Aztec legend about the founding of Tenochtitlan, the city that now is Mexico City. ====Colonial and early independence==== {{main|Colonial Mexico}} Mexico remained under Spanish colonial rule until 1821 when it declared independence under the terms of "Plan of Iguala". After the short lived Mexican empire of 1821-1823 (former Spanish general and independence hero Augustin de Iturbide briefly declared himself emperor but was overthrown after two years) Mexico became a republic with a fragile balance of powers between liberals (allied mostly with urban merchants) and conservatives (allied with the church and big landholders) and Antonio López de Santa Anna became president several times while also being overthrown by his opponents several times thus having eight non-consecutive terms as president as well as five "permanent" exiles. ====Independent Mexico==== {{main|Mexican War of Independence}} The early Mexican state was anything but stable. Texas (under the leadership of US-American immigrants who wanted to make Texas a slave-holding state of the US) and Yucatán seceded at several points. Maya rebels fought against both the Yucatán independence movement and the federal government in the so-called "Caste war". After Texas gained ''de facto'' independence a disagreement as to its southern border (the Nueces river as claimed by Mexico or the Rio Grande as claimed by Texas) led to the involvement of the US in a brief war that ended in a devastating defeat for Mexico (the line about the "halls of Montezuma" in the marines' song refers to the presidential palace in Mexico city that was conquered by the US) and the loss of Alta California (now the US state of California), Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico as well as the definite loss of Texas north of the Rio Grande. The ceded territories were rapidly colonized by immigrants from Europe and the eastern United States; see [[Old West]]. ====French intervention and Second Mexican empire==== {{main|Post-Independence Mexico}} In 1861, when president Benito Juarez suspended the payment of Mexico's debt, France decided to invade the country in order to regain some or all of its money. This was only possible because the United States, which had declared in its Monroe Doctrine that it wouldn't tolerate any European intervention in the sovereign states of the Americas, started its [[American Civil War|Civil War]] that same year. After overthrowing the government (though Mexican resistance against the occupiers never ceased) the French installed a Habsburg prince as emperor Maximilian I to act as their puppet. While the Mexican monarchy had some support among conservatives its days were numbered when the French troops were withdrawn after the end of the American Civil war, and in 1867, Maximilian was executed by firing squad. Cinco de Mayo, which in the US is often mistaken to be "Mexican independence day", is celebrated in remembrance of the battle of [[Puebla]] that occurred during the French occupation and was decisively won by Mexican republican forces. ====Benito Juárez==== [[File:Estatua de Benito Juárez.jpg|thumb|Statue of Benito Juárez in [[Hidalgo]]]] Benito Juárez was the first president of indigenous descent in all of Latin America and is one very few figures that is still almost exclusively seen as a positive figure in Mexican history. He was president from 1858 to 1864 and again from 1867 to his death in 1872. His saying "el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz" (respect for the rights of others is peace) is still frequently quoted. ====Porfirio Díaz==== Porfirio Díaz, a general during the French intervention rose to power shortly after the death of Juárez and ruled Mexico from 1876 to 1911. While initially willing and able to reform and modernize the country, the sheer length of his reign and his corruption led to a lot of unhappiness about his government and in 1911 the Mexican revolution broke out to unseat him from power, but it soon devolved into factional fighting between various claimants for power and attempts at radical social and economic reform. ====The Mexican Revolution==== {{main|Mexican Revolution}} The Mexican Revolution was a complex civil war and period of political intrigue and treachery. The Revolution started in 1910 with resistance against a blatantly fraudulent election manipulated by Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution ignited into a full-scale war when the elected president, Francisco Madero, was assassinated by Díaz loyalists. Several factions had different complaints about Díaz and his long, corrupt dictatorship. Groups loyal to Venustiano Carranza wanted constitutional reforms. Groups loyal to Emiliano Zapata wanted land reforms and rights for the indigenous. Other groups demanded an end to resource giveaways to foreign industrial interests, while others demanded an end to excessive power of the Catholic church. The groups eventually coalesced behind the Constitutionalists and stable government was restored by 1920. ====Under the PRI==== {{main|Modern Mexico}} Once the dust of the revolution had settled, the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI [pronounced /pree/] for its Spanish name) became the dominant political force and all presidents before the early 1990s were members of the PRI. They did not establish a one party state and other parties were still legal and participated in elections. However, the success of the PRI candidate (especially at the federal level) was almost always a given. As such, political power struggles mostly took place within the PRI, with more conservative or left wing factions gaining the upper hand from time to time. In 1988, during a presidential election that was actually close for the first time in decades, a computer that counted the votes supposedly crashed. The words with which this was announced "se cayó el sistema" are noted for their ambiguity as they can mean either "the computer broke down" or "the (political) system fell". Nonetheless, according to the official result (which was and still is doubted by many), the PRI candidate won a six-year term in office just narrowly surpassing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff election. In 2000 the PRI finally lost its first presidential election when Vicente Fox of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) won a narrow victory in a three-way race. In 2006 the PAN won again with Felipe Calderon being elected president but in 2012 the PRI returned to power with Enrique Peña Nieto, who promised to end the drug war being elected to the presidency. Whether this proves temporary or the PRI has indeed regained its once dominant status, remains yet to be seen. ====Mexico today==== {{main|Modern Mexico}} Despite problems such as corruption and the drug war in the North (with some areas under ''de facto'' control of different cartels), Mexico has grown steadily, and there have been democratic multiparty elections with peaceful transition of power. A fairly stable three party system has emerged: the PAN (conservative) and PRI (centrist, catch all, sometimes leftist) have each won the presidency several times and the PRD (left of the PRI) has been a serious contender in almost all elections. The drug war is ongoing and some parts of the country are not entirely safe, but the situation has bettered a lot after the 2000s. Generally the North with cities such as Ciudad Juarez notorious for their violence is more dangerous than the south and Yucatán is among the safest regions in Latin America. For more on the effects of the drug war see the stay safe section of this article and the individual region articles. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) assumed power on December 1, 2018, after waging a populist, anti-corruption campaign and winning the 2018 election with more than a 30% margin over his next closest opponent. He is the leader of the center-left National Regeneration Movement (MORENA). Having had a reputation as a leftist firebrand in the past, AMLO has moderated his politics in order to appeal to a wider share of the electorate, though he remains a solidly left-leaning, populist politician. Under his leadership, Mexico has served as a moderator in wider Latin American politics, for example, in the Venezuelan and Bolivian crises, while also navigating relations with the United States government over trade and migrant issues. In 2024, Mexico elected Claudia Sheinbaum as its first female and first Jewish president to succeed AMLO. ===Visitor information === *[https://visitmexico.com/eng/home-2 Visit Mexico] website ==Get in== ===Visa and other entrance requirements=== {{Cautionbox|Holding a valid match ticket '''does not guarantee entry''' to Mexico for the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]]. You must get a visa in the appropriate visa category, otherwise you will be denied entry. Fans can apply for expedited visa interview appointments.|boldtext=FIFA World Cup Visas?}} ====Forma Migratoria Múltiple (FMM)==== [[File:Visa policy of Mexico.png|thumb|450px|Visa policy of Mexico]] [[File:Mexico entry.png|thumb|Mexican entry stamp]] Foreign nationals of many countries who intend to stay in Mexico fewer than 180 days for the purpose of tourism or 30 days for business can fill out a Forma Migratoria Múltiple (FMM, tourist card) at the border or upon landing at an airport after presenting a valid passport, for US$22. If arriving via air, it is included in the price of the fare. This service is available to citizens of [[Andorra]], [[Argentina]], [[Aruba]], [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Bahamas]], [[Barbados]], [[Belgium]], [[Belize]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Canada]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cyprus]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Estonia]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Great Britain]], [[Greece]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Hungary]], [[Ireland]], [[Iceland]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]], [[Jamaica]], [[Japan]], [[Latvia]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Lithuania]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Macau]], [[Malaysia]], [[Malta]], [[Marshall Islands]], [[Micronesia]], [[Monaco]], [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Norway]], [[Palau]], [[Panama]], [[Paraguay]], [[Peru]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Romania]], [[San Marino]], [[Singapore]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Spain]], [[South Korea]], [[Sweden]], [[Switzerland]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[United States]] and [[Uruguay]] (see official list [https://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php/page/Paises_No_Visa/en.html here]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}). Permanent residents of the United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, and Schengen area countries are also eligible for visas on arrival regardless of citizenship. The '''paper FMM card''' has a perforation that divides the card into two parts, of which the right side asks for some of the same information requested on the left side. At entry, after reviewing your passport and filled-out FMM, the immigration officer will stamp your passport and the FMM, separate the FMM along the perforation and give the right side of the FMM back to you with your passport. The paper tourist card is being phased out. At many ports of entry (including [[Benito Juárez International Airport|Mexico City's international airport]]), you will not have to complete a paper form. Rather, the immigration officer will stamp your passport. A '''digital version''' of the tourist card (FMMd, ''Forma Migratoria Múltiple Digital'') will be generated for you, which can be downloaded [https://www.inm.gob.mx/spublic/portal/inmex.html online]. If you have a paper FMM, keep it with your passport at all times. It is your responsibility to make sure the right side of the FMM is returned to the Mexican government at time of departure so that the bar code can be scanned, thus showing that you left the country on time. For example, if you are flying with Aeromexico, they will ask for your passport and FMM at check-in for your flight home, then staple your FMM to your boarding pass. You are expected to then hand the boarding pass together with your FMM to the gate agent as you board your flight. If you lose your FMM during your visit to Mexico, you may be subject to substantial delays and fines before you can leave the country. If you fly into Mexico on a commercial flight, your ticket already includes the cost (M$860) of the FMM and you absolutely do ''not'' need to pay it again upon exiting. You will need to prove to the border officials that you have already paid, by showing the following: #Your FMM card you received upon arrival, and #An itemized receipt from your flight purchase showing the Tourism Tax However, if you are traveling by land and your trip is 7 days or less, the FMM is free. There is also a fee of M$223 applied to flights leaving the country. Some foreign nationals are no longer granted the full 180 days by default as is it was in the past. You can arbitrarily be granted any number of days from 3 to the full 180 days depending on the whim of the immigration officer. Always check your passport stamp and FMM card upon arrival to determine how many days are granted before walking away from the immigration counter. Ask the immigration officer if you cannot read the handwriting to be sure how many days you are granted to stay in the country. ''Never'' assume that you are granted the full 180 days or they will automatically tell you if you are given less than 180 days. Travelers have reported to have been detained for over-staying the less than 180 day time allotted to them when they entered. ====Autorización Electrónica (SAE)==== The Electronic Authorization System (SAE, Autorización Electrónica) for travelling to Mexico is available online for nationals from [[Russia]], [[Turkey]], and [[Ukraine]]. Russians, Ukrainians, and Turkish citizens with permanent residency or a valid visa to Canada, the US, Japan, the UK, or any Schengen country don't need an SAE. Other nationalities must contact a Mexican consulate in order to find out the requirements for citizens of their country, and may have to apply for and obtain a visa in advance of travel. If you are in need of other information, Mexico has diplomatic offices in the following cities around the world. ====At the border==== If you cross the border via road, do not expect the authorities to automatically signal you to fill out your paperwork. You will have to locate the border office yourself. The immigration officer at your point of entry into Mexico can request that you demonstrate that you have sufficient economic solvency. The immigration officer can demand a round trip ticket. If you only booked a one-way ticket to Mexico, the airline may want to see a ticket that carries you out of Mexico. It could be that the airline wants to see that onward ticket as "early" as at the gate, where you may not have enough time to buy one. So have at least an onward ticket from specialized websites for around US$10 (Nov 2021) ready when heading to the airport for your flight for Mexico. If you do not intend to travel past the "border zone" and your stay does not exceed three days, U.S. and Canadian nationals require only a proof of citizenship. Reentry into the United States generally requires a passport, but a U.S. or Canadian Enhanced Drivers License (or Enhanced Photo ID) or U.S. passport card is acceptable for reentry by land or sea. ===By plane=== [[File:Fila Aeroméxico.JPG|thumbnail|Aeromexico planes at Benito Juarez International Airport]] ====From the United States and Canada==== There are hundreds of daily flights linking Mexico to cities large and small throughout North America. This includes legacy carriers such as Air Canada, Aeromexico, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta, and discount airlines such as JetBlue, WestJet, and Southwest Airlines. Also to be considered are the Mexican discount carriers '''Volaris''', which operate from several major US cities through their hubs in [[Mexico City]] and [[Guadalajara]], and '''Viva Aerobus''', which also operates from several major US cities through hubs in [[Mexico City]] and [[Monterrey]]. '''United Airlines'''/'''United Express''' fly to many smaller market Mexican cities and resort areas, including Aguascaliente, Chihuahua, Ciudad de Carmen, Durango, Huatulco, Leon/Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Merida, San Luis Potosi, Torreon, Tampico, Veracruz and Villahermosa. As in the United States and Canada, you will have to clear immigration ''and'' customs at your first Mexican port of entry, even though that airport may not be your final destination. (For example, many trips on Aeromexico will involve connecting through its Mexico City hub.) You will then have to re-check your bags and go through security again to proceed to your next flight segment. ====From Australia or New Zealand==== Fly from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne or Auckland (NZ) direct to Los Angeles on American Airlines, Delta, Qantas, and United. Air New Zealand offers one-stop air service from Australia and non-stop air service from Auckland to Los Angeles. Hawaiian Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui offer one- or two-stop air service to Los Angeles from Australia and New Zealand. Many airlines continue from [[Los Angeles International Airport|Los Angeles]] to Mexico including AeroMexico/Aeromexico Connect, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, United, and Volaris, some of which have interline or alliance ticketing and baggage check through. More options are available if connecting through another US city. Also, make sure to have a good look at visas beforehand – even just for transit you will need something for the US, and if you get a visa waiver, they treat Mexico as part of the US, meaning if you stay longer than 90 days in Mexico, you will need to travel further south before returning to the US. ====From Europe==== Most commercial airlines link Mexico directly from Europe. There are direct flights to [[Benito Juarez International Airport|Mexico City]] ({{IATA|MEX}}) and [[Cancun#By plane|Cancun]] ({{IATA|CUN}}) from Paris ({{IATA|CDG}}), [[London#By plane|London]] ({{IATA|LON}}), Madrid ({{IATA|MAD}}), [[Schiphol Airport|Amsterdam]] ({{IATA|AMS}}), and [[Frankfurt airport|Frankfurt]] ({{IATA|FRA}}). Some carriers will serve both Mexico City and Cancun while others will only serve one and not the other (usually only to Cancun such as those from Russia and Italy). Additional flights to Cancun from Europe may only be available as charters and some may operate during the winter months (December–February) only. It is always worth to compare flight offers from air carriers and charter companies who can bring you to Mexico City or Cancun via many European hubs. The flight duration from those cities is always approximately 11 hours. ===By train=== There are no international trains to Mexico. From the United States to Mexico the nearest '''[https://www.amtrak.com Amtrak]''' stations are in [[San Diego#By train|San Diego]], [[Yuma#By train|Yuma]], [[Del Rio#By rail|Del Rio]] and [[El Paso#By train|El Paso]]. The frequent ''[https://www.pacificsurfliner.com Pacific Surfliner]'' connects San Diego from [[San Luis Obispo]] via [[Los Angeles#By train|Los Angeles]]; while the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/sunset-limited-train Sunset Limited]'' and ''[https://www.amtrak.com/routes/texas-eagle-train.html Texas Eagle]'' pass by Yuma, El Paso and Del Rio between [[Los Angeles]] and [[San Antonio]]. In San Antonio the ''Texas Eagle'' continues northwards towards [[Chicago]] while the ''Sunset Limited'' continues east to [[New Orleans#By train|New Orleans]]. Amtrak trains do not cross the border into Mexico so passengers continue to the border by local public transportation or by taxi from the Amtrak station. The [https://www.trenmaya.gob.mx/ '''Tren Maya'''] has a station along the [[Belize]] border in the city of [[Chetumal]] with onward travel to [[Mérida (Mexico)|Merida]], [[Cancún]] or other destinations in the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]]. Bus service to Chetumal is available from Belize City and Belmopan. The Tren Maya also has two stops near the [[Guatemala]] border (at El Triunfo and at Boca del Cerro), but neither have scheduled transportation to any Guatemalan destinations. ===By car=== [[File:SanYsidroBorderCrossingByPhilKonstantin.jpg|thumbnail|Crossing into Mexico from the U.S. near Tijuana]] American automobile insurance does not cover you in Mexico; however, it is easy to obtain short-term or long-term tourist policies that include the mandatory liability coverage, theft and accident coverage for your vehicle, and often, legal assistance coverage. Should you decide to drive to Mexico, the [http://www.sct.gob.mx/ Transport and Communications Secretariat website] has free downloadable road maps. The first 20 km inside Mexico is referred to as "the hassle free zone". In this area, foreigners are not required to have tourist permits and can drive their foreign-registered vehicles without requiring a vehicle import permit. However, they must take care of any permits, duties or other legal requirements before proceeding onward into the interior. Government checkpoints (called ''garitas'') are generally 20-30km from the border. Traffic is often waved through, but vehicles can always be stopped for inspection. Checkpoints are common along the U.S./Mexico border from Tamaulipas through Sonora, but not common in Baja California, where vehicle import permits are never required (there is a checkpoint in La Paz, monitoring traffic coming off the [[Baja ferries]]). Foreign-plated vehicles must obtain necessary permits before being allowed into the interior of Mexico. This can be done at the border checkpoints by showing your vehicle title or registration, as well as immigration documents and a valid credit card. It is now possible to apply for your vehicle import permit online. Vehicle permits will only be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle, so the papers will have to be in the name of the applicant. The Baja California peninsula and the northern part of the State of Sonora do not require a permit. Driving a '''rental car''' from the United States into Mexico is possible with some of the large multinational companies, but the process is rather cumbersome. You will need to inform your car rental company in advance and purchase additional Mexican insurance (since U.S. car insurance does not cover Mexico), and you cannot drive beyond the border region into the interior of Mexico. You also cannot drop off a U.S. rental car in Mexico, and must return to the U.S. to drop it off. In the reverse direction, Mexican rental cars are usually not permitted to be driven into the U.S. Due to the contraband crossing the US-Mexico border (drugs and illegal immigration into the US, drug money and weapons into Mexico), expect long delays and thorough searches of vehicles when crossing the border. At some of the busiest crossings, expect a waiting time of 1–3 hours. ===By bus=== ''See main article, [[Bus travel in Mexico]]''. Buses are the most widely used transportation system in Mexico with routes going to all parts of the country. Long-distance buses are very comfortable and affordable. All border crossings have bus stations where buses can take you to interior cities, often to large bus terminals providing connections to virtually any major city or tourist destination. From the southern United States, many companies provide trans-border service with modern, comfortable buses that cross the border. You can take a bus from [[Chicago]] all the way to [[Mexico City]], though some companies will only take you to the border region where you can connect to a domestic Mexican bus company for onward travel to the interior of Mexico. A list of these companies is in [[Bus travel in Mexico]]. Buses are also available from Central America into Mexico. These buses usually go to [[Tapachula]], where you can connect to domestic Mexican bus companies for onward travel to the interior. Buses from [[Belize City]] will take you to [[Chetumal]] where you can connect to a Mexican bus or to the Tren Maya for onward rail journeys. ===By boat=== * Border crossing from [[Guatemala]]. * Cruise ships from the United States. ==Get around== Travelling in Mexico is most practical by bus, car, or air. Passenger transport by train is possible in some areas. most extensively in the Yucatán Peninsula, with its modern ''Tren Maya'' service. The '''Chihuahua del Pacifico''' railroad is one of the most scenic railroads in the world, passing through the Copper Canyon, and departing from Los Mochis on the Pacific coast, or Creel in the east. They cross each other roughly midways at '''Divisadero and Barrancas''' Copper Canyon stations at an altitude of 2100&nbsp;m (7000&nbsp;ft). ===By car=== {{main|Driving in Mexico}} [[File:Highway120PinalAmoles.JPG|thumbnail|Highway 120 passing through the village of Pinal de Amoles]] Due to a government scheme in the early 1990s to create infrastructure, the best roads are toll roads. Toll roads can be relatively costly but are much faster and better maintained. First-class buses generally travel by toll roads (and the toll is included in the ticket price). US vehicle insurance is not valid in Mexico. Mexican auto insurance has been required since 2018; if you have even a minor accident without insurance, you could land in jail. [http://www.mexipass.com/ MexiPass] and AAA offer Mexican auto insurance. When traveling on Mexican roads, especially near the borders with the United States and Guatemala, one will probably encounter several checkpoints operated by the Mexican Army searching for illegal weapons and drugs. If you are coming from the United States, you may not be used to this, and it can be intimidating. However, these are rarely a problem for honest people. Simply do what the soldiers tell you to do, and treat them with respect. The best way to show respect when entering a checkpoint is to turn your music down, lift sunglasses from your face, and be prepared to roll your window down. They should treat you with respect as well, and they usually do. If you are asked to unpack any part of your vehicle, do so without complaint. It is their right to make you completely unload in order for them to inspect your cargo. Tourists are often warned about travelling on roads at night. Although ''bandidos'' are rare in more metropolitan areas, err on the side of caution in more rural areas. The best bet is to drive during only daylight hours. Cattle, dogs, and other animals also can appear on the roadway unexpectedly, so if you do have to drive at night, be very cautious. If possible, follow a bus or truck that seems to be driving safely. Foreign drivers' licenses are recognized and recommended. Speeding tickets are common, and to ensure your presence at the hearing, the officer may choose to keep your license. He is within his rights to do so. Beware though, police officers are known to keep driver's licenses until they are given a bribe. At petrol (gas) stations, make sure the pump is zeroed out before the attendant begins pumping your gas so that you don't end up paying more than you should. Good maps are invaluable and the Mexico maps included in "North American Road Atlas" books are worse than useless. The Guia Roji maps are particularly good. If you arrive in Mexico by airplane but would like to drive around the country, all major car rental companies are present in Mexico. However, you must know that they operate under a franchise scheme, and therefore their policies and the overall way to do business are very different than those in other countries. Most of the times they will publish prices that may look very attractive, but may not include insurance, taxes and other mandatory fees, the best thing to do is call in advance to find out the final price to pay. There are some local companies which do include all bells and whistles in their rates, [https://www.veico.com/ Veico Car Rental]. [https://www.citycarrental.com/ City Car Rental] offers good prices and have rental offices as most major cities in Mexico. Throughout the mainland of North America including the Mexico, traffic moves on the right with most cars being left-hand-drive (as in Belize, Guatemala, and the United States). The only areas of North America that do not drive on the right are on some Caribbean Islands. ===By plane=== Major airlines hubs for all or several of the airlines are in [[Benito Juarez International Airport|Mexico City-Benito Juarez Airport]], Mexico City-Santa Lucia Airport (NLU), [[Guadalajara#By plane|Guadalajara]], [[Cancún International Airport]], and [[Monterrey#By plane|Monterrey]]. There are additional point to point services from several other cities. Budget airlines offer competitive fares that rival bus travel over long distances. The low-cost airlines are VivaAerobus and Volaris. The main airlines providing service to over 60 cities within Mexico are: * {{listing | name=Aeromexico/Aeromexico Connect | alt= | url=https://www.aeromexico.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 55 5133-4000 (MX) | tollfree=+1-800-237-6639 (US) | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-22 | content=It is the 'national' and 'legacy' carrier with hubs in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. It is also a member of the SkyTeam Alliance. }} * {{listing | name=Mexicana | alt= | url=https://www.mexicana.gob.mx/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-11-04 | content=In 2023, the Mexican government resurrected the formerly bankrupt carrier and will operate it as a state airline. Mexicana will initially focus on domestic routes only, serving all major cities and resort areas in Mexico. The airline operates on a hub and spoke model with all flights originating or ending at Mexico City - Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Angeles (AIFA) ({{IATA|NLU}}) in the northern suburb of Santa Lucia. The airline uses Boeing 737 aircraft with some routes operated by TAR Aerolineas using Embraer aircraft. }} * {{listing | name=VivaAerobus | alt= | url=http://www.vivaaerobus.com/mx | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-22 | content=Low-cost, Ryanair-like airline with hubs in Cancun, Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara and new focus cities in Merida and Puebla, and service from the USA. }} * {{listing | name=Volaris | alt= | url=https://www.volaris.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 55 1102-8000 | tollfree=+1 855 865-2747 (US) | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-22 | content=Hubs are in Mexico City, Tijuana and Guadalajara with focus cities in Cancun, Monterrey and Leon. They also have an additional hub in San Jose Costa Rica and a focus city in Los Angeles, outside of Mexico. They have services to cities in the U.S., Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. }} There are also small airlines operating within certain areas such as: * {{listing | name=Aerus | alt= | url=https://flyaerus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 811 495 5340 (only WhatsApp) | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-07-12 | content=Regional airline based in [[Monterrey]] serving Northern Mexico and the Gulf Coast, including destinations in Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Tabasco. }} * {{listing | name=Calafia Airlines | alt= | url=https://www.calafiaairlines.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 619 489-1439 (US) | tollfree=01 800 5603949 (MX) | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-22 | content=Operates scheduled flights between cities in the Baja California Peninsula and from the Baja California Peninsula to Chihuahua, Jalisco, Sonora and Sinaloa states. It connects the Baja California Peninsula to Leon (Guanajuato), Monterrey (Nuevo Leon), Mexico City and San Luis Potosi, all in the smaller aircraft. It connects Palenque and Tuxtla Gutierrez (Chiapas) to Mexico City and Cancun. It also offers charters and air taxi services. }} * {{listing | name=Aerotucán | alt= | url=https://aerotaxisdemexico.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 951 502 0840, +52 951 187 6202 (WhatsApp) | tollfree=800 640-4140 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-02 | content=Flies between Oaxaca City, Ciudad Ixtepec, Huatulco and Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca state in small planes. }} * {{listing | name=Señor Air | alt= | url=https://www.senorair.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-07-24 | content=Small regional carrier based out of [[Los Cabos]] ({{IATA|SJD}}) operating a limited route map with service to mainland destinations in Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Jalisco using Embraer aircraft. }} * {{listing | name=TAR | alt= | url=http://www.tarmexico.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 55 2629-5272 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-02 | content=Hub in Queretaro with focus cities in Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Puerto Vallarta to several destinations nationwide. Operates Embraer regional jets. }} On the Viva Aerobus fares "Zero" and "Light", you cannot check in earlier than 4 hours and 8 hours before departure respectively. As of Nov 2021, the website and app won't tell you that if you try it earlier. Instead giving you a random error message or telling you to check-in at the airport for additional cost, which is not needed. ===By bus=== ==== Intercity buses==== See main article, [[Bus travel in Mexico]] Long-distance buses are an ideal way to experience Mexico. The executive and first-class buses are very modern, clean, and comfortable with bigger seats and more legroom than the first-class cabin of a modern aircraft. Costs are generally low, with first-class tickets costing only slightly more than a much slower second-class bus. All major cities and tourist destinations have good bus service. ==== City buses ==== Most larger cities have a mix of public bus services and privately run bus services. For example, in [[Mexico City]] there are several bus services that are part of the public Metro transportation including large, modern articulated buses that run in dedicated lanes on major arteries, as well as electric buses and traditional buses through most neighborhoods. In the city of [[Monterrey]], there are Metrobuses that operate as part of the city's public transit network, often connecting to the Metrorrey subway/light rail stations. There are also more than a dozen private bus companies, usually providing services to a well-defined section of the city. Using the city buses can be complicated, involving various transfers and sometimes multiple providers. Information about these may be in individual destination articles here, but is more reliable in the [https://moovitapp.com/ Moovit] app (available for iPhone or Android). ==== Colectivos, combis, peseros ==== Many cities in Mexico have privately operated van or small bus services that run along popular routes. These go by various names including ''peseros'', ''colectivos'', ''urbanos'', or ''combis''. Whatever you call them, they are sometimes vans and sometimes small buses with varying color codes depending on the city you are in and often identifying the operator or route. Usually the route taken is written on cardboard attached to the windshield or with wet and then dried soap or chalk on the windshield listing the local colonias (neighborhoods) and points of interest (Allende, WalMart, Soriana, malls, hospitals, universities, etc.) the routes are not numbered and the schedules are often informal. When a combi gets full, it leaves and won't pick up passengers along the way until somebody gets off. In some cities the pesero stops at marked bus stops while in others bus stops are uncommon and you are expect to signal the bus to pick you up (wave or hold out your hand) and drop you off when you want. If you don't find a stop button in a pesero; just shout the word ''bajo!'' for it to stop. Fares are cheap and vary from M$5-15 (Feb 2022) approximately. ===By carpooling === You can check, if there are rides offered for your route on Blablacar. Especially between bigger cities the chances are good. In order to see the prices in pesos, you need to (re)install the app and choose Mexican pesos. Prices are about 30-50% less than taking an intercity bus. ===By train=== [[File:Tren maya en Mérida Teya 01.jpg|thumb|Tren Maya]] Intercity trains are slowly making a comeback in Mexico, after a 25-year hiatus. The vast majority of cities are not served but as of 2025 a few lines have opened and there are plans for major expansions over the coming years. * [https://www.trenmaya.gob.mx/ ''Tren Maya''] serves the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]] and the [[Riviera Maya]]. The route goes along the Caribbean coast between [[Cancun]] and [[Chetumal]] at the Belize border. It provides access to [[Merida]] and has stations at archaeological sites like [[Chichen Itza]], [[Edzna]], [[Tulum]], and [[Palenque]]. * [https://www.pasajerosinteroceanico.com.mx/ ''Tren Interoceánico''] runs across the Tehuantepec isthmus between [[Salina Cruz]] on the Pacific Ocean and [[Coatzalcocos]] on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Tren Interoceanico also has a line that connects Coatzalcocos to [[Palenque]] where passengers can transfer to the Tren Maya. * ''El Insurgente'' is an intercity train in [[Mexico State]] connecting to the [[Mexico City]] Metro at the Observatorio station. ====Tourist trains==== [[File:Copper Canyon Railway.jpg|thumb|''El Chepe'' through the Copper Canyon]] The most famous tourist train in Mexico is the [https://chepe.mx/en/ ''Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico''] (Chihuahua-Pacific Railway or ''El Chepe'') between [[Los Mochis]], [[Sinaloa]], and the town of [[Creel]], [[Chihuahua]], through the gorgeous [[Copper Canyon]]. In the state of Jalisco there are a couple of lines which travel from the state capital city of [[Guadalajara]] to the nearby tequila distilleries in the small town of Amatitlan on the [https://www.tequilaexpress.mx/ ''Tequila Express''] and to the Jose Cuervo distilleries in the town of [[Tequila]] on the [http://www.josecuervoexpress.com ''Jose Cuervo Express'']. There is also a tourist train that runs from [[Tijuana]] to [[Tecate]] (and back again) on Saturdays. ===By taxi=== Ride-hailing is available in Mexico and the following are the most anticipated providers. There may be destinations where the service is not available due to differences with local cab groups. * {{go | name=Uber | alt= | url=https://www.uber.com/global/en/cities/mexico-city | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-05-31 | content=Works in Mexico City and other cities. }} * {{go | name=Cabify | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-05-31 | content= }} * {{go | name=Didi | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-05-31 | content= }} * {{go | name=Bolt | alt= | url=https://bolt.eu | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-05-31 | content=Includes three cities. }} Many drivers in Mexico do not like payment by credit card. If you're having trouble hailing a ride, try switching to cash payment. ===By thumb=== One upside of the high petroleum prices is that hitching is beginning to be more common in Mexico again, particularly the rural areas. In areas near big cities, hitching should be more difficult, and is not really advisable for security reasons. However, in village areas, this will be really possible and most likely a nice experience. Since villagers have always had a hard time affording gas, and nowadays many are turning to picking up paying hitchhikers as a way to afford the next trip into town. Baja California, the Sierra Tarahumara and Oaxaca and Chiapas all have good possibilities for the hitchhiker. [[Hitchhiking]] possibilities vary according to region. Mexican culture is often accepting of hitchhiking and it's a common practice among Mexican youngsters going to the beach in Easter vacations, though in some cases a money contribution is expected for gas because of its relatively high prices. You should make it clear that you have no money to offer before accepting the ride, if this is the case. If you're willing to pay, trucks will often provide lifts for about half the price of a bus ticket. Of course you may be able to negotiate a better deal. Hitchhiking is considered fairly safe and easy in the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]]. ==Talk== {{see also|Spanish phrasebook}} '''Spanish''' is the ''de facto'' national language. Spanish is used by virtually the whole population and all public communications (signs, documents, media, etc.) are conducted in the language. Mexico has one of the richest diversity of more than 60 '''indigenous languages''' spoken with official recognition. These languages are spoken within the communities that are largely segregated from mainstream mestizo society. About 5% of Mexicans speak an indigenous language. Most of these communities are fluent in Spanish as well. Many Mexicans do not speak English, even though it is understood by many in Mexico City, tour guides, and workers in popular tourist attractions. Because of this, a good knowledge of Spanish is essential for the independent traveller. The most popular foreign languages to learn within Mexico after English are French, Italian, German and Japanese. German, French, and Russian may be known by some in the tourism industry, but among clerks, policemen, and drivers (most particularly the last) there is basically no such thing as knowledge of foreign languages. Bilingual signs in Spanish and English might be available in popular tourist destinations. ==See== [[File:Tochimilco portada.jpg|thumbnail|Popocatépetl's 16th century monasteries are World Heritage Sites]] Many travelers come to see Mexico's natural wonders, including: * '''Copper Canyon''' - ride the train through an enormous canyon system in the northwestern mountains * '''Mesoamerican Barrier Reef''' - scuba dive the coral reefs in the warm waters of the Mexican Caribbean * '''Sea of Cortez''' - see migrating whales, sea lions, dolphins and more * '''Volcano Belt''' - climb Mexico's highest mountain peaks and see active, dormant, and inactive volcanoes There are 35 [[UNESCO World Heritage Site|UNESCO world heritage sites]] in Mexico as of 2018, more than anywhere else in the Americas. Most of them are in the cultural category and relate to either the pre-Columbian civilizations in the area or to early colonial cities established by the Spanish ''conquistadores'' and missionaries. Much of Mexico is mountainous with some mountains rising higher than 5,000 m over the sea level. Mexico is on the border of two bioregions; both [[North American wildlife]] and [[Central and South American wildlife]] can be seen in the country. A number of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are in Mexico as well as a number of RAMSAR wetlands. The Mexican Tourism Ministry (SECTUR) has a program called ''[[Pueblos Magicos]]'' to identify and develop tourist programs in smaller, lesser known destinations. Towns designated as Pueblos Magicos usually are rich in colonial heritage, maintain cultural traditions, or offer spectacular natural wonders. These towns are the kinds of places a couple would go for a romantic weekend because they often feature interesting historical sites in a quaint setting with local bed and breakfast inns, regional cuisine in the local restaurants, and good accessibility from major cities. == Do == [[Image:Mayan ruins at Tulum Mexico.jpg|thumb|300px|Mayan Ruins of Tulum]] The warm Mexican climate, spectacular nature and long coastline make the country great for [[outdoor life]], especially [[water sport]]. * '''Surfing''' – [[Baja California]], [[Vallarta]], [[Oaxaca (state)|Oaxaca]] * '''Sea kayaking''' – Baja California * '''Snorkeling''' – Baja California, Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, etc. * '''[[Diving in Mexico|Scuba diving]]''' – Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas etc., and cave diving in the cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula. * '''Whale watching''' – Baja California, [[Guerrero Negro]], [[Mazunte]], [[Zipolite]] * '''White water rafting''' – Veracruz * '''Visit a volcano''' – Mexico, Toluca etc. * '''Take a ride on the Copper Canyon Railway''' * '''Enjoy the beautiful coast line and beaches of Oaxaca''' – [[Huatulco]], [[Mazunte]], [[Zipolite]], Puerto Angel, [[Puerto Escondido]], etc. * Go for a '''horseback ride''' in the Copper Canyon * '''Visit the archaeological sites''' like Chichen Itza, Tulum, Coba, Monte Alban, Calakmul, Palenque, etc. * '''Volunteering''' – Chiapas, Xalapa, Veracruz or many other destinations * '''Visit ecological parks''' – [[Mayan Riviera]], [[Chiapas]], [[Tamaulipas]] * '''Trekking and viewing cave paintings''' [[Baja California]] ===Sports=== '''[[Association football|Football]]''' (soccer) is Mexico's national sport, and its top men's league, the '''[http://www.ligamx.net/ Liga MX]''', is one of the best funded outside Europe. The big four teams in the Liga MX are '''[http://www.clubamerica.com.mx América]''', '''[http://www.chivasdecorazon.com.mx Chivas]''', '''[http://www.cruzazulfc.com Cruz Azul]''' and '''[http://www.pumas.mx/ Pumas]'''. The rivalry between [[Guadalajara]]'s Chivas and [[Mexico City]]'s América, known as ''El Súper Clásico'', ''El Clásico de Clásicos'' or just ''El Clásico'', is the biggest in Mexico, and fixtures between the two sides are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. In [[Northern Mexico]], the biggest game of the year is the ''Clasico Regio'', pitting Monterrey's two top teams against each other. The Mexican national team is also a regional powerhouse, and matches against its northern neighbor, the [[United States]], are particularly charged affairs. '''Baseball''' is the second biggest team sport in the country with two leagues, [https://www.milb.com/mexican/ Liga Mexicana de Beisbol] (LMB) and the [https://www.lmp.mx/ Liga Pacifica] (LMP)(sponsored by ARCO). The best players make it to Major League Baseball teams in the U.S., but that is not a universal goal in Mexico, where many players enjoy long careers (particularly in the Mexican League teams) and are relatively well paid. The Liga Mexicana began in 1925. It is organized as two divisions, North and South, with 18 teams playing a 114-game season, from April to September. Teams are located in many popular tourist destinations including [[Cancun]] (Tigres), [[Mexico City]] (Diablos Rojos), [[Guadalajara]] (Mariachis), [[Monterrey]] (Sultanes), and [[Tijuana]] (Toros). The LMP is a winter league with 10 teams, mostly in the states of [[Sinaloa]] and [[Sonora]], but with teams in [[Mexicali]] (Aguilas), [[Guadalajara]] (Charros), and [[Monterrey]] (Sultanes). Monterrey and Guadalajara are the two cities with teams in both leagues, so you can catch a game there at almost any time of the year. '''[[American Football]]''' has a long tradition in Mexico but has often been relegated to third fiddle by the more popular soccer and baseball. Estadio Azteca has seen a handful of NFL games (including, at a time, the best attended NFL game in league history up to that point) and besides a long-standing college league, there is now also a professional league with teams focused in and around Mexico City. '''[[Bullfighting]]''', also referred to as ''la fiesta brava'', is a popular (but declining) spectator sport with a long Hispanic tradition stretching back as far as 2,000 years. Tradition crashes headlong into the modern world when it comes to bullfighting, where animal rights activists fight a constantly escalating war against bullfighting. Proponents of bullfighting point not only to the colorful traditions, but to the fact that the "industry" supporting bullfighting creates 18,000 jobs nationwide. Activists say it's a barbaric, bloodthirsty tradition that has no place in a civilized world. The debate is ongoing and while Mexico City's first bullfight was held in 1526, many people would be happy if no 500th anniversary could take place. Mexico City's Plaza de Toros (Plaza Monumental) is the world's largest bullring and is regarded as being part of the "triple crown" of bullfighting, alongside Madrid and Sevilla. While animal rights activists succeeded in having bullfights blocked in Mexico City in 2022, the case was overturned on appeal and bullfights have resumed in the capital. Bullfights usually occur between November and March, but the season varies by location. In [[Tijuana]], bullfights occur between April and October. In some smaller towns, bullfights are held only in conjunction with large festivals. In any case, travellers who might want a genuine bullfight experience should make plans to visit Mexico soon because the tradition of bullfighting may not last forever. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{exchange rates | currency=Mexican pesos | currencyCode=M$ | date=June 2026 | USD=17 | EUR=20 | GBP=23 | CAD=12 | source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/mxn-mexican-peso XE.com] }} The currency of Mexico is the ''peso'', denoted in Mexico as "'''$'''" (ISO code '''MXN''') and in Wikivoyage as "'''M$'''". It is divided into 100 ''centavos''. Prices in US dollars (in tourist areas) are labeled "US$" or sport an ''S'' with a double stroke. Coins are issued in denominations of 5, 10 (steel), 20, and 50 centavos (brass; new 50-centavo coins issued from 2011 onwards are steel and smaller in size) and 1, 2, 5 (steel ring, brass center), 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos (brass ring, steel or silver center), but it's extremely rare to find coins valued at more than 10 pesos. Banknotes are produced in denominations of 20 (blue or green and pink), 50 (pink-red or purple), 100 (red), 200 (green), 500 (brown or blue), and 1,000 (purple and pink for the latest issue, purple for older issues) pesos. The current issue of 20-, 50- and 100-peso bills are made from polymer plastic, and there are several different series of all banknotes. Ten-peso notes exist, but are very rare and no longer issued and accepted, but remain legal tender. ====Acceptance of other currency==== "Old" pesos (coins and banknotes issued before 1993) are no longer accepted, but are usually collected by numismatists. Merchants may accept US dollars at a lower exchange rate. US dollars are sometimes accepted in border towns and in some tourist areas. Even when US dollars are accepted, pesos are preferred. Other currencies such as the euro, pound sterling, and Swiss franc are generally not accepted by merchants, and even banks headquartered in Europe may refuse to accept euros for exchange. On the other hand, most banks and exchange offices (''casas de cambio'') will accept them. If you arrive from the south and still carry Central American currency, try to exchange them as soon as possible, as outside of the immediate border area not even banks will accept them. As all Central American countries either have the US dollar as their national currency (El Salvador and Panama) or have it circulating to varying degrees as a ''de facto'' second currency and virtually all banks in Central America and most banks in Mexico accept US dollars (usually at better rates than any other currency) your best bet is to "triangulate" your money from local currency to dollars and from dollars to pesos rather than exchanging them directly, which can be difficult and expensive. Should you have forgotten to exchange your money and the banks are closed, street money changers (called ''coyotes'' or ''cambistas'') don't have fixed opening hours and often have better rates. Be careful, however, as they do from time to time rip off foreign visitors with bogus calculators, wrong rates and counterfeit or outdated (and thus worthless) bills. ====Money exchange==== If you have brought cash in US dollars or euros, the best places to change your money are at an arrival airport (such as Mexico City and Cancun), where many money exchanges are located already in the arrival hall (where you can also compare some exchange rates and choose the most convenient) and, normally, at airports, the exchange rate is usually fair. Be sure to pass through Customs before looking for foreign exchange as inside the customs zone in Cancun the rate is far lower than the greediest street vendors ask. If you would like to wait until later to obtain Mexican currency, try not to change at your hotel, as the rates there tend to be extremely disadvantageous for tourists. However, some hotels provide exchanges as a courtesy, in this case it is best to ask just to make sure. Often, you can find money exchanges at strategic places in most tourist destinations and near the hotel (zones). The exchanges rates should not differ drastically from the ones at airport. If you are unfamiliar with Mexican money (bills, coins), try to stick to official foreign exchange booths. In several internationally popular beach destinations like Cancun and Los Cabos, local merchants are accustomed to US dollars and will often accept them as payment (they even have dual-currency cash registers and drawers). However, do bear in mind that the convenience of such “private” money exchange usually comes with a slightly unfavorable exchange rate. ===Shopping=== If there is no price tag, ''ask for the price first''. The simple question is "¿Cuánto cuesta?" and is easily understood by Mexicans. Some shops show the price in '''pesitos'''. That's the diminutive of peso and means the same. [[File:2013-12-27 Oaxaca Markt 03 anagoria.JPG|thumbnail|Spices for sale at a market in Oaxaca]] * Weights are measured in kilograms. Length is measured in centimeters and meters. * For clothes and shoe sizes, the "Continental" measurements are used. Merchants can be picky about the state of your paper money and may scrutinize it and reject anything with rips. Try to keep it in as pristine condition as possible. Reputedly, this is more the case the farther south you go. In any case, you can easily enter a bank with some damaged bill to get it exchanged into another one. Merchants are often reluctant to make change in smaller towns. Try to avoid paying with overly large denominations; the best customer has exact change. In rural areas, your 'change' may consist of chiclets or other small commodities. Merchants, specially those in small markets ("tianguis") and street vendors are no strangers to haggling. Try asking "¿Es lo menos?" ("Is this the smallest price?"), The more rural and less touristy the area you're likely to have more success. *'''[[Mexican artesanias|Artesanias]]'''. A visit to anywhere in Mexico will give one the opportunity to buy art made in the "old world" manner that reflects the diverse ethnicity of Mexico. Included in these articles would be textiles, wood carvings, paintings and carved masks that are used on sacred dances and burials. In many parts of Mexico, artists welcome visitors to their workshops to see how things are made and often to buy "direct from the source". *'''Timeshares'''. When visiting the '''resort''' cities of Mexico (e.g. Cancun, Puerto Vallarta or similar), it is more than common to be approached on the streets, in bars, in restaurants and anywhere with offers of gifts, free rental cars, free nights, free dinners, free anything that may appeal to you, just for visiting and listening to a presentation to buy a timeshare. Unless you are severely desperate for something to do, you may want to ignore those making the offer and stay away from those ''free'' offers. While the properties are very nice, great locations and plenty of amenities, this is not the place to ''learn'' about timeshares. Do your homework before even thinking about buying a timeshare, see what the values are in the ''resale'' market and understand the ''rights'' you are buying and the future costs. Collecting on the ''free'' offers may be difficult, if not impossible. * '''Automobiles'''. It's certainly worth going over and importing a car back from there, although importing it to the EU/US standards is the hard part. Recommended are the Ford Fusion (like the British Ford Mondeo, but more upmarket) and the Chrysler 200 (the 2.4 model is worth it). Volkswagens can be substantially better-equipped than European or North American counterparts. The Passat sold in Mexico is not the same car as in Europe, and is substantially bigger, however, engines are the same as in Europe, except for the 2.5 petrol. * '''Cuban cigars'''. are a fun novelty for tourists from the US and are widely available. It's still illegal to bring them back to the US, although the worst that's likely to happen is they'll be confiscated by customs. ====Credit cards and debit cards==== Credit cards and debit cards (with Maestro or MasterCard/Visa affiliation) are widely accepted in Mexico. You can use them at ATMs as well as in most department stores, bigger restaurants, gas stations, but be sure that outside cities you always carry sufficient cash in pesos, and generally verify the possibility to pay with card before consumption. Smaller (often family run) businesses often accept only cash. Most of the time, an extra 5% when paying with card is added. Also, you cannot get lower prices if you haggle unless you pay cash. While many Pemex stations accept credit cards, especially in locations that have heavy tourist traffic, some do not; travellers who intend to pay by credit card should always ask the attendant if the card is accepted before pumping begins. ====ATMs==== Bank of America customers can avoid ATM fees by using Santander Serfin ATMs. Other banks may have similar policies, check with your respective institution. For example, Banamex bank is owned by Citibank/Citigroup, and Bancomer is owned by BBVA, which is related to Chase in the United States. Ask to your bank if they have relation with Mexican banks, and the advantages that such ally can provide. Otherwise, do not be surprised to find yourself with a fee for each withdrawal. ATMs ask you if you want to accept the shown fee. In some ATMs you need to put your credit card inside crosswise. 5 Lowest ATM fees used with UK issued Mastercard, January 2024: Inbursa M$22.04, BanBajio M$23.20, Banca Mifel M$26.68, BanCoppel M$29, CitiBanamex M$30.74. As of January 2024, other fees are: Banco Azteca M$34.80, Santander M$34.80, HSBC M$35.84, Banorte M$58.00, Multiva M$67.28, Banregio M$81.20, BBVA M$174 pesos There is no difference between Mastercard and Visa. ATMs in smaller towns can run out of currency; sometimes this is a regular occurrence. Check with the bank (or locals) about the best time to use the ATM and never wait until the last minute to get cash. ===Tipping=== [[Tipping]] in Mexico is similar to the United States. It is usually from 10 to 15%. Meals have a 10% to 15% tip (this includes fast food deliveries). This tip is usually left by most people in restaurants, although it is not so common in street restaurants or stands, where the tenders usually have a can or box where people deposit coins. It is generally common to leave a tip on the table after paying and therefore having small change is very useful. Mexican bars and night clubs often charge directly to the bill 15% of the total amount (taxes included). That is illegal in most cases because of the imposition of the tip and because they calculate the 15% with taxes included. In large groups, or in nightclubs the barmen expect the customers to deposit their tip in a cup left on the table before serving the drinks so the service they give is in function with the tip they received. It is also customary to give a tip to the person who sometimes guard the car as if they were valet parking; in Mexico these people are often called ''viene viene'' (literally: "comes, comes") or ''franeleros'' and usually people give them M$3-20 depending on the zone, although they sometimes ask for bigger sums of money when the car is left close to a night life area. In medium and large retail stores such as Wal-Mart there are uniformed helpers, usually children or the elderly, who bag the products just after the clerk has scanned them. This role is called ''cerillo'' (Spanish for "match"). It is common for these helpers to not have a basic salary, so all the money earned is from the tips people give them. Most customers give M$2-5 depending on the number of products. Cerillos also put the bags in the cart and if the load is large they can even help bringing it to the car and unloading the bags; in these cases, they normally receive more than M$15. Tipping is not expected in cabs or buses, except when it is a tour. In some populated Mexican restaurants wandering musicians enter, play, and expect the customers to pay something, although this is voluntary. In filling stations, the workers usually get M$2-5 for every gasoline load. In stadiums people give a small tip to the person who shows the place where they should sit. Tips are also given to bellboys, barbers and people that work in similar services. ==Eat== [[File:TacoPlacesPetatlan.JPG|thumbnail|Taco stalls]] [[File:Gordita.jpg|thumbnail|Gordita]] {{see also|Mexican cuisine}} [[Mexican cuisine]] can be described better as a collection of various regional cuisines rather than a standard list of dishes for the whole country. Because of climate, geography and ethnic differences, we can classify Mexican cuisine broadly in 4 great categories according to the region: * '''Northern''' – Mostly meat dishes done mainly from beef and goat. This includes Cabrito, Carne Asada (Barbecue) and Arrachera. It is influenced by international cuisine (mostly from the United States and Europe), but it retains the essential Mexican flavor. * '''Central''' – This region is influenced by the rest of the country, but has its own well-developed local flavor in dishes such as Pozole, Menudo and Carnitas. Dishes are mostly corn-based and with different spices. * '''Southeastern''' – Is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. Caribbean cuisine have influences here because of the location. * '''Coast''' – Has a strong emphasis on seafood and fish, but corn-based recipes can be easily found as well. Ask for the "platillo tipico" of the town, which is the local speciality that may not be found elsewhere, a variation, or the birthplace of a recipe. Also consider that most of the recipes change from place to place: for example, tamales in the south are made with the banana plant leaves, and in the Huasteca region tamales are very big (they are called "Zacahuil"); one is OK for a complete family. If you are travelling here from [[Spain]] or elsewhere in [[Latin America]], keep in mind that many Mexican dishes can have the same name, but be very different from their counterparts elsewhere. For instance, a Mexican ''tamal'' is very different from a Colombian ''tamal'', and a Mexican ''tortilla'' bears virtually no similarity at all to a Spanish ''tortilla''. Traditional Mexican food can often be very spicy; if you are not used to peppers, always ask if your food includes it. "(''¿Esto tiene chile? Es picante?'')." There are many [[street food|food carts]] on the streets of Mexican cities and towns. Travelers are advised to eat from these carts with caution, as hygienic preparation practices are not always reliable. You can measure the quality of food by popularity; do not eat in lonely places, even if they are restaurants or hotels. Consider that Mexicans eat their main meal in the middle of the afternoon (around 3 o'clock), with breakfast or "almuerzo", a mid-morning affair after a very light something, like a small plate of fruit or a roll with coffee, in the very early morning. Although, many Mexicans have large breakfasts in the morning. Later, at night the meal varies from very light, such as sweet rolls or breads, coffee or hot chocolate, to heavy dinner, such as pozole, tacos, and tamales. Schedule your meals accordingly and you will get a better perspective on the gauge of how busy (popular) a restaurant is. In doing so, you may (or may not) find some of the most unique and genuinely Mexican dishes you've ever had. From these vendors, you may find tacos, burgers, bread, roasted field corn or elote served with mayonnaise, or a light cream, and sprinkled with fresh white cheese, roasted sweet potato called camote, and almost any kind of food and service you would imagine. * '''Chicharrón''' – Deep fried pork skin. Quite crunchy and if well-prepared slightly oily. Heavenly spread with guacamole. Or sometimes cooked in a mild chili sauce and served with eggs. * '''Enchiladas''' – Chicken or meat stuffed soft tortillas covered with green, red or mole sauce. Some may have melted cheese inside and/or on top. * '''Tacos''' – Soft corn tortillas filled with meat (asada (steak strips), pollo (shredded chicken), carnitas (fried shredded pork), lengua (cow tongue), cabeza (meat from cow skull), sesos (cow brains), tripa (cow gut), al pastor (chili, pork, beef cut from a spit) or chorizo (pork sausage)). In the north sometimes flour tortillas are used. Do not expect the crispy taco shell anywhere. * '''Tamales''' (singular ''tamal'') – corn dough shell with meat or vegetable fillings. Tamales Dulces contain fruit and/or nuts. * '''Tortas''' – Fancy Mexican sandwich. Bread roll that is grilled lightly, meat fillings are same as tacos: lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, beans, onion, mayonnaise and avocado. One is beginning to find tortas with the American styled cold cuts available, as well, in urban areas. * '''Huitlacoche''' – (wit-la-ko-che) A fungus, much like mushrooms, found in corn. This dish is usually an additive to others. Foreigners might find it hard to stomach but Mexicans swear by it. Although most Mexicans love huitlacoche, most do not prepare it in their own home very frequently. It can be found in most markets or stores. * '''Quesadillas''' – Cheese or other ingredients grilled in between corn tortillas, heavy on cheese and lighter on other items such as chicken, pork, beans, squash flower blossoms and such. * '''Mole''' – Mild to medium chili based sauce made with cocoa and a hint of peanut over meat, usually served with shredded chicken or turkey. ('Pollo en mole' and this is known as Puebla or poblano style). There are many regional moles and some are green, yellow, black and can vary greatly in flavor depending on the artistic talent or preferences involved. * '''Pozole''' – Chicken or pork broth with hominy corn, spiced when served with oregano, lettuce, lemon juice, radish, chopped onion, dried ground chile and other ingredients such as chicken, pork, or even seafood, usually served with a side dish of tostadas, fried potato and fresh cheese tacos. Very fortifying. * '''Gorditas''' – corn patty stuffed with chicharron, chicken, cheese, etc. topped with cream, cheese and hot sauce. * '''Grillo''' – Grasshopper, usually cooked and placed inside another dish such as a quesadilla. It is frequently found in markets in the state of Morelos and other central Mexico states. This is not common in Mexico City. * '''Guacamole''' – crushed avocado sauce with green serrano chile, chopped red tomato and onion, lime juice, salt, and served with somewhat thick (1/8 inch) fried tortilla slices or "totopos". * '''Tostadas''' – fried flat tortilla topped with fried beans, lettuce, cream, fresh cheese, sliced red tomato and onion, hot sauce, and chicken or other main ingredient. Think a corn chip dippers, on low dose steroids, for salsas and as above. You do not usually get a plate of this automatically in many parts of Mexico as you would in the US, although they are starting to show up in resort areas that cater to US nationals automatically. * '''Huaraches''' – a bigger (think shoe-shaped) version of a gordita. * '''Sopes''' – corn patty topped with a wide variety of ingredients such as chicken, cheese, mashed beans, and various hot sauces. * '''Carnitas''' – deep fried pork meat served with a variety of salsa, to get them dry with less grease. * '''Chile en nogada''' – A big green Poblano chile with a beef or pork apple stuffing, covered with a white nut (usually walnut, known as ''nuez'') sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds which happen to be red. The three colors represent the national flag and the dish is served nationwide around Mexican Independence Day (16 September). * '''Barbacoa''' – Sheep or goat meat cooked with maguey leaves in an oven made at a hole in the ground. Think BBQ heaven without the hickory smoke or catsup-based BBQ sauce. Served with condiments and salsas in corn tortilas and sometimes in a torta bread roll. * '''Sopa de Tortilla''' – tortilla chips soup usually of chicken broth, plain or with a touch of tomato flavor, and usually mild and not at all hot. Commonly served with diced avocado and fresh crumbled white cheese on top. * '''Chilaquiles''' – tortilla chips with a green tomatillo, or red tomato, or mild chili sauce, Usually served with chicken or eggs on top or within. Usually a mild dish. * '''Migas''' – is a typical dish in the center of the country which is a guajillo chile broth with soaked bread, which you can add the pork bones with meat or eggs. You may see a sign with '''"orden de tacos"'''. This means usually 5 pieces, if there is no other amount stated. The word ''orden'' is also used for other types of Mexican food. There is breakfast in McDonald's that you may not find in other countries. It includes:<br> • McMolletes<br> • McMuffin Huevo y Salchicha<br> • McMuffin a la Mexicana<br> • Hotcakes con Salchichas<br> • Desayuno Especial Mexicano<br> • McBurrito a la Mexicana for M$30 (Dec 2021)<br> Basic burgers you may not find in other countries during the day are for about M$30 (Dec 2021):<br> • Hamburguesa Gourmet<br> • Hamburguesa Especial con lechuga ==Drink== [[File:Venta de tequila en Tequila Jalisco México..JPG|thumbnail|Tequila store in [[Tequila]]]] Tap water is potable, but generally not recommended for drinking. Hotels usually give guests one (large) bottle of drinking water per room per night. Bottled water is also readily available in supermarkets and at tourist attractions. * Absinthe is legal in Mexico. * Tequila, distilled from Agave (a specific type of cactus) * Pulque, ferment made from Maguey * Mezcal, similar to tequila but distilled from Maguey * Raicilla, a type of mezcal made in Jalisco * Pox, whisky meets rum, distilled from grains and cane sugar, made in Chiapas * Tepache, ferment made from pineapple * Tuba, made from coconut palm tree [[File:Modelo Negra and Victoria beer bottles.jpg|thumb|A Mexican dark lager (Modelo Negra) and golden lager (Victoria)]] There are also several Mexican beers, most of which are available outside Mexico, these include Corona (popular, but not necessarily as overwhelmingly popular in Mexico as many foreigners think), Dos Equis (XX) and Modelo Especial. Lighter Mexican beers are often served with lime and salt, though many Mexicans do not drink beer in this fashion. In some places you will find beer served as a prepared drink called "Michelada" or simply "Chelada". The formula varies depending on the place, but it's usually beer mixed with lime juice and various sauces and spices on ice served in a salt rim glass. Spicy beer is available in supermarkets; try it, it will be an experience. Other variation called "Cubana" includes Clamato cocktail, soybean sauce, salt and a little bit of hot sauce. Mexico produces wine in several different areas, the most important of which is the [[Valle de Guadalupe]] in [[Baja California]], which accounts for more than 90% of Mexico's total wine production. The second largest wine region is in the Bajio state of [[Queretaro (state)|Queretaro]] centered on the town of [[Ezequiel Montes]]. Wine is also produced in the states of [[Sonora]], [[Coahuila]], and [[Guanajuato (state)|Guanajuato]]. Most Mexicans tend to prefer European or Chilean imports, but Mexican wines are becoming more popular as they continue to earn accolades in the press and in competitions. In the prestigious 2023 Concours Mundial de Bruxelles, the top point getter was Cenzontle Blanco from [[Valle de Guadalupe]], beating out thousands of wines from around the world. Non alcoholic beverages: * Chocolate * Atole * Horchata (rice based drink) * Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus iced tea, similar to karkadai in Egypt) * Licuados de fruta (fruit smoothies and milkshakes) * Champurrado (thick chocolate drink) * Refrescos (common sodas, generally sweet and made with cane sugar, not corn syrup as in the United States). [[File:Champurrado thenewplace sf.jpg|thumbnail|Champurrado]] The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18, but not strictly enforced. In many places, consumption of alcohol in public ("open container") is illegal and usually punishable by a day in jail. Be aware of waitresses and barmen, especially at night clubs. If you are not aware of your consumption and how much you already spent, they can add a few more drinks to your account. Some do this, not all. Alcoholmeters are widely used in driving roads If drinking, always have a designated driver. Driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage will result in 1 to 3 days in jail. Mexico, especially the southern state of Chiapas, produces excellent coffee. Café con leche, usually one part coffee to one part steamed milk, is very popular. Unfortunately, many places in Mexico that are not cafés serve Nescafe instant coffee, so you may have to search for the good coffee, but it's there. Mineral water is popular in many regions of Mexico. Topo Chico is the most widely available brand by a very wide margin. ==Learn== [[File:Flag of Mexico in Acapulco.jpg|thumbnail|Hornos Beach in Acapulco]] The most important Universities in Mexico include the '''UNAM''', ranked 73rd worldwide, and the best in Latin America. Its main campus is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Murals in the main campus were painted by some of the most recognized artists in Mexican history, such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. '''IPN''' (Instituto Politécnico Nacional), '''ITESM''' (Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, located in Monterrey but with branch campuses in many other Mexican cities) the '''Iberoamerican University''' (Universidad Iberoamericana, part of the Jesuit University System) and '''Universidad Anahuac'''. [[File:Chichen Itza 21.JPG|thumbnail|Chichen Itza, one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world]] Most of the government-funded universities on mayor cities (state capital) have short courses on history, gastronomy and cultural subjects, most of them are almost free. Other places are the "Casa de la Cultura", (house of culture) that are historical buildings used for cultural related activities (music concerts, theater, paint and other exhibits, they also have "talleres" (workshops). Most places have programs for foreigners to learn Spanish, or even study a whole degree. There are some other courses where you can learn traditional Mexican activities such as handcrafts. There are Spanish language schools throughout Mexico. The city with the most schools is Cuernavaca, with more than 50 schools. Oaxaca, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato also offer a number of schools to choose from. Prices vary; however, most schools are very reasonably priced. Many schools can arrange homestays with local Mexican families. ==Work== Working may require a work visa, which is difficult to get if you just want to freelance for a short time. Many important headquarters are located throughout the main cities of Mexico. Top Mexican corporations such as Televisa, Bimbo, Cemex, Telmex and Vitra are often willing to hire professionals who are native English speakers as much of their business is developed alongside North American corporations. Native English speakers can pick up work as English teachers. The upside is that English speakers with no knowledge of Spanish are appreciated, because they will force their students to practice English. The downside is that salaries are somewhat low. ==Sleep== [[File:Plazadeliberacion1.jpg|thumbnail|Plaza de liberación and the cathedral, Guadalajara]] Several hotel chains are available throughout Mexico, including Palace Resorts, Le Blanc Spa Resort, Best Western, Holiday Inn, CityExpress, Fiesta Inn, Fairmont, Hilton, Ritz, Camino Real, Marriott (Sheraton, W, Westin, Four Points) and many others. Rates have risen considerably, though most are still reasonable compared to similar U.S. or European hotels. Chain accommodations are usually clean and comfortable, good for business travelers, but not necessarily for those wanting to experience Mexico itself. There are also many all-inclusive resorts for those visiting the major beach destinations. Boutique hotels are found all over the country; price range varies but all of them are rich in Mexican traditions, elegance and charm, the perfect way to experience the cultural heritage of each state. A great source of information is Melba Levick's book ''Mexicasa,'' found in many libraries and online bookstores. Otherwise an authentic accommodation can usually be found by asking locals or gringos, especially in the smaller towns. Smaller hotels and motels along the roadside may not be safe or comfortable. If you are unsure about conditions or the safety of the room, ask to see it before paying. This will not be considered rude. Decent hotels for a low budget are usually found around the central bus station of a town. If you are going to stay at cheaper hotels in cooler areas in the winter consider bringing extra clothes, an electric blanket or a sleeping bag, as there is power, but no heat. And although it may get quite hot by afternoon outside, adobe and cement are like fridges. An electric tea kettle is also a good idea, as hot water might not be available when you want it. There is a large backpacker culture in Mexico, and there are many hostels offering dorm accommodation and private rooms. You can expect to pay M$100-300 (Nov 2021) for a night in a dorm, sometimes including breakfast. Hostels are a fantastic place to share information with fellow travelers, and you can often find people who have been to your future destinations. If you're travelling with children, use a plastic case (with wheels and a handle) as luggage, and it can be used as a bathtub for the kids if necessary. Budget hotels rarely, if ever, have bathtubs. ==Stay safe== [[File:Policia turistica ciudad mexico.jpg|thumbnail|Mounted tourist police, Mexico City]] {{cautionbox | Some governments advise that you '''should not travel''' to several states because of high levels of crime, unreliable law enforcement assistance, and violence related to drug trafficking. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major trafficking routes. Check the advisories below for current information. | us=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html | uk=https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mexico | canada=https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/mexico | australia=https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/americas/mexico | lastedit=2025-09-08}} Mexico has a reputation for being a dangerous country — a reputation that's not entirely unwarranted — but the average traveller should not be too overly concerned or cautious of their surroundings. A lot of the crime occurs between those involved in the drug trade or organised crime. (See [[#Drug traffic issues|drug traffic issues]] for more information) In most cities, location is very important as security changes from place to place. Areas close to downtown (''centro'') are safer to walk at night, especially on the "Plaza", "Zócalo" or "Jardín" (main square) and areas nearby. Stay in populated areas, avoid poor neighborhoods, especially at night, and don't walk there at any time if you are alone. Vicious beatings have been reported at resorts by people who have travelled alone, so stay alert for any suspicious-looking individual. If you wish to visit one of the slums, you should only go as part of a guided tour with a reputable guide or tour company. Political violence in Chiapas and Oaxaca has abated, and is far less of a threat than drug-related crime. However, Mexican authorities do not look approvingly on foreigners who participate in demonstrations (even peaceful ones) or voice support for groups such as the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional and its leader, Subcomandante Marcos, even if their images and slogans are commonly sold on t-shirts and caps in markets. Do not wave cash or credit cards around. Use them discreetly and put them away as quickly as possible. The nationwide emergency number is '''911'''. Although Mexico has one of the largest police forces in the world, systemic corruption and low salaries often restrict the capabilities of law enforcement. Enlisting the help of the police almost always requires solid Spanish-language skills. Beggars are not usually a threat, but you will find lots in urban areas. Avoid being surrounded by them, as some can [[Pickpockets|pickpocket]] your goods. Giving away two pesos quickly can get you out of such troubles (but may also attract other beggars). Most poor and homeless Mexicans prefer to sell trinkets, gum, sing, or provide some meager service than beg outright. Larger cities, such as Guadalajara and Mexico City, are safer than most places in Mexico. However, caution is still recommended. ===Drug crimes=== [[File:Mexican States with mafia conflicts.png|thumb|States with the most conflict, marked in red (2010)]] Former president Felipe Calderon waged war on the drug cartels, and in turn, they waged war against the government (and more often, among each other). Some Mexican northern and border cities such as Tijuana, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Chihuahua, Culiacán, Durango, and Juárez can be dangerous if you are not familiar with them, especially at night. Most crime in the northern cities is related to the drug trade and police corruption. However, since law enforcement figures are often overwhelmed battling drug-related activities, many northern border towns that were somewhat dangerous to begin with are now a hotbed for criminals to act with impunity. Ciudad Juárez, in particular, bears the brunt of this violence, and with nearly a fourth of Mexico's overall murders, travel there requires special attention. Away from the northern states, cartel related violence is centered in specific areas, including the Pacific Coast states of Michoacán and Guerrero. However, exercise caution anywhere, especially at night or in high crime areas. Tourists and other travellers are of no interest to the drug cartels. Many popular tourist destinations like Oaxaca, Guanajuato, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, Mérida, and Guadalajara are largely unaffected by this, simply because there are no borders there. Ciudad Juárez is a primary battleground in the drug war, and while foreign travellers are not often targeted, the presence of two warring cartels, many small opportunistic gangs, and armed police and soldiers has created a chaotic situation to say the least. As a rule of thumb, the further away you are from the border, and the closer you are to Mexico City, the safer you'll be. Many people go to Mexico City to seek refuge from drug-related violence as many politicians and military personnel are there. Consumption of drugs is prohibited, although the problem of illegal medicine is serious in Mexico, this is still illegal (but consumption of drugs like cannabis or having a small amount are legal or decriminalised). Also, this can get you in trouble with gangs. The army also sets up random checkpoints throughout all major highways in search of narcotics and weapons. Drug consumption is also opposed by a large percentage of the population. ===Beach=== In Mexico the actions have to be taken for safety is similar to everywhere. See [[water safety]]. ====[[Jellyfish]]==== If you see a ''Portuguese man o' war'' ({{Lang|la|''Physalia physalis''}}), stay far away from it. If you get stung by the jellyfish, use tweezers to remove its stingers, then go to hospital. ==== Stingray stings ==== Choose a place with hot water if you can, because the heat deactivates the poison. ==== Riptides ==== Very dangerous, particularly during and after storms. ===Public transportation=== When in major cities &ndash; especially Mexico City &ndash; it is better to play it safe with taxis. The best options are to phone a taxi company, to request that your hotel or restaurant call a taxi for you, or to pick up a taxi from an established post (''Taxi de Sitio''). Also, taxis can be stopped in the middle of the street, which is okay for most of the country, but particularly unsafe in Mexico City. As chaotic as it might be sometimes, the [https://www.metro.cdmx.gob.mx/ Metro]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} is the best way to move around in Mexico City: it's cheap (M$5 for a ticket as of Feb 02, 2020), safe, has a large network covering almost anywhere you'd want to go in the city and it's extremely fast, compared to any on-street transportation, since it doesn't have to bear with the constant traffic jams. If you've never been in a crowded subway, avoid peak hours (usually from 06:00–09:00 and 17:00–20:00) and do your homework: check first which line (''línea'') and station (''estación'') you want to go to and the address of the place you're trying to reach. Your hotel can give you this information, and maps of the subway system are available on the internet and at the stations. Most stations also have maps of the vicinity. Avoid taking the subway at late hours of the night, but during the day many stations are patrolled by police officers and the subway is safer than taking the public bus. Your major concern in the subway is the pickpockets, so keep your important belongings and wallets in a safe place. A word of caution for people who are used to European or major American subway systems that operate around the clock: even in Mexico City, the last subway leaves around midnight, with service only resuming in the early morning. Taxis are priced accordingly, and you should keep your wits about you when moving around in the middle of the night. If you are travelling by bus, do not put your valuables in your big bag in the storage compartment of the bus. If the police or the military controls the luggage, they might take out what they want, especially in night buses, when passengers are most likely asleep. The use of a money belt (worn underneath the clothes and out of sight) is highly recommended. ===Driving=== * All distances on the signboards and speed limits are in metric units. * Gas is likewise sold in metric units and far cheaper than in Europe (and still a bit cheaper than in the U.S.) [[File:15-07-21-Mexico-Stadtzentrum-RalfR-N3S 9738.jpg|thumb|Downtown Mexico City]] If driving in from the [[USA]], always purchase Mexican liability insurance (legal defense coverage recommended) before crossing the border or immediately after crossing. When you are paying for your temporary import permit (for going beyond border areas), often in the same building there are several stalls selling Mexican auto insurance. Even if your American (or Canadian, etc.) insurance covers your vehicle in Mexico, it '''cannot''' (by Mexican law) cover liability (e.g., hitting something or injuring someone). You will probably spend time in a Mexican jail if you have an accident without it. And even if your own insurance does (in theory) provide liability coverage in Mexico—you'll be filing your claim from behind bars! Don't risk it, get Mexican auto insurance. Never drive above the speed limit or run stop signs/red lights, as Mexican police will use any excuse to pull over tourists and give you a ticket. In some cities, the police can not give you a ticket, but they might warn you. The fine for speeding could be as much as US$100 (M$1870)<!--shouldn't we use the exact peso amount instead of a rounded USD amount?-->, depending on the city. As of April 2011, police across the country are cracking down on drunk driving, particularly in Mexico City, the larger cities, and the beach resorts. There are random checkpoints throughout the country in which every driver has to stop and take an automated inebriation test. If you fail, you will end up in a Mexican prison. You will mostly find beggars and windshield cleaners at some traffic lights; having your windows closed at all times is especially recommendable in some areas of Mexico City. The windshield cleaners will try to clean yours: a strong and firm "no" is suggested. ===Natural disasters=== Natural disasters in Mexico include [[hurricanes]] and [[earthquakes]]. [[Mexico City]] in particular is located in a seismically active area. === Firearms === Every year a few U.S. tourists run afoul of Mexico's strict gun laws. '''Bringing guns into Mexico is illegal in most circumstances''', and this includes guns kept for personal protection on private boats. If you want to bring a firearm, see [[Recreational shooting#Mexico]]. === Hiking === Many trails are unmarked in real life, even if they are present at OpenStreetMap or a hiking app. If a local rule says to do a trail with a guide - it's much better to go with the guide, the route will be dangerous and easy to get lost. ==Stay healthy== Some parts of Mexico are known for '''[[travelers' diarrhea]]''', often called "Montezuma's Revenge" (Venganza de Moctezuma). The reason for this is not so much the spicy food but the contamination of the '''[[water]] supply''' in some of the poorer zones in Mexico. In most of the small towns that are less industrialized, only the poorest Mexicans will drink tap water. The best policy is to only drink bottled or purified water, both of which are readily available. Be sure to specify ''bottled'' water in restaurants and avoid ice (which is often not made from purified water). Just like in the US, in most major Mexican cities the water is purified at the cities' water company. In most restaurants in these poor zones, the only water served comes from large jugs of purified water. If you get sick, visit your local clinic as soon as possible. There is medicine available that will counter the bacteria. Medicine in urban areas is highly developed, public hospitals are just as good as public hospitals in US, and just as the American public hospitals, they are always full. It's recommended going to private hospitals for faster service. Before traveling to rural areas of Mexico, it might be a good idea to obtain '''anti-malarial medications''' from your health care provider. It is strongly advised that the traveler be sure that any meats they are consuming have been thoroughly cooked due to an increasing rate of '''roundworm''' infections, particularly in the Acapulco area. Along with the risk for malaria, mosquitoes have also been known to carry the '''West Nile virus'''. Be sure to bring an effective insect repellent, preferably one that contains the ingredient DEET. The rate of '''AIDS/HIV''' infection in Mexico is lower than in the US, France and most Latin American nations. However, if you plan on having sex, be sure that you use a latex condom to reduce your risk of contracting or spreading the virus. As with any western location, cases of '''hantavirus pulmonary syndrome''' have been reported throughout Mexico. This is an acute, rare (but often fatal) illness for which there is no known cure. The virus is believed to be present in animal feces, particularly feces from members of the rodent family. Therefore, do not wander into animal dens and be especially careful when entering enclosed spaces that are not well ventilated and lack sunlight. Vaccination against '''Hepatitis A & B''' and '''Typhoid fever''' is recommended. If you are bitten by an animal, assume that the animal was carrying '''rabies''' and seek medical attention immediately for treatment. In remote areas, carry a first aid kit, aspirin, and other related items that are sold without medical prescription. ==Respect== [[File:MojigangaSMA002.jpg|thumb|Festival in [[San Miguel de Allende]]]] Mexicans have a somewhat relaxed sense of time so it's vital to be patient. Arriving half an hour late is common and should not be taken in a negative light. When anyone, even a total stranger, sneezes, you always say "¡salud!" ("bless you!" or more literally, "your health!"): otherwise, it is considered rude. In rural areas, particularly in the Mexican heartland (Jalisco, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, etc.), the even more pious "Jesús te bendiga" (May Jesus bless you) will follow a sneeze. Attitudes towards LGBT travellers can be hostile in more rural states, but [[LGBT Mexico City|Mexico City is very LGBT friendly]] as are popular beach resort areas such as [[Cancun]], [[Puerto Vallarta]], and [[Acapulco]]. By court order, all states in Mexico either allow the performance of same-sex marriages, or recognize such marriages when performed in other states. Same-sex marriage is performed in Mexico City and in the states of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora and Tlaxcala as well as in certain municipalities in Guerrero and Zacatecas. It is pending publication in Querétaro, and being prepared for legislation in Yucatán. Southern Mexico City is the best place in terms of tolerance. When entering churches, always take off any sunglasses, caps or hats. Wearing shorts is rarely a problem, but still wear a sweatshirt or sweater to your waist to avoid showing too much skin, which could be disrespectful in such places. However, away from the beaches, or northern areas, shorts are very rarely worn by Mexicans on the street and thus will attract more attention to you and make you stand out as a foreigner. === Sensitive issues === '''Show respect to Mexico's laws'''. Although corruption and bribery have long been around, a visitor behaving in a way that implies that Mexico is a lawless country is considered disrespectful. Offering a bribe to an official may get you into trouble. '''You are unlikely to cause offence by having a discussion about local politics, economics and history'''; Mexicans consider them good conversational topics and are more than happy to delight you with such discussions. This said, sensitive subjects like illegal immigration to the US, crime, or the drug war are likely to arouse strong emotions. Mexicans are well aware of their country's problems and would like to forget about them once in a while. Also, you might be surprised at how much Mexicans know about the politics of your country – especially the times in its history when they feel your country has screwed Mexico over (which applies especially for Spain, France and the U.S.). That said, Mexican history tends to be viewed as a series of shades of grey — there are those who feel the need to extol economic growth under Porfirio Díaz, just like there are those who point out anti-democratic tendencies under Benito Juarez. '''A lot of Mexicans do not have a favourable opinion of the Spanish Empire''' and the things they've done in the past. They feel that many of Mexico's problems are rooted in what the Spanish brought over. This said, there are no feelings of resentment towards Spain and Spanish people. '''Try not to assume the worst in people'''. Mexico may have a lot of social and political problems, but that does not mean that everyone is alike. '''The great majority of the population is and traditionally has been Roman Catholic''', and there is still a strong following of this faith among Mexicans from all socioeconomic backgrounds. However, there are sizeable Protestant, Evangelical, and Pentecostal communities (in part due to US missionary activity) and the country also has one of the largest communities of Jehovah's Witnesses. The irreligious are a small minority and they are found mostly among college-educated urban dwellers of the middle and upper middle class. Saying anything that hints at atheism or agnosticism may simply be shrugged off, or could incite lengthy discussions or at worst, attempts at proselytizing. As a rule of thumb, try not to have religious discussions with people you're not well acquainted with. === Cultural notes === While overt racism may not be apparent, as a general rule, wealth and social status are historically tied to European ancestry and skin color. Mexican society is sharply divided by social class, with the rich, middle class, and poor often living very separate lives, and can have very distinct cultures. Social practices or tastes of one social group may not be shared by all classes. Clubs, bars, and restaurants may cater largely to one crowd or another, and a wealthier person or tourist may feel out of place or received unwanted attention in a working class cantina; a poor looking person may be blatantly refused service or get unfriendly stares at an exclusive establishment. There are many words in the country according to ethnic background: * Do not be offended to be called a "güero(a)" (blonde) and its diminutive form "güerito(a)" (blondie), as it's a common way for the average Mexican citizen to refer mostly to Caucasian people, including white Mexicans. The words "gringo" and its synonym "gabacho" are used regardless of the actual nationality of the tourists and they are not meant as offensive. Actually, they are often used as terms of endearment. * If you are East Asian, you will be referred to as "Chino(a)" (Chinese) and its diminutive form "chinito(a)" regardless of whether you are Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, etc. Exceptions are in the capital, Mexicali, and in Monterrey, where a decent-sized Korean community does exist. * If you are black, "negro(a)" or "negrito(a)" may seem harsh, especially if you are from the US, but it is not a swear word. Although there are few black people in Mexico in many regions of the country (except on the east and west coasts in the south), Mexicans, especially the younger generations, are not hateful. In fact, a revolutionary who later became the second president was a man of mixed European and African descent, Vicente Guerrero. * Historically, all Middle Easterners were referred to as "turcos" (even if they were from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, etc.) [[File:Catedral de Guadañajara.JPG|thumb|Guadalajara cathedral]] === Other things to watch out for === If you try to use Spanish to address people, be careful about the use of "tú" (informal, friendly; the verb for calling someone "tú" is tutear) and "usted" (formal, respectful) forms. Using "tú" can be demeaning to people, since this is the form normally used for addressing children or close friends. Use "usted" unless you are sure you can use "tú"; doing so may perhaps seem a shade old-fashioned, but doing otherwise can be pretty rude and embarrassing in some situations. Always use the "usted" form to a law enforcement officer (or other person of authority), even if they may use the "tú" form to talk to you. Otherwise, you can say "tú" to children under 16, to people who genuinely are your friends and to persons who call you by your first name or explicitly have told you to do so. People address each other depending on their social status, age and friendship. To refer to a woman, always call her "señorita" (Miss) unless you are sure that she is married, then you call her "señora" (Mrs). When talking to an older man, use "señor" irrespective of his marital status. If you want to call a waiter, address him as "joven" which means "young man". You may call someone by his professional title ("ingeniero", "arquitecto", "doctor", "oficial", etc.). Actually, Mexican people will use the "tú" and "usted", "first name" or "surname" depending on their relationship, and the code is not easy to learn. While the word "güey" is equivalent to "dude" or "mate" among young people, it is still considered extremely vulgar by the older generation. This abrasive term of endearment is used only between people who have achieved a certain level of trust, so avoid using it. In Mexico, "estúpido" has a far, far worse connotation than "stupid" in English. Due to the highly matriarchal nature of Mexican culture, the combination of words "tu madre" (your mother) is cacophonous and taken offensively by residents, regardless of age or gender. To refer to somebody's mother, remember to replace it with "su señora madre" (roughly "your respected mother") in formal situations or the sweeter "tu mamá" in informal ones. Never, ever use strong language when talking to a woman. You may see displays of male chauvinism. It is falling out of favor, but it is still seen and mostly tolerated in small towns, as well as cities that receive considerable amounts of rural migrants. It can be defined as a male's strong desire for and skill of the domination and imposition of will, on a wife, sister, or any close female. It can also be identified by a strong desire to prove courage through showy bravado and status through a following of yes-men and henchmen. While it is usually not directed towards visitors, it can be in a variety of strengths. It is best to pretend not to notice it and move on. Another type of ''machismo'', which perhaps stems out of the same desires but does not carry any of the antisocial connotations, is male courteousness towards women. This is manifested in standing up when a lady enters a room, opening or holding a door, conceding preference or rights of way, giving up a seat, offering a hand when stepping down from a steep step, etc. It is generally reserved for older women, or women of great power, merit, and social stature. Rejecting these types of friendly gestures is considered arrogant or rude. Mexican customs strictly enforce a limit of one laptop per passenger. Bringing a second laptop may incur a tax of up to 19% of its value. ==Connect== Cell phones are the most convenient, and usually most inexpensive, way to talk. Before going to Mexico, call your cell phone provider and verify that you have international roaming enabled (and make sure you know what charges you should expect, for domestic and international voice calls and for data, since you will want to use your maps and Uber apps). You can make international calls free if you have an app like WhatsApp or Telegram and connect to Wi-fi before using it. Data rates can be high for cell phone users, but you can manage them by turning off data in your phone's settings except for when you actively want to use an app. If you're going to be in Mexico for an extended period of time, it might be cheaper to use Mexican carriers, either by buying a SIM card or a cheap throwaway phone. If you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can buy a prepaid SIM card in Mexico. The most expensive provider Telcel provides good coverage throughout the country. A SIM card for the Telcel brand amigo express is for M$29 (Nov 2021) e.g., in an Oxxo store. The first recharge must be at least M$50 (Nov 2021). The offers are amongst others:<br> • M$50: 400MB for 7 days (Nov 2021)<br> • M$100: 1,3GB for 15 days (Nov 2021)<br> You can see all rates and recharge [https://www.telcel.com/personas/telefonia/amigo/paquetes-end/paquetes-amigo-sin-limite here]. Recharging Telcel can be also done in an Oxxo. Cheaper providers unfortunately may not be worth the hassle due to slow internet and unreliable connection. Using a Mexican SIM card is often far cheaper than what hotels will charge you for outgoing calls and incoming calls may be free under certain schemes. Mexico operates on the same GSM frequency as the United States, 1900&nbsp;MHz. There's also 4G LTE, with 5G expected to be deployed in the future. Many of which are the same frequencies as in the US. There is a wireless internet connection in almost every restaurant in the big cities. If you're staying for over a week and don't have an unlocked phone, it might be a good idea to buy a cheap handset and a prepaid card. Some areas have only a few internet cafes; in others, they are plentiful. Most of the internet cafes offer calls to the US for a better rate than a payphone, usually via VoIP. You can call from public phones using ''tarjetas ladatel'' (prepaid telephone cards), bought at magazine stalls. Cards can be purchased in M$30, 50 or 100 denominations. The rate to call the US is roughly equivalent to US$0.50 per minute. Beware these are different than tarjetas ''amigo, viva,'' or ''unefon'' (these are only for cellphones). Ladatel cards are becoming increasingly difficult to find and use because public pay phones are an endangered species. While they worked great in 2002, they're seldom useful in 2022. Cell phones are the way to go today. ==Go next== ===To Belize=== There are bus services available from [[Chetumal]] to [[Belmopan]]. ===To Guatemala=== This route is not used by many and still has a touch of adventure: Over Tenosique, La Palma (near Tenosique), by boat on the river Rio San Pedro to [[El Naranjo]] in [[Guatemala]]. Stay firm when negotiating over the price. Absolutely important: Make sure you get your passport stamped before you leave El Naranjo, or you might catch one of the rare buses back and take a walk through the jungle, as the emigration office is partway up the river between the Mexican border and the village. ===To the United States=== The U.S. generally requires a passport for entry. A few express ID cards and trusted traveler cards are also acceptable. U.S. and Canadian citizens seeking entry or reentry by land or sea may use an Enhanced Driver License in place of a passport. U.S. permanent residents need their permanent resident card and may need the passport from their home country. Foreign nationals entering the United States without a permanent resident stamp, including those on the Visa Waiver Program, typically receive an I-94 Arrival-Departure Record or I-94W Visa Waiver Arrival-Departure Record upon arrival in the United States. So long as the I-94 has not expired, you can use it to re-enter the United States with your passport; however, if you hand it in upon exit, you will need to obtain a new card if your visa allows another entry or, if on the Visa Waiver Program, pay a fee of about US$6 to reenter the United States. Unless you are not going to return to the United States, '''keep your I-94 when leaving the [[United States]]''' or you will have a difficult time getting back in, and if your visa is limited to a certain number of entries, you may need to use another entry. Visa Waiver participants cannot reset the 90-day counter unless they leave North America, so ducking into Mexico will not allow you another 90 days. However, it can be reset by travelling, for example, to any Central American country or to Colombia. {{geo|21|-100|zoom=5}} {{isPartOf|North America}} {{outlinecountry}} m6xte165hwg693gr4jyzseq3b3v5x99 0 22160 5298425 5293992 2026-06-25T13:13:58Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* See */ 5298425 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Mexico State Cerro Zacatenco.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Mexico State''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: Estado de México), often referred to locally as '''''Edomex''''' (a contraction of the full Spanish name), is one of the federal entities of the country of the same name in [[Central Mexico]], surrounding [[Mexico City]] on three sides. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.341|-99.456|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} {{mapshapes|Q1621240}} <!-- Suburban rail --> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Toluca]]|lat=19.2925|long=-99.656944|wikidata=Q209034}} — capital of the state, known for its botanical gardens and many museums *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Aculco]]|wikidata=Q2278207}} — has been designated a "Magic Town" for its traditional architecture full of alleys and houses with wide patios and corridors, buildings supported by columns and cobbled streets *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Amecameca]]|lat=19.116667|long=-98.766667|wikidata=Q93867}} — small town near the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ecatepec]]|la19.574|long=-99.035|wikidata=Q15121208}} — largest suburb of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ixtapan de la Sal]]|lat=18.8415|long=-99.6783|wikidata=Q2018330}} — a small city known for its thermal baths, a designated [[Pueblos Magicos|Pueblo Magico]] ("Magic Town") *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Malinalco]]|lat=18.95|long=-99.49|wikidata=Q1584311}} - ancient pre-colombian settlement with many archaeological sites nearby, known for its black Christ figure and for shamans and dark magic *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Metepec]]|lat=19.251111|long=-99.604722|wikidata=Q1798671}} — a touristy town known for its pottery *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Naucalpan]]|lat=19.474|long=-99.238|wikidata=Q219574}} — upscale suburb on the northwest side of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[El Oro de Hidalgo]]|wikidata=Q27785387}} - picturesque historic gold mining town, it is one of Mexico's designated [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Temoaya]]|lat=19.465|long=-99.594|wikidata=Q23058823}} - small town that preserves Otomi cultural traditions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tenancingo]]|lat=18.9611|long=-99.5904|wikidata=Q3844696}} - small town southeast of Mexico City, site of Desierto del Carmen, a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] and 18th century Carmelite convent *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tepotzotlán]]|lat=19.717688 |long=-99.2117306|wikidata=Q1905161}} - charming small city on the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]], designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tequixquiac]]|wikidata=Q34828}} — an important site for Catholic religious tourism and UFO fans *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Texcoco]]|lat=19.52|long=-98.88|wikidata=Q1141799}} — preserves vestiges of the colonial style, highlighting religious buildings of the 17th century, and remains of structures from pre-Columbian times *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tonatico]]|lat=18.808249429751456|long=-99.67015265291255}} — small colonial town with caverns and natural attractions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Valle de Bravo]]|lat=19.195|long=-100.129|wikidata=Q3058725}} — town on the shores of Lake Avondaro, close to butterfly sanctuaries and thermal spas ==Other destinations== [[Image:Feathered_Serpant_at_Teotihucan.JPG‎|thumb|Feathered Serpent at Teotihucan]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|lat=19.6925|long=-98.843889|wikidata=Q172613}} — impressive pre-Columbian archaeological site with massive pyramids *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park]] | lat=19.2362 | long=-98.6634}} — twin volcanoes east of Mexico City on the border with Puebla state *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]] | lat=19.108119 | long=-99.75507}} — snow-capped volcano near the state capital *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mammoth Central|lat=19.73916 |long=-98.98654|wikidata=Q104855390|wikipedia=Mammoth central}} — the world's largest concentration of mammoth fossils was discovered when the new Felipe Angeles International Airport was constructed at the site of the Santa Lucia Air Force Base between 2019 and 2022. A large paleontological museum, '''Museo Paleontológico de Santa Lucía Quinamétzin''', was built at the airport to display many fossilized skeletons and exhibits about pre-historic conditions of the local area. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Villa del Carbón]]|lat=19.729|long=-99.462|wikidata=Q29045241}} — an outdoorsman's playground with numerous rivers and streams feeding into 4 large man-made lakes. Aside from trout fishing, there's plenty of water sports like swimming, sailing, and kayaking. Landlubbers will find miles of hiking trails, camping, rapelling, and opportunities for nature watching. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Temoaya#See|Centro Ceremonial Otomí]]|lat=19.530823|long=-99.523500|wikidata=Q5761051}} — a ceremonial place of the Otomí people. This modern temple was built in 1981 and was used in the James Bond movie ''License to Kill'', as the villain Sánchez's headquarters. You can walk through the park or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There is a restaurant and a market. Access is easy by bus from Mexico City (e.g., Cuatro Caminos, 90 min) to [[Temoaya]] and from there a local bus (20 min). ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]''' is a historic route through [[Central Mexico]], [[Bajio]], and [[Northern Mexico]] and the southwestern U.S. state of [[New Mexico]]. The route is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== This state is the most populous state (almost 17 million people in 2020) in the country and the most densely populated (720/km²). There are an abundance of activities around the state, but most are concentrated around the Mexico City metropolitan area and Toluca, the state capital. The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is ''mexiquense'', distinct from ''mexicano'' ("Mexican"), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole. ==Get in== Mexico State surrounds Mexico City on three sides, so travelers usually get into the state from outside the country or from more distant parts of the country through [[Mexico City]]. Domestic travelers from other Mexican cities and states can fly into Santa Lucia or Toluca. ===By air=== * '''[[Benito Juárez International Airport]]''' (usually known as Mexico City International and commonly abbreviated "AICM") ({{IATA|MEX}}) is the main airport for Mexico City. It serves all Mexican commercial airlines and a wide range of foreign carriers with routes to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. * '''Felipe Angeles International Airport''' (usually known as Santa Lucia Airport and commonly abbreviated "AIFA") ({{IATA|NLU}}) is a new commercial airport facility opened in 2022, 48km north of Mexico City. It serves as the main cargo airport for Mexico City and is an emerging hub airport for many Mexican carriers, it also handles some international flights to destinations in Latin America. * '''Toluca International Airport''' ({{IATA|TLC}}) serves the state capital and has often served as a regional focus city for low-cost carriers. The airport is underutilized with infrastructure to handle far more traffic than it receives. ===By bus=== Mexico State is very easy to reach by bus with service to every larger population center by first-class bus and every small town by at least a second-class bus. See the articles for individual cities for details, or see [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information. ==Get around== [[File:Red del ferrocarril.jpg|thumb|Route map for the Ferrocarril Suburbano]] [[File:Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México estación Buenavista.jpg|thumb|left|Ferrocarril Suburbano train at the Buenavista station]] Bus and car are the most flexible ways to get around in Mexico State, though traffic is heavy and slow near Mexico City and in Toluca and larger cities. Train service is increasingly useful, but the network is limited in range and not always well integrated. ===By train=== The '''Ferrocarril Suburbano''' is a commuter rail system that connects downtown Mexico City with northern Mexico State municipalities. Service is provided on the Buenavista-Teotihuacan line (Blue), and the Buenavista-Cuauhtitlan line (Red). A third line (Green) connects Nezahualcyotl to Chalco. Communities served include Tultitlán, San Rafael, and Tlanepantla. Buses connect rail stations to nearby neighborhoods. In April 2026, a new rail line was opened connecting Ferrocarril Suburbano Line 1 with the Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport, commonly referred to as ''AIFA'' or sometimes ''Santa Lucia'' ({{IATA|NLU}}). The Ferrocarril Suburbano can get passengers from AIFA to downtown Mexico City (Buenaventura) in as little as 40 minutes. Fares range from M$6.50 to M$15.50 (Jan 2023), depending on distance. You must buy a rechargable fare card to ride the train and fare cards for the Metro or the Tren Ligero do not work with Ferrocarril Suburbano (you have to buy a separate card). A rechargable card costs M$30, M$17 of which is an initial credit for fares. When you run out of money on your card, use the machines at rail stations to add funds. [[File:Tren México-Toluca El Insurgente - 19.jpg|thumb|El Insurgente train at the Zinacantepec station]] The '''Interurban Tren Mexico City–Toluca''' (universally known as '''El Insurgente''') is an inter-urban rail project to connect the state capital with the nations capital. The 57-km rail line has been in the works since 2012. All of the stations within the State of Mexico opened in 2023. The final leg into Mexico City (terminating at Observatorio) opened in early 2026. Shuttle buses to the Toluca Airport (TLC) will be available at the Tecnologico station. The line will provide connections to Mexico City's Metro system at the Observatorio station, which is also one of Mexico City's four major bus station with long-distance buses to cities to the southeast of Mexico City. ==See== * The ancient pyramids of '''[[Teotihuacan]]''' are 40 km northeast of Mexico City. The ruins are Mexico's most popular archaeological site. *The '''National Museum of the Viceroyalty''' is in [[Tepotzotlán]], just outside Mexico City, it is one of the country's best historical museums about [[Colonial Mexico]]. * '''The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System''', a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] (partially located in [[Mexico State]]), the aqueduct is 45 km in length, running between [[Zempoala]] and [[Otumba]] * '''Grutas la Estrella''' is a magnificent show cave about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City ==Do== * '''Zacango Ecological Park''' - large zoo in the town of Calimaya, (near Toluca), rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and more than 170 other species. * '''Bioparque Estrella''' - theme park about 1 hour northwest of Mexico City. Features a Jurassic Park ride, animal safaris, and an underground mine ride. ==Eat== Everything about [[Central Mexico#Eat|Central Mexican cuisine]] is true of food in Mexico State, though some dishes are more emblematic of the area than others. ''Tlacoyos'' are similar to ''huaraches'' served in other states. It's essentially a thick, flat tortilla topped with stewed meats or vegetables. It can be folded in half and eaten like a big taco, but is more likely to be eaten like a slice of pizza. In Mexico State, tlacoyos are often made with blue corn meal, giving them a unique appearance. ==Drink== Beer is the most popular drink in most of Mexico and in Mexico State, the most popular beers are from the Modelo brewery in Mexico City. A number of small craft breweries operate in many cities of the region. Pulque is also popular throughout Mexico State. Local craft breweries and pulquerias will be listed in the various destination (city) articles. ==Stay safe== All of the usual advice to be vigilant applies in Mexico State, though the area is not one of the areas known for violent crime. It is generally safe to travel throughout the state with normal precautions and avoiding sketchy areas off the normal tourist routes. ==Go next== * [[Cuernavaca]] - the city of eternal spring * [[Hidalgo]] - many quaint colonial towns * [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] - volcanoes and colonial cities * [[Guerrero]] - mountains, caves, silver, and the beaches of Acapulco * [[Michoacan]] - Purhepecha traditions and famous butterfly reserves {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Central Mexico}} {{geo|19.35|-99.63|zoom=9|layer=O}} e3t4mpz1klq1gqarlr6ir41p0bsq095 5298429 5298425 2026-06-25T13:28:32Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Do */ - update 5298429 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Mexico State Cerro Zacatenco.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Mexico State''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: Estado de México), often referred to locally as '''''Edomex''''' (a contraction of the full Spanish name), is one of the federal entities of the country of the same name in [[Central Mexico]], surrounding [[Mexico City]] on three sides. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.341|-99.456|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} {{mapshapes|Q1621240}} <!-- Suburban rail --> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Toluca]]|lat=19.2925|long=-99.656944|wikidata=Q209034}} — capital of the state, known for its botanical gardens and many museums *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Aculco]]|wikidata=Q2278207}} — has been designated a "Magic Town" for its traditional architecture full of alleys and houses with wide patios and corridors, buildings supported by columns and cobbled streets *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Amecameca]]|lat=19.116667|long=-98.766667|wikidata=Q93867}} — small town near the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ecatepec]]|la19.574|long=-99.035|wikidata=Q15121208}} — largest suburb of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ixtapan de la Sal]]|lat=18.8415|long=-99.6783|wikidata=Q2018330}} — a small city known for its thermal baths, a designated [[Pueblos Magicos|Pueblo Magico]] ("Magic Town") *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Malinalco]]|lat=18.95|long=-99.49|wikidata=Q1584311}} - ancient pre-colombian settlement with many archaeological sites nearby, known for its black Christ figure and for shamans and dark magic *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Metepec]]|lat=19.251111|long=-99.604722|wikidata=Q1798671}} — a touristy town known for its pottery *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Naucalpan]]|lat=19.474|long=-99.238|wikidata=Q219574}} — upscale suburb on the northwest side of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[El Oro de Hidalgo]]|wikidata=Q27785387}} - picturesque historic gold mining town, it is one of Mexico's designated [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Temoaya]]|lat=19.465|long=-99.594|wikidata=Q23058823}} - small town that preserves Otomi cultural traditions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tenancingo]]|lat=18.9611|long=-99.5904|wikidata=Q3844696}} - small town southeast of Mexico City, site of Desierto del Carmen, a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] and 18th century Carmelite convent *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tepotzotlán]]|lat=19.717688 |long=-99.2117306|wikidata=Q1905161}} - charming small city on the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]], designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tequixquiac]]|wikidata=Q34828}} — an important site for Catholic religious tourism and UFO fans *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Texcoco]]|lat=19.52|long=-98.88|wikidata=Q1141799}} — preserves vestiges of the colonial style, highlighting religious buildings of the 17th century, and remains of structures from pre-Columbian times *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tonatico]]|lat=18.808249429751456|long=-99.67015265291255}} — small colonial town with caverns and natural attractions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Valle de Bravo]]|lat=19.195|long=-100.129|wikidata=Q3058725}} — town on the shores of Lake Avondaro, close to butterfly sanctuaries and thermal spas ==Other destinations== [[Image:Feathered_Serpant_at_Teotihucan.JPG‎|thumb|Feathered Serpent at Teotihucan]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|lat=19.6925|long=-98.843889|wikidata=Q172613}} — impressive pre-Columbian archaeological site with massive pyramids *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park]] | lat=19.2362 | long=-98.6634}} — twin volcanoes east of Mexico City on the border with Puebla state *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]] | lat=19.108119 | long=-99.75507}} — snow-capped volcano near the state capital *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mammoth Central|lat=19.73916 |long=-98.98654|wikidata=Q104855390|wikipedia=Mammoth central}} — the world's largest concentration of mammoth fossils was discovered when the new Felipe Angeles International Airport was constructed at the site of the Santa Lucia Air Force Base between 2019 and 2022. A large paleontological museum, '''Museo Paleontológico de Santa Lucía Quinamétzin''', was built at the airport to display many fossilized skeletons and exhibits about pre-historic conditions of the local area. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Villa del Carbón]]|lat=19.729|long=-99.462|wikidata=Q29045241}} — an outdoorsman's playground with numerous rivers and streams feeding into 4 large man-made lakes. Aside from trout fishing, there's plenty of water sports like swimming, sailing, and kayaking. Landlubbers will find miles of hiking trails, camping, rapelling, and opportunities for nature watching. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Temoaya#See|Centro Ceremonial Otomí]]|lat=19.530823|long=-99.523500|wikidata=Q5761051}} — a ceremonial place of the Otomí people. This modern temple was built in 1981 and was used in the James Bond movie ''License to Kill'', as the villain Sánchez's headquarters. You can walk through the park or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There is a restaurant and a market. Access is easy by bus from Mexico City (e.g., Cuatro Caminos, 90 min) to [[Temoaya]] and from there a local bus (20 min). ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]''' is a historic route through [[Central Mexico]], [[Bajio]], and [[Northern Mexico]] and the southwestern U.S. state of [[New Mexico]]. The route is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== This state is the most populous state (almost 17 million people in 2020) in the country and the most densely populated (720/km²). There are an abundance of activities around the state, but most are concentrated around the Mexico City metropolitan area and Toluca, the state capital. The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is ''mexiquense'', distinct from ''mexicano'' ("Mexican"), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole. ==Get in== Mexico State surrounds Mexico City on three sides, so travelers usually get into the state from outside the country or from more distant parts of the country through [[Mexico City]]. Domestic travelers from other Mexican cities and states can fly into Santa Lucia or Toluca. ===By air=== * '''[[Benito Juárez International Airport]]''' (usually known as Mexico City International and commonly abbreviated "AICM") ({{IATA|MEX}}) is the main airport for Mexico City. It serves all Mexican commercial airlines and a wide range of foreign carriers with routes to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. * '''Felipe Angeles International Airport''' (usually known as Santa Lucia Airport and commonly abbreviated "AIFA") ({{IATA|NLU}}) is a new commercial airport facility opened in 2022, 48km north of Mexico City. It serves as the main cargo airport for Mexico City and is an emerging hub airport for many Mexican carriers, it also handles some international flights to destinations in Latin America. * '''Toluca International Airport''' ({{IATA|TLC}}) serves the state capital and has often served as a regional focus city for low-cost carriers. The airport is underutilized with infrastructure to handle far more traffic than it receives. ===By bus=== Mexico State is very easy to reach by bus with service to every larger population center by first-class bus and every small town by at least a second-class bus. See the articles for individual cities for details, or see [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information. ==Get around== [[File:Red del ferrocarril.jpg|thumb|Route map for the Ferrocarril Suburbano]] [[File:Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México estación Buenavista.jpg|thumb|left|Ferrocarril Suburbano train at the Buenavista station]] Bus and car are the most flexible ways to get around in Mexico State, though traffic is heavy and slow near Mexico City and in Toluca and larger cities. Train service is increasingly useful, but the network is limited in range and not always well integrated. ===By train=== The '''Ferrocarril Suburbano''' is a commuter rail system that connects downtown Mexico City with northern Mexico State municipalities. Service is provided on the Buenavista-Teotihuacan line (Blue), and the Buenavista-Cuauhtitlan line (Red). A third line (Green) connects Nezahualcyotl to Chalco. Communities served include Tultitlán, San Rafael, and Tlanepantla. Buses connect rail stations to nearby neighborhoods. In April 2026, a new rail line was opened connecting Ferrocarril Suburbano Line 1 with the Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport, commonly referred to as ''AIFA'' or sometimes ''Santa Lucia'' ({{IATA|NLU}}). The Ferrocarril Suburbano can get passengers from AIFA to downtown Mexico City (Buenaventura) in as little as 40 minutes. Fares range from M$6.50 to M$15.50 (Jan 2023), depending on distance. You must buy a rechargable fare card to ride the train and fare cards for the Metro or the Tren Ligero do not work with Ferrocarril Suburbano (you have to buy a separate card). A rechargable card costs M$30, M$17 of which is an initial credit for fares. When you run out of money on your card, use the machines at rail stations to add funds. [[File:Tren México-Toluca El Insurgente - 19.jpg|thumb|El Insurgente train at the Zinacantepec station]] The '''Interurban Tren Mexico City–Toluca''' (universally known as '''El Insurgente''') is an inter-urban rail project to connect the state capital with the nations capital. The 57-km rail line has been in the works since 2012. All of the stations within the State of Mexico opened in 2023. The final leg into Mexico City (terminating at Observatorio) opened in early 2026. Shuttle buses to the Toluca Airport (TLC) will be available at the Tecnologico station. The line will provide connections to Mexico City's Metro system at the Observatorio station, which is also one of Mexico City's four major bus station with long-distance buses to cities to the southeast of Mexico City. ==See== * The ancient pyramids of '''[[Teotihuacan]]''' are 40 km northeast of Mexico City. The ruins are Mexico's most popular archaeological site. *The '''National Museum of the Viceroyalty''' is in [[Tepotzotlán]], just outside Mexico City, it is one of the country's best historical museums about [[Colonial Mexico]]. * '''The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System''', a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] (partially located in [[Mexico State]]), the aqueduct is 45 km in length, running between [[Zempoala]] and [[Otumba]] * '''Grutas la Estrella''' is a magnificent show cave about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City ==Do== * '''Zacango Ecological Park''' - large zoo in the town of Calimaya, (near Toluca), rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and more than 170 other species. * '''Bioparque Estrella''' - theme park about 1 hour northwest of Mexico City. Features a Jurassic Park ride, animal safaris, and an underground mine ride. * '''[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]]''' - forested mountain slopes on one of Mexico's highest peaks with twin volcanic crater lakes at the summit. * '''[[Valle de Bravo]]''' - weekend playground for Mexico City professionals who enjoy watersports on the sparkling lake, cozy restaurants and inns, and adrenaline pumping activities like parasailing and water skiing. * '''Piedra Herrada''' - is the winter home of more than a million butterflies, though less famous than the [[Monarch Butterfly Reserves]] in [[Michoacan]] (so less crowded) ==Eat== Everything about [[Central Mexico#Eat|Central Mexican cuisine]] is true of food in Mexico State, though some dishes are more emblematic of the area than others. ''Tlacoyos'' are similar to ''huaraches'' served in other states. It's essentially a thick, flat tortilla topped with stewed meats or vegetables. It can be folded in half and eaten like a big taco, but is more likely to be eaten like a slice of pizza. In Mexico State, tlacoyos are often made with blue corn meal, giving them a unique appearance. ==Drink== Beer is the most popular drink in most of Mexico and in Mexico State, the most popular beers are from the Modelo brewery in Mexico City. A number of small craft breweries operate in many cities of the region. Pulque is also popular throughout Mexico State. Local craft breweries and pulquerias will be listed in the various destination (city) articles. ==Stay safe== All of the usual advice to be vigilant applies in Mexico State, though the area is not one of the areas known for violent crime. It is generally safe to travel throughout the state with normal precautions and avoiding sketchy areas off the normal tourist routes. ==Go next== * [[Cuernavaca]] - the city of eternal spring * [[Hidalgo]] - many quaint colonial towns * [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] - volcanoes and colonial cities * [[Guerrero]] - mountains, caves, silver, and the beaches of Acapulco * [[Michoacan]] - Purhepecha traditions and famous butterfly reserves {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Central Mexico}} {{geo|19.35|-99.63|zoom=9|layer=O}} tttahvu7g23zrvzgadsriu1895d50z5 5298431 5298429 2026-06-25T13:32:20Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* By train */ - change future tense to present tense 5298431 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Mexico State Cerro Zacatenco.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Mexico State''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: Estado de México), often referred to locally as '''''Edomex''''' (a contraction of the full Spanish name), is one of the federal entities of the country of the same name in [[Central Mexico]], surrounding [[Mexico City]] on three sides. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.341|-99.456|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} {{mapshapes|Q1621240}} <!-- Suburban rail --> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Toluca]]|lat=19.2925|long=-99.656944|wikidata=Q209034}} — capital of the state, known for its botanical gardens and many museums *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Aculco]]|wikidata=Q2278207}} — has been designated a "Magic Town" for its traditional architecture full of alleys and houses with wide patios and corridors, buildings supported by columns and cobbled streets *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Amecameca]]|lat=19.116667|long=-98.766667|wikidata=Q93867}} — small town near the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ecatepec]]|la19.574|long=-99.035|wikidata=Q15121208}} — largest suburb of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ixtapan de la Sal]]|lat=18.8415|long=-99.6783|wikidata=Q2018330}} — a small city known for its thermal baths, a designated [[Pueblos Magicos|Pueblo Magico]] ("Magic Town") *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Malinalco]]|lat=18.95|long=-99.49|wikidata=Q1584311}} - ancient pre-colombian settlement with many archaeological sites nearby, known for its black Christ figure and for shamans and dark magic *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Metepec]]|lat=19.251111|long=-99.604722|wikidata=Q1798671}} — a touristy town known for its pottery *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Naucalpan]]|lat=19.474|long=-99.238|wikidata=Q219574}} — upscale suburb on the northwest side of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[El Oro de Hidalgo]]|wikidata=Q27785387}} - picturesque historic gold mining town, it is one of Mexico's designated [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Temoaya]]|lat=19.465|long=-99.594|wikidata=Q23058823}} - small town that preserves Otomi cultural traditions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tenancingo]]|lat=18.9611|long=-99.5904|wikidata=Q3844696}} - small town southeast of Mexico City, site of Desierto del Carmen, a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] and 18th century Carmelite convent *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tepotzotlán]]|lat=19.717688 |long=-99.2117306|wikidata=Q1905161}} - charming small city on the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]], designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tequixquiac]]|wikidata=Q34828}} — an important site for Catholic religious tourism and UFO fans *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Texcoco]]|lat=19.52|long=-98.88|wikidata=Q1141799}} — preserves vestiges of the colonial style, highlighting religious buildings of the 17th century, and remains of structures from pre-Columbian times *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tonatico]]|lat=18.808249429751456|long=-99.67015265291255}} — small colonial town with caverns and natural attractions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Valle de Bravo]]|lat=19.195|long=-100.129|wikidata=Q3058725}} — town on the shores of Lake Avondaro, close to butterfly sanctuaries and thermal spas ==Other destinations== [[Image:Feathered_Serpant_at_Teotihucan.JPG‎|thumb|Feathered Serpent at Teotihucan]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|lat=19.6925|long=-98.843889|wikidata=Q172613}} — impressive pre-Columbian archaeological site with massive pyramids *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park]] | lat=19.2362 | long=-98.6634}} — twin volcanoes east of Mexico City on the border with Puebla state *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]] | lat=19.108119 | long=-99.75507}} — snow-capped volcano near the state capital *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mammoth Central|lat=19.73916 |long=-98.98654|wikidata=Q104855390|wikipedia=Mammoth central}} — the world's largest concentration of mammoth fossils was discovered when the new Felipe Angeles International Airport was constructed at the site of the Santa Lucia Air Force Base between 2019 and 2022. A large paleontological museum, '''Museo Paleontológico de Santa Lucía Quinamétzin''', was built at the airport to display many fossilized skeletons and exhibits about pre-historic conditions of the local area. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Villa del Carbón]]|lat=19.729|long=-99.462|wikidata=Q29045241}} — an outdoorsman's playground with numerous rivers and streams feeding into 4 large man-made lakes. Aside from trout fishing, there's plenty of water sports like swimming, sailing, and kayaking. Landlubbers will find miles of hiking trails, camping, rapelling, and opportunities for nature watching. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Temoaya#See|Centro Ceremonial Otomí]]|lat=19.530823|long=-99.523500|wikidata=Q5761051}} — a ceremonial place of the Otomí people. This modern temple was built in 1981 and was used in the James Bond movie ''License to Kill'', as the villain Sánchez's headquarters. You can walk through the park or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There is a restaurant and a market. Access is easy by bus from Mexico City (e.g., Cuatro Caminos, 90 min) to [[Temoaya]] and from there a local bus (20 min). ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]''' is a historic route through [[Central Mexico]], [[Bajio]], and [[Northern Mexico]] and the southwestern U.S. state of [[New Mexico]]. The route is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== This state is the most populous state (almost 17 million people in 2020) in the country and the most densely populated (720/km²). There are an abundance of activities around the state, but most are concentrated around the Mexico City metropolitan area and Toluca, the state capital. The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is ''mexiquense'', distinct from ''mexicano'' ("Mexican"), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole. ==Get in== Mexico State surrounds Mexico City on three sides, so travelers usually get into the state from outside the country or from more distant parts of the country through [[Mexico City]]. Domestic travelers from other Mexican cities and states can fly into Santa Lucia or Toluca. ===By air=== * '''[[Benito Juárez International Airport]]''' (usually known as Mexico City International and commonly abbreviated "AICM") ({{IATA|MEX}}) is the main airport for Mexico City. It serves all Mexican commercial airlines and a wide range of foreign carriers with routes to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. * '''Felipe Angeles International Airport''' (usually known as Santa Lucia Airport and commonly abbreviated "AIFA") ({{IATA|NLU}}) is a new commercial airport facility opened in 2022, 48km north of Mexico City. It serves as the main cargo airport for Mexico City and is an emerging hub airport for many Mexican carriers, it also handles some international flights to destinations in Latin America. * '''Toluca International Airport''' ({{IATA|TLC}}) serves the state capital and has often served as a regional focus city for low-cost carriers. The airport is underutilized with infrastructure to handle far more traffic than it receives. ===By bus=== Mexico State is very easy to reach by bus with service to every larger population center by first-class bus and every small town by at least a second-class bus. See the articles for individual cities for details, or see [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information. ==Get around== [[File:Red del ferrocarril.jpg|thumb|Route map for the Ferrocarril Suburbano]] [[File:Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México estación Buenavista.jpg|thumb|left|Ferrocarril Suburbano train at the Buenavista station]] Bus and car are the most flexible ways to get around in Mexico State, though traffic is heavy and slow near Mexico City and in Toluca and larger cities. Train service is increasingly useful, but the network is limited in range and not always well integrated. ===By train=== The '''Ferrocarril Suburbano''' is a commuter rail system that connects downtown Mexico City with northern Mexico State municipalities. Service is provided on the Buenavista-Teotihuacan line (Blue), and the Buenavista-Cuauhtitlan line (Red). A third line (Green) connects Nezahualcyotl to Chalco. Communities served include Tultitlán, San Rafael, and Tlanepantla. Buses connect rail stations to nearby neighborhoods. In April 2026, a new rail line was opened connecting Ferrocarril Suburbano Line 1 with the Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport, commonly referred to as ''AIFA'' or sometimes ''Santa Lucia'' ({{IATA|NLU}}). The Ferrocarril Suburbano can get passengers from AIFA to downtown Mexico City (Buenaventura) in as little as 40 minutes. Fares range from M$6.50 to M$15.50 (Jan 2023), depending on distance. You must buy a rechargable fare card to ride the train and fare cards for the Metro or the Tren Ligero do not work with Ferrocarril Suburbano (you have to buy a separate card). A rechargable card costs M$30, M$17 of which is an initial credit for fares. When you run out of money on your card, use the machines at rail stations to add funds. [[File:Tren México-Toluca El Insurgente - 19.jpg|thumb|El Insurgente train at the Zinacantepec station]] The '''Interurban Tren Mexico City–Toluca''' (universally known as '''El Insurgente''') is an inter-urban rail project to connect the state capital with the nations capital. The 57-km rail line has been in the works since 2012. All of the stations within the State of Mexico opened in 2023. The final leg into Mexico City (terminating at Observatorio) opened in early 2026. Shuttle buses to the Toluca Airport (TLC) are available at the Tecnologico station. The line provides connections to Mexico City's Metro system at the Observatorio station, which is also one of Mexico City's four major bus stations with [[Bus travel in Mexico|long-distance buses]] to cities to the southeast of Mexico City. ==See== * The ancient pyramids of '''[[Teotihuacan]]''' are 40 km northeast of Mexico City. The ruins are Mexico's most popular archaeological site. *The '''National Museum of the Viceroyalty''' is in [[Tepotzotlán]], just outside Mexico City, it is one of the country's best historical museums about [[Colonial Mexico]]. * '''The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System''', a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] (partially located in [[Mexico State]]), the aqueduct is 45 km in length, running between [[Zempoala]] and [[Otumba]] * '''Grutas la Estrella''' is a magnificent show cave about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City ==Do== * '''Zacango Ecological Park''' - large zoo in the town of Calimaya, (near Toluca), rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and more than 170 other species. * '''Bioparque Estrella''' - theme park about 1 hour northwest of Mexico City. Features a Jurassic Park ride, animal safaris, and an underground mine ride. * '''[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]]''' - forested mountain slopes on one of Mexico's highest peaks with twin volcanic crater lakes at the summit. * '''[[Valle de Bravo]]''' - weekend playground for Mexico City professionals who enjoy watersports on the sparkling lake, cozy restaurants and inns, and adrenaline pumping activities like parasailing and water skiing. * '''Piedra Herrada''' - is the winter home of more than a million butterflies, though less famous than the [[Monarch Butterfly Reserves]] in [[Michoacan]] (so less crowded) ==Eat== Everything about [[Central Mexico#Eat|Central Mexican cuisine]] is true of food in Mexico State, though some dishes are more emblematic of the area than others. ''Tlacoyos'' are similar to ''huaraches'' served in other states. It's essentially a thick, flat tortilla topped with stewed meats or vegetables. It can be folded in half and eaten like a big taco, but is more likely to be eaten like a slice of pizza. In Mexico State, tlacoyos are often made with blue corn meal, giving them a unique appearance. ==Drink== Beer is the most popular drink in most of Mexico and in Mexico State, the most popular beers are from the Modelo brewery in Mexico City. A number of small craft breweries operate in many cities of the region. Pulque is also popular throughout Mexico State. Local craft breweries and pulquerias will be listed in the various destination (city) articles. ==Stay safe== All of the usual advice to be vigilant applies in Mexico State, though the area is not one of the areas known for violent crime. It is generally safe to travel throughout the state with normal precautions and avoiding sketchy areas off the normal tourist routes. ==Go next== * [[Cuernavaca]] - the city of eternal spring * [[Hidalgo]] - many quaint colonial towns * [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] - volcanoes and colonial cities * [[Guerrero]] - mountains, caves, silver, and the beaches of Acapulco * [[Michoacan]] - Purhepecha traditions and famous butterfly reserves {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Central Mexico}} {{geo|19.35|-99.63|zoom=9|layer=O}} mjxxwsa5jj1e412o41cp56xc4dra291 5298433 5298431 2026-06-25T13:41:03Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* See */ 5298433 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Mexico State Cerro Zacatenco.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Mexico State''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: Estado de México), often referred to locally as '''''Edomex''''' (a contraction of the full Spanish name), is one of the federal entities of the country of the same name in [[Central Mexico]], surrounding [[Mexico City]] on three sides. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.341|-99.456|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} {{mapshapes|Q1621240}} <!-- Suburban rail --> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Toluca]]|lat=19.2925|long=-99.656944|wikidata=Q209034}} — capital of the state, known for its botanical gardens and many museums *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Aculco]]|wikidata=Q2278207}} — has been designated a "Magic Town" for its traditional architecture full of alleys and houses with wide patios and corridors, buildings supported by columns and cobbled streets *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Amecameca]]|lat=19.116667|long=-98.766667|wikidata=Q93867}} — small town near the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ecatepec]]|la19.574|long=-99.035|wikidata=Q15121208}} — largest suburb of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ixtapan de la Sal]]|lat=18.8415|long=-99.6783|wikidata=Q2018330}} — a small city known for its thermal baths, a designated [[Pueblos Magicos|Pueblo Magico]] ("Magic Town") *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Malinalco]]|lat=18.95|long=-99.49|wikidata=Q1584311}} - ancient pre-colombian settlement with many archaeological sites nearby, known for its black Christ figure and for shamans and dark magic *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Metepec]]|lat=19.251111|long=-99.604722|wikidata=Q1798671}} — a touristy town known for its pottery *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Naucalpan]]|lat=19.474|long=-99.238|wikidata=Q219574}} — upscale suburb on the northwest side of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[El Oro de Hidalgo]]|wikidata=Q27785387}} - picturesque historic gold mining town, it is one of Mexico's designated [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Temoaya]]|lat=19.465|long=-99.594|wikidata=Q23058823}} - small town that preserves Otomi cultural traditions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tenancingo]]|lat=18.9611|long=-99.5904|wikidata=Q3844696}} - small town southeast of Mexico City, site of Desierto del Carmen, a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] and 18th century Carmelite convent *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tepotzotlán]]|lat=19.717688 |long=-99.2117306|wikidata=Q1905161}} - charming small city on the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]], designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tequixquiac]]|wikidata=Q34828}} — an important site for Catholic religious tourism and UFO fans *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Texcoco]]|lat=19.52|long=-98.88|wikidata=Q1141799}} — preserves vestiges of the colonial style, highlighting religious buildings of the 17th century, and remains of structures from pre-Columbian times *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tonatico]]|lat=18.808249429751456|long=-99.67015265291255}} — small colonial town with caverns and natural attractions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Valle de Bravo]]|lat=19.195|long=-100.129|wikidata=Q3058725}} — town on the shores of Lake Avondaro, close to butterfly sanctuaries and thermal spas ==Other destinations== [[Image:Feathered_Serpant_at_Teotihucan.JPG‎|thumb|Feathered Serpent at Teotihucan]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|lat=19.6925|long=-98.843889|wikidata=Q172613}} — impressive pre-Columbian archaeological site with massive pyramids *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park]] | lat=19.2362 | long=-98.6634}} — twin volcanoes east of Mexico City on the border with Puebla state *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]] | lat=19.108119 | long=-99.75507}} — snow-capped volcano near the state capital *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mammoth Central|lat=19.73916 |long=-98.98654|wikidata=Q104855390|wikipedia=Mammoth central}} — the world's largest concentration of mammoth fossils was discovered when the new Felipe Angeles International Airport was constructed at the site of the Santa Lucia Air Force Base between 2019 and 2022. A large paleontological museum, '''Museo Paleontológico de Santa Lucía Quinamétzin''', was built at the airport to display many fossilized skeletons and exhibits about pre-historic conditions of the local area. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Villa del Carbón]]|lat=19.729|long=-99.462|wikidata=Q29045241}} — an outdoorsman's playground with numerous rivers and streams feeding into 4 large man-made lakes. Aside from trout fishing, there's plenty of water sports like swimming, sailing, and kayaking. Landlubbers will find miles of hiking trails, camping, rapelling, and opportunities for nature watching. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Temoaya#See|Centro Ceremonial Otomí]]|lat=19.530823|long=-99.523500|wikidata=Q5761051}} — a ceremonial place of the Otomí people. This modern temple was built in 1981 and was used in the James Bond movie ''License to Kill'', as the villain Sánchez's headquarters. You can walk through the park or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There is a restaurant and a market. Access is easy by bus from Mexico City (e.g., Cuatro Caminos, 90 min) to [[Temoaya]] and from there a local bus (20 min). ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]''' is a historic route through [[Central Mexico]], [[Bajio]], and [[Northern Mexico]] and the southwestern U.S. state of [[New Mexico]]. The route is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== This state is the most populous state (almost 17 million people in 2020) in the country and the most densely populated (720/km²). There are an abundance of activities around the state, but most are concentrated around the Mexico City metropolitan area and Toluca, the state capital. The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is ''mexiquense'', distinct from ''mexicano'' ("Mexican"), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole. ==Get in== Mexico State surrounds Mexico City on three sides, so travelers usually get into the state from outside the country or from more distant parts of the country through [[Mexico City]]. Domestic travelers from other Mexican cities and states can fly into Santa Lucia or Toluca. ===By air=== * '''[[Benito Juárez International Airport]]''' (usually known as Mexico City International and commonly abbreviated "AICM") ({{IATA|MEX}}) is the main airport for Mexico City. It serves all Mexican commercial airlines and a wide range of foreign carriers with routes to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. * '''Felipe Angeles International Airport''' (usually known as Santa Lucia Airport and commonly abbreviated "AIFA") ({{IATA|NLU}}) is a new commercial airport facility opened in 2022, 48km north of Mexico City. It serves as the main cargo airport for Mexico City and is an emerging hub airport for many Mexican carriers, it also handles some international flights to destinations in Latin America. * '''Toluca International Airport''' ({{IATA|TLC}}) serves the state capital and has often served as a regional focus city for low-cost carriers. The airport is underutilized with infrastructure to handle far more traffic than it receives. ===By bus=== Mexico State is very easy to reach by bus with service to every larger population center by first-class bus and every small town by at least a second-class bus. See the articles for individual cities for details, or see [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information. ==Get around== [[File:Red del ferrocarril.jpg|thumb|Route map for the Ferrocarril Suburbano]] [[File:Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México estación Buenavista.jpg|thumb|left|Ferrocarril Suburbano train at the Buenavista station]] Bus and car are the most flexible ways to get around in Mexico State, though traffic is heavy and slow near Mexico City and in Toluca and larger cities. Train service is increasingly useful, but the network is limited in range and not always well integrated. ===By train=== The '''Ferrocarril Suburbano''' is a commuter rail system that connects downtown Mexico City with northern Mexico State municipalities. Service is provided on the Buenavista-Teotihuacan line (Blue), and the Buenavista-Cuauhtitlan line (Red). A third line (Green) connects Nezahualcyotl to Chalco. Communities served include Tultitlán, San Rafael, and Tlanepantla. Buses connect rail stations to nearby neighborhoods. In April 2026, a new rail line was opened connecting Ferrocarril Suburbano Line 1 with the Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport, commonly referred to as ''AIFA'' or sometimes ''Santa Lucia'' ({{IATA|NLU}}). The Ferrocarril Suburbano can get passengers from AIFA to downtown Mexico City (Buenaventura) in as little as 40 minutes. Fares range from M$6.50 to M$15.50 (Jan 2023), depending on distance. You must buy a rechargable fare card to ride the train and fare cards for the Metro or the Tren Ligero do not work with Ferrocarril Suburbano (you have to buy a separate card). A rechargable card costs M$30, M$17 of which is an initial credit for fares. When you run out of money on your card, use the machines at rail stations to add funds. [[File:Tren México-Toluca El Insurgente - 19.jpg|thumb|El Insurgente train at the Zinacantepec station]] The '''Interurban Tren Mexico City–Toluca''' (universally known as '''El Insurgente''') is an inter-urban rail project to connect the state capital with the nations capital. The 57-km rail line has been in the works since 2012. All of the stations within the State of Mexico opened in 2023. The final leg into Mexico City (terminating at Observatorio) opened in early 2026. Shuttle buses to the Toluca Airport (TLC) are available at the Tecnologico station. The line provides connections to Mexico City's Metro system at the Observatorio station, which is also one of Mexico City's four major bus stations with [[Bus travel in Mexico|long-distance buses]] to cities to the southeast of Mexico City. ==See== * The ancient pyramids of '''[[Teotihuacan]]''' are 40 km northeast of Mexico City. The ruins are Mexico's most popular archaeological site. *The '''National Museum of the Viceroyalty''' is in [[Tepotzotlán]], just outside Mexico City, it is one of the country's best historical museums about [[Colonial Mexico]]. * '''The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System''', a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] (partially located in [[Mexico State]]), the aqueduct is 45 km in length, running between [[Zempoala]] and [[Otumba]] * '''Grutas la Estrella''' is a magnificent show cave about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City * Estado de Mexico has 12 small towns that are designated as ''[[Pueblos Mágicos]]'' for their charming character and historical or cultural preservation, with cozy restaurants and inns and relatively easy access from the capital, these include [[Tepotzotlán]], [[El Oro]], and [[Malinalco]]. ==Do== * '''Zacango Ecological Park''' - large zoo in the town of Calimaya, (near Toluca), rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and more than 170 other species. * '''Bioparque Estrella''' - theme park about 1 hour northwest of Mexico City. Features a Jurassic Park ride, animal safaris, and an underground mine ride. * '''[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]]''' - forested mountain slopes on one of Mexico's highest peaks with twin volcanic crater lakes at the summit. * '''[[Valle de Bravo]]''' - weekend playground for Mexico City professionals who enjoy watersports on the sparkling lake, cozy restaurants and inns, and adrenaline pumping activities like parasailing and water skiing. * '''Piedra Herrada''' - is the winter home of more than a million butterflies, though less famous than the [[Monarch Butterfly Reserves]] in [[Michoacan]] (so less crowded) ==Eat== Everything about [[Central Mexico#Eat|Central Mexican cuisine]] is true of food in Mexico State, though some dishes are more emblematic of the area than others. ''Tlacoyos'' are similar to ''huaraches'' served in other states. It's essentially a thick, flat tortilla topped with stewed meats or vegetables. It can be folded in half and eaten like a big taco, but is more likely to be eaten like a slice of pizza. In Mexico State, tlacoyos are often made with blue corn meal, giving them a unique appearance. ==Drink== Beer is the most popular drink in most of Mexico and in Mexico State, the most popular beers are from the Modelo brewery in Mexico City. A number of small craft breweries operate in many cities of the region. Pulque is also popular throughout Mexico State. Local craft breweries and pulquerias will be listed in the various destination (city) articles. ==Stay safe== All of the usual advice to be vigilant applies in Mexico State, though the area is not one of the areas known for violent crime. It is generally safe to travel throughout the state with normal precautions and avoiding sketchy areas off the normal tourist routes. ==Go next== * [[Cuernavaca]] - the city of eternal spring * [[Hidalgo]] - many quaint colonial towns * [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] - volcanoes and colonial cities * [[Guerrero]] - mountains, caves, silver, and the beaches of Acapulco * [[Michoacan]] - Purhepecha traditions and famous butterfly reserves {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Central Mexico}} {{geo|19.35|-99.63|zoom=9|layer=O}} 5ifyw14r5kw3y7svnpvy183h9aagaow 5298436 5298433 2026-06-25T14:02:52Z Mrkstvns 144844 add foto 5298436 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Mexico State Cerro Zacatenco.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Mexico State''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: Estado de México), often referred to locally as '''''Edomex''''' (a contraction of the full Spanish name), is one of the federal entities of the country of the same name in [[Central Mexico]], surrounding [[Mexico City]] on three sides. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.341|-99.456|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} {{mapshapes|Q1621240}} <!-- Suburban rail --> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Toluca]]|lat=19.2925|long=-99.656944|wikidata=Q209034}} — capital of the state, known for its botanical gardens and many museums *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Aculco]]|wikidata=Q2278207}} — has been designated a "Magic Town" for its traditional architecture full of alleys and houses with wide patios and corridors, buildings supported by columns and cobbled streets *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Amecameca]]|lat=19.116667|long=-98.766667|wikidata=Q93867}} — small town near the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ecatepec]]|la19.574|long=-99.035|wikidata=Q15121208}} — largest suburb of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ixtapan de la Sal]]|lat=18.8415|long=-99.6783|wikidata=Q2018330}} — a small city known for its thermal baths, a designated [[Pueblos Magicos|Pueblo Magico]] ("Magic Town") *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Malinalco]]|lat=18.95|long=-99.49|wikidata=Q1584311}} - ancient pre-colombian settlement with many archaeological sites nearby, known for its black Christ figure and for shamans and dark magic *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Metepec]]|lat=19.251111|long=-99.604722|wikidata=Q1798671}} — a touristy town known for its pottery *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Naucalpan]]|lat=19.474|long=-99.238|wikidata=Q219574}} — upscale suburb on the northwest side of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[El Oro de Hidalgo]]|wikidata=Q27785387}} - picturesque historic gold mining town, it is one of Mexico's designated [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Temoaya]]|lat=19.465|long=-99.594|wikidata=Q23058823}} - small town that preserves Otomi cultural traditions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tenancingo]]|lat=18.9611|long=-99.5904|wikidata=Q3844696}} - small town southeast of Mexico City, site of Desierto del Carmen, a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] and 18th century Carmelite convent *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tepotzotlán]]|lat=19.717688 |long=-99.2117306|wikidata=Q1905161}} - charming small city on the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]], designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tequixquiac]]|wikidata=Q34828}} — an important site for Catholic religious tourism and UFO fans *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Texcoco]]|lat=19.52|long=-98.88|wikidata=Q1141799}} — preserves vestiges of the colonial style, highlighting religious buildings of the 17th century, and remains of structures from pre-Columbian times *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tonatico]]|lat=18.808249429751456|long=-99.67015265291255}} — small colonial town with caverns and natural attractions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Valle de Bravo]]|lat=19.195|long=-100.129|wikidata=Q3058725}} — town on the shores of Lake Avondaro, close to butterfly sanctuaries and thermal spas ==Other destinations== [[Image:Feathered_Serpant_at_Teotihucan.JPG‎|thumb|Feathered Serpent at Teotihucan]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|lat=19.6925|long=-98.843889|wikidata=Q172613}} — impressive pre-Columbian archaeological site with massive pyramids *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park]] | lat=19.2362 | long=-98.6634}} — twin volcanoes east of Mexico City on the border with Puebla state *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]] | lat=19.108119 | long=-99.75507}} — snow-capped volcano near the state capital *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mammoth Central|lat=19.73916 |long=-98.98654|wikidata=Q104855390|wikipedia=Mammoth central}} — the world's largest concentration of mammoth fossils was discovered when the new Felipe Angeles International Airport was constructed at the site of the Santa Lucia Air Force Base between 2019 and 2022. A large paleontological museum, '''Museo Paleontológico de Santa Lucía Quinamétzin''', was built at the airport to display many fossilized skeletons and exhibits about pre-historic conditions of the local area. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Villa del Carbón]]|lat=19.729|long=-99.462|wikidata=Q29045241}} — an outdoorsman's playground with numerous rivers and streams feeding into 4 large man-made lakes. Aside from trout fishing, there's plenty of water sports like swimming, sailing, and kayaking. Landlubbers will find miles of hiking trails, camping, rapelling, and opportunities for nature watching. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Temoaya#See|Centro Ceremonial Otomí]]|lat=19.530823|long=-99.523500|wikidata=Q5761051}} — a ceremonial place of the Otomí people. This modern temple was built in 1981 and was used in the James Bond movie ''License to Kill'', as the villain Sánchez's headquarters. You can walk through the park or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There is a restaurant and a market. Access is easy by bus from Mexico City (e.g., Cuatro Caminos, 90 min) to [[Temoaya]] and from there a local bus (20 min). ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]''' is a historic route through [[Central Mexico]], [[Bajio]], and [[Northern Mexico]] and the southwestern U.S. state of [[New Mexico]]. The route is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== This state is the most populous state (almost 17 million people in 2020) in the country and the most densely populated (720/km²). There are an abundance of activities around the state, but most are concentrated around the Mexico City metropolitan area and Toluca, the state capital. The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is ''mexiquense'', distinct from ''mexicano'' ("Mexican"), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole. ==Get in== Mexico State surrounds Mexico City on three sides, so travelers usually get into the state from outside the country or from more distant parts of the country through [[Mexico City]]. Domestic travelers from other Mexican cities and states can fly into Santa Lucia or Toluca. ===By air=== * '''[[Benito Juárez International Airport]]''' (usually known as Mexico City International and commonly abbreviated "AICM") ({{IATA|MEX}}) is the main airport for Mexico City. It serves all Mexican commercial airlines and a wide range of foreign carriers with routes to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. * '''Felipe Angeles International Airport''' (usually known as Santa Lucia Airport and commonly abbreviated "AIFA") ({{IATA|NLU}}) is a new commercial airport facility opened in 2022, 48km north of Mexico City. It serves as the main cargo airport for Mexico City and is an emerging hub airport for many Mexican carriers, it also handles some international flights to destinations in Latin America. * '''Toluca International Airport''' ({{IATA|TLC}}) serves the state capital and has often served as a regional focus city for low-cost carriers. The airport is underutilized with infrastructure to handle far more traffic than it receives. ===By bus=== Mexico State is very easy to reach by bus with service to every larger population center by first-class bus and every small town by at least a second-class bus. See the articles for individual cities for details, or see [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information. ==Get around== [[File:Red del ferrocarril.jpg|thumb|Route map for the Ferrocarril Suburbano]] [[File:Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México estación Buenavista.jpg|thumb|left|Ferrocarril Suburbano train at the Buenavista station]] Bus and car are the most flexible ways to get around in Mexico State, though traffic is heavy and slow near Mexico City and in Toluca and larger cities. Train service is increasingly useful, but the network is limited in range and not always well integrated. ===By train=== The '''Ferrocarril Suburbano''' is a commuter rail system that connects downtown Mexico City with northern Mexico State municipalities. Service is provided on the Buenavista-Teotihuacan line (Blue), and the Buenavista-Cuauhtitlan line (Red). A third line (Green) connects Nezahualcyotl to Chalco. Communities served include Tultitlán, San Rafael, and Tlanepantla. Buses connect rail stations to nearby neighborhoods. In April 2026, a new rail line was opened connecting Ferrocarril Suburbano Line 1 with the Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport, commonly referred to as ''AIFA'' or sometimes ''Santa Lucia'' ({{IATA|NLU}}). The Ferrocarril Suburbano can get passengers from AIFA to downtown Mexico City (Buenaventura) in as little as 40 minutes. Fares range from M$6.50 to M$15.50 (Jan 2023), depending on distance. You must buy a rechargable fare card to ride the train and fare cards for the Metro or the Tren Ligero do not work with Ferrocarril Suburbano (you have to buy a separate card). A rechargable card costs M$30, M$17 of which is an initial credit for fares. When you run out of money on your card, use the machines at rail stations to add funds. [[File:Tren México-Toluca El Insurgente - 19.jpg|thumb|El Insurgente train at the Zinacantepec station]] The '''Interurban Tren Mexico City–Toluca''' (universally known as '''El Insurgente''') is an inter-urban rail project to connect the state capital with the nations capital. The 57-km rail line has been in the works since 2012. All of the stations within the State of Mexico opened in 2023. The final leg into Mexico City (terminating at Observatorio) opened in early 2026. Shuttle buses to the Toluca Airport (TLC) are available at the Tecnologico station. The line provides connections to Mexico City's Metro system at the Observatorio station, which is also one of Mexico City's four major bus stations with [[Bus travel in Mexico|long-distance buses]] to cities to the southeast of Mexico City. ==See== [[File:Piedra Herrada Temascaltepec, Estado de México- Piedra Herrada Temascaltepec, State of Mexico (23227397946).jpg|thumb|Butterflies on a tree in Piedra Herrada]] * The ancient pyramids of '''[[Teotihuacan]]''' are 40 km northeast of Mexico City. The ruins are Mexico's most popular archaeological site. *The '''National Museum of the Viceroyalty''' is in [[Tepotzotlán]], just outside Mexico City, it is one of the country's best historical museums about [[Colonial Mexico]]. * '''The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System''', a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] (partially located in [[Mexico State]]), the aqueduct is 45 km in length, running between [[Zempoala]] and [[Otumba]] * '''Grutas la Estrella''' is a magnificent show cave about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City * Estado de Mexico has 12 small towns that are designated as ''[[Pueblos Mágicos]]'' for their charming character and historical or cultural preservation, with cozy restaurants and inns and relatively easy access from the capital, these include [[Tepotzotlán]], [[El Oro]], and [[Malinalco]]. ==Do== * '''Zacango Ecological Park''' - large zoo in the town of Calimaya, (near Toluca), rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and more than 170 other species. * '''Bioparque Estrella''' - theme park about 1 hour northwest of Mexico City. Features a Jurassic Park ride, animal safaris, and an underground mine ride. * '''[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]]''' - forested mountain slopes on one of Mexico's highest peaks with twin volcanic crater lakes at the summit. * '''[[Valle de Bravo]]''' - weekend playground for Mexico City professionals who enjoy watersports on the sparkling lake, cozy restaurants and inns, and adrenaline pumping activities like parasailing and water skiing. * '''Piedra Herrada''' - is the winter home of more than a million butterflies, though less famous than the [[Monarch Butterfly Reserves]] in [[Michoacan]] (so less crowded) ==Eat== Everything about [[Central Mexico#Eat|Central Mexican cuisine]] is true of food in Mexico State, though some dishes are more emblematic of the area than others. ''Tlacoyos'' are similar to ''huaraches'' served in other states. It's essentially a thick, flat tortilla topped with stewed meats or vegetables. It can be folded in half and eaten like a big taco, but is more likely to be eaten like a slice of pizza. In Mexico State, tlacoyos are often made with blue corn meal, giving them a unique appearance. ==Drink== Beer is the most popular drink in most of Mexico and in Mexico State, the most popular beers are from the Modelo brewery in Mexico City. A number of small craft breweries operate in many cities of the region. Pulque is also popular throughout Mexico State. Local craft breweries and pulquerias will be listed in the various destination (city) articles. ==Stay safe== All of the usual advice to be vigilant applies in Mexico State, though the area is not one of the areas known for violent crime. It is generally safe to travel throughout the state with normal precautions and avoiding sketchy areas off the normal tourist routes. ==Go next== * [[Cuernavaca]] - the city of eternal spring * [[Hidalgo]] - many quaint colonial towns * [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] - volcanoes and colonial cities * [[Guerrero]] - mountains, caves, silver, and the beaches of Acapulco * [[Michoacan]] - Purhepecha traditions and famous butterfly reserves {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Central Mexico}} {{geo|19.35|-99.63|zoom=9|layer=O}} qyd5zhoxczu9uq8jmu5j5ubty13bzba 5298439 5298436 2026-06-25T14:21:34Z Mrkstvns 144844 rewrite lede to emphasise why a traveler might want to visit and what to expect 5298439 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Mexico State Cerro Zacatenco.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Mexico State''' ([[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]]: Estado de México), often referred to locally as '''''Edomex''''', is one of the country's 31 states. It surrounds [[Mexico City]] on three sides. The state has several densely populated suburban municipalities near the city, but becomes very rural further away with the western part of the state being particularly mountainous as the peaks of the [[Sierra Madre]] dominate the landscape with volcanoes, forests, and small towns. To the northwest of Mexico City is the Valley of Mexico, an industrial engine of [[Central Mexico]]. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.341|-99.456|zoom=8}} {{mapshape}} {{mapshapes|Q1621240}} <!-- Suburban rail --> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Toluca]]|lat=19.2925|long=-99.656944|wikidata=Q209034}} — capital of the state, known for its botanical gardens and many museums *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Aculco]]|wikidata=Q2278207}} — has been designated a "Magic Town" for its traditional architecture full of alleys and houses with wide patios and corridors, buildings supported by columns and cobbled streets *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Amecameca]]|lat=19.116667|long=-98.766667|wikidata=Q93867}} — small town near the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ecatepec]]|la19.574|long=-99.035|wikidata=Q15121208}} — largest suburb of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Ixtapan de la Sal]]|lat=18.8415|long=-99.6783|wikidata=Q2018330}} — a small city known for its thermal baths, a designated [[Pueblos Magicos|Pueblo Magico]] ("Magic Town") *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Malinalco]]|lat=18.95|long=-99.49|wikidata=Q1584311}} - ancient pre-colombian settlement with many archaeological sites nearby, known for its black Christ figure and for shamans and dark magic *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Metepec]]|lat=19.251111|long=-99.604722|wikidata=Q1798671}} — a touristy town known for its pottery *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Naucalpan]]|lat=19.474|long=-99.238|wikidata=Q219574}} — upscale suburb on the northwest side of [[Mexico City]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[El Oro de Hidalgo]]|wikidata=Q27785387}} - picturesque historic gold mining town, it is one of Mexico's designated [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Temoaya]]|lat=19.465|long=-99.594|wikidata=Q23058823}} - small town that preserves Otomi cultural traditions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tenancingo]]|lat=18.9611|long=-99.5904|wikidata=Q3844696}} - small town southeast of Mexico City, site of Desierto del Carmen, a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] and 18th century Carmelite convent *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tepotzotlán]]|lat=19.717688 |long=-99.2117306|wikidata=Q1905161}} - charming small city on the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]], designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Mágicos]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tequixquiac]]|wikidata=Q34828}} — an important site for Catholic religious tourism and UFO fans *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Texcoco]]|lat=19.52|long=-98.88|wikidata=Q1141799}} — preserves vestiges of the colonial style, highlighting religious buildings of the 17th century, and remains of structures from pre-Columbian times *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tonatico]]|lat=18.808249429751456|long=-99.67015265291255}} — small colonial town with caverns and natural attractions *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Valle de Bravo]]|lat=19.195|long=-100.129|wikidata=Q3058725}} — town on the shores of Lake Avondaro, close to butterfly sanctuaries and thermal spas ==Other destinations== [[Image:Feathered_Serpant_at_Teotihucan.JPG‎|thumb|Feathered Serpent at Teotihucan]] *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Teotihuacan]]|lat=19.6925|long=-98.843889|wikidata=Q172613}} — impressive pre-Columbian archaeological site with massive pyramids *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park]] | lat=19.2362 | long=-98.6634}} — twin volcanoes east of Mexico City on the border with Puebla state *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]] | lat=19.108119 | long=-99.75507}} — snow-capped volcano near the state capital *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Mammoth Central|lat=19.73916 |long=-98.98654|wikidata=Q104855390|wikipedia=Mammoth central}} — the world's largest concentration of mammoth fossils was discovered when the new Felipe Angeles International Airport was constructed at the site of the Santa Lucia Air Force Base between 2019 and 2022. A large paleontological museum, '''Museo Paleontológico de Santa Lucía Quinamétzin''', was built at the airport to display many fossilized skeletons and exhibits about pre-historic conditions of the local area. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Villa del Carbón]]|lat=19.729|long=-99.462|wikidata=Q29045241}} — an outdoorsman's playground with numerous rivers and streams feeding into 4 large man-made lakes. Aside from trout fishing, there's plenty of water sports like swimming, sailing, and kayaking. Landlubbers will find miles of hiking trails, camping, rapelling, and opportunities for nature watching. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Temoaya#See|Centro Ceremonial Otomí]]|lat=19.530823|long=-99.523500|wikidata=Q5761051}} — a ceremonial place of the Otomí people. This modern temple was built in 1981 and was used in the James Bond movie ''License to Kill'', as the villain Sánchez's headquarters. You can walk through the park or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. There is a restaurant and a market. Access is easy by bus from Mexico City (e.g., Cuatro Caminos, 90 min) to [[Temoaya]] and from there a local bus (20 min). ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]]''' is a historic route through [[Central Mexico]], [[Bajio]], and [[Northern Mexico]] and the southwestern U.S. state of [[New Mexico]]. The route is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== This state is the most populous state (almost 17 million people in 2020) in the country and the most densely populated (720/km²). There are an abundance of activities around the state, but most are concentrated around the Mexico City metropolitan area and Toluca, the state capital. The nickname used to refer to people and things from the state is ''mexiquense'', distinct from ''mexicano'' ("Mexican"), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole. ==Get in== Mexico State surrounds Mexico City on three sides, so travelers usually get into the state from outside the country or from more distant parts of the country through [[Mexico City]]. Domestic travelers from other Mexican cities and states can fly into Santa Lucia or Toluca. ===By air=== * '''[[Benito Juárez International Airport]]''' (usually known as Mexico City International and commonly abbreviated "AICM") ({{IATA|MEX}}) is the main airport for Mexico City. It serves all Mexican commercial airlines and a wide range of foreign carriers with routes to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. * '''Felipe Angeles International Airport''' (usually known as Santa Lucia Airport and commonly abbreviated "AIFA") ({{IATA|NLU}}) is a new commercial airport facility opened in 2022, 48km north of Mexico City. It serves as the main cargo airport for Mexico City and is an emerging hub airport for many Mexican carriers, it also handles some international flights to destinations in Latin America. * '''Toluca International Airport''' ({{IATA|TLC}}) serves the state capital and has often served as a regional focus city for low-cost carriers. The airport is underutilized with infrastructure to handle far more traffic than it receives. ===By bus=== Mexico State is very easy to reach by bus with service to every larger population center by first-class bus and every small town by at least a second-class bus. See the articles for individual cities for details, or see [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information. ==Get around== [[File:Red del ferrocarril.jpg|thumb|Route map for the Ferrocarril Suburbano]] [[File:Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México estación Buenavista.jpg|thumb|left|Ferrocarril Suburbano train at the Buenavista station]] Bus and car are the most flexible ways to get around in Mexico State, though traffic is heavy and slow near Mexico City and in Toluca and larger cities. Train service is increasingly useful, but the network is limited in range and not always well integrated. ===By train=== The '''Ferrocarril Suburbano''' is a commuter rail system that connects downtown Mexico City with northern Mexico State municipalities. Service is provided on the Buenavista-Teotihuacan line (Blue), and the Buenavista-Cuauhtitlan line (Red). A third line (Green) connects Nezahualcyotl to Chalco. Communities served include Tultitlán, San Rafael, and Tlanepantla. Buses connect rail stations to nearby neighborhoods. In April 2026, a new rail line was opened connecting Ferrocarril Suburbano Line 1 with the Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport, commonly referred to as ''AIFA'' or sometimes ''Santa Lucia'' ({{IATA|NLU}}). The Ferrocarril Suburbano can get passengers from AIFA to downtown Mexico City (Buenaventura) in as little as 40 minutes. Fares range from M$6.50 to M$15.50 (Jan 2023), depending on distance. You must buy a rechargable fare card to ride the train and fare cards for the Metro or the Tren Ligero do not work with Ferrocarril Suburbano (you have to buy a separate card). A rechargable card costs M$30, M$17 of which is an initial credit for fares. When you run out of money on your card, use the machines at rail stations to add funds. [[File:Tren México-Toluca El Insurgente - 19.jpg|thumb|El Insurgente train at the Zinacantepec station]] The '''Interurban Tren Mexico City–Toluca''' (universally known as '''El Insurgente''') is an inter-urban rail project to connect the state capital with the nations capital. The 57-km rail line has been in the works since 2012. All of the stations within the State of Mexico opened in 2023. The final leg into Mexico City (terminating at Observatorio) opened in early 2026. Shuttle buses to the Toluca Airport (TLC) are available at the Tecnologico station. The line provides connections to Mexico City's Metro system at the Observatorio station, which is also one of Mexico City's four major bus stations with [[Bus travel in Mexico|long-distance buses]] to cities to the southeast of Mexico City. ==See== [[File:Piedra Herrada Temascaltepec, Estado de México- Piedra Herrada Temascaltepec, State of Mexico (23227397946).jpg|thumb|Butterflies on a tree in Piedra Herrada]] * The ancient pyramids of '''[[Teotihuacan]]''' are 40 km northeast of Mexico City. The ruins are Mexico's most popular archaeological site. *The '''National Museum of the Viceroyalty''' is in [[Tepotzotlán]], just outside Mexico City, it is one of the country's best historical museums about [[Colonial Mexico]]. * '''The Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System''', a [[UNESCO World Heritage site]] (partially located in [[Mexico State]]), the aqueduct is 45 km in length, running between [[Zempoala]] and [[Otumba]] * '''Grutas la Estrella''' is a magnificent show cave about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City * Estado de Mexico has 12 small towns that are designated as ''[[Pueblos Mágicos]]'' for their charming character and historical or cultural preservation, with cozy restaurants and inns and relatively easy access from the capital, these include [[Tepotzotlán]], [[El Oro]], and [[Malinalco]]. ==Do== * '''Zacango Ecological Park''' - large zoo in the town of Calimaya, (near Toluca), rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and more than 170 other species. * '''Bioparque Estrella''' - theme park about 1 hour northwest of Mexico City. Features a Jurassic Park ride, animal safaris, and an underground mine ride. * '''[[Nevado de Toluca National Park]]''' - forested mountain slopes on one of Mexico's highest peaks with twin volcanic crater lakes at the summit. * '''[[Valle de Bravo]]''' - weekend playground for Mexico City professionals who enjoy watersports on the sparkling lake, cozy restaurants and inns, and adrenaline pumping activities like parasailing and water skiing. * '''Piedra Herrada''' - is the winter home of more than a million butterflies, though less famous than the [[Monarch Butterfly Reserves]] in [[Michoacan]] (so less crowded) ==Eat== Everything about [[Central Mexico#Eat|Central Mexican cuisine]] is true of food in Mexico State, though some dishes are more emblematic of the area than others. ''Tlacoyos'' are similar to ''huaraches'' served in other states. It's essentially a thick, flat tortilla topped with stewed meats or vegetables. It can be folded in half and eaten like a big taco, but is more likely to be eaten like a slice of pizza. In Mexico State, tlacoyos are often made with blue corn meal, giving them a unique appearance. ==Drink== Beer is the most popular drink in most of Mexico and in Mexico State, the most popular beers are from the Modelo brewery in Mexico City. A number of small craft breweries operate in many cities of the region. Pulque is also popular throughout Mexico State. Local craft breweries and pulquerias will be listed in the various destination (city) articles. ==Stay safe== All of the usual advice to be vigilant applies in Mexico State, though the area is not one of the areas known for violent crime. It is generally safe to travel throughout the state with normal precautions and avoiding sketchy areas off the normal tourist routes. ==Go next== * [[Cuernavaca]] - the city of eternal spring * [[Hidalgo]] - many quaint colonial towns * [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] - volcanoes and colonial cities * [[Guerrero]] - mountains, caves, silver, and the beaches of Acapulco * [[Michoacan]] - Purhepecha traditions and famous butterfly reserves {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Central Mexico}} {{geo|19.35|-99.63|zoom=9|layer=O}} og600vdnpo4gqhodhiqdqhctz3xvet7 0 22300 5298539 5109830 2026-06-26T00:46:55Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Coffs Harbour–Nambucca Valley */ 5298539 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Coffs_Harbour_Banner.jpg}} The '''Mid-North Coast''' of the [[Australia|Australian]] state of [[New South Wales]] stretches for some 300 km along the Pacific Ocean shoreline from [[Port Stephens (New South Wales)|Port Stephens]] (north of [[Newcastle (New South Wales)|Newcastle]]) in the south to [[Coffs Harbour]] in the north and inland to [[Dorrigo]] and neighbouring towns. It is bordered by the [[Hunter Valley]] region to the south, by the [[Northern Rivers (New South Wales)|Northern Rivers]] region to the north and [[New England (New South Wales)|New England]] to the west. ==Towns== [[File:Mid-North Coast regions map.png|thumb|500px|Regions map of the Mid-North Coast]] {{Mapframe|zoom=8|-31.306|152.469|height=530}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q182671,Q752634,Q753463,Q24056504,Q596030,Q820685|stroke-opacity=0}} Settlements in this list are listed from north to south, not alphabetically. ===Coffs Harbour–Nambucca Valley=== Along the M1 Pacific Motorway: * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-30.301014|long=153.117082|zoom=11 |name=[[Coffs Harbour]] |image=|wikidata=Q604283}} – the banana capital of New South Wales, most known for the Big Banana * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Urunga]]|wikidata=Q1988656}} – sleepy coastal town at the mouth of the Bellinger and Kalang Rivers * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nambucca Heads]]|wikidata=Q3335445}} – mid-sized coastal town at the estuary of the Nambucca River. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Macksville]]|wikidata=Q581659}} – small riverside town and the centre of Nambucca Valley Council's chambers. * {{Marker|type=City|name=[[Woolgoolga]]|wikidata=Q8033824}} Along the B78 [[Waterfall Way]] (listed from east to west): * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-30.433|long=152.9|zoom=11 |name=[[Bellingen]] |image=|wikidata=Q14206163}} – most known for its greenery, and being close to some of the world's oldest rainforests * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-30.332843|long=152.700776|zoom=11 |name=[[Dorrigo]] |image=|wikidata=Q2580925}} – the waterfall capital of Australia, and only 2&nbsp;km from the most visited Gondwana Rainforest of Australia - [[Dorrigo National Park]] ===Port Macquarie–Kempsey region=== * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-31.071508|long=152.829223|zoom=11 |name=[[Kempsey]] |image=|wikidata=Q1619596}} – quiet town, popular with stopovers from Sydney to Brisbane * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-31.472750|long=152.931533|zoom=11 |name=[[Port Macquarie|Port Macquarie and Wauchope]] |image=|wikidata=Q606153}} – known for its wildlife and its colonial convict history * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Kew (New South Wales)|Kew]]|wikidata=Q11297483}} – another stopover town along the Pacific Hwy, home to the Big Axe. Inland: * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Long Flat]]|wikidata=Q6672541}} – small stopover town along the Oxley Highway. ===MidCoast=== Along the A1 Pacific Hwy (or with slight detours): * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-31.890750|long=152.439948|zoom=11 |name=[[Taree]] |image=|wikidata=Q1543632}} – historic town on the banks of the Manning River * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-31.962862|long=152.565473|zoom=11 |name=[[Old Bar]] |image=|wikidata=Q7083431}} – sleepy coastal surfing town * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nabiac]]|wikidata=Q6956861}} – home to the National Motorcycle Museum * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Coolongolook]]|wikidata=Q21916590}} – a small highway town of 382 on the Pacific Highway. It is one of only three towns on the highway yet to be bypassed. * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-32.212696|long=152.548128|zoom=11 |name=[[Forster]] |image=|wikidata=Q581879}} – popular fishing spot * {{marker|type=city|name=[[North Arm Cove]]|wikidata=Q7053968}} – one of [[Walter Burley Griffin]]'s never-completed projects. Inland (still listed north to south): * {{Marker|type=city |lat=-32.009|long=151.960|zoom=11 |name=[[Gloucester (New South Wales)|Gloucester]] |image=}} – regional centre of the Avon Valley and otherwise a prominent country town * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Stroud (New South Wales)|Stroud]]|wikidata=Q3500595}} – stopover town en route to Barrington Tops National Park. ==Other destinations== ===Coffs Harbour–Nambucca Valley=== * {{marker|type=vicinity| name=[[Dorrigo National Park]] | lat=-30.3826 | long=152.7391}} – the most visited part of the world-heritage [[Gondwana Rainforests of Australia]]. ===Port Macquarie–Kempsey region=== * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Cottan-Bimbang National Park]]|wikidata=Q1136689}} – a national park at the midpoint of the [[Oxley Highway]] between Walcha and Wauchope. ===MidCoast=== * The Gloucester Tops and Polblue Honeymoon sections of {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Barrington Tops National Park]]|wikidata=Q808934}} are in the Mid-North Coast. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Booti Booti National Park]]|wikidata=Q893143}} – small national park nudged between two bodies of water but has plenty to see and do. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=Crowdy Bay National Park|url=https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/crowdy-bay-national-park|wikidata=Q1141720}} – a mid-sized coastal national park near [[Port Macquarie]]. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Myall Lakes National Park]]|wikidata=Q1581582|image=}} – large sand dunes and lakes characterise the park, popular for water recreation and camping. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Nowendoc National Park]]|wikidata=Q1165129}} – a national park along Thunderbolts Way, home to Callaghans Canyon. * {{marker|type=vicinity |lat=-32.439791|long=152.514284|zoom=11 |name=[[Seal Rocks]] |image=}} – a small village near Myall Lakes. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== The two biggest airports in the region are Coffs Harbour Airport ({{IATA|CFS}}), and Port Macquarie Airport ({{IATA|PQQ}}). Qantaslink and Rex have flights to both these destinations daily. === By train === There are several railway stations on the Mid North Coast serviced by three trains; the Grafton, the Casino and the Brisbane XPT trains. Each run north and south once a day. Heading north from Sydney Central, the first station on the mid north coast is Gloucester followed by Wingham and Taree. Further north are Kendall, Wauchope (for Port Macquarie), Kempsey, Eungai, Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Urunga, Sawtell and Coffs Harbour. There is no station for Forster-Tuncurry. Rail is the fastest and cheapest way to get to either Sydney, Newcastle, the Gold Coast and Brisbane. ===By car=== Given that this region is huge, getting into different parts of the area massively differs by time. However, the two main ways to get into this region is either via the M1 Pacific Motorway from the north, or via the A1/M1 Pacific Highway/Motorway from the south. The closest point of the Mid-North Coast from Sydney takes about 2.5 hours to do, but the furtherest point can take about 7 hours non-stop but the closest point of the Mid-North Coast from [[Newcastle (New South Wales)|Newcastle]] is only 15 minutes away. There's similar times from coming up north, taking about 3 hours from Brisbane, but it can take up to 8 hours non-stop depending on location. Other ways to get into the Mid-North Coast include using either the B56, or the B78, both taking about 2 hours from [[New England Highway]], but are not that significant. === By bus === You can get in by [https://www.greyhound.com.au/ Greyhound] or [https://premierms.com.au/ Premier] bus. ==Get around== The Pacific Highway (A1) and Motorway (M1) pass through most of the population centres on the coast. ===By bus=== Three bus services run throughout the region; Sawtell Coaches, Busways, and Ryans Bus Service. Sawtell Coaches run various services throughout Coffs Harbour city and to the suburbs of Boambee and Sawtell. Busways run services throughout Coffs Harbour city down south as far as Scotts Head and west into Bellingen. Ryans Bus services run throughout Coffs Harbour City and run North to Woolgoolga on a regular basis. Busways also operate services in the Port Macquarie region. ==See== Given that the Mid-North Coast covers quite a large area, what you see in the different areas differ. In the southern areas of the Mid-North Coast, it's more associated with lakes and sand dunes, while some of the central areas are mostly known for its fishing areas and the northern areas are mostly known for its Gondwana Rainforests, and known for raining nearly every day. ==Do== Since the Mid-North Coast is a particularly large area, what's in the different parts vary significantly. However, hiking trails can be found nearly everywhere you go, regardless of where you are. Forster is somewhat known for its fishing spots, although it's not the most popular thing in Forster. ==Eat== Food also varies from where you go in the Mid-North Coast, but most of the region has some good seafood. Coffs Harbour, arguably has some of the best Punjabi food outside of Sydney in New South Wales due to its high Punjabi population. ==Drink== ==Stay safe== Normal beach safety precautions apply at beaches. Many beaches, especially outside Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie, lack lifeguards – enter the water at your own risk, and check the Bureau of Meterology (BOM) for up-to-date weather conditions. In higher-elevation areas, such as the [[Barrington Tops National Park|Gloucester Tops]] section of Barrington Tops National Park, or the easternmost fringes of [[New England National Park]] (both of which creep into the Mid-North Coast), it may snow. Combined with gravel roads, make sure you are equipped and are able to drive on such conditions. Wikivoyage's article on [[winter driving]] may be of some use; otherwise check with the [https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/ NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service]. ==Go next== {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|New South Wales}} {{geo|zoom=8|-31.306|152.469}} k06g3jn4iq0j7gzth2pkoz37bo1w0gc 0 22567 5298592 5298237 2026-06-26T03:16:31Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298592 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mithila.jpg}} '''Mithila''' ([[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and [[Maithili]]: मिथिला ''Mithilā''), also called '''Tirhut''', '''Tirabhukti''' and '''Mithilanchal''', is the northern region of [[Bihar]], [[India]]. ==Cities== {{mapframe|width=820|height=500}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q100124,Q49159,Q100095,Q100144,Q77474,Q100139,Q42901,Q77375,Q100082,Q77568,Q77746,Q49175,Q100120,Q49157,Q100117,Q49160,Q100130,Q77731}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Areraj]]|wikidata=Q582958}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Begusarai]]|wikidata=Q598985}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bettiah]]|wikidata=Q759222}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Darbhanga]]|wikidata=Q1136189}} &mdash; cultural capital of Bihar * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jainagar]]|wikidata=Q744260}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hajipur]]|wikidata=Q1949403}} &mdash; twin city of [[Patna]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Katihar]]|wikidata=Q172903}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mehsi]] | wikidata=Q6809876}} &mdash; best known for the historic Mirza Halim Shah Dargah, an important Sufi shrine * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Muzaffarpur]]|wikidata=Q1453196}} &mdash; famous for its lychee garden * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Rajnagar]]|wikidata=Q2483936}} &mdash; the nearest town to Madhubani. This place is famous for the ruins of the Navlakha Palace (one of the famous palaces of the Maharaja of Darbhanga), which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1934. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Raxaul]]|wikidata=Q2087576}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sitamarhi]]|wikidata=Q2360633}} &mdash; the birthplace of Mata Sita (wife of Lord Rama) * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Saharsa]] | lat=25.87056 | long=86.60139}} &mdash; ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Madhubani|wikidata=Q2767858}} &mdash; the arts capital of Mithila, famous for culturally exporting the vivid Madhubani style of painting * {{marker|type=other|name=Ratupar|wikidata=}} &mdash; a very remote village and home of the legendary teacher Shri Thakur Singh Das, a renowned freedom fighter and social worker. Still, there is no continuous supply of electricity or piped water and the water is taken from hand pumps or ponds. Farming is a major source of livelihood. The majority of the shops are located in Araria Chowk. Kharowa, Bistol and Nawani are the nearby villages to this chowk. Nawani is the ancestral village of Shri Shobhakant Das. Nawani is also the paternal village of Shri Prakash Kumar Das alias Lallan. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Vaishali]]|wikidata=Q1509463}} &mdash; archaeological and Buddhist pilgrimage site * {{marker|type=other|name=Valmiki National Park|wikidata=Q2428291}} ==Understand== Mithila is bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the [[Ganges]] in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothills of the [[Himalayas]] in the north. ==Talk== Although most people of Mithila understand [[Hindi]], which is the lingua franca of Bihar, the mother tongue of the region is '''Maithili''', which is more closely related to Bhojpuri and [[Bengali]] than Standard Hindi. It is also the basis of '''Brajabuli''', a literary language used by Vidyapati and his peers to write ''Vaishnava Padavalis'' (hymns dedicated to Krishna). ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== Maachh (fish), makhana (Prickly water lily) and paan (betel leaf) are part of the identity of Mithila. Fish is the most popular food in Mithila, used as a main dish on any occasion. Chuda, dahi (yogurt) and chini (sugar) are also important components of the cuisine. Paan is an important refreshment item on every occasion. ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{geo|26.11187|85.89600|zoom=8}} {{IsPartOf|Bihar}} {{outlineregion}} h7hjhg0bgkzxt9mur47noxleba19290 5298593 5298592 2026-06-26T03:16:43Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298593 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mithila.jpg}} '''Mithila''' ([[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and [[Maithili]]: मिथिला ''Mithilā''), also called '''Tirhut''', '''Tirabhukti''' and '''Mithilanchal''', is the northern region of [[Bihar]], [[India]]. ==Cities== {{mapframe|width=820|height=500}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q100124,Q49159,Q100095,Q100144,Q77474,Q100139,Q42901,Q77375,Q100082,Q77568,Q77746,Q49175,Q100120,Q49157,Q100117,Q49160,Q100130,Q77731}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Areraj]]|wikidata=Q582958}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Begusarai]]|wikidata=Q598985}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bettiah]]|wikidata=Q759222}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Darbhanga]]|wikidata=Q1136189}} &mdash; cultural capital of Bihar * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Hajipur]]|wikidata=Q1949403}} &mdash; twin city of [[Patna]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jainagar]]|wikidata=Q744260}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Katihar]]|wikidata=Q172903}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mehsi]] | wikidata=Q6809876}} &mdash; best known for the historic Mirza Halim Shah Dargah, an important Sufi shrine * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Muzaffarpur]]|wikidata=Q1453196}} &mdash; famous for its lychee garden * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Rajnagar]]|wikidata=Q2483936}} &mdash; the nearest town to Madhubani. This place is famous for the ruins of the Navlakha Palace (one of the famous palaces of the Maharaja of Darbhanga), which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1934. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Raxaul]]|wikidata=Q2087576}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sitamarhi]]|wikidata=Q2360633}} &mdash; the birthplace of Mata Sita (wife of Lord Rama) * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Saharsa]] | lat=25.87056 | long=86.60139}} &mdash; ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Madhubani|wikidata=Q2767858}} &mdash; the arts capital of Mithila, famous for culturally exporting the vivid Madhubani style of painting * {{marker|type=other|name=Ratupar|wikidata=}} &mdash; a very remote village and home of the legendary teacher Shri Thakur Singh Das, a renowned freedom fighter and social worker. Still, there is no continuous supply of electricity or piped water and the water is taken from hand pumps or ponds. Farming is a major source of livelihood. The majority of the shops are located in Araria Chowk. Kharowa, Bistol and Nawani are the nearby villages to this chowk. Nawani is the ancestral village of Shri Shobhakant Das. Nawani is also the paternal village of Shri Prakash Kumar Das alias Lallan. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Vaishali]]|wikidata=Q1509463}} &mdash; archaeological and Buddhist pilgrimage site * {{marker|type=other|name=Valmiki National Park|wikidata=Q2428291}} ==Understand== Mithila is bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the [[Ganges]] in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothills of the [[Himalayas]] in the north. ==Talk== Although most people of Mithila understand [[Hindi]], which is the lingua franca of Bihar, the mother tongue of the region is '''Maithili''', which is more closely related to Bhojpuri and [[Bengali]] than Standard Hindi. It is also the basis of '''Brajabuli''', a literary language used by Vidyapati and his peers to write ''Vaishnava Padavalis'' (hymns dedicated to Krishna). ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== Maachh (fish), makhana (Prickly water lily) and paan (betel leaf) are part of the identity of Mithila. Fish is the most popular food in Mithila, used as a main dish on any occasion. Chuda, dahi (yogurt) and chini (sugar) are also important components of the cuisine. Paan is an important refreshment item on every occasion. ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{geo|26.11187|85.89600|zoom=8}} {{IsPartOf|Bihar}} {{outlineregion}} 69j2uaialo9z7t8e4u88hm42e1ug8xp 0 23203 5298526 4995363 2026-06-26T00:05:40Z Asamboi 692 /* Get in */ mapframe, visas and permits and all that fun stuff 5298526 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|KailashMani (banner).jpg}} '''Mount Kailash''' (Tibetan: ''Kang Rinpoche'') is a sacred mountain in the [[Ngari (prefecture)|far west]] of [[Tibet]]. ==Understand== [[Image:2005 Chortens and Kailash High reso.jpg|thumb|350px|Chortens and Mount Kailash]] This mountain is considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. In ancient texts, it is referred to as the center of the world. The reason can be understood from the geographical significance of its place: within a {{mile|30}} radius are the sources of mighty rivers Indus (to the north, called "Sindhu" in India), Sutlej (to the west), Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsang-po, to the east), and Karnali (the largest tributary to the Ganges, to the south). ===History=== Hindus regard the peak as Shiva's symbolic 'Lingam' and worship Mt. Kailash, which is the Sanskrit name for the mountain. Bonpos believe the sacred mountain to be the place where the founder of the Bon religion landed when he descended from the sky. Tibetan Buddhists believe Kang Rinpoche, which means Precious Snow Mountain, is a natural mandala representing the Buddhist cosmology on the earth and the Jains believe this is the place where their religion's founder was spiritually awakened. ===Myths and legends=== There are many myths and legends that have encouraged the enigma surrounding Kailash Mountain. Standing out in an indescribably beautiful landscape, where no other relief rises above it, Mount Kailash is believed by Hindus to be the seat of Shiva in his eternal meditation. ===Landscape=== ===Flora and fauna=== ===Climate=== ==Prepare== ==Get in== {{mapframe}} {{marker|name=Mount Kailash|wikidata=Q229107}} is extremely remote and difficult to access. It's in Chinese-controlled territory in [[Tibet]], so all the limitations described in [[Tibet#Get in]] for visas and access permits apply, and since it's in a sensitive border zone you will also need military permits. You will need to go through a licensed travel agency to arrange all this and you will also need to be accompanied by a guide at all times (independent travel is not possible). There are four land routes to reach the mountain. *From {{marker|name=[[Shigatse]]|type=city|wikidata=Q116656}}, Tibet (accessible from [[Lhasa]] or [[Kathmandu]]) - [[Saga (China)|Saga]] - Manasarovar (4 days on a hired jeep, longer by a combination of public transportation and hitch-hiking) or Xigatse - [[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]] - [[Darchen]] (6 days on a jeep) *From {{marker|type=city|name=[[Uttarkashi]]|wikidata=Q1949097}}, [[India]]. Open only to a very limited number of Indian citizens every year by lottery system. *From {{marker|type=city|name=[[Kashgar]]|wikidata=Q170521}}, [[Xinjiang]] via [[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]] *from {{marker|type=city|name=[[Simikot]]|wikidata=Q33487084}}, [[Nepal]] via Purang (helicopter ride to Hilsa makes it fast but expensive) The entry point for Mt. Kailash is {{marker|type=city|name=[[Darchen]]|wikidata=Q14305801}} (Kangsa). Located right in front of Mt Kailash, this is the starting point for pilgrims going on the Khora. ==Fees and permits== Since Mount Kailash is in Chinese-controlled Tibet, onerous Tibet travel permit policies apply and you must join a guided tour to visit. In addition, since Kailash is a border region, you must also additionally obtain an Alien's Travel Permit, Military Permit, and Foreign Affairs Permit. See [[Tibet#Get in]] for details, or consult a travel agency specializing in Tibet. Once you've jumped through all the bureaucratic hoops, actually visiting Kailash will cost ¥50 per person no matter how many times they circumambulate the mountain on one visit. Porters or yaks will cost about ¥65 per day. ==Get around== The main attraction of the mountain is the pilgrimage circuit around the mountain. It normally takes 3 days and should only be undertaken by the well-prepared and fit. ==Itinerary== * '''Mt Kailash Khora (Pilgrimage Circuit)''' - A pilgrimage to Mt Kailash involves nothing more or less than making circuits around the sacred mountain. The Outer Pilgrimage Circuit (Chikhor) is about 52 km, and Tibetans can complete a circuit in a day. The majority of pilgrims try for 13 circuits, if they can. Some pilgrims do a circuit performing ''Kyangcha'' (Prostration). While the average circuit takes about 14 hours to complete, those doing prostration can take a couple of weeks. Those seeking to secure their path to enlightenment try for 108 circuits. Buddhists and Hindus travel clockwise around the mountain while Bonpos travel counter-clockwise. Most travelers take three days to complete a circuit. * Day 1 - Darchen - Drirapuk Gompa :Darchen - Chogu (Chuku) Gompa (3-4 hr), Chogu (Chuku) Gompa - Drirapuk Gompa (3-4 hr) * Day 2 - Drirapuk Gompa - Dolma La - Zutrulpuk Gompa :Drirapuk Gompa - Zutrulpuk Gompa (7-8 hr) * Day 3 - Zutrulpuk Gompa - Darchen :Zutrulpuk Gompa - Darchen (3 hr) * '''Lake Manasarovar Khora (Pilgrimage Circuit)''' - Together with Mt Kailash, Lake Manasarovar is a pilgrimage site. There is a pilgrimage path around the lake and a circuit is a little over 100 km, taking 4-5 days to complete. Chiu Gompa, 30 km south of Darchen, is a good starting point for a circuit around the lake. * Day 1 - Chiu Gompa - Langbona Gompa * Day 2 - Langbona Gompa - Seralung Gompa * Day 3 - Seralung Gompa - Trugo Gompa * Day 4 - Trugo Gompa - Chiu Gompa ==See== ==Do== * Mt. Kailash Khora - the pilgrimage circuit * Lake Manasarovar Khora - another pilgrimage circuit ==Buy== *{{buy | name= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Not much choice as the handicrafts (made in China) are either duplicates or of no use except for giving as gifts to friends. }} ==Eat== ==Drink== Water that flows from springs is very refreshing as it has mineral content. ==Sleep== ===Lodging=== ===Camping=== ===Backcountry=== ==Stay safe== Weather conditions can change rapidly here and you should be prepared for the worst. It's unlikely you will have problems with the altitude other than shortness of breath and less energy than you are used to, as you will have been at altitude for quite some time just to get here. However, [[altitude sickness]] is unpredictable, and you should always keep your plans flexible enough to give yourself a rest day if needed. ==Respect== *Do not sit or climb on sacred sites. *Pass ''mani'' stones to the right. *Turn prayer wheels in a clockwise direction. {{Outlineitinerary}} {{geo|31.066667|81.312500}} {{related|Ngari_(prefecture)}} {{PartOfItinerary|Asia itineraries}} 2ht4nd38p5srxc6c04bwogl9rnz78xy 5298527 5298526 2026-06-26T00:09:58Z Asamboi 692 /* Get in */ tweak POIs for visibility 5298527 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|KailashMani (banner).jpg}} '''Mount Kailash''' (Tibetan: ''Kang Rinpoche'') is a sacred mountain in the [[Ngari (prefecture)|far west]] of [[Tibet]]. ==Understand== [[Image:2005 Chortens and Kailash High reso.jpg|thumb|350px|Chortens and Mount Kailash]] This mountain is considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. In ancient texts, it is referred to as the center of the world. The reason can be understood from the geographical significance of its place: within a {{mile|30}} radius are the sources of mighty rivers Indus (to the north, called "Sindhu" in India), Sutlej (to the west), Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsang-po, to the east), and Karnali (the largest tributary to the Ganges, to the south). ===History=== Hindus regard the peak as Shiva's symbolic 'Lingam' and worship Mt. Kailash, which is the Sanskrit name for the mountain. Bonpos believe the sacred mountain to be the place where the founder of the Bon religion landed when he descended from the sky. Tibetan Buddhists believe Kang Rinpoche, which means Precious Snow Mountain, is a natural mandala representing the Buddhist cosmology on the earth and the Jains believe this is the place where their religion's founder was spiritually awakened. ===Myths and legends=== There are many myths and legends that have encouraged the enigma surrounding Kailash Mountain. Standing out in an indescribably beautiful landscape, where no other relief rises above it, Mount Kailash is believed by Hindus to be the seat of Shiva in his eternal meditation. ===Landscape=== ===Flora and fauna=== ===Climate=== ==Prepare== ==Get in== {{mapframe}} {{marker|name=Mount Kailash|wikidata=Q229107}} is extremely remote and difficult to access. It's in Chinese-controlled territory in [[Tibet]], so all the limitations described in [[Tibet#Get in]] for visas and access permits apply, and since it's in a sensitive border zone you will also need military permits. You will need to go through a licensed travel agency to arrange all this and you will also need to be accompanied by a guide at all times (independent travel is not possible). There are four land routes to reach the mountain. *From {{marker|name=[[Shigatse]]|type=city|wikidata=Q116656}}, Tibet (accessible from [[Lhasa]] or [[Kathmandu]]) - [[Saga (China)|Saga]] - Manasarovar (4 days on a hired jeep, longer by a combination of public transportation and hitch-hiking) or Xigatse - [[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]] - [[Darchen]] (6 days on a jeep) *From {{marker|type=city|name=[[Uttarkashi]]|wikidata=Q1949097}}, [[India]]. Open only to a very limited number of Indian citizens every year by lottery system. *From [[Kashgar]], [[Xinjiang]] via {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]]|wikidata=Q2279283}}, but it's a rough 1,300 km drive through some of the remotest territory in the world even to get to the starting point *from {{marker|type=city|name=[[Simikot]]|wikidata=Q33487084}}, [[Nepal]] via Purang (helicopter ride to Hilsa makes it fast but expensive) The entry point for Mt. Kailash is [[Darchen]] (Kangsa). Located right in front of Mt Kailash, this is the starting point for pilgrims going on the Khora. ==Fees and permits== Since Mount Kailash is in Chinese-controlled Tibet, onerous Tibet travel permit policies apply and you must join a guided tour to visit. In addition, since Kailash is a border region, you must also additionally obtain an Alien's Travel Permit, Military Permit, and Foreign Affairs Permit. See [[Tibet#Get in]] for details, or consult a travel agency specializing in Tibet. Once you've jumped through all the bureaucratic hoops, actually visiting Kailash will cost ¥50 per person no matter how many times they circumambulate the mountain on one visit. Porters or yaks will cost about ¥65 per day. ==Get around== The main attraction of the mountain is the pilgrimage circuit around the mountain. It normally takes 3 days and should only be undertaken by the well-prepared and fit. ==Itinerary== * '''Mt Kailash Khora (Pilgrimage Circuit)''' - A pilgrimage to Mt Kailash involves nothing more or less than making circuits around the sacred mountain. The Outer Pilgrimage Circuit (Chikhor) is about 52 km, and Tibetans can complete a circuit in a day. The majority of pilgrims try for 13 circuits, if they can. Some pilgrims do a circuit performing ''Kyangcha'' (Prostration). While the average circuit takes about 14 hours to complete, those doing prostration can take a couple of weeks. Those seeking to secure their path to enlightenment try for 108 circuits. Buddhists and Hindus travel clockwise around the mountain while Bonpos travel counter-clockwise. Most travelers take three days to complete a circuit. * Day 1 - Darchen - Drirapuk Gompa :Darchen - Chogu (Chuku) Gompa (3-4 hr), Chogu (Chuku) Gompa - Drirapuk Gompa (3-4 hr) * Day 2 - Drirapuk Gompa - Dolma La - Zutrulpuk Gompa :Drirapuk Gompa - Zutrulpuk Gompa (7-8 hr) * Day 3 - Zutrulpuk Gompa - Darchen :Zutrulpuk Gompa - Darchen (3 hr) * '''Lake Manasarovar Khora (Pilgrimage Circuit)''' - Together with Mt Kailash, Lake Manasarovar is a pilgrimage site. There is a pilgrimage path around the lake and a circuit is a little over 100 km, taking 4-5 days to complete. Chiu Gompa, 30 km south of Darchen, is a good starting point for a circuit around the lake. * Day 1 - Chiu Gompa - Langbona Gompa * Day 2 - Langbona Gompa - Seralung Gompa * Day 3 - Seralung Gompa - Trugo Gompa * Day 4 - Trugo Gompa - Chiu Gompa ==See== ==Do== * Mt. Kailash Khora - the pilgrimage circuit * Lake Manasarovar Khora - another pilgrimage circuit ==Buy== *{{buy | name= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Not much choice as the handicrafts (made in China) are either duplicates or of no use except for giving as gifts to friends. }} ==Eat== ==Drink== Water that flows from springs is very refreshing as it has mineral content. ==Sleep== ===Lodging=== ===Camping=== ===Backcountry=== ==Stay safe== Weather conditions can change rapidly here and you should be prepared for the worst. It's unlikely you will have problems with the altitude other than shortness of breath and less energy than you are used to, as you will have been at altitude for quite some time just to get here. However, [[altitude sickness]] is unpredictable, and you should always keep your plans flexible enough to give yourself a rest day if needed. ==Respect== *Do not sit or climb on sacred sites. *Pass ''mani'' stones to the right. *Turn prayer wheels in a clockwise direction. {{Outlineitinerary}} {{geo|31.066667|81.312500}} {{related|Ngari_(prefecture)}} {{PartOfItinerary|Asia itineraries}} j0k1epra9zuoon13bcdis3gn0wqaqzk 5298529 5298527 2026-06-26T00:12:27Z Asamboi 692 /* Get in */ oops, already had a section about this 5298529 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|KailashMani (banner).jpg}} '''Mount Kailash''' (Tibetan: ''Kang Rinpoche'') is a sacred mountain in the [[Ngari (prefecture)|far west]] of [[Tibet]]. ==Understand== [[Image:2005 Chortens and Kailash High reso.jpg|thumb|350px|Chortens and Mount Kailash]] This mountain is considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. In ancient texts, it is referred to as the center of the world. The reason can be understood from the geographical significance of its place: within a {{mile|30}} radius are the sources of mighty rivers Indus (to the north, called "Sindhu" in India), Sutlej (to the west), Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsang-po, to the east), and Karnali (the largest tributary to the Ganges, to the south). ===History=== Hindus regard the peak as Shiva's symbolic 'Lingam' and worship Mt. Kailash, which is the Sanskrit name for the mountain. Bonpos believe the sacred mountain to be the place where the founder of the Bon religion landed when he descended from the sky. Tibetan Buddhists believe Kang Rinpoche, which means Precious Snow Mountain, is a natural mandala representing the Buddhist cosmology on the earth and the Jains believe this is the place where their religion's founder was spiritually awakened. ===Myths and legends=== There are many myths and legends that have encouraged the enigma surrounding Kailash Mountain. Standing out in an indescribably beautiful landscape, where no other relief rises above it, Mount Kailash is believed by Hindus to be the seat of Shiva in his eternal meditation. ===Landscape=== ===Flora and fauna=== ===Climate=== ==Prepare== ==Get in== {{mapframe}} {{marker|name=Mount Kailash|wikidata=Q229107}} is extremely remote and difficult to access, both geographically and in terms of paperwork (see [[#Fees and permits|Fees and permits]] below). There are four land routes to reach the mountain. *From {{marker|name=[[Shigatse]]|type=city|wikidata=Q116656}}, Tibet (accessible from [[Lhasa]] or [[Kathmandu]]) - [[Saga (China)|Saga]] - Manasarovar (4 days on a hired jeep, longer by a combination of public transportation and hitch-hiking) or Xigatse - [[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]] - [[Darchen]] (6 days on a jeep) *From {{marker|type=city|name=[[Uttarkashi]]|wikidata=Q1949097}}, [[India]]. Open only to a very limited number of Indian citizens every year by lottery system. *From [[Kashgar]], [[Xinjiang]] via {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]]|wikidata=Q2279283}}, but it's a rough 1,300 km drive through some of the remotest territory in the world even to get to the starting point *from {{marker|type=city|name=[[Simikot]]|wikidata=Q33487084}}, [[Nepal]] via Purang (helicopter ride to Hilsa makes it fast but expensive) The entry point for Mt. Kailash is [[Darchen]] (Kangsa). Located right in front of Mt Kailash, this is the starting point for pilgrims going on the Khora. ==Fees and permits== Since Mount Kailash is in Chinese-controlled Tibet, onerous Tibet travel permit policies apply and you must join a guided tour to visit. In addition, since Kailash is a border region, you must also additionally obtain an Alien's Travel Permit, Military Permit, and Foreign Affairs Permit. See [[Tibet#Get in]] for details, or consult a travel agency specializing in Tibet. Once you've jumped through all the bureaucratic hoops, actually visiting Kailash will cost ¥50 per person no matter how many times they circumambulate the mountain on one visit. Porters or yaks will cost about ¥65 per day. ==Get around== The main attraction of the mountain is the pilgrimage circuit around the mountain. It normally takes 3 days and should only be undertaken by the well-prepared and fit. ==Itinerary== * '''Mt Kailash Khora (Pilgrimage Circuit)''' - A pilgrimage to Mt Kailash involves nothing more or less than making circuits around the sacred mountain. The Outer Pilgrimage Circuit (Chikhor) is about 52 km, and Tibetans can complete a circuit in a day. The majority of pilgrims try for 13 circuits, if they can. Some pilgrims do a circuit performing ''Kyangcha'' (Prostration). While the average circuit takes about 14 hours to complete, those doing prostration can take a couple of weeks. Those seeking to secure their path to enlightenment try for 108 circuits. Buddhists and Hindus travel clockwise around the mountain while Bonpos travel counter-clockwise. Most travelers take three days to complete a circuit. * Day 1 - Darchen - Drirapuk Gompa :Darchen - Chogu (Chuku) Gompa (3-4 hr), Chogu (Chuku) Gompa - Drirapuk Gompa (3-4 hr) * Day 2 - Drirapuk Gompa - Dolma La - Zutrulpuk Gompa :Drirapuk Gompa - Zutrulpuk Gompa (7-8 hr) * Day 3 - Zutrulpuk Gompa - Darchen :Zutrulpuk Gompa - Darchen (3 hr) * '''Lake Manasarovar Khora (Pilgrimage Circuit)''' - Together with Mt Kailash, Lake Manasarovar is a pilgrimage site. There is a pilgrimage path around the lake and a circuit is a little over 100 km, taking 4-5 days to complete. Chiu Gompa, 30 km south of Darchen, is a good starting point for a circuit around the lake. * Day 1 - Chiu Gompa - Langbona Gompa * Day 2 - Langbona Gompa - Seralung Gompa * Day 3 - Seralung Gompa - Trugo Gompa * Day 4 - Trugo Gompa - Chiu Gompa ==See== ==Do== * Mt. Kailash Khora - the pilgrimage circuit * Lake Manasarovar Khora - another pilgrimage circuit ==Buy== *{{buy | name= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Not much choice as the handicrafts (made in China) are either duplicates or of no use except for giving as gifts to friends. }} ==Eat== ==Drink== Water that flows from springs is very refreshing as it has mineral content. ==Sleep== ===Lodging=== ===Camping=== ===Backcountry=== ==Stay safe== Weather conditions can change rapidly here and you should be prepared for the worst. It's unlikely you will have problems with the altitude other than shortness of breath and less energy than you are used to, as you will have been at altitude for quite some time just to get here. However, [[altitude sickness]] is unpredictable, and you should always keep your plans flexible enough to give yourself a rest day if needed. ==Respect== *Do not sit or climb on sacred sites. *Pass ''mani'' stones to the right. *Turn prayer wheels in a clockwise direction. {{Outlineitinerary}} {{geo|31.066667|81.312500}} {{related|Ngari_(prefecture)}} {{PartOfItinerary|Asia itineraries}} 478u6hl841nlumudq4gl8qwnb31c604 0 24293 5298465 5290908 2026-06-25T16:55:39Z BKHealy 2426419 5298465 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|NewJerseyTrentonBanner.JPG|caption=The 'Trenton Makes' Bridge between Trenton, NJ and Morrisville, PA|origin=-0.6,0}} '''New Jersey''' is a state in the [[Mid-Atlantic]] region of the [[United States of America|United States]]. Located in the crossroads between [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]], New Jersey is the most [[wikipedia:Population_density|densely populated]] state in the US. In spite of its mostly suburban landscape, New Jersey is also known for its [[Jersey Shore|vibrant beach towns]] and natural wonders such as the [[Pine Barrens]], the migratory birds of [[Cape May]], the [[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area|Delaware Water Gap]], a 72 mi (116 km) portion of the [[Appalachian Trail]], and the [[Palisades]]. Nicknamed the "Garden State" for its greenery, over a quarter of New Jersey's land is dedicated to agriculture. This can be seen in the blueberry farms and cranberry bogs scattered throughout the southern and western parts of the state. ==Regions== New Jersey is commonly divided into two geographic regions: '''North Jersey''' (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties) and '''South Jersey''' (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties). Basically, New York City is to North Jersey what Philadelphia is to South Jersey. A third region, '''Central Jersey''' (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union counties), is sometimes included between North Jersey and South Jersey. However, this is debatable; Ocean County aligns closer to South Jersey, while the remainder of Central Jersey aligns closer to North Jersey. For the purpose of this guide, New Jersey will be further divided into four regions: {{Regionlist | regionmap=New Jersey regions map.png | regionmapsize=275px | region1name=[[Gateway (New Jersey)|Gateway]] | region1color=#d0c56c | region1items=[[Bergen County|Bergen]], [[Essex County (New Jersey)|Essex]], [[Hudson County|Hudson]], [[Middlesex County (New Jersey)|Middlesex]], [[Passaic County|Passaic]], [[Union County (New Jersey)|Union]] | region1description=Western suburbs and satellite cities of [[New York City]], anchored by most of New Jersey's largest cities and centers of industry, including [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]], [[Jersey City]], [[Hoboken]], [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]], and [[Paterson]]. | region2name=[[Jersey Shore]] | region2color=#7db1de | region2items=[[Atlantic County|Atlantic]], [[Cape May County|Cape May]], [[Monmouth County|Monmouth]], [[Ocean County|Ocean]] | region2description=Miles of beaches and boardwalks (including the original streets of the board game [[Monopoly]]) to enjoy, as well as chances to try your luck at [[Atlantic City]]'s casinos. The [[Pine Barrens]] offer opportunities to camp. | region3name=[[Delaware River Region|Delaware River]] | region3color=#72b970 | region3items=[[Burlington County|Burlington]], [[Camden County (New Jersey)|Camden]], [[Cumberland County (New Jersey)|Cumberland]], [[Gloucester County (New Jersey)|Gloucester]], [[Mercer County (New Jersey)|Mercer]], [[Salem County|Salem]] | region3description=The eastern suburbs of [[Philadelphia]], anchored by [[Camden (New Jersey)|Camden]]. State capital [[Trenton]] and Ivy League-center [[Princeton]] are included here for this guide, though those areas are just as much in New York's sphere of influence as Philly's. | region4name=[[Skylands]] | region4color=#c16161 | region4items=[[Hunterdon County|Hunterdon]], [[Morris County (New Jersey)|Morris]], [[Somerset County (New Jersey)|Somerset]], [[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sussex]], [[Warren County (New Jersey)|Warren]] | region4description=Forested hills, miles of farmland and small mountains are the main attraction for visitors here, especially in the fall season when the leaves turn and apple orchards open. }} ==Cities== [[File:Newark, New Jersey at night.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]] at night]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Trenton]]|url=|lat=40.223748|long=-74.764001|wikidata=Q25330}} – The state capital and home of [[wikipedia:The_College_of_New_Jersey|The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Atlantic City]]|url=|lat=39.377297|long=-74.451082|wikidata=Q139564}} – A famed 1800s oceanfront resort town reborn as a gambling center in the late 1970s *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Camden (New Jersey)|Camden]]|url=|lat=39.94|long=-75.105|wikidata=Q138367}} – Rough with vast stretches of poverty, the city is also home to the USS New Jersey, better known as '''Battleship New Jersey''', and Adventure Aquarium. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Hoboken]]|url=|lat=40.75|long=-74.03|wikidata=Q138578}} – A reborn former industrial city on the Hudson River with plenty of bars, restaurants, music and awesome views of Manhattan. Hoboken is also the original home of '''[[wikipedia:Carlo's_Bake_Shop|Carlo's Bakery]]'''. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Jersey City]]|url=|lat=40.714|long=-74.071|wikidata=Q26339}} – New Jersey's second largest city, its financial sector complements Wall Street across the river and ferries for the Statue of Liberty leave from [[Liberty State Park]]. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]]|url=|lat=40.72422|long=-74.172574|wikidata=Q25395}} – New Jersey's largest city has notable cultural centers of art and music, the New Jersey Devils hockey team, and fantastic cuisines from around the globe. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[New Brunswick (New Jersey)|New Brunswick]]|url=|lat=40.486678|long=-74.444414|wikidata=Q138338}} – Home to the original and largest campus of [[Rutgers]], the State University of New Jersey, a public research university founded in 1766. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Paterson]]|url=|lat=40.914746|long=-74.162826|wikidata=Q138391}} – Site of the huge [[Great Falls of the Passaic River]], second only to [[Niagara Falls]] among waterfalls east of the Mississippi by volume of water, and a National Historical Park whose namesake waterfall powered factories and made the city the cradle of the Industrial Revolution *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Princeton]]|url=|lat=40.357115|long=-74.670165|wikidata=Q138518}} – Home of the Ivy-League [[wikipedia:Princeton_University|Princeton University]], and the many hip bars, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, and music venues that come with a "college town". ==Other destinations== [[File:2013-08-21 14 31 50 View of the beach from the east end of the Forked River Interpretive Center nature trail in Island Beach State Park.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.3|Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township]] *{{marker|name=[[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]]|wikidata=Q1183971}} — Camping, hiking and rafting in a large valley on the Delaware River *{{marker|name=[[Montague|High Point State Park]]|wikidata=Q24257055}} — The highest point in the state, with a tower and beautiful views of the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York *{{marker|name=[[Island Beach State Park]]|wikidata=Q6083013}} — {{Mile|10}} stretch of undeveloped barrier island, the last in the state *{{marker|name=[[Lake Hopatcong (New Jersey)|Lake Hopatcong]]|wikidata=Q6476209}} — New Jersey's largest lake provides boating and swimming for families and singles. *{{marker|name=The [[Pine Barrens]]|wikidata=Q2095497}} — A natural pine forest that covers about a third of the state *{{marker|name=[[Sandy Hook]]|wikidata=Q1028611}} — Peninsula in Monmouth County *{{marker|name=[[Jackson Township (New Jersey)|Six Flags Great Adventure]]|wikidata=Q2713022}} — Massive amusement park and safari, with neighboring waterpark *{{marker|name=[[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sterling Mine]]|wikidata=Q495998}} — Former mine offering tours through caverns of fluorescent rock *{{marker|name=[[West Orange|Thomas Edison National Historical Park]]|wikidata=Q932601}} — National park preserves famous inventor Thomas Edison's home and laboratory complexla of Monmouth County ==Understand== === History === [[File:2013-08-20 15 11 52 View east towards Mount Tammany and the Delaware Water Gap from along the Appalachian Trail at around 800 feet ascending Mount Minsi in the Pennsylvania section of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]] and Interstate 80]] === Geography === New Jersey's geography varies across the state. Much of the northern half of the state is made up of the easternmost hills of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] and other small ridge lines. Between these ridges lie the fertile river valleys that give New Jersey its "Garden State" nickname. High Point, near the borders of New York and Pennsylvania in [[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sussex County]], is the highest mountain in the state at {{Foot|1,803}}. The southern half of the state is part of the [[wikipedia:Atlantic_Plain|Atlantic Plain]], and as such is very flat. Much less developed, this area is covered in large part by the [[Pine Barrens]]. The [[Jersey Shore]] stretches along the coastline, and for much of its length is made up of narrow, long barrier islands. New Jersey is bordered by the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the east, and by the states of [[New York (state)|New York]] to the north and northeast, [[Pennsylvania]] to the west, and [[Delaware]] to the southwest. The northeastern parts of New Jersey are suburbs of [[New York City]], just across the Hudson River, and the southwestern parts are suburbs of [[Philadelphia]], just across the Delaware River. === Climate === New Jersey has four distinct seasons. Winter in the state is usually marked by cold temperatures and frequent snowstorms that can drop anywhere from a dusting to {{Foot|2}}. It is not unheard of in the worst winters for temperatures to drop below freezing for long stretches, especially in January and February. This varies from year to year, however, and in some years winter may feature relatively mild temperatures and only one or two snowstorms. Spring in New Jersey starts out cold and often damp, with rainstorms common in March. By late April and early May, temperatures begin to rise and trees and flowers bloom throughout the state. Summer features brilliant sun, with occasional heat waves. Humidity is often high, but the months are punctuated by spells of lower humidity that bring everyone outside to enjoy the weather. Leaves start to turn color in September and [[wikipedia:Nor'easter|nor'easters]] (large subtropical rainstorms that travel up the coast) begin to occur, continuing through October. By late October, most of the leaves have fallen, and winter sets in throughout November. === New Jersey today === New Jersey is the most densely populated state and as such has a diverse population, rich culture, and many assets, including abundant natural resources and various [[wikipedia:Fortune_500|Fortune 500]] companies. New Jersey's big cities are centers of government and commerce. Though parts of the larger cities have become run down with deindustrialization since the 1970s, they still have a lot to offer. [[Princeton]], [[Hoboken]] and [[New Brunswick (New Jersey)|New Brunswick]] in particular are great cities and inhabited by the middle to upper class. Most New Jerseyans of middle class, however, prefer to live in the suburbs, which exploded in the state in the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s. Rich folks cluster in certain old, established towns and rural enclaves like Alpine, Mendham, and Millburn. More than a third of the state, including the [[Pine Barrens]], is rural and sparsely populated, with little or no public transportation. There is a strong [[New York City|New York]] influence in the North, Central and northern Shore (Monmouth and Ocean) regions of the state and a [[Philadelphia]] influence in the South, including Atlantic and Cape May counties. All major local TV and radio stations that serve New Jersey are located in those cities. New Jersey also serves as a bedroom community for many people who work in New York City or Philadelphia. Accordingly, strong regional affiliations within the state are split among those lines, and distinct cultural differences can be seen between "North Jersey" and "South Jersey." 75% of the state's residents live within the New York City media market serving the northern portion of the state (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren, Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon, Monmouth and Ocean Counties), with the remaining 25% living within the Philadelphia market (including in Mercer County). ===Tourist information === * [https://www.visitnj.org/ Visit New Jersey] website ==Talk== English is spoken throughout the state, and [[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]] speakers can be found in most of the large cities and suburban areas of the [[Gateway]] region. Furthermore, the state has attracted immigrants from around the world, giving a true international feel (akin to New York) most prevalent in the northern and central parts of the state. Spanish as a second language can be found just about everywhere. Italian speakers and speakers of Southern Italian languages can still be found among the ranks of the well established Italian-American communities throughout the state, though not as much as in former times, as younger generations are often purely English-speaking. Apart from that, one can expect to hear [[Chinese phrasebook|Chinese]], [[Tagalog phrasebook|Tagalog]], [[Korean phrasebook|Korean]], [[Portuguese phrasebook|Portuguese]], [[Gujarati phrasebook|Gujarati]], [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]], [[Arabic phrasebook|Arabic]], [[Polish phrasebook|Polish]], [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]], [[Haitian Creole phrasebook|Haitian]], and just about any other language. People flock to New Jersey from all over, especially from New York City and Philadelphia, making it difficult to isolate a single New Jersey [[wikipedia:Accent_(sociolinguistics)|accent]]. North Jersey's accent is strongly influenced by New York, although you will not find many people speaking with this accent in Sussex, Morris or Warren Counties. Most people in Central Jersey (Middlesex, Union, Mercer, Somerset and Hunterdon) have more of a "neutral" or General American-sounding accent as compared to the northeastern part of the state (Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic) even though both regions are primarily influenced by New York. South Jersey's accent (including Ocean County) is strongly influenced by Philadelphia and, to a lesser extent, [[Maryland]]. Some people in Monmouth County have a hint of a New York accent. ==Get in== ===By plane=== [[File:Terminal-c-newark.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|Terminal C at [[Newark Liberty International Airport]], where United's hub operations are based]]There are several airports in and near New Jersey, including: *'''[[Newark Liberty International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|EWR}}) in [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]], which is by far New Jersey's largest airport. EWR is a major cargo hub for FedEx and a major passenger hub for United Airlines. It has three passenger terminals, lettered A, B, and C. The terminals are connected by a monorail that extends to the airport's train station, providing access across the state and beyond via NJ Transit or Amtrak. *'''[[John F. Kennedy International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|JFK}}) in the [[New York City]] borough of [[Queens]]. The busiest international air gateway to the United States and North America, and one of the busiest in the world, with over 90 airlines operating from it. "JFK" serves as the base of operations for JetBlue and is a major international hub for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. *'''[[LaGuardia Airport]]''' ({{IATA|LGA}}) in Queens. The smallest of the three New York Airports. Like JFK, the two largest airlines at LaGuardia are Delta and American. Unlike JFK, however, LaGuardia mainly serves regional destinations, with most international routes coming from [[Canada]]. *'''[[Philadelphia International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|PHL}}) in the [[Delaware Valley]] region of [[Pennsylvania]]. A major hub for American Airlines, which flies from airports throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. *'''[http://www.sjta.com/acairport/index.asp Atlantic City International Airport]''' ({{IATA|ACY}}) near [[Atlantic City]]. A joint civil-military airport accessible via Exit 9 on the Atlantic City Expressway, which offers flights from select [[South (United States of America)|Southern]] cities, mainly in [[Florida]]. *'''Trenton–Mercer Airport''' ({{IATA|TTN}}) near Trenton. One of the lesser-used airports, but it has service from select Southern and [[Midwest|Midwestern]] cities via Frontier Airlines. *'''[[Allentown#Get in|Lehigh Valley International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|ABE}}) in [[Allentown]], which is within close driving proximity to Warren County, New Jersey other and northwestern New Jersey locations. ===By bus=== Numerous bus companies serve New Jersey, with the typical long-distance intercity bus lines offering limited stops between [[New York City#By bus|New York]] and [[Philadelphia#By bus|Philadelphia]], [[Baltimore#By bus|Baltimore]], and [[Washington,_D.C.#By bus|Washington, DC]]. Some of the same companies also offer express service direct from New York or Philadelphia to Atlantic City. Commuter buses operate from New York and Philadelphia to locations in northern and central New Jersey not served by the long-distance carriers. Unlike in other states, fares on the intercity bus lines are not much more expensive than a commuter bus and are sometimes less expensive than rail travel: ==== Intercity buses ==== *{{listing | name=Bolt Bus | alt= | url=https://www.boltbus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-05 | content=Operates a bus from Newark Penn Station to New York City with some routes continuing north to Boston and south from Newark to Philadelphia and Washington DC on two separate routes. They also have another route going from Cherry Hill Mall to New York City (33rd St btwn 11th & 12th Ave stop) }} *'''[http://us.megabus.com Megabus]''' Goes north from Secaucus to Boston and south to Baltimore and Washington DC on one route. From Princeton and New Brunswick to New York City on another route. They don't sell tickets for travel just between Princeton and New Brunswick on that route. And a third route from Ridgewood to Albany NY. *{{listing | name=Greyhound & Lucky Streak | alt= | url=http://www.greyhound.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 231-2222 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-05 | content=Operates buses between New York, Mt Laurel and Philadelphia along I-95/295. Some variations of this route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia or via Newark and Camden to Philadelphia. Some Greyhound routes continue south from Mt Laurel and from Philadelphia towards Washington DC via Wilmington, DE; Baltimore, MD; New Carrolton MD and/or Silver Spring, MD. They offer service from New York City (via Garden State Pkwy) and from Philadelphia (via Atlantic City Expressway) to Atlantic City on separate routes. }} *{{listing | name=Martz Group | alt=Martz Trailways | url=http://www.martzgroup.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 570 821-3838 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-06-09 | content=Martz Trailways offers commuter & intercity routes between New York City, Hackettstown, Panther Valley Mall, Atlantic City, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Stroudsburg, Poconos and Philadelphia (NJ, NY and PA). }} *{{listing | name=Omnibus la Cubana | alt= | url=http://www.lacubanabus.com/direct.html | email= | address=(Union City depot) 406 32nd St, Union City NJ | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 201 864-6800 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-27 | content=They travel contiguously between Miami and New York with stops in Union City and Elizabeth NJ. }} *{{listing | name=Peter Pan/Bonanza Bus Co. | alt= | url=http://www.peterpanbus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 343-9999| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-27 | content=Operates buses between New York, Newark, Mt Laurel, Camden and Philadelphia. Some variations of the route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia while others continue from Mt Laurel towards Washington DC via Wilmington, DE; Baltimore, MD; New Carrolton MD and Silver Spring, MD. }} ==== Commuter buses ==== * {{listing | name=Academy Bus | alt= | url=http://www.academybus.com/Commuters/Commuters.aspx | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 201 420-7000 | tollfree=+1 800 442-7272 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-08-17 | content=Operates commuter services from New York to Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey. They also operate a separate [http://www.academybus.com/Casinos/Schedules.aspx Casino Express] to Atlantic City from the Port Authority Bus Terminal & 85th St Candy Store at E 85th St between 3rd & 2nd Ave in New York City. }} * {{listing | name=Coach USA | alt= | url=http://www.coachusa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-10-29 | content=They operate to various places in New Jersey under different brands including Megabus: }} ** '''[http://www.coachusa.com/community/ Community Coach]''' scheduled service from Morris and Essex Counties to New York City. ** '''[http://www.coachusa.com/olympia/ Olympia Trails]''' operate local bus service Orange, Newark, and Elizabeth, NJ as the Orange Newark Elizabeth Bus (ONE/Independent Bus) and the [https://www.newarkairportexpress.com/ Newark Airport Express] between Newark Liberty International Airport and mid-town Manhattan and JFK International Airport. They also operate some Megabus routes from New York City to Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Albany, Ridgewood NJ and Toronto. ** '''[https://www.coachusa.com/rockland-coaches Rockland Coaches]''' operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY. They also provide local bus service within and between both locales. ** '''[https://www.coachusa.com/suburban-transit Suburban Transit]''' offers commuter, casino, and charter services in Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties, NJ. * {{listing | name=DeCamp | alt= | url=http://www.Decamp.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 783-7500 | tollfree=+1-800-631-1281 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Between New York City and Nutley, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Montclair, Roseland, Kearney and Orange in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Lakeland Bus Lines | alt= | url=http://www.lakelandbus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 366-0600 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Commuter buses between New York City and Essex, Morris and Sussex Counties in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=New Jersey Transit | alt= | url=http://www.njtransit.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 275-5555 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Operates commuter buses from New York City and Philadelphia to various places in New Jersey on multiple routes and local buses within and between cities and townships within New Jersey and adjacent states. }} * {{go | name=Greyhound Quicklink | alt= | url=https://greyhoundquicklink.com/new-jersey/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-08-01 | content=A subsidiary brand of Greyhound to offer frequent and less expensive commuter buses between the Greyhound station at Mt Laurel & the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. }} ===By train=== [[File:Hoboken Terminal May 2015 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The elegant [[Hoboken]] Terminal]] ==== [http://www.amtrak.com Amtrak] ==== Operates a single route through New Jersey with stops in Newark Penn Station, Newark Liberty International Airport, Iselin Metropark, New Brunswick, Princeton Jct and Trenton on the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/northeast-regional-train Northeast Regional]'' and the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/keystone-service-train Keystone Service]''. The ''[https://www.amtrak.com/acela-express-train Acela]'' Train stops only in Newark Penn Station and Iselin Metropark while the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/vermonter-train Vermonter]'' stops only in Newark Penn Station, Iselin-Metropark and Trenton. The other Amtrak trains going further south past Washington DC (''Crescent'', ''Carolinian'', ''Silver Service/Palmetto'', etc) and west towards Pittsburgh (''Pennsylvanian'') stop only in Newark Penn Station and Trenton. ==== [http://www.njtransit.com NJ Transit] ==== Operates rail service from New York City to Bay Head (North Jersey Coast Line), Gladstone (Gladstone Branch), Hackettstown (Morristown Line and Montclair-Boonton Line), High Bridge (Raritan Valley Line), Port Jervis (Bergen County/Main/Port Jervis Line), Spring Valley (Pascack Valley Line) and Trenton (Northeast Corridor Line) on multiple routes in several directions in northern and central New Jersey and from Philadelphia to Atlantic City in southern New Jersey. The <nowiki>''Northeast Corridor''</nowiki> line runs the same route as the Amtrak trains between New York and Trenton only with more stops including a stop at the Newark Liberty International Airport. Other regional rail lines running into New Jersey are: *{{listing | name=Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH)| alt= | url=http://www.panynj.gov/path/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 234-7284 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates a single route from mid-town and lower Manhattan to Newark, Harrison, Hoboken, and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey }} *{{listing | name=Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates along a single route from Philadelphia to Lindenwood via Camden, Collingswood, Haddon Township, Haddonfield, Cherry Hill & Voorhees Township. }} *{{listing | name=Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) | alt= | url=http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Regional rail service from Philadelphia 30th St Station to the surrounding suburbs in Southeastern Pennsylvania; Philadelphia International Airport Wilmington DE; and Trenton on multiple routes }} === By boat === '''NY Waterway''' and '''Seastreak''' provide ferry service from [[Manhattan]] to New Jersey ports. NY Waterway crosses the Hudson River to nearby [[Hoboken]], [[Weehawken]], and [[Jersey City]], and [[Seastreak]] serves the towns of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, across the New York Bay near [[Sandy Hook]]. The '''Cape May-Lewes Ferry''' provides service from [[Cape May]], NJ to [[Lewes (Delaware)|Lewes]], Delaware, carrying both people and automobiles. ===By car=== [[File:Philadelphia212.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Benjamin Franklin Bridge, connecting [[Philadelphia]] and [[Camden (New Jersey)|Camden, New Jersey]]]] The '''[http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/ New Jersey Turnpike]''' ("The Turnpike") is a segment of Interstate 95 and a toll road that runs north-south for the length of the state. '''Interstates 80''' and '''78''' provide good access from the west. The '''Garden State Parkway''' ("The Parkway") is in many ways the backbone of the state, connecting many major cities in the north to the [[Jersey Shore]] region in the south. '''Interstate 287''' is a roughly C-shaped interstate that acts as a beltway around [[New York City]] and loops all the way from [[Staten Island]] west into [[Bridgewater (New Jersey)|Bridgewater]], north through [[Morristown]] and [[Parsippany]], and up to [[Mahwah]] and [[New York (state)|New York State]], and offers very convenient junctions at I-80 and I-78. '''Interstate 280''' is a short but heavily-traveled interstate that extends out of I-80 and runs through [[Montclair]], the Oranges, and [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]] before finally ending at the Turnpike. Most crossings of the Delaware River and all crossings into New York are tolled one-way ''leaving'' New Jersey - only the small, privately-owned Dingman's Ferry Bridge up in [[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sussex County]] charges a toll on vehicles entering the state. Prices range from $1 to $5 for Delaware River bridges, up to $15 for New York City crossings. Interstate 295 connects Trenton to Delaware and Philadelphia, and runs parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike for most of its length, providing a toll-free alternative for local traffic. === By thumb === Believe it or not, it is possible to hitchhike out of the [[Metro New York|New York Metro]] area. If you are trying to go long distances, your best bet is to take NJ Transit far enough to put you well into the suburbs, preferably to a stop that puts you near (i.e. within walking distance of) a major highway, such as an Interstate. From there, get to an on-ramp and put out your thumb. New Jersey state laws on hitchhiking are, however, notoriously ambiguous, and you may be hassled by local police, so use common sense and discretion. If you're trying to go west into Pennsylvania, a good tip is to take NJ Transit to [[Mount Olive|Mt. Olive]], a 5-minute walk from [[I-80]], which generally carries a good amount of long-distance traffic going west. === By bicycle or foot === The [[George Washington Bridge]], connecting New Jersey and Manhattan over the Hudson River, is crossable by bicycle or foot, and there are walkable bridges across the Delaware River as well, such as the [[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]] from Philadelphia. [https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/bike/bridges.shtm] Alternatively, you can cross the land border with [[Rockland County]], [[New York (state)|New York]] on the northern side. ==Get around== [[File:NYC Ellis Island 1-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Ellis Island]] and [[Jersey City]] ]] Absolutely no smoking or vaping is allowed in any transportation facility including those that are outdoors. Violators are subject to fines or even arrest by transit police. === By train === There are numerous companies operating trains within New Jersey: * {{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=http://www.amtrak.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content= Operates along a single route through New Jersey with stops in Newark Penn Station, Newark Liberty Airport, Iselin Metropark, New Brunswick, Princeton Jct and Trenton on the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/northeast-regional-train Northeast Regional]'' and the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/keystone-service-train Keystone Service]''. The ''[https://www.amtrak.com/acela-express-train Acela]'' Train stops only in Newark Penn Station and Metropark while the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/vermonter-train Vermonter]'' stops only in Newark Penn Station, Iselin-Metropark and Trenton. The other Amtrak trains going further south past Washington DC (''Crescent'', ''Carolinian'', ''Silver Service/Palmetto'', etc.) and west towards Pittsburgh (''Pennsylvanian'') stop only in Newark Penn Station and Trenton. }} * {{listing | name=NJ Transit | alt= | url=http://www.njtransit.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 275-5555 | tollfree=+1 888 TIPS-NJT | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-04 | content=Operates a network of trains, light rail and buses connecting communities throughout the entire state. It can be used for travel to Newark Liberty International Airport, Trenton and Philadelphia from New York City and from Philadelphia to Atlantic City. Its website provides a user-friendly method of planning your itinerary by all available forms of transport they offer. }} * {{listing | name=Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH)| alt= | url=http://www.panynj.gov/path/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 234-7284 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates a single route from mid-town and lower Manhattan to Newark, Harrison, Hoboken, and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates a high speed train that connects several suburban towns (Camden, Collingswood, Haddon Township, Haddonfield, Cherry Hill, Voorhees Township and Lindenwood) in southern New Jersey from downtown Philadelphia. }} * {{listing | name=Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) | alt= | url=http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Regional Rail Lines connect Trenton and West Trenton with Philadelphia. }} === By bus === Information on New Jersey can be found [https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/public-transportation-links/new-jersey/ here]. The following operate intrastate routes: * {{listing | name=New Jersey Transit | alt= | url=http://www.njtransit.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 275-5555| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |wikipedia=|wikidata=|image=| lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=A state funded and operated transit agency operating rail, light rail and local and express buses statewide. Some of the buses operate within a specific city or township while others travel between cities and townships within the state and into the adjacent cities of New York and Philadelphia in different places. }} In addition to the above there are numerous other private companies operating local buses within specific counties and commuter routes from those counties to New York City. * {{listing | name=Academy Bus | alt= | url=http://www.academybus.com/Commuters/Commuters.aspx | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 201 420-7000 | tollfree=+1 800 442-7272 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-08-17 | content=Operates commuter services from New York to Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey. They also operate a separate [http://www.academybus.com/Casinos/Schedules.aspx Casino Express] to Atlantic City from New York City. }} * {{listing | name=Coach USA | alt= | url=http://www.coachusa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-10-29 | content=They operate to various places within New Jersey under different brands: }} :* '''[https://www.coachusa.com/community-coach/schedules Community Coach]''' scheduled service from Morris and Essex Counties to New York City. :* '''[http://www.coachusa.com/olympia/ Olympia Trails]''' operates commuter services across the Hudson between Manhattan and northern New Jersey. They also operate local services in/around Hudson County, NJ (Jersey City) under the Red & Tan Brand (may have been discontinued); in/around Essex County, NJ as the Orange Newark Elizabeth Bus (ONE Bus); between mid-town Manhattan and Plainfield, NJ as the Westfield Commuter; and the Newark Airport Express between Manhattan and the Newark Airport. They also operate select Megabus routes out of New York to Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Albany, Ridgewood NJ and Toronto. :* '''[https://www.coachusa.com/rockland-coaches Rockland Coaches]''' operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY. They also provide local bus service within and between both locales. :* '''[https://www.coachusa.com/suburban-transit Suburban Transit]''' offers commuter, casino, and charter services in Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties, NJ. * {{listing | name=DeCamp | alt= | url=http://www.Decamp.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 783-7500 | tollfree=+1-800-631-1281 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Between New York City and Nutley, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Montclair, Roseland, Kearney and Orange in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Greyhound & Lucky Streak | alt= | url=http://www.greyhound.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 231-2222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-05 | content=Operates buses between New York, Newark, Camden and Philadelphia along I-95/295. Some variations of this route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia or via Mt Laurel to Philadelphia. They offer service from New York City & Newark (via Garden State Pkwy) and from Philadelphia (via Atlantic City Expressway) to Atlantic City on two separate routes. }} * {{listing | name=Lakeland Bus Lines | alt= | url=http://www.lakelandbus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 366-0600 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Commuter buses between New York City and Essex, Morris and Sussex Counties in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Martz Group | alt=Martz Trailways | url=http://www.martzgroup.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 570 821-3838 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-06-09 | content=''Martz Trailways'' offers commuter & intercity routes between New York City, Hackettstown, Panther Valley Mall, Atlantic City, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Stroudsburg, Poconos and Philadelphia (NJ, NY and PA). }} * {{listing | name=Peter Pan/Bonanza Bus Co. | alt= | url=http://www.peterpanbus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 343-9999| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-27 | content=Operates buses between New York, Newark, Mt Laurel, Camden and Philadelphia. Some variations of the route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia. }} === By car === Some traffic oddities are particular to New Jersey. Left turns are not permitted at intersections on many of the major divided highways in suburban and urban areas. Instead, exit ramps for left turns and U-turns are often found after the intersection and loop around to the cross street, providing opportunities to return to the desired intersection and make a U-turn back onto the original road or continue straight on the cross street, having ultimately made a "left turn." Some three-way intersections have a designated "jug handle", a small right turn loop that exists solely to allow the left turn. For both types of turns, watch for signage that says "U and Left Turns" or "All Turns." Also, many signals have a 'delayed' green light following a red, which allows oncoming traffic a chance to make left turns first. Many of these intersections are labeled with signs hanging from the signals, but keeping an eye on the traffic signal instead of observing oncoming traffic is essential. Traffic circles ('roundabouts') are quite common as well, and exits are not always clearly marked. Some toll bridges along the shore charge vehicles heading in one particular direction only, and will only accept cash. State law does not allow self-service at gas stations for regular fuel - station attendants '''must''' be the ones to pump gas. Just pull up to the pump and tell the attendant "'(Dollar amount)' or 'Fill it up with', (grade), (cash/credit), please", for example, "$20, regular, cash please." You are legally allowed to pump your own diesel fuel and many truck stops will allow this; however, not all gas stations do. Occasionally, paying with cash can be lower, usually around 5 to 10 cents/gallon cheaper. Much of the time it's due to fees credit card companies charge to businesses which get passed on to consumers; this is more likely with smaller gas stations that aren't part of a larger network. Check the posted prices to see whether the station has different prices for different means of payment. If you're filling up and paying cash, attendants will add enough gas to bring the bill to a whole dollar amount. New Jersey has relatively expensive gas in part due to its high gas tax, especially in the major urban areas; however, partly due to the close proximity to major oil refineries, prices are somewhat lower compared to nearby New York and Connecticut. In New Jersey, if a road has a [[wikipedia:Speed_limit|speed limit]] of 65 mph (~110 km/h), all fines are doubled for traffic violations. On highways of three lanes or more, the left lane is designated for passing slower traffic, and New Jersey State Police will pull you over for driving in the left lane. Also, New Jersey has a "lights on wipers on" law that requires headlights to be on when you have your windshield wipers on, as well as a hands-free law. New Jersey State Police are notoriously zealous and have a statewide reputation for being a bit showy (it is not uncommon to see patrol cars zoom through left lanes in traffic-less highways going 90-100 mph). When in doubt, play it safe and stay to the right (though there are also laws about moving out of the right lane or slowing down when passing by a stopped law enforcement vehicle on the shoulder, so keep ''that'' in the mind as well). You will find that most New Jersey drivers regularly break highway laws, usually by speeding; if you feel comfortable and judge it to be safe, feel free to go with the speed of traffic on major highways. Toll road tips: for the Garden State Parkway, carry quarters and dollar coins for exact change only lanes, it will help you get through it fast and safe. Tolls range from fifty cents to two dollars depending on location. For the New Jersey Turnpike, if you are heading north use Interstate 295 and connect to the New Jersey Turnpike via Interstate 195 at Trenton (NJ Turnpike Exit 7A) if you desire to save a few dollars. Also, the New Jersey Turnpike is the only major road in the state to use sequential exit numbering - do not rely upon an exit number to gauge the distance between exits. Use the [[wikipedia:E-ZPass|E-ZPass]] electronic toll collection system tag or a compatible tag like Illinois' I-Pass if you have one already - there's a (small) discount and you'll generally be able to avoid waiting in a line to enter or exit a toll road. The Garden State Parkway's exit numbering system is also confusing despite some small changes. In some areas exits seem roughly consistent with the posted mileage; in others they run sequentially, without regard for miles. ==See== [[File:2013-08-20 13 26 32 View of the Delaware Water Gap from about 720 feet on the Mount Tammany Trail.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|View of the Delaware Water Gap from about {{feet|720}} above it on the Mount Tammany Trail]] New Jersey has many scenic sites, including the majestic [[Palisades]] (where [[wikipedia:Aaron_Burr|Aaron Burr]] killed [[wikipedia:Alexander_Hamilton|Alexander Hamilton]]), opposite New York City on the western banks of the Hudson River. The cliffs rise about 300 to 500 feet in areas and give a breathtaking view of [[New York City]] across the river. There are also many mountains located in the western portion of the states that are full of many trails. You can also visit the majestic, very wild [[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]] off Interstate 80. You can coast down the Delaware River on an inner tube, go canoeing and more there. On Christmas Day you can watch a reenactment of [[wikipedia:George_Washington's_crossing_of_the_Delaware_River|Washington's crossing of the Delaware River]] just north of Trenton off NJ29. ==Do== No matter what you are interested in, you will probably find it in New Jersey. Fine [[beaches]] where you can surf, swim, sunbathe, or play volleyball in the summer, and run, stroll, walk your dog, or fly kites off season. Some [[Skiing and snowboarding|skiing]] in the [[Skylands]] region, hot air ballooning in [[Clinton (New Jersey)|Clinton]], and canoeing in the [[Pine Barrens]]. Hiking trails and campsites, especially in Southern and Northwestern New Jersey. Plenty of nature preserves for birdwatchers and photographers. Many bed and breakfasts. Spectator sports, including two professional football teams, [[Horse racing|horseracing]] Monmouth Park and at Meadowlands Racetrack in the [[Meadowlands Sports Complex]], and (at last count) 8 baseball teams, along with Sky Blue Soccer, a new women's professional soccer team. Many museums, concert halls, and historic sites, including George Washington's winter headquarters in [[Morristown]]. Several tourist railroads and preservation groups offer train rides. Several college towns, including [[New Brunswick (New Jersey)|New Brunswick]] (Rutgers) and [[Princeton]]. Places of worship for every religion, may offering services in various languages. Virtually any kind of food you can imagine. Nightlife ranging from casinos in [[Atlantic City]], to [http://www.alberthall.org/ Albert Hall] in [[Waretown]], to clubs in [[Belmar]], to jazz in [[Madison (New Jersey)|Madison]]. Also some amusement parks, and countless places to shop, including main street stores and boutiques, craft shows, antique shops, estate sales, yard sales, flea markets, farm stands, and farmers' markets, as well as several very large shopping malls. ==Eat== New Jersey is famous for its [[wikipedia:Rutgers_tomato|Jersey tomatoes]], [[wikipedia:Sweet_corn|sweet corn]], [[wikipedia:Blueberry|blueberries]], and [[wikipedia:Cranberry|cranberries]], and other fresh produce which every visitor will want to experience in season. That is easy to do, because the state has approximately 25,000 eateries, more per square mile than any other state in the US. And if that's not enough, there are loads of farms you can visit and buy from directly. Furthermore, the climate and soils offered there provide for ideal berry-growing environments. They serve everything from [[Fast food in the United States and Canada|fast food]] to [[haute cuisine]], including [[Italian cuisine|Italian]], [[French cuisine|French]], [[Portuguese cuisine|Portuguese]], [[Chinese cuisine|Chinese]], [[Indian cuisine|Indian]], [[Korean cuisine|Korean]], [[Japanese cuisine|Japanese]], and [[Syrian cuisine|Syrian]]. There are also plenty of take-out shops and [[wikipedia:Diner|diners]], which do not require reservations, seat patrons promptly, and offer large menus of inexpensive meals, which they serve quickly. Many are open 24 hours and breakfast is served all day. If you ever need to eat breakfast in New Jersey, try the local processed meat known as “Taylor Ham” or “Pork Roll.” The common rule is that “Taylor Ham” is typically used in the northern parts of the state, while “Pork Roll” is used in the southern parts of the state. A common sandwich eaten in New Jersey is a “Taylor Ham/Pork Roll, egg, and cheese, salt, pepper, ketchup,” typically served on either a Kaiser Roll or a bagel. New Jersey is also very well known for having a large amount of diners, which serve up all kinds of breakfast, lunch, and dinner food for often a very reasonable price. Snack foods are also extremely popular, especially [[Pizza in the United States and Canada|pizza]], fries, and [[wikipedia:New_York–style_bagel|bagels]]. Other favorites include [[wikipedia:Submarine_sandwich#|submarine sandwiches]], sausage sandwiches, and [[wikipedia:Italian_ice|Italian ice]], which are known as hoagies and water ice in South Jersey. There many also enjoy soft pretzels and [[wikipedia:Cheesesteak|Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks]] and breakfast sandwiches of [[wikipedia:Scrapple|Scrapple]], a loaf formed from cornmeal, pork scraps and spices, cut into 1/4 thick slices and fried crisp in butter or oil. [[wikipedia:Taffy_(candy)#Salt_water_taffy|Salt water taffy]] is from Atlantic City, within the state. It is unknown how it was invented, but it became popular thanks to [[wikipedia:Joseph_Fralinger|Joseph Fralinger]]. The taffy spread to other parts of the U.S. and Canadian East Coast. Many places in New Jersey sell "[[wikipedia:Sloppy_joe#New_Jersey|sloppy joes]]." These are completely different from the food known by that name in the rest of the United States. New Jersey sloppy joes are delicatessen sandwiches such as turkey, corned beef, and pastrami, which may be known as cold cuts in other part of the country. They in no way resemble the sandwich made of ground beef and onions in tomato sauce on a hamburger bun that goes by that name in the rest of the country. ==Drink== ===State liquor laws=== All alcoholic beverages can be purchased in freestanding [[wikipedia:Liquor_store|liquor stores]]. which are open every day of the week, although for shorter periods on Sundays. A small portion of supermarkets are licensed to sell beer and liquor, however they are the exception, not the rule. Some stores are only licensed to sell warm (non-refrigerated) [[beer]] and malts (i.e. [[wikipedia:Mike's_Hard_Lemonade_Co.|Mike's Hard Lemonade]]), while others may sell [[liquor]], cold beer and [[Wine|wines]]. Home-rule provisions of state law allow municipalities to stipulate in their zoning that establishments that sell alcohol may not sell anything else beyond accessories to alcohol consumption, effectively prohibiting drugstores or convenience stores from selling beer as they do in most other states (there are a few exceptions, such as New Brunswick). Since liquor licenses are for the most part limited by a quota system based on population, many communities, particularly smaller ones, may have only one liquor store, and one bar or restaurant with a license. Many establishments without a license are BYOB, or "bring your own bottle," where you are allowed to bring liquor purchased elsewhere to consume with your meal. Again, however, some municipalities are allowed to forbid even this. Bars, restaurants and liquor stores that held their licenses before the quota system was imposed in the late 1940s are exempt from it; this is the main reason why the small resort town of [[Wildwood (New Jersey)|Wildwood]] in Cape May County has 48 bars. Underage drinking is illegal and many disapprove of it, but it is common. Anyone who provides alcohol to a person under age 21 may be prosecuted. Drunken driving is illegal and there is no sympathy for those who do it. Anyone caught driving while intoxicated will be prosecuted and may end up in jail. Drunken driving checkpoints are ''extremely'' common on the [[Jersey Shore|shore]] (however, New Jersey is the only state in which driving while intoxicated is not a criminal offense; even though violators can and do receive jail time and fines in addition to having their licenses suspended or revoked, a conviction will thus not show up on a criminal background check). Smoking is illegal in all bars and restaurants (save designated "cigar bars"). One restriction in state liquor law has an upside. No establishment with a license for on-premises consumption may offer, as a promotion, discounts for drinks that do not apply to all customers. In other words, there are no Ladies' Nights at bars in New Jersey. The freedom given to municipalities in regulating alcoholic-beverage sales extends to allowing them to go completely dry. Most of these communities are in South Jersey. The best known is the Cape May County resort of [[Ocean City (New Jersey)|Ocean City]], founded during the 19th century by Baptists as a family resort, and still promoted that way. ===Local drinks=== There are a variety of microbrews to try. Flying Fish, Cricket Hill and Cape May Brewing are recommended. Some liquor stores allow you to purchase individual bottles of beer. The seventh largest producers of U.S. wines, New Jersey produces wines from grapes grown in the state. New Jersey has more than 35 wineries that produce nationally and internationally acclaimed wines. You can visit New Jersey's wineries nestled amid rolling hills and breathtaking scenery. More than 250 wines can be sampled at wine festivals across the state where you can listen to great jazz and blues and sample delicious foods and artisan crafts. Along the Wine Trails, you can tour the wineries, discover how wines are made, try a pig roast or catch some fireworks. ==Stay safe== [[File:Cape May Beach Ave from the sea.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|The beach in [[Cape May]]]] New Jersey is a fairly safe place to visit. Suburban and countryside areas are very safe along with most Jersey Shore towns. Cities are mostly safe but do exercise common travel sense. Some neighborhoods of Camden, Newark, Atlantic City, Jersey City, and Trenton are crime prone but it is unlikely that you will visit these areas. As in most US cities, when out at night, stay in well lit and well trafficked areas and you will be fine. New Jersey has the highest density of car ownership in the United States so expect crowded highways and the occasional irate driver. Many major highways are under construction for expansion purposes, resulting in delays. Traffic tends to move well above the speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike, The Garden State Parkway, or other highways and you can expect to be tail-gated when driving in the left lane. Best to stick in the middle or right lane if you don't like that sort of thing. The watchword is, drive defensively. Under ''no circumstances whatsoever'' are you to import firearms into the state. '''New Jersey does not recognize any out-of-state gun licenses''' and there are no gun offenses that are graded below a felony. Police are known to enforce these laws vigorously, and '''if caught with a firearm you will be prosecuted''', even if you are just a hunter traveling through. Also, it is illegal to import fireworks into the state unless they are mandated by a municipality for special occasions to be attended by the public at a park or on the shore (i.e. Independence Day). However, you'll find that this is worked around quite easily - it is impossible to cross the border into Pennsylvania and not see signs for on-the-border fireworks shops. Although the media and other sources portray residents as "rude" and "loud," most natives are proud of their state and are more than willing to help a tourist with directions and other tips. Don't hesitate to ask for assistance. Some areas - especially the famed Jersey Shore - are very used to tourists. Since the 1980s, New Jersey has seen an increase in its once-nearly-extirpated population of '''[[wikipedia:American_black_bear|black bears]]'''. These critters are most common in the forests of the northwestern counties but have been expanding their territory southwards. Though they can potentially be dangerous if they attack, the vast majority of the time they're just looking for food. Attacks on humans are ''incredibly'' rare, but to minimize your chances of an encounter you should handle and dispose of your garbage carefully so the smell won't attract hungry bears. ==Respect== Culture, accent, and local dialect vary depending on what part of the state you visit. Although NJ is small, the north and south are ''very'' different. For example, a large sandwich in the northern region is called a "sub" and in the south the same sandwich is referred to as a "hoagie." The north identifies with New York culture while the south has a strong connection to Philadelphia. This loyalty extends to professional sports teams too. Ignoring these small differences may come off as very rude. New Jersey natives, particularly among the large Italian-American community, are very aware of [[wikipedia:Stereotype|stereotypes]] fueled by popular television shows such as ''[[wikipedia:Jersey_Shore_(TV_series)|Jersey Shore]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:The_Sopranos|The Sopranos]]'', and can be rather sensitive about how outsiders perceive them. Don't assume everyone from New Jersey is rude, loud, uneducated, etc. Making blanket statements and disparaging references of the "New Joizey" accent, "guidos" (working class Italian-Americans), or anything somewhat negative about New Jersey can be rude and will most likely be met with hostility and resentment from locals. On the contrary, most people in New Jersey are remarkably polite and extremely friendly often in a sarcastic but well-intentioned way. Do note that there are marginal differences between reactions from older, more conservative generations of New Jersey residents and younger, more diverse, and more liberal generations. Generally, urban centers like Newark, Paterson, Trenton, Atlantic City, and the areas surrounding New York and Philadelphia tend to be more Democratic, while white, rich areas, or low-income areas like Sussex County, Cape May County, and Ocean County will lean more Republican. However, if you are unfamiliar with the American political climate, it's best to let it be. Life in New Jersey moves at a fast pace! A lot of the bustling and quickness stems from NJ being a densely populated state, squished between two massive metropolitan areas. "Taking it slowly," which is common in other areas of the country, may be met with impatience or even anger, and commonly road rage. However, if you are looking for a slower pace in New Jersey, the shore towns and the southern end of the state (south of Atlantic City and many towns east of the Garden State Parkway) can be more relaxed as it is more seasonal and more of a vacation area. ==Go next== * '''[[New York (state)|New York]]''' — One of the benefits of visiting New Jersey is that you're very close to [[New York City]], which lies just across the Hudson River. Further afield is upstate New York, a generally rural and very beautiful area with a distinct culture. * '''[[Pennsylvania]]''' — [[Philadelphia]] is just across the Delaware River. Both Interstate 80 and Interstate 78 will take you through [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]] to the [[Poconos and Endless Mountains|Poconos]] and the [[Lehigh Valley]] respectively, where there are many things to do year round. * '''[[Delaware]]''' — New Jersey's southern neighbor was the first state to ratify the Constitution (hence its nickname of the "First State") and offers an urban experience in its northern parts while providing a rural experience to the south. {{geo|40.25018|-74.66309|zoom=8}} {{IsPartOf|Mid-Atlantic}} {{usableregion}} 58bl45zbaonryppp0pekofbz6r2hii5 5298470 5298465 2026-06-25T17:01:24Z Ibaman 195012 Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298465|5298465]] by [[Special:Contributions/BKHealy|BKHealy]] ([[User talk:BKHealy|talk]]) per [[WV:Links to Wikipedia]] and [[WV:IL#Don't overlink]] 5298470 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|NewJerseyTrentonBanner.JPG|caption=The 'Trenton Makes' Bridge between Trenton, NJ and Morrisville, PA|origin=-0.6,0}} '''New Jersey''' is a state in the [[Mid-Atlantic]] region of the [[United States of America|United States]]. Located in the crossroads between New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the US. In spite of its mostly suburban landscape, New Jersey is also known for its [[Jersey Shore|vibrant beach towns]] and natural wonders such as the [[Pine Barrens]], the migratory birds of [[Cape May]], the [[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area|Delaware Water Gap]], a 72 mi (116 km) portion of the [[Appalachian Trail]], and the [[Palisades]]. Nicknamed the "Garden State" for its greenery, over a quarter of New Jersey's land is dedicated to agriculture. This can be seen in the blueberry farms and cranberry bogs scattered throughout the southern and western parts of the state. ==Regions== New Jersey is commonly divided into two geographic regions: '''North Jersey''' (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties) and '''South Jersey''' (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties). Basically, New York City is to North Jersey what Philadelphia is to South Jersey. A third region, '''Central Jersey''' (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union counties), is sometimes included between North Jersey and South Jersey. However, this is debatable; Ocean County aligns closer to South Jersey, while the remainder of Central Jersey aligns closer to North Jersey. For the purpose of this guide, New Jersey will be further divided into four regions: {{Regionlist | regionmap=New Jersey regions map.png | regionmapsize=275px | region1name=[[Gateway (New Jersey)|Gateway]] | region1color=#d0c56c | region1items=[[Bergen County|Bergen]], [[Essex County (New Jersey)|Essex]], [[Hudson County|Hudson]], [[Middlesex County (New Jersey)|Middlesex]], [[Passaic County|Passaic]], [[Union County (New Jersey)|Union]] | region1description=Western suburbs and satellite cities of [[New York City]], anchored by most of New Jersey's largest cities and centers of industry, including [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]], [[Jersey City]], [[Hoboken]], [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]], and [[Paterson]]. | region2name=[[Jersey Shore]] | region2color=#7db1de | region2items=[[Atlantic County|Atlantic]], [[Cape May County|Cape May]], [[Monmouth County|Monmouth]], [[Ocean County|Ocean]] | region2description=Miles of beaches and boardwalks (including the original streets of the board game [[Monopoly]]) to enjoy, as well as chances to try your luck at [[Atlantic City]]'s casinos. The [[Pine Barrens]] offer opportunities to camp. | region3name=[[Delaware River Region|Delaware River]] | region3color=#72b970 | region3items=[[Burlington County|Burlington]], [[Camden County (New Jersey)|Camden]], [[Cumberland County (New Jersey)|Cumberland]], [[Gloucester County (New Jersey)|Gloucester]], [[Mercer County (New Jersey)|Mercer]], [[Salem County|Salem]] | region3description=The eastern suburbs of [[Philadelphia]], anchored by [[Camden (New Jersey)|Camden]]. State capital [[Trenton]] and Ivy League-center [[Princeton]] are included here for this guide, though those areas are just as much in New York's sphere of influence as Philly's. | region4name=[[Skylands]] | region4color=#c16161 | region4items=[[Hunterdon County|Hunterdon]], [[Morris County (New Jersey)|Morris]], [[Somerset County (New Jersey)|Somerset]], [[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sussex]], [[Warren County (New Jersey)|Warren]] | region4description=Forested hills, miles of farmland and small mountains are the main attraction for visitors here, especially in the fall season when the leaves turn and apple orchards open. }} ==Cities== [[File:Newark, New Jersey at night.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]] at night]] *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Trenton]]|url=|lat=40.223748|long=-74.764001|wikidata=Q25330}} – The state capital and home of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Atlantic City]]|url=|lat=39.377297|long=-74.451082|wikidata=Q139564}} – A famed 1800s oceanfront resort town reborn as a gambling center in the late 1970s *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Camden (New Jersey)|Camden]]|url=|lat=39.94|long=-75.105|wikidata=Q138367}} – Rough with vast stretches of poverty, the city is also home to the USS New Jersey, better known as '''Battleship New Jersey''', and Adventure Aquarium. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Hoboken]]|url=|lat=40.75|long=-74.03|wikidata=Q138578}} – A reborn former industrial city on the Hudson River with plenty of bars, restaurants, music and awesome views of Manhattan. Hoboken is also the original home of '''Carlo's Bakery'''. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Jersey City]]|url=|lat=40.714|long=-74.071|wikidata=Q26339}} – New Jersey's second largest city, its financial sector complements Wall Street across the river and ferries for the Statue of Liberty leave from Liberty State Park. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]]|url=|lat=40.72422|long=-74.172574|wikidata=Q25395}} – New Jersey's largest city has notable cultural centers of art and music, the New Jersey Devils hockey team, and fantastic cuisines from around the globe. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[New Brunswick (New Jersey)|New Brunswick]]|url=|lat=40.486678|long=-74.444414|wikidata=Q138338}} – Home to the original and largest campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a public research university founded in 1766. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Paterson]]|url=|lat=40.914746|long=-74.162826|wikidata=Q138391}} – Site of the huge Great Falls of the Passaic River, second only to Niagara Falls among waterfalls east of the Mississippi by volume of water, and a National Historical Park whose namesake waterfall powered factories and made the city the cradle of the Industrial Revolution *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Princeton]]|url=|lat=40.357115|long=-74.670165|wikidata=Q138518}} – Home of the Ivy-League Princeton University, and the many hip bars, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, and music venues that come with a "college town". ==Other destinations== [[File:2013-08-21 14 31 50 View of the beach from the east end of the Forked River Interpretive Center nature trail in Island Beach State Park.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.3|Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township]] *{{marker|name=[[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]]|wikidata=Q1183971}} — Camping, hiking and rafting in a large valley on the Delaware River *{{marker|name=[[Montague|High Point State Park]]|wikidata=Q24257055}} — The highest point in the state, with a tower and beautiful views of the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York *{{marker|name=[[Island Beach State Park]]|wikidata=Q6083013}} — {{Mile|10}} stretch of undeveloped barrier island, the last in the state *{{marker|name=[[Lake Hopatcong (New Jersey)|Lake Hopatcong]]|wikidata=Q6476209}} — New Jersey's largest lake provides boating and swimming for families and singles. *{{marker|name=The [[Pine Barrens]]|wikidata=Q2095497}} — A natural pine forest that covers about a third of the state *{{marker|name=[[Sandy Hook]]|wikidata=Q1028611}} — Peninsula in Monmouth County *{{marker|name=[[Jackson Township (New Jersey)|Six Flags Great Adventure]]|wikidata=Q2713022}} — Massive amusement park and safari, with neighboring waterpark *{{marker|name=[[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sterling Mine]]|wikidata=Q495998}} — Former mine offering tours through caverns of fluorescent rock *{{marker|name=[[West Orange|Thomas Edison National Historical Park]]|wikidata=Q932601}} — National park preserves famous inventor Thomas Edison's home and laboratory complexla of Monmouth County ==Understand== === History === [[File:2013-08-20 15 11 52 View east towards Mount Tammany and the Delaware Water Gap from along the Appalachian Trail at around 800 feet ascending Mount Minsi in the Pennsylvania section of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]] and Interstate 80]] === Geography === New Jersey's geography varies across the state. Much of the northern half of the state is made up of the easternmost hills of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] and other small ridge lines. Between these ridges lie the fertile river valleys that give New Jersey its "Garden State" nickname. High Point, near the borders of New York and Pennsylvania in [[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sussex County]], is the highest mountain in the state at {{Foot|1,803}}. The southern half of the state is part of the Atlantic Plain, and as such is very flat. Much less developed, this area is covered in large part by the [[Pine Barrens]]. The [[Jersey Shore]] stretches along the coastline, and for much of its length is made up of narrow, long barrier islands. New Jersey is bordered by the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the east, and by the states of [[New York (state)|New York]] to the north and northeast, [[Pennsylvania]] to the west, and [[Delaware]] to the southwest. The northeastern parts of New Jersey are suburbs of [[New York City]], just across the Hudson River, and the southwestern parts are suburbs of [[Philadelphia]], just across the Delaware River. === Climate === New Jersey has four distinct seasons. Winter in the state is usually marked by cold temperatures and frequent snowstorms that can drop anywhere from a dusting to {{Foot|2}}. It is not unheard of in the worst winters for temperatures to drop below freezing for long stretches, especially in January and February. This varies from year to year, however, and in some years winter may feature relatively mild temperatures and only one or two snowstorms. Spring in New Jersey starts out cold and often damp, with rainstorms common in March. By late April and early May, temperatures begin to rise and trees and flowers bloom throughout the state. Summer features brilliant sun, with occasional heat waves. Humidity is often high, but the months are punctuated by spells of lower humidity that bring everyone outside to enjoy the weather. Leaves start to turn color in September and nor'easters (large subtropical rainstorms that travel up the coast) begin to occur, continuing through October. By late October, most of the leaves have fallen, and winter sets in throughout November. === New Jersey today === New Jersey is the most densely populated state and as such has a diverse population, rich culture, and many assets, including abundant natural resources and various Fortune 500 companies. New Jersey's big cities are centers of government and commerce. Though parts of the larger cities have become run down with deindustrialization since the 1970s, they still have a lot to offer. [[Princeton]], [[Hoboken]] and [[New Brunswick (New Jersey)|New Brunswick]] in particular are great cities and inhabited by the middle to upper class. Most New Jerseyans of middle class, however, prefer to live in the suburbs, which exploded in the state in the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s. Rich folks cluster in certain old, established towns and rural enclaves like Alpine, Mendham, and Millburn. More than a third of the state, including the [[Pine Barrens]], is rural and sparsely populated, with little or no public transportation. There is a strong [[New York City|New York]] influence in the North, Central and northern Shore (Monmouth and Ocean) regions of the state and a [[Philadelphia]] influence in the South, including Atlantic and Cape May counties. All major local TV and radio stations that serve New Jersey are located in those cities. New Jersey also serves as a bedroom community for many people who work in New York City or Philadelphia. Accordingly, strong regional affiliations within the state are split among those lines, and distinct cultural differences can be seen between "North Jersey" and "South Jersey". 75% of the state's residents live within the New York City media market serving the northern portion of the state (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren, Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon, Monmouth and Ocean Counties), with the remaining 25% living within the Philadelphia market (including in Mercer County). ===Tourist information === * [https://www.visitnj.org/ Visit New Jersey] website ==Talk== English is spoken throughout the state, and Spanish speakers can be found in most of the large cities and suburban areas of the [[Gateway]] region. Furthermore, the state has attracted immigrants from around the world, giving a true international feel (akin to New York) most prevalent in the northern and central parts of the state. Spanish as a second language can be found just about everywhere. Italian speakers and speakers of Southern Italian languages can still be found among the ranks of the well established Italian-American communities throughout the state, though not as much as in former times, as younger generations are often purely English-speaking. Apart from that, one can expect to hear Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Portuguese, Gujarati, Hindi, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Haitian, and just about any other language. People flock to New Jersey from all over, especially from New York City and Philadelphia, making it difficult to isolate a single New Jersey accent. North Jersey's accent is strongly influenced by New York, although you will not find many people speaking with this accent in Sussex, Morris or Warren Counties. Most people in Central Jersey (Middlesex, Union, Mercer, Somerset and Hunterdon) have more of a "neutral" or General American-sounding accent as compared to the northeastern part of the state (Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic) even though both regions are primarily influenced by New York. South Jersey's accent (including Ocean County) is strongly influenced by Philadelphia and, to a lesser extent, Maryland. Some people in Monmouth County have a hint of a New York accent. ==Get in== ===By plane=== [[File:Terminal-c-newark.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|Terminal C at [[Newark Liberty International Airport]], where United's hub operations are based]]There are several airports in and near New Jersey, including: *'''[[Newark Liberty International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|EWR}}) in [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]], which is by far New Jersey's largest airport. EWR is a major cargo hub for FedEx and a major passenger hub for United Airlines. It has three passenger terminals, lettered A, B, and C. The terminals are connected by a monorail that extends to the airport's train station, providing access across the state and beyond via NJ Transit or Amtrak. *'''[[John F. Kennedy International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|JFK}}) in the [[New York City]] borough of [[Queens]]. The busiest international air gateway to the United States and North America, and one of the busiest in the world, with over 90 airlines operating from it. "JFK" serves as the base of operations for JetBlue and is a major international hub for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. *'''[[LaGuardia Airport]]''' ({{IATA|LGA}}) in Queens. The smallest of the three New York Airports. Like JFK, the two largest airlines at LaGuardia are Delta and American. Unlike JFK, however, LaGuardia mainly serves regional destinations, with most international routes coming from [[Canada]]. *'''[[Philadelphia International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|PHL}}) in the [[Delaware Valley]] region of [[Pennsylvania]]. A major hub for American Airlines, which flies from airports throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. *'''[http://www.sjta.com/acairport/index.asp Atlantic City International Airport]''' ({{IATA|ACY}}) near [[Atlantic City]]. A joint civil-military airport accessible via Exit 9 on the Atlantic City Expressway, which offers flights from select [[South (United States of America)|Southern]] cities, mainly in [[Florida]]. *'''[http://www.mercercounty.org/departments/transportation-and-infrastructure/trenton-mercer-airport Trenton–Mercer Airport]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ({{IATA|TTN}}) near Trenton. One of the lesser-used airports, but it has service from select Southern and [[Midwest|Midwestern]] cities via Frontier Airlines. *'''[[Allentown#Get in|Lehigh Valley International Airport]]''' ({{IATA|ABE}}) in [[Allentown]], which is within close driving proximity to Warren County, New Jersey other and northwestern New Jersey locations. ===By bus=== Numerous bus companies serve New Jersey, with the typical long-distance intercity bus lines offering limited stops between [[New York City#By bus|New York]] and [[Philadelphia#By bus|Philadelphia]], [[Baltimore#By bus|Baltimore]], and [[Washington,_D.C.#By bus|Washington, DC]]. Some of the same companies also offer express service direct from New York or Philadelphia to Atlantic City. Commuter buses operate from New York and Philadelphia to locations in northern and central New Jersey not served by the long-distance carriers. Unlike in other states, fares on the intercity bus lines are not much more expensive than a commuter bus and are sometimes less expensive than rail travel: ==== Intercity buses ==== *{{listing | name=Bolt Bus | alt= | url=https://www.boltbus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-05 | content=Operates a bus from Newark Penn Station to New York City with some routes continuing north to Boston and south from Newark to Philadelphia and Washington DC on two separate routes. They also have another route going from Cherry Hill Mall to New York City (33rd St btwn 11th & 12th Ave stop) }} *'''[http://us.megabus.com Megabus]''' Goes north from Secaucus to Boston and south to Baltimore and Washington DC on one route. From Princeton and New Brunswick to New York City on another route. They don't sell tickets for travel just between Princeton and New Brunswick on that route. And a third route from Ridgewood to Albany NY. *{{listing | name=Greyhound & Lucky Streak | alt= | url=http://www.greyhound.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 231-2222 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-05 | content=Operates buses between New York, Mt Laurel and Philadelphia along I-95/295. Some variations of this route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia or via Newark and Camden to Philadelphia. Some Greyhound routes continue south from Mt Laurel and from Philadelphia towards Washington DC via Wilmington, DE; Baltimore, MD; New Carrolton MD and/or Silver Spring, MD. They offer service from New York City (via Garden State Pkwy) and from Philadelphia (via Atlantic City Expressway) to Atlantic City on separate routes. }} *{{listing | name=Martz Group | alt=Martz Trailways | url=http://www.martzgroup.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 570 821-3838 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-06-09 | content=Martz Trailways offers commuter & intercity routes between New York City, Hackettstown, Panther Valley Mall, Atlantic City, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Stroudsburg, Poconos and Philadelphia (NJ, NY and PA). }} *{{listing | name=Omnibus la Cubana | alt= | url=http://www.lacubanabus.com/direct.html | email= | address=(Union City depot) 406 32nd St, Union City NJ | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 201 864-6800 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-27 | content=They travel contiguously between Miami and New York with stops in Union City and Elizabeth NJ. }} *{{listing | name=Peter Pan/Bonanza Bus Co. | alt= | url=http://www.peterpanbus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 343-9999| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-27 | content=Operates buses between New York, Newark, Mt Laurel, Camden and Philadelphia. Some variations of the route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia while others continue from Mt Laurel towards Washington DC via Wilmington, DE; Baltimore, MD; New Carrolton MD and Silver Spring, MD. }} ==== Commuter buses ==== * {{listing | name=Academy Bus | alt= | url=http://www.academybus.com/Commuters/Commuters.aspx | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 201 420-7000 | tollfree=+1 800 442-7272 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-08-17 | content=Operates commuter services from New York to Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey. They also operate a separate [http://www.academybus.com/Casinos/Schedules.aspx Casino Express] to Atlantic City from the Port Authority Bus Terminal & 85th St Candy Store at E 85th St between 3rd & 2nd Ave in New York City. }} * {{listing | name=Coach USA | alt= | url=http://www.coachusa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-10-29 | content=They operate to various places in New Jersey under different brands including Megabus: }} ** '''[http://www.coachusa.com/community/ Community Coach]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' scheduled service from Morris and Essex Counties to New York City. ** '''[http://www.coachusa.com/olympia/ Olympia Trails]''' operate local bus service Orange, Newark, and Elizabeth, NJ as the [http://www.coachusa.com/onebus Orange Newark Elizabeth Bus (ONE/Independent Bus)]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} and the [https://www.newarkairportexpress.com/ Newark Airport Express] between Newark Liberty International Airport and mid-town Manhattan and JFK International Airport. They also operate some Megabus routes from New York City to Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Albany, Ridgewood NJ and Toronto. ** '''[http://www.coachusa.com/rockland/ Rockland Coaches]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY. They also provide local bus service within and between both locales. ** '''[http://www.coachusa.com/suburban/ Suburban Trails]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' offers commuter, casino, and charter services in Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties, NJ. * {{listing | name=DeCamp | alt= | url=http://www.Decamp.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 783-7500 | tollfree=+1-800-631-1281 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Between New York City and Nutley, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Montclair, Roseland, Kearney and Orange in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Lakeland Bus Lines | alt= | url=http://www.lakelandbus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 366-0600 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Commuter buses between New York City and Essex, Morris and Sussex Counties in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=New Jersey Transit | alt= | url=http://www.njtransit.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 275-5555 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Operates commuter buses from New York City and Philadelphia to various places in New Jersey on multiple routes and local buses within and between cities and townships within New Jersey and adjacent states. }} * {{go | name=Greyhound Quicklink | alt= | url=https://greyhoundquicklink.com/new-jersey/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-08-01 | content=A subsidiary brand of Greyhound to offer frequent and less expensive commuter buses between the Greyhound station at Mt Laurel & the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. }} ===By train=== [[File:Hoboken Terminal May 2015 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The elegant [[Hoboken]] Terminal]] ==== [http://www.amtrak.com Amtrak] ==== Operates a single route through New Jersey with stops in Newark Penn Station, Newark Liberty International Airport, Iselin Metropark, New Brunswick, Princeton Jct and Trenton on the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/northeast-regional-train Northeast Regional]'' and the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/keystone-service-train Keystone Service]''. The ''[https://www.amtrak.com/acela-express-train Acela]'' Train stops only in Newark Penn Station and Iselin Metropark while the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/vermonter-train Vermonter]'' stops only in Newark Penn Station, Iselin-Metropark and Trenton. The other Amtrak trains going further south past Washington DC (''Crescent'', ''Carolinian'', ''Silver Service/Palmetto'', etc) and west towards Pittsburgh (''Pennsylvanian'') stop only in Newark Penn Station and Trenton. ==== [http://www.njtransit.com NJ Transit] ==== Operates rail service from New York City to Bay Head (North Jersey Coast Line), Gladstone (Gladstone Branch), Hackettstown (Morristown Line and Montclair-Boonton Line), High Bridge (Raritan Valley Line), Port Jervis (Bergen County/Main/Port Jervis Line), Spring Valley (Pascack Valley Line) and Trenton (Northeast Corridor Line) on multiple routes in several directions in northern and central New Jersey and from Philadelphia to Atlantic City in southern New Jersey. The <nowiki>''Northeast Corridor''</nowiki> line runs the same route as the Amtrak trains between New York and Trenton only with more stops including a stop at the Newark Liberty International Airport. Other regional rail lines running into New Jersey are: *{{listing | name=Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH)| alt= | url=http://www.panynj.gov/path/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 234-7284 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates a single route from mid-town and lower Manhattan to Newark, Harrison, Hoboken, and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey }} *{{listing | name=Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates along a single route from Philadelphia to Lindenwood via Camden, Collingswood, Haddon Township, Haddonfield, Cherry Hill & Voorhees Township. }} *{{listing | name=Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) | alt= | url=http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Regional rail service from Philadelphia 30th St Station to the surrounding suburbs in Southeastern Pennsylvania; Philadelphia International Airport Wilmington DE; and Trenton on multiple routes }} === By boat === '''NY Waterway''' and '''Seastreak''' provide ferry service from [[Manhattan]] to New Jersey ports. NY Waterway crosses the Hudson River to nearby [[Hoboken]], [[Weehawken]], and [[Jersey City]], and Seastreak serves the towns of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, across the New York Bay near [[Sandy Hook]]. The '''Cape May-Lewes Ferry''' provides service from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, Delaware, carrying both people and automobiles. ===By car=== [[File:Philadelphia212.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Benjamin Franklin Bridge, connecting [[Philadelphia]] and [[Camden (New Jersey)|Camden, New Jersey]]]] The '''[http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/ New Jersey Turnpike]''' ("The Turnpike") is a segment of Interstate 95 and a toll road that runs north-south for the length of the state. '''Interstates 80''' and '''78''' provide good access from the west. The '''Garden State Parkway''' ("The Parkway") is in many ways the backbone of the state, connecting many major cities in the north to the [[Jersey Shore]] region in the south. '''Interstate 287''' is a roughly C-shaped interstate that acts as a beltway around [[New York City]] and loops all the way from [[Staten Island]] west into [[Bridgewater (New Jersey)|Bridgewater]], north through [[Morristown]] and [[Parsippany]], and up to [[Mahwah]] and [[New York (state)|New York State]], and offers very convenient junctions at I-80 and I-78. '''Interstate 280''' is a short but heavily-traveled interstate that extends out of I-80 and runs through [[Montclair]], the Oranges, and [[Newark (New Jersey)|Newark]] before finally ending at the Turnpike. Most crossings of the Delaware River and all crossings into New York are tolled one-way ''leaving'' New Jersey - only the small, privately-owned Dingman's Ferry Bridge up in [[Sussex County (New Jersey)|Sussex County]] charges a toll on vehicles entering the state. Prices range from $1 to $5 for Delaware River bridges, up to $15 for New York City crossings. Interstate 295 connects Trenton to Delaware and Philadelphia, and runs parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike for most of its length, providing a toll-free alternative for local traffic. === By thumb === Believe it or not, it is possible to hitchhike out of the [[Metro New York|New York Metro]] area. If you are trying to go long distances, your best bet is to take NJ Transit far enough to put you well into the suburbs, preferably to a stop that puts you near (i.e. within walking distance of) a major highway, such as an Interstate. From there, get to an on-ramp and put out your thumb. New Jersey state laws on hitchhiking are, however, notoriously ambiguous, and you may be hassled by local police, so use common sense and discretion. If you're trying to go west into Pennsylvania, a good tip is to take NJ Transit to Mt. Olive, a 5-minute walk from I-80, which generally carries a good amount of long-distance traffic going west. === By bicycle or foot === The George Washington Bridge, connecting New Jersey and Manhattan over the Hudson River, is crossable by bicycle or foot, and there are walkable bridges across the Delaware River as well, such as the Benjamin Franklin Bridge from Philadelphia. [https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/bike/bridges.shtm] Alternatively, you can cross the land border with [[Rockland County]], [[New York (state)|New York]] on the northern side. ==Get around== [[File:NYC Ellis Island 1-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Ellis Island]] and [[Jersey City]] ]] Absolutely no smoking or vaping is allowed in any transportation facility including those that are outdoors. Violators are subject to fines or even arrest by transit police. === By train === There are numerous companies operating trains within New Jersey: * {{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=http://www.amtrak.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content= Operates along a single route through New Jersey with stops in Newark Penn Station, Newark Liberty Airport, Iselin Metropark, New Brunswick, Princeton Jct and Trenton on the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/northeast-regional-train Northeast Regional]'' and the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/keystone-service-train Keystone Service]''. The ''[https://www.amtrak.com/acela-express-train Acela]'' Train stops only in Newark Penn Station and Metropark while the ''[https://www.amtrak.com/vermonter-train Vermonter]'' stops only in Newark Penn Station, Iselin-Metropark and Trenton. The other Amtrak trains going further south past Washington DC (''Crescent'', ''Carolinian'', ''Silver Service/Palmetto'', etc.) and west towards Pittsburgh (''Pennsylvanian'') stop only in Newark Penn Station and Trenton. }} * {{listing | name=NJ Transit | alt= | url=http://www.njtransit.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 275-5555 | tollfree=+1 888 TIPS-NJT | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-04 | content=Operates a network of trains, light rail and buses connecting communities throughout the entire state. It can be used for travel to Newark Liberty International Airport, Trenton and Philadelphia from New York City and from Philadelphia to Atlantic City. Its website provides a user-friendly method of planning your itinerary by all available forms of transport they offer. }} * {{listing | name=Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH)| alt= | url=http://www.panynj.gov/path/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 234-7284 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates a single route from mid-town and lower Manhattan to Newark, Harrison, Hoboken, and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Operates a high speed train that connects several suburban towns (Camden, Collingswood, Haddon Township, Haddonfield, Cherry Hill, Voorhees Township and Lindenwood) in southern New Jersey from downtown Philadelphia. }} * {{listing | name=Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) | alt= | url=http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-02 | content=Regional Rail Lines connect Trenton and West Trenton with Philadelphia. }} === By bus === Information on New Jersey can be found [https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/public-transportation-links/new-jersey/ here]. The following operate intrastate routes: * {{listing | name=New Jersey Transit | alt= | url=http://www.njtransit.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 275-5555| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |wikipedia=|wikidata=|image=| lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=A state funded and operated transit agency operating rail, light rail and local and express buses statewide. Some of the buses operate within a specific city or township while others travel between cities and townships within the state and into the adjacent cities of New York and Philadelphia in different places. }} In addition to the above there are numerous other private companies operating local buses within specific counties and commuter routes from those counties to New York City. * {{listing | name=Academy Bus | alt= | url=http://www.academybus.com/Commuters/Commuters.aspx | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 201 420-7000 | tollfree=+1 800 442-7272 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-08-17 | content=Operates commuter services from New York to Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey. They also operate a separate [http://www.academybus.com/Casinos/Schedules.aspx Casino Express] to Atlantic City from New York City. }} * {{listing | name=Coach USA | alt= | url=http://www.coachusa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-10-29 | content=They operate to various places within New Jersey under different brands: }} :* '''[http://www.coachusa.com/community/ Community Coach]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' scheduled service from Morris and Essex Counties to New York City. :* '''[http://www.coachusa.com/olympia/ Olympia Trails]''' operates commuter services across the Hudson between Manhattan and northern New Jersey. They also operate local services in/around Hudson County, NJ (Jersey City) under the Red & Tan Brand (may have been discontinued); in/around Essex County, NJ as the Orange Newark Elizabeth Bus (ONE Bus); between mid-town Manhattan and Plainfield, NJ as the Westfield Commuter; and the Newark Airport Express between Manhattan and the Newark Airport. They also operate select Megabus routes out of New York to Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Albany, Ridgewood NJ and Toronto. :* '''[http://www.coachusa.com/rockland/ Rockland Coaches]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY. They also provide local bus service within and between both locales. :* '''[http://www.coachusa.com/suburban/ Suburban Trails]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' offers commuter, casino, and charter services in Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties, NJ. * {{listing | name=DeCamp | alt= | url=http://www.Decamp.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 783-7500 | tollfree=+1-800-631-1281 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Between New York City and Nutley, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Montclair, Roseland, Kearney and Orange in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Greyhound & Lucky Streak | alt= | url=http://www.greyhound.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 231-2222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-05 | content=Operates buses between New York, Newark, Camden and Philadelphia along I-95/295. Some variations of this route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia or via Mt Laurel to Philadelphia. They offer service from New York City & Newark (via Garden State Pkwy) and from Philadelphia (via Atlantic City Expressway) to Atlantic City on two separate routes. }} * {{listing | name=Lakeland Bus Lines | alt= | url=http://www.lakelandbus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 973 366-0600 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-25 | content=Commuter buses between New York City and Essex, Morris and Sussex Counties in northern New Jersey }} * {{listing | name=Martz Group | alt=Martz Trailways | url=http://www.martzgroup.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 570 821-3838 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-06-09 | content=''Martz Trailways'' offers commuter & intercity routes between New York City, Hackettstown, Panther Valley Mall, Atlantic City, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Stroudsburg, Poconos and Philadelphia (NJ, NY and PA). }} * {{listing | name=Peter Pan/Bonanza Bus Co. | alt= | url=http://www.peterpanbus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 800 343-9999| tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-27 | content=Operates buses between New York, Newark, Mt Laurel, Camden and Philadelphia. Some variations of the route is a non-stop service between New York and Philadelphia. }} === By car === Some traffic oddities are particular to New Jersey. Left turns are not permitted at intersections on many of the major divided highways in suburban and urban areas. Instead, exit ramps for left turns and U-turns are often found after the intersection and loop around to the cross street, providing opportunities to return to the desired intersection and make a U-turn back onto the original road or continue straight on the cross street, having ultimately made a "left turn". Some three-way intersections have a designated "jug handle", a small right turn loop that exists solely to allow the left turn. For both types of turns, watch for signage that says "U and Left Turns" or "All Turns". Also, many signals have a 'delayed' green light following a red, which allows oncoming traffic a chance to make left turns first. Many of these intersections are labeled with signs hanging from the signals, but keeping an eye on the traffic signal instead of observing oncoming traffic is essential. Traffic circles ('roundabouts') are quite common as well, and exits are not always clearly marked. Some toll bridges along the shore charge vehicles heading in one particular direction only, and will only accept cash. State law does not allow self-service at gas stations for regular fuel - station attendants '''must''' be the ones to pump gas. Just pull up to the pump and tell the attendant "'(Dollar amount)' or 'Fill it up with', (grade), (cash/credit), please", for example, "$20, regular, cash please". You are legally allowed to pump your own diesel fuel and many truck stops will allow this; however, not all gas stations do. Occasionally, paying with cash can be lower, usually around 5 to 10 cents/gallon cheaper. Much of the time it's due to fees credit card companies charge to businesses which get passed on to consumers; this is more likely with smaller gas stations that aren't part of a larger network. Check the posted prices to see whether the station has different prices for different means of payment. If you're filling up and paying cash, attendants will add enough gas to bring the bill to a whole dollar amount. New Jersey has relatively expensive gas in part due to its high gas tax, especially in the major urban areas; however, partly due to the close proximity to major oil refineries, prices are somewhat lower compared to nearby New York and Connecticut. In New Jersey, if a road has a speed limit of 65 mph (~110 km/h), all fines are doubled for traffic violations. On highways of three lanes or more, the left lane is designated for passing slower traffic, and New Jersey State Police will pull you over for driving in the left lane. Also, New Jersey has a "lights on wipers on" law that requires headlights to be on when you have your windshield wipers on, as well as a hands-free law. New Jersey State Police are notoriously zealous and have a statewide reputation for being a bit showy (it is not uncommon to see patrol cars zoom through left lanes in traffic-less highways going 90-100 mph). When in doubt, play it safe and stay to the right (though there are also laws about moving out of the right lane or slowing down when passing by a stopped law enforcement vehicle on the shoulder, so keep ''that'' in the mind as well). You will find that most New Jersey drivers regularly break highway laws, usually by speeding; if you feel comfortable and judge it to be safe, feel free to go with the speed of traffic on major highways. Toll road tips: for the Garden State Parkway, carry quarters and dollar coins for exact change only lanes, it will help you get through it fast and safe. Tolls range from fifty cents to two dollars depending on location. For the New Jersey Turnpike, if you are heading north use Interstate 295 and connect to the New Jersey Turnpike via Interstate 195 at Trenton (NJ Turnpike Exit 7A) if you desire to save a few dollars. Also, the New Jersey Turnpike is the only major road in the state to use sequential exit numbering - do not rely upon an exit number to gauge the distance between exits. Use the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system tag or a compatible tag like Illinois' I-Pass if you have one already - there's a (small) discount and you'll generally be able to avoid waiting in a line to enter or exit a toll road. The Garden State Parkway's exit numbering system is also confusing despite some small changes. In some areas exits seem roughly consistent with the posted mileage; in others they run sequentially, without regard for miles. ==See== [[File:2013-08-20 13 26 32 View of the Delaware Water Gap from about 720 feet on the Mount Tammany Trail.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|View of the Delaware Water Gap from about {{feet|720}} above it on the Mount Tammany Trail]] New Jersey has many scenic sites, including the majestic [[Palisades]] (where Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton), opposite New York City on the western banks of the Hudson River. The cliffs rise about 300 to 500 feet in areas and give a breathtaking view of [[New York City]] across the river. There are also many mountains located in the western portion of the states that are full of many trails. You can also visit the majestic, very wild [[Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]] off Interstate 80. You can coast down the Delaware River on an inner tube, go canoeing and more there. On Christmas Day you can watch a reenactment of Washington's crossing of the Delaware River just north of Trenton off NJ29. ==Do== No matter what you are interested in, you will probably find it in New Jersey. Fine beaches where you can surf, swim, sunbathe, or play volleyball in the summer, and run, stroll, walk your dog, or fly kites off season. Some skiing in the [[Skylands]] region, hot air ballooning in [[Clinton (New Jersey)|Clinton]], and canoeing in the [[Pine Barrens]]. Hiking trails and campsites, especially in Southern and Northwestern New Jersey. Plenty of nature preserves for birdwatchers and photographers. Many bed and breakfasts. Spectator sports, including two professional football teams, horseracing Monmouth Park and at Meadowlands Racetrack in the Meadowlands Sports Complex, and (at last count) 8 baseball teams, along with Sky Blue Soccer, a new women's professional soccer team. Many museums, concert halls, and historic sites, including George Washington's winter headquarters in [[Morristown]]. Several tourist railroads and preservation groups offer train rides. Several college towns, including [[New Brunswick (New Jersey)|New Brunswick]] (Rutgers) and [[Princeton]]. Places of worship for every religion, may offering services in various languages. Virtually any kind of food you can imagine. Nightlife ranging from casinos in [[Atlantic City]], to [http://www.alberthall.org/ Albert Hall] in [[Waretown]], to clubs in [[Belmar]], to jazz in [[Madison (New Jersey)|Madison]]. Also some amusement parks, and countless places to shop, including main street stores and boutiques, craft shows, antique shops, estate sales, yard sales, flea markets, farm stands, and farmers' markets, as well as several very large shopping malls. ==Eat== New Jersey is famous for its Jersey tomatoes, sweet corn, blueberries, and cranberries, and other fresh produce which every visitor will want to experience in season. That is easy to do, because the state has approximately 25,000 eateries, more per square mile than any other state in the US. And if that's not enough, there are loads of farms you can visit and buy from directly. Furthermore, the climate and soils offered there provide for ideal berry-growing environments. They serve everything from fast food to haute cuisine, including Italian, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, and Syrian. There are also plenty of take-out shops and diners, which do not require reservations, seat patrons promptly, and offer large menus of inexpensive meals, which they serve quickly. Many are open 24 hours and breakfast is served all day. If you ever need to eat breakfast in New Jersey, try the local processed meat known as “Taylor Ham” or “Pork Roll”. The common rule is that “Taylor Ham” is typically used in the northern parts of the state, while “Pork Roll” is used in the southern parts of the state. A common sandwich eaten in New Jersey is a “Taylor Ham/Pork Roll, egg, and cheese, salt, pepper, ketchup”, typically served on either a Kaiser Roll or a bagel. New Jersey is also very well known for having a large amount of diners, which serve up all kinds of breakfast, lunch, and dinner food for often a very reasonable price. Snack foods are also extremely popular, especially pizza, fries, and bagels. Other favorites include submarine sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, and Italian ice, which are known as hoagies and water ice in South Jersey. There many also enjoy soft pretzels and Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks and breakfast sandwiches of Scrapple, a loaf formed from cornmeal, pork scraps and spices, cut into 1/4 thick slices and fried crisp in butter or oil. Salt water taffy is from Atlantic City, within the state. It is unknown how it was invented, but it became popular thanks to Joseph Fralinger. The taffy spread to other parts of the U.S. and Canadian East Coast. Many places in New Jersey sell "sloppy joes." These are completely different from the food known by that name in the rest of the United States. New Jersey sloppy joes are delicatessen sandwiches such as turkey, corned beef, and pastrami, which may be known as cold cuts in other part of the country. They in no way resemble the sandwich made of ground beef and onions in tomato sauce on a hamburger bun that goes by that name in the rest of the country. ==Drink== ===State liquor laws=== All alcoholic beverages can be purchased in freestanding liquor stores. which are open every day of the week, although for shorter periods on Sundays. A small portion of supermarkets are licensed to sell beer and liquor, however they are the exception, not the rule. Some stores are only licensed to sell warm (non-refrigerated) beer and malts (i.e. Mike's Hard Lemonade), while others may sell liquor, cold beer and wines. Home-rule provisions of state law allow municipalities to stipulate in their zoning that establishments that sell alcohol may not sell anything else beyond accessories to alcohol consumption, effectively prohibiting drugstores or convenience stores from selling beer as they do in most other states (there are a few exceptions, such as New Brunswick). Since liquor licenses are for the most part limited by a quota system based on population, many communities, particularly smaller ones, may have only one liquor store, and one bar or restaurant with a license. Many establishments without a license are BYOB, or "bring your own bottle", where you are allowed to bring liquor purchased elsewhere to consume with your meal. Again, however, some municipalities are allowed to forbid even this. Bars, restaurants and liquor stores that held their licenses before the quota system was imposed in the late 1940s are exempt from it; this is the main reason why the small resort town of [[Wildwood (New Jersey)|Wildwood]] in Cape May County has 48 bars. Underage drinking is illegal and many disapprove of it, but it is common. Anyone who provides alcohol to a person under age 21 may be prosecuted. Drunken driving is illegal and there is no sympathy for those who do it. Anyone caught driving while intoxicated will be prosecuted and may end up in jail. Drunken driving checkpoints are ''extremely'' common on the [[Jersey Shore|shore]] (however, New Jersey is the only state in which driving while intoxicated is not a criminal offense; even though violators can and do receive jail time and fines in addition to having their licenses suspended or revoked, a conviction will thus not show up on a criminal background check). Smoking is illegal in all bars and restaurants (save designated "cigar bars"). One restriction in state liquor law has an upside. No establishment with a license for on-premises consumption may offer, as a promotion, discounts for drinks that do not apply to all customers. In other words, there are no Ladies' Nights at bars in New Jersey. The freedom given to municipalities in regulating alcoholic-beverage sales extends to allowing them to go completely dry. Most of these communities are in South Jersey. The best known is the Cape May County resort of [[Ocean City (New Jersey)|Ocean City]], founded during the 19th century by Baptists as a family resort, and still promoted that way. ===Local drinks=== There are a variety of microbrews to try. Flying Fish, Cricket Hill and Cape May Brewing are recommended. Some liquor stores allow you to purchase individual bottles of beer. The seventh largest producers of U.S. wines, New Jersey produces wines from grapes grown in the state. New Jersey has more than 35 wineries that produce nationally and internationally acclaimed wines. You can visit New Jersey's wineries nestled amid rolling hills and breathtaking scenery. More than 250 wines can be sampled at wine festivals across the state where you can listen to great jazz and blues and sample delicious foods and artisan crafts. Along the Wine Trails, you can tour the wineries, discover how wines are made, try a pig roast or catch some fireworks. ==Stay safe== [[File:Cape May Beach Ave from the sea.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|The beach in [[Cape May]]]] New Jersey is a fairly safe place to visit. Suburban and countryside areas are very safe along with most Jersey Shore towns. Cities are mostly safe but do exercise common travel sense. Some neighborhoods of Camden, Newark, Atlantic City, Jersey City, and Trenton are crime prone but it is unlikely that you will visit these areas. As in most US cities, when out at night, stay in well lit and well trafficked areas and you will be fine. New Jersey has the highest density of car ownership in the United States so expect crowded highways and the occasional irate driver. Many major highways are under construction for expansion purposes, resulting in delays. Traffic tends to move well above the speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike, The Garden State Parkway, or other highways and you can expect to be tail-gated when driving in the left lane. Best to stick in the middle or right lane if you don't like that sort of thing. The watchword is, drive defensively. Under ''no circumstances whatsoever'' are you to import firearms into the state. '''New Jersey does not recognize any out-of-state gun licenses''' and there are no gun offenses that are graded below a felony. Police are known to enforce these laws vigorously, and '''if caught with a firearm you will be prosecuted''', even if you are just a hunter traveling through. Also, it is illegal to import fireworks into the state unless they are mandated by a municipality for special occasions to be attended by the public at a park or on the shore (i.e. Independence Day). However, you'll find that this is worked around quite easily - it is impossible to cross the border into Pennsylvania and not see signs for on-the-border fireworks shops. Although the media and other sources portray residents as "rude" and "loud," most natives are proud of their state and are more than willing to help a tourist with directions and other tips. Don't hesitate to ask for assistance. Some areas - especially the famed Jersey Shore - are very used to tourists. Since the 1980s, New Jersey has seen an increase in its once-nearly-extirpated population of '''black bears'''. These critters are most common in the forests of the northwestern counties but have been expanding their territory southwards. Though they can potentially be dangerous if they attack, the vast majority of the time they're just looking for food. Attacks on humans are ''incredibly'' rare, but to minimize your chances of an encounter you should handle and dispose of your garbage carefully so the smell won't attract hungry bears. ==Respect== Culture, accent, and local dialect vary depending on what part of the state you visit. Although NJ is small, the north and south are ''very'' different. For example, a large sandwich in the northern region is called a "sub" and in the south the same sandwich is referred to as a "hoagie." The north identifies with New York culture while the south has a strong connection to Philadelphia. This loyalty extends to professional sports teams too. Ignoring these small differences may come off as very rude. New Jersey natives, particularly among the large Italian-American community, are very aware of stereotypes fueled by popular television shows such as ''Jersey Shore'' and ''The Sopranos'', and can be rather sensitive about how outsiders perceive them. Don't assume everyone from New Jersey is rude, loud, uneducated, etc. Making blanket statements and disparaging references of the "New Joizey" accent, "guidos" (working class Italian-Americans), or anything somewhat negative about New Jersey can be rude and will most likely be met with hostility and resentment from locals. On the contrary, most people in New Jersey are remarkably polite and extremely friendly often in a sarcastic but well-intentioned way. Do note that there are marginal differences between reactions from older, more conservative generations of New Jersey residents and younger, more diverse, and more liberal generations. Generally, urban centers like Newark, Paterson, Trenton, Atlantic City, and the areas surrounding New York and Philadelphia tend to be more Democratic, while white, rich areas, or low-income areas like Sussex County, Cape May County, and Ocean County will lean more Republican. However, if you are unfamiliar with the American political climate, it's best to let it be. Life in New Jersey moves at a fast pace! A lot of the bustling and quickness stems from NJ being a densely populated state, squished between two massive metropolitan areas. "Taking it slowly," which is common in other areas of the country, may be met with impatience or even anger, and commonly road rage. However, if you are looking for a slower pace in New Jersey, the shore towns and the southern end of the state (south of Atlantic City and many towns east of the Garden State Parkway) can be more relaxed as it is more seasonal and more of a vacation area. ==Go next== * '''[[New York (state)|New York]]''' — One of the benefits of visiting New Jersey is that you're very close to [[New York City]], which lies just across the Hudson River. Further afield is upstate New York, a generally rural and very beautiful area with a distinct culture. * '''[[Pennsylvania]]''' — [[Philadelphia]] is just across the Delaware River. Both Interstate 80 and Interstate 78 will take you through [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]] to the [[Poconos and Endless Mountains|Poconos]] and the [[Lehigh Valley]] respectively, where there are many things to do year round. * '''[[Delaware]]''' — New Jersey's southern neighbor was the first state to ratify the Constitution (hence its nickname of the "First State") and offers an urban experience in its northern parts while providing a rural experience to the south. {{geo|40.25018|-74.66309|zoom=8}} {{IsPartOf|Mid-Atlantic}} {{usableregion}} qlytxgkvf9ibkt7ufdgjprp401sx1ut 0 24858 5298670 5275803 2026-06-26T09:42:53Z Sbb1413 2217354 using market template 5298670 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Dima Hasao''' is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. ==Understand== [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. That said, the Hills are a place of breath-taking beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There is daily commercial bus service from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvelous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} 8tzh3yg76x5aryjf97n0e3tydcve1si 5298671 5298670 2026-06-26T09:43:18Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298671 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Dima Hasao''' is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. That said, the Hills are a place of breath-taking beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There is daily commercial bus service from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvelous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} rweqy6tobn25vskdrvhhv37oc3hxknv 5298672 5298671 2026-06-26T09:44:47Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298672 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Dima Hasao''' ([[Assamese]]: ডিমা হাছাও ''Ḍimā Hāchhāō'', [[Bengali]]: ডিমা হাসাও ''Ḍimā Hāsāō'') is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. That said, the Hills are a place of breath-taking beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There is daily commercial bus service from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvelous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} jsnwhz3bng6n4x4ql8w4slbwjfu622c 5298673 5298672 2026-06-26T09:49:58Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Understand */ fix 5298673 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Dima Hasao''' ([[Assamese]]: ডিমা হাছাও ''Ḍimā Hāchhāō'', [[Bengali]]: ডিমা হাসাও ''Ḍimā Hāsāō'') is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] Dima Hasao ([[Assamese]] and [[Bengali]]: ''DEE-mah HAH-sow'') is known for its breathtaking natural beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There is daily commercial bus service from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvelous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} g8fi3yme30hvbp0ddcwu5vd9iuc2y80 5298674 5298673 2026-06-26T09:52:10Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Get in */ 5298674 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Dima Hasao''' ([[Assamese]]: ডিমা হাছাও ''Ḍimā Hāchhāō'', [[Bengali]]: ডিমা হাসাও ''Ḍimā Hāsāō'') is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] Dima Hasao ([[Assamese]] and [[Bengali]]: ''DEE-mah HAH-sow'') is known for its breathtaking natural beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There are daily commercial bus services from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvelous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} 0eekn6umwcj7mh06p5jvlfqm11wcxq7 5298676 5298674 2026-06-26T09:55:37Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298676 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] '''Dima Hasao''' ([[Assamese]]: ডিমা হাছাও ''Ḍimā Hāchhāō'', [[Bengali]]: ডিমা হাসাও ''Ḍimā Hāsāō'') is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Dima Hasao ([[Assamese]] and [[Bengali]]: ''DEE-mah HAH-sow'') is known for its breathtaking natural beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There are daily commercial bus services from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvellous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} ibqgawrqrjf70fvbv9fqh02edxnuc4l 5298685 5298676 2026-06-26T10:06:09Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298685 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] '''Dima Hasao''' ([[Assamese]]: ডিমা হাছাও ''Ḍimā Hāchhāō'', [[Bengali]]: ডিমা হাসাও ''Ḍimā Hāsāō'') is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Dima Hasao ([[Assamese]] and [[Bengali]]: ''DEE-mah HAH-sow'') is known for its breathtaking natural beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, once called the '''North Cachar Hills''', which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There are daily commercial bus services from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvellous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} pw3otcf0s2h715a6v6gy4fmkfmt4ntl 5298686 5298685 2026-06-26T10:06:34Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298686 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Dima Hasao Banner.JPG}} [[File:A stone alter.JPG|thumb|A stone altar at Khobak village]] '''Dima Hasao''' ([[Assamese]]: ডিমা হাছাও ''Ḍimā Hāchhāō'', [[Bengali]]: ডিমা হাসাও ''Ḍimā Hāsāō'') is a rural area in the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley|central]] region of [[Assam]], [[India]]. The northern area of the hills is less rugged, with rice cultivation in the many river valleys. The southern area is more scenic. ==Cities== {{mapframe|width=400|height=400}} {{mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Haflong]]|wikidata=Q1026900}} &mdash; the district centre, in the southern part of the hills. Spilling down from a hilltop, it provides wonderful views of the nearby Borail Mountains. There is also a district museum with some interesting exhibits. The market provides many agricultural products brought in from the countryside, and should certainly be visited. Near the market is a shop selling hand-woven fabrics which is wonderful for picking up inexpensive and lovely souvenirs. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Jatinga]]|wikidata=Q3827773}} &mdash; famous for the "bird mystery." Under certain climate conditions, huge numbers of migrating birds run up against the nearby mountain range and come to rest near the village. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Langting]]}} &mdash; a commercial centre. There is an evening market that is busy and fascinating. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maibang]]|wikidata=Q2563522}} &mdash; an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== [[File:Stone inscription in Maibang.jpg|thumb|Stone inscription at Maibang]] Dima Hasao ([[Assamese]] and [[Bengali]]: ''DEE-mah HAH-sow'') is known for its breathtaking natural beauty. The Dimasa people have a long history in the hills, once called the '''North Cachar Hills''', which were the heartland of their ancient kingdom. The region also has villages of Zemi Naga, Hrangkhol, Hmar, Kuki, and Biate tribal people. Each group has unique traditions and a proud culture. Because of its isolation and lack of amenities, a trip to the district, while rewarding, is somewhat adventurous. While the isolation of the region has helped preserve these traditions, it also means a lack of development. ===Talk=== Indigenous languages of the various tribal groups are most common. In the towns, many speak Hindi, Assamese, or English as a second language. ==Get in== There are daily commercial bus services from [[Guwahati]] and [[Shillong]]. The area can be reached by train from Guwahati, with a transfer in Lumding. A scenic local train to Silchar has stops in Langting and Haflong Hill. ==Get around== Three-wheeled taxis are ubiquitous in the towns: always make sure of your destination and fare before getting in. Inter-town transport is available in buses and "Sumos," large jeeps that often carry ten or more passengers in a quite crowded cab. ==See== Go to the very top of the hill in Haflong for a marvellous view of the Borail Range to the west of the town. Wander down from there into the market to see what might be available. Go to the Circuit House for a view of the Jatinga River. East of the main road is Haflong Lake. ==Do== Hiking through the countryside would prove a treat for nature lovers. It would be unwise to do this without a local guide. ==Eat== ==Drink== The Dimasa are proud of their traditional ''dju'', a rice beer. ==Sleep== Many hotels and guest houses are available in Haflong and other towns of Dima Hasao. ==Stay safe== There has been a history of inter-tribal violence in the area. There are also a number of violent liberation groups. Obviously, it is good to check a knowledgeable travel agent for local conditions. Because of the violence, there is a heavy police and paramilitary presence in parts of the area. It is probably unwise to travel in the region without a local guide. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.18|93.03}} nxon7beyiyz71p1rpwubebgwf0piyj5 0 25164 5298561 5298280 2026-06-26T02:14:09Z Feed Me Your Skin 2305044 Fixed grammar 5298561 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pyongyang-War-Museum-Entrance banner.jpg}} '''North Korea''' ([[Korean phrasebook|Korean]]: 조선 ''Chosŏn''), officially the '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea''' or '''DPRK''' (조선민주주의인민공화국, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''), is the world's most isolated country and has usually been referred to as the "Hermit Kingdom". It's on the [[Korean Peninsula]] in [[East Asia]], which has been divided between North and [[South Korea]] since the 1950s. One of the few remaining communist states in the world and the last frontier of the [[Cold War]], North Korean society is dominated and run by a totalitarian government that maintains a tight grip over its people. The government (most specifically the leader) is in firm control of just about everything in the country. For example, they own the country's factories, farms, enterprises, and even all the automobiles driven by its citizens. Tourists may only travel to North Korea as part of a guided tour and they can expect to be under constant supervision and monitoring by the authorities. Prior to COVID, about 5,000 Western tourists visited North Korea every year. Most complete the journey safely, so long as they follow their ever-present guides. Incidents have occurred, and when they do, due process is hard to come by. The most likely consequence of any [[authority trouble|trouble with the authorities]] is a period of detention before deportation. However, much more severe penalties have also been applied. If the idea of accepting strict limitations on your freedom of expression, movement and behavior, or the risk of arbitrary, indefinite detention seems unsettling to you, it is recommended that you do not travel to North Korea. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=North_Korea_Regions_Map.png | regionmapsize=430px | region1name=[[Donghae Coast]] | region1color=#86B9DB | region1items=[[Chongjin]], [[Hamhung]], [[Rason]], North Hamgyong, South Hamgyong, Kangwon, K&#365;mgang-san | region1description= | region2name=[[Baekdu Mountains]] | region2color=#B383B3 | region2items=Ryanggang, Chagang | region2description= | region3name=[[Pyongan]] | region3color=#6DA0A6 | region3items=[[Kaechon]], [[Nampho]], [[Pyongyang]], [[Shinuiju]] | region3description= Home of the capital, Pyongyang, and the starting point for most travel in the country. | region4name=[[Hwanghae]] | region4color=#D5A664 | region4items=North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, [[Kaesong]] | region4description= }} ==Cities== <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are limited to 9 items. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page.--> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Pyongyang]]|url=|lat=39.019|long=125.738|wikidata=Q18808}} (평양) — the capital city and the former capital of Goguryeo during the Three Kingdoms period *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Chongjin]]|url=|lat=41.783|long=129.766|wikidata=Q109336}} (청진) — Industrial city in the North East, very rarely visited by tourists *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Hamhung]]|url=|lat=39.916|long=127.533|wikidata=Q109356}} (함흥) — Northern city, also rarely on official travel itineraries * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Kaechon]]|url=|lat=39.698|long=125.906|wikidata=Q716127}} (개천) — home of the Songam Cavern *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kaesong]]|url=|lat=37.966|long=126.55|wikidata=Q109079}} (개성) — former capital during the Goryeo dynasty *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Nampho]]|url=|lat=38.733|long=125.4|wikidata=Q109386}} (남포) — industrial centre and port on the western coast *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rason]]|url=|lat=42.344|long=130.384|wikidata=Q221734}} (라선) — Free trade zone on the Russian border, complete with casino *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Sinuiju]]|url=|lat=40.1|long=124.4|wikidata=Q156243}} (신의주) — bleak industrial city right on the border with China. Probably the easiest ways to look into the country from the outside *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Wonsan]]|url=|lat=39.147|long=127.446|wikidata=Q109374}} (원산) — East coast port city slowly opening to tourists, and it has the first ski resort in the country ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Kumgangsan]]|url=|lat=38.688056|long=128.200278|wikidata=Q495501}} (금강산) — the scenic Diamond Mountain *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Myohyangsan|url=|lat=40.018611|long=126.333056}} (묘향산) — this Mysterious Fragrant Mountain is one of the North's best hiking spots *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Baekdu Mountains]]|url=|lat=42.005556|long=128.055278|wikidata=Q107635}} (백두산) — the tallest mountain in Korea and the Kim dynasty's mythical birthplace *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Panmunjom]]|url=|lat=37.956|long=126.677|wikidata=Q495167}} (판문점) — the last outpost of the Cold War in the DMZ between South and North, and the only place in the North that you can visit from the South ==Understand== ===History=== ====Prehistory and founding of a nation==== {{seealso|Pre-modern Korea}} Archaeological finds of prehistoric toolmaking on the Korean Peninsula date back to 70,000&nbsp;BC with the first pottery found around 8000 BC. Comb-pattern pottery culture peaked around 3500-2000&nbsp;BC. Legend has it that Korea began with the founding of Gojoseon (also called ''Ancient Chosun'') by the legendary Dangun in 2333&nbsp;BC. Archeological and contemporaneous written records of Gojoseon as a kingdom date back to around 7th-4th century BC. Gojoseon was eventually defeated by the Chinese Han Dynasty in 108 BC and its territories were governed by four Chinese commanderies, but this did not last long. Natives of the peninsula and Manchuria soon reclaimed the territory, namely the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje. The '''Goguryeo Kingdom''' (or Koguryo) ruled the entire area of modern North Korea, as well as parts of Manchuria and the northern parts of modern South Korea. Buddhist and Confucian teachings were prominent in the Goguryeo Kingdom, which adopted Buddhism as the state religion in 372. Despite repeated attempts by China, namely the Sui Dynasty and later the Tang Dynasty, to conquer the Korean Peninsula, northern-based Goguryeo managed to repel them. Eventually, Goguryeo fell to a Silla-Tang alliance, which had earlier defeated Baekje. This unified Korea under the Silla dynasty. Even though Tang later invaded, Silla forces managed to drive them out, thus maintaining Korea's independence. Unified Silla was replaced by the Goryeo (also called ''Koryo'') dynasty, from which the modern name "Korea" derives. One highlight of the Goryeo dynasty was that in 1234 the world's first metal movable type was invented by a Korean named Choe Yun-ui (200 years before Gutenberg's printing press). Buddhist learning spread during this time and the former Baekje and Goguryeo leaders were treated well. The kingdom saw relative peace until the 8th and 9th centuries when clan leaders led uprisings and toppled the Silla, establishing the Goryeo Dynasty from which the name "Korea" was derived by Westerners. During this period, the nation suffered Mongol invasions, which led to unrest and the eventual establishment of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. {{quickbar|location=LocationNorthKorea.png}} ====Joseon Dynasty==== The Joseon Dynasty was one of the longest-running dynasties in the world (512 years), ruling from 1392 until 1910. '''King Sejong the Great''''s rule was especially celebrated, as he helped create the Korean script, ''choson'gul'', which allowed even the commoners to become literate. He also expanded the nation's military power to drive out Japanese pirates and northern nomads and regain territories that had been lost. The Japanese invaded Korea under the leadership of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, though the Joseon Dynasty managed to drive them out with the support of China's Ming Dynasty, albeit with heavy losses in the Korean peninsula. In spite of its losses, the nation experienced about 200 years of peace, and its isolationist policies allowed it to further develop a uniquely Korean culture and identity. Rapid modernisation stirred by the Second Industrial Revolution created tension between China and Japan as they felt the pressures of Western expansionism, each wanting to extend their influence over Korea. Ensuing wars between Japan, China and Russia led to increasing Japanese influence over the peninsula, resulting in Korea's status as a vassal state of Imperial China ending in 1895, and Japan annexing Korea outright in 1910, marking the end of the Joseon dynasty and Korean independence. ====Japanese occupation and a divided Korea==== {{seealso|Japanese colonial empire|Pacific War|Korean War}} Japan ruled Korea as a colony until its defeat in [[Pacific War|World War II]] in 1945. During that period, the Japanese committed numerous atrocities including massacres, and forced many Korean women to become "comfort women", sex slaves in Japanese military brothels. Moreover, Japan instituted a cultural assimilation policy, forcing the Koreans to adopt Japanese names, and forbidding them from speaking the Korean language. Japan was forced to give up control of all its colonies after is defeat in [[Pacific War|World War II]] in 1945, and the Allied Powers divided Korea along the 38th Parallel, with the Soviet Union occupying the northern half and the United States occupying the southern half. The divide was supposed to be temporary; however, the political power struggle between the two nations to gain influence over the unified Korea led each to establish governments within their newly created territories. North Korea was established as its own nation in 1948 with the support of the Soviet Union, following the Soviet communist model, with Kim Il-Sung as its leader, while at about the same time, Syngman Rhee established a capitalist regime with the support of the United States in the south. Agitation between the North and South came to a head in 1950 when the North started the '''Korean War''' by attempting to reunify the country under its terms by launching an invasion. The Soviet Union and China fought alongside the North against the South, who were in turn backed by the United Nations (UN) forces led by the [[United States]]. The UN forces drove the North Korean forces all the way up to the Chinese border, whereupon Chinese reinforcements forced the UN forces to be driven back south. The war finally resulted in the signing of an armistice in 1953, largely maintaining the original borders set prior to the war. Because no peace treaty has been signed since the armistice, the nations of [[South Korea]] and North Korea are officially still at war. ====Modern North Korea==== [[File:Party Foundation Monument (10875731074).jpg|thumb|The three symbols of the Korean Workers' Party: industrial workers (hammer), peasants (sickle), and intellectuals (calligraphy brush).]] [[File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7968448156).jpg|thumbnail|A poster featuring Kim Il-Sung, the "founding father" of the DPRK]] With the nation in shambles after the war, Kim Il-Sung launched a campaign to unite the people by defaming the [[United States]] with Soviet support and purging the nation of dissidents and rival factions within the party. He sided with China during the Sino-Soviet split on Communist philosophy because he disliked Khrushchev's reforms. He began to praise the Soviet Union once again when China underwent its Cultural Revolution, straining relations with both neighbors. Consequently, he developed his own ideology, '''''Juche''''' ("self-reliance"), to create the sort of Communism he wanted for his nation. Throughout his life, Kim Il-Sung added to and clarified the Juche ideology in order to justify his governing decisions. The Korean War not only divided the people, but it also divided the labor force. When the peninsula was united, North Korea had most of the nation's industries while South Korea was the agricultural center. This divide allowed North Korea to initially bounce back faster than the South in the rebuilding process. The Soviet Union then funded agricultural efforts in the North, in accordance with the Communist model. This system began to unravel in the late 1970s and 1980s as the Soviet system began to falter. With the end of Soviet aid following its dissolution in 1991, there was no way to continue to support the agricultural systems' needs for fuel, fertilizer and equipment. After so many years of government mismanagement, and the bad timing of severe flooding, the North's agricultural system collapsed in the mid-1990s, leading to widespread famine and death for countless North Koreans. The death of Kim Il-Sung in 1994 took place while the nation tried to deal with the crisis, slowing government response as the new leader, Kim Jong-Il, took his father's position. The North finally allowed international relief agencies to assist, and the worst aspects of the famine were contained. However, the DPRK continues to rely heavily on international food aid to feed its population while at the same time continuing to expend resources on its ''songun'', or "military first", policy, which Kim Jong-Il introduced and used in conjunction with his father's ''Juche'' ideology (which he "interpreted"). Today the DPRK maintains an army of about 1 million infantrymen, most stationed close to the DMZ which divides the two Koreas. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, Kim Jong-Il reneged on a 1994 "Agreed Framework" signed by his father which required the shut down of its nuclear reactors, expelling UN monitors and further raising fears that the nation would produce nuclear weapons. Missile testing was conducted in 1998, 2006 and April 2009. In October 2006 North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear test. These actions have led to UN and other international sanctions. Current negotiations, most notably the "Six-Party Talks" involving China, Russia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the United States, are aimed at bringing about an end to the DPRK nuclear weapons program, in hopes that a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War may finally be agreed upon, paving the way for the opening of diplomatic ties between North Korea and the United States. Unfortunately, in March 2010, a South Korean ship was sunk near the 38th parallel, increasing tensions between North and South Korea. Although North Korea claims not to have attacked the ship, the blame has largely been placed on North Korea. The death of Kim Jong-Il in late 2011 created a measure of uncertainty during the transfer of power to his son Kim Jong-Un; though the country has appeared to have stabilized since, considerable tensions have occurred intermittently. ===Government and politics=== North Korea is a personalist, totalitarian dictatorship. The government is led by the State Affairs Commission (SAC), which sets national policy and is directly responsible for the military. The supreme leader (Kim Jong-un) is chairman of the SAC, as well as head of the Workers' Party of Korea and several other positions. Atop the administrative branch of the government is the cabinet, which is headed by the premier (like a prime minister). The cabinet is appointed by the unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) which heads the legislative branch, although bills are drafted by the Party and the almost 700-person SPA almost always passes them without debate or modification. Moreover, it's in recess all but a few days a year, leaving most authority in the hands of the 15-person Presidium. The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court, whose three justices are elected, partisan, and accountable to the SPA. The judiciary is not independent and does not have the power to overrule the legislative or executive branches of government, and interference from security forces is a widespread problem. Despite North Korea's isolation from the rest of the world and its label as the "Hermit Kingdom", it maintains diplomatic relations with 160-170 countries around the globe and is a member of several international organisations, including the World Health Organization. North Korea has cordial relations with its neighbours [[Russia]] (the first country to recognise North Korea) and [[China]] and several African and Asian nations, and has incredibly tense relations with the [[United States]], [[Japan]], and the [[European Union]]. ===People=== North Korea may be the most ethnically homogeneous nation on earth, with everyone being Korean save for a few hundred foreigners. These foreigners are mostly diplomatic or aid agency workers, along with a small population of Japanese who have Korean ancestry. Almost no South Koreans live in North Korea. North Korean society is strongly divided and organised along a caste system known as ''Songbun''. Membership of one of three main groups is determined not only by an individual's political, social and economic background, but also that of their family for the previous three generations. Education and professional opportunities are effectively defined by an individual's class. ===Climate=== [[File:Pyongyang.jpg|thumb|Pyongyang seen in the morning]] The climate is generally classed as continental, with rainfall concentrated in summer. Summer months are warm, but winter temperatures can fall as low as -30°C. Late spring droughts are often followed by severe flooding. There are occasional typhoons during the early autumn. ===Terrain=== Mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. The mountainous interior is both isolated and sparsely populated. ===Read=== ''The Accusation'', by Bandi. A collection of short stories, published abroad by a pseudonymous North Korean writer, that are highly critical of the Kim regime and full of piercing insight into its contradictions and cruelties. Uniquely among North Korean dissident literature, they were published with their author still living in the country. ''Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea'', Barbara Demick. An excellent book recounting the lives of six North Koreans who managed to defect and find their way to South Korea. Provides a compelling picture of the miseries and occasional beauty in the lives of ordinary North Koreans during the famine of the 1990s. {{ISBN|0385523912}} ''Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman'', by Soon Ok Lee. First-hand accounts of the prison system within North Korea. ''Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West'', by Blaine Harden. The riveting story of Shin Dong-hyuk, one of the only known surviving escapees of a North Korean prison camp, and his perilous journey out of the country. ''Without You There Is No Us'', by Suki Kim. A fascinating piece of investigative journalism about teaching English as a foreigner in Pyongyang. ===Visitor information=== The [https://korea-dpr.com/ Korean Friendship Association] provides North Korean-related material, including tourism tips. ==Talk== {{Warningbox|Under North Korean law, using South Korean Korean language (such as using ''oppa'' when referring to older brother) is an offence punishable by '''death'''.|lastedit=permanent}} [[File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7968451600).jpg|thumb|240px|Hangul slogan in Pyongyang: "Defend the revolution with your life!"]] {{seealso|Korean phrasebook}} The official language is '''[[Korean phrasebook|Korean]]'''. North Koreans are quite picky about referring to Korean as '''''chosŏn-mal''''' (조선말), not ''hangugeo'' (both mean "Korean language", but the names of Korea refer to different historic periods). The language is rather drastically different from any Western language in its grammar, and while the language isn't tonal, its pronunciation is rather difficult for the English speaker to get right. It has various dialects; standard North Korean (문화어 ''munhwaŏ'') is ostensibly based on the Pyong'an dialect spoken in Pyongyang, but in reality is still deeply rooted in the [[Seoul]] dialect which was the standard before Korea was split. {{infobox|Differences between North and South Korean|Despite decades of separation, the Korean language in both North Korea and South Korea is fundamentally the same. The main differences are around the large amount of English words that South Korean has borrowed, whereas North Korean uses indigenous or Russian derived words instead. Descriptions of political and social structures are also completely different as a direct result of the different ideological directions of both countries; the most significant example is that words referring to the ruling Kim family are always '''bolded''' in North Korea.}} The Korean writing system is deceptively simple. Although it looks at first glance to be as complex as Chinese or Japanese, it is a unique and simple alphabetic writing system called '''''chosŏn'gŭl''''' (조선글) by North Koreans, and hangul (한글 ''hangeul'') by the rest of the world, where letters are stacked up into blocks that represent syllables. It was designed by a committee and looks like simple lines, boxes and little circles, but it is remarkably consistent, logical and quick to pick up. A document from 1446 describing hangul said that '''"A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days."''' Essentially all sources for learning Korean abroad will teach South Korean, which does have slightly different usage: some letters have different names, the sorting order is different, and there are some minor differences in pronunciation and spelling. North Korea completely abolished Chinese ''hanja'' characters in the late 1940s and uses the chosŏn'gŭl alphabet exclusively, though you may still encounter Chinese characters in historical sites such as Buddhist temples. North Korea uses its own unique system for romanization of Korean, which is mostly similar to the older McCune–Reischauer system. In South Korea and the rest of the world, Revised Romanization is more common. Most guides will speak fairly decent '''English''' (some better than others) and will translate for you. Some guides can also speak Mandarin, German, Russian, Japanese and Spanish. There is no law preventing citizens of the DPRK from interacting with tourists, although locals are often discouraged from speaking with foreigners and language can prove to be an additional barrier. A visit to the DPRK around their holidays may give you more of a chance to interact with the locals. North Korea has its own sign language, which is not mutually intelligible with Korean Sign Language as used in South Korea; it's unclear if it's related to any other sign languages, or how widespread it is. ==Get in== {{VisaRestriction|People who have visited North Korea are not allowed to enter the United States under the visa waiver program, and must apply for a U.S. visa instead. The '''United States''', '''South Korea''', and '''Malaysia''' forbid travel to North Korea for their citizens without special permission, and unauthorised travel is a crime punishable under their laws. Special permission is granted only in very limited circumstances (ordinary tourism is not one of those). For U.S. citizens, [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/passport-for-travel-to-north-korea.html click here for more details.] Canada, New Zealand, and Australia ''recommend against all travel'' to the DPRK, while Ireland, Singapore and the United Kingdom recommend against non-essential travel to North Korea. |us=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/north-korea-travel-advisory.html |canada=https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/korea-north-dprk |uk=https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/north-korea |australia=http://smartraveller.gov.au/Countries/asia/north/Pages/north_korea.aspx |nz=https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/north-korea |ie=https://www.dfa.ie/travel/travel-advice/a-z-list-of-countries/democratic-republic-of-korea |sg=https://www.mfa.gov.sg/countries-regions/k/korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of/travel-page |lastedit=2023-07-30 }} North Korean entry requirements are perplexing and change frequently without prior warning. As of January 2026, tours to North Korea are only available for [[Russia]]n citizens. Pretty much the only loophole is to join a sporting delegation, most notably the yearly [https://koryogroup.com/tours/dprk-north-korea/pyongyang-marathon Pyongyang Marathon], which is open to amateurs running distances as short as 5 km. Due to longstanding international sanctions and tensions in the Korean peninsula, you can only enter North Korea from either China or Russia. Generally speaking, most people fly or take the train from [[Beijing]]. Be careful about what you bring. Drugs, pornography or ideological material, by some definition, may cause severe problems up to '''death penalty'''. ===Visas=== [[File:Visa policy of North Korea (DPR Korea).png|thumbnail|Visa policy of North Korea]] [[File:DPRK tourist card.jpg|thumbnail|DPRK tourist card]] Everyone needs a visa to visit North Korea. Tourists typically arrange a tourist visa by booking a tour with a travel agency that organises such tours. The travel agencies will usually deal with the visa on their behalf, although in some cases tourists are required to have a short telephone interview with the North Korean embassy to verify their identity and their job. In most cases, the interview is conducted in a friendly manner so it is nothing to be worried about. Visas are often only confirmed on the day before the tour, but rarely will a tourist ever be rejected unless you are suspected to be of political status or a journalist. North Korean tourist visas are often issued on a tourist card. If joining a tour group, group visas are often issued on separate sheets of paper containing all the members of the group, attached with a tourist card that bears the name of the tour leader. This visa itself is never held by the tourists, although tourists can ask to take a photo of their visa. In any case, no stamp will be placed in the passport. The only way where a visa and entrance stamp will be stamped on the passport is when the visa is issued within a North Korean embassy in Europe. ====Additional restrictions==== '''Journalists''' or those suspected of being journalists require special permission, which is quite difficult to obtain. North Korea does not allow journalists to visit on a tourist visa. Citizens of '''South Korea''' are not permitted to enter North Korea unless they have permission from the governments of both the North, for entry, and the South from the Ministry of Unification (통일부). Without the permission, South Korean citizens will face a lengthy prison sentence on their return – also dual citizens using their foreign passport risk this. South Koreans must also get an approval if they intend to "communicate" with North Koreans, even if they do not directly visit North Korea (''ex post facto'' approvals are allowed if the encounter was by a coincidence). Contrary to rumour, '''Israelis and Jewish citizens''' of other countries do not face any additional restrictions. ===Tours=== [[Image:NorthKorea KijongDong.JPG|thumb|Kijong-dong village, in the DMZ near [[Panmunjeom|Panmunjom]]]] North Korea can only be visited by an organised tour, but this can be a large group or a party of one. Prices start from around {{USD|1,000}}/{{€|700}}/{{GBP|580}} for a 5-day group tour including accommodation, meals and transport from Beijing, but can go up considerably if you want to travel around the country or "independently" (as your own one-person escorted group). Tour operators/travel agencies that organise their own tours to North Korea include: <!-- alphabetical order, absolutely no resellers or other links elsewhere --> * America ** [http://uritours.com Uri Tours Inc.] (NYC, US) — standard and customized tours to the DPRK; also an Air Koryo ticketing agent in the US * Asia ** East Asia *** [http://koryogroup.com Koryo Tours and Koryo Group] (Beijing, Shanghai, Belgium, UK) — also organises school visits and sports exchanges and has co-produced 3 documentary films about North Korea. Exclusive agent for the Pyongyang Marathon. English tours only. *** [http://north-korea-travel.com North Korea Travel] (Sheyang, China) *** [http://youngpioneertours.com Young Pioneer Tours] (Beijing, China) — very low budget tours. ** South East Asia *** [http://chosonexchange.org/ Choson Exchange] (Singapore, UK & USA) — not a tour agency, rather they provide training in business and entrepreneurship in North Korea to businesswomen, young entrepreneurs and researchers, and bring volunteers and tourists to help them to do so ** [http://koreakonsult.com/ Korea Konsult] (Stockholm, Sweden) ** [http://nordkoreareisen.de/ Korea Reisedienst] (Hannover, Germany) ** [http://lupinetravel.co.uk Lupine Travel] (Wigan, UK) ** [http://regent-holidays.co.uk/nkoreaitin.html Regent Holidays] (Bristol, UK) ** [http://www.pyongyang-travel.com Pyongyang Travel] (Berlin, Germany) — group tours, private tours and New Year's Tours ** [http://coreanorte.com Viajes Pujol] (Barcelona, Spain) No matter which company you decide to book with, the tours are run by the Korean International Travel Company — with the exception of a few, such as Choson Exchange and The Pyongyang Project, who both work directly with various government ministries and domestic DPRK NGOs — and it will be their guides who show you around. The average number of tourists per group each company takes will vary considerably; you may want to ask about this before booking a trip. Most people travelling to North Korea will travel through [[Beijing]] and you will probably pick up your visa from there, although some agents arrange their visas elsewhere beforehand. Bring your travel permission, US$45 and two passport photos. * {{listing | name=North Korean consulate | alt= | url= | email= | address=Fangcaodi Xijie | lat= | long= | directions=[[Beijing]]; round the corner from the main embassy building at Ritan Lu | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:30–11:30 and 14:00–17:30, Tu Th Sa 09:30–11:30 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} Your guides will take your passport and keep it during your stay in North Korea, or at least for the first couple of days of your tour, for "security reasons", or simply because your entry and exit dates must be registered, as noted by the black stamps on the back of your visa or passport. Make sure your passport looks decent and doesn't differ from the most common passports from your country. '''Volunteer''' Groups such as Choson Exchange bring volunteers (or tourists) to participate in teaching workshops on business and entrepreneurship to businesswomen, young entrepreneurs and researchers, after which volunteers tour relevant sites in North Korea. Such volunteers travel on an official visa, rather than a tourist visa. * [http://chosonexchange.org Choson Exchange] (Singapore, UK, USA) — social enterprise providing training in business and entrepreneurship in North Korea to businesswomen, young entrepreneurs and researchers, and bring volunteer/tourists to help them to do so ====The Korean Demilitarized Zone==== [[File:Panmunjeom DMZ.png|thumb|The Panmunjom Joint Security Area viewed from South Korea]] The [[Panmunjom|Panmunjom Joint Security Area]] is the only place in North Korea that can be visited from the South by regular tourists. This is the jointly-controlled truce village in the [[DMZ (Korea)|Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas. In the JSA, you can briefly cross over into North Korea within the confines of one of the conference rooms straddling the border, but the northern door will be guarded by two soldiers, and you will not be able to proceed any further. Group bus tours to [[Kaesong]] and [[Kumgangsan]] in North Korea from the South have been suspended indefinitely and is unlikely to resume after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard in 2008. ===By plane=== All international flights go through Pyongyang's '''Sunan International Airport''' ({{IATA|FNJ}}). No other North Korean airport handles international flights. As of Jan 2026, the only airline operating flights to Sunan are Air Koryo, and Nordwind Airlines from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Air China flights from Beijing remain suspended. ====Air Koryo==== [[File:Air Koryo TU-204 Pyongyang (10043349944).jpg|thumb|One of Air Koryo's Tupolev Tu-204 at Pyongyang's Airport]] As of Jan 2026, North Korea's sole airline, '''[http://www.airkoryo.com.kp/ Air Koryo]''', has scheduled flights to Beijing, and [[Vladivostok]]. The airline has also been banned in the EU due to concerns over safety. Air Koryo was the only 1-star (worst) airline on Skytrax's list, a distinction it held for many years. Although Air Koryo last experienced a fatal accident back in 1983, the airline only operates a handful of flights with its fleet of 10 aircraft. The main reason for flying Air Koryo is the experience. The Air Koryo fleet consists entirely of Soviet or Russian-made aircraft, with the pride of their fleet being two Tupolev Tu-204s, which now usually handle the core Beijing–Pyongyang route. Otherwise, you'll most likely end up on one of their Ilyushin IL-62-Ms (1979–1988 vintage), Tupolev Tu-154s or Tupolev Tu-134s. ====Nordwind Airlines==== As of Oct 2025, Nordwind Airlines had flights on an Airbus A330 once a month connecting Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) with Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ), ====Air China==== Flights by '''[http://www.airchina.com Air China]''' from [[Beijing Capital International Airport]] to Pyongang Sunan International Airport is suspended after brief operation. When available, Air China is preferred by most to Air Koryo due to its far more modern fleet of Boeing 737s. ===By train=== Train K27/K28 connects Pyongyang to Beijing in China via [[Tianjin]], [[Tangshan]], Beidaihe, [[Shanhaiguan]], [[Jinzhou]], [[Shenyang]], [[Benxi]], Fenghuangcheng, [[Dandong]] and [[Sinuiju]] four times a week. There is only one class on the international train between Beijing and Pyongyang: soft sleeper. It can be booked at the station in Beijing, but reservations must be made several days in advance. Your tour agency will usually do this for you, unless you are travelling on work purposes. It has been increasingly difficult to book space on the Beijing–Pyongyang route, so confirm your tickets well in advance. Once a week train K27/K28 also conveys direct sleeping cars from [[Moscow]] via China to [[Pyongyang]] and vice versa. The route is [[Moscow]]–[[Novosibirsk]]–[[Irkutsk]]–[[Chita]]–[[Harbin]]–[[Shenyang]]–[[Dandong]]–[[Shinuiju]]–[[Pyongyang]]. Departure from Moscow is every Friday evening, arrival at Pyongyang is one week later on Friday evening. Departure from Pyongyang is Saturday morning, arrival in Moscow is Friday afternoon. Some agents (e.g. Lupine Travel) prefer to cross the border from Dandong in China to Sinuiju by minibus and then board a domestic North Korean train to Pyongyang. Usually you will be seated in a hard seat carriage with KPA soldiers and party workers travelling with their families. There is access to a restaurant car which stocks imported beers (Heineken) and soft drinks as well as some local beers and spirits. This train supposedly takes only 4 hours to Pyongyang but has been known to take 14. If travelling in winter be prepared for temperatures inside the carriages as low as {{C|10}}. There is also a direct rail link from Russia into North Korea. This route is the ''Rossiya'' Trans-Siberian train between Moscow and Vladivostok, with the Korea coaches detached at Ussuriysk. From there it's six hours to the border at Tumangan, with a five hour wait, then a 24-hour haul to Pyongyang. It runs weekly, but as a through-train only twice monthly (11th and 25th from Moscow), arriving in Pyongyang 9 days later. This route used to be closed to Westerners, but as of 2018 it's available, provided you have arranged for it as part of your North Korean tour. ===By boat=== There was an unscheduled cargo-passenger ship between [[Wonsan]] and [[Niigata]], Japan. It is indefinitely suspended as Japan bans all North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports. Be careful about getting too close to the North Korean border in a boat; many South Korean fishermen who entered North Korean waters are detained and are still waiting to leave North Korea. Besides the unscheduled ferry, there is also a cruise ship that operates between the coast of Northeastern China and Mt Kumgang. Jointly operated by China and North Korea, the cruise line uses a ship from around 1970. The cruise trip is 22&nbsp;hours long at each leg, and is 44&nbsp;hours in total but non-Chinese citizens are not permitted on the cruise. ===By bus=== A bus is available from Dandong, China, across the Yalu River to [[Sinuiju]]. It's run by the "Dandong China Travel Company" but is only open to Chinese citizens. The bus drives from Dandong over the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge (the same bridge over the Yalu river that the trains take). ==Get around== [[File:Hero Youth Highway in DPRK.jpg|thumb|A typical highway scene in North Korea. Tidy strands of trees with a large and empty road in between]] All your transport needs will be dealt with by your tour company. Most of the time this means buses, although tour groups visiting remote sites (e.g. [[Paekdusan]], Mount Chilbo) occasionally use chartered flights by Air Koryo. Wandering around on your own is not allowed, and you are required to have a guide to escort you at all times. A carefully stage-managed one-station ride on the Pyongyang metro is included on the itinerary of most trips to Pyongyang, but use of any other form of local public transport is generally impossible. Some tours also include a train ride from Pyongyang to the border city of Sinuiju, in which you can stop over in Sinuiju for a 1-day tour, though this option is not available to U.S. citizens. If travelling in a small enough group it is also possible to organise a walk through some areas of Pyongyang with some travel agents (Koryo). ==See== [[File:Arirang Mass Games 2013 (10161718564).jpg|thumb|A revolutionary scene from the Arirang Mass Games]] All tours are accompanied by a government minder, who will decide what you can and cannot see. From the moment you leave your hotel, expect to be accompanied by one or more guides. Besides ensuring that tourists do not stray outside of the designated tourist areas, their jobs include inspecting any photographs which they think do not portray North Korea or its government in a good light, and ordering photographers to delete them. It is generally advisable to listen to what your guide says, and agree with it. It is always recommended that if you are uncertain about taking photographs anywhere, ask your guide, though allowances seem to vary wildly. You may get a guide that is relatively relaxed and will allow you to take photographs from a bus or within a city. Conversely, you may get one that will strictly adhere to controlling where you take photographs restricting anything taken from a tour bus or of certain areas, like Pyongyang's city streets, in general. There is simply no way to tell until you are on a tour. If you think a particular photograph might be embarrassing to the DPRK in general, ask or simply don't risk taking it at all. Photography of military personnel is also generally prohibited. Again, if in doubt, ask your guide. However, there are instances where it is impossible not to photograph certain sites without including a few military personnel within the picture such as at Mansudae (the monument site for the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il), or at a local funfair. Reactions seem to vary between being ignored to curiosity, although you will be told where taking pictures is strictly prohibited (such as at certain areas of the DMZ), and the guards/soldiers there will react unfavourably to being photographed in general. Other areas where photographs are prohibited include the interior of the Friendship Exhibition, which displays gifts from around the world to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and within the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. If you leave the country via train (to [[Beijing]]) your camera will likely be checked for unfavorable photos by the guards. The majority of sightseeing consists of visits to various war memorials, monuments to the Great Leader and the Workers Party of Korea, and numerous museums (mostly war-related, like the statues and monuments). The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a popular destination for most tour groups in North Korea. Whilst you are in North Korea, the prevailing viewpoint places blame on the Americans and South Koreans for starting the Korean War; disagreeing with this position is likely to cause problems for both you and your guide, particularly as the two Koreas are still legally at war with only a cease-fire between them. Despite its misleading name, the DMZ is heavily guarded and dotted with minefields and other booby-traps on both sides. Under no circumstances should you stray from your group, or take any photographs of military installations. However, the "peace village" [[Panmunjom]] may be photographed, and boasts the world's third tallest flagpole. Whilst on these guided tours, especially to the state museums and monuments, you will undoubtedly endure an ongoing barrage of propaganda, consisting largely of anecdotes about things that Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il did for their country. Some of these claims may seem bizarre and even amusing to the outsider; however, a straight face is generally advisable. It is generally safest to at least appear to take everything they say seriously, even if it contradicts everything you were ever taught in history class or defies even the most basic human reasoning. ===Sights=== [[File:Landscape with Mountains in North Korea.JPG|thumb|Mountainous landscapes near Kaesong]] So, with all this practical information being said, what are the places to go? A good part of the important attractions you'll be shown are in '''[[Pyongyang]]'''. There's the large '''Kim Il-sung Square''', where the famously grand military parades take place. Even without the parades, though, it's an impressive square, and on it is the '''Grand People’s Study House'''. This gigantic library and learning centre is home to over 30 million books and a modern system of conveyor belts to get you the one you need. Also on the square are two museums, of which — the '''Korean National Art Gallery''' — is the more interesting one. The other great landmark of the capital is its '''Triumphal Arch'''. Slightly bigger than its Parisian counterpart, it is the largest arch of its kind in the world. Another landmark you'll be proudly shown are the large '''bronze statues''' of the Great Leader and Kim Jong-il. Respectfully join the locals in their serious undertakings to honour the statues, which are a key element of the devotion cult around the national leaders. For a better chance of some casual conversations with locals, try the pleasant Pyongyang '''zoo'''. Take a daytrip to the birthplace of the Great Leader in Mangyongdae and of course, visit the '''Kumsusan Palace of the Sun''' where both the previous Kims' embalmed bodies are on display. No trip to North Korea is complete without an extensive glance at the uneasy and heavily fortified border stand-off at '''[[Panmunjeom]]''', or the Joint Security Area. Not far from here is the town of '''[[Kaesong]]''', with a lovely old town and the [[UNESCO]]-listed '''tomb of King Kongmin'''. For stunning natural sights, try reaching '''[[Kumgangsan]]''', or the ''Diamond Mountains'', where you'll find beautiful vistas, waterfalls, lakes and ancient '''Buddhist temples'''. ==Do== [[File:Statues at the Tomb of King Wanggon (10104313105).jpg|thumb|Statues at the tomb of King Wanggon, the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, in [[Kaesong]]]] As mentioned above, there is very little to do beyond the watchful eye of your designated minders, with most recreational activity taking place within the confines of the tourist resorts. Bowling and karaoke are among the latest additions to its surprising plethora of recreational activities. The karaoke videos are often accompanied by dramatic historical footage of the Korean War, or goose-stepping People's Army soldiers. North Korea has three amusement parks, two of which are abandoned due to mutual lack of interest and electricity. The Kaesong Youth Fair has now closed, taking the infamous "Roller Coaster of Death" along with it. Still visible are the shooting-galleries with backdrops of snarling American and Japanese soldiers; however, it is unlikely that your guide will let you venture into any abandoned areas. The one remaining amusement park contains some rides which are actually quite modern and non-lethal, at least by North Korean standards, and is about as worthy of a visit as everything else you'll see whilst in North Korea. The nightlife in [[Pyongyang]] is remarkably safe and non-violent, compared to the capitals of other nations (except maybe [[Reykjavík]] in [[Iceland]]); in general, the civilians are not a threat. The plain-clothes secret police, however, may or may not be a threat, depending on what you say or do. The North Korean definition of popular music is at least two decades behind the rest of the world; expect an onslaught of 1980s hits from the West (some obviously are unauthorized copies, to judge by the quality), punctuated by the eerie caterwauling of Korean folk songs, and at least try to look enthusiastic about the whole scene. If you are interested, the '''Moranbong Band''' is a girl band comprised of serving members of the North Korean military that performs propaganda songs in contemporary styles. The band regularly tours the country, and you might be able to attend one of their concerts if it coincides with your North Korean tour. Finally, power cuts may hit without warning in the middle of any activity. Whilst you might welcome this if the jukebox is starting to get to you, this is not a desirable outcome if you are in the middle of an amusement-park ride, particularly as these blackouts can last for hours at a time. The '''Masikryong ski resort,''' North Korea's only ski resort, opened in winter 2013. Located near the western city of Wonsan, a visit to the resort may be included as part of a wider DPRK tour. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{infobox|Currency in North Korea|Most short-term tourists in North Korea will not encounter the local currency at all, as the restaurants and souvenir shops geared towards tourists will deal exclusively in hard currency — U.S. dollars, euros, or Chinese yuan. Prices in these stores are listed roughly in U.S. cents. Vendors will rarely have change available, and having small bills to make change yourself will be very helpful in not being over-charged for purchases. Longer term visitors to Pyongyang should consider getting a debit card (labeled 전자결제카드, ''jeonjagyeoljekadeu'') to make getting change easier. These can usually be bought at the Pyongyang store in the diplomatic compound for US$5, and can be used and recharged at most foreigner-targeted stores around the city. Markets, road-side stands, and stores targeting locals will deal in North Korean won. There are several booths around the city which are able to convert foreign currency into won. The largest note is ₩5000, roughly the cost of a Coke. The smallest is ₩5, which is used for the metro. Notes under ₩500 are generally not used. If you want smaller notes, ask to convert 1 or 5 Chinese yuan at a currency exchange booth. You may get a strange look, but likely will be given some of the harder to find ₩5 and ₩10 notes.}} The currency is the North Korean '''won''', denoted by the symbol '''₩''' (ISO code: '''KPW''') and not typically available to foreigners, except some old North Korean won sold as souvenirs. The only places where tourists are allowed to obtain and spend North Korean won are at the Kwangbok Supermarket, which is included in some tours of [[Pyongyang]], and in the [[Rason]] Special Economic Zone. Black market exchange rates (especially in far northern Korea, near the Chinese border) may easily be 20 times the official rate, but importing or exporting won is strictly forbidden. North Korean won is practically worthless outside the country but can make unique souvenirs. Foreigners are expected to use euros or as an alternative Chinese renminbi, US dollars or Japanese yen. Currency handling is often bizarre, with a frequent lack of change and a number of rule-of-thumb conversions leading to highly unorthodox transactions, so be sure to bring lots of small change. On a typical tour most expenses such as hotel, transportation, and meals will have been paid in advance, and therefore your only expenses may be bottled water, souvenirs, snacks, drinks at the bars, laundry at the hotel and tips for your guides. In any case, the only shops you will be likely allowed to visit are the state-run souvenir shops at your hotel and at the various tourist attractions. It is generally not possible to visit a real local shop which serves the local population, though you might get lucky asking your guide if he/she trusts you enough. Some tours include a visit to a department store. ===Souvenirs=== [[File:Pyongyang store3.JPG|thumb|A special store for foreigners in Pyongyang, with most merchandise imported from China]] There are numerous hard-currency-only souvenir shops at tourist sites. Interesting souvenirs include propaganda books and videos, postcards and postage stamps. At some tourist sites, such as King Kongmin's tomb, you can purchase freshly finished paintings with your name and the artist's name at the bottom. You can buy [[postal service|postcards]] and send them to people in any country except South Korea. Stamps make wonderful souvenirs. Literature is revered in North Korean society, in due large part due to the government regularly promoting views that present them in a good light, i.e. propaganda. Writers in North Korea are held in high prestige. North Korean books may be full of views and perspectives promoting the government, but they will allow you to be further exposed to the world's most secretive, isolated country and better understand the thoughts and views of the government, the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un. A book from North Korea makes a good souvenir. Some excellent paintings on silk or linen have been available in Kaesong directly from the artist. Haggling for better prices is not permitted, but the prices are very low. If you are looking to buy the traditional Korean dress, known as ''hanbok'' in South Korea and the West, keep in mind that North Koreans call it the '''''chosŏn-ot''''' (조선옷). '''Note:''' South Korean law criminalizes the possession and importation of North Korean propaganda, so do not bring North Korean souvenirs into South Korea. ===Costs=== Most costs are included as part of your tour. Most sights have a shop associated with them where you can buy bottled water, souvenirs and snacks. These are reasonably priced. In September 2017, large bottles of local beer cost US$2 at the hotel bars in Pyongyang. €200 for one week should be enough to cover your costs of water, drinks at the bars, souvenirs and tips for the guides. ==Eat== [[File:Hibachi restaurant at Haedanghwa Health Complex - North Korea (10392326233).jpg|thumb|The ''Hibachi'' restaurant in the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang]] {{see also|Korean cuisine}} As with most other aspects of visiting North Korea, catering is usually organized in advance as part of your tour. Vegetarians and people with food allergies or dislikes of common foods such as seafood or eggs will need to make arrangements in advance. A visit to a "real" local restaurant may be possible; inquire with your guide. Shortages of supplies, combined with the typical use of Korean cooking styles, mean that there is a relatively limited variety of food — and this can get wearying on tours of more than a few days. There are a few Western food options now in Pyongyang and these restaurants can usually be visited if arranged with the guides in advance. They will usually require additional payment though, unless you have discussed this already with your tour operator, as the costs are not included in the ''per diem'' fee charged by the Korean Travel Company. There are two Italian restaurants (one on Kwangbok Street which is near the Korean circus where the pizza is great, and they have imported a pizza oven and all the ingredients so the quality is very high; and one near the USS ''Pueblo'') and two burger restaurants (the more accessible is in the Youth Hotel). Both are inexpensive and do inject some flavor onto a generally lackluster eating scene, especially on long tours. Visit the Vienna coffee house, which is on the river side of Kim Jong Il square, for a good coffee similar to those common in Europe. ==Drink== The local speciality is '''''insam-ju''''', Korean vodka infused with ginseng roots. Locally made Taedonggang beer is very good. The brewery was purchased from Ushers in the UK and the equipment moved to Pyongyang. Some of the ''soju'' are not bad either. Local alcohol is inexpensive; a 650&nbsp;ml bottle of beer is €0.50. Imported beers, such as Heineken, are also available at similar prices. However do not get drunk and cause trouble. Toe the line and show respect, or you and your guide will face serious penalties. It is advisable to stick to bottled water for drinking as the tap water is not always properly treated. [[Image:Ryugyong Hotel - August 27, 2011 (Cropped).jpg|thumb|The still unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in [[Pyongyang|P'y&#335;ngyang]]]] ==Sleep== This is likely to be your principal expense while in North Korea. You may only stay at "designated tourist hotels", for which you will need to pay in hard currency. There may be discounts if you ask for lower class accommodation, if you are travelling as part of a group, or if it is low season (November – March). Costs for your tour, which will include accommodation, all sightseeing activities and meals, will range from US$70 to US$200 a day, depending on these factors. Usually you pay for all your meals, hotel and Beijing–Pyongyang journey to your tour operator before you leave. One week in high season at a four-star hotel will then cost something between €1,300 and €1,600, depending on your tour operator, but might get as low as €800 for one week. ==Learn== [[File:North Korea-Pyongyang-Kim Il-sung University-01.jpg|thumbnail|Kim Il Sung University, the country's most prestigious university.]] It's difficult to ascertain the full scope of the North Korean education system, since very few foreigners take advantage of learning opportunities in the country. Getting a study visa is known to be extremely difficult and foreigners are required to pay tuition, unlike citizens. The vast majority of foreign students in North Korea are normally exchange students and typically come here to study the [[Korean phrasebook|Korean]] language. The '''[http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/ Kim Il-Sung University]''' (김일성종합대학) is North Korea's most prestigious university and has exchange programmes with several universities in [[China]], [[Russia]], and [[Germany]]. The university has educated 5,000 students from nearly 30 countries since 1955. The North Korean government has set up a '''[http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/ website]''' where you can freely download books published in North Korea. This will allow you to learn something new about North Korea. [https://www.ybu.edu.cn/ Yanbian University], in the [[Yanbian]] Korean Autonomous Prefecture in northeastern [[China]] is closely affiliated with other universities in North Korea and can offer relevant courses for learning about North Korea. ==Work== If you are interested in teaching in North Korea, you may find success by contacting the North Korean UN Mission in New York, or contacting a North Korean university directly. Your odds of success are, however, quite low: there is only a small team of 4 English Language Instructors dealing with teaching and teacher training, with a Project Manager leading the team of three, placed in Kim Il Sung University, Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies and Kim Hyung Jik University of Education. There is an opportunity to teach in [http://www.the-psi.org/ the Pyongyang Summer Institute] during summer time when it is opened to foreigners. It's voluntary, unpaid work, though. ==Stay safe== {{warningbox|You should not expect freedom of expression, movement or liberty or privacy of any kind. Under no circumstances should you say or do ''anything that could be perceived as disrespectful'' to the Kim dynasty, the North Korean government, the Workers' Party of Korea, North Korean citizens, the Juche ideology, the Songun (military first) policy, or the country in general. Avoid these topics if you can, even if you're in a room with no North Koreans, because the government has been known to plant recording devices. Anyone you speak to is likely to be affiliated with the North Korean government, and you should always respond accordingly if and when sensitive topics are brought up. You and your guide could potentially face serious trouble if you answer incorrectly, although your guide will probably bear the worst of it. North Korea is known for extremely harsh punishments, which range from lengthy prison sentences to a lifetime of severe mistreatment and torture. If you're worried about your safety, if you're not comfortable with your privacy being intruded, or if you cannot keep silent about disagreements with the current political situation in North Korea, you may not want to visit the country.|lastedit=permanent}} In general North Korea is extremely safe for tourists due to strict government control and constant supervision. However, visitors must adhere to all regulations, avoid discussing sensitive topics and stay within approved areas. Travel is highly organised, and deviations from guided tours are not permitted, ensuring safety but limiting freedom. At first, you may feel scared and intimidated by being in a severely authoritarian country like North Korea. You may even feel uneasy or outright anxious. As a tourist, you're not expected to know every single law and rule in North Korea. So long as you listen to your tour guides and behave respectfully, you should not run into any problems. North Korea is an '''authoritarian dictatorship''' and is generally considered to have the worst human rights record in the world. The authorities are very touchy, and you need to watch what you say and how you say it. Just do what the guides do, praise every stop on your tour, and remember the rule, "If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all." The official policy is that ''you are not to wander around on your own''. You are expected to get permission and have a guide accompany you if you want to leave your hotel. This will vary depending on what hotel you are in. The Yanggakdo Hotel is on an island in the middle of Pyongyang's Taedong River. Therefore you can walk around the area a little more freely than at the Koryo Hotel in the city centre. You should always be friendly and courteous to your guides and driver, who will usually reciprocate by trusting you more and giving you more freedom. === Photography === When taking '''photographs''', exercise restraint, caution and common sense. If you appear to be looking for negative images of North Korea, the guides will not be happy and will tell you to delete any questionable images. In particular, you should not take photos of anything depicting the military, including personnel, or anything showing the DPRK in a bad light. Your photographic freedom can largely depend on the type of guides you are assigned and your rapport with them. In a best-case scenario, you can often take pictures without feeling as if you're trying to sneak them by anyone and without pressure capturing some truly unique images. Your guide might even want to try out your camera and take a picture of you for your collection. If you are in an area where photography is forbidden, you will be informed of this, and you should follow your guide's instructions. When in doubt, always ask. In a worst-case scenario, you can be expected to raise your camera at a reasonable speed, compose and take the picture, and lower the camera at a reasonable speed. Don't try to take pictures of anything that you have been told not to, such as military personnel or certain locales. This may call attention to yourself and the image you are trying to take and can result, whether justified or not, in your being told to delete the image. Digital cameras are commonly inspected when leaving the country by train. A simple workaround is to leave a memory card with innocuous snaps in the camera and file away any cards with ideologically dubious content, but getting caught with those sensible images hidden away may cause things worse than them getting deleted. === Korean nationals === If you are Korean or have ties to Korea – such as having a Korean parent, being married to a Korean, or being of Korean descent – you should carefully consider your decision to visit North Korea. You could easily arouse suspicion from the authorities. === Politics === Visitors have also been targeted for political reasons; in 2013, an 85-year-old American citizen was arrested, briefly incarcerated and expelled by the DPRK because of his military service during the Korean War. === Illegal substances === '''Drug trafficking''' and the consumption of '''narcotics''' can be ''punishable by death'' in North Korea. Although '''marijuana''' is said to be found growing freely alongside the road in North Korea, its possession and consumption is illegal except when prescribed as a medicine, although it is unclear how rigorously that prohibition is enforced. However, with this being North Korea, you probably don't want to find out the hard way. === Religious activity === The DPRK is officially an '''atheist state''' and much of the population is irreligious. Although the Constitution guarantees freedom of religious belief, such practices cannot harm the order of the state, and proselytizing of religion is strictly forbidden. Therefore it is strongly recommended that you avoid bringing any '''religious texts''' into the DPRK as this can be considered a violation by authorities. There have been documented cases of foreigners sentenced to hard labor for missionary activities, and running into trouble for having Bibles in public view. Although Christians have historically faced persecution in the DPRK, there are five operating churches in Pyongyang including the '''Changchun Cathedral''' (seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyongyang) and the Russian Orthodox '''Church of the Life-Giving Trinity'''. Inquire with your guide about the possibility of visiting one of them. === LGBT travellers === Perhaps surprisingly, there are no laws against homosexuality in North Korea, and you are unlikely to face open hostility from locals because of your sexual orientation. However, this is still a very conservative society, and discussing your sexuality publicly is likely to make locals feel uncomfortable. Public display of affection is generally frowned upon regardless of sexual orientation. ===Emergency numbers=== * From a fixed-line phone: '''119''' * From a mobile phone: '''112''' For medical emergencies in Pyongyang, dial 02 382-7688 locally. ==Stay healthy== '''[[Drinking water]]''' in North Korea is apparently untreated and there are reports of foreigners being hospitalized in the DPRK after drinking the water; therefore, sticking to bottled water is highly recommended. Medical training is considered on par with the West, but outside of Pyongyang the facilities may be outdated or sparse. In the capital there are two major hospitals that may or may not be able to handle complex medical care. If you fall seriously ill it may be in your best interest to be airlifted to China for medical treatment. Travel insurance is strongly recommended and in fact required on most organized tours. Contact your embassy or consulate in North Korea (if your country has one) for further advice. ==Respect== [[File:Mansudae Grand Monument (10104320806).jpg|thumb|The first two generations of the Kim dynasty together.]] North and South Koreans share a common culture; you may find the various respect tips in the [[South_Korea#Respect|South Korea]] article to be of help. === Tour conduct === Your tour guide in North Korea is your best friend. They will do their best to explain the rules and what is expected from you. If a guide tells you not to do something, ''listen to them''. If you're not sure about something, ask. That said, you should refrain from discussing sensitive subjects such as politics, economic systems, and human rights. Any time you engage in unbecoming conduct, your guide will be blamed for being unable to control you, and they will be penalised for your misbehaviour. Always think before you act, and think before you speak; future tourists could face restrictions on what they can do in the country because of your behaviour. In short, you have other people than yourself to consider when it comes to your behaviour. Consider giving small gifts like cigarettes, skin creams, and so on to your guides. This will garner respect from the guides and depending on how well you conduct yourself, they may even take you to places and events in North Korea they wouldn't usually go to. Although there are many terrific photo opportunities in North Korea, the DPRK has stringent photography laws. This largely depends on what guide you've been assigned. Do not take photographs of anything of strategic importance (i.e. places with soldiers/police officers, etc.), photographs that negatively portray the country, and things you've been told not to photograph. The North Korean authorities take these rules very seriously. === Sensitive issues === The government of the DPRK — in particular the leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un — are, at least publicly, very highly revered in North Korean culture. While slavish devotion is not expected from tourists, any form of disrespect — such as criticisms or insults — towards the Kim dynasty, the Workers' Party of Korea, the North Korean government, Songun, and Juche is taken very seriously and severely punished. Keep your personal views about them to yourself. Do not crumple, desecrate, inappropriately use, tamper with, or mishandle anything — this applies to newspapers, books, stamps, postcards, political posters, and money — bearing the names and images of the North Korean government, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, and Kim Jong-un. This is tantamount to treason, for which you can be severely punished. It is advisable to refer to North Korea as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official name for the country. For self-explanatory reasons, '''avoid praising [[South Korea]]''', as doing so would attract unwanted attention from the North Korean authorities, and may invite more trouble than what it's worth. For similar reasons, avoid praising the [[United States]] and [[Japan]] – both countries are considered adversaries of North Korea. With North Korea adopting an anti-reunification policy in early 2024, what was politically correct has become the greatest incorrectness in North Korea. Most, if not all, tour groups to the DPRK are asked to solemnly bow and lay flowers on one or two occasions in front of statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il when visiting monuments of national importance. If you are not prepared to do this, you should not visit North Korea. When photographing statues, especially Mansudae, ''you are required to get the entire statue in the picture.'' Formal dress is also expected at important monuments such as Mansudae or visiting the Kumsusang Memorial Palace. ===Religion=== North Korea is officially atheist. The regime promotes a national philosophy of self-reliance called ''Juche'' (주체) which some would categorize as a quasi-religion that pervades all aspects of life in the country. As a tourist, you will not be expected to observe this, although you must always be respectful towards symbols of ''Juche'' which are often the images of past and present leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un. Other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism are vigorously suppressed in practice with severe punishment being given to followers. You should refrain from any religious discussions during your time in North Korea, and be aware that any form of religious proselytizing is dealt with very seriously by the regime, with foreign missionaries having previously been sentenced to life imprisonment in labor camps. With this in mind, be careful of performing even personal religious rituals or bringing religious items into the country and preferably do not do so at all. ==Connect== ===By phone=== For international calls to North Korea, the country code is '''+850'''. Some phone numbers (mostly faxes) can be called directly from abroad; most other calls will need to go through the international operator service on +850-2-18111. International calling is generally possible via landlines in hotels, though it is expensive (€2 per minute as of Feb 2012) and all calls are likely recorded and monitored. Local calls need elusive 10&nbsp;chon coins when calling from call boxes, but can also be made from hotels and post offices. Additionally, your phone calls may be heavily monitored, so you should be careful of what you talk about in phone calls that you make in North Korea. ====Mobile phones==== as of jyou are allowed to carry a [[Mobile phones|mobile phone]] from outside the country into North Korea. You will not be able to use your current SIM card in North Korea, however. The only network you are allowed to connect to is the local network, Koryolink, via one of their SIM cards. Your phone must be a 3G WCDMA phone which can connect to the 2100MHz 3G frequency band. A 3G mobile phone network (Koryolink) covers the 42 largest cities. It is widely used by locals who can afford it and by long-staying foreigners who file an application. SIM cards and phones can be purchased at the International Communication Center, No.2 Pothonggang-dong in Pothonggang District, opposite the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, as well as at Pyongyang airport and some hotels. As of 2013, 3G mobile internet via Koryolink is available to foreigners, although pricing is unknown. Bear in mind that these SIM cards will only let you call internationally and to a very small number of internationally-enabled phones in North Korea. There are three plans you can choose from for your SIM card: #Purchase a prepaid SIM card for €50. This gives you the SIM card to keep indefinitely for return visits, and includes a small amount (less than €30) of calling credit. #Rent a prepaid SIM card for two weeks for €50. This includes €30 of calling credit. #Rent a prepaid SIM card for one month for €75. This includes €55 of calling credit. Calling rates are as follows: *China and South-East Asia: €1.43 per minute. *Russia: €0.68 per minute. *France and Switzerland: €0.38 per minute. *UK and Germany: €1.58 per minute. ===By Internet=== Internet facilities are limited to a very few North Koreans with appropriate privileges to use it. For foreigners, most of the larger hotels have Internet access available, but this needs to be applied for some days in advance. Advise your tour operator or inviting party of your requirements well ahead of time so that access permission can be arranged. There are no public internet cafés or business centres with web access in the hotels. Mobile internet is available via Koryolink's 3G network (see above) using a local SIM card, but details about this are scarce. Also, even if you have Internet access, your traffic will probably be monitored. There is very little Internet connectivity in North Korea; the little that exists is routed through mainland China and risks heavy censorship by that country's Golden Shield Project, the "[[China#Internet censorship|Great Firewall of China]]". ==Cope== There is a growing diplomatic presence of [[Pyongyang#Embassies|foreign embassies in Pyongyang]]. Find out beforehand which country can assist you in case of an emergency, such as a medical condition or a police incident. Sweden serves as the protecting power for American, Australian, and Canadian travellers in North Korea, so these visitors may be able to obtain limited consular services from the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang. American nationals are not allowed by the U.S. Department of State to visit North Korea, although if you must then it is still recommended to notify (by email) the Swedish embassy of your visit to North Korea, as well as to inform the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China, particularly if your trip to North Korea entails passing through China. The British embassy offers consular services to Commonwealth citizens who do not have representation through other countries, except for Singaporeans and Tanzanians, whose governments have opted out of this arrangement. === Media === Foreign media outlets and newspapers are banned by the North Korean government; you may only access media outlets and newspapers owned and operated by the North Korean government. You can expect to come across fringe and controversial views of the [[United States]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], [[Israel]], and Western culture in North Korean media, whilst, [[Russia|Russian]] and [[China|Chinese]] views are considered to be praised. For example, one article published in the Pyongyang Times claimed that the [[United States]] is the world's "worst democracy strangler". Putting this aside, exposing yourself to North Korean media is an excellent way to understand how things are in the world's most secretive country, the views of the North Korean government, and what people are exposed to over here. * {{listing | name=The Pyongyang Times | alt= | url=http://www.pyongyangtimes.com.kp/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q705257 | content=The main English-language newspaper in North Korea. If you cannot get your hands on a physical copy of the newspaper, you can read the newspaper online. There is [http://www.pyongyangtimes.com.kp/pdf an entire section dedicated to that.]. }} * {{listing | name=Korean Central News Agency | alt= | url=http://www.kcna.kp/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The state news agency of North Korea. Available in Korean, Russian, English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Spanish. }} {{isPartOf|East Asia}} {{usablecountry}} {{geo|40.4|127|zoom=7}} s9lzm8izzv03f5qgbtmg8balh85r9hu 5298563 5298561 2026-06-26T02:16:11Z Feed Me Your Skin 2305044 Despite the law, being executed for using SK dialect is virtually unheard of, even within NK. For a random tourist, there really isn't any danger in accidentally using SK slang. 5298563 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pyongyang-War-Museum-Entrance banner.jpg}} '''North Korea''' ([[Korean phrasebook|Korean]]: 조선 ''Chosŏn''), officially the '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea''' or '''DPRK''' (조선민주주의인민공화국, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''), is the world's most isolated country and has usually been referred to as the "Hermit Kingdom". It's on the [[Korean Peninsula]] in [[East Asia]], which has been divided between North and [[South Korea]] since the 1950s. One of the few remaining communist states in the world and the last frontier of the [[Cold War]], North Korean society is dominated and run by a totalitarian government that maintains a tight grip over its people. The government (most specifically the leader) is in firm control of just about everything in the country. For example, they own the country's factories, farms, enterprises, and even all the automobiles driven by its citizens. Tourists may only travel to North Korea as part of a guided tour and they can expect to be under constant supervision and monitoring by the authorities. Prior to COVID, about 5,000 Western tourists visited North Korea every year. Most complete the journey safely, so long as they follow their ever-present guides. Incidents have occurred, and when they do, due process is hard to come by. The most likely consequence of any [[authority trouble|trouble with the authorities]] is a period of detention before deportation. However, much more severe penalties have also been applied. If the idea of accepting strict limitations on your freedom of expression, movement and behavior, or the risk of arbitrary, indefinite detention seems unsettling to you, it is recommended that you do not travel to North Korea. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=North_Korea_Regions_Map.png | regionmapsize=430px | region1name=[[Donghae Coast]] | region1color=#86B9DB | region1items=[[Chongjin]], [[Hamhung]], [[Rason]], North Hamgyong, South Hamgyong, Kangwon, K&#365;mgang-san | region1description= | region2name=[[Baekdu Mountains]] | region2color=#B383B3 | region2items=Ryanggang, Chagang | region2description= | region3name=[[Pyongan]] | region3color=#6DA0A6 | region3items=[[Kaechon]], [[Nampho]], [[Pyongyang]], [[Shinuiju]] | region3description= Home of the capital, Pyongyang, and the starting point for most travel in the country. | region4name=[[Hwanghae]] | region4color=#D5A664 | region4items=North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, [[Kaesong]] | region4description= }} ==Cities== <!--Cities and Other destinations lists are limited to 9 items. Please first discuss proposed changes on this page's talk page.--> *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Pyongyang]]|url=|lat=39.019|long=125.738|wikidata=Q18808}} (평양) — the capital city and the former capital of Goguryeo during the Three Kingdoms period *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Chongjin]]|url=|lat=41.783|long=129.766|wikidata=Q109336}} (청진) — Industrial city in the North East, very rarely visited by tourists *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Hamhung]]|url=|lat=39.916|long=127.533|wikidata=Q109356}} (함흥) — Northern city, also rarely on official travel itineraries * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Kaechon]]|url=|lat=39.698|long=125.906|wikidata=Q716127}} (개천) — home of the Songam Cavern *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kaesong]]|url=|lat=37.966|long=126.55|wikidata=Q109079}} (개성) — former capital during the Goryeo dynasty *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Nampho]]|url=|lat=38.733|long=125.4|wikidata=Q109386}} (남포) — industrial centre and port on the western coast *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rason]]|url=|lat=42.344|long=130.384|wikidata=Q221734}} (라선) — Free trade zone on the Russian border, complete with casino *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Sinuiju]]|url=|lat=40.1|long=124.4|wikidata=Q156243}} (신의주) — bleak industrial city right on the border with China. Probably the easiest ways to look into the country from the outside *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Wonsan]]|url=|lat=39.147|long=127.446|wikidata=Q109374}} (원산) — East coast port city slowly opening to tourists, and it has the first ski resort in the country ==Other destinations== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Kumgangsan]]|url=|lat=38.688056|long=128.200278|wikidata=Q495501}} (금강산) — the scenic Diamond Mountain *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=Myohyangsan|url=|lat=40.018611|long=126.333056}} (묘향산) — this Mysterious Fragrant Mountain is one of the North's best hiking spots *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Baekdu Mountains]]|url=|lat=42.005556|long=128.055278|wikidata=Q107635}} (백두산) — the tallest mountain in Korea and the Kim dynasty's mythical birthplace *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Panmunjom]]|url=|lat=37.956|long=126.677|wikidata=Q495167}} (판문점) — the last outpost of the Cold War in the DMZ between South and North, and the only place in the North that you can visit from the South ==Understand== ===History=== ====Prehistory and founding of a nation==== {{seealso|Pre-modern Korea}} Archaeological finds of prehistoric toolmaking on the Korean Peninsula date back to 70,000&nbsp;BC with the first pottery found around 8000 BC. Comb-pattern pottery culture peaked around 3500-2000&nbsp;BC. Legend has it that Korea began with the founding of Gojoseon (also called ''Ancient Chosun'') by the legendary Dangun in 2333&nbsp;BC. Archeological and contemporaneous written records of Gojoseon as a kingdom date back to around 7th-4th century BC. Gojoseon was eventually defeated by the Chinese Han Dynasty in 108 BC and its territories were governed by four Chinese commanderies, but this did not last long. Natives of the peninsula and Manchuria soon reclaimed the territory, namely the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje. The '''Goguryeo Kingdom''' (or Koguryo) ruled the entire area of modern North Korea, as well as parts of Manchuria and the northern parts of modern South Korea. Buddhist and Confucian teachings were prominent in the Goguryeo Kingdom, which adopted Buddhism as the state religion in 372. Despite repeated attempts by China, namely the Sui Dynasty and later the Tang Dynasty, to conquer the Korean Peninsula, northern-based Goguryeo managed to repel them. Eventually, Goguryeo fell to a Silla-Tang alliance, which had earlier defeated Baekje. This unified Korea under the Silla dynasty. Even though Tang later invaded, Silla forces managed to drive them out, thus maintaining Korea's independence. Unified Silla was replaced by the Goryeo (also called ''Koryo'') dynasty, from which the modern name "Korea" derives. One highlight of the Goryeo dynasty was that in 1234 the world's first metal movable type was invented by a Korean named Choe Yun-ui (200 years before Gutenberg's printing press). Buddhist learning spread during this time and the former Baekje and Goguryeo leaders were treated well. The kingdom saw relative peace until the 8th and 9th centuries when clan leaders led uprisings and toppled the Silla, establishing the Goryeo Dynasty from which the name "Korea" was derived by Westerners. During this period, the nation suffered Mongol invasions, which led to unrest and the eventual establishment of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. {{quickbar|location=LocationNorthKorea.png}} ====Joseon Dynasty==== The Joseon Dynasty was one of the longest-running dynasties in the world (512 years), ruling from 1392 until 1910. '''King Sejong the Great''''s rule was especially celebrated, as he helped create the Korean script, ''choson'gul'', which allowed even the commoners to become literate. He also expanded the nation's military power to drive out Japanese pirates and northern nomads and regain territories that had been lost. The Japanese invaded Korea under the leadership of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, though the Joseon Dynasty managed to drive them out with the support of China's Ming Dynasty, albeit with heavy losses in the Korean peninsula. In spite of its losses, the nation experienced about 200 years of peace, and its isolationist policies allowed it to further develop a uniquely Korean culture and identity. Rapid modernisation stirred by the Second Industrial Revolution created tension between China and Japan as they felt the pressures of Western expansionism, each wanting to extend their influence over Korea. Ensuing wars between Japan, China and Russia led to increasing Japanese influence over the peninsula, resulting in Korea's status as a vassal state of Imperial China ending in 1895, and Japan annexing Korea outright in 1910, marking the end of the Joseon dynasty and Korean independence. ====Japanese occupation and a divided Korea==== {{seealso|Japanese colonial empire|Pacific War|Korean War}} Japan ruled Korea as a colony until its defeat in [[Pacific War|World War II]] in 1945. During that period, the Japanese committed numerous atrocities including massacres, and forced many Korean women to become "comfort women", sex slaves in Japanese military brothels. Moreover, Japan instituted a cultural assimilation policy, forcing the Koreans to adopt Japanese names, and forbidding them from speaking the Korean language. Japan was forced to give up control of all its colonies after is defeat in [[Pacific War|World War II]] in 1945, and the Allied Powers divided Korea along the 38th Parallel, with the Soviet Union occupying the northern half and the United States occupying the southern half. The divide was supposed to be temporary; however, the political power struggle between the two nations to gain influence over the unified Korea led each to establish governments within their newly created territories. North Korea was established as its own nation in 1948 with the support of the Soviet Union, following the Soviet communist model, with Kim Il-Sung as its leader, while at about the same time, Syngman Rhee established a capitalist regime with the support of the United States in the south. Agitation between the North and South came to a head in 1950 when the North started the '''Korean War''' by attempting to reunify the country under its terms by launching an invasion. The Soviet Union and China fought alongside the North against the South, who were in turn backed by the United Nations (UN) forces led by the [[United States]]. The UN forces drove the North Korean forces all the way up to the Chinese border, whereupon Chinese reinforcements forced the UN forces to be driven back south. The war finally resulted in the signing of an armistice in 1953, largely maintaining the original borders set prior to the war. Because no peace treaty has been signed since the armistice, the nations of [[South Korea]] and North Korea are officially still at war. ====Modern North Korea==== [[File:Party Foundation Monument (10875731074).jpg|thumb|The three symbols of the Korean Workers' Party: industrial workers (hammer), peasants (sickle), and intellectuals (calligraphy brush).]] [[File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7968448156).jpg|thumbnail|A poster featuring Kim Il-Sung, the "founding father" of the DPRK]] With the nation in shambles after the war, Kim Il-Sung launched a campaign to unite the people by defaming the [[United States]] with Soviet support and purging the nation of dissidents and rival factions within the party. He sided with China during the Sino-Soviet split on Communist philosophy because he disliked Khrushchev's reforms. He began to praise the Soviet Union once again when China underwent its Cultural Revolution, straining relations with both neighbors. Consequently, he developed his own ideology, '''''Juche''''' ("self-reliance"), to create the sort of Communism he wanted for his nation. Throughout his life, Kim Il-Sung added to and clarified the Juche ideology in order to justify his governing decisions. The Korean War not only divided the people, but it also divided the labor force. When the peninsula was united, North Korea had most of the nation's industries while South Korea was the agricultural center. This divide allowed North Korea to initially bounce back faster than the South in the rebuilding process. The Soviet Union then funded agricultural efforts in the North, in accordance with the Communist model. This system began to unravel in the late 1970s and 1980s as the Soviet system began to falter. With the end of Soviet aid following its dissolution in 1991, there was no way to continue to support the agricultural systems' needs for fuel, fertilizer and equipment. After so many years of government mismanagement, and the bad timing of severe flooding, the North's agricultural system collapsed in the mid-1990s, leading to widespread famine and death for countless North Koreans. The death of Kim Il-Sung in 1994 took place while the nation tried to deal with the crisis, slowing government response as the new leader, Kim Jong-Il, took his father's position. The North finally allowed international relief agencies to assist, and the worst aspects of the famine were contained. However, the DPRK continues to rely heavily on international food aid to feed its population while at the same time continuing to expend resources on its ''songun'', or "military first", policy, which Kim Jong-Il introduced and used in conjunction with his father's ''Juche'' ideology (which he "interpreted"). Today the DPRK maintains an army of about 1 million infantrymen, most stationed close to the DMZ which divides the two Koreas. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, Kim Jong-Il reneged on a 1994 "Agreed Framework" signed by his father which required the shut down of its nuclear reactors, expelling UN monitors and further raising fears that the nation would produce nuclear weapons. Missile testing was conducted in 1998, 2006 and April 2009. In October 2006 North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear test. These actions have led to UN and other international sanctions. Current negotiations, most notably the "Six-Party Talks" involving China, Russia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the United States, are aimed at bringing about an end to the DPRK nuclear weapons program, in hopes that a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War may finally be agreed upon, paving the way for the opening of diplomatic ties between North Korea and the United States. Unfortunately, in March 2010, a South Korean ship was sunk near the 38th parallel, increasing tensions between North and South Korea. Although North Korea claims not to have attacked the ship, the blame has largely been placed on North Korea. The death of Kim Jong-Il in late 2011 created a measure of uncertainty during the transfer of power to his son Kim Jong-Un; though the country has appeared to have stabilized since, considerable tensions have occurred intermittently. ===Government and politics=== North Korea is a personalist, totalitarian dictatorship. The government is led by the State Affairs Commission (SAC), which sets national policy and is directly responsible for the military. The supreme leader (Kim Jong-un) is chairman of the SAC, as well as head of the Workers' Party of Korea and several other positions. Atop the administrative branch of the government is the cabinet, which is headed by the premier (like a prime minister). The cabinet is appointed by the unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) which heads the legislative branch, although bills are drafted by the Party and the almost 700-person SPA almost always passes them without debate or modification. Moreover, it's in recess all but a few days a year, leaving most authority in the hands of the 15-person Presidium. The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court, whose three justices are elected, partisan, and accountable to the SPA. The judiciary is not independent and does not have the power to overrule the legislative or executive branches of government, and interference from security forces is a widespread problem. Despite North Korea's isolation from the rest of the world and its label as the "Hermit Kingdom", it maintains diplomatic relations with 160-170 countries around the globe and is a member of several international organisations, including the World Health Organization. North Korea has cordial relations with its neighbours [[Russia]] (the first country to recognise North Korea) and [[China]] and several African and Asian nations, and has incredibly tense relations with the [[United States]], [[Japan]], and the [[European Union]]. ===People=== North Korea may be the most ethnically homogeneous nation on earth, with everyone being Korean save for a few hundred foreigners. These foreigners are mostly diplomatic or aid agency workers, along with a small population of Japanese who have Korean ancestry. Almost no South Koreans live in North Korea. North Korean society is strongly divided and organised along a caste system known as ''Songbun''. Membership of one of three main groups is determined not only by an individual's political, social and economic background, but also that of their family for the previous three generations. Education and professional opportunities are effectively defined by an individual's class. ===Climate=== [[File:Pyongyang.jpg|thumb|Pyongyang seen in the morning]] The climate is generally classed as continental, with rainfall concentrated in summer. Summer months are warm, but winter temperatures can fall as low as -30°C. Late spring droughts are often followed by severe flooding. There are occasional typhoons during the early autumn. ===Terrain=== Mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. The mountainous interior is both isolated and sparsely populated. ===Read=== ''The Accusation'', by Bandi. A collection of short stories, published abroad by a pseudonymous North Korean writer, that are highly critical of the Kim regime and full of piercing insight into its contradictions and cruelties. Uniquely among North Korean dissident literature, they were published with their author still living in the country. ''Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea'', Barbara Demick. An excellent book recounting the lives of six North Koreans who managed to defect and find their way to South Korea. Provides a compelling picture of the miseries and occasional beauty in the lives of ordinary North Koreans during the famine of the 1990s. {{ISBN|0385523912}} ''Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman'', by Soon Ok Lee. First-hand accounts of the prison system within North Korea. ''Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West'', by Blaine Harden. The riveting story of Shin Dong-hyuk, one of the only known surviving escapees of a North Korean prison camp, and his perilous journey out of the country. ''Without You There Is No Us'', by Suki Kim. A fascinating piece of investigative journalism about teaching English as a foreigner in Pyongyang. ===Visitor information=== The [https://korea-dpr.com/ Korean Friendship Association] provides North Korean-related material, including tourism tips. ==Talk== [[File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7968451600).jpg|thumb|240px|Hangul slogan in Pyongyang: "Defend the revolution with your life!"]] {{seealso|Korean phrasebook}} The official language is '''[[Korean phrasebook|Korean]]'''. North Koreans are quite picky about referring to Korean as '''''chosŏn-mal''''' (조선말), not ''hangugeo'' (both mean "Korean language", but the names of Korea refer to different historic periods). The language is rather drastically different from any Western language in its grammar, and while the language isn't tonal, its pronunciation is rather difficult for the English speaker to get right. It has various dialects; standard North Korean (문화어 ''munhwaŏ'') is ostensibly based on the Pyong'an dialect spoken in Pyongyang, but in reality is still deeply rooted in the [[Seoul]] dialect which was the standard before Korea was split. {{infobox|Differences between North and South Korean|Despite decades of separation, the Korean language in both North Korea and South Korea is fundamentally the same. The main differences are around the large amount of English words that South Korean has borrowed, whereas North Korean uses indigenous or Russian derived words instead. Descriptions of political and social structures are also completely different as a direct result of the different ideological directions of both countries; the most significant example is that words referring to the ruling Kim family are always '''bolded''' in North Korea.}} The Korean writing system is deceptively simple. Although it looks at first glance to be as complex as Chinese or Japanese, it is a unique and simple alphabetic writing system called '''''chosŏn'gŭl''''' (조선글) by North Koreans, and hangul (한글 ''hangeul'') by the rest of the world, where letters are stacked up into blocks that represent syllables. It was designed by a committee and looks like simple lines, boxes and little circles, but it is remarkably consistent, logical and quick to pick up. A document from 1446 describing hangul said that '''"A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days."''' Essentially all sources for learning Korean abroad will teach South Korean, which does have slightly different usage: some letters have different names, the sorting order is different, and there are some minor differences in pronunciation and spelling. North Korea completely abolished Chinese ''hanja'' characters in the late 1940s and uses the chosŏn'gŭl alphabet exclusively, though you may still encounter Chinese characters in historical sites such as Buddhist temples. North Korea uses its own unique system for romanization of Korean, which is mostly similar to the older McCune–Reischauer system. In South Korea and the rest of the world, Revised Romanization is more common. Most guides will speak fairly decent '''English''' (some better than others) and will translate for you. Some guides can also speak Mandarin, German, Russian, Japanese and Spanish. There is no law preventing citizens of the DPRK from interacting with tourists, although locals are often discouraged from speaking with foreigners and language can prove to be an additional barrier. A visit to the DPRK around their holidays may give you more of a chance to interact with the locals. North Korea has its own sign language, which is not mutually intelligible with Korean Sign Language as used in South Korea; it's unclear if it's related to any other sign languages, or how widespread it is. ==Get in== {{VisaRestriction|People who have visited North Korea are not allowed to enter the United States under the visa waiver program, and must apply for a U.S. visa instead. The '''United States''', '''South Korea''', and '''Malaysia''' forbid travel to North Korea for their citizens without special permission, and unauthorised travel is a crime punishable under their laws. Special permission is granted only in very limited circumstances (ordinary tourism is not one of those). For U.S. citizens, [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/passport-for-travel-to-north-korea.html click here for more details.] Canada, New Zealand, and Australia ''recommend against all travel'' to the DPRK, while Ireland, Singapore and the United Kingdom recommend against non-essential travel to North Korea. |us=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/north-korea-travel-advisory.html |canada=https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/korea-north-dprk |uk=https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/north-korea |australia=http://smartraveller.gov.au/Countries/asia/north/Pages/north_korea.aspx |nz=https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/north-korea |ie=https://www.dfa.ie/travel/travel-advice/a-z-list-of-countries/democratic-republic-of-korea |sg=https://www.mfa.gov.sg/countries-regions/k/korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of/travel-page |lastedit=2023-07-30 }} North Korean entry requirements are perplexing and change frequently without prior warning. As of January 2026, tours to North Korea are only available for [[Russia]]n citizens. Pretty much the only loophole is to join a sporting delegation, most notably the yearly [https://koryogroup.com/tours/dprk-north-korea/pyongyang-marathon Pyongyang Marathon], which is open to amateurs running distances as short as 5 km. Due to longstanding international sanctions and tensions in the Korean peninsula, you can only enter North Korea from either China or Russia. Generally speaking, most people fly or take the train from [[Beijing]]. Be careful about what you bring. Drugs, pornography or ideological material, by some definition, may cause severe problems up to '''death penalty'''. ===Visas=== [[File:Visa policy of North Korea (DPR Korea).png|thumbnail|Visa policy of North Korea]] [[File:DPRK tourist card.jpg|thumbnail|DPRK tourist card]] Everyone needs a visa to visit North Korea. Tourists typically arrange a tourist visa by booking a tour with a travel agency that organises such tours. The travel agencies will usually deal with the visa on their behalf, although in some cases tourists are required to have a short telephone interview with the North Korean embassy to verify their identity and their job. In most cases, the interview is conducted in a friendly manner so it is nothing to be worried about. Visas are often only confirmed on the day before the tour, but rarely will a tourist ever be rejected unless you are suspected to be of political status or a journalist. North Korean tourist visas are often issued on a tourist card. If joining a tour group, group visas are often issued on separate sheets of paper containing all the members of the group, attached with a tourist card that bears the name of the tour leader. This visa itself is never held by the tourists, although tourists can ask to take a photo of their visa. In any case, no stamp will be placed in the passport. The only way where a visa and entrance stamp will be stamped on the passport is when the visa is issued within a North Korean embassy in Europe. ====Additional restrictions==== '''Journalists''' or those suspected of being journalists require special permission, which is quite difficult to obtain. North Korea does not allow journalists to visit on a tourist visa. Citizens of '''South Korea''' are not permitted to enter North Korea unless they have permission from the governments of both the North, for entry, and the South from the Ministry of Unification (통일부). Without the permission, South Korean citizens will face a lengthy prison sentence on their return – also dual citizens using their foreign passport risk this. South Koreans must also get an approval if they intend to "communicate" with North Koreans, even if they do not directly visit North Korea (''ex post facto'' approvals are allowed if the encounter was by a coincidence). Contrary to rumour, '''Israelis and Jewish citizens''' of other countries do not face any additional restrictions. ===Tours=== [[Image:NorthKorea KijongDong.JPG|thumb|Kijong-dong village, in the DMZ near [[Panmunjeom|Panmunjom]]]] North Korea can only be visited by an organised tour, but this can be a large group or a party of one. Prices start from around {{USD|1,000}}/{{€|700}}/{{GBP|580}} for a 5-day group tour including accommodation, meals and transport from Beijing, but can go up considerably if you want to travel around the country or "independently" (as your own one-person escorted group). Tour operators/travel agencies that organise their own tours to North Korea include: <!-- alphabetical order, absolutely no resellers or other links elsewhere --> * America ** [http://uritours.com Uri Tours Inc.] (NYC, US) — standard and customized tours to the DPRK; also an Air Koryo ticketing agent in the US * Asia ** East Asia *** [http://koryogroup.com Koryo Tours and Koryo Group] (Beijing, Shanghai, Belgium, UK) — also organises school visits and sports exchanges and has co-produced 3 documentary films about North Korea. Exclusive agent for the Pyongyang Marathon. English tours only. *** [http://north-korea-travel.com North Korea Travel] (Sheyang, China) *** [http://youngpioneertours.com Young Pioneer Tours] (Beijing, China) — very low budget tours. ** South East Asia *** [http://chosonexchange.org/ Choson Exchange] (Singapore, UK & USA) — not a tour agency, rather they provide training in business and entrepreneurship in North Korea to businesswomen, young entrepreneurs and researchers, and bring volunteers and tourists to help them to do so ** [http://koreakonsult.com/ Korea Konsult] (Stockholm, Sweden) ** [http://nordkoreareisen.de/ Korea Reisedienst] (Hannover, Germany) ** [http://lupinetravel.co.uk Lupine Travel] (Wigan, UK) ** [http://regent-holidays.co.uk/nkoreaitin.html Regent Holidays] (Bristol, UK) ** [http://www.pyongyang-travel.com Pyongyang Travel] (Berlin, Germany) — group tours, private tours and New Year's Tours ** [http://coreanorte.com Viajes Pujol] (Barcelona, Spain) No matter which company you decide to book with, the tours are run by the Korean International Travel Company — with the exception of a few, such as Choson Exchange and The Pyongyang Project, who both work directly with various government ministries and domestic DPRK NGOs — and it will be their guides who show you around. The average number of tourists per group each company takes will vary considerably; you may want to ask about this before booking a trip. Most people travelling to North Korea will travel through [[Beijing]] and you will probably pick up your visa from there, although some agents arrange their visas elsewhere beforehand. Bring your travel permission, US$45 and two passport photos. * {{listing | name=North Korean consulate | alt= | url= | email= | address=Fangcaodi Xijie | lat= | long= | directions=[[Beijing]]; round the corner from the main embassy building at Ritan Lu | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M W F 09:30–11:30 and 14:00–17:30, Tu Th Sa 09:30–11:30 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} Your guides will take your passport and keep it during your stay in North Korea, or at least for the first couple of days of your tour, for "security reasons", or simply because your entry and exit dates must be registered, as noted by the black stamps on the back of your visa or passport. Make sure your passport looks decent and doesn't differ from the most common passports from your country. '''Volunteer''' Groups such as Choson Exchange bring volunteers (or tourists) to participate in teaching workshops on business and entrepreneurship to businesswomen, young entrepreneurs and researchers, after which volunteers tour relevant sites in North Korea. Such volunteers travel on an official visa, rather than a tourist visa. * [http://chosonexchange.org Choson Exchange] (Singapore, UK, USA) — social enterprise providing training in business and entrepreneurship in North Korea to businesswomen, young entrepreneurs and researchers, and bring volunteer/tourists to help them to do so ====The Korean Demilitarized Zone==== [[File:Panmunjeom DMZ.png|thumb|The Panmunjom Joint Security Area viewed from South Korea]] The [[Panmunjom|Panmunjom Joint Security Area]] is the only place in North Korea that can be visited from the South by regular tourists. This is the jointly-controlled truce village in the [[DMZ (Korea)|Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas. In the JSA, you can briefly cross over into North Korea within the confines of one of the conference rooms straddling the border, but the northern door will be guarded by two soldiers, and you will not be able to proceed any further. Group bus tours to [[Kaesong]] and [[Kumgangsan]] in North Korea from the South have been suspended indefinitely and is unlikely to resume after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard in 2008. ===By plane=== All international flights go through Pyongyang's '''Sunan International Airport''' ({{IATA|FNJ}}). No other North Korean airport handles international flights. As of Jan 2026, the only airline operating flights to Sunan are Air Koryo, and Nordwind Airlines from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Air China flights from Beijing remain suspended. ====Air Koryo==== [[File:Air Koryo TU-204 Pyongyang (10043349944).jpg|thumb|One of Air Koryo's Tupolev Tu-204 at Pyongyang's Airport]] As of Jan 2026, North Korea's sole airline, '''[http://www.airkoryo.com.kp/ Air Koryo]''', has scheduled flights to Beijing, and [[Vladivostok]]. The airline has also been banned in the EU due to concerns over safety. Air Koryo was the only 1-star (worst) airline on Skytrax's list, a distinction it held for many years. Although Air Koryo last experienced a fatal accident back in 1983, the airline only operates a handful of flights with its fleet of 10 aircraft. The main reason for flying Air Koryo is the experience. The Air Koryo fleet consists entirely of Soviet or Russian-made aircraft, with the pride of their fleet being two Tupolev Tu-204s, which now usually handle the core Beijing–Pyongyang route. Otherwise, you'll most likely end up on one of their Ilyushin IL-62-Ms (1979–1988 vintage), Tupolev Tu-154s or Tupolev Tu-134s. ====Nordwind Airlines==== As of Oct 2025, Nordwind Airlines had flights on an Airbus A330 once a month connecting Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) with Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ), ====Air China==== Flights by '''[http://www.airchina.com Air China]''' from [[Beijing Capital International Airport]] to Pyongang Sunan International Airport is suspended after brief operation. When available, Air China is preferred by most to Air Koryo due to its far more modern fleet of Boeing 737s. ===By train=== Train K27/K28 connects Pyongyang to Beijing in China via [[Tianjin]], [[Tangshan]], Beidaihe, [[Shanhaiguan]], [[Jinzhou]], [[Shenyang]], [[Benxi]], Fenghuangcheng, [[Dandong]] and [[Sinuiju]] four times a week. There is only one class on the international train between Beijing and Pyongyang: soft sleeper. It can be booked at the station in Beijing, but reservations must be made several days in advance. Your tour agency will usually do this for you, unless you are travelling on work purposes. It has been increasingly difficult to book space on the Beijing–Pyongyang route, so confirm your tickets well in advance. Once a week train K27/K28 also conveys direct sleeping cars from [[Moscow]] via China to [[Pyongyang]] and vice versa. The route is [[Moscow]]–[[Novosibirsk]]–[[Irkutsk]]–[[Chita]]–[[Harbin]]–[[Shenyang]]–[[Dandong]]–[[Shinuiju]]–[[Pyongyang]]. Departure from Moscow is every Friday evening, arrival at Pyongyang is one week later on Friday evening. Departure from Pyongyang is Saturday morning, arrival in Moscow is Friday afternoon. Some agents (e.g. Lupine Travel) prefer to cross the border from Dandong in China to Sinuiju by minibus and then board a domestic North Korean train to Pyongyang. Usually you will be seated in a hard seat carriage with KPA soldiers and party workers travelling with their families. There is access to a restaurant car which stocks imported beers (Heineken) and soft drinks as well as some local beers and spirits. This train supposedly takes only 4 hours to Pyongyang but has been known to take 14. If travelling in winter be prepared for temperatures inside the carriages as low as {{C|10}}. There is also a direct rail link from Russia into North Korea. This route is the ''Rossiya'' Trans-Siberian train between Moscow and Vladivostok, with the Korea coaches detached at Ussuriysk. From there it's six hours to the border at Tumangan, with a five hour wait, then a 24-hour haul to Pyongyang. It runs weekly, but as a through-train only twice monthly (11th and 25th from Moscow), arriving in Pyongyang 9 days later. This route used to be closed to Westerners, but as of 2018 it's available, provided you have arranged for it as part of your North Korean tour. ===By boat=== There was an unscheduled cargo-passenger ship between [[Wonsan]] and [[Niigata]], Japan. It is indefinitely suspended as Japan bans all North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports. Be careful about getting too close to the North Korean border in a boat; many South Korean fishermen who entered North Korean waters are detained and are still waiting to leave North Korea. Besides the unscheduled ferry, there is also a cruise ship that operates between the coast of Northeastern China and Mt Kumgang. Jointly operated by China and North Korea, the cruise line uses a ship from around 1970. The cruise trip is 22&nbsp;hours long at each leg, and is 44&nbsp;hours in total but non-Chinese citizens are not permitted on the cruise. ===By bus=== A bus is available from Dandong, China, across the Yalu River to [[Sinuiju]]. It's run by the "Dandong China Travel Company" but is only open to Chinese citizens. The bus drives from Dandong over the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge (the same bridge over the Yalu river that the trains take). ==Get around== [[File:Hero Youth Highway in DPRK.jpg|thumb|A typical highway scene in North Korea. Tidy strands of trees with a large and empty road in between]] All your transport needs will be dealt with by your tour company. Most of the time this means buses, although tour groups visiting remote sites (e.g. [[Paekdusan]], Mount Chilbo) occasionally use chartered flights by Air Koryo. Wandering around on your own is not allowed, and you are required to have a guide to escort you at all times. A carefully stage-managed one-station ride on the Pyongyang metro is included on the itinerary of most trips to Pyongyang, but use of any other form of local public transport is generally impossible. Some tours also include a train ride from Pyongyang to the border city of Sinuiju, in which you can stop over in Sinuiju for a 1-day tour, though this option is not available to U.S. citizens. If travelling in a small enough group it is also possible to organise a walk through some areas of Pyongyang with some travel agents (Koryo). ==See== [[File:Arirang Mass Games 2013 (10161718564).jpg|thumb|A revolutionary scene from the Arirang Mass Games]] All tours are accompanied by a government minder, who will decide what you can and cannot see. From the moment you leave your hotel, expect to be accompanied by one or more guides. Besides ensuring that tourists do not stray outside of the designated tourist areas, their jobs include inspecting any photographs which they think do not portray North Korea or its government in a good light, and ordering photographers to delete them. It is generally advisable to listen to what your guide says, and agree with it. It is always recommended that if you are uncertain about taking photographs anywhere, ask your guide, though allowances seem to vary wildly. You may get a guide that is relatively relaxed and will allow you to take photographs from a bus or within a city. Conversely, you may get one that will strictly adhere to controlling where you take photographs restricting anything taken from a tour bus or of certain areas, like Pyongyang's city streets, in general. There is simply no way to tell until you are on a tour. If you think a particular photograph might be embarrassing to the DPRK in general, ask or simply don't risk taking it at all. Photography of military personnel is also generally prohibited. Again, if in doubt, ask your guide. However, there are instances where it is impossible not to photograph certain sites without including a few military personnel within the picture such as at Mansudae (the monument site for the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il), or at a local funfair. Reactions seem to vary between being ignored to curiosity, although you will be told where taking pictures is strictly prohibited (such as at certain areas of the DMZ), and the guards/soldiers there will react unfavourably to being photographed in general. Other areas where photographs are prohibited include the interior of the Friendship Exhibition, which displays gifts from around the world to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and within the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. If you leave the country via train (to [[Beijing]]) your camera will likely be checked for unfavorable photos by the guards. The majority of sightseeing consists of visits to various war memorials, monuments to the Great Leader and the Workers Party of Korea, and numerous museums (mostly war-related, like the statues and monuments). The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a popular destination for most tour groups in North Korea. Whilst you are in North Korea, the prevailing viewpoint places blame on the Americans and South Koreans for starting the Korean War; disagreeing with this position is likely to cause problems for both you and your guide, particularly as the two Koreas are still legally at war with only a cease-fire between them. Despite its misleading name, the DMZ is heavily guarded and dotted with minefields and other booby-traps on both sides. Under no circumstances should you stray from your group, or take any photographs of military installations. However, the "peace village" [[Panmunjom]] may be photographed, and boasts the world's third tallest flagpole. Whilst on these guided tours, especially to the state museums and monuments, you will undoubtedly endure an ongoing barrage of propaganda, consisting largely of anecdotes about things that Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il did for their country. Some of these claims may seem bizarre and even amusing to the outsider; however, a straight face is generally advisable. It is generally safest to at least appear to take everything they say seriously, even if it contradicts everything you were ever taught in history class or defies even the most basic human reasoning. ===Sights=== [[File:Landscape with Mountains in North Korea.JPG|thumb|Mountainous landscapes near Kaesong]] So, with all this practical information being said, what are the places to go? A good part of the important attractions you'll be shown are in '''[[Pyongyang]]'''. There's the large '''Kim Il-sung Square''', where the famously grand military parades take place. Even without the parades, though, it's an impressive square, and on it is the '''Grand People’s Study House'''. This gigantic library and learning centre is home to over 30 million books and a modern system of conveyor belts to get you the one you need. Also on the square are two museums, of which — the '''Korean National Art Gallery''' — is the more interesting one. The other great landmark of the capital is its '''Triumphal Arch'''. Slightly bigger than its Parisian counterpart, it is the largest arch of its kind in the world. Another landmark you'll be proudly shown are the large '''bronze statues''' of the Great Leader and Kim Jong-il. Respectfully join the locals in their serious undertakings to honour the statues, which are a key element of the devotion cult around the national leaders. For a better chance of some casual conversations with locals, try the pleasant Pyongyang '''zoo'''. Take a daytrip to the birthplace of the Great Leader in Mangyongdae and of course, visit the '''Kumsusan Palace of the Sun''' where both the previous Kims' embalmed bodies are on display. No trip to North Korea is complete without an extensive glance at the uneasy and heavily fortified border stand-off at '''[[Panmunjeom]]''', or the Joint Security Area. Not far from here is the town of '''[[Kaesong]]''', with a lovely old town and the [[UNESCO]]-listed '''tomb of King Kongmin'''. For stunning natural sights, try reaching '''[[Kumgangsan]]''', or the ''Diamond Mountains'', where you'll find beautiful vistas, waterfalls, lakes and ancient '''Buddhist temples'''. ==Do== [[File:Statues at the Tomb of King Wanggon (10104313105).jpg|thumb|Statues at the tomb of King Wanggon, the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, in [[Kaesong]]]] As mentioned above, there is very little to do beyond the watchful eye of your designated minders, with most recreational activity taking place within the confines of the tourist resorts. Bowling and karaoke are among the latest additions to its surprising plethora of recreational activities. The karaoke videos are often accompanied by dramatic historical footage of the Korean War, or goose-stepping People's Army soldiers. North Korea has three amusement parks, two of which are abandoned due to mutual lack of interest and electricity. The Kaesong Youth Fair has now closed, taking the infamous "Roller Coaster of Death" along with it. Still visible are the shooting-galleries with backdrops of snarling American and Japanese soldiers; however, it is unlikely that your guide will let you venture into any abandoned areas. The one remaining amusement park contains some rides which are actually quite modern and non-lethal, at least by North Korean standards, and is about as worthy of a visit as everything else you'll see whilst in North Korea. The nightlife in [[Pyongyang]] is remarkably safe and non-violent, compared to the capitals of other nations (except maybe [[Reykjavík]] in [[Iceland]]); in general, the civilians are not a threat. The plain-clothes secret police, however, may or may not be a threat, depending on what you say or do. The North Korean definition of popular music is at least two decades behind the rest of the world; expect an onslaught of 1980s hits from the West (some obviously are unauthorized copies, to judge by the quality), punctuated by the eerie caterwauling of Korean folk songs, and at least try to look enthusiastic about the whole scene. If you are interested, the '''Moranbong Band''' is a girl band comprised of serving members of the North Korean military that performs propaganda songs in contemporary styles. The band regularly tours the country, and you might be able to attend one of their concerts if it coincides with your North Korean tour. Finally, power cuts may hit without warning in the middle of any activity. Whilst you might welcome this if the jukebox is starting to get to you, this is not a desirable outcome if you are in the middle of an amusement-park ride, particularly as these blackouts can last for hours at a time. The '''Masikryong ski resort,''' North Korea's only ski resort, opened in winter 2013. Located near the western city of Wonsan, a visit to the resort may be included as part of a wider DPRK tour. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{infobox|Currency in North Korea|Most short-term tourists in North Korea will not encounter the local currency at all, as the restaurants and souvenir shops geared towards tourists will deal exclusively in hard currency — U.S. dollars, euros, or Chinese yuan. Prices in these stores are listed roughly in U.S. cents. Vendors will rarely have change available, and having small bills to make change yourself will be very helpful in not being over-charged for purchases. Longer term visitors to Pyongyang should consider getting a debit card (labeled 전자결제카드, ''jeonjagyeoljekadeu'') to make getting change easier. These can usually be bought at the Pyongyang store in the diplomatic compound for US$5, and can be used and recharged at most foreigner-targeted stores around the city. Markets, road-side stands, and stores targeting locals will deal in North Korean won. There are several booths around the city which are able to convert foreign currency into won. The largest note is ₩5000, roughly the cost of a Coke. The smallest is ₩5, which is used for the metro. Notes under ₩500 are generally not used. If you want smaller notes, ask to convert 1 or 5 Chinese yuan at a currency exchange booth. You may get a strange look, but likely will be given some of the harder to find ₩5 and ₩10 notes.}} The currency is the North Korean '''won''', denoted by the symbol '''₩''' (ISO code: '''KPW''') and not typically available to foreigners, except some old North Korean won sold as souvenirs. The only places where tourists are allowed to obtain and spend North Korean won are at the Kwangbok Supermarket, which is included in some tours of [[Pyongyang]], and in the [[Rason]] Special Economic Zone. Black market exchange rates (especially in far northern Korea, near the Chinese border) may easily be 20 times the official rate, but importing or exporting won is strictly forbidden. North Korean won is practically worthless outside the country but can make unique souvenirs. Foreigners are expected to use euros or as an alternative Chinese renminbi, US dollars or Japanese yen. Currency handling is often bizarre, with a frequent lack of change and a number of rule-of-thumb conversions leading to highly unorthodox transactions, so be sure to bring lots of small change. On a typical tour most expenses such as hotel, transportation, and meals will have been paid in advance, and therefore your only expenses may be bottled water, souvenirs, snacks, drinks at the bars, laundry at the hotel and tips for your guides. In any case, the only shops you will be likely allowed to visit are the state-run souvenir shops at your hotel and at the various tourist attractions. It is generally not possible to visit a real local shop which serves the local population, though you might get lucky asking your guide if he/she trusts you enough. Some tours include a visit to a department store. ===Souvenirs=== [[File:Pyongyang store3.JPG|thumb|A special store for foreigners in Pyongyang, with most merchandise imported from China]] There are numerous hard-currency-only souvenir shops at tourist sites. Interesting souvenirs include propaganda books and videos, postcards and postage stamps. At some tourist sites, such as King Kongmin's tomb, you can purchase freshly finished paintings with your name and the artist's name at the bottom. You can buy [[postal service|postcards]] and send them to people in any country except South Korea. Stamps make wonderful souvenirs. Literature is revered in North Korean society, in due large part due to the government regularly promoting views that present them in a good light, i.e. propaganda. Writers in North Korea are held in high prestige. North Korean books may be full of views and perspectives promoting the government, but they will allow you to be further exposed to the world's most secretive, isolated country and better understand the thoughts and views of the government, the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un. A book from North Korea makes a good souvenir. Some excellent paintings on silk or linen have been available in Kaesong directly from the artist. Haggling for better prices is not permitted, but the prices are very low. If you are looking to buy the traditional Korean dress, known as ''hanbok'' in South Korea and the West, keep in mind that North Koreans call it the '''''chosŏn-ot''''' (조선옷). '''Note:''' South Korean law criminalizes the possession and importation of North Korean propaganda, so do not bring North Korean souvenirs into South Korea. ===Costs=== Most costs are included as part of your tour. Most sights have a shop associated with them where you can buy bottled water, souvenirs and snacks. These are reasonably priced. In September 2017, large bottles of local beer cost US$2 at the hotel bars in Pyongyang. €200 for one week should be enough to cover your costs of water, drinks at the bars, souvenirs and tips for the guides. ==Eat== [[File:Hibachi restaurant at Haedanghwa Health Complex - North Korea (10392326233).jpg|thumb|The ''Hibachi'' restaurant in the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang]] {{see also|Korean cuisine}} As with most other aspects of visiting North Korea, catering is usually organized in advance as part of your tour. Vegetarians and people with food allergies or dislikes of common foods such as seafood or eggs will need to make arrangements in advance. A visit to a "real" local restaurant may be possible; inquire with your guide. Shortages of supplies, combined with the typical use of Korean cooking styles, mean that there is a relatively limited variety of food — and this can get wearying on tours of more than a few days. There are a few Western food options now in Pyongyang and these restaurants can usually be visited if arranged with the guides in advance. They will usually require additional payment though, unless you have discussed this already with your tour operator, as the costs are not included in the ''per diem'' fee charged by the Korean Travel Company. There are two Italian restaurants (one on Kwangbok Street which is near the Korean circus where the pizza is great, and they have imported a pizza oven and all the ingredients so the quality is very high; and one near the USS ''Pueblo'') and two burger restaurants (the more accessible is in the Youth Hotel). Both are inexpensive and do inject some flavor onto a generally lackluster eating scene, especially on long tours. Visit the Vienna coffee house, which is on the river side of Kim Jong Il square, for a good coffee similar to those common in Europe. ==Drink== The local speciality is '''''insam-ju''''', Korean vodka infused with ginseng roots. Locally made Taedonggang beer is very good. The brewery was purchased from Ushers in the UK and the equipment moved to Pyongyang. Some of the ''soju'' are not bad either. Local alcohol is inexpensive; a 650&nbsp;ml bottle of beer is €0.50. Imported beers, such as Heineken, are also available at similar prices. However do not get drunk and cause trouble. Toe the line and show respect, or you and your guide will face serious penalties. It is advisable to stick to bottled water for drinking as the tap water is not always properly treated. [[Image:Ryugyong Hotel - August 27, 2011 (Cropped).jpg|thumb|The still unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in [[Pyongyang|P'y&#335;ngyang]]]] ==Sleep== This is likely to be your principal expense while in North Korea. You may only stay at "designated tourist hotels", for which you will need to pay in hard currency. There may be discounts if you ask for lower class accommodation, if you are travelling as part of a group, or if it is low season (November – March). Costs for your tour, which will include accommodation, all sightseeing activities and meals, will range from US$70 to US$200 a day, depending on these factors. Usually you pay for all your meals, hotel and Beijing–Pyongyang journey to your tour operator before you leave. One week in high season at a four-star hotel will then cost something between €1,300 and €1,600, depending on your tour operator, but might get as low as €800 for one week. ==Learn== [[File:North Korea-Pyongyang-Kim Il-sung University-01.jpg|thumbnail|Kim Il Sung University, the country's most prestigious university.]] It's difficult to ascertain the full scope of the North Korean education system, since very few foreigners take advantage of learning opportunities in the country. Getting a study visa is known to be extremely difficult and foreigners are required to pay tuition, unlike citizens. The vast majority of foreign students in North Korea are normally exchange students and typically come here to study the [[Korean phrasebook|Korean]] language. The '''[http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/ Kim Il-Sung University]''' (김일성종합대학) is North Korea's most prestigious university and has exchange programmes with several universities in [[China]], [[Russia]], and [[Germany]]. The university has educated 5,000 students from nearly 30 countries since 1955. The North Korean government has set up a '''[http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/ website]''' where you can freely download books published in North Korea. This will allow you to learn something new about North Korea. [https://www.ybu.edu.cn/ Yanbian University], in the [[Yanbian]] Korean Autonomous Prefecture in northeastern [[China]] is closely affiliated with other universities in North Korea and can offer relevant courses for learning about North Korea. ==Work== If you are interested in teaching in North Korea, you may find success by contacting the North Korean UN Mission in New York, or contacting a North Korean university directly. Your odds of success are, however, quite low: there is only a small team of 4 English Language Instructors dealing with teaching and teacher training, with a Project Manager leading the team of three, placed in Kim Il Sung University, Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies and Kim Hyung Jik University of Education. There is an opportunity to teach in [http://www.the-psi.org/ the Pyongyang Summer Institute] during summer time when it is opened to foreigners. It's voluntary, unpaid work, though. ==Stay safe== {{warningbox|You should not expect freedom of expression, movement or liberty or privacy of any kind. Under no circumstances should you say or do ''anything that could be perceived as disrespectful'' to the Kim dynasty, the North Korean government, the Workers' Party of Korea, North Korean citizens, the Juche ideology, the Songun (military first) policy, or the country in general. Avoid these topics if you can, even if you're in a room with no North Koreans, because the government has been known to plant recording devices. Anyone you speak to is likely to be affiliated with the North Korean government, and you should always respond accordingly if and when sensitive topics are brought up. You and your guide could potentially face serious trouble if you answer incorrectly, although your guide will probably bear the worst of it. North Korea is known for extremely harsh punishments, which range from lengthy prison sentences to a lifetime of severe mistreatment and torture. If you're worried about your safety, if you're not comfortable with your privacy being intruded, or if you cannot keep silent about disagreements with the current political situation in North Korea, you may not want to visit the country.|lastedit=permanent}} In general North Korea is extremely safe for tourists due to strict government control and constant supervision. However, visitors must adhere to all regulations, avoid discussing sensitive topics and stay within approved areas. Travel is highly organised, and deviations from guided tours are not permitted, ensuring safety but limiting freedom. At first, you may feel scared and intimidated by being in a severely authoritarian country like North Korea. You may even feel uneasy or outright anxious. As a tourist, you're not expected to know every single law and rule in North Korea. So long as you listen to your tour guides and behave respectfully, you should not run into any problems. North Korea is an '''authoritarian dictatorship''' and is generally considered to have the worst human rights record in the world. The authorities are very touchy, and you need to watch what you say and how you say it. Just do what the guides do, praise every stop on your tour, and remember the rule, "If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all." The official policy is that ''you are not to wander around on your own''. You are expected to get permission and have a guide accompany you if you want to leave your hotel. This will vary depending on what hotel you are in. The Yanggakdo Hotel is on an island in the middle of Pyongyang's Taedong River. Therefore you can walk around the area a little more freely than at the Koryo Hotel in the city centre. You should always be friendly and courteous to your guides and driver, who will usually reciprocate by trusting you more and giving you more freedom. === Photography === When taking '''photographs''', exercise restraint, caution and common sense. If you appear to be looking for negative images of North Korea, the guides will not be happy and will tell you to delete any questionable images. In particular, you should not take photos of anything depicting the military, including personnel, or anything showing the DPRK in a bad light. Your photographic freedom can largely depend on the type of guides you are assigned and your rapport with them. In a best-case scenario, you can often take pictures without feeling as if you're trying to sneak them by anyone and without pressure capturing some truly unique images. Your guide might even want to try out your camera and take a picture of you for your collection. If you are in an area where photography is forbidden, you will be informed of this, and you should follow your guide's instructions. When in doubt, always ask. In a worst-case scenario, you can be expected to raise your camera at a reasonable speed, compose and take the picture, and lower the camera at a reasonable speed. Don't try to take pictures of anything that you have been told not to, such as military personnel or certain locales. This may call attention to yourself and the image you are trying to take and can result, whether justified or not, in your being told to delete the image. Digital cameras are commonly inspected when leaving the country by train. A simple workaround is to leave a memory card with innocuous snaps in the camera and file away any cards with ideologically dubious content, but getting caught with those sensible images hidden away may cause things worse than them getting deleted. === Korean nationals === If you are Korean or have ties to Korea – such as having a Korean parent, being married to a Korean, or being of Korean descent – you should carefully consider your decision to visit North Korea. You could easily arouse suspicion from the authorities. === Politics === Visitors have also been targeted for political reasons; in 2013, an 85-year-old American citizen was arrested, briefly incarcerated and expelled by the DPRK because of his military service during the Korean War. === Illegal substances === '''Drug trafficking''' and the consumption of '''narcotics''' can be ''punishable by death'' in North Korea. Although '''marijuana''' is said to be found growing freely alongside the road in North Korea, its possession and consumption is illegal except when prescribed as a medicine, although it is unclear how rigorously that prohibition is enforced. However, with this being North Korea, you probably don't want to find out the hard way. === Religious activity === The DPRK is officially an '''atheist state''' and much of the population is irreligious. Although the Constitution guarantees freedom of religious belief, such practices cannot harm the order of the state, and proselytizing of religion is strictly forbidden. Therefore it is strongly recommended that you avoid bringing any '''religious texts''' into the DPRK as this can be considered a violation by authorities. There have been documented cases of foreigners sentenced to hard labor for missionary activities, and running into trouble for having Bibles in public view. Although Christians have historically faced persecution in the DPRK, there are five operating churches in Pyongyang including the '''Changchun Cathedral''' (seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyongyang) and the Russian Orthodox '''Church of the Life-Giving Trinity'''. Inquire with your guide about the possibility of visiting one of them. === LGBT travellers === Perhaps surprisingly, there are no laws against homosexuality in North Korea, and you are unlikely to face open hostility from locals because of your sexual orientation. However, this is still a very conservative society, and discussing your sexuality publicly is likely to make locals feel uncomfortable. Public display of affection is generally frowned upon regardless of sexual orientation. ===Emergency numbers=== * From a fixed-line phone: '''119''' * From a mobile phone: '''112''' For medical emergencies in Pyongyang, dial 02 382-7688 locally. ==Stay healthy== '''[[Drinking water]]''' in North Korea is apparently untreated and there are reports of foreigners being hospitalized in the DPRK after drinking the water; therefore, sticking to bottled water is highly recommended. Medical training is considered on par with the West, but outside of Pyongyang the facilities may be outdated or sparse. In the capital there are two major hospitals that may or may not be able to handle complex medical care. If you fall seriously ill it may be in your best interest to be airlifted to China for medical treatment. Travel insurance is strongly recommended and in fact required on most organized tours. Contact your embassy or consulate in North Korea (if your country has one) for further advice. ==Respect== [[File:Mansudae Grand Monument (10104320806).jpg|thumb|The first two generations of the Kim dynasty together.]] North and South Koreans share a common culture; you may find the various respect tips in the [[South_Korea#Respect|South Korea]] article to be of help. === Tour conduct === Your tour guide in North Korea is your best friend. They will do their best to explain the rules and what is expected from you. If a guide tells you not to do something, ''listen to them''. If you're not sure about something, ask. That said, you should refrain from discussing sensitive subjects such as politics, economic systems, and human rights. Any time you engage in unbecoming conduct, your guide will be blamed for being unable to control you, and they will be penalised for your misbehaviour. Always think before you act, and think before you speak; future tourists could face restrictions on what they can do in the country because of your behaviour. In short, you have other people than yourself to consider when it comes to your behaviour. Consider giving small gifts like cigarettes, skin creams, and so on to your guides. This will garner respect from the guides and depending on how well you conduct yourself, they may even take you to places and events in North Korea they wouldn't usually go to. Although there are many terrific photo opportunities in North Korea, the DPRK has stringent photography laws. This largely depends on what guide you've been assigned. Do not take photographs of anything of strategic importance (i.e. places with soldiers/police officers, etc.), photographs that negatively portray the country, and things you've been told not to photograph. The North Korean authorities take these rules very seriously. === Sensitive issues === The government of the DPRK — in particular the leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un — are, at least publicly, very highly revered in North Korean culture. While slavish devotion is not expected from tourists, any form of disrespect — such as criticisms or insults — towards the Kim dynasty, the Workers' Party of Korea, the North Korean government, Songun, and Juche is taken very seriously and severely punished. Keep your personal views about them to yourself. Do not crumple, desecrate, inappropriately use, tamper with, or mishandle anything — this applies to newspapers, books, stamps, postcards, political posters, and money — bearing the names and images of the North Korean government, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, and Kim Jong-un. This is tantamount to treason, for which you can be severely punished. It is advisable to refer to North Korea as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official name for the country. For self-explanatory reasons, '''avoid praising [[South Korea]]''', as doing so would attract unwanted attention from the North Korean authorities, and may invite more trouble than what it's worth. For similar reasons, avoid praising the [[United States]] and [[Japan]] – both countries are considered adversaries of North Korea. With North Korea adopting an anti-reunification policy in early 2024, what was politically correct has become the greatest incorrectness in North Korea. Most, if not all, tour groups to the DPRK are asked to solemnly bow and lay flowers on one or two occasions in front of statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il when visiting monuments of national importance. If you are not prepared to do this, you should not visit North Korea. When photographing statues, especially Mansudae, ''you are required to get the entire statue in the picture.'' Formal dress is also expected at important monuments such as Mansudae or visiting the Kumsusang Memorial Palace. ===Religion=== North Korea is officially atheist. The regime promotes a national philosophy of self-reliance called ''Juche'' (주체) which some would categorize as a quasi-religion that pervades all aspects of life in the country. As a tourist, you will not be expected to observe this, although you must always be respectful towards symbols of ''Juche'' which are often the images of past and present leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un. Other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism are vigorously suppressed in practice with severe punishment being given to followers. You should refrain from any religious discussions during your time in North Korea, and be aware that any form of religious proselytizing is dealt with very seriously by the regime, with foreign missionaries having previously been sentenced to life imprisonment in labor camps. With this in mind, be careful of performing even personal religious rituals or bringing religious items into the country and preferably do not do so at all. ==Connect== ===By phone=== For international calls to North Korea, the country code is '''+850'''. Some phone numbers (mostly faxes) can be called directly from abroad; most other calls will need to go through the international operator service on +850-2-18111. International calling is generally possible via landlines in hotels, though it is expensive (€2 per minute as of Feb 2012) and all calls are likely recorded and monitored. Local calls need elusive 10&nbsp;chon coins when calling from call boxes, but can also be made from hotels and post offices. Additionally, your phone calls may be heavily monitored, so you should be careful of what you talk about in phone calls that you make in North Korea. ====Mobile phones==== as of jyou are allowed to carry a [[Mobile phones|mobile phone]] from outside the country into North Korea. You will not be able to use your current SIM card in North Korea, however. The only network you are allowed to connect to is the local network, Koryolink, via one of their SIM cards. Your phone must be a 3G WCDMA phone which can connect to the 2100MHz 3G frequency band. A 3G mobile phone network (Koryolink) covers the 42 largest cities. It is widely used by locals who can afford it and by long-staying foreigners who file an application. SIM cards and phones can be purchased at the International Communication Center, No.2 Pothonggang-dong in Pothonggang District, opposite the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, as well as at Pyongyang airport and some hotels. As of 2013, 3G mobile internet via Koryolink is available to foreigners, although pricing is unknown. Bear in mind that these SIM cards will only let you call internationally and to a very small number of internationally-enabled phones in North Korea. There are three plans you can choose from for your SIM card: #Purchase a prepaid SIM card for €50. This gives you the SIM card to keep indefinitely for return visits, and includes a small amount (less than €30) of calling credit. #Rent a prepaid SIM card for two weeks for €50. This includes €30 of calling credit. #Rent a prepaid SIM card for one month for €75. This includes €55 of calling credit. Calling rates are as follows: *China and South-East Asia: €1.43 per minute. *Russia: €0.68 per minute. *France and Switzerland: €0.38 per minute. *UK and Germany: €1.58 per minute. ===By Internet=== Internet facilities are limited to a very few North Koreans with appropriate privileges to use it. For foreigners, most of the larger hotels have Internet access available, but this needs to be applied for some days in advance. Advise your tour operator or inviting party of your requirements well ahead of time so that access permission can be arranged. There are no public internet cafés or business centres with web access in the hotels. Mobile internet is available via Koryolink's 3G network (see above) using a local SIM card, but details about this are scarce. Also, even if you have Internet access, your traffic will probably be monitored. There is very little Internet connectivity in North Korea; the little that exists is routed through mainland China and risks heavy censorship by that country's Golden Shield Project, the "[[China#Internet censorship|Great Firewall of China]]". ==Cope== There is a growing diplomatic presence of [[Pyongyang#Embassies|foreign embassies in Pyongyang]]. Find out beforehand which country can assist you in case of an emergency, such as a medical condition or a police incident. Sweden serves as the protecting power for American, Australian, and Canadian travellers in North Korea, so these visitors may be able to obtain limited consular services from the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang. American nationals are not allowed by the U.S. Department of State to visit North Korea, although if you must then it is still recommended to notify (by email) the Swedish embassy of your visit to North Korea, as well as to inform the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China, particularly if your trip to North Korea entails passing through China. The British embassy offers consular services to Commonwealth citizens who do not have representation through other countries, except for Singaporeans and Tanzanians, whose governments have opted out of this arrangement. === Media === Foreign media outlets and newspapers are banned by the North Korean government; you may only access media outlets and newspapers owned and operated by the North Korean government. You can expect to come across fringe and controversial views of the [[United States]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], [[Israel]], and Western culture in North Korean media, whilst, [[Russia|Russian]] and [[China|Chinese]] views are considered to be praised. For example, one article published in the Pyongyang Times claimed that the [[United States]] is the world's "worst democracy strangler". Putting this aside, exposing yourself to North Korean media is an excellent way to understand how things are in the world's most secretive country, the views of the North Korean government, and what people are exposed to over here. * {{listing | name=The Pyongyang Times | alt= | url=http://www.pyongyangtimes.com.kp/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q705257 | content=The main English-language newspaper in North Korea. If you cannot get your hands on a physical copy of the newspaper, you can read the newspaper online. There is [http://www.pyongyangtimes.com.kp/pdf an entire section dedicated to that.]. }} * {{listing | name=Korean Central News Agency | alt= | url=http://www.kcna.kp/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The state news agency of North Korea. Available in Korean, Russian, English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Spanish. }} {{isPartOf|East Asia}} {{usablecountry}} {{geo|40.4|127|zoom=7}} e88u1s23f06ot5o7ttmnu2vfgkwyh5y 0 25779 5298515 5287712 2026-06-25T23:30:16Z Asamboi 692 /* Talk */ +Okinawan sign 5298515 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Okinawa (Kabira Bay) banner.jpg}} '''Okinawa''' ([[Japanese phrasebook|Japanese]]: 沖縄 ''Okinawa'', Okinawan: 沖縄 ''Uchinaa'') is a subtropical island chain between mainland [[Japan]] and [[Taiwan]]. Formerly the Ryukyu Kingdom, with its own language and culture, it's now one of Japan's 47 prefectures and the country's answer to [[Hawaii]], with a complicated mix of gorgeous scenery, mass tourism, tragic history, cultural pride, and looming military presence. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=Japan_Okinawa_map.png | regionmaptext=Map of Okinawa | regionmapsize=500px | region1name=[[Okinawa Island]] | region1color=#8b4513 | region1items= | region1description=The largest island in both size and population, the heart of Okinawan culture. | region3name=[[Kerama Islands]] (including [[Kumejima]]) | region3color= #FF8C16 | region3items= | region3description=Small islands with pristine beaches near the main island | region4name=[[Daito Islands]] | region4color=#1966FF | region4items= | region4description=Three isolated, rarely visited islands far to the east | region5name=[[Miyako Islands]] | region5color=#660099 | region5items= | region5description=Subtropical islands with some of Japan's nicest beaches | region6name=[[Yaeyama Islands]] | region6color=#00B300 | region6items= | region6description=The southernmost part of Japan, tropical with jungle wilderness, great beaches, and great diving }} The term '''Sakishima Islands''' (先島諸島 ''Sakishima-shotō'') is occasionally used to lump together the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands. In addition, the [[Amami Islands]] to the north of Okinawa are historically part of Okinawa. == Destinations == [[File:Aharen Beach On Tokashiki Island 2009 (7373).JPG|thumb|350px|right|Aharen Beach, [[Tokashiki]]]] * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Irabu]]|wikidata=Q187366}} - the lesser-known half of scuba diving haven Miyako * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Iriomote]]|wikidata=Q432124}} - large island full of untamed jungle * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Ishigaki]]|wikidata=Q838366}} - the laid-back gateway and transport hub of the southern [[Yaeyama Islands]] * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Kumejima]]|wikidata=Q1206086}} - beautiful island renowned for its awamori liquor * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Naha]]|wikidata=Q181966}} - the capital of the Okinawa Prefecture and by far the largest city in the islands * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Taketomi]]|wikidata=Q474560}} - a carefully preserved traditional village and some of the best beaches in Japan * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Yonaguni]]|wikidata=Q187366}} - the westernmost island in Japan, with miniature horses and mysterious underwater structures * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Zamami]]|wikidata=Q145371}} - popular among snorkelers and divers, with several deserted islands nearby ==Understand== The name '''Okinawa''' means "rope in the open sea", a fairly apt description of this long stretch of islands between the main islands of Japan and Taiwan. Consisting of 49 inhabited islands and 111 uninhabited islands, Okinawa has a subtropical to tropical climate, and is a popular beach holiday destination for Japanese, with frequent flights from all the major cities of Japan. While visitors from nearby countries are increasingly discovering Okinawa's charms, the number remains low compared to the tourist destinations on mainland Japan. ===History=== [[File:Naha Okinawa Japan Shuri-Castle-01.jpg|thumb|Shuri Castle in [[Naha]], once the seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom]] Traders between Japan, Korea and China have traveled through the islands of Okinawa since time immemorial. In 1429, King Shō Hashi unified three kingdoms on the main island into the '''Ryukyu Kingdom''' (Japanese: 琉球王国 ''Ryūkyū Ōkoku'', Okinawan: 琉球國 ''Ruuchuu Kuku''), which prospered off trade as a tributary state of [[Imperial China]] that was nevertheless ''de facto'' independent. The islands were first invaded and brought under the control of '''Satsuma''' (modern-day [[Kagoshima]]) in 1609, who allowed them to continue maintaining their tributary relationship with China. This arrangement allowed the Satsuma domain to use them as a conduit for trade with China when the rest of Japan was in self-imposed isolation, to the profit of all three parties. The common people were less happy about the arrangement: Satsuma imposed heavy head taxes, and there are many stories of people committing suicide to prevent their entire village from being punished. Ryūkyū was annexed by Japan during the Meiji Period in 1879, which Qing China was by then powerless to stop, and the Japanese proceeded to do their best to suppress indigenous culture, language and religion. With little time to adjust to their new status as Japanese subjects, the people were nervous about nearby wars and in order to escape and with the encouragement of the government, there was heavy migration out to [[Brazil]], [[Hawaii]] and other [[Pacific Islands]]. [[File:Stinson OY-1 flies over Naha, Okinawa, circa in May 1945 (532379).gif|thumb|An American aircraft flying over the ruins of Naha in 1945]] Okinawa was a major battleground in the [[Pacific War]]. The Americans landed on the main island on April 1, 1945, took control of the central part of the island in just three days and then proceeded to take the northern half in a relatively short time. They expected strong resistance but were surprised to find many people willingly surrendering. With most of the island under American control, the U.S. turned its eyes south where the capital [[Naha]] was located, and the further south they moved, the stronger the resistance became. For the locals, survival was difficult. The Americans bombed the island relentlessly and burned all vegetation in an attempt to flush out hidden threats. Many people hid in caves (of which there are many) and in the turtleback Ryukyu tombs, but naturally, Japanese military members also used these locations to hide and attack from, so they were targeted by U.S. forces whenever they were discovered. Because Okinawa had not been a prefecture for long, the Japanese military did not fully trust the locals and did not value them as equals. Due to these views in combination with military needs superseding all other needs, the Okinawan people were forced to give up their food to the military, walk out into battlefields to fetch water, go out on suicide missions, or kill themselves. Those who refused military orders were killed, and there are countless tales of atrocities committed against civilians by both Japanese and US troops. Those who surrendered or were captured by American troops were taken as POWs. Many of the POWs starved to death and many of those who were taken to camps in the north got malaria and died as Okinawa was not malaria-free at that time. By the end of the war, 120,000 Okinawans or one fourth of the island's population were killed. 90,000 of those were civilians, and many so-called military casualties included boys as young as elementary school who were enlisted in desperation. After the war, the islands continued to be occupied by the United States. Women were forced to work to try to rebuild their communities as the number of males still alive was only about half of what it was pre-war. The local economy relied heavily on the U.S. military but the American presence also prevented progress, as most of the island was off-limits to Okinawans and travel between Okinawa and the mainland was also restricted. This led to strong resentment among the people, and although early independence movements were quelled, over time the discontent and anger was too much for the U.S. to ignore. Nearly thirty years after the war and after many years of protesting and fighting to regain control of their island, occupation finally ended in 1972, and the islands were returned to Japan, but land was still set aside for the U.S. to hold military bases. The U.S. bases still take up 20% of the total island territory, and sporadic protests against the U.S. military presence continue to occur, but repeated polls show that most Okinawans do not object to the presence of the bases. When the U.S. handed control of the island back to the Okinawans, they were able to develop it. Over time, they've been able to move from an economy reliant on U.S. military spending to an economy whose main source of income is now tourism which continues to grow to this day, although Okinawa remains Japan's poorest prefecture. ===Culture=== [[Image:Ishigaki_Shiisa.JPG|thumb|240px|Shīsa guardian lion, [[Ishigaki]]]] With their own language and customs, Okinawans regard themselves as different from the mainland Japanese and some still harbor a certain degree of resentment towards the mainland for the brutal way the islands were treated as colonies and during World War II. Okinawans proudly call themselves ''uchinanchu'' (沖縄人) in the local language and talk of the way things are done on the ''shima'' (島) or islands, in contrast to the ways of the mainland, known as ''hontō'' (本島) in standard Japanese, ''yamato'' (ヤマト) in the local dialect, and sometimes as the slightly derisive local slang ''naichi'' (内地). Due to its history as a tributary of Imperial China, Okinawan culture has a stronger Chinese influence than mainland Japanese culture, and continues to celebrate local festivals according to the Chinese calendar. Okinawa's most famous export worldwide is the martial art of '''karate'''. Okinawan culture is popular throughout Japan thanks to popular musicians and local foods. Okinawan music is very attractive and unique because of the mixture of original Okinawan sounds and American rock, jazz, and other sounds from the USA. The distinctive instrument of choice is the ''sanshin'' (三線), a three-stringed, banjo-like distant relative of the mainland's ''shamisen'', whose pentatonic melodies are instantly recognizable. The island has produced a disproportionate number of musicians, most famously J-pop singer Namie Amuro, and The Boom's electric-guitar-and-sanshin modern interpretation of the folk song ''Shimauta'' ("Island Song") has been dubbed Okinawa's unofficial national anthem &mdash; even though the group actually hails from mainland [[Yamanashi (prefecture)|Yamanashi]]. On the roof or at the gate of almost every house you will spot the ubiquitous Okinawan ''shīsa'' or guardian lion-dogs, one with its mouth open to catch good fortune, the other with its mouth closed to keep good fortune in. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Naha |14.9 |19.8 |101.6 |15.1 |20.2 |114.5 |16.7 |21.9 |142.8 |19.1 |24.3 |161.0 |22.1 |27.0 |245.3 |25.2 |29.8 |284.4 |27.0 |31.9 |188.1 |26.8 |31.8 |240.0 |25.8 |30.6 |275.2 |23.5 |28.1 |179.2 |20.4 |25.0 |119.1 |16.8 |21.5 |110.0 |float=right |clear=right | description = The above measurements are for Naha City. <br>Source: '''[http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/data/en/smp/index.html Japan Meteorological Agency]'''. }} Most of Okinawa is subtropical, with the southern extremities ([[Yaeyama Islands|Yaeyama]] and the outlying islands) fully tropical. Even in January and February, the average high temperature is around 20°C (68°F), making the area a popular winter getaway, although it's often cloudy and usually a little too cold for sunbathing due to the winter monsoon. Spring, around late March and April, is an excellent time to visit if you take care to avoid [[Golden Week in Japan|Golden Week]] (a succession of national holidays from the end of April), however, it does not get busy at all on the small islands even during Golden Week. The rainy season starts early in May and continues until June. Unlike the rainy season in mainland Japan, it rains neither every day nor all day long during the rainy season in Okinawa. Summer in Okinawa is hot and humid but still one of the peak visiting seasons, while September brings a succession of fierce typhoons. October and November are again good times to visit. === Tourist Information === [https://visitokinawajapan.com/ Visit Okinawa Japan] is the official tourist guide site for the prefecture in English. Visit [https://travel-brochures.okinawastory.jp Okinawa travel brochures] page. It provides Korean, English and Japanese, etc. ==Talk== [[File:Welcome sign in Okinawan.jpg|thumb|"Welcome" (めんそーれ ''mensōre'') in Okinawan]] {{infobox|Er, excuse me?|One of the most distinctive features of modern Okinawan is appending the English ending ''-er'' for people who do, well, pretty much anything. The meaning of "boozer" (ブーザー) is fairly obvious, while a "shrimper" (シュリンパー) is just somebody who likes shrimp. However, the common semi-affectionate "beacher" (ビーチャー) does not refer to someone who enjoys healthy marine sports, it means an alcoholic drunk!}} All Okinawans speak '''[[Japanese phrasebook|Standard Japanese]]''', and many understand '''English''' as well, particularly on the main island which houses several large U.S. military bases. Many locals also speak '''Okinawan Japanese''' (called in Okinawan Japanese ウチナーヤマトグチ, 沖縄大和口 ''Uchinaa Yamato-guchi'', Standard Japanese: 沖縄弁 ''Okinawa-ben'' or 沖縄訛り ''Okinawa namari''), a dialect with lots of vocabulary borrowed from the local Okinawan language, some differences in grammar, and a number of words that have different meanings or uses compared to Standard Japanese (e.g. ''aruku'', which means "to walk" in Standard Japanese, means "to go around" or "to work" in Okinawan Japanese). Some elderly also speak any of at least half a dozen '''Ryukyuan languages''' (Japanese: 琉球語 ''ryūkyūgo''; also 島言葉 ''Shima kotoba'', lit. "Island speech"), which are shared (along with much Okinawan culture) with the [[Amami Islands]] in Kagoshima prefecture. Although the Japanese commonly brand these as "dialects" (方言 ''hōgen'') of Japanese, they are really separate languages in the Japonic family; they're not mutually intelligible with Standard or Okinawan Japanese, or even with each other. The largest of these languages, '''[[Okinawan phrasebook|Okinawan]]''' (Okinawan: 沖縄口 ''uchinaaguchi'', Japanese: 沖縄語 ''okinawago''), is spoken on the main island of Okinawa and the surrounding islands, but is not used much these days. Most people under 40 can't speak it, the most common exceptions being people who were raised by their grandparents or grew up in rural areas. Each of Okinawa's major islands has its own Ryukyuan language, such as Miyako, [[Yaeyama phrasebook|Yaeyama]] and [[Yonaguni phrasebook|Yonaguni]]; some of these endangered languages have tens of thousands of speakers, others just a few hundred. In the [[Daito Islands]], the obscure Hachijo dialect of Japanese by immigrants from the Hachijo Islands is the native language. The Hachijo-Daito dialects are direct descendants of the Eastern dialect of Old Japanese, while all mainland dialects are descendants of the Western dialect. ==Get in== ===By plane=== Most visitors arrive in [[Naha]], the capital of Okinawa, which is also well served by low-cost carriers like Skymark and Jetstar. Domestic flights do connect major Japanese cities directly to some other Okinawan islands like [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] and [[Ishigaki]], but prices can be steep; for example, the standard one-way fare for [[Tokyo]]-[[Ishigaki]] is a whopping ¥50,000. You can save a considerable amount of money by making use of ANA's '''[https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/book-plan/fare/special/visit.html Visit Japan]''' or JAL's '''[https://www.jal.co.jp/yokosojapan/japanfare.html Welcome to Japan]{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' fares, both of which allow domestic flights in Japan for ¥14,040. Low-cost carriers like Peach can also offer good fares if booked in advance. Naha is also served by some international flights to other Asian cities. If you are coming from elsewhere, consider connecting in [[Taipei]] instead, as Naha is geographically closer to Taipei than to Tokyo. Direct international connections to the other islands are very limited, but there are seasonal winter services from Taipei to Ishigaki and low-cost carriers have experimented with flights from [[Seoul]] and [[Hong Kong]] to Ishigaki and Miyako (Shimojishima). ===By ship=== [[File:2021-04-12 Ferry Akebono 「フェリーあけぼの」2008-7-5 Yoron DSCF0276 (2).jpg|thumb|A-Line's ''Ferry Akebono'']] [[File:2021-04-09 Ferry Akebono 「フェリーあけぼの」2008-7-5 DSCF8921.jpg|thumb|2nd class tatami sleeping area on the ''Akebono'']] Ferry services to Okinawa have been cut drastically, with Arimura Sangyo filing for bankruptcy and RKK Line stopping passenger services entirely. With long travel times, bumpy seas, frequent cancellations in the fall typhoon season and prices that aren't any cheaper than flying, it's easy to see why this isn't too popular anymore. As of 2024, the only survivors are '''[http://www.aline-ferry.com A-Line Ferry]''', aka ''Maru-A'' (マルエー), and '''[http://www.marix-line.co.jp Marix Line]''', which run from [[Kagoshima]] to [[Naha]] (25 hours, ¥16,560 2nd class one-way) on alternating days. The ferries are fairly utilitarian but comfortable enough, with sleeping arrangements varying from shared spaces of tatami in 2nd class (二等 ''nitō'') to private cabins in special class (特等 ''tokutō''). All ferries call at various minor islands including [[Yoron]] and [[Amami Oshima]] along the way. If you're planning to island-hop your way through the Amamis to Okinawa and back, the [https://marixline.com/en/yui_passport/ Yui Passport] that gives 14 days of unlimited travel on both companies may be worth considering. At &yen;30,000, it's not cheap, but still offers a discount on the &yen;33,120 you'd usually pay for the return journey. The only international service to Okinawa is the [https://yaimaline.com/en/ Yaima Line] from [[Keelung]], [[Taiwan]], which travels to [[Ishigaki]] once or twice a week. The overnight trip takes about 8 hours, and fares start from 2800 NTD (around 14,000 yen) in "Standard G" class with shared tatami mats. Cruises between Japan and Taiwan also often stop at [[Naha]] and/or [[Ishigaki]]. ==Get around== Ferry and air connections link the islands together, but many of them are simply so small in population that scheduled services may be infrequent and prices vary. ===By plane=== Flights between the islands are mostly handled by '''[http://www.jal.co.jp/jta/ Japan Transocean Air]''' (JTA) and its subsidiary '''Ryukyu Air Commuter''' (RAC), both owned by JAL. ANA also has a limited network radiating out from [[Naha]]. Prices are generally quite high. ===By ferry=== There are dense webs of ferry links between nearby islands, but only infrequent cargo boats ply lengthier routes like [[Naha]]-[[Ishigaki]]. If traveling by boat in late summer, note that the area around Okinawa is known as '''Typhoon Alley''' for a reason: it's not uncommon for ferries to be suspended for several days if one comes barrelling through. ===By car=== [[File:National_Highway_Route_58_from_Michinoeki_Kyoda_202003.JPG|thumb|Route 58 near [[Nago]]]] {{seealso|Driving in Japan}} Probably more so than anywhere else in Japan, the trainless main island of Okinawa is a '''car culture''', which makes car rental an attractive option for longer stays. Be prepared to drive on the left side of the road. Beware of many traffic jams and generally very slow moving traffic, especially in the densely populated southern part of the island. Plan your return trip to the airport accordingly. An '''International Driving Permit''' is required to drive in Japan, and it must be the 1949 Geneva Convention type and obtained before arrival; see [[Driving in Japan]] for the details. The ''only'' exception is for nationals of Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Monaco or Taiwan, who can get an authorized Japanese translation issued at the [https://english.jaf.or.jp/common/about-us/headquarters-and-branches/kyushu/okinawa Japanese Automobile Foundation Okinawa branch] office in Urasoe, near Naha. If you don't qualify for either, the only option is a Japanese license, which is an expensive and time-consuming hassle. Military and other SOFA personnel may obtain driving privileges via their own installation procedures. SOFA cars have special "Y" plates and special rules for tax, inspection, etc. ===By bus=== [[File:Naha Okinawa Japan Fare-display-in-public-transport-01.jpg|thumbnail|The fare display. If you entered in sector 13, your actual fare is ¥380.]] Most islands of interest in Okinawa have at least a rudimentary bus network, although schedules may be sparse and prices fairly high (e.g. over ¥2000 to cross the main island). Times and routes (usually in both English and Japanese) are indicated at each bus stop and at the various bus terminals. Prices outside of Naha are based on distance travelled and are indicated in the front of the bus as it moves from sector to sector this is roughly charged at 1km intervals. Take your ticket as you enter the bus, it will have your starting sector number on it. There is a changer for 1000 yen bills and coins at the front of the bus. Keep your ticket until you leave the bus. You pay the fare on alighting and it might be, that the bus driver wants to see your ticket with the sector number. It is often good to have exact change, and the driver will not exchange very large denominations. Buses do leave direct from Naha airport to other parts of the island. Prices can be found on the [https://www.okinawa-shuttle.co.jp/en/timetable airport website]. ==See== [[File:Taketomi Island.jpg|thumb|240px|Traditional houses, [[Taketomi]]]] Most people come to Okinawa for the '''sun and beaches'''. Even in midwinter, when many areas of the mainland Japan teeter around the freezing point, temperatures rarely dip below 15°C in Okinawa. For more adventurous types, the vast yet almost uninhabited island of [[Iriomote]] is covered in dense jungle. Cultural attractions are rather more limited, as the Japanese invasion and subsequent brutal colonization coupled with fighting in World War II did a regrettably thorough job of eliminating most traces of the Ryukyu Kingdom. * '''Shuri Castle''' in [[Naha]] on [[Okinawa Island]] is the former royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Already rebuilt once after burning down during World War II, the main hall of the castle burned down again in 2019. Reconstruction is under way, but is not expected to be completed until 2026. * The ''gusuku'' (castle) ruins of '''Katsuren, Nakagusuku and Zakimi''', all in [[Central Okinawa]], have been partly restored and together with Shuri Castle form a {{unesco}}. * For a taste of the Okinawa of yesteryear, the islands of '''[[Taketomi]]''' ([[Yaeyama Islands]]) and '''[[Tonaki]]''' ([[Kerama Islands]]) have carefully preserved Ryukyuan villages. * '''Ocean Expo Park:''' Churaumi Aquarium is a world class aquarium located on the [[Motobu]] peninsula of the main island. Attractions include one of the world's largest tanks with huge whale sharks and manta rays and a beautiful public facility called Emerald Beach. * Historical sites related to World War II can be found throughout the islands, especially the [[Southern Okinawa|southern side of the main island]], including the Peace Memorial Park in [[Itoman]], the navy's former underground headquarters and the Himeyuri Monument. ==Do== [[Image:Underwater yaeyama okinawa Japan.jpg|thumb|240px|Snorkeling around [[Hatoma]]]] Okinawa is the best place in Japan for all sorts of watersports. ===Snorkeling and diving=== The Okinawa archipelago is one of the world's best diving destinations, with the count of marine species on par with the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. You can find over 400 types of corals, 5 types of sea turtles, manta rays, whale sharks, hammerhead sharks and many kinds of tropical fish. The main downside is that's quite expensive compared to, say, [[South-East Asia]] &mdash; a whole day's diving off a boat (2-3 dives including insurance and lunch) costs between ¥12,000 and ¥17,000, depending on the season and island, plus an additional cost between ¥3,000 and ¥5,000 if you need gear rental. For a 3-day certification course you will need to pay between ¥30,000 and ¥60,000, depending on the season and number of participants. Fortunately, a lot of the diving on Okinawa can be done from the shore (no boat needed), in which case you can get full gear rental and tanks for around ¥5,000, or if you just need tanks (and can guide yourself) then it will only be around ¥500 per tank. To top it off many shops do not accept credit cards, so you will need to carry a thick wad of yen to pay for it all. The language barrier can also be an issue, with most shops only set up to cater to Japanese-speaking tourists, although [http://www.piranha-divers.jp Piranha Divers Okinawa], [http://www.reefencounters.org Reef Encounters] in [[Chatan]] or [http://www.bluefi.com/english Bluefield]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} in Kadena on [[Okinawa Island]], and Umicōza on [[Ishigaki]] are welcome exceptions. {{infobox|Diving glossary|Most Japanese diving terminology is imported straight from English (''finzu'', ''masuku'', ''regyurētā'', etc), but the following terms are not: * 潜る ''moguru'' &mdash; to dive; note that dives are counted with –本 (''hon'') * 器材 ''kizai'' &mdash; equipment * 水中 ''suichū'' &mdash; underwater * 水深 ''suishin'' &mdash; depth * 浅い/深い ''asai/fukai'' &mdash; shallow/deep * 流れ ''nagare'' &mdash; current * 安全停止 ''anzen teishi'' &mdash; safety stop * 潜航 ''senkō'' &mdash; descent * 浮上　''fujō'' &mdash; ascent * 珊瑚 ''sango'' &mdash; coral }} If all this does not put you off, there is some world-class diving to look forward to: particular highlights include the '''gorgeous reefs''' surrounding the [[Kerama Islands]], the '''manta rays''' of [[Miyako (Okinawa)|Miyako]] and [[Ishigaki]] and the '''hammerhead sharks''' and '''underwater ruins''' of [[Yonaguni]]. The waters are generally divable ''all year'', although water temperature fluctuates between 22°C in the winter to around 29°C in summer. Also, beware of the typhoons during June–November and the north wind that may frequently close diving sites in the north shores of many of the islands during November and December. Many people dive in boardshorts and rashguards half the year. Most Japanese divers wear a 5mm full-body wetsuit, and dive shops usually provide aluminum tanks with American-style fittings. ===Sailing=== Sailing is gaining in popularity in Okinawa. There is a small but passionate international sailing community centered at Ginowan Marina, near the Convention Center. Local and international sailors cruise and race to the Kerama islands and to other locations. Sailing cruises and classes are also conducted out of Ginowan Marina. ===Surfing=== Surfing is popular in Okinawa, but it's not particularly easy: waves break over very shallow shelves of reef and/or basaltic rock, resulting in challenging waves. Surfing spots can be found all over the archipelago, but most surfers surf off the [[Okinawa Island|main island]]. Check out [http://mensoresurfing.com/index.html Mensore Surfing]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} for weather forecasts and up-to-date info. ===Fishing=== [[Image:bullmahiincoming2.jpg|right|thumb|Bull mahi]] Okinawa has some of the best '''offshore fishing''' in the world. Some fish are seasonal, but there are fish for every season of the year. Marlin, mahi mahi, and various species of tuna are some of the fish that are teeming in Okinawa's crystal clear seas. There are many places where you can find a boat to go fishing, but as with diving, language can be a major issue. Some charter services provide fishing tackle, and others require you to rent fishing gear. The cost for offshore fishing in Okinawa is comparable to other charter services around the world. Usually about US$100 per person for walk on charters, and up to US$1,500 for private charters. === Shopping === Larger malls will apply the duty-free shopping. Spend a minimum of ¥5,000 (before tax) for 8/10% tax off. Applies only to certain products so best ask for the list. At AEON Chatan after your shopping spree, pop across the open car park to the free hot-spring spa, a small hot stream in which you can dip your toes. ==Buy== [[File:Kiichiro Jahana 20180520 01.jpg|thumb|A formal kariyushi shirt]] Popular souvenirs from Okinawa include: * ''Kariyushi'' shirts (かりゆしウェア), the local spin on [[Hawaii]]'s aloha shirts. Short-sleeved, collared and patterned, they were dreamed up by marketers in the 1970s but have been enthusiastically adopted by the locals and are now common both as casual and formal wear. * Miniature ''shisa'' lion dogs * Food products incorporating Okinawan ingredients, notably the ubiquitous purple sweet potato (紅芋 ''beni-imo'') tarts ==Eat== Okinawan cuisine is distinctly different from that of mainland Japan. Unlike the simplicity of classical Japanese food, which tries to highlight individual ingredients, Okinawan cuisine mixes lots of ingredients in a single dish to create complex, balanced flavors. Indeed, Okinawa's most famous dish is '''''chanpurū''''' (from the Malay word ''campur'', meaning "mix"), a stir-fry of multiple vegetables and meats. Thanks to Chinese influence, Okinawans too proudly proclaim that they use every part of the pig except the squeal, and '''pork''' (あぐー ''agū'') makes an appearance in almost every dish, including bits like ears, trotters (テビチー ''tebichi'') and blood which are generally disdained by mainland Japanese. ''Goat'' (ヤギ ''yagi'') is not uncommon and even Spam has a distinct following. Other Okinawan ingredients include vegetables rarely seen on the Japanese mainland such as '''bitter melon''' (ゴーヤー ''gōyā'') and '''purple sweet potato''' (紅芋 ''beni-imo'' or 紫芋 ''murasaki-imo''). Local seaweeds like the gloopy ''mozuku'' (モズク), often served in vinegar or deep-fried as tempura, or fluffy green ''āsa'' (アーサ), hiding in soups, often get credit for Okinawans' life expectancy, the longest in the world. While Okinawan dishes rarely contain '''chilies''', there's often a bottle of ''kōrēgusu'' (コーレーグス), chilies steeped in ''awamori'' rice liquor (see [[#Drink|Drink]]), on the table so you can spice things up according to taste &mdash; a little goes a long way. Okinawan tropical fruits including '''mango''', '''papaya''', '''pineapple''', '''dragonfruit''' and the sour lime-like '''calamansi''' (シークァーサー ''shīkwāsā'') are delicious when in season. '''Dark cane sugar''' (黒砂糖 ''kurozatō'') is also a popular snack, eaten both as is and made into a vast variety of candies and pastries. <gallery mode=packed> Image:Goya Champuru 1.jpg|''Goyā chanpurū'' File:Soki Soba at Takenoko.jpg|''Sōki soba'' noodles File:Fried Gurukun at Yumenoya.jpg|Deep-fried slices of ''gurukun'' fish File:Shima-dofu at Yumenoya.jpg|''Shima-dōfu'' (island tofu) with sesame dressing File:Koregusu at Ten to Ten in Naha, Okinawa.jpg|''Kōrēgusu'' chili sauce Image:サーターアンダギー3.jpg|''Sātāandagī'' donuts </gallery> Some dishes worth trying: *''Gōyā chanpurū'' (ゴーヤーチャンプルー) is the canonical Okinawan dish, a stir-fry made from ''goya'' mixed with pork and tofu. There are lots of other chanpurūs as well, made with tofu, thin sōmen wheat noodles, ''fu'' (gluten), etc. *''Gurukun'' (グルクン), sometimes called "banana fish", is no less than the official fish of Okinawa prefecture. Small but tasty and prepared in a variety of ways, even the bones are edible. *''Okinawa soba'' (沖縄そば) is made with wheat noodles and a pork-based stock, and is closer to Chinese ramen than Japanese buckwheat soba. Often served with ''sōki'' (ソーキ), stewed pork ribs, and spiced up with a dash of ''shima-koshō'' (島胡椒) island pepper or ''shima-tōgarashi'' (島唐辛子) chillies. *''Okinawa chanpon'' (沖縄ちゃんぽん) is a hearty dish of stir fried seafood and vegetables on rice. (On the mainland, ''chanpon'' is a soupy noodle dish.) *''Hirayāchī'' (ヒラヤーチー), an okonomiyaki-like thin savoury pancake. *''Jīmāmi'' (ジーマーミ) peanut tofu, slightly sweet and gooey, absolutely delicious when done right *''Raftī'' (ラフティー) is a side dish consisting of ''very'' fatty cubes of stewed pork. *''Ninjin shirishiri'' (人参しりしり), a stir fry of carrots and egg. *''Shima-dofu'' (島豆腐) is the Okinawan version of tofu, coarser in texture than the Japanese kind and often served warm. *''Sātāandagī'' (サーターアンダギー) are deep-fried balls of dough also aptly known as Okinawan donuts. <gallery mode=packed> Image:JP-47 Mimiga and Chiraga.jpg|''Mimigā'' (pig ear) and ''chiragā'' (pig face) Image:JP-47_Sukugarasu_on_Shima-Tofu.jpg|''Sukugarasu'' on tofu Image:Umibudou.JPG|''Umibudō'' (sea grapes) File:Yagisashi.jpg|''Yagisashi'' goat sashimi </gallery> Okinawan ''chinmi'' or "strange foods", eaten as snacks with drinking, include: * ''Chiragā'' (チラガー), the skin from a pig's face; can be very chewy * ''Mimigā'' (ミミガー), sliced pork ears in vinegar; crunchy and nearly tasteless * ''Umibudō'' (海ぶどう) or "sea grapes", a type of seaweed eaten raw dipped into vinegar or soy, mild with a pleasant caviar-like texture * ''Tofuyō'' (豆腐よう), salty dark red fermented tofu * ''Sukugarasu'' (スクガラス), salt-pickled tiny fermented fish, usually pressed onto tofu before eating * ''Yagisashi'' (ヤギ刺), raw goat meat served sashimi style <gallery mode=packed> Image:JP-47 Naha Tacorice.jpg|Taco rice Image:ポーク玉子.jpg|Pork eggs Image:Jef Nuuyaru Burger Eaten.jpg|Jef "Nuuyaru Burger" </gallery> Aficionados of '''American fast food''' may find Okinawa to be a curious treat, as many American restaurants popped up here to serve the US military long before they made it to the mainland. Most prominent is the presence of '''[https://www.awok.co.jp/ A&W]''' outlets serving hamburgers and '''root beer''' (with free refills, even), available practically nowhere else in Japan. '''Blue Seal''' ice cream is common, with their purple yam soft ice creams worth a lick. '''Mexican food''' of varying levels of authenticity is popular, particularly tacos (タコス ''takosu''). Several hybrid Okinawan-American dishes, most of which seem to employ copious quantities of '''Spam''', are widely available: *''Nuuyaru burger'' (ぬーやるバーガー), a specialty of local fast food chain '''[https://jefokinawa.co.jp/ Jef]''', is gōyā omelette, cheese and a slice of Spam in a bun. Appropriately enough, the name is an Okinawan pun that translates roughly as "What on earth is this?". *''Pork eggs'' (ポーク玉子 ''pōku tamago'') consists of fried slices of Spam served with ketchup, scrambled eggs and &mdash; since this ''is'' Japan, after all &mdash; rice and miso soup. Also available in ''onigiri'' rice ball form. *''Taco rice'' (タコライス ''tako raisu'') is spiced Mexican-style taco meat with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, but instead of being in a tortilla, it's on rice. ==Drink== [[Image:Kikunotsuyu Awamori.jpg|thumb|right|A bottle of ''awamori'' from the Kikunotsuyu distillery of [[Miyako (Okinawa)|Miyako]]]] The local brew of choice is '''''awamori''''' (泡盛), a notoriously strong rice liquor that can contain up to 60% alcohol, although 30-40% is more common. Unlike Japanese shochu, which is usually prepared from potatoes or barley, awamori is brewed using imported Thai jasmine rice since during the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom, short-grain rice could not be brought in from the main islands. It's most commonly drunk on the rocks or neat. Awamori keeps well, and when stored more than three years is known as '''''kūsu''''' (古酒, also read ''koshu'' in standard Japanese). If the label indicates a specific age, it's 100% at least that old; however, ''kūsu'' without a given age is usually a blend of 50% 3-year-old and 50% new awamori. [[File:Habushu.jpg|thumb|Bottles of ''habushu'': the bigger the snake, the bigger the price tag]] A notorious version of ''awamori'' is ''habushu'' (ハブ酒), with an entire venomous Okinawan pit viper (''habu'') pickled in the bottle, often by inserting it while it's still alive. At a minimum of &yen;10,000 for a bottle, it's expensive and nobody drinks this stuff for the taste, but it's popular particularly in US military circles as a drunken dare. If awamori even without the snake is a bit too strong for your taste, try ''awamori umeshu'' (泡盛梅酒), a delectable sweet liquor made by infusing Japanese ''ume'' plums in awamori and cane sugar. Calamansi (shīkwāsā) and coffee-flavored versions of awamori are also available. Okinawa's local beer '''Orion''' (オリオン, pronounced "Oree-on") is a safer alternative, at least in small quantities. Most larger islands also have their own microbreweries. '''Jasmine tea''' (さんぴん茶 ''sanpincha'') is very popular on Okinawa. Tropical fruit juices are also widely available. ===Nightlife=== [[Naha]] has the busy nightlife scene you'd expect of a large city, livened up by the presence of many GIs from the military bases. [[Kadena]] and [[Chatan]], near Kadena Air Base, also have many bars catering to the military with frequent live music performances. Okinawa has many live houses in Naha city and Okinawa city, with styles ranging from Okinawan traditional folk music to American rock, jazz and other sounds from the USA. The charge depends on the artist but it's usually about ¥1000-3500, plus one drink. Check the time, the artist, and the price before you go. There is some gay nightlife in Naha. ==Sleep== Broadly speaking, accommodation on Okinawa can be divided into two brackets: cheap basic lodges, and expensive fancy resorts. Another option is sleeping in campsites. ===Budget=== Okinawa has a multitude of cheap ''minshuku''-type lodges geared towards poor surfers and divers, and unlike the mainland many offer or even specialize in bed-only (素泊まり ''sudomari'') stays with no meals included. The very cheapest dorm-type places can go for less than ¥2,000, although you'll usually be looking at a minimum of ¥3,000 for your own room and around ¥5,000 if you want two meals. Watch out for hidden charges for things like air-con, fridge rental or even using the shower. In [[Naha]] you can easily find dirt-cheap places starting from ¥1,000 per night. ====Camping==== There are many campsites around Okinawa, some on nice beaches. They offer cheap accommodation if you have your own tent and sleeping bag (and mat) for ¥500-1,000/night. Their facilities are sometimes very poor, they have only cold shower for example (and they even charge you for using it!) and no cooking/cleaning facilities. However they often rent out BBQ sets (¥2,000-3,000) which can make the night unforgettable. ===Mid-range=== B&B-type pensions are the most common midrange option, although there are some city hotels also. Figure on around ¥10,000/person with two meals. ===Splurge=== The other end of the spectrum is Okinawa's host of resorts, usually located on a private beach in some remote corner of the island &mdash; which means you'll be stuck eating at the resort's expensive restaurant and using their expensive watersports services. Rack rates for these places tend to be ludicrous (¥20,000+/head/night), but you can usually get steep discounts by buying flight and hotel packages, especially in the low season. Most hotels in Okinawa prohibit displaying '''tattoos''' in pools and sometimes even their private beaches. Cover up with a rash guard. ==Stay safe== Okinawa is as safe as mainland Japan or more so. On the smaller islands it's not uncommon to leave front doors not merely unlocked, but open all day. ==Stay healthy== The number one health risk on Okinawa is '''[[sunburn]]''', and it doesn't take long at all to get fried to a crisp when it's sunny outside. Slap on plenty of lotion. Okinawa is also home to Japan's most fearsome array of '''venomous critters'''. While the venomous '''habu''' (ハブ) snake gets a lot of bad press, mostly due to its unfortunate habit of entering homes in search of rats and mice; not only are you quite unlikely to encounter one outside a sake bottle in a souvenir shop, but bites have a fatality rate of "only" 3%. Jellyfish (クラゲ ''kurage'') and a variety of marine creatures that sting if stepped on present a risk, and many beaches have posters in Japanese (and occasionally English) explaining what to watch out for. ==Go next== * The [[Amami Islands]] to the north are politically a part of Kyushu, but culturally closer to Okinawa. * [[Taiwan]] is just to the south of Okinawa, and you can see it from Yonaguni on a good day. {{usableregion}} {{IsPartOf|Japan}} {{geo|26.5|127.5|zoom=9}} 5cdnfaznzkgphwlqfbdjum2dnbq0jtt 0 25858 5298542 5298352 2026-06-26T00:53:39Z DaGizza 162256 /* Historic buildings */ Updated listing for Olean School No. 10 5298542 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Olean Armory Apr 10 (cropped).JPG}} '''Olean''' is a city in the [[Southern Tier]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] and largest city in [[Cattaraugus County]]. ==Understand== [[File:St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Complex Apr 10.JPG|thumb|St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Complex]] Olean is the largest city in [[Cattaraugus County]] and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the [[Southern Tier]] region of [[New York (state)|New York]]. The city is surrounded by the town of Olean and is in the southeastern part of the county. The population was 14,000 in 2020. ==Get in== ===By car=== Olean is located along Interstate 86 at exits 25 and 26. Known as the Southern Tier Expressway west of I-81 in [[Binghamton]], Interstate 86 connects to Interstate 90 in the west near [[Erie]] and Interstate 81 in [[Binghamton]] to the east. New York State Route 16 runs through Olean as Union Street, the main north / south thoroughfare. New York 16 connects to Pennsylvania Route 646 to the south and to New York State Route 5 in Buffalo to the north. ===By plane=== The nearest airport with scheduled flights is '''Bradford Regional Airport''' ({{IATA|BFD}}) in [[Bradford (Pennsylvania)|Bradford]], Pennsylvania, which is served with daily commuter flights from [[Pittsburgh]] via '''Southern Airways Express''': four on weekdays, two on Saturdays, and three on Sundays. '''[https://cityofolean.org/dpw-airport/ Cattaraugus County-Olean Airport]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' ({{IATA|OLE}}), at 5420 Hatch Hill Rd. in the nearby town of [[Ischua]], is open for private planes. [[Buffalo Niagara International Airport]] is the nearest major airport. ===By bus=== * '''[http://www.coachusa.com Coach USA]''' buses arrive and depart from the parking lot of the '''Olean Center Mall''' at 400 North Union Street. :Service from [[Buffalo]] via [[Cheektowaga|Buffalo Niagara International Airport]], [[East Aurora]], [[Franklinville]], and various points in between. :Service from [[Jamestown (New York)|Jamestown]] via [[Randolph (New York)|Randolph]], [[Little Valley]], and [[Salamanca (New York)|Salamanca]]. * '''[http://www.fullingtontours.com Fullington Trailways]''' buses arrive and depart from the '''Sunoco''' gas station at 301 South Union Street. :Service from [[DuBois (Pennsylvania)|DuBois]] via [[St. Marys (Pennsylvania)|St. Marys]] and [[Bradford (Pennsylvania)|Bradford]]. :Service from [[Buffalo]] via Springville, [[Ellicottville]], [[Salamanca (New York)|Salamanca]], and various points in between. ==Get around== {{mapframe}} As a smaller city a car is a benefit for travelling. However, there are options available for those who are unable to drive. The city's core between War Veterans Memorial Park and Oak Hill Park, including the Union-State St downtown area, is walkable enough to get around. ===By public transportation=== The '''[https://cityofolean.org/olean-area-transit-system/ Olean Area Transit System]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' (OATS) provides public transit in [[Cattaraugus County]]. The system provides 6 routes serving Olean and the surrounding area. ===By taxi=== * {{listing | name=Southern Tier Transportation | alt= | url= | email= | address=3421 Route 16 N | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-4646 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==See== [[File:Olean Public Library Apr 10.JPG|thumb|Old Olean Public Library]] ===Historic buildings=== For a city of its size, Olean has a number of historic properties and districts. * {{see | name=Beardsley-Oliver House | alt= | url= | email= | address=312 Laurel Ave | lat=42.078333 | long=-78.426667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Beardsley-Oliver House is a 2½-story, wood-frame dwelling built in about 1890. It exhibits a late Victorian blending of Shingle Style and Queen Anne styles. }} * {{see | name=Conklin Mountain House | alt= | url= | email= | address=304 E. State St. | lat=42.077222 | long=-78.425833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Conklin Mountain House is a Second Empire style wood frame dwelling built in 1886. The front facade features a three story tower with mansard roof and a wraparound porch. The interior features elaborate and extensive woodwork. It was constructed by the owners of Conklin Wagon Works, one of Olean's most important industries in the late 19th century. It was subsequently owned by the Mountain family, who operated the Mountain Clinic Infirmary. }} [[File:Oak Hill Park Historic District Apr 10.JPG|thumb|Oak Hill Park Historic District]] * {{see | name=Oak Hill Park Historic District | alt= | url= | email= | address=Roughly along Laurens, N. Second, Third, Fourth, and W. Sullivan Sts | lat=42.080556 | long=-78.434444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=The 32.5-acre (132,000-m²) district encompasses 89 properties including 82 residences, two churches, one school (the Olean High School), and a landscape design. There are 76 contributing buildings. The structures reflect a variety of mid-late 19th-century and early 20th-century architectural styles including Queen Anne, Italianate, and Gothic Revival styles. The structures were constructed between about 1849 and 1937. }} * {{see | name=Olean Armory | alt= | url= | email= | address=119 Times Sq. | lat=42.078056 | long=-78.428611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Olean Armory is a historic armory building. It was designed by State architects Isaac G. Perry (1890 structure) and Lewis Pilcher (1919 structure). It consists of a two-story, Tudor inspired administration building constructed in 1919, with an attached Romanesque drill shed constructed in 1890. The building features a number of castellated style features such as turrets and buttresses. }} * {{see | name=Olean School No. 10 | alt= | url= | email= | address=411 W. Henley St | lat=42.075556 | long=-78.434444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Olean School No. 10, now known as Ivers J. Norton School, is a historic school building. It was designed and built in 1908-1909, in the Prairie School style. }} * {{see | name=St. Stephen's Episcopal Church | alt= | url= | email= | address=109 S. Barry St. | lat=42.076667 | long=-78.427778 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a Gothic Revival style church building designed by upstate New York architect Robert W. Gibson (1854–1927) and constructed 1889-1890. The complex also includes the Ashton Parish House, constructed 1922-1923, and the rectory, known as the Watson Wing, built about 1885. It is home to Olean's oldest continuously operating congregation, established in 1830. }} * {{see | name=Temple B'Nai Israel | alt= | url= | email= | address=127 S. Barry St. | lat=42.076389 | long=-78.4275 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Temple B'Nai Israel is a historic synagogue. It was built in 1929, and is a three- to four-story-tall, light brown brick structure with terra cotta decorative details. It measures 85 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 50 feet tall. The front facade features a massive arched terra cotta portal encircling a large, round stained glass window. The congregation was established in the 1880s. }} * {{see | name=Union and State Streets Historic District | alt= | url= | email= | address=Roughly 101-133 N. Union, 110-114, 116 W. State & 102, 116, 120 S. Union Sts. | lat=42.077778 | long=-78.433056 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=The district encompasses 17 contributing buildings in the central business district of Olean. The district developed between about 1866 and 1939, and includes buildings in a variety of architectural styles including Beaux-Arts, Queen Anne, and Art Deco. Located in the district are the separately listed Olean Post Office and Olean Public Library. Other notable buildings include the Former First National Bank, current Manufacturers Hanover Building by Mowbray and Uffinger (c. 1915, 1938, 1950), Original First National Bank of Olean (c. 1866-1869), Masonic Temple by Warner and Brocket (1893), Olean House (c. 1889, 1893), and W.T. Grant Building (c. 1873-1878, Façade Update c. 1935-1940). }} * {{see | name=United States Post Office | alt= | url= | email= | address=102 S. Union St. | lat=42.076944 | long=-78.430556 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=US Post Office—Olean is a historic post office building. It was designed and built in 1910-12 and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, James Knox Taylor. It is a two story masonry and steel frame building. Its Renaissance Revival design compliments the adjacent Olean Public Library. It is located in the Union and State Streets Historic District. }} ===Other attractions=== * {{see | name=Cutco/Ka-Bar Visitors Center | alt= | url=https://www.cutco.com/ | email= | address=1040 E. State St. | lat=42.074200 | long=-78.408454 | directions= | phone=+1 716-790 7000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 9AM-5PM; also Sa 10AM-4PM from Memorial Day through Christmas | price= | lastedit= | content=Cutco, one of the world's largest manufacturers of direct-marketed knives, cutlery, and kitchenware, was founded in Olean in 1949, and this small museum tells the company's story. Interpretive exhibits cover company history and the manufacturing and marketing process, and antique kitchen, military, and pocket knives are displayed. This is also one of the only retail outlets for Cutco and Ka-Bar brand products. For knife enthusiasts, the Center pairs nicely with the Zippo/Case Museum in [[Bradford (Pennsylvania)|Bradford, PA]], and the American Museum of Cutlery in [[Cattaraugus]]. }} ==Do== ===Arts=== * {{do | name=Tri County Arts Council | alt= | url=http://www.myartscouncil.net/ | email=info@myartscouncil.net | address=100 West Main Street Allegany | lat=42.092271 | long=-78.496832 | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-7455 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=The Tri County Arts Council (TCAC) promotes the creation, presentation and appreciation of arts and culture in the region, while nurturing education and commerce in the arts. TCAC serves as a leader and driver of diverse activities and programs that promote the arts and expand their accessibility to all in the region. }} * {{do | name=Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts | alt= | url=https://www.sbu.edu/life-at-sbu/arts-events/regina-a.-quick-center-for-the-arts | email=fogm@friendsofgoodmusic.com | address=3261 West State Street, Cornelius Welch Dr, St Bonaventure | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-375-2494 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Performing arts. }} * {{do | name=Olean Community Theatre | alt= | url=https://www.oleancommunitytheatre.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-375-1628 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Olean Community Theatre, Inc. has been providing quality, live entertainment for New York's Southern Tier since 1979. }} * {{do | name=Olean Theatre Workshop | alt= | url=http://www.oleanworkshop.org/ | email= | address=702 Washington St | lat=42.080103 | long=-78.437783 | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-7469 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-13 | content=Celebrating 25 years at the Washington Street Theatre. The Olean Theatre Workshop, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation that performs and presents a variety of theatrical productions. }} * {{do | name=Southern Tier Symphony | alt= | url=https://www.southerntiersymph.org/ | email=info@southerntiersymphony.org | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-378-0560 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=The Southern Tier Symphony, based in Olean, is a regional orchestra, with paid musicians. }} ===Outdoors=== * {{do | name=Rock City Park | alt= | url=http://www.rockcitypark.com/home.html | email= | address=505 Route 16 | lat=42.017676 | long=-78.476877 | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-866-404-7625 | fax= | hours=May-Oct: daily 9AM-6PM | price= | lastedit=2016-04-13 | content=Join thousands of visitors each year who enjoy a 45-minute hiking trail, museum, fluorescent rock room and also souvenir and gift shop! }} * {{do | name=Riverhurst Park | alt= | url=https://riverhurstpark.com/ | email= | address=1269 Olean Portville Road | lat=42.0571717 | long=-78.37150930000001 | directions= | phone=+1 716-479-4677 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Riverhurst Park is a small, family-owned park on the banks of the Allegany River. This private family owned campground is the perfect place to enjoy a family camping vacation. RV, pop-up, or tent. Chalet available with full bathroom and kitchen. Riverhurst Park is home to the historical 100-foot-tall white pine trees. Kayak and canoe rentals for registered campers. }} * {{do | name=Pfeiffer Nature Center | alt= | url=http://pfeiffernaturecenter.org/nature-blog/ | email= | address=1974 Lillibridge Road, Portville; 1420 Yuba Dam Road, Portville | lat=42.094146 | long=-78.327670 | directions= | phone=+1 716-933-0187 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Pfeiffer Nature Center is home to more than 648 acres of nature’s bounty in rural, southwestern New York State. You’ll find miles of open-access hiking trails, a historic American Chestnut log cabin, great birding areas and a picturesque pavilion available for rent. The Nature Center has two beautiful properties to explore. The Lillibridge Property consists of 188 acres of forest and has a rustic American Chestnut log cabin listed in the National & State Registers of Historic Places. The front of the cabin offers a spectacular panoramic view of both nearby farms and distant mountaintops. A timber frame pavilion offers a covered shelter for picnics and other events in the meadow. The Nature Center also owns 460 acres on Yubadam Road, the Eshelman Property, which has an active sugar bush, on-going scientific research projects, and a small farm. There are three miles of trails through forests, meadows, transitional zones, near ponds and wetlands. More trails are being developed to support snowshoeing and cross country skiing. }} * {{do | name=Allegheny River Valley Trail | alt= | url=https://enchantedmountains.com/trail/allegheny-river-valley-trail-582#:~:text=A%206.2%2Dmile%20loop%20trail,accessible%20(a%20flat%20surface). | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-01-01 | content=A 6.2-mile-paved loop trail between Olean and St. Bonaventure University. The trail can be best accessed at St. Bonaventure's Campus near the Tennis Courts, at a public parking lot near the Sewer Plant, or from Gargoyle Park. Bikes can be rented from Twist-N-Shake in the summer. The trail should take under an hour to cycle. }} ===Sports=== * {{do | name=St. Bonaventure University Bonnies Athletics | alt= | url=http://gobonnies.sbu.edu/landing/index | email= | address=3261 W State Rd, St Bonaventure | lat=42.079902 | long=-78.484521 | directions= | phone=+1 716-375-2000 | tollfree=+1-800-462-5050 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-12 | content=The St. Bonaventure Bonnies are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of St. Bonaventure University, based in nearby Allegany, New York. The Bonnies compete in the National Collegiate Athletics Association's Division I Atlantic 10 Conference. }} * {{do | name=Olean Oilers Baseball | alt= | url=https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100040747880696 | email= | address=Bradner Stadium, East State St | lat=42.078132 | long=-78.420221 | directions= | phone=+1 716-376-5665 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=The Olean Oilers Baseball Team is a summer, wood bat development team playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL). }} ===Other=== * {{do | name=Good Times of Olean | alt= | url=http://gtofood.com/ | email= | address=800R East State St | lat=42.07408 | long=-78.414241 | directions= | phone=+1 716-379-8210 | tollfree= | hours=M-Tu 11AM-10PM, W Th 11AM-midnight, F Sa 11AM-12:30AM, Su 11AM-8PM | price= | lastedit=2016-04-13 | content=Located down the street from Bradner Stadium, Good Times is a 42,000-square-foot entertainment facility in the heart of Olean. The facility includes a 16-lane bowling alley, large performance stage with premium audio, arcade & games areas. Outside you can find white sand Volleyball courts, Batting Cages, an 18-hole mini-golf, and a large open space for outdoor activities. The Hammer Back Bar & Grill is the featured restaurant and bar, open year round, with an upper mezzanine that looks down into the Event Centre. GTO boasts fine cuisine at The Point or the Snak Shak offers a fast stop. GTO offers a variety of hosting options for your important events. GTO also provides league play for bowling, volleyball, cornhole, and darts, along with shuffleboard, and ping pong. }} ==Buy== The majority of Olean's retail businesses are located on North Union Street. * {{buy | name=Ask Design Jewelers | alt= | url=https://www.askdesignjewelers.com/ | email= | address=175 N. Union St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-791-9363 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=The largest selection of certified diamonds and bridal jewelry in the Southern Tier. Custom designs, engraving & jewelry repairs. }} * {{buy | name=Handmade-by Shelby | alt= | url=http://paintingwithshelby.com/ | email=handmadebyshelby@ymail.com | address=317 West State Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-307-7517 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu 10AM-6PM, W 4AM-9PM, Th F 10AM-6PM, Sa 9AM-2PM | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Unique painted or etched glasses and many other unique custom or personalized gifts for sale. Weekly painting classes are also offered. }} * {{buy | name=Sports Locker | alt= | url=http://sportslocker.biz/ | email=locker1.sales@verizon.net | address=711 W. State St. | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-1411 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=The Southern Tier’s largest selection of sports equipment, apparel and jerseys. }} * {{buy | name=Paper Factory | alt= | url=https://thepaperfactory.com/wp/ | email= | address=176 N Union St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-9500 | tollfree= | hours=9AM-6PM | price= | lastedit=2024-01-01 | content=The Paper Factory is a multi-story gift store in downtown Olean with a Christmas, Halloween, Craft, and General section all of which are kept year round. From their website, "you really have to see it to believe it.". }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Sprague's Maple Farms | alt= | url=https://spraguesmaplefarms.com/ | email= | address=1048 Portville-Obi Rd., Portville | lat=42.044805 | long=-78.323618 | directions=6.5 miles from downtown Olean via Routes 417 and 305 | phone=+1 716-933-6637 | tollfree= | hours=Su-Th 8AM-8PM, F Sa 8AM-9PM | price= | lastedit=2024-01-02 | content=Modern facilities open year round to enjoy maple syrup in the restaurant, shop in the gift shop or hike to the old fashioned maple sugar shanty along the trails out back of the facility. Best visited in late winter or early spring when snow is melting and syrup is being boiled. Reservations not accepted. }} * {{eat | name=Old Library Restaurant | alt= | url=https://www.theoldlibraryofolean.com/ | email= | address=116 S. Union St | lat=42.076667 | long=-78.430556 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-01-02 | content=The Old Library is Olean's former library built from a donation by Andrew Carnegie. It is a historic beaux arts library. It is located in the Union and State Streets Historic District. Not to be confused with the current library, which is housed in a former grocery store. }} * {{eat | name=Beef 'n' Barrel | alt= | url=http://www.beefnbarrel.com | email= | address=146 N Union St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 585-372-2985 | tollfree= | fax=+1 585 372-3910 | hours=M-Sa 11AM-10PM | price=$10-25 | lastedit=2017-11-22 | content=With wood paneling and flickering candles, the expansive Beef 'n' Barrel still manages to feel warm and inviting. It's like a modern version of a classic 1970s steak house, minus the smoky atmosphere. The pristine furnishings and classic décor lend sophistication and elegance, but the friendly staff and enticing menu avoid any hint of pretentiousness. The lunch menu is focused on sliced roast beef, including Buffalo favorite beef on weck sandwiches. The dinner menu moves the focus to steaks. You'll find a few other entrees on the menu, but beef is definitely the main attraction, as evidenced by the carving stations located in each of the dining rooms. House-made breads and desserts provide excellent complements to the main courses. }} * {{eat | name=Broken Wing Pizzeria & Grille | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/brokenwingpizzeria | email=brokenwingpizzeriaandgrille@yahoo.com | address=313 Main St. | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-5600 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=A sit-down restaurant serving a wide variety of foods including hand tossed pizza. }} * {{eat | name=Century Manor | alt= | url=https://www.thecenturymanor.com/ | email= | address=401 East State Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-1864 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Local steakhouse serving Olean for over 50 years. }} * {{eat | name=Oishi Sushi & Hibachi | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100039573236339 | email= | address=2234 W State St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-8889 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=Authentic Japanese sushi and hibachi. You can watch as the chefs cook steak, chicken, fish, vegetables, fried rice, etc. in their inviting, wooden ornate dining room. }} * {{eat | name=Randy's Fireside | alt= | url=http://randysfireside.com/ | email= | address=1644 Haskell Rd. | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-3473 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-19 | content=Local eatery serving hand-cut steaks, fresh, never frozen burgers, local brews and salads. }} * {{eat | name=Randy's "Up the River" | alt= | url=http://www.randysuptheriver.com/ | email= | address=3767 South 9 Mile Road Allegany | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-9606 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-19 | content=Built in 1860 as a stage coach stop/hotel turned speakeasy, bar and restaurant. Popular with the St. Bonaventure crowd. }} * {{eat | name=La Dolce Vita | alt= | url=https://www.ladolcevitaolean.com/ | email= | address=113 N. Union St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-379-8438 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-01-02 | content=Cafe and bakery with morning hours and afternoon hours and the best espresso drinks in town. }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Four Mile Brewing | alt= | url=https://4milebrewing.com/ | email= | address=202 East Green St. | lat=42.07318 | long=-78.42746299999999 | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-2337 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M closed, Tu–Th 4–10PM, F Sa midnight–10PM, Su 10AM–8PM | price= | lastedit=2016-04-13 | content=Four Mile Brewing is a microbrewery located in a historic pre-prohibition brewing complex close to downtown Olean. Also serves a variety of sandwiches, munchies and a Sunday brunch. }} * {{drink | name=3rd Base Bar & Grill | alt= | url=http://3rdbasebarandgrill.com | email= | address=1302 West State St | lat=42.077632 | long=-78.444763 | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-8779 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Legal beverages, Quick Draw, pool tables. They also serve wings, burgers, philly steak sandwiches & finger food items. }} * {{drink | name=Eddie's State King | alt= | url=http://www.facebook.com/eddies.stateking | email= | address=901 E. State St. | lat=42.075362 | long=-78.41092600000002 | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-2924 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-13 | content=Neighborhood sports bar. Enjoy the cold beer, warm atmosphere & friendly bartenders. }} ==Sleep== ===Bed & Breakfast=== * {{sleep | name=The Gallets House B&B | alt= | url=http://www.galletshouse.com/ | email=info@galletshouse.com | address=1759 Four Mile Road, Allegany | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-7493 | tollfree= | checkin=3PM | checkout=11:30AM | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=An 1896 restored historical Victorian home with original family photos and heirlooms displayed throughout the B&B. Located in the picturesque Allegheny foothills in Southwestern NY, 2 miles from exit 24 on I-86 (formerly Rte 17), across the river from Olean but near St. Bonaventure U. }} * {{sleep | name=The Old Library Inn | alt= | url=https://www.theoldlibraryofolean.com/the-old-library-inn | email= | address=120 South Union Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-373-9804 | tollfree=+1-877-241-4348 | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit= | content= }} ===Hotels and motels=== * {{sleep | name=Best Western Plus University Inn | alt= | url=https://www.bestwestern.com/content/best-western/en_US/booking-path/hotel-details.33127.html | email= | address=3051 W State Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-1300 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=3PM | checkout=11AM | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content=Offers an indoor pool. }} * {{sleep | name=Fairfield Inn & Suites Olean | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bfdol-fairfield-inn-and-suites-olean/ | email= | address=3270 West State St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-7500 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-14 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Holiday Inn Olean | alt= | url=https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/olean/bufol/hoteldetail | email=hieolean@gmail.com | address=101 Main Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-375-1000 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=3PM | checkout=11AM | price= | lastedit=2017-08-24 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Olean/Allegany | alt= | url=https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/microtel/olean-new-york/microtel-inn-and-suites-olean-allegany/overview | email= | address=3234 NYS Route 417 | lat= | long= | directions=Just off Interstate 86 | phone=+1 716-584-1823 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin=3PM | checkout=midnight | price= | lastedit= | content= }} ==Connect== Olean is primarily served by area code 716. However due to Olean's proximity to the 716/585 line, some Olean exchanges use the 585 area code.The area code must be dialed for every number. * {{listing | name=Olean Life | alt= | url=http://www.oleanlife.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-04-18 | content=Olean Life operates a website promoting nightlife and entertainment in the Olean area. Their focus is restaurants, nightclubs and live entertainment venues and events such as concerts and festivals appealing to a wide demographic. }} * {{listing | name=Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce | alt= | url=https://oleanny.com/ | email=info@oleanny.com | address=301 North Union Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 716-372-4433 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=The leading business organization in the greater Olean area since 1906. Your Chamber Connection to the Olean area visitor information, resident information, business services and membership directory. }} ==Cope== ===Hospitals=== '''[http://www.ogh.org/ Olean General Hospital]''', is a member of the Upper Allegheny Health System. The campus includes 186 patient rooms, together with comprehensive patient, administrative and physician services and accommodations to meet the diagnostic, treatment, administrative and educational needs of its patients and medical staff. ===Newspapers and print media=== The ''[http://www.oleantimesherald.com/ Olean Times Herald]'' is a daily newspaper serving the western Twin Tiers region, based in Olean. The afternoon newspaper, one of the few remaining afternoon papers in the nation, is published by Bradford Publishing seven days each week. ==Go next== {{routebox | image1=I-86.svg | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Jamestown (New York)|Jamestown]] | minorl1=[[Salamanca (New York)|Salamanca]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Elmira (New York)|Elmira]] | minorr1=[[Cuba (New York)|Cuba]] | image2=NY-16.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Buffalo]] | minorl2=[[Franklinville]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=Keating → END | minorr2=Becomes [[File:PA-646.svg|18px]] }} {{geo|42.082500|-78.430833}} {{IsPartOf|Cattaraugus County}} {{usablecity}} rr4lndcle1cm2mcihc3x60rx9s545tb 0 27372 5298742 5192278 2026-06-26T11:55:37Z ~2026-36846-17 2426595 /* Go next */ 5298742 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Peterhead banner Beach.jpg}} '''Peterhead''' is a port in [[Aberdeenshire]] in northeast Scotland, with a population of 19,060 in 2020. Its fishing industry collapsed in the 20th century and the town is run-down, but is near attractive coastal scenery. == Understand == [[File:Peterhead South Breakwater Lighthouse (32645243862).jpg | thumb | 300px | South breakwater was built by convict labour ]] :: "The people are sober and courteous, and agree well amongst themselves, which has now become a rare character." - church report of 1728 Until 1560 this was a sparsely-populated farmland owned by the Cistercian monks of Deer Abbey, whose talents did not include industrial and property development. It was then handed over to the Earls Marischal, who built a planned settlement. This grew into the largest fishing port in Britain, and remains so; it also pushed the most easterly point on the Scottish mainland another half mile out, as the island of Inch Keith became connected by causeway and infill. In the 18th and 19th centuries the main catch was whaling, and Peterhead was also a port-of-call when wars with France made the Channel dangerous, so shipping went the long way around the north tip of Scotland. In Victorian times the catch was herring. All this created a need for even larger port facilities, and forced labour to build them, so Peterhead became the Botany Bay of Britain, holding hundreds of convicts at a time when Australia had ceased to want them. Its large grim prison is the legacy, now a museum. The fishing industry collapsed in the 20th century through overfishing, restrictive catch limits, and competition from European trawlers. Like Aberdeen, Peterhead was never itself an oil-handling town but serviced the offshore oil industry, but that too has passed as exploration and production moved into more northerly waters. The town became rough and deprived. However the fine buildings of its Georgian and Victorian heyday are well-preserved, and there are beaches and rugged scenic cliffs to the south. People from Peterhead are known as Bloo Touners or Bloo Mogganers, from the blue worsted moggans - stockings - worn by fisherfolk. == Get in == {{mapframe | 57.505 |-1.800 | height=500 | width=500 | zoom=12 }} For long-distance routes, see [[Aberdeen]]. ===By bus=== Stagecoach runs bus services every half hour (hour on Sundays) from Aberdeen via Ellon P&R or Cruden Bay to Peterhead, taking 75 min, around £10. Bus 69 runs every hour between [[Fraserburgh]] and Peterhead, 30 min, around £10. {{marker | type=go | name=Peterhead Interchange | lat=57.5074 | long=-1.7799 }} is the main bus station, at the corner of Windmill St and St Peter St. ===By car=== Peterhead is easily accessible from Aberdeen and the south via the A90, which continues to Fraserburgh. The slow, winding A950 provides a connection to the west, and is a useful shortcut if arriving from Inverness. ===By train=== Peterhead's train station closed to passengers in the 1960s. The nearest station as the crow flies is Dyce, some 30 or so miles away, but as there is no direct public transport connection, it is better to arrive at Aberdeen and catch a bus north. == Get around == The town centre is easily walkable, but transport is required to explore the surrounding area. ===By bus=== A handful of bus routes operate within the town, connecting with regional routes at '''Peterhead Interchange.''' Local routes, however, are best boarded at {{marker | type=go | name=Chapel Street | lat=57.5055 | long=-1.7785 }}, a closer stop to the town centre. Services are frequent, with local buses running around every 15 mins. Tickets within the town cost £2-3 for a single or £4-5 for unlimited travel for a day, and can be purchased onboard. Buses are also available to the surrounding villages of Boddam, Cruden Bay, Mintlaw and St. Fergus. ===By taxi=== Taxi services are offered by a number of companies. Firms include Elaine's ({{phone|+44 1779 591000}}), Grab a Cab ({{phone|+44 1779 473030}}) and [https://www.centraltaxisne.co.uk/ Central Taxis] ({{phone|+44 1779 434343}}). == See == * {{see | name=Arbuthnot Museum | alt= | url=https://www.livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk/museums/find-a-museum/arbuthnot-museum/ | email= | address=St. Peter Street, AB42 1QD | lat=57.507 | long=-1.7814 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M Tu Th-Sa 10.00-12:30, 13:30-16:00 | price=Free | lastedit=2020-05-28 | content=Highlights local history including Peterhead's heritage as a major whaling port. Main exhibit is a stuffed polar bear. }} * {{marker | name=Old St Peter's Church | type=see | lat=57.505 | long=-1.790 }} is a ruin by the north end of the beach. The oldest parts may be from 12th century, but the tower which still stands is medieval. *{{marker | name=Peterhead Bay | type=see | lat=57.499435 | long=-1.782566 }} is home to vessels servicing the oil and gas industry. It's enclosed by two massive '''breakwaters,''' the southern of which was built using convict labour from the town's prison. The town's main beach stretches for a mile along the bay shoreline. {{marker | name=Lido Beach | type=see | lat=57.49637 | long=-1.79398 }} is the southern portion. It's just a beach, not a lido pool as the name might suggest. It's suitable for swimming, but distinctly bracing. * {{marker | name=Peterhead Harbour | type=see | lat=57.50288888596814 | long=-1.774292977711219 }} has been a home to the fishing industry for centuries, and a walk around the old stone quays and piers looking at the boats makes for a pleasant afternoon. Keep your eye out for the numerous grey seals that frequent the harbour. {{marker | name=Keith Inch | type=see | lat= 57.5032| long= -1.7714}} is a former island comprising the eastern side of the harbour. Although once housing a whaling community, it is now dominated by industrial buildings, but remains noteworthy for being the easternmost point on the Scottish mainland. * {{see | name=Peterhead Prison Museum | alt= | url=https://peterheadprisonmuseum.com | email= | address=Admiralty Gateway, South Road AB42 2ZX | lat=57.490 | long=-1.787 | directions= | phone=+44 1779 482200 | tollfree= | hours=Apr-Oct: daily 10AM-6PM; Nov-Mar: daily 10AM-4PM (last admission 1 hr 30 min before closing)| price=Adult £12, Lifeboat Museum only £5 | wikipedia=HM Prison Peterhead | wikidata=Q5635245 | lastedit=2023-09-30 | content=Opened in 1888, Peterhead Prison had the reputation as "Scotland's toughest prison". Until the 1950s, inmates were subjected to penal labour, working in a nearby quarry and constructing the town's southern breakwater. The museum offers self-guided tours of the former prison, taking 1 hr 30 min to 2 hr. Included in the ticket price is admission to the '''Lifeboat Museum,''' which details the history of lifeboats in Peterhead, and houses the restored lifeboat ''Julia Park Barry of Glasgow.'' }} [[File:Old St Peter's Church, Peterhead 01.jpg | thumb | 300px | Old St Peter's Church ]] * {{see | name=Aberdeenshire Farming Museum | alt= | url= https://www.livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk/museums/find-a-museum/aberdeenshire-farming-museum/| email= | address= | lat= 57.5217| long= -2.0329| directions= | phone= +44 1771 624590| tollfree= | hours=Th-Su 11AM-4PM | price=Free | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-06 | content=Exhibits telling the story of traditional farming life in rural Aberdeenshire. The museum is located 20 mins east of the town at '''Aden Country Park,''' a large area of parkland and forest featuring a play park and Victorian arboretum. }} * {{marker|name=Longhaven Cliffs |type=see | lat=57.44308 | long=-1.80804 |url=https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserve/longhaven-cliffs/}} south of town are a line of pink granite cliffs notched with narrow inlets. Access them via the wildlife reserve car park off the A90, and take very great care along the cliff paths. Puffins can be seen in the spring and summer, and seals all year round. A curiosity at the south end of this section, six miles south of town, is the {{marker | name=Bullers of Buchan | type=see | lat=57.433 | long=-1.821 }}. Here a cave has collapsed leaving a magnificent sea arch. * {{marker | type=see | name=Slains Castle | lat=57.415 | long=-1.832 }} is a 16th-century ruined castle set atop windswept cliffs around 15 min drive south of Peterhead near the village of Cruden Bay. It replaced Old Slains Castle which is just a masonry shard 5 miles south. The newer castle is not maintained, so great care must be taken when visiting due to loose masonry and proximity to the cliffs. == Do == * {{do | name=Cruden Bay Golf Club | alt= | url= https://crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk/| email=bookings@crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk | address= Aulton Road, Cruden Bay, AB42 0NN| lat= 57.4132| long= -1.8636| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= +44 1779 812285| price=18 holes £165, during main season | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-06 | content=A fine links golf club hosting the 18-hole Championship Course, ranking in the top 100 in the world, and the 9-hole St Olaf Course. }} * '''Hiking.''' Golden beaches stretch for as far as the eye can see north of the town, while the coast to the south holds host to some of the best sea cliffs of eastern Scotland. The '''Formartine and Buchan Way''' follows the course of the town's former railway line inland and provides good opportunity to see some of the countryside. * '''Football:''' {{do | name=Peterhead FC | alt= | url=https://www.peterheadfc.org/ | email= | address=Balmoor Stadium, Balmoor Terrace AB42 1EQ | lat=57.511 | long=-1.7967 | directions= | phone=+44 1779 478256 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-05-27 | content=The "Blue Toon" were promoted in 2025 and now play soccer in League One, the third tier. Their home ground (capacity 3150) is at the west edge of town centre. }} * {{do | name=Peterhead Golf Club | alt= | url=http://www.peterheadgolfclub.co.uk/ | email= | address=Craigewan Links, Riverside Drive AB42 1LT | lat=57.5216 | long=-1.8051 | directions= | phone=+44 1779 472149 | tollfree= | hours= | price=18 holes £125, day ticket £140 | wikidata=Q97355426 | lastedit=2023-07-06 | content=It's on the knuckle of land north of the Ugie estuary, but park on the south bank (helpfully called Golf Road) and walk across the footbridge. The "Old Course" took its present form in 1908: yellow tees 5704 yards, par 70. The second or "new" course has been reduced to nine holes. }} * {{do | name= Peterhead Town Trail | alt= | url= https://www.peterheadtrail.co.uk/the-peterhead-trail| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-06 | content=Three walking routes showcasing Peterhead's history. Information boards are dotted along the routes to give some context to the sites. Allow at least 2 hr for all sections. }} * '''[http://www.peterheadscottishweek.org/ Scottish Week]''' is in July. Highlights typically include an aeronautical display by the RAF's Red Arrows, a race across Peterhead Bay by teams in home-made rafts, and a parade through town centre. The next is 12-20 July 2025. == Buy == [[File:Slains Castle, Aberdeenshire - Copy.jpg | thumb | 300px | Slains Castle - ''Dracula'' was written nearby ]] The town's principal shopping area centres around '''Marischal Street,''' though like many high streets its heyday has come and gone. All is not lost, however, with a scattering of independent shops found on adjacent streets. For the traveller, the following stores may prove for an interesting visit: * {{buy | name=Donalds | alt= | url=https://www.donalds.co.uk/ | email= | address=7 St Andrews Street, AB42 1DS | lat=57.5042 | long=-1.7764 | directions= | phone=+44 1779 474737 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Known by locals as "Dodie's" after its founder George Donald, this Peterhead institution is one of the few independent department stores found in north-east Scotland. Everything from fridges to footwear can be found, although for clothing and sportswear, sister shop '''Justrite''' (41 Queen Street, AB42 1TP) offers a better selection. }} * '''Fishmongers:''' As the UK's principal fishing port, Peterhead boasts some of the freshest and finest deep-sea fish available, with fish frequently being sold the same day it's landed. {{marker | type=buy | name=The Old Smoke House | lat=57.5069 | long=-1.7763 }} (17 Ellis Street, AB42 1JR) is one of the best known fishmongers in Peterhead, with {{marker | type=buy | name=R & J Seafoods | lat=57.5080 | long=-1.7771 }} (next to 23 North Street, AB42 1JS) being a little-known store frequented by locals. Peterhead Fishmarket is a wholesale auction house and is not open to individual shoppers. See the Eat section for fish and chip shops. * {{buy | name=Ugie Salmon Smokehouse | alt= | url= https://www.ugiesalmon.co.uk/| email= | address= Golf Road, AB42 1LS| lat= 57.5151| long= -1.7961| directions= | phone= +44 1779 476209| tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=The oldest salmon smokehouse in Scotland, producing smoked salmon using traditional methods in the same building for well over 400 years. While the building is not open to tours, visitors can purchase salmon in the shop. }} The town is well provided with supermarkets. {{marker | type=buy | name=Morrisons | lat=57.5109 | long=-1.7883 }} (Queen Street, AB42 1HG) is the most centrally located of the major chains, being a 10 min walk from the town centre. '''Aldi''' and '''Iceland''' also have central locations with '''Asda, Lidl''' and '''Coop''' being some distance away in the suburbs. == Eat == While in Peterhead there are two foods every traveller should try: *Locally caught '''fish and chips''' are a must. It's hard to go wrong ordering fish and chips in Peterhead, as most "chippers" get their catch fresh from the harbour. Although cod and plaice are generally preferred in other parts of the UK, haddock is the fish of choice for most locals. For a more refined taste, try lemon sole. But don't ask for fish and chips — the local term is a '''fish supper'''. For those who would rather avoid fish, a '''white pudding supper''' is a good option — seasoned oatmeal stuffing, battered and deep-fried. *'''Cookies''', or butteries as they are known elsewhere in the region, are a local delicacy partway between pancake and croissant. They are best served warm with butter or jam, and can be found in almost any bakery or supermarket. There are a good number of restaurants, takeaways and bakeries, so travellers should have little trouble finding something to suit them. Some good options are listed below: * {{eat | name=Dolphin Cafe | alt= | url= https://dolphincafepeterhead.co.uk/| email= | address= West Pier, AB42 1DW| lat= 57.5027| long= -1.7742| directions=opposite the lifeboat station | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Harbour-front fish and chip shop with seating and views of fishing boats. }} * {{eat | name=Hame Bakery | alt= | url= | email= | address= 15-17 Queen Street, AB42 1TN| lat= 57.5062| long= -1.7794| directions= | phone= +44 1779 473901 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Award-winning bakery offering a wide range of baked goods and confectionery, including the ubiquitous cookie. }} * {{eat | name=Saplinbrae Hotel | alt= | url= http://www.saplinbrae.co.uk/| email= | address= AB42 4LP| lat= 57.5252| long= -2.0477| directions= | phone= +44 1771 623585| tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Set in rural surroundings 20 min away from the town, Saplinbrae is the go-to place for fine dining near Peterhead. }} * {{eat | name=Seaview Hotel | alt= | url= http://www.boddamhotel.com/| email= | address= Seaview Road, Boddam, AB42 3NS| lat= 57.4740| long= -1.7790| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Situated in the nearby village of Boddam and rated as one of the best restaurants in the area. }} * {{eat | name=Simpsons Tea Room | alt= | url= | email= | address= 14-16 Broad Street, AB42 1BY| lat= 57.5049| long= -1.7773| directions= | phone= +44 1779 490303| tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Cosy, well-located cafe perfect for mid-morning coffee or a light lunch. }} * {{eat | name=Zanres | alt= | url= https://www.zanres.co.uk/| email= | address= 35 Queen Street, AB42 1TP| lat= 57.5066| long= -1.7804| directions= | phone= +44 1779 477128| tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-05 | content=Busy fish and chip shop owned by a former fisherman. }} == Drink == [[File:Bullers of Buchan - geograph.org.uk - 9455.jpg | thumb | 300px | Bullers of Buchan ]] The Glenugie Distillery, once Scotland's most easterly, was located at the southern outskirts of Peterhead. It closed in the 1980s, but bottles of '''Glenugie single malt whisky''' can still be purchased from specialist shops elsewhere in Scotland, with prices reaching into the thousands of pounds. For the traveller on a more modest budget, there are a number of pubs from which to choose, though for trendier venues one has to travel to Aberdeen. * {{drink | name=Harbour Lights | alt= | url= https://www.theharbourlights.co.uk/| email= | address= 122-124 Longate, AB42 1JU| lat= 57.5067| long= -1.7768| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-06 | content=Award-winning pub in near the harbour. }} * {{drink | name=Brewtoon | alt= | url= https://www.brewtoon.com/tap-room| email= | address= 72a St Peter Street, AB42 1QB| lat= 57.5072| long= -1.7807| directions= | phone= +44 1779 476211 |tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-07-06 | content=Small brewery with on-site bar. }} == Sleep == * '''B&Bs''' and small hotels include The Lost Guest House (which turned out to be hiding in plain sight at 29 Merchant St), and Crawfords, Clifton, [http://www.alberthotelpeterhead.co.uk/ Albert Hotel] and [https://www.trinityboutiquebb.com/ Trinity] all on Queen St, plus [http://www.palacehotel.co.uk/ Palace] on Prince St. * '''[https://www.travelodge.co.uk/ Travelodge]''' is a reliable budget choice at 16 Chapel St. * {{sleep | name=Waterside Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/the-waterside-hotel-peterhead/ | email= | address=Fraserburgh Road AB42 3BN | lat=57.522 | long=-1.815 | directions= | phone=+44 871 221 0241 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £60 | lastedit=2020-05-28 | content=Part of the unloved Britannia chain, the staff are friendly and helpful but the rooms aren't much. With leisure club, spa, swimming pool and restaurant. }} * {{marker | type=sleep | name=[https://buchannesslighthouseholidays.co.uk/ Buchan Ness Lighthouse] | lat=57.470 | long=-1.774 }} in Boddam is a Stevenson lighthouse completed in 1827 and now automated. You can self-cater in the two keepers' cottages, Skerry and Dundonnie, which sleep four, £120 per night. == Connect == * Peterhead has 4G from all UK carriers. As of Jan 2026, limited 5G coverage is available from some carriers. == Go next == * [[Fraserburgh]] to the north is a small fishing town, then west along the coast is picturesque [[Gardenstown]]. * [[Methlick]] 20 miles inland has grand Haddo House and what's left of Gight Castle, Byron's ancestral home. * [[Aberdeen]] to the south will seem like a buzzing metropolis after Peterhead. {{routebox | image1=UK_road_A90.svg | imagesize1=40 | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Fraserburgh]] | minorl1= | directionr1=S | minorr1= | majorr1=[[Aberdeen]] }} {{geo|57.5091|-1.7832}} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Aberdeenshire}} rlyrw0xc2nu746dapdbie96sc45z10w 0 28596 5298485 5257590 2026-06-25T18:31:52Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Luchal Libre */ 5298485 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Puebla_WV_Banner.jpg|unesco_whs=yes|unesco_cc=yes}} '''Puebla''' is a city in [[Mexico]]. It is in the Puebla Valley, surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, slightly over 110 km (68 miles) south-east of Mexico City. It has been listed as a {{UNESCO}} because of its architecture. Puebla is also considered to be the "cradle of Mexican Baroque" in architecture and in the decorative arts, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. ==Understand== {{climate chart |Puebla |5.3 |23.0 |9.8 |6.8 |24.9 |7.5 |8.8 |26.9 |13.9 |11.0 |28.4 |28.7 |12.2 |28.5 |91.0 |12.8 |26.5 |202.2 |11.9 |26.0 |174.7 |12.0 |26.1 |191.3 |11.9 |25.0 |213.5 |10.3 |25.2 |82.4 |7.9 |24.5 |25.7 |5.9 |23.5 |4.2 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Puebla (city)]] |description= }} [[File:Catedral de Puebla, México, 2013-10-11, DD 17.JPG|thumb| The baroque St. Michael fountain (1777) in the main plaza and the Cathedral (1649) behind it]] The city of Puebla is the fourth largest city in Mexico with 1.7 million inhabitants (2020), with 3.2 million in the metro area. It is the capital of the State of Puebla. It was founded on April 16, 1531 as "La Puebla de los Ángeles". It was the first city in central Mexico founded by the Spanish conquistadors that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Amerindian settlement. Its strategic location, halfway between the port of [[Veracruz]] and [[Mexico City]], made it the second most important city during the colonial period. During the 17th century, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz lived in the city until her confrontation with the Bishop of Puebla. The historical and cultural value of Puebla's architecture is a major reason the city was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Various styles and techniques such as Baroque, Renaissance and Classic are represented here in over 5,000 buildings included in the catalogue. The historic center is filled with churches, monasteries, mansions and the like, mostly done in gray cantera stone, red brick and decorated with multicolored tiles. The city’s main claim to fame, however, is Cinco de Mayo, a festival commemorating the May 5, 1862 defeat of a French expeditionary army by Mexican general Ignacio Zaragoza. It was after this battle that the name of the city was changed to "Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza". The forts where the battle took place are a major tourist attraction of the city and the site of an annual month-long carnival marking the anniversary of the battle. However, despite the quite extensive St. Patrick's Day style festivities for Cinco de Mayo in the US, outside the area around Puebla, Cinco de Mayo is a minor festive day in Mexico, surpassed by independence day. The city is also famous for its cuisine, being said it is this city where ''mole'' — a famous Mexican spicy thick sauce — was invented. ==Get in== [[File:Puebla - Zócalo - Vendeurs de ballons.JPG|thumb|Zócalo]] ===By ridesharing === A ride between Mexico City and Puebla is around M$120 (Nov 2021) with Blablacar. ===By bus=== Traveling to Puebla from [[Mexico City]] is fairly straightforward and can be accomplished via bus. There are continual bus services between Mexico City and Puebla throughout the day and night both from the TAPO terminal (also known as Terminal Oriente, located beside the San Lázaro Metro station) and from Benito Juarez International Airport. A one-way ticket on Estrella Roja (ER) or ADO from the TAPO usually runs about M$190 (Jan 2019) for regular non-stop service; a first class ticket ("Pullman Primera Clase" service) on Estrella Roja costs M$212 (Jan 2019). (The extra M$22 or so are worth it: the first class seat fewer people, thus less crowded, more space, more comfortable.) Buses leave for Puebla approximately every half hour from both locations. Travel time from TAPO to Puebla's CAPU is usually around 2 hours, but this time may vary by up to a full hour depending on Mexico City traffic conditions at that time of day. There are two bus terminals in Puebla: the Centro de Autobuses Puebla (CAPU), which is the main bus terminal, and the neighboring CAP, a smaller secondary terminal. Taking a city bus from CAPU to the historic center and further: Cross the bridge over the Blvrd Nte. In front of the Domino's depart {{go | name= city buses to the center| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0723709| long=-98.2049387| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | image= | content=}}After crossing the bridge there is a tasty taco stall: Two for M$16 (Nov 2021). For going to the center, get a bus number 44. Exit the bus as soon as it hits Av. 10 Ote and walk the rest (5 blocks to Zocalo). * {{go | name=Puebla Central bus station | alt=CAPU - Central de Autobuses Puebla | url=https://www.capu.com.mx/ | email= | address=Blvrd Nte 4222 | lat=19.0740 | long=-98.2048 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2021-03-15 | content= }} * {{go|content=bus|name=Paseo Destino |lat=19.008619 | long=-98.24539}} ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Puebla Airport | alt={{IATA|PBC}} Hermanos Serdán International Airport | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.158056 | long=-98.371389 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Puebla International Airport | wikidata=Q583424 | content=Due to the closeness of [[Benito Juarez Airport]], the airport offers few international routes (all of them to the US) and a handful of domestic routes. That said, the airport is smaller and thus easier to navigate and you might net cheaper offers than at MEX. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe|19.049| -98.1961491|zoom=14|name= The city center of Puebla}} ===By bus=== For finding city bus connections, Moovit is somewhat better than Google Maps as of Nov 2021. Moovit shows you the number of the bus line. In the app you can filter for only showing you direct connections. The general fare is M$8.50 (Nov 2021), paid in cash. There is no public transport card. (Safety note about buses: they are generally safe, but they tend to carry [[pickpockets]], especially when crowded. Always have a hand over any bags or backpacks that you have.) The buses generally run from about 07:00 to 22:00. === By e-hailing === Uber, Cabify and Didi are available. === By taxi === Taxis are almost always safe. They tend to run between M$60-120 (Sept 2021) for a ride. Negotiating a fare before entering a taxi is normal as the taxis do not carry meters in Puebla. If the driver does not offer you a fare that you like, you can wave them off and wait for the next taxi. ==See== {{mapframe|19.0288191| -98.235|zoom=11}} [[File:Vista fuerte derecha.JPG|thumb|Fuerte de Loreto]] * {{see | name=Los Fuertes | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata = | lastedit=2016-06-05 | content=The forts, which sit atop the Cerro de Guadalupe is where the Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862. This successful defense of the city by General Ignacio Zaragoza from invading French forces is commemorated every year in Puebla throughout the month of May and specifically on May 5 (''Cinco de Mayo'' in Spanish). }} ** {{see | name=Fuerte de Loreto | alt= | url=https://www.inah.gob.mx/red-de-museos/285-museo-del-fuerte-de-loreto | email= | address= | lat=19.0577 | long=-98.1871 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata =Q59664403 | lastedit= | content= }} ** {{see | name=Fuerte de Guadalupe | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=a 950-m walk east from Fuerte de Loreto | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata =Q59684009 | lastedit= | content= }} [[File:Capilla del Rosario Angelópolis.JPG|thumb|Capilla del Rosario]] * {{see | name=Pasaje Histórico 5 de Mayo | alt=Los Tuneles | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.05249 | long=-98.191138 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00-16:00 | price=M$28 (Nov 2022) | lastedit=2017-11-23 | content=An entry to historic tunnels that lead to the forts. }} * {{see | name=Barrio de murales | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.053109 | long=-98.188418 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-11-23 | content=A neighborhood near the forts with lots of murals from artists all over the world. It's easily accessible when going through the tunnels, which briefly surface in the neighborhood. }} * {{see | name=Zocalo | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0436 | long=-98.1981 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-06-05 | content=Puebla's historic downtown contains beautiful colonial architecture and was granted UNESCO [[world heritage]] status in 1987. The Zocalo is the central plaza is a place to enjoy, where you can find restaurants, bars and cafes. }} * {{see | name=Catedral de Puebla | alt=Cathedral | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0428 | long=-98.1984 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1994735 | lastedit=2016-06-05 | content=Built between 1575 and 1640, it has two of the tallest church towers in Mexico. }} [[File:BIBLIOTECA PALAFOXIANA.tif|thumb|Biblioteca Palafoxiana]] * {{see | name=Biblioteca Palafoxiana | alt=Palafoxian Library | url=https://palafoxiana.com/biblioteca/ | email= | address= | lat=19.04254 | long=-98.1989 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4903485 | lastedit=2024-03-14 | content=A library built in the 18th century which contains a unique collection. It is not possible to browse the books; it's more of a museum. }} * {{see | name=Los Sapos | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.04112 | long=-98.19585 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q61722301 | lastedit=2016-06-05 | content=Art district where many painters have ''ateliers'' offering their paintings and a block away, every Saturday and Sunday, there is a flea market where you can find handicrafts and some antiques. }} * {{see | name=Volcan el Cuexcomate | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0707 | long=-98.2352 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 12:00-17:00 | price=M$14 per adult | lastedit=2023-03-22 | content=The world's smallest volcano (now extinct) is in Puebla, in the suburb of La Libertad. You can go deep inside the volcano. Next to it is an indoor market with stalls offering prepared food. }} * {{see | name=Iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.02988 | long=-98.31976 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-11-25 | content=Built and decorated during the late 1600s and early 1700s in the Baroque style. Extremely lavishly decorated outside and inside. It has much more noticeable syncretic elements from pre-Hispanic culture. Photography is not allowed inside. The top of one of the bell towers fell during the 2017 earthquake, and has not been repaired. This is why access is restricted inside as well. }} * {{see | name=Templo San Francisco Acatepec | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0222 | long=-98.3086 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q26926677 | lastedit=2016-06-05 | content=Built and decorated during the late 1600s and early 1700s in the Baroque style. Extremely lavishly decorated outside and inside. }} [[File:NdeM 7020.jpg|thumb|Mexican Railroad Museum in Puebla]] * {{see | name= Teleferico | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0602431 | long=-98.1864013 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=M$30 for one-way, M$50 for a round-trip | lastedit=2021-11-07 | content=It's a cable car with a nice view over the city. The trip is around 600 m long. }} * {{see | name=Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos | alt=National Museum of Mexican Railroads | address=Calle 11 Nte. 1005, San Miguelito |lat=19.053109239308064|long=-98.20382554861149 | phone=+52 222 774 0106 | hours=Tu-Su 09:00 - 17:00 (closed M) |price=M$19 | lastedit=2023-06-21 | content=One of the largest train museums in North America with a great location in an historic train station. Lots of locomotives and rolling stock. Many of the railway cars are open for tourists to enter. Most signage is in Spanish only. }} * {{see | name=Capilla del Rosario | alt=Templo de Santo Domingo, Rosary Chapel | url=http://capilladelrosariopuebla.com.mx/ | email= | address=Av. 4 Pte., Centro Histórico | lat=19.046777 | long=-98.198395 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-02-04 | content=One of the most extravagantly opulent churches in Mexico, this small chapel has been called "The Eighth Wonder of the World" (or "WOW!" for short). The sheer quantity of gold covering virtually every surface of the altar, walls, and dome is jaw dropping, but the extravagance goes further with elaborate talavera tilework and iconic statues and paintings everywhere. }} * {{see | name=Museo Taller Erasto Cortes | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av 7 Ote 4, Centro Histórico | lat=19.042193 | long=-98.199070 | directions= | phone=+52 222 232 0194 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00 - 18:00, closed M | price=M$45 | lastedit=2025-02-04 | content=Small graphic arts museum in an historic building. Workshops on Saturday. }} ==Do== {{mapframe|name=Map of the region around Puebla}} * If you like '''night life''', try the ''antros'' (clubs) in [[Cholula]]. Many don't charge cover. There is also abundant live music throughout Puebla. Smaller and less popular antros are also located in the Los Sapos district, only a few blocks from the Zocalo. * Take a tour around the city on a '''tour bus'''. This may seem very touristy, but this is a really cheap easy way to get a quick view of some of the coolest attractions in the city. It also is a way to get a good bearing before you decide to set off and dive into some of the attractions the city has to offer. The tour is in Spanish, but you can ask for headphones when you get on the bus and then you'll be able to listen to a translated in several languages. The bus has several stops along the route where you can get down and get up. * As the temperatures go down in the winter to 5°C at night, you can go to a '''sauna''' in the morning. For example to the {{do | name= Baños de Vapor "Neptuno"| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0535892 | long=-98.1950008 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | image= | lastedit=2021-11-09 | content=You can have a private sauna room for M$42-46 per hour. Or go into the common sauna for M$35. Open F-W 08:00-20:00, Su 08:00-16:30}} ===Spectator sports=== * {{do | name=Estadio Hermanos Serdán | alt=Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán | url=https://pericosdepuebla.com/ | email= | address=Calz. Ignacio Zaragoza 666, Malintzi | lat=19.075948 | long=-98.164846 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5400543 | content=10,000-seat stadium that is home field for the ''Pericos de Puebla'', a professional baseball team in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. The Pericos play a 114-game schedule between April and September each year. Family friendly atmosphere with affordable stadium food that includes tacos arabes and cemitas. Clean, comfortable, fun atmosphere. General admission is only M$100 for men and free for ladies. Reserved seats are more comfortable with tickets starting at M$200. }} * {{do | name= Estadio Cuauhtémoc | url= | address=Calz. Ignacio Zaragoza 666, Parque Industrial Puebla | lat=19.078052273176944 | long=-98.16439967601396 | phone= | content=Catch a pro soccer game almost any time of the year. This stadium is home field for '''Club Puebla''', a top-tier professional team in the Liga MX. The stadium was built in 1967 but underwent major upgrades in 2015 and is regarded as one of the most modern and among the largest stadiums in Mexico. It seats 51,726 people. }} ==== Luchal Libre ==== * Every Monday at 20:00 (until approx. 22:00) there is a show in {{do|name=Arena Puebla|lat=19.038392 | long=-98.198107}} (Avenida 13 Oriente and Calle 4 Sur). Great atmosphere. You can get tickets at the box office (be there at least 90 - 60 minutes before the event starts). Admittance starts at 19:00. There are scalpers who sell tickets near the entrance with some markup. If you want to buy from a scalper it's best if you speak good Spanish. Otherwise you might pay an even higher markup. * Every Sunday at 18:30 (until approx. 22:00) there is a show in {{do|name=Arena Coliseo San Ramón|lat=18.975696009120004|long=-98.25771155187796}} (Calle 11 Sur between "Magnolias" and "Azaleas" street, near Metrobus station "Azaleas"). They sell tickets only at the box office. The venue is not very big and not all "fighters" belong to the top tier category. ===Further afield=== * {{do | name=Africam Safari | alt= | url=http://www.africamsafari.com/ | email= | address=Blvd. Cap. Carlos Camacho Espíritu Km 16.5, Barrios de Arboledas, 72260 Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza | lat=18.9363 | long=-98.1329 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-06-05 | content=17 km. A zoo park where wild African animals live freely. }} * {{do | name=[[Cholula]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0622957 | long= -98.3065351 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=}} – 10 km. Filled with as many as 365 churches (actually just 45..) and an archaeological site which contains the worlds largest (by volume) pyramid. * {{do | name=[[Chipilo]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0043956 | long= -98.3310549 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=}} – 16 km. A town for an authentic northern Italian experience. * {{do | name=[[Atlixco]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=18.9080799 | long= -98.4357113 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit= | content=}} – 30 km. Known for its production of ornamental plants and cut flowers. The festival El Huey Atlixcayotl, a modern adaptation of an old indigenous celebration occurs the last Sunday of September. * The neighboring {{marker | type=do | name=National park Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl | lat=19.0896224 | long=-98.6301205 }} (in the west) or {{marker | type=do | name=National park La Malinche | lat=19.2312560 | long= -98.0316412 }} (in the north-east) to spend a day hiking or camping there. ==Buy== ATMs are available throughout the city. There is an ATM of Caja Popular Mexicana in the CAPU intercity bus station. ATMs of Banca Inbursa and BanCoppel are for example in the historic center. [[File:Interior de la Victoria.jpg|thumb|Interior of the Mercado Victoria]] * Talavera is one of Puebla's most emblematic [[Mexican artesanias|artesanias]]. (Talavera is fine china-like ceramics with patterns that derive from historical Spanish and Asian patterns.) Talavera from Puebla is recognized by UNESCO as part of the intangible heritage of humanity. It is probably the best souvenir you can bring home from Puebla. * Local handcrafts from around the region can be found at El Parian, the largest general artesanias marketplace in Puebla. * Freshly ground coffee or beans from Cafe Britania, Av de la Reforma 528a, available per kilo and also sold in 250-g bags. The coffee comes from the nearby Veracruz region. * {{buy | name=Uriarte Talavera | url=https://www.uriartetalavera.com.mx/ | address=4 Poniente 911, Centro [[Puebla]] | lat=19.049772090359966 | long=-98.2048198042291 | phone=+52 (222) 2 32 15 98 | hours= | content=Talavera workshop founded in Puebla in 1824. }} * {{buy | name=Fabrica de Talavera Armando | url=http://www.talaverarmando.com.mx/ | address=Calle 6 Nte 408, Centro Histórico | lat=19.04452529217882 | long=-98.19271021868592 | phone=+52 22 2232 6468 | hours=Daily 09:00 - 20:00 | lastedit=2024-09-21 | content=Workshop and gallery for fine Talavera ceramic pieces. Excellent workmanship with a number of unique patterns. }} * {{buy | name=Mercado el Parián | address= |lat=19.043372073940187|long=-98.19326124695385 | hours=10:00 - 21:00 daily | content=Puebla's largest artesania marketplace is clean and well-organized, though it has a lot of low-quality junk aimed at the casual tourist with undiscriminating taste. Still, there are authentic pieces at reasonable prices if you're careful and know what you're looking at. Lots of textiles and talavera. }} * {{buy | name=Los Sapos | address=C. 6 Sur 110, Centro Histórico |lat=19.041776896882563 | long=-98.19484525697936 | hours=Sa-Su 10:00 - 18:00, closed M-F | content=Puebla's most fun shopping experience, it's a series of alleyways full of shops selling jewelry, antiques, and [[Mexican artesanias|artesanias]]. }} ==Eat== Eat the street food. Travel books will almost always tell you not to, but generally speaking, it is entirely safe and can be one of the best cultural experiences of your trip. Street foods to try: *''Quesadillas'' with mushrooms, sausage (chorizo), pumpkin flower (''flor de calabaza''), or ''huitlacoche'' (corn truffle, an Aztec specialty) *''Memelas'' (tortillas made with mixed masa and beans red or green salsa on top, then topped with onions and cheese) *''Elote'' (corn on the cob with Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise if desired, and chili powder). *''Pelonas'' (fried sandwiches filled with meat, lettuce, cream, and salsa) *''Gorditas'' (similar to ''memelas'', but topped with chorizo, ''chicharron'' --fried pig skin)--or chicken, avocado slices, salsa, onions, and cheese). *Potato chips, usually fried the same day (extra crispy) and topped with lime juice and hot sauce. *''Mixiotes'' - piece of chicken or ''carnero'' (goat) in a special sauce made out of guajillo chile and spices with an avocado leaf cooked in vapor all wrapped in foil paper or special mixiote paper. *''Chalupas a tortilla'' with green or red sauce then topped with onion, chicken or beef shreds. (Traditional chalupas have no cheese.) *''Cemitas'' - a special bread that looks like a torta prepared with milanesa, avocado, queso oaxaca in shreds, papalo, aceite de comer and chipotles. *Tacos árabes, similar to kebab usually made of pork meat All street food generally includes anything with ''mole poblano'', ''tacos Arabes'' (made with lamb or pork, originated from the large Arab population in the city), ''chiles en nogada, pozole, pambazos, pipian, adobo'' and ''chanclas''. ===Street food=== * {{eat | name= Vero| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.0402921| long=-98.1865297 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | image= | lastedit=2021-11-01 | content=It serves big tasty quesadillas with a lot of cheese inside for M$25. You find it by looking for a small sign saying "Vero" at the wall. }} * {{eat | name= Indoor market La Acocota| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= 19.0411510| long=-98.1863450 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | image= | lastedit=2021-11-01 | content=Inside are food stalls which prepare food for you. It's popular among the locals.}} ===Budget=== All these are in the historical center: *{{eat | name=Restaurante La Fonda | url= | email= | address=2 Oriente 801 | lat=19.042675| long= -98.193376 | directions=on the south street of El Parián market; big awning with name | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Located on the south street by El Parián market. Excellent local cuisine for less than you'd spend in the Zócalo area; their ''chiles en nogada'' are especially delicious. For a ''chile en nogada'' with a soup and a dish of rice with ''mole poblano'' it's half of what you'd spend for the same in the Zócalo. They also sell their excellent mole poblano by the kilo or half-kilo. }} *{{eat | name=Caramia, pizzería artesanal | url= | email= | address=Corner of 4 norte and 2 Oriente | lat=19.044352 | long=-98.196454 | directions= | phone= +52 1 222 242 5584 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Sa 14:00-22:00, Su 14:00-21:00 | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Relatively authentic pizzeria with some other Italian food, good portions, seems not to serve alcohol though. }} *{{eat | name=La Zanahoria | url= | email= | address=5 oriente 205 | lat= 19.0419 | long= -98.1974 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content=Vegetarian restaurant with well-priced menu. Veggie burgers are good. Seems not to serve alcohol. Also shop selling vegetarian products. }} * {{eat | name=Fonda La Compañía | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 4 Nte 3 | lat=19.0432355 | long= -98.1954702 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=El Viejo Rosario | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. 8 Ote. 5 | lat=19.0472506 | long= -98.1964428 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Girofle Tortas | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av 2 Ote 15-Local B | lat=19.0445149 | long=-98.1968844 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Bajo El Cielo de Jalisco | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 3 Sur 507 | lat=19.0430948 | long=-98.2014726 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== *{{eat | name=Vittorio's | url= | email= | address=2 Sur 106 | lat=19.0432938 | long= -98.1973612 | directions=On the Zócalo, along 2 Sur | phone= +52 222 232 7900 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Excellent Italian and Mexican cuisine, at good prices. Apparently known for holding the Guinness World Record for the largest pizza. Try their garlic bread and their pastas if you're not in the pizza mood (they make a mean Pennette Arrabiata). They also serve traditional ''poblano'' cuisine. Extensive wine and beverage list. Has an area for outside seating, though this may be full at peak hours; also has two floors of indoor seating. }} * {{eat | name=Entre Tierras | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 4 Nte 410 | lat=19.0449504 | long=-98.1942656 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Mexicana | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av 3 Pte 316 | lat=19.0450784 | long=-98.2017771 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=OCHO30.4 Centro | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. de la Reforma 538 | lat=19.0468684 | long=-98.2029086 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Café Roma | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. de la Reforma 536 | lat=19.0466009 | long=-98.2027913 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-01 | content= }} ===Splurge=== *{{eat | name=El Mural de los Poblanos | url=http://www.elmuraldelospoblanos.com | email= | address=16 de Septiembre 506 | lat= | long= | directions=from the front of the cathedral, left at 16 de sept.; will be on your right after 5 Poniente | phone= +52 222-2426696 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=13:00 - 23:00 | price= | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Traditional cuisine; fine dining. The best mole poblano; other seasonal dishes, Spanish cuisine. Steps from the Cathedral and Zócalo. }} ===Sweet=== *{{eat | name=Super Paleteria Barragan | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. 16 de Septiembre | lat= | long= | directions=between 15 and 17 Ote | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Delicious ice creams, sorbets and aguas frescas. Very popular with locals (in fact often huge crowd outside). }} ==Drink== Local drinks include ''pulque, agua miel'' (honey water), tequila, ''agua de limon'' (lemon water), ''agua de tamarindo, agua de jamaica, horchata, chocolate Mexicano, atole'' (cornmeal drink), ''cafe de olla'' (coffee with cinnamon), ''pasitas ''(in ''los sapos''), and ''tortas de chalupa'' (mini telerra roll with mashed potatoes, beans and 2 fried tortillas covered with green or red salsa). *{{drink | name=Vittorio's | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= See "Eat" above. }} *{{drink | name=El Mural de los Poblanos | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= See "Eat" above. }} *{{drink | name=Hotel Royalty | url= | email= | address=Portal Hidalgo #8 | lat= | long= | directions=On the Zócalo | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Great for drinks with views of the Zócalo. }} *{{drink | name=Cafe Teorema | url=http://cafeteoremapuebla.blogspot.mx/ | email= | address=2 Pte # 703-B | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +52 2 98 00 28 or +52 2 32 78 99 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cafe, bar, bookshop and arts venue, with frequent evening concerts. }} *{{drink | name=Paradeplatz | url= | email= | address=Calle 16 septiembre 1713-A | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 09:00-21:30, Sa 09:30-20:30 | price= | content=Fashionably designed Swiss-style cafe serving good quality coffee and hot chocolate, along with delicious Swiss-style cakes. A little pricier than other coffee shops in Puebla but unique ambience and style (as well as taste!). }} *{{drink | name=Yelao | url= | email= | address=3 oriente 207B | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +52 232 12 45 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Sa 09:00-23:00, Su 09:00-20:00, closed M| price= | content=Cafe which opens late (closed Monday), selling a variety of hot and cold drinks, some alcoholic beverages, home-made ice cream and various cakes and salads. Nice upstairs seating area including small balconies. }} *Along Avenida Juárez there's a good selection of bars and clubs. ==Sleep== For the night you don't really need air conditioning. In winter the temperatures go down to 5°C, in the warm season to 13°C. ===Budget=== *{{sleep | name=Hotel San Agustin | alt= | url=http://www.hotelesenpuebla.com/hotel-san-agustin/ | email= | address=3 poniente 531 centro | lat=19.0457 | long=-98.2033 | directions=a few blocks away from Zocalo, near the Iglesia San Agustín | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=11:00 | price=M$280 | content=Cheap and clear hotel in the middle of the historical center of Puebla. All rooms are situated around a courtyard. Free (though very basic) breakfast at the cafe right next door. Friendly staff. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel La Morada | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av 6 Ote 414, Centro histórico de Puebla, 72000 Puebla, Pue | lat=19.044789 | long=-98.193242 | directions= | phone=+52 2229627395 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout=12:00 | price= | lastedit=2022-11-28 | content=A few blocks from Zocalo with low-key large and clean rooms with private toilet and cable TV. Friendly staff. The rooms have a table and chairs. The room have plenty of light coming from outside both day and night. They store the luggage after check-out. Prices start at M$200 (Nov 2022) for a single. }} ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Casona de la China Poblana | alt= | url=https://casonadelachinapoblana.mx | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | lastedit= | content=This 5-star contemporary hotel is housed in a construction typical of the Colonial architecture of the 17th century as is named China Poblana, in memory of Catarina de San Juan “venerable servant of god”. This boutique hotel blends in perfect harmony the classic style of the colonial era with the luxuries of the modern times. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Del Portal | url=http://www.hoteldelportal.com.mx | email= | address=Juan de Palafox y Mendoza 205 | lat= | long= | directions=on Zócalo, on Palafox just off 2 Sur | phone= +52 222 404 6200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=Can get a room (very small balcony) that faces the Zócalo. The rooms don't have air conditioning; only fans. The hotel provides small bottles of water and towels. }} * {{sleep | name=Mesones Sacristia | url=http://www.mesones-sacristia.com | email= | address=6 sur 304 Callejón de los Sapos, Centro Histórico | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +52 222 2324513 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=Offers colonial-style hotel setup with items robust wooden doors and traditional balconies. }} ===Splurge=== *{{sleep | name=Quinta Real Puebla Centro | url=http://www.caminoreal.com/english/Micrositio/index.php?id=15 | email= | address=7 Poniente No. 105 | lat= | long= | directions=just west of 16 de Septiembre | phone=+52 222 229 0909 | tollfree= | fax=+52 222 229 0998 | hours= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=14:00 | content=In the building that was once the Convent of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1593. Features two restaurants and bar. Standard rooms and bathrooms are a little small, but quaint and charming, decorated in the rustic style, and quite clean and comfortable. Featuring TV, desk, minibar, A/C. A great deal, for the price. Hotel has excellent wi-fi reception throughout (for a fee, unless specified in room package). }} *{{sleep | name=Puebla de Antaño Hotel Boutique | url=http://www.hotelpuebladeantano.com/ | email= | address=3 Oriente 206 | lat= | long= | directions=steps from Zócalo, just off 2 Sur | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=13:00 | content=Wonderful, small hotel in the historic center, literally steps from the Zócalo (main square) and Cathedral. Set in an 18th-century casona, 19 luxurious rooms on 3 floors, with a restaurant and "sky bar" that provides good views of the Cathedral. Very clean and comfortable; rooms are spacious. Breakfast included, à la carte from the hotel restaurant, served from 08:00-12:00. Very friendly and helpful staff. Free wi-fi, though it's sometimes down. (Plenty of cheap Internet cafés nearby if this happens.) You can book directly through their website; wouldn't hurt to check external sites like Kayak.com or Orbitz for good deals. }} * {{sleep | name=El Sueño Hotel | url=https://elsueno-hotel.com/neo/ | email= | address=9 oriente No. 12 Centro Histórico | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +52 222-2326489 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=This modern style hotel offers good deals on rooms with many amenities and hotel spa. The food offered by the hotel isn't traditional Mexican, instead offering Mediterranean dishes. }} * {{sleep | name=Marriott Puebla Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pbcmc-marriott-puebla-hotel/ | email= | address=Avenida Hermanos Serdan 807 · Puebla, Puebla 72100 Mexico | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +52 222-1412000 | tollfree=+52 800-223-3300 | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= 192 rooms, including four executive, four junior and three master suites, all surrounded by gardens. It also offers restaurant, bar, two outdoor pools, gymnasium, tennis court, room service, business center, 14 meeting rooms, banquet or convention with a capacity of between 10 and 800. High Speed Internet in all rooms and wireless in public areas. }} ==Stay safe== Drink bottled water and be careful with valuables in public. Because of the altitude tours can be quite exhausting. This can cause problems for travelers. The mild climate may also lead you to underestimate the strength of the sun. Sunburn and sunstroke are a threat, so it is vital to wear sunscreen/sunblock and drink plenty of bottled water. At mealtimes, exercise extreme caution with salads and fruit, or avoid them altogether. If you must eat fruit, peel the skin, as washing is not enough. Salads may be tempting, but enjoyment may be short-lived! For all cases of diarrhea take appropriate drugs and seek medical advice. You will rarely see locals wearing shorts, doing so will identify you as a tourist. Jeans are generally acceptable, except perhaps in some of the nicer restaurants. If you are staying in a hotel and you want to take a taxi, someone working the front desk will most likely be able to call and arrange for a cab to pick you up, or you can hail one off the street if you speak enough Spanish to be able to negotiate the price with the driver. In Puebla, there are a multitude of taxis but your best bet will be a radio taxi. The radio taxis are the best cabs in appearance and since they are registered they are also the safest, but they tend to charge more: about 10 pesos more than if you hail one on the street. If you run into a friendly cab driver, it is a good idea to get his cell phone number, so you can call whenever you need safe transport. == Learn == *'''Livit Immersion Center,''' [https://www.livitspanish.com www.livitspanish.com] Nuevo León 18, El Carmen, +52 222 290 6060. The family-run, small and intimate, Livit Immersion Center, offers Spanish language and cultural immersion programs and classes for all levels. Learn Spanish while exploring Puebla's fantastic colonial arquitecture, rich history and [https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-to-eat-in-puebla-1588810 exquisite traditional cuisine]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. *{{listing | name=Spanish Institute of Puebla | alt= | url=http://www.sipuebla.com | email= | address=11 oriente No. 10 Centro Histórico | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +52 222-242-2062 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A language Institute located in the Ex-convent of Las Capuchinas that offers intensive Spanish courses year around. }} * {{listing | name=University of the Americas Puebla | alt=Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP) | url=https://www.udlap.mx/internacional/intro/ | email= | address=Sta. Catarina Mártir (in Cholula) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=1800 22 77 400 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-10-20 | content=The prestigious university offers Spanish instruction in the form of regular classes for fee-paying students as well as Spanish immersion and tailor-made programs. }} ==Go next== Your next destination for staying can be: ===To the west and north-west=== * '''[[Cuernavaca]]''' – 150 km. "The City of Eternal Spring" due to its climate. It's a popular vacation place and has beautiful parks and gardens. * '''[[Mexico City]]'''. From there to [[Toluca]] or [[Valle de Bravo]] ===To the north-east=== * '''[[Xalapa]]''' – 170 km. Known as the "Athens of Veracruz". With some fine colonial architecture and a nice climate. There are many traditional villages nearby. * '''[[Cuetzalan]]''' - mountain town known for its lively ''tianguis'' and for its colonial flavor ===To the east=== * '''[[Córdoba (Mexico)]]''' – 170 km. A lively city boasting of colonial places, parks and its gastronomy. You can see the building where the Mexican Declaration of Independence was signed with Spain. * '''[[Veracruz]]''' – 270 km. A large coastal city famous for its nightlife. Its spacious downtown area near the harbor comes alive with music and dancing with a strong Cuban influence. ===To the south-east=== * '''[[Oaxaca (city)]]''' – 340 km in the south-east. With a rich culture. The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site. From the city you can go further to the beach village [[Puerto Escondido]]. ===By air=== Puebla has direct low-cost flights for example to [[Guadalajara]], [[Cancún]] and [[Monterrey]]. (updated May 2022) {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Puebla (state)}} {{Geo|19.05|-98.2}} 8ymru757puikp9r905oo2ttewpix43y 0 28816 5298583 5241961 2026-06-26T02:56:20Z Lazarus1255 2236161 /* Eat */ Closed 5298583 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pyin Oo Lwin Banner.jpg|otbp=yes}} '''Pyin U Lwin''' (formerly ''Maymyo'') is a [[hill stations|hill station]] in the Mandalay Division of [[Central Myanmar]]. ==Understand== [[Image:Pyin U Lwin Myanmar.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Unique horse carriages and British colonial houses make Pyin U Lwin stand out.]] Once the summer capital of the British Raj in Burma, Pyin U Lwin retains some of the hill station look that cities like [[Darjeeling]] and [[Simla]] in India used to have in the 1960s and 1970s. Because of its history as a summer capital and a military centre of the Indian Army during British times, it has both a large Indian population and strong Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian communities. As a town near the border of [[China]], many Chinese are also settling down in this pleasant hill town. It is also an important market centre for goods from the Shan State and Kachin territories. It is home to the Defence Academy of the Burmese military, and an important military base. At an elevation of 1,070 m, there is an abundance of flowers, as well as strawberry and coffee plantations. ===History=== The British "discovered" Pyin U Lwin after the capture of Mandalay at the end of the Third Burmese War. An early Englishman wrote: ''"Pyin U Lwin, a charmingly situated village of some five and twenty houses, with a market-place and a gambling ring, won our hearts."'' (Herbert White, ''A Civil Servant in Burma''). The British soon established a military post there and the village was renamed Maymyo (May Town) after the commander of the post, Colonel May, a veteran of the Indian Mutiny. Within a few years, after it was connected to [[Mandalay]] by rail, it became the summer residence of the British government in Burma (in the hot season, the civil service, almost to the man, would move from Rangoon to Maymyo). A little later, it was made the headquarters of the Burma Division, a largely Gurkha and Indian division, and the remnants of that division forms the core of the Nepali population of Pyin U Lwin today. White goes on to say that: ''"Without pretension to the picturesque, it is a place of great charm and quiet beauty, with no palm trees and few pagodas, conspicuously un-Oriental, more like a corner of Surrey than of Burma."'' While the Surrey analogy will seem a stretch to anyone who has visited Surrey, Pyin U Lwin still seems less like Burma than almost anywhere else in the country. [[File:Purcell_Tower.jpg|thumb|Purcell Tower]] ===Climate=== Cooler, relatively speaking, than the plains and the temperature rarely goes over 30°C in summer. Winter temperatures often fall below 10°C at night, so be prepared. ===Read=== * Ellis, Beth, ''An English Girl's First Impression of Burmah'', Bangkok, Orchid Press, 1997. First published in 1899, Beth Ellis's book is an irreverent look at the British Empire set in the hill town of Maymyo (she calls it Reymyo), Pyin U Lwin in modern times. * Theroux, Paul, ''The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia'', Penguin Books, 1995. In his rail travel classic, Paul Theroux journeyed from Mandalay to Maymyo, met the caretaker of Candacraig, and stayed in the lodge itself. A must-read for anyone planning to venture here, or train buffs in general. ==Get in== ===By train=== {{Cautionbox|Note: in August 2025 the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle and is yet to re-open. Therefore trains north of Pyin U Lwin no longer run.|lastedit=2025-08-27}} The train station is north of the city and there are services to and from [[Mandalay]], [[Hsipaw]] and [[Lashio]]. Trains from [[Mandalay]] (upper class 1,200 kyat, ordinary class 550 kyat) leave at 04:00 arriving at 07:52 (but delays are common). Four hairpin bends and a steep ascent make this an interesting, if rather long, ride. You can get out and walk at various points while the train switches direction or makes its slow way up a steep ascent. There is one train daily to [[Hsipaw]] and [[Lashio]] (08:34) the journey is about 6 hours and 10 hours respectively and goes over the famous Gokteik Viaduct. To Hsipaw, upper class 2,750 kyat, ordinary class 1,200 kyat. The train from Hsipaw and Lashio arrives at 16:05 and departs for Mandalay at 17:40. The Pyin U Lwin train station is a bit far from the town centre and most accommodation, but horse-carriages and taxis are there to meet the trains. ===By bus=== There are no scheduled bus services to/from Pyin U Lwin. Buses to and from [[Hsipaw]] will drop you off but you have to pay the fare for the entire trip. The buses tend to be full so it is unlikely that you'll get a seat on them when leaving Pyin U Lwin. ===By pick-up=== There are two pick-up stations in Pyin U Lwin. Frequent pick-ups to/from Mandalay (1,500 kyat for a seat in the back, 2,500 kyat in the front) depart throughout the day from near the gas station, on the Mandalay-Lashio Road about 600 metres south-west of the clock tower. Hsipaw and Lashio bound pick-ups leave early in the morning from the Shan Market west of the town. ===By taxi=== Shared taxis to/from Mandalay (8,000 kyat) and to/from Hsipaw (10,000 kyat) will drop or collect you at your hotel. The Mandalay-bound shared taxi stand is across the clock tower while the Hsipaw/Lashio shared taxi stand is across from the Shan Market if you want to arrange the trip yourself. It is best to arrange a shared taxi the previous evening. Private taxis between Pyin U Lwin and Mandalay should be about 30,000 kyat (central Mandalay) or 35,000 kyat (Mandalay airport). Negotiate. ===By plane=== An airstrip is under construction nearby. ==Get around== {{Mapframe|22.0274|96.4651|zoom=16|height=|width=|layer=|staticmap=|align=|name=}} It is easy to get around on foot or on bicycles (1,200-2,000 kyat per day from your hotel) or even on foot in the city centre. Or hire a ''gharry'', old garishly painted horse-drawn Victorian carriages that live on in Pyin U Lwin. For far-flung places, frequent pick-ups ply the Mandalay road, motorcycle taxis are available in the market, as are taxis. You can also rent a motorcycle to get around from a shop near the mosque. Ask at your hotel. ==See== Pyin U Lwin is relatively free of the ubiquitous pagodas. Some colonial Tudor-style houses still stand (mostly around the National Kandawgyi Gardens), albeit in poor condition, and walking around is an interesting way to see how the Raj lived. There are many churches as well, the oldest dating to about 1910. [[Image:Pyin U Lwin Botannical Gardens.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Botanical Gardens]] * {{see | name=The Candacraig | alt=Now the Thiri Myaing Hotel | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0185 | long=96.4784 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Colonial mansion built as a guest house of The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation in 1904. Made famous by Paul Theroux in ''The Great Railway Bazaar'', it is a good place to stop and see how the colonials lived. But, be aware that the house and hotel are now owned by the government. Other colonial houses remade into government run hotels include '''The Croxton''' and '''Craddock Court'''. }} * {{see | name=Chinese Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.021632 | long=96.478557 | directions=S of town, near Candacraig | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A large and colourful Chinese temple built by the many Yunanese immigrants to the town. }} * {{see | name=English Cemetery | alt=Maymyo Christian Cemetery | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.04228 | long=96.47099 | directions=Across town, beyond the tracks and the train station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The cemetery is in very poor condition having been "nationalized" by the junta and most of the headstones are in disrepair with unreadable inscriptions. Still, a few survive and will be worth the time spent if you are a history buff. St James Church, once Anglican but now Catholic, lies across the road. Drop in and see the plaques to the various British lives lost in various wars. The friendly chaplain will show you around. Take a bike or a horse carriage since the cemetery is quite far. }} * {{see | name=National Kandawgyi Gardens | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.9983 | long=96.4720 | directions=About 1.5km south of the city and you'll need your own transport (walk, bike, carriage, taxi) to get there and back | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=7,500 kyat or US$5 | content=Established in 1915 by Alex Rodger as the Maymyo Botanical Gardens, the garden has a rich and diverse collection of flora, including many English plant varieties, and is without a doubt among the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. A rose garden, a stupa in the middle of a pond and an orchid garden are among the highlights. Seeds are available for sale. A popular spot for locals. Open from 08:00 to 18:00. }} * {{see | name=Purcell Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.026822 | long=96.464123 | directions=On the main intersection in Pyin U Lwin, across from the Mandalay pickup and share taxi stand | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The clock in this tower is reputed to mime the chimes of Big Ben (or so says ''Lonely Planet''). }} * {{see | name=Shiva Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.025367 | long=96.463910 | directions=On the road behind the clock tower | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Hindu temple to the god Shiva. }} * {{see | name=National Landmarks Garden | alt= | url= | email= | address=next to botanical gardens | lat=21.997016 | long=96.474066 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A grandiose collection of large models of Burma's landmarks. Generally pretty boring but has interesting touches like proudly displaying oil wells in the middle of a line of stupa. Entrance fee for foreigners is US$4 (or the kyat equivalent). }} ==Do== [[Image:Anishakan_Falls.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Anisakan Falls near Pyin U Lwin]] * {{do | name=Anisakan Falls | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=In a rugged gorge and framed at the base by a Buddhist temple, Anisaken Falls makes a good half day hike from Pyin U Lwin. Mandalay-bound pick-ups (300 kyat) drop you at the village of Anisakan (tell the driver you're going to the falls and he'll drop you at the road to the falls rather than in the village itself). From there, follow a long road (about 2&nbsp;km) through the village, across a railway line, by a monastery, and through fields to the start of the trail. Alternatively, take a taxi from Pyin U Lwin to the trailhead and back (about US$15). It's also possible to get there by bicycle, since it's only 12&nbsp;km from town centre, but it's not a very nice ride as the road is steep, with a lot of traffic. Stalls at the trail head sell water, soft drinks, and snacks. The path is very steep but short, 35-45 minutes from the trail head to the bottom of the falls. You can then return the way you came or hike up to the top of the falls on a steep trail that runs along the falls itself. If you hike up the falls, you'll notice (with heart pounding from the steep climb) that the falls are actually three falls and the view of the lowest level becomes increasingly delightful as you head up. Once on the top, it is a short walk back to the trail head. If you came by pickup, walk back to the main road and flag a Pyin U Lwin-bound pickup, there are plenty.}} [[Image:Pwe_Kauk_Falls.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Local families visiting Pwe Kauk Falls]] * {{do | name=Pwe Kauk Falls | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Known as Hampshire Falls in British times. Not much to look at by the standards of falls elsewhere, but they are a popular picnic spot and seeing Burmese families picnicking and enjoying themselves is the main reason to go. A precarious bridge crosses the stream and disappears into a fig tree. The falls are on the way to Lashio so you'll need to hire a taxi but, if you want to save money, hang around long enough at the Lashio taxi stand and you'll find a share taxi (share taxis to the falls wait for you and bring you back). A one hour hike from the falls (take a guide, it is easy to get lost) gets you to the natural caves of '''U Naung Gu''' where you'll find several Buddhas.}} * {{do | name=Pyeik Chin Miang | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Further along the road to Lashio are these deep caves full of Buddhas. A large pool a little way down is a popular swimming hole. Share taxis to Pwe Kauk Falls often make the trip.}} * {{do | name=Shan villages | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=If you're not planning to go on to [[Hsipaw]] or [[Kyaukme]], you can stop by at the Shan villages of '''Mogyopit''', '''Yechando''' and '''Ye Negye''' on your way to Pwe Kauk Falls.}} {{Cautionbox|Note: in August 2025 the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle and is yet to re-open.|lastedit=2025-08-27}}[[File:View from the Gokteik Viaduct.JPG|thumb|right|300px|View from the Gokteik Viaduct]] * {{do | name=Gokteik Viaduct daytrip | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= You can cross the viaduct and come back the same day. Take the Lashio bound train at 08:22to Naung Paing (700/1,600 kyat ordinary/upper class), the first stop after the viaduct. You will arrive there around 11:50. Get out and take the Mandalay-bound train at 12:30. At around 10:30 the train will stop in Naung Che (Naung Hkio) for about 10 min. This is the stop just before Gokteik and your chance to buy lunch: Rice and chicken in banana leaf is sold on the platform by a couple of ladies. Make sure to tell the conductor that you want to cross the viaduct and take the train back to Pyin U Lwin. Sometimes the train delays and has to wait at Gokteik station (before crossing the viaduct) for the train from Lashio. This means you can't cross the bridge without missing your return train. They will then tell you to change the train there at Gokteik station. Although you are not able to cross the viaduct by train, you can still watch the other train doing so and best of all: you can walk on the viaduct and photograph the spectacular scenery. The local officers will guide your way and take care of your safety.}} ==Buy== Pyin U Lwin is famous, in Myanmar that is, for strawberries, coffee, flowers, sweaters and damsons. The market is full of shops selling these products. In spring (late Feb, early Mar), flower stalls line the road to Mandalay. The Golden Triangle Cafe and Bakery sells organic coffee from local plantations (ground and whole beans, all vacuum packed). Strawberry jam is readily available (it'll show up in your breakfast). And many stores around the clock tower sell sweaters, the speciality of all old British hill stations everywhere. ==Eat== Pyin U Lwin has quite a few Indian sweet shops with the usual complement of Indian sweets (barfi, laddoo, gulab jamun, etc.). If you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to indulge it. There are several shops close to the Mandalay pick-up stand (on Lashio Rd by the Clock Tower), and at least one near the Central Market. * {{eat | name=Aung Padamya Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=A bit of a distance from the clock tower, behind the Shan Market | phone= | fax= | hours= closes at 21:00 | price= |lastedit= Sep 2015 | content=This is possibly the best Indian restaurant in all of Myanmar.}} * {{eat | name=Krishna Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=House 50, Block 5, Gorakha Rd | lat= | long= | directions=In a lane behind Grace Hotel II, parallel to Mandalay-Lashio Rd | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An unmarked Indian restaurant serving Indian curries with lentils, chapatis and rice. Well-priced, good home cooked food.}} * {{eat | name=South Indian Food Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0272 | long=96.4648 | directions=in the back streets north of the market, close to the main road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Meals for US$2 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A depressing looking family establishment that nevertheless does amazing thali-style curry meals at low prices. There are numerous small, cheap Indian restaurants around town that also do similar meals. }} * {{eat | name=the restaurant with no English name | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ziwaka street | lat= 22.019215| long=96.463865 | directions=from Mandalay-Lashio road walk south at roundabout on Ziwaka street. After passing 3 streets on the left, look for a restaurant that has a big tree in front of entrance with small shrine attached to tree. Located before Ziwaka street branches into 3 roads. Round the corner from Grace 1 Hotel and San Francisco Restaurant. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Meals from 2,500 kyat | lastedit=2015-09-10 | content=This restaurant has no English sign or transcripted Burmese name. '''But it does have an English menu!''' Go for a traditional set Burmese menu and choose any of their delicious curries. The curry is accompanied by 8 side dishes, 1 massive veggy plate with dressing, a soup, rice and a bowl of more rice to go for seconds or thirds. Plates are refilled by the attentive staff for no extra charge when empty. }} ==Drink== *A local grape wine is available in addition to the various beers. A bit sweet for Western palates, but worth a try. *Pyin U Lwin is the centre for coffee plantations in Burma. ==Sleep== Pyin U Lwin has a few magnificent colonial houses restored as hotels. Unfortunately, almost all of these are run by the government. Candacraig, the place immortalised by Paul Theroux, is worth a visit, but don't waste your money on a meal there. === Budget === * {{sleep | name=Bravo Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mandalay-Lashio Road | lat=22.028078 | long=96.464886 | directions=A couple of buildings from Grace Hotel II | phone=+95 85 21 223 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$15-25 | content=Fans, shared/private bath. A very nice up-scale place to stay with budget prices and a rooftop deck. The room was very clean and modern with a nice bathroom and TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Golden Dream Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lashio Rd | lat= | long= | directions=A couple of buildings from Grace Hotel II | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=$20 | content=Fans, shared/private bath. Dirty, dark and does not provide sheets (along with Grace Hotel I) one of the oldest hotels licensed for foreigners in Pyin U Lwin. Buckets of hot water available on request. It can be noisy. }} * {{sleep | name=Grace Hotel I | alt= | url= | email= | address=114 Nan Myaing Rd | lat= | long= | directions=A short walk (little less than a kilometre) south of the clock tower | phone=+95 8521230 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$5/15 single/double | lastedit=2022-11-11 | content=Fans, hot water, private bath. Grace Hotel I is threadbare but clean, and is a good place to relax in when in Pyin U Lwin on a budget. It has a nice garden, ideally suited for breakfast provided. A nice, though nameless, Nepali stall nearby provides quick and tasty daal bhaat, and there are several restaurants a little further away including an interesting Chinese one with private booths in the garden. }} * {{sleep | name=Grace Hotel II | alt= | url= | email= | address=46/48 Mandalay-Lashio Rd | lat=22.027695 | long=96.464645 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$14-16 for double room | lastedit=2022-11-11 | content=Fans, shared/private bath, no hot water. Better kept than its sister hotel but it comes with all the noise associated with being on the old Burma road. The noise starts early, so beware. }} * {{sleep | name=Queen Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lashio Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 92 044030, +95 85 21405 | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 per person for single/double | content=Fans, shared/private bath. This hotel had cleaner sheets then many of those charging US$10. There is no breakfast, but it's clean and they charge in kyat.}} * {{sleep | name=Royal Flower Guesthouse | alt= | url=http://www.royalflowerguesthouse.com/ | email=winkoko212@gmail.com | address=No 181, 11 St, Ward 8, Quarter 4 | lat=22.030911 | long=96.471655 | directions=Near the Shan Market | phone=+95 95109973 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$20-25 | content=Family-run guesthouse. Rooms are clean, relatively large, comfortable and bright, with en suite bath (with hot water). Very friendly and helpful staff, generous breakfast, on a quiet street. Very good value/price ratio. }} * {{sleep | name=Tartar & Nay Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=A couple of blocks east of the night market. | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$9-25 | content=Social hostel with very and helpful staff and a very cute puppy. Dorms and private rooms available. The owners can explain all the nearby sites or organise tours. Bicycle and scooter rental available. }} === Mid-range === * {{sleep | name=Kandawgyi Lodge | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$50-60 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Privately run (to the extent that anything in Burma is privately run), but partly lodged in a colonial bungalow. This is the upscale choice in Maymyo.}} * {{sleep | name=Sweety Land Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweety-Land-Hotel/270401899652346 | email= | address=9, Kalatt Street, 5 Quarter, Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Near the golf club and botanical garden | phone=+95 85 21348 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$20-40 | content=A well-equipped hotel consisting of 16 rooms with satellite TV. Popular with middle class citizens of Myanmar. }} * {{sleep | name=The golden Gate Resort Guesthouse | alt= | url=http://thegoldengateresort.com/ | email=suze.sf@gmail.com | address=91-B, Club Road, Quarter 5 | lat= | long= | directions=Walk down Ziwaka Rd from roundabout (at Mandalay-Lashio Rd) and take the third road to the very right. | phone=+95 9 797488622, +95 9 253450399 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from US$20 (single), US$22 (double) | lastedit=Sept 2015 | content=Bungalows situated in a quiet area have spacy, clean, bright rooms with private bathroom attached. Spring mattress, wifi, TV and hot water (from a solar heater at the roof). The compound is super green and gives you some kind of jungle feeling. Everywhere flowers and trees. The gardeners really do a great job there. And you will have you own veranda to relax and enjoy the greenery. Breakfast is included and taken outside under a grass-thatched roof and you can choose between traditional or western breakfast. And of course, a cup of local coffee. The staff is very attentive, provides a map and helps to organize trips. }} ==Connect== For some reason, international calls are cheaper in Pyin U Lwin and you can call overseas to the UK and U.S. for about US$3-4 a minute by shopping around. Try the call office just before the cinema on the road from Grace Hotel I to the clock tower. * There are a few Internet cafes in the city. One is T.Net around the corner from the Golden Triangle Bakery, 400 kyat/hour. Another is on the first street to the right after the bakery, Day and Night Internet. ==Go next== * [[Hsipaw]] - laid back Shan town a few hours to the northeast, and a good place for trips to Shan and Palaung villages. * [[Kyauk Me]] - a Shan town that is much less touristy than Hsipaw, also a good base for trekking in Shan and Palaung villages. {{guidecity}} {{geo|22.034550|96.458747}} {{IsPartOf|Central Myanmar}} pttaeth8nhz40tc49gmd91muin3kv76 5298584 5298583 2026-06-26T02:56:59Z Lazarus1255 2236161 /* Buy */ It closed. 5298584 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pyin Oo Lwin Banner.jpg|otbp=yes}} '''Pyin U Lwin''' (formerly ''Maymyo'') is a [[hill stations|hill station]] in the Mandalay Division of [[Central Myanmar]]. ==Understand== [[Image:Pyin U Lwin Myanmar.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Unique horse carriages and British colonial houses make Pyin U Lwin stand out.]] Once the summer capital of the British Raj in Burma, Pyin U Lwin retains some of the hill station look that cities like [[Darjeeling]] and [[Simla]] in India used to have in the 1960s and 1970s. Because of its history as a summer capital and a military centre of the Indian Army during British times, it has both a large Indian population and strong Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian communities. As a town near the border of [[China]], many Chinese are also settling down in this pleasant hill town. It is also an important market centre for goods from the Shan State and Kachin territories. It is home to the Defence Academy of the Burmese military, and an important military base. At an elevation of 1,070 m, there is an abundance of flowers, as well as strawberry and coffee plantations. ===History=== The British "discovered" Pyin U Lwin after the capture of Mandalay at the end of the Third Burmese War. An early Englishman wrote: ''"Pyin U Lwin, a charmingly situated village of some five and twenty houses, with a market-place and a gambling ring, won our hearts."'' (Herbert White, ''A Civil Servant in Burma''). The British soon established a military post there and the village was renamed Maymyo (May Town) after the commander of the post, Colonel May, a veteran of the Indian Mutiny. Within a few years, after it was connected to [[Mandalay]] by rail, it became the summer residence of the British government in Burma (in the hot season, the civil service, almost to the man, would move from Rangoon to Maymyo). A little later, it was made the headquarters of the Burma Division, a largely Gurkha and Indian division, and the remnants of that division forms the core of the Nepali population of Pyin U Lwin today. White goes on to say that: ''"Without pretension to the picturesque, it is a place of great charm and quiet beauty, with no palm trees and few pagodas, conspicuously un-Oriental, more like a corner of Surrey than of Burma."'' While the Surrey analogy will seem a stretch to anyone who has visited Surrey, Pyin U Lwin still seems less like Burma than almost anywhere else in the country. [[File:Purcell_Tower.jpg|thumb|Purcell Tower]] ===Climate=== Cooler, relatively speaking, than the plains and the temperature rarely goes over 30°C in summer. Winter temperatures often fall below 10°C at night, so be prepared. ===Read=== * Ellis, Beth, ''An English Girl's First Impression of Burmah'', Bangkok, Orchid Press, 1997. First published in 1899, Beth Ellis's book is an irreverent look at the British Empire set in the hill town of Maymyo (she calls it Reymyo), Pyin U Lwin in modern times. * Theroux, Paul, ''The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia'', Penguin Books, 1995. In his rail travel classic, Paul Theroux journeyed from Mandalay to Maymyo, met the caretaker of Candacraig, and stayed in the lodge itself. A must-read for anyone planning to venture here, or train buffs in general. ==Get in== ===By train=== {{Cautionbox|Note: in August 2025 the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle and is yet to re-open. Therefore trains north of Pyin U Lwin no longer run.|lastedit=2025-08-27}} The train station is north of the city and there are services to and from [[Mandalay]], [[Hsipaw]] and [[Lashio]]. Trains from [[Mandalay]] (upper class 1,200 kyat, ordinary class 550 kyat) leave at 04:00 arriving at 07:52 (but delays are common). Four hairpin bends and a steep ascent make this an interesting, if rather long, ride. You can get out and walk at various points while the train switches direction or makes its slow way up a steep ascent. There is one train daily to [[Hsipaw]] and [[Lashio]] (08:34) the journey is about 6 hours and 10 hours respectively and goes over the famous Gokteik Viaduct. To Hsipaw, upper class 2,750 kyat, ordinary class 1,200 kyat. The train from Hsipaw and Lashio arrives at 16:05 and departs for Mandalay at 17:40. The Pyin U Lwin train station is a bit far from the town centre and most accommodation, but horse-carriages and taxis are there to meet the trains. ===By bus=== There are no scheduled bus services to/from Pyin U Lwin. Buses to and from [[Hsipaw]] will drop you off but you have to pay the fare for the entire trip. The buses tend to be full so it is unlikely that you'll get a seat on them when leaving Pyin U Lwin. ===By pick-up=== There are two pick-up stations in Pyin U Lwin. Frequent pick-ups to/from Mandalay (1,500 kyat for a seat in the back, 2,500 kyat in the front) depart throughout the day from near the gas station, on the Mandalay-Lashio Road about 600 metres south-west of the clock tower. Hsipaw and Lashio bound pick-ups leave early in the morning from the Shan Market west of the town. ===By taxi=== Shared taxis to/from Mandalay (8,000 kyat) and to/from Hsipaw (10,000 kyat) will drop or collect you at your hotel. The Mandalay-bound shared taxi stand is across the clock tower while the Hsipaw/Lashio shared taxi stand is across from the Shan Market if you want to arrange the trip yourself. It is best to arrange a shared taxi the previous evening. Private taxis between Pyin U Lwin and Mandalay should be about 30,000 kyat (central Mandalay) or 35,000 kyat (Mandalay airport). Negotiate. ===By plane=== An airstrip is under construction nearby. ==Get around== {{Mapframe|22.0274|96.4651|zoom=16|height=|width=|layer=|staticmap=|align=|name=}} It is easy to get around on foot or on bicycles (1,200-2,000 kyat per day from your hotel) or even on foot in the city centre. Or hire a ''gharry'', old garishly painted horse-drawn Victorian carriages that live on in Pyin U Lwin. For far-flung places, frequent pick-ups ply the Mandalay road, motorcycle taxis are available in the market, as are taxis. You can also rent a motorcycle to get around from a shop near the mosque. Ask at your hotel. ==See== Pyin U Lwin is relatively free of the ubiquitous pagodas. Some colonial Tudor-style houses still stand (mostly around the National Kandawgyi Gardens), albeit in poor condition, and walking around is an interesting way to see how the Raj lived. There are many churches as well, the oldest dating to about 1910. [[Image:Pyin U Lwin Botannical Gardens.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Botanical Gardens]] * {{see | name=The Candacraig | alt=Now the Thiri Myaing Hotel | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0185 | long=96.4784 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Colonial mansion built as a guest house of The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation in 1904. Made famous by Paul Theroux in ''The Great Railway Bazaar'', it is a good place to stop and see how the colonials lived. But, be aware that the house and hotel are now owned by the government. Other colonial houses remade into government run hotels include '''The Croxton''' and '''Craddock Court'''. }} * {{see | name=Chinese Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.021632 | long=96.478557 | directions=S of town, near Candacraig | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A large and colourful Chinese temple built by the many Yunanese immigrants to the town. }} * {{see | name=English Cemetery | alt=Maymyo Christian Cemetery | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.04228 | long=96.47099 | directions=Across town, beyond the tracks and the train station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The cemetery is in very poor condition having been "nationalized" by the junta and most of the headstones are in disrepair with unreadable inscriptions. Still, a few survive and will be worth the time spent if you are a history buff. St James Church, once Anglican but now Catholic, lies across the road. Drop in and see the plaques to the various British lives lost in various wars. The friendly chaplain will show you around. Take a bike or a horse carriage since the cemetery is quite far. }} * {{see | name=National Kandawgyi Gardens | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=21.9983 | long=96.4720 | directions=About 1.5km south of the city and you'll need your own transport (walk, bike, carriage, taxi) to get there and back | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=7,500 kyat or US$5 | content=Established in 1915 by Alex Rodger as the Maymyo Botanical Gardens, the garden has a rich and diverse collection of flora, including many English plant varieties, and is without a doubt among the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. A rose garden, a stupa in the middle of a pond and an orchid garden are among the highlights. Seeds are available for sale. A popular spot for locals. Open from 08:00 to 18:00. }} * {{see | name=Purcell Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.026822 | long=96.464123 | directions=On the main intersection in Pyin U Lwin, across from the Mandalay pickup and share taxi stand | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The clock in this tower is reputed to mime the chimes of Big Ben (or so says ''Lonely Planet''). }} * {{see | name=Shiva Temple | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.025367 | long=96.463910 | directions=On the road behind the clock tower | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Hindu temple to the god Shiva. }} * {{see | name=National Landmarks Garden | alt= | url= | email= | address=next to botanical gardens | lat=21.997016 | long=96.474066 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A grandiose collection of large models of Burma's landmarks. Generally pretty boring but has interesting touches like proudly displaying oil wells in the middle of a line of stupa. Entrance fee for foreigners is US$4 (or the kyat equivalent). }} ==Do== [[Image:Anishakan_Falls.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Anisakan Falls near Pyin U Lwin]] * {{do | name=Anisakan Falls | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=In a rugged gorge and framed at the base by a Buddhist temple, Anisaken Falls makes a good half day hike from Pyin U Lwin. Mandalay-bound pick-ups (300 kyat) drop you at the village of Anisakan (tell the driver you're going to the falls and he'll drop you at the road to the falls rather than in the village itself). From there, follow a long road (about 2&nbsp;km) through the village, across a railway line, by a monastery, and through fields to the start of the trail. Alternatively, take a taxi from Pyin U Lwin to the trailhead and back (about US$15). It's also possible to get there by bicycle, since it's only 12&nbsp;km from town centre, but it's not a very nice ride as the road is steep, with a lot of traffic. Stalls at the trail head sell water, soft drinks, and snacks. The path is very steep but short, 35-45 minutes from the trail head to the bottom of the falls. You can then return the way you came or hike up to the top of the falls on a steep trail that runs along the falls itself. If you hike up the falls, you'll notice (with heart pounding from the steep climb) that the falls are actually three falls and the view of the lowest level becomes increasingly delightful as you head up. Once on the top, it is a short walk back to the trail head. If you came by pickup, walk back to the main road and flag a Pyin U Lwin-bound pickup, there are plenty.}} [[Image:Pwe_Kauk_Falls.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Local families visiting Pwe Kauk Falls]] * {{do | name=Pwe Kauk Falls | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Known as Hampshire Falls in British times. Not much to look at by the standards of falls elsewhere, but they are a popular picnic spot and seeing Burmese families picnicking and enjoying themselves is the main reason to go. A precarious bridge crosses the stream and disappears into a fig tree. The falls are on the way to Lashio so you'll need to hire a taxi but, if you want to save money, hang around long enough at the Lashio taxi stand and you'll find a share taxi (share taxis to the falls wait for you and bring you back). A one hour hike from the falls (take a guide, it is easy to get lost) gets you to the natural caves of '''U Naung Gu''' where you'll find several Buddhas.}} * {{do | name=Pyeik Chin Miang | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Further along the road to Lashio are these deep caves full of Buddhas. A large pool a little way down is a popular swimming hole. Share taxis to Pwe Kauk Falls often make the trip.}} * {{do | name=Shan villages | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=If you're not planning to go on to [[Hsipaw]] or [[Kyaukme]], you can stop by at the Shan villages of '''Mogyopit''', '''Yechando''' and '''Ye Negye''' on your way to Pwe Kauk Falls.}} {{Cautionbox|Note: in August 2025 the Gokteik Viaduct was damaged during a battle and is yet to re-open.|lastedit=2025-08-27}}[[File:View from the Gokteik Viaduct.JPG|thumb|right|300px|View from the Gokteik Viaduct]] * {{do | name=Gokteik Viaduct daytrip | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= You can cross the viaduct and come back the same day. Take the Lashio bound train at 08:22to Naung Paing (700/1,600 kyat ordinary/upper class), the first stop after the viaduct. You will arrive there around 11:50. Get out and take the Mandalay-bound train at 12:30. At around 10:30 the train will stop in Naung Che (Naung Hkio) for about 10 min. This is the stop just before Gokteik and your chance to buy lunch: Rice and chicken in banana leaf is sold on the platform by a couple of ladies. Make sure to tell the conductor that you want to cross the viaduct and take the train back to Pyin U Lwin. Sometimes the train delays and has to wait at Gokteik station (before crossing the viaduct) for the train from Lashio. This means you can't cross the bridge without missing your return train. They will then tell you to change the train there at Gokteik station. Although you are not able to cross the viaduct by train, you can still watch the other train doing so and best of all: you can walk on the viaduct and photograph the spectacular scenery. The local officers will guide your way and take care of your safety.}} ==Buy== Pyin U Lwin is famous, in Myanmar that is, for strawberries, coffee, flowers, sweaters and damsons. The market is full of shops selling these products. In spring (late Feb, early Mar), flower stalls line the road to Mandalay. Strawberry jam is readily available (it'll show up in your breakfast). And many stores around the clock tower sell sweaters, the speciality of all old British hill stations everywhere. ==Eat== Pyin U Lwin has quite a few Indian sweet shops with the usual complement of Indian sweets (barfi, laddoo, gulab jamun, etc.). If you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to indulge it. There are several shops close to the Mandalay pick-up stand (on Lashio Rd by the Clock Tower), and at least one near the Central Market. * {{eat | name=Aung Padamya Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=A bit of a distance from the clock tower, behind the Shan Market | phone= | fax= | hours= closes at 21:00 | price= |lastedit= Sep 2015 | content=This is possibly the best Indian restaurant in all of Myanmar.}} * {{eat | name=Krishna Restaurant | alt= | url= | email= | address=House 50, Block 5, Gorakha Rd | lat= | long= | directions=In a lane behind Grace Hotel II, parallel to Mandalay-Lashio Rd | phone= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An unmarked Indian restaurant serving Indian curries with lentils, chapatis and rice. Well-priced, good home cooked food.}} * {{eat | name=South Indian Food Centre | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=22.0272 | long=96.4648 | directions=in the back streets north of the market, close to the main road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Meals for US$2 | lastedit=2015-06-05 | content=A depressing looking family establishment that nevertheless does amazing thali-style curry meals at low prices. There are numerous small, cheap Indian restaurants around town that also do similar meals. }} * {{eat | name=the restaurant with no English name | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ziwaka street | lat= 22.019215| long=96.463865 | directions=from Mandalay-Lashio road walk south at roundabout on Ziwaka street. After passing 3 streets on the left, look for a restaurant that has a big tree in front of entrance with small shrine attached to tree. Located before Ziwaka street branches into 3 roads. Round the corner from Grace 1 Hotel and San Francisco Restaurant. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Meals from 2,500 kyat | lastedit=2015-09-10 | content=This restaurant has no English sign or transcripted Burmese name. '''But it does have an English menu!''' Go for a traditional set Burmese menu and choose any of their delicious curries. The curry is accompanied by 8 side dishes, 1 massive veggy plate with dressing, a soup, rice and a bowl of more rice to go for seconds or thirds. Plates are refilled by the attentive staff for no extra charge when empty. }} ==Drink== *A local grape wine is available in addition to the various beers. A bit sweet for Western palates, but worth a try. *Pyin U Lwin is the centre for coffee plantations in Burma. ==Sleep== Pyin U Lwin has a few magnificent colonial houses restored as hotels. Unfortunately, almost all of these are run by the government. Candacraig, the place immortalised by Paul Theroux, is worth a visit, but don't waste your money on a meal there. === Budget === * {{sleep | name=Bravo Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Mandalay-Lashio Road | lat=22.028078 | long=96.464886 | directions=A couple of buildings from Grace Hotel II | phone=+95 85 21 223 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$15-25 | content=Fans, shared/private bath. A very nice up-scale place to stay with budget prices and a rooftop deck. The room was very clean and modern with a nice bathroom and TV. }} * {{sleep | name=Golden Dream Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lashio Rd | lat= | long= | directions=A couple of buildings from Grace Hotel II | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=$20 | content=Fans, shared/private bath. Dirty, dark and does not provide sheets (along with Grace Hotel I) one of the oldest hotels licensed for foreigners in Pyin U Lwin. Buckets of hot water available on request. It can be noisy. }} * {{sleep | name=Grace Hotel I | alt= | url= | email= | address=114 Nan Myaing Rd | lat= | long= | directions=A short walk (little less than a kilometre) south of the clock tower | phone=+95 8521230 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$5/15 single/double | lastedit=2022-11-11 | content=Fans, hot water, private bath. Grace Hotel I is threadbare but clean, and is a good place to relax in when in Pyin U Lwin on a budget. It has a nice garden, ideally suited for breakfast provided. A nice, though nameless, Nepali stall nearby provides quick and tasty daal bhaat, and there are several restaurants a little further away including an interesting Chinese one with private booths in the garden. }} * {{sleep | name=Grace Hotel II | alt= | url= | email= | address=46/48 Mandalay-Lashio Rd | lat=22.027695 | long=96.464645 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$14-16 for double room | lastedit=2022-11-11 | content=Fans, shared/private bath, no hot water. Better kept than its sister hotel but it comes with all the noise associated with being on the old Burma road. The noise starts early, so beware. }} * {{sleep | name=Queen Hotel | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lashio Rd | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+95 92 044030, +95 85 21405 | fax= | hours= | price=US$10 per person for single/double | content=Fans, shared/private bath. This hotel had cleaner sheets then many of those charging US$10. There is no breakfast, but it's clean and they charge in kyat.}} * {{sleep | name=Royal Flower Guesthouse | alt= | url=http://www.royalflowerguesthouse.com/ | email=winkoko212@gmail.com | address=No 181, 11 St, Ward 8, Quarter 4 | lat=22.030911 | long=96.471655 | directions=Near the Shan Market | phone=+95 95109973 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$20-25 | content=Family-run guesthouse. Rooms are clean, relatively large, comfortable and bright, with en suite bath (with hot water). Very friendly and helpful staff, generous breakfast, on a quiet street. Very good value/price ratio. }} * {{sleep | name=Tartar & Nay Hostel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=A couple of blocks east of the night market. | phone= | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$9-25 | content=Social hostel with very and helpful staff and a very cute puppy. Dorms and private rooms available. The owners can explain all the nearby sites or organise tours. Bicycle and scooter rental available. }} === Mid-range === * {{sleep | name=Kandawgyi Lodge | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$50-60 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Privately run (to the extent that anything in Burma is privately run), but partly lodged in a colonial bungalow. This is the upscale choice in Maymyo.}} * {{sleep | name=Sweety Land Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweety-Land-Hotel/270401899652346 | email= | address=9, Kalatt Street, 5 Quarter, Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=Near the golf club and botanical garden | phone=+95 85 21348 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$20-40 | content=A well-equipped hotel consisting of 16 rooms with satellite TV. Popular with middle class citizens of Myanmar. }} * {{sleep | name=The golden Gate Resort Guesthouse | alt= | url=http://thegoldengateresort.com/ | email=suze.sf@gmail.com | address=91-B, Club Road, Quarter 5 | lat= | long= | directions=Walk down Ziwaka Rd from roundabout (at Mandalay-Lashio Rd) and take the third road to the very right. | phone=+95 9 797488622, +95 9 253450399 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=from US$20 (single), US$22 (double) | lastedit=Sept 2015 | content=Bungalows situated in a quiet area have spacy, clean, bright rooms with private bathroom attached. Spring mattress, wifi, TV and hot water (from a solar heater at the roof). The compound is super green and gives you some kind of jungle feeling. Everywhere flowers and trees. The gardeners really do a great job there. And you will have you own veranda to relax and enjoy the greenery. Breakfast is included and taken outside under a grass-thatched roof and you can choose between traditional or western breakfast. And of course, a cup of local coffee. The staff is very attentive, provides a map and helps to organize trips. }} ==Connect== For some reason, international calls are cheaper in Pyin U Lwin and you can call overseas to the UK and U.S. for about US$3-4 a minute by shopping around. Try the call office just before the cinema on the road from Grace Hotel I to the clock tower. * There are a few Internet cafes in the city. One is T.Net around the corner from the Golden Triangle Bakery, 400 kyat/hour. Another is on the first street to the right after the bakery, Day and Night Internet. ==Go next== * [[Hsipaw]] - laid back Shan town a few hours to the northeast, and a good place for trips to Shan and Palaung villages. * [[Kyauk Me]] - a Shan town that is much less touristy than Hsipaw, also a good base for trekking in Shan and Palaung villages. {{guidecity}} {{geo|22.034550|96.458747}} {{IsPartOf|Central Myanmar}} 3s7f0ya7un7zs1jvpf22vvipw68poch 0 29007 5298415 5247973 2026-06-25T12:26:37Z Ground Zero 1423298 /* Nature reserves */ 5298415 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Sian Kaan Natp Pelican.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Quintana Roo''', also called '''the Mexican Caribbean''', is a state of [[Mexico]] that is part of the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]]. Its shoreline along the Caribbean has grown in just a few decades into a major tourism destination. It includes large resort cities built for the Yanqui/Euro tropical vacation business, small communities with a more local Maya-Mexicano character, and fascinating ancient Maya archaeological sites. [[File:Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico -Volcho.jpg|thumb|Easy coastal cruising in Q.Roo]] ==Regions== The Mexican Caribbean is divided in some micro-tourist destinations that include: [[Cancún]], the [[Mayan Riviera|Riviera Maya]], and the [[Costa Maya]]. '''[[Cancun]]''' is the largest and most famous destination of the Mexican Caribbean. It boasts hundreds of major beachfront resort hotels and draws visitors from around the world. The '''[[Riviera Maya]]''' is a tourist corridor that goes from [[Puerto Morelos]] to [[Tulum]]. The Riviera Maya´s heart is [[Playa del Carmen]], an eclectic and seductive city that mixes the Mexican flair with a Caribbean ambiance influenced for all possible cultures from all over the world. The '''[[Costa Maya]]''' is south of Tulum to the border of [[Belize]]. It includes the state capital, [[Chetumal]], the laid back scenic lagoon town of [[Bacalar]], and the artificial atmosphere of cruise ship dock [[Mahahual]]. ==Cities== {{mapframe|19.688|-87.308|zoom=7}} {{mapshape}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Chetumal]]|lat=18.503611|long=-88.305278|wikidata=Q459553}} — hosts the Museum of Mayan Culture, and has several archeological sites nearby *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Akumal]]|lat=20.4|long=-87.321111|wikidata=Q2262536}} — a small town with a spectacular bay, clear waters and underground rivers *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Bacalar]]|lat=18.676944|long=-88.395278|wikidata=Q1709140}} — an historic town with the beautiful lagoon of 7 colors *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Cancún]]|lat=21.160556|long=-86.8475|wikidata=Q8969}} — beach tourism central * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Felipe Carrillo Puerto]]|wikidata=Q1403187}} – historic 19th century Maya town *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Mahahual]]|lat=18.713889|long=-87.709444|wikidata=Q2186055}} (Majahual) — the next Playa del Carmen, a tourist development *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Playa del Carmen]]|lat=20.6275|long=-87.0811|wikidata=Q989988}} — an eclectic and seductive Mexican city *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Puerto Aventuras]]|lat=20.511667|long=-87.234167|wikidata=Q961647}} — a secluded, charming district *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Puerto Morelos]]|lat=20.8536|long=-86.8753|wikidata=Q2117481}} — a quiet fishing town *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Xcalak]]|lat=18.271389|long=-87.835833|wikidata=Q1916616}} — a remote village for great fishing and diving ==Other destinations== [[File:Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve.jpg|thumbnail|Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve]] ===Archaeological sites=== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Cobá]]|lat=20.494722|long=-87.736111|wikidata=Q1104936}} – large ruined Maya city near Tulum *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Tulum]]|lat=20.214722|long=-87.428889|wikidata=Q277408}} – impressive Maya archaeological site built in a cliff that faces the ocean *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Kohunlich]]|wikidata=Q785823}} - large Maya archaeological site, much of it unexplored and unrestored, famous for its Temple of Masks *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Dzibanche]]|wikidata=Q847614}} - Maya archaeological site that is thought to have been the seat of the Kaan dynasty in the 5th and 6th centuries ===Nature parks and reserves=== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve|Sian Ka'an]]|lat=19.5|long=-87.75|wikidata=Q559789}} – a {{unesco}}, the biosphere reserve is an enormous area of coastal wetlands and tropical jungles * {{marker|type=vicinity| name=[[Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park]] | lat= | long= | wikidata= Q4795893}} – It protects the offshore reefs along the western and southern sides of Cozumel, it includes dozens of popular dive sites where you can see tropical fish, coral formations, and other kinds of marine life at depths from 30 feet to more than 150 feet. Many of the sites visited by local dive shops are part of the [[Mexico national parks|national park]]. ===Islands=== *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Cozumel|Cozumel]]|lat=20.422984|long=-86.922343|wikidata=Q20119933}} – the largest island, it is a major scuba diving destination and a popular cruise ship port of call *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Isla Contoy]]|lat=21.506389|long=-86.798333|wikidata=Q912409}} – an uninhabited small island and bird sanctuary *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Holbox|Isla Holbox]]|lat=21.537778|long=-87.22|wikidata=Q1535905}} – a tropical paradise away from the hustle and bustle of mega resorts *{{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Isla Mujeres]]|lat=21.233333|long=-86.733333|wikidata=Q1020769}} – small cozy retreat close to Cancún ===Itineraries=== * '''[[Tren Maya]]''' - route of the tourist train through the Yucatán Peninsula , with stops near beaches, archaeological sites, nature preserves, and cities ==Understand== This eastern part of the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatán Peninsula]] shares much history with the neighboring states of [[Yucatán]] and [[Campeche (state)|Campeche]]; a long Maya heritage and conquest by the Spanish in the 1500s. It was long part of the state of Yucatán. In the 1840s, however, local Maya people revolted against the Hispanic people who dominated politically and economically, starting what is called "the War of the Castes". With long battles the Maya succeeded in driving out the non-Maya from this area, and established their own government with the capital in Chan Santa Cruz, now the town of [[Felipe Carrillo Puerto]]. The Maya state was briefly recognized as an independent nation by the British Empire. An uneasy truce ended in the 1890s with a Mexican counter attack which succeeded in bring the area back under the Mexican flag in 1901. The area was then designated the Mexican Territory of Quintana Roo, named after Andrés Quintana Roo, a Yucatecan hero of the Mexican war of Independence in the early 19th century. Comparatively sparsely populated and undeveloped, the territory of Quintana Roo did not achieve statehood until 1974, making it Mexico's youngest state. In the 1970s, Mexican developers realized the area's beautiful beaches, lush forests, and historic Maya ruins could make it a prime visitor destination if only infrastructure could be put in place. New highways were laid, new international airports constructed at Cozumel and Cancun, and hotels were built. The tiny remote village of Cancun became a boom town, the first center of the new development of Quintana Roo, drawing a new population of workers and residents from other parts of Mexico. Today Quintana Roo is popular with visitors with bustling tourism developments thriving while large areas of natural beauty remain unspoiled. ==Get in== Highways link Quintana Roo to [[Yucatán]]. ===By plane=== Major international airports are [[Cancún International Airport]] ({{IATA|CUN}}), Cozumel International Airport ({{IATA|CZM}}), and Tulum International Airport ({{IATA|TQO}}). Cancun International Airport is by far the largest, serving more than 30 million passengers per year. [[Chetumal]] has a small international airport ({{IATA|CTM}}), but is primarily served by domestic flights to Mexico City (both AICM and AIFA). [[Tulum]] is a new airport, opened in December 2023 and is now the best option for travelers to [[Tulum]] and much of the [[Riviera Maya]]. Tulum is served by domestic flights on all major Mexican airlines from many Mexican cities, international flights to North American cities on most major U.S. and Canadian carriers. It also receives direct flights from Germany on Discover Airlines and from Guatemala on TAG. ===By bus=== Bus service throughout Quintana Roo is excellent with many routes to cities in neighboring [[Yucatán]]. The main bus company is ADO. They have a station in downtown Cancun and in the Cancun International Airport, as well as Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and other cities and towns. Several second-class bus lines serve smaller towns and remote communities. Shared vans (combis) are common between some destinations (such as Tulum to Felipe Carrillo Puerto). ''See [[Bus travel in Mexico]] for further information.'' ===By train=== Quintana Roo is a major focus area for the new ''Tren Maya'' intercity rail service. The railway's largest station is [[Cancún International Airport]]. Other stations in Quintana Roo include [[Playa del Carmen]], [[Tulum]], Tulum International Airport, [[Felipe Carrillo Puerto]], [[Chacchoben|Limones-Chacchoben]], [[Bacalar]], [[Kohunlich]] and [[Chetumal]]. Tickets and information about services are available on the official [https://trenmaya.gob.mx ''Tren Maya'' web site]. ==Get around== Quintana Roo, and Mexico in general has an excellent bus system. [https://www.ado.com.mx/ ADO] (Autobuses del Oriente) is the largest carrier in the region. It provides first class bus service between major cities, sights and the airport. It is wise to use their app for buying and storing tickets, as you do not have to deal with buying them in person - when buying the ticket online, just show the QR from the app to the bus driver. Other bus companies in Quintana Roo include Caribe and Mayab. Driving is a good way to get around because outside of Cancun, traffic is manageable, though sections of highway MEX-307 get congested and construction has been frequent in the early 2020s as the Mexican government works to significantly upgrade its infrastructure in tourism areas. On the island of [[Cozumel]] renting a motorbike is a fun, affordable way to see the island. Three-wheel motorcycle cabs called moto-taxis are used in some towns and on [[Isla Mujeres]] golf carts are commonly used as taxis. Taxis are generally safe throughout Quintana Roo and ride-hail apps like Uber are common, though arriving airline passengers should know that Uber and local taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers at the Cancun airport. As of December 2023, Mexico has a modern, comfortable, affordable rail system throughout the Yucatan Peninsula. The ''Tren Maya'' (or ''Tsiímin K'aák'' if you prefer the Mayan name) has its main station at the [[Cancún International Airport]] with service along the Quintana Roo coast all the way to [[Chetumal]]. Initially, only the westward section towards [[Merida]] and [[Campeche]] is open for business, but stations in [[Tulum]], [[Chetumal]] and the southern leg are scheduled to open in February 2024. ==See== * '''Coral reefs''' - the Mesoamerican Reef is the second largest reef system in the world, it lies a few hundred meters offshore along the entire Quintana Roo coast. The reefs provide spectacular underwater scenery that draws scuba divers and snorklers from around the world. Reefs are a navigational hazard to shipping and several shipwrecks are among the most popular dive sites. The reef and its subsystems are protected natural areas that may impose special restrictions on visitors to the area. Dive tour operators can advise you of local rules but '''most sunscreen products are banned at reefs''' along the coast because they contain harmful chemicals that kill the living coral. Look for brands that are labeled as "reef safe". Reefs and protected marine environments include: ** '''Arrecife de Puerto Morelos National Park''' — reef system south of Cancun ** '''Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park''' — includes most of the popular dive sites near [[Cozumel]] island ** '''Arrecifes de Xcalak National Park''' — pristine, less visited dive sites near [[Xcalak|Mexico's southernmost Caribbean shore]] ** '''Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc National Park''' — long name, but it basically protects the offshore sites on the east side of [[Isla Mujeres]], and the points at the top and bottom of [[Cancun]]'s hotel zone. ==Do== [[Image:Beach_at_Tulum_Mexico.jpg|thumb|On the beach at [[Tulum]]]] * '''Aventuras Mayas''' — Offers jungle and ocean adventures, including zip lines, rappeling, snorkeling in tropical reefs and underground rivers, as well as visits to the archeological site of Tulum * {{do | name=Garrafon | alt= | url=http://www.garrafon.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Garrafon Natural Reef Park is on charming Isla Mujeres, which is beautiful both in and out of the water. 35-minute cruise from Cancun. }} *'''Swim with Dolphins[http://www.dolphindiscovery.com]''' — Swim with dolphins and enjoy this unforgettable and magic experience. Swimming with dolphins is everything you've imagined and more — and a chance to encounter these highly intelligent and friendly marine mammals which will fascinate and amaze you. *'''Jeep Adventures.''' Your self-drive Jeep Adventure will take you on an amazing journey around Cancun and the surrounding areas and give you the chance to see parts of Mexico you wouldn't be able to see on your own. During your Jeep Adventure you will get to: Explore Mayan Ruins, visit a private jungle reserve, swim/snorkel in an underground cenote, experience an amazing interactive zoo, visit an authentic Mexican town, enjoy a buffet lunch on the beach, and many other activities all while under the guidance of a friendly, knowledgeable and humorous guide. *'''Aqua Tours'''. Exciting water tour! Choose either a jetski or two person jetboat for a trip through the lagoon out to snorkel on the reef, their top tours are Jungle Tour and the Sailing Quest (Catamarans). *'''The scuba diving and snorkeling''' around Isla Mujeres is unforgettable. The Manchones Reef begins just off of Isla's shore and the Cuevones and Banderas Reefs are close by. The waters are calm and clear — perfect for the beginner as well as the advanced diver. *'''Lobster Dinner Cruise'''. Romantic night out. Both the guys and gals will enjoy this trip. Take a trip out on the calm lagoon on a beautiful boat with friends you have not met yet. The staff allow you to take part in the fun or settle back and watch the sunset. Steak and lobster is cooked on the boat and tastes so much better away from the city sounds * [[Cenotes of the Yucatán]] ==Eat== [[Image:‎Cobá_-_Restaurant.jpg|thumb|Outdoor restaurant in ‎Cobá]] * Owing to the closeness to the Caribbean you can get a lot of seafood here * Generally speaking most hotels and restaurants in places a tourist might conceivably pass through serve "internationalized" fare as well as more local food. ==Drink== Beer is by far the most popular drink on Mexico's Caribbean coast and there are several small artesanal craft breweries in the state of Quintana Roo that can satisfy a traveler's taste for robust, full-flavored beers. New brewpubs open regularly and keeping a complete list up-to-date would be difficult, but here are a few of the local craft beers to start your beer-hunting journey: * '''Cerveceria Tulum''' (in [[Tulum]] on MEX 307 at km 230) - mostly light-bodied ales including a golden ale, pale ale, and brown ale * '''Cerveceria Akumal''' (in [[Playa del Carmen]] at Calle 38 y Av. 1) - hop-heads will enjoy the IPA and probably the American pale ale too, though their English robust porter is the maltiest and tastiest of the bunch * '''Puerto Juarez Brewery''' (in [[Cancun]] at Puerto Juarez waterfront, Calle 51 #85) - Couple different IPAs, a lighter golden ale and a sour saison, seasonal offerings may vary * '''Chela de Playa''' (in [[Playa del Carmen]] at E Nte. 17, Mundo Hábitat) - Microbrewery (not a brewpub) with hippie atmosphere and an assortment of ales, from IPA to a light poundable wheat beer * '''La Obregón Cerveceria''' (in [[Chetumal]] at Av Álvaro Obregón entre 5 de Mayo y 16 de Septiembre) - lively brewpub with a local clientele that comes for the karaoke, always ask what's on tap because only the standard flagship brews are listed on the menu and there are always seasonal brews rotating on and off tap The traditional beers of the entire Yucatan peninsula are '''Montejo''' and '''Leon''', both brewed by Modelo in the Yucatan. Montejo is a basic light lager and Leon (also known as Negra Leon or Leon Negra) is an amber colored lager that Texans will find similar to Shiner Bock. Not exactly bold, but they don't offend mainstream drinkers. There are three liquers that you'll find in Quintana Roo that you may not be able to find in any other state. All are worth trying if you run across them: * '''Balche''' — unusual drink found only in the Yucatan, made from melipona honey and the bark of the balché tree (''Lonchocarpus violaceus''). Used by the Maya for ceremonial rituals. * '''Xtabentun''' — unusual drink that is worth seeking out because it's generally not exported. Traditional Mayan liquer made from xtabentum honey and flavored with anise. The Mayans say it has hallucinogenic properties, but they're probably just trying to sell more Xtabnetun. * '''Kalani''' — coconut and rum liqueur that's typically blended in cocktails ==Stay safe== [[Image:Quinton_Roo_MX_Classy_Mayan_Residence.jpg‎ |thumb|Typical thatched Maya home near Tulum]] Quintana Roo is generally very safe for foreign travelers. Some reports of crimes and violence in the early 2020s center on the drug trade with either narcotraffickers getting shot or young foreigners trying to score cheap marijuana or meth getting beat up or shot by local drug dealers. Neither type of incident should overly worry most law-abiding travelers. There are also incidents of petty theft. Leaving valuables in plain sight is never a good idea, not even on a beachside lounge chair while you just jump in the water for a quick dip. When you go on vacation, make sure that your common sense doesn't take a vacation too. ==Go next== * [[Belize]] * [[Campeche (state)|Campeche]] * [[Yucatán]] * [[Ruta Rio Bec]] {{usableregion}} {{geo|19.595556|-87.913056|zoom=11}} {{IsPartOf|Yucatán and the South}} 0qzhbiwnanygcu0z44indv3maqc839l 0 29866 5298575 5296442 2026-06-26T02:45:37Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ 5298575 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Roccella Ionica banner.jpg|pgname=Roccella Ionica}} '''Roccella Ionica''' (also known as Roccella Jonica, or just Roccella) is a town in [[Calabria]], Italy. It is situated in the very south continental part of Italy, inheriting warm climate during winter and quite hot during summer period. ==Get in== ===By train=== Roccella has a good train connection from/for the major Italian town. The train station is located right in the centre of town, allowing ease of connection. Coach service is available as well. By car, you should drive from Highway "Salerno-Reggio Calabria" and get-off at Rosarno, then cross Calabria from north to south on highway "autostrada dei due mari". These highways are all toll-free. ==Get around== [[File:PanoramaRoccella.JPG|thumb|Panorama of the town]] History: Locri's Greek ancient town Nature: parks of Sila and Aspromonte ==See== A medieval castle is on the top of a rock on the very top of Roccella. Urban texture is full of ancient villas and churches, dated up to half thousand years ago ==Do== [[File:Roccella Ionica (IMG 20220621 133340).jpg|thumb|[[Sculptures|Contemporary sculpture]] in Roccella Ionica]] During summertime everything is related to sea. During daytime main activities are water sports or beaches activities; during nighttime sea-side discos (in Roccella or in its surroundings) are quite crowded and in a serene mood. Entrance is almost free. Drink prices are cheap. ==Buy== ==Eat== Like all the surroundings, food is very typical and extremely tasty. Main suggestion includes dry-sausages ("soppressata"), any preparation of egg-plants (by themselves, oven-cooked or in a unique course very similar to Greek Moussaka), fresh fried anchovies, and so on. Food is typically spiced with fennel, oregano, onion, garlic. Roccella has as well an excellent local-made bread. ==Drink== Try liquor "Amaro del Capo", made in Calabria from liquorice root. ==Sleep== Few hotels are available, as well as new B&B are growing faster. If you have any contact, the best option would be anyway to rent an apartment or a room. Unfortunately actually there's no centralized service for room-rental, and almost every business is based on unstructured and informal relations. Club Hotel Kennedy [https://www.clubhotelkennedy.com/]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Hotel Parco Dei Principi [http://www.parcodeiprincipihotel.com]. ==Connect== ==Go next== {{geo|38.3167|16.4000}} {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} 9dty5pxuaf847iabqijkfhx33wb8an6 0 30423 5298403 4818711 2026-06-25T12:04:07Z ~2026-36698-44 2426369 Belp 5298403 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Sahara banner.jpg}} [[File:Libya_4985_Tadrart_Acacus_Luca_Galuzzi_2007.jpg|300px|thumb|Western Libya]] Other than the vast expanses of ice desert in the Antarctic and Arctic, the '''Sahara''', encompassing most of northern [[Africa]], is the world's largest [[Deserts|desert]]. ==Countries and territories== ===[[North Africa]]=== * [[Algeria]] ([[Saharan Algeria]], [[Saharan Atlas]]) * [[Egypt]] ([[Western Desert]]) * [[Libya]] ([[Saharan Libya]]) * [[Morocco]] ([[Saharan Morocco]]) * [[Tunisia]] ([[Saharan Tunisia]]) * [[Western Sahara]] ===[[Sahel]]=== * [[Chad]] ([[Saharan Chad]]) * [[Mali]] ([[Timbuktu (region)|Timbuktu Region]]) * [[Mauritania]] ([[Saharan Mauritania]]) * [[Niger]] ([[Northern Niger]]) * [[Sudan]] ([[Darfur]], [[Northern Sudan]]) ==Cities== {{mapframe}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ghadamis]]|wikidata=Q192237}} — old town in an oasis, with whitewashed buildings and covered streets * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ghat (Libya)|Ghat]]|wikidata=Q209393}} — fortress town; surrounding desert features some ancient rock paintings depicting animals gone long since extinct in the area * {{marker|type=city|name=[[M'Hamid]]|wikidata=Q1014625}} — camel trips into the desert can be arranged from this Moroccan village * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tamanrasset]]|wikidata=Q205792}} — oasis town in Algerian Sahara; starting point for trips further into the desert * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Timbuktu]]|wikidata=Q9427}} — famed city made fully of mud once on the southern end of the trans-Saharan trade routes ==Other destinations== * {{marker|name=[[M'zab]]|wikidata=Q724484}} — almost surrealistic desert fortresses scattered on a plateau * {{marker|name=[[Western Desert#Oases|Western Oases]]|lat=27.49|long=27.94|wikidata=}} — five oases deep in the harsh and unforgiving Egyptian part of the desert ==Understand== At 9,400,000 sq km (3,600,000 sq mi), the vastness of the Sahara is comparable to the surface area of the [[United States of America]] or [[China]]. Its name unsurprisingly derived from the plural form of the Arabic word for "desert", ''sahara''. Despite what you may have heard big parts of the Sahara are actually ''not'' covered in sand. ==Get in== [[Tamanrasset]], [[Timbuktu]], and [[Sabha]] are some of the Saharan towns that have '''air connections''' with elsewhere on the planet. The western and eastern edges of the desert are relatively easier to approach '''over land''': the '''highway''' following the Atlantic coast from Morocco through Western Sahara to Mauritania was the route of the former Paris–Dakar Rally, while the Nile provides a great and traditional way of getting to the desert '''[[Felucca cruise on the Nile|on a felucca]]'''. Timbuktu is also accessible with a '''boat ride''' on the Niger River from [[Mopti]]. One of the most adventurous ways of heading into the Sahara, though, is to take the '''[[Iron Ore Train|Mauritania Railway]]''' from the Atlantic port of [[Nouadhibou]], possibly in one of the iron ore cars of the longest train of the world, running on one of the very few railway lines in the Sahara. If that doesn't sound adventurous enough, try '''cycling''' along the western edge of the desert; the [[cycling the Western Sahara]] article provides descriptions for the route down to the [[Senegal|Senegalese]] border. ==Get around== [[File:Hoggar caravane2.jpg|thumb|A Tuareg man, whose ancestors roamed the Sahara for millennia]] All routes cross the desert in the north–south direction, and there is no through route following the path of the sun. However, most of the existing trans-Saharan routes are very isolated, unsafe due to the armed groups operating in the area, and are subject to closures due to political instability and the tense relations between the regional governments. ==See== * The vast sand dunes * Rock art * Oases ==Do== ===Festivals=== The Tunisian town of [[Douz]] holds the four-day '''Sahara Festival''' towards the end of each year, celebrating the desert culture, featuring camel riding displays, poetry readings, and traditional music and dance shows. If you opt for a more politically loaded gathering, though, you may want to check out the '''Sahara International Film Festival''' (or '''FiSahara'''), which annually takes place in Sahrawi refugee camps (inhabited by refugees escaping from the conflict between Morocco and Polisario/SADR in [[Western Sahara]]), near the Algerian border town of [[Tindouf]] during the spring. What. Is in the Sahara I have no use???????? ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== To the north, the Sahara hugs the [[Mediterranean]] coast or ends at the foothills of the [[Atlas Mountains]], while to the south it gradually morphes into the relatively more vegetated [[Sahel]]. {{IsPartOf|Africa}} {{extraregion}} {{geo|23|13}} tlfhozhs9q13glb9i5kpoal1suj1q2p 5298407 5298403 2026-06-25T12:07:51Z Ibaman 195012 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/~2026-36698-44|~2026-36698-44]] ([[User talk:~2026-36698-44|talk]]) to last version by [[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] 4772511 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Sahara banner.jpg}} [[File:Libya_4985_Tadrart_Acacus_Luca_Galuzzi_2007.jpg|300px|thumb|Western Libya]] Other than the vast expanses of ice desert in the Antarctic and Arctic, the '''Sahara''', encompassing most of northern [[Africa]], is the world's largest [[Deserts|desert]]. ==Countries and territories== ===[[North Africa]]=== * [[Algeria]] ([[Saharan Algeria]], [[Saharan Atlas]]) * [[Egypt]] ([[Western Desert]]) * [[Libya]] ([[Saharan Libya]]) * [[Morocco]] ([[Saharan Morocco]]) * [[Tunisia]] ([[Saharan Tunisia]]) * [[Western Sahara]] ===[[Sahel]]=== * [[Chad]] ([[Saharan Chad]]) * [[Mali]] ([[Timbuktu (region)|Timbuktu Region]]) * [[Mauritania]] ([[Saharan Mauritania]]) * [[Niger]] ([[Northern Niger]]) * [[Sudan]] ([[Darfur]], [[Northern Sudan]]) ==Cities== {{mapframe}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ghadamis]]|wikidata=Q192237}} — old town in an oasis, with whitewashed buildings and covered streets * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ghat (Libya)|Ghat]]|wikidata=Q209393}} — fortress town; surrounding desert features some ancient rock paintings depicting animals gone long since extinct in the area * {{marker|type=city|name=[[M'Hamid]]|wikidata=Q1014625}} — camel trips into the desert can be arranged from this Moroccan village * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tamanrasset]]|wikidata=Q205792}} — oasis town in Algerian Sahara; starting point for trips further into the desert * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Timbuktu]]|wikidata=Q9427}} — famed city made fully of mud once on the southern end of the trans-Saharan trade routes ==Other destinations== * {{marker|name=[[M'zab]]|wikidata=Q724484}} — almost surrealistic desert fortresses scattered on a plateau * {{marker|name=[[Western Desert#Oases|Western Oases]]|lat=27.49|long=27.94|wikidata=}} — five oases deep in the harsh and unforgiving Egyptian part of the desert ==Understand== At 9,400,000 sq km (3,600,000 sq mi), the vastness of the Sahara is comparable to the surface area of the [[United States of America]] or [[China]]. Its name unsurprisingly derived from the plural form of the Arabic word for "desert", ''sahara''. Despite what you may have heard big parts of the Sahara are actually ''not'' covered in sand. ==Get in== [[Tamanrasset]], [[Timbuktu]], and [[Sabha]] are some of the Saharan towns that have '''air connections''' with elsewhere on the planet. The western and eastern edges of the desert are relatively easier to approach '''over land''': the '''highway''' following the Atlantic coast from Morocco through Western Sahara to Mauritania was the route of the former Paris–Dakar Rally, while the Nile provides a great and traditional way of getting to the desert '''[[Felucca cruise on the Nile|on a felucca]]'''. Timbuktu is also accessible with a '''boat ride''' on the Niger River from [[Mopti]]. One of the most adventurous ways of heading into the Sahara, though, is to take the '''[[Iron Ore Train|Mauritania Railway]]''' from the Atlantic port of [[Nouadhibou]], possibly in one of the iron ore cars of the longest train of the world, running on one of the very few railway lines in the Sahara. If that doesn't sound adventurous enough, try '''cycling''' along the western edge of the desert; the [[cycling the Western Sahara]] article provides descriptions for the route down to the [[Senegal|Senegalese]] border. ==Get around== [[File:Hoggar caravane2.jpg|thumb|A Tuareg man, whose ancestors roamed the Sahara for millennia]] All routes cross the desert in the north–south direction, and there is no through route following the path of the sun. However, most of the existing trans-Saharan routes are very isolated, unsafe due to the armed groups operating in the area, and are subject to closures due to political instability and the tense relations between the regional governments. ==See== * The vast sand dunes * Rock art * Oases ==Do== ===Festivals=== The Tunisian town of [[Douz]] holds the four-day '''Sahara Festival''' towards the end of each year, celebrating the desert culture, featuring camel riding displays, poetry readings, and traditional music and dance shows. If you opt for a more politically loaded gathering, though, you may want to check out the '''Sahara International Film Festival''' (or '''FiSahara'''), which annually takes place in Sahrawi refugee camps (inhabited by refugees escaping from the conflict between Morocco and Polisario/SADR in [[Western Sahara]]), near the Algerian border town of [[Tindouf]] during the spring. ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== To the north, the Sahara hugs the [[Mediterranean]] coast or ends at the foothills of the [[Atlas Mountains]], while to the south it gradually morphes into the relatively more vegetated [[Sahel]]. {{IsPartOf|Africa}} {{extraregion}} {{geo|23|13}} tgnv2allt9884okuyl4x78ugqqzygyy 0 32021 5298483 5261019 2026-06-25T18:20:38Z Riverhugger 115312 Corrected zip code 5298483 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Lumpytrout Wikivoyage Page Banner Washington Seattle Seward Park.JPG|pgname=South Seattle|caption=boats moored near Seward Park}} '''South Seattle''' is a broad swath of [[Seattle|the city]] between I-5 to the west and Lake Washington to the east. It is the most ethnically diverse part of not only Seattle, but arguably of the entire United States: the area served by the 98118 ZIP Code, roughly the eastern half of this district, consistently ranks among the country's most diverse postal codes. It has not historically been a flashy area, but continued development, especially along Seattle's original light rail line, is raising its profile. ==Understand== [[File:Mount Rainier from Seward Park Seattle.jpg|thumb|Lake Washington and Mount Rainier, from Seward Park]] The area is comprised of numerous neighborhoods, including: * '''Beacon Hill''' — A mostly residential neighborhood with a variety of parks, restaurants and bars, as well as commanding views of the mountains and Downtown. * '''Columbia City''' — Once a forgotten part of the city left to decay, this revitalized gem offers great restaurants, bars, live entertainment, movie theaters, art galleries, and shops. Also, be sure to explore the Columbia City Library, an updated Carnegie library. * '''Mount Baker''' — Classic tree-lined streets with stately bungalows mark this mostly residential neighborhood on the shore of Lake Washington. * '''Othello''' — A bustling multi-cultural neighborhood sprouted from this light rail station, offing a wide variety of shops and restaurants. * '''Rainier Valley''' — Home to more immigrants than any other neighborhood in Seattle. Small shops and restaurants abound, particularly African and East Asian. * '''Seward Park''' — A grand park is the centerpiece for this neighborhood along Lake Washington south of Mount Baker. * '''South Seattle''' — In addition to the area, "South Seattle" can also refer to a small residential neighborhood west of Mt. Baker. ==Get in== {{mapframe|47.555|-122.293|zoom=12|height=400|width=300}} {{mapshapes|Q2778618}} <!-- Link light rail --> ===By car=== [[File:I-5.svg|link=Interstate 5#Seattle|22px]] '''[[Interstate 5#Seattle|Interstate 5]]''' (I-5) runs along the western boundary of this district and offers several exits into various neighborhoods of South Seattle. [[File:I-90.svg|22px]] '''Interstate 90''' (I-90) runs along the northern boundary of this district. Exit 3 leads to Rainier Ave S. '''Rainier Ave S''' and '''Martin Luther King Jr. Way''' are the two main thoroughfares that run north and south through the district. ===By light rail=== [[File:Beacon Hill light rail station platform.JPG|thumb|upright=0.7|Beacon Hill Station]] The '''[https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/routes-schedules/1-line Link light rail 1 Line]''' has several stops in the district, from [[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]] and [[Federal Way]] to the south, and from [[Seattle/Downtown|Downtown]], [[Seattle/University District|U District]], [[Seattle/North|North Seattle]], [[Shoreline]], [[Mountlake Terrace]] and [[Lynnwood]] to the north. A train runs every 8-15 minutes from 5:00 to midnight. $3 * {{go | name=Beacon Hill Station | alt= | url=https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/beacon-hill-station | email= | address=2702 Beacon Ave S | lat=47.57949 | long=-122.31170 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4875949 | lastedit=2025-12-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Mount Baker Station | alt= | url=https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/mount-baker-station | email= | address= | lat=47.57655 | long=-122.29769 | directions=Rainier Ave S & S Forest St | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q6919565 | lastedit=2025-12-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Columbia City Station | alt= | url=https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/columbia-city-station | email= | address=4818 Martin Luther King Jr Way S | lat=47.55976 | long=-122.29264 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5149643 | lastedit=2025-12-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Othello Station | alt= | url=https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/othello-station | email= | address=7100 Martin Luther King Jr Way S | lat=47.53808 | long=-122.28153 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7108560 | lastedit=2025-12-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Rainier Beach Station | alt= | url=https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/rainier-beach-station | email= | address=9132 Martin Luther King Jr Way S | lat=47.52260 | long=-122.27939 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7284903 | lastedit=2025-12-20 | content= }} The '''[https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/routes-schedules/1-line Link light rail 2 Line]''' stops on the northern edge of the district, from [[Redmond_(Washington)|Downtown Redmond]], [[Bellevue]] and [[Mercer Island]] to the east, and from Lynnwood with the same stops as the 1 Line. * {{go | name=Judkins Park Station | alt= | url=https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/judkins-park-station | email= | address=1451 23rd Ave S | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7284900 | lastedit=2026-04-14 | content= }} ===By bus=== '''King County Metro''' bus routes #7 and #42 travel along Rainier and MLK, respectively, with frequent service seven days a week; the 7 is also one of the few routes to operate between 1 and 5AM. The #36 travels the length of Beacon Hill with connections at the Beacon Hill light rail station. East-west bus service is limited to local routes. ===By bike=== Like most of Seattle, there is a fair amount of built in bike lanes but some of the hills can be intimidating to unaccustomed cyclists. The city maintains '''[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaps.htm bike maps]''' with all cycling infrastructure. * '''Lake Washington Boulevard''' is a scenic {{mi|8}} route that hugs Lake Washington. There are views of the lake, small sections of forest, meadows, and the Cascade Mountains. From the north end at Coleman Park (just south of Interstate 90) the trail runs all the way to Seward Park in the south. * The '''I-90 Trail''' is a dedicated multi-use path running from Jose Rizal Park in Beacon Hill, crossing Rainier Ave to Mount Baker, [[Mercer Island]] and [[Bellevue]]. ===By boat=== * {{listing | name=Lakewood Marina | alt= | url=https://www.leschiandlakewood.com/ | email= | address=4500 Lake Washington Blvd S | lat= | long= | directions=north of Seward Park | phone=+1 206-722-0660 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 11AM - 5PM 24-hour security gate with tenant access, Summer hours 10AM - 5PM Memorial Day—Labor Day | price= | content=limited guest moorage is available on this Lake Washington marina which includes a small craft boat launch. Not near any facilities except parks so other transport should be arranged. }} * '''Seward Park''' creates a small protected harbor on the north shore that is popular for overnight moorage, especially in the summers. ==See== * {{see | name=Northwest African American Museum | alt= | url=https://www.naamnw.org/ | email= | address=2300 S Massachusetts St | lat=47.5889 | long=-122.3017 | directions= | phone=+1 206 518-6000 | tollfree= | hours=W 11AM-5PM, Th 11AM-7PM, F-Su 11AM-5PM | price=$7 adult, $5 children 4-12, students, seniors; free the first Thursday of every month | wikipedia=Northwest African American Museum | wikidata=Q7059902 | content=Short but powerful museum on the history of Blacks in the Northwest. }} ===Parks=== [[File:Jefferson Park viewpoint, Seattle, Washington.jpg|thumb|Jefferson Park viewpoint]] * {{see | name=Jefferson Park | alt= | url=https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks/jefferson-park | email= | address=3801 Beacon Ave S | lat=47.5666 | long=-122.307 | directions=on Beacon Hill, 0.5 mi south of Beacon Hill Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=4AM - 11:30PM | price= | wikipedia=Jefferson Park (Seattle) | image=Jefferson park trees in snow.jpg | wikidata=Q12060863 | content=Seattle's sixth largest park at 45.2 acres, this park designed by the Olmsted Brothers offers unparalleled views of the Duwamish River, downtown and the Olympic Mountains. It is the home to the Jefferson Park Golf Course, Jefferson Park driving range, Jefferson Skatepark, tennis courts (lighted), basketball courts, the Jefferson Community Center, Jefferson Lawn Bowling, and Beacon Mountain an ecologically oriented playscape with a water park in the summer. }} * {{see | name=Seward Park | alt= | url=https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks/seward-park | email= | address= | lat=47.5559 | long=-122.2515 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Seward Park (Seattle) | wikidata=Q14713892 | content=This wooded Olmsted park takes up a large peninsula surrounded by Lake Washington. Attractions include kids activities in the summer, great scenery, and a {{mi|2.5}} paved level path that circles the whole peninsula. }} * {{see | name=Kubota Gardens | alt= | url=https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/kubota-garden | email= | address=9817 55th Ave S | lat=47.512 | long=-122.2657 | directions= | phone=+1 206 684-4075 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 6AM-10PM | price=Free | wikipedia=Kubota Garden | wikidata=Q6441303 | lastedit=2017-07-13 | content=In 1927 Fujitaro Kubota bought {{convert|5|acre|m2}} of logged-off swampland in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle and began his garden. Kubota Garden has since grown into a stunning {{convert|20|acre|m2|adj=on}} landscape that blends Japanese garden concepts with native Northwest plants. Kubota was a horticultural pioneer when he began merging Japanese design techniques with North American materials in his display garden in 1927. The Gardens are a spectacular setting of hills and valleys, interlaced with streams, waterfalls, ponds, bridges, and rock outcroppings with a rich array of plant material. }} ==Do== *{{do | name=The Beacon Cinema | alt= | url=https://thebeacon.film/ | email=info@thebeaconseattle.com | address=4405 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.5641 | long=-122.2884 | directions=in Columbia City | phone=+1 206 420-7328 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Vary by movie times | price= | content=A relatively new movie theater focused on specialized programming. }} *{{do | name=Columbia City Theater | alt= | url=https://www.columbiacitytheater.com/ | email= | address=4916 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.55727 | long=-122.28451 | directions= | phone=+1 206 722-3009 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 6PM-2AM | price= | content=Great place to see a band play. }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Columbia City Farmer’s Market | alt= | url=https://seattlefarmersmarkets.org/ccfm | email= | address=S Edmunds St between 37th Ave S and the alley at 36th | lat=47.5587 | long=-122.2875 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W 3-7PM, May 1-October 16 | price= | content=Over 40 Washington State farmers and small food vendors make this market a popular weekly destination; market days are full of the colors and sounds of shoppers from around the world who live and work in this historic neighborhood. }} * {{buy | name=Andaluz | alt= | url=https://andaluzshop.wordpress.com/ | email= | address=4908 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.5575 | long=-122.2847 | directions=between Ferdinand and Hudson | phone=+1 206 760-1900 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Tu noon-6PM, W F Sa noon-8PM, Th noon-7PM, Su noon-5PM | price= | content=Women's clothing, jewelry and accessories. }} * {{buy | name=Bike Works | url=http://www.bikeworks.org/ | email= | address=3709 S Ferdinand St | lat=47.5577 | long=-122.2857 | directions= | phone=+1 206 322-4368 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F noon - 6PM, Sa 11AM- 6PM, Su 11AM - 5PM | price= | content=Bike Works is an innovative organization centered around bicycles that combines youth development, community engagement, bicycle recycling and a social enterprise bike shop to help build a sustainable and healthy community. }} * {{buy | name=Columbia City Gallery | url=http://www.columbiacitygallery.com/ | email= | address=4864 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.5582 | long=-122.2850 | directions= | phone=+1 206 760-9843 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 11AM - 7PM | price= | content=An artists’ cooperative that brings together emerging and professional artists working in diverse media. The gallery provides an exhibition space for local artists, additional space for exhibits by guest artists and a welcoming environment for visitors of all ages. }} ==Eat== [[File:Rainier Avenue; Columbia City, Seattle.JPG|thumb|Columbia City, home to many great area restaurants]] South Seattle's remarkable diversity is reflected in its dining scene. In particular, it's the place to find Seattle's best Southeast Asian and African cuisine. There are many gems tucked away at unassuming intersections in residential areas. However, most are clustered around Beacon Hill, Columbia City, and the other light rail stations. ===Beacon Hill=== *{{eat | name=Bar del Corso | url=http://www.bardelcorso.com/ | email= | address=3057 Beacon Ave S | lat=47.57541 | long=-122.30956 | directions= | phone=+1 206 395-2069 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Sa 5-10PM | price=Pizzas up to $20 | content=Wood-fired pizzas, Italian dishes (salumi, cheeses and desserts), Italian wines/cocktails, and local beers on tap. }} * {{eat | name=Carnitas Michoacan | alt= | url= | email= | address=2503 Beacon Ave S | lat=47.580858 | long= -122.313899 | directions= | phone=+1 206 323-3688 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 11AM-8PM, Sa Su 10AM-8PM | price= | lastedit=2020-08-25 | content=Mexican taqueria featuring traditional ingredients such as lengua and chuletas ahumadas. }} * {{eat | name=Delite Bakery | url=http://despidelitebakery.com/ | email= | address=2701 15th Ave S | lat=47.5793 | long=-122.3137 | directions=one block west of Beacon Hill Station | phone=+1 206 325-2114 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 7:30AM - 6:30PM, Sa 7:30AM - 6PM | price=Up to $5 | content=A Beacon Hill gem, great Pan de sal rolls and excellent for little sandwiches }} *{{eat | name=El Quetzal | url=https://quetzalseattle.com/ | email= | address=3209 Beacon Ave S | lat=47.57467 | long=-122.30931 | directions=a few blocks south of Beacon Hill Station | phone=+1 206 329-2970 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Family-friendly, but not your standard Tex-Mex, lots of amazing specials and good for large groups. Connected to a full bar with its own menu and unique drink specials. }} ===Columbia City=== * {{eat | name=Columbia City Bakery | url=http://www.columbiacitybakery.com | email= | address=4865 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.5582 | long=-122.2855 | directions=at Edmunds St, east of the Columbia City Station | phone=+1 206 723-6023 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 7AM-7PM, Sa Su 7AM-5PM | price=Most pastries about $3 | content=Excellent bread, pastries, cakes, and coffee. Mostly a dessert or snack place, though the ham and Gruyère croissant makes for a nice light lunch. }} *{{eat | name=Geraldine's Counter | url=http://geraldinescounter.com/ | email= | address=4872 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.55797 | long=-122.28488 | directions= | phone=+1 206 723-2080 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F 7AM-9PM; Sa Su 8AM-3PM | price= | content=Classic American comfort food with fresh, local ingredients and a sophisticated touch. }} *{{eat | name=Island Soul | url=http://islandsoulrestaurant.net/ | email= | address=4869 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.55813 | long=-122.28543 | directions= | phone=+1 206-329-1202 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= M-F 11AM-2PM, M-Th 5-9PM, F 5-10PM, Sa 2-10PM | price= | content=Authentic Caribbean cuisine from chef Bobby Laing. }} *{{eat | name=La Medusa | url=http://www.lamedusarestaurant.com/ | email= | address=4857 Rainer Ave S | lat=47.55845 | long=-122.28557 | directions= | phone=+1 206-723-2192 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu Th 5-9PM, W F Sa 5-10PM | price= | content=Italian restaurant billed as "Sicilian soul food" from chef Julie Andres. }} *{{eat | name=Tutta Bella Pizzeria | alt= | url=http://tuttabella.com/ | email= | address=4918 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.55719 | long=-122.28449 | directions= | phone=+1 206-721-3501 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=11AM-10PM | price= | content=Award-winning Neapolitan pizza, certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. More laid-back than their several other Seattle locations. }} *{{eat | name=Wabi Sabi | url=http://www.wabisabicolumbiacity.com/ | email= | address=4909 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.55756 | long=-122.28520 | directions= | phone=+1 206 721-0212 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= M-F 11:30AM-2PM, Sa 12:30-3:30PM, Su-Th 4:30-9PM, F Sa 4:30-10PM | price= | content=Contemporary-themed sushi bar and Japanese restaurant. }} ===Elsewhere=== *{{eat | name=Sunset Cafe | url= | email= | address=8115 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.52994 | long=-122.27022 | directions= | phone=+1 206 733-0342 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily noon - 9:30PM | price= | content=Central and South Seattle are by no means short of good Ethiopian restaurants, but this one is definitely a standout for its food. Service is friendly, if not the most efficient. }} ==Drink== ===Coffee=== Like the rest of Seattle, South Seattle takes its coffee very seriously. Although there are several chain coffee shops like Starbucks, for the genuine experience visit one of these shops to rub elbows with the locals. Many of the establishments listed above (e.g. Tutta Bella, Columbia City Bakery) are also excellent for coffee. *{{drink | name=Empire Espresso | alt= | url=https://www.empireroastersandrecords.com/ | email= | address=3829-A S Edmunds St | lat=47.55855 | long=-122.28424 | directions= | phone=+1 206 659-0588 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Columbia City Coffee. }} *{{drink | name=The Station | url=https://thestationbh.com/ | email= | address=1600 S Roberto Maestas Festival St | lat=47.57962 | long=-122.31189 | directions=north of Beacon Hill Station | phone=+1 206-931-1357 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 7AM-5PM | price= | content=Cozy neighborhood coffee shop with friendly owners and nice revolving art shows. }} *{{drink | name=Victrola Coffee Roasters | url= | email= | address=3215 Beacon Ave S | lat=47.57461 | long=-122.30930 | directions={{mi|0.25}} south of Beacon Hill Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Neighborhood coffee shop limited food and cool map of Beacon Hill on the wall. }} ===Bars=== Seattle is well known for its local craft beers and most pubs carry a variety of local breweries. *{{drink | name=Lottie's Lounge | url= | email= | address=4900 Rainier Ave S | lat=47.55774 | long=-122.28478 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A neighborhood-centric lounge with full food menu and inspired original cocktail specials. }} *{{drink | name=Oak | url= | email= | address= | lat=47.57641 | long=-122.30996 | directions=3 blocks south of Beacon Hill Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This bar boasts a wide selection of local craft beers, mixed drinks and a well developed menu. }} * {{drink | name=Perihelion Brewery | alt= | url=http://www.perihelion.beer/ | email=les@perihelion.beer | address=2800 16th Ave S | lat=47.578477 | long=-122.311872 | directions=Across the street from Beacon Hill Station | phone=+1 206 200-3935 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-08-25 | content=Beautiful and comfortable brewery. Live music, outdoor seating, and creative Northwest pub food. }} ==Sleep== Generally a residential area, South Seattle does not have a wide variety of places to stay. Visitors not staying with friends tend to find hotels [[Seattle/Downtown|downtown]] or near [[SeaTac Airport]]. * {{sleep | name=Casa de Esperanza | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/bnbmtbaker/ | email= | address=3317 S Hanford St | lat=47.575042 | long=-122.290103 | directions=at 34th Ave S | phone=+1 206 734-1994 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=From $80 | content=Bed and breakfast near Mount Baker Park and Lake Washington. }} ==Stay safe== Rainier Beach has long held a reputation as the roughest neighborhood in Seattle. While this has been slowly but steadily changing as the light rail brings gentrification to the area, it's still considered to be a place to avoid at night. ==Connect== '''[https://www.spl.org/ Seattle Public Library]''' offers open Wi-Fi at all branches, using the SSID '''spl-public'''. Public computers with Internet access and basic office software are available for up to 30 minutes for those without a SPL library card; get a temporary pass from the circulation desk. All services are free. * {{listing | name=Beacon Hill Branch | alt= | url=https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/beacon-hill-branch | email= | address=2821 Beacon Ave S | lat= | long= | directions=2 blocks south of Beacon Hill light rail station | phone=+1 206 684-4711 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 10AM-8PM, F Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 1-5PM | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Columbia Branch | alt= | url=https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/columbia-branch | email= | address=4721 Rainier Ave S | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 206 386-1908 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 10AM-8PM, F Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 1-5PM | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=NewHolly Branch | alt= | url=https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/newholly-branch | email= | address=7058 32nd Ave S | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 206 386-1905 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 10AM-8PM, F Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 1-5PM | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Rainier Beach Branch | alt= | url=https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/rainier-beach-branch | email= | address=9125 Rainier Ave S | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 206 386-1906 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 10AM-8PM, F Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 1-5PM | price= | content= }} {{usabledistrict}} {{IsPartOf|Seattle}} {{geo|47.556|-122.270}} t3m2zuk51d75mrpjo60sqgyvdgttxsy 0 32753 5298700 5276600 2026-06-26T10:18:14Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298700 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'', [[Assamese]]: শিলচৰ ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|city=india|nfr}} SCL | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} l50jnq3o90qcogs07x6nobhz33cgyn4 5298701 5298700 2026-06-26T10:19:06Z Sbb1413 2217354 Added listing for Borail Wildlife Sanctuary 5298701 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'', [[Assamese]]: শিলচৰ ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|city=india|nfr}} SCL | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.082000 | long=92.678000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q19326278 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} 9xug5jywhrz0zdrzkp34k7xh7hnnpyd 5298702 5298701 2026-06-26T10:20:28Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298702 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} [[File:Silchar Nazirpatty.jpg|thumb|Nazirpatty, a busy area in Silchar]] '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'', [[Assamese]]: শিলচৰ ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|city=india|nfr}} SCL | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.082000 | long=92.678000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q19326278 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} 1ltcdy2h2vie2avo0ydgk99jqpy8k2s 5298703 5298702 2026-06-26T10:21:37Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Silchar|country=in|nfr}} 5298703 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} [[File:Silchar Nazirpatty.jpg|thumb|Nazirpatty, a busy area in Silchar]] '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'', [[Assamese]]: শিলচৰ ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|country=in|nfr}} | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station, IR code: SCL | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.082000 | long=92.678000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q19326278 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} 89ubf4sdcedhhm6arnq6durnwxrppfh 5298714 5298703 2026-06-26T11:21:40Z Sbb1413 2217354 Assamese spelling not needed 5298714 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} [[File:Silchar Nazirpatty.jpg|thumb|Nazirpatty, a busy area in Silchar]] '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|country=in|nfr}} | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station, IR code: SCL | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.082000 | long=92.678000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q19326278 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} hidcsy4n399nel7ieswc4ximd3f6tq8 5298716 5298714 2026-06-26T11:23:26Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See and do */ moving Badarpur fort to separate article 5298716 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} [[File:Silchar Nazirpatty.jpg|thumb|Nazirpatty, a busy area in Silchar]] '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|country=in|nfr}} | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station, IR code: SCL | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.082000 | long=92.678000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q19326278 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} 9akaabiqpio831adnwxkjvz906nob0e 5298721 5298716 2026-06-26T11:24:50Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298721 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} [[File:Silchar Nazirpatty.jpg|thumb|Nazirpatty, a busy area in Silchar]] '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|country=in|nfr}} | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station, IR code: SCL | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.082000 | long=92.678000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q19326278 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} 0gimyezzqloyhlebrk430r2h33tf0d3 5298737 5298721 2026-06-26T11:49:41Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Do */ 5298737 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Silchar banner.jpg|caption=Ruins of the Cachari era at Khaspur}} [[File:Silchar Nazirpatty.jpg|thumb|Nazirpatty, a busy area in Silchar]] '''Silchar''' ([[Bengali]]: শিলচর ''Shilchor'') is the largest city of the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]], India. ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Meitei]]''' are the official languages of Silchar and the rest of the Barak Valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. In addition, most well-educated locals will also be able to speak [[Hindi phrasebook|Hindi]] and English. ==Get in== === By plane === * {{go | name=Silchar Airport | alt={{IATA|IXS}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.913056 | long=92.978611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Silchar Airport | wikidata=Q3629949 | lastedit=2019-05-01 | content=Silchar is connected to [[Kolkata]], [[Guwahati]], [[Agartala]] and [[Imphal]] by air. }} ===By bus === * {{go | name=ISBT, Silchar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.829218 | long=92.751463 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-04-18 | content=Bus service is available from [[Guwahati]], [[Shillong]] (9 hrs), [[Agartala]], [[Imphal]], [[Aizawl]]. }} === By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Silchar|country=in|nfr}} | alt=Bhasha Shahid Station, IR code: SCL | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.830338 | long=92.786795 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q24947195 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The railway station with memories of the Bengali language movement in Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam issued a circular making Assamese mandatory, prompting protests from Bengalis in the Barak Valley. On 19 May 1961, the Assam Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar station, resulting in 11 deaths. The state government later withdrew the circular, and Bengali became an official language in the Barak Valley region. Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Dibas to commemorate the incident. }} ==Get around== {{Mapframe}} ==See and do== *{{see | name=Khaspur | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.939615 | long=92.93144 | directions=20 km north-easr of Silchar | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18177133 | lastedit=2025-09-25 | content=The Capital of Old Cachari Kingdom. Beautiful place with the ruins of the fort used by the Cachari Kings. }} ==Do== ==Buy== *{{buy | name=Abhahan | url= | email= | address=Premtola | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Book Stall }} *{{buy | name=Ellora Market | url= | email= | address=Near Ellora Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Foreign Goods }} *{{buy | name=Vishal Mega Mart | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Eat== [[File:Luchi&alurdom.jpg|thumbnail|Luchi and Alurdom]] *{{eat | name=Borail View Hotel | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions=Near Red Cross Society | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=The Godfather | alt= | url= | email= | address=Central Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Vegetarian options. }} * {{eat | name=Hasty Tasty | alt= | url= | email= | address=Club Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Serves good vegetarian food. }} *{{eat | name=Nahaz | url= | email= | address=U K D Sarani | lat= | long= | directions=Near Women's College | phone = +91 9435072558 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=1PM to 9.30 PM | price= | content=Specializes in Thai and Chinese fast Food, The most happening place in Silchar }} *{{eat | name=Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Opp Gandhi Bagh | lat= | long= | directions=Opp Gandhi Bagh | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} *{{eat | name=Shahi | url= | email= | address=Imperial Mall, Club Road| lat= | long= | directions=Near Ellora Super Market | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== *{{sleep | name=Hotel Borail View and Riya Palace | url= | email= | address=Park Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Cachar Club | alt= | url=http://www.hotelcacharclub.com | email=reservations@hotelcacharclub.com | address=NH 54 Club Rd | lat= | long= | directions=near Capital Point | phone=+91 3842 -247025, +91-9957563903 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=₹3,900 | content=Rooms come with free Wi-Fi. }} ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Guwahati]] * [[Shillong]] * [[Agartala]] * [[Imphal]] * [[Aizawl]] {{IsPartOf|Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|24.816666666667|92.8}} ka6dmmsij8ruv80fiacj11yenfusil1 0 33069 5298609 5296065 2026-06-26T06:25:46Z SHB2000 2248002 /* Entry requirements */ controls abolished...for now 5298609 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Izlake banner.jpg}} '''Slovenia''' ([[Slovenian phrasebook|Slovenian]]: ''Slovenija'') is a country in [[central Europe]] that lies in the eastern [[Alps]], at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea. It is sometimes considered to be a [[Balkans|Balkan]] country. Despite its small size, Slovenia has a surprising variety of terrain, ranging from the beaches of the Mediterranean to the peaks of the Julian Alps and the rolling hills of the south. Slovenia is also home to some of the finest scenery in the "New Europe". The transition from socialism to the European common market economy has gone well and serves as a model for other nations on the same track to follow. ==Regions== {{Regionlist | regionmap=Slovenia regions map.png | regionmaptext=Regions, cities and other destinations in Slovenia | regionmapsize=450px | regionInteractiveMap=map1 | region1name=[[Coast and Karst]] | region1color=#d5de76 | region1items= | region1description=The southwestern corner of Slovenia with rolling hills, awe-inspiring caves and the country's 47 km of coastline. | region2name=[[Julian Alps]] | region2color=#71b37b | region2items= | region2description=The mountainous northwest with hiking, rafting, postcard pretty lakes and Mt Triglav, the symbolic heart of Slovenia. | region3name=[[Central Slovenia]] | region3color=#8a84a3 | region3items= | region3description=The urban part with capital [[Ljubljana]] and the surrounding region. | region4name=[[Southeastern Slovenia]] | region4color=#d09440 | region4items= | region4description=The region around the Krka and lower Sava Rivers. | region5name=[[Pohorje-Savinjska]] | region5color=#b5d29f | region5items= | region5description=Mountains in the north and the Savinja River Valley. | region6name=[[Eastern Slovenia]] | region6color=#d56d76 | region6items= | region6description= The region around the Drava and Mura Rivers, with plenty of vineyards and a Hungarian influence in the east. }} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d5de76|title=[[Coast and Karst]]|wikidata=Q14211911}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#71b37b|title=[[Julian Alps]]|wikidata=Q119206}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#8a84a3|title=[[Central Slovenia]]|wikidata=Q14210600}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d09440|title=[[Southeastern Slovenia]]|wikidata=Q856299}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#b5d29f|title=[[Pohorje-Savinjska]]|wikidata=Q14229662}} {{mapshape|type=geoshape|fill=#d56d76|title=[[Eastern Slovenia]]|wikidata=Q5330475}} ==Cities== <!-- no more than NINE cities, discuss any changes on Talk:Slovenia first --> [[File:Celje starowka.jpg|thumb|Celje]] * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ljubljana]]|wikidata=Q437}} – The picturesque capital * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bled]]|wikidata=Q202852}} – A romantic mountain lake complete with its own castle and island * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Celje]]|wikidata=Q1012}} – One of Slovenia's oldest cities * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Koper|Koper/Capodistria]]|wikidata=Q1015}} – A lovely Venetian city, largest on Slovenian coastline * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Maribor]]|wikidata=Q1010}} – Slovenia's second largest city * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nova Gorica]]|wikidata=Q1018}} – The city on the border with Italy * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Piran|Piran/Pirano]]|wikidata=Q1382}} – A gorgeous Venetian port * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Postojna]]|wikidata=Q15901}} – The site of the gigantic Postojna caves * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Ptuj]]|wikidata=Q15906}} – One of Slovenia's oldest cities <!-- no more than NINE cities, discuss any changes on Talk:Slovenia first --> ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Divača | Škocjan Caves]]|wikidata=Q500376}} – Less commercial than Postojna but similarly impressive, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Triglav National Park]]|wikidata=Q1163005}} – Home to national symbol Mt. Triglav and mythical golden chamois Zlatorog. * {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Soča Valley]]|wikidata=Q202760}} – Soča river, with its emerald colour, is one of the most beautiful European Alpine rivers. ==Understand== {{quickbar|location=LocationSlovenia.png}} ===History=== [[Image:TartinjevTrg.JPG|thumb|240px|Tartinijev trg/Piazza Tartini in Piran/Pirano.]] Slavic ancestors of Slovenians came from eastern parts of Europe and inhabited territory north of present Slovenian territory in the 6th century AD. They established a state called Caranthania (''Karantanija'' in Slovene), which was an early example of parliamentary democracy in Europe. The ruler (''knez'' in Slovene) was elected by popular vote. The Caranthanians were later defeated by Bavarians and Franks, who subjugated them. They were Christianized, but they preserved many rituals of their pagan religion, and above all, they preserved their native language. The Slovene lands were part of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire|Holy Roman Empire and Austria under the Habsburg dynasty]] until 1918, when the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new south-Slavic state ruled by Serbian Karađorđević dynasty called the '''Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians''' ("Kraljevina Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev" in Slovene), renamed '''Yugoslavia''' in 1929. In WWII, Slovenia was invaded and occupied by Germans, Italians and Hungarians, leading to a parallel civil war between pro-communist liberation forces (Partizani) and axis-sponsored anti-communist reactionary factions ("Belogardisti" and Domobranci). The victory of the Allies and consequently the Partizans resulted in a violent mass exodus of those who had fought with the occupying forces, including most of the native German and Italian minorities. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic in the reestablished Yugoslavia, which made small territorial gains from Italy. Although communist, Yugoslavia left the Soviet bloc in 1948. Slovenia was already more economically advanced than nations behind the Iron Curtain prior to European integration. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power in Belgrade, the Slovenes gained their independence in 1991 with minimal bloodshed. Following independence and the transition to democracy, Slovenia experienced rapid economic growth, and is today widely regarded as having advanced to developed country status, having been classified as an "advanced economy" by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2007, the only former Yugoslav country to have this distinction as of 2021. In 2004, Slovenia joined the European Union and NATO. In 2007, Slovenia adopted the euro, completing a quick and efficient accession to Europe and the EU. ===Culture=== {{infobox|Totalitarian disco|:''We are no ordinary type of group'' :''We are no humble pop musicians'' :''We don't seduce with melodies'' :''And we're not here to please you'' :''We have no answers to your questions'' :''Yet we can question your demands'' Without a doubt Slovenia's most misunderstood export, industrial band '''Laibach''' (also the German name of Ljubljana) and their ''Neue Slowenische Kunst'' (NSK) collective emerged from the coal mining town of [[Trbovlje]] to smash their first sledgehammer in 1980 and, despite the best efforts of the state they skewered, went on to outlast Yugoslavia and are still going strong. Using totalitarian imagery stretched to the limit, with band members decked out in military uniforms, memorable moments include reworking Queen's starry-eyed "One Vision" into a Wagnerian march (sung in German, of course) that would make a Teuton blanch. Keep an eye on the NSK [http://www.laibach.nsk.si/ website] and try to catch a concert when in town.}} Slovenia lies at the tripoint of the Germanic, Latin, and Slavic cultures, and Slovenes are fiercely proud of their culture. Two names you will run into over and over again are national poet '''France Prešeren''' (1800-1849), who penned (among other things) the Slovenian national anthem, and the architect '''Jože Plečnik''' (1872-1957), credited with Ljubljana's iconic ''Tromostovje'' bridges and, seemingly, half the modern buildings in the country. It was the monks of the Catholic Church that kept Slovene alive over the centuries of relentless Germanization from the north. As a result Slovene survived in its unique form different than Serbo-Croatian to the south. Part of both the countryside and city architecture in the [[Julian Alps]] shares a lot in common with neighboring Austria, including countless roadside shrines and pretty baroque steeples, giving the interior of the nation a truly Alpine flavor. One could easily mistake parts of mountainous Slovenia for Tyrol, Salzburg or Bavaria. In modern times, industrial band '''Laibach''' (see box) has served to put Slovenia on the map. In the decades before them, Slavko Avsenik and his '''Oberkrainer''' (as known in German) did the same. ===Climate=== Mediterranean climate on the coast, mountain climate in the Alps with mild summers and freezing winters and continental climate with hot summers and freezing winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east. ===Terrain=== [[Image:Slovénie - Château de Predjama (14748808300).jpg|thumb|250px|right|Predjama Castle in Karst]] A short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an Alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountain and valleys with numerous rivers to the east and Pannonian Basin in northeast. Central Ljubljana valley with Ljubljana marshes in the southern part. In the southwest there is the Karst (''Kras'' in Slovene, ''Carso'' in Italian) (where the name for karst topography as a whole actually comes from). The Karst region is a barren but beautiful limestone region directly north of the Italian city of Trieste. * ''Natural hazards'' – flooding and earthquakes * ''Highest point'' – Triglav (2,864 m) * ''Lowest point'' – Adriatic Sea (0 m) ===Visitor information === *[https://www.slovenia.info/ Slovenia Info] ==Talk== {{seealso|Slovenian phrasebook}} '''Slovenian''', the national language, is spoken as the mother tongue by 91% of the population, but there are also small [[Italian phrasebook|Italian]] (concentrated on the Primorska coast) and somewhat bigger [[Hungarian phrasebook|Hungarian]] (in Prekmurje to the northeast) minorities. Historically, and prior to the end of World War II there was also a significant German speaking minority. Conversely, Slovenian is spoken in border regions of neighbouring countries. English is widely spoken by younger adults who grew up after the fall of Yugoslavia. People who grew up during the Yugoslav era, on the other hand, usually speak no English. Many people you come into contact with as a tourist will speak English, and may have some functional knowledge of [[German]], in particular in [[Eastern Slovenia]], and of Italian in the coastal region where Italian is a co-official language. [[Serbo-Croatian]] is very closely related to Slovenian and widely understood. The Slovenian school system heavily promotes the teaching of foreign languages from primary school onwards. Children study two foreign languages (most commonly English and [[German]]) by the time they get to grammar school. A typical grammar school often teaches an optional third foreign language, [[Spanish]], [[Italian]], or [[French]]. Many speak English well with older people speaking German. Some older people may speak [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]] as it was a compulsory second language in schools for a few years after World War II. ==Get in== ===Entry requirements=== {{Schengen}} <!--{{cautionbox|Slovenia has temporarily reinstated border checkpoints when entering by land from Hungary or Croatia – you will need to bring a passport (or an ID card if you're from the EU, EEA, or EFTA). This is supposed to end on 21 June 2026, but it could be extended.|lastedit=2026-03-03}}--> ===By bus=== {{seealso|Bus travel in former Yugoslavia}} [[File:ZelezniskaPostaja-Ljubljana.JPG|thumb|Ljubljana's train and bus station]] The '''[[Ljubljana#By bus|Ljubljana Bus Station]]''' (''Avtobusna Postaja Ljubljana'') provides composite information about international and airport bus services. Connections between the Italian city of [[Trieste]] and nearby [[Koper]] and [[Piran]] are frequent on weekdays. There's also a daily bus between Trieste and Ljubljana. In addition, services between [[Gorizia]] (Italy) and its twin town of [[Nova Gorica]] (Slovenia) are at least hourly throughout the day although the journey is easily walkable. This offers an ideal connection between the Italian and Slovene railway networks or an alternative entry point from Trieste's Ronchi Airport or the city of Venice. ===By plane=== * [[Ljubljana#By plane|Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport]] is Slovenia's primary international airport. * [[Maribor]] has Slovenia's second busiest airport, even if it had less than 10,000 passengers in 2016. There are other options worth exploring in neighbouring countries. There are three Croatian airports within close proximity of the Slovene border: [[Zagreb]] ({{IATA|ZAG}}) is a worthwhile point of entry to consider if you want to visit the eastern parts of Slovenia, while Pula ({{IATA|PUY}}) and Rijeka ({{IATA|RJK}}) are within a one-hour drive from most towns in southern and south-western Slovenia. In Italy, a convenient gateway, especially to western Slovenia, is the airport of [[Trieste]] ({{IATA|TRS}}), a rapidly growing regional airport within an hour's drive from Ljubljana via super highway. Further away in Italy, [[Venice]] and [[Treviso]] ({{IATA|TSF}}) offer a vast array of destinations around the world. They can be good for day trips, though bus and railway connections between these airports and Slovenia are lackluster. Finally, the Austrian airports of [[Klagenfurt]] ({{IATA|KLU}}) and [[Graz]] ({{IATA|GRZ}}) are also options for Northern Slovenia, though the flight offerings are limited. ===By train=== Slovenia is well connected to Austria, Croatia and Hungary by train. The most popular routes connect from [[Vienna]] or [[Villach]] in Austria (in good weather, this journey past the Julian Alps is spectacular), from [[Budapest]] in [[Hungary]], and from [[Zagreb]] in [[Croatia]]. All lines converge on the capital Ljubljana. Italian Railways operate a daily [[Trieste]] - Ljubljana train, and a daily [[Udine]] - Trieste - Ljubljana train. A 2nd class ticket costs €8 for Trieste-Ljubljana, and €15.60 for Udine-Ljubljana. [https://potniski.sz.si/en/ Slovenia Railways] (SŽ) is the national railway company. There are many [https://potniski.sz.si/en/international-travel/ international routes], and special offers exist for some destinations, so you should consider informing yourself about that in advance. There are destinations, which have tickets on contingency basis, meaning that they could run out fast, but are usually a lot cheaper, such as [[Ljubljana]] - [[Prague]] line (cooperation between SŽ and Czech railways), €58 for a return ticket (compared to a normal price of €200). For return trips originating in Slovenia, "City Star" tickets, which are open-dated, but usually require a weekend stay, are often the [https://potniski.sz.si/en/international-travel/ cheapest choice]. Also, be aware that you also receive a discount with the Euro<26 youth card on most international lines (of course the discount does not stack up if you already have a special deal). The same card also applies for all domestic lines, with a 30% discount. The quality and comfort of the trains on international routes varies significantly. The unwritten rule is that everything heading up north from Ljubljana has a pretty good standard. The trains usually have restaurants on board, with clean and modern toilets. The same can not be guaranteed for the lines heading south (such as [[Belgrade]], [[Sofia]], [[Skopje]] or [[Thessaloniki]]), so be sure to carry a supply of food and beverages on board (water and coffee is available in every sleeping compartment), when heading to or from Ljubljana from the Balkans, with the train. However, the express services which run to [[Zagreb]] (usually starting in [[Munich]], [[Germany]]) are very high quality - but the price shows this. ===By car=== [[File:AC A2 - Viadukt Moste 01.jpg|thumb|Motorway A2 in Jesenice, near the Austrian border]] Slovenia has [http://www.dars.si/?lang=2 an excellent highway network]{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} connected to neighbouring countries. Slovenia demands that all vehicles with a permissible weight of up to 3.5 tons buy a vignette (road tax) before using motorways or expressways. For passenger vehicles, the vignette costs €15 for a week, €30 for a month, or {{Currency|EUR|95}} for a year. For motorcyclists, this costs €7.50 per week, €25 for 6 months and {{Currency|EUR|47.50}} for a year. Using motorways without a vignette will result in a fine of €300 or more. Vignettes are sold at the border, please remember to ask (the border agents are supposed to give you a flyer advising you to buy one, but they don't always do that. The posted signs advising you to buy a vignette are in Slovene only). To drive from neighbouring countries, you can: * via A59 from [[Graz|Graz, Austria]] through Sentilj * via SS14/NSA362 from [[Trieste|Trieste, Italy]] * via M7 from [[Nagykanizsa|Nagykanizsa, Hungary]] * via E70 from [[Zagreb|Zagreb, Croatia]] ===By boat=== * There is a fast ferry between [[Venice]] and [[Izola]], running with an irregular schedule mainly during the summer season (for the timetable see [http://www.kompas-online.net/pages/CruisesFerries/prince.aspx] {{dead link|December 2020}}). The journey takes 3 hours. * [http://www.venezialines.com/ Venezialines] run one fast ferry per week between [[Venice]] and [[Piran]]. * During the summer months, there is a fast craft service operated by Trieste Lines between [[Trieste]] (Italy), [[Piran]] (Slovenia), [[Poreč]] (Croatia) and [[Rovinj]] (Croatia). The portion of the journey between Piran and Trieste lasts 30 minutes, which is pretty much the same as the same journey in a car. ==Get around== [[File:08 Slovenia rural landscape - bicycle expedition with panniers.jpg|thumb|240px|Cyclists tour the region of Upper Carniola.]] Slovenia is a relatively small country and getting around is generally quick and painless. However, the explosive growth in car ownership has meant tougher times for public transport, and bus schedules in particular have been slashed, so some planning ahead is required. Services are sparse on Saturdays and very limited indeed on Sundays. A handy online planning tool for intercity public transportation is www.simo.si [https://www.simo.si]. ===By train=== {{infobox|Timetable decoder|D &mdash; Monday-Friday<br> D+ &mdash; Monday-Saturday<br> N &mdash; Sundays<br> NP &mdash; Sundays and holidays<br> PP &mdash; Monday-Friday<br> SN &mdash; Saturday-Sunday<br> Šr &mdash; School days<br> V &mdash; Daily}} Slovenia's train network, operated by [https://potniski.sz.si/en/ '''Slovenske železnice''' (SŽ)] will get you to most destinations in the country, although there are some annoying gaps in the network and routes can be circuitous, so going from anywhere to anywhere usually requires a change at Ljubljana. Trains are, however, some 30% cheaper than buses and return discounts are available on weekends. Buy tickets before you board, as there's a surcharge for any tickets bought from the conductor—except if tickets are not sold at the station. A €1.50 surcharge also applies to any InterCity trains. Bicycle ticket is €1.5 (€3.5 for E-bicycle) and it is valid for whole calendar-day. Quite a bit of money and effort has been put into modernizing the system and the newest trains are as nice as anything you'll find in Western Europe, and although rural stations are often quite basic, most stations are extremely well kept with flowers decorating the platforms throughout summer months. In particular, the name of the station is typically only visible on a single sign on the station building itself, so figuring out where you are means craning your neck a lot. Newer trains do have a voice announcement system that tells you to which station you are approaching. Trains are punctual (except some international ones), so check the expected arrival time and some previous station names to be sure where to get off. For figuring out your next train from a station; electronic signboards are a rarity (outside Ljubljana), but printed schedules are always available: ''odhod'' (yellow) means departures, while ''prihod'' (white) is arrivals, although this is usually indicated in both English and Slovene. Most of trains have free Wi-Fi. ===By bus=== Buses fill in the gaps, and are usually a better option for some towns not directly served from [[Ljubljana]] by train (e.g. [[Bled]], [[Piran]]). Some bigger stations have handy electronic search engines for schedules and fares. Slovenia's leading long-distance bus companies are [https://arriva.si/en/ Arriva Slovenija] and [https://www.flixbus.si/ FlixBus]. ===By car=== [[File:Slovenia_road_sign_III-75.svg|thumb|right|Standard speed limits in Slovenia]] Traffic is Slovenia's biggest safety risk. Accidents are caused by excessive speeds on motorways, excessive speeds on smaller roads, reckless overtaking and the narrowness of mountain and coastal roads combined with driving habits. The winter tyre ban is in force from 15 November to 15 March. The drink-driving limit is 0.5. Traffic police in Slovenia are not very visible. Slovenia's roads are for the most part well maintained and well signposted, and you won't have a problem if you drive or hire a car. Having a car certainly does add a level of mobility and self-direction that you won't get by train or bus. There are a number of car rental and taxi businesses in Ljubljana. The big international companies are all represented, but if you are on a budget, the local companies have some nice offers if you do not mind using a car which is a few years old. Slovenian railways also offer [https://potniski.sz.si/en/plan-your-journey/motorail/ Motorail] on some routes where you can take your car on the train and save the stress of driving. Physical toll stickers have been replaced by the e-vignette. You must register your license plate online before entering the highway system. ==See== Slovenian cities leave no doubt about historic influence played by Austrian and Italian architecture: [[Ljubljana]] is not unlike [[Prague]] and [[Piran]] could be easily mistaken for a small Italian town. While cities are far from boring, the real Slovenian must-see is its diverse and unspoiled nature. [[Image:Tromostovje in Prešernov trg (Tromostovje and Prešeren Square).jpg|250px|thumb|right|Ljubljana's Triple Bridge and Prešeren Square at night]] * Visit the alpine resort of [[Bled]] and its romantic lake with an island, but continue towards Srednja vas to see some traditional villages, or hitch a ride to Pokljuka mountain, a good starting point for hikes into [[Julian Alps]]. * Enjoy the 5.3 km ride through [[Postojna|Postojna caves]], the longest publicly accessible depth of any cave system in the world, with massive stalactites and stalagmites. * After visiting the lively coastal town of [[Piran]], a trip to the serene salt works of nearby Sečovlje will feel like stepping out of this world. * Soča river is said to be one of the few rivers in the world to retain their emerald green color throughout its length. The Trenta valley, through which it flows before crossing to Italy, is also well worth seeing. * Slovenian pint-size baroque capital [[Ljubljana]] is nice in any season but especially popular in December due to its abundant but tasteful decoration. ==Do== [[File:Hiking the National Park Triglav, Slovenia.JPG|thumb|Hiking in Triglavski Narodni Park]] There are many great opportunities for activity holidays in Slovenia: The mountains and rivers of the Julian Alps provide the perfect location for hiking, mountain biking, rafting and kayaking. The southern part of Slovenia is an area of numerous caves. You can enjoy different spa resorts in the eastern part, take a dive in the Adriatic Sea, experience the Slovene cities, go skiing, or enjoy in the countryside tasting Slovene cuisine and local wine. Since Slovenia is a small country, you can discover it in a few days. Therefore you can visit Ljubljana (the capital city), the Julian Alps, Karst region, alpine lakes within several days. A more detailed look at the country, however, requires much more time. * '''Adrenaline adventures''' in the Posočje area, you can stay in Ljubljana and, in a short distance away, discover the amazing North-Western area of Slovenia called Posočje and Triglav National Park—canyoning (soteskanje), rafting and para-gliding are available. Because of the relatively new appearance of Slovenia on the national stage of extreme sports, these are much less expensive to participate in than other European countries, such as the UK or Switzerland. These activities are particularly prevalent in Bohinj, Bovec, Kranjska Gora, and other north-western cities. * There are more than 8,000 known '''[[caves]]''' in Slovenia, including the tourist area of [[Postojna]] and the UNESCO listed [[Divača|Škocjan Caves]]. * Take advantage of beautiful nature in the Alps and go '''hiking''', '''cross-country skiing''', '''Nordic walking''', or '''mountain biking''', weather permitting. If you do so, it may be worth investigating in a membership in [https://en.pz.si the Slovenian Alpine Association (PZS)]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, which gives a discount for accommodation at mountain huts run by member associations and includes an accident and rescue insurance. * Visit of one many '''spa resorts''' in Slovenia. * Visit the Slovene '''seaside''' and swim in the Adriatic Sea. Try local '''seafood''' and visit the towns of [[Piran]] and [[Portorož]]. * Visit one of the golf courses in Slovenia. * '''Skiing''' in the Julian Alps is popular in the winter. More popular ski resorts are: Kranjska Gora, [[Krvavec]], [[Vogel]], [[Rogla]], [[Cerkno]], [[Kanin]], and [[Mariborsko Pohorje]]. * Observe the magic of '''Christmas''', characterized by dazzling lights, outdoor markets, seasonal food and a variety of cultural events, especially in historic towns. ==Buy== ===Money=== {{Template:Exchange rate euros}} {{Euro}} The euro replaced the Slovenian tolar (SIT). ====ATMs==== ATMs are available countrywide, and it is generally good to have a card from providers like Visa or MasterCard. In smaller towns or villages ATMs become more sparse. Here are ATM fees of local banks for euro withdrawals: * ''Addiko Bank'' – {{EUR|0|when=2024-07-29}} * ''Deželna banka Slovenije'' – {{EUR|0|when=2024-06-01}} * ''Intesa Sanpaolo'' – {{EUR|0}} * ''UniCredit'' – {{EUR|0}} * ''skbbanka'' – {{EUR|4|when=2024-03-05}} * ''NLB'' – {{EUR|6|when=2024-03-05}} ===Prices=== Prices are high compared to most of [[Eastern Europe]] (except [[Croatia]]), but lower compared to [[Italy]] or [[Austria]]. Although prices do vary quite a bit, it really depends on the location. For example, a beer (0.5L) in a pub in "Stara Ljubljana" (literally "Old (Town) Ljubljana") would cost you around €3, while a beer outside [[Ljubljana]] would cost around €1.80. A budget minded traveller can hold his own, if they are smart. For example buying your groceries in a large store (supermarket), such are Mercator, Tuš, Spar, Lidl, Hofer, E.Leclerc etc., will be likely cheaper than buying on the market, or in a small store, etc. A value-added tax (VAT) of 22% (with a reduced rate of 9.5% usually applied to food, including some soft drinks) is charged on most purchases—this is always included in the price displayed. Note that if you are not an EU resident, you are entitled to VAT tax return for purchases over a certain value. Ask the cashier to write down your name on your bill (''račun'', pronounced rah-CHOON) and show this bill when you leave Slovenia through Jože Pučnik (formerly Brnik) airport. ===Tipping=== Most Slovenians do not feel that [[tipping]] is obligatory. They might round-up the bill to the next euro for convenience or, occasionally, tip for a truly exceptional service, but generally tipping is not practised. ==Eat== People from Slovenia's northern neighbour [[Austria]] come to Slovenia just for the food; with a mixture of Subalpine, Italian, Austrian, Hungarian and Balkan cuisine, most people will find something to their liking, unless they're strict vegetarians. Many claim that the pizza here is as good as or even better than in neighboring [[Italy]]. ===Cuisine=== Generally speaking, Slovenian food is heavy, meaty and plain. A typical three-course meal starts with a soup (''juha''), often just beef (''goveja'') or chicken (''piščančja'') broth with egg noodles (''rezanci''), and then a meat dish served with potatoes (''krompir'') and a vinegary fresh salad (''solata''). Fresh bread (''kruh'') is often served on the side and is uniformly delicious. Common mains include cutlets (''zrezek''), sausage (''klobasa'') and goulash (''golaž''), all usually prepared from pork (''svinjina''), lamb (''jagnjetina'') and game (''divjačina''), but there is a large choice of fish (''ribe'') and seafood even further away from the coast. Popular Italian imports include all sorts of pasta (''testenine''), pizza (''pica''), ravioli (''ravioli'') and risotto (''rižota''). A major event in the countryside still today is the slaughtering of a pig from which many various products are made: blood sausage (''krvavica''), roasts (''pečenka''), stuffed tripe (''polnjeni vampi''), smoked sausage (''prekajena salama''), salami (''salama''), ham (''šunka'') and bacon (''slanina''). Recipes for the preparation of poultry (''perutnina''), especially turkey (''puran''), goose (''gos''), duck (''raca'') and capon (''kopun''), have been preserved for many centuries. Chicken (''piščanec'') is also common. Squid is fairly common and reasonably priced. Uniquely Slovenian dishes are available, but you won't find them on every menu, so here are some to look out for: * ''Kraški pršut'' – Air-dried ham, similar to but not the same as Italian ''prosciutto'' * ''štruklji'' – Dumplings which Slovenians prepare in 70 different ways stuffed with sweet fillings, meat or vegetables * ''žganci'' – a type of porridge, usually from buckwheat, served with milk and pig cracklings * ''žlikrofi'' – Potato dumplings similar to gnocchi, specialty of the Idrija region * ''jota'' – A type of soup made of beans, sauerkraut, potatoes, bacon, spare ribs, and the main seasoning is garlic. Some Slovenian desserts can also be found: * ''potica'' – A type of nut roll for holiday occasions also prepared with the widest variety of fillings. * ''prekmurska gibanica'' – A very heavy cakelike pastry of poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins, cheese etc. ===Places to eat=== [[Image:Gostilna pri Bundru.JPG|thumb|240px|A typical ''gostilna'', [[Kamnik]]]] At the top of the food chain is the ''restavracija'' (restaurant), which could be a fancy restaurant with waiters and tablecloths or just a typical Chinese restaurant. More common in the countryside are the ''gostilna'' and ''gostišče'', rustic inns serving hearty Slovene fare. Lunch sets (''dnevno kosilo'') cost around €7 for three courses (soup, salad and main) and the large portions are usually well worth the paltry cost. Fast food is, invariably, cheap, greasy and (more often than not) terrible. It's best to steer clear of the local mutation of the hamburger, which is served up in grills and snack bars known as ''okrepčevalnica''. There is no real Slovenian fast food, but Slovenians have adopted greasy Balkan grills like ''pleskavica'' (a spiced-up hamburger patty) and ''čevapčiči'' (spicy meatballs) are ubiquitous, but one of the more tasty if not healthy options is the [[Bosnia]]n speciality ''burek'', a large, flaky pastry stuffed with either meat (''mesni''), cheese (''sirni'') or apple (''jabolčni''), often sold for as little as €2. Many fast food places make ''döner kebabs'', and they are among the most popular fast foods in Slovenia. It's very difficult to find a bad kebab in Slovenia, and they are sold in many places nationwide. ===Dietary restrictions=== Slovenia is not the best of destinations for a vegetarian, although even the smokiest inn can usually whip up a decent fresh salad (''solata'') and fried vegetables on request. Lacto-ovo vegetarians will have it easy in Slovenia, while strict vegans won't find more than a handful of vegan restaurants in the country (most of them in [[Ljubljana]]). It is wise to know that even the smallest store has its healthy food shelves with many non-animal alternatives. Many restaurants offer a "vegetarian plate", which includes potatoes, fresh or boiled vegetables and soya "steak", which is usually suitable for vegans. In coastal cities, there is a paradise for pescetarians and seafood lovers. Local specialties are fish, squids, mussels, and octopus. ==Drink== In proper Slovene style, all bases are covered for drinks and you can get very good Slovenian beers, wines and spirits. Tap water is generally drinkable. ===Coffee and tea=== In Slovenia, coffee (''kava'') usually means an espresso, and cafes (''kavarna'') are a common sight with a basic cup costing €1–1.50. One can also order coffee with milk (''kava z mlekom'') or whipped cream (''kava s smetano''). Coffee culture is widespread in Slovenia, and one can see Slovenes with friends sitting in the same café for hours. When invited to a cup of coffee at someone's home, expect Turkish coffee. Tea (''čaj'') is nowhere near as popular, and if they do drink it (mostly in the winter), Slovenes prefer all sorts of fruit-flavored and herbal teas over a basic black cup. Tea is served with honey and lemon by request. [[File:Lasko beer.jpg|thumb|199x199px|Laško beer is everywhere]] ===Beer=== '''Beer''' (''pivo'') is the most popular tipple and the main brands are '''Laško''' and '''Union'''. '''Adam Ravbar''' beer is good quality and is usually hard to find anywhere except in their small brewery (located in Domžale, a town about 10 km north of Ljubljana). A bottle or jug will cost you €2.50 in a pub (''pivnica''). Ask for ''veliko'' (large) for 0.5L and ''malo'' (small) for 0.3L. Also try "Union Radler Grapefruit", a refreshing mixture of beer and grapefruit juice. ===Wine=== Despite what you might think if you've ever sampled an exported sickly sweet Riesling, Slovenian '''[[wine]]''' (''vino'') can be quite good &mdash; as in Germany, they keep the best stuff for themselves. Generally, the Goriška brda region produces the best reds and the drier whites (in a more Italian/French style), while the Štajerska region produces the best semi-dry to sweet whites, which cater more to the German/Austrian-type of palate. Other local specialities worth sampling are '''Teran''', a very dry red from the Kras region, and '''Cviček''', a red so dry and light it's almost a rosé. Wine is usually priced and ordered by the decilitre (''deci'', pronounced "de-tsee"), with a deci around €1 and a normal glass containing about two deci. ===Spirits=== A Slovene brandy known as ''žganje'' or (colloquially) ''šnops'', not unlike the Hungarian ''palinka'', can be distilled from almost any fruit. ''Medeno žganje'' also known as ''medica'' has been sweetened with honey. ''Vodka'' is, as in most of Slavic nations, also very popular, especially among the younger generation. ==Sleep== [[File:PlaninskiDomPetrovoBrdo.jpg|thumb|Mountain hut at Petrovo Brdo]] Slovenia has a wide variety of accommodation, ranging from five star hotels to secluded cottages in the mountains. ===Hostels=== There are hostels in all of the tourist destinations in Slovenia. The average price for a basic bed in a dorm is €10-20. Quite a few student dormitories (''dijaški dom'') are converted into hostels in the summer, but these tend to be poorly located and somewhat dingy. Mountain Huts can be found in [[Triglav National Park]], and they are very warm, welcoming and friendly. Information about these huts can be found at tourist information offices who will also help you plan your walks around the area and phone the hostels to book them for you. The only way to get to the huts is by foot, and expect a fair bit of walking up hills, as the lowest huts are around 700 m up. There are clear signs/information around stating how long it will take to travel to/between all the huts indicated in hours. ===Tourist farms=== Tourist farms can be found around Slovene countryside and usually they offer wide selection of traditional food, local wine, different sport activities etc. They also offer opportunities to experience real traditional countryside life. ===Camping=== Camping is not permitted in the national parks of Slovenia, but there are various designated camping grounds. It's advisable to take a camping mat of some sort, as nice, comfortable grass is a luxury at camp sites and you're much more likely to find pitches consisting of small stones. ==Learn== Slovenia has four universities, located in [http://www.uni-lj.si Ljubljana], [http://www.uni-mb.si Maribor]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, [http://www.upr.si Koper], and [http://www.p-ng.si Nova Gorica]{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} as well as several independent colleges (eg BSA Kranj, [http://www.iedc.si/IEDC Bled]). The university in Ljubljana is the oldest, largest and most well-respected teaching institution in the country. The University of Ljubljana also contains 3 art academies: Theatre and Film; Music; Fine Arts. Various recognized international charts list the University of Ljubljana in the top 3% of universities worldwide. ==Work== If you are a citizen of a country that is a part of the European Union or the EFTA, you may work in Slovenia without any restrictions whatsoever. Everyone else requires a work permit to work in the country. Finding work in Slovenia is a difficult endeavour, even for the Slovenes themselves. The labour market is so competitive that many Slovenes often move abroad for work. In addition, Slovenia isn't exactly thought of as a destination for building a career since it has a small population and a small economy. It's possible for English-speaking graduates to get work in a Slovene school teaching English for around a year in a scheme similar to Japan's JET programme. ==Stay safe == [[File:Mounted police Ljubljana.JPG|thumb|Mounted police in Ljubljana]] Slovenia is one of the safest countries you can visit, but be aware of your surroundings in parts of Ljubljana. The nationwide emergency number is 112. To call police, dial 113. There are emergency telephones interspersed along the main motorways. You can find the closest SOS-phone by the arrows on the reflection posts. People may get a bit aggressive in crowded bars and discothèques, and it is not uncommon to be grabbed or groped. Petty theft can occur everywhere. Don't worry about it, just don't leave your watch on the car seat while you go kayaking. ==Stay healthy == There are no unusual health concerns in Slovenia. Hygiene standards are high and '''[[tap water]]''' is potable. While in nature, always use tick repellents, due to the Borreliosis and Meningitis danger. Borreliosis is very widespread in the country. There are two species of venomous adders in the Julian Alps. You are unlikely to be bitten, but if you are, you should seek medical help as antiserums are available (although actually seldom administered). In the forests in the south, you may encounter a bear; Slovenia contains the highest bear population in Europe, but attacks are very rare. Normally, in countries that have been domesticated for several thousand years, the indigenous wild fauna will be either very skittish or very comfortable with humans. It depends on the area you are in, of course, but use your head. If you go camping in the Julian Alps and bring a lot of sausage and bacon, chances are you will attract some unwanted visitors. ==Respect== Slovenians are generally open and friendly, so don't hesitate to address people as those younger than 50 understand English and will be eager to help you. You will impress them if you try using some basic Slovenian words. Slovenian is rarely spoken by foreigners, so your effort will be appreciated and rewarded. Slovenians will insist when offering something, as "no" doesn't always mean "no," they just think it's polite for you to refuse, and polite for them to insist. Don't worry unnecessarily, but still you should take some normal precautions to study your host first. Slovenians are proud for having preserved their national identity (especially the language) in spite of the pressures from neighboring nations in past centuries. Due to their economic success as well as historical and contemporary cultural bonds to Central Europe, they usually don't like their country to be described as part of "Eastern Europe". While Slovenian is closely related to Serbian and Croatian, it is not the same language. Another common misconception is that Slovenia was part of the Soviet Bloc, while it was in fact the northernmost country of [[Yugoslavia]], which was neutral during the Cold War. You can, however, freely discuss these topics; just be aware that you can hear contrasting sides of the story, depending on who you talk to and his/her political affinity. There is still a strong division among leftists and rightists. Be careful if entering a discussion on open territorial issues with Croatia or on the Slovenian civil war during WWII and its aftermath. Consider these controversial topics a taboo. Due to Slovenia's history as part of Yugoslavia, resentment towards Serbia and Russia is high. Try to avoid being overly enthusiastic about either country, as it can quickly arouse strong emotions among locals. Also try not to get Slovenia mixed up with the similar-sounding Slovakia, as it can lead to embarrassment. There is an active lesbian and gay scene in Slovenia. As elsewhere in this part of Europe, homosexuals are generally safe, although there have been a few reported attacks in the past. Be cautious in the evening and during the night, especially in cities. Women/girls holding hands are considered normal and a sign of friendship. Gay marriage was legalized in 2022. Practical advice: * If you are invited to dinner at someone's home, bring a bottle of good wine. It's expected to give a compliment to a cook. Do it before you are asked if you liked the meal! * Slovenians generally wear slippers at home, so take your shoes off when you enter. They will offer you slippers or insist you keep the shoes on. They'll normally be very gracious, knowing that you are a visitor and don't know all of their customs, but try not to be ignorantly callous. * It's normal to shake hands when introduced to someone. Don't try to make a kiss when introduced, though in the younger generation, kissing and hugging is not uncommon between friends. * The Slovenian Alps (especially the highest peak Triglav, named after a Slavic god) are a national symbol. Slovenia is the only country to have its highest peak on the national flag. * It's common to greet people with ''Dober dan'' (Good day) when you meet in the mountains, and to say ''Srečno'' (Good luck) when you depart. There is a strong spirit of camaraderie in the mountains. * It's also polite to say ''Dober dan'' to people passing by in small towns and villages. ==Connect== [[File:Ljubljana (128) (3896766077).jpg|thumb|Internet cafe in Ljubljana]] === Telephone === The international calling code for Slovenia is 386, and the prefix for international calls is 00; the area code prefix is 0. Some number blocks are reserved for special use: 080 are toll-free numbers and 090 are commercial services, which are usually expensive. Mobile networks use the common European frequencies (900 and 1,800 MHz for GSM/LTE and 2,100 MHz for 3G; 800 MHz is planned for LTE). Two major Slovenian mobile companies, Mobitel and Simobil, provide an excellent coverage in GSM and 3G, but 3G can be unavailable in mountainous regions. Roaming between European phone companies is becoming cheaper due to the EU regulation setting a maximum of €0.29 per minute for calls made and €0.09 for calls received, while calls to or from non-EU providers remain expensive. Slovenian pre-paid SIM cards are also available in supermarkets and gas stations. [http://www.telekom.si Telekom Slovenije] operates around 3,500 phone booths. They unfortunately do not accept coins but require the use of cards costing €3–15. === Internet === Slovenia is generally well covered by inexpensive broadband internet due to fierce competition between multiple companies. Internet cafes are thus common in cities and internet access is offered by most hotels and hostels. A free wireless internet network is also being set up in some cities by volunteers ([[Ljubljana]], [[Maribor]], [[Nova Gorica]]). You can use it if you have a computer or a WiFi enabled phone. === Postal Services === The offices of [http://www.posta.si/?localeid=en-EN Pošta Slovenije] are ubiquitous. Look for French horn-like signs on dark yellow background. Delivery takes one day within Slovenia, a few days within Europe and (usually) less than two weeks worldwide. [http://www.dhl.com DHL] is also available. ==== Postal rates ==== Inland postcard: '''€0.69''' (value of the '''"B"''' stamp) Inland letter (up to 20 g): '''€0.55''' (value of the '''"A"''' stamp) International postcard / international letter (up to 20 g): '''€1.22''' (value of the '''"C"''' stamp) International airmail postcard / international airmail letter (up to 20 g): '''€2.19''' Newsagents or shops selling postcards usually sell stamps, too. If this is not the case, you can always buy them at a Post Office. For airmail, you will have to go to the Post Office and ask for ''prednostno''. You can pay directly at the counter or attach proper stamps. Rates correct as of January 2021. {{outlinecountry}} {{geo|46.05|14.9|zoom=9}} {{IsPartOf|Central Europe}} 3rvpbomyzzro7g3euaqq09gw6k2a3bb 0 35208 5298534 5108766 2026-06-26T00:32:44Z DaGizza 162256 /* Do */ Updated listing for Morning Beach Yoga 5298534 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Brasilito Bay in Guanacaste (cropped).jpg}} [[Image:Costa Rica Playa Tamarindo and Grande 2007 aerial photograph tamarindowiki.JPG|thumb|325px|Tamarindo]] '''Tamarindo''' is in [[Costa Rica]]. Located on the Pacific Coast, Tamarindo is a popular destination for couples and families looking for a good time. With spectacular beaches and rainforests, Tamarindo is the epitome of everything that Costa Rica prides itself on. However, if you are expecting to experience the real Costa Rica then Tamarindo is probably not for you - it's something of a tourist trap geared towards people from the US, on short vacations, and prices are high (comparable to US and Europe) with rarely the quality to match. ==Get in== It is recommended to fly into [[Liberia (Costa Rica)|Liberia]] International Airport ({{IATA|LIR}}) and take a taxi from there which lasts approximately 1¼ hour. Or you can arrange a private transfer or shared shuttle. There are several companies like [http://www.xplorecostarica.com Xplore Costa Rica] that do this service. Most airlines fly to Liberia from Houston, Miami, Atlanta or Los Angeles. Tamarindo also has an airport which is approximately a 45-minute flight from San José. There are several domestic airlines that offer daily flights to and from Tamarindo ([https://skywaycr.com/ '''Skyway Airlines''']{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, [https://www.aerobell.com/daily-domestic-flights-to-tamarindo-costa-rica/ Aerobell Airlines], Sansa Airlines). The bus ride from the San José costs US$14 leaving Alfaro Station. The bus stops frequently and the trip takes 6-7 hours but there is much to see throughout Costa Rica. Purchase 2 hours or more in advance as buses in CR often sell out. If coming from Liberia, there are buses every couple of hours, fare is a couple of U.S. dollars. Not the world's most comfortable buses, they stop everywhere and take many detours off the main road into villages. The journey takes about 2½ hours, but it's a good way to see the Costa Rican countryside. ==Get around== {{mapframe}} The town is nice and small, a sort of miniature tropical paradise. You can find taxis, rent cars, bicycles, and a few scooters. There are two legal taxis in Tamarindo, available for local or airport transfers or for hire to anywhere within the country. You will find many "pirate" taxis that you can negotiate your ride, but they are probably not insured in case of accident. Street addresses throughout Costa Rica are difficult for foreigners to navigate, but even more so in Tamarindo, where Google Maps sometimes shows street names that are no longer used. When in doubt, ask. ==See== Numerous lagoons in the area are filled with wonderful wildlife. Incredible sunsets and sunrises on beautiful beaches add to the overall experience. Rainforests are a short ride away, as are volcanoes and other aspects of nature unique to this region of Costa Rica. * {{see | name=Fire Spinning | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=10.30008 | long=-85.84207 | directions=On the beach near El Be, easy to spot | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily, soon after sunset | price=Donations requested after show | lastedit=2022-02-17 | content=Most days there are one or more groups spinning fire on the beach at different times. Shows usually last ~15 minutes. }} ==Do== Tamarindo has become a magnet for surfers and blue water sport fishermen, with a sport fishing fleet of talented and conservation oriented captains who are the pioneers of the Pacific coast. Their record catches of marlin, sailfish, giant tuna and other species have become legendary. Whether you want deep bluewater fishing, or reef or shoreline fishing, the fleet can accommodate you. Surf casting and handlining in front of your villa for snook and jack are also popular. Any way you do it you can be sure to have your fresh catch cooked up for you at one of the friendly beachfront restaurants. * [http://www.AmagiAdventures.com Amagi Adventures] {{dead link|December 2020}} - Custom guided surf trips including photography & videography of your sessions. Warm water surfing is enjoyed year 'round and families find this area offers opportunities for surfers of all skill levels to enjoy the great waves that bless this part of the coast. Tamarindo was the first stop on an epic worldwide surf journey in the popular movie ''Endless Summer II''. The beaches are very crowded with amateur surfers these days. It can be hard to catch waves without running into another tourist. The crowds do start to thin out as evening approaches though. Visitors also can choose to scuba dive, snorkel, go on beach cruises, water ski, jet ski, go ocean and river kayaking, wind surfing, sailing cruises and horseback riding. Bicycles, beach gear, surfboards, boogie boards and equipment of all types are available for rental from specialty stores. In addition, there are only a few places in the world where the Giant Leatherback Turtle comes to lay her eggs, and National Park Las Baulas is one of them. A short ride from Tamarindo, watching this beautiful part of nature is a once in a lifetime event. There are a few great places to go at night. La Barra is a great bar where everyone goes for some salsa dancing, watch out though, the locals are all very good at it. There is another place called Pacifica playing mostly Top 40 music for the younger crowd at the end of the main street in Tamarindo. At the other end, you can find a relative new place, Agua. Pretty nice interior compared to the other bars, but it has a tendency to be a little empty at times. Be careful about pickpockets around Agua, especially of those men dressed as women. *{{do | name=Bikini Surf Shop | alt=Biniki Surf Shop Tamarindo, Costa Rica | url=http://www.bikinishopcr.com {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Main Street, Tamarindo Costa Rica | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0917 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Tamarindo Bikini Surf Shop, offers surfboard rent, surfing lessons and tours, surf report, bikinis }} *{{listing | name=Wayra Instituto de Español | url=https://wayra.cr/ | email= | address=Tamarindo Beach | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Programs run 1-4 weeks, with an option to include a surfing course. }} *{{do | name=Tamarindo Spanish and Surf School | url=http://www.spanishabroad.com/tamarindo.htm {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=Calle Real | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Spanish and surf school. }} *{{do | name=Languatica | url=http://www.languatica.com/our-locations/tamarindo-costa-rica/ {{dead link|August 2018|December 2020}} | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-856-335-5264 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Language immersion travel. }} *{{do | name=EF Escuela Internacional de Español | url=http://www.ef.com/ils/destinations/costa-rica/playa-tamarindo/ | email= | address=Tamarindo, Costa Rica | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-800-992-1892 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Spanish school with weekly start dates. }} *{{do | name=La Oveja Negra Surf Camp & Hostel | url=http://www.laovejanegrahostel.com | email= | address=Hostel La Oveja Negra | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0005 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=La Oveja Negra Surf Camp has a range of different surf packages. }} *{{do | name=Dreamsea Surf Camp | url=http://www.dreamseasurfcampcostarica.com {{dead link|December 2020}} | email=info@dreamseasurfcamp.com | address=Tamarindo | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 8702-5755 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Dreamsea Surf Camp has accommodation and surf packs. }} *{{do | name=Tamarindo Surf Vacations | alt=Tamarindo Surf Trips | url=http://www.tamarindosurfvacations.com | email=info@tamarindosurfvacations.com | address=Tamarindo | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 8907 9270 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-10-21 | content=Tamarindo Surf Vacations offers Witch's rock Ollie's point boat surf trips, beachfront hotel, surf camp, surf packages. }} * {{do | name=CRA Costa Rica Student Tours | alt=Costa Rican Adventures | url=http://www.costaricanadventures.com/tours/student.html {{dead link|August 2020|December 2020}} | email=requests@costaricanadventures.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2297-0706 | tollfree=+1-800-551-7887 | fax= | hours= | price= | content= An educational travel company focused on cultural immersion. }} * {{do | name=Chill Expeditions Student Educational Tours | alt= | url=http://www.chillexpeditions.com/students/ | email=carolyne@costaricanadventures.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2297-0706 | tollfree=+1-800-850-4887 | fax= | hours= | price= | content= Experiential learning trips to Costa Rica, Belize, the Galapagos Islands, Peru and Spain. }} * {{do | name=Hacienda Pinilla | url=http://www.haciendapinilla.com/beach-club/ | email=info@haciendapinilla.com | address=Hacienda Pinilla resort, Guanacaste | lat= | long= | directions=15 minutes from the Tamarindo intersection | phone= +506 2680-3000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=An exclusive beach resort and residential community, it offers six pristine beaches, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, fishing horseback riding, an 18-hole championship golf course, and about 16 km (10 miles) of nature trails. }} * {{do | name=Morning Beach Yoga | alt= | url=https://www.instagram.com/fabiola.life/ | email= | address= | lat=10.30008 | long=-85.84207 | directions=On the beach in front of El Be | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday 7:30am | price=$5 cash | lastedit=2022-02-17 | content=Runs for about 1 hour. It's in the shade on the beach. Additional $5 to rent a mat (otherwise bring your own towel). }} ==Buy== Many local vendors offer authentic Costa Rican jewelry. For children, inexpensive souvenirs are to be found everywhere. * {{buy | name=The Bookstore of the Waves | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/TheBookStoreoftheWaves/ | email= | address= | lat=10.297 | long=-85.84159 | directions=In the same building as Shrimp Hole, Handle Bar, and Cafe Tico | phone=+506 8622 2444 | tollfree= | hours=8AM-4PM Monday-Saturday | price= | lastedit=2022-02-17 | content=Mostly used books, some new ones. Many books are not in English. Also has some comic books and games. }} ===Supermarkets=== There are 5 supermarkets in the area. * SuperCompro (Well Hidden from the general public, next to the Park). * Super 2001 (on main road near intersection, almost at the end of tamarindo). * Supermercado Las Palmeras (upon entering Tamarindo, on the other side of Aqua). * Automercado, very upscale and air-conditioned, on the road towards Tamarindo. *Vindi Tamarindo, modern (just past the Super 2001, left onto Central Avenue) ===Farmers Markets=== There is a fair-sized farmers market between the beginning of the road to Langosta every Saturday morning, which has a variety of items for sale, not just food. You will usually find at least a few dozen vendors there. There is also a smaller farmers market in Villareal, at the corner of the soccer field, every Friday morning, but it only has fruits and vegetables. ===Banks=== There are 3 banks in Tamarindo. * Banco Nacional de Costa Rica on the road from the center of town, has parking, 2 ATMs and Security. It closes at 3:45pm. *Another two are in Plaza Conchal Commercial Center, below Expertis Law firm, and at very end/back of the shops. These are open later hours than Banco Nacional. Both have ATMs. * There are two ATMs, in front of Subway and another inside Super Compro. Retail shops and restaurants love the American dollar. However, as a rule of thumb, don't use anything over a $20 bill... forget using a $100. You will get change in colons. ===Surf Shops=== There are several shops in Tamarindo that sell and rent surf boards. They also sell related equipment and clothing. ==Eat== Tamarindo offers an amazing selection of international and typical Costa Rican restaurants. Tamarindo has a French and German bakery, as well as restaurants catering to health-conscious and vegetarian. There is an abundant supply of fresh local seafood, fruits and vegetables. Most restaurants face the beach, so while waiting for food, one can play in the sand or admire the beautiful sunset. However, most restaurant food is not cheap by Central American standards. Expect to pay US$10 for a starter, $15-20 for a main dish, $3-4 for a juice or smoothie, $6-7 for a sandwich. Tamarindo also has grocery stores, fresh produce and fruit juice stands, and internet cafes. Locals will come daily during lunchtime with food in the back of their truck and sell to local Costa Ricans for about ₡2000 you get a full plate, it's a great way to try local cuisine. *{{eat | name=Pipos Dog | alt=The Best Hot Dogs in town | url=http://www.piposdog.ws | email= | address=Centro comercial Plaza Esmeralda | lat= | long= | directions=on the main road left side, where the HSBC Bank is | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Hot dogs and open late. }} *{{eat | name=Longboards BBQ | url= | email= | address=Located on the right side of the road to Langosta | lat= | long= | directions=Next door to Mandarina | phone=+506 2653-0027 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Noon until late night | price=under US$10 | content= Enjoy an amazing pulled pork, chicken, or brisket sandwich while relaxing in a tropical setting, listening to American music. The ribs and onion rings are fantastic. All of their meat is smoked and served with homemade BBQ sauces. New flat screens make it a good place to watch the games. }} *{{eat | name=Le Petit Cafe | url=http://www.lepetitcafe-cr.com {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address=A03 Plaza Tamarindo | lat= | long= | directions=Next door to ABC Realty | phone=+506 2653-4285 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=08:00-18:00 | price=US$4-7 | content=Located in Plaza Tamarindo and serving North American and Jamaican-influenced fare including panninis, salads, home baked goods, apple pie to Jamaican jerk chicken, and vegetarian selections, and Montreal style bagels. Patio and enclosed air conditioned dining area. }} ==Drink== Any tropical drink is recommended. Fresh papaya, mango, pineapple, and bananas are Tamarindo's specialty. When in Tamarindo, definitely try a Tamarind and Ginger agua fresca if you find it. *{{drink | name=Monkey Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=10.30433 | long=-85.83743 | directions=On the Main strip | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The Monkey Bar is great on Fridays: they have a live band and a DJ playing, so you are able to choose which side of the party you wish to be on. }} *{{drink | name=Aqua | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=10.3023 | long=-85.83973 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Within walking distance from the Monkey Bar, Aqua delivers a more intense night club experience. A great place to be on Friday or Saturday and there's even a pole on stage. }} *{{drink | name=Pacifico Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=10.29834 | long=-85.84264 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Pacifico is the place to be on Sunday and is also busy on Thursday. Expect reggae dance-hall music at this beach side bar. }} ==Work== * {{listing | name=In The Shade | alt= | url=https://www.intheshadecr.com/coworking | email= | address= | lat=10.297508 | long=-85.839537 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=$10 for 2 hours or cheaper for longer | lastedit=2022-03-02 | content=Coworking space. }} ==Sleep== ===Camping=== *'''Eco Camping Tamarindo''' - Nice camping place, a bit pricey, yet still cheapest option around Tamarindo. Kitchen, bathrooms, showers, slow wifi. A bit far from the beach but Tamarindo is not such a big town. US$8 per person. ===Hostels=== *{{sleep | name=Hostel Café Café | url= | email= | address=Avenida de las Palmas, near Calle San Javier | lat=10.309202 | long=-85.811345 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=US$14—35 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Delightfully funky surfer hostel with 1970s-style décor and wall art. Private and shared rooms available. As of October 2017 (low season), very much a work in progress, with the desk not continually staffed—especially when the surf's up. Free wi-fi, good air conditioning in the rooms. Kitchen available though spartan (e.g., it is not advisable to open the left-hand refrigerator). Suggest bringing your own toilet paper. Owner and staff actively working on improvements before the beginning of high season. Prices don't seem firmly established and might be flexible, though they will probably increase during high season. Staff very friendly and helpful, both with the accommodations and regarding recreational opportunities in Tamarindo. Within easy walking distance to a post office and reasonably inexpensive food stores and eateries, though not to the beaches. }} * {{sleep | name=Tsunami Hostel Tamarindo | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/Tsnunamihostel/ | email=hoteltsunamitamarindo2018@gmail.com | address= | lat=10.30579 | long=-85.83649 | directions= | phone=+506 2653 0280 | tollfree= | checkin=Not Specified | checkout=11AM | price=$65/night for 3 person room with fan only. $100/night for 3 person room with AC/TV/Fridge. 5% fee for credit card | lastedit=2022-02-14 | content=Quiet hostel on the edge of downtown and close to beach. }} ===Hotels=== *{{sleep | name=15 Love Bed and Breakfast | url=http://www.15lovebedandbreakfast.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=A contemporary bed and breakfast with two tennis courts. }} *{{sleep | name=360 Surf Camp | alt=360 Surf Camp | url=http://www.360surfcamp.com | email= | address=In front of Milagro Hotel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 26530917 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=360 Surf Camp surf school and lodging in front of the beach. }} *{{sleep | name=Domus Kahuna | alt= | url=http://www.domuskahuna.com {{dead link|August 2018|December 2020}} | email= | address=Next to the children playgound | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0648 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=50 | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | content=Fully equipped apartments and hotel rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Hacienda Pinilla Beach Resort and Residential Community | url=http://www.haciendapinilla.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2680-3000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= Offers villas, beach houses, the 30-room La Posada Hotel or the eight-suite Casa de Golf. }} * {{sleep | name=Harry's, El Escondite | alt= | url=http://EsconditeTamarindo.com | email=Harry@EsconditeTamarindo.com | address=Cabinas El Escondite | lat=10.29474 | long=-85.83974 | directions=50 m west from Arco Iris (Season's Restaurant), 100 m south to end of road, look for surfboard in tree | phone=+506 8842-3419 | tollfree=+506 8842-3419 (Viber) | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=US$60 | content=Free surfboards & bikes. Secluded 4-plex of studio-apartment style cabinas in Playa Tamarindo. These vacation rentals have accommodations for individuals or groups up to 8 people and host many annually returning clients. A surf guide and lessons are also available for visitors new to the area and/or surfing. The kitchens are fully equipped with stoves, ovens, microwaves, coffee makers, toasters, all cutlery and cooking utensils. The hotel is located at the end of a quiet and private dead-end road, a short walk from downtown. It has a pool, lounge chairs and hammocks. On the 2nd floor is a large sundeck for BBQs, dining and entertaining. Hotel services available include laundry facilities, phones and wireless internet access and a large media collection. Also has private, off-street parking for guests. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Jardin del Eden | alt= | url=http://www.jardindeleden.com/special-offer/index.html | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=En frende a la Colina | phone=+506 2653-0137 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$192 | checkin= | checkout= | content=Set on a hill, just a few minutes walk from the beach, and with a great view of the entire Tamarindo Bay. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Mamiri | alt= | url=http://www.hotelmamiri.com {{dead link|December 2020}} | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0079 | tollfree= | fax= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=Across the street from Pasatiempo Hotel. Charming tropical gardens and very relaxed vibe, excellent morning coffee. }} *{{sleep | name=Hotel Nahua | url=http://hotelnahua.com/ {{dead link|August 2018|December 2020}} | email= | address=Tamarindo | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0010 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=Apartments and hotel rooms around a lush garden with swimming pool, BBQ area and lazy corner to kick back and relax. Only a short walk to the beach. }} * {{sleep | name=HPV Tamarindo House Rentals | alt=Horizon Pacific Vacations | url=http://www.horizonpacificvacations.com/costa-rica-rental-properties/tamarindo/houses.html {{dead link|August 2018|December 2020}} | email=info@horizonpacificvacations.com | address=Plaza Tamarindo, Suite 13 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0390 | tollfree=+1-888-795-7373 | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Offering vacation rentals, property management, long-term rentals, and a complete concierge service. Provides you with a local contact during your stay. }} *{{sleep | name=JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa | url=https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjojw-jw-marriott-guanacaste-resort-and-spa/ | email= | address=Hacienda Pinilla | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2681-2000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content=A traditional Costa Rica hotel with 310 guest rooms. }} * {{sleep | name=Los Altos De Eros | alt= | url=http://www.losaltosdeeros.com | email=info@losaltosdeeros.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=About 25 minutes' drive inland from Tamarindo | phone=+506 8850-4222 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=This boutique hotel offers yoga, cooking classes, a luxury spa overlooking the tropical forest, and honeymoon/wedding packages. They are a 5-star hotel, on a 27-acre estate, atop a small mountain with stunning views to the Pacific Ocean. Within a 20-minute drive (which they provide) you can surf, swim at two beaches, shop, take a canopy tour, go sport fishing, ride horses or ATVs, play golf, visit nearby towns, nightlife, restaurants. }} *{{sleep | name=Mirador B&B | alt= | url=http://www.TamarindoMirador.com | email= | address=300 m east of gym | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 8302-6514 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=US$95-150/night | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | content=Enjoy sweeping ocean views perched high atop town in a quiet location, but close enough to enjoy all the town's amenities. }} *{{sleep | name=RPM Vacation Rentals | alt= | url=http://www.rpmvacationrentals.com/ | email= | address=Plaza Tamarindo | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653-0738 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=11:00 | content=Vacation rentals of condos and houses. }} * {{sleep | name=Tamarindo Village | alt= | url=http://www.tamarindovillage.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+506 2653 0036 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=$229-$289/night | content=Its hillside location has beautiful sunset views of the ocean and it's within walking distance of the beach. It's not a cookie-cutter hotel. Each of the cabins is private and charming. }} ==Cope== ===Laundry=== There are no public coin operated machines in the city. It's 2,000-2,500 colons per kilo at some wash and fold places. You'll likely see signs when walking around, but there is a place in the same row of buildings as Tierra Bendita (or where Corona St and Central Ave intersect). ==Go next== No one really wants to leave Tamarindo, but when the time comes, buses to [[San José (Costa Rica)|San José]] or to [[Liberia (Costa Rica)|Liberia]] are the best option. Public bus to [[Montezuma]]: Journey takes about 8-10 hours to Montezuma. Catch the bus at 08:00 in Tamarindo to Santa Cruz (₡ 1200). From Santa Cruz take the bus to [[Nicoya Peninsula|Nicoya]] (₡400). From there you have to wait 2 hours to take the bus to [[Playa Naranjo]] for ₡1700. After arriving in Playa Naranjo, you have 2 options: hitchhike from there to Montezuma or go on the ferry to [[Puntarenas]], take another ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera and take a public bus from Paquera to Cobano and then to Montezuma. {{outlinecity}} {{isPartOf|Central Pacific (Costa Rica)}} {{geo|10.299166666667|-85.842222222222}} 87gths8gnsb5s5rgxijialf7xawox0r 0 35618 5298495 5242826 2026-06-25T19:14:40Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Go next */ 5298495 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Tepoztlan banner.jpg|pgname=Tepoztlán|caption=Mural made of seeds in Tepoztlan}} '''Tepoztlán''' is a popular tourist destination an hour south of [[Mexico City]]. It's famous for the El Tepozteco pyramid, which is on the summit of the nearby Tepozteco Mountain. It's also known for its spas, meditation, alternative medicine clinics and a very traditional city center. It is a small town so you don't need a car to travel within the city. Tepoztlan is the Cradle of many Myths from different pre-Hispanic cultures. ==Understand== [[File:Mural de semillas por la Fiesta principal de Tepoztlán, Morelos detalle 02.jpg|thumb|Mural made of seeds for the annual Tepozteco Festival in Tepoztlan]] Tepoztlan have been a spiritual center for many cultures, being where Quetzalcoatl, the main pre-Hispanic figure considered as "the pre-Hispanic Jesus Christ", is said to have been born. It is considered a sacred place worldwide and also has hosted different national and international cultural movements. It's the base of Latin America shamanic community, the community of elders of the world, and it has been a retirement town for old war heroes and retired intelligence operatives from around the world. It is also famous for the great number of reported UFO sightings. Tepoztlán was #2 of now more than 100 so called "Magic Towns of Mexico" ([[Pueblos Mágicos]]). Being in the Top 10 more beautiful Magic Town in Mexico in 2019. ==Get in== {{mapframe}} From Mexico City, you may take the metro to the Tasqueña station and follow the "autobuses" signs to the southern bus depot next door. The various bus companies display their destinations and times. Pullman de Morelos offers bus service every 30 minutes and a one-way ticket cost M$134 ([[Mexico#Currency|pesos]]) in 2018. The bus ride is comfortable, scenic and takes about an hour and a half (depending on traffic). Upon arrival in Tepoztlan, the bus may drop you at a depot on the edge of town. Taxis will be waiting to take you to the main square for M$40. Walking to the center will take 20-30 minutes or so. The path to walk downtown is marked by a red metal guard rail across from the bus station. Frequent buses run to and from the Adolfo Lopez Mateos market in Cuernavaca and pick up passengers along the way to the center of Tepoztlan. About M$20. If you prefer to take a taxi from Mexico City, the standard cost is M$1250-1850. * {{go | name=Terminal Tepoztlán | alt=Bus station | address=Carretera Federal Cuernavaca - Tepoztlán Km 17, Col del Tesoro | lat=18.98288974610097 | long=-99.10783653858171 | phone=+52 739 395 0646 | lastedit=2024-07-17 | content=Small bus terminal with an outdoor waiting area. Serves buses from Pullman de Morelos and OCC. }} ==Get around== Tepoztlan is a small quaint town and is easily walkable. Most of the activity is centered around its main square and along the main avenue, Avenida 5 de Mayo. There is local bus service to surrounding towns. Even though the main part of town is normally walkable, you may think otherwise after a long hike up and down Tepozteco mountain. If your knees are sore and you don't want to walk all the way back to the bus station on the other far side of town, there is a small taxi fleet in town that usually has available taxis stationed at pick-up points (sitios) around the main points of interest. The standard rate to get from the closest pick-up point to Tepozteco to the main bus station is M$50. There are many tourism agencies around. If you choose to use their services, hire a certified guide to go to 1 of the more than 60 hiking routes through mountains, volcanic caverns, sacred spaces, ziplines, rivers and forests. ==See== There is an archaeological site at the top of an easy-hikeable mountain (assuming you are in decent shape -- there are 400 m of stairs) that is also famous for its "good vibrations". The hike can take up to 2 hours depending on your fitness level. The pyramid, '''El Tepozteco''', offers wonderful views of the surrounding area. The site may be reached by walking down Avenida 5 de mayo (in the direction away from where you entered the town). Continue until the street ends to the steps which mark the beginning of the trail. Make sure to bring water with you. The hike to the top is free but it will cost M$37 (in 2010) to access the pyramid. At the top you will also encounter coati, also known as a tejón. These animals, members of the raccoon family, are curious and will attempt to open backpacks to find food. There is also a beautiful former convent called '''Dominico de la Navidad'''. It has been restored and entrance is free. It is located right off the main square. If you are curious about it, the locals claim UFO sightings are common, which mostly just adds to the "new age" vibe of the town. Ask about the "ovni" to hear strange tales. ==Do== If you love a good festival, try to visit Tepoztlan on September 8 when the town's famous '''Tepozteco Festival''' takes place. Murals are created from seeds adorn the Church of the Nativity (the monastery). '''Temazcal''' is an ancient Mexican therapy that consists of a little igloo-shape room in which a group of people enter and medicinal plants are burned inside it and the place gets really warm. A guide asks people to sing ancient songs to make the experience more complete. Many hotels have this option either in groups or individual. The Mexican Association of Scouts runs a large campground called ''Meztitla'' just outside of town. The camp offers warm showers, tent camping, hiking, rock climbing, and rappel. It is open to the public 365 days (except for occasional closings due to special Scout events). First-aid service is available. There is an area for campfires. Food services must be arranged in advance.[http://morelosturistico.com/espanol/pagina/z_252_Campamento_Meztitla.php Mextitla (in Spanish)] The Dominican monastery and museum is another must-see. The building was built in the 16th century but damaged during the 2017 earthquake and may still be closed. There is a small fee (M$10) to enter the monastery/museum. The '''Pellicer Museum''' behind the monastery has an extensive collection of archaeological pieces with a particular emphasis on pre-hispanic art. The market is colorful and offers delicious local dishes. It spreads out to cover an entire street on Sundays and is an excellent place to buy souvenirs. [[File:Pirámide de Tepoztlán..jpg|thumb|El Tepozteco Pyramid in Tepoztlan]] Adjacent to the town is the '''Tepozteco National Park''' (''Parque Nacional El Tepozteco''). The [[Mexico national parks|national park]] is large, encompassing 16 mountains with hiking paths and rock climbing opportunities. The park includes the archaeological site with a well-known Aztec pyramid. No visit to Tepoztlan would be complete without climbing '''Tepozteco''' to see the pyramid. The pyramid was built to honor Ometochtli Tepuztécatl, the Aztec god of pulque. [[File:Coatíes en el cerro del Tepozteco.jpg|thumb|Coatíes in Parque Nacional El Tepozteco]] Nature lovers will find quite a lot of interesting flora and fauna to observe in the Tepozteco National Park. Because of the constantly changing elevation, different types of trees and other plant life can be seen as the temperatures and moisture levels change. In the valleys and low-lying plains, there are more grasses and oaks, while the vegetation gives way to ever increasing density of pines, junipers, and firs as you ascend the mountains. The park boasts more than 120 species of birds, about 30 species of reptile, and about 40 species of mammals. Several of the reptile species are endemic to this area, including the Mexican spotted lizard (which is venomous), and three species of rattlesnake that are not usually found outside the national park. Mammals include a large population of white-tail deer, and plenty of curious coatis who will likely befriend you if they think you have food. (Feeding them is prohibited.) ==Buy== There are many [[Mexican artesanias|handicrafts]] sold in the market and nearby shops, as well as imported knickknacks from around the world. Mezcal and quartz rocks are produced locally. ==Eat== Epicures will find some unusual (and unusually delicious) regional specialties in Tepoztlan. Two of the most famous foods from Tepoztlan are mole verde and ice cream (such as from Tepoznieves, listed below). The mole verde is based on ground pumpkin seeds and gets its color from pipian chiles. Many visitors choose to eat tacos, gorditas, and quesadillas in the market. ''Flor de calabaza'' is quite popular. Dried grasshoppers (''chapulines'') are also popular. * {{eat | name=Tepoznieves | url=http://www.tepoznieves.mx/ | address=Isabel La Católica 1, Colonia Centro (and other locations) | lat=18.985310036852773 | long=-99.10046937800466 | phone=+52 739 395 3184 | hours=Daily 08:00 - 20:30 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content=Local chain with multiple locations around town (Av. 5 de mayo, 21) and their ice cream is famous. They have up to 200 flavors available ranging from the pedestrian chocolate to more exotic rose petal, figs and mescal, or carrot with chili. }} * {{eat | name=La Posada de Tepozteco | url=https://posadadeltepozteco.com.mx/ | address=Paraíso 3, San Miguel | lat=18.986234840134472 | long=-99.10290546210364 | directions=two blocks above the main square | phone=+52 739 395 0010 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content=In addition to offering beautiful (though pricey) lodging, the restaurant serves delicious local cuisine. Sit on the serene patio to enjoy the mountain and town views. Their Chicken Mole is delicious. }} * {{eat | name=Cuatecomate | url= | address=Sufragio Efectivo No Reelección 3, San Miguel | lat=18.986628094538986 | long=-99.10008201792509 | directions=Plaza las Flores | phone=+52 777 428 7650 | hours=Daily 08:00 - 20:00 | price=M$300 | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content=Modern restaurant serving ancient prehispanic ingredients and heritage recipes. Dishes include ''Tlatlequeadas'', and ''Sopa de Cuitlacoche'' which is made from a fungus that grows on corn. The presentation is impressive with traditional ceramic plates and bowls that are molcajetes made from volcanic rock. Dining at this restaurant is a unique experience that foodies won't want to miss. Drinks include several mezcals infused with traditional herbs or fruits. Vegan travelers will find many meatless dishes to choose from. }} * {{eat | name=El Ciruelo | url=http://elciruelo.com.mx/ | address=Zaragoza #17, Santisima Trinidad | lat=18.987075839160244 | long=-99.09935154676076 | phone=+52 739-395-1203 | hours=Daily 08:30 - 22:00 | price=M$300 | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content=Moderately-priced restaurant that features local ingredients in regional cuisine with some innovative modern touches. It is apappropriate for vegetarians and vegans. Outdoor dining area available. }} * {{eat | name=La Sombra del Sabino | url=http://www.lasombradelsabino.com.mx/ | address=Prolongación Zaragoza 450, Barrio, Santo Domingo | lat=18.983418492967562 | long=-99.08811551139127 | phone=+52 739 596 0998 | hours=W-Su 10:00 - 18:00, closed M-Tu | price= | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content=Literary hub with an on-site bookstore and serving traditional Mexican food featuring local organic ingredients for breakfast or afternoon dinner. Several vegan-friendly dishes. Hosts the ''Canada-Mexico Literary Festival'' each February. }} * {{eat | name=La Cava del Valle | url= | address= | lat= | directions=by La Posada del Valle | phone= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Los Colorinas | url= | address=Del Tepozteco 13, Santisima Trinidad | lat=18.98839973702226 | long=-99.10114031852916 | phone=+52 739 395 0198 | hours=Daily 08:30 - 21:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-08-01 | content=Hugely popular with Mexican foodies who come for the ''very'' authentic traditional and regional cooking. Locals recommend the Huauzouitles or the Cecina de Yecapixtla. }} ==Drink== ''Tepoztēcatl'' was the god who invented pulque in Tepoztlan. * {{drink | name=Pulques El Nectar Tepozteco | alt= | url= | email= | address=62520, Revolución de 1910 36, San Miguel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 739 395 0212 | tollfree= | hours=F-Su 10:00-20:00 | price=M$20 for 200 mL | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-03-04 | content=pulqueria }} * {{drink | name=Pulques El Rey Tepozteco | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santisima Trinidad | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-03-04 | content=pulqueria }} * {{drink | name=Lagartija Club Mezcal | alt= | url= | email= | address=Isabel La Católica 12, San Miguel | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 739 395 0196 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 12:30-19:30 (F Sa to 20:00) | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-03-04 | content=mezcal bar }} * {{drink | name=Mezcalería La Cueva | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Revolución 2, Santo Domingo | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=F 12:00-00:00, Sa 12:00-02:00, Su 12:00-23:00 | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2019-03-04 | content=mezcal bar with live music }} ==Sleep== Sleeping in Tepoztlan can be noisy at times (in December 2010, the church bells seemed to ring on the half hour all night). There are two campgrounds nearby: '''Camhomila''' (YMCA camp; accepts trailers and has cabins) and '''Meztitla''' (Scouts of Mexico, tents only; hiking, rock climbing, rappel. ) Both nice, safe, and open to the public. '''Posada Ali''' is nice place with a good view of the cliffs. It costs around M$500 on weekdays (prices seem to vary). * {{sleep | name=Amomoxtli | alt= | url=https://amomoxtli.com/ | email= | address=Calle Netzahualcóyotl 115, Valle de Atongo | lat=18.985813 | long=-99.086796 | directions=4 m from tollway, 3 km from ruins | phone=+52 739 395 0012 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$8,500 | lastedit=2024-07-17 | content=large gardens, suites, cabins, bar, swimming pool, wi-fi, spa. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Boutique Casa Fernanda | alt= | url=https://casafernanda.com/ | email= | address=De Niño Artillero 20, San Jose | lat=18.982906 | long=-99.096873 | directions= | phone=+52 739 395 0522 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=13:00 | price=M$2,898 | lastedit=2024-07-17 | content=couples, wi-fi, air conditioning, cable TV, spa, swimming pool, three gardens, view of mountains }} * {{sleep | name=Hostal de la Luz Spa Holistic Resort | alt= | url=https://www.hostaldelaluzresort.com/ | email= | address=Carretera Federal Tepoztlan Amatlan s/n km 4 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+52 739 395 3374 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Provides suites 2 twin beds, junior suite queen bed, junior suite nicho 2 double beds, junior suite balcony king bed, master suite king bed, master suite 2 double beds and gran master suite with complimentary buffet breakfast, private bathroom and telephone. Its facilities and services include a swimming pool, the Shambhala Restaurant, Sirio Holistic Spa and feng shui bioenergetic design. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel La Posada del Valle | alt=La Cava del valle de Tepoztlán | url=https://www.laposadadelvalle.com/ | email=informposadadelvalle@gmail.com | address=Calle Camino a Meztitila #5 esq. Revolución de 1910, Valle de Atongo | lat=18.981333 | long=-99.083954 | directions= | phone=+52 739 395 1947 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 8:00-20:00 | checkin=15:00 | checkout=13:00 | price=M$1800-2500, US$90-125 | lastedit=2024-07-17 | content=Hotel Posada del Valle is one of the historical places of Tepoztlán. In the heart of the valley, it has 16 rooms with view to the trees and forest, a swimming pool over the river, spa activities and special experiences, workshops and training. Open all year. No TV or radio, but does provide Wifi and spa services. }} * {{sleep | name=Hospedaje San Antonio | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle Netzahualcóyotl 5, Santisima Trinidad | lat=18.991610 | long=-99.099117 | directions= | phone=+52 739 395 7478 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$898 | lastedit=2024-07-17 | content=Good location, swimming pool }} ==Connect== The Cultural Center "Centro Cultural [https://www.laposadadelvalle.com/post/que-hacer-en-tepoztl%C3%A1n-guia-turistica CCPLE Pedro Lopez Elias]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}" is the first so called "ecological library" of Mexico and #2 in Latin America, the have different intercultural and interdisciplinary activities. Was a donation of more than 10,000 books and a great part of the house of the Writer [https://www.ccple.org/ Pedro Lopez Elias]. ==Go next== *'''Amatlan''' is a small town east of Tepoztlan in the same municipality. There are several nice hotels and restaurants in the area. You can hire a guide to take you on a short, easy hike to the waterfall and pool where the god ''Ometochtli-Quetzalcoatl'', the inventor of pulque, god of party and drunkness was born. Bring your bathing suit if you come in raining season. *'''[[Tlayacapan]]''' is east and slightly north of Tepoztlan. It is a ''Magic town'' with a large Augustinian monastery famous for its mummies and black pottery. *'''Yautepec''' is east and slightly south of Tepoztlan. It has an archaeological site and a 16th-century monastery. Continue from there to '''[[Oaxtepec]]''', which has the largest water park in Latin America. *[[Cuernavaca]] is 16 km west of Tepoztlan. It is the capital of the state of [[Morelos]] and has 350,000 people. It has many museums, parks and historical places. * [[Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park]] is about 15 minutes from Tepoztlan. It is a large cavern system with underground rivers. On-site camping is available. {{geo|18.9833|-99.1000}} {{isPartOf|Morelos}} {{usablecity}} c2c95b1qwtppzs5mr2q8607y08mc2ue 0 35736 5298740 5298341 2026-06-26T11:53:23Z ~2026-36846-17 2426595 /* By bus */ 5298740 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mena-asia_default_banner.jpg|pgname=Thaton}} '''Thaton''' (ท่าตอน, also spelled Tha Ton) is a small village in [[Chiang Mai Province]], [[northern Thailand]]. It is 46 km northeast of Fang. ==Understand== [[File:Thaton01.JPG|thumb|348px|Thaton Valley]] [[File:Stupa in Thaton.jpg|thumbnail|Stupa, Thaton — way more forest there nowadays]] Thaton is between [[Mae Ai]] and [[Mae Chan]] in northern Chiang Mai Province. It is a town on the banks of the Kok River. It has a relaxed atmosphere, and some people hang out for a few days or weeks. There are a small number expats as permanent residents. There are a number of guesthouses along the banks of the river and more in the town. The picturesque views from Thaton hill and the banks of the river, and a small town feel combine to make this a nice place to hang out. Thaton was more popular in the past, probably due to the regular boat connections with [[Chiang Rai]]. Nowadays however, you will barely see any tourists. ==Get in== ===By road=== Thaton is on Rte 1089 between Fang and Mae Chan. The distance to Chiang Mai is about 214 km by road and takes about 4 hours, but with some excellent scenery along the way. Chiang Rai is 108 km away, Fang 25 km, and Mae Ai, 10 km. Thaton is so small it does not appear on many road maps. ===By boat=== You can take a private boat between Thaton and [[Chiang Rai]] via Ban Ruam Mit (elephant riding). The very scenic trip on the Kok River takes about 3 hr downstream (from Thaton) or about 4 hr upstream. The initial asking price is 2,500–1,700 baht, but that could probably be bargained lower. To arrange things contact the Chiang Rai pier boat office (07:00–16:00) in-person or by phone: {{phone|+6653750009}}. The Thaton office has the following number: {{phone|+66857089875}}. As of Nov 2025, the price quote was 2,800 baht for 4 people. Probably due to being dry season. ===By bus=== The bus station is near the bridge. Buses depart from/to Chang Phuak Bus Station in Chiang Mai several times a day with the journey taking 3-4 hr (prices are around 150 baht). The buses are usually easily identifiable with English information on them. Buses to Chiang Rai and Bangkok also run, albeit less frequently, a journey to Chiang Rai takes a couple of hours and to Bangkok about 12 hr (890 km). If travelling from Fang, take the yellow songthaew departing from the north side of Fang Kalaya Market (35 baht, as of Jun 2026). As of Jun 2026, public songthaews evidently no longer run from Mae Salong to Thaton. ==Get around== Thaton can easily be explored on foot and bicycle. A songthaew can easily be hired if you need to travel out of the village. ==See== * {{see | name=Wat Thaton | alt=วัดท่าตอน | url=http://www.wat-thaton.org | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+66 53 053609 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A large monastery bordering the village, it occupies an area of more than 160 acres on a number of hills. There are nine stations to visit for Buddhist pilgrims. Each station has something on it to visit, such a big Buddha image or a stupa. Level 4 has a meditation centre, where they teach Vipassana meditation. Support for English is not supported though foreigners are welcome if they can speak and understand Thai, or come with people who can translate. Also, Nov-Jan is when there are few people at the temple and meditaters are discouraged from attending at this time. Level 8 is a very large chedi and several statues. Level 9 is two kilometres from level 8, on a paved footpath the forest with a large standing Buddha at the end of the path. The temple complex is on the bank of the Mae Nam Kok (Kok River) and offers beautiful scenery. The temple also houses a school for monks, novices, and youths as well as a drug rehabilitation centre and a hill tribe support unit.}} [[File:Tourist-map-of-thaton-subdistrict.png|thumb|Tourist Map of Thaton]] ==Do== Thaton is the launching point for river trips to Chiang Rai, and for hill tribe villages in the surrounding hills. You can make a half-day longtail boat trip to Chiang Rai from here. Within 20 km of Thaton you can visit local villages, inhabited by Pauang, Black Lahu, Akha, and Yunnanes. Treks and raft trips can be arranged through guesthouses and hotels in town. * {{do | name=Malika Hot Springs | lat=20.08466 | long=99.49503 | directions=15 km east following Hwy 107 |content= }} ==Buy== On the grounds of Wat Thaton (level 2) there is the occasional open-air market where the hill tribes hawk trinkets and snacks. ==Eat== There are many small restaurants serving Thai and some Western food. Also a couple of (Nationalist) Chinese-owned restaurants. A few restaurants along the river serve locally caught fish, both from the river and from local fish farms. Also several street vendors in the late afternoon and early evening hours sell food items often not found in restaurants, such as Rotis and "Thousand year old" eggs. For packaged foods, there is a 7-11 one block south of the bridge. The local morning market is a prime spot for fresh produce. There is a nice fruit stand located near Sunshine Cafe that sells chilled coconut juice, straight from the coconut. ==Drink== There are no bars in Thaton, although most restaurants serve alcohol. ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=M2 Apartments | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.05733 | long=99.36066 | directions= | phone=+66 889526196 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Fan 400 baht, AC queen size 500 baht, AC king size 550 baht | lastedit=2025-12 | content=Has decent and clean rooms available.}} * {{sleep | name=Old Tree's House | url=http://oldtreeshouse.net/ | email=jpdebeyre@yahoo.fr | address=323 Ban Rumthai, Moo 14 | lat=20.06247 | long=99.36697 | directions=Just outside Thaton, on a hill with a great view over the Mae Nam Kok | phone=+66 85 7229002 (French-English), +66 85 8671348 (Thai) | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Garden bungalow, 1,200 baht; pool bungalow, 1,400 baht | checkin=12:00 | checkout=12:00 | content=Wonderful website with many photos. Bungalows include TV, DVD, stereo, stocked minibar. Hosts are the Franco-Thai couple, Paulo and Nid (and their little daughter). Your stay includes breakfast, free Wi-Fi, swimming pool. Dinner at the lodging by reservation for 240 baht.}} * {{sleep | name=Garden Home Nature Resort | alt= | url= | email= | address=14 Mu 14 Ban Thaton | lat=20.06308 | long=99.36022 | directions=if traveling north from Chiang Mai, cross the bridge and take the first road to the left for about 100 meters; it's on the river is Garden Home Nature Resort, not to be confused with Thaton Garden Riverside Resort, which is also located on the same road | phone=+66 53 373 015 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2018-08-19 | content=Garden Home is a wonderful place, especially if you like quiet. Surrounded by lychee trees are small bungalows suitable for one or two people for 500 baht/night. Larger bungalows overlooking the river are 1,500 baht. For the budget traveler Garden Home also has four rooms available, each with a private bathroom, for 300 baht/night (all prices still accurate Feb 2018). Garden Home Nature Resort has been around for decades, although most of the bungalows have been freshly rebuilt as of a few years ago. There is also a restaurant located on the property, with good food and fruit shakes. Free WiFi in every room. Motorcycles for rent at 300 baht/day. Reservations are not necessary. }} ==Stay safe== There is a tourist police station near the bridge, although there is no major crime in Thaton. Be aware of stray dogs, especially if riding a bicycle. If they show aggressive behavior (especially in group) avoid eye contact and move away slowly. In the unlikely event of a bite, get a rabies vaccination as soon as possible at Mae Ai Hospital, which is 9 km south of Thaton in the town of Mae Ai. ==Go next== * [[Doi Ang Khang]] – Mountain resort * [[Doi Mae Salong]] – A village known for former Kuomintang soldiers and tea cultivation {{usablecity}} {{geo|20.060833|99.362222}} {{isPartOf|Chiang Mai Province}} dg2zk29qek7vn4wrjt3ite3b76il605 0 35975 5298523 5298361 2026-06-25T23:48:04Z Asamboi 692 /* Regions */ alt names, consistent naming 5298523 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Tibet Wikivoyage banner.jpg|caption=Potala Palace|unesco=yes}} [[Image:Bos_grunniens_at_Yundrok_Yumtso_Lake.jpg|thumb|250px|Yak at Yumtso Lake]] '''Tibet''' ([[Tibetan]]: {{Tibetan|བོད་}}, ''Bod'', [[Mandarin]]: 西藏, ''Xīzàng''), officially known as the '''Xizang Autonomous Region''', is sometimes described as the "roof of the world"; the entire region is on a high plateau and there are many large mountains. Part of [[High Asia]], the area has its own unique culture, and most travellers will find some of the plants, wildlife and domestic animals quite exotic as well. When you enter Tibet you will feel as though you've found an entirely different world. Politically, Tibet is part of [[China]], one of five [[Chinese_provinces_and_regions#Province-level_divisions|autonomous regions]] for minority ethnic groups. There is an active independence movement and even a government-in-exile headed by the former ruler, the Dalai Lama. For discussion, see the [[#Understand|Understand]] section below. Travellers who disagree with the current political situation may think they have an ethical dilemma because if they go to Tibet they feel they are implicitly supporting the Chinese regime, with some of their money going to the Chinese authorities. However the Dalai Lama encourages foreigners to go, so that they can see the situation for themselves and because Tibetans welcome their presence. Tibet is becoming a more and more popular travel destination among the Chinese themselves. Many Chinese are attracted by the natural scenery of Tibet and claim that they "must go to Tibet once in their life", and some people think that going to Tibet can purify their mind. ==Regions== {{mapframe|32|89|zoom=5|lang=en|width=500}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q5869|type=geoshape|fill=#d7a35a|title=[[Lhasa (prefecture)|Lhasa]]}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q1012419|type=geoshape|fill=#a9a567|title=[[Qamdo (prefecture)| Qamdo]]}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q1012460|type=geoshape|fill=#c39dc3|title=[[Nagqu (prefecture)|Nagqu]]}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q577713|type=geoshape|fill=#ffd0d0|title=[[Ngari (prefecture)|Ngari]]}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q1012465|type=geoshape|fill=#4da9c4|title=[[Nyingchi|Nyingchi]]}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q777171|type=geoshape|fill=#d56d76|title=[[Shannan (prefecture)|Shannan]]}} {{mapshape|wikidata=Q1211183|type=geoshape|fill=#d5dc76|title=[[Xigaze (prefecture)|Xigaze]]}} {{mapshape|title=Qinghai–Tibet railway|wikidata=Q233754|type=geoline|stroke=#0000FF|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} {{mapshape|title=Lhasa–Xigazê railway|wikidata=Q6538521|type=geoline|stroke=#0000FF|stroke-width=4|stroke-opacity=1}} There are seven prefectures in the Tibet Autonomous Region: {{Regionlist | region1name=[[Lhasa (prefecture)|Lhasa]] | region1color=#d7a35a | region1items= | region1description= The main starting point for all travel in Tibet. Includes the capital city, [[Lhasa]]. | region2name=[[Qamdo (prefecture)| Qamdo]] (Chamdo) | region2color=#a9a567 | region2items= | region2description= Home of the third largest city in Tibet and houses some of the most impressive mountains in the world. | region3name=[[Nagqu (prefecture)|Nagqu]] | region3color=#c39dc3 | region3items= | region3description= Remote and sparsely populated, this region is the home of the Nagqu Horse Racing Festival, one of the most important festivals in Tibetan culture. | region4name=[[Ngari (prefecture)|Ngari]] (Ali) | region4color=#ffd0d0 | region4items= | region4description= Nestling along the Himalayas, this large, mountainous region is home to Mount Kailash, a revered and holy site in Hinduism and Buddhism. | region5name=[[Nyingchi (prefecture)|Nyingchi]] (Linzhi) | region5color=#4da9c4 | region5items= | region5description= Surrounds a portion of [[Northeastern India]] to the South and houses some of the most beautiful views in China. Home to a few sites that are considered holy in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. | region6name=[[Shannan (prefecture)|Shannan]] | region6color=#d56d76 | region6items= | region6description= Home to [[Samye|Samye Monastery]], the oldest in Tibet. | region7name=[[Xigaze (prefecture)|Xigaze]] (Shigatse) | region7color=#d5dc76 | region7items= | region7description= Tibet's main gateway to [[South Asia]] and the outside world. An excellent destination for those driving into China from [[Nepal]]. }} In addition, parts of the Indian states of [[Arunachal Pradesh]] and [[Assam]] are claimed as parts of Tibet by China, but are under the effective control of India and not covered here. Several regions outside the TAR are culturally close to Tibet; see our articles on the former [[Tibetan Empire]], on the Chinese provinces of [[Qinghai]], [[Yunnan]], [[Sichuan]] and [[Gansu]], on the Indian regions of [[Ladakh]], [[Lahaul and Spiti]], and [[Sikkim]], on the Pakistani region of [[Baltistan]] and on the independent states of [[Bhutan]] and [[Nepal]]. ==Cities== {{infobox|Qamdo, Chamdo, Chab mdo or Changdu?|Any place in Tibet can be spelled at least four different ways.<br/>'''Tibetan Pinyin''' (''Qamdo'') combines Tibetan pronunciation with Chinese ''pinyin'' spelling: it's used on signs, tickets and such, and being the most useful for the traveller it's what Wikivoyage uses too.<br/>'''Tournadre''' (''Chamdo'') uses more Western spelling, but is not often seen in Tibet itself.<br/>Scholars like '''Wylie''' (''Chab mdo''), which copies Tibetan writing precisely but makes pronouncing near-impossible (eg. ''Bka' rgyud'' is read "Kagyu").<br/>Finally, any place in Tibet has a '''Chinese''' name (昌都), usually a transliteration of the Tibetan name, which can be read in Mandarin (''Changdu'').}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Lhasa]]|lat=29.65|long=91.116667|image=|wikidata=Q1026100}} - the capital of Tibet, and traditional seat of the Dalai Lama, the most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Lhasa is the starting point for most travel within the region. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Gyantse]]|lat=28.95|long=89.633333|image=|wikidata=Q1999606}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Qamdo]]|lat=31.166667|long=97.233333|image=|wikidata=Q2003385}} (''Chamdo'') *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Xigatse]]|lat=29.267|long=88.881|image=|wikidata=Q116656}} (''Shigatse'') - the second largest city in Tibet, and traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Gurum]]|lat=29.7|long=90.8|image=|wikidata=Q10913538}} - traditional seat of the Karmapa, the third most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Mount Kailash]]|lat=31.066667|long=81.3125|wikidata=Q229107}} - a sacred mountain revered by both Tibetan Buddhists and Hindus. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Qomolangma National Nature Reserve]]|lat=27.988056|long=86.925278|wikidata=Q3457459}} - the Tibetan side of [[Mount Everest]] * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Yarlong River National Park]]|lat=29.798|long=95.067|image=}} containing the world's largest canyon, the Yalung Zangbo Canyon. ==Understand== [[Image:Tibet in China (claimed hatched) (+all claims hatched).svg|thumb|Tibetan Autonomous Region]] This article covers only the '''Tibetan Autonomous Region''' (TAR). There are also Tibetan autonomous prefectures and counties located in the provinces of [[Qinghai]], southwest [[Gansu]], western [[Sichuan]] and northwest [[Yunnan]], covered in the articles on those provinces. See [[List of Chinese provinces and regions]] for an explanation of the terms "autonomous region" and "autonomous prefecture" if required. The [[Tibetan Empire]] was once much larger than the current borders, and various areas outside the TAR are culturally, historically and linguistically Tibetan to varying degrees. In contemporary China, and in general English usage today, the term "Tibet" refers only to the TAR. However, the term "Tibetan Regions", with its focus on all of ethnographic Tibet is becoming more widespread amongst Chinese in China as well. The Dalai Lama's Tibetan government-in-exile in [[Dharamsala]] continues to claim the entirety of the former Tibetan Empire. The Tibetan Plateau is the world's largest and, with average heights of over 4,000m, also the world's highest, plateau. It includes all of the TAR, most of [[Qinghai]], and parts of [[Sichuan]], [[Yunnan]] and [[Gansu]]. Parts of the region (northwestern region) are so remote they remain uninhabited to this day. India and the rest of Asia are on separate continental plates which are colliding; that collision is what raised the plateau to its current height. Most of the world's highest mountains are in the [[Himalaya]] range along Tibet's southern border, along the line of the subduction zone where one plate goes under the other. [[Mount Everest]], the highest of all, is on the border between Tibet and [[Nepal]]. === Politics and government === Tibet is officially known as the '''Tibetan Autonomous Region''' ([[Mandarin]]: 西藏自治区, ''Xīzàng Zìzhìqū''; [[Tibetan]]: བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས།, ''Poi Ranggyong Jong''). It is one of five [[Chinese provinces and regions|autonomous regions]] within the [[People's Republic of China]]. Under Chinese law, autonomous regions are entitled to more rights and privileges — such as implementing their own economic policies and declaring additional official languages — but they have no legal right to secede. === People === Because of its harsh and rugged terrain and high altitude, the Tibet Autonomous Region has the lowest population density among all the provinces in the People's Republic of China. This is one region where Han Chinese are a minority. '''Tibetans''' are the largest ethnic group in the region and they make up '''90%''' of the population. Most Tibetans (70-80%) are adherents of Vajrayana Buddhism, which has been the main religion in Tibet since the 8th century. A significant number of Tibetans are followers of Bon, a shamanic religion that was once the main religion in Tibet prior to the arrival of Buddhism. '''Han Chinese''' make up '''8%''' of the population and they are the second largest ethnic group in the region. Most Han Chinese in Tibet are economic immigrants, and are concentrated in the major cities. ===History=== {{seealso|Tibetan Empire}} Tibet has a long and complicated history, at times an empire, at times warring with China, and at times a tributary of China or the [[Mongol Empire]]. It first came under common rule with China when the Mongols conquered both around 1300. Tibet became independent once more after the Mongols were expelled from China and the Ming Dynasty was established in the 14th century, but would subsequently be conquered by the Manchu-Chinese Qing Dynasty under the Kangxi Emperor in 1720. For most of the [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644-1911), Tibet was nominally part of the Chinese empire, but in practice the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama (high-ranking religious figures) actually ran things, with a Qing official called an Amban stationed in Lhasa to keep a watchful eye on them. Pre-modern Tibet was a feudal theocracy with a caste system, with an upper class nobility and monastic elite who owned most of the land, and a vast population of commoners who mostly worked as serfs for the nobility and monasteries, though the new Dalai Lama would usually be selected from a commoner family when the old one died. While Chinese sources claim that the traditional Tibetan system of government was an oppressive regime built on slavery, most Western sources, the Dalai Lama and his followers reject this view, instead contending that while there was some truth to the feudalism claim, its oppressiveness has been grossly exaggerated by the Chinese government in order to justify its continuing occupation of Tibet. Britain sent a force to Lhasa in 1904/05, but the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907, widely seen as the end to the [[Great Game]] (a competition for influence in Asia between those empires that lasted most of the 19th century), stipulated that neither country would interfere in Tibet, leaving it in China's sphere of influence. In 1910, Qing China sent a military expedition of its own to Tibet for direct rule. However, after the Qing Dynasty fell in 1911, Tibet declared independence under the authority of the 13th Dalai Lama. Tibet was an isolated ''de facto'' independent nation for almost forty years, controlling most of what is now the TAR. The Chinese government, however, never accepted their claim to independence, though they were powerless to do anything due to being tied down by internal problems within the Han Chinese heartland. [[File:024 - Peaceful Liberation Monument.jpg|thumb|The Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet in [[Lhasa]], a heavily guarded memorial to the 1950 invasion]] After the retreat of the Nationalists to [[Taiwan]] and the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, the Communists turned their attention towards Tibet as they wished to consolidate control over all former Qing territories. In 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet. In the UN Security Council, the Nationalists (who still had China's seat) vetoed a motion that would have censured the invasion; they too considered Tibet part of China. In 1951 an agreement was signed that annexed Tibet into China, giving Tibet &mdash; on paper &mdash; full autonomous status for governance, religion and local affairs. The current (14th) Dalai Lama was even made a vice-secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the early 1950s. However communist reforms and the heavy-handed approach of the PLA led to tensions. After a failed Tibetan Uprising in March 1959, the Dalai Lama and many of his followers went into exile in India, setting up a government-in-exile in [[Dharamsala]]. Each side accuses the other of failure to live up to the 1951 agreement. The CIA assisted the uprising and Chinese propagandists still mention this often. Tibet's isolated location did not protect it from the terror of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and large numbers of Tibetans were killed or imprisoned at the hands of the Red Guards. Tibet's rich cultural heritage as well as much of neighboring Chinese ancient culture were reduced to ruins. After the end of that era, the rise of Deng Xiaoping and China's "reform and opening up" policies since 1978, the situation in Tibet has calmed considerably, though it remains tense. Monasteries are slowly being rebuilt, traditional culture has been allowed to come back to some degree, and a semblance of normality has returned to the region. [[File:Tibetan Monks arrested in 2008 遭逮捕的西藏僧侶.jpg|thumb|Arrested monks, April 2008]] Despite this, Tibet still suffers from independence-related civil unrest from time to time. Most notably, in March 2008, a wave of unrest led by monks and nuns spread throughout Tibet's major cities, with protesters marching through streets and government buildings and vehicles set on fire. Chinese security forces clamped down in full force, with thousands arrested and anywhere from 23 to 400 people dead depending on whose numbers you trust. Foreign travel has been heavily restricted ever since, with Tibet closed entirely to foreign tourists every March, although this ban was ''not'' applied in 2026 for the first time in nearly two decades. To a considerable extent, the issues in Tibet are the same as for indigenous peoples anywhere, such as Uyghurs in China's western province [[Xinjiang]], or the indigenous peoples in the Americas, Australia and the Asian part of Russia. The government points proudly to development work such as mines, railways and highways; locals complain that those facilities are all owned by outsiders, outsiders get most of the good jobs while locals do most of the heavy work, and environmental consequences are often ignored. The government say they are improving education; locals complain that the system aims at forcing assimilation by using a language foreign to them. Immigration is encouraged and sometimes subsidized; locals complain of an influx of outsiders who do not want to adapt to local culture and often do not even bother to learn the local language. When the locals get really agitated, the government does not hesitate to send in troops to "restore order"; generally the locals see this as vicious repression, but the government claim they are only dealing appropriately with "hostile Indians", "reactionary elements" or whatever. The question of Tibetan sovereignty is a hot-button issue in China. The party line is that Tibet has always been part of China and foreigners have no business meddling in internal Chinese affairs. There was no invasion in 1950, only the central government asserting its authority over a province to liberate it from a severely oppressive feudal system, a corrupt medieval theocracy with slavery. (That part makes a lot of sense to Chinese, liberated from their own feudal system in 1911.) Western powers are being extremely hypocritical since they roundly condemn theocracy (rule by priests) in Iran and simultaneously support it in Tibet. Most Chinese people agree with the government position, and some will ask foreigners about Tibet then firmly "correct" their "errors". Avoiding such discussions is a good policy. ===Holidays=== In addition to the national public holidays that are observed throughout China, Tibet observes two more public holidays, namely '''''Losar''''' (Chinese: 洛萨, Tibetan: ལོ་གསར་) or '''Tibetan New Year''' (Chinese: 藏历新年) in February or March, and the '''''Sho Dun Festival''''' (Chinese: 雪顿节, Tibetan: ༄༅། ཞོ་སྟོན།) in the summer, usually mid-August. ===Climate=== [[File:Overnight snow ( kha wa) in Valley of Gara.jpg|thumb|Snowfall in May]] Unsurprisingly for a country high up in the Himalayas, Tibet is '''cold''' most of the year, with considerable variation between night and day. Winter temperatures in Lhasa can dip to -15&deg;C, although daytime highs are usually above freezing. Summers range from mild to cool, with daytime highs around 23&deg;C, dipping to 11&deg;C at night. The higher up you go, the colder it gets, with winter temperatures plunging below -40°C at times above 4,000&nbsp;meters. The western and central parts of Tibet are effectively desert and receive minimal rainfall. The eastern part including Lhasa, however, is affected by the summer monsoon from June to September, peaking in August with an average of 135&nbsp;mm of rain across 20 days. Add all this up, and high season in Tibet runs from April to October, with the shoulder seasons of April/May and September/October particularly popular: not too cold, not too wet. Shoulder season weather can be unpredictable though and campers should prepare for snow. Regardless of season, the combination of high altitude and low latitude means the sun is very strong in Tibet, and you can easily get sunburned all year round. ===Read=== * ''Eight Years in Tibet'' by Peter Aufschnaiter and Martin Brauen {{ISBN|9789745240124}} * ''Dialogues Tibetan, Dialogues Han'' by Hannü: Tibet through the Tibetans with a Han traveller {{ISBN|9789889799939}} * ''Tears Of Blood: A Cry for Tibet'' by Mary Craig {{ISBN|9781582431024}} ==Talk== [[Image:Sign OmManiPadmeHum.JPG|thumb|The ''Om mani padme hum'' mantra in Tibetan]] : ''See also'': [[Tibetan phrasebook]] and [[Amdo Tibetan phrasebook]] The main language of Tibet is '''[[Tibetan phrasebook|Tibetan]]''', which is co-official with Mandarin within the region. Many Tibetans, especially young people, are basically able to speak Mandarin, while those who can only speak Tibetan are mostly elderly. Tibetan is closely related to [[Burmese phrasebook|Burmese]] and much more distantly to Chinese. Several dialects of Tibetan exist, and not all of them are mutually intelligible; standard Tibetan is based on the Lhasa dialect. Depending on the dialect of Tibetan spoken, it may be tonal or non-tonal. In the cities people speak Chinese fluently; in the villages it may not be understood at all. Han Chinese people, on the other hand, normally don't know any Tibetan at all. Signs in Tibet, including street signs, are at least bilingual — in Chinese and in Tibetan — plus a major local language when there is one. There are also local television and radio stations that broadcast in Tibetan. It makes Chinese a more useful language for travellers in many ways. Many Tibetans view Chinese as a useful ''lingua franca'' and a few Tibetan pleasantries are enough to befriend Tibetans. Tibetans from different regions converse in Chinese since Tibetan dialects vary so much that they are not immediately mutually intelligible. If you as a foreigner speak Tibetan to Chinese police you may raise suspicions that you are in Tibet to support Tibetan Independence, though all police stations and government offices within the region are required by law to have Tibetan-speaking staff on duty. Tibetan is, however, an extremely difficult language to learn, and most foreigners who claim to know Tibetan can hardly get by. When it comes to writing, a focus on Mandarin in the education system means that even the Tibetans themselves have difficulties and many are in fact illiterate. ==Get in== {{VisaRestriction|Unless you're a citizen of [[China]] (including [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]], but ''not'' Taiwan), you must have an '''entry permit''' if you wish to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region.}} === Requirements === [[File:Tibet Travel Permit for foreigners (cropped).jpg|alt=|thumb|A typical Tibet Entry Permit]] Unless you are a citizen of the People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macau), ''travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region is only possible by joining an organized tour lasting the entire duration of your time in Tibet''. This requires going through an approved Chinese travel agency, who will apply for your '''Tibet Entry Permit''' (外国人进藏许可证 ''wàiguórén jìn zàng xǔkězhèng'') and arrange a mandatory guide and car to take you around. Many tour guides are ethnic Han Chinese and even the ethnic Tibetan guides have to sit exams in Chinese and learn the official Chinese perspective on Tibet in order to gain and keep their tour guide licence. Some sensitive occupations (e.g. press, professional photographers, diplomatic personnel and foreign government officials) can only obtain the permit from the Foreign Affairs Office of Tibet Autonomous Region. As you need to pay for all this, the cost of travel in Tibet is far higher than anywhere else in China, with barebones group rates ''starting'' around US$120/day and going up if you want a private tour, decent accommodation, etc. Demand also far exceeds supply in the summer high season, with flights and train tickets into Tibet very difficult to get, not just for foreigners but Chinese as well. For these financial, ethical and logistical reasons, some travellers opt to travel to other Tibetan regions of China instead: [[Qinghai]], [[Northwestern Yunnan]] and [[Ganzi (prefecture)|western Sichuan]]. See [[Tibetan_Empire#Destinations]] for discussion. If you do opt to go, ''you must start your paperwork well in advance''. Regulations may change and permits to Tibet may be halted at short notice: for example, the ''entire month of March'' was off-limits every year until 2025 due to sensitive anniversaries, and Norwegians were not permitted to enter for several years after Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. If you are caught by authorities in Tibet without the appropriate permits, you will either be sent back (at your own expense), have your visa cancelled, be deported, or in extreme cases banned from ever re-entering China. There are even reports of foreigners being imprisoned for breaking travel bans. * You must have a Chinese visa before the agency can apply for your Tibet entry permit, but Chinese visa applications that mention travel to Tibet are ''routinely rejected''. The usual workaround is to apply for your Chinese visa without mentioning Tibet &mdash; travel agencies may even offer certified but fake itineraries to help you do so! * Once the visa has been granted, the agency will apply for the Tibet entry permit. The permit can only be applied for 20 days before your trip, and usually takes 8-9 days to issue. The permit ''must list all places you intend to visit'', so make sure your itinerary is locked down, or negotiate with your tour provider to ensure that all places you ''may'' want to visit are listed. Some parts of Tibet also require an '''Aliens' Travel Permit''' (ATP), which is issued by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in major Tibetan cities like [[Lhasa]], [[Shigatse]] and [[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]]. The list of regions that require ATPs changes constantly, so enquire locally. Lhasa's PSB has a poor reputation, while Shigatse and Ali are said to issue permits without any unnecessary difficulties. If your papers are in order, the permit can be issued in several hours for ¥100. Finally, some remote areas also require a '''military permit'''. These are only available in Lhasa, where processing takes several days, and are only granted for an appropriate reason. These military permits are often used by Hindu, Jain, or Buddhist pilgrims visiting the holy [[Mount Kailash]], which lies in a border region with India. ===Agencies=== {{infobox|Tibet without a permit?|After the 2008 riots, independent travel in Tibet has become ''effectively impossible'': your Tibet permit is inspected on boarding any plane or train headed to Tibet, once more when you arrive, and then again repeatedly by hotels on checking in, major tourist sights like the Potala Palace, checkpoints on roads, etc. The only way to experience Tibetan culture without joining a guided tour is to explore the Tibetan regions of [[Qinghai]], [[Sichuan]], [[Yunnan]] and [[Gansu]]. See [[Tibetan_Empire#Destinations]] for more.}} The following is a partial list of well-recognized tour companies licensed to host foreigners in Tibet: *[https://www.chinahighlights.com/tibet/ China Highlights],pan-China agency specializing in tailored tours. *[https://www.exploretibet.com/ Explore Tibet], Tibet based Tibet Travel Agency who offers the small group tours. *[https://www.itibettravel.com I-Tibet Travel & Tours], a Tibetan Travel agency in Tibet. *[https://touchtibettour.com Touch Tibet Tour] Lhasa based agency, offering a wide range of tours in Tibet. *[http://www.tibethighlandtours.com/ Tibet Highland Tours], custom trips. *[http://www.tibetctrip.com/index.html Tibet Ctrip Travel Service], local Tibetan travel service. *[http://www.tibetanguide.com/ Tibetan guide], small group tour by group of local Tibetan guides. *[http://www.travelchinatibet.com/ Tibet China Tibet], local travel agency in Lhasa. *[https://www.travelchinaguide.com/ Travel China Guide], tour operator in China, operating trips throughout China. *[https://www.tibetfocus.travel Tibet Focus Travel & Tours], a local Tibetan travel agency in Tibet. *[https://tibetnaturetour.com Tibet Nature Tour], Tibet based local travel agency. *[https://tibetuniversaltravel.com Tibet Universal Travel & Tours], Tibetan travel agency founded in 1997. *[https://www.tibettour.org Tibet Vista], managed by local Tibetans and operated by CITS, the tourism and travel agency of the government of the People's Republic of China. *[https://wevitravel.myshopify.com/ Wevi Travel], private small group travel service to Tibet and Mount Everest for families, founded in 2016. *[https://windhorsetour.com/ WindhorseTour], an experienced inbound local travel agency providing customized tours for families and small groups to Tibet. ===By plane=== You can fly directly to [[Lhasa]], which is well connected with most major Chinese cities and has a few flights to Kathmandu, but flying in from a much lower altitude city puts you at '''high risk of [[altitude sickness]]''' because of the quick transition. Most other larger Tibetan cities including [[Shigatse]] and [[Ali (Tibet)|Ali]] also have airports, but flights are very limited. Safest is to follow the [[Yunnan tourist trail]] to [[Zhongdian]] (Shangrila) and fly from there to Lhasa. If you spend a night or two each in [[Kunming]] (2,000m), [[Dali]] (2,400m) or [[Lijiang]] (2,400m), and Zhongdian (3,200m) to acclimatise, you should be able to fly to Lhasa (3,650m) with little risk. You can also travel from Zhongdian to Lhasa overland; see [[Overland_to_Tibet#By_road_from_Kunming_or_Chengdu|overland to Tibet]]. If you are in [[Sichuan]] or nearby and aren't satisfied visiting the many ethnically Tibetan areas to the east of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, flying from [[Chengdu]] (500m) is the easiest option, but the rapid increase in altitude risks altitude sickness. It is safer to travel overland from Chengdu to Zhongdian via [[Panzhihua]], or take a train or plane to [[Kunming]] and follow the Yunnan tourist trail from there. ===By train=== [[File:Hard sleeper berths on YW25T 676511 (20151228193501).jpg|thumb|The hard sleeper berths on Beijing-Lhasa train with oxygen supply devices]] {{seealso|Qinghai–Tibet railway}} The [[Qinghai–Tibet railway|Qinghai-Tibet (Qingzang) Railway]] from [[Golmud]] to [[Lhasa]] started operating in July 2006, and was extended to [[Shigatse]] in 2014. The journey from [[Beijing]] to Lhasa takes just under 48 hours, costing ¥360 in the cheapest hard seat class and ¥1144 for a soft sleeper. Direct trains to Lhasa originate from Beijing, [[Xining]], [[Lanzhou]], [[Shanghai]], [[Guangzhou]], [[Chongqing]] and [[Chengdu]]. For a hard sleeper from Chengdu with 6 bunks in each compartment, the cost is ¥692 per person. The main advantage for this mode of transportation is often claimed to be that you can gradually acclimatise to high altitudes instead of the sudden shift if you were to take a plane. However, in reality the high-altitude parts of the journey are all covered within the last 12 or so hours and this does not offer enough time to acclimatise. Some thus opt to acclimatize for a few days in [[Xining]] (2,300 m), which can be reached by overnight trains from most major Chinese cities and is near several points of interest like Lake Qinghai (Koko Nor) and Kumbum Monastery. [[Golmud]] (2,900 m) is the last city of any size on the railway before Tibet, but it's an unattractive industrial town with no sights of significance. Be warned that the lower classes in these trains are not for the faint-hearted and the less adventurous type: they do not have Western-styled toilets and bunks are relatively cramped. Soft sleeper class is recommended, and here you will mix with middle-class Chinese tourists or business people. The trains to Tibet are available from any major city in mainland China though not all have daily service and some routes involve changing trains part way. See the main [[China#Train_tickets|China article]] for information on how to book. A new direct railway line from Chengdu, Sichuan to Lhasa via [[Nyingchi]] is under construction, but will not be ready until around 2032. ===By road=== {{seealso|Overland to Tibet}} There are four roads into Tibet, roughly corresponding to the cardinal directions. Foreigners on any of these routes are rare, so make sure you have all the necessary permits and tour guide accompaniment for these trips. On the other hand, road trip is rather common for Chinese travellers owing to increasing automobile proliferation. *'''North''': National Highway 109 from [[Golmud]] is the easiest legal overland route with beautiful scenery, but it is deserted compared to the east and there is very little food and accommodation, so it is advisable to bring your own food. The Tanggula Pass near the Qinghai-Tibet border is over 5,000 metres above sea level and altitude sickness can easily be exacerbated. As the road is mainly built on permafrost, it fluctuates greatly and is potholed. Moreover, the road is relatively straight, and it is easy to drive too fast, causing accidents. Therefore, you should pay attention to your speed. *'''East''': The other main approach to Tibet is from [[Sichuan]] (National Highway 318) and [[Yunnan]] (National Highway 214), starting from [[Zhongdian]] (Shangri-La). The road is much improved, but still requires a 4WD and has multiple passes over 5,000 m. The route is difficult as it passes through a number of large mountains, but there are plenty of places to eat and accommodation along the way. **The overnight intercity bus service from [[Chengdu]] to [[Nyingchi]] is terminated with effect from 30 September 2025. *'''West''': From [[Kashgar]], National Highway G219 is more than a thousand kilometres with villages and water few and far between. It passes through many sensitive border areas and requires a slew of additional permits. The advantage of this route is that it passes through a more inhospitable and stunning landscape than the rest, including the famous [[Mount Kailash]]. You should be very well prepared to travel this way and take everything you would need for independent trekking: camping equipment suitable for freezing temperatures even in the summer, a good tent and some food (there are some food and accommodation points along the way, but not always when you want them). Expect the trip to take two weeks or more. From [[Kashgar]] it's much farther to go to Lhasa via [[Urumqi]] and [[Golmud]] but the better transport (trains and good paved highways) make it no more time consuming to travel this way. There are many interesting things for the tourist to see on the way and it is worth considering travelling this way instead of via [[Mount Kailash]]. *'''South''': From [[Nepal]], the only option to get to Tibet is to book a tour with a travel agent in [[Kathmandu]]. In addition, you cannot use a normal Chinese visa, but need to apply specifically for a "Group Tourists Visa" (团体签证 ''tuántǐ qiānzhèng'') in Kathmandu, which will only be granted once you have a confirmed and paid tour. The drive from Kathmandu to Lhasa takes a couple of days and is very rough, but sceneic. *'''Southeast''': The [[Nathu La]] pass to [[Sikkim]], [[India]] &mdash; a part of the historic [[Silk Road]] &mdash; is open only to Indian citizens who obtain a permit in Gangtok. Due to Tibet's highly mountainous and rugged terrain, there are no roads to Tibet from [[Bhutan]] and [[Myanmar]], and this is likely not going to change for a long time. There is, however, a road to Tibet from [[Nepal]] that you may use if you have arranged it as part of your Tibet tour. Nathu La Pass is the sole official border crossing between China and India, connecting Tibet with [[Sikkim]], but it can only be crossed by local traders, not tourists. Road conditions are significantly worse than those of typical Chinese national highways owing to permafrost, less finance and heavy truck traffic. Even newly-built expressways are notorious for subsidence and require speed reduction. Frequent potholes, traffic jams and accidents should be expected. ==Get around== Due to Tibet's immense size, mountainous geography, and low population density, the quickest way to get around the whole region is by car. Even though China has poured large amounts of money into improving infrastructure, meaning that there are now modern four-lane highways connecting major towns, travel off the beaten track remains ''very'' rough. Good road maps of Tibet are common in China, including the Baidu Maps app, but they are only in Chinese. Beware that Chinese names can be very different from those used by Tibetans. Tibetmap.com has a free downloadable set of maps covering much of Tibet with detail almost good enough to use for independent trekking. While Chinese citizens may travel freely around Tibet, foreigners are required to join a guided tour, and the tour company will take care of all your transportation arrangements. ===By plane=== Tibet Airlines has limited services connecting Lhasa to regional towns. ===By train=== The train line from [[Lhasa]] to [[Shigatse]] opened in 2014, and is open to non-Chinese tourists ''if'' they have arranged this as part of their organized tour. The trip takes about 3 hours and is the most comfortable way to travel between the two cities. A further extension to [[Gyirong]] on the Nepali border is planned to open around 2030, but construction of the Nepali side of the link to Kathmandu has yet to begin. A second train line to [[Nyingchi]] opened in 2021, bringing travel time down to 3.5 hours. This line will eventually extend this across eastern Tibet all the way to Chengdu in Sichuan, opening around 2030 if all goes well. ===By bus=== Central Tibet has a reasonable public bus network. However, non-Chinese tourists cannot make use of it since even with travel permits they cannot generally buy a ticket. ===By jeep=== Jeep tours are a popular way of getting around Tibet, while not cheap, the tour operator will sort out all the necessary paperwork, and they offer you a reasonable chance of sticking to a schedule. Your driver will likely be an indigenous Tibetan who can speak Chinese. He'll get to eat and sleep for free wherever you go (he'll often be treated like a king), and he'll often need to stop for a smoke or a pee by certain vendors on the road. ¥4500 will get a jeep that can seat 4 people and luggage comfortably for 4 or 5 days. ===By hitching=== Hitchhiking used to be a good way to get around Tibet for someone who is flexible and has a lot of time. However, tighter regulations and enforcement introduced since 2008 have made this '''almost impossible''' in practice, with frequent police checkpoints and heavy punishments for both hitchhikers and their drivers. ===By bicycle=== {{Seealso|Cycling in China}} There are a surprising number of Chinese tourists travelling to and around Tibet by [[cycling|bicycle]], but foreigners can only do this by joining an organized tour. The roads vary from rough dirt tracks to good quality paved roads. There are restaurants, truck stops and shops scattered around often enough so that you don't need to carry more than a day's worth of food (with the important exception of the west of the country). The roads are often well graded, being built for overloaded trucks. 26-inch wheels would be preferable as 700-cm (ISO 622) are almost unknown in China. Good mountain bikes are available in large cities of China or in Lhasa. ==See== *The '''Potala Palace''', a {{UNESCO}}, and the home of successive Dalai Lamas is in [[Lhasa]] *The '''Jokhang Temple''' in [[Lhasa]] was built in 647 AD by Songtsen Gampo and is one of the holiest sites in Tibet. *The '''Barkhor''' in [[Lhasa]] is the name for the ring of streets of traditional Tibetan buildings surrounding the Jokhang Temple. *The ''''Norbulingka''' (Summer Palace of the Dalai Lama) is located in [[Lhasa]], about 1km south of the Potala. *'''[[Samye#See|Samye Monastery]]''' - constructed in 779 AD, Samye was the first Buddhist Monastery established in Tibet, and is located near Dranang, [[Shannan (prefecture) |Shannan Prefecture]], 150 km south-east of Lhasa. *'''Tashilhunpo Monastery''', the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas, the second highest office in Tibet after the Dalai Lama. It was constructed in 1447 and is located in [[Shigatse]]. *The '''Rongbuk Monastery''', one of the highest monasteries in the world, from which the view of the Mt. Everest is just amazing. *'''Tsurphu Monastery''' in [[Doilungdêqên]] about 70 km from Lhasa, is the traditional seat of the Kamarpas, the third highest office in Tibet after the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. ==Do== '''Trekking''' is a major draw in Tibet, with [[Mount Kailash]] (Lake Manasarovar) and Everest Base Camp (5200m) in [[Qomolangma]] being the best-known attractions. Both are remote and challenging, generally requiring at least ten days in Tibet to complete. === Festivals === *'''Tibetan New Year''' (''Losar''), a traditional folklore activity popular in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, is one of the national intangible cultural heritages. Tibetan New Year is a traditional festival of the Tibetan people. It begins on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and ends on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar, lasting for 15 days. Because all the people believe in Buddhism, the festival is filled with a strong religious atmosphere, and it is a national festival that entertains both gods and people, and celebrates and prays. * '''Sho Dun Festival''' is a national festival of the Tibetan people. It is celebrated from the 29th day of the 6th month to the 1st day of the 7th month of the Tibetan calendar. "Sho Dun Festival" is a festival of eating yoghurt according to the Tibetan language. Because there are Tibetan opera performances and Buddha basking ceremonies during the Sho Dun Festival, some people also call it the "Tibetan Opera Festival" or the "Buddha Exhibition Festival". * '''Dharma Festival''' is a traditional festival with more than 600 years of history and unique Tibetan characteristics. From the 10th to the 28th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, it is the traditional festival of the people of Gyangtse, the Dharma Festival, which means horse-racing and archery in Tibetan. At that time, the Tibetans of Gyantse gather at the foot of the Dzong Mountain to celebrate the Dharma Festival with a variety of colourful sports performances and sports competitions, and the celebration generally lasts for a week. ==Buy== Tibet is known for its Tibetan [[carpets]], with the city of [[Gyantse]] being home to Tibet's most famous traditional carpet factory. Other traditional Tibetan handicrafts can be purchased in the numerous local markets and souvenir shops. ==Eat== [[Image:TibetanFood.JPG|thumb|Clockwise from top: ''tingmo'' steamed bread, ''thenthuk'' noodle soup, ''momos'' in soup and vegetable gravy, with condiments in center]] [[File:Tsampa being blended with yak butter tea.jpg|thumb|A bowl of ''tsampa'' in the process of having yak butter tea blended in]] Tibet is not an area people visit for the cuisine. Due to the harsh climate, only a limited variety of foodstuffs can be produced locally. The traditional Tibetan diet is largely limited to barley, meat (mutton or yak) and dairy products, with very few spices or vegetables, although brutally hot chili sauce may be served on the side. Even good Tibetan food is very monotonous with most Tibetan restaurants serving nothing other than ''thukpa'' (noodle soup) and tea. A selection of popular Tibetan fare: * '''''Momos''''' - dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, steamed or fried * '''''Tingmo''''' - bland, nearly tasteless steamed bread * '''''Thukpa''''' - a hearty noodle soup with veggies or meat * '''''Thenthuk''''' - ''thukpa'' with handmade noodles * '''Yak butter tea''' - salty tea churned with butter, a Tibetan staple and a rather acquired taste for most Westerners (see [[#Drink|Drink]]) * '''''Tsampa''''' - roasted barley flour, a common travel food and temple offering, usually eaten by mixing it with butter tea to create dumplings or porridge Restaurants in Tibet can broadly be categorized into three groups: # Tourist restaurants catering to non-Chinese, which have near-identical English menus of foreigner-friendly Tibetan fare, some Nepali dishes, and varyingly successful attempts at Western food like pizza, spaghetti and hamburgers. While comparatively few, in Lhasa you will likely eat most of your meals in these, because your tour guides will inevitably take you to them: not only is the food "safe", but they pay the best commissions too. # Chinese restaurants catering to ethnic Chinese, serving authentic but often delicious Chinese food (fearsomely spicy [[Sichuan#Eat|Sichuanese]] is prominent) and Chinese-friendly Tibetan fare like yak hotpots. Some travellers feel that Hui (ethnic Chinese Muslim) places are cleaner because of halal food laws; they can be recognised by the green flags and crescent moons (and because they do look cleaner). # Tibetan restaurants/tea shops catering to Tibetans, serving drinks and a very limited range of Tibetan food, often just ''thukpa'' noodle soup. ===Vegetarian food=== Despite being a predominantly Buddhist region, Tibet is not particularly vegetarian-friendly - the altitude being the main justification for this. In rural areas, vegetarians need to be prepared to compromise or live on very simple diets. Even if a ''thukpa'' is without meat, you can bet the broth they use is a meat broth. However, monastery restaurants and some large towns do offer restaurants serving vegetarian food and even some Tibetans observe a vegetarian diet on particular days of the religious month. So it is worth asking. One key term to look out for is <big>དཀར་ཟས་</big> (literally, "white food" - ''kar zey'') which you will see, for example, on some monastery restaurants or in Lhasa, where there are Tibetan vegetarian restaurants. In spoken Tibetan, vegetarian food is also simply referred to as "without-meat-food" <big>ཤ་མེད་ཁ་ལག</big> ''sha mey kha la'''. ==Drink== [[File:Tibetan butter tea at teahouse.jpg|thumb|Relaxation Tibetan style: a thermos of salty, butter tea and nice comfy chair at a tea house in [[Lhasa]]]] Tea houses are an important social venue in Tibet, and offer a chance to sit down and relax. The tea houses in the larger towns and cities offer sweet milk tea, salted black tea or salted butter tea; in the villages you may only have the option of salt tea. The line between a tea house (<big>ཇ་ཁང་</big> ''cha khang'') and a restaurant (<big>ཟ་ཁང་</big> ''za khang'') is blurred and many tea houses also offer ''thukpa'' noodle soup. ===Tea=== '''Tibetan butter tea''' (བོད་ཇ ''pö cha'', Chinese 酥油茶 ''sūyóuchá'') is a must try, though it may not be a pleasant experience for all &mdash; even the Dalai Lama famously said that he's not a fan of the stuff! It is a salty mixture of black tea and Tibetan butter. Traditionally it is churned by hand with a thick rod in a long upright wooden container. However, when electricity came to the city, modernized Tibetans turn to use electric mixers to make their butter tea. The Tibetan butter is not rancid as commonly described, but has a cheesy taste and smell to it, close to blue cheese or Roquefort. Think of it as a cheese broth rather, that you will appreciate particularly after a long hike in cold weather. An alternative to Tibetan butter tea is '''sweet milk tea''' (''cha ngar mo'') which is more familiar to western palates. Sweet tea drinking was introduced by merchants returning from India, first among well-off Tibetans, since sugar was a luxury on the Plateau, then when sugar became more available among the general public. Unlike Indians, Tibetans do not use spices (clove, cinnamon, cardamom) to flavour their tea. '''Salted black tea''' (''cha thang'') is another alternative, refreshingly free from milk or butter! When ordering tea in a teahouse, the price is usually for a full thermos bottle of the stuff, not a single cup. ===Alcohol=== [[File:Chang Tibetan barley wine.jpg|thumb|''Shigatse Chang'', Tibet's answer to Budweiser]] '''''Chang''''', or Tibetan beer made of barley, has a lighter flavour than a Western-type, bottled beer, since they do not use bitter hops. Often home-brewed and with as many taste and strength variants as industrial beers, but the blue cans of ''Shigatse Chang'' sold in restaurants and shops around Lhasa are quite mild-flavored and low in alcohol (around 1.5%). While a comparatively recent import, Western-style beer is also widely available, particularly the rather light/bland locally brewed ''Lhasa Beer''. Various Chinese-style ''baijiu'' spirits are also sold, often with herbs of dubious medicinal value blended in. ==Stay safe== {{Cautionbox|Do not in any way criticise or show any kind of disrespect to the '''Chinese government''', and do not show any kind of support to the '''Dalai Lama''' or the '''Tibetan independence movement'''. Simply refrain from discussing these subjects and keep your opinions to yourself. }} Perhaps the biggest danger travellers face is [[altitude sickness]]; give your body enough time to acclimatize before going higher. This is important both when [[#Get in|getting in]], and when ascending within Tibet. Be prepared to adjust your plans, descend or spend a few extra days acclimatizing if it proves necessary. Wear protective clothing, UV-protective sunglasses, and sunscreen, especially if it gets very hot. There are numerous stray dogs in and around Tibet, and in the countryside, villagers and nomads keep large guard dogs for security, (usually chained up). A modest level of caution is enough to prevent you from being bitten, as the strays usually run in packs. Although they are unlikely to occur, avoid political protests. The authorities do not look too kindly on visitors trying to participate in, support, and/or take photographs of protests. The same principles apply for those trying to initiate political discussions. Given Tibet's location between the Eurasian and Indian plates, [[Earthquake safety|Earthquakes]] are likely to occur. ==Respect== {{infobox|Tibetan Names|2=Names can be a complicated matter in Tibet: *Similar to Burmese names, Tibetans with commoner ancestry usually have a name of 2 to 4 syllables without a surname, and can be referred to with nicknames of 2 syllables. *Because traditional Tibetan names come from a list of about 500 words, additional syllables describing the person, such as body appearance, occupation, sex, or place of origin, may be added before or after names. *Tibetans with noble ancestry will also include a 2-syllable family name before their name (similar to ''von-'' starting surnames in Germany). For example, '''''Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme''''' (ང་ཕོད་ངག་དབང་འཇིགས་མེད/阿沛·阿旺晋美), a historical Tibetan politician, has the family name ''Ngapoi'' and the name ''Ngawang Jigme''. Some Tibetans living near [[Qinghai]], [[Gansu]] and [[Sichuan]] also use family names regardless of ancestry. **Further syllables in the surname provide more information about the family. For example, a surname ending with ''zur'' (ཟུར/苏) means that the family was split from another noble family. *For monks, in addition to their secular names, a '''dharma name''' is given to monks once they have made their dedication. Dharma names are usually used in a religious context, although some monks still prefer to use dharma names even in their secular life. *''Tulkus'' (such as Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama), also known as Living Buddhas, have extremely long names. They are referred to by their position and dharma name. *Lastly, a number of Tibetans, especially those living in multi-ethnic regions, use Han Chinese names. As a result, the foolproof method is to ask how the person wants to be addressed. }} [[File:Tibet CCTV Surveillance.jpg|thumb|Smile! You're being watched.]] As in the rest of China, '''do not get involved in anything political'''. This includes the Dalai Lama, the Chinese government, and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Be respectful and cooperative when your papers are checked or bags inspected, which they will be, often many times a day. That said, foreigners are rarely if ever hassled and your tour guide will take care of the vast majority of the paperwork. When you are communicating with Tibetans, you can say "Tashi delek", which is typically enough to make the locals friendly. Do not touch people's heads, including those of young children, as Tibetans consider this to be very offensive. Touching people on the head is typically reserved for elder family members and senior monks only. Religion is extremely important to the majority of Tibetans, and travelers should endeavor to respect their customs and beliefs. Always walk around Tibetan Buddhist religious sites or monasteries in a clockwise direction, and when in a monastery do not wear a hat, smoke or touch frescoes. In addition, refrain from climbing onto statues, ''mani'' stones or other sacred objects. Do not take photographs of police, military, checkpoints, etc. Don't photograph people without permission; photography inside temples and palaces is generally prohibited unless you pay fees ranging from reasonable to extortionate. Sky burial sites are obviously off-limits. [[Sacred sites of the Indian sub-continent#Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhism]] and its impact on Tibetan culture is a major draw for tourists. Funds used to pay entry fees at major religious sites will probably go into the coffers of the local Communist Party and its Chinese members. Funds donated directly to individual monks and nuns and left on altars will remain and be used to maintain and support the local religious infrastructure. Appreciate the work of the monasteries and those within and help support these great institutions with non-monetary donations and by attending the festivals and just spending a little time getting to know the monastic community. Supporting the Tibetan economy by purchasing from Tibetans is a great way to help. Pay a fair price while bargaining. Beware that some vendors may try to swindle tourists by selling at very high prices. Help protect Tibet for future generations by not purchasing products made from wild animals. Many items are made from endangered species. Remember to [[Leave-no-trace camping|leave only footprints]] and take lots of photographs while visiting Tibet. Take the initiative and pack out trash and recyclables you see around while travelling outside of urban Tibet. The ecosystem in the Himalayas is very fragile due to the weather being so cold, so be careful of where you hike and try to keep erosion down. When visiting temples, monasteries or shrines you may wish to leave a donation, which will help their upkeep. It is best to leave it on the altar or give it directly to a monk or nun. This will ensure it stays in the temple. You may also wish to give a small donation to pilgrims from rural Tibet. ==Go next== You can travel into [[Nepal]] or to other parts of [[China]]. The border crossings with [[India]] are open to local traders only and cannot be crossed by tourists. {{IsPartOf|Southwest China}} {{Usableregion}} {{geo|31.705556|86.940278|zoom=6}} {{related|Tibetan_journeys}} {{related|Overland_to_Tibet}} g8xl1nneg88fawdqfx2cahernqxfe5f 0 36296 5298455 5259021 2026-06-25T16:01:23Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Learn */ 5298455 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} {{otheruses}} '''Toluca''' (also '''Toluca de Lerdo''') was a pre-Columbian cultural center and is now the capital of [[Mexico State]]. The city has several tourist attractions that are due to its great cultural and artistic heritage, some of the attractions are its traditional portals, the Cosmovitral botanical garden, the annual Alfeñique Fair on the occasion of the Day of the Dead festival and the International Festival of Toluca Cinema. ==Understand== [[File:Alan Ruiz Jimenez Toluca Mexico.jpg|thumb|Toluca]] {{climate chart |Toluca |-0.4 |20.3 |10.9 |0.7 |22.3 |14.6 |2.3 |23.9 |19.9 |4.5 |25.0 |33.8 |6.5 |24.8 |87.2 |8.2 |22.9 |172.8 |8.8 |21.7 |198.5 |8.2 |21.8 |185.9 |8.3 |21.5 |163.5 |5.6 |21.7 |65.0 |2.0 |21.2 |20.6 |0.1 |20.3 |8.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Toluca]] |description= }} Toluca is one of the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Mexico, a city of numerous factories, hospitals, universities, athletic events, and cultural venues. Toluca is due west of Mexico City, at 2,660 m (8,700 feet) above sea level. After coming from Mexico City, you will be impressed with the clean air, but may get altitude sickness your first day there, so take it easy. Also, bring warm clothing. Nights are always cold, and there may be severe hail any time of year. ==Get in== {{mapframe|lat=19.28909|long=-99.65542|zoom=13}} [[File:Torres Bicentenario - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Torres Bicentenario]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Toluca International Airport | alt={{IATA|TLC}} Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.336944 | long=-99.565833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca International Airport | image=Salas de Ultima Espera.jpg | wikidata=Q2593750 | content=Passenger service is available from several Mexican cities on Viva and on Volaris. Private planes constitute most of the airport's traffic. It also is used for cargo flights by FedEx. The airport is a good alternative to the busy [[Benito Juárez International Airport]], particularly for western parts of Mexico City. The airport has a railway station with service on the ''El Insurgente'' trains. }} [[Benito Juarez International Airport]] in Mexico City is a reasonable alternative, especially for international visitors. A bus station inside airport Terminal 1 offers departures every 30 minutes for Toluca. ===By train=== The old intercity rail network was shut down in 1997 in a sign of the privatization mania of the time. A new commuter rail service called ''El Insurgente'' from [[Mexico City]] provides fast, comfortable service to Toluca. * {{go | name=Toluca Centro railway station | alt=Estación Toluca Centro | url= | email= | address=Sta María de las Rosas | lat=19.27035 | long=-99.64123 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q65166612 | lastedit=2023-09-24 | content=Busy modern train station serving ''El Insurgente'' trains to Mexico City (Observatorio station). CDMX Mobility Cards can be used to ride El Insurgente. }} ===By car=== The highway between Mexico City and Toluca is one of the most modern in the country (and an expensive toll road). ===By bus=== Toluca has one of the largest bus terminals in the country. From Mexico City you can get several lines to Toluca at the western terminal called Observatorio (at the end of the east-west subway line). Flecha Roja has regular service to the northern terminal, Autobuses del Norte, as well. Buses for Toluca depart every few minutes. Some lines (e.g., Caminante) have on board movies and frequent service between Toluca and the Mexico City Airport (Benito Juarez). From the main Toluca terminal you can go to any points west (e.g., Michoacan), south (Ixtapan de la Sal), or north (e.g., Queretaro). * {{go | name=Terminal de Toluca | alt= | url=http://www.terminaltoluca.com.mx/ | email= | address=Felipe Berriozábal #101 | lat=19.277799 | long=-99.643492 | directions= | phone=+52 771 686 5791 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2026-01-26 | content=Large, very busy bus station with a lot of eateries and shops. Easy place to make connections with loads of hourly arrivals and departures. }} ==Get around== Toluca has the best taxi system in the world: over 5,000 taxis for a city of about half a million. Just walk to any major street and wave at a passing taxi. The city is fairly compact, so fares are pretty cheap: M$30 will take you to most places. ==See== [[File:A view of the magnificent stained glass inside the Cosmovitral, Toluca, Mexico..jpg|thumb|Cosmovitral]] The place to be is the Portales downtown, then you are in walking distance of many interesting parks, gardens, museums, churches, theatres, stores, restaurants, hotels and government offices. Another interesting location is Parque Urawa and the library. On the southwest corner of town by ITESM (Tec de Monterrey) is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense with an anthropology museum, folk arts museum, modern arts museum, and library. UAEM (state university) related events and centers and located all over the city, though most are located in the Ciudad Universitaria and stadium on the west side. * {{see | name=Cosmovitral | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/JBCosmovitral | email= | address=Av. Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada | lat=19.29357 | long=-99.65367 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 6785 | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su Tu-Th 10ː00-17ː40, closed M F | price= | wikipedia=Cosmovitral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A botanical garden enclosed in an art noveau-type structure of stained glass. It feels rather celestial. }} [[File:Catedral de Toluca - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Toluca Cathedral]] * {{see | name=Toluca Cathedral | alt=Catedral de San José de Nazaret | url= | email= | address=Av. Independencia 5 Ote. 303 | lat=19.29155 | long=-99.65726 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 2777 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca_Cathedral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Would you ever have guessed that Toluca has a cathedral too? This one is Neoclassical in style and was started in 1867 but not finished until the mid-20th century. If you look, you can see images of St John, St Thomas, St Peter, and St James on the front. They are in good company. }} * {{see | name=Temple of Santa Veracruz | alt= | url= | email= | address=Portal 20 de Noviembre 113 | lat=19.29187 | long=-99.65589 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 4733 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another downtown Toluca landmark. }} ===Museums=== * {{see | name=Museo de Bellas Artes de Toluca | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santos Degollado 102 | lat=19.29431 | long=-99.65621 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 5329 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 09:00-18:00 | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This former convent has a lot of ancient Egyptian exhibits and paintings from colonial to modern times. }} * {{see | name=Watercolor Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Melchor Ocampo 105 | lat=19.28966 | long=-99.66108 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 7304 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10ː00-18ː00, Su 10ː00-15ː00 | price=free on Su | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A peculiar museum dedicated to works in watercolor. }} * {{see | name=Centro Cultural Mexiquense | alt= | url=https://www2.toluca.gob.mx/festival-cultural-del-alfenique-2020-llega-a-miles-de-personas-en-mexico-y-el-mundo/ | email= | address=Jesús Reyes Heroles 302 | lat=19.27262 | long=-99.7022 | directions=next to ITESM University and Parque Alameda | phone=+52 722 274 1222 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10ː00-18ː00, closed M | price= | wikipedia=Centro_Cultural_Mexiquense | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A former Franciscan monastery that now houses the Museum of Anthropology and History, Museum of Popular Cultures (handicrafts, artisanal works), and Museum of Modern Art. Adjacent is the Cineteca Mexiquense where art films are shown. }} * {{see | name=Virreynal Museum Zinacantepec | alt= | url=https://www.cultura.gob.mx/estados/turismo-cultural-detalle.php?id=50950#.X-kJothKjIV | email= | address=Av. 16 de Septiembre, San Miguel | lat=19.28333 | long=-99.73455 | directions=west of Toluca in neighboring community of San Miguel | phone=+52 722 218 2593 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Monastical museum in a former convent. }} * {{see | name=Museo de Historia Universitaria José María Morelos y Pavón UAEM | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.28578 | long=-99.65384 | directions=located in Edificio de Rectoría UAEMEX | phone=+52 722 226 2300 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10ː00-17ː30 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small university history museum. }} * {{see | name=Museo Torres Bicentenario | alt= | url=https://www.mexicoescultura.com/ | email= | address=Av. José María Morelos Ote | lat=19.28756 | long=-99.62917 | directions= | phone=+52 722 213 7347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small art museum and bookstore that stands out with two twisting towers rising above it. }} ==Do== Avoid coming to Toluca on Fridays. Some guide books talk about a "quaint Indian market" but it is a flea market that clogs many streets. Also, when the afternoon comes, many Mexico City families come through Toluca to get into the countryside. ===Parks=== * {{do | name=Zacango Ecological Park | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ParqueEcologicoZacango/ | email= | address=Metepec Km 7 | lat=19.2012 | long=-99.64884 | directions= | phone=+52 722 298 0634 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Here is your standard zoo with representative animals like pachyderms and the cats. Plus you'll find a lake to paddle around and a chance to have pizza by the rhinos, and try out a zipline and train. }} * {{do | name=Metropolitano Bicentenario Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Paseo Tollocan | lat=19.2707 | long=-99.65288 | directions= | phone=+52 722 277 8332 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-15ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This wooded park offers a place for jogging or just experiencing some tranquility around one of the water basins with fountains. }} * {{do | name=Parque Alameda 2000 | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2748 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another greenspace with "lakes", jogging trails, and soccer fields. }} * {{do | name=Parque Ambiental Bicentenario | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2455 | long=-99.5859 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another park with woods and a lake, in case you are hankering for urban outdoor recreation. }} * {{do | name=Estatal Sierra Morelos Park | alt= | url=http://cepanaf.edomex.gob.mx/ | email= | address=De La Barrera, La Teresona | lat=19.3133 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=State park type of place in the hills north of Toluca, where more rugged hiking awaits. }} ===Performing arts=== * {{do | name=Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México | alt=State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra | url=https://osem.edomex.gob.mx/ | address=Sala Felipe Villanueva, Av. J.M. Morelos s/n, Barrio de la Merced, Toluca | lat=19.28827558268517|long=-99.662338 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 1621 | content=Professional symphony orchestra playing a full season of classical music from February through July. }} ===Spectator sports=== * {{do | name=Estadio Nemesio Diez | url=https://tolucafc.com/ | address=Constituyentes Pte. 1000, Barrio de San Bernardino | lat=19.28748598861859 | long=-99.66682276066642 | phone=+52 722 214 5709 | content=At almost any time of the year you might be able to catch a soccer game. This stadium is home field for the '''Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club''', commonly known as the ''Diablos Rojos'', a top-tier professional team in the Liga MX. The stadium is one of Mexico's oldest professional football stadiums in current use, having been built in 1954. It seats 27,273 cheering fans. }} ==Learn== The state university (UAEM) is here with several campuses for medicine, dentistry, nursing, chemistry, humanities, engineering, business, public administration, economics, behavioral science, and neuroscience. The most prestigious private university is a Tec de Monterrey campus (ITESM). There are dozens of newer private universities, some for-profit. Of more interest to short-term travelers, the city has several Spanish language schools with classes as short as 1 week, aimed at basic conversational skills. ==Buy== Casa de las Artesanias. On the corner of Tollocan and Urawa Av. There you can get many nice hand made typical things. ==Eat== ===Budget=== ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Olibol Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=Natalia Carrasco 405, Federal | lat=19.281130 | long=-99.668323 | directions= | phone=+52 722 231 1120 | tollfree= | hours=09:00 - 18:00 (til 20:00 F Sa), closed Su and holidays | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Comfortable, modern cafe with good coffee and light entrees. }} * {{eat | name=Portal Central | alt= | url=https://portalcentral.com.mx/web/pages/index.html | email= | address=Av. 5 de Febrero 111 | lat=19.29128 | long=-99.65822 | directions=in the center of the Portales de Toluca, a sort of historic mercado building | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 08ː00-20ː00, F Sa 08ː00-23ː00, Su 08ː00-18ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-28 | content=Artsy dining place, yet somehow economical. }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Lusso Cafe | alt= | url=http://somoslusso.com/ | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 614, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.294092 | long=-99.646522 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 2819 | tollfree= | hours=08:15 - 21:00 | price=M$300 | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Top-notch restaurant with attentive service, intimate atmosphere, outdoor tables, and excellent traditional Mexican cuisine with a smattering of international dishes. }} * {{eat | name=Amaranta | alt= | url=http://www.amarantarestaurante.com/ | email= | address=Calle Francisco Murguía 16 Ote. Poniente 402 | lat=19.283844 | long=-99.656296 | directions= | phone=+52 722 280 8265 | tollfree= | hours=08:00 - 18:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Innovative contemporary Mexican cuisine using locally sourced organic ingredients, served in a comfortably elegant space. }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Hugo's Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Blvr. José María Pino Suárez, 5 de Mayo | lat=19.289337 | long=-99.649730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=12:00 - 23:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Casual bar to hang out with friends. }} * {{drink | name=Cocoboom | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 100, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.292578 | long=-99.653678 | directions= | phone=+52 559 016 9238 | tollfree= | hours=11:00 - 02:00 closed M-W | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=LGBT bar with lively atmosphere, techno music. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Centro | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-centro | email= | address=Ignacio Allende 124 | lat=19.288547 | long=-99.655962 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 8900 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$695 | lastedit=2018-11-10 | content=Restaurant and pool and hard to beat location. }} * {{sleep | name=Suites Aldama | alt= | url=http://suitesaldama.com.mx/#!/ | email= | address=Juan Aldama 211 | lat=19.28924 | long=-99.65499 | directions= | phone=+52 722 341 1023 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$556 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Suites with wifi and kitchenettes and a shared terrace. The best part is probably the downtown presence though. }} * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Tollocan | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-tollocan | email= | address=Paseo Tollocan Oriente esq, Francisco I Madero Sur 1132 | lat=19.28723 | long=-99.62427 | directions=east of downtown along Route 15 | phone=+52 722 276 1000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$834 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=The other Fiesta property in Toluca, where you can enjoy an indoor pool, gym, restaurant with breakfast buffet, wifi, and a/c. }} ==Stay safe== This is one of the safer cities in Mexico, in terms of sanitation, traffic, and crime. Nevertheless, take extreme caution in the following neighborhoods (even during daytime): *El Seminario *La Unión *El Cóporo *Santa Barbara *La Teresona *Zopilocalco *San Miguel Apinahuizco *Nueva Oxtotitlán *Moderna de la Cruz *Cacalomacán *Capultitlán *Las Margaritas *Las Palomas ==Go next== If you find Toluca too calm, take the hour bus ride to Mexico City. If you find Toluca too traditionally Mexican, just taxi to the southeastern suburb of [[Metepec]], and you will think you are in southern California with malls, multiplexes, big box stores, and luxury car dealerships. If you find Toluca too stressful and modern, take a taxi or bus southwest, past the big prison, to Almoloya de Juarez. Walk around the sleepy town square and look at the church built on the grotto of water (''ojo de agua''). Look for the magic line in the water. You can get out of Toluca for a daytrip to the volcano (El Nevado de Toluca) but that might trigger altitude sickness in some, or the Zacango Zoo, or the spas at Ixtapan de la Sal, or Valle de Bravo. {{routebox | image1=Carretera federal 15.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Morelia]] | minorl1=[[Ciudad Hidalgo]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Mexico City]] | minorr1=[[San Mateo Atenco]] }} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Mexico State}} {{Geo|19.288|-99.667}} alunvfh5lmqlj9sm2agehgrqc2slopu 5298456 5298455 2026-06-25T16:04:07Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Parks */ Updated listing for Estatal Sierra Morelos Park 5298456 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} {{otheruses}} '''Toluca''' (also '''Toluca de Lerdo''') was a pre-Columbian cultural center and is now the capital of [[Mexico State]]. The city has several tourist attractions that are due to its great cultural and artistic heritage, some of the attractions are its traditional portals, the Cosmovitral botanical garden, the annual Alfeñique Fair on the occasion of the Day of the Dead festival and the International Festival of Toluca Cinema. ==Understand== [[File:Alan Ruiz Jimenez Toluca Mexico.jpg|thumb|Toluca]] {{climate chart |Toluca |-0.4 |20.3 |10.9 |0.7 |22.3 |14.6 |2.3 |23.9 |19.9 |4.5 |25.0 |33.8 |6.5 |24.8 |87.2 |8.2 |22.9 |172.8 |8.8 |21.7 |198.5 |8.2 |21.8 |185.9 |8.3 |21.5 |163.5 |5.6 |21.7 |65.0 |2.0 |21.2 |20.6 |0.1 |20.3 |8.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Toluca]] |description= }} Toluca is one of the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Mexico, a city of numerous factories, hospitals, universities, athletic events, and cultural venues. Toluca is due west of Mexico City, at 2,660 m (8,700 feet) above sea level. After coming from Mexico City, you will be impressed with the clean air, but may get altitude sickness your first day there, so take it easy. Also, bring warm clothing. Nights are always cold, and there may be severe hail any time of year. ==Get in== {{mapframe|lat=19.28909|long=-99.65542|zoom=13}} [[File:Torres Bicentenario - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Torres Bicentenario]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Toluca International Airport | alt={{IATA|TLC}} Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.336944 | long=-99.565833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca International Airport | image=Salas de Ultima Espera.jpg | wikidata=Q2593750 | content=Passenger service is available from several Mexican cities on Viva and on Volaris. Private planes constitute most of the airport's traffic. It also is used for cargo flights by FedEx. The airport is a good alternative to the busy [[Benito Juárez International Airport]], particularly for western parts of Mexico City. The airport has a railway station with service on the ''El Insurgente'' trains. }} [[Benito Juarez International Airport]] in Mexico City is a reasonable alternative, especially for international visitors. A bus station inside airport Terminal 1 offers departures every 30 minutes for Toluca. ===By train=== The old intercity rail network was shut down in 1997 in a sign of the privatization mania of the time. A new commuter rail service called ''El Insurgente'' from [[Mexico City]] provides fast, comfortable service to Toluca. * {{go | name=Toluca Centro railway station | alt=Estación Toluca Centro | url= | email= | address=Sta María de las Rosas | lat=19.27035 | long=-99.64123 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q65166612 | lastedit=2023-09-24 | content=Busy modern train station serving ''El Insurgente'' trains to Mexico City (Observatorio station). CDMX Mobility Cards can be used to ride El Insurgente. }} ===By car=== The highway between Mexico City and Toluca is one of the most modern in the country (and an expensive toll road). ===By bus=== Toluca has one of the largest bus terminals in the country. From Mexico City you can get several lines to Toluca at the western terminal called Observatorio (at the end of the east-west subway line). Flecha Roja has regular service to the northern terminal, Autobuses del Norte, as well. Buses for Toluca depart every few minutes. Some lines (e.g., Caminante) have on board movies and frequent service between Toluca and the Mexico City Airport (Benito Juarez). From the main Toluca terminal you can go to any points west (e.g., Michoacan), south (Ixtapan de la Sal), or north (e.g., Queretaro). * {{go | name=Terminal de Toluca | alt= | url=http://www.terminaltoluca.com.mx/ | email= | address=Felipe Berriozábal #101 | lat=19.277799 | long=-99.643492 | directions= | phone=+52 771 686 5791 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2026-01-26 | content=Large, very busy bus station with a lot of eateries and shops. Easy place to make connections with loads of hourly arrivals and departures. }} ==Get around== Toluca has the best taxi system in the world: over 5,000 taxis for a city of about half a million. Just walk to any major street and wave at a passing taxi. The city is fairly compact, so fares are pretty cheap: M$30 will take you to most places. ==See== [[File:A view of the magnificent stained glass inside the Cosmovitral, Toluca, Mexico..jpg|thumb|Cosmovitral]] The place to be is the Portales downtown, then you are in walking distance of many interesting parks, gardens, museums, churches, theatres, stores, restaurants, hotels and government offices. Another interesting location is Parque Urawa and the library. On the southwest corner of town by ITESM (Tec de Monterrey) is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense with an anthropology museum, folk arts museum, modern arts museum, and library. UAEM (state university) related events and centers and located all over the city, though most are located in the Ciudad Universitaria and stadium on the west side. * {{see | name=Cosmovitral | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/JBCosmovitral | email= | address=Av. Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada | lat=19.29357 | long=-99.65367 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 6785 | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su Tu-Th 10ː00-17ː40, closed M F | price= | wikipedia=Cosmovitral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A botanical garden enclosed in an art noveau-type structure of stained glass. It feels rather celestial. }} [[File:Catedral de Toluca - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Toluca Cathedral]] * {{see | name=Toluca Cathedral | alt=Catedral de San José de Nazaret | url= | email= | address=Av. Independencia 5 Ote. 303 | lat=19.29155 | long=-99.65726 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 2777 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca_Cathedral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Would you ever have guessed that Toluca has a cathedral too? This one is Neoclassical in style and was started in 1867 but not finished until the mid-20th century. If you look, you can see images of St John, St Thomas, St Peter, and St James on the front. They are in good company. }} * {{see | name=Temple of Santa Veracruz | alt= | url= | email= | address=Portal 20 de Noviembre 113 | lat=19.29187 | long=-99.65589 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 4733 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another downtown Toluca landmark. }} ===Museums=== * {{see | name=Museo de Bellas Artes de Toluca | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santos Degollado 102 | lat=19.29431 | long=-99.65621 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 5329 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 09:00-18:00 | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This former convent has a lot of ancient Egyptian exhibits and paintings from colonial to modern times. }} * {{see | name=Watercolor Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Melchor Ocampo 105 | lat=19.28966 | long=-99.66108 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 7304 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10ː00-18ː00, Su 10ː00-15ː00 | price=free on Su | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A peculiar museum dedicated to works in watercolor. }} * {{see | name=Centro Cultural Mexiquense | alt= | url=https://www2.toluca.gob.mx/festival-cultural-del-alfenique-2020-llega-a-miles-de-personas-en-mexico-y-el-mundo/ | email= | address=Jesús Reyes Heroles 302 | lat=19.27262 | long=-99.7022 | directions=next to ITESM University and Parque Alameda | phone=+52 722 274 1222 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10ː00-18ː00, closed M | price= | wikipedia=Centro_Cultural_Mexiquense | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A former Franciscan monastery that now houses the Museum of Anthropology and History, Museum of Popular Cultures (handicrafts, artisanal works), and Museum of Modern Art. Adjacent is the Cineteca Mexiquense where art films are shown. }} * {{see | name=Virreynal Museum Zinacantepec | alt= | url=https://www.cultura.gob.mx/estados/turismo-cultural-detalle.php?id=50950#.X-kJothKjIV | email= | address=Av. 16 de Septiembre, San Miguel | lat=19.28333 | long=-99.73455 | directions=west of Toluca in neighboring community of San Miguel | phone=+52 722 218 2593 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Monastical museum in a former convent. }} * {{see | name=Museo de Historia Universitaria José María Morelos y Pavón UAEM | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.28578 | long=-99.65384 | directions=located in Edificio de Rectoría UAEMEX | phone=+52 722 226 2300 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10ː00-17ː30 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small university history museum. }} * {{see | name=Museo Torres Bicentenario | alt= | url=https://www.mexicoescultura.com/ | email= | address=Av. José María Morelos Ote | lat=19.28756 | long=-99.62917 | directions= | phone=+52 722 213 7347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small art museum and bookstore that stands out with two twisting towers rising above it. }} ==Do== Avoid coming to Toluca on Fridays. Some guide books talk about a "quaint Indian market" but it is a flea market that clogs many streets. Also, when the afternoon comes, many Mexico City families come through Toluca to get into the countryside. ===Parks=== * {{do | name=Zacango Ecological Park | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ParqueEcologicoZacango/ | email= | address=Metepec Km 7 | lat=19.2012 | long=-99.64884 | directions= | phone=+52 722 298 0634 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Here is your standard zoo with representative animals like pachyderms and the cats. Plus you'll find a lake to paddle around and a chance to have pizza by the rhinos, and try out a zipline and train. }} * {{do | name=Metropolitano Bicentenario Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Paseo Tollocan | lat=19.2707 | long=-99.65288 | directions= | phone=+52 722 277 8332 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-15ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This wooded park offers a place for jogging or just experiencing some tranquility around one of the water basins with fountains. }} * {{do | name=Parque Alameda 2000 | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2748 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another greenspace with "lakes", jogging trails, and soccer fields. }} * {{do | name=Parque Ambiental Bicentenario | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2455 | long=-99.5859 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another park with woods and a lake, in case you are hankering for urban outdoor recreation. }} * {{do | name=Estatal Sierra Morelos Park | alt= | url=http://cepanaf.edomex.gob.mx/ | email= | address=De La Barrera, La Teresona | lat=19.3133 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=State park type of place in the hills north of Toluca, where more rugged hiking awaits. Large park with 3 lakes, forested hills, sports fields, picnic shelters and cabins for overnight stays. }} ===Performing arts=== * {{do | name=Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México | alt=State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra | url=https://osem.edomex.gob.mx/ | address=Sala Felipe Villanueva, Av. J.M. Morelos s/n, Barrio de la Merced, Toluca | lat=19.28827558268517|long=-99.662338 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 1621 | content=Professional symphony orchestra playing a full season of classical music from February through July. }} ===Spectator sports=== * {{do | name=Estadio Nemesio Diez | url=https://tolucafc.com/ | address=Constituyentes Pte. 1000, Barrio de San Bernardino | lat=19.28748598861859 | long=-99.66682276066642 | phone=+52 722 214 5709 | content=At almost any time of the year you might be able to catch a soccer game. This stadium is home field for the '''Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club''', commonly known as the ''Diablos Rojos'', a top-tier professional team in the Liga MX. The stadium is one of Mexico's oldest professional football stadiums in current use, having been built in 1954. It seats 27,273 cheering fans. }} ==Learn== The state university (UAEM) is here with several campuses for medicine, dentistry, nursing, chemistry, humanities, engineering, business, public administration, economics, behavioral science, and neuroscience. The most prestigious private university is a Tec de Monterrey campus (ITESM). There are dozens of newer private universities, some for-profit. Of more interest to short-term travelers, the city has several Spanish language schools with classes as short as 1 week, aimed at basic conversational skills. ==Buy== Casa de las Artesanias. On the corner of Tollocan and Urawa Av. There you can get many nice hand made typical things. ==Eat== ===Budget=== ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Olibol Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=Natalia Carrasco 405, Federal | lat=19.281130 | long=-99.668323 | directions= | phone=+52 722 231 1120 | tollfree= | hours=09:00 - 18:00 (til 20:00 F Sa), closed Su and holidays | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Comfortable, modern cafe with good coffee and light entrees. }} * {{eat | name=Portal Central | alt= | url=https://portalcentral.com.mx/web/pages/index.html | email= | address=Av. 5 de Febrero 111 | lat=19.29128 | long=-99.65822 | directions=in the center of the Portales de Toluca, a sort of historic mercado building | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 08ː00-20ː00, F Sa 08ː00-23ː00, Su 08ː00-18ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-28 | content=Artsy dining place, yet somehow economical. }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Lusso Cafe | alt= | url=http://somoslusso.com/ | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 614, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.294092 | long=-99.646522 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 2819 | tollfree= | hours=08:15 - 21:00 | price=M$300 | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Top-notch restaurant with attentive service, intimate atmosphere, outdoor tables, and excellent traditional Mexican cuisine with a smattering of international dishes. }} * {{eat | name=Amaranta | alt= | url=http://www.amarantarestaurante.com/ | email= | address=Calle Francisco Murguía 16 Ote. Poniente 402 | lat=19.283844 | long=-99.656296 | directions= | phone=+52 722 280 8265 | tollfree= | hours=08:00 - 18:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Innovative contemporary Mexican cuisine using locally sourced organic ingredients, served in a comfortably elegant space. }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Hugo's Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Blvr. José María Pino Suárez, 5 de Mayo | lat=19.289337 | long=-99.649730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=12:00 - 23:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Casual bar to hang out with friends. }} * {{drink | name=Cocoboom | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 100, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.292578 | long=-99.653678 | directions= | phone=+52 559 016 9238 | tollfree= | hours=11:00 - 02:00 closed M-W | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=LGBT bar with lively atmosphere, techno music. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Centro | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-centro | email= | address=Ignacio Allende 124 | lat=19.288547 | long=-99.655962 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 8900 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$695 | lastedit=2018-11-10 | content=Restaurant and pool and hard to beat location. }} * {{sleep | name=Suites Aldama | alt= | url=http://suitesaldama.com.mx/#!/ | email= | address=Juan Aldama 211 | lat=19.28924 | long=-99.65499 | directions= | phone=+52 722 341 1023 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$556 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Suites with wifi and kitchenettes and a shared terrace. The best part is probably the downtown presence though. }} * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Tollocan | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-tollocan | email= | address=Paseo Tollocan Oriente esq, Francisco I Madero Sur 1132 | lat=19.28723 | long=-99.62427 | directions=east of downtown along Route 15 | phone=+52 722 276 1000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$834 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=The other Fiesta property in Toluca, where you can enjoy an indoor pool, gym, restaurant with breakfast buffet, wifi, and a/c. }} ==Stay safe== This is one of the safer cities in Mexico, in terms of sanitation, traffic, and crime. Nevertheless, take extreme caution in the following neighborhoods (even during daytime): *El Seminario *La Unión *El Cóporo *Santa Barbara *La Teresona *Zopilocalco *San Miguel Apinahuizco *Nueva Oxtotitlán *Moderna de la Cruz *Cacalomacán *Capultitlán *Las Margaritas *Las Palomas ==Go next== If you find Toluca too calm, take the hour bus ride to Mexico City. If you find Toluca too traditionally Mexican, just taxi to the southeastern suburb of [[Metepec]], and you will think you are in southern California with malls, multiplexes, big box stores, and luxury car dealerships. If you find Toluca too stressful and modern, take a taxi or bus southwest, past the big prison, to Almoloya de Juarez. Walk around the sleepy town square and look at the church built on the grotto of water (''ojo de agua''). Look for the magic line in the water. You can get out of Toluca for a daytrip to the volcano (El Nevado de Toluca) but that might trigger altitude sickness in some, or the Zacango Zoo, or the spas at Ixtapan de la Sal, or Valle de Bravo. {{routebox | image1=Carretera federal 15.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Morelia]] | minorl1=[[Ciudad Hidalgo]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Mexico City]] | minorr1=[[San Mateo Atenco]] }} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Mexico State}} {{Geo|19.288|-99.667}} 9psailwvfid0byf7tjt3e3msegz52p5 5298457 5298456 2026-06-25T16:08:07Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Museums */ Updated listing for Watercolor Museum 5298457 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} {{otheruses}} '''Toluca''' (also '''Toluca de Lerdo''') was a pre-Columbian cultural center and is now the capital of [[Mexico State]]. The city has several tourist attractions that are due to its great cultural and artistic heritage, some of the attractions are its traditional portals, the Cosmovitral botanical garden, the annual Alfeñique Fair on the occasion of the Day of the Dead festival and the International Festival of Toluca Cinema. ==Understand== [[File:Alan Ruiz Jimenez Toluca Mexico.jpg|thumb|Toluca]] {{climate chart |Toluca |-0.4 |20.3 |10.9 |0.7 |22.3 |14.6 |2.3 |23.9 |19.9 |4.5 |25.0 |33.8 |6.5 |24.8 |87.2 |8.2 |22.9 |172.8 |8.8 |21.7 |198.5 |8.2 |21.8 |185.9 |8.3 |21.5 |163.5 |5.6 |21.7 |65.0 |2.0 |21.2 |20.6 |0.1 |20.3 |8.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Toluca]] |description= }} Toluca is one of the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Mexico, a city of numerous factories, hospitals, universities, athletic events, and cultural venues. Toluca is due west of Mexico City, at 2,660 m (8,700 feet) above sea level. After coming from Mexico City, you will be impressed with the clean air, but may get altitude sickness your first day there, so take it easy. Also, bring warm clothing. Nights are always cold, and there may be severe hail any time of year. ==Get in== {{mapframe|lat=19.28909|long=-99.65542|zoom=13}} [[File:Torres Bicentenario - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Torres Bicentenario]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Toluca International Airport | alt={{IATA|TLC}} Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.336944 | long=-99.565833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca International Airport | image=Salas de Ultima Espera.jpg | wikidata=Q2593750 | content=Passenger service is available from several Mexican cities on Viva and on Volaris. Private planes constitute most of the airport's traffic. It also is used for cargo flights by FedEx. The airport is a good alternative to the busy [[Benito Juárez International Airport]], particularly for western parts of Mexico City. The airport has a railway station with service on the ''El Insurgente'' trains. }} [[Benito Juarez International Airport]] in Mexico City is a reasonable alternative, especially for international visitors. A bus station inside airport Terminal 1 offers departures every 30 minutes for Toluca. ===By train=== The old intercity rail network was shut down in 1997 in a sign of the privatization mania of the time. A new commuter rail service called ''El Insurgente'' from [[Mexico City]] provides fast, comfortable service to Toluca. * {{go | name=Toluca Centro railway station | alt=Estación Toluca Centro | url= | email= | address=Sta María de las Rosas | lat=19.27035 | long=-99.64123 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q65166612 | lastedit=2023-09-24 | content=Busy modern train station serving ''El Insurgente'' trains to Mexico City (Observatorio station). CDMX Mobility Cards can be used to ride El Insurgente. }} ===By car=== The highway between Mexico City and Toluca is one of the most modern in the country (and an expensive toll road). ===By bus=== Toluca has one of the largest bus terminals in the country. From Mexico City you can get several lines to Toluca at the western terminal called Observatorio (at the end of the east-west subway line). Flecha Roja has regular service to the northern terminal, Autobuses del Norte, as well. Buses for Toluca depart every few minutes. Some lines (e.g., Caminante) have on board movies and frequent service between Toluca and the Mexico City Airport (Benito Juarez). From the main Toluca terminal you can go to any points west (e.g., Michoacan), south (Ixtapan de la Sal), or north (e.g., Queretaro). * {{go | name=Terminal de Toluca | alt= | url=http://www.terminaltoluca.com.mx/ | email= | address=Felipe Berriozábal #101 | lat=19.277799 | long=-99.643492 | directions= | phone=+52 771 686 5791 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2026-01-26 | content=Large, very busy bus station with a lot of eateries and shops. Easy place to make connections with loads of hourly arrivals and departures. }} ==Get around== Toluca has the best taxi system in the world: over 5,000 taxis for a city of about half a million. Just walk to any major street and wave at a passing taxi. The city is fairly compact, so fares are pretty cheap: M$30 will take you to most places. ==See== [[File:A view of the magnificent stained glass inside the Cosmovitral, Toluca, Mexico..jpg|thumb|Cosmovitral]] The place to be is the Portales downtown, then you are in walking distance of many interesting parks, gardens, museums, churches, theatres, stores, restaurants, hotels and government offices. Another interesting location is Parque Urawa and the library. On the southwest corner of town by ITESM (Tec de Monterrey) is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense with an anthropology museum, folk arts museum, modern arts museum, and library. UAEM (state university) related events and centers and located all over the city, though most are located in the Ciudad Universitaria and stadium on the west side. * {{see | name=Cosmovitral | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/JBCosmovitral | email= | address=Av. Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada | lat=19.29357 | long=-99.65367 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 6785 | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su Tu-Th 10ː00-17ː40, closed M F | price= | wikipedia=Cosmovitral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A botanical garden enclosed in an art noveau-type structure of stained glass. It feels rather celestial. }} [[File:Catedral de Toluca - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Toluca Cathedral]] * {{see | name=Toluca Cathedral | alt=Catedral de San José de Nazaret | url= | email= | address=Av. Independencia 5 Ote. 303 | lat=19.29155 | long=-99.65726 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 2777 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca_Cathedral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Would you ever have guessed that Toluca has a cathedral too? This one is Neoclassical in style and was started in 1867 but not finished until the mid-20th century. If you look, you can see images of St John, St Thomas, St Peter, and St James on the front. They are in good company. }} * {{see | name=Temple of Santa Veracruz | alt= | url= | email= | address=Portal 20 de Noviembre 113 | lat=19.29187 | long=-99.65589 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 4733 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another downtown Toluca landmark. }} ===Museums=== * {{see | name=Museo de Bellas Artes de Toluca | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santos Degollado 102 | lat=19.29431 | long=-99.65621 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 5329 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 09:00-18:00 | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This former convent has a lot of ancient Egyptian exhibits and paintings from colonial to modern times. }} * {{see | name=Watercolor Museum | alt=Museo de la Acuarela | url= | email= | address=Melchor Ocampo 105 | lat=19.28966 | long=-99.66108 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 7304 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10ː00-18ː00, Su 10ː00-15ː00 | price=M$10, free on Su | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=A peculiar museum dedicated to works in watercolor. }} * {{see | name=Centro Cultural Mexiquense | alt= | url=https://www2.toluca.gob.mx/festival-cultural-del-alfenique-2020-llega-a-miles-de-personas-en-mexico-y-el-mundo/ | email= | address=Jesús Reyes Heroles 302 | lat=19.27262 | long=-99.7022 | directions=next to ITESM University and Parque Alameda | phone=+52 722 274 1222 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10ː00-18ː00, closed M | price= | wikipedia=Centro_Cultural_Mexiquense | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A former Franciscan monastery that now houses the Museum of Anthropology and History, Museum of Popular Cultures (handicrafts, artisanal works), and Museum of Modern Art. Adjacent is the Cineteca Mexiquense where art films are shown. }} * {{see | name=Virreynal Museum Zinacantepec | alt= | url=https://www.cultura.gob.mx/estados/turismo-cultural-detalle.php?id=50950#.X-kJothKjIV | email= | address=Av. 16 de Septiembre, San Miguel | lat=19.28333 | long=-99.73455 | directions=west of Toluca in neighboring community of San Miguel | phone=+52 722 218 2593 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Monastical museum in a former convent. }} * {{see | name=Museo de Historia Universitaria José María Morelos y Pavón UAEM | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.28578 | long=-99.65384 | directions=located in Edificio de Rectoría UAEMEX | phone=+52 722 226 2300 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10ː00-17ː30 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small university history museum. }} * {{see | name=Museo Torres Bicentenario | alt= | url=https://www.mexicoescultura.com/ | email= | address=Av. José María Morelos Ote | lat=19.28756 | long=-99.62917 | directions= | phone=+52 722 213 7347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small art museum and bookstore that stands out with two twisting towers rising above it. }} ==Do== Avoid coming to Toluca on Fridays. Some guide books talk about a "quaint Indian market" but it is a flea market that clogs many streets. Also, when the afternoon comes, many Mexico City families come through Toluca to get into the countryside. ===Parks=== * {{do | name=Zacango Ecological Park | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ParqueEcologicoZacango/ | email= | address=Metepec Km 7 | lat=19.2012 | long=-99.64884 | directions= | phone=+52 722 298 0634 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Here is your standard zoo with representative animals like pachyderms and the cats. Plus you'll find a lake to paddle around and a chance to have pizza by the rhinos, and try out a zipline and train. }} * {{do | name=Metropolitano Bicentenario Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Paseo Tollocan | lat=19.2707 | long=-99.65288 | directions= | phone=+52 722 277 8332 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-15ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This wooded park offers a place for jogging or just experiencing some tranquility around one of the water basins with fountains. }} * {{do | name=Parque Alameda 2000 | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2748 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another greenspace with "lakes", jogging trails, and soccer fields. }} * {{do | name=Parque Ambiental Bicentenario | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2455 | long=-99.5859 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another park with woods and a lake, in case you are hankering for urban outdoor recreation. }} * {{do | name=Estatal Sierra Morelos Park | alt= | url=http://cepanaf.edomex.gob.mx/ | email= | address=De La Barrera, La Teresona | lat=19.3133 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=State park type of place in the hills north of Toluca, where more rugged hiking awaits. Large park with 3 lakes, forested hills, sports fields, picnic shelters and cabins for overnight stays. }} ===Performing arts=== * {{do | name=Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México | alt=State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra | url=https://osem.edomex.gob.mx/ | address=Sala Felipe Villanueva, Av. J.M. Morelos s/n, Barrio de la Merced, Toluca | lat=19.28827558268517|long=-99.662338 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 1621 | content=Professional symphony orchestra playing a full season of classical music from February through July. }} ===Spectator sports=== * {{do | name=Estadio Nemesio Diez | url=https://tolucafc.com/ | address=Constituyentes Pte. 1000, Barrio de San Bernardino | lat=19.28748598861859 | long=-99.66682276066642 | phone=+52 722 214 5709 | content=At almost any time of the year you might be able to catch a soccer game. This stadium is home field for the '''Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club''', commonly known as the ''Diablos Rojos'', a top-tier professional team in the Liga MX. The stadium is one of Mexico's oldest professional football stadiums in current use, having been built in 1954. It seats 27,273 cheering fans. }} ==Learn== The state university (UAEM) is here with several campuses for medicine, dentistry, nursing, chemistry, humanities, engineering, business, public administration, economics, behavioral science, and neuroscience. The most prestigious private university is a Tec de Monterrey campus (ITESM). There are dozens of newer private universities, some for-profit. Of more interest to short-term travelers, the city has several Spanish language schools with classes as short as 1 week, aimed at basic conversational skills. ==Buy== Casa de las Artesanias. On the corner of Tollocan and Urawa Av. There you can get many nice hand made typical things. ==Eat== ===Budget=== ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Olibol Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=Natalia Carrasco 405, Federal | lat=19.281130 | long=-99.668323 | directions= | phone=+52 722 231 1120 | tollfree= | hours=09:00 - 18:00 (til 20:00 F Sa), closed Su and holidays | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Comfortable, modern cafe with good coffee and light entrees. }} * {{eat | name=Portal Central | alt= | url=https://portalcentral.com.mx/web/pages/index.html | email= | address=Av. 5 de Febrero 111 | lat=19.29128 | long=-99.65822 | directions=in the center of the Portales de Toluca, a sort of historic mercado building | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 08ː00-20ː00, F Sa 08ː00-23ː00, Su 08ː00-18ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-28 | content=Artsy dining place, yet somehow economical. }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Lusso Cafe | alt= | url=http://somoslusso.com/ | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 614, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.294092 | long=-99.646522 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 2819 | tollfree= | hours=08:15 - 21:00 | price=M$300 | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Top-notch restaurant with attentive service, intimate atmosphere, outdoor tables, and excellent traditional Mexican cuisine with a smattering of international dishes. }} * {{eat | name=Amaranta | alt= | url=http://www.amarantarestaurante.com/ | email= | address=Calle Francisco Murguía 16 Ote. Poniente 402 | lat=19.283844 | long=-99.656296 | directions= | phone=+52 722 280 8265 | tollfree= | hours=08:00 - 18:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Innovative contemporary Mexican cuisine using locally sourced organic ingredients, served in a comfortably elegant space. }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Hugo's Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Blvr. José María Pino Suárez, 5 de Mayo | lat=19.289337 | long=-99.649730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=12:00 - 23:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Casual bar to hang out with friends. }} * {{drink | name=Cocoboom | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 100, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.292578 | long=-99.653678 | directions= | phone=+52 559 016 9238 | tollfree= | hours=11:00 - 02:00 closed M-W | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=LGBT bar with lively atmosphere, techno music. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Centro | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-centro | email= | address=Ignacio Allende 124 | lat=19.288547 | long=-99.655962 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 8900 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$695 | lastedit=2018-11-10 | content=Restaurant and pool and hard to beat location. }} * {{sleep | name=Suites Aldama | alt= | url=http://suitesaldama.com.mx/#!/ | email= | address=Juan Aldama 211 | lat=19.28924 | long=-99.65499 | directions= | phone=+52 722 341 1023 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$556 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Suites with wifi and kitchenettes and a shared terrace. The best part is probably the downtown presence though. }} * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Tollocan | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-tollocan | email= | address=Paseo Tollocan Oriente esq, Francisco I Madero Sur 1132 | lat=19.28723 | long=-99.62427 | directions=east of downtown along Route 15 | phone=+52 722 276 1000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$834 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=The other Fiesta property in Toluca, where you can enjoy an indoor pool, gym, restaurant with breakfast buffet, wifi, and a/c. }} ==Stay safe== This is one of the safer cities in Mexico, in terms of sanitation, traffic, and crime. Nevertheless, take extreme caution in the following neighborhoods (even during daytime): *El Seminario *La Unión *El Cóporo *Santa Barbara *La Teresona *Zopilocalco *San Miguel Apinahuizco *Nueva Oxtotitlán *Moderna de la Cruz *Cacalomacán *Capultitlán *Las Margaritas *Las Palomas ==Go next== If you find Toluca too calm, take the hour bus ride to Mexico City. If you find Toluca too traditionally Mexican, just taxi to the southeastern suburb of [[Metepec]], and you will think you are in southern California with malls, multiplexes, big box stores, and luxury car dealerships. If you find Toluca too stressful and modern, take a taxi or bus southwest, past the big prison, to Almoloya de Juarez. Walk around the sleepy town square and look at the church built on the grotto of water (''ojo de agua''). Look for the magic line in the water. You can get out of Toluca for a daytrip to the volcano (El Nevado de Toluca) but that might trigger altitude sickness in some, or the Zacango Zoo, or the spas at Ixtapan de la Sal, or Valle de Bravo. {{routebox | image1=Carretera federal 15.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Morelia]] | minorl1=[[Ciudad Hidalgo]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Mexico City]] | minorr1=[[San Mateo Atenco]] }} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Mexico State}} {{Geo|19.288|-99.667}} lj9kxsrnu6pggqmq6of6ratrpylzu57 5298459 5298457 2026-06-25T16:18:05Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Museums */ Added listing for Museo del Paisaje José María Velasco 5298459 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} {{otheruses}} '''Toluca''' (also '''Toluca de Lerdo''') was a pre-Columbian cultural center and is now the capital of [[Mexico State]]. The city has several tourist attractions that are due to its great cultural and artistic heritage, some of the attractions are its traditional portals, the Cosmovitral botanical garden, the annual Alfeñique Fair on the occasion of the Day of the Dead festival and the International Festival of Toluca Cinema. ==Understand== [[File:Alan Ruiz Jimenez Toluca Mexico.jpg|thumb|Toluca]] {{climate chart |Toluca |-0.4 |20.3 |10.9 |0.7 |22.3 |14.6 |2.3 |23.9 |19.9 |4.5 |25.0 |33.8 |6.5 |24.8 |87.2 |8.2 |22.9 |172.8 |8.8 |21.7 |198.5 |8.2 |21.8 |185.9 |8.3 |21.5 |163.5 |5.6 |21.7 |65.0 |2.0 |21.2 |20.6 |0.1 |20.3 |8.0 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Toluca]] |description= }} Toluca is one of the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Mexico, a city of numerous factories, hospitals, universities, athletic events, and cultural venues. Toluca is due west of Mexico City, at 2,660 m (8,700 feet) above sea level. After coming from Mexico City, you will be impressed with the clean air, but may get altitude sickness your first day there, so take it easy. Also, bring warm clothing. Nights are always cold, and there may be severe hail any time of year. ==Get in== {{mapframe|lat=19.28909|long=-99.65542|zoom=13}} [[File:Torres Bicentenario - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Torres Bicentenario]] ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Toluca International Airport | alt={{IATA|TLC}} Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.336944 | long=-99.565833 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca International Airport | image=Salas de Ultima Espera.jpg | wikidata=Q2593750 | content=Passenger service is available from several Mexican cities on Viva and on Volaris. Private planes constitute most of the airport's traffic. It also is used for cargo flights by FedEx. The airport is a good alternative to the busy [[Benito Juárez International Airport]], particularly for western parts of Mexico City. The airport has a railway station with service on the ''El Insurgente'' trains. }} [[Benito Juarez International Airport]] in Mexico City is a reasonable alternative, especially for international visitors. A bus station inside airport Terminal 1 offers departures every 30 minutes for Toluca. ===By train=== The old intercity rail network was shut down in 1997 in a sign of the privatization mania of the time. A new commuter rail service called ''El Insurgente'' from [[Mexico City]] provides fast, comfortable service to Toluca. * {{go | name=Toluca Centro railway station | alt=Estación Toluca Centro | url= | email= | address=Sta María de las Rosas | lat=19.27035 | long=-99.64123 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q65166612 | lastedit=2023-09-24 | content=Busy modern train station serving ''El Insurgente'' trains to Mexico City (Observatorio station). CDMX Mobility Cards can be used to ride El Insurgente. }} ===By car=== The highway between Mexico City and Toluca is one of the most modern in the country (and an expensive toll road). ===By bus=== Toluca has one of the largest bus terminals in the country. From Mexico City you can get several lines to Toluca at the western terminal called Observatorio (at the end of the east-west subway line). Flecha Roja has regular service to the northern terminal, Autobuses del Norte, as well. Buses for Toluca depart every few minutes. Some lines (e.g., Caminante) have on board movies and frequent service between Toluca and the Mexico City Airport (Benito Juarez). From the main Toluca terminal you can go to any points west (e.g., Michoacan), south (Ixtapan de la Sal), or north (e.g., Queretaro). * {{go | name=Terminal de Toluca | alt= | url=http://www.terminaltoluca.com.mx/ | email= | address=Felipe Berriozábal #101 | lat=19.277799 | long=-99.643492 | directions= | phone=+52 771 686 5791 | tollfree= | hours=24 hours | price= | lastedit=2026-01-26 | content=Large, very busy bus station with a lot of eateries and shops. Easy place to make connections with loads of hourly arrivals and departures. }} ==Get around== Toluca has the best taxi system in the world: over 5,000 taxis for a city of about half a million. Just walk to any major street and wave at a passing taxi. The city is fairly compact, so fares are pretty cheap: M$30 will take you to most places. ==See== [[File:A view of the magnificent stained glass inside the Cosmovitral, Toluca, Mexico..jpg|thumb|Cosmovitral]] The place to be is the Portales downtown, then you are in walking distance of many interesting parks, gardens, museums, churches, theatres, stores, restaurants, hotels and government offices. Another interesting location is Parque Urawa and the library. On the southwest corner of town by ITESM (Tec de Monterrey) is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense with an anthropology museum, folk arts museum, modern arts museum, and library. UAEM (state university) related events and centers and located all over the city, though most are located in the Ciudad Universitaria and stadium on the west side. * {{see | name=Cosmovitral | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/JBCosmovitral | email= | address=Av. Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada | lat=19.29357 | long=-99.65367 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 6785 | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su Tu-Th 10ː00-17ː40, closed M F | price= | wikipedia=Cosmovitral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A botanical garden enclosed in an art noveau-type structure of stained glass. It feels rather celestial. }} [[File:Catedral de Toluca - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Toluca Cathedral]] * {{see | name=Toluca Cathedral | alt=Catedral de San José de Nazaret | url= | email= | address=Av. Independencia 5 Ote. 303 | lat=19.29155 | long=-99.65726 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 2777 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toluca_Cathedral | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Would you ever have guessed that Toluca has a cathedral too? This one is Neoclassical in style and was started in 1867 but not finished until the mid-20th century. If you look, you can see images of St John, St Thomas, St Peter, and St James on the front. They are in good company. }} * {{see | name=Temple of Santa Veracruz | alt= | url= | email= | address=Portal 20 de Noviembre 113 | lat=19.29187 | long=-99.65589 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 4733 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another downtown Toluca landmark. }} ===Museums=== * {{see | name=Museo de Bellas Artes de Toluca | alt= | url= | email= | address=Santos Degollado 102 | lat=19.29431 | long=-99.65621 | directions= | phone=+52 722 215 5329 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 09:00-18:00 | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This former convent has a lot of ancient Egyptian exhibits and paintings from colonial to modern times. }} * {{see | name=Watercolor Museum | alt=Museo de la Acuarela | url= | email= | address=Melchor Ocampo 105 | lat=19.28966 | long=-99.66108 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 7304 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 10ː00-18ː00, Su 10ː00-15ː00 | price=M$10, free on Su | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=A peculiar museum dedicated to works in watercolor. }} * {{see | name=Centro Cultural Mexiquense | alt= | url=https://www2.toluca.gob.mx/festival-cultural-del-alfenique-2020-llega-a-miles-de-personas-en-mexico-y-el-mundo/ | email= | address=Jesús Reyes Heroles 302 | lat=19.27262 | long=-99.7022 | directions=next to ITESM University and Parque Alameda | phone=+52 722 274 1222 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10ː00-18ː00, closed M | price= | wikipedia=Centro_Cultural_Mexiquense | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A former Franciscan monastery that now houses the Museum of Anthropology and History, Museum of Popular Cultures (handicrafts, artisanal works), and Museum of Modern Art. Adjacent is the Cineteca Mexiquense where art films are shown. }} * {{see | name=Virreynal Museum Zinacantepec | alt= | url=https://www.cultura.gob.mx/estados/turismo-cultural-detalle.php?id=50950#.X-kJothKjIV | email= | address=Av. 16 de Septiembre, San Miguel | lat=19.28333 | long=-99.73455 | directions=west of Toluca in neighboring community of San Miguel | phone=+52 722 218 2593 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Monastical museum in a former convent. }} * {{see | name=Museo de Historia Universitaria José María Morelos y Pavón UAEM | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.28578 | long=-99.65384 | directions=located in Edificio de Rectoría UAEMEX | phone=+52 722 226 2300 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10ː00-17ː30 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small university history museum. }} * {{see | name=Museo Torres Bicentenario | alt= | url=https://www.mexicoescultura.com/ | email= | address=Av. José María Morelos Ote | lat=19.28756 | long=-99.62917 | directions= | phone=+52 722 213 7347 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=A small art museum and bookstore that stands out with two twisting towers rising above it. }} * {{see | name=Museo del Paisaje José María Velasco | alt=Museum of Landscape Painter Jose Maria Velasco | url= | email= | address=Av. Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada 400, Centro | lat=19.294921 | long=-99.658320 | directions= | phone=+52 722 213 2814 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00 - 18:00, closed M | price=Free | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Intimate and approachable museum dedicated to the landscape paintings of Mexico's most famous and prolific artist of the 19th century. Most of the displayed works are smaller and less famous than those in bigger, better funded museums in [[Mexico City/Centro]], such as the National Museum of Art (which has several galleries dedicated to the artist) and the Kalusz Museum (which has a good collection of Velasco's ''Valle de Mexico'' landscapes).. }} ==Do== Avoid coming to Toluca on Fridays. Some guide books talk about a "quaint Indian market" but it is a flea market that clogs many streets. Also, when the afternoon comes, many Mexico City families come through Toluca to get into the countryside. ===Parks=== * {{do | name=Zacango Ecological Park | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/ParqueEcologicoZacango/ | email= | address=Metepec Km 7 | lat=19.2012 | long=-99.64884 | directions= | phone=+52 722 298 0634 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Here is your standard zoo with representative animals like pachyderms and the cats. Plus you'll find a lake to paddle around and a chance to have pizza by the rhinos, and try out a zipline and train. }} * {{do | name=Metropolitano Bicentenario Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Paseo Tollocan | lat=19.2707 | long=-99.65288 | directions= | phone=+52 722 277 8332 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-15ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=This wooded park offers a place for jogging or just experiencing some tranquility around one of the water basins with fountains. }} * {{do | name=Parque Alameda 2000 | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2748 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another greenspace with "lakes", jogging trails, and soccer fields. }} * {{do | name=Parque Ambiental Bicentenario | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.2455 | long=-99.5859 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Another park with woods and a lake, in case you are hankering for urban outdoor recreation. }} * {{do | name=Estatal Sierra Morelos Park | alt= | url=http://cepanaf.edomex.gob.mx/ | email= | address=De La Barrera, La Teresona | lat=19.3133 | long=-99.6961 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07ː00-17ː00 | price= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=State park type of place in the hills north of Toluca, where more rugged hiking awaits. Large park with 3 lakes, forested hills, sports fields, picnic shelters and cabins for overnight stays. }} ===Performing arts=== * {{do | name=Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México | alt=State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra | url=https://osem.edomex.gob.mx/ | address=Sala Felipe Villanueva, Av. J.M. Morelos s/n, Barrio de la Merced, Toluca | lat=19.28827558268517|long=-99.662338 | directions= | phone=+52 722 214 1621 | content=Professional symphony orchestra playing a full season of classical music from February through July. }} ===Spectator sports=== * {{do | name=Estadio Nemesio Diez | url=https://tolucafc.com/ | address=Constituyentes Pte. 1000, Barrio de San Bernardino | lat=19.28748598861859 | long=-99.66682276066642 | phone=+52 722 214 5709 | content=At almost any time of the year you might be able to catch a soccer game. This stadium is home field for the '''Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club''', commonly known as the ''Diablos Rojos'', a top-tier professional team in the Liga MX. The stadium is one of Mexico's oldest professional football stadiums in current use, having been built in 1954. It seats 27,273 cheering fans. }} ==Learn== The state university (UAEM) is here with several campuses for medicine, dentistry, nursing, chemistry, humanities, engineering, business, public administration, economics, behavioral science, and neuroscience. The most prestigious private university is a Tec de Monterrey campus (ITESM). There are dozens of newer private universities, some for-profit. Of more interest to short-term travelers, the city has several Spanish language schools with classes as short as 1 week, aimed at basic conversational skills. ==Buy== Casa de las Artesanias. On the corner of Tollocan and Urawa Av. There you can get many nice hand made typical things. ==Eat== ===Budget=== ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Olibol Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=Natalia Carrasco 405, Federal | lat=19.281130 | long=-99.668323 | directions= | phone=+52 722 231 1120 | tollfree= | hours=09:00 - 18:00 (til 20:00 F Sa), closed Su and holidays | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Comfortable, modern cafe with good coffee and light entrees. }} * {{eat | name=Portal Central | alt= | url=https://portalcentral.com.mx/web/pages/index.html | email= | address=Av. 5 de Febrero 111 | lat=19.29128 | long=-99.65822 | directions=in the center of the Portales de Toluca, a sort of historic mercado building | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 08ː00-20ː00, F Sa 08ː00-23ː00, Su 08ː00-18ː00 | price= | lastedit=2020-12-28 | content=Artsy dining place, yet somehow economical. }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Lusso Cafe | alt= | url=http://somoslusso.com/ | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 614, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.294092 | long=-99.646522 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 2819 | tollfree= | hours=08:15 - 21:00 | price=M$300 | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Top-notch restaurant with attentive service, intimate atmosphere, outdoor tables, and excellent traditional Mexican cuisine with a smattering of international dishes. }} * {{eat | name=Amaranta | alt= | url=http://www.amarantarestaurante.com/ | email= | address=Calle Francisco Murguía 16 Ote. Poniente 402 | lat=19.283844 | long=-99.656296 | directions= | phone=+52 722 280 8265 | tollfree= | hours=08:00 - 18:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Innovative contemporary Mexican cuisine using locally sourced organic ingredients, served in a comfortably elegant space. }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Hugo's Bar | alt= | url= | email= | address=Blvr. José María Pino Suárez, 5 de Mayo | lat=19.289337 | long=-99.649730 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=12:00 - 23:00 | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=Casual bar to hang out with friends. }} * {{drink | name=Cocoboom | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Primero de Mayo 100, Barrio de Sta Clara | lat=19.292578 | long=-99.653678 | directions= | phone=+52 559 016 9238 | tollfree= | hours=11:00 - 02:00 closed M-W | price= | lastedit=2023-05-03 | content=LGBT bar with lively atmosphere, techno music. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Centro | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-centro | email= | address=Ignacio Allende 124 | lat=19.288547 | long=-99.655962 | directions= | phone=+52 722 167 8900 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$695 | lastedit=2018-11-10 | content=Restaurant and pool and hard to beat location. }} * {{sleep | name=Suites Aldama | alt= | url=http://suitesaldama.com.mx/#!/ | email= | address=Juan Aldama 211 | lat=19.28924 | long=-99.65499 | directions= | phone=+52 722 341 1023 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$556 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=Suites with wifi and kitchenettes and a shared terrace. The best part is probably the downtown presence though. }} * {{sleep | name=Fiesta Inn Toluca Tollocan | alt= | url=https://www.fiestainn.com/es/web/fiesta-inn-toluca-tollocan | email= | address=Paseo Tollocan Oriente esq, Francisco I Madero Sur 1132 | lat=19.28723 | long=-99.62427 | directions=east of downtown along Route 15 | phone=+52 722 276 1000 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=M$834 | lastedit=2020-12-27 | content=The other Fiesta property in Toluca, where you can enjoy an indoor pool, gym, restaurant with breakfast buffet, wifi, and a/c. }} ==Stay safe== This is one of the safer cities in Mexico, in terms of sanitation, traffic, and crime. Nevertheless, take extreme caution in the following neighborhoods (even during daytime): *El Seminario *La Unión *El Cóporo *Santa Barbara *La Teresona *Zopilocalco *San Miguel Apinahuizco *Nueva Oxtotitlán *Moderna de la Cruz *Cacalomacán *Capultitlán *Las Margaritas *Las Palomas ==Go next== If you find Toluca too calm, take the hour bus ride to Mexico City. If you find Toluca too traditionally Mexican, just taxi to the southeastern suburb of [[Metepec]], and you will think you are in southern California with malls, multiplexes, big box stores, and luxury car dealerships. If you find Toluca too stressful and modern, take a taxi or bus southwest, past the big prison, to Almoloya de Juarez. Walk around the sleepy town square and look at the church built on the grotto of water (''ojo de agua''). Look for the magic line in the water. You can get out of Toluca for a daytrip to the volcano (El Nevado de Toluca) but that might trigger altitude sickness in some, or the Zacango Zoo, or the spas at Ixtapan de la Sal, or Valle de Bravo. {{routebox | image1=Carretera federal 15.svg | imagesize1=22 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Morelia]] | minorl1=[[Ciudad Hidalgo]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Mexico City]] | minorr1=[[San Mateo Atenco]] }} {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Mexico State}} {{Geo|19.288|-99.667}} bq5qe4nueimx6r6tvkal8yqfbppq6dp 0 36376 5298562 5293499 2026-06-26T02:14:32Z Coolcaesar 1398300 /* Transit bylaws */ Adding key points 5298562 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Toronto banner skyline at dusk.jpg|caption=Toronto skyline at dusk|disambig=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Toronto''' is a diverse, energetic and liveable city, home to many tourist attractions, and seemingly endless dining, shopping and entertainment possibilities. It's the most populous city in [[Canada]], the centre of the country's financial sector, and the provincial capital of [[Ontario]]. Toronto is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in the world: more than 80 ethnic communities are represented, and over half of the city's residents were born outside Canada. {{See also|Toronto/Yonge Street|LGBT Toronto}} ==Districts== {{Mapframe|43.65605|-79.38465|zoom=13 |type=geoline}} {{mapshapes| Q249404}} <!--tram--> Toronto is made up of varied and unique neighbourhoods. Covering {{convert|631|km2}}, Toronto stretches some {{convert|32|km}} along the shores of Lake Ontario. The city is laid out on a very straightforward grid pattern. Streets rarely deviate from the grid, except when topography interferes, such as the curving Don River Valley, and to a lesser degree the Humber and Rouge valleys at opposite ends of the city. Some main thoroughfares intersect the grid at angles. For travel purposes, we have divided Toronto into twelve districts: ====Central Toronto==== The dense urban core of Toronto. It includes many of the city's attractions and hotels. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Toronto WV downtown districts map.png | regionmaptext=Districts of Downtown Toronto | regionmapsize=400px | region1name=[[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas|Yonge-Dundas]] | region1color=#fdf989 | region1description=The heart of downtown Toronto with Yonge St, the Eaton Centre, theatres and City Hall. | region2name=[[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment and Financial Districts]] | region2color=#cdafda | region2description=The entertainment and financial heart of the city, including some of the city's most prominent tourist attractions: the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Union Station and the Hockey Hall of Fame. | region3name=[[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|Kensington-Chinatown]] | region3color=#f9a4a6 | region3description=Diverse neighbourhoods with lots of little shops, markets and restaurants, and some of the city's best known bars for live music. Includes Queen West and the Fashion District to the south. | region4name=[[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex|Yorkville and the Annex]] | region4color=#bccdee | region4description=The boutiques of Yorkville and the museums and student energy of the Annex and University neighbourhoods. | region5name=[[Toronto/Harbourfront|Harbourfront]] | region5color=#F4A460 | region5description=South of Downtown, this area is popular for its parks and recreational activities. Walk along the water's edge, take a harbour tour by boat, have some family fun at various events at Exhibition Place, or take in a Major League Soccer or Canadian Football League game at BMO Field. | region6name=[[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]] | region6color=#FFDAB9 | region6description=Take the ferry to the Toronto Islands. Stroll through the parkland, enjoy the beaches, see the petting zoo, have fun in the amusement park, see the quaint cottages and front-yard gardens of the permanent island community. | region7name=[[Toronto/Downtown East|Downtown East]] | region7color=#cbf6a9 | region7description=Older neighbourhoods between Church St and the Don Valley. Includes Church & Wellesley (Toronto's gay village), Cabbagetown, the St Lawrence Market, Old Town Toronto, and the Distillery District. |regionInteractiveMap=map1|regionmapLat=43.6577|regionmapLong=-79.3812|regionmapZoom=13}} {{mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Central_toronto_districts.map}} ====Outside Central Toronto==== {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q172|type=geomask}} {{Mapshapes|Q20379}} {{mapshapes|Q249404}} {{mapshapes|Q28971910}} These are the older suburbs that ring the downtown followed by an outer ring of post-war suburbs. There are fewer attractions here, but if you have the time, some of the neighbourhoods are well worth visiting. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Toronto WV districts map.png | regionmaptext=Map of Toronto | regionmapsize=401px | region1name=[[Toronto/Midtown|Midtown]] | region1color=#e2d8e5 | region1items=Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville Village, Forest Hill | region1description=Upscale neighbourhoods with grand old mansions housing the city's moneyed and elite, beautiful parks, and ravines that extend for kilometres. Yonge & Eglinton is becoming a new urban core. | region2name=[[Toronto/West End|West End]] | region2color=#d9d5b1 | region2items=Little Italy, Little Portugal, West Queen West, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, High Park | region2description=Ethnic enclaves, dive bars, and hipsters abound in this rapidly gentrifying part of town. High Park preserves a slice of green space north from Humber Bay, providing an escape from noisy city life. | region3name=[[Toronto/East End|East End]] | region3color=#c6e0e6 | region3items=Greektown, Leslieville and The Beaches | region3description=The West End's quainter, quieter alternative, with low-key neighbourhoods and nice beaches. This area hosts ethnic and cultural festivals throughout the summer months. The Beach, centred along Queen Street east of Kingston Road, is alive with weekend foot traffic year-round, out to take in the local businesses, and the lake breezes in the summer. | region4name=[[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]] | region4color=#e4ebc9 | region4description=An economically diverse suburb with some undiscovered gems along Bloor Street and near the lake in Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch. | region5name=[[Toronto/North York|North York]] | region5color=#e4d1c6 | region5description=This district is largely suburban but has something to offer the casual tourist. The centre of this district is more densely urban in nature, as it was designed to serve as the downtown of the former City of North York. | region6name=[[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]] | region6color=#c4e1c7 | region6description=The eastern suburb of the city has lots to offer, including the Scarborough Bluffs, Rouge National Urban Park, authentic (and affordable) ethnic cuisine, and the Toronto Zoo. |regionInteractiveMap=map2|regionmapLat=43.6992|regionmapLong=-79.3838|regionmapZoom=10}} ==== Outer suburbs and Greater Toronto Area ==== Although there are fewer attractions, there are ethnic enclaves with ethnic foods and other activities that may be of interest to a traveller in the newer, outer suburbs of Toronto. For example, [[Markham]]'s population is 48% Chinese and has a lot of interesting shops, businesses, and restaurants. For travel information for the newer suburbs, see the [[Greater Toronto Area]] article. == Understand == Toronto has an estimated population of over 3.2 million people as of 2024, and is the heart of the [[Greater Toronto Area]] (GTA) which has 7.1 million people. It also anchors the [[Golden Horseshoe]] region, which wraps around Lake Ontario from Toronto to Niagara Falls, home to over 11.1 million residents, approximately a quarter of Canada's entire population. Toronto is the fourth largest city and fifth largest urban agglomeration in [[North America]]. Distances between cities in the area can be great as it sprawls along, outward and even wraps around the western end of Lake Ontario; public transit is not always effective enough to make it a quick or seamless trip. Many suburban residents rely on private cars to get around. Toronto is also known as "the 416" after its first area code (although now 647 and 437 area codes are also used); or since 2014, "the 6", a term coined by the rapper Drake, which represents the area code). Outlying suburbs are also known as "the 905" after ''their'' area code, although this code is also used in the [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] and the [[Niagara Peninsula]], stretching from [[Cobourg]] and Colborne in the east to the border in [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] to the southwest. More than half of its residents were born outside of Canada, and as a result the city is fortunate to host many vibrant bustling neighbourhoods with street signs in several languages. A popular urban myth has it that the United Nations rated Toronto as "the most multicultural city in the world". While the UN and its agencies are not in the habit of rating cities, it remains a fact that Canada is a nation of immigrants, and Toronto demonstrates this abundantly. A UN agency lists Toronto as second only to Miami as the city with the most foreign-born residents, as about half the city's residents were born outside of Canada. This has been true since the early 20th century, meaning that new waves of immigrants from diverse places have arrived. Toronto's residents represent far more cultural and language groups than Miami, which may be a better measure of multi-culturalism. Most immigrants either pass through Toronto on their way to other parts of the country or stay in Toronto permanently. Many people born abroad consider themselves Canadian as much as native-born Canadians and will be offended if treated otherwise. Within Toronto, most ethnic groups have worked their way into the fabric of Canadian society but retain their distinct ways such as language, dress (if only for special occasions), customs, and food. Toronto is home to many ethnic festivals throughout the year, several radio stations that broadcast in various languages, and two multilingual television channels. The City of Toronto provides services in 16 different languages while its public transit helpline provides service in 70 languages. Even large department stores such as The Bay in downtown Toronto advertise service in 9 languages. The ''lingua franca'' of Toronto, however, remains English. While older tourist promotional material may claim the Toronto means "meeting place", the city most likely takes its name from the Mohawk word ''Tkaronto'', meaning "where there are trees standing in the water". ===History=== Spawned out of post-glacial alluvial deposits and bluffs, the area was populated at different times by Iroquois and later Wyandot (Huron) peoples. European settlement began in the mid-1700s when, drawn by the natural harbour formed by the Toronto Peninsula (now the Toronto Islands), the French built a seldom-occupied fort (Fort Rouillé) near today's Exhibition Place. The city then grew out of a backwoods English trading post established as York in 1793 (it was re-named "Toronto" in 1834). During the War of 1812, Fort York was an important base for the British, and was destroyed during a major battle. In the 1960s and 1970s, Toronto overtook Montreal as the financial and economic powerhouse of Canada. In 1998, the cities of Toronto, [[Scarborough]], North York, [[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]], and York and the Borough of East York amalgamated to form the current City of Toronto. === Climate === {{climate chart |Toronto |-6.7 |-0.3 |64.6 |-6.0 |0.6 |53.9 |-1.8 |5.1 |52.8 |3.9 |11.7 |78.0 |10.0 |18.8 |76.4 |15.3 |24.2 |81.6 |18.1 |27.0 |76.5 |17.7 |26.1 |71.9 |13.8 |22.0 |69.4 |7.7 |14.6 |69.1 |2.3 |8.1 |70.8 |-2.7 |2.6 |57.8 |jansnow=372.0 |febsnow=270.0 |marsnow=198.0 |aprsnow=50.0 |maysnow=0.0 |junsnow=0.0 |julsnow=0.0 |augsnow=0.0 |sepsnow=0.0 |octsnow=1.0 |novsnow=83.0 |decsnow=241.0 |float=right |clear=right | description = {{Forecast/CA|Toronto|43.655|-79.383}} }} Toronto's climate is on the whole on the cool side, and variable conditions can be expected. Come prepared for winter: winters are cold (temperatures average -3.8°C (25°F) in January), mostly cloudy, at times snowy and uncomfortably windy. However, the type of extreme cold experienced further north in Canada usually lasts for no more than a couple of days at a time. Sometimes during the winter, severe storms can slow down transportation and activities in the city for a day or two. Daylight hours are short and run from 7:45AM to 4:45PM. The city experiences warm and humid summers, but still milder than many US cities. Average daytime highs are around {{c|27}} and {{c|18}} for overnight lows in July/August, with many muggy evenings but rarely extreme heat. On average, the temperature exceeds {{c|30}} only 12 days per year, but hotter air masses often arrive with moderately high humidity levels. This can raise the humidex to around 38°C or even higher (equivalent to a heat index of {{c|33}}); and increase overnight lows to {{c|22}} or above on particularly sweltering days. In the summer, thunderstorms occur from time to time, most lasting less than an hour. Summer days are long, with the sun up as late as 9PM, and sunrises around 5:45AM. Late spring/early summer and early fall are generally considered to be the best times to visit for weather and less crowds, mid-summer is the peak tourist season, but visitors will find that Toronto's vibrancy extends through the winter with outdoor skating rinks and bundled up club-goers, etc. Toronto's public buildings are nearly all air-conditioned and fully heated. Areas closer to the downtown core are generally 1 to 1.5°C warmer in winter due to the urban heat island effect. For the rest of the year, areas close to Lake Ontario are warmer by about 1°C due to the moderating effects of the lake. This is especially prominent in March and November when the city receives rain while areas just north of the city receive snow. ===Visitor information=== * {{listing | name=Ontario Travel Information Centre | alt= | url=http://www.ontariotravel.net | email=ontariotravel.toronto@ontario.ca | address=65 Front Street West | lat=43.644829 | long=-79.381781 | directions=within Union Station; follow signs towards UP Express | phone=+1 416-314-5899 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-5PM (closed Su) | price= | lastedit=2024-01-29 | content= }} * {{listing | name= Destination Toronto| alt= | url=https://www.destinationtoronto.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-01-29 | content=Tourist information from the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association. }} == Get in == === By plane === ==== Toronto Pearson ==== {{main|Toronto Pearson International Airport}} [[File:YYZ Aerial.jpg|thumbnail|right|Pearson International sees the most traffic and connections of all airports in Canada]] {{go | name=Toronto Pearson International Airport | alt={{IATA|YYZ}} | url=https://www.torontopearson.com | email= | address= | lat=43.6777 | long=79.6248 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toronto Pearson International Airport | wikidata=Q242066 | lastedit=2022-05-26 | content= }}, in [[Mississauga]], is 30-50 minutes by car (depending on traffic) or 25 minutes by train from downtown Toronto and is served by most major international carriers. There are two terminals: Terminal 1 hosts all Air Canada flights and a few other international (mostly Star Alliance) carriers while Terminal 3 hosts all other airlines. When travelling from Toronto International (and other major Canadian airports) to the United States, travellers will go through United States immigration and customs pre-clearance in Toronto, and should leave some extra time to account for this. The airport has free WiFi internet access. The main article describes [[Toronto Pearson International Airport#Ground transportation|ground transportation]] to and from Toronto Pearson. ==== Billy Bishop Airport ==== [[File:Porter Airlines.Dash-8.YTZ.2008.jpg|thumbnail|right|Porter Airlines offers a network of connections across eastern Canada and northeastern US from their base at Billy Bishop Airport.]] * {{go | name=Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport | alt={{IATA|YTZ}} | url=http://www.portstoronto.com/airport.aspx | email= | address= | lat=43.6275 | long=-79.396111 | directions= | phone=+1 416-203-6942 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport | image=Toronto City Center Airport.jpg | wikidata=Q117708 | lastedit=2022-06-26 | content=This airport serves short-haul flights only and is close to downtown. It is named for a World War I fighter ace, but some locals may call it “Toronto island airport” or simply “Billy Bishop”}} ==== Airlines at Billy Bishop Airport ==== * {{listing | name=Porter Airlines | alt= | url=https://www.flyporter.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-619-8622 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Porter Airlines | wikidata=Q1811473 | lastedit=2022-04-27 | content=This airline uses Billy Bishop as their hub. They are a short-haul carrier that operates Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop planes to many cities in eastern Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, St. John's and others) and parts of the United States (Boston, Chicago, New York/Newark, Washington Dulles and Myrtle Beach). Porter is aggressively fighting for market share and you can take advantage of it by getting low fares, especially if booked 2 weeks or more in advance, combined with complimentary drinks onboard and a waiting lounge with amenities. }} * {{listing | name=Air Canada | alt= | url=https://www.aircanada.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-514-393-3333 | tollfree=+1-888-247-2262 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Air Canada | wikidata=Q185339 | lastedit=2022-04-25 | content=Canada's largest airline. Operates flights to Billy Bishop Airport from [[Montreal]] and [[Ottawa]], on Bombardier Q400 turboprop planes. [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]] is a hub for this airline with far more flight options including from international destinations. }} * {{listing | name=Propair | alt= | url=https://propair.ca/en/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-04-25 | content=Service from [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]] and [[Rouyn-Noranda]]. }} ==== Ground transit from Billy Bishop Airport ==== One of the main benefits of flying into Billy Bishop is its proximity to the downtown core. Upon landing, you can be downtown within ten minutes. A pedestrian tunnel under the channel takes you to the city. A free ferry service also makes the short crossing: it is just 121 metres, the world's shortest regularly-scheduled ferry route. It operates between TCCA and the mainland every 15 minutes: see [https://www.billybishopairport.com/to-from/ferry full schedule]. Once on the mainland, a [https://www.billybishopairport.com/to-from/shuttle/ free shuttle bus] connects the terminal with the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, across the street from Union Station. TTC streetcars are available within a short walk from the mainland ferry terminal: * Route 509 Harbourfront travels east along the waterfront (Queens Quay) to Union Station. Streetcar stops are at the corner of Queens Quay & Bathurst; 4 minute walk. * Route 511 Bathurst provides service north along Bathurst, to Bathurst subway station. Stops are near the corner of Fleet St & Bathurst St; 6 minute walk. * Both of these routes also travel a short distance to the west, terminating at Exhibition Place. * Route 510 Spadina travels north along Spadina Ave to Spadina subway station. It's a bit of a longer walk (900m; about 15 minutes along Queens Quay to Spadina Ave) but can be a good choice if your destination lies along Spadina Ave. That said, the most convenient connection to TTC subway and [[GO Transit]] services remains the free shuttle bus to Union Station. ==== Other airports ==== '''[https://flyhamilton.ca/ Hamilton International Airport]''', ({{IATA|YHM}}), about {{convert|80|km}} from downtown Toronto and Niagara Falls, is served by WestJet along with seasonal service by Air Transat and Sunwing to sun destinations. See section on [[Hamilton (Ontario)#John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport|John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport]] for ground transportation including buses to Toronto. For frugal travellers coming from the United States, '''[https://www.buffaloairport.com/ Buffalo-Niagara International Airport]''', ({{IATA|BUF}}), is another option. Flights to Buffalo tend to be significantly cheaper than to Pearson, but then you still have to get to Toronto. '''[http://www.megabus.com Megabus]''', the airline-type coach service with varying prices and required early booking, runs a daily bus that takes 3 hours, including the border crossing. Several private livery agencies will drive you there for a fee (usually in the $200 range, give or take), or rental cars are available at the airport if you prefer to do the drive yourself. === By bus === ====Bus terminals==== The main bus terminal is in downtown Toronto adjacent to Union railway station: * {{go | name=Union Station Bus Terminal | alt=GO bus terminal | url= | email= | address=81 Bay St | lat=43.6441 | long=-79.3779 | directions=interior pedestrian connection to Union Station rail & subway services | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Union Station Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q7886117 | lastedit=2020-12-05 | content=Union Station Bus Terminal (USBT) serves '''GO Transit''', '''Megabus''', '''Greyhound''', '''Rider Express''', and '''Ontario Northland''' buses. Like an airport, there are no predetermined bus platform assignments. Check display monitors for the bus departure zone; 10 minutes before departure, monitors will display the bus departure gate. The bus terminal moved to its new location on December 5, 2020; maps might still indicate the older, now closed bus location; the new location is south of the railway corridor. The Toronto Coach Terminal near Dundas subway station is closed. }} Here is a list of minor terminals and stops in various parts of the city. Check the Wikipedia link for a list of bus routes serving each terminal. * {{go | name=Yorkdale Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.725129 | long=-79.449034 | directions=across a footbridge from Yorkdale subway station on Line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Yorkdale Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q8055620 | lastedit=2019-03-17 | content='''GO Transit''' buses from [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]], [[Mississauga]], [[Milton (Ontario)|Milton]], [[Brampton]] and [[Oshawa]]; '''Ontario Northland''' buses from [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]], [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]], and [[Timmins]]; '''Megabus''' once daily from [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]]. }} * {{go | name=York Mills Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.745129 | long=-79.406375 | directions=at York Mills subway station on Line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=York Mills Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q8055501 | lastedit=2019-03-17 | content='''GO Transit''' buses from Mississauga, Milton, Brampton and Oshawa. }} * {{go | name=Finch Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.782132 | long=-79.415775 | directions=adjacent to Finch subway station on Line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Finch Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q5449818 | lastedit=2019-03-17 | content='''GO Transit''' buses from Toronto Pearson International Airport, Mississauga, Milton, Brampton, [[Keswick]] and Oshawa. }} * {{go | name=Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=near Scarborough Centre Station on subway Line 3 Scarborough | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q7430270 | lastedit=2023-08-12 | content=Because of the closure of the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal until about 2030, stops for intercity buses are scattered around the Scarborough Centre district. See [[Toronto/Scarborough#By bus]] for details by carrier. '''GO Transit''', '''Megabus''', and '''FlixBus''' stop at Scarborough Centre. }} See also Toronto Pearson International Airport, [[Toronto Pearson International Airport#Ground Transportation|Ground Transportation]], for more intercity bus routes. ====Bus operators==== * {{listing | name=FlixBus | alt= | url=https://www.flixbus.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= |wikidata=Q15712258| lastedit=2022-04-08 | content=Bus service to Toronto from [[Ottawa]] (4.75 hours), [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]], [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]], [[Whitby (Ontario)|Whitby]], [[Kitchener]] (2-2.25 hours), [[Stratford (Ontario)|Stratford]], [[Cambridge (Ontario)|Cambridge]], [[St. Catharines]] (1.5 hours), [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] (1.75 hours), [[Welland]], [[Port Colborne]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]], [[Brantford]], [[Chatham-Kent]], [[London (Ontario)|London]] (3 hours), [[Sarnia]], [[Windsor (Ontario)|Windsor]] (6 hours), [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]], [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]], [[Parry Sound]], [[Barrie]], [[Owen Sound]], [[Detroit]] (6.25-6.5 hours), and [[Buffalo]] (2.75-4 hours). Seasonal service from [[Port Elgin (Ontario)|Port Elgin]] and [[Southampton (Ontario)|Southampton]]. }} *{{listing | name=GO Transit | alt= | url=https://www.gotransit.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-416-869-3200 | tollfree=+1-888-438-6646 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=GO Transit | wikidata=Q1357727 | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=[[GO Transit]] runs bus and rail commuter/regional transit within and near the [[Greater Toronto Area]]. GO Transit buses make connections to many nearby cities including: [[Oshawa]], [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]], [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]], [[Barrie]], [[Guelph]], and [[Kitchener]]. }} * {{listing | name=Intercity Bus | alt= | url=https://www.intercitybus.ca/routes/| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-03-16 | content=Service from [[London (Ontario)|London]], [[Sarnia]], [[Strathroy]], [[Woodstock (Ontario)|Woodstock]], and [[Kitchener]]. }} *{{listing | name=Megabus | alt=Coach Canada | url=https://ca.megabus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-866-488-4452 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Megabus (North America) | wikidata=Q6808155 | lastedit=2022-04-22 | content=Operates buses to Toronto from [[Montreal]] (5.75-7 hr) or [[Ottawa]] (5.25 hr) via [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]] (3 hr); from [[Grimsby (Ontario)|Grimsby]], [[St. Catharines]], and [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] (2 hr). Megabus offers Wi-Fi and electrical outlets on many of its buses. A service from [[London (Ontario)|London]] is offered by Megabus through Badder Bus. Service from the United States (Buffalo, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D. C.) is also available. }} *{{listing | name=Ontario Northland | alt= | url=https://www.ontarionorthland.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-800-461-8558 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services | wikidata=Q7094858 | lastedit=2022-04-23 | content=Operates bus routes primarily in [[Northern Ontario]]. Routes travel as far west as [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba and as far east as [[Ottawa]]. }} The following routes travel to Toronto: **To Toronto from [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]] including stops in [[Huntsville (Ontario)|Huntsville]], [[Bracebridge]], [[Gravenhurst]], [[Washago]] (some trips), [[Orillia]] (stop trips), and [[Barrie]]. Travel time to Toronto from North Bay is 5.75-6 hours, from Huntsville is 3.25-4 hours, from Barrie is 1.25 hours. Connections available at North Bay from [[Cochrane (Ontario)|Cochrane]], [[Kirkland Lake]], [[Ottawa]], and [[Timmins]]. **To Toronto from [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]] including stops in [[Parry Sound]], Orillia (some trips), and Barrie. Travel time to Toronto from Sudbury is 5.5-6.5 hours, from Parry Sound is 3.5-3.75 hours, and from Barrie is 1-1.5 hours. Connections available at North Bay from [[Ottawa]], [[Sault Sainte Marie (Ontario)|Sault Sainte Marie]], and [[Timmins]]. ***Travel to Toronto from Winnipeg involves timed transfers between bus routes at [[Thunder Bay]], [[Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario)|Sault Ste. Marie]], and Sudbury. To reach Toronto from Winnipeg is 1 day 9 hours. *{{listing | name=Onex Bus | alt= | url=https://www.onexbus.com/home | email=info@onexbus.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-647-477-5500 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-07-25 | content=Bus service to Toronto from [[Kitchener]] and [[London (Ontario)|London]]. }} *{{listing | name=Orléans Express | alt= | url=https://www.orleansexpress.com/en/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= |wikidata=Q7122769| lastedit=2025-05-08 | content=Service from [[Ottawa]] and [[Montreal]]. }} *{{go | name=Rider Express | alt= | url=https://riderexpress.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-833-583-3636 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-19 | content=Offers service to Toronto from [[Ottawa]] via [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]] and [[Belleville (Ontario)|Belleville]]. Travel time to Toronto from Ottawa is 5.25 hours and from Kingston is 3 hours. Also service from Ottawa via [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]]<!-- , and service from Niagara Falls via St. Catharines and Hamilton -->. }} * {{go | name=Maple Bus | alt= | url=https://maplebus.ca/| email= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Shuttle service from [[Ottawa]], [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]], [[Napanee]], [[Brockville]], [[Belleville (Ontario)|Belleville]], [[Trenton (Ontario)|Trenton]], [[Cobourg]], [[Port Hope]], and [[Oshawa]]. }} === By train === {{Seealso|Rail travel in Canada|GO Transit}}[[File:Toronto - ON - Union Station.jpg|thumb|Union Station]] {{go | name=Union Station | alt={{IATA|YBZ}} | url=https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/booking-city-facilities/union-station/ | email= | address=65 Front Street West | lat=43.645278 | long=-79.380556 | directions=between Bay St and York St | phone= | tollfree= | hours=5:30AM-12:45AM or until last train | price= | wikipedia=Union Station (Toronto) | image=Toronto - ON - Union Station.jpg | wikidata=Q511316 | content=Opened in 1927, Toronto's Union Station is one of the grandest, most impressive train stations in North America, with the ceiling of its enormous Great Hall rising to a height equivalent to seven stories. The Grand Hall accommodates the VIA Rail ticket counters and gives access to VIA train platforms via the branching VIA Concourse. The {{marker|type=go|name=Union Pearson Express station|lat=43.644376|long=-79.383462}} is 250 metres west of the Great Hall via an enclosed pedestrian corridor. The GO York Concourse on the lower level at the west (York Street) end of the station has GO Transit ticket counters and access to GO train platforms. (A food court is below the GO York Concourse.) [[#Union Station Bus Terminal|Union Station Bus Terminal]] is on the east side of Bay Street, south of the railway tracks. The TTC Union subway station is at the north-east corner of the main building, and serves subway Line 1, and the 509 and 510 streetcars through the [[Toronto/Harbourfront|Harbourfront district]]. }} The following are the railway services operating out of Union Station: *{{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com/home | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-215-856-7924 | tollfree=+1-800-872-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Amtrak | wikidata=Q23239 | lastedit=2022-07-04 | content=Operates trains throughout the [[United States of America]]. }} Amtrak operates the [[Maple Leaf]] train service daily between Toronto and [[New York City]], in partnership with [https://www.viarail.ca/ VIA Rail Canada]. Stops between Toronto and New York City include in [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]], [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]], [[Grimsby (Ontario)|Grimsby,]] [[St. Catharines]], [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)]], [[Niagara Falls (New York)]], [[Buffalo]], Buffalo ([[Cheektowaga|Depew]]), [[Rochester (New York)|Rochester]], [[Syracuse (New York)|Syracuse]], [[Rome (New York)|Rome]], [[Utica]], [[Schenectady]], Albany ([[Rensselaer (New York)#By train|Rensselaer]]), [[Hudson (New York)|Hudson]], [[Rhinecliff]], [[Poughkeepsie]], [[Croton-on-Hudson]], and [[Yonkers]]. Travel time to Toronto from Niagara Falls (Ontario) is 2 hours, from Buffalo is 4.25 hours, from Syracuse is 6.75 hours, from Albany is 9.5 hours, and from New York City is 12.5 hours. Border crossing processing takes place in Niagara Falls, where passengers must detrain with their baggage. Train crew members are staffed by VIA Rail within Canada, and by Amtrak within the United States. *{{listing | name=GO Transit | alt= | url=https://www.gotransit.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-416-869-3200 | tollfree=+1-888-438-6646 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=GO Transit | wikidata=Q1357727 | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=[[GO Transit]] operates 7 commuter rail lines radiating from Toronto serving smaller cities within and near the [[Greater Toronto Area]]. The lines have various service levels varying from all-day service to limited mid-day service to only rush-hour, peak-direction service. Most fares can be paid by credit, debit or [[Presto card|Presto]] card. The following are some of the destinations.}} **The Barrie line serves [[Vaughan|Vaughan,]] [[Aurora (Ontario)|Aurora]], [[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]], [[East Gwillimbury]] and [[Barrie]] daily. **The Kitchener line serves [[Brampton]], [[Georgetown (Ontario)|Georgetown]], [[Acton (Ontario)|Acton]], [[Guelph]] and [[Kitchener]] daily. **The Lakeshore West line operates daily serving [[Mississauga]], [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]], [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton,]] [[St. Catharines]] and [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]]. **The Lakeshore East line operates daily serving [[Pickering (Ontario)|Pickering]], [[Ajax]], and [[Whitby]] and [[Oshawa]]. **The Stouffville line operates daily serving [[Markham]]. **Other GO rail destinations have only rush-hour, peak-direction service. *{{listing | name=Union Pearson Express | alt=UP Express | url=https://www.upexpress.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-869-3300 | tollfree=+1-844-438-6687 | hours= | price=As of April 2022, one-way fare for adults is $12.35, but it is $9.25 if paid by credit, debit or Presto card | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=Operates trains between Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Trip time is 25 minutes. Trains operate every 15 minutes daily from early morning until the late evening. }} *{{listing | name=VIA Rail Canada | alt= | url=https://www.viarail.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-842-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Via Rail | wikidata=Q876720 | lastedit=2022-04-22 | content=Operates many intercity trains across [[Canada]]. }} See [[Rail travel in Canada]] for more details. Train routes operating to Toronto: **Between [[Montreal]] and Toronto including stops in [[Montreal/West Island|Dorval]], [[Cornwall (Ontario)|Cornwall]], [[Brockville]], [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]], [[Belleville (Ontario)|Belleville]], [[Cobourg]], and [[Oshawa]]. Travel time to Toronto from Montreal is 5.25-5.5 hours and from Kingston is 2.5-2.75 hours. **Between [[Ottawa]] and Toronto including stops in [[Smiths Falls]], Brockville, [[Gananoque]], Kingston, [[Napanee]], Belleville, [[Trenton (Ontario)|Trenton]], Cobourg, [[Port Hope]], and Oshawa. Travel time to Toronto from Ottawa is 4.25-4.75 hours and from Kingston is 2.5-2.75 hours. **Between [[Sarnia]] and Toronto including stops in [[London (Ontario)|London]], [[St. Marys (Ontario)|St. Marys]], [[Stratford (Ontario)|Stratford]], [[Kitchener]], [[Guelph]], [[Georgetown (Ontario)|Georgetown]], [[Brampton]], and [[Mississauga]]. Travel time to Toronto from Sarnia is 5 hours, from London is 3.75 hours, and from Kitchener is 1.5 hours. **Between [[Vancouver]] and Toronto on [[The Canadian]], which operates several trips per week. Travel time to Toronto from [[Vancouver]] is 3 days 20.5 hours, from [[Kamloops]] is 3 days 10.25 hours, from [[Jasper]] is 3 days, from [[Edmonton]] is 2 days 16.75 hours, from [[Saskatoon]] is 2 days 5.5 hours, from [[Winnipeg]] is 1 day 14 hours, and from [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]] is 9.75 hours. Stops between Sudbury and Toronto include [[Parry Sound]] (5.75 hours from Toronto) and [[Washago]]. **Between [[Windsor (Ontario)|Windsor]] and Toronto including stops in [[Chatham-Kent|Chatham]], London, [[Ingersoll (Ontario)|Ingersoll]], [[Woodstock (Ontario)|Woodstock]], [[Brantford]], [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]], and [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]]. Travel time to Toronto from Windsor is 4.25-4.5 hours, from London is 3.25-3.5 hours, and from Brantford is 1.25 hours. There are no direct trains from [[Chicago]], but you can catch Amtrak's ''Wolverine'' service from Chicago to Detroit, then transfer onto one of VIA Rail's trains after crossing the border into Windsor by public transport. === By car === Major highways leading into Toronto are the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), the 404, the 401, the 400, and the 427. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, so signs pointing you to Toronto are common. Traffic on incoming highways can be extremely heavy especially during rush hours. In the downtown core there are many turn restrictions, particularly from main thoroughfares to other main thoroughfares (e.g. Yonge to Dundas Streets). The main streets in Toronto are laid out in a grid pattern that makes it one of the easiest cities to get around in by car. Getting from point to point anywhere in the city can be achieved with only a few turns. Parking in the downtown core can be expensive and hard to find, but tends to be plentiful and inexpensive or free in the outer districts of [[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]], [[Toronto/North York|North York]] and [[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]]. Although there is an extensive grid of local bus routes, travel by automobile may be faster and more convenient in the outer districts. Free parking do exist in the downtown core for those who don't mind an extra 5-10 min walk. SpotAngels is an actively maintained app that has maps of where they are. ==== Transit bylaws ==== Toronto follows some bylaws related to the transit system (especially streetcars) that often confuse or surprise visiting drivers: * Yield to public transit buses signalling to merge left into traffic from a bus stop. * Stay out of reserved public transit lanes during the rush hours, except to make a right-hand turn at the next cross street. A few transit lanes have restrictions from 7AM-7PM. While the restrictions are in effect, only transit vehicles, taxis and bicycles may use these lanes. Newer bus only lanes are painted red and may only be used by TTC vehicles or bicycles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except when making a right turn). * Avoid King Street between Jarvis and Bathurst streets as [https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/transportation-projects/king-street-pilot/how-to-use-the-king-street-transit-pilot/ no through automobile traffic] is allowed; such traffic must turn right after travelling a few blocks as per signage. Through traffic in this zone is allowed only for streetcars (trams) and bicycles. * Never pass a streetcar running in your direction that is stopped in the middle of the street with its doors open. Passing is illegal and dangerous for passengers boarding or leaving the streetcar. * If you are driving behind a moving streetcar on the street, and you see it slow to a stop and small lights around its doors begin to flash, that means its doors are about to open and you are required to stop too. In 2025, the TTC added large bumper stickers to streetcars to remind drivers: "We stop. You stop." *Also, you should yield to people entering the street to board an approaching streetcar. Continue only after the streetcar doors close. *There is one big exception: You may pass a streetcar where there is a boarding platform between the streetcar and traffic lane, but watch out for pedestrians walking between the platform and the sidewalk. * Give a wide berth to streetcars turning at a street intersection; streetcars have a wide overhang on curves, which is indicated on the road by dashed white lines. If your car is stopped too close to a streetcar curve, you may be forced to back up or squeeze more to the right. * Give a wide berth to emergency vehicles with sirens or flashing red lights, and pull over to the side of the road safely but quickly. == Get around == Toronto is huge, and most roads run for very long distances. Streetcar rail, subway rail, and intercity rail services are clean and efficient, and it's entirely possible to get around Toronto without a car, especially downtown. You may find it quicker and easier to drive, but the highways regularly backup during rush hour (7AM-10AM and 4PM-7PM). Toronto has plentiful parking garages downtown, but they are very expensive. Many in Toronto travel by bicycle (especially in the warmer months) and this mode is very convenient for getting around the downtown district. Not all motorists will give way to cyclists, and not all cyclists comply with the rules of the road; caution is recommended. === By car === Getting around by car is the easiest method to get around outside of the downtown area. Roads are wide, have many lanes, and parking is free and plentiful. Arterial roads are generally laid out {{convert|2|km}} apart, although they are closer in the west and east ends of the city. There are many freeways within Toronto. *'''Highway 401''' ''(locally, the four-oh-one)'' crosses the north side of the city and is very busy. Highway 401 has a collector-express system. The express lanes of the highway have fewer exits, while the collector lanes generally have all the exits. After every 3 or 4 exits, there is an interchange between the collectors and express lanes, so motorists who need to exit can get into the collectors, and those travelling a longer distance can go into the express lanes. When there's a lot of traffic, it is possible for the collectors to be jammed, but not the express, and vice versa. It is best to listen to traffic reports in order to avoid traffic in this case. AM 680 on your radio has traffic and weather reports every 10 minutes (on the 1's). *'''Highway 427''' crosses the west side of the city. It begins at the QEW/Gardiner Expressway interchange and ends in [[Vaughan]]. It also has a short express-collector system near the airport; be sure to follow the signs in order to get where you need to go. *'''Highway 400''' has a short stub in Toronto and ends at Highway 401. Highway 400 goes north into the suburbs and later to [[Barrie]]. *'''Allen Road''' is a short freeway that was supposed to be part of a longer Spadina Expressway. The rest of the expressway was cancelled and Allen Road was the short stub that remained. Allen Road begins at Eglinton Avenue, and ends north of Highway 401 and becomes Dufferin Street. Traffic going south is usually backed up because the freeway ends abruptly at a signalized T-intersection at Eglinton. *'''Highway 404''' also has a short stub in Toronto, and goes north to the suburbs, such as [[Aurora (Ontario)|Aurora]] and [[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]]. Highway 404, after interchanging with Highway 401 when going south, becomes the Don Valley Parkway. *'''Don Valley Parkway''' (DVP) is a freeway that connects northern Toronto to downtown Toronto. Exits on the DVP require motorists to slow down more than you would on other Ontario expressways, due to the nature of the terrain. The DVP begins at the Gardiner Expressway in downtown and ends at Highway 401 in the north, then contines as Highway 404. *'''Gardiner Expressway''' is a freeway serving downtown Toronto. It begins at QEW/Highway 427 interchange and crossing downtown Toronto, ending at Don Valley Parkway. Half of the route is elevated, making for great views of the city. *'''Highway 409''' is a short freeway designed to connect directly with [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]]. It begins at Highway 401, interchanges with Highway 427, and ends at the airport. Getting around in downtown Toronto by car is a lot harder, however, and perhaps taking transit might be better. Parking is scarce and could be expensive, depending on where you park and whether you park on the street or on private lots. Driving on downtown streets also takes a lot more patience as speeds are slower, and hazards are more numerous. Ideally, avoid driving in downtown areas as parking fees are high. Ride-sharing services are widely available and a stress-free alternative. === By public transit === {{listing | name=Toronto Transit Commission | alt=TTC | url=https://www.ttc.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-393-4636 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-25 | content=Toronto's main transit system. TTC consists of buses, streetcars (trams) and subway lines. }} ====Fares==== The following are the fares effective August 15, 2023: * Cash fare: adult (20-64) $3.35, senior (65+) $2.30, youth (13-19) $2.40 * Contactless credit or debit card: adult fare only, $3.30 * Presto card: adult $3.30, senior $2.25, youth $2.35 * Presto ticket: adult fare only, one-ride $3.35, two-ride $6.70, day pass $13.50 * Children (12 or younger): free. Child, youth and senior riders must be prepared to show proof of age for reduced fares on request. =====Paying by Presto===== [[Presto card|Presto]] is an electronic fare payment system used on the TTC where riders pay fares by tapping a contactless '''credit or debit card''', Presto card or Presto ticket on a Presto fare reader. The Presto fare system is used by most public transit services in the Greater Toronto Area, including the TTC, GO Transit and UP Express. [[Image:Presto_subway_vending_machines.jpg|right|thumb|The Presto machine on the right sells Presto cards & tickets. Both can upload funds to a physical Presto card.]] '''Presto card''' is a multiple-use, electronic fare card with a stored balance. Unless you are eligible for reduced senior/youth fares, it is simpler to use a credit or debit card instead of a Presto card. Physical Presto cards can be obtained for $4 from the Presto vending machines at TTC, GO and UP stations (cash, credit cards and debit cards are accepted at the large black machines) at most Shoppers Drug Mart and select Loblaws stores across the city, while digital Presto cards via Apple Wallet and Google Wallet can be installed onto a compatible smartphone or smartwatch for free. All physical and digital Presto cards are automatically configured to deduct the regular adult fare by default. For reduced senior/youth fares, the customer must have the card's fare type changed by seeing a physical agent at an authorized in-person Presto customer service outlet (not a vending machine); proof of age may be required. Presto card holders are entitled to [https://www.prestocard.ca/en/about/presto-perks discounts or offers] for certain attractions in the Greater Toronto Area. '''Presto tickets''' are single-use, paper-disposable electronic tickets with no stored balance which must be used within 90 days of purchase (unused tickets can be exchanged for up to one year past expiration by mailing them in to TTC). If you are paying a single-ride fare with a credit or debit card, you do not need Presto tickets. They can only be used for TTC services, (they are accepted at all TTC stations regardless of whether they are located in Toronto or York Region, and on surface routes/vehicles within the City of Toronto limits and for TTC buses going to and from Pearson Airport). They are sold from Presto vending machines at all TTC stations at most Shoppers Drug Mart and select Loblaws locations across Toronto and come in three varieties: one-ride, two-ride and day pass. The TTC Presto day pass allows one person unlimited travel on the day of use from first tap until 3AM the next morning. Using Presto, you must tap your credit card, debit card, Presto card or Presto ticket on the Presto fare reader located on top of TTC station faregates, on the streetcar or bus doors, or the on-street platforms for Lines 5 and 6. To avoid accidental double charging, keep any unused credit and debit cards away from the Presto reader, and always tap the same card or ticket during your trip. If travelling as a group, each rider must use a separate card or ticket. Customers paying a single-ride TTC fare with a credit, debit or Presto card, or a 1-ride Presto ticket are entitled to two hours of unlimited travel on all TTC services, allowing unlimited stopovers or a round trip. For riders paying by credit, debit or Presto card, free or discounted transfers are available between the TTC and the following transit operators: [[GO Transit]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] Street Railway, [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]] Transit, [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] Transit, MiWay ([[Mississauga]]), [[Brampton]] Transit, [[York Region]] Transit and [[Durham (region, Ontario)|Durham Region]] Transit. For such trips, riders pay only one fare instead of paying multiple fares when transferring from one transit operator to another. If transferring to or from GO Transit, only the GO fare is charged by the end of the trip. Such trips must be completed within two hours, or three hours if using GO Transit. This free or discounted transfer is '''not''' available to riders paying by cash, Presto ticket or using UP Express trains operating between Union Station and Pearson Airport. =====Paying by cash===== If you pay by cash, exact cash (no change provided) is required. You must request for paper transfer (also called a POP ticket) to serve as proof of payment and to transfer to another TTC vehicle at designated transfer locations. Paper transfers are valid for a one-way continuous trip and stopovers and return trips are not permitted (unlike paying by credit, debit or Presto card). Unstaffed automated subway entrances do not accept exact cash fares or paper transfers. If you are paying the adult cash fare, Presto tickets are a better alternative than paying exact cash. The procedures for cash payment vary by vehicle mode: * At subway stations, there is at least one staffed entrance where you can deposit exact cash into a fare box. After passing the fare gates, obtain a transfer from a red machine labelled "transfer/POP". * On buses, pay exact cash fare at the front door of the vehicle, and ask the driver for a paper transfer. * On streetcars, there are cash payment machines near the second and third doors of the vehicle. After you insert exact cash fare into the vending machine, it will give you a paper POP/transfer. * For Lines 5 and 6, underground stations have at least one staffed entrance where you deposit exact cash into the fare box, after passing through the fare gates obtain a paper transfer from the red transfers machine. At on-street stops, there is a cash payment machine on the platform where you deposit exact cash into the vending machine and obtain a paper POP/transfer. ====Subway and light rail==== Trains operate M-Sa roughly 6AM-1:30AM, and Su 8AM-1:30AM. [[File:Toronto_rapid_transit_map_2026.svg|thumb|Toronto subway system]] As of Feb 2026, the subway and light rail system has five lines: *Line {{rint|toronto|1}} Yonge-University runs in a 'U' shape, travelling from North York south along Yonge Street, through the downtown area to Union Station, then travelling north through North York to [[Vaughan]]. *Line {{rint|toronto|2}} Bloor-Danforth runs east-west along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. *Line {{rint|toronto|4}} Sheppard runs east from Line 1 along Sheppard Avenue to Fairview Mall at Don Mills Station. *Line {{rint|toronto|5}} Eglinton runs east along Eglinton Avenue between Mount Dennis and Kennedy Stations. *Line {{rint|toronto|6}} Finch West runs west from Line 1 at Finch West Station along Finch Avenue West to Humber College. Much of Lines 5 and 6 run on the surface in the middle of a street. Before boarding a Line 5 or 6 train on the street, remember to pay/validate your fare ''before'' boarding the train. A number of underground stations on Line 5 are several levels deep with elevators and escalators only at the main entrance; to avoid an exhausting climb, do not use the secondary entrances. Line {{rint|toronto|3}} Scarborough is no longer in service. Until the extension of the Line 2 underground subway opens (estimated 2030), the service has been replaced by interim bus services including the 903 Kennedy-Scarborough Express running between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre stations, and 8 other TTC bus routes. These routes have been extended from Scarborough Centre to operate as express services to Kennedy station. (All TTC bus routes that depart from Platform B at Kennedy station service Scarborough Centre station before continuing along their respective routes.) Sections of the subway and light rail system often close on weekends or late evening for maintenance, with buses replacing each closed section. The TTC gives [https://www.ttc.ca/service-alerts notice] of such closures a few days in advance. Expect a longer travel time during such closures; staff will be on hand to direct passengers. ====Streetcars ==== : [https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Images/Home/Routes-and-Schedules/Landing-page-pdfs/TTC_SubwayStreetcarLightrailMap.pdf '''TTC Subway, Light Rail and Streetcar Map'''], omitting most streetcar diversions Toronto is one of the few cities in North America (and the only city in Canada) to have kept any of its streetcar routes. Most streetcar lines serve the south, central part of the city. Note the following: * The TTC often diverts streetcars around construction projects potentially resulting in a substantially changed route for several months. Maps posted on the TTC website, in stations and in waiting shelters generally do not reflect such diversions. Ideally, riders should check the TTC webpage: [https://www.ttc.ca/service-advisories/Streetcar-Service-Changes ''Streetcar Services Changes''] for diversions to avoid ending up in the wrong place. * Buses replacing all or part of a streetcar route will bear the streetcar route number and route name. * When getting on and off streetcars, make sure that the traffic is stopped in the lane next to the streetcar. Also, be aware of pickpockets in crowded rush hour situations. ====Other services==== From roughly 1:30AM to 6AM (8AM on Sundays), the subway system and all day-time streetcar and bus routes are replaced by the [https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Images/Home/Routes-and-Schedules/Landing-page-pdfs/TTC_BlueNightNetworkMap_2024-03.pdf '''Blue Night Network''']{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Night bus and streetcar routes are all numbered in the 300-series, and use the same fares as day-time routes. Night route 320 Yonge replaces the subway line 1 and offers frequent service. Most other night routes have 30-minute frequency. [https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Images/Home/Routes-and-Schedules/Landing-page-pdfs/TTC_ExpressNetworkMap_2021-11.pdf '''Express bus routes'''] (numbered in the 900 series) often follow local bus routes but with fewer stops, stopping mainly at transfer points. The [https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Service-to-the-airport/Toronto-Pearson-International-Airport 900 Airport Express] goes to Toronto Pearson Airport. Some express routes operate all day, every day; others may run only during rush hours. Fares are the same as on other TTC routes. <!--suspended until further notice as of Oct 2021: '''Downtown Express routes''' (141–145) operate only during the rush hours, and only to downtown in the morning, returning in the evening. These buses charge double fare. --> === By taxi === Taxis are plentiful and safe, but not cheap. The base rate is $4.25, with an average {{km|5}} trip costing $13. As with most big cities, driving a car downtown can be annoying; parking is often hard to find and expensive, and traffic along certain streets can make vehicle travel slower than mass transit. However, traveling longer distances, when not close to subway lines is often significantly faster by car or taxi. === By ride hailing === * {{Listing|name=Lyft|url=https://www.lyft.com/rider/cities/city-of-toronto-on|lastedit=2022-07-31}} * {{Listing|name=Uber|url=https://www.uber.com/cities/toronto|lastedit=2022-07-31|content=UberX service is available via smartphone app throughout the city with fares running roughly half the price of a taxi. An average 5 km (3.1 mi) trip costs roughly $8.25.}} === By bicycle === [[File:BikeShareTorontoBayAlbert2.jpg|thumb|''Bike Share Toronto'' rack near the Toronto City Hall.]] Toronto is trying very hard to become a bike-friendly city, with dedicated bike lanes being added all the time. There are many casual cyclists out all the time. And it is fast: door to door, in all of downtown Toronto, a bike beats a car or transit nearly every time. There can be hostility between automobiles and cyclists. Generally speaking, if you are on the road, you are expected to obey the same laws as cars, and you are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk. The city is predominantly flat, aside from a general climb away from Lake Ontario and the deeply indented, forested Don Valley and Humber River Valley. Post-and-ring locking posts are present throughout the city. There are many bike-only lanes on major roads and threading through various neighbourhoods and parks. The city publishes a cycling map, available on the [http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/map/index.htm city website]. [http://www.bikesharetoronto.com/ Bike Share Toronto] provides a public bike system with over 10,000 bikes available at 1,000 stations throughout the city. Subscriptions start at $15 for 24 hours and allow you to use a bike for 90 minutes or less, as much as you like (usage fees apply for trips longer than 90 minutes). It operates 24 hours a day, all year long (but see the warning below about winter biking). Several businesses also offer [http://www.yellowpages.ca/search/si/1/Bicycle+Rental/Toronto+ON bicycle rentals]. It is a provincial law that cyclists under 18 must wear a helmet, and all riders must have a bike with reflectors and a bell. This tends to only be enforced when the police go on their annual "cycling blitz". Some dangers: * Beware of parked cars - often accidents are not caused by moving cars, but rather by careless drivers or passengers who unexpectedly open their driver's side door. * Be cautious of streetcar tracks as bike wheels can be easily caught and cause a spill. * Although you will certainly see many locals riding the streets year-round, biking in the winter months is enjoyable only with proper equipment and reasonable skills; winter weather is cold, it can be quite windy, and snow removal is often imperfect. Some recommended cycling routes: * By far one of the most popular bike paths is the Martin Goodman Trail, the east-west route that hugs Lake Ontario, spanning the city from Etobicoke to the eastern ends of the city. This path is also often used by pedestrians and rollerbladers. * The Don River trail system begins at the lake (near Queen and Broadview) and travels very far north and east. During or after heavy rains, avoid lower sections of the trails. * A special treat for bikers of all levels is a tour through Tommy Thompson Park (Leslie St Spit) to the lighthouse and bird sanctuaries (no cars!), which is open on weekends only. Start at Queen and Leslie and head south. * A visit to [[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]] from the ferry docks at the southern end of Bay Street is a great way to spend a bike-friendly, relaxed afternoon by bike. There are no private cars on the Toronto Islands. === By ferry === The trip to the [[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]] from the downtown core (Bay St and Queens Quay) is a pleasant 15-minute ferry ride, with frequent summer service and the best views of the Toronto skyline. There are also guided sailing vessels that take tours of the inner and outer harbours, and circumnavigate Toronto Islands. Ticket booths are found behind Harbourfront Centre in the [[Toronto/Harbourfront|Harbourfront]] district. ==See== {{seeDistricts}} ===Museums=== [[Image:Toronto ROM 01.jpg|thumbnail|The Royal Ontario Museum]] [[Image:CasaLomaToronto.jpg|thumbnail|Casa Loma]] [[Image:Rogers Center-restitched.jpg|thumbnail|CN Tower viewed from Rogers Centre]] [[File:Toronto City Hall night view.jpg|thumbnail|Toronto City Hall at night]] * '''[[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown#Art Gallery of Ontario|Art Gallery of Ontario]]'''. The largest art gallery in Canada. It has a great Canadian paintings exhibit and the world's largest collection of Henry Moore sculptures. The European paintings exhibit has a few excellent pieces including Ruben's ''The Massacre of the Innocents''. * [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Bata Shoe Museum|'''Bata Shoe Museum''']]. This offbeat museum is devoted to shoes and footwear from cultures all over the world. * [[Toronto/North York#Black Creek Pioneer Village|'''Black Creek Pioneer Village''']] is a recreation of life in 19th-century Ontario and consists of over 40 historic buildings, decorated in the style of the 1860s with period furnishings and actors portraying villagers. * [[Toronto/Midtown#Casa Loma|'''Casa Loma''']] is a step back in time to a period of European elegance and splendour. The museum has decorated suites, secret passages, a 250-m-long tunnel, towers, stables and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens. * [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art|'''Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art''']]. Dedicated to ceramics in an exquisite contemporary building. * [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#Hockey Hall of Fame|'''Hockey Hall of Fame''']] is both a museum and a hall of fame dedicated to the history of ice hockey. * [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Royal Ontario Museum|'''Royal Ontario Museum''']] is a museum of art, world culture and natural history. It is one of the largest museums in North America, and the largest in Canada. * [[Toronto/Midtown#Spadina House Museum|'''Spadina House Museum''']] is in a historic mansion dating from the 1860s. The grounds contain a beautiful garden. * '''[[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#Textile Museum of Canada|Textile Museum of Canada]]'''. Shows drawn from a 13,000-piece collection of textiles from around the world and from other collections. ===Landmarks=== * [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#CN Tower|'''CN Tower''']]. At 533 metres tall, the CN Tower is the third tallest free-standing structure in the world, and the tallest in North America. * '''[[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#Rogers Centre|Rogers Centre]]''' is a large multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof. It is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. * [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#City Hall|'''Toronto City Hall''']]. Two buildings forming a semi-circle overlooking Nathan Phillips Square. Architecturally stunning, and next door to [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#Old City Hall|'''Old City Hall''']] (now a court house) which has a more classical architecture. ===Parks=== * [[Toronto/Scarborough#Toronto Zoo|'''Toronto Zoo''']] is Canada's premier zoo showcasing over 3,000 animals and over 300 species. ==Do== {{seeDistricts}} ===Outdoors=== * Toronto is "[https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/parks-gardens-beaches/ the city within a park]", with miles and miles of parkland following the streams and rivers that flow through the city. '''Edwards Gardens''' and the '''Toronto Botanical Gardens''' in the neighbourhood of [[Toronto/North York|North York]] might just be the place to start exploring this natural environment. * The City of Toronto has designated various '''[https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/walking-in-toronto/walking-tours/etobicoke-walking-tours/ Discovery Walks]''' which highlight the natural and human history of the region. These can be found with brown circular signs along the route and highlight other regions such as the Belt Line, Garrison Creek and the Humber River as well as the downtown core. * '''Beaches'''. Toronto has three main sections of beach along Lake Ontario. The most popular of these is in the aptly-named [[Toronto/The Beach|Beaches]] neighbourhood. A less popular alternative is the beaches in the western end of the city in the [[Toronto/Parkdale|Parkdale]] neighbourhood; this was once Toronto's Coney Island, with an amusement park and numerous beach-style attractions; however in the 1950s the city built the Gardiner Expressway along the lakeshore, effectively separating the beaches from the city and causing the demolition of the amusement park; over the years attempts have been made to re-energize this area, but the Gardiner remains a major barrier, as well as a source of noise and pollution to keep away would-be beach-goers. On the plus side, the beaches are largely empty most of the time, providing solitude for those who seek it. The third major beach area in the city runs along the south shore of the [[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]]. This area is pleasantly secluded, with most of the islands covered with parkland and a small amusement park. Hanlan's Point Beach on the western shore of the islands is the City of Toronto's only officially recognized clothing optional beach, and a popular gay hangout. Despite these options, many Torontonians prefer to leave the city for beach trips; the most popular beaches are those in the Georgian Bay area north of Toronto, [[Wasaga Beach]] in particular is very popular during the summer. ===Arts & entertainment=== * '''Comedy'''. World-renowned [http://www.secondcity.com/ Second City] comedy/improv theatre has a location in Toronto. See great improv and situation comedy performed live with audience participation over dinner and drinks in the heart of the club district of downtown Toronto. * '''Theatre'''. Toronto has a great theatre scene for every taste and budget. Check out the big theatres on Yonge Street for the big splashy shows. Small theatres in the Annex and elsewhere offer smaller productions that range from original Canadian works, avant-garde, experimental theatre, small budget musicals to British murder mysteries. A variety of theatre festivals such as the New Ideas, Rhubarb and Fringe festivals are the seed for many commercial success such as ''The Drowsy Chaperone''. Also try to check out the [https://www.coc.ca/Venue-Information/fourseasonscentre Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts], the home of the [https://www.coc.ca/ Canadian Opera Company] and the [https://national.ballet.ca/Tickets/Box-Office? National Ballet of Canada]. The [https://www.tso.ca/ Toronto Symphony] plays in the acoustically renovated [https://roythomsonhall.mhrth.com/ Roy Thomson Hall]. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Canadian National Exhibition | alt=The Ex, CNE | url=http://theex.com/ | email= | address=Exhibition Place | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=From mid-August to Labour Day | price= |wikidata=Q857399 | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=The Ex is an annual fair offering an amusement park (the Midway), a casino, live entertainment, an international market, agricultural exhibits including livestock and a variety of other exhibits. It is Canada's largest fair and the fifth largest in North America, with an average annual attendance of 1.3 million. }} * {{do | name=Doors Open | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/doors-open-toronto/ | email= | address=Various locations | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free admission | wikidata=Q3036912 | lastedit=2022-03-21 | content=This event, held the last weekend of May, offers residents and visitors an opportunity to take a peek behind the doors of more than 100 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city. Many of these buildings are normally not open to the public. A number of the city's museums offer free admission on the Doors Open weekend. }} * {{do | name=Fan Expo Canada | alt= | url=https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpocanada/ | email= | address= | lat=43.644167 | long=-79.386667 | directions=Metro Toronto Convention Centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Fan Expo Canada | image=Fan Expo Canada 2015 (21579869508).jpg | wikidata=Q5433535 | lastedit=2022-02-27 | content=Canada's answer to the San Diego and New York Comic-Cons, Fan Expo Canada draws over 150,000 attendees each year to celebrate superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and other popular franchises. It's the largest such event in Canada and one of the biggest in the world, now taking up both the north and south buildings of the Convention Centre. It usually takes place over four days at the end of August. }} * {{do | name=Pride Toronto | alt= | url=http://www.pridetoronto.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Held the last week of June | price= | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=Pride Toronto is the annual LGBT festival which includes the very popular Pride Parade which draws crowds of straight people to discover how LGBT people have fun. ''See also [[LGBT Toronto]].''}} * {{do | name=Toronto Black Film Festival | alt=TBFF | url=http://torontoblackfilm.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Held in February | price= | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=TBFF showcases the noteworthy black films and provides a forum to debate major cultural, social and socio-economic issues. }} * {{do | name=Toronto International Film Festival | alt=TIFF | url=http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Starts the Thursday night after Labour Day | price= | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=This publicly attended festival of international film takes place in various theatres and draws many celebrities and celebrity spotters. }} * {{do | name=Inside Out LGBT Film & Video Festival | alt= | url=https://insideout.ca/ | email= | address=TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St W | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= |fax=| hours=Late May/early June | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q6037764 | lastedit=2020-01-26 | content=180 Canadian ind international films and videos over ten days, produced by and about LGBT people. }} * {{do | name=Toronto International Festival of Authors | alt= | url=https://festivalofauthors.ca/ | email=info@festivalofauthors.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Late October to early November, with related events throughout the year | price=Most events are free. Some events, including the book clubs and the writing workshops, have admission fees: check the festival's website for details | wikidata=Q6037764 | lastedit=2020-11-15 | content=One of the largest literary festivals in the world. The annual festival attracts many well-known and up-and-coming authors, with a focus on Canadian and Indigenous authors. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 festival was held online. Events included author readings and discussions, writing workshops, book club meetings, events for children and families, and audio walking tours of Toronto neighbourhoods that inspired stories about the city. The festival's Instagram page @festofauthors sometimes hosts live online events and announces updates throughout the year. }} ===Exploring neighbourhoods=== [[File:Chinatown Toronto.JPG|thumbnail|Crowds along Chinatown, on Spadina.]] [[File:Koreatown toronto 2009h.JPG|thumbnail|Pedestrian streets in Koreatown.]] Toronto has so many eclectic neighbourhoods that a random walk is fascinating in its own right. You might start in the Downtown area and then try other neighbourhoods around the city. Here are a few suggestions of neighbourhoods to visit. More details and more examples are found in the [[Toronto#Districts|district]] articles. * [[Toronto/Downtown East|'''Distillery District''']]. The former Gooderham & Worts distillery lands have been rejuvenated into a pedestrian-only village dedicated to the arts and entertainment. It has fantastic restaurants, festivals, and art galleries housed in its 19th-century distillery buildings. * [[Toronto/Harbourfront|'''Harbourfront''']], Toronto's former industrial port, is today largely parkland with biking and walking trails and excellent views of the harbour. Harbourfront Centre is situated right by the lake, and is home to numerous cultural events of which most are free or relatively inexpensive. Take in some of the worlds most critically acclaimed performing arts productions, or enjoy one of the many world festivals that take place every weekend. * [[Toronto/Islands|'''Toronto Islands''']]. A short inexpensive ferry ride from the foot of Bay Street and you leave the bustle of the city behind. Visually, the views of the skyline from the islands are stunning, and for cycling, walking, picnics or just relaxing, the Toronto Islands are hard to beat. There is even a small amusement park for kids, Centreville. On hot summer days, temperatures here will often be about 2-3C lower than the mainland providing relief. By mid-summer the water is warm enough to swim at Hanlan's Point or for the more adventurous, a nude beach is nearby. * [[Toronto/West End|'''Little Italy''']] is the spot to get a sense of the Western Mediterranean. Sit at one of the many coffee shops and watch the world go by on the weekends. A great time to visit is during the men's FIFA World Cup competition (in football/soccer), regardless of where in the world it is actually being held as local communities face off and rivalries reach a fever pitch. Support can be passionate and even in adjacent communities and it is not unusual to see them draped in a mind-numbing variety of flags once every four years. * '''[[Toronto/Chinatown|Toronto's Chinatown]]''' is a great way to sample a tiny bit of cities like Hong Kong, without spending the airfare. Vast crowds crush the sidewalks as vendors sell authentic Chinese and Vietnamese food, and not-so-authentic knock-offs. It is one of North America's largest Chinatowns, and with many shops aimed at tourists, it is a good place to pick up some unusual and inexpensive souvenirs. The area is also home to a growing number of Korean and Vietnamese shops and restaurants. Toronto's multicultural mosaic never stops evolving. For a complete tour, travel along Spadina (north/south) starting at College Street in the north or Queen Street in the south. However, while still fairly vibrant unlike its counterpart in Vancouver, it has been far eclipsed by the suburbs of [[Markham]] and [[Richmond Hill]] as the main centre of Chinese life in the Toronto area. * [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|'''Kensington Market''']] was once a centre of Jewish life that has morphed into the centre of Toronto's bohemian scene. Visitors will be assaulted by sounds and smells unlike anywhere else in the city, as narrow streets bustle with immigrants, punks, and yuppies alike. Stores include surplus shops, coffee houses, small restaurants (including vegetarian), clothing vendors, and record stores. Fish and fruit markets are also present in great numbers, and the area is experiencing a boom of South American food stalls of late. * [[Toronto/West End|'''Koreatown''']] has many Korean retail businesses and restaurants where Korean is as prominent as English in the signage. (There is also another Koreatown in [[Toronto/North York|North York]]. * [[Toronto/East End|'''Gerrard India Bazaar (Little India)''']] If you want to get a sense of Toronto's vibrant South Asian community, this is where you want to be; not only is Indian culture represented - visible Pakistani and Afghan communities are also alive along the street. * The '''501 Queen streetcar''' has been recognized in ''National Geographic'' magazine for being the longest streetcar route in North America (one of the longest in the world). The journey from one end to the other takes a couple of hours and passes through a wide range of ethnic and cultural neighbourhoods. === Sports teams & arenas === Toronto has several major league and minor league sports teams: * '''[http://argonauts.ca Toronto Argonauts]''' - Canadian Football League, playing at BMO Field on the Exhibition Place grounds. * '''[https://www.mlb.com/bluejays Toronto Blue Jays]''' – Major League Baseball, playing at the Rogers Centre (formerly known as SkyDome, and still generally called such by locals). * '''[http://mapleleafs.nhl.com Toronto Maple Leafs]''' – National Hockey League, playing at the Scotiabank Arena (formerly known as Air Canada Centre). * '''[http://www.nba.com/raptors/ Toronto Raptors]''' – National Basketball Association, playing at the Scotiabank Arena. * '''[http://www.torontorock.com Toronto Rock]''' – National Lacrosse League, playing at the Scotiabank Arena. * '''[http://www.torontofc.ca Toronto Football Club]''' (also known as Toronto FC or TFC) – Major League Soccer, playing at BMO Field. * '''[https://toronto.thepwhl.com/en/ Toronto Sceptres]''' – Professional Women's Hockey League, playing at the Coca-Cola Coliseum (formerly the Ricoh Coliseum). * '''[http://marlies.ca/ Toronto Marlies]''' – American Hockey League (Toronto Maple Leafs farm team), also playing at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. * '''[https://yorkunitedfc.canpl.ca/ York United FC]''' – Pro soccer team in the Canadian Premier League. They play home games at York Lions Stadium on the campus of York University in North York, but have long-term plans to build their own stadium in the York Region. * '''[https://www.torontofc.ca/tfc2/ Toronto FC II]''' – MLS Next Pro (Toronto FC reserve team); as of 2024, TFC II shares York Lions Stadium with York United. A couple of home games are played at BMO Field as part of a doubleheader with the parent club. * '''[http://www.torontowolfpack.com Toronto Wolfpack]''' – Rugby league team playing in Super League, the top level of England's rugby league pyramid, which also includes 10 teams from England and one from France. The Wolfpack play at Lamport Stadium in the Liberty Village neighbourhood. * In 2026, Coca-Cola Coliseum will also become home to the '''[https://tempo.wnba.com/ Toronto Tempo]''', a WNBA team. The '''[https://www.scotiabankarena.com/ Scotiabank Arena]''', 40 Bay St. It was called the Air Canada Centre (or "the Hangar") until 2018. The '''[https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/ballpark Rogers Centre] ''', 1 Blue Jays Way. Most often referred to by its original "SkyDome" name. The '''[http://www.mattamyathleticcentre.ca/ Maple Leaf Gardens]''', 60 Carlton Street. Historic arena in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District; now converted into a Loblaws supermarket and an athletic centre for Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), the Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens. The '''[http://www.sobeysstadium.com Sobey's Stadium]''' (formerly Aviva Centre), 1 Shoreham Drive. A tennis complex that serves mainly as a training facility, but also includes a main stadium court that frequently hosts seasonal concerts. The most notable use of the complex is for the annual Canadian Open (sponsored as the National Bank Open formerly Rogers Cup), a high-profile event on both the men's ATP Tour and women's WTA Tour. The Aviva Centre hosts the ATP event in even-numbered years and the WTA event in odd-numbered years, alternating with Montreal in both cases. == Buy == Toronto has ample opportunities for shopping, and nearly any section of the city has unique places to shop: [[Image:Toronto-Eaton-Centre.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Interior view of the Toronto Eaton Centre.]] * '''Toronto Eaton Centre''' – At [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas|Yonge-Dundas Square]]. Over 285 shops and services, including most of North America's most popular brands, and two food courts catering for every taste. * {{buy | name=The 'PATH' System | alt= | url=http://www.toronto.ca/path/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Linking 1,200 stores and 50 buildings, The PATH is an underground shopping mall has been created for all the commuters to get from Union Station to their offices and back without ever going outside. In a city of Toronto's summer heat and winter cold, this is essential. }} * [[Toronto/Bloor-Yorkville|'''Mink Mile''']]. If you head west from the corner of Yonge and Bloor, you are in the most upscale of Toronto's shopping districts, easily accessible from the Bloor-Yonge or Bay subway station. Bloor Street between Yonge and Avenue is regarded as Toronto's version of Fifth Avenue, with upscale names such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton, and the flagship Holt Renfrew department store. * [[Toronto/Bloor-Yorkville|'''Yorkville''']]. This high-end shopping district just north of Bloor Street and west of Bay Street is home to many designer boutiques. It also has many galleries selling art. * [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|'''Kensington Market''']] provides a bohemian shopping experience especially along the southern end of Kensington Avenue. The houses lining both sides of the street have been turned into shops with racks of clothes displayed in the front yard. * There are many local, neighbourhood shopping districts in the inner city. These are mostly along major thoroughfares lined on one or both sides with shops in low-rise buildings. A few examples are '''Queen Street West''' (especially [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|east of Spadina Avenue]] and extending westward into the [[Toronto/West End|West End]]), '''[[Toronto/Midtown|Uptown Yonge]]''' north of Eglinton Avenue on Yonge Street, and '''[[Toronto/West End|Roncesvalles Village]]'''. There are many more areas with store-lined streets within the inner city but few in suburban districts such as [[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]], [[Toronto/North York|North York]] and [[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]] which tend to prefer malls. Consult the [[Toronto#Districts|district articles]]. * {{buy | name=Yorkdale Shopping Centre | alt= | url=http://www.yorkdale.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A shopping centre in the north of the city, accessible from Yorkdale subway station. This is a full-service, upscale mall with hundreds of stores, but which is also rife with packs of roving teenagers who use the facilities as a social scene. Make use of the subway if possible on weekends, as locals pack the parking areas to capacity. }} ===Money=== '''Changing money''' at a recognized bank or financial institution is best; there are a few specialized ''bureaux de change'' in Toronto's financial district and in Mississauga in the airport terminals. Some hotels, souvenir shops and tourist offices exchange money, but their rates won't put a smile on your dial. Many places in Toronto accept US dollars for small transactions – with a rough 1:1 exchange rate – and it is advised to obtain some Canadian dollars if you will use cash. US coins are often mixed in with Canadian coins at stores since they are similar in appearance. <!-- *'''Thomas Cook''' (www.thomascook.ca) branches include: ** Bloor-Yorkville (+1 416-975-9940, +1-800-267-8891; 1168 Bay St; M-F 9AM-5:30PM; Bloor-Yonge) ** Financial District (+1 416-366-1961; 10 King St E; M-F 9AM-5PM; King) --> *'''Travelex''' (www.travelex.com/ca) has branches in the Financial District (+1 416-304-6130; First Canadian Place, Bank of Montréal, 100 King St W; M-F 8AM-5PM) and at [[Toronto Pearson International Airport|the airport]] in Mississauga. *'''Calforex Currency Services''' (290 Queen St West) give good rates for cash, buying and selling GBP, USD, EUR; on substantial sums can be as little as 1% from interbank rates. *American Express branches in Toronto only function as travel agencies and don't handle financial transactions. *Cheque-cashing firms such as Money Mart (+1 416-920-4146, multiple locations) can usually exchange US to CAD, but the rates tend to be worse than at other financial institutions. == Eat == Toronto is generally considered to be one of North America's top food cities. It has the same variety as New York or San Francisco and the compact and safe downtown keeps them closer together. As one of the most (if not the most) multicultural cities in the world, Toronto has authentic ethnic cuisine like no other city in North America. It is easy to eat out in Toronto and have a superb meal for cheap. A few of these cheap (i.e., can be easily procured for less than $20 or, in many instances, $10), iconic dishes are must-try meals for any visitor to Toronto—and represent the diversity that makes this city so special. === Peameal bacon sandwich === The closest thing to a classic local dish that Toronto has, this is a simple dish comprising slices of cured, unsmoked pork loin in a Kaiser roll, typically adorned with some mustard. The classic location to try this dish is in St Lawrence Market, with Carousel Bakery and Paddington's Pump its most famous purveyors. === Roti === Roti (never plural, and make the effort to pronounce the "T", like "row-tee") is probably the city's most iconic dish. Originating in Trinidad and Guyana, roti is essentially a curry wrapped in a roti shell, i.e., a thin paratha or dhalpuri flatbread. Typical curries found in roti include goat, chicken, lamb, beef, shrimp and a range of veggie options (channa, spinach, pumpkin, cabbage, potato). Occasionally you can find duck and oxtail options, if you're lucky. While the best roti is found in the outer suburbs of Scarborough and Brampton, a handful of shops persist in the city proper, including: * Pam's (Bloorcourt) * Ali's West Indian Roti Shop (Parkdale) * Island Foods (West Queen West) * Paul's Roti Shop (Cabbagetown) * Randy's Roti and Doubles (Bloor/Yonge) A second variety of roti is a true Toronto original, despite the constituent ingredients being from India. Enterprising Indian cooks in the city saw the popularity of the Caribbean/West Indian-style wrap and adapted it to their own curries; the East Indian variety is now much more easily found than the West Indian original, but it must be said the quality ranges from divine to barely tolerable. Classic choices include butter chicken, matar paneer, channa and lamb korma. Your best bets for consistently excellent Indian roti: * Roti Mahal (Queen West) * Matha Roti (Harbord Village) * Mother India Roti (Parkdale) === Jerk chicken === Toronto's home to one of the largest Jamaican populations outside of Jamaica, and with that comes a dazzling array of incredible jerk chicken options in nearly every corner of the city. This spicy-sweet-savoury chicken is usually served with rice and peas (kidney beans) and coleslaw; ask for extra oxtail gravy for the true taste. Meals can be had for $10–15, often with lunch specials. Little Jamaica, along Eglinton Ave., has about a dozen or so exceptional options; some classics closer to the core of the city include: * The Real Jerk (Gerrard East—they filmed the music video for Rihanna's "Work" ft. Drake here!) * Allwyn's (Queen West) * Fahmee Bakery (Little Portugal) * Chubby's (King West—a more expensive but supremely delicious version) * Tasty's (Chinatown) * Jerk King (numerous locations including Chinatown, the Annex and Bloor/Dufferin) * Mr. Jerk (Cabbagetown) * Diner's Corner (Yonge/Wellesly) * Albert's (St. Clair) === Patties (or "Jamaican patties" or "beef patties") === Patties are a flaky-crust pastry usually filled with seasoned ground beef and can be purchased from Jamaican restaurants, convenience stores, and even a couple subway stations. Vegetable and chicken versions can be found with a little effort as well; for a huge range of fillings (shrimp curry, callaloo, goat, ackee and saltfish), head to Golden Patty in Kensington Market. === Doubles === Doubles are the "little snack that fill you up big"—curried chickpeas in a fried, doughy flatbread, often with some tamarind sauce and hot sauce thrown in for good measure. Originating in Trinidad and Tobago, these can be found pretty much wherever you can find Caribbean roti, and typically will cost you under $5. Randy's and Ali's make particularly great doubles. === Italian veal sandwiches === Bring your appetite for these massive sandwiches. A Toronto Italian classic, veal sandwiches usually feature two or three breaded veal cutlets in tomato sauce with cheese, onions and peppers, all served on an Italian roll. Most veal sandwich shops also offer chicken cutlets and eggplant options as well for those looking for something somewhat lighter. More easily found around the West End than anywhere else in town, put yourself in a food coma at one of these shops: * California Sandwiches (Little Italy) * Bitondo's (Little Italy) * San Francesco Foods (Little Italy) * Tony and Nick's (Little Portugal) * Papamio (Annex/Seaton Village) * Uno Mustachio (St. Lawrence Market) === Portuguese tarts === Toronto has one of the largest Portuguese populations of any city outside of Portugal or Brazil, which means you can find excellent pasteis de nata—flaky custard tarts—at bakeries all over the city. While gentrification of the traditionally Portuguese areas of Toronto's West End has resulted in the closures of many iconic bakeries since the 2010s, options still abound. Many bakeries will put their own spins on the tarts, with chocolate and nutella being popular options. Check out these bakeries for quality pasteis: * Nova Era (multiple locations, including Dundas, St. Clair and Dupont) * Golden Wheat (Little Italy) * Caldense (Little Portugal) * Brockton Village Bakery (Little Portugal) * Bom Dia (Parkdale) * Progress Bakery (Dovercourt Village) === Street meat === Like any proper North American city, Toronto has a distinct regional spin on the hot dog, albeit one that is much less fussy than you would find in Montreal, Chicago, Tucson or Detroit. "Street meat" carts are found all over downtown, with many options clustered along Front Street near the Rogers Centre as well as near Nathan Phillips Square. Most carts will offer four sausage options: hot dog, Italian sausage, Polish sausage and veggie; hot dogs will run you ~$4, with sausages going for a dollar or so more. You dress the dogs yourself, with common toppings including ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, sauerkraut, pickles, banana peppers and bacon bits. There's no agreed-upon "standard" set of toppings; just do what feels right! === Farmer's markets === Surrounded by the extensive fertile farmlands of Southern Ontario, Toronto has an abundance of farmer's markets - one is happening, in season, almost every day. Several markets are year round, while others are seasonal, generally running from May to October. * [[Toronto/Downtown East#Q7589489|'''St. Lawrence Market''']]: The larger main building has over 50 specialty vendors, with a large seafood section, a dozen butchers, several bakeries, and three very extensive cheese shops. In the basement, there is a specialty area for handcrafters, and an extensive foodcourt. The temporary building is home to a Farmer's Market, open Saturdays year round. It features fresh vegetables in season, preserves, spices and herbs, honey direct from the beekeeper or maple syrup from the people who tapped and boiled it, and quality Ontario wines. * '''Riverdale Farm''' in [[Toronto/Downtown East#Q7338138|Downtown East]] is a working farm with an onsite store. Seasonal farmers' markets are held at City Hall's Nathan Phillips Square, in the [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#Q2915521|Yonge-Dundas]] area, East York Civic Centre in the [[Toronto/East End#Q5329721|East End]], Etobicoke Civic Centre in [[Etobicoke#Q5404735|Etobicoke]], North York Civic Centre at [[Toronto/North York#Q6810763|Mel Lastman Square]], Scarborough Civic Centre in [[Toronto/Scarborough#Q7430272|Scarborough]], Dufferin Grove Park in the [[Toronto/West End#Q5312339|West End]], and Green Barn Market in the [[Toronto/West End#Q8039569|West End]] === Interesting food districts === * '''Kensington Market''' is a historic market near Chinatown with food and drink options of all kinds. These days, Latin food (especially Mexican tacos and South American empanadas) is particularly well represented, but Caribbean, Italian, Middle Eastern and Canadian food are all found in abundance, along with coffee shops, bars, food stores and vintage stores. * '''Cabbagetown''' is a designated Historic District in the eastern half of the downtown core. * '''University District''': small section of Baldwin Street (''east of Spadina, north of Dundas'') has many small outdoor cafes ideal for summer lunches. * '''Chinese food''' can naturally be found in Chinatown, but these days many ethnic Chinese residents will tell you that the suburbs of [[Markham]] and [[Richmond Hill]], not Chinatown, have the best Chinese food in the Toronto area. Other areas with a good selection of Chinese food include the suburbs of [[Scarborough]] and [[North York]], as well as the neighbourhood of East Chinatown, about 4 km east of the original Chinatown. * '''Chinatown''' also has many Vietnamese and Thai restaurants. * '''Hakka food''' is a style of Chinese food that originated in India with the migrant Chinese of Kolkata. Also known as Indian-style Chinese food, outside of India and certain Southeast Asian countries, Toronto is the only city in the world to have such a variety of Hakka restaurants. * '''Little Jamaica''' along Eglinton is home to countless jerk chicken restaurants as well as options for beef patties, ital (vegan) food and more. * '''Little India''' along Gerrard Street East features a wide range of Indian and Pakistani cuisine with plenty of options for vegetarian diners. * '''Koreatown''' along Bloor West between Bathurst and Christie Pits has dozens of Korean restaurants at every price point, as well as Korean karaoke bars and an incredible Korean grocery store, the P.A.T. (don't skip the fish waffles!). * '''Little Tibet''' in Parkdale is home to more than 20 Tibetan restaurants, one of the largest such communities outside of Tibet. Wherever you go, try the momos (dumplings with hot sauce)! * '''Greektown''' along the Danforth features plenty of places for souvlaki, meze, gyros and glorious dips of all kinds. * '''Little Portugal''' along Dundas West has gentrified considerably but there are a few remaining bakeries with pasteis de nata (custard tarts), bifana (pork sandwiches) and the like. * King Street between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue has many restaurants appealing to theatre goers. * Queen Street East between Empire and Leslie has a number of casual, trendy restaurants that match the vibe of Leslieville. * College Street to the west of Bathurst has a cheaper set of eclectic restaurants popular with university students from nearby University of Toronto. * Bayview Avenue south of Eglinton is the location of some of Toronto's best French pastry shops. * Bloor Street to the west of Spadina in the Annex has a similar set of restaurants to College St, with a particularly heavy concentration of budget-friendly Korean and Japanese restaurants. Most restaurants tend to be very laid back. * '''Yorkville''': it's more about being seen than actually eating but there are a few hidden gems, and this area is famous for sightseeing celebrities. Restaurants often charge a premium for otherwise mediocre meals. * The city's largest newspaper, the ''Toronto Star'', once chose the Downsview Park Flea Market food court as the best in the city. Although it is open only on weekends and rather remote, it offers a variety of authentic food from Afghan to Trinidadian and lacks the chain restaurants that dominate the city's food courts. It is north of downtown, but is accessible from the Downsview subway station on the Spadina line and shares space with over 400 independent retailers. === Cafés === :''Check the district articles for independent coffee shops.'' * {{eat | name=Aroma Espresso Bar | alt= | url=https://www.aromacafe.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-08-04 | content=This cafe chain has locations throughout the city. Aroma might be the best of the large coffee chains for espresso coffees and rivals the quality at many independent coffee shops. The coffee is served in a cup and saucer with a metal spoon (you might not get the spoon at some other places), and you get a piece of chocolate (a nice touch). }} * {{eat | name=Balzac's | alt= | url= http://www.balzacs.com| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-18 | content=Balzac's is a small chain of cafes in interesting neighbourhoods. It serves only organic, Fair Trade coffee, cocoa and sugar, and its milk is locally sourced and organic. }} === Vegetarian === Some districts with vegetarian restaurants are [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown#Eat|Kensington-Chinatown]], [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Eat|The Annex]], and [[Toronto/East End#Eat|Chinatown East]]. ==Drink== <!--Please only give an overview of drinking possibilities in Toronto here. Listings go in the separate district articles--> Historically, the majority of nightlife in Toronto has been centred on the appropriately named [[Toronto/Clubland|Clubland]] and in the [[Toronto/Fashion District|Fashion District]] on Queen Street West. Nearly everywhere is packed to the brim with pubs and bars, but none so much as Adelaide and Queen Street in those districts. Clubs tend to operate on Richmond and Adelaide streets (both run east-west, 1 block apart); names change frequently, but the district keeps on going. John Street between Adelaide and Richmond is always a hub of activity, especially after Blue Jays games, and is a convenient spot for those staying downtown. Two other clubs of note outside this district: the (long-lasting) Phoenix (on Sherbourne) and Rebel (literally operating on part of Toronto's commercial port, but this place has an outstanding view of the city on warm summer nights, and boasts an extensive entertainment complex). Some of Toronto's newest and hottest nightclubs have opened up in the King Street West/Liberty Village area. This area tends to attract a more mature (25 years and older) crowd; however this comes at a cost as drinks and admission into the venues are typically a bit more expensive here than in Clubland. Hip art and music oriented crowds tend to gravitate towards Parkdale (Queen West past Bellwoods Park). The hipsters hangout in the wide array of bars, galleries and clubs that dot the area, including the Rhino, Happy Wine Bar, Tammy's, Motel, Pharmacy Bar, Danu, Food & Liquor, the Grand Trunk and the Drake and its poor cousin Gladstone Hotels. The same folks also frequent the Annex, Dundas West and Kensington Market areas of the city at night for club nights, casual drinks and art and music events. One of the main "corsos" of the city is ''Little Italy'': College Street, between Bathurst and Ossington flows over with music, sidewalk cafes and excellent food and a crowd that enjoys the summer heat and the offerings. College Street, east of Bathurst, is home to many student hangouts, including Sneaky Dee's which is famous among locals for its nachos. The legal minimum drinking age is 19. Dundas West has emerged as the preferred stretch of bars and restaurants catering to the taste-making proclivities of West Enders. From Bathurst until Dundas hits Roncesvalles, you will come across all kinds of bars at all kinds of price points: high-end cocktail bars (the aptly named Cocktail Bar, Rhum Bar, Northern Belle, Bluebird), dive-ish bars (Wasted Youth, Lucky Shrike, Hank's Liquor, Swan Dive), wine bars (Tommy's, Milou, Grapewitches, Midfield), cozy date spots (Communist's Daughter, Bathurst Local, Black Dice, Archive, Loveless), live music venues (the Garrison, Lula Lounge, the Dakota); you name it, you can find it. Ossington between Dundas and Queen has cemented its status as a nightlife hotspot with more than a dozen bars, packed sidewalks and bustling restaurants. While there are certainly a few trend-chasing spots catering to 905ers and basic Millennials, there are some real gems along this stretch, including Sweaty Betty's, Reposado, Bellwoods Brewery and Painted Lady. Bloor Street West from Christie Pits Park until Lansdowne is also home to a great stretch of bars, including Civil Liberties, Paradise Grapevine, Hurricane's, Grey Tiger, Burdock Brewing, Three Speed, Bar Neon and many, many more. These cater more to the millennial crowd than some of the younger-oriented bars further south but are where you'll find a more authentic expression of what 2020s Toronto is all about. Toronto has over a dozen '''microbreweries'''. One popular microbrewery is Steam Whistle Brewing (south of the CN Tower in the [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#Drink|Entertainment District]]) which offers tours of its brewery in a former locomotive roundhouse. Unlike Steam Whistle, most microbreweries in Toronto are '''brewpubs''' serving in-house brews with pub fare. About half of the brewpubs are in the [[Toronto/West End#Drink|West End]] district. Other districts having a brewpub are [[Toronto/Harbourfront#Drink|Harbourfront]] (Amsterdam BrewHouse), [[Toronto/Downtown East#Drink|Distillery District]] (Mill St. Brew Pub), [[Toronto/Midtown#Drink|Midtown]] (Granite Brewery) and [[Toronto/East End#Drink|East End]] (Left Field Brewery). As of 2023, craft breweries have consolidated in two general areas: the East End, mostly along Queen East (Eastbound, Radical Road, Avling, Rorschach, Saulter Street, Black Lab) and Gerrard (Left Field, Godspeed); and the West End, particularly near Bloordale/Junction (Steadfast, Henderson, Halo, Indie Ale House, Junction Craft, Burdock, Bandit, Woodhouse, High Park). A few other neighbourhood breweries worth exploring include Bellwoods Brewery (Ossington, near Trinity-Bellwoods), Blood Brothers (Geary Ave.), Kensington Brewing (Kensington Market) and Mascot (Downtown core). For an exceptional beer bar, visit either Bar Volo (near Bloor/Yonge) or its sister shop, Birreria Volo (College near Bathurst). Toronto has long been a beer and whiskey town, and while it lacks a drinking identity like that of Philadelphia or Boston, asking a bartender for a blackbird shot (Montenegro and Wild Turkey) will endear to you many. Some bars will offer a shot of Jameson + bottle of beer for $10 or so; Wasted Youth and Lucky Shrike on Dundas being two such examples. ==Sleep== <!-- Please don't list individual lodgings here. Instead, list them in the relevant district article - thanks. --> {{seeDistricts}} Most hotels and hostels are situated directly outside the downtown core. Prices for rooms generally range from $150 for a standard hotel, $60–80 for a motel, and $20–40 for a bed in a hostel. ===Hotels=== Toronto has a wide variety of hotels that can suit every budget. Many are located in the [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment and Financial Districts]] and [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas|Yonge-Dundas]] areas. ===Hostels=== Toronto has several youth hostels, including ones in the downtown area, such as '''[http://www.hostellingtoronto.com/ HI-Toronto Hostel]''' at the foot of Church Street. ===Bed & Breakfast=== Another popular alternative for over nighters are bed & breakfasts, of which Toronto has hundreds, many of them in the downtown core. Prices range from $60 to several hundred dollars depending on the house and amenities offered. ==Learn== [[File:Uoft universitycollege2.jpg|thumb|University College at the University of Toronto]] International students often prefer to study in Toronto because of its safety, proximity to other tourist destinations, and favourable exchange rates and visa policies. However, despite its status as the largest city in the country and Canada's economic centre, it is surprisingly under-served by universities. This lack of post-secondary education has led to the development of major universities in the mid-sized cities that surround Toronto: the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University in [[Waterloo (Ontario)|Waterloo]], the University of Guelph in [[Guelph]], McMaster University in [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]], Brock University in [[St. Catharines]] and Trent University in [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]]. The universities in Toronto remain some of the best in the country: * '''The [https://www.utoronto.ca/ University of Toronto]'''. Canada's largest university, is spread out all over the city (including the main downtown campus, an east-end Scarborough campus, and University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) in the neighbouring city of [[Mississauga]]). This university is consistently rated among the top three in the country and is part of the "Canadian Ivy League." Due to its size, the University of Toronto's downtown campus, known as the St George campus, after the street that runs through it, has its own "sphere of influence," turning the surrounding neighbourhoods into miniature college towns, with plenty of bars, restaurants, bookshops, grocery stores and cheap take-out joints. Click the [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#University of Toronto|link]] for a guide to the U of T campus. * '''[https://www.yorku.ca/ York University]'''. The third largest university in Canada, York University has two campuses - the Keele Campus near Keele Street and Steeles Avenue West at the northern border of the city, and the original Glendon College at Lawrence Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. York University station on subway Line 1 Yonge–University is within the Keele campus. Buses 124 and 162 connect Lawrence Station (also on Line 1 Yonge–University) to Glendon College. * '''[https://www.torontomu.ca/ Toronto Metropolitan University]''' (TMU – formerly Ryerson University). In the heart of the downtown core. It was once a polytechnic, but is now Toronto's third university. The university is particularly well known for its school of management, and for its journalism program. Its campus is centred on the Kerr Hall, which forms a square around a central quad, it fills the block bounded by Gould, Gerrard, Victoria and Church streets. TMU also has buildings throughout this section of the city, including the Ted Rogers School of Management, at Bay and Dundas streets. * '''[https://www.ocadu.ca/ OCAD University]'''. The university focuses exclusively on art and design. The campus is on Dundas Street West near Spadina. * '''[https://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/ Seneca College]'''. Canada's largest college is spread out over the city with over 16 campuses of varying sizes. * '''[https://www.georgebrown.ca/ George Brown College]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Three campuses: St. James (downtown), Casa Loma (midtown) and Waterfront (Harbourfront). * '''[https://www.humber.ca/ Humber College]'''. Two campuses: Lakeshore and North. Toronto, like other Canadian cities, also has dozens of '''English as a Second Language''' (ESL) schools. The largest association of private English and French language schools is the [http://www.capls.com Canadian Association of Private Language Schools]. ==Connect== '''Calling''' For life-threatening emergencies or crime in progress, dial '''9-1-1''' on any landline, mobile or pay phone (toll-free). Local calls at pay phones cost 50 cents. Toronto's local calling area extends roughly from [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] to [[Ajax]]; [[Oshawa]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] and their adjacent suburbs are long-distance. Local calls are not metered, so you can talk as long as you want. Due to the popularity of cellphones, there are fewer pay phone booths than in previous years, so they can be difficult to locate. Most large public facilities still have ample pay phones to use. In malls, pay phones are usually between the inner and outer doors at the entrances. Payphones are also routinely provided in TTC subway stations, including on the platforms, as a safety feature. 5G cellular service is available in all subway stations, and coverage is now rolling out in the tunnels with completion expected by late 2026. In other underground areas, such as the lower levels of malls and in the PATH, reception is generally available, if somewhat weaker. In addition, many public facilities (such as shopping malls) now also have phones which provide free local calls, which are funded by advertisements run on colour LCD screens. Watch for large, wall-mounted ovals in high-traffic areas. Toronto has four area codes: 416, 647, 437, and 942. These area codes are all associated with the same geographic area. The suburban areas outside of the city have three overlapping area codes: 905, 289, and 365. As a result, Toronto has '''10-digit local dialling'''. You must always dial the area code as part of the number you are trying to reach. International calling cards are widely available to many countries for reasonable rates. As coin-paid long distance calls are overpriced (Bell payphones charge nearly $5 in the first minute and a lower rate thereafter, competitors are $1 for three minutes), if you must place toll calls from telephone booths, it's best to buy prepaid cards. ===Internet=== Most coffee shops, chain restaurants, shopping centres and public buildings provide free Wi-Fi. Major attractions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, the Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Centre provide free Wi-Fi to guests. Wi-Fi and free internet access is available on computers at '''[https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ Toronto Public Library]''' branches. Computer access requires a library card, but the library offers a card for in-library services for non-residents without an annual fee. All TTC subway stations have 5G mobile phone coverage, but free Wi-Fi is no longer offered since the TCONNECT network was shut down in December 2024. ===Mail=== Generally stamps are purchased and parcels are weighed and shipped at a postal outlet in a retail store such as a variety store or a drug store such as Shoppers Drug Mart. Postal outlets may sell philatelic items (recent issues only). ===Newspapers=== * '''[https://www.thestar.com/ The Toronto Star]''', a broadsheet daily newspaper, politically left of centre, covering local, national, and world news. Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, who once delivered this paper, used the Old Toronto Star Building (no longer extant) as inspiration for "The Daily Planet" newspaper. * '''[https://torontosun.com/ The Toronto Sun]''', a tabloid daily newspaper, politically conservative, covering local, national, and world news. *'''[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ The Globe and Mail]''', a broadsheet national daily with local edition, published in Toronto. Extensive business and stock market coverage, politically centrist. *'''[https://nationalpost.com/ The National Post]''', a broadsheet national daily, moderately conservative. Depending on where you go in Toronto, you will be able to find locally printed newspapers in a variety of languages. For example, in Chinatown, you will find Chinese newspapers. In "Little Italy", you'll find Italian newspapers. You'll also find newspapers in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Arabic, Tagalog, Greek, Urdu and more. ==Stay safe== ===Crime=== The overall violent crime rate in Canada, and particularly in Toronto, is lower than that found in major cities in the United States. Petty crime is generally not a serious problem in Toronto, but be vigilant with your possessions. Car and bike theft are comparable to other large North American cities. There are neighbourhoods which are known in the media and on the street as being more dangerous, though police statistics are not commonly used to justify these beliefs. Nevertheless, while assaults and other crimes can happen anywhere, especially late at night when few people are around, it is reasonable to avoid certain areas (again, generally late at night). These areas include in the old city and inner bouroughs: Crescent Town, Regent Park, parts of Parkdale, parts of St. Jamestown, Moss Park, Alexandra Park, Flemingdon Park/Victoria Village and Weston-Mount Dennis. Outer areas: Jane and Finch ("Jane Corridor"), Lawrence Heights, the Peanut (i.e., Don Mills and Sheppard), Rexdale/Jamestown Crescent, Malvern, Kingston and Galloway, Steeles-The Amoureaux, Dorset Park, Westminster-Branson and Eglinton East-Kennedy Park. Stay away from dodgy looking areas, where drugs, prostitution and violent crime such as armed robberies can occur. These neighbourhoods become noticeably worse from a visual standpoint, giving ample warning to turn around. ===Homeless=== Toronto has a visible homeless population, many of whom will ask you for money. Beggars in Toronto have been known to ask for handouts on the pretext that they need TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) fare. Homeless people can also be seen in many subway stations and sleeping across multiple seats in subway cars. Cases of open drug use in the subway are also not uncommon. There have also been instances in the past with "squeegee kids" who would jump into intersections when traffic is stopped at lights and solicit money for cleaning windshields. This is becoming less common as this form of interference with vehicle traffic is expressly illegal under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act and may be reported to police. ===Pedestrians=== Be careful when getting off the streetcars and always look to your right before leaving the car. Although vehicles are supposed to stop when the streetcar doors open, some motorists and cyclists will ignore this and keep going. The proliferation of mobile phones has led to "multitasking" in a large percentage of the pedestrian population of this city. If driving, cycling, or even walking, in Toronto do not forget to keep an eye open for a pedestrian who may be more focused on his or her device. ===Weather=== Avoid river/creek banks or bridge underpasses during periods of excessive rain, during/after heavy thundershowers or melting snow. Flooding can soften soil and cause it to suddenly collapse into the water under any weight. Occasionally, Toronto will be hit with a severe winter storm accompanied by significant snowfall (quite often mixed with freezing rain/ice/sleet). Avoid driving during and immediately after the storms if at all possible. This is especially true for those unfamiliar with winter driving and controlling a car in a skid. Take public transit, walk, or stay inside. ==Cope== '''The Office of International Relations and Protocol''' manages the Government of Ontario’s interaction with the largest consular corps in Canada (and one of the largest in the world). Approximately [https://www.ontario.ca/page/consular-offices 100 countries] are represented in Toronto. ===Consulates=== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" ! [[Diplomatic missions]] ! list |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Afghanistan}} {{listing | name=Afghanistan | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.mfa.af/ | email= | address=477 Richmond Street West, Suite 901 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-385-1033 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-385-3810 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Angola}} {{listing | name=Angola | alt= | url= | email=info@angola.org | address=77 Bloor Street West, Suite 1103 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}} {{listing | name=Antigua and Barbuda | alt= | url=https://www.antiguabarbudaconsulate.com/ | email=antiguabarbudaconsulateto@ab.gov.ag | address=1500 Don Mills Road, Suite 714 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-961-3143 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-961-7218 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=https://ctoro.cancilleria.gob.ar/en | email=consular_ctoro@mrecic.gov.ar | address=5001 Yonge Street, Suite 201 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-955-9075 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-955-0868 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=https://www.austrade.gov.au/ | email=canada@austrade.gov.au | address=175 Bloor Street East, Suite 1100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-323-4280 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-323-4295 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url= | email=austrianconsulateTO@lautens.com | address=30 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 1402 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-967-3348 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-967-4101 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Bahamas}} {{listing | name=Bahamas | alt= | url= | email= | address=68 Thorncrest Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-233-6776 | tollfree= |fax=+1 416-233-6776 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Bangladesh}} {{listing | name=Bangladesh | alt= | url= | email=mission.toronto@mofa.gov.bd | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-812-2791 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-492-3171 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Barbados}} {{listing | name=Barbados | alt= | url= | email=toronto@foreign.gov.bb | address=110 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 205 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-214-9805 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-214-9815 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-09-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url= | email=djohnston@airdberlis.com | address=181 Bay Street, Suite 1800, Box 754; c/o Aird & Berlis | lat= | long= | directions=Brookfield Place | phone=+1 416-865-3072 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Bhutan}} {{listing | name=Bhutan | alt= | url=http://bhutancanada.org/ | email=samblyth@blytheducation.com | address=20 Boswell Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-543-2590 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-960-9506 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Botswana}} {{listing | name=Botswana | alt= | url= | email= | address=5160 Explorer Drive, Unit 31 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | url=http://toronto.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/ | email= | address=77 Bloor Street West, Suite 1109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-922-2503 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-922-1832 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://www.bgconsultoronto.info/ | email=consulate.toronto@mfa.bg | address=65 Overlea Boulevard, Suite 230 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-696-2420 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-696-8019 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Cambodia}} {{listing | name=Cambodia | alt= | url= | email=info@cambodiaconsulate.ca | address=60 Caledonia Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-533-9335 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Chile}} {{listing | name=Chile | alt= | url=https://www.chile.gob.cl/en/toronto | email=toronto@consulado.gob.cl | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 1801 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-924-0106 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-924-2627 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://toronto.china-consulate.org/eng/ | email= | address=240 St. George St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-964-7260 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Colombia}} {{listing | name=Colombia | alt= | url=http://toronto.consulado.gov.co/ | email=ctoronto@cancilleria.gov.co | address=40 University Avenue, Suite 604 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-977-0098 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-977-1025 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Comoros}} {{listing | name=Comoros | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 905-319-1244 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-331-8580 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Republic of the Congo}} {{listing | name=Republic of the Congo | alt= | url= | email=consulofcongo@yahoo.ca | address=50 Gervais Drive, 4th floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-315-1549 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-391-3969 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Ivory Coast}} {{listing | name=Côte d'Ivoire | alt=Ivory Coast | url= | email=pdawes@warringtoninternational.com | address=260 Adelaide Street East, Suite 110 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-366-8490 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-947-1534 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Croatia}} {{listing | name=Croatia | alt= | url= | email=croconsulate.miss@mvep.hr | address=918 Dundas Street East, Suite 302, [[Mississauga]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 905-277-9051 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-277-5432 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=https://misiones.cubaminrex.cu/en/node/1757 | email= | address=5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 205, Etobicoke | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-234-8181 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-234-2754 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Czech Republic}} {{listing | name=Czech Republic | alt= | url=http://www.mzv.cz/toronto | email=toronto@embassy.mzv.cz | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 1500 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-972-1476 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-972-6991 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Denmark}} {{listing | name=Denmark | alt= | url=https://canada.um.dk/en | email=yyzgkl@um.dk | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-962-5669 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Dominican Republic}} {{listing | name=Dominican Republic | alt= | url=https://www.consulrdtoronto.com/ | email=infodominicanconsulate@gmail.com | address=121 Richmond Street West, Suite 301 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-369-0403 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-369-1685 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Ecuador}} {{listing | name=Ecuador | alt= | url= | email=ctoronto@rogers.com | address=151 Bloor Street West, Suite 450 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-968-2077 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-968-3348 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|El Salvador}} {{listing | name=El Salvador | url= | email=103504.2104@compuserver.com | address=151 Bloor Street West, Suite 320 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-975-0812 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-975-0283 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Eritrea}} {{listing | name=Eritrea | alt= | url= | email= | address=120 Carlton Street, Suite 317 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-306-2865 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-306-2866 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=https://www.finlandabroad.fi/canada | email=Toronto.ott@formin.fi | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-964-0066 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=https://toronto.consulfrance.org/-english- | email=info@consulfrance-toronto.org | address=2 Bloor Street East, Suite 2200 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-847-1900 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-847-1901 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=https://canada.diplo.de/ca-en | email=info@toronto.diplo.de | address=2 Bloor Street East, 25th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-925-2813 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-925-2818 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=https://toronto.mfa.gov.gh/ | email=toronto.consulate@mfa.gov.gh | address=8977 Woodbine Avenue, [[Markham]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 365-608-5007 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-604-1906 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | url=https://www.mfa.gr/canada/en/consulate-general-toronto | email=toronto@mfa.gr | address=1075 Bay Street, Suite 600 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-515-0133 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-515-0209 | hours= | price= | content= Additional number: {{phone|+1 416-515-0134}} }} * {{flag|Grenada}} {{listing | name=Grenada | alt= | url= | email=adminassistant@grenadaconsulate.com | address=90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 605 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-595-1343 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-595-8278 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Guinea}} {{listing | name=Guinea | alt= | url= | email=conguitoronto@yahoo.ca | address=1201 Dundas Street West, Suite 100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-904-8429 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-536-3913 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= Additional phone: {{phone|+1 416-319-9077}} }} * {{flag|Guyana}} {{listing | name=Guyana | alt= | url= | email=info@guyanaconsulate.com | address=505 Consumer Road, Suite 707 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-494-6040 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-494-1530 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Haiti}} {{listing | name=Haiti | alt= | url= | email=eapierre@hotmail.com | address=26 Cotswold Crescent, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-710-8661 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://toronto.mfa.gov.hu/eng | email=mission.tor@mfa.gov.hu | address=175 Bloor Street East, Suite 1109 (South Tower) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-349-2550 | tollfree= | fax=+1 647-349-2559 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url= | email=KalbfleischA@bennettjones.com | address=3400 One First Canadian Place, PO Box 130, c/o Bennett Jones LLP | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-777-6445 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | url=https://www.cgitoronto.gov.in/ | email= | address=365 Bloor Street East | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-960-0751 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 9AM to 11:30AM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/toronto/en | email=admin@indonesiatoronto.org | address=129 Jarvis Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-360-4020 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-360-4295 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Iraq}} {{listing | name=Iraq | alt= | url= | email=torcg@mofa.gov.iq | address=320 Matheson Boulevard West, Suite 114, [[Mississauga]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 289-328-4727 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url= | email=cg-sec@toronto.mfa.gov.il | address=2 Bloor Street East, Suite 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-640-8500 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-640-8555 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= Alternative email [[mailto:provincial@toronto.mfa.gov.il]] }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/toronto | email= | address=320 Bay Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 437 290 6315 | tollfree= | hours=By appointment only; phone lines open M to F 10AM-12:30PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.constoronto.esteri.it/Consolato_Toronto | email= | address=136 Beverley St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-977-1566 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-977-1119 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Jamaica}} {{listing | name=Jamaica | alt= | url=https://jcgtoronto.ca/ | email=info@jcgtoronto.ca | address=303 Eglinton Avenue East | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-598-3008 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-598-4928 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | url=http://www.toronto.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/english/english.htm | email=access@to.mofa.go.jp | address=77 King St West Suite 3300, PO Box 10 (Royal Trust Tower) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-363-7038 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-367-9392 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Kazakhstan}} {{listing | name=Kazakhstan | alt= | url=http://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-toronto?lang=en | email=toronto@mfa.kz | address=4576 Yonge Street, Suite 413 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-221-0111 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Kenya}} {{listing | name=Kenya | alt= | url= | email=sunir_chandaria@conros.com | address=41 Lesmill Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-357-0013 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url= | email=toronto@mofat.go.kr | address=555 Avenue Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-920-3809 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-924-7305 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Kosovo}} {{listing | name=Kosovo | alt= | url= | email=consulategeneral.ca@rks-gov.net | address=150 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-322-5769 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-322-6874 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Lebanon}} {{listing | name=Lebanon | alt= | url= | email=info@lebaneseconsulatetoronto.com | address=1832 Pine Grove Avenue, [[Pickering (Ontario) |Pickering]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-330-9292 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=https://ca.mfa.lt/ca/en/ | email=pvk@rogers.com | address=1573 Bloor Street West | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-998-2711 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-201-8993 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Luxembourg}} {{listing | name=Luxembourg | alt= | url= | email=toronto@consul-hon.lu | address=1318 Cleaver Drive, [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Malaysia}} {{listing | name=Malaysia | alt= | url= | email=henrylblee@rogers.com | address=200 Consumers Road, Suite 808 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-618-0966 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Mali}} {{listing | name=Mali | alt= | url= | email=consulatemalitoronto@gmail.com | address=1 Cardiff Rd, Suite 901 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-489-4849 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-489-0379 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Malta}} {{listing | name=Malta | alt= | url= | email=maltaconsulate.toronto@gov.mt | address=3280 Bloor Street West, Suite 1060, (10th floor, Centre Tower) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 437-293-8720 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-207-0986 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Mexico}} {{listing | name=Mexico | alt= | url=https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/toronto/index.php/en/ | email=comunicacionestor@sre.gob.mx | address=11 King Street West, Suite 350 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-368-2875 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-368-8342 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Monaco}} {{listing | name=Monaco | alt= | url= | email=blette@lette.ca | address=467 Broadway Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-971-4898 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-971-4898 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt= | url=https://cgmongolia.ca/ | email=wilferthcm@gmail.com | address=251 Consumers Road, Suite 1405, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-409-9930 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Montenegro}} {{listing | name=Montenegro | alt= | url= | email=delliott@cambridgellp.com | address=333 Adelaide Street West, Suite 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-477-7007 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Morocco}} {{listing | name=Morocco | alt= | url= | email= | address=5001 Yonge Street, Suite 1515, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-223-0900 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Nepal}} {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url= | email=info@kunjarsharma.com | address=120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 707 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-975-0910 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-322-2928 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|the Netherlands}} {{listing | name=Netherlands | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/web/canada/about-us/consulate-general-toronto | email=tor-cdp@minbuza.nl | address=1 Dundas St W, Suite 2106, PO Box 2 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-598-2534 | tollfree=+1-877-DUTCHHELP | fax=+1 416-598-8064 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | alt= | url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/ | email=pcrawley@globeandmail.com | address=351 King Street East, Suite 1600 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-585-5880 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | url= | email=toronto@mfa.gov.mk | address=90 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 210 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-322-2196 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-322-2412 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://www.norway.no/en/canada | email=NorwegianConsulateGeneral.TO@gmail.com | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 437-225-2233 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-920-0536 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://www.pakmission.ca/ | email=pakconsulate@pakmission.ca | address=7880 Keele Street, Unit 14, [[Vaughan]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 905-532-0042 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-532-9531 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Panama}} {{listing | name=Panama | alt= | url=http://www.consulatepanama.com/ | email=info@consulatepanama.com | address=4789 Yonge Street, Suite 412 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-651-2350 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Peru}} {{listing | name=Peru | alt= | url= | email=info@conperutoronto.com | address=67 Young Street, Suite 900 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-963-9696 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Philippines}} {{listing | name=Philippines | alt= | url= | email=consularmatters@philcongen-toronto.com | address=160 Eglinton Avenue East, 7th floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-922-7181 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-922-2638 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.gov.pl/canada-en | email=toronto.info@msz.gov.pl | address=2603 Lake Shore Blvd West | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-252-5471 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-252-0509 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url= | email=consulado.toronto@mne.pt | address=438 University Avenue, Suite 1400, PO Box 41 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-217-0966 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-217-0973 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | url=http://toronto.mae.ro/ | email=toronto@mae.ro | address=789 Don Mills Rd Unit 501 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416 585 2444 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416 585 9192 | hours= | price= | content=General consulate }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | url=http://www.toronto.mid.ru | email=visaruscons@bellnet.ca | address=175 Bloor Street East, South Tower, Suite 801 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-962-9911 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-962-6611 | hours=M-F 9:30AM to 12:30PM| price= | content= }} * {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} {{listing | name=Saint Kitts and Nevis | alt= | url= | email=info@cgstkittsnevis.ca | address=133 Richmond Street West, Suite 311 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-368-7319 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-368-3934 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Saint Lucia}} {{listing | name=Saint Lucia | alt= | url=http://www.stluciaconsulate.ca/ | email=info@stluciaconsulate.ca | address=60 St. Clair Avenue, Suite 909 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-203-8400 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-203-8486 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}} {{listing | name=Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | alt= | url= | email=consulategeneral@rogers.com | address=55 Town Centre Court, Unit 624 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-398-4003 | tollfree= | fax=+1 647-438-5312 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= Alternative phone number: {{phone|+1 416-398-4277}} }} * {{flag|San Marino}} {{listing | name=San Marino | alt= | url= | email=paul.scargall@sokllp.com | address=17 Leader Lane | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-869-3417 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-869-2201 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Serbia}} {{listing | name=Serbia | alt= | url=http://toronto.mfa.gov.rs/ | email=gkrstoronto@rogers.com | address=40 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 701 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-483-1080 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-483-1847 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Seychelles}} {{listing | name=Seychelles | alt= | url= | email= | address=18 Doon Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url= | email=cchua@mccarthy.ca | address=66 Wellington Street West, Suite 5300 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-601-7979 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-868-0673 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Slovakia}} {{listing | name=Slovakia | alt= | url= | email=slovakconsulateto@gmail.com | address=649 Brooker Ridge, [[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-290-9304 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-898-0166 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Slovenia}} {{listing | name=Slovenia | alt= | url= | email=jdoma@sloveniacg.com | address=5096 South Service Road, Suite 102, [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-201-8307 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | url=http://www.southafrica-canada.ca/ | email= | address=110 Sheppard Ave E, Suite 600, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-944-8825 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-944-0925 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url=https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/toronto/en/Consulado/Paginas/index.aspx | email=cog.toronto@maec.es | address=2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1201 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-977-1661 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-593-4949 | hours=M to F 9AM-1PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Sri Lanka}} {{listing | name=Sri Lanka | alt= | url=https://www.torontoslcg.org/ | email=srilanka@bellnet.ca | address=1 Eglinton Avenue East, Unit 501 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-323-9133 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-323-3205 | hours=M to F 9AM-1:30PM and 2:15PM to 3:30PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url= | email=lars.henriksson@swedishconsulates.ca | address=2 Bloor Street West, Unit 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-963-8768 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url= | email=toronto@honrep.ch | address=40 University Avenue, Suite 904 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-351-7811 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul. }} * {{flag|Tanzania}} {{listing | name=Tanzania | alt= | url= | email=tanzaniahonoraryc@gmail.com | address=5830 Campus Road, Suite 100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-887-2121 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consulate. }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url= | email=info@thaiconsulatetoronto.com | address=17 Isabella Street, Suite 100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-850-0110 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-850-1431 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul General }} * {{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}} {{listing | name=Trinidad and Tobago | alt= | url=https://foreign.gov.tt/missions-consuls/tt-missions-abroad/diplomatic-missions/consulate-general-toronto-canada/ | email=congentoronto@foreign.gov.tt | address=185 Sheppard Avenue West | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-495-9443 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-495-6934 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=https://toronto-bk.mfa.gov.tr/Mission | email=consulate.toronto@mfa.gov.tr | address=10 Lower Spadina Avenue, Suite 300 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-777-4106 | tollfree= |fax=+1 647-258-2725 | hours=M to F 9AM-5PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Uganda}} {{listing | name=Uganda | alt= | url= | email= | address=41 Lesmill Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul. }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{Listing |name=Ukraine |url=https://toronto.mfa.gov.ua/en |email=gc_cat@mfa.gov.ua |address=2275 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Unit 301 |lat= |long= |directions= |phone=+1 437-518-0708 |tollfree= |fax=+1 416-763-2051 |hours= |price= |content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | url=http://ukincanada.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/other-locations/consulate-general-toronto | email=britcon.toronto@fco.gov.uk | address=777 Bay St, Suite 2800 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-593-1290 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-593-1229 | hours=M and Tu 9:30AM to 1:30PM; W 2PM to 5:30PM; Th and F 9:30AM to 1:30PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | url=https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/toronto/ | email= | address=360 University Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-595-1700 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-595-1090 | hours=9AM-1PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Uruguay}} {{listing | name=Uruguay | alt= | url= | email=cgtoronto@mrree.gub.uy | address=300 Sheppard Avenue West, Suite 302 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-730-1289 | tollfree= |fax=+1 416-730-0192 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{Flag|Uzbekistan}} {{listing | name=Uzbekistan | alt= | url= | email=joedanielparl@gmail.com | address=69 Godstone Road, Unit 114 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-823-3951 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul. }} |} ==Go next== Toronto is a great starting point for exploring southern [[Ontario]]. There are many golden '''sand beaches''' along the clean fresh waters of the [[Great Lakes]] that are ideal for hot summer days. Popular beach destinations within 1½-2½ hours of Toronto include Wasaga, [[Sauble Beach]], Sandbanks, Grand Bend, Long Point, and Turkey Point. ===Golden Horseshoe=== * '''[[Niagara Peninsula|Niagara Region]]''' — A lush region known primarily for its orchards and vineyards as well as the thundering waterfalls at [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] and the beautiful town of [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]]. On the American side of the Falls are several outlet malls. 1-1½ hours south along the QEW; a few tour buses make the same-day return trip. It is one of the principal [[Wine Regions of Ontario]], and several companies do wine-tasting tours by bus from Toronto, starting at $125 (tax included), such as [https://www.niagaraairbus.com/Niagara-Winery-Tours/ Niagara Airbus]. *'''[[Unionville (Ontario)|Main Street Unionville]]''', in the suburban city of '''[[Markham]]''' north of Toronto, is a historic village developed in the 1840s. As typical of a small village, it has many quaint period buildings in an idyllic surrounding. *'''[[Region of Waterloo (Ontario)|Waterloo Region]]''' — This area 1-1½ hours west of Toronto has large university campuses, rolling farm hills and Mennonite culture. *'''The Niagara Escarpment''' — A world biosphere, protected by UN mandate running from the Niagara Falls west to [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] then northward to Georgian Bay. It is covered by forest with high cliff views along the Bruce Trail bordering the western edge of the Greater Toronto Area, at its closest point it is about a ½-hour drive from the western end of Toronto. *'''[[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]]''' has its attractive Main Street Heritage Conservation District and many heritage buildings within a walkable area. *'''[[Canada's Wonderland]]''' is a popular, seasonal theme park operated by Cedar Fair in [[Vaughan]]. It is a 20-minute drive away without traffic, and there are buses from downtown in the summer. ===Ontario=== *'''[[Muskoka]]''', '''[[Georgian Triangle]]''' and '''[[Kawarthas|The Kawarthas]]''' — All 1½–2 hours north are cottage country areas with more rocky and hilly terrain speckled with hundreds of lakes and waterways. Muskoka and the Kawarthas are known for their country inns, cottages, spas/resorts, provincial parks, and a wealth of outdoor activities including camping, fishing/hunting, snowmobiling, nature viewing, and hiking set among natural beauty. The Georgian Bay area is where the hilly terrain and cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment meet its shores, the area has renowned ski facilities frequently blasted with high snowfall amounts but beaches [[Wasaga Beach]], wineries and golfing are the choices in summer. * '''[[Stratford (Ontario)|Stratford]]''' — This cute town 2 hours west of Toronto is host to the world-renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival (April–November). * '''[[Thousand Islands]]''' and '''[[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]]''' — This scenic area and its nearby historic city are 3 hours east, on the way to Ottawa * '''[[Ottawa]]''' — The Canadian capital is about a 4½-hour drive from Toronto. * '''[[Windsor (Ontario)|Windsor]]''', '''[[London (Ontario)|London]]''', and '''[[Sarnia]]''' are at the southwestern corner of Ontario, and the southernmost point of Canada. It is a 3-hour drive. ===United States=== * '''[[Buffalo]]''' — Gorgeous early 20th-century architecture including some Frank Lloyd Wright work and excellent museums are a 1½-hour drive from Toronto. * Across the Detroit River from Windsor is '''[[Detroit]]''', offering Motown music, automobile museums, historic buildings, museums, and theatres. It is 4 hours away. * The city that never sleeps, '''[[New York City]]''', is only 8-10 hours away without traffic, via I-90 and I-87. You can also take Amtrak or a 2-hour flight there. * Also an 8- to 9-hour drive away, '''[[Chicago]]''' is home to blues music, Millennium Park, windy weather, and deep-dish pizza. *If you are into history and want to see the capital of the United States, '''[[Washington, D.C.]]''', you have to drive 8-10 hours. ===Elsewhere in Canada=== *'''[[Montreal]]''' is a 6- to 7-hour drive to the east, or a 4½-hour train ride. Bilingual Montreal is home to French-Canadian culture, nice architecture, and the '''[[Laurentians]]''' are not far away. * You can hop onto a VIA rail train to many parts of Canada, including '''[[Winnipeg]]''', '''[[Edmonton]]''', and '''[[Vancouver]]'''. {{routebox | image1=VIA Rail Canadian icon.png | imagesize1=100 | link1=The Canadian | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Winnipeg]] | minorl1=[[Washago]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=END | minorr1= | image2=VIA Rail Sarnia Toronto icon.png | imagesize2=100 | link2=Windsor-Quebec corridor | directionl2=W | majorl2=[[Kitchener]] | minorl2=[[Mississauga]] | directionr2=E | majorr2=END | minorr2= | image3=VIA Rail Toronto Montreal icon.png | imagesize3=100 | image3a=VIA Rail Toronto Ottawa icon.png | imagesize3a=100 | link3=Windsor-Quebec corridor | directionl3=W | majorl3=END | minorl3= | directionr3=E | majorr3=[[Montreal]] / [[Ottawa]] | minorr3=[[Oshawa]] | image4=VIA Rail Windsor Toronto icon.png | imagesize4=100 | link4=Windsor-Quebec corridor | directionl4=W | majorl4=[[London (Ontario)|London]] | minorl4=[[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] | directionr4=E | majorr4=END | minorr4= | image5=Amtrak Maple Leaf icon.png | link5=Maple Leaf | imagesize5=100 | directionl5=W | majorl5=END | minorl5= | directionr5=E | majorr5=[[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] | minorr5=[[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] | image6=Ontario 400.svg | imagesize6=20 | directionl6=&thinsp;N | majorl6=[[Barrie]] | minorl6=[[Vaughan]] | directionr6=S | majorr6=Ends at [[File:Ontario 401.svg|16px]] | minorr6= | image7=Ontario 401.svg | imagesize7=20 | directionl7=W | majorl7=[[London (Ontario)|London]] | minorl7=[[Mississauga]] | directionr7=E | majorr7=[[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]] | minorr7=[[Pickering (Ontario)|Pickering]] | image8=Ontario 404.svg | imagesize8=20 | directionl8=&thinsp;N | majorl8=[[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]] | minorl8=[[Markham]] | directionr8=S | majorr8=Ends at [[File:Ontario 401.svg|16px]] | minorr8= | image9=Ontario 427.svg | imagesize9=20 | directionl9=&thinsp;N | majorl9=[[Vaughan]] | minorl9=[[Mississauga]] | directionr9=S | majorr9=Ends at [[File:Ontario QEW.svg|16px]] | minorr9= | image10=Ontario QEW.svg | imagesize10=20 | directionl10=W | majorl10=[[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] | minorl10=[[Mississauga]] | directionr10=E | majorr10=Ends at [[File:Ontario 427.svg|16px]] | minorr10= }} {{geo|43.7|-79.4167|zoom=11}} {{isPartOf|Greater Toronto Area}} {{usablecity}} 8dz2tkqe69emdq7j46lyc2ly40njqc1 5298564 5298562 2026-06-26T02:16:29Z Coolcaesar 1398300 /* Transit bylaws */ Clarifying this 5298564 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Toronto banner skyline at dusk.jpg|caption=Toronto skyline at dusk|disambig=yes}} {{printDistricts}} '''Toronto''' is a diverse, energetic and liveable city, home to many tourist attractions, and seemingly endless dining, shopping and entertainment possibilities. It's the most populous city in [[Canada]], the centre of the country's financial sector, and the provincial capital of [[Ontario]]. Toronto is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in the world: more than 80 ethnic communities are represented, and over half of the city's residents were born outside Canada. {{See also|Toronto/Yonge Street|LGBT Toronto}} ==Districts== {{Mapframe|43.65605|-79.38465|zoom=13 |type=geoline}} {{mapshapes| Q249404}} <!--tram--> Toronto is made up of varied and unique neighbourhoods. Covering {{convert|631|km2}}, Toronto stretches some {{convert|32|km}} along the shores of Lake Ontario. The city is laid out on a very straightforward grid pattern. Streets rarely deviate from the grid, except when topography interferes, such as the curving Don River Valley, and to a lesser degree the Humber and Rouge valleys at opposite ends of the city. Some main thoroughfares intersect the grid at angles. For travel purposes, we have divided Toronto into twelve districts: ====Central Toronto==== The dense urban core of Toronto. It includes many of the city's attractions and hotels. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Toronto WV downtown districts map.png | regionmaptext=Districts of Downtown Toronto | regionmapsize=400px | region1name=[[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas|Yonge-Dundas]] | region1color=#fdf989 | region1description=The heart of downtown Toronto with Yonge St, the Eaton Centre, theatres and City Hall. | region2name=[[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment and Financial Districts]] | region2color=#cdafda | region2description=The entertainment and financial heart of the city, including some of the city's most prominent tourist attractions: the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Union Station and the Hockey Hall of Fame. | region3name=[[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|Kensington-Chinatown]] | region3color=#f9a4a6 | region3description=Diverse neighbourhoods with lots of little shops, markets and restaurants, and some of the city's best known bars for live music. Includes Queen West and the Fashion District to the south. | region4name=[[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex|Yorkville and the Annex]] | region4color=#bccdee | region4description=The boutiques of Yorkville and the museums and student energy of the Annex and University neighbourhoods. | region5name=[[Toronto/Harbourfront|Harbourfront]] | region5color=#F4A460 | region5description=South of Downtown, this area is popular for its parks and recreational activities. Walk along the water's edge, take a harbour tour by boat, have some family fun at various events at Exhibition Place, or take in a Major League Soccer or Canadian Football League game at BMO Field. | region6name=[[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]] | region6color=#FFDAB9 | region6description=Take the ferry to the Toronto Islands. Stroll through the parkland, enjoy the beaches, see the petting zoo, have fun in the amusement park, see the quaint cottages and front-yard gardens of the permanent island community. | region7name=[[Toronto/Downtown East|Downtown East]] | region7color=#cbf6a9 | region7description=Older neighbourhoods between Church St and the Don Valley. Includes Church & Wellesley (Toronto's gay village), Cabbagetown, the St Lawrence Market, Old Town Toronto, and the Distillery District. |regionInteractiveMap=map1|regionmapLat=43.6577|regionmapLong=-79.3812|regionmapZoom=13}} {{mapshape|type=page|wikicommons=Central_toronto_districts.map}} ====Outside Central Toronto==== {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q172|type=geomask}} {{Mapshapes|Q20379}} {{mapshapes|Q249404}} {{mapshapes|Q28971910}} These are the older suburbs that ring the downtown followed by an outer ring of post-war suburbs. There are fewer attractions here, but if you have the time, some of the neighbourhoods are well worth visiting. {{Regionlist | regionmap=Toronto WV districts map.png | regionmaptext=Map of Toronto | regionmapsize=401px | region1name=[[Toronto/Midtown|Midtown]] | region1color=#e2d8e5 | region1items=Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville Village, Forest Hill | region1description=Upscale neighbourhoods with grand old mansions housing the city's moneyed and elite, beautiful parks, and ravines that extend for kilometres. Yonge & Eglinton is becoming a new urban core. | region2name=[[Toronto/West End|West End]] | region2color=#d9d5b1 | region2items=Little Italy, Little Portugal, West Queen West, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, High Park | region2description=Ethnic enclaves, dive bars, and hipsters abound in this rapidly gentrifying part of town. High Park preserves a slice of green space north from Humber Bay, providing an escape from noisy city life. | region3name=[[Toronto/East End|East End]] | region3color=#c6e0e6 | region3items=Greektown, Leslieville and The Beaches | region3description=The West End's quainter, quieter alternative, with low-key neighbourhoods and nice beaches. This area hosts ethnic and cultural festivals throughout the summer months. The Beach, centred along Queen Street east of Kingston Road, is alive with weekend foot traffic year-round, out to take in the local businesses, and the lake breezes in the summer. | region4name=[[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]] | region4color=#e4ebc9 | region4description=An economically diverse suburb with some undiscovered gems along Bloor Street and near the lake in Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch. | region5name=[[Toronto/North York|North York]] | region5color=#e4d1c6 | region5description=This district is largely suburban but has something to offer the casual tourist. The centre of this district is more densely urban in nature, as it was designed to serve as the downtown of the former City of North York. | region6name=[[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]] | region6color=#c4e1c7 | region6description=The eastern suburb of the city has lots to offer, including the Scarborough Bluffs, Rouge National Urban Park, authentic (and affordable) ethnic cuisine, and the Toronto Zoo. |regionInteractiveMap=map2|regionmapLat=43.6992|regionmapLong=-79.3838|regionmapZoom=10}} ==== Outer suburbs and Greater Toronto Area ==== Although there are fewer attractions, there are ethnic enclaves with ethnic foods and other activities that may be of interest to a traveller in the newer, outer suburbs of Toronto. For example, [[Markham]]'s population is 48% Chinese and has a lot of interesting shops, businesses, and restaurants. For travel information for the newer suburbs, see the [[Greater Toronto Area]] article. == Understand == Toronto has an estimated population of over 3.2 million people as of 2024, and is the heart of the [[Greater Toronto Area]] (GTA) which has 7.1 million people. It also anchors the [[Golden Horseshoe]] region, which wraps around Lake Ontario from Toronto to Niagara Falls, home to over 11.1 million residents, approximately a quarter of Canada's entire population. Toronto is the fourth largest city and fifth largest urban agglomeration in [[North America]]. Distances between cities in the area can be great as it sprawls along, outward and even wraps around the western end of Lake Ontario; public transit is not always effective enough to make it a quick or seamless trip. Many suburban residents rely on private cars to get around. Toronto is also known as "the 416" after its first area code (although now 647 and 437 area codes are also used); or since 2014, "the 6", a term coined by the rapper Drake, which represents the area code). Outlying suburbs are also known as "the 905" after ''their'' area code, although this code is also used in the [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] and the [[Niagara Peninsula]], stretching from [[Cobourg]] and Colborne in the east to the border in [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] to the southwest. More than half of its residents were born outside of Canada, and as a result the city is fortunate to host many vibrant bustling neighbourhoods with street signs in several languages. A popular urban myth has it that the United Nations rated Toronto as "the most multicultural city in the world". While the UN and its agencies are not in the habit of rating cities, it remains a fact that Canada is a nation of immigrants, and Toronto demonstrates this abundantly. A UN agency lists Toronto as second only to Miami as the city with the most foreign-born residents, as about half the city's residents were born outside of Canada. This has been true since the early 20th century, meaning that new waves of immigrants from diverse places have arrived. Toronto's residents represent far more cultural and language groups than Miami, which may be a better measure of multi-culturalism. Most immigrants either pass through Toronto on their way to other parts of the country or stay in Toronto permanently. Many people born abroad consider themselves Canadian as much as native-born Canadians and will be offended if treated otherwise. Within Toronto, most ethnic groups have worked their way into the fabric of Canadian society but retain their distinct ways such as language, dress (if only for special occasions), customs, and food. Toronto is home to many ethnic festivals throughout the year, several radio stations that broadcast in various languages, and two multilingual television channels. The City of Toronto provides services in 16 different languages while its public transit helpline provides service in 70 languages. Even large department stores such as The Bay in downtown Toronto advertise service in 9 languages. The ''lingua franca'' of Toronto, however, remains English. While older tourist promotional material may claim the Toronto means "meeting place", the city most likely takes its name from the Mohawk word ''Tkaronto'', meaning "where there are trees standing in the water". ===History=== Spawned out of post-glacial alluvial deposits and bluffs, the area was populated at different times by Iroquois and later Wyandot (Huron) peoples. European settlement began in the mid-1700s when, drawn by the natural harbour formed by the Toronto Peninsula (now the Toronto Islands), the French built a seldom-occupied fort (Fort Rouillé) near today's Exhibition Place. The city then grew out of a backwoods English trading post established as York in 1793 (it was re-named "Toronto" in 1834). During the War of 1812, Fort York was an important base for the British, and was destroyed during a major battle. In the 1960s and 1970s, Toronto overtook Montreal as the financial and economic powerhouse of Canada. In 1998, the cities of Toronto, [[Scarborough]], North York, [[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]], and York and the Borough of East York amalgamated to form the current City of Toronto. === Climate === {{climate chart |Toronto |-6.7 |-0.3 |64.6 |-6.0 |0.6 |53.9 |-1.8 |5.1 |52.8 |3.9 |11.7 |78.0 |10.0 |18.8 |76.4 |15.3 |24.2 |81.6 |18.1 |27.0 |76.5 |17.7 |26.1 |71.9 |13.8 |22.0 |69.4 |7.7 |14.6 |69.1 |2.3 |8.1 |70.8 |-2.7 |2.6 |57.8 |jansnow=372.0 |febsnow=270.0 |marsnow=198.0 |aprsnow=50.0 |maysnow=0.0 |junsnow=0.0 |julsnow=0.0 |augsnow=0.0 |sepsnow=0.0 |octsnow=1.0 |novsnow=83.0 |decsnow=241.0 |float=right |clear=right | description = {{Forecast/CA|Toronto|43.655|-79.383}} }} Toronto's climate is on the whole on the cool side, and variable conditions can be expected. Come prepared for winter: winters are cold (temperatures average -3.8°C (25°F) in January), mostly cloudy, at times snowy and uncomfortably windy. However, the type of extreme cold experienced further north in Canada usually lasts for no more than a couple of days at a time. Sometimes during the winter, severe storms can slow down transportation and activities in the city for a day or two. Daylight hours are short and run from 7:45AM to 4:45PM. The city experiences warm and humid summers, but still milder than many US cities. Average daytime highs are around {{c|27}} and {{c|18}} for overnight lows in July/August, with many muggy evenings but rarely extreme heat. On average, the temperature exceeds {{c|30}} only 12 days per year, but hotter air masses often arrive with moderately high humidity levels. This can raise the humidex to around 38°C or even higher (equivalent to a heat index of {{c|33}}); and increase overnight lows to {{c|22}} or above on particularly sweltering days. In the summer, thunderstorms occur from time to time, most lasting less than an hour. Summer days are long, with the sun up as late as 9PM, and sunrises around 5:45AM. Late spring/early summer and early fall are generally considered to be the best times to visit for weather and less crowds, mid-summer is the peak tourist season, but visitors will find that Toronto's vibrancy extends through the winter with outdoor skating rinks and bundled up club-goers, etc. Toronto's public buildings are nearly all air-conditioned and fully heated. Areas closer to the downtown core are generally 1 to 1.5°C warmer in winter due to the urban heat island effect. For the rest of the year, areas close to Lake Ontario are warmer by about 1°C due to the moderating effects of the lake. This is especially prominent in March and November when the city receives rain while areas just north of the city receive snow. ===Visitor information=== * {{listing | name=Ontario Travel Information Centre | alt= | url=http://www.ontariotravel.net | email=ontariotravel.toronto@ontario.ca | address=65 Front Street West | lat=43.644829 | long=-79.381781 | directions=within Union Station; follow signs towards UP Express | phone=+1 416-314-5899 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 9AM-5PM (closed Su) | price= | lastedit=2024-01-29 | content= }} * {{listing | name= Destination Toronto| alt= | url=https://www.destinationtoronto.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-01-29 | content=Tourist information from the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association. }} == Get in == === By plane === ==== Toronto Pearson ==== {{main|Toronto Pearson International Airport}} [[File:YYZ Aerial.jpg|thumbnail|right|Pearson International sees the most traffic and connections of all airports in Canada]] {{go | name=Toronto Pearson International Airport | alt={{IATA|YYZ}} | url=https://www.torontopearson.com | email= | address= | lat=43.6777 | long=79.6248 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Toronto Pearson International Airport | wikidata=Q242066 | lastedit=2022-05-26 | content= }}, in [[Mississauga]], is 30-50 minutes by car (depending on traffic) or 25 minutes by train from downtown Toronto and is served by most major international carriers. There are two terminals: Terminal 1 hosts all Air Canada flights and a few other international (mostly Star Alliance) carriers while Terminal 3 hosts all other airlines. When travelling from Toronto International (and other major Canadian airports) to the United States, travellers will go through United States immigration and customs pre-clearance in Toronto, and should leave some extra time to account for this. The airport has free WiFi internet access. The main article describes [[Toronto Pearson International Airport#Ground transportation|ground transportation]] to and from Toronto Pearson. ==== Billy Bishop Airport ==== [[File:Porter Airlines.Dash-8.YTZ.2008.jpg|thumbnail|right|Porter Airlines offers a network of connections across eastern Canada and northeastern US from their base at Billy Bishop Airport.]] * {{go | name=Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport | alt={{IATA|YTZ}} | url=http://www.portstoronto.com/airport.aspx | email= | address= | lat=43.6275 | long=-79.396111 | directions= | phone=+1 416-203-6942 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport | image=Toronto City Center Airport.jpg | wikidata=Q117708 | lastedit=2022-06-26 | content=This airport serves short-haul flights only and is close to downtown. It is named for a World War I fighter ace, but some locals may call it “Toronto island airport” or simply “Billy Bishop”}} ==== Airlines at Billy Bishop Airport ==== * {{listing | name=Porter Airlines | alt= | url=https://www.flyporter.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-619-8622 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Porter Airlines | wikidata=Q1811473 | lastedit=2022-04-27 | content=This airline uses Billy Bishop as their hub. They are a short-haul carrier that operates Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop planes to many cities in eastern Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, St. John's and others) and parts of the United States (Boston, Chicago, New York/Newark, Washington Dulles and Myrtle Beach). Porter is aggressively fighting for market share and you can take advantage of it by getting low fares, especially if booked 2 weeks or more in advance, combined with complimentary drinks onboard and a waiting lounge with amenities. }} * {{listing | name=Air Canada | alt= | url=https://www.aircanada.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-514-393-3333 | tollfree=+1-888-247-2262 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Air Canada | wikidata=Q185339 | lastedit=2022-04-25 | content=Canada's largest airline. Operates flights to Billy Bishop Airport from [[Montreal]] and [[Ottawa]], on Bombardier Q400 turboprop planes. [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]] is a hub for this airline with far more flight options including from international destinations. }} * {{listing | name=Propair | alt= | url=https://propair.ca/en/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-04-25 | content=Service from [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]] and [[Rouyn-Noranda]]. }} ==== Ground transit from Billy Bishop Airport ==== One of the main benefits of flying into Billy Bishop is its proximity to the downtown core. Upon landing, you can be downtown within ten minutes. A pedestrian tunnel under the channel takes you to the city. A free ferry service also makes the short crossing: it is just 121 metres, the world's shortest regularly-scheduled ferry route. It operates between TCCA and the mainland every 15 minutes: see [https://www.billybishopairport.com/to-from/ferry full schedule]. Once on the mainland, a [https://www.billybishopairport.com/to-from/shuttle/ free shuttle bus] connects the terminal with the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, across the street from Union Station. TTC streetcars are available within a short walk from the mainland ferry terminal: * Route 509 Harbourfront travels east along the waterfront (Queens Quay) to Union Station. Streetcar stops are at the corner of Queens Quay & Bathurst; 4 minute walk. * Route 511 Bathurst provides service north along Bathurst, to Bathurst subway station. Stops are near the corner of Fleet St & Bathurst St; 6 minute walk. * Both of these routes also travel a short distance to the west, terminating at Exhibition Place. * Route 510 Spadina travels north along Spadina Ave to Spadina subway station. It's a bit of a longer walk (900m; about 15 minutes along Queens Quay to Spadina Ave) but can be a good choice if your destination lies along Spadina Ave. That said, the most convenient connection to TTC subway and [[GO Transit]] services remains the free shuttle bus to Union Station. ==== Other airports ==== '''[https://flyhamilton.ca/ Hamilton International Airport]''', ({{IATA|YHM}}), about {{convert|80|km}} from downtown Toronto and Niagara Falls, is served by WestJet along with seasonal service by Air Transat and Sunwing to sun destinations. See section on [[Hamilton (Ontario)#John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport|John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport]] for ground transportation including buses to Toronto. For frugal travellers coming from the United States, '''[https://www.buffaloairport.com/ Buffalo-Niagara International Airport]''', ({{IATA|BUF}}), is another option. Flights to Buffalo tend to be significantly cheaper than to Pearson, but then you still have to get to Toronto. '''[http://www.megabus.com Megabus]''', the airline-type coach service with varying prices and required early booking, runs a daily bus that takes 3 hours, including the border crossing. Several private livery agencies will drive you there for a fee (usually in the $200 range, give or take), or rental cars are available at the airport if you prefer to do the drive yourself. === By bus === ====Bus terminals==== The main bus terminal is in downtown Toronto adjacent to Union railway station: * {{go | name=Union Station Bus Terminal | alt=GO bus terminal | url= | email= | address=81 Bay St | lat=43.6441 | long=-79.3779 | directions=interior pedestrian connection to Union Station rail & subway services | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Union Station Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q7886117 | lastedit=2020-12-05 | content=Union Station Bus Terminal (USBT) serves '''GO Transit''', '''Megabus''', '''Greyhound''', '''Rider Express''', and '''Ontario Northland''' buses. Like an airport, there are no predetermined bus platform assignments. Check display monitors for the bus departure zone; 10 minutes before departure, monitors will display the bus departure gate. The bus terminal moved to its new location on December 5, 2020; maps might still indicate the older, now closed bus location; the new location is south of the railway corridor. The Toronto Coach Terminal near Dundas subway station is closed. }} Here is a list of minor terminals and stops in various parts of the city. Check the Wikipedia link for a list of bus routes serving each terminal. * {{go | name=Yorkdale Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.725129 | long=-79.449034 | directions=across a footbridge from Yorkdale subway station on Line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Yorkdale Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q8055620 | lastedit=2019-03-17 | content='''GO Transit''' buses from [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]], [[Mississauga]], [[Milton (Ontario)|Milton]], [[Brampton]] and [[Oshawa]]; '''Ontario Northland''' buses from [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]], [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]], and [[Timmins]]; '''Megabus''' once daily from [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]]. }} * {{go | name=York Mills Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.745129 | long=-79.406375 | directions=at York Mills subway station on Line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=York Mills Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q8055501 | lastedit=2019-03-17 | content='''GO Transit''' buses from Mississauga, Milton, Brampton and Oshawa. }} * {{go | name=Finch Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.782132 | long=-79.415775 | directions=adjacent to Finch subway station on Line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Finch Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q5449818 | lastedit=2019-03-17 | content='''GO Transit''' buses from Toronto Pearson International Airport, Mississauga, Milton, Brampton, [[Keswick]] and Oshawa. }} * {{go | name=Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=near Scarborough Centre Station on subway Line 3 Scarborough | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal | wikidata=Q7430270 | lastedit=2023-08-12 | content=Because of the closure of the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal until about 2030, stops for intercity buses are scattered around the Scarborough Centre district. See [[Toronto/Scarborough#By bus]] for details by carrier. '''GO Transit''', '''Megabus''', and '''FlixBus''' stop at Scarborough Centre. }} See also Toronto Pearson International Airport, [[Toronto Pearson International Airport#Ground Transportation|Ground Transportation]], for more intercity bus routes. ====Bus operators==== * {{listing | name=FlixBus | alt= | url=https://www.flixbus.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= |wikidata=Q15712258| lastedit=2022-04-08 | content=Bus service to Toronto from [[Ottawa]] (4.75 hours), [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]], [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]], [[Whitby (Ontario)|Whitby]], [[Kitchener]] (2-2.25 hours), [[Stratford (Ontario)|Stratford]], [[Cambridge (Ontario)|Cambridge]], [[St. Catharines]] (1.5 hours), [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] (1.75 hours), [[Welland]], [[Port Colborne]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]], [[Brantford]], [[Chatham-Kent]], [[London (Ontario)|London]] (3 hours), [[Sarnia]], [[Windsor (Ontario)|Windsor]] (6 hours), [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]], [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]], [[Parry Sound]], [[Barrie]], [[Owen Sound]], [[Detroit]] (6.25-6.5 hours), and [[Buffalo]] (2.75-4 hours). Seasonal service from [[Port Elgin (Ontario)|Port Elgin]] and [[Southampton (Ontario)|Southampton]]. }} *{{listing | name=GO Transit | alt= | url=https://www.gotransit.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-416-869-3200 | tollfree=+1-888-438-6646 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=GO Transit | wikidata=Q1357727 | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=[[GO Transit]] runs bus and rail commuter/regional transit within and near the [[Greater Toronto Area]]. GO Transit buses make connections to many nearby cities including: [[Oshawa]], [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]], [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]], [[Barrie]], [[Guelph]], and [[Kitchener]]. }} * {{listing | name=Intercity Bus | alt= | url=https://www.intercitybus.ca/routes/| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-03-16 | content=Service from [[London (Ontario)|London]], [[Sarnia]], [[Strathroy]], [[Woodstock (Ontario)|Woodstock]], and [[Kitchener]]. }} *{{listing | name=Megabus | alt=Coach Canada | url=https://ca.megabus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-866-488-4452 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Megabus (North America) | wikidata=Q6808155 | lastedit=2022-04-22 | content=Operates buses to Toronto from [[Montreal]] (5.75-7 hr) or [[Ottawa]] (5.25 hr) via [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]] (3 hr); from [[Grimsby (Ontario)|Grimsby]], [[St. Catharines]], and [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] (2 hr). Megabus offers Wi-Fi and electrical outlets on many of its buses. A service from [[London (Ontario)|London]] is offered by Megabus through Badder Bus. Service from the United States (Buffalo, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D. C.) is also available. }} *{{listing | name=Ontario Northland | alt= | url=https://www.ontarionorthland.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-800-461-8558 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services | wikidata=Q7094858 | lastedit=2022-04-23 | content=Operates bus routes primarily in [[Northern Ontario]]. Routes travel as far west as [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba and as far east as [[Ottawa]]. }} The following routes travel to Toronto: **To Toronto from [[North Bay (Ontario)|North Bay]] including stops in [[Huntsville (Ontario)|Huntsville]], [[Bracebridge]], [[Gravenhurst]], [[Washago]] (some trips), [[Orillia]] (stop trips), and [[Barrie]]. Travel time to Toronto from North Bay is 5.75-6 hours, from Huntsville is 3.25-4 hours, from Barrie is 1.25 hours. Connections available at North Bay from [[Cochrane (Ontario)|Cochrane]], [[Kirkland Lake]], [[Ottawa]], and [[Timmins]]. **To Toronto from [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]] including stops in [[Parry Sound]], Orillia (some trips), and Barrie. Travel time to Toronto from Sudbury is 5.5-6.5 hours, from Parry Sound is 3.5-3.75 hours, and from Barrie is 1-1.5 hours. Connections available at North Bay from [[Ottawa]], [[Sault Sainte Marie (Ontario)|Sault Sainte Marie]], and [[Timmins]]. ***Travel to Toronto from Winnipeg involves timed transfers between bus routes at [[Thunder Bay]], [[Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario)|Sault Ste. Marie]], and Sudbury. To reach Toronto from Winnipeg is 1 day 9 hours. *{{listing | name=Onex Bus | alt= | url=https://www.onexbus.com/home | email=info@onexbus.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-647-477-5500 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-07-25 | content=Bus service to Toronto from [[Kitchener]] and [[London (Ontario)|London]]. }} *{{listing | name=Orléans Express | alt= | url=https://www.orleansexpress.com/en/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= |wikidata=Q7122769| lastedit=2025-05-08 | content=Service from [[Ottawa]] and [[Montreal]]. }} *{{go | name=Rider Express | alt= | url=https://riderexpress.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-833-583-3636 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-03-19 | content=Offers service to Toronto from [[Ottawa]] via [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]] and [[Belleville (Ontario)|Belleville]]. Travel time to Toronto from Ottawa is 5.25 hours and from Kingston is 3 hours. Also service from Ottawa via [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]]<!-- , and service from Niagara Falls via St. Catharines and Hamilton -->. }} * {{go | name=Maple Bus | alt= | url=https://maplebus.ca/| email= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Shuttle service from [[Ottawa]], [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]], [[Napanee]], [[Brockville]], [[Belleville (Ontario)|Belleville]], [[Trenton (Ontario)|Trenton]], [[Cobourg]], [[Port Hope]], and [[Oshawa]]. }} === By train === {{Seealso|Rail travel in Canada|GO Transit}}[[File:Toronto - ON - Union Station.jpg|thumb|Union Station]] {{go | name=Union Station | alt={{IATA|YBZ}} | url=https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/booking-city-facilities/union-station/ | email= | address=65 Front Street West | lat=43.645278 | long=-79.380556 | directions=between Bay St and York St | phone= | tollfree= | hours=5:30AM-12:45AM or until last train | price= | wikipedia=Union Station (Toronto) | image=Toronto - ON - Union Station.jpg | wikidata=Q511316 | content=Opened in 1927, Toronto's Union Station is one of the grandest, most impressive train stations in North America, with the ceiling of its enormous Great Hall rising to a height equivalent to seven stories. The Grand Hall accommodates the VIA Rail ticket counters and gives access to VIA train platforms via the branching VIA Concourse. The {{marker|type=go|name=Union Pearson Express station|lat=43.644376|long=-79.383462}} is 250 metres west of the Great Hall via an enclosed pedestrian corridor. The GO York Concourse on the lower level at the west (York Street) end of the station has GO Transit ticket counters and access to GO train platforms. (A food court is below the GO York Concourse.) [[#Union Station Bus Terminal|Union Station Bus Terminal]] is on the east side of Bay Street, south of the railway tracks. The TTC Union subway station is at the north-east corner of the main building, and serves subway Line 1, and the 509 and 510 streetcars through the [[Toronto/Harbourfront|Harbourfront district]]. }} The following are the railway services operating out of Union Station: *{{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com/home | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-215-856-7924 | tollfree=+1-800-872-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Amtrak | wikidata=Q23239 | lastedit=2022-07-04 | content=Operates trains throughout the [[United States of America]]. }} Amtrak operates the [[Maple Leaf]] train service daily between Toronto and [[New York City]], in partnership with [https://www.viarail.ca/ VIA Rail Canada]. Stops between Toronto and New York City include in [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]], [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]], [[Grimsby (Ontario)|Grimsby,]] [[St. Catharines]], [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)]], [[Niagara Falls (New York)]], [[Buffalo]], Buffalo ([[Cheektowaga|Depew]]), [[Rochester (New York)|Rochester]], [[Syracuse (New York)|Syracuse]], [[Rome (New York)|Rome]], [[Utica]], [[Schenectady]], Albany ([[Rensselaer (New York)#By train|Rensselaer]]), [[Hudson (New York)|Hudson]], [[Rhinecliff]], [[Poughkeepsie]], [[Croton-on-Hudson]], and [[Yonkers]]. Travel time to Toronto from Niagara Falls (Ontario) is 2 hours, from Buffalo is 4.25 hours, from Syracuse is 6.75 hours, from Albany is 9.5 hours, and from New York City is 12.5 hours. Border crossing processing takes place in Niagara Falls, where passengers must detrain with their baggage. Train crew members are staffed by VIA Rail within Canada, and by Amtrak within the United States. *{{listing | name=GO Transit | alt= | url=https://www.gotransit.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-416-869-3200 | tollfree=+1-888-438-6646 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=GO Transit | wikidata=Q1357727 | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=[[GO Transit]] operates 7 commuter rail lines radiating from Toronto serving smaller cities within and near the [[Greater Toronto Area]]. The lines have various service levels varying from all-day service to limited mid-day service to only rush-hour, peak-direction service. Most fares can be paid by credit, debit or [[Presto card|Presto]] card. The following are some of the destinations.}} **The Barrie line serves [[Vaughan|Vaughan,]] [[Aurora (Ontario)|Aurora]], [[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]], [[East Gwillimbury]] and [[Barrie]] daily. **The Kitchener line serves [[Brampton]], [[Georgetown (Ontario)|Georgetown]], [[Acton (Ontario)|Acton]], [[Guelph]] and [[Kitchener]] daily. **The Lakeshore West line operates daily serving [[Mississauga]], [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]], [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton,]] [[St. Catharines]] and [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]]. **The Lakeshore East line operates daily serving [[Pickering (Ontario)|Pickering]], [[Ajax]], and [[Whitby]] and [[Oshawa]]. **The Stouffville line operates daily serving [[Markham]]. **Other GO rail destinations have only rush-hour, peak-direction service. *{{listing | name=Union Pearson Express | alt=UP Express | url=https://www.upexpress.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-869-3300 | tollfree=+1-844-438-6687 | hours= | price=As of April 2022, one-way fare for adults is $12.35, but it is $9.25 if paid by credit, debit or Presto card | lastedit=2022-05-23 | content=Operates trains between Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Trip time is 25 minutes. Trains operate every 15 minutes daily from early morning until the late evening. }} *{{listing | name=VIA Rail Canada | alt= | url=https://www.viarail.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-842-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Via Rail | wikidata=Q876720 | lastedit=2022-04-22 | content=Operates many intercity trains across [[Canada]]. }} See [[Rail travel in Canada]] for more details. Train routes operating to Toronto: **Between [[Montreal]] and Toronto including stops in [[Montreal/West Island|Dorval]], [[Cornwall (Ontario)|Cornwall]], [[Brockville]], [[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]], [[Belleville (Ontario)|Belleville]], [[Cobourg]], and [[Oshawa]]. Travel time to Toronto from Montreal is 5.25-5.5 hours and from Kingston is 2.5-2.75 hours. **Between [[Ottawa]] and Toronto including stops in [[Smiths Falls]], Brockville, [[Gananoque]], Kingston, [[Napanee]], Belleville, [[Trenton (Ontario)|Trenton]], Cobourg, [[Port Hope]], and Oshawa. Travel time to Toronto from Ottawa is 4.25-4.75 hours and from Kingston is 2.5-2.75 hours. **Between [[Sarnia]] and Toronto including stops in [[London (Ontario)|London]], [[St. Marys (Ontario)|St. Marys]], [[Stratford (Ontario)|Stratford]], [[Kitchener]], [[Guelph]], [[Georgetown (Ontario)|Georgetown]], [[Brampton]], and [[Mississauga]]. Travel time to Toronto from Sarnia is 5 hours, from London is 3.75 hours, and from Kitchener is 1.5 hours. **Between [[Vancouver]] and Toronto on [[The Canadian]], which operates several trips per week. Travel time to Toronto from [[Vancouver]] is 3 days 20.5 hours, from [[Kamloops]] is 3 days 10.25 hours, from [[Jasper]] is 3 days, from [[Edmonton]] is 2 days 16.75 hours, from [[Saskatoon]] is 2 days 5.5 hours, from [[Winnipeg]] is 1 day 14 hours, and from [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]] is 9.75 hours. Stops between Sudbury and Toronto include [[Parry Sound]] (5.75 hours from Toronto) and [[Washago]]. **Between [[Windsor (Ontario)|Windsor]] and Toronto including stops in [[Chatham-Kent|Chatham]], London, [[Ingersoll (Ontario)|Ingersoll]], [[Woodstock (Ontario)|Woodstock]], [[Brantford]], [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]], and [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]]. Travel time to Toronto from Windsor is 4.25-4.5 hours, from London is 3.25-3.5 hours, and from Brantford is 1.25 hours. There are no direct trains from [[Chicago]], but you can catch Amtrak's ''Wolverine'' service from Chicago to Detroit, then transfer onto one of VIA Rail's trains after crossing the border into Windsor by public transport. === By car === Major highways leading into Toronto are the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), the 404, the 401, the 400, and the 427. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, so signs pointing you to Toronto are common. Traffic on incoming highways can be extremely heavy especially during rush hours. In the downtown core there are many turn restrictions, particularly from main thoroughfares to other main thoroughfares (e.g. Yonge to Dundas Streets). The main streets in Toronto are laid out in a grid pattern that makes it one of the easiest cities to get around in by car. Getting from point to point anywhere in the city can be achieved with only a few turns. Parking in the downtown core can be expensive and hard to find, but tends to be plentiful and inexpensive or free in the outer districts of [[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]], [[Toronto/North York|North York]] and [[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]]. Although there is an extensive grid of local bus routes, travel by automobile may be faster and more convenient in the outer districts. Free parking do exist in the downtown core for those who don't mind an extra 5-10 min walk. SpotAngels is an actively maintained app that has maps of where they are. ==== Transit bylaws ==== Toronto follows some bylaws related to the transit system (especially streetcars) that often confuse or surprise visiting drivers: * Yield to public transit buses signalling to merge left into traffic from a bus stop. * Stay out of reserved public transit lanes during the rush hours, except to make a right-hand turn at the next cross street. A few transit lanes have restrictions from 7AM-7PM. While the restrictions are in effect, only transit vehicles, taxis and bicycles may use these lanes. Newer bus only lanes are painted red and may only be used by TTC vehicles or bicycles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except when making a right turn). * Avoid King Street between Jarvis and Bathurst streets as [https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/transportation-projects/king-street-pilot/how-to-use-the-king-street-transit-pilot/ no through automobile traffic] is allowed; such traffic must turn right after travelling a few blocks as per signage. Through traffic in this zone is allowed only for streetcars (trams) and bicycles. * Never pass a streetcar running in your direction that is stopped in the middle of the street with its doors open. Passing is illegal and dangerous for passengers boarding or leaving the streetcar. * If you are driving in a lane near a moving streetcar, and you see it slow to a stop and small lights around its doors begin to flash, that means its doors are about to open. You are required to stop too, even if your own traffic lane is clear. In 2025, the TTC added large bumper stickers to streetcars to remind drivers: "We stop. You stop." *Also, you should yield to people entering the street to board an approaching streetcar. Continue only after the streetcar doors close. *There is one big exception: You may pass a streetcar where there is a boarding platform between the streetcar and traffic lane, but watch out for pedestrians walking between the platform and the sidewalk. * Give a wide berth to streetcars turning at a street intersection; streetcars have a wide overhang on curves, which is indicated on the road by dashed white lines. If your car is stopped too close to a streetcar curve, you may be forced to back up or squeeze more to the right. * Give a wide berth to emergency vehicles with sirens or flashing red lights, and pull over to the side of the road safely but quickly. == Get around == Toronto is huge, and most roads run for very long distances. Streetcar rail, subway rail, and intercity rail services are clean and efficient, and it's entirely possible to get around Toronto without a car, especially downtown. You may find it quicker and easier to drive, but the highways regularly backup during rush hour (7AM-10AM and 4PM-7PM). Toronto has plentiful parking garages downtown, but they are very expensive. Many in Toronto travel by bicycle (especially in the warmer months) and this mode is very convenient for getting around the downtown district. Not all motorists will give way to cyclists, and not all cyclists comply with the rules of the road; caution is recommended. === By car === Getting around by car is the easiest method to get around outside of the downtown area. Roads are wide, have many lanes, and parking is free and plentiful. Arterial roads are generally laid out {{convert|2|km}} apart, although they are closer in the west and east ends of the city. There are many freeways within Toronto. *'''Highway 401''' ''(locally, the four-oh-one)'' crosses the north side of the city and is very busy. Highway 401 has a collector-express system. The express lanes of the highway have fewer exits, while the collector lanes generally have all the exits. After every 3 or 4 exits, there is an interchange between the collectors and express lanes, so motorists who need to exit can get into the collectors, and those travelling a longer distance can go into the express lanes. When there's a lot of traffic, it is possible for the collectors to be jammed, but not the express, and vice versa. It is best to listen to traffic reports in order to avoid traffic in this case. AM 680 on your radio has traffic and weather reports every 10 minutes (on the 1's). *'''Highway 427''' crosses the west side of the city. It begins at the QEW/Gardiner Expressway interchange and ends in [[Vaughan]]. It also has a short express-collector system near the airport; be sure to follow the signs in order to get where you need to go. *'''Highway 400''' has a short stub in Toronto and ends at Highway 401. Highway 400 goes north into the suburbs and later to [[Barrie]]. *'''Allen Road''' is a short freeway that was supposed to be part of a longer Spadina Expressway. The rest of the expressway was cancelled and Allen Road was the short stub that remained. Allen Road begins at Eglinton Avenue, and ends north of Highway 401 and becomes Dufferin Street. Traffic going south is usually backed up because the freeway ends abruptly at a signalized T-intersection at Eglinton. *'''Highway 404''' also has a short stub in Toronto, and goes north to the suburbs, such as [[Aurora (Ontario)|Aurora]] and [[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]]. Highway 404, after interchanging with Highway 401 when going south, becomes the Don Valley Parkway. *'''Don Valley Parkway''' (DVP) is a freeway that connects northern Toronto to downtown Toronto. Exits on the DVP require motorists to slow down more than you would on other Ontario expressways, due to the nature of the terrain. The DVP begins at the Gardiner Expressway in downtown and ends at Highway 401 in the north, then contines as Highway 404. *'''Gardiner Expressway''' is a freeway serving downtown Toronto. It begins at QEW/Highway 427 interchange and crossing downtown Toronto, ending at Don Valley Parkway. Half of the route is elevated, making for great views of the city. *'''Highway 409''' is a short freeway designed to connect directly with [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]]. It begins at Highway 401, interchanges with Highway 427, and ends at the airport. Getting around in downtown Toronto by car is a lot harder, however, and perhaps taking transit might be better. Parking is scarce and could be expensive, depending on where you park and whether you park on the street or on private lots. Driving on downtown streets also takes a lot more patience as speeds are slower, and hazards are more numerous. Ideally, avoid driving in downtown areas as parking fees are high. Ride-sharing services are widely available and a stress-free alternative. === By public transit === {{listing | name=Toronto Transit Commission | alt=TTC | url=https://www.ttc.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-393-4636 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-05-25 | content=Toronto's main transit system. TTC consists of buses, streetcars (trams) and subway lines. }} ====Fares==== The following are the fares effective August 15, 2023: * Cash fare: adult (20-64) $3.35, senior (65+) $2.30, youth (13-19) $2.40 * Contactless credit or debit card: adult fare only, $3.30 * Presto card: adult $3.30, senior $2.25, youth $2.35 * Presto ticket: adult fare only, one-ride $3.35, two-ride $6.70, day pass $13.50 * Children (12 or younger): free. Child, youth and senior riders must be prepared to show proof of age for reduced fares on request. =====Paying by Presto===== [[Presto card|Presto]] is an electronic fare payment system used on the TTC where riders pay fares by tapping a contactless '''credit or debit card''', Presto card or Presto ticket on a Presto fare reader. The Presto fare system is used by most public transit services in the Greater Toronto Area, including the TTC, GO Transit and UP Express. [[Image:Presto_subway_vending_machines.jpg|right|thumb|The Presto machine on the right sells Presto cards & tickets. Both can upload funds to a physical Presto card.]] '''Presto card''' is a multiple-use, electronic fare card with a stored balance. Unless you are eligible for reduced senior/youth fares, it is simpler to use a credit or debit card instead of a Presto card. Physical Presto cards can be obtained for $4 from the Presto vending machines at TTC, GO and UP stations (cash, credit cards and debit cards are accepted at the large black machines) at most Shoppers Drug Mart and select Loblaws stores across the city, while digital Presto cards via Apple Wallet and Google Wallet can be installed onto a compatible smartphone or smartwatch for free. All physical and digital Presto cards are automatically configured to deduct the regular adult fare by default. For reduced senior/youth fares, the customer must have the card's fare type changed by seeing a physical agent at an authorized in-person Presto customer service outlet (not a vending machine); proof of age may be required. Presto card holders are entitled to [https://www.prestocard.ca/en/about/presto-perks discounts or offers] for certain attractions in the Greater Toronto Area. '''Presto tickets''' are single-use, paper-disposable electronic tickets with no stored balance which must be used within 90 days of purchase (unused tickets can be exchanged for up to one year past expiration by mailing them in to TTC). If you are paying a single-ride fare with a credit or debit card, you do not need Presto tickets. They can only be used for TTC services, (they are accepted at all TTC stations regardless of whether they are located in Toronto or York Region, and on surface routes/vehicles within the City of Toronto limits and for TTC buses going to and from Pearson Airport). They are sold from Presto vending machines at all TTC stations at most Shoppers Drug Mart and select Loblaws locations across Toronto and come in three varieties: one-ride, two-ride and day pass. The TTC Presto day pass allows one person unlimited travel on the day of use from first tap until 3AM the next morning. Using Presto, you must tap your credit card, debit card, Presto card or Presto ticket on the Presto fare reader located on top of TTC station faregates, on the streetcar or bus doors, or the on-street platforms for Lines 5 and 6. To avoid accidental double charging, keep any unused credit and debit cards away from the Presto reader, and always tap the same card or ticket during your trip. If travelling as a group, each rider must use a separate card or ticket. Customers paying a single-ride TTC fare with a credit, debit or Presto card, or a 1-ride Presto ticket are entitled to two hours of unlimited travel on all TTC services, allowing unlimited stopovers or a round trip. For riders paying by credit, debit or Presto card, free or discounted transfers are available between the TTC and the following transit operators: [[GO Transit]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] Street Railway, [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]] Transit, [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] Transit, MiWay ([[Mississauga]]), [[Brampton]] Transit, [[York Region]] Transit and [[Durham (region, Ontario)|Durham Region]] Transit. For such trips, riders pay only one fare instead of paying multiple fares when transferring from one transit operator to another. If transferring to or from GO Transit, only the GO fare is charged by the end of the trip. Such trips must be completed within two hours, or three hours if using GO Transit. This free or discounted transfer is '''not''' available to riders paying by cash, Presto ticket or using UP Express trains operating between Union Station and Pearson Airport. =====Paying by cash===== If you pay by cash, exact cash (no change provided) is required. You must request for paper transfer (also called a POP ticket) to serve as proof of payment and to transfer to another TTC vehicle at designated transfer locations. Paper transfers are valid for a one-way continuous trip and stopovers and return trips are not permitted (unlike paying by credit, debit or Presto card). Unstaffed automated subway entrances do not accept exact cash fares or paper transfers. If you are paying the adult cash fare, Presto tickets are a better alternative than paying exact cash. The procedures for cash payment vary by vehicle mode: * At subway stations, there is at least one staffed entrance where you can deposit exact cash into a fare box. After passing the fare gates, obtain a transfer from a red machine labelled "transfer/POP". * On buses, pay exact cash fare at the front door of the vehicle, and ask the driver for a paper transfer. * On streetcars, there are cash payment machines near the second and third doors of the vehicle. After you insert exact cash fare into the vending machine, it will give you a paper POP/transfer. * For Lines 5 and 6, underground stations have at least one staffed entrance where you deposit exact cash into the fare box, after passing through the fare gates obtain a paper transfer from the red transfers machine. At on-street stops, there is a cash payment machine on the platform where you deposit exact cash into the vending machine and obtain a paper POP/transfer. ====Subway and light rail==== Trains operate M-Sa roughly 6AM-1:30AM, and Su 8AM-1:30AM. [[File:Toronto_rapid_transit_map_2026.svg|thumb|Toronto subway system]] As of Feb 2026, the subway and light rail system has five lines: *Line {{rint|toronto|1}} Yonge-University runs in a 'U' shape, travelling from North York south along Yonge Street, through the downtown area to Union Station, then travelling north through North York to [[Vaughan]]. *Line {{rint|toronto|2}} Bloor-Danforth runs east-west along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. *Line {{rint|toronto|4}} Sheppard runs east from Line 1 along Sheppard Avenue to Fairview Mall at Don Mills Station. *Line {{rint|toronto|5}} Eglinton runs east along Eglinton Avenue between Mount Dennis and Kennedy Stations. *Line {{rint|toronto|6}} Finch West runs west from Line 1 at Finch West Station along Finch Avenue West to Humber College. Much of Lines 5 and 6 run on the surface in the middle of a street. Before boarding a Line 5 or 6 train on the street, remember to pay/validate your fare ''before'' boarding the train. A number of underground stations on Line 5 are several levels deep with elevators and escalators only at the main entrance; to avoid an exhausting climb, do not use the secondary entrances. Line {{rint|toronto|3}} Scarborough is no longer in service. Until the extension of the Line 2 underground subway opens (estimated 2030), the service has been replaced by interim bus services including the 903 Kennedy-Scarborough Express running between Kennedy and Scarborough Centre stations, and 8 other TTC bus routes. These routes have been extended from Scarborough Centre to operate as express services to Kennedy station. (All TTC bus routes that depart from Platform B at Kennedy station service Scarborough Centre station before continuing along their respective routes.) Sections of the subway and light rail system often close on weekends or late evening for maintenance, with buses replacing each closed section. The TTC gives [https://www.ttc.ca/service-alerts notice] of such closures a few days in advance. Expect a longer travel time during such closures; staff will be on hand to direct passengers. ====Streetcars ==== : [https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Images/Home/Routes-and-Schedules/Landing-page-pdfs/TTC_SubwayStreetcarLightrailMap.pdf '''TTC Subway, Light Rail and Streetcar Map'''], omitting most streetcar diversions Toronto is one of the few cities in North America (and the only city in Canada) to have kept any of its streetcar routes. Most streetcar lines serve the south, central part of the city. Note the following: * The TTC often diverts streetcars around construction projects potentially resulting in a substantially changed route for several months. Maps posted on the TTC website, in stations and in waiting shelters generally do not reflect such diversions. Ideally, riders should check the TTC webpage: [https://www.ttc.ca/service-advisories/Streetcar-Service-Changes ''Streetcar Services Changes''] for diversions to avoid ending up in the wrong place. * Buses replacing all or part of a streetcar route will bear the streetcar route number and route name. * When getting on and off streetcars, make sure that the traffic is stopped in the lane next to the streetcar. Also, be aware of pickpockets in crowded rush hour situations. ====Other services==== From roughly 1:30AM to 6AM (8AM on Sundays), the subway system and all day-time streetcar and bus routes are replaced by the [https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Images/Home/Routes-and-Schedules/Landing-page-pdfs/TTC_BlueNightNetworkMap_2024-03.pdf '''Blue Night Network''']{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Night bus and streetcar routes are all numbered in the 300-series, and use the same fares as day-time routes. Night route 320 Yonge replaces the subway line 1 and offers frequent service. Most other night routes have 30-minute frequency. [https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Images/Home/Routes-and-Schedules/Landing-page-pdfs/TTC_ExpressNetworkMap_2021-11.pdf '''Express bus routes'''] (numbered in the 900 series) often follow local bus routes but with fewer stops, stopping mainly at transfer points. The [https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Service-to-the-airport/Toronto-Pearson-International-Airport 900 Airport Express] goes to Toronto Pearson Airport. Some express routes operate all day, every day; others may run only during rush hours. Fares are the same as on other TTC routes. <!--suspended until further notice as of Oct 2021: '''Downtown Express routes''' (141–145) operate only during the rush hours, and only to downtown in the morning, returning in the evening. These buses charge double fare. --> === By taxi === Taxis are plentiful and safe, but not cheap. The base rate is $4.25, with an average {{km|5}} trip costing $13. As with most big cities, driving a car downtown can be annoying; parking is often hard to find and expensive, and traffic along certain streets can make vehicle travel slower than mass transit. However, traveling longer distances, when not close to subway lines is often significantly faster by car or taxi. === By ride hailing === * {{Listing|name=Lyft|url=https://www.lyft.com/rider/cities/city-of-toronto-on|lastedit=2022-07-31}} * {{Listing|name=Uber|url=https://www.uber.com/cities/toronto|lastedit=2022-07-31|content=UberX service is available via smartphone app throughout the city with fares running roughly half the price of a taxi. An average 5 km (3.1 mi) trip costs roughly $8.25.}} === By bicycle === [[File:BikeShareTorontoBayAlbert2.jpg|thumb|''Bike Share Toronto'' rack near the Toronto City Hall.]] Toronto is trying very hard to become a bike-friendly city, with dedicated bike lanes being added all the time. There are many casual cyclists out all the time. And it is fast: door to door, in all of downtown Toronto, a bike beats a car or transit nearly every time. There can be hostility between automobiles and cyclists. Generally speaking, if you are on the road, you are expected to obey the same laws as cars, and you are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk. The city is predominantly flat, aside from a general climb away from Lake Ontario and the deeply indented, forested Don Valley and Humber River Valley. Post-and-ring locking posts are present throughout the city. There are many bike-only lanes on major roads and threading through various neighbourhoods and parks. The city publishes a cycling map, available on the [http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/map/index.htm city website]. [http://www.bikesharetoronto.com/ Bike Share Toronto] provides a public bike system with over 10,000 bikes available at 1,000 stations throughout the city. Subscriptions start at $15 for 24 hours and allow you to use a bike for 90 minutes or less, as much as you like (usage fees apply for trips longer than 90 minutes). It operates 24 hours a day, all year long (but see the warning below about winter biking). Several businesses also offer [http://www.yellowpages.ca/search/si/1/Bicycle+Rental/Toronto+ON bicycle rentals]. It is a provincial law that cyclists under 18 must wear a helmet, and all riders must have a bike with reflectors and a bell. This tends to only be enforced when the police go on their annual "cycling blitz". Some dangers: * Beware of parked cars - often accidents are not caused by moving cars, but rather by careless drivers or passengers who unexpectedly open their driver's side door. * Be cautious of streetcar tracks as bike wheels can be easily caught and cause a spill. * Although you will certainly see many locals riding the streets year-round, biking in the winter months is enjoyable only with proper equipment and reasonable skills; winter weather is cold, it can be quite windy, and snow removal is often imperfect. Some recommended cycling routes: * By far one of the most popular bike paths is the Martin Goodman Trail, the east-west route that hugs Lake Ontario, spanning the city from Etobicoke to the eastern ends of the city. This path is also often used by pedestrians and rollerbladers. * The Don River trail system begins at the lake (near Queen and Broadview) and travels very far north and east. During or after heavy rains, avoid lower sections of the trails. * A special treat for bikers of all levels is a tour through Tommy Thompson Park (Leslie St Spit) to the lighthouse and bird sanctuaries (no cars!), which is open on weekends only. Start at Queen and Leslie and head south. * A visit to [[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]] from the ferry docks at the southern end of Bay Street is a great way to spend a bike-friendly, relaxed afternoon by bike. There are no private cars on the Toronto Islands. === By ferry === The trip to the [[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]] from the downtown core (Bay St and Queens Quay) is a pleasant 15-minute ferry ride, with frequent summer service and the best views of the Toronto skyline. There are also guided sailing vessels that take tours of the inner and outer harbours, and circumnavigate Toronto Islands. Ticket booths are found behind Harbourfront Centre in the [[Toronto/Harbourfront|Harbourfront]] district. ==See== {{seeDistricts}} ===Museums=== [[Image:Toronto ROM 01.jpg|thumbnail|The Royal Ontario Museum]] [[Image:CasaLomaToronto.jpg|thumbnail|Casa Loma]] [[Image:Rogers Center-restitched.jpg|thumbnail|CN Tower viewed from Rogers Centre]] [[File:Toronto City Hall night view.jpg|thumbnail|Toronto City Hall at night]] * '''[[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown#Art Gallery of Ontario|Art Gallery of Ontario]]'''. The largest art gallery in Canada. It has a great Canadian paintings exhibit and the world's largest collection of Henry Moore sculptures. The European paintings exhibit has a few excellent pieces including Ruben's ''The Massacre of the Innocents''. * [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Bata Shoe Museum|'''Bata Shoe Museum''']]. This offbeat museum is devoted to shoes and footwear from cultures all over the world. * [[Toronto/North York#Black Creek Pioneer Village|'''Black Creek Pioneer Village''']] is a recreation of life in 19th-century Ontario and consists of over 40 historic buildings, decorated in the style of the 1860s with period furnishings and actors portraying villagers. * [[Toronto/Midtown#Casa Loma|'''Casa Loma''']] is a step back in time to a period of European elegance and splendour. The museum has decorated suites, secret passages, a 250-m-long tunnel, towers, stables and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens. * [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art|'''Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art''']]. Dedicated to ceramics in an exquisite contemporary building. * [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#Hockey Hall of Fame|'''Hockey Hall of Fame''']] is both a museum and a hall of fame dedicated to the history of ice hockey. * [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Royal Ontario Museum|'''Royal Ontario Museum''']] is a museum of art, world culture and natural history. It is one of the largest museums in North America, and the largest in Canada. * [[Toronto/Midtown#Spadina House Museum|'''Spadina House Museum''']] is in a historic mansion dating from the 1860s. The grounds contain a beautiful garden. * '''[[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#Textile Museum of Canada|Textile Museum of Canada]]'''. Shows drawn from a 13,000-piece collection of textiles from around the world and from other collections. ===Landmarks=== * [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#CN Tower|'''CN Tower''']]. At 533 metres tall, the CN Tower is the third tallest free-standing structure in the world, and the tallest in North America. * '''[[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#Rogers Centre|Rogers Centre]]''' is a large multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof. It is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. * [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#City Hall|'''Toronto City Hall''']]. Two buildings forming a semi-circle overlooking Nathan Phillips Square. Architecturally stunning, and next door to [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#Old City Hall|'''Old City Hall''']] (now a court house) which has a more classical architecture. ===Parks=== * [[Toronto/Scarborough#Toronto Zoo|'''Toronto Zoo''']] is Canada's premier zoo showcasing over 3,000 animals and over 300 species. ==Do== {{seeDistricts}} ===Outdoors=== * Toronto is "[https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/parks-gardens-beaches/ the city within a park]", with miles and miles of parkland following the streams and rivers that flow through the city. '''Edwards Gardens''' and the '''Toronto Botanical Gardens''' in the neighbourhood of [[Toronto/North York|North York]] might just be the place to start exploring this natural environment. * The City of Toronto has designated various '''[https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/walking-in-toronto/walking-tours/etobicoke-walking-tours/ Discovery Walks]''' which highlight the natural and human history of the region. These can be found with brown circular signs along the route and highlight other regions such as the Belt Line, Garrison Creek and the Humber River as well as the downtown core. * '''Beaches'''. Toronto has three main sections of beach along Lake Ontario. The most popular of these is in the aptly-named [[Toronto/The Beach|Beaches]] neighbourhood. A less popular alternative is the beaches in the western end of the city in the [[Toronto/Parkdale|Parkdale]] neighbourhood; this was once Toronto's Coney Island, with an amusement park and numerous beach-style attractions; however in the 1950s the city built the Gardiner Expressway along the lakeshore, effectively separating the beaches from the city and causing the demolition of the amusement park; over the years attempts have been made to re-energize this area, but the Gardiner remains a major barrier, as well as a source of noise and pollution to keep away would-be beach-goers. On the plus side, the beaches are largely empty most of the time, providing solitude for those who seek it. The third major beach area in the city runs along the south shore of the [[Toronto/Islands|Toronto Islands]]. This area is pleasantly secluded, with most of the islands covered with parkland and a small amusement park. Hanlan's Point Beach on the western shore of the islands is the City of Toronto's only officially recognized clothing optional beach, and a popular gay hangout. Despite these options, many Torontonians prefer to leave the city for beach trips; the most popular beaches are those in the Georgian Bay area north of Toronto, [[Wasaga Beach]] in particular is very popular during the summer. ===Arts & entertainment=== * '''Comedy'''. World-renowned [http://www.secondcity.com/ Second City] comedy/improv theatre has a location in Toronto. See great improv and situation comedy performed live with audience participation over dinner and drinks in the heart of the club district of downtown Toronto. * '''Theatre'''. Toronto has a great theatre scene for every taste and budget. Check out the big theatres on Yonge Street for the big splashy shows. Small theatres in the Annex and elsewhere offer smaller productions that range from original Canadian works, avant-garde, experimental theatre, small budget musicals to British murder mysteries. A variety of theatre festivals such as the New Ideas, Rhubarb and Fringe festivals are the seed for many commercial success such as ''The Drowsy Chaperone''. Also try to check out the [https://www.coc.ca/Venue-Information/fourseasonscentre Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts], the home of the [https://www.coc.ca/ Canadian Opera Company] and the [https://national.ballet.ca/Tickets/Box-Office? National Ballet of Canada]. The [https://www.tso.ca/ Toronto Symphony] plays in the acoustically renovated [https://roythomsonhall.mhrth.com/ Roy Thomson Hall]. ===Annual events=== * {{do | name=Canadian National Exhibition | alt=The Ex, CNE | url=http://theex.com/ | email= | address=Exhibition Place | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=From mid-August to Labour Day | price= |wikidata=Q857399 | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=The Ex is an annual fair offering an amusement park (the Midway), a casino, live entertainment, an international market, agricultural exhibits including livestock and a variety of other exhibits. It is Canada's largest fair and the fifth largest in North America, with an average annual attendance of 1.3 million. }} * {{do | name=Doors Open | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/doors-open-toronto/ | email= | address=Various locations | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=Free admission | wikidata=Q3036912 | lastedit=2022-03-21 | content=This event, held the last weekend of May, offers residents and visitors an opportunity to take a peek behind the doors of more than 100 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city. Many of these buildings are normally not open to the public. A number of the city's museums offer free admission on the Doors Open weekend. }} * {{do | name=Fan Expo Canada | alt= | url=https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpocanada/ | email= | address= | lat=43.644167 | long=-79.386667 | directions=Metro Toronto Convention Centre | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Fan Expo Canada | image=Fan Expo Canada 2015 (21579869508).jpg | wikidata=Q5433535 | lastedit=2022-02-27 | content=Canada's answer to the San Diego and New York Comic-Cons, Fan Expo Canada draws over 150,000 attendees each year to celebrate superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and other popular franchises. It's the largest such event in Canada and one of the biggest in the world, now taking up both the north and south buildings of the Convention Centre. It usually takes place over four days at the end of August. }} * {{do | name=Pride Toronto | alt= | url=http://www.pridetoronto.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Held the last week of June | price= | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=Pride Toronto is the annual LGBT festival which includes the very popular Pride Parade which draws crowds of straight people to discover how LGBT people have fun. ''See also [[LGBT Toronto]].''}} * {{do | name=Toronto Black Film Festival | alt=TBFF | url=http://torontoblackfilm.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Held in February | price= | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=TBFF showcases the noteworthy black films and provides a forum to debate major cultural, social and socio-economic issues. }} * {{do | name=Toronto International Film Festival | alt=TIFF | url=http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Starts the Thursday night after Labour Day | price= | lastedit=2016-01-20 | content=This publicly attended festival of international film takes place in various theatres and draws many celebrities and celebrity spotters. }} * {{do | name=Inside Out LGBT Film & Video Festival | alt= | url=https://insideout.ca/ | email= | address=TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St W | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= |fax=| hours=Late May/early June | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q6037764 | lastedit=2020-01-26 | content=180 Canadian ind international films and videos over ten days, produced by and about LGBT people. }} * {{do | name=Toronto International Festival of Authors | alt= | url=https://festivalofauthors.ca/ | email=info@festivalofauthors.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Late October to early November, with related events throughout the year | price=Most events are free. Some events, including the book clubs and the writing workshops, have admission fees: check the festival's website for details | wikidata=Q6037764 | lastedit=2020-11-15 | content=One of the largest literary festivals in the world. The annual festival attracts many well-known and up-and-coming authors, with a focus on Canadian and Indigenous authors. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 festival was held online. Events included author readings and discussions, writing workshops, book club meetings, events for children and families, and audio walking tours of Toronto neighbourhoods that inspired stories about the city. The festival's Instagram page @festofauthors sometimes hosts live online events and announces updates throughout the year. }} ===Exploring neighbourhoods=== [[File:Chinatown Toronto.JPG|thumbnail|Crowds along Chinatown, on Spadina.]] [[File:Koreatown toronto 2009h.JPG|thumbnail|Pedestrian streets in Koreatown.]] Toronto has so many eclectic neighbourhoods that a random walk is fascinating in its own right. You might start in the Downtown area and then try other neighbourhoods around the city. Here are a few suggestions of neighbourhoods to visit. More details and more examples are found in the [[Toronto#Districts|district]] articles. * [[Toronto/Downtown East|'''Distillery District''']]. The former Gooderham & Worts distillery lands have been rejuvenated into a pedestrian-only village dedicated to the arts and entertainment. It has fantastic restaurants, festivals, and art galleries housed in its 19th-century distillery buildings. * [[Toronto/Harbourfront|'''Harbourfront''']], Toronto's former industrial port, is today largely parkland with biking and walking trails and excellent views of the harbour. Harbourfront Centre is situated right by the lake, and is home to numerous cultural events of which most are free or relatively inexpensive. Take in some of the worlds most critically acclaimed performing arts productions, or enjoy one of the many world festivals that take place every weekend. * [[Toronto/Islands|'''Toronto Islands''']]. A short inexpensive ferry ride from the foot of Bay Street and you leave the bustle of the city behind. Visually, the views of the skyline from the islands are stunning, and for cycling, walking, picnics or just relaxing, the Toronto Islands are hard to beat. There is even a small amusement park for kids, Centreville. On hot summer days, temperatures here will often be about 2-3C lower than the mainland providing relief. By mid-summer the water is warm enough to swim at Hanlan's Point or for the more adventurous, a nude beach is nearby. * [[Toronto/West End|'''Little Italy''']] is the spot to get a sense of the Western Mediterranean. Sit at one of the many coffee shops and watch the world go by on the weekends. A great time to visit is during the men's FIFA World Cup competition (in football/soccer), regardless of where in the world it is actually being held as local communities face off and rivalries reach a fever pitch. Support can be passionate and even in adjacent communities and it is not unusual to see them draped in a mind-numbing variety of flags once every four years. * '''[[Toronto/Chinatown|Toronto's Chinatown]]''' is a great way to sample a tiny bit of cities like Hong Kong, without spending the airfare. Vast crowds crush the sidewalks as vendors sell authentic Chinese and Vietnamese food, and not-so-authentic knock-offs. It is one of North America's largest Chinatowns, and with many shops aimed at tourists, it is a good place to pick up some unusual and inexpensive souvenirs. The area is also home to a growing number of Korean and Vietnamese shops and restaurants. Toronto's multicultural mosaic never stops evolving. For a complete tour, travel along Spadina (north/south) starting at College Street in the north or Queen Street in the south. However, while still fairly vibrant unlike its counterpart in Vancouver, it has been far eclipsed by the suburbs of [[Markham]] and [[Richmond Hill]] as the main centre of Chinese life in the Toronto area. * [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|'''Kensington Market''']] was once a centre of Jewish life that has morphed into the centre of Toronto's bohemian scene. Visitors will be assaulted by sounds and smells unlike anywhere else in the city, as narrow streets bustle with immigrants, punks, and yuppies alike. Stores include surplus shops, coffee houses, small restaurants (including vegetarian), clothing vendors, and record stores. Fish and fruit markets are also present in great numbers, and the area is experiencing a boom of South American food stalls of late. * [[Toronto/West End|'''Koreatown''']] has many Korean retail businesses and restaurants where Korean is as prominent as English in the signage. (There is also another Koreatown in [[Toronto/North York|North York]]. * [[Toronto/East End|'''Gerrard India Bazaar (Little India)''']] If you want to get a sense of Toronto's vibrant South Asian community, this is where you want to be; not only is Indian culture represented - visible Pakistani and Afghan communities are also alive along the street. * The '''501 Queen streetcar''' has been recognized in ''National Geographic'' magazine for being the longest streetcar route in North America (one of the longest in the world). The journey from one end to the other takes a couple of hours and passes through a wide range of ethnic and cultural neighbourhoods. === Sports teams & arenas === Toronto has several major league and minor league sports teams: * '''[http://argonauts.ca Toronto Argonauts]''' - Canadian Football League, playing at BMO Field on the Exhibition Place grounds. * '''[https://www.mlb.com/bluejays Toronto Blue Jays]''' – Major League Baseball, playing at the Rogers Centre (formerly known as SkyDome, and still generally called such by locals). * '''[http://mapleleafs.nhl.com Toronto Maple Leafs]''' – National Hockey League, playing at the Scotiabank Arena (formerly known as Air Canada Centre). * '''[http://www.nba.com/raptors/ Toronto Raptors]''' – National Basketball Association, playing at the Scotiabank Arena. * '''[http://www.torontorock.com Toronto Rock]''' – National Lacrosse League, playing at the Scotiabank Arena. * '''[http://www.torontofc.ca Toronto Football Club]''' (also known as Toronto FC or TFC) – Major League Soccer, playing at BMO Field. * '''[https://toronto.thepwhl.com/en/ Toronto Sceptres]''' – Professional Women's Hockey League, playing at the Coca-Cola Coliseum (formerly the Ricoh Coliseum). * '''[http://marlies.ca/ Toronto Marlies]''' – American Hockey League (Toronto Maple Leafs farm team), also playing at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. * '''[https://yorkunitedfc.canpl.ca/ York United FC]''' – Pro soccer team in the Canadian Premier League. They play home games at York Lions Stadium on the campus of York University in North York, but have long-term plans to build their own stadium in the York Region. * '''[https://www.torontofc.ca/tfc2/ Toronto FC II]''' – MLS Next Pro (Toronto FC reserve team); as of 2024, TFC II shares York Lions Stadium with York United. A couple of home games are played at BMO Field as part of a doubleheader with the parent club. * '''[http://www.torontowolfpack.com Toronto Wolfpack]''' – Rugby league team playing in Super League, the top level of England's rugby league pyramid, which also includes 10 teams from England and one from France. The Wolfpack play at Lamport Stadium in the Liberty Village neighbourhood. * In 2026, Coca-Cola Coliseum will also become home to the '''[https://tempo.wnba.com/ Toronto Tempo]''', a WNBA team. The '''[https://www.scotiabankarena.com/ Scotiabank Arena]''', 40 Bay St. It was called the Air Canada Centre (or "the Hangar") until 2018. The '''[https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/ballpark Rogers Centre] ''', 1 Blue Jays Way. Most often referred to by its original "SkyDome" name. The '''[http://www.mattamyathleticcentre.ca/ Maple Leaf Gardens]''', 60 Carlton Street. Historic arena in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District; now converted into a Loblaws supermarket and an athletic centre for Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), the Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens. The '''[http://www.sobeysstadium.com Sobey's Stadium]''' (formerly Aviva Centre), 1 Shoreham Drive. A tennis complex that serves mainly as a training facility, but also includes a main stadium court that frequently hosts seasonal concerts. The most notable use of the complex is for the annual Canadian Open (sponsored as the National Bank Open formerly Rogers Cup), a high-profile event on both the men's ATP Tour and women's WTA Tour. The Aviva Centre hosts the ATP event in even-numbered years and the WTA event in odd-numbered years, alternating with Montreal in both cases. == Buy == Toronto has ample opportunities for shopping, and nearly any section of the city has unique places to shop: [[Image:Toronto-Eaton-Centre.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Interior view of the Toronto Eaton Centre.]] * '''Toronto Eaton Centre''' – At [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas|Yonge-Dundas Square]]. Over 285 shops and services, including most of North America's most popular brands, and two food courts catering for every taste. * {{buy | name=The 'PATH' System | alt= | url=http://www.toronto.ca/path/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Linking 1,200 stores and 50 buildings, The PATH is an underground shopping mall has been created for all the commuters to get from Union Station to their offices and back without ever going outside. In a city of Toronto's summer heat and winter cold, this is essential. }} * [[Toronto/Bloor-Yorkville|'''Mink Mile''']]. If you head west from the corner of Yonge and Bloor, you are in the most upscale of Toronto's shopping districts, easily accessible from the Bloor-Yonge or Bay subway station. Bloor Street between Yonge and Avenue is regarded as Toronto's version of Fifth Avenue, with upscale names such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton, and the flagship Holt Renfrew department store. * [[Toronto/Bloor-Yorkville|'''Yorkville''']]. This high-end shopping district just north of Bloor Street and west of Bay Street is home to many designer boutiques. It also has many galleries selling art. * [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|'''Kensington Market''']] provides a bohemian shopping experience especially along the southern end of Kensington Avenue. The houses lining both sides of the street have been turned into shops with racks of clothes displayed in the front yard. * There are many local, neighbourhood shopping districts in the inner city. These are mostly along major thoroughfares lined on one or both sides with shops in low-rise buildings. A few examples are '''Queen Street West''' (especially [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown|east of Spadina Avenue]] and extending westward into the [[Toronto/West End|West End]]), '''[[Toronto/Midtown|Uptown Yonge]]''' north of Eglinton Avenue on Yonge Street, and '''[[Toronto/West End|Roncesvalles Village]]'''. There are many more areas with store-lined streets within the inner city but few in suburban districts such as [[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]], [[Toronto/North York|North York]] and [[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]] which tend to prefer malls. Consult the [[Toronto#Districts|district articles]]. * {{buy | name=Yorkdale Shopping Centre | alt= | url=http://www.yorkdale.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=A shopping centre in the north of the city, accessible from Yorkdale subway station. This is a full-service, upscale mall with hundreds of stores, but which is also rife with packs of roving teenagers who use the facilities as a social scene. Make use of the subway if possible on weekends, as locals pack the parking areas to capacity. }} ===Money=== '''Changing money''' at a recognized bank or financial institution is best; there are a few specialized ''bureaux de change'' in Toronto's financial district and in Mississauga in the airport terminals. Some hotels, souvenir shops and tourist offices exchange money, but their rates won't put a smile on your dial. Many places in Toronto accept US dollars for small transactions – with a rough 1:1 exchange rate – and it is advised to obtain some Canadian dollars if you will use cash. US coins are often mixed in with Canadian coins at stores since they are similar in appearance. <!-- *'''Thomas Cook''' (www.thomascook.ca) branches include: ** Bloor-Yorkville (+1 416-975-9940, +1-800-267-8891; 1168 Bay St; M-F 9AM-5:30PM; Bloor-Yonge) ** Financial District (+1 416-366-1961; 10 King St E; M-F 9AM-5PM; King) --> *'''Travelex''' (www.travelex.com/ca) has branches in the Financial District (+1 416-304-6130; First Canadian Place, Bank of Montréal, 100 King St W; M-F 8AM-5PM) and at [[Toronto Pearson International Airport|the airport]] in Mississauga. *'''Calforex Currency Services''' (290 Queen St West) give good rates for cash, buying and selling GBP, USD, EUR; on substantial sums can be as little as 1% from interbank rates. *American Express branches in Toronto only function as travel agencies and don't handle financial transactions. *Cheque-cashing firms such as Money Mart (+1 416-920-4146, multiple locations) can usually exchange US to CAD, but the rates tend to be worse than at other financial institutions. == Eat == Toronto is generally considered to be one of North America's top food cities. It has the same variety as New York or San Francisco and the compact and safe downtown keeps them closer together. As one of the most (if not the most) multicultural cities in the world, Toronto has authentic ethnic cuisine like no other city in North America. It is easy to eat out in Toronto and have a superb meal for cheap. A few of these cheap (i.e., can be easily procured for less than $20 or, in many instances, $10), iconic dishes are must-try meals for any visitor to Toronto—and represent the diversity that makes this city so special. === Peameal bacon sandwich === The closest thing to a classic local dish that Toronto has, this is a simple dish comprising slices of cured, unsmoked pork loin in a Kaiser roll, typically adorned with some mustard. The classic location to try this dish is in St Lawrence Market, with Carousel Bakery and Paddington's Pump its most famous purveyors. === Roti === Roti (never plural, and make the effort to pronounce the "T", like "row-tee") is probably the city's most iconic dish. Originating in Trinidad and Guyana, roti is essentially a curry wrapped in a roti shell, i.e., a thin paratha or dhalpuri flatbread. Typical curries found in roti include goat, chicken, lamb, beef, shrimp and a range of veggie options (channa, spinach, pumpkin, cabbage, potato). Occasionally you can find duck and oxtail options, if you're lucky. While the best roti is found in the outer suburbs of Scarborough and Brampton, a handful of shops persist in the city proper, including: * Pam's (Bloorcourt) * Ali's West Indian Roti Shop (Parkdale) * Island Foods (West Queen West) * Paul's Roti Shop (Cabbagetown) * Randy's Roti and Doubles (Bloor/Yonge) A second variety of roti is a true Toronto original, despite the constituent ingredients being from India. Enterprising Indian cooks in the city saw the popularity of the Caribbean/West Indian-style wrap and adapted it to their own curries; the East Indian variety is now much more easily found than the West Indian original, but it must be said the quality ranges from divine to barely tolerable. Classic choices include butter chicken, matar paneer, channa and lamb korma. Your best bets for consistently excellent Indian roti: * Roti Mahal (Queen West) * Matha Roti (Harbord Village) * Mother India Roti (Parkdale) === Jerk chicken === Toronto's home to one of the largest Jamaican populations outside of Jamaica, and with that comes a dazzling array of incredible jerk chicken options in nearly every corner of the city. This spicy-sweet-savoury chicken is usually served with rice and peas (kidney beans) and coleslaw; ask for extra oxtail gravy for the true taste. Meals can be had for $10–15, often with lunch specials. Little Jamaica, along Eglinton Ave., has about a dozen or so exceptional options; some classics closer to the core of the city include: * The Real Jerk (Gerrard East—they filmed the music video for Rihanna's "Work" ft. Drake here!) * Allwyn's (Queen West) * Fahmee Bakery (Little Portugal) * Chubby's (King West—a more expensive but supremely delicious version) * Tasty's (Chinatown) * Jerk King (numerous locations including Chinatown, the Annex and Bloor/Dufferin) * Mr. Jerk (Cabbagetown) * Diner's Corner (Yonge/Wellesly) * Albert's (St. Clair) === Patties (or "Jamaican patties" or "beef patties") === Patties are a flaky-crust pastry usually filled with seasoned ground beef and can be purchased from Jamaican restaurants, convenience stores, and even a couple subway stations. Vegetable and chicken versions can be found with a little effort as well; for a huge range of fillings (shrimp curry, callaloo, goat, ackee and saltfish), head to Golden Patty in Kensington Market. === Doubles === Doubles are the "little snack that fill you up big"—curried chickpeas in a fried, doughy flatbread, often with some tamarind sauce and hot sauce thrown in for good measure. Originating in Trinidad and Tobago, these can be found pretty much wherever you can find Caribbean roti, and typically will cost you under $5. Randy's and Ali's make particularly great doubles. === Italian veal sandwiches === Bring your appetite for these massive sandwiches. A Toronto Italian classic, veal sandwiches usually feature two or three breaded veal cutlets in tomato sauce with cheese, onions and peppers, all served on an Italian roll. Most veal sandwich shops also offer chicken cutlets and eggplant options as well for those looking for something somewhat lighter. More easily found around the West End than anywhere else in town, put yourself in a food coma at one of these shops: * California Sandwiches (Little Italy) * Bitondo's (Little Italy) * San Francesco Foods (Little Italy) * Tony and Nick's (Little Portugal) * Papamio (Annex/Seaton Village) * Uno Mustachio (St. Lawrence Market) === Portuguese tarts === Toronto has one of the largest Portuguese populations of any city outside of Portugal or Brazil, which means you can find excellent pasteis de nata—flaky custard tarts—at bakeries all over the city. While gentrification of the traditionally Portuguese areas of Toronto's West End has resulted in the closures of many iconic bakeries since the 2010s, options still abound. Many bakeries will put their own spins on the tarts, with chocolate and nutella being popular options. Check out these bakeries for quality pasteis: * Nova Era (multiple locations, including Dundas, St. Clair and Dupont) * Golden Wheat (Little Italy) * Caldense (Little Portugal) * Brockton Village Bakery (Little Portugal) * Bom Dia (Parkdale) * Progress Bakery (Dovercourt Village) === Street meat === Like any proper North American city, Toronto has a distinct regional spin on the hot dog, albeit one that is much less fussy than you would find in Montreal, Chicago, Tucson or Detroit. "Street meat" carts are found all over downtown, with many options clustered along Front Street near the Rogers Centre as well as near Nathan Phillips Square. Most carts will offer four sausage options: hot dog, Italian sausage, Polish sausage and veggie; hot dogs will run you ~$4, with sausages going for a dollar or so more. You dress the dogs yourself, with common toppings including ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, sauerkraut, pickles, banana peppers and bacon bits. There's no agreed-upon "standard" set of toppings; just do what feels right! === Farmer's markets === Surrounded by the extensive fertile farmlands of Southern Ontario, Toronto has an abundance of farmer's markets - one is happening, in season, almost every day. Several markets are year round, while others are seasonal, generally running from May to October. * [[Toronto/Downtown East#Q7589489|'''St. Lawrence Market''']]: The larger main building has over 50 specialty vendors, with a large seafood section, a dozen butchers, several bakeries, and three very extensive cheese shops. In the basement, there is a specialty area for handcrafters, and an extensive foodcourt. The temporary building is home to a Farmer's Market, open Saturdays year round. It features fresh vegetables in season, preserves, spices and herbs, honey direct from the beekeeper or maple syrup from the people who tapped and boiled it, and quality Ontario wines. * '''Riverdale Farm''' in [[Toronto/Downtown East#Q7338138|Downtown East]] is a working farm with an onsite store. Seasonal farmers' markets are held at City Hall's Nathan Phillips Square, in the [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas#Q2915521|Yonge-Dundas]] area, East York Civic Centre in the [[Toronto/East End#Q5329721|East End]], Etobicoke Civic Centre in [[Etobicoke#Q5404735|Etobicoke]], North York Civic Centre at [[Toronto/North York#Q6810763|Mel Lastman Square]], Scarborough Civic Centre in [[Toronto/Scarborough#Q7430272|Scarborough]], Dufferin Grove Park in the [[Toronto/West End#Q5312339|West End]], and Green Barn Market in the [[Toronto/West End#Q8039569|West End]] === Interesting food districts === * '''Kensington Market''' is a historic market near Chinatown with food and drink options of all kinds. These days, Latin food (especially Mexican tacos and South American empanadas) is particularly well represented, but Caribbean, Italian, Middle Eastern and Canadian food are all found in abundance, along with coffee shops, bars, food stores and vintage stores. * '''Cabbagetown''' is a designated Historic District in the eastern half of the downtown core. * '''University District''': small section of Baldwin Street (''east of Spadina, north of Dundas'') has many small outdoor cafes ideal for summer lunches. * '''Chinese food''' can naturally be found in Chinatown, but these days many ethnic Chinese residents will tell you that the suburbs of [[Markham]] and [[Richmond Hill]], not Chinatown, have the best Chinese food in the Toronto area. Other areas with a good selection of Chinese food include the suburbs of [[Scarborough]] and [[North York]], as well as the neighbourhood of East Chinatown, about 4 km east of the original Chinatown. * '''Chinatown''' also has many Vietnamese and Thai restaurants. * '''Hakka food''' is a style of Chinese food that originated in India with the migrant Chinese of Kolkata. Also known as Indian-style Chinese food, outside of India and certain Southeast Asian countries, Toronto is the only city in the world to have such a variety of Hakka restaurants. * '''Little Jamaica''' along Eglinton is home to countless jerk chicken restaurants as well as options for beef patties, ital (vegan) food and more. * '''Little India''' along Gerrard Street East features a wide range of Indian and Pakistani cuisine with plenty of options for vegetarian diners. * '''Koreatown''' along Bloor West between Bathurst and Christie Pits has dozens of Korean restaurants at every price point, as well as Korean karaoke bars and an incredible Korean grocery store, the P.A.T. (don't skip the fish waffles!). * '''Little Tibet''' in Parkdale is home to more than 20 Tibetan restaurants, one of the largest such communities outside of Tibet. Wherever you go, try the momos (dumplings with hot sauce)! * '''Greektown''' along the Danforth features plenty of places for souvlaki, meze, gyros and glorious dips of all kinds. * '''Little Portugal''' along Dundas West has gentrified considerably but there are a few remaining bakeries with pasteis de nata (custard tarts), bifana (pork sandwiches) and the like. * King Street between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue has many restaurants appealing to theatre goers. * Queen Street East between Empire and Leslie has a number of casual, trendy restaurants that match the vibe of Leslieville. * College Street to the west of Bathurst has a cheaper set of eclectic restaurants popular with university students from nearby University of Toronto. * Bayview Avenue south of Eglinton is the location of some of Toronto's best French pastry shops. * Bloor Street to the west of Spadina in the Annex has a similar set of restaurants to College St, with a particularly heavy concentration of budget-friendly Korean and Japanese restaurants. Most restaurants tend to be very laid back. * '''Yorkville''': it's more about being seen than actually eating but there are a few hidden gems, and this area is famous for sightseeing celebrities. Restaurants often charge a premium for otherwise mediocre meals. * The city's largest newspaper, the ''Toronto Star'', once chose the Downsview Park Flea Market food court as the best in the city. Although it is open only on weekends and rather remote, it offers a variety of authentic food from Afghan to Trinidadian and lacks the chain restaurants that dominate the city's food courts. It is north of downtown, but is accessible from the Downsview subway station on the Spadina line and shares space with over 400 independent retailers. === Cafés === :''Check the district articles for independent coffee shops.'' * {{eat | name=Aroma Espresso Bar | alt= | url=https://www.aromacafe.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-08-04 | content=This cafe chain has locations throughout the city. Aroma might be the best of the large coffee chains for espresso coffees and rivals the quality at many independent coffee shops. The coffee is served in a cup and saucer with a metal spoon (you might not get the spoon at some other places), and you get a piece of chocolate (a nice touch). }} * {{eat | name=Balzac's | alt= | url= http://www.balzacs.com| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-01-18 | content=Balzac's is a small chain of cafes in interesting neighbourhoods. It serves only organic, Fair Trade coffee, cocoa and sugar, and its milk is locally sourced and organic. }} === Vegetarian === Some districts with vegetarian restaurants are [[Toronto/Kensington-Chinatown#Eat|Kensington-Chinatown]], [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#Eat|The Annex]], and [[Toronto/East End#Eat|Chinatown East]]. ==Drink== <!--Please only give an overview of drinking possibilities in Toronto here. Listings go in the separate district articles--> Historically, the majority of nightlife in Toronto has been centred on the appropriately named [[Toronto/Clubland|Clubland]] and in the [[Toronto/Fashion District|Fashion District]] on Queen Street West. Nearly everywhere is packed to the brim with pubs and bars, but none so much as Adelaide and Queen Street in those districts. Clubs tend to operate on Richmond and Adelaide streets (both run east-west, 1 block apart); names change frequently, but the district keeps on going. John Street between Adelaide and Richmond is always a hub of activity, especially after Blue Jays games, and is a convenient spot for those staying downtown. Two other clubs of note outside this district: the (long-lasting) Phoenix (on Sherbourne) and Rebel (literally operating on part of Toronto's commercial port, but this place has an outstanding view of the city on warm summer nights, and boasts an extensive entertainment complex). Some of Toronto's newest and hottest nightclubs have opened up in the King Street West/Liberty Village area. This area tends to attract a more mature (25 years and older) crowd; however this comes at a cost as drinks and admission into the venues are typically a bit more expensive here than in Clubland. Hip art and music oriented crowds tend to gravitate towards Parkdale (Queen West past Bellwoods Park). The hipsters hangout in the wide array of bars, galleries and clubs that dot the area, including the Rhino, Happy Wine Bar, Tammy's, Motel, Pharmacy Bar, Danu, Food & Liquor, the Grand Trunk and the Drake and its poor cousin Gladstone Hotels. The same folks also frequent the Annex, Dundas West and Kensington Market areas of the city at night for club nights, casual drinks and art and music events. One of the main "corsos" of the city is ''Little Italy'': College Street, between Bathurst and Ossington flows over with music, sidewalk cafes and excellent food and a crowd that enjoys the summer heat and the offerings. College Street, east of Bathurst, is home to many student hangouts, including Sneaky Dee's which is famous among locals for its nachos. The legal minimum drinking age is 19. Dundas West has emerged as the preferred stretch of bars and restaurants catering to the taste-making proclivities of West Enders. From Bathurst until Dundas hits Roncesvalles, you will come across all kinds of bars at all kinds of price points: high-end cocktail bars (the aptly named Cocktail Bar, Rhum Bar, Northern Belle, Bluebird), dive-ish bars (Wasted Youth, Lucky Shrike, Hank's Liquor, Swan Dive), wine bars (Tommy's, Milou, Grapewitches, Midfield), cozy date spots (Communist's Daughter, Bathurst Local, Black Dice, Archive, Loveless), live music venues (the Garrison, Lula Lounge, the Dakota); you name it, you can find it. Ossington between Dundas and Queen has cemented its status as a nightlife hotspot with more than a dozen bars, packed sidewalks and bustling restaurants. While there are certainly a few trend-chasing spots catering to 905ers and basic Millennials, there are some real gems along this stretch, including Sweaty Betty's, Reposado, Bellwoods Brewery and Painted Lady. Bloor Street West from Christie Pits Park until Lansdowne is also home to a great stretch of bars, including Civil Liberties, Paradise Grapevine, Hurricane's, Grey Tiger, Burdock Brewing, Three Speed, Bar Neon and many, many more. These cater more to the millennial crowd than some of the younger-oriented bars further south but are where you'll find a more authentic expression of what 2020s Toronto is all about. Toronto has over a dozen '''microbreweries'''. One popular microbrewery is Steam Whistle Brewing (south of the CN Tower in the [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts#Drink|Entertainment District]]) which offers tours of its brewery in a former locomotive roundhouse. Unlike Steam Whistle, most microbreweries in Toronto are '''brewpubs''' serving in-house brews with pub fare. About half of the brewpubs are in the [[Toronto/West End#Drink|West End]] district. Other districts having a brewpub are [[Toronto/Harbourfront#Drink|Harbourfront]] (Amsterdam BrewHouse), [[Toronto/Downtown East#Drink|Distillery District]] (Mill St. Brew Pub), [[Toronto/Midtown#Drink|Midtown]] (Granite Brewery) and [[Toronto/East End#Drink|East End]] (Left Field Brewery). As of 2023, craft breweries have consolidated in two general areas: the East End, mostly along Queen East (Eastbound, Radical Road, Avling, Rorschach, Saulter Street, Black Lab) and Gerrard (Left Field, Godspeed); and the West End, particularly near Bloordale/Junction (Steadfast, Henderson, Halo, Indie Ale House, Junction Craft, Burdock, Bandit, Woodhouse, High Park). A few other neighbourhood breweries worth exploring include Bellwoods Brewery (Ossington, near Trinity-Bellwoods), Blood Brothers (Geary Ave.), Kensington Brewing (Kensington Market) and Mascot (Downtown core). For an exceptional beer bar, visit either Bar Volo (near Bloor/Yonge) or its sister shop, Birreria Volo (College near Bathurst). Toronto has long been a beer and whiskey town, and while it lacks a drinking identity like that of Philadelphia or Boston, asking a bartender for a blackbird shot (Montenegro and Wild Turkey) will endear to you many. Some bars will offer a shot of Jameson + bottle of beer for $10 or so; Wasted Youth and Lucky Shrike on Dundas being two such examples. ==Sleep== <!-- Please don't list individual lodgings here. Instead, list them in the relevant district article - thanks. --> {{seeDistricts}} Most hotels and hostels are situated directly outside the downtown core. Prices for rooms generally range from $150 for a standard hotel, $60–80 for a motel, and $20–40 for a bed in a hostel. ===Hotels=== Toronto has a wide variety of hotels that can suit every budget. Many are located in the [[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment and Financial Districts]] and [[Toronto/Yonge-Dundas|Yonge-Dundas]] areas. ===Hostels=== Toronto has several youth hostels, including ones in the downtown area, such as '''[http://www.hostellingtoronto.com/ HI-Toronto Hostel]''' at the foot of Church Street. ===Bed & Breakfast=== Another popular alternative for over nighters are bed & breakfasts, of which Toronto has hundreds, many of them in the downtown core. Prices range from $60 to several hundred dollars depending on the house and amenities offered. ==Learn== [[File:Uoft universitycollege2.jpg|thumb|University College at the University of Toronto]] International students often prefer to study in Toronto because of its safety, proximity to other tourist destinations, and favourable exchange rates and visa policies. However, despite its status as the largest city in the country and Canada's economic centre, it is surprisingly under-served by universities. This lack of post-secondary education has led to the development of major universities in the mid-sized cities that surround Toronto: the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University in [[Waterloo (Ontario)|Waterloo]], the University of Guelph in [[Guelph]], McMaster University in [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]], Brock University in [[St. Catharines]] and Trent University in [[Peterborough (Ontario)|Peterborough]]. The universities in Toronto remain some of the best in the country: * '''The [https://www.utoronto.ca/ University of Toronto]'''. Canada's largest university, is spread out all over the city (including the main downtown campus, an east-end Scarborough campus, and University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) in the neighbouring city of [[Mississauga]]). This university is consistently rated among the top three in the country and is part of the "Canadian Ivy League." Due to its size, the University of Toronto's downtown campus, known as the St George campus, after the street that runs through it, has its own "sphere of influence," turning the surrounding neighbourhoods into miniature college towns, with plenty of bars, restaurants, bookshops, grocery stores and cheap take-out joints. Click the [[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex#University of Toronto|link]] for a guide to the U of T campus. * '''[https://www.yorku.ca/ York University]'''. The third largest university in Canada, York University has two campuses - the Keele Campus near Keele Street and Steeles Avenue West at the northern border of the city, and the original Glendon College at Lawrence Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. York University station on subway Line 1 Yonge–University is within the Keele campus. Buses 124 and 162 connect Lawrence Station (also on Line 1 Yonge–University) to Glendon College. * '''[https://www.torontomu.ca/ Toronto Metropolitan University]''' (TMU – formerly Ryerson University). In the heart of the downtown core. It was once a polytechnic, but is now Toronto's third university. The university is particularly well known for its school of management, and for its journalism program. Its campus is centred on the Kerr Hall, which forms a square around a central quad, it fills the block bounded by Gould, Gerrard, Victoria and Church streets. TMU also has buildings throughout this section of the city, including the Ted Rogers School of Management, at Bay and Dundas streets. * '''[https://www.ocadu.ca/ OCAD University]'''. The university focuses exclusively on art and design. The campus is on Dundas Street West near Spadina. * '''[https://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/ Seneca College]'''. Canada's largest college is spread out over the city with over 16 campuses of varying sizes. * '''[https://www.georgebrown.ca/ George Brown College]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. Three campuses: St. James (downtown), Casa Loma (midtown) and Waterfront (Harbourfront). * '''[https://www.humber.ca/ Humber College]'''. Two campuses: Lakeshore and North. Toronto, like other Canadian cities, also has dozens of '''English as a Second Language''' (ESL) schools. The largest association of private English and French language schools is the [http://www.capls.com Canadian Association of Private Language Schools]. ==Connect== '''Calling''' For life-threatening emergencies or crime in progress, dial '''9-1-1''' on any landline, mobile or pay phone (toll-free). Local calls at pay phones cost 50 cents. Toronto's local calling area extends roughly from [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] to [[Ajax]]; [[Oshawa]], [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] and their adjacent suburbs are long-distance. Local calls are not metered, so you can talk as long as you want. Due to the popularity of cellphones, there are fewer pay phone booths than in previous years, so they can be difficult to locate. Most large public facilities still have ample pay phones to use. In malls, pay phones are usually between the inner and outer doors at the entrances. Payphones are also routinely provided in TTC subway stations, including on the platforms, as a safety feature. 5G cellular service is available in all subway stations, and coverage is now rolling out in the tunnels with completion expected by late 2026. In other underground areas, such as the lower levels of malls and in the PATH, reception is generally available, if somewhat weaker. In addition, many public facilities (such as shopping malls) now also have phones which provide free local calls, which are funded by advertisements run on colour LCD screens. Watch for large, wall-mounted ovals in high-traffic areas. Toronto has four area codes: 416, 647, 437, and 942. These area codes are all associated with the same geographic area. The suburban areas outside of the city have three overlapping area codes: 905, 289, and 365. As a result, Toronto has '''10-digit local dialling'''. You must always dial the area code as part of the number you are trying to reach. International calling cards are widely available to many countries for reasonable rates. As coin-paid long distance calls are overpriced (Bell payphones charge nearly $5 in the first minute and a lower rate thereafter, competitors are $1 for three minutes), if you must place toll calls from telephone booths, it's best to buy prepaid cards. ===Internet=== Most coffee shops, chain restaurants, shopping centres and public buildings provide free Wi-Fi. Major attractions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, the Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Centre provide free Wi-Fi to guests. Wi-Fi and free internet access is available on computers at '''[https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ Toronto Public Library]''' branches. Computer access requires a library card, but the library offers a card for in-library services for non-residents without an annual fee. All TTC subway stations have 5G mobile phone coverage, but free Wi-Fi is no longer offered since the TCONNECT network was shut down in December 2024. ===Mail=== Generally stamps are purchased and parcels are weighed and shipped at a postal outlet in a retail store such as a variety store or a drug store such as Shoppers Drug Mart. Postal outlets may sell philatelic items (recent issues only). ===Newspapers=== * '''[https://www.thestar.com/ The Toronto Star]''', a broadsheet daily newspaper, politically left of centre, covering local, national, and world news. Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, who once delivered this paper, used the Old Toronto Star Building (no longer extant) as inspiration for "The Daily Planet" newspaper. * '''[https://torontosun.com/ The Toronto Sun]''', a tabloid daily newspaper, politically conservative, covering local, national, and world news. *'''[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ The Globe and Mail]''', a broadsheet national daily with local edition, published in Toronto. Extensive business and stock market coverage, politically centrist. *'''[https://nationalpost.com/ The National Post]''', a broadsheet national daily, moderately conservative. Depending on where you go in Toronto, you will be able to find locally printed newspapers in a variety of languages. For example, in Chinatown, you will find Chinese newspapers. In "Little Italy", you'll find Italian newspapers. You'll also find newspapers in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Arabic, Tagalog, Greek, Urdu and more. ==Stay safe== ===Crime=== The overall violent crime rate in Canada, and particularly in Toronto, is lower than that found in major cities in the United States. Petty crime is generally not a serious problem in Toronto, but be vigilant with your possessions. Car and bike theft are comparable to other large North American cities. There are neighbourhoods which are known in the media and on the street as being more dangerous, though police statistics are not commonly used to justify these beliefs. Nevertheless, while assaults and other crimes can happen anywhere, especially late at night when few people are around, it is reasonable to avoid certain areas (again, generally late at night). These areas include in the old city and inner bouroughs: Crescent Town, Regent Park, parts of Parkdale, parts of St. Jamestown, Moss Park, Alexandra Park, Flemingdon Park/Victoria Village and Weston-Mount Dennis. Outer areas: Jane and Finch ("Jane Corridor"), Lawrence Heights, the Peanut (i.e., Don Mills and Sheppard), Rexdale/Jamestown Crescent, Malvern, Kingston and Galloway, Steeles-The Amoureaux, Dorset Park, Westminster-Branson and Eglinton East-Kennedy Park. Stay away from dodgy looking areas, where drugs, prostitution and violent crime such as armed robberies can occur. These neighbourhoods become noticeably worse from a visual standpoint, giving ample warning to turn around. ===Homeless=== Toronto has a visible homeless population, many of whom will ask you for money. Beggars in Toronto have been known to ask for handouts on the pretext that they need TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) fare. Homeless people can also be seen in many subway stations and sleeping across multiple seats in subway cars. Cases of open drug use in the subway are also not uncommon. There have also been instances in the past with "squeegee kids" who would jump into intersections when traffic is stopped at lights and solicit money for cleaning windshields. This is becoming less common as this form of interference with vehicle traffic is expressly illegal under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act and may be reported to police. ===Pedestrians=== Be careful when getting off the streetcars and always look to your right before leaving the car. Although vehicles are supposed to stop when the streetcar doors open, some motorists and cyclists will ignore this and keep going. The proliferation of mobile phones has led to "multitasking" in a large percentage of the pedestrian population of this city. If driving, cycling, or even walking, in Toronto do not forget to keep an eye open for a pedestrian who may be more focused on his or her device. ===Weather=== Avoid river/creek banks or bridge underpasses during periods of excessive rain, during/after heavy thundershowers or melting snow. Flooding can soften soil and cause it to suddenly collapse into the water under any weight. Occasionally, Toronto will be hit with a severe winter storm accompanied by significant snowfall (quite often mixed with freezing rain/ice/sleet). Avoid driving during and immediately after the storms if at all possible. This is especially true for those unfamiliar with winter driving and controlling a car in a skid. Take public transit, walk, or stay inside. ==Cope== '''The Office of International Relations and Protocol''' manages the Government of Ontario’s interaction with the largest consular corps in Canada (and one of the largest in the world). Approximately [https://www.ontario.ca/page/consular-offices 100 countries] are represented in Toronto. ===Consulates=== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" ! [[Diplomatic missions]] ! list |- | style="vertical-align:top;width:50%;" | * {{flag|Afghanistan}} {{listing | name=Afghanistan | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.mfa.af/ | email= | address=477 Richmond Street West, Suite 901 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-385-1033 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-385-3810 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Angola}} {{listing | name=Angola | alt= | url= | email=info@angola.org | address=77 Bloor Street West, Suite 1103 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}} {{listing | name=Antigua and Barbuda | alt= | url=https://www.antiguabarbudaconsulate.com/ | email=antiguabarbudaconsulateto@ab.gov.ag | address=1500 Don Mills Road, Suite 714 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-961-3143 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-961-7218 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Argentina}} {{listing | name=Argentina | alt= | url=https://ctoro.cancilleria.gob.ar/en | email=consular_ctoro@mrecic.gov.ar | address=5001 Yonge Street, Suite 201 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-955-9075 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-955-0868 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | alt= | url=https://www.austrade.gov.au/ | email=canada@austrade.gov.au | address=175 Bloor Street East, Suite 1100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-323-4280 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-323-4295 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Austria}} {{listing | name=Austria | alt= | url= | email=austrianconsulateTO@lautens.com | address=30 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 1402 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-967-3348 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-967-4101 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Bahamas}} {{listing | name=Bahamas | alt= | url= | email= | address=68 Thorncrest Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-233-6776 | tollfree= |fax=+1 416-233-6776 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Bangladesh}} {{listing | name=Bangladesh | alt= | url= | email=mission.toronto@mofa.gov.bd | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-812-2791 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-492-3171 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Barbados}} {{listing | name=Barbados | alt= | url= | email=toronto@foreign.gov.bb | address=110 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 205 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-214-9805 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-214-9815 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-09-04 | content= }} * {{flag|Belgium}} {{listing | name=Belgium | alt= | url= | email=djohnston@airdberlis.com | address=181 Bay Street, Suite 1800, Box 754; c/o Aird & Berlis | lat= | long= | directions=Brookfield Place | phone=+1 416-865-3072 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Bhutan}} {{listing | name=Bhutan | alt= | url=http://bhutancanada.org/ | email=samblyth@blytheducation.com | address=20 Boswell Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-543-2590 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-960-9506 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Botswana}} {{listing | name=Botswana | alt= | url= | email= | address=5160 Explorer Drive, Unit 31 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | url=http://toronto.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/ | email= | address=77 Bloor Street West, Suite 1109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-922-2503 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-922-1832 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Bulgaria}} {{listing | name=Bulgaria | alt= | url=http://www.bgconsultoronto.info/ | email=consulate.toronto@mfa.bg | address=65 Overlea Boulevard, Suite 230 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-696-2420 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-696-8019 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Cambodia}} {{listing | name=Cambodia | alt= | url= | email=info@cambodiaconsulate.ca | address=60 Caledonia Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-533-9335 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Chile}} {{listing | name=Chile | alt= | url=https://www.chile.gob.cl/en/toronto | email=toronto@consulado.gob.cl | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 1801 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-924-0106 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-924-2627 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China | alt= | url=http://toronto.china-consulate.org/eng/ | email= | address=240 St. George St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-964-7260 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Colombia}} {{listing | name=Colombia | alt= | url=http://toronto.consulado.gov.co/ | email=ctoronto@cancilleria.gov.co | address=40 University Avenue, Suite 604 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-977-0098 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-977-1025 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Comoros}} {{listing | name=Comoros | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 905-319-1244 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-331-8580 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Republic of the Congo}} {{listing | name=Republic of the Congo | alt= | url= | email=consulofcongo@yahoo.ca | address=50 Gervais Drive, 4th floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-315-1549 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-391-3969 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Ivory Coast}} {{listing | name=Côte d'Ivoire | alt=Ivory Coast | url= | email=pdawes@warringtoninternational.com | address=260 Adelaide Street East, Suite 110 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-366-8490 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-947-1534 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Croatia}} {{listing | name=Croatia | alt= | url= | email=croconsulate.miss@mvep.hr | address=918 Dundas Street East, Suite 302, [[Mississauga]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 905-277-9051 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-277-5432 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Cuba}} {{listing | name=Cuba | alt= | url=https://misiones.cubaminrex.cu/en/node/1757 | email= | address=5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 205, Etobicoke | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-234-8181 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-234-2754 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Czech Republic}} {{listing | name=Czech Republic | alt= | url=http://www.mzv.cz/toronto | email=toronto@embassy.mzv.cz | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 1500 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-972-1476 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-972-6991 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Denmark}} {{listing | name=Denmark | alt= | url=https://canada.um.dk/en | email=yyzgkl@um.dk | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-962-5669 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Dominican Republic}} {{listing | name=Dominican Republic | alt= | url=https://www.consulrdtoronto.com/ | email=infodominicanconsulate@gmail.com | address=121 Richmond Street West, Suite 301 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-369-0403 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-369-1685 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Ecuador}} {{listing | name=Ecuador | alt= | url= | email=ctoronto@rogers.com | address=151 Bloor Street West, Suite 450 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-968-2077 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-968-3348 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|El Salvador}} {{listing | name=El Salvador | url= | email=103504.2104@compuserver.com | address=151 Bloor Street West, Suite 320 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-975-0812 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-975-0283 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Eritrea}} {{listing | name=Eritrea | alt= | url= | email= | address=120 Carlton Street, Suite 317 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-306-2865 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-306-2866 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Finland}} {{listing | name=Finland | alt= | url=https://www.finlandabroad.fi/canada | email=Toronto.ott@formin.fi | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-964-0066 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=https://toronto.consulfrance.org/-english- | email=info@consulfrance-toronto.org | address=2 Bloor Street East, Suite 2200 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-847-1900 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-847-1901 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=https://canada.diplo.de/ca-en | email=info@toronto.diplo.de | address=2 Bloor Street East, 25th Floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-925-2813 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-925-2818 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Ghana}} {{listing | name=Ghana | alt= | url=https://toronto.mfa.gov.gh/ | email=toronto.consulate@mfa.gov.gh | address=8977 Woodbine Avenue, [[Markham]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 365-608-5007 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-604-1906 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Greece}} {{listing | name=Greece | url=https://www.mfa.gr/canada/en/consulate-general-toronto | email=toronto@mfa.gr | address=1075 Bay Street, Suite 600 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-515-0133 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-515-0209 | hours= | price= | content= Additional number: {{phone|+1 416-515-0134}} }} * {{flag|Grenada}} {{listing | name=Grenada | alt= | url= | email=adminassistant@grenadaconsulate.com | address=90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 605 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-595-1343 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-595-8278 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Guinea}} {{listing | name=Guinea | alt= | url= | email=conguitoronto@yahoo.ca | address=1201 Dundas Street West, Suite 100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-904-8429 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-536-3913 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= Additional phone: {{phone|+1 416-319-9077}} }} * {{flag|Guyana}} {{listing | name=Guyana | alt= | url= | email=info@guyanaconsulate.com | address=505 Consumer Road, Suite 707 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-494-6040 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-494-1530 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Haiti}} {{listing | name=Haiti | alt= | url= | email=eapierre@hotmail.com | address=26 Cotswold Crescent, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-710-8661 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Hungary}} {{listing | name=Hungary | alt= | url=https://toronto.mfa.gov.hu/eng | email=mission.tor@mfa.gov.hu | address=175 Bloor Street East, Suite 1109 (South Tower) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-349-2550 | tollfree= | fax=+1 647-349-2559 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Iceland}} {{listing | name=Iceland | alt= | url= | email=KalbfleischA@bennettjones.com | address=3400 One First Canadian Place, PO Box 130, c/o Bennett Jones LLP | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-777-6445 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | url=https://www.cgitoronto.gov.in/ | email= | address=365 Bloor Street East | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-960-0751 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-F 9AM to 11:30AM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://www.kemlu.go.id/toronto/en | email=admin@indonesiatoronto.org | address=129 Jarvis Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-360-4020 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-360-4295 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Iraq}} {{listing | name=Iraq | alt= | url= | email=torcg@mofa.gov.iq | address=320 Matheson Boulevard West, Suite 114, [[Mississauga]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 289-328-4727 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Israel}} {{listing | name=Israel | alt= | url= | email=cg-sec@toronto.mfa.gov.il | address=2 Bloor Street East, Suite 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-640-8500 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-640-8555 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= Alternative email [[mailto:provincial@toronto.mfa.gov.il]] }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/toronto | email= | address=320 Bay Street | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 437 290 6315 | tollfree= | hours=By appointment only; phone lines open M to F 10AM-12:30PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Italy}} {{listing | name=Italy | url=http://www.constoronto.esteri.it/Consolato_Toronto | email= | address=136 Beverley St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-977-1566 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-977-1119 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Jamaica}} {{listing | name=Jamaica | alt= | url=https://jcgtoronto.ca/ | email=info@jcgtoronto.ca | address=303 Eglinton Avenue East | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-598-3008 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-598-4928 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | url=http://www.toronto.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/english/english.htm | email=access@to.mofa.go.jp | address=77 King St West Suite 3300, PO Box 10 (Royal Trust Tower) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-363-7038 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-367-9392 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Kazakhstan}} {{listing | name=Kazakhstan | alt= | url=http://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-toronto?lang=en | email=toronto@mfa.kz | address=4576 Yonge Street, Suite 413 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-221-0111 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Kenya}} {{listing | name=Kenya | alt= | url= | email=sunir_chandaria@conros.com | address=41 Lesmill Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-357-0013 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=South Korea | alt= | url= | email=toronto@mofat.go.kr | address=555 Avenue Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-920-3809 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-924-7305 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Kosovo}} {{listing | name=Kosovo | alt= | url= | email=consulategeneral.ca@rks-gov.net | address=150 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-322-5769 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-322-6874 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Lebanon}} {{listing | name=Lebanon | alt= | url= | email=info@lebaneseconsulatetoronto.com | address=1832 Pine Grove Avenue, [[Pickering (Ontario) |Pickering]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-330-9292 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Lithuania}} {{listing | name=Lithuania | alt= | url=https://ca.mfa.lt/ca/en/ | email=pvk@rogers.com | address=1573 Bloor Street West | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-998-2711 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-201-8993 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Luxembourg}} {{listing | name=Luxembourg | alt= | url= | email=toronto@consul-hon.lu | address=1318 Cleaver Drive, [[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Malaysia}} {{listing | name=Malaysia | alt= | url= | email=henrylblee@rogers.com | address=200 Consumers Road, Suite 808 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-618-0966 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Mali}} {{listing | name=Mali | alt= | url= | email=consulatemalitoronto@gmail.com | address=1 Cardiff Rd, Suite 901 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-489-4849 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-489-0379 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Malta}} {{listing | name=Malta | alt= | url= | email=maltaconsulate.toronto@gov.mt | address=3280 Bloor Street West, Suite 1060, (10th floor, Centre Tower) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 437-293-8720 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-207-0986 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Mexico}} {{listing | name=Mexico | alt= | url=https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/toronto/index.php/en/ | email=comunicacionestor@sre.gob.mx | address=11 King Street West, Suite 350 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-368-2875 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-368-8342 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Monaco}} {{listing | name=Monaco | alt= | url= | email=blette@lette.ca | address=467 Broadway Avenue | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-971-4898 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-971-4898 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Mongolia}} {{listing | name=Mongolia | alt= | url=https://cgmongolia.ca/ | email=wilferthcm@gmail.com | address=251 Consumers Road, Suite 1405, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-409-9930 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Montenegro}} {{listing | name=Montenegro | alt= | url= | email=delliott@cambridgellp.com | address=333 Adelaide Street West, Suite 400 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-477-7007 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Morocco}} {{listing | name=Morocco | alt= | url= | email= | address=5001 Yonge Street, Suite 1515, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-223-0900 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Nepal}} {{listing | name=Nepal | alt= | url= | email=info@kunjarsharma.com | address=120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 707 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-975-0910 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-322-2928 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|the Netherlands}} {{listing | name=Netherlands | url=https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/web/canada/about-us/consulate-general-toronto | email=tor-cdp@minbuza.nl | address=1 Dundas St W, Suite 2106, PO Box 2 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-598-2534 | tollfree=+1-877-DUTCHHELP | fax=+1 416-598-8064 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | alt= | url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/ | email=pcrawley@globeandmail.com | address=351 King Street East, Suite 1600 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-585-5880 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Macedonia}} {{listing | name=North Macedonia | url= | email=toronto@mfa.gov.mk | address=90 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 210 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-322-2196 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-322-2412 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Norway}} {{listing | name=Norway | alt= | url=http://www.norway.no/en/canada | email=NorwegianConsulateGeneral.TO@gmail.com | address=2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 437-225-2233 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-920-0536 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Pakistan}} {{listing | name=Pakistan | alt= | url=http://www.pakmission.ca/ | email=pakconsulate@pakmission.ca | address=7880 Keele Street, Unit 14, [[Vaughan]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 905-532-0042 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-532-9531 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Panama}} {{listing | name=Panama | alt= | url=http://www.consulatepanama.com/ | email=info@consulatepanama.com | address=4789 Yonge Street, Suite 412 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-651-2350 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Peru}} {{listing | name=Peru | alt= | url= | email=info@conperutoronto.com | address=67 Young Street, Suite 900 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-963-9696 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Philippines}} {{listing | name=Philippines | alt= | url= | email=consularmatters@philcongen-toronto.com | address=160 Eglinton Avenue East, 7th floor | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-922-7181 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-922-2638 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Poland}} {{listing | name=Poland | alt= | url=http://www.gov.pl/canada-en | email=toronto.info@msz.gov.pl | address=2603 Lake Shore Blvd West | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-252-5471 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-252-0509 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Portugal}} {{listing | name=Portugal | alt= | url= | email=consulado.toronto@mne.pt | address=438 University Avenue, Suite 1400, PO Box 41 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-217-0966 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-217-0973 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | url=http://toronto.mae.ro/ | email=toronto@mae.ro | address=789 Don Mills Rd Unit 501 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416 585 2444 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416 585 9192 | hours= | price= | content=General consulate }} * {{flag|Russia}} {{listing | name=Russia | url=http://www.toronto.mid.ru | email=visaruscons@bellnet.ca | address=175 Bloor Street East, South Tower, Suite 801 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-962-9911 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-962-6611 | hours=M-F 9:30AM to 12:30PM| price= | content= }} * {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} {{listing | name=Saint Kitts and Nevis | alt= | url= | email=info@cgstkittsnevis.ca | address=133 Richmond Street West, Suite 311 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-368-7319 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-368-3934 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Saint Lucia}} {{listing | name=Saint Lucia | alt= | url=http://www.stluciaconsulate.ca/ | email=info@stluciaconsulate.ca | address=60 St. Clair Avenue, Suite 909 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-203-8400 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-203-8486 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}} {{listing | name=Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | alt= | url= | email=consulategeneral@rogers.com | address=55 Town Centre Court, Unit 624 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-398-4003 | tollfree= | fax=+1 647-438-5312 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= Alternative phone number: {{phone|+1 416-398-4277}} }} * {{flag|San Marino}} {{listing | name=San Marino | alt= | url= | email=paul.scargall@sokllp.com | address=17 Leader Lane | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-869-3417 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-869-2201 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Serbia}} {{listing | name=Serbia | alt= | url=http://toronto.mfa.gov.rs/ | email=gkrstoronto@rogers.com | address=40 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 701 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-483-1080 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-483-1847 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Seychelles}} {{listing | name=Seychelles | alt= | url= | email= | address=18 Doon Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Singapore}} {{listing | name=Singapore | alt= | url= | email=cchua@mccarthy.ca | address=66 Wellington Street West, Suite 5300 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-601-7979 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-868-0673 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Slovakia}} {{listing | name=Slovakia | alt= | url= | email=slovakconsulateto@gmail.com | address=649 Brooker Ridge, [[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-290-9304 | tollfree= | fax=+1 905-898-0166 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Slovenia}} {{listing | name=Slovenia | alt= | url= | email=jdoma@sloveniacg.com | address=5096 South Service Road, Suite 102, [[Burlington (Ontario)|Burlington]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-201-8307 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|South Africa}} {{listing | name=South Africa | url=http://www.southafrica-canada.ca/ | email= | address=110 Sheppard Ave E, Suite 600, North York | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-944-8825 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-944-0925 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Spain}} {{listing | name=Spain | alt= | url=https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/toronto/en/Consulado/Paginas/index.aspx | email=cog.toronto@maec.es | address=2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1201 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-977-1661 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-593-4949 | hours=M to F 9AM-1PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Sri Lanka}} {{listing | name=Sri Lanka | alt= | url=https://www.torontoslcg.org/ | email=srilanka@bellnet.ca | address=1 Eglinton Avenue East, Unit 501 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-323-9133 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-323-3205 | hours=M to F 9AM-1:30PM and 2:15PM to 3:30PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Sweden}} {{listing | name=Sweden | alt= | url= | email=lars.henriksson@swedishconsulates.ca | address=2 Bloor Street West, Unit 2109 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-963-8768 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url= | email=toronto@honrep.ch | address=40 University Avenue, Suite 904 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-351-7811 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul. }} * {{flag|Tanzania}} {{listing | name=Tanzania | alt= | url= | email=tanzaniahonoraryc@gmail.com | address=5830 Campus Road, Suite 100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-887-2121 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consulate. }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | alt= | url= | email=info@thaiconsulatetoronto.com | address=17 Isabella Street, Suite 100 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-850-0110 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-850-1431 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul General }} * {{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}} {{listing | name=Trinidad and Tobago | alt= | url=https://foreign.gov.tt/missions-consuls/tt-missions-abroad/diplomatic-missions/consulate-general-toronto-canada/ | email=congentoronto@foreign.gov.tt | address=185 Sheppard Avenue West | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-495-9443 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-495-6934 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Turkey}} {{listing | name=Turkey | alt= | url=https://toronto-bk.mfa.gov.tr/Mission | email=consulate.toronto@mfa.gov.tr | address=10 Lower Spadina Avenue, Suite 300 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-777-4106 | tollfree= |fax=+1 647-258-2725 | hours=M to F 9AM-5PM | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{flag|Uganda}} {{listing | name=Uganda | alt= | url= | email= | address=41 Lesmill Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul. }} * {{flag|Ukraine}} {{Listing |name=Ukraine |url=https://toronto.mfa.gov.ua/en |email=gc_cat@mfa.gov.ua |address=2275 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Unit 301 |lat= |long= |directions= |phone=+1 437-518-0708 |tollfree= |fax=+1 416-763-2051 |hours= |price= |content= }} * {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | url=http://ukincanada.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/other-locations/consulate-general-toronto | email=britcon.toronto@fco.gov.uk | address=777 Bay St, Suite 2800 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-593-1290 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-593-1229 | hours=M and Tu 9:30AM to 1:30PM; W 2PM to 5:30PM; Th and F 9:30AM to 1:30PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|United States}} {{listing | name=United States | url=https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/toronto/ | email= | address=360 University Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-595-1700 | tollfree= | fax=+1 416-595-1090 | hours=9AM-1PM | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Uruguay}} {{listing | name=Uruguay | alt= | url= | email=cgtoronto@mrree.gub.uy | address=300 Sheppard Avenue West, Suite 302 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 416-730-1289 | tollfree= |fax=+1 416-730-0192 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content= }} * {{Flag|Uzbekistan}} {{listing | name=Uzbekistan | alt= | url= | email=joedanielparl@gmail.com | address=69 Godstone Road, Unit 114 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 647-823-3951 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | content=Honorary Consul. }} |} ==Go next== Toronto is a great starting point for exploring southern [[Ontario]]. There are many golden '''sand beaches''' along the clean fresh waters of the [[Great Lakes]] that are ideal for hot summer days. Popular beach destinations within 1½-2½ hours of Toronto include Wasaga, [[Sauble Beach]], Sandbanks, Grand Bend, Long Point, and Turkey Point. ===Golden Horseshoe=== * '''[[Niagara Peninsula|Niagara Region]]''' — A lush region known primarily for its orchards and vineyards as well as the thundering waterfalls at [[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] and the beautiful town of [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]]. On the American side of the Falls are several outlet malls. 1-1½ hours south along the QEW; a few tour buses make the same-day return trip. It is one of the principal [[Wine Regions of Ontario]], and several companies do wine-tasting tours by bus from Toronto, starting at $125 (tax included), such as [https://www.niagaraairbus.com/Niagara-Winery-Tours/ Niagara Airbus]. *'''[[Unionville (Ontario)|Main Street Unionville]]''', in the suburban city of '''[[Markham]]''' north of Toronto, is a historic village developed in the 1840s. As typical of a small village, it has many quaint period buildings in an idyllic surrounding. *'''[[Region of Waterloo (Ontario)|Waterloo Region]]''' — This area 1-1½ hours west of Toronto has large university campuses, rolling farm hills and Mennonite culture. *'''The Niagara Escarpment''' — A world biosphere, protected by UN mandate running from the Niagara Falls west to [[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] then northward to Georgian Bay. It is covered by forest with high cliff views along the Bruce Trail bordering the western edge of the Greater Toronto Area, at its closest point it is about a ½-hour drive from the western end of Toronto. *'''[[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]]''' has its attractive Main Street Heritage Conservation District and many heritage buildings within a walkable area. *'''[[Canada's Wonderland]]''' is a popular, seasonal theme park operated by Cedar Fair in [[Vaughan]]. It is a 20-minute drive away without traffic, and there are buses from downtown in the summer. ===Ontario=== *'''[[Muskoka]]''', '''[[Georgian Triangle]]''' and '''[[Kawarthas|The Kawarthas]]''' — All 1½–2 hours north are cottage country areas with more rocky and hilly terrain speckled with hundreds of lakes and waterways. Muskoka and the Kawarthas are known for their country inns, cottages, spas/resorts, provincial parks, and a wealth of outdoor activities including camping, fishing/hunting, snowmobiling, nature viewing, and hiking set among natural beauty. The Georgian Bay area is where the hilly terrain and cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment meet its shores, the area has renowned ski facilities frequently blasted with high snowfall amounts but beaches [[Wasaga Beach]], wineries and golfing are the choices in summer. * '''[[Stratford (Ontario)|Stratford]]''' — This cute town 2 hours west of Toronto is host to the world-renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival (April–November). * '''[[Thousand Islands]]''' and '''[[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]]''' — This scenic area and its nearby historic city are 3 hours east, on the way to Ottawa * '''[[Ottawa]]''' — The Canadian capital is about a 4½-hour drive from Toronto. * '''[[Windsor (Ontario)|Windsor]]''', '''[[London (Ontario)|London]]''', and '''[[Sarnia]]''' are at the southwestern corner of Ontario, and the southernmost point of Canada. It is a 3-hour drive. ===United States=== * '''[[Buffalo]]''' — Gorgeous early 20th-century architecture including some Frank Lloyd Wright work and excellent museums are a 1½-hour drive from Toronto. * Across the Detroit River from Windsor is '''[[Detroit]]''', offering Motown music, automobile museums, historic buildings, museums, and theatres. It is 4 hours away. * The city that never sleeps, '''[[New York City]]''', is only 8-10 hours away without traffic, via I-90 and I-87. You can also take Amtrak or a 2-hour flight there. * Also an 8- to 9-hour drive away, '''[[Chicago]]''' is home to blues music, Millennium Park, windy weather, and deep-dish pizza. *If you are into history and want to see the capital of the United States, '''[[Washington, D.C.]]''', you have to drive 8-10 hours. ===Elsewhere in Canada=== *'''[[Montreal]]''' is a 6- to 7-hour drive to the east, or a 4½-hour train ride. Bilingual Montreal is home to French-Canadian culture, nice architecture, and the '''[[Laurentians]]''' are not far away. * You can hop onto a VIA rail train to many parts of Canada, including '''[[Winnipeg]]''', '''[[Edmonton]]''', and '''[[Vancouver]]'''. {{routebox | image1=VIA Rail Canadian icon.png | imagesize1=100 | link1=The Canadian | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Winnipeg]] | minorl1=[[Washago]] | directionr1=E | majorr1=END | minorr1= | image2=VIA Rail Sarnia Toronto icon.png | imagesize2=100 | link2=Windsor-Quebec corridor | directionl2=W | majorl2=[[Kitchener]] | minorl2=[[Mississauga]] | directionr2=E | majorr2=END | minorr2= | image3=VIA Rail Toronto Montreal icon.png | imagesize3=100 | image3a=VIA Rail Toronto Ottawa icon.png | imagesize3a=100 | link3=Windsor-Quebec corridor | directionl3=W | majorl3=END | minorl3= | directionr3=E | majorr3=[[Montreal]] / [[Ottawa]] | minorr3=[[Oshawa]] | image4=VIA Rail Windsor Toronto icon.png | imagesize4=100 | link4=Windsor-Quebec corridor | directionl4=W | majorl4=[[London (Ontario)|London]] | minorl4=[[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] | directionr4=E | majorr4=END | minorr4= | image5=Amtrak Maple Leaf icon.png | link5=Maple Leaf | imagesize5=100 | directionl5=W | majorl5=END | minorl5= | directionr5=E | majorr5=[[Niagara Falls (Ontario)|Niagara Falls]] | minorr5=[[Oakville (Ontario)|Oakville]] | image6=Ontario 400.svg | imagesize6=20 | directionl6=&thinsp;N | majorl6=[[Barrie]] | minorl6=[[Vaughan]] | directionr6=S | majorr6=Ends at [[File:Ontario 401.svg|16px]] | minorr6= | image7=Ontario 401.svg | imagesize7=20 | directionl7=W | majorl7=[[London (Ontario)|London]] | minorl7=[[Mississauga]] | directionr7=E | majorr7=[[Kingston (Ontario)|Kingston]] | minorr7=[[Pickering (Ontario)|Pickering]] | image8=Ontario 404.svg | imagesize8=20 | directionl8=&thinsp;N | majorl8=[[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]] | minorl8=[[Markham]] | directionr8=S | majorr8=Ends at [[File:Ontario 401.svg|16px]] | minorr8= | image9=Ontario 427.svg | imagesize9=20 | directionl9=&thinsp;N | majorl9=[[Vaughan]] | minorl9=[[Mississauga]] | directionr9=S | majorr9=Ends at [[File:Ontario QEW.svg|16px]] | minorr9= | image10=Ontario QEW.svg | imagesize10=20 | directionl10=W | majorl10=[[Hamilton (Ontario)|Hamilton]] | minorl10=[[Mississauga]] | directionr10=E | majorr10=Ends at [[File:Ontario 427.svg|16px]] | minorr10= }} {{geo|43.7|-79.4167|zoom=11}} {{isPartOf|Greater Toronto Area}} {{usablecity}} finxyj13p0defljxr80uq74objo7g7d 0 36407 5298496 5297207 2026-06-25T19:19:12Z Cmbc0883 2298745 /* Buy */ adding subsection and listing 5298496 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Casa Loma Wikivoyage banner.jpg|pgname=Midtown Toronto}} '''Midtown''' is a district in [[Toronto]] north of downtown. It isn't an area with a large number of museums, theatres, or other tourist attractions - although there are a few sights to see. The best way to enjoy it is to pretend that you live there, and enjoy the shops, restaurants, and cafés. For this guide, we look at “Midtown” in a larger geographic sense. It includes what is considered the traditional neighbourhood of Midtown, Leaside, and the old borough of York. Rough boundaries are Davenport Rd in the south, Lawrence Ave in the north, the Humber River in the west and the Don Valley in the east. Midtown has two axes: Yonge Street is the north/south axis along subway line 1, and St Clair Avenue West is Midtown's east/west axis along the 512 streetcar line. == Understand == [[File:Casa Loma 2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Casa Loma]] Toronto has many streets, or sections of streets, lined with shops, restaurants and the occasional pub. These streets are attractive walking areas that are easily accessible by public transit. Most are in the older parts of the city. Often the local "business improvement association" (BIA) gives the area a pleasant name and arranges little things such as sidewalk benches, potted plants and street decorations. ===Yonge Street=== Here are the mid-town retail areas along Yonge Street: '''Rosedale/Summerhill/St.Clair''' is a 1.6-km section of Yonge Street stretching from Crescent Road at Rosedale Station, passing Summerhill Station to Heath Street, a short distance north of St. Clair Avenue and St. Clair Station on subway Line 1. The former Summerhill railway station at Schriviner Square is a landmark south of the subway's Summerhill Station. The steep slope on Yonge Street north of Summerhill Station was the shore of Glacial Lake Iroquois which existed here 13,000 years ago. If you climb the slope, take a look at Fire Hall 311, a national historic site built in 1911, on Balmoral Avenue near Yonge Street. The '''Yonge & Davisville''' area stretches along Yonge Street from Merton Street near Davisville Station to Berwick Avenue in the north, 1 block south of Eglinton Avenue and Eglinton Station on subway line 1. This 900-metre stretch contains a number of restaurants. The '''Yonge & Eglinton''' area has 2 strips. One strip runs 1.4 km along Yonge Street from Eglinton Avenue north to Glencairn Avenue. [http://www.uptownyonge.com/ '''Uptown Yonge'''] is cast in plaques at various sidewalk locations. A second, short strip with restaurants and bars runs along Eglinton Avenue East from Yonge Street to about Redpath Avenue. [http://ylvbia.com/ '''Yonge-Lawrence Village'''] is a 1.1-km strip along Yonge Street from Lawrence Avenue (Lawrence Station on subway Line 1) to Yonge Boulevard. (The name is on all the street name signs in the area.) This strip has shops, cafes and restaurants, most of which are north of Bedford Park Avenue. However, take a look at Fire Station 131 built in 1931 at the corner of Wanless Avenue and Yonge Street. Here are the Mid-town retail areas near Yonge Street: [http://www.mountpleasantvillage.ca/ '''Mount Pleasant Village'''] is an 800-metre strip along Mount Pleasant Road south of Eglinton Avenue East. (The name is on all the street name signs in the area.) This strip has shops (some specialty shops) and restaurants including two French-style patisseries. To access Mount Pleasant Village by public transit, take Line 5 Eglinton to Mount Pleasant Station. [http://www.southbayview.ca/ '''South Bayview'''] is a 600-metre retail strip along Bayview Avenue one block south of Eglinton Avenue East. (The name is on all the street name signs in the area.) This strip has shops, cafes and restaurants including two French-style patisseries. To access South Bayview by public transit, take Line 5 Eglinton to Leaside Station and walk one block south. ===St Clair Avenue West=== The most interesting parts of St Clair Ave are west of St Clair West Station between Bathurst St and Lansdowne Ave where there are 4 retail areas with many shops and restaurants along the 512 streetcar line. Here are areas from east to west: * '''[https://wychwoodheight.ca Wychwood Heights]''' and '''[https://www.hillcrestvillagetoronto.com/ Hillcrest Village]''' are 2 contiguous retail areas with shops and restaurants, each with its own BIA. However, from a visitor point of view, they appear as one even using the same style of street name signs to brand the area. Both areas lie between Bathurst St on the east and Winona Avenue on the west. * Going further west after a short gap in the shops and restaurants, we come to '''Northcliffe Village''' between Oakwood Ave in the east to Northcliffe Blvd on the west. Most of its shops and restaurants are on the north side of St Clair Ave. * From Northcliffe Blvd on the east to Lansdowne Ave on the west lies '''[http://www.torontocorsoitalia.com/ Corso Italia]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' which has a dense concentration of shops and restaurants on both sides of the street, and because of that concentration, this area is the most interesting of the four areas along St Clair. Ethnically, there is a mixture of Italian, Portuguese and Latin American businesses in the 4 areas. ===Eglinton Avenue West=== * [https://www.toronto-bia.com/find-a-bia/bias/york-eglinton/ '''Little Jamaica'''] is an ethnic and cultural hub for Afro-Caribbean immigrants with businesses lining Eglinton Avenue between Cedarvale and Fairbank Stations along Line 5 Eglinton. ===Neighbourhoods=== '''Rosedale''' is generally considered to be among the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada and its narrow, tree-filled streets are lined with beautiful, turn-of-the-century mansions, with large front gardens. The generally accepted boundaries are: The CP railways tracks to the north, Rosedale Ravine to the south, the Don Valley to the east and Yonge Street to the west. While it serves as the neighbourhood's western boundary, Yonge Street also serves as the area's main street, filled with expensive restaurants and shops, and buzzing with nightlife. '''Deer Park''' is centred on the intersection of Yonge Street and St Clair Avenue, both of which have a variety of large office buildings and restaurants. The boundaries of this neighbourhood are roughly defined as: the CP railway tracks in the south, the BeltLine trail in the north, Avenue Road and Oriole Parkway in the west and the Rosedale Ravine in the east. '''Leaside''' is predominantly upper-middle-income families who value the neighbourhood as an ideal place to raise children. Leaside has abundant green space and parkland, a variety of schools, one of Toronto's shopping districts on Bayview Avenue, and access to public transit. Located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. Part of the old borough of York, '''Weston''' is bordered on the north by Highway 401, on the west by the Humber River, and on the east by Jane St. and on the south by Weston Rd. Weston has a large Caribbean population, and is home to some of the best authentic Caribbean food in Toronto. The town's symbol is an old-fashioned bicycle, outlines of which are hung on streetlights on Weston Road. This originates from Weston once having a CCM bicycle factory, and being a manufacturing centre. == Get in == {{Mapframe|43.703|-79.406|zoom=12}} {{mapshapes|Q28971910}} <!--GO Trains--> {{mapshapes|Q20379}} <!--Toronto Subway--> {{mapshapes|Q249404}}<!--streetcar--> ===By subway and light rail=== '''Line {{rint|toronto|1}} Yonge-University''' (northbound from Union Station towards Finch) has six stations serving Midtown Toronto: Rosedale, Summerhill, St. Clair, Davisville, Eglinton and Lawrence. '''Line {{rint|toronto|5}} Eglinton''' is a light-rail line running east-west along Eglinton Avenue. It connects with Line 1 at Eglinton and Cedarvale stations. Line 5 has 13 stations in Midtown from Mount Dennis in the west to Laird Station in the east continuing further east to Kennedy Station in [[Toronto/Scarborough|Scarborough]]. '''Line {{rint|toronto|2}} Bloor-Danforth''', (eastbound from Bloor-Yonge towards Kennedy) has two stations (Shelbourne and Castle Frank) just south of the Rosedale neighbourhood of Midtown. Rail fans might want to view the Davisville subway yard at Davisville subway station from a pedestrian bridge crossing over the yard. The bridge is part of the Kay Gardner Beltline Park which runs along a former railway right-of-way. ===By bus=== Bus 82 runs from the Rosedale subway station, travels the neighbourhood and terminates immediately north of Rosedale; bus 75 terminates in the eastern end of Rosedale after serving Sherbourne Street through downtown. ===By streetcar=== The 512 Streetcar runs along St Clair Avenue from St Clair station to Weston Road. It operates in its own right-of-way with a raised curb between the streetcar tracks and regular traffic and a limited number of stops compared to regular services. As a result, the 512 Streetcar is an excellent way to see St Clair Avenue. The 512 Streetcar is often described as the midtown streetcar line. ===By car=== Coming from the 401, Yonge Street will take you through the heart of Midtown. Other exits, like Bayview Ave and Avenue Rd, will also provide access to the district. Eglinton Ave is the main east-west crossroad. == See == * {{see | name=Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/193/index.html | email= | address=2901 Yonge St | lat=43.7214 | long=-79.4013 | directions=east side of Yonge St, 1 block south of Lawrence Ave (Subway: Lawrence) | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q28035261| wikipedia=Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens | lastedit=2016-11-15 | content=Nice rose gardens. The gardens provide access to the Blythwood Ravine and Sherwood Park, which are forested areas with trails that are good for running or a leisurely walk. The park is named in honour of Alexander Muir who composed the rousing British-Canadian song "The Maple Leaf Forever". }} * {{see | name=Amsterdam Square | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/47/index.html | address=525 Avenue Rd | lat=43.686953 | long=-79.401216 | directions=at St Clair Ave W | phone= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | lastedit=2019-04-18 | content=This small park features a replica of a fountain in the [[w:Peace Palace|Peace Palace]] (''Vredespaleis'') in [[The Hague]]. The fountain consists of a U-shaped wall with a small lion head emitting water from its mouth. (It might be easier to see the replica in Amsterdam Square than the original at the fenced-off Peace Palace.) The park received its current name in 1974 when Toronto and Amsterdam became twin cities. There is also a wall along the Avenue Road side of the park with an inscription about Jewish survivers of the Holocast in the Netherlands. }} * {{see | name=Artscape Wychwood Barns | alt= | url=https://artscapewychwoodbarns.ca/ | email= | address=601 Christie St | lat=43.679757 | long=-79.423693 | directions=512 streetcar to Christie St | phone=+1 416-653-3520 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Wychwood Barns | wikidata=Q8039569 | lastedit=2015-12-09 | content=The Wychwood Barns is a former streetcar depot converted into an establishment for art organizations. The area is now a public park, and the public may enter the main corridors of the building. The roof on the southern section of the building has been removed and the area is an experimental fruit and vegetable garden. Off the building's main corridor is a cafe and a WC. Outside of event days, the site is fairly quiet, and usually art is not displayed in the public areas. The building was built in stages from 1916 to 1921 and the facility once had over 20 tracks for the storage and maintenance of streetcars. On the western side of the "barns", you can see curving black-coloured sidewalks; these trace the path of the former streetcar tracks that used to circle the building. Inside, there are a few old photos of streetcars. }} [[File:Casa Loma, Toronto.JPG|thumbnail|Casa Loma]] {{anchor|Casa Loma}} * {{see | name=Casa Loma | alt= | url=http://www.casaloma.ca | email= | address=1 Austin Terrace | lat=43.6780 | long=-79.4095 | directions=600 m north of subway station: Dupont, or 800 m south of 512 streetcar stop: Spadina | phone=+1 416-923-1171 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM-5PM | price=$40 adults, $35 seniors (60+) and youth (14-17), $25 children (4-13) | wikidata=Q1046446| wikipedia=Casa Loma | lastedit=2023-01-06 | content=In 1911, financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt decided to construct Canada's largest private residence. The resulting European-style castle is now a Toronto landmark and popular tourist attraction. Casa Loma has decorated suites, secret passages, a 250-metre long tunnel, towers, stables and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens. A self-guided digital audio tour in 8 languages (English, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin and Korean) is available. }} {{anchor|Casa Loma Parkette}} * {{see | name=Casa Loma Parkette | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/154/index.html | email= | address=328 Walmer Rd | lat=43.679 | long=-79.4108 | directions=1 block north of Casa Loma | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=The Castle Loma stables are located on the north side of this tiny park. The stable building is a fanciful, castle-style building. There was an underground passage between Casa Loma and the stables.. }} * {{see | name=Ernest Hemingway's former residence | alt=The Hemingway | url=https://www.thestar.com/business/real_estate/2019/04/08/ernest-hemingways-former-toronto-home-up-for-sale.html | address=1599 Bathurst St | lat=43.689074 | long=-79.420465 | directions=700 metres north of St. Clair Ave W | phone= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Ernest Hemingway | lastedit=2019-04-08 | content=From October 1923 to January 1924, Ernest Hemingway lived in a top-floor unit of this attractive, four-storey, brick and stucco apartment building, renamed The Hemingway after its former resident. While in Toronto Hemingway worked as a journalist for the [[w:Toronto Star|Toronto Star]] newspaper. Although the building is not open to the public, there is a small oval historical plaque by the building entrance. }} * {{see | name=Evergreen Brick Works | alt=Don Valley Brick Works | url=http://www.evergreen.ca/get-involved/evergreen-brick-works/ | email= | address=550 Bayview Ave | lat=43.683737 | long=-79.365169 | directions=take [http://www.ttc.ca/Routes/28/RouteDescription.jsp?tabName=route 28 Bayview South bus] from Davisville Station on subway line 1 | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Admission Free | price= | wikipedia=Evergreen Brick Works | wikidata=Q5293642 | lastedit=2019-03-29 | content=The Evergreen Brick Works is a former clay quarry in the Don River valley that has been converted into a large, attractive and distinctive city park. There are naturalized ponds and wetlands while the former brickworks buildings have been restored and opened as an environmentally focused community and cultural centre by Evergreen, a national charity dedicated to restoring nature in urban environments. The wetlands have attracted many species of birds as well as mammals, reptiles and some fish. }} * {{see | name=Glen Gould's former residence | alt=Park Lane Apartments | url= | email= | address=110 St Clair Ave W | lat=43.687335 | long=-79.398899 | directions=just west of Deer Park Cres | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Glen Gould | lastedit=2019-04-08 | content=Famed Canadian pianist Glen Gould had a penthouse apartment in the Park Lane Apartments, an art-deco building. Although the building is not open to the public, there is a historical plaque in front of the building. }} * {{see | name=Glen Gould Park | alt= | url= | address=480 Avenue Rd | lat=43.686855 | long=-79.401943 | directions=at St Clair Ave W | phone= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | lastedit=2019-04-18 | content=The park features a cast metal statue of Peter Pan along with other fairy tale figures. The statue, consisting of seven castings, was created in 1929 and is a duplicate of a statue in [[w:Kensington Gardens|Kensington Gardens]] in [[London/South Kensington-Chelsea|South Kensington-Chelsea]], London, England. The park has no mementos related to pianist Glen Gould other than its name. }} * {{see | name=Glengrove Substation | alt= | url= | address=2833 Yonge St | lat=43.7195 | long=-79.4008 | directions=at Glengrove Ave | phone= | hours=Not open to the public but easily viewed from the public sidewalk | price= | wikipedia= | lastedit=2018-12-25 | content=Nicknamed "the castle", this Toronto Hydro substation resembles a chateau rather than the industrial building it is. Built in 1930, the building features ivy-covered stone walls, oak doors and leaded glass windows. The huge oak freight doors on Glengrove Avenue resemble a grand entrance for carriages. }} {{anchor|Loring-Wyle Parkette}} [[File:Loring-Wyle Parkette.JPG|thumbnail|Loring-Wyle Parkette]] * {{see | name=Loring-Wyle Parkette | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/133/index.html | email= | address=276 St Clair Ave E | lat=43.6907 | long=-79.3832 | directions=700 m east of St Clair Subway Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q6681245| wikipedia=Loring-Wyle Parkette | lastedit=2015-11-26 | content=This tiny park was built in 1984 to honour artists Frances Loring (1887–1968) and Florence Wyle (1881–1968). The parkette contains 4 of their sculptures. The two artists had a studio in a converted church schoolhouse, the building still standing one block south of the parkette at 110 Glenrose Avenue. Near the sidewalk there is a plaque honouring the artists. }} * {{see | name=Mount Pleasant Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address=1654 Yonge St (main entrance) | lat=43.6921 | long=-79.3949 | directions=North of St. Clair Station on subway line 1 | phone = | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2904018| wikipedia=Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=The cemetery has miles of walking paths and is the resting place of many famous people, including former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, pianist Glenn Gould, the co-discoverers of insulin Frederick Banting and Charles Best, and Timothy Eaton. The western side of the cemetery contains a number of mausoleums including the {{see|name=Massey Mausoleum|lat=43.6943|long=-79.3916}}, a structure resembling a miniature residential castle, and the {{see|name=Eaton Mausoleum|lat=43.6916|long=-79.3903}}, resembling a temple with two lions guarding the entrance. Walking tours of the cemetery are available ([http://muddyyorktours.com/ Muddy York Tours]). }} * {{see | name=Mural by Phlegm | alt= | url=http://stepsinitiative.com/project/toronto-public-art-phlegm-st-clair-mural/ | email= | address=1 St. Clair Ave W | lat=43.6878 | long=-79.3943 | directions=on the west-facing wall of the building | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-03-29 | content=UK artist Phlegm painted what was once thought to be the world's tallest mural (8 storeys) on the side of a building. However, since then, a 23-storey mural named the [[Toronto/Downtown East#Equilibrium Mural|Equilibrium Mural]] was erected in Toronto's Downtown East district. }} * {{see | name=North Toronto railway station | alt=Summerhill railway station; LCBO Summerhill store | url= | email= | address=10 Scrivener Square | lat=43.6809 | long=-79.3905 | directions=1 block south of Summerhill subway station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7637598| wikipedia=North Toronto railway station | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=The station, constructed in the Beaux Arts tradition, consists of a 43-metre (140-foot) clock tower and a three-storey main terminal. The tower is modelled after the Campanile di San Marco in Saint Mark’s Square in Venice. The main terminal gallery has an 11.6-metre (38-foot) high ceiling supported by marble walls and with elegant bronze suspended light fixtures. Opened in 1916, closed 1930, the building serves today a very elegant liquor store. }} [[File:Ramsden Park sign of snow.jpg|thumbnail|Ramsden Park in winter]] * {{see | name=Ramsden Park | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/167/index.html | email= | address=1020 Yonge St | lat=43.6769 | long=-79.3896 | directions=opposite Rosedale Subway Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=Ramsden Park is a relatively large, urban park, on the western edge of the Rosedale neighbourhood, with its entrance right on the west side of Yonge Street. In summer this is a very nice place to have a picnic and in winter there is a large skating rink, there are also tennis courts. }} * {{see | name=Rosedale Valley | alt= | url= | email= | address=Rosedale Valley Rd | lat=43.6736 | long=-79.3854 | directions=Follow Aylmer Ave south of Rosedale Subway Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=Rosedale Valley is an enormous green space separating Rosedale from the [[Toronto/Bloor-Yorkville|Yorkville]] neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. The view from the north side of the valley is absolutely breathtaking, with skyscrapers giving way to a very steep, tree-filled slope. The best view is from the bridge that carries Sherbourne Street across the valley. It is also a pleasant place to stroll during the day, a green oasis just north of the hustle and bustle of downtown, however, like the rest of the ravines in the city, it is unsafe at night. }} * {{see | name=St. George Lofts | alt= | url= | address=65 Sheldrake Blvd | lat=43.715040 | long=-79.398324 | directions=150M east of Yonge St | phone= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | lastedit=2019-07-08 | content=St. George Lofts is a former church converted into 33 condominium dwellings. Dormers added to the church's sloping roof, and balconies facing the street give the building an interesting look. There is also a colourful flower garden between the building and the street. The location is private property, but it can be easily viewed from the public sidewalk. }} {{anchor|Spadina House Museum}} * {{see | name=Spadina House Museum | alt= | url=https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/museums/spadina-museum/ | email= | address=285 Spadina Rd | lat=43.6790 | long=-79.4082 | directions=Beside Casa Loma on the east side | phone=+1 416-392-6910 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3289971| wikipedia=Spadina House | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=Adjacent to Casa Loma, this museum gives a more authentic version of Canada's history. It's also a cultural centre, hosting music and art events. Hours and admission vary with the season. Check the website for what's on, or call their event hotline at +1 416-338-3888. }} * {{see | name=The Tollkeeper's Cottage | alt=The Tollkeeper's Park | url=http://www.tollkeeperscottage.ca/ | address=750 Davenport Rd | lat=43.676993 | long=-79.417010 | directions=Bus 7 Bathurst to Davenport Rd or 127 Davenport to Bathurst St | phone= | hours=Interior open Saturdays | price= | lastedit=2015-12-11 | content=This 1835 cottage housed the family of a tollkeeper who collected tolls along Bathurst St. The cottage contains period furnishings. In the south-west corner of the park, there is an exhibit of 19th century road paving materials using logs. }} :Toronto has a number of older, classic-looking '''fire stations''' located mainly in the central districts. If you are in the area as a tourist, you should take short detour to view their exteriors. One of the mid-town stations is a designated National Historic Site. * {{see | name=Toronto Fire Station 131 | alt= | url= | email= | address=3135 Yonge Street | lat=43.726279 | long=-79.402408 | directions=1 block north of Lawrence Ave and Lawrence Station | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Active firehall; interior not open to public | price= | lastedit=2015-12-09 | content=This attractive Tudor-style, 2-bay firehall was built in 1931. It was retrofitted in 2003 to accommodate a taller aerial ladder truck which, if you are lucky, might be parked outside. }} * {{see | name=Toronto Fire Station 311 | alt=Balmoral Fire Hall | url= | email= | address=20 Balmoral Ave | lat=43.6858 | long=-79.3944 | directions=1 block south on Yonge from St. Clair Ave (subway: St. Clair), west side | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Active firehall; interior not open to public | price= | lastedit=2015-11-24 | content=Balmoral Fire Hall was built in 1911 when horses pulled hose wagons through its double doors. Still visible along the east wall is a second-storey projecting beam and doorway where hay was hoisted into a loft for feed. In the rear, a tower capable of drying 50-foot hoses still stands. The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990, for its rare adoption of the Queen Anne style. }} * {{see | name=Toronto Fire Station 342 | alt= | url= | address=106 Ascot Avenue | lat=43.679324 | long=-79.448654 | directions=512 streetcar to Lansdowne Ave; walk 1 block north; it's on the NW corner | phone= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-12-11 | content=This fire station can be difficult to spot as it is in a residential area and, surprisingly, looks just like another house in the area. Built in 1912 in the "residential" style, the station has two storeys with one small bay. }} * {{see | name=Toronto Fire Station 343 | alt= | url= | address=65 Hendrick Avenue | lat=43.680112 | long=-79.430727 | directions=512 streetcar to Winona Dr | hours=Active fire station; interior not open to public | lastedit=2015-12-10 | content=Built in 1916, this cute "Amsterdam"-style fire station has a three-storey main section with two bays and a tower located at the rear. }} * {{see | name=Yonge Eglinton Centre - Rooftop patio | alt= | url= | email= | address=2290 Yonge St | lat=43.7069 | long=-79.3988 | directions=Take the elevator at the entrance to floor R (roof) | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Free | lastedit=2018-06-09 | content=This attractive rooftop patio has plants, small trees, a water feature, tables and benches. On the west side are five panels describing local history including public transit. One could buy a coffee from the food court (elevator level P1) and take it up to the patio. The patio is open to the public even though there is little signage to direct visitors to it. }} == Do == Take a self-guided [https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/walking-in-toronto/walking-tours/etobicoke-walking-tours/ '''Discovery Walk'''] through the area's parks, the Don Valley Ravines and Mt Pleasant Cemetery ([https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/9047-Central-Ravines-Belt-Line-Gardens.pdf Central Ravines, Belt Line & Gardens - PDF map]). This walk is 11 km long and takes about 3 hours to complete. You can just do a portion of the walk if you prefer. There will be signs along the way to indicate that you're on the Discovery Walk route. For safety in the ravines, take a friend with you. == Buy == ===Summerhill=== * {{buy | name=LCBO Yonge and Summerhill | alt= | url=https://www.lcbo.com/en/stores/yonge-summerhill-10 | email= | address=10 Scrivener Square & Yonge St | lat=43.681 | long=-79.3908 | directions=south of Summerhill subway station, at the railway line | phone=+1 416-922-0403 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-09-17 | content=This liquor store is in a very elegant, former railway station with features of its railway heritage preserved. The store has a very large stock of liquor and wine. A craft beer section offers the products of various small breweries within the Province of [[Ontario]]. A limited variety of craft beer is available refrigerated, and single bottles (as opposed to a case) can be purchased here. }} ===Yonge & St. Clair=== * {{buy | name=Book City | alt= | url=https://www.bookcity.ca/ | email= | address=1430 Yonge Street | lat=43.6870810 | long=-79.3938920 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=This family-owned independent book store chain has four locations around Toronto. Expect tables with piles of bargain books and shelfs that are incredibly well stocked. }} ===Yonge & Eglinton=== The "'''Uptown Yonge'''" area along Yonge Street from Eglinton Avenue to Blythwood Road tends to have more of the larger stores than other Midtown commercial districts. * {{buy | name=Yonge-Eglinton Centre | alt= | url=http://www.yongeeglintoncentre.com | email= | address=2300 Yonge Street | lat=43.7073 | long=-79.3994 | directions=at Eglinton Ave, with access to Eglinton Station on lines 1 and 5. | phone=+1 416 489-2300 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Metro grocery store (open 24/7), Indigo book store, Rexall pharmacy and LCBO liquor store. }} * {{buy | name=Sporting Life | alt= | url=http://www.sportinglife.ca/ | email= | address=2665 Yonge St | lat=43.7161 | long=-79.4002 | directions=at Blythwood Rd | phone=+1 416-485-1611 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-28 | content=Large, two-storey store with outdoor-sport equipment including bikes, skis & boards plus outerwear & footwear. The larger of two Sporting Life stores in the area. }} ===Yonge-Lawrence Village=== * {{buy | name=Paradise Comics | alt= | url=http://paradisecomics.com/ | email= | address=3278 Yonge St. | lat=43.7303 | long=-79.4037 | directions=four blocks north of Lawrence Station | phone=+1 416-487-9807 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-17 | content=Paradise for comic book fans. }} * {{buy | name=Games Workshop | alt= | url=http://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Games-Workshop-Yonge-and-Lawrence?_requestid=2635353 | email= | address=3251 Yonge St | lat=43.7291 | long=-79.4031 | directions= | phone=+1 647-428-7122 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-28 | content=Retailer of fantasy board games also selling miniatures for painting. }} ===Mount Pleasant Village=== There are several specialty shops in this area south of Eglinton Avenue and south from Mount Pleasant Station. * {{buy | name=Bernardi's Antiques | alt= | url=http://www.bernardisantiques.com/ | email= | address=699 Mt Pleasant Rd | lat=43.7065 | long=-79.3890 | directions=1 block south of Eglinton Ave. | phone=+1 416-483-6471 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-21 | content=Antiques dealer specializing in English & French furniture, art glass, decor items & silverware. }} * {{buy | name=Ambiance Chocolat | alt=Location of former LeFevre's Chocolatier | url=http://ambiancechocolat.ca/ | email= | address=683 Mt. Pleasant Rd | lat=43.7058 | long=-79.3890 | directions=1 block south of Eglinton Ave. | phone=+1 416-406-2462 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Closed Mondays | price= | lastedit=2015-11-21 | content=Gourmet chocolates, boxes, gift baskets. }} * {{buy | name=Mabel's Fables | alt= | url=http://www.mabelsfables.com/ | email= | address=540 Mt Pleasant Rd | lat=43.7026 | long=-79.3882 | directions=at Belsize Dr | phone=+1 416-322-0438 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-09-03 | content=Specializes in books for children. }} * {{buy | name=Alexandre Antique Prints Maps & Books | alt= | url=http://www.alexandremaps.com/ | email= | address=593 Mt Pleasant Rd | lat=43.703793 | long=-79.388172 | directions=3½ blocks south of Eglinton Ave E | phone=+1 416-364-2376 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-18 | content=The shop window displays prints of old ships, steam locomotives and historical events. }} ===South Bayview=== Bayview Avenue south of Eglinton Avenue forms its own little village with some specialty shops. * {{buy | name=Dolce & Gourmando | alt= | url=http://www.dolcegourmando.com/ | email= | address=1493 Bayview Ave | lat=43.7037 | long=-79.3742 | directions=south of Millwood Rd | phone=+1 416-915-8840 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-28 | content=Gourmet foods; gift baskets. }} * {{buy | name=The Chocolate Messenger | alt= | url=https://www.chocolatemessenger.com/ | email=info@chocolatemessenger.com | address=1645 Bayview Ave | lat=43.7072 | long=-79.3755 | directions=Between Fleming Crescent and Eglinton Ave E. | phone=+1 416-488-1414 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-F 11AM to 6PM; Sa 11AM to 4PM; Su-M Closed | price= | lastedit=2024-03-05 | content=Truffles, gift boxes, chocolate bars, novelties. }} ===Millwood Road=== There are a couple of specialty shops located along Millwood Road east of Bayview Avenue. * {{buy | name=The Little Dollhouse Company | alt= | url=http://www.thelittledollhousecompany.com/dollhouses-miniatures-furniture-kits/index.php | email= | address=862 Millwood Rd | lat=43.704409 | long=-79.366030 | directions= | phone=+1 416-489-7180 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-18 | content=Specializes in doll houses. Judging from the detailed models in the display window, these are not just for little girls. }} * {{buy | name=Sleuth Of Baker Street | alt= | url=https://sleuthofbakerstreet.ca/ | email= | address=907 Millwood Rd | lat=43.702971 | long=-79.363866 | directions= | phone=+1 416-483-3111 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-03-29 | content=As it names suggests, the shop specializes in mystery novels. }} ===Saint Clair Avenue West=== There are clusters of shops along Saint Clair Avenue west of Bathurst Street, all lying along the 512 St Clair streetcar line. == Eat == There are a lot of restaurant choices in Midtown, ranging from some of Toronto's best (and priciest) restaurants to neighbourhood establishments. Midtown also has some of the best pastry shops in the city. ===Yonge & Davisville=== * {{eat | name=Tabule Middle Eastern Cuisine | alt= | url=http://www.tabule.ca | email= | address=2009 Yonge St | lat=43.7010 | long=-79.3968 | directions=just north of Davisville | phone =+1 416-483-3747 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Great Middle Eastern. Try the $9 lunch combo plate (hummus, babaganuj, tabule and falafel). Reservations recommended. }} * {{eat | name=Zezafoun Syrian Cuisine | alt= | url=http://zezafoun.ca/ | address=4 Manor Rd E | lat=43.7027 | long=-79.3971 | directions=just east of Yonge St | phone=+1 416-322-7707 | hours=Tu-Th 5PM-10PM, F-Sa 11AM-10PM, Su 11AM-9PM | price= entrees $15 to $30 | lastedit=2024-03-20 | content=The seasoning makes the food very flavourful. Indoor seating plus seasonal patio.}} * {{eat | name=Rachel's Coffeehouse | alt= | url=http://rachelscoffeehouse.ca/ | address=2011 Yonge St | lat=43.7010 | long=-79.3970 | directions= | phone=+1 416-545-0000 | hours=M-F 7AM-5PM, Sa Su 8AM-5PM | price= | lastedit=2023-03-20 | content=Espresso bar with baked goods and light meals. }} ===Yonge & St. Clair=== *{{eat | name=Hero Certified Burgers | alt= | url=http://heroburgers.com/locations/yonge-st-clair/ | email= | address=1397 Yonge St | lat=43.6870 | long=-79.3934 | directions=Subway line 1 to St Clair Station, 512 streetcar to Yonge Street | phone=+1 416-925-8703 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M-Th 7AM-10PM, F Sa 7AM-11PM, Su 9AM-9PM | price= | content=A local chain of upscale burger joints. }} *{{eat | name=Pizzaiolo | url=http://www.pizzaiolo.ca/ | email= | address=13 St Clair Ave E | lat=43.6877 | long=-79.3947 | directions=Subway line 1 to St Clair Station, 512 streetcar to Yonge Street | phone = +1 416-960-3030 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-11PM | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=Grandma loves you | alt= | url=https://www.instagram.com/grandmalovesyoutoronto/p/C2tNpNKL1lh/ | address=40 St Clair Ave W | lat=43.6880 | long=-79.3957 | directions=west of Yonge St | phone=+1 416-925-5547 | hours=M-F 11AM-6PM, Sa 11PM-4PM | price= | lastedit=2024-02-11 | content=Serves fancy sandwiches; seasonal exterior patio }} ===Yonge & Eglinton=== * {{eat | name=Banh Mi Boys | alt= | url=http://www.banhmiboys.com/ | email= | address=2365 Yonge St | lat=43.7092 | long=-79.3986 | directions=2 blocks north of Eglinton Ave | phone=+1 647-345-3585 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=About $6-7/sandwich+tax | lastedit=2017-01-11 | content=[[w:Bánh mì|Banh mi sandwiches]], [[w:Baozi|baos]] and [[w:Taco|tacos]]. Seating area. There is often a long line at lunchtime. The sandwiches are moist and tasty. }} * {{eat | name=de Mello Palheta Coffee Roasters | alt= | url=https://hellodemello.com/ | email= | address=2489 Yonge St at Castlefield Ave | lat=43.7119 | long=-79.3992 | directions=about 4 blocks north of Eglinton Ave, east side | phone=+1 647-748-3633 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-19 | content=Coffee shop serving coffee & pastries and selling coffee beans. Interior decor: "industrial-chic". }} * {{eat | name=Good Bite Restaurant | alt= | url=http://www.goodbite.ca | email= | address=2463 Yonge St | lat=43.7115 | long=-79.3991 | directions= | phone =+1 416 483-8432 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Cheap American diner, surprisingly good food. Daily, 7AM-10PM. }} * {{eat | name=Istanbul Café | alt= | url=http://istanbulcafe.ca/ | email= | address=174 Eglinton Ave E | lat=43.7079 | long=-79.3931 | directions=a few metres west of Redpath Ave | phone=+1 416-480-0303 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=Independent coffee shop: Espresso, pastry, gelato. }} * {{eat | name=La Bohème Café Patisserie | alt= | url=http://labohemecafe.ca/ | address=2481 Yonge St | lat=43.711745 | long=-79.399108 | directions=at Castlefield Ave | phone=+1 416-489-2233 | hours=Su-Fr 8AM-6PM, Sa 8AM-7PM | price= | lastedit=2019-12-14 | content=Espresso bar, French pastries, light meals. }} * {{eat | name=Mars Diner | alt= | url=https://www.facebook.com/marsuptown/ | address=2363 Yonge St | lat=43.7092 | long=-79.3985 | directions=1½ blocks north of Eglinton Ave on the east side of Yonge St | phone=+1 416-322-7111 | hours=Su-W 7AM-4PM, Th-Sa 7AM-9PM | price= | lastedit=2024-08-04 | content=Among other brunch items, the diner offers 17 variations of Eggs Benedict including the typical version. }} * {{eat | name=STOCK T.C. Grocer| alt= | url=https://stocktc.com/ | address=2388 Yonge St | lat=43.7093 | long=-79.3992 | directions= | phone=+1 416-489-1020 | hours=8AM-8PM | price= | lastedit=2022-03-16 | content=This delicatessan offers slices of various types of pizza which staff can heat up. There is limited interior seating plus exterior tables on the Yonge Street side and on the south side of the building. There are also ready-to-eat sandwiches. STOCK is located in a former post office building built in 1936 during the short reign of Edward VIII; it is probably one of the few buildings in the world to bear his coat of arms which is cast in stone over the entrance to STOCK. }} * {{eat | name=Sushi Rock Cafe | alt= | url=http://sushirocktoronto.com/ | email= | address=2329 Yonge St | lat=43.7091 | long=-79.3986 | directions=just north of Eglinton Ave | phone=+1 416-483-3888 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Fantastic sushi. $10-20 a meal. }} ===Yonge-Lawrence Village=== * {{eat | name=The Abbot Pub and Fare | alt= | url=http://theabbot.ca/ | email= | address=3367 Yonge St | lat=43.731782 | long=-79.40369 | directions=1 block north of Fairlawn Ave | phone=+1 416-544-9074 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Moderately priced pub fare | lastedit=2015-12-17 | content=This restaurant has a pub-style interior with a bar in the rear. }} * {{eat | name=Bobbette & Belle | alt= | url=http://www.bobbetteandbelle.com/ | address=3347 Yonge St | lat=43.7314 | long=-79.4036 | directions=just north of traffic light at Fairlawn Ave | phone=+1 416-466-8800 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-12-05 | content=Cafe/patisserie for handcrafted cakes, cupcakes & macarons, plus espresso & hot chocolate. The shop interior has nice decor with kitchen knickknacks hanging from the walls. }} * {{eat | name=Patisserie Sebastien | alt= | url= | email= | address=3306 Yonge St | lat=43.7308 | long=-79.4039 | directions=at Fairlawn Avenue, second traffic light north of Lawrence Avenue. | phone=+1 416-544-0333 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Quiche, salad & cappuccino $13.50 with tax | lastedit=2015-11-18 | content=French pastries, 5 types of quiche, espresso coffee. }} ===Mount Pleasant Village=== * {{eat | name=Davisville Village Farmers' Market | alt= | url=http://www.appletreemarkets.ca/#!markets-and-events/c7wf | address=June Rowlands Park | lat=43.7000 | long=-79.3895 | directions=corner of Davisville Ave & Acacia Rd | phone= | hours=3-7PM Tuesdays only, mid-May to end of September | price= | lastedit=2016-05-10 | content=Temporary stands in a park offering a variety of food product many ready to eat. }} * {{eat | name=XO Gelato | alt= | url= | email= | address=647 Mt Pleasant Rd | lat=43.7053 | long=-79.3888 | directions=south of Eglinton Ave | phone=+1 416-488-2663 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 2:30PM-10PM, Tu-Th 10AM-10PM, Sa 11AM-11PM, Su 1PM-10PM | price= | lastedit=2017-07-26 | content=Gelato made onsite. }}. * {{eat | name=Jules Patisserie | url=http://www.julescafe.ca | email= | address=617 Mount Pleasant Rd | lat=43.7042 | long=-79.3883 | directions= | phone=+1 416-481-1666 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-Su 9AM-5PM | price= | content=French bakery and café. Good almond croissants, friendly service and yummy croque monsieur. Limited seating, cafeteria-like atmosphere. }} * {{eat | name=Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Café | alt= | url=http://www.thobors.ca/ | email= | address=623 Mount Pleasant Rd | lat=43.7045 | long=-79.3885 | directions= | phone=+1 416-544-1733 | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 7:30AM-6:30PM | price= | content=Sit-down café offering quiche, sandwiches and croque monsieur and excellent croissants, especially the chocolate ones. }} * {{eat | name=Bread and Butter Family Restaurant | alt= | url=https://breadnbutter.ca/ | email= | address=507 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto | lat=43.7016 | long=-79.3872 | directions=one block N of Davisville Ave | phone=+1 416-488-0036 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-09-14 | content=Schnitzel, salads, pastries. This restaurant has a good-tasting cappuccino with a creamy foam and sprinkled chocolate reminiscent of fancy coffees in Vienna. Outdoor, covered patio available. You can visit the place just for the coffee if you like. }} ===Leaside and South Bayview=== * {{eat | name=Hollywood Gelato | alt= | url=http://www.hollywoodgelato.com/ | email= | address=1640 Bayview Ave | lat=43.7068 | long=-79.3758 | directions=south of Eglinton Ave | phone=+1 416-544-9829 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Excellent gelato. }} * {{eat | name=Kamasutra Fine Indian Restaurant | alt= | url=http://www.kamasutrarestaurant.ca/ | email= | address=1522 Bayview Ave | lat=43.70401679140641 | long=-79.37483633702334 | directions=south of Millwood Rd, on the west side of Bayview Ave. | phone=+1 416-489-4899 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-19 | content=Upscale Indian restaurant and wine bar }} * {{eat | name=Patisserie La Cigogne | alt= | url=http://patisserielacigogne.com/ | email= | address=1626 Bayview Ave | lat=43.7065 | long=-79.3758 | directions= | phone=+1 416-487-1234 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{eat | name=Rahier Patisserie | url=http://www.rahierpatisserie.com | email= | address=1586 Bayview Ave | lat=43.7057 | long=-79.3754 | directions=two blocks south of Eglinton Ave | phone=+1 416-482-0917 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-F 8AM-5PM, Sa 8AM-4PM, Su 8AM-3PM | price= | content=Another French bakery with macarons, croissants, breads and pastries. It also serves sandwiches and quiches. Excellent croissants. }} ===St Clair West=== :''St Clair Ave west of Bathurst St; see also Yonge & St Clair.'' * {{eat | name=Dutch Dreams | alt= | url=http://www.dutchdreams.ca/index.html | email= | address=36 Vaughan Rd | lat=43.682052 | long=-79.419034 | directions=1 block south of St. Clair Ave west of Bathurst St | phone=+1 416-656-6959 | tollfree= | hours=noon-11PM or midnight(summer) | price= | lastedit=2019-07-15 | content=This ice-cream parlour offers about 60 flavours. As a distinctive touch, a few pieces of fresh fruit and some candy floss are added on top of the ice cream scoops on each cone. The shop itself is a site to see as it is decorated with many Dutch-themed knickknacks, and the piped-in music consist of Dutch songs. A few packaged goods imported from the Netherlands, such as [[w:Stroopwafel|stroopwaffel]]s, are on display. There is interior and patio seating. }} * {{eat | name=Golden Wheat Bakery & Pastry | alt= | url=https://www.goldenwheatbakery.ca/ | address=579 Rogers Rd | lat=43.6818 | long=-79.4712 | directions=Keele St | phone=+1 416-654-2867 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-04-07 | content=Portuguese bakery and coffee shop. Portuguese custard tarts (''pastel de nata'') available here. }} * {{eat | name=Tre Mari Bakery | alt= | url=http://tremaribakery.ca/ | address=1311 St Clair Ave W | lat=43.676448 | long=-79.448625 | directions=512 streetcar to either Earlscourt Ave or Lansdowne Ave | phone=+1 416-654-8960 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2019-06-30 | content=Italian delicatessen, bakery, pastry shop and coffee shop. (''Tre mari'' means three seas.) The coffee shop offers espresso-based coffee, and has a small interior seating area plus a seasonal sidewalk patio. }} ===Thorncliffe Park=== * {{eat | name=Bamiyan Kabob | alt= | url=http://www.bamiyankabob.com/ | email= | address=62 Overlea Blvd, Unit 3A | lat=43.707852 | long=-79.343426 | directions=at Thorncliffe Park Dr just east of East York Town Centre; bus 25 & 88 | phone=+1 416-429-7514 | tollfree= | hours=Open daily | price=About $15/person | lastedit=2016-02-05 | content=Very tasty Afghan cuisine: Chicken, beef and lamb Kabobs, wraps, some veggie items. It looks like a fast-food restaurant but meals usually take about 20 minutes to prepare. A pleasant Afghan tea is available ($1) even though it is not listed on the menu. }} == Drink == ===Mount Pleasant Village=== * {{drink | name=Granite Brewery | alt= | url=http://www.granitebrewery.ca | email= | address=245 Eglinton Ave E | lat=43.7083 | long=-79.3900 | directions=SE corner of Eglinton and Mt Pleasant, free underground parking off Mt Pleasant | phone=+1 416-322-0723 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=M 11:30AM-midnight, Tu-Sa 11:30AM-1AM, Su 11AM-midnight | price=Entrées $10.50-21 | content=Beer brewed in house, outdoor patio. }} ===Yonge & St. Clair=== ===Yonge & Eglinton=== ===Leaside & South Bayview=== * {{drink | name=McSorley's Wonderful Saloon & Grill | alt=McSorley's | url=https://www.mcsorleys.ca/menu | email= | address=1544 Bayview Ave | lat=43.704700 | long=-79.374800 | directions=Bus 11 from Davisvile subway station | phone=+14169320655 | tollfree= | hours=11AM - 11PM | price=CA$20-CA$30 | lastedit=2026-02-06 | content=No frills pub with typical pub fare. Typically busy as they are one of the only two pubs in the area (as of February 2026) }} == Sleep == To say that there are very few accommodation options in the area would be an understatement. It's better to choose a downtown hotel and travel to midtown. * {{sleep | name=Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites | alt=formerly Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley | url=https://www.torontodonvalleyhotel.com/en | email= | address=175 Wynford Dr | lat=43.724939 | long=-79.327427 | directions=near Don Mills Rd and Eglinton Ave E; Line 5 Eglinton to Wynford Station. | phone=+1 416-449-4111 | tollfree=+1-877-474-6835 | checkin= | checkout= | price=From $140/night | content=Slightly outside our definition of Midtown. Indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna. On-site café and restaurant. 9-hole golf course nearby. In-room internet access. }} ==Connect== ===Toronto Public Library=== * {{listing | name=Northern District Branch | alt= | url=http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/northerndistrict | email= | address=40 Orchard View Blvd | lat=43.708254 | long=-79.399903 | directions=just off Yonge, one block north of Eglinton | phone=+1 416-393-7610 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 9AM-8:30PM, F Sa 9AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM | price= | lastedit=2026-02-06 | content=Wi-fi, computers with internet access. Wheelchair accessible. }} * {{listing | name=Locke Branch | alt= | url=https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/locke/ | email= | address=3083 Yonge Street | lat=43.724808 | long=-79.401871 | directions=opposite Lawrence Subway Station | phone=+1 416-393-7730 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 9AM-8:30PM, F Sa 9AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM | price= | lastedit=2026-02-06 | content=Wi-fi, computers with internet access. Wheelchair accessible. }} * {{listing | name=Leaside Branch | alt= | url=https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/leaside/ | email= | address=165 McRae Dr | lat=43.706551 | long=-79.367846 | directions=at the north side of Trace Manes Park, McRae Dr and Rumsey Rd; take the 88B bus from St.Clair Subway Station | phone=+1 416-396-3835 | tollfree= | hours=M-Th 9AM-8:30PM, F Sa 9AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM | price= | lastedit=2026-02-06 | content=Wi-fi, computers with internet access. Wheelchair accessible. }} * {{listing | name=Mount Pleasant | alt= | url=https://tpl.ca/locations/MP/ | email= | address=599 Mt. Pleasant Road | lat=43.703900 | long=-79.388300 | directions= | phone=+1 416-393-7737 | tollfree= | hours=M closed, Tu Th 12:30-8:30PM, W F 10AM-6PM, Sa 9AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM | price= | lastedit=2026-02-06 | content=Free WiFi, internet working stations. Wheelchair accessible. }} ===Post offices=== ==Go next== {{routebox | image1=DVP Shield.svg | imagesize1=22 | caption1=Don Valley Parkway | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Newmarket (Ontario)|Newmarket]] via [[File:Ontario 404.svg|16px]] | minorl1=[[Toronto/North York|North York]] | directionr1=S | majorr1=[[Toronto/East End|East End]] | minorr1=[[Toronto/Downtown East|Downtown East]] | image2=TTC - Line 1 - Yonge-University-Spadina line.svg | imagesize2=22 | directionl2=N | majorl2=[[Thornhill]] | minorl2=[[Toronto/North York|North York]] | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment and Financial Districts]] | minorr2=[[Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex|Yorkville and the Annex]] | image3=GO Transit Kitchener icon.png | imagesize3=75 | directionl3=W | majorl3=[[Kitchener]] | minorl3=[[Toronto/Etobicoke|Etobicoke]] | directionr3=E | majorr3=[[Toronto/Entertainment and Financial Districts|Entertainment and Financial Districts]] | minorr3=[[Toronto/West End|West End]] }} {{usabledistrict}} {{IsPartOf|Toronto}} {{geo|43.702|-79.392}} 4ib1kmkv1mxq88v5of4lm452snki8vq 0 36476 5298434 5261582 2026-06-25T13:41:51Z Waysi34 2422940 Expanded the section descriptions, changed the formatting for the duration. 5298434 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Tour_du_mont_Blanc_banner.jpg}} The '''Tour du Mont Blanc''' or '''TMB''' is one of the most popular long distance walks in [[Europe]]. It circles the [[Mont Blanc]] Massif covering a distance of roughly 170 km with 10 km of ascent and passes through parts of [[Switzerland]], [[Italy]] and [[France]]. ==Understand== It is considered one of the classic long distance walking trails. The circular route is normally walked in an anti-clockwise direction in 7 to 10 days. It is also the route of an annual mountain marathon in which the winner normally covers the entire distance in less than 24 hours. Usual start points are Les Houches in the [[Chamonix]] valley or Les Contamines in the Montjoie valley (in France), [[Courmayeur]] from the Italian side, and either Champex or a point near [[Martigny]] in Switzerland. The route passes through seven valleys around the Mont-Blanc massif, an anti-clockwise start in Chamonix would lead through the Chamonix (or Arve) valley, then Montjoie, Vallee des Glaciers, Italian Val Veni, & Val Ferret, Swiss Val Ferret, and either the Arpette or Trient valley in [[Switzerland]], dependent on route taken. The ‘official’ route has changed over the course of the years and many alternatives, or ‘Variantes’, exist to the standard route. Some of these take the intrepid walker onto paths requiring greater fitness, awareness and skill. Others provide conveniently less demanding options, which are often quicker than the accepted route but provide lesser viewpoints onto the mountain ranges. For a part of the way, between the summit of Brevent and the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, the route coincides with the European long distance footpath GR5 as it makes its way from the North Sea to the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. A link can also be made with the Walker's Haute Route from [[Chamonix]] to [[Zermatt]] in the [[Swiss Alps]]. The highest points on any variant of the trail are the Col des Fours in France and the Fenetre d'Arpette in Switzerland, both at an altitude of 2,665m (8,743 ft). Although, for most, this is not high enough to cause altitude sickness, the trail nevertheless represents a tough physical proposition. Experience of walking in mountain country should be considered vital. In addition the weather can change very rapidly indeed and one should always be suitably equipped for the challenge. ==Prepare== No permits are required, but you must carry a passport to cross the borders of France, Italy, and Switzerland. The route is a demanding alpine trek with steep, rocky climbs that are unsuitable for wheelchairs, strollers, or carts. While you can carry your own gear, many hikers use professional luggage transport services to move bags between hotels and refuges, allowing them to hike with only a daypack. Sturdy boots and trekking poles are essential for the constant elevation changes. ===Eat=== You don't need to haul a week of rations or a heavy stove across the Alps. The TMB is a "civilized" trek where most hikers rely on the excellent half-board service at mountain refuges, which includes a multi-course dinner and breakfast. During the day, trailside buvettes and restaurants serve hot meals, while supermarkets in valley towns like Courmayeur or Les Contamines allow you to restock on local cheese and bread. If you are camping, you will generally need your own lightweight stove, though some organized campsites offer basic communal kitchen facilities. ===Drink=== Hydration is manageable with a standard 2-liter capacity. Potable water is readily available at every refuge and from village fountains, which are typically fed by clean mountain springs unless marked eau non-potable. While the wild streams look inviting, they often flow through high-altitude grazing lands for cattle and sheep; consequently, you should use a filter or purification tablets if drawing water from the trail. Avoid grey, silty glacial meltwater entirely, as the fine sediment is difficult to filter and can cause stomach distress. ===Sleep=== Plentiful accommodations exist along the entire route, allowing the route to be broken into segments to suit virtually any fit person. The accommodation takes a variety of forms, from separate bedrooms to large mixed sex dormitories. One can normally obtain cooked meals at many of these places. With a start at Les Houches one might expect overnight stops at Les Contamines, Col de la Croix du Bonhomme refuge or Les Chapieux (depending on variant route taken), Elisabetta Soldini refuge, Courmayeur, Elena refuge, Champex, Trient village, Argentiere, La Flegere refuge and finally back to Les Houches. The sheer abundance of accommodation makes for very flexible route-planning and many options exist besides these. Despite this wealth of choice the tremendous popularity of the trail can lead to problems finding accommodations, especially towards the end of the day. It is, however, possible to book accommodation in advance. ===Climate=== The trekking season is narrow, restricted to the summer window between mid-June and mid-September. Expect pleasant valley temperatures, but be prepared for sudden alpine shifts where it can drop toward freezing on high passes or during frequent afternoon thunderstorms. While you can take the route in July and August, early-season hikers in June should carry micro-spikes and poles to navigate lingering snow patches. Outside of these months, the trail is effectively closed to hikers due to heavy snow and significant avalanche risk. ==Get in== Most hikers begin their journey in the Chamonix Valley, specifically at Les Houches. To get there, fly into Geneva Airport ({{IATA|GVA}}), which serves as the primary international gateway. From the airport, numerous shared shuttle services and buses can whisk you across the French border to Chamonix in about 90 minutes. Alternatively, you can arrive by train via the [[Saint-Gervais-les-Bains]] Le Fayet station, connecting to the scenic Mont Blanc Express. If you prefer to start in Italy or Switzerland, [[Courmayeur]] and Champex-Lac are also accessible via regional bus networks. ==Walk== {{mapframe}} {{mapshape|type=geoline|stroke-width=3}} {{RouteSection|name=Les Houches - Refuge du Truc|length=12.8km|duration=4 hr 59 min|ascent=1536 m}} The trail starts from {{marker|type=city|name=Les Houches|wikidata=Q735362}}, a common starting point for the Tour du Mont Blanc. This is a challenging opening stage with a significant climb out of the Chamonix valley, often using the Col de Voza and the higher Col de Tricot variant before dropping towards the Miage and Montjoie pastures. The day ends at the {{marker|type=sleep|name=Refuge du Truc|wikidata=Q120317883}}, a mountain refuge set above Les Contamines with broad views over the surrounding alpine meadows. {{RouteSection|name=Refuge du Truc - La Balme|length=11.4km|duration=3 hr 10 min|ascent=544 m}} A shorter and gentler leg of the journey. The path drops towards Les Contamines-Montjoie before continuing up the valley past Notre-Dame de la Gorge, where the route begins to feel more remote and alpine. From there, the trail follows the traditional TMB line towards Nant Borrant and the accommodation at {{marker|type=sleep|name=La Balme|wikidata=Q113552602}}. {{RouteSection|name=La Balme - Les Mottets|length=15.9km|duration=4 hr 23 min|ascent=1166 m}} This section requires a solid effort, climbing from the upper Montjoie valley to the Col du Bonhomme and then on towards the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, one of the classic high crossings on the French side of the circuit. The route then descends towards Les Chapieux and the Vallée des Glaciers, passing pastoral hamlets and open grazing country before reaching {{marker|type=sleep|name=Les Mottets|lat=45.7373651|long=6.7794678}}. {{RouteSection|name=Les Mottets - Col de Chercroui|length=18.9km|duration=5 hr 34 min|ascent=1136 m}} A longer day of hiking where the route climbs from the Vallée des Glaciers to the Col de la Seigne, the pass that marks the crossing from France into Italy. After the border, the trail descends into Val Veny, with views towards the southern side of the Mont Blanc massif, before climbing again on the Italian side towards the high point at {{marker|type=sleep|name=Col de Chercroui|lat=45.7906|long=6.9449}}. {{RouteSection|name=Col de Chercroui - Courmayeur|length=5.78km|duration=1 hr 20 min|ascent=88 m}} A brief, predominantly downhill section dropping sharply from the ski area and pastures above Val Veny into the major town of {{marker|type=city|name=[[Courmayeur]]|wikidata=Q34993}}. The descent gives a quick change of scene, leaving the open slopes and balcony trails for the streets, services, and Italian alpine atmosphere of the town. {{RouteSection|name=Courmayeur - Rifugio Bertone|length=4.12km|duration=1 hr 47 min|ascent=727 m}} Short but steep, this leg leaves Courmayeur and climbs rapidly through the slopes above Villair and Val Sapin. The ascent is demanding, but it quickly rewards hikers with expanding views back over Courmayeur and across to the Mont Blanc massif before reaching {{marker|type=sleep|name=Rifugio Bertone|lat=45.80925|long=6.97885}}. {{RouteSection|name=Rifugio Bertone - Rifugio Elena|length=19.5km|duration=5 hr 6 min|ascent=1163 m}} This is a substantial stage with significant elevation changes along one of the great Italian balcony sections of the Tour du Mont Blanc. The route traverses the slopes of Mont de la Saxe high above Val Ferret, with wide views towards the Grandes Jorasses, before descending towards the valley floor and climbing again through the upper valley to {{marker|type=sleep|name=Rifugio Elena|wikidata=Q889026}}. {{RouteSection|name=Rifugio Elena - Champex|length=28.2km|duration=7 hr 44 min|ascent=1045 m}} The longest distance of the circuit. From Rifugio Elena the trail climbs to the Grand Col Ferret, the high pass on the Italy-Switzerland border and one of the major landmarks of the TMB. After crossing into Switzerland, the route descends through pastures and the Swiss Val Ferret, continuing through villages and woodland towards the lakeside village of {{marker|type=city|name=Champex|wikidata=Q597228}}. {{RouteSection|name=Champex - Le Peuty|length=13.6km|duration=6 hr 1 min|ascent=1213 m}} A hike featuring a serious climb from Champex. Depending on conditions and chosen route, this stage may follow the demanding Fenêtre d’Arpette variant, a steep and rocky high crossing with boulder fields and close views towards the Trient Glacier, or the lower Bovine route through forest and alpine pasture. The day finishes in the Trient valley at {{marker|type=sleep|name=Le Peuty|lat=46.0463376|long=6.9943622}}. {{RouteSection|name=Le Peuty - Tre-le-Champ|length=15.7km|duration=5 hr 25 min|ascent=1219 m}} Another day with significant elevation gain, climbing from the Trient valley to the Col de Balme, where the route crosses back from Switzerland into France. From the pass, there are broad views towards the Mont Blanc range and the Chamonix valley before the trail descends through open slopes and hamlets to {{marker|type=sleep|name=Tre-le-Champ|lat=45.9933583|long=6.9298675}}. {{RouteSection|name=Tre-le-Champ - Refuge Flegere|length=7.99km|duration=3 hr 18 min|ascent=855 m}} A moderate but memorable stage along the Grand Balcon Sud, the high traverse above the Chamonix valley. This part of the route is known for its views across to the Mont Blanc massif and may include short exposed sections with ladders or metal aids, depending on the chosen line. The trail continues to {{marker|type=sleep|name=Refuge Flegere|lat=45.9599953|long=6.8872948}}. {{RouteSection|name=Refuge Flegere - Les Houches|length=19.6km|duration=6 hr 25 min|ascent=889 m}} The closing leg of the loop returns to the start, following the balcony trails above Chamonix before descending through forest, viewpoints, and lower mountain paths towards the valley. The final stretch brings the circuit back to {{marker|type=city|name=Les Houches|wikidata=Q735362}}, completing the Tour du Mont Blanc loop. ==Stay safe== The Tour du Mont Blanc is a demanding trek that requires respect for the high-alpine environment. Rapid weather changes are common; even in mid-summer, temperatures can plummet, and snow or thunderstorms can roll in with little warning. Always carry high-quality waterproof gear and check local forecasts (such as Meteo Blue) before crossing high passes. While the trails are well-marked, physical conditioning is vital to prevent fatigue-related injuries on steep descents. Be aware of your limits regarding vertigo on more exposed sections, and ensure you have comprehensive mountain rescue insurance, as helicopter evacuations in the Alps are frequent and expensive. ==Go next== Once you have completed the loop, you are perfectly positioned to explore more of the Alps. From Chamonix, take the Aiguille du Midi cable car for staggering views of the Mont Blanc summit without the climb. If your legs aren't too tired, you might transition onto the [[Walker's Haute Route]], a legendary trek that leads from Chamonix all the way to Zermatt. For a change of pace, head south to the Vanoise National Park for quieter trails, or take a high-speed train from Annecy to Paris or Lyon to trade rugged peaks for urban culture. {{outlineitinerary}} {{PartOfItinerary|Europe itineraries}} 9s0p40amxhcauak60mz3qmr2a3vhgz5 0 36892 5298705 4851534 2026-06-26T10:49:46Z ~2026-36901-46 2426581 5298705 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Tulcea''' is in [[Romania]] and lies at the western 'entrance' of the [[Danube Delta]]. ==Get in== === By road === There are two routes from Bucharest to Tulcea, one taking the A2 motorway and national roads 2A and 22 and one taking the A3 and A7 motorways via Brăila. Both routes take roughly the same, however the Braila route has no tolls while the A2 route takes less kilometres. === By plane === * {{go | name=Tulcea Airport | alt=Aeroportul Delta Dunării Tulcea | url=http://www.aeroportul-tulcea.ro | email= | address= | lat=45.062778 | long=28.714444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Tulcea "Danube Delta" Airport | wikidata=Q6588663 | lastedit=2024-03-24 | content=Flights are limited to general aviation, very few seasonal charters and some private jets. No scheduled flights. }} === By bus === The city is an approximately two-hour minibus ride away from [[Constanta]] bus station. There is also a minibus operated by Augustina which gets from Bucharest to Tulcea in roughly 4 hours. === By train === Train services are rather slow, there's several daily trains from [[Medgidia]], taking three hours. At Medgidia it's possible to connect with Intercity trains from Constanta and [[Bucharest]]. * {{go | name=Tulcea Oraș railway station | alt=Gara Tulcea Oraș | url= | email= | address=Strada Portului 6 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q9362629 | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=The terminus station, which is closed to city centre. }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== At the Tulcean riverside promenade there is an information centre on the Danube Delta-ecosystem, which is a [[UNESCO World Heritage List|UNESCO World Heritage]]-site. The information centre has with friendly, English-speaking staff. * {{see | name=Tulcea Art Museum | alt=Muzeul de Artă din Tulcea | url=https://wwwartamuzeutulcea.ro | email= | address=Strada Grigore Antipa 2 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18210612 | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= }} * {{see | name=Azizyie Mosque | alt=Moscheea Azizyie | url= | email= | address=Strada 14 Noiembrie | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18542086 | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content=Built in 1863, during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, to whom it is named for. It's among the largest mosques built by the Ottoman Empire in Dobruja region. }} * {{see | name=St. Nicholas Cathedral | alt=Catedrala Sf. Nicolae | url= | email= | address=Strada Progresului 37 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q111287552 | lastedit=2023-02-05 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Delta Nature Resort | alt= | url=http://www.deltaresort.com | email=reservations@deltaresort.com | address=Somova | lat=45.20263 | long=28.62649 | directions= | phone=+40 21 3114532 | tollfree= | fax=+40 31 7100336 | checkin= | checkout= | price=Premium five-star resort set in the Danube Delta wilderness | lastedit=2023-04-29 | content= }} ==Go next== * From Tulcea you can take a river-ferry toward [[Sulina]] (daily) and [[Sfântu Gheorghe (Tulcea)|Sfântu Gheorghe]] (daily except Tuesday) on the Black Sea coast. The schedule of the boats is accessible by this [http://www.navromdelta.ro/program-nave/index.html URL]. {{geo|45.190000|28.800000}} {{IsPartOf|Northern Dobruja}} {{outlinecity}} qfujf0zyqxzn00mtcvmf6i6cta7x0lw 0 37578 5298435 5199483 2026-06-25T13:49:19Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Go next */ 5298435 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Valle de Bravo banner.jpg|pgname=Valle de Bravo}} [[File:Architectural Detail - Valle de Bravo - Mexico - 01 (16488272262).jpg|thumb|Colonial centro of Valle de Bravo]] '''Valle de Bravo''' is a lively lakeside town in [[Mexico State]], [[Mexico]], about 150 km west of [[Mexico City]]. Set on the shores of Lake Avándaro, it is a popular weekend retreat with marinas, sailing clubs, exciting adventure activities like paragliding, and beautiful natural resources, including one of Mexico's famous monarch butterfly sanctuaries. ==Understand== Valle de Bravo has a population of just over 61,000 (2020) but the villages of the surrounding municipality (county) bring the regional population up to about 200,000. The town's name acknowledges its respect for Nicolas Bravo, a general during the [[Mexican War of Independence]] and a politician and vice-president of Mexico during the tumultous post-independence era. The city was known in the 20th century for having hosted the world-famous ''Circuito Avandaro'' auto racing event, which in 1971, got hijacked by the ''Festival de Rock y Ruedas'', a rock music festival whose massive crowds made it impossible to conduct an auto race. The ''Festival de Rock y Ruedes'' is often compared to the ''Woodstock'' festival in the United States, complete with rain and logistical problems. Exact estimates of its crowds are impossible to know, but estimates range as high as 500,000 youthful music fans inundating the small lakeside town. ===History=== Valle de Bravo was originally settled by the ''Matlatzinca'' indigenous people, who were conquered by the Aztec in the 1470s. The first Spanish conquerors arrived in 1530. Dominicans, Augustinians and Franciscan all had a hand in evangelizing the indigenous populations and establishing churches in town and in nearby villages throughout the municipality (county). During the [[Mexican War of Independence]], royalist troops occupied the city and cracked down on sympathizers of the independence movement. The lake was formed by a dam built between 1938 and 1947. Built to generate hydroelectric power, it is today a popular recreational area drawing up to a million visitors annually to the town. Tourism is the town's largest economic activity. ==Get in== ===By bus=== From [[Mexico City]], take the metro line 1 to Observatorio, which is the city's western bus terminal. Multiple companies run an hourly service to Valle for M$100. From Toluca, the second-class Toluca-Valle de Bravo buses run hourly, though the trip takes almost twice as long as driving or taxi. From Toluca airport {{IATA|TLC}}, you can take a taxi direct to Valle (a bit over an hour), or rent a car and drive yourself. From Terminal de Toluca, there are hourly buses to Valle de Bravo between 6:00 and 18:00. * {{go | name=Terminal de Autobuses Valle de Bravo | alt= | url= | email= | address=C. 16 de Septiembre Manzana 018, Centro | lat=19.196500 | long=-100.134555 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-12-28 | content=Small bus station with 2 waiting rooms, one for passengers on regular first-class buses, one for passengers on Plus (ejecutivo) class buses. Clean restrooms in both, but Plus passengers can use restrooms for free. Ticketing, baggage check and other services available. Buses go to Toluca for about M$150 and Mexico City for about M$300. Frequent departures to both (roughly every hour). }} ===By car=== From downtown Toluca, take highway MEX 55 to the north side of Toluca, then turn west on to the Carraterra Valle de Bravo - Toluca, which you will stay on for about 60 km until you reach Valle de Bravo. ==Get around== {{mapframe}} Taxis are one of the only ways of transportation in Valle de Bravo. Fares range from M$20 to M$150 for destinations in town, more to get to parks or outlying villages. There are also water taxis that take you across the lake. ==See== [[File:Calles de Valle de Bravo 04.jpg|thumb|Street in Valle de Bravo]] * {{see | name=Embarcadero Municipal | alt=City Waterfront | address=Fray Gregorio Jiménez de La Cuenca s/n, La Estrella | lat=19.188754140886257 | long=-100.13088407001858 | content=Center of town life in Valle de Bravo. There are tour boats that will take you for a sightseeing cruise on the lake, you can walk around and take selfies at the town's letters, or you can stop in one of the many waterfront restaurants for a drink and some local cuisine. There are sometimes craft fairs or local festivals here. }} * {{see | name=Santuario de Santa María Ahuacatlán | alt=Black Christ Chapel | address=Ameyal 101 | lat=19.190476699612265 | long=-100.1290172526418 | hours=Daily 10:00 - 19:00 | content=This 17th century colonial era church is famed for its ''Cristo Negro'' (Black Christ) statue that is revered as a holy symbol. Religious faithful come from miles around to pray to the iconic Christ figure. Local tales say that the statue survived a fire but emerged in its blackened form. A side chapel contains testimonials and notes of thanks from worshippers whose prayers have been answered after praying to the Black Christ. }} * {{see | name=Parroquia San Francisco de Asis | alt=Parish of Saint Francis of Asisi | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.194317 | long=-100.131796 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=17th century church constructed with separate naves for indigenous and Spanish people. A third (main) nave was added in the 20th century. The church features a number of religious artworks including a series of Italian oil paintings. }} * {{see | name=Cascada Velo de Novia | alt=Bridal Veil Falls | address=Avandaro | lat=19.166284128274015 | long=-100.139873631827 | content=Forested park area with a beautiful waterfall where the San Juan Creek drops 35 meters just before feeding into Lake Avandaro. }} ==Do== Valle de Bravo has a huge range of activities and providers of all sorts of sporting equipment, lessons, and activities. The lake is the hub of water activities though backcountry treks in the nearby hills are a good way for landlubbers to experience the region. * {{do | name=Valle Aventura | url=http://www.valleaventura.mx/ | address=Atardecer 121A, Sta. Maria Ahuacatlan | lat=19.191516076736267 | long=-100.13121843521773 | phone=+52 726 262 7446 | hours=Daily 09:00 - 18:00 | content=Adventure activity guides who can set you up with just about any activity that's done in the valley: they do 4WD treks, rent horses, can set you up with hang gliding lessons, or can arrange a day of sailing on the lake. Zip lines, off road motorcycles, kayaks and more. Prices are sometimes higher than individual providers, but you don't have to find individual providers on your own. }} ===Water sports=== Many visitors come to Valle de Bravo to sail, kayak, water ski or stand-up paddleboard on the lake. * {{do | name=Alahua | url=http://www.alahua.mx/ | address=Av. del Carmen #19, Avandaro | lat=19.164192395995766 | long=-100.12382336072203 | phone=+52 722 444 4033 | hours=M, Th 10:00 - 16:00, F-Sa 10:00 - 20:00, closed Tu-W | content=Center for wakeboarding and water skiing. Operates a store and several modern performance ski boats at the marina. Lessons cost M$2800 per hour (Feb 2024) using alahua's boats (less if you have your own boat on the lake with driver). }} * {{do | name=Mougly's and Bros. | address=Paseo de Los Abetos Manzana 022, San Lorenzo | lat=19.176032764165946 | long=-100.1367115989665 | phone=+52 7224065854 | hours=Daily 07:00 - 20:00 | content=Wakeboarding and waterski instruction specializing in advanced skill training for the experienced aquatics practioner. }} ===Paragliding=== There are two spots in Valle de Bravo that are used for paragliding (''parapente'') and hang gliding: ''El Penon'' is the main site and is located several kilometers south of town while ''La Torre'' is close to town but is mostly used for demo tandem launches. Tandem demo flights are offered by several local paragliding clubs, though the course to get certified to pilot your own paraglider or hang-glider takes at least a week. ===Nature watching=== *{{see | name=Santuario Piedra Herrada | alt=Monarch butterfly sanctuary | url= | email= | address=T.C. (Carr. Toluca - Ciudad Altamirano) | lat=19.173254 | long=-99.959083 | directions=about 30 east of Valle de Bravo | phone=+52 55 6180 9744 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00 - 16:00 | price=150 MXN | lastedit=2026-01-26 | content=If you're in the area between late December and February, you should go see one end of the massive monarch butterfly migration. After the ticketing booth, you will be assigned a (free) guide (obligatory) which will lead you up the 1-hour hike to where the mariposas are spending winter. If you are lucky and the weather is good (more than 10 degrees C) and the sun is shining, you might even see them fly! You can also rent horses to go up the mountain. }} ==Buy== "Tianguis"(in Valle it is held on Mondays, from 7 or 8 in the morning, til late in the afternoon) is like an outdoor flea market, with many different booths. A lot of the clothing and shoes being sold are used items that have been brought back from trips to the U.S. to sell. There are various booths that sell C.D.s and DVDs, at very low prices but decent quality. There are many booths that sell fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, and tortillas. This is also a great place to grab a bite to eat. There are a lot of different booths where you can sit down and eat, but plan on getting there early to get a table. And don't worry about getting wet because all the booths are covered with tents. It is really a great place to go in Valle, you can find almost anything. From the guy who does a very good job cleaning and fixing jewelry for a really low price to the best "carnitas" you will ever have. The people in Valle are very nice! Downtown Valle is very, very beautiful. * {{buy | name=Mercado de Artesanias | alt= | url= | email= | address=Avenida Benito Juarez Manzana 032, San Antonio, Centro | lat=19.199728 | long=-100.131677 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10:30 - 19:00, Sa-Su 10:00 - 20:00 | price= | lastedit=2024-02-03 | content=Spacious and inviting folkart marketplace featuring [[Mexican artesanias]], mostly from the Central Mexico region. Shops are set around an attractive central courtyard with a fountain and most shops specialize in one type of craft, such as woven goods, pottery, decorative arts, etc. }} ==Eat== ===Street food=== *{{eat | name=Doña Petra | url= | email= | address=City square (Zocalo) | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2013-01-01 | content=There is an old lady who has a little portable kitchen that makes the most delicious pambasos ever. If you've never had one, this is the place. Just ask for the pambasos lady. If she's not there, there are other street vendors who make delicious food. }} ===Budget=== * {{eat | name= La Cochinita De Valle| alt= | url= | email= | address= Sta. María 107 | lat=19.1893591 | long= -100.1286418 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Escondida Valle | alt= | url= | email= | address=C. Panorámica 1 | lat=19.1938757 | long=-100.1344367 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La chiquita | alt= | url= | email= | address= Del Salitre 104C | lat=19.1898176 | long= -100.1296752 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Restaurante Santa María | alt= | url= | email= | address=Durango 101 | lat=19.1969825 | long=-100.1304336 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Pancho | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle Nicolás Bravo 202 | lat=19.1924378 | long=-100.1311443 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Mestizo | alt= | url= | email= | address=C. de Joaquín Arcadio Pagaza 321 | lat= 19.1904882 | long= -100.1294311 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La chiquita | alt= | url= | email= | address=Del Salitre 104C | lat=19.1897372 | long=-100.1296467 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Michoacana | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle De La Cruz 100 | lat=19.1935998 | long=-100.1300976 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-24 | content= }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Dipao Valle | alt= | url= | email= | address=C. de Joaquín Arcadio Pagaza 100 | lat=19.1931740 | long= -100.1308899 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Los Veleros | alt= | url= | email= | address=Fray Gregorio Jiménez de La Cuenca 194 | lat=19.1956897 | long= -100.1380718 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} ===Sweet=== In Valle there are tons of different ice cream shops, that have a very wide variety of different flavors. Also there are ice cream carts in the town square. In the author's opinion the best kind to try is ''mamey'' (a type of fruit, that tastes like a mix of cantaloupe and almonds. The actual fruit is about the size of a mango, but is dark brown in color when ripe.) '''Tip:''' If you buy a "mamey" that is not quite ripe, wrap it in newspaper and let it sit a day or two. (Also, U.S customs will not allow this fruit to be brought into the United States even if you remove the pit). ==Drink== There are plenty of nightclubs in Valle de Bravo that are geared towards tourists and weekend locals. ==Sleep== There is a wide variety of lodging available in Valle de Bravo with a huge number of smaller posadas rented through web sites like airbnb. Marinas, golf courses and spas frequently have rooms available. * {{sleep | name = Meson de Leyendas | alt = | url = https://mesondeleyendas.com | email = | address = C. Francisco González Bocanegra 405 | lat =19.1985849 | long = -100.1298830 | directions = | phone = +55 726 262 4414 | tollfree = | fax = | checkin = | checkout = | price = Doubles $1600-2000 MXN if booked in advance | lastedit= 2023-02-24 | content = }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Misión Grand Valle de Bravo | alt= | url=https://www.hotelesmision.com.mx/destinos/estado-de-mexico/hotel-mision-grand-valle-de-bravo/ | email= | address=Avenida, Fontana Brava s/n, Avandaro | lat=19.174149 | long=-100.112935 | directions= | phone=+52 726 266 2773 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$3500 | lastedit=2024-02-03 | content=Comfortable mid-range hotel with waterfall views. Highlights are the buffet breakfast, the swimming pool and spa. Rooms are spacious but lack air conditioning and can get hot during the summer. }} * {{sleep | name=El Santuario Resort | alt= | url=http://www.elsantuario.com/ | email= | address=Carretera a Colorines Km. 4.5 San Gaspar del Lago | lat=19.218882 | long=-100.157917 | directions= | phone=+52 726 262 9100 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$4000 | lastedit=2024-02-03 | content=Upscale holistic spa hotel with comfortable, well-furnished rooms, a restaurant serving vegan dishes, yoga classes, and easy access to the butterfly sanctuaries. }} * {{sleep | name=Loto Azul & Spa | alt= | url=http://www.lotoazulhotel.com/ | email= | address=Tizates S / N, Col, Otumba | lat=19.211684 | long=-100.123279 | directions= | phone=+52 726 262 0157 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=M$2200 (Feb 2024) | lastedit=2024-02-03 | content=Moderate hotel with small, simply furnished rooms. Temazcal spa and swimming pool on-site. }} ==Go next== * [[Monarch Butterfly Reserves|Monarch butterfly reserves in Michoacan]] * [[Metepec]] * [[Toluca]] * [[Zitácuaro]] {{geo|19.1833|-100.1333}} {{IsPartOf|Mexico State}} {{usablecity}} lbiopp213g5h7w6f0ycdea1afdlpieb 0 37641 5298582 5287502 2026-06-26T02:55:42Z The dog2 35982 /* Eat */ 5298582 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Vancouver banner Downtown at dusk.jpg|caption=Downtown Vancouver skyline at dusk|dotm=yes|disambig=yes}} {{printDistricts}} [[File:Lions Gate Bridge from seawall path.jpg|thumb|View of Lions Gate Bridge from the [[Vancouver/West End|Stanley Park]] Seawall path.]] '''Vancouver''' occupies an enviable spot in the world. Blessed with miles of coastline, lush vegetation and crowned by the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]] Mountains, it's hard to be there and not stop at some point and be amazed by what you see. But scratch beneath that setting and you find a cosmopolitan city of many faces. It is a mix of old and new, a stopping place for immigrants that have infused the city's neighbourhoods, festivals and food. On one hand, Greater Vancouver is the third largest metropolitan area in [[Canada]], the second biggest destination for visitors to the country and the economic hub of [[British Columbia]]. A modern '''city of glass towers''' with a variety of festivals, cultures and attractions, it has also been host to world events like the 1986 World Exposition and the [[Wikivoyage:Past_events/Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]]. To others, it's '''Vansterdam''', the laid-back socially progressive city with the laissez-faire attitude to marijuana. With its Asian heritage and relative proximity to China and Japan, some see it as the '''gateway to Asia'''; often called '''Hongcouver''' due to the large number of immigrants and political refugees from [[Hong Kong]] living in the area. And with all that nature minutes from your door, Vancouver is a '''haven for outdoor enthusiasts'''. It's one of those rare places you could ski in the mountains, hit one of the many sandy beaches and play a round of golf all in the same day. Vancouver is one of the most culturally diverse and cosmopolitan cities in the world, with just under half its residents born outside Canada. All of this makes it easy to be a local. Walk the Seawall. Spend a day in one of the parks. Indulge in food and treats from around the world at a neighbourhood restaurant. Or just grab a spot at the beach or on a patio and watch it all go by – Vancouver is, after all, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. ==Districts== Vancouverites broadly split the City of Vancouver in three: the Westside, the Eastside (or East Van) and city centre. This split is simply geography: everything west of Ontario St is the Westside, everything east is East Vancouver and everything north of False Creek is the city centre. Each of these areas have their own attractions and neighbourhoods, so time permitting, explore as many as you can. This list covers only the City of Vancouver. For the rest of Greater Vancouver, see [[Lower Mainland]]. ===City Centre=== {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q24639|type=geomask}}{{mapshapes|Q876780}}{{Regionlist | regionmap=Vcr districts.png | regionmaptext=City of Vancouver | regionmapsize=450px | region1name=[[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre (Central Business District)]] | region1color=#42425b | region1description=The financial, shopping and entertainment centre of the city. It has many of Vancouver's most notable landmarks and easy connections to other parts of the city and the Lower Mainland. With its multitude of accommodation and restaurant options, it is the ideal, if pricey, place to base yourself for exploring the city. | region2name=[[Vancouver/West End|Stanley Park and the West End]] | region2color=#b9a05f | region2description=One of the most popular places to hang out in Vancouver, with its beaches, Stanley Park and lots of little shops and eateries. | region3name=[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown-Chinatown]] | region3color=#d66c8a | region3description=The original townsite of Vancouver. Gastown is a mix of kitsch, heritage and urban chic. Chinatown was historically one of the largest Chinatowns in North America. | region4name=[[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown-False Creek]] | region4color=#95223a | region4description=Reclaimed industrial land that is now modern trendy neighbourhoods with some fantastic views along False Creek. The district hosts Vancouver's major spectator sports and was home to the Athlete's Village from the 2010 Winter Olympics and the site of the World Exposition in 1986 (Expo 86). |regionmapLat=49.2499|regionmapLong=-123.1368|regionInteractiveMap=map1|regionmapZoom=11}} ===Outside the city centre=== {{Regionlist | regionmap= | regionmaptext= | regionmapsize= | region1name=[[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano & Granville Island]] | region1color=#d7c293 | region1items= | region1description=The very popular Kitsilano Beach, art studios, the famous Granville Island Public Market and fantastic urban style shopping - particularly 4th Avenue, 10th Avenue and Broadway where chain stores mix with unique independent shops. | region2name=[[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC-Point Grey]] | region2color=#b9b75f | region2items= | region2description=The University of British Columbia campus has a number of attractions, including two sets of gardens and the acclaimed Museum of Anthropology. Nearby is Pacific Spirit Park, and further east in Point Grey, are three large beaches, Jericho Beach, Locarno Beach and Spanish Banks. The UBC campus is also home to the popular clothing optional beach, Wreck Beach. | region3name=[[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant-South Main]] | region3color=#cfb5ff | region3items= | region3description=Main Street is an up and coming artsy part of the city filled with unique shops, eccentric cafes, hip bars, and a number of breweries. Nearby is Queen Elizabeth Park, which is the highest point in Vancouver and has some excellent free gardens. | region4name=[[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|Commercial Drive-Hastings Park]] | region4color=#81b66a | region4items= | region4description=A mostly residential area of the city. Commercial Drive has many ethnic bars and restaurants, as well as an arts scene, such as Art Works BC Gallery, Slive of Life and many others. | region5name=[[Vancouver/South|Vancouver South]] | region5color=#93a7bd | region5items= | region5description=A mostly residential area that includes the Kerrisdale, Dunbar, Oakridge, Marpole, Shaughnessy and Killarney neighbourhoods. }} ==Understand== While Vancouver is a comparatively young city, founded in 1867, its history begins long before. The Coast Salish indigenous peoples (First Nations) have lived in the area for at least 6,000 years. The present city's namesake [[Voyages of George Vancouver|Captain George Vancouver]] sailed through the First Narrows on 13 June 1792, naming Burrard Inlet after his friend Sir Harry Burrard. The first settlement on the downtown peninsula was '''Granville''', on the spot of today's '''Gastown'''. In 1867, the year of [[Canada]]'s confederation, a saloon was built on this site and gave birth to a small shantytown of bars and stores, adjacent to the original mill, on the south shore of what is now the city's harbour. A seemingly endless supply of high-quality lumber was logged and sold through the ports of Gastown and Moodyville, across the inlet. Some of the trees were gigantic beams which were shipped to [[China]] to construct [[Beijing]]'s Imperial Palace. One account maintains that the world's windjammer fleets could not have been built without the trees of Burrard Inlet. Vancouver's first City Hall was little more than a hand-painted sign nailed to a wooden tent post. The arrival of the transcontinental railway, a few years later, spurred growth even more, and by 1892 the area had over 20,000 residents. 18 years later, this figure was over 100,000. Factor in constant growth every year since (many in the double digits), and Greater Vancouver today is Canada's largest metropolitan area west of [[Toronto]] by far, with more than 2,600,000 residents, more than half of British Columbia's population as a whole. It is also the fastest growing part of Canada. During the 1980s and 1990s, Vancouver received a large number of immigrants from Hong Kong fleeing the impending handover to China. Greater Vancouver is today one of the most ethnically diverse metropolitan areas in the world, home to the second largest Chinese population in North America after the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], and with about half its population being born outside Canada. It is also home to a large and influential [[Sikhism|Sikh]] community, and one of the main centres of the Khalistan movement that advocates for the carving out of an independent Sikh nation from India. For many, Vancouver truly "arrived" in 1986, when the city hosted the Expo 86 World's Fair. Media attention from around the world was consistently positive, though many saw the resulting gentrification of poorer areas as being harmful to Vancouver's lower-class citizens, as many residents of the Downtown Eastside were evicted from their [https://grayly.ca/city/e04c7733-5987-42f9-8a6b-2f4bdb3d9910/bc-vancouver homes]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Vancouver also hosted the [[Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]], which was largely seen as another success, though it brought some similar criticisms. Vancouver is perhaps best known for its scenic beauty, and the opportunities afforded by its natural environment. Vancouver is one of those rare places where you could theoretically ski in the mountains, windsurf in the ocean, and play a round of golf all in the same day. Surrounded by water on three sides, and crowned by the North Shore mountains, Vancouver is a great destination, and a great starting point for discovering the area's many outdoor activities. Vancouver is a major sea port on the Pacific Ocean, and a base for many Alaska [[cruise ships]] in the summer. It has the same name as another city in the region, [[Vancouver (Washington)|Vancouver, Washington]] ([[United States of America|United States]]). Vancouver is believed to be the inspiration for the fictional setting of Adventure Bay, in the animated children's television series ''PAW Patrol''. Vancouver's residents enjoy a high standard of living, and the city is consistently ranked among the most livable on Earth. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Vancouver (West End/Vancouver Harbour/Stanley Park) |3.3 |7.4 |236.6 |3.3 |8.4 |117.0 |4.6 |10.5|162.5 |6.9 |13.9|117.7 |10.2|17.8|72.6 |12.8|20.2|65.7 |14.9|23.0|43.5 |14.8|23.0|48.6 |12.1|19.4|71.4 |8.6 |13.9|156.8 |5.3 |9.7 |245.2 |3.2 |7.1 |199.9 |float=right |clear=right | description = {{Forecast/CA|Vancouver|49.245|-123.115}} }} Depending on who you talk to, or perhaps, ''when'', Vancouver's climate is either much maligned or envied. Late fall and winter are typically damp with clouds smothering the sky like a wet grey blanket (there's a reason Vancouver is sometimes referred to as the "Wet Coast"). But there ''are'' benefits to all that rain: it's usually not snowing (unlike most of the rest of Canada) and it leads to a gorgeous display of colour with the start of spring in early March. And that's where Vancouver really shines – the spring and summer. Springs can still be wet, but it gets warmer and the shrubs, blossom trees and flowers put on a pretty show. Summer days are long and usually sunny with little humidity. Summer daylight lasts from 5:15AM to as late as 9:15PM in late June. Summer temperatures from mid-June to early-Sept are mostly comfortable. Temperatures peak in late July and early August with an average daytime highs around {{C|23}} and overnight lows around {{C|15}}. Some particularly hot days can see temperatures climb upwards to {{C|26}} and not go below {{C|17}} at night. Daytime summer highs increase the further east you go, with eastern areas of the city having average daytime highs around {{C|25.6}}, climbing around to or even exceeding {{C|31}} on exceptionally hot days. Spring and fall are cooler and wetter, so packing a mix of cool and warm weather clothing is recommended. If visiting Vancouver between November and March, be prepared for wet weather and cool temperatures. Daytime highs are typically around 5-8°C (40-50°F) while overnight lows will get close to 0°C (32°F) and sometimes colder. December and January are the coldest months, with the most rain and a chance of snow. While Vancouver's winters are not as harsh as those in other major Canadian cities, the city does get a few days of snow in the winter months every year. Sunrises in winter are after 8AM, with darkness setting in prior to 4:15PM in December. ===Visitor information=== * [https://www.destinationvancouver.com Destination Vancouver] no longer has a traditional visitor centre, but keeps a free information telephone line, at +1 604-683-2000. As of June 2025, it operates between 08:00 and 16:00. There is still a small mobile booth which offers maps, brochures and other information for visitors, which as of June 2025 is located at [[w:Canada Place|Canada Place]], the East building of [[w:Vancouver Convention Centre|Vancouver's Convention Centre]], next to the convention centre's information kiosk (with a blue tablecloth). ==Get in== ===By plane=== ====Vancouver International Airport==== {{main|Vancouver International Airport}} * {{go | name=Vancouver International Airport | alt={{IATA|YVR}} | url=https://www.yvr.ca | email=customercallcentre@yvr.ca | address=3211 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond | lat=49.194993 | long=-123.179086 | directions=Sea Island in [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] | phone=+1 604-207-7077 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver International Airport | wikidata=Q321224 | content=The Domestic and International Terminal is the main terminal that most travellers will use, while the South Terminal has prop, small jet, and seaplane service to local communities in British Columbia and Yukon. }} YVR is the second busiest airport in Canada, with frequent flights from cities in [[British Columbia]], the rest of [[Canada]], other [[North America]]n countries, [[Asia]], and [[Europe]]. It is also the only Canadian airport to have direct flights to [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] because of its westerly location. [[File:YVRsalmon-statue.jpg|thumb|Artwork inside [[Vancouver International Airport]]]] [https://www.translink.ca/ TransLink's] '''SkyTrain''' ('''Canada Line''') provides direct service to downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes. The fare from YVR to Vancouver is {{translink|2yvr}} ({{translink|faredate}}), which includes the two-zone base fare of {{translink|2}} plus a {{translink|addfare}} surcharge (the "[https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/transferring-and-addfare YVR AddFare]") incurred only for departures from the airport. Bus N10 runs overnight to Vancouver when the Skytrain service is closed. Route C92 connects the South Terminal with Bridgeport station on the Canada Line during limited daytime hours. The typical travel time from the airport to downtown by taxi is 20-30 minutes. Fares for a taxi ride ''from the airport to'' Vancouver or Richmond are fixed and vary depending on the zone of the destination. The zone map and fixed rates are posted at [https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/transportation/taxis YVR Taxis]. Metered fares apply for all trips going to the airport, and for trips from outside the zones. All taxis that serve the airport are required to accept credit cards. ====Seaplane==== There are floatplane facilities about 300 metres south of YVR's South Terminal and in downtown Vancouver at: * {{go | name=Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre | alt={{IATA|CXH}} | url=https://www.vhfc.ca/ | email= | address=1055 Canada Place | lat=49.290174 | long=-123.117578 | directions=Downtown Vancouver | phone=+1 604-647-7570 | tollfree= | hours=VHFC Terminal opens daily at 7:00 AM. Operating hours change seasonally | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre | wikidata=Q3912738 |lastedit=2026-01-21| content= }} These floatplane facilities offer frequent flights to downtown Vancouver and/or YVR. Flight to downtown Vancouver from [[Comox]] (50 minutes, summer), [[Nanaimo]] harbour (20 minutes), [[Powell River]] (40 minutes), [[Tofino]] (1 hours, summer), [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria's]] Inner Harbour (35 minutes), [[Whistler]] (45 minutes, summer) the scenic [[Southern Gulf Islands]] and other local destinations. Some float plane operators also offer spectacular tours of the central city and nearby attractions starting at about $80-100 per person. A great way to see a panoramic view of downtown. A quick search of Google will bring up websites for most of these float plane operators. See [[Vancouver International Airport]] for seaplane flights that land at that airport. Seaplane airlines operating to downtown Vancouver: * {{Listing|name=Harbour Air|url=https://www.harbourair.com/|email=|phone=+1-604-274-1277|tollfree=+1-800-665-0212|lastedit=2022-04-25|content=Operates seaplane flights mostly to coastal communities in southwestern [[British Columbia]].}} * {{Listing|name=Seair Seaplanes|url=https://www.seairseaplanes.com/|email=|phone=+1-604-273-8900|tollfree=+1-800-447-3247|lastedit=2022-04-25|content=Operates seaplane flights to coastal communities in southwestern [[British Columbia]].}} ==== Helicopter ==== There are heliport facilities at YVR's South Terminal, though most flights operate to: * {{go | name=Helijet | alt= | url=https://helijet.com/ | email= | address=455 Waterfront Rd W | lat=49.2864 | long=-123.106659 | directions=near Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver | phone= | tollfree=+1-800-665-4354 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Helijet | wikidata=Q4040522 | content=Operates helicopter service from the downtown heliport next to Waterfront Station, providing quick and convenient connections to [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]] and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) south terminal. }} ====Other nearby airports==== *{{go | name=[[Abbotsford#By_plane|Abbotsford International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|YXX}} | url= | email= | address=30440 Liberator Ave, Abbotsford | lat=49.022837 | long=-122.38026 | directions=[[Abbotsford]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Abbotsford International Airport | wikidata=Q969671 | content=Around about {{km|60}} east of Vancouver in [[Abbotsford]] is Vancouver's alternate airport. It handles mostly domestic and low-cost carrier flights and, with an arranged ride, you can be in and out of this airport in under 10 min (with no checked in baggage). The best way to reach Vancouver from Abbotsford Airport is by car: take the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) west. The drive will take 45&ndash;90 minutes, depending on traffic. There is no public transit link to this airport, but two intercity bus operators have stops at this airport and Vancouver's Pacific Central Station (see "By bus"). Car rentals are available at the airport. }} * {{go| name=[[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|SEA}} | url=https://www.portseattle.org/sea-tac | address=17801 International Blvd, Seattle, WA | lat=47.443438 | long=-122.302111 | directions=between [[Seattle]] and [[Tacoma]] | wikidata=Q14295 | wikipedia=Seattle-Tacoma International Airport | content=Flying in and out of [[Seattle]], particularly for US destinations, and then using the bus, train, or car rental for travel to and from Vancouver can be a considerably less expensive option than buying a direct flight to the airport of Vancouver or Abbotsford. If required for your nationality, you will need a U.S. visa, and this could take some time to procure. For budget travellers, you may wish to consider checking flights to and from here. See "By bus" and "By train" for intercity travel options to Seattle. One bus operator provides direct access from the airport to Vancouver. Otherwise, travellers can take Link rail rapid transit between the airport and near Seattle's downtown, where multiple bus options and a train option to Vancouver are available. }} *{{go | name=[[Bellingham_(Washington)#By plane|Bellingham International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|BLI}} | url= | email= | address=4255 Mitchell Way, Bellingham, Washington | lat=48.795579 | long=-122.533055 | directions=[[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Bellingham International Airport | wikidata=Q1657287 | content=[https://www.portofbellingham.com/888/Airport] About an hour from Vancouver (plus border time), and serves mainly as a launching point for budget-minded Canadian travellers vacationing in the U.S.: excellent service from [[Hawaii]] and [[Las Vegas]], but few other useful connections. Also offers connecting service through [[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]]. Shuttle buses to Vancouver run for $39 round trip. See "By bus" and "By train" for intercity travel options to Bellingham. One bus operator provides direct access from the airport to Vancouver. Otherwise, travellers can catch a bus (Monday to Saturday) or taxi between the airport and the other bus option and a train option to Vancouver. }} ===By car=== {{see also|Lower Mainland#By car}} The main highway into Vancouver from the east is '''Highway 1''' ([[Trans-Canada Highway]]). This road skirts the eastern edge of Vancouver, so if you want to get into the city, you will need to exit off it at Grandview Highway (exit 28A), 1st Avenue (exit 27) or Hastings Street (exit 26). Most major highways from interior British Columbia converge at [[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]], {{km|143}} east of Vancouver, then following the Trans-Canada Highway west into Vancouver. From the U.S./Canada border south of the city, '''Highway 99''', which links up with U.S. [[Interstate 5]], runs north to Vancouver. The freeway ends after the Oak Street Bridge, turning into Oak Street heading north. Drivers with a downtown destination will need to get onto Granville Street (parallel to Oak St to the west), or Cambie Street (parallel to the east), in order to get on the Granville Street or Cambie Street bridges which cross False Creek into the downtown peninsula. If you are coming from the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]] or other points further north, the only way into Vancouver is by bridge. Your options are the '''Lions Gate Bridge''' (Hwy 99) which brings you into Stanley Park and Vancouver's [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] or the '''Second Narrows Bridge/Ironworkers Memorial Bridge''' (Hwy 1) which brings you into the neighbourhoods of [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]]. ===By bus=== Many bus services reach the Vancouver area, most of which terminate at Pacific Central Station (see "By train" below for the location and directions). A number of bus services also have additional pick-up and drop-off stops at hotels in downtown Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, White Rock and in a number of places in the surrounding areas as well as from the airport. Not all bus lines serve the Pacific Central Station either. Buses cross the U.S./Canada border at an alternate crossing point (for trucks and buses) 5 mi/8 km east of the Peace Arch Park (BC Hwy 99/I-5) along BC Hwy 15/WA Hwy 543. Below are examples of bus lines with scheduled routes that reach the Vancouver area from various places nearby and afar in Canada and the United States: * {{listing | name=BC Ferries Connector | alt=Wilson's Transportation Group | url=https://bcfconnector.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1 250 475-3235 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q126686442 | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Connects Vancouver to [[Victoria_(British Columbia)|Victoria]] via Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry. Trip time to Vancouver from Victoria is 4 hours. }} * {{listing | name=BC Transit (Central Fraser Valley Transit System) | alt= | url=https://www.bctransit.com/central-fraser-valley/home | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Lougheed Town Centre station on SkyTrain's Expo Line and Millennium Line | phone=+1-604-854-3232 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=BC Transit | wikidata=Q4179186 | lastedit=2022-03-27 | content=Offers a route between [[Burnaby]] and [[Chilliwack]] with stops in [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]] and [[Abbotsford]]. Trip time to Burnaby from Chilliwack is 90 minutes and from Abbotsford is 52 minutes. }} * {{listing | name=Cantrail | alt=Amtrak Thruway | url=https://www.cantrail.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1 604-294-5541 | tollfree=+1-877-940-5561 | fax= | hours= | price=$40 for one-way, $75 round trip; discounts for students, military, seniors & children ages 4-11 |lastedit=2022-03-25| content=Operates express buses between the Seattle King St Station (Amtrak) and Vancouver. They also make an additional scheduled stop at the Sandman Signature Hotel (10251 St Edwards in Richmond) to pick-up on the southbound trip and drop off only going northbound. Travel time to Vancouver from Seattle is 3.5 to 4 hours. To pay in US dollars or Amtrak rewards points, book on the Amtrak website. }} * {{go | name=Ebus | alt= | url=https://myebus.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Pacific Central Station | phone= | tollfree=+1 877-769-3287 | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7122769 | lastedit=2022-03-19 | content=Travels daily from [[Calgary]], [[Kamloops]], and [[Kelowna]] (via [[Salmon Arm]]), with stops in [[Merritt]], [[Hope_(British_Columbia)|Hope]], [[Chilliwack]], [[Abbotsford]], and [[Surrey_(British_Columbia)|Surrey]]. Travel times to Vancouver from Kamloops is 4.5-4.75 hours, from Kelowna is 5.5 hours, from Hope is 2.5 hours, and from Abbotsford is 1.25 hours. Same day transfers at Kamloops from [[Prince George]] are available three days per week. }} * {{listing | name=Epic Rides | alt= | url=https://epicrides.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Hyatt Regency hotel, which is adjacent to Burrard station on SkyTrain's Expo Line; the stop is outside of the Hyatt's Melville St entrance | phone=+1 604-349-1234 | tollfree=5 | hours= | price=$24 one way or $35 return | wikidata=Q7122769 | lastedit=2022-04-04 | content=Direct bus to [[Whistler]] from the downtown Vancouver (year round). Additional winter stops at UBC (Thunderbird Blvd), Indigo Bookstore at Broadway & Granville, and Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard & Comox. Travel time to downtown Vancouver from Whistler is 1.75 hours. }} * {{listing | name=FlixBus | alt= | url=https://www.flixbus.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station and Waterfront station (SkyTrain Expo Line and Canada Line) | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=FlixBus | wikidata=Q15712258 | lastedit=2022-05-24 | content=Bus service between Vancouver and [[Seattle]] including stops in [[Everett (Washington)|Everett]] and [[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]]. Some trips also stop at [[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]]. Travel time to Vancouver (at Pacific Central Station) from Seattle is 4-4.5 hours and from Bellingham is 2 hours. Travel time is an additional 15 minutes for travel to Waterfront station. }} * {{listing | name=Greyhound Lines | alt= | url=https://www.greyhound.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1 214-849-8100 | tollfree=+1-800-231-2222 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Greyhound Lines | wikidata=Q755309 | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Connects Vancouver with [[Seattle]] (via Coquitlam, [[Bellingham_(Washington)|Bellingham]], [[Mount Vernon_(Washington)|Mt Vernon]] and Everett along Hwy 15/I-5). Passengers transfer in [[Seattle#By bus|Seattle]] or [[Portland_(Oregon)#By bus|Portland]] to continue to other cities in the United States. Trip time to Vancouver from Seattle is 4.25 hours and from Bellingham is 2 hours. }} * {{listing | name=Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service | alt= | url=https://mountainmanmikes.ca/ | email=info@mountainmanmikes.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1-778-382-7729 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-03-19 | content=Twice per week service between [[Kaslo]] and Vancouver with stops in [[Ainsworth_Hot_Springs-Balfour|Balfour]], [[Nelson_(British_Columbia)|Nelson]], [[Castlegar]], [[Christina Lake]], [[Grand_Forks_(British_Columbia)|Grand Forks]], [[Greenwood (British Columbia)|Greenwood]], Rock Creek, [[Osoyoos]], [[Keremeos]], [[Princeton_(British_Columbia)|Princeton]], [[Manning Provincial Park]], [[Hope_(British_Columbia)|Hope]], [[Chilliwack]], [[Abbotsford]], [[Langley_(British_Columbia)|Langley]], and [[New Westminster]]. Trip time to Vancouver from Kaslo is 10.75 hours, from Nelson is 9.75 hours, from Castlegar is 9 hours, from Grand Forks is 7.5 hours, from Osoyoos is 6 hours, from Princeton is 4.75 hours, from Hope is 2.25 hours, and from Abbotsford is 1.5 hours. This service provider also offers a weekly route between Kalso and [[Calgary]] via Nelson. }} * {{listing | name=Perimeter Transportation | alt= | url=https://www.perimeterbus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Fairmont Hotel & Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Vancouver; the Hyatt Regency is adjacent to Burrard station on Skytrain's Expo Line | phone=+1 604-717-6600 | tollfree=+1-877-717-6606 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-04 | content=Travel between [[Whistler]] and [[Vancouver International Airport]] with stops in [[Squamish]] and in downtown Vancouver. Travel time to downtown Vancouver from Whistler is 2 hours, from Squamish is 1 hour, and from the airport is 1 hour. }} * {{listing | name=Quick Coach | alt= | url=https://www.quickcoach.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Canada Place Pier at 999 Canada Place and at several Vancouver downtown hotels | phone=+1 604-940-4428 | tollfree=+1-800-665-2122 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-04 | content=Express bus between [[Seattle Tacoma International Airport|SeaTac Airport]] and Vancouver via downtown Seattle, Tulalip Casino in [[Marysville (Washington)|Marysville]], [[Bellingham_(Washington)#By plane|Bellingham Airport]]. Northbound buses going to Canada only pick up passengers in the U.S. while southbound buses going to Seattle only drop off in the U.S. They make additional scheduled stops at the downtown Holiday Inn (1110 Howe St); River Rock Casino (8811 River Rd Resort) and the Campbell River Store (790 176th St, Surrey). Additional hotel stops can be arranged with a 24-hr reservation. Southbound buses pick-up in Vancouver while northbound bus drop off only. Trip time to downtown Vancouver from Seattle International Airport is 6.25 hours, from downtown Seattle is 5.25 hours, and from Bellingham International Airport is 3 hours. }} * {{listing | name=Red Arrow | alt= | url=https://www.redarrow.ca/ | email=customerservice@redarrow.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-800-232-1958 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-08 | content=Premium service from [[Abbotsford]] and [[Kelowna]] featuring spacious seating (only three seats to a row) and workstation seats with electrical connections for business travelers and their computers. }} * {{go | name=Rider Express | alt= | url=https://riderexpress.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station | phone= | tollfree=+1-833-583-3636 | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q126627111 | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Multiple days per week service along the Trans-Canada Highway from between [[Calgary]] and Vancouver with stops in [[Canmore]], [[Banff]], [[Lake Louise]], [[Golden (British Columbia)|Golden]], [[Revelstoke]], [[Sicamous]], [[Salmon Arm]], Sorrento, Chase, [[Kamloops]], [[Merritt]], [[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]], [[Chilliwack]], [[Abbotsford]], and [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]]. Trip time to Vancouver from Calgary is 14 hours, from Banff is 12.5 hours, from Lake Louise is 11.75 hours, from Golden is 10.25 hours, from Revelstoke is 8.25 hours, from Salmon Arm is 6.5 hours, from Kamloops is 4.75 hours, from Hope is 2.25 hours, and from Abbotsford is 1.25 hours. In Salmon Arm, this service provider offers some trips with timed connections with its route between Salmon Arm and [[Kelowna]]. In Calgary, this service provider has routes that reach [[Edmonton]]. The service provider also has routes that allow travel as far east as [[Winnipeg]]. }} * {{listing | name=YVR Skylynx | alt= | url=https://yvrskylynx.com/ | email=info@yvrskylynx.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station and in downtown Vancouver | phone=+1-604-326-1616 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=YVR Skylynx | wikidata=Q60786665 | lastedit=2022-04-05 | content=Operates a daily bus route between [[Vancouver International Airport]] and [[Whistler]] with stops in Vancouver (Pacific Central Station and downtown) and [[Squamish]]. Travel time to Pacific Central Station from the airport is 40 minutes, from Squamish is 1 hour 20 minutes, and from Whistler is 2 hours 20 minutes. }} <!-- As of May 2021, Tofino Bus does not leave the island. * {{listing | name=Tofino Bus | alt= | url=https://viconnector.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 250-725-2871 | tollfree=+1-866-986-3466 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-03-25 | content=Goes up [[Courtenay]], [[Campbell River]], Parksville and [[Tofino]] via [[Nanaimo]] on [[Vancouver Island]] via Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay ferry. They also have additional routes from Nanaimo to Victoria and Port Hardy. }} --> ===By train=== [[File:CN Rail Station - VIA Rail Station.JPG|thumb|Pacific Central Station]] {{Seealso|Rail travel in Canada}} Taking the train to Vancouver is unlikely to be the cheapest option, but it is a scenic one. Train stations: * {{go | name=Pacific Central Station | alt= | url=https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/stations/rockies-and-pacific/vancouver | email= | address=1150 Station Street | lat=49.273862 | long=-123.097934 | directions=one block north-east of Main St-Science World station on SkyTrain's Expo Line | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pacific Central Station | wikidata=Q1327751 | lastedit=2022-03-25 | content=Most trains and many intercity bus routes to the Vancouver area stop at this station. It is also a short taxi ride into the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business area]]. }} Train options include: ** {{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 215-856-7924 | tollfree=+1-800-872-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Amtrak | wikidata=Q23239 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates trains across the [[United States of America|United States]]. }} *** '''[[Amtrak Cascades]]''' operates between Vancouver, BC and [[Eugene]] via [[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]], [[Mount Vernon (Washington)|Mount Vernon]], [[Everett (Washington)|Everett]], [[Edmonds]], [[Seattle]], [[Tukwila]], [[Tacoma]], [[Lacey]] ([[Olympia (Washington)|Olympia]]), [[Centralia (Washington)|Centralia]], [[Kelso (Washington)|Kelso]] ([[Longview (Washington)|Longview]]), [[Vancouver (Washington)|Vancouver, WA]], [[Portland (Oregon)|Portland,]] [[Oregon City]], [[Salem (Oregon)|Salem]], and [[Albany (Oregon)|Albany]]. Travel time to Vancouver, BC from Portland is 8 hours, from Tacoma is 5.5 hours, from Seattle is 4 hours, and from Bellingham is 2 hours. There is one round trip daily between Vancouver and Portland, and one round trip between Vancouver and Seattle. Over the whole route, there are two round trips daily along the portion between Vancouver and Seattle, four round trips daily along the portion between Seattle and Portland, and two round trips daily along the portion between Portland and Eugene. No train departures travel the whole length of the route. Additional service between Vancouver and Seattle, and between Portland to Eugene are provided on the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach. Connections to additional '''[[Amtrak|Amtrak trains]]''' are in [[Seattle#By train|Seattle]]. When traveling on the Amtrak Cascades, border control takes place at Pacific Central station both for departing travelers to the United States and arriving passengers from the United States. ** {{listing | name=VIA Rail Canada | alt= | url=https://www.viarail.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-842-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Via Rail | wikidata=Q876720 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates train routes across [[Canada]]. }} *** Operates ''[[The Canadian]]'' up to three trips per week between [[Toronto]] and Vancouver with stops in both directions in medium to large cities and tourist destinations such as [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Portage la Prairie]], [[Saskatoon]], [[Edmonton]], [[Jasper]], and [[Kamloops]]. This route can offer a scenic view of the [[Canadian Rockies]], depending on the train schedule, as the train operates day and night. Travel time to Vancouver from Toronto is 4 days 1.25 hours, from Sudbury is 3 days 18 hours, from Winnipeg is 2 days 10.5 hours, from Saskatoon is 1 day 22.25 hours, from Edmonton is 1 day 9 hours, from Jasper 23.5 hours, and from Kamloops is 11 hours. This service connects with another route that travels between Jasper and [[Prince Rupert]]. *{{go | name=Waterfront station | alt= | url= | email= | address=601 West Cordova Street | lat= | long= | directions=Served by the Skytrain | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q1625437 | lastedit=2025-01-09 | content=Serves West Coast Express commuter trains from [[Mission (British Columbia)|Mission]]. Trains only run during rush hour in the peak direction. }} *{{go | name=Rocky Mountaineer station | alt= | url= | email= | address=1755 Cottrell St | lat=49.2686 | long=-123.08593 | directions=from Pacific Central Station, head east on Terminal Ave and south on Cottrell St | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rocky Mountaineer Station | wikidata=Q7355946 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Located 1.5 km east of Pacific Central Station. The nearest public transit is 800 m away on Clark Drive. }} ** [[File:East side of RM Stn exterior.jpg|thumb|Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver]]{{go | name=Rocky Mountaineer | alt= | url=https://www.rockymountaineer.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-877-460-3200 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rocky Mountaineer | wikidata=Q2160819 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates the [[Rocky Mountaineer]] luxury tourist train routes between Vancouver and [[Banff]], [[Lake Louise]] and [[Jasper]] three times a week from April to October. This route offers a scenic view of the Canadian Rockies and only operates during the daytime, with an overnight stop in [[Kamloops]]. }} ===By boat=== ==== By ferry ==== * {{listing | name=BC Ferries | alt= | url=https://www.bcferries.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-223-3779 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=BC Ferries | wikidata=Q795723 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates ferry routes connecting coastal communities in British Columbia. The ferries carry vehicles and passengers. }} To reach the Vancouver area from other coastal communities, travellers need to reach either of the following ferry terminals: ** {{marker|type=go|name=Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay)|wikidata=Q1628996|lat=49.3754|long=-123.2717|url=https://www.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/vancouver-horseshoe-bay/HSB}}, in West Vancouver. Ferries travel between this terminal, and [[Bowen Island]] (Snug Cove) in 20 minutes, [[Nanaimo]] (Departure Bay) in 1 hour 40 minutes, and the [[Sunshine Coast (British Columbia)|Sunshine Coast]] (Langdale) in 40 minutes. See [[West Vancouver#By boat|West Vancouver]] for more information. ** {{marker|type=go|name=Vancouver (Tsawwassen)|wikidata=Q1656648|lat=49.0073|long=-123.1306|url=https://www.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/vancouver-tsawwassen/TSA}}, in south Delta. Ferries travel between this terminal and Nanaimo (Duke Point) in 2 hours and [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]] (Swartz Bay) near [[Sidney (British Columbia)|Sidney]] on [[Vancouver Island]] in 1 hour 35 minutes. Ferries also connect this terminal with five of the [[Southern Gulf Islands]]. See [[Delta (British Columbia)#By boat|Delta]] for more information. * {{Go|name=Hullo|url=https://hullo.com/|address=28 - 1055 Canada Place|lat=49.29029|long=-123.11638|lastedit=2024-02-21|content=Operates daily passenger only ferry trips between [[Nanaimo]] and downtown Vancouver, taking 1.25 hours each way. A single carry-on-sized bag and a personal bag are permitted with passengers, and otherwise there is an additional charge per bag. Compared to BC Ferries, Hullo has the advantages of the trip to or from Vancouver being faster and that there will be WiFi on board, but the least expensive fare on Hullo is more than double the fare to travel on BC Ferries. The nearest public transit to Hullo's Vancouver ferry terminal is about 400 metres away and there is public transit that stops at Hullo's Nanaimo ferry terminal.|wikidata=Q121988685}} [[File:Vancouver (BC, Canada), Canada Place -- 2022 -- 1847.jpg|thumb|Canada Place]] ==== By cruise ship ==== [[File:Vancouver cruise.jpg|thumb|A cruise ship passing under Lions Gate Bridge]] [https://www.portvancouver.com/ Port Metro Vancouver] is the home port for the popular Vancouver-[[Alaska]] cruise. From late April to early October, more than 3/4 million visitors pass through the cruise ship terminal in Port Metro Vancouver. {{go | name=Canada Place Terminal| alt= | url=https://www.canadaplace.ca/ | email= | address= | lat=49.288825 | long=-123.110293 | wikidata=Q1032014| wikipedia=Canada Place | directions=One block west and one block north of Waterfront station on SkyTrain's Expo and Canada Lines. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-03-25| content=It's on the waterfront and a few minutes' walk to the heart of downtown Vancouver or Waterfront Station. It is the primary cruise ship terminal. Canada Place was built for Expo86 and is recognized by its dramatic rooftop that looks like five white sails. A full range of ground transportation, excellent hotels, shopping, dining, entertainment, and attractions is available at Canada Place. }} '''US passport holders''' may be able to participate in "Onboard Check-in” and “US Direct" to streamline processing at the cruise ship and the airport. '''US Direct''' allows passengers arriving at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to transfer directly to a same-day-departing cruise ship by participating in expedited immigration and customs clearance process. '''Onboard Check-in''' allows passengers arriving on a cruise ship and flying out of YVR on the same day to transfer directly to YVR by participating in an expedited immigration and customs clearance process. These programs do not apply to passengers who are planning a pre- or post-cruise stay in Vancouver. Not all cruise lines participate, so check with your cruise line to see if you can take advantage of the Onboard Check-in/US Direct program. ==Get around== Vancouver is one of the few major cities in North America without a freeway leading directly into the downtown core (freeway proposals in the 1960s and 1970s were defeated by community opposition). As a result, development has taken a different course than in most other major North American cities resulting in a relatively high use of transit and cycling, a dense, walkable core and a development model that is studied and emulated elsewhere. === By public transit === {{listing | name=TransLink | alt= | url=https://www.translink.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-604-953-3333 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=TransLink (British Columbia) | wikidata=Q1142140 | lastedit=2022-03-27 | content=The main public transit network in the Vancouver area, including: [[Bowen Island]], [[Burnaby]], [[Coquitlam]], [[Delta (British Columbia)|Delta]], [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]], [[Lions_Bay-Britannia_Beach|Lions Bay]], [[Maple Ridge]], [[New Westminster]], [[North Vancouver]], [[Port Coquitlam]], [[Pitt Meadows]], [[Port Moody]], [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]], [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]], Vancouver, [[West Vancouver]], and [[White Rock]]. Its network includes buses, SkyTrain (rail rapid transit), SeaBus (ferries), West Coast Express (commuter rail), and HandyDART (door-to-door shared-ride service for those who cannot ride public transit without assistance). }} '''[https://www.translink.ca TransLink's]''' website and customer information line both offer trip planning and information about fares, where to buy tickets and the refund policy. A regional transportation map is widely available at convenience stores and on TransLink’s website. TransLink does not have a mobile app, but [https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps], [https://transitapp.com/region/vancouver Transit] and [https://citymapper.com/vancouver?set_region=ca-vancouver Citymapper] all have access to TransLink's GPS data to show current route information and estimated arrival times. ====Fares and zones==== [[File:TransLink-FareMap-20091108.svg|thumb|TransLink fare zone map]] TransLink breaks Metro Vancouver into three fare zones; your fare depends on the number of zones you travel in. The standard adult fare is {{translink|1}} for all bus trips across Metro Vancouver and SkyTrain travel within the City of Vancouver (Zone 1). It also covers all travel system-wide at off-peak times: weekends, holidays, and weekday evenings after 6:30PM. Travel out of Vancouver on the SkyTrain or SeaBus crosses fare zone boundaries and costs {{translink|2}} to {{translink|3}} on weekdays before 6:30PM. After paying fare, you can transfer or re-board an unlimited number of times at no extra charge for 90 minutes. Compass Card and Compass Ticket users have no restrictions on transferring between modes of transit, but bus riders paying cash fare can only transfer to other buses. Contactless credit and debit cards can be used directly at ticket gates, eliminating the need to buy a separate ticket. Upon final tap-in within the 90-minute window, Compass Card and Compass Ticket users have an additional 120 minutes to tap out at their final destination. Tapping out after this time will result in another fare being charged. {| class="wikitable" |+ Standard transit fares for the City of Vancouver ({{translink|faredate}}) |- ! Number of Zones !! What it covers !! Adult Fare !! Concession Fare |- | 1 Zone || Travel within the city of Vancouver || {{translink|1}} || {{translink|1c}} |- | 2 Zones || Travel between Vancouver and [[North Vancouver]], [[West Vancouver]], [[Burnaby]], [[New Westminster]] and [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] || {{translink|2}} || {{translink|2c}} |- | 3 Zones || Travel between Vancouver and all other destinations || {{translink|3}} || {{translink|3c}} |} Fares paid using Compass Card (see next section) are discounted and cost between {{translink|1cc}} and {{translink|3cc}} for an adult fare. '''Concession fares''' are available for youth (13-18) and seniors (65+), with ID. Children age 12 or younger are free. ====Paying for your fare: Compass==== {{infobox|The Compass Card|TransLink's '''Compass Card''' is a reusable smart card for paying fare electronically on all buses, the SkyTrain, the SeaBus, and the West Coast Express. '''Riders using the Compass Card pay the discounted FareSaver fare on each trip''', with unlimited free transfers and re-boarding for 90 minutes after the first tap-in. Fare is deducted from the card's stored value. Compass Cards can also carry daily and monthly passes. Tap ''in'' at the start of every trip on any vehicle, and tap ''out'' every time you exit through a fare gate. Bus riders do not tap ''out''. Doing this lets the system calculate the right fare. Get more information about the Compass Card [https://www.compasscard.ca CompassCard.ca online]. Riders without Compass Cards can buy single-use Compass Tickets instead for the SkyTrain or SeaBus. Contactless American Express, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards, and contactless Interac debit cards (along with mobile payments software) can also be used at Compass readers to pay for a ticket. Buses still accept cash fare, but bus transfers purchased with cash cannot be used on the SkyTrain or SeaBus.}} '''[https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/compass-card Compass]''' is the electronic fare system for buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus and the West Coast Express. Buses still accept cash when you board, but fare gates at SkyTrain and SeaBus station only accept Compass. There are two Compass choices: *'''Compass Ticket''' — A white ticket that is good for one trip. The DayPass &ndash; unlimited travel on bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus across all zones for one day &ndash; can also be purchased as a Compass Ticket; and *'''Compass Card''' — A reusable smart card that can store value, load passes and offers discounted fares. Blue cards are for adult fares, orange cards are for concession fares. See the infobox for more information. Compass Tickets and Adult Compass Cards can be purchased from the Compass Vending Machines in SkyTrain and SeaBus stations and some London Drugs locations. All types of cards and tickets may be purchased over the counter at some 7-Eleven, Safeway, London Drugs, Shoppers Drug Mart locations, and the TransLink Customer Service Centre at Waterfront station. TransLink's website has a handy [https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/where-to-buy map] showing the locations of Compass retailers and Compass Vending Machines. The vending machines accept cash, Interac debit cards, and Visa or MasterCard credit card. American Express can only be used to buy a card or ticket from a retail location. '''The purchase of a Compass Card requires a $6 deposit.''' The deposit is refundable if you return your Compass Card to or mail a Refund Request form to the Compass Customer Service Centre, but if your remaining cash balance is above $20, the only way to get back the balance is to have a cheque mailed out, so make sure to use up your balance before you do so. '''Tap in''' with your Compass Card or Ticket at the start of every trip on any vehicle, and '''tap out''' every time you exit through a fare gate. Bus riders do not tap ''out''. Doing this lets the system calculate the right fare. If you're travelling in a group, Compass Tickets and Cards cannot be shared between group members. Each person will need their own ticket or card to tap in and out of the fare gates. Mastercard and Visa credit cards can also be used at Compass readers/fare gates for an adult fare. When you tap-in, your card will be pre-authorized for a three zone fare. When you tap-out, the fare will be calculated according to the zones travelled. Mobile wallets (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay) also work, just make sure your phone will have enough battery so you can tap-out at the end of your journey. Debit cards still work at Compass vending machines, but not at Compass readers. Find out [https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/compass-card how to pay fares and where to buy passes and TransLink's refund policy]. ====Passes and stored value==== If you are going to make heavy use of the transit system, passes can be loaded onto a Compass Card. * A '''DayPass''' is a money-saving option for travellers who will use public transit heavily for one day. For {{translink|day}} (or {{translink|dayc}} concession) ({{translink|faredate}}), it offers unlimited travel across Metro Vancouver on bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus until the end of the service day, late at night. * '''Monthly passes''' can save you money if you will be using transit almost daily for a month. They cost between {{translink|1m}} and {{translink|3m}} (or {{translink|mthc}} concession) depending on the number of zones. ==== Buses ==== [[File:Vancouver Transit Network Map.png|thumb|450px|Vancouver's rapid transit network]] The '''bus''' service covers the widest area and travels along most major streets in the city. Many of the routes within the City of Vancouver are electric trolley buses, powered by overhead wires. A limited stop express bus line called the '''RapidBus''' serves, not only Vancouver, but the entire lower mainland (Metro Vancouver) RapidBus gets a priority lane in traffic, There are 6 different RapidBus Routes. When boarding the RapidBus, It's all door-boarding, and passengers must either tap in with their Compass Card or Compass Ticket, buy a ticket with cash, (exact change required, coins only), or present a ticket to the driver. To buy a ticket with cash, passengers must enter through the front door. The 6 RapidBus Routes are: *'''R1 King George Blvd''' (operates in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey)]] *'''R2 Marine Drive''' (operates in [[North Vancouver]] and [[West Vancouver]]) *'''R3 Lougheed Highway''' (operates in [[Coquitlam]], [[Port Coquitlam]], [[Pitt Meadows]], [[Maple Ridge]]) *'''R4 41st Ave''' (operates in Vancouver's [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]] and [[Vancouver/South|South Vancouver]] areas) *[[File:Vancouver trolley bus - New Flyer E60LFR.jpg|thumb|An electric trolley bus in Vancouver]]'''R5 Hastings Street''' (operates in Vancouver's [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]], [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown-Chinatown]] and [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]], and in [[Burnaby]]) *'''R6 Scott Road''' (operates in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey)]] Similar to RapidBus, is the '''99''' '''B-Line''', which is a limited stop express bus route that travels along Broadway Avenue (operates in Vancouver's [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]], [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]], [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]], and [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]]). The portion of this route east of Arbutus St is to be replaced by an extension of the Millennium Line opening in 2027. Cash fare on any bus to anywhere at any time is a flat {{translink|1}}. Because of this, Compass Card users only tap ''in'' when boarding the bus, and never tap ''out'' when stepping off, unlike with all other modes of transit. Every bus stop in Metro Vancouver has a unique five-digit bus stop number (the yellow number at the top of the bus stop sign). Send an SMS with that stop number to '''33333''' to get the next six scheduled bus arrival times. Standard text messaging rates apply. TransLink does not operate an app, but many third party apps (such as Google Maps) can be used to get transit times, additionally a mobile website is available. Many popular bus stops include a digital display with estimated bus arrival times. The stops for the RapidBus, have an electronic, real time, bus schedule. ==== SkyTrain ==== [[File:Vancouver Skytrain Rupert station train.jpg|thumb|The driverless SkyTrain at Rupert station]]The '''SkyTrain''' is a mostly elevated, fully automated rapid transit system connecting [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]] with some of its suburbs to the south and east. Trains depart frequently throughout the day, on tracks separated from other traffic at up to 80 km/h. * The '''Expo Line''' runs from Waterfront Station in [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]] through [[Burnaby]] and [[New Westminster]] to Columbia Station, where it splits with some trips going to King George Station in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]] and the other track going to University/Production Way station in Burnaby. An eastern extension to Langley is expected to open in 2029. * The '''Millennium Line''' runs east-west from VCC-Clark in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] through northern [[Burnaby]] to Lougheed Station, and then continues on to [[Port Moody]] and [[Coquitlam]] via the Evergreen Extension. A western extension along Broadway to Arbutus St is expected to open in 2027. * The '''Canada Line''' runs from Waterfront Station in [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]] south to Bridgeport Station, where it splits with some trips to [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]]'s city centre and some trips to [[Vancouver International Airport|Vancouver International Airport's]] domestic and international terminals. Key SkyTrain stations include: * '''Commercial-Broadway''' &ndash; accesses restaurants and shopping on Commercial Drive in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Vancouver]] and transfer point to the 99 B-Line bus to [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]]. Meeting point for the Expo Line and Millennium Line. * '''Burrard''' and '''Granville''' &ndash; the most central stations in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. You can also connect to the R5 Hastings Street RapidBus route at Burrard station. * '''Waterfront''' &ndash; meeting point for Expo Line and Canada Line, the SeaBus, numerous commuter and rapid bus routes, and the commuter rail West Coast Express. It also accesses [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]] and is right next to the Canada Place Convention Centre/Cruise Ship Terminal facilities. The fare on SkyTrain depends on how many zones you travel through and what time you're travelling. The City of Vancouver is Zone 1. Close-in suburbs like Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, and North Vancouver are Zone 2. Farther-out suburbs south of the Fraser River or east of Burnaby are Zone 3. At peak times, Compass Card users pay between {{translink|1cc}} and {{translink|3cc}}, and riders paying cash fare pay {{translink|1}} to {{translink|3}} (all fares are standard adult fare). At off-peak times, passengers pay the one-zone. Compass Card users tap in and out each time they pass through the fare gates. If you forget to tap in or out, you will be charged the maximum fare. People choosing not to use Compass Cards can buy single-use Compass Tickets instead. [[File:Burrard Otter with Vancouver skyline 2.JPG|thumb|SeaBus]] ==== SeaBus ==== The '''SeaBus''' is a passenger ferry that connects Waterfront Station [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown]] to Lonsdale Quay in [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Vancouver]]. It generally runs every 15 minutes until the 9:16PM departure, after which it runs every 30 minutes until last sailing (M-Sa 1:22AM, Su 11:16PM). During peak times, two-zone fare is required. That is {{translink|2cc}} for passengers with Compass Cards and {{translink|2}} ({{translink|faredate}}) for those with Compass Tickets. At off-peak times, passengers pay one-zone fare. [[File:Vancouver - 'Spirit of False Creek' 02.jpg|thumb|False Creek Ferries]] ===By ferry === Private operators have scheduled ferry service to destinations around False Creek. A quick trip across on a cute little-boat-that-could ferry can be the most fun, traffic-free, and convenient way to get around between the following destinations (from west to east): *Maritime Museum in Vanier Park on the south shore in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]] (False Creek Ferries) *Aquatic Centre at Sunset Beach on the north shore in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] (False Creek Ferries) *Hornby St on the north shore in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|city centre]] (Aquabus) *[[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]] and its famous Public Market on the south shore (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries at different docks) *[[File:Vancouver - Aquabus on False Creek 01.jpg|thumb|Aquabus]][[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]]/Davie St. on the north shore (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) *Stamp's Landing/Monk's and Spyglass Place on the south shore in the [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] area (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) *Plaza of Nations and Edgewater Casino on the north shore in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]] (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) *Science World, the geodesic dome at the south-east end of [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) Service is offered by: * {{listing | name=False Creek Ferries | alt= | url=https://granvilleislandferries.bc.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-7781 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=False Creek Ferries | wikidata=Q5432638 | lastedit=2023-06-04 | content=Little blue boats. }} * {{listing | name=Aquabus | alt= | url=https://theaquabus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-689-5858 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Aquabus | wikidata=Q7714107 | lastedit=2023-06-04 | content=Little rainbow boats. }} The two ferries run slightly different routes, and their docks on Granville Island are on either side of the Public Market. As of Jan 2017, prices for adults are $3.25 for short routes, $5.50 for long routes, or $15 for a day pass. For seniors and children, the prices are $2, $3.75, and $11-13. Aquabus offers a 25-minute "mini-cruise" around False Creek for $8 per adult and $4 per child or senior. ===By car=== Vancouver's '''road network''' is generally a grid system with a "Street" running north-south and an "Avenue" running east-west. Arterial roads follow the grid fairly well (although not perfectly), but side streets frequently disappear for blocks at a time and then reappear. Most of the "Avenues" are numbered and they always use East or West to designate whether it is on the east side or the west side of Ontario Street. Some of the major avenues use names rather than numbers (Broadway would be 9th Ave, King Edward Ave would be 25th Ave). Downtown Vancouver has its own grid system and doesn't follow the street/avenue format of the rest of the city. It is also surrounded by water on three sides, so most of the ways in and out require you to cross a bridge. This can cause traffic congestion, particularly at peak times (morning and evening commutes, sunny weekend afternoons, major sporting events), so factor that into any driving plans, or avoid if possible. {{infobox|Go West... but which one?|The term "West" comes up frequently in connection with Vancouver and can be confusing for locals and visitors alike. It can refer to: * the ''West Side'' of Vancouver, which is the area of Vancouver west of Ontario Street. It includes [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]], [[Vancouver/South Granville|South Granville]], [[Vancouver/UBC-South|UBC and South Vancouver]], but excludes the downtown peninsula, * the ''West End'', which is the western portion of the downtown peninsula, and * ''West Vancouver'', a municipality across the harbour in the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]].}} One of the best ways to avoid traffic congestion is to listen to '''traffic reports''' on AM730. This station reports only about traffic and can be quick to report any accidents and congestion, as well as B.C. ferry reports, bridge and tunnel updates, border wait times, and other information pertaining to getting around the city and its many suburbs. It also posts frequent weather updates and local news. A unique feature of Vancouver and the rest of British Columbia is intersections with flashing green traffic signals. These ''do not'' indicate an advance left turn as it would in many other parts of North America. Instead, a flashing green light indicates a traffic signal that can be activated only by a pedestrian or a cyclist on the side street, but not by a motor vehicle. When the signal turns red, traffic stops as at any traffic signal. Any side street traffic must obey the stop sign on the side street and must yield to any pedestrians crossing the side street, even if traffic is stopped on the main street. ====Parking==== [[File:Street parking meters in Vancouver with credit card payment option.jpg|thumb|Parking meters deployed by City of Vancouver that accept coins and credit card. Telephone payment is also accepted for pre-registered payment account. Rate vary depending on location and are stated on the top side, under the timer or on a screen at the top of the meter.]] Parking downtown generally costs $1-2.50/hour or $12-20/day. Commercial areas will typically have meter parking on the street, with meters accepting Canadian and American change only (American coins accepted at par value). Residential streets may allow free parking, but some will require a permit. If you do not have cash with you, most meters allow you to text the lot and stall number to [https://paybyphone.com/ PayByPhone], allowing payment through Visa or Mastercard. Each meter will specify if available. '''[https://www.easypark.ca/ Easy Park]''' lots (look for an orange circle with a big "P") rank as the most affordable of the parkades, but generally the cost of parking will not vary greatly among parkades within a certain area. Most will accept payment by credit card, as well as coins. Beware of scammers hanging around in some parkades, trying to sell parking tickets for less than their face value — typically, they have purchased the tickets with stolen credit cards. Also be careful parking overnight, as vehicle break-ins are not uncommon. City meters and parking regulations are enforced regularly. Meter-related offenses will result in fines. Violations in private lots are generally unenforceable, but may result in your car being towed. If your vehicle is towed on a city street, you can recover it at the city impound lot at 425 Industrial Ave. Some new meters at private parking lots throughout the city no longer accept cash, make sure to also have a credit card with you. Most parking facilities also accept payment using the [https://www.paybyphone.com PayByPhone] app. ====Car sharing==== Vancouver is often referred to as the car share capital, with over 2,000 available vehicles. Car sharing which allow vehicle rentals by the hour and minute. With the departure of Car2Go and Zipcar, the only companies left in this space are [https://evo.ca/ Evo] and [https://modo.coop/ Modo]. If you are a BCAA member, you can get a free Evo membership through their website. To sign up for Modo, if your licence was issued from outside BC, you will need to put down a $750 damage deposit or provide a copy of your driving records from your home country (including a translation to English made by an approved translator if it is not already in English.) ===By taxi=== * {{Listing|name=Black Top Cabs|url=https://btccabs.ca/|phone=+1 604-731-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=MacLures Cabs|url=https://www.maclurescabs.ca/|phone=+1 604-831-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=Vancouver Taxi|url=https://www.vancouvertaxi.cab/|phone=+1 604-871-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=Yellow Cab|url=https://www.yellowcabonline.com/|phone=+1 604-681-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=Signature Black Car & Chauffeur Service|url=https://www.signaturecarservice.ca|phone=+1-778-927-1003|lastedit=2025-01-24}} === By ride hailing === Apps legally permitted to operate in the Vancouver area include: *{{Listing|name=Kabu|url=https://www.kabu.ca/|lastedit=2022-07-29}} *{{listing | name=Lyft | alt= | url=https://www.lyft.com/rider/cities/vancouver-bc | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Lyft | wikidata=Q17077936 | lastedit=2022-07-29 | content= }} *{{listing | name=Uber | alt= | url=https://www.uber.com/global/en/cities/vancouver/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Uber | wikidata=Q780442 | lastedit=2022-07-29 | content= }} === By bicycle === [[File:Vancouver Mobi bike share near BC Place stadium in Downtown Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Vancouver Mobi bike share near BC Place stadium in Downtown Vancouver|alt=Vancouver Mobi bike share near BC Place stadium in Downtown Vancouver.jpg]] Vancouver is a very bicycle-friendly city. In addition to the extremely popular seawall bicycle routes along Stanley Park, False Creek and Kitsilano, there is a network of bicycle routes that connect the whole city, with many of the downtown bike lanes separated from traffic. The City of Vancouver provides a map of the bicycle routes that is available at most bike shops or online. Also, all buses have bicycle racks on the front to help riders get to less accessible parts. North American visitors will find that drivers in Vancouver are more accustomed to sharing the road with cyclists than many places. The city of Vancouver operates a '''bike share''' program called '''[https://www.mobibikes.ca/ Mobi]'''. A 24-hour pass costs $19 for an unlimited number of 30-minute trips, with each additional minute costing 25 cents. Monthly passes are available for $39 (30-minute trips). Trips on a monthly pass that take longer than the allowed time will be charged an extra 25 cents per minute. Bike stations are spread across downtown, the West End, Gastown, Yaletown and False Creek, Granville Island and Kitsilano. Bikes are unlocked via a user code and PIN that are provided after you complete registration on Mobi's website. It's highly recommended that visitors complete registration before their visit, as you cannot do it at bike share stations. Longer term '''bike rentals''' are available at a number of independent shops, where you can rent bicycles by the hour, day or week. Many places also rent tandem bikes. Shops can be found in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]], the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]], [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]] and near [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]]. Alternatively, buy a used bicycle and either sell it on or donate it to someone in more need of it at the end of your stay. ===By scooter=== Renting a scooter is a good compromise between a bike and a car. Scooters are not allowed on the famous bike path, but it is possible to travel in the inner roads, park and walk at all the attractions. Average cost is ~$80 for 24 hours + gas. * {{listing | name=Cycle BC | alt= | url=https://vancouver.cyclebc.ca/ | email= | address=Location 1: (next to harbour air terminal) Location 2: 73 East 6th Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +1 604-709-5663 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} * '''[https://vanecoride.com/electric-scooter-rental-vancouver/ VanEcoRide]{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' Escooter & Ebike Rental 1020 Mainland St unit 26 +1 778-683-7711 * {{listing | name=Vancouver Scooter Rental | alt= | url= | email= | address=501-2050 Scotia St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-787-9177 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} ==See== While Vancouver is still a young city, it has a variety of attractions and points of interest for the visitor. ===Landmarks and historic buildings=== Many of the city's landmarks and historical buildings can be found in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. '''Canada Place''', with its distinctive sails, the nearby '''Olympic Cauldron''', the intricate Art Deco styling of the '''Marine Building''' and the old luxury railway hotel of the '''Hotel Vancouver''' are in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. '''Stanley Park''' (the city's most popular attraction), along with its neighbouring Coal Harbour walkway and the Vancouver Aquarium are in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]]. [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]], the original town site of Vancouver, has a number of restored buildings and its steam clock is a popular spot to visit. Modern architecture worth visiting also includes Shangri-La, the tallest building in the city, and the Sheraton Wall Centre, both located in [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. Another popular city landmark, the bustling markets and shops of '''Granville Island''', is just to the south of downtown in an area called [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|South Granville]]. [[File:UBC Museum of Anthropology Building1.jpg|thumb|Museum of Anthropology at [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]]]] ===Museums and galleries=== If you're looking to learn about the people of the Northwest Coast and some of its history, one good spot is the impressive '''Museum of Anthropology''' at the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|University of British Columbia]], which houses several thousand objects from BC's First Nations. The museum is also home to significant collections of archaeological objects and ethnographic materials from other parts of the world. The '''Vancouver Art Gallery''' in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] combines local with international through a variety of exhibitions and a permanent collection that focuses on renowned British Columbia artist, Emily Carr. [[File:Vancouver Public Library (2012) - 1.JPG|thumb|Central Library location of the Vancouver Public Library in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]]]] The '''Central Library location of the''' '''Vancouver Public Library''', in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] at Homer and Robson Streets, is modelled after the Roman Colosseum, and houses the city's largest library. Another sight in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] is the small '''Contemporary Art Gallery''' on Nelson Street, which features modern art. Also nearby, on the east side of [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] is the shiny geodesic dome of the '''Telus World of Science''' (commonly known as Science World), which has a number of exhibits, shows and galleries aimed at making science fun for kids. Another great spot to check out is the '''BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum''' at Gate A of BC Place Stadium in Yaletown. The BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum preserves and honours BC's Sport heritage by recognizing extraordinary achievement in sport through using their collection and stories to inspire all people to pursue their dreams. There are also some smaller sights in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]], including the Vancouver Maritime Museum, Museum of Vancouver, and H.R. Macmillan Space Centre. [[File:Stanley Park, Vancouver (7889964786).jpg|thumb|A portion of the Seawall within Stanley Park with Lions Gate Bridge in the background]] ===Parks=== The city has a wealth of parks and gardens scattered throughout. The most famous is '''Stanley Park''' at the tip of the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]]. Its miles of trails for walking and cycling, beaches, magnificent views and the attractions (including totem poles) within the park gives it something for everyone. The most popular trail is the '''Seawall''', a paved trail that runs around the perimeter of Stanley Park and now joins with the seawalls in Coal Harbour and Kitsilano, 22 km in length. The '''Vancouver Aquarium''' is in Stanley Park. '''Other notable parks and gardens''' include VanDusen Botanical Garden in [[Vancouver/South|South Vancouver]] and Queen Elizabeth Park near [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|South Main]], the Nitobe Memorial Garden (commonly known as the Nitobe Japanese Garden) and UBC Botanical Garden at the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|University of British Columbia]] and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]]. Admission to Vancouver's various attractions can range from $10 to up to $30 per person. There are a variety of attractions passes available that help visitors save on retail admissions such as the '''See Vancouver Smartvisit Card'''. ===Nature=== Finally, a trip to Vancouver wouldn't be complete without a glimpse of the '''skyline''' and the Coast Mountains rising above the city (clouds permitting, of course!). Popular spots to view it include Stanley Park in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]], Harbour Centre in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]], Spanish Banks and Jericho Beaches in [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|Point Grey]], and Lonsdale Quay in [[North Vancouver]]. Other interesting views can be seen from City Hall at 12th and Cambie in [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]], Queen Elizabeth Park in Mt Pleasant, and [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van's]] CRAB Park. ==Do== [[File:Dragon Boating in Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Dragon Boating]] === Culture and festivals === Vancouver isn't all about the outdoors. It offers a variety of theatre, concerts and other cultural events. There are symphony and opera venues in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] and much of the city's live theatre can be found in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|South Granville]], particularly on Granville Island with its thriving arts scene. The city's Chinese heritage comes alive during '''Chinese New Year'''. [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]], in the east side of downtown, is awash in colour and has many festivities, including a parade. June sees the annual '''Dragon Boat Festival''' on False Creek. There is no shortage of festivals around the city, with many local ones particular to a neighbourhood. The festival that draws the largest crowds is the '''[https://hondacelebrationoflight.com/ Honda Celebration of Light]''', a three-night extravaganza of fireworks over English Bay in late July. Countries compete with 20-30 min displays choreographed to music. The fireworks start at 10PM and are best viewed from Sunset Beach in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] or Kits Beach/Vanier Park in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]]. It is ''strongly'' recommended to take public transit and to get there a few hours early as the crowds are huge. Roads in the vicinity of English Bay are typically closed from 6PM onwards. '''EAT! Vancouver - The Everything Food + Cooking Festival''' takes place every year. The festival takes place in early November. Celebrity chefs, popular local restaurants, wineries, food & beverage manufacturers, cookbook authors, retailers, artisans, & many others from the culinary world come together for a 6-day event. Other notable festivals include the '''[https://www.viff.org Vancouver International Film Festival]''' that runs in Sept-Oct; the '''[https://www.vancouverfringe.com Fringe Festival]''' that presents live theatre in a variety of styles and venues; '''[https://bardonthebeach.org/ Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival]''' that runs May - September at Vanier Park in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]]; and the three day '''[https://thefestival.bc.ca/ Folk Fest]''' on the beach in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] that features a large selection of current and upcoming folk, roots and world music acts. Another notable event is Vancouver's annual '''[https://vancouverpride.ca/ Vancouver Pride Parade]''', in early August, which attractsover 600,000 spectators. [[File:Brockton light.jpg|thumb|Views from the Seawall in [[Vancouver/West End|Stanley Park]]]] === Laugh === Vancouver is also home to an enormous stand-up comedy scene. With 3 dedicated clubs, and more than two dozen venues hosting regular events, the Lower Mainland plays host to nearly 10,000 improv, stand-up, and open mic shows a year, such as by the [https://theimprovcentre.ca/ '''Improv Centre'''] on [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]]. Catch touring comics, well-seasoned locals, or up and coming newbies at shows from theaters to pizza joints and experience some of the local, underground culture. === Live music === Vancouver has lots and lots of live music venues ranging from BC Place (over 60,000 seats) to local bars, pubs and coffee shops. There are also a plethora of festivals especially throughout the summer months. The [https://www.coastaljazz.ca/ '''Vancouver International Jazz Festival'''] runs for two weeks in late June and early July and attracts big name jazz and avant garde acts. === Outdoor activities === Vancouverites love the outdoors and one of the most popular things to do is to walk, jog, bike or rollerblade the '''Seawall'''. It starts at Canada Place [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|downtown]], wraps around Stanley Park and follows the shoreline of [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] through [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]], Science World and Granville Island to Kits Beach in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]]. The most popular sections are around Stanley Park and along the north shore of False Creek. Bike and rollerblade rentals are available from a few shops near the corner of Denman & West Georgia in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] if you prefer wheeled transportation over walking. If the weather's nice, go out to Granville Island, rent a speedboat and take a boat ride on the waters around Stanley Park and Coal Harbour. Golf courses are also abundant in the city, along with more cost-conscious pitch-and-putt courses. If you'd rather lie in the sun than play in the sun, Vancouver has a number of '''beaches'''. While certainly not glamorous and lacking waves, there's sand, water and lots of people on sunny summer days. [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] has a string of beaches, the most well known being Kitsilano Beach, Jericho and Spanish Banks. Kits Beach is the most popular and has beach volleyball, Spanish Banks is a bit quieter and popular with skimboarders. There are a few beaches on the south and west sides of [[Vancouver/West End|downtown]], with English Bay Beach (near Denman & Beach in [[Vancouver/West End|the West End]]) being the largest and most popular. Finally, no discussion of Vancouver beaches would be complete without mention of Wreck Beach at the tip of Point Grey in [[Vancouver/UBC-South|UBC]]. As much rock as it is sand, it holds a place in the Vancouver identity and is the only city beach where you can bare it all. [https://www.nudebeachmap.com/places/wreck-beach/]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} For many, Vancouver is synonymous with '''skiing and snowboarding'''. While there are no ski hills within the city itself, there are three "local" hills (Cypress, Grouse Mountain and Seymour) across the harbour on the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]]. And of course, Vancouver is the gateway to [[Whistler]], the biggest and one of the most highly rated snow destinations in North America. ===Spectator sports=== When you tire of doing stuff outdoors, or prefer that someone else do the hard work, you can always grab a seat and take in the local sports teams. [[File:Vancouver Canucks vs Calgary Flames.jpg|thumb|Vancouver Canucks playing in their the blue uniform]] ====Hockey==== The biggest draw in town is hockey (the variety played on ice, not a field) and the local professional team is the '''[https://www.nhl.com/canucks/ Vancouver Canucks]'''. The team plays at Rogers Arena in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]] and the season lasts from October to April (and possibly longer when they make the play-offs). Tickets are pricey and the concessions are even worse, but it's a good game to watch live. The local junior hockey team, the '''[https://vancouvergiants.com/ Vancouver Giants]''', offer a cheaper but no less exciting experience, but play in the [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]] Events Centre some distance from Vancouver. ====Football==== The '''[https://www.bclions.com/ BC Lions]''', the city's Canadian Football League team (think American football with 12 players a side, three downs, a slightly larger field, and much larger end zones) plays during the summer and fall at BC Place in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]]. {{Infobox|Welcome World Cup fans|Vancouver is one of the 16 North American host cities for the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]], hosting [[association football|soccer]] matches at '''BC Place Vancouver''' (BC Place), located in the downtown area near False Creek. Crowds can build quickly on big match days, so arriving early helps you find a good viewing spot. Security checks are standard, and items like large bags may be restricted. There may be heightened traffic on match days.|image=Adidas Trionda ball.jpg}} ==== Soccer ==== The '''[https://www.whitecapsfc.com/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC]''', the third team to bear the "Whitecaps" name, began play in Major League Soccer in March 2011, becoming the second MLS team in Canada (they have since been joined by a third Canadian team). They have played at BC Place since September 2011, when that venue reopened after post-Olympics renovations. The Whitecaps initially planned to build a new stadium of their own near the waterfront, but local opposition led the Whitecaps to make BC Place their long-term home. ====Rugby==== BC Place also hosts the '''[https://canadasevens.com/ Canada Sevens]{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', an annual event in the '''World Rugby Sevens Series''' (marketed as the '''[https://www.svns.com HSBC SVNS]'''), a worldwide series of tournaments for men's and women's national teams in rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union featuring 7 players per side instead of 15 (on the same full-size field) and halves of 7 minutes instead of 40. In the current schedule, the event is held on the last weekend of February as part of a North American swing that also includes an event in the [[Los Angeles]] suburb of [[Carson|Carson, California]]. ====Roller derby==== The '''[https://tcrd.ca/ Terminal City Rollergirls]''' are Vancouver's first female roller derby league and are members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. Created in 2006, the league now has four full teams (Faster Pussycats, Bad Reputations, Public Frenemy, and Riot Girls) as well as an All-Stars team made up of the best players in the league. The players are a diverse group of women, from nurses to construction workers, graphic designers, television producers, teachers, stay-at-home moms, PhD students and aspiring rock stars. The bouts are exciting and fun (there is usually an entertaining half-time show). If you're thinking about attending a bout and know nothing or very little about flat track roller derby, check out the [https://wftda.com/the-game/ Women’s Flat Track Derby Association's (WFTDA) explanation]. Bouts are generally held April to September and at various arenas around Metro Vancouver, although the PNE Forum in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] has been a popular venue. ====Baseball==== Vancouver has a single A baseball team, the '''[https://www.milb.com/vancouver Vancouver Canadians]''', who play out of Nat Bailey Stadium in the [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]] area. ====University sports==== The two major universities in the Vancouver area both have comprehensive athletic programs, though not at the high profile of similar institutions south of the border: * {{do | name=Simon Fraser Red Leafs | alt= | url=https://athletics.sfu.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Simon Fraser Red Leafs | lastedit=2024-06-15 | content=Represent Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. The Red Leafs sponsor teams in seven men's sports and nine women's sports. Notably, SFU is the only Canadian school that's a member of the U.S. NCAA, though they are in Division II, competing with mostly smaller, regional U.S. institutions. SFU no longer plays football, either American or Canadian; it had played under American rules in the NCAA, but logistical complications led the school to drop the sport after the 2022 season. }} * {{do | name=UBC Thunderbirds | alt= | url=https://www.gothunderbirds.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=UBC Thunderbirds | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands at the west edge of the Point Grey peninsula. The Thunderbirds field teams in 15 men's sports and 14 women's sports. Unlike SFU, UBC is a member of Canada's governing body for university sport, U Sports. }} === Tours === If you want to orient yourself in the city, there are a variety of tours – bus, walking, hop-on, hop-off – based out of the [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|City Centre]] that will regale you with Vancouver lore while taking you to many of the main attractions. ==Learn== Vancouver is a city with a rich assortment of educational institutions offering programs on nearly every possible occupation or avocation. There are two main universities (Simon Fraser University, and University of British Columbia). Polytechnic institutions offer degrees in addition to certificates and diplomas. Vancouver is also a popular destination to learn English: expect to see many learners from Asian countries, such as South Korea, and from Brazil. Places of study within the city of Vancouver include: * [[File:Vancouver ubc clock.jpg|thumb|Clock tower in the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|University of British Columbia]]]]The '''[https://www.ubc.ca University of British Columbia (UBC)]''', is ranked as one of the world's 30 best universities and is the largest university in western Canada. It is publicly funded and has the highest student enrollment of any university in British Columbia. More than 50,000 full-time and part-time students in numerous disciplines are enrolled at the main campus in the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC-Point Grey]] area. UBC also has a downtown campus in Vancouver at Robson Square in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|city centre area]]. This location is geared more towards adult learning, business people and foreign students. Course calendars are readily available at Robson Square or on UBC's website. *'''[https://www.langara.bc.ca Langara College]''' is publicly funded and in [[Vancouver/UBC-South|South Vancouver]]. It offers a number of programs in the arts, humanities, business and technology, as well as continuing education and ESL classes. *The '''[https://www.ecuad.ca/ Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design]''' is publicly funded and in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]]. It offers a number of programs focused primarily on design and the visual arts. * The '''[https://thecdm.ca/ Centre for Digital Media (CDM)]''' is publicly funded and in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]]. It is a collaborative university campus environment put together with the help of all of the major local universities, focusing on arts, technology, and the environment. * '''[https://www.vcc.ca/ Vancouver Community College (VCC)]''' is publicly funded and has two campuses: Broadway in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]], and [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown]]. VCC offers a number of different certificate and diploma programs. * '''[https://www.ucanwest.ca/ University Canada West]''' is a private, for profit university that offers undergraduate and graduate business degrees. * The '''[https://vfs.edu/ Vancouver Film School]''' is a private institution in [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]]. Places of study in suburbs outside of the city of Vancouver include: * '''[https://www.sfu.ca Simon Fraser University (SFU)]''', is publicly funded and is the second highest enrollment of any university in British Columbia. With over 30 000 full-time students, SFU is consistently ranked as the best Comprehensive University in Canada by Macleans. Its main campus on the top of a mountain in [[Burnaby]] with spectacular views. SFU also has the largest post-secondary presence in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|city centre area]], with the Beedie School of Business, the [https://www.sfu.ca/dialogue.html Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue], SFU Harbour Centre and SFU Woodwards, not to mention a satellite campus in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]]. * The '''[https://www.bcit.ca British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)]''', is publicly funded and a technical college based in [[Burnaby]]. It has a satellite campus in downtown Vancouver. * The '''[https://www.jibc.ca/ Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC)]''' is publicly funded and is a post-secondary institution focusing on public safety vocations. Its main campus is in [[New Westminster]]. * '''[https://www.kpu.ca Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU)]''' is publicly funded with campuses in [[Richmond]], [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]], and [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]]. It offers over 120 programs, including career, vocational trades and technology certificates, diplomas, and degrees across numerous disciplines. * '''[https://www.douglascollege.ca/ Douglas College]''' is a publicly funded and offers degrees with campuses in [[New Westminster]] and [[Coquitlam]]. * '''[https://www.twu.ca/ Trinity Western University (TWU)]''' is a private Christian university with undergraduate and graduate studies programs. Its main campus is in [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]] and it has a smaller campus in [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]]. ==Work== Traditionally, much of Vancouver's industry has centred around its port facilities and the forestry and mining sectors. Although these industries are still important to the economy, Vancouver's largest employers are now the various hospitals and educational institutions in the area and companies with head offices in Vancouver such as Telus Corp and the Jim Pattison Group. Vancouver however has expanded as a centre for software development and biotechnology, while streets provide a backdrop for an active film industry. Many jobs exist in the varied small and medium sized businesses that operate in the region. As with many cities, jobs are posted on-line or in the newspaper, but it helps if you have some contacts within the industry that can point you to the jobs that are open but not posted. As with any tourist centre, there are a number of service jobs available. The attractions, restaurants and hotels downtown frequently need staff. Other areas to consider are [[Vancouver/South Granville|Granville Island]] and the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]] with its ski areas and Grouse Mountain. ==Buy== ''This is only a sample of things you can look for in Vancouver. Visit the separate district pages for other info.'' '''Tip''' - There are two local taxes that are charged on the vast majority of goods, the '''7% PST (Provincial Sales Tax)''' and the '''5% GST (Goods and Services Tax)'''. The [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/exemptions PST does not apply] to restaurants, motor fuel, food (including non-alcoholic drinks), vitamins, books, newspaper, magazines, bicycles, and children's clothing. *{{buy | name=Robson Street | alt= | url=https://robsonstreet.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Robson Street | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=In the [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]] is home to many touristy shops. The neighbouring Alberni intersection is also home to a variety of high-end shops such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès. }} *{{buy | name=Pacific Centre | alt= | url=https://shops.cadillacfairview.com/property/cf-pacific-centre | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pacific Centre | lastedit=2023-03-03 | content=Located in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]]. Has more than 150 shops, restaurants and services if you want to walk in an underground shopping centre. The shopping centre begins at its north end at Robson Street, and stretches all the way to Pender Street. There are many floors in the mall depending on where you are, and notable merchants include Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen, Gap, H&M and Apple Store; the mall is connected to the Hudson's Bay (at Georgia and Granville streets), and Vancouver Centre (a small mall mainly consisting of a lotto centre, London Drugs, and a food court underneath Scotiabank). }} [[File:Gastown. Streetscape in Gastown, Vancouver.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]] - the original townsite of Vancouver and now the best place to find Vancouver kitsch]] * {{buy | name=[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gastown | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Is the oldest neighbourhood in Vancouver but is being reborn as a fashion and modern urban design district. Historic buildings house hip restaurants, galleries, and interior design and high-fashion shops. This area also is notable having the most tourist souvenir shops in the region. }} *{{Buy|name=[[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]]|lastedit=2023-10-02|content=Is also popular for its non-mainstream fashion boutiques and high-end salons. A few Popular Yaletown Shopping Streets are: Mainland St., Hamilton St., and Pacific Blvd.}} *{{buy | name=[[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Granville Island | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Is an interesting place to go if you fancy the arts. The area boasts a public market, an art school (Emily Carr University of Art + Design), shops, a world music instrument store, restaurants, theatres, galleries, a hotel, boat docks and more. }} *{{buy | name=Kerrisdale | alt= | url=http://www.kerrisdalevillage.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Area centred on 41st, between Maple St and Blenheim St, | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Kerrisdale | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Located in [[Vancouver/South|South Vancouver]]. Consisting of roughly a hundred or so boutique-like shops, restaurants, and stores (chain or otherwise) in an affluent neighbourhood. }} *{{buy | name=Commercial Drive | alt= | url=https://thedrive.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Commercial Drive, Vancouver | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Especially the stretch between 3rd Avenue and Venables St. in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]], is great for people-watching, produce (Santa Barbara Market), cheese (La Grotta del Formaggio), sausage (JN&Z Deli), etc. }} *{{buy | name=Main Street | alt=South Main | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Main Street (Vancouver) | lastedit=2023-10-02 | content=Located in [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]]. South of Broadway stretching to around 30th Avenue, has a vibrant and expanding collection of independent restaurants, cafés, high-end niche clothing stores and small boutiques. }} *{{buy | name=East Hastings | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Hastings Street (Vancouver) | lastedit=2023-10-02 | content=Located in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] between Renfrew and Clark offers some of the best hidden delights in the city. There are many eclectic produce stores (Donald's Market). }}[[File:Vancouver Chinatown 16.JPG|thumb|Vancouver's [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]]]] * {{buy | name=[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Around Main and Pender, and westwards down Pender from Main. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chinatown, Vancouver | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=An old historic landmark where the first Chinese immigrants to the area settled, though these days it is a shadow of its former self, having become largely deserted and full of homeless people. Other newer and more vibrant Chinatowns have sprung up around 41st Ave. and Victoria Drive, also in Richmond and Surrey, and are much better places to go to if authentic Chinese culture and food is what you are after. }} * {{buy | name=Punjabi Market | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Punjabi Market, Vancouver | lastedit=2023-10-02 | content=Around Main, between 41st and 49th Ave. Good, cheap Punjabi food along with some Punjabi fashion; street signs are correspondingly in Punjabi. }} There are some unique shopping areas in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] and [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]]. In Kits you can visit the first store of Vancouver-born and based athletic retailer, [https://shop.lululemon.com/ Lululemon Athletica], sporting popular yoga-inspired apparel. Gore-tex jackets are ubiquitous in Vancouver and the best place to buy them is at [https://www.mec.ca/ Mountain Equipment Co-op], [https://www.taigaworks.com/ Taiga Works] or one of the other outdoorsy stores clustered together on the east-west main drag called Broadway (equivalent to 9th Avenue, running between 8th and 10th) between Cambie St. and Main St., just east of the [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] area. ==Eat== Where to begin? There is something for everyone in this cosmopolitan city, and the variety of cuisines and price points have been described as a foodie's delight. In particular, you will find many different kinds of Asian food available. If you fancy sushi many places offer "all you can eat" lunches for $12, which offers food of a wildly varying quality. In general, the city is up there with some of the best cities in North America when it comes to food. If you can do without alcohol, you can usually have a pretty reasonable meal for under $12, and at one of the more expensive restaurants in the city, $70 will get you a four course feast with exquisite service. While you are in Vancouver, look out for stands selling the '''Japadog''', a contraction of "Japanese style hot dog", which uses Japanese ingredients such as nori seaweed or Japanese mayonnaise to garnish the sausage. The highest density of restaurants is in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] or the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]]. The [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|central business area]] has many of the high end restaurants either along Robson Street or associated with the many hotels in the downtown area. [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]] tends to have many authentic ethnic restaurants. Vancouver is also famous for its Cantonese restaurants, in particular because it received a huge number of top chefs from Hong Kong fleeing the impending handover back to China in the 1980s and 1990s. Because of this large diaspora from Hong Kong, the price and quality of dim sum, siu mei and other Cantonese dishes here is among the best in the world, with many even claiming that Vancouver's Cantonese food is better than that of Hong Kong and Guangdong. However, Vancouver's Chinatown is now a shadow of its former self, with most of the remaining restaurants being tourist traps serving mediocre food. These days, the best Chinese food can be found in the suburb of [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]], with a majority of its inhabitants being ethnically Chinese. Restaurants are all over the place on No. 3 Rd, Westminster Hwy, Alexandra Rd, and on the many side streets just east of Richmond Centre. Vancouver has become a lot more vegetarian and vegan friendly. For exclusively veg-fare, there is Indigo Age downtown, the Naam in Kits, the Acorn on Main St, MeeT (Gastown, Main St, and Yaletown), Kokomo in Chinatown, Roots + Fruits in Strathcona, Eternal Abundance on the Drive, and Chomp in Hastings-Sunrise- to name only a few. Many Vancouver restaurants recommend you have a reservation, the majority of them use [https://www.opentable.com/vancouver-restaurants OpenTable]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, or other similar software; however, some require you to phone. Check on the restaurants website or Yelp page before you go to be sure you will be seated in a timely manner. For budget travellers, pick up a ''Georgia Straight'' (a free local paper available all over the place), and clip two-for-one coupons from the food section. Every January, the city holds a food festival with over 270 local restaurants, which offer prix-fixe menus. The program, [https://www.dineoutvancouver.com/ Dine Out Vancouver], runs over 17 days and includes the cities new eateries, neighbourhood favourites and award-winners. In 2017, to will be held from January 20 to February 5. Although the vast majority of stores around Vancouver accept credit cards, small family-owned Chinese businesses and restaurants, more often than not, accept only cash. Very few businesses in the city accept cheques. Vancouver is also known for its gourmet ice cream shops, with some of the more notable chains including '''[https://www.rainorshineicecream.com/ Rain or Shine Ice Cream]''', '''[https://earnesticecream.com/ Earnest Ice Cream]''' and '''[https://www.bellagelateria.com/ Bella Gelateria]{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. While in Vancouver, make sure you try the "London fog" flavour, which is earl grey tea with fresh milk. Food safety inspection reports are available online from the local health authority, [https://www.vch.ca/en/service/restaurant-inspections-and-reports Vancouver Coastal Health]. ==Drink== Most of the nightclubs are in the [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|central business district]], especially along the Granville Street strip, south of Robson and along Water Street in Gastown. There are a number of good local pubs in the various quieter neighbourhoods of the city, such as along Main Street or Broadway. Closing times for most of these pub-like establishments begin at 1AM; nightclubs close between 2AM-3AM with a very small number operating after-hours. Nightclubs with music, a DJ and a dance floor usually charge an entrance fee. Be aware that many nightclubs often have long lineup queues on weekends, which are usually self-imposed regardless of whether or not the establishment is near capacity to attract business. Flexibility and willingness to go early is key should nightlife become part of your travel plans. Liquor stores by 11PM at the latest close, while many are closed by 9PM, and there will exist no other legal options apart from drinking at an establishment beyond this time. ===Coffee=== *On Robson and Thurlow, there used to be two Starbucks kitty-corner to one another, hardly surprising as Starbucks is the most dominant of the three coffee shop chains found in Vancouver and it is claimed there are more '''Starbucks''' per capita in Vancouver than anywhere else. The other chains, '''Caffe Artigiano''' and '''Blenz''', are found throughout downtown. '''JJ Bean''' is favoured among the locals and it's a great place to spend a few minutes to a few hours nursing a coffee and one of their ginormous muffins; there are ten locations scattered throughout the city. '''Bean Around the World''' is a popular coffee house chain with ten locations. '''Waves Coffee''' is popular with students for its 24-hour operations, and free Wi-Fi internet. For independent chains try '''Mario's''' on Dunsmuir and Howe; they have a unique feel and a slower pace than other coffee shops. Make sure not to miss '''Trees' cheesecakes''' and its roasted on-site organic coffees. Vancouver has seen a rise of new independent coffee shops in the past three years, most of which focus on single-origin beans and a simpler approach to delicious coffee devoid of syrups and flavourings. Examples include: '''[https://matchstickyvr.com/ Matchstick]''', '''[https://kafkascoffee.ca/ Kafka's]{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', '''[https://revolvercoffee.ca/ Revolver]''', '''[https://49thcoffee.com/ 49th Parallel]'''. ===Tea=== A distinctive local drink in Vancouver is called the '''London fog''', which is similar to a latte except that it uses a shot of earl grey tea instead of espresso coffee. It is available at virtually every coffee shop in Vancouver. Bubble tea (or boba tea) is also a popular drink among the Vancouver youth. There are countless tea houses throughout Vancouver, the most notable being Dragon Ball Tea House on West King Edward Ave and Oak St. ===Beer=== Vancouver offers a number of destinations for beer drinkers. The largest is the '''Granville Island Brewery''' on [[Vancouver/South Granville|Granville Island]] (tours are available). Other microbreweries are housed in brewpubs, popular ones include the '''Yaletown Brewing Company''' in [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|Yaletown]] and '''Steamworks''' at the entrance to [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]]. The '''Alibi Room''', near Gastown, specializes in beers by Northwestern microbreweries as does the '''Cascade Room''' in [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|South Main]]. '''Portland''', also in South Main, is another craft beer venue that specializes in beers by Oregon based microbreweries. [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Vancouver]], near Commercial Drive and E Hastings St, has become a hot spot for smaller craft breweries. This area is popular with locals who like to hit up a few different breweries, sampling beer and eating snacks like pepperoni sticks. There are over 10 breweries within walking distance of each other. Check out '''Storm Brewing''', '''Callister Brewing''', and '''Parallel 49 Brewing Company''' to name a few. $6 for a flight of 6 samples is standard, though some breweries such as '''Storm Brewing''' provide samples by donation. A pub with a great selection of craft beer is '''St. Augustine's''' near the Commercial/Broadway station. Olympic Village, in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]], is another craft brewing hot spot, with multiple craft breweries within walking distance of eachother, including '''33 Acres Brewing Company''', '''Brassneck Brewery''', '''Main Street Brewing Co''', and more. All of these breweries are easily accessible by public transit. If you fancy a short journey outside of Vancouver proper, [[Port Moody]] is easily accessible by Skytrain and has another great strip of small local breweries. [[North Vancouver]], a 15 min SeaBus ride from downtown, offers another cluster of breweries, cider mill, distillery, winery, and braggotery along their newly developing "Brewery District". ==Sleep== In general, accommodations in Vancouver are on the expensive side. Most upscale hotel rooms begin at $200-250/night, although you can find reasonably priced ones in the $100-180 range quite often. Most motel rooms cost somewhere between $80-150/night. If you are lucky to find hostel accommodation, the cheapest of these will cost around '''$30'''/night, more reasonably between $35-50. The [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]] is centrally for attractions and has the bulk of Vancouver's accommodation, including most of the high-end hotels and backpackers hostels. If you don't mind getting away from the chain hotels, there are a number of smaller boutique hotels outside of the central business district but still close to the action that are cheaper than the four and five star options downtown. Backpacker hostels are another cheap option with beds starting at $25 if you don't mind sharing a room. Staying outside the City Centre area may give you a wider choice of affordable accommodations. There are a few budget hotels/motels along Kingsway in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] and Broadway in [[Vancouver/South Granville|South Granville]]. A number of B&Bs and AirBnB rentals are also scattered throughout the city in each district. If you want/need to stay close to the airport, [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] has a number of hotels with varying degrees of luxury and price. Finally, if you don't mind driving or commuting in to see Vancouver, the suburbs also have some cheaper options. [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Vancouver]], [[Burnaby]] and [[New Westminster]] all have easy access to Vancouver via the public transit system. The closest Provincial Parks with campgrounds are near [[Maple Ridge]] ([[Golden Ears Provincial Park]]), [[Chilliwack]], and [[Squamish]]. Camping in city parks is prohibited under Vancouver’s by-laws. Travellers may hear a claim that it is legal to camp overnight in city parks in Victoria and Abbotsford; (due to court cases that permit the homeless to do); but whether this would also apply to Vancouver or extend to travellers looking to free camp is unknown. That said, a small number of mostly homeless people do camp in city parks and it seems the bylaw is not always enforced. If you decide to do this, avoid the Downtown Eastside ([[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown-Chinatown]] and points directly east), don’t be disruptive, don’t light fires and be aware of the risks of [[Budget travel#Sleep|free camping/sleeping rough]]. == Connect == In an '''emergency, dial 9-1-1''' from any phone, even mobile phones with no service. If you're subscribed to Rogers for mobile service, or you're roaming on their network, they support 1-1-2 as well as 9-1-1. All other carriers only support 9-1-1. The telephone area codes 604, 778, and 236 overlap Vancouver and the surrounding area. This means the Lower Mainland requires ten-digit dialing, so you must dial the area code when making a local call. Calls out of the region (east of Langley, or north of Squamish, including to Whistler) require a 1 before the area code. At payphones, local calls cost a flat 50 cents each. Be aware that many public phones have been removed, especially in the suburbs, due to the rise of cell phones. Downtown payphones are often broken, but the payphones at the downtown SkyTrain stations are almost always in service. Payphones can be used to call 911 free of charge. Free Wi-Fi is available at most hotels, cafés, and restaurants, as well as practically everywhere downtown. The city operates over 500 free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city. A full list of the city operated wireless hotspots can be found [https://vancouver.ca/your-government/vanwifi.aspx here]. Some Translink buses, skytrains, seabuses, as well as some stations and terminals also provide free Wi-Fi for transit passengers. Internet cafés are not as popular as they once were, but several remain in Vancouver, charging hourly with all-day passes available. ===By mail=== * {{listing | name=Vancouver Main Post Office | alt=Canada Post | url=https://www.canadapost.ca | email= | address=495 W Georgia St | lat=49.2813 | long=-123.1156 | directions=W George St & Richards St | phone= | tollfree= | hours=(retail counter) M-F 9AM-6PM | price= |lastedit=2022-11-03| content=Postcodes for the greater Vancouver area typically range from V5J through V6Z. There are also other postcodes in the surrounding cities making up the greater Vancouver metropolitan area ranging from V4A to V5J and from V7A to V7Y. Neighbourhood post office branches are within and operated by London Drugs, Shoppers Drug Mart, 7 Eleven and other retail stores contracted by Canada Post. They are marked with the red "Canada Post" signage and logo. }} ==Stay safe== Vancouver is a great place to visit if you use common sense like keeping an eye on your possessions, knowing where you are going and avoiding alleys and unfamiliar areas at night should keep you out of trouble. Unless involved in illegal activities (such as the drug trade), it is highly unlikely you will fall victim to any sort of violent crime. If you need emergency help, dial '''911'''. Like any major metropolitan city, Vancouver has areas that should be travelled with caution. The most notable is the Downtown Eastside (specifically Hastings Street between Abbott and Gore). This neighbourhood is infamous for homelessness, drug-use, and prostitution. As a result of these conditions, violence is quite a common problem. If you do accidentally stroll into the Downtown Eastside it is not difficult to find your way out, but if you get lost or feel uncomfortable the best thing to do is approach a police officer. Tourists exploring [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown and Chinatown]] can easily wander into the Downtown Eastside unwittingly. Chinatown turns into a ghost town in the evening, and is mainly filled with homeless people, so you should avoid the area at night. It's also wise to exercise caution in the Granville Mall area (Granville St between Smithe St and Hastings St) in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] on Friday and Saturday nights. As Vancouver’s bar and nightclub district, the sheer volume of people combined with alcohol consumption make disorderly conduct and rowdy behaviour fairly common. But this shouldn't act as a deterrent - if you're not looking for trouble, you probably won't find it, and there is a strong police presence. The streets at night in the Granville Mall area are usually (and quite literally) clogged with people at night time. Such an enormous mix of people and alcohol can be a dangerous mix if you are not cautious. Some parts of the city have high rates of property crime. Theft from vehicles is especially problematic and parked cars with foreign or out-of-province plates are frequently targeted. The best thing is to not leave any money and valuables in plain view. Many of the locals use steering wheel locks to prevent vehicle theft. While using public transit, if you feel unsafe, approach a Transit police officer (usually at SkyTrain stations). For non-emergency requests, you can call {{phone|+1-604-515-8300}}. Panhandling is common in some parts of downtown, but is unlikely to pose a problem. Don't be rude, as there may be negative consequences. === Drugs === Cannabis can be purchased from private dispensaries or the government-run BC Cannabis stores, which also offer online sales. It's legal for adults over 19 to consume and possess up to 30 grams of cannabis. It is not permitted to smoke or vape cannabis anywhere tobacco use is prohibited. There are serious penalties for driving under the influence of THC, which include fines and vehicle seizure. Also, while Washington State has legalized recreational cannabis at the state level it remains illegal to bring any cannabis products over the border in either direction. Do not buy cannabis in Canada and attempt to take it into Washington State, or vice versa, not even at out of the way crossings like Point Roberts. The province of British Columbia is the first jurisdiction in the world to decriminalize possession of hard drugs. Possession of up to 2.5 grams of cocaine (crack and powder), methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids (including heroin, fentanyl and morphine) is no longer a criminal offence. In some areas such as Downtown Eastside, the government provides safe injection sites where you can safely dispose off needles after injecting yourself. The exemption is scheduled to last until Jan 31, 2026. Driving while under the influence of drugs is a crime. Anyone caught selling drugs or trafficking them will still face criminal penalties. Possessing hard drugs at airports and many other locations remains illegal. ==Cope== ===Publications=== * {{listing | name=Vancouver Sun | alt= | url=https://vancouversun.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver Sun | wikidata=Q2004274 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=Vancouver's biggest daily newspaper. }} * {{listing | name=The Province | alt= | url=https://theprovince.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Province | wikidata=Q132110 | lastedit=2017-01-14 | content=Tabloid-style daily. A bit more sensational than the Sun and a better sports section, but published by the same company and newsroom. }} * {{listing | name=Georgia Straight | alt= | url=https://www.straight.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Georgia Straight | wikidata=Q3987206 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=Free weekly paper that provides the best rundown on local bars and other entertainment listings. It also usually has a number of two for one coupons for local restaurants. }} * {{listing | name=The Tyee | alt= | url=https://thetyee.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Tyee | wikidata=Q7770989 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=Free daily online paper focusing on independent politics and culture reporting. }} *{{listing | name=Vancouver Observer | alt= | url=https://www.vancouverobserver.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Vancouver Observer | wikidata=Q7772013 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=The Vancouver Observer is an independent online newspaper, covering local politics, arts, the environment, technology, health, nutrition, and other topics. }} *{{listing | name=Vancouver Is Awesome | url=https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-07-27| content= Free daily online paper focusing primarily on cultural events, food, and civic current affairs. }} Other free weeklies include the Vancouver Courier, Westender, and Xtra West (gay and lesbian bi-weekly newspaper). Free dailies include 24 Hours and Metro. ===Wireless=== There are a number of wireless network providers in BC's lower mainland, all with store locations throughout Vancouver, including [https://www.telus.com/ Telus]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}/[https://www.koodomobile.com Koodo], [https://www.rogers.com/ Rogers]/[https://www.fido.ca Fido]/[https://www.chatrwireless.com/ Chatr], [https://www.bell.ca/ Bell]/[https://www.virginmobile.ca/ Virgin], and [https://www.freedommobile.ca Freedom Mobile]. Another option is [https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc Public Mobile], which operates mostly online only, but SIMs can be purchased at London Drugs and generally costs less than other providers. Many wireless carriers offer out of country travel plans; inquire with your carrier regarding pricing before your trip. ===Religious services=== * Anglican (Episcopal): {{listing | name=Christ Church Cathedral | url=https://www.thecathedral.ca/ | email= | address=690 Burrard St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-682-3848 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Buddhist: {{listing | name=Tilopa Kadampa Buddhist Centre | url=https://meditateinvancouver.org/ | email= | address=1829 Victoria Diversion | lat= | long= | directions=Just south of 18th & Commercial in the Trout Lake neighborhood | phone=+1 604-221-2271 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content=Offers relaxation meditations and meditation classes to increase inner peace. }} * Muslim: {{Listing|name=Masjid Omar Al-Farooq|url=https://www.masjidomar.ca/|email=info@masjidomar.ca|address=1659 E 10th Ave|phone=+1 604-873-2040|lastedit=2023-01-19}} * Presbyterian: {{listing | name=Central Presbyterian Church | url=https://www.centralpc.ca/ | email= | address=1155 Thurlow St | lat= | long= | directions=Davie Village, near Davie and Thurlow | phone=+1 604-683-1913 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sunday 10:30AM | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Protestant: {{listing | name=St. Andrew Wesley United Church | url=https://standrewswesley.com/ | email= | address=1022 Nelson St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-683-4574 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Roman Catholic: {{listing | name=Holy Rosary Cathedral | url=https://www.holyrosarycathedral.org/ | email= | address=646 Richards St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-682-6774 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Seventh-day Adventist: {{listing | name=Oakridge Adventist Church | alt= | url=https://oacvancouver.ca/ | email= | address=5350 Ballie St two blocks north of Oakridge Mall/Canada Line Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Saturday 10AM and 11AM | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Sikh: {{Listing|name=Akali Singh Sikh Society|url=https://akalisinghgurdwara.ca/|address=1890 Skeena St|phone=+1 604-254-2117|lastedit=2023-01-19}} [[File:VGH-1.jpg|thumb|One of Vancouver General Hospital's several buildings]] ===Hospitals=== *{{listing | name=Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) | alt= | url=https://www.vch.ca/en/location/vancouver-general-hospital | email= | address=899 West 12th Ave | lat=49.2612 | long=-123.12354 | directions=at the corner of Oak St and West 12th Ave | phone=+1 604-875-4111 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver General Hospital | wikidata=Q7914187 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=VGH serves as the main hospital in Vancouver. Has an emergency department operating 24/7, serving people ages 17 and older. }} *{{listing | name=BC Children's Hospital | alt= | url=http://www.bcchildrens.ca/ | email= | address=4500 Oak St | lat=49.2444 | long=-123.1256 | directions=Oak St near King Edward Ave | phone=+1 604-875-2345 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=British Columbia Children's Hospital | wikidata=Q4969665 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=Serves children up to 16 years old. Has an emergency department that operating 24/7. }} *{{listing | name=St. Paul's Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.providencehealthcare.org/hospitals-residences/st-paul%27s-hospital | email= | address=1081 Burrard St | lat=49.28048 | long=-123.12818 | directions=downtown in the City Centre | phone=+1 604-682-2344 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) | wikidata=Q7591153 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=St. Paul's Hospital has an emergency ward operating 24/7 serving people of all ages, but is smaller and therefore less equipped to handle many patients. Every winter, St. Paul's decorates the front of the Hospital with lights to encourage charitable donations. }} *{{listing | name=Mount Saint Joseph Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.providencehealthcare.org/hospitals-residences/mount-saint-joseph-hospital | email= | address=3080 Prince Edward St | lat=49.25804 | long=-123.09517 | directions= | phone=+1 604-874-1141 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mount Saint Joseph Hospital | wikidata=Q96419005 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=The only hospital on the city's East Side. Its emergency department operates daily 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM, serving people of all ages. }} *{{listing | name=UBC Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.vch.ca/en/location/ubc-hospital | email= | address=2211 Westbrook Mall | lat=49.2642 | long=-123.2458 | directions= | phone=+1 604-822-7121 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=UBC Hospital | wikidata=Q7863802 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=The UBC Hospital emergency department operates daily 8 AM - 8 PM, to people of all ages. }} There are also a number of walk-in clinics around Vancouver. Unfortunately waits are usually around 30-45 min for an appointment. ===Consulates=== * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | url=https://canada.embassy.gov.au/ | email= | address=1075 W Georgia St, Ste 2050 | lat=49.285784 | long=-123.122298 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-1177 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-1856 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | url=https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-vancouver | email= | address=666 Burrard St, Ste 2020 | lat=49.285006 | long=-123.119039 | directions= | phone=+1 604-696-5311 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-696-5366 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China (People's Republic of) | url=http://vancouver.china-consulate.gov.cn/ | email= | address=3380 Granville St | lat=49.255670 | long=-123.138088 | directions= | phone=+1 604-734-7492 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=https://vancouver.consulfrance.org/ | email= | address=1130 W Pender St, Ste 1100 | lat=49.287484 | long=-123.121524 | directions= | phone=+1 604-637-5300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-07-05 | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=https://canada.diplo.de/Vertretung/kanada/en/01/GK__Vancouver/0-vancouver-hauptbereichsseite-eng.html | email= | address=999 Canada Pl, Ste 704 | lat=49.28787 | long=-123.11295 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-8377 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-8334 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | url=https://cgivancouver.gov.in/ | email= | address=325 Howe St, Ste 201 | lat=49.286526 | long=-123.114152 | directions= | phone=+1 604-662-8811 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-682-3556 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://kemlu.go.id/vancouver | email=congen@indonesiavancouver.org | address=1630 Alberni Street | lat=49.29026 | long=-123.13209 | directions= | phone=+1 604-682-8855 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/vancouver/ | email= | address=1300-1095 West Pender St | lat=49.28760 | long=-123.11968 | directions= | phone=+1 236-521-7300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | url=https://www.vancouver.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html | email= | address=1177 W Hastings St, Ste 800 | lat=49.288658 | long=-123.121750 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-5868 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=Korea (Republic of) | alt= | url=https://can-vancouver.mofa.go.kr/ | email= | address=1090 W Georgia St, Ste 1600 | lat=49.285322 | long=-123.123071 | directions= | phone=+1 604-681-9581 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604681-4864 | hours=9AM-4:30PM | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Mexico}} {{listing | name=Mexico | alt= | url=https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/vancouver/index.php/es/ | email= | address=1177 West Hastings Street, Suite 411 | lat=49.287604 | long=123.07 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-1859 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-2485 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/americas/canada/new-zealand-high-commission/ | email=vancouveroffice@nzte.govt.nz | address=1050 W Pender St, Ste 2250 | lat=49.286981 | long=-123.118914 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-7388 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-7333 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=https://vancouver.mae.ro/ | email=vancouver@mae.ro | address=Suite 855, 555 Burrard Street, Two Bentall Centre, V7X 1M8 | lat=49.28634 | long=-123.11907 | directions= | phone=+1 604 633 0757 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=General Consulate. |lastedit=2022-08-10}} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/vancouver | email= | address=999 Canada Pl, Ste 790 | lat=49.28781 | long=-123.11314 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-2231 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-2806 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | url=https://www.taiwanembassy.org/cayvr_en/index.html | email= | address=650 W Georgia St, Ste 2200 | lat=49.281859 | long=-123.117356 | directions= | phone=+1 604-689-4111 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | url=http://www.thaiconsulatevancouver.ca | email= | address=1040 Burrard St | lat=49.280425 | long=-123.125355 | directions= | phone=+1 604-687-1143 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-687-4434 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|the United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | url=https://www.gov.uk/world/canada | email= | address=1111 Melville St, Ste 800 | lat=49.286951 | long=-123.121956 | directions= | phone=+1 604-683-4421 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-681-0693 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|the United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://ca.usembassy.gov/u-s-consulate-vancouver/ | email= | address=1075 W Pender St | lat=49.287604 | long=-123.119689 | directions= | phone=+1 604-685-4311 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-685-7175 | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Go next== ===Nearby municipalities=== There are a number of things to see and do just outside of Vancouver's borders. Some of the most popular are listed below. All of these places are accessible by public transit, or if you have a car, within an hour's drive. * [[North Vancouver]] - Take in the views from Grouse Mountain (The Peak of Vancouver), go for a walk on a suspension bridge or enjoy one of the many outdoor recreation opportunities -- hiking, mountain biking, skiing/snowboarding, kayaking -- on offer. The most popular summer activity in the area is hiking the 'Grouse Grind', a 2.9-km, 853-m elevation gain hike up the side of Grouse mountain. * [[West Vancouver]] - A municipality north of the Lion's gate bridge, en route to Whistler. Home to many beaches, coves, parks and expensive real estate, where breathtaking views of Vancouver can be scoped by driving its higher altitudes. * [[Burnaby]] - Shop till you drop at Metropolis at Metrotown, the largest shopping mall in British Columbia, or relax at one of the large regional parks. Also home to Simon Fraser University's main campus (notable for its brutalist architecture), on top of Burnaby mountain. * [[Port Coquitlam]], [[Coquitlam]] and [[Port Moody]] (the Tri City area) - Half hour drive down Hastings street to the Barnet Highway will bring you to Port Moody, locally known as the City of the Arts. * [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] - City with a large Asian influence with many options for Chinese, Japanese and Korean dining and shopping, one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America and the historic seaside Steveston towards the south offers a quieter, small-town type atmosphere. * [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]]/[[White Rock]] - A 45 minute drive away from Vancouver, famous for its moderate climate and sandy beaches. Surrey is also the place to go for South Asian shopping and watching Bollywood movies. * [[Fort Langley]] - Village with unique shops, restaurants and the site of one of the first forts built in British Columbia. * [[New Westminster]] - Small city on the banks of the Fraser River that was once the capital of British Columbia. * [[Delta (British Columbia)|Delta]] - Made up of three communities separated by farmland; North Delta, Ladner, and Tsawwassen. Ladner has a quaint village-like atmosphere which has attracted several movies to be shot there and is the home of the [https://www.reifelbirdsanctuary.com/ George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary]. Tsawwassen has Boundary Bay Regional Park with its walking trails and bird watching opportunities. ===Day trips=== * [[Bowen Island]] is a popular day trip or weekend excursion offering kayaking, hiking, shops, restaurants, and more. This authentic community is in Howe Sound just off Vancouver, and is accessed by ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. * For those who enjoy outdoor activities, a trek up the [[Sea to Sky]] corridor is essential. [[Squamish]] has branded itself the "Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada" and with an incredible amount of quality rock climbing, mountain biking, white water rafting, hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, fishing, golf, walking trails and more, it certainly deserves the title. Squamish is about half way between Vancouver and Whistler. [[Whistler]] (1.5-hour drive from Vancouver) is expensive but well-known because of the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the winter, enjoy some of the best skiing in North America, and in the summer try some authentic mountain biking. * Another good spot for outdoor activities is [[Mount Baker]] across the border in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. Driving time is about three hours, but border line-ups can add anywhere from a few minutes to several hours onto your trip. * The nearby [[Fraser Valley]] has a number of parks and lakes that are nice for fishing, hiking or relaxing. A popular lake beach destination is in [[Harrison Hot Springs]]. * A geopolitical oddity: [[Point Roberts]], a village that's part of the United States but can only be reached by land through [[Delta (British Columbia)|Delta]], BC. ===Further afield=== * [[Vancouver Island]] is a good spot to move on to from Vancouver. [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]], British Columbia's capital, is a relaxing place. [[Tofino]] is a pretty spot on the island's west coast, good for whale and storm watching and has some of Canada's best surf (if you can brave the cold water). The island is reached by ferry, seaplane and bus. * The [[Southern Gulf Islands]] are also a short ferry ride or float plane flight away. The Southern Gulf Islands are known for their artist communities, wineries, fromageries and farms. These islands also boast incredible opportunities for boating, kayaking, hiking, camping and wildlife viewing in the [[Gulf Islands National Park Reserve]]. * The [[Okanagan]] is a four to five hour drive east, with a large number of wineries, water activities in the summer and skiing in the winter. * The scenery of [[Banff]], [[Banff National Park]] and the [[Rocky Mountains (Canada)|Rocky Mountains]] is a long day's drive (8-9 hours) east. * To the south, in the United States, [[Seattle]] is a two and a half hour drive and [[Portland (Oregon)|Portland]] is a five hour drive (excluding any border line-up). {{routebox | image1=VIA Rail Canadian icon.png | imagesize1=100 | link1=The Canadian | directionl1=W | majorl1=END | minorl1= | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Edmonton]] | minorr1=[[Mission (British Columbia)|Mission]] (EB) / [[Abbotsford]] (WB) | image2=Amtrak Cascades icon.png | imagesize2=100 | link2=Amtrak Cascades | directionl2=&nbsp;N | majorl2=END | minorl2= | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Seattle]] | minorr2={{rint|passport}} → [[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]] | image3=BC-1 (TCH).svg | imagesize3=22 | link3=Trans-Canada Highway | directionl3=W | majorl3=[[Nanaimo]] | minorl3=[[North Vancouver]] | directionr3=E | majorr3=[[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]] | minorr3=[[Burnaby]] | image4=BC-7.svg | imagesize4=22 | directionl4=W | majorl4=END | minorl4= | directionr4=E | majorr4=[[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]] | minorr4=[[Burnaby]] | image5=BC-99.svg | imagesize5=22 | link5=[[Interstate 5]] | directionl5=&nbsp;N | majorl5=[[Whistler]] | minorl5=[[West Vancouver]] | directionr5=S | majorr5=[[Seattle]] / [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]] via [[File:BC-17.svg|18px|link=]] | minorr5=[[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] | image6=Translinkwce.svg | imagesize6=22 | caption6=West Coast Express | directionl6=W | majorl6=END | minorl6= | directionr6=E | majorr6=[[Mission (British Columbia)|Mission]] | minorr6=[[Port Moody]] }} {{IsPartOf|Lower Mainland}} {{guidecity}} {{geo|49.2618|-123.1136|zoom=12}} riuw0vgjtrtzt5v6fb6i6oictebgbtd 5298606 5298582 2026-06-26T05:43:34Z The dog2 35982 5298606 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Vancouver banner Downtown at dusk.jpg|caption=Downtown Vancouver skyline at dusk|dotm=yes|disambig=yes}} {{printDistricts}} [[File:Lions Gate Bridge from seawall path.jpg|thumb|View of Lions Gate Bridge from the [[Vancouver/West End|Stanley Park]] Seawall path.]] '''Vancouver''' occupies an enviable spot in the world. Blessed with miles of coastline, lush vegetation and crowned by the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]] Mountains, it's hard to be there and not stop at some point and be amazed by what you see. But scratch beneath that setting and you find a cosmopolitan city of many faces. It is a mix of old and new, a stopping place for immigrants that have infused the city's neighbourhoods, festivals and food. On one hand, Greater Vancouver is the third largest metropolitan area in [[Canada]], the second biggest destination for visitors to the country and the economic hub of [[British Columbia]]. A modern '''city of glass towers''' with a variety of festivals, cultures and attractions, it has also been host to world events like the 1986 World Exposition and the [[Wikivoyage:Past_events/Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]]. To others, it's '''Vansterdam''', the laid-back socially progressive city with the laissez-faire attitude to marijuana. With its Asian heritage and relative proximity to China and Japan, some see it as the '''gateway to Asia'''; often called '''Hongcouver''' due to the large number of immigrants and political refugees from [[Hong Kong]] living in the area. And with all that nature minutes from your door, Vancouver is a '''haven for outdoor enthusiasts'''. It's one of those rare places you could ski in the mountains, hit one of the many sandy beaches and play a round of golf all in the same day. Vancouver is one of the most culturally diverse and cosmopolitan cities in the world, with just under half its residents born outside Canada. All of this makes it easy to be a local. Walk the Seawall. Spend a day in one of the parks. Indulge in food and treats from around the world at a neighbourhood restaurant. Or just grab a spot at the beach or on a patio and watch it all go by – Vancouver is, after all, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. ==Districts== Vancouverites broadly split the City of Vancouver in three: the Westside, the Eastside (or East Van) and city centre. This split is simply geography: everything west of Ontario St is the Westside, everything east is East Vancouver and everything north of False Creek is the city centre. Each of these areas have their own attractions and neighbourhoods, so time permitting, explore as many as you can. This list covers only the City of Vancouver. For the rest of Greater Vancouver, see [[Lower Mainland]]. ===City Centre=== {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q24639|type=geomask}}{{mapshapes|Q876780}}{{Regionlist | regionmap=Vcr districts.png | regionmaptext=City of Vancouver | regionmapsize=450px | region1name=[[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre (Central Business District)]] | region1color=#42425b | region1description=The financial, shopping and entertainment centre of the city. It has many of Vancouver's most notable landmarks and easy connections to other parts of the city and the Lower Mainland. With its multitude of accommodation and restaurant options, it is the ideal, if pricey, place to base yourself for exploring the city. | region2name=[[Vancouver/West End|Stanley Park and the West End]] | region2color=#b9a05f | region2description=One of the most popular places to hang out in Vancouver, with its beaches, Stanley Park and lots of little shops and eateries. | region3name=[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown-Chinatown]] | region3color=#d66c8a | region3description=The original townsite of Vancouver. Gastown is a mix of kitsch, heritage and urban chic. Chinatown was historically one of the largest Chinatowns in North America. | region4name=[[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown-False Creek]] | region4color=#95223a | region4description=Reclaimed industrial land that is now modern trendy neighbourhoods with some fantastic views along False Creek. The district hosts Vancouver's major spectator sports and was home to the Athlete's Village from the 2010 Winter Olympics and the site of the World Exposition in 1986 (Expo 86). |regionmapLat=49.2499|regionmapLong=-123.1368|regionInteractiveMap=map1|regionmapZoom=11}} ===Outside the city centre=== {{Regionlist | regionmap= | regionmaptext= | regionmapsize= | region1name=[[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano & Granville Island]] | region1color=#d7c293 | region1items= | region1description=The very popular Kitsilano Beach, art studios, the famous Granville Island Public Market and fantastic urban style shopping - particularly 4th Avenue, 10th Avenue and Broadway where chain stores mix with unique independent shops. | region2name=[[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC-Point Grey]] | region2color=#b9b75f | region2items= | region2description=The University of British Columbia campus has a number of attractions, including two sets of gardens and the acclaimed Museum of Anthropology. Nearby is Pacific Spirit Park, and further east in Point Grey, are three large beaches, Jericho Beach, Locarno Beach and Spanish Banks. The UBC campus is also home to the popular clothing optional beach, Wreck Beach. | region3name=[[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant-South Main]] | region3color=#cfb5ff | region3items= | region3description=Main Street is an up and coming artsy part of the city filled with unique shops, eccentric cafes, hip bars, and a number of breweries. Nearby is Queen Elizabeth Park, which is the highest point in Vancouver and has some excellent free gardens. | region4name=[[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|Commercial Drive-Hastings Park]] | region4color=#81b66a | region4items= | region4description=A mostly residential area of the city. Commercial Drive has many ethnic bars and restaurants, as well as an arts scene, such as Art Works BC Gallery, Slive of Life and many others. | region5name=[[Vancouver/South|Vancouver South]] | region5color=#93a7bd | region5items= | region5description=A mostly residential area that includes the Kerrisdale, Dunbar, Oakridge, Marpole, Shaughnessy and Killarney neighbourhoods. }} ==Understand== While Vancouver is a comparatively young city, founded in 1867, its history begins long before. The Coast Salish indigenous peoples (First Nations) have lived in the area for at least 6,000 years. The present city's namesake [[Voyages of George Vancouver|Captain George Vancouver]] sailed through the First Narrows on 13 June 1792, naming Burrard Inlet after his friend Sir Harry Burrard. The first settlement on the downtown peninsula was '''Granville''', on the spot of today's '''Gastown'''. In 1867, the year of [[Canada]]'s confederation, a saloon was built on this site and gave birth to a small shantytown of bars and stores, adjacent to the original mill, on the south shore of what is now the city's harbour. A seemingly endless supply of high-quality lumber was logged and sold through the ports of Gastown and Moodyville, across the inlet. Some of the trees were gigantic beams which were shipped to [[China]] to construct [[Beijing]]'s Imperial Palace. One account maintains that the world's windjammer fleets could not have been built without the trees of Burrard Inlet. Vancouver's first City Hall was little more than a hand-painted sign nailed to a wooden tent post. The arrival of the transcontinental railway, a few years later, spurred growth even more, and by 1892 the area had over 20,000 residents. 18 years later, this figure was over 100,000. Factor in constant growth every year since (many in the double digits), and Greater Vancouver today is Canada's largest metropolitan area west of [[Toronto]] by far, with more than 2,600,000 residents, more than half of British Columbia's population as a whole. It is also the fastest growing part of Canada. During the 1980s and 1990s, Vancouver received a large number of immigrants from Hong Kong fleeing the impending handover to China. Greater Vancouver is today one of the most ethnically diverse metropolitan areas in the world, home to the second largest Chinese population in North America after the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], and with about half its population being born outside Canada. It is also home to a large and influential [[Sikhism|Sikh]] community, and one of the main centres of the Khalistan movement that advocates for the carving out of an independent Sikh nation from India. For many, Vancouver truly "arrived" in 1986, when the city hosted the Expo 86 World's Fair. Media attention from around the world was consistently positive, though many saw the resulting gentrification of poorer areas as being harmful to Vancouver's lower-class citizens, as many residents of the Downtown Eastside were evicted from their [https://grayly.ca/city/e04c7733-5987-42f9-8a6b-2f4bdb3d9910/bc-vancouver homes]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Vancouver also hosted the [[Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]], which was largely seen as another success, though it brought some similar criticisms. Vancouver is perhaps best known for its scenic beauty, and the opportunities afforded by its natural environment. Vancouver is one of those rare places where you could theoretically ski in the mountains, windsurf in the ocean, and play a round of golf all in the same day. Surrounded by water on three sides, and crowned by the North Shore mountains, Vancouver is a great destination, and a great starting point for discovering the area's many outdoor activities. Vancouver is a major sea port on the Pacific Ocean, and a base for many Alaska [[cruise ships]] in the summer. It has the same name as another city in the region, [[Vancouver (Washington)|Vancouver, Washington]] ([[United States of America|United States]]). Vancouver is believed to be the inspiration for the fictional setting of Adventure Bay, in the animated children's television series ''PAW Patrol''. Vancouver's residents enjoy a high standard of living, and the city is consistently ranked among the most livable on Earth. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Vancouver (West End/Vancouver Harbour/Stanley Park) |3.3 |7.4 |236.6 |3.3 |8.4 |117.0 |4.6 |10.5|162.5 |6.9 |13.9|117.7 |10.2|17.8|72.6 |12.8|20.2|65.7 |14.9|23.0|43.5 |14.8|23.0|48.6 |12.1|19.4|71.4 |8.6 |13.9|156.8 |5.3 |9.7 |245.2 |3.2 |7.1 |199.9 |float=right |clear=right | description = {{Forecast/CA|Vancouver|49.245|-123.115}} }} Depending on who you talk to, or perhaps, ''when'', Vancouver's climate is either much maligned or envied. Late fall and winter are typically damp with clouds smothering the sky like a wet grey blanket (there's a reason Vancouver is sometimes referred to as the "Wet Coast"). But there ''are'' benefits to all that rain: it's usually not snowing (unlike most of the rest of Canada) and it leads to a gorgeous display of colour with the start of spring in early March. And that's where Vancouver really shines – the spring and summer. Springs can still be wet, but it gets warmer and the shrubs, blossom trees and flowers put on a pretty show. Summer days are long and usually sunny with little humidity. Summer daylight lasts from 5:15AM to as late as 9:15PM in late June. Summer temperatures from mid-June to early-Sept are mostly comfortable. Temperatures peak in late July and early August with an average daytime highs around {{C|23}} and overnight lows around {{C|15}}. Some particularly hot days can see temperatures climb upwards to {{C|26}} and not go below {{C|17}} at night. Daytime summer highs increase the further east you go, with eastern areas of the city having average daytime highs around {{C|25.6}}, climbing around to or even exceeding {{C|31}} on exceptionally hot days. Spring and fall are cooler and wetter, so packing a mix of cool and warm weather clothing is recommended. If visiting Vancouver between November and March, be prepared for wet weather and cool temperatures. Daytime highs are typically around 5-8°C (40-50°F) while overnight lows will get close to 0°C (32°F) and sometimes colder. December and January are the coldest months, with the most rain and a chance of snow. While Vancouver's winters are not as harsh as those in other major Canadian cities, the city does get a few days of snow in the winter months every year. Sunrises in winter are after 8AM, with darkness setting in prior to 4:15PM in December. ===Visitor information=== * [https://www.destinationvancouver.com Destination Vancouver] no longer has a traditional visitor centre, but keeps a free information telephone line, at +1 604-683-2000. As of June 2025, it operates between 08:00 and 16:00. There is still a small mobile booth which offers maps, brochures and other information for visitors, which as of June 2025 is located at [[w:Canada Place|Canada Place]], the East building of [[w:Vancouver Convention Centre|Vancouver's Convention Centre]], next to the convention centre's information kiosk (with a blue tablecloth). ==Get in== ===By plane=== ====Vancouver International Airport==== {{main|Vancouver International Airport}} * {{go | name=Vancouver International Airport | alt={{IATA|YVR}} | url=https://www.yvr.ca | email=customercallcentre@yvr.ca | address=3211 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond | lat=49.194993 | long=-123.179086 | directions=Sea Island in [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] | phone=+1 604-207-7077 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver International Airport | wikidata=Q321224 | content=The Domestic and International Terminal is the main terminal that most travellers will use, while the South Terminal has prop, small jet, and seaplane service to local communities in British Columbia and Yukon. }} YVR is the second busiest airport in Canada, with frequent flights from cities in [[British Columbia]], the rest of [[Canada]], other [[North America]]n countries, [[Asia]], and [[Europe]]. It is also the only Canadian airport to have direct flights to [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] because of its westerly location. [[File:YVRsalmon-statue.jpg|thumb|Artwork inside [[Vancouver International Airport]]]] [https://www.translink.ca/ TransLink's] '''SkyTrain''' ('''Canada Line''') provides direct service to downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes. The fare from YVR to Vancouver is {{translink|2yvr}} ({{translink|faredate}}), which includes the two-zone base fare of {{translink|2}} plus a {{translink|addfare}} surcharge (the "[https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/transferring-and-addfare YVR AddFare]") incurred only for departures from the airport. Bus N10 runs overnight to Vancouver when the Skytrain service is closed. Route C92 connects the South Terminal with Bridgeport station on the Canada Line during limited daytime hours. The typical travel time from the airport to downtown by taxi is 20-30 minutes. Fares for a taxi ride ''from the airport to'' Vancouver or Richmond are fixed and vary depending on the zone of the destination. The zone map and fixed rates are posted at [https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/transportation/taxis YVR Taxis]. Metered fares apply for all trips going to the airport, and for trips from outside the zones. All taxis that serve the airport are required to accept credit cards. ====Seaplane==== There are floatplane facilities about 300 metres south of YVR's South Terminal and in downtown Vancouver at: * {{go | name=Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre | alt={{IATA|CXH}} | url=https://www.vhfc.ca/ | email= | address=1055 Canada Place | lat=49.290174 | long=-123.117578 | directions=Downtown Vancouver | phone=+1 604-647-7570 | tollfree= | hours=VHFC Terminal opens daily at 7:00 AM. Operating hours change seasonally | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre | wikidata=Q3912738 |lastedit=2026-01-21| content= }} These floatplane facilities offer frequent flights to downtown Vancouver and/or YVR. Flight to downtown Vancouver from [[Comox]] (50 minutes, summer), [[Nanaimo]] harbour (20 minutes), [[Powell River]] (40 minutes), [[Tofino]] (1 hours, summer), [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria's]] Inner Harbour (35 minutes), [[Whistler]] (45 minutes, summer) the scenic [[Southern Gulf Islands]] and other local destinations. Some float plane operators also offer spectacular tours of the central city and nearby attractions starting at about $80-100 per person. A great way to see a panoramic view of downtown. A quick search of Google will bring up websites for most of these float plane operators. See [[Vancouver International Airport]] for seaplane flights that land at that airport. Seaplane airlines operating to downtown Vancouver: * {{Listing|name=Harbour Air|url=https://www.harbourair.com/|email=|phone=+1-604-274-1277|tollfree=+1-800-665-0212|lastedit=2022-04-25|content=Operates seaplane flights mostly to coastal communities in southwestern [[British Columbia]].}} * {{Listing|name=Seair Seaplanes|url=https://www.seairseaplanes.com/|email=|phone=+1-604-273-8900|tollfree=+1-800-447-3247|lastedit=2022-04-25|content=Operates seaplane flights to coastal communities in southwestern [[British Columbia]].}} ==== Helicopter ==== There are heliport facilities at YVR's South Terminal, though most flights operate to: * {{go | name=Helijet | alt= | url=https://helijet.com/ | email= | address=455 Waterfront Rd W | lat=49.2864 | long=-123.106659 | directions=near Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver | phone= | tollfree=+1-800-665-4354 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Helijet | wikidata=Q4040522 | content=Operates helicopter service from the downtown heliport next to Waterfront Station, providing quick and convenient connections to [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]] and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) south terminal. }} ====Other nearby airports==== *{{go | name=[[Abbotsford#By_plane|Abbotsford International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|YXX}} | url= | email= | address=30440 Liberator Ave, Abbotsford | lat=49.022837 | long=-122.38026 | directions=[[Abbotsford]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Abbotsford International Airport | wikidata=Q969671 | content=Around about {{km|60}} east of Vancouver in [[Abbotsford]] is Vancouver's alternate airport. It handles mostly domestic and low-cost carrier flights and, with an arranged ride, you can be in and out of this airport in under 10 min (with no checked in baggage). The best way to reach Vancouver from Abbotsford Airport is by car: take the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) west. The drive will take 45&ndash;90 minutes, depending on traffic. There is no public transit link to this airport, but two intercity bus operators have stops at this airport and Vancouver's Pacific Central Station (see "By bus"). Car rentals are available at the airport. }} * {{go| name=[[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|SEA}} | url=https://www.portseattle.org/sea-tac | address=17801 International Blvd, Seattle, WA | lat=47.443438 | long=-122.302111 | directions=between [[Seattle]] and [[Tacoma]] | wikidata=Q14295 | wikipedia=Seattle-Tacoma International Airport | content=Flying in and out of [[Seattle]], particularly for US destinations, and then using the bus, train, or car rental for travel to and from Vancouver can be a considerably less expensive option than buying a direct flight to the airport of Vancouver or Abbotsford. If required for your nationality, you will need a U.S. visa, and this could take some time to procure. For budget travellers, you may wish to consider checking flights to and from here. See "By bus" and "By train" for intercity travel options to Seattle. One bus operator provides direct access from the airport to Vancouver. Otherwise, travellers can take Link rail rapid transit between the airport and near Seattle's downtown, where multiple bus options and a train option to Vancouver are available. }} *{{go | name=[[Bellingham_(Washington)#By plane|Bellingham International Airport]] | alt={{IATA|BLI}} | url= | email= | address=4255 Mitchell Way, Bellingham, Washington | lat=48.795579 | long=-122.533055 | directions=[[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Bellingham International Airport | wikidata=Q1657287 | content=[https://www.portofbellingham.com/888/Airport] About an hour from Vancouver (plus border time), and serves mainly as a launching point for budget-minded Canadian travellers vacationing in the U.S.: excellent service from [[Hawaii]] and [[Las Vegas]], but few other useful connections. Also offers connecting service through [[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]]. Shuttle buses to Vancouver run for $39 round trip. See "By bus" and "By train" for intercity travel options to Bellingham. One bus operator provides direct access from the airport to Vancouver. Otherwise, travellers can catch a bus (Monday to Saturday) or taxi between the airport and the other bus option and a train option to Vancouver. }} ===By car=== {{see also|Lower Mainland#By car}} The main highway into Vancouver from the east is '''Highway 1''' ([[Trans-Canada Highway]]). This road skirts the eastern edge of Vancouver, so if you want to get into the city, you will need to exit off it at Grandview Highway (exit 28A), 1st Avenue (exit 27) or Hastings Street (exit 26). Most major highways from interior British Columbia converge at [[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]], {{km|143}} east of Vancouver, then following the Trans-Canada Highway west into Vancouver. From the U.S./Canada border south of the city, '''Highway 99''', which links up with U.S. [[Interstate 5]], runs north to Vancouver. The freeway ends after the Oak Street Bridge, turning into Oak Street heading north. Drivers with a downtown destination will need to get onto Granville Street (parallel to Oak St to the west), or Cambie Street (parallel to the east), in order to get on the Granville Street or Cambie Street bridges which cross False Creek into the downtown peninsula. If you are coming from the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]] or other points further north, the only way into Vancouver is by bridge. Your options are the '''Lions Gate Bridge''' (Hwy 99) which brings you into Stanley Park and Vancouver's [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] or the '''Second Narrows Bridge/Ironworkers Memorial Bridge''' (Hwy 1) which brings you into the neighbourhoods of [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]]. ===By bus=== Many bus services reach the Vancouver area, most of which terminate at Pacific Central Station (see "By train" below for the location and directions). A number of bus services also have additional pick-up and drop-off stops at hotels in downtown Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, White Rock and in a number of places in the surrounding areas as well as from the airport. Not all bus lines serve the Pacific Central Station either. Buses cross the U.S./Canada border at an alternate crossing point (for trucks and buses) 5 mi/8 km east of the Peace Arch Park (BC Hwy 99/I-5) along BC Hwy 15/WA Hwy 543. Below are examples of bus lines with scheduled routes that reach the Vancouver area from various places nearby and afar in Canada and the United States: * {{listing | name=BC Ferries Connector | alt=Wilson's Transportation Group | url=https://bcfconnector.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1 250 475-3235 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q126686442 | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Connects Vancouver to [[Victoria_(British Columbia)|Victoria]] via Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry. Trip time to Vancouver from Victoria is 4 hours. }} * {{listing | name=BC Transit (Central Fraser Valley Transit System) | alt= | url=https://www.bctransit.com/central-fraser-valley/home | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Lougheed Town Centre station on SkyTrain's Expo Line and Millennium Line | phone=+1-604-854-3232 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=BC Transit | wikidata=Q4179186 | lastedit=2022-03-27 | content=Offers a route between [[Burnaby]] and [[Chilliwack]] with stops in [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]] and [[Abbotsford]]. Trip time to Burnaby from Chilliwack is 90 minutes and from Abbotsford is 52 minutes. }} * {{listing | name=Cantrail | alt=Amtrak Thruway | url=https://www.cantrail.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1 604-294-5541 | tollfree=+1-877-940-5561 | fax= | hours= | price=$40 for one-way, $75 round trip; discounts for students, military, seniors & children ages 4-11 |lastedit=2022-03-25| content=Operates express buses between the Seattle King St Station (Amtrak) and Vancouver. They also make an additional scheduled stop at the Sandman Signature Hotel (10251 St Edwards in Richmond) to pick-up on the southbound trip and drop off only going northbound. Travel time to Vancouver from Seattle is 3.5 to 4 hours. To pay in US dollars or Amtrak rewards points, book on the Amtrak website. }} * {{go | name=Ebus | alt= | url=https://myebus.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Stops at Pacific Central Station | phone= | tollfree=+1 877-769-3287 | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7122769 | lastedit=2022-03-19 | content=Travels daily from [[Calgary]], [[Kamloops]], and [[Kelowna]] (via [[Salmon Arm]]), with stops in [[Merritt]], [[Hope_(British_Columbia)|Hope]], [[Chilliwack]], [[Abbotsford]], and [[Surrey_(British_Columbia)|Surrey]]. Travel times to Vancouver from Kamloops is 4.5-4.75 hours, from Kelowna is 5.5 hours, from Hope is 2.5 hours, and from Abbotsford is 1.25 hours. Same day transfers at Kamloops from [[Prince George]] are available three days per week. }} * {{listing | name=Epic Rides | alt= | url=https://epicrides.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Hyatt Regency hotel, which is adjacent to Burrard station on SkyTrain's Expo Line; the stop is outside of the Hyatt's Melville St entrance | phone=+1 604-349-1234 | tollfree=5 | hours= | price=$24 one way or $35 return | wikidata=Q7122769 | lastedit=2022-04-04 | content=Direct bus to [[Whistler]] from the downtown Vancouver (year round). Additional winter stops at UBC (Thunderbird Blvd), Indigo Bookstore at Broadway & Granville, and Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard & Comox. Travel time to downtown Vancouver from Whistler is 1.75 hours. }} * {{listing | name=FlixBus | alt= | url=https://www.flixbus.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station and Waterfront station (SkyTrain Expo Line and Canada Line) | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=FlixBus | wikidata=Q15712258 | lastedit=2022-05-24 | content=Bus service between Vancouver and [[Seattle]] including stops in [[Everett (Washington)|Everett]] and [[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]]. Some trips also stop at [[Seattle-Tacoma International Airport]]. Travel time to Vancouver (at Pacific Central Station) from Seattle is 4-4.5 hours and from Bellingham is 2 hours. Travel time is an additional 15 minutes for travel to Waterfront station. }} * {{listing | name=Greyhound Lines | alt= | url=https://www.greyhound.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1 214-849-8100 | tollfree=+1-800-231-2222 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Greyhound Lines | wikidata=Q755309 | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Connects Vancouver with [[Seattle]] (via Coquitlam, [[Bellingham_(Washington)|Bellingham]], [[Mount Vernon_(Washington)|Mt Vernon]] and Everett along Hwy 15/I-5). Passengers transfer in [[Seattle#By bus|Seattle]] or [[Portland_(Oregon)#By bus|Portland]] to continue to other cities in the United States. Trip time to Vancouver from Seattle is 4.25 hours and from Bellingham is 2 hours. }} * {{listing | name=Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service | alt= | url=https://mountainmanmikes.ca/ | email=info@mountainmanmikes.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station | phone=+1-778-382-7729 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-03-19 | content=Twice per week service between [[Kaslo]] and Vancouver with stops in [[Ainsworth_Hot_Springs-Balfour|Balfour]], [[Nelson_(British_Columbia)|Nelson]], [[Castlegar]], [[Christina Lake]], [[Grand_Forks_(British_Columbia)|Grand Forks]], [[Greenwood (British Columbia)|Greenwood]], Rock Creek, [[Osoyoos]], [[Keremeos]], [[Princeton_(British_Columbia)|Princeton]], [[Manning Provincial Park]], [[Hope_(British_Columbia)|Hope]], [[Chilliwack]], [[Abbotsford]], [[Langley_(British_Columbia)|Langley]], and [[New Westminster]]. Trip time to Vancouver from Kaslo is 10.75 hours, from Nelson is 9.75 hours, from Castlegar is 9 hours, from Grand Forks is 7.5 hours, from Osoyoos is 6 hours, from Princeton is 4.75 hours, from Hope is 2.25 hours, and from Abbotsford is 1.5 hours. This service provider also offers a weekly route between Kalso and [[Calgary]] via Nelson. }} * {{listing | name=Perimeter Transportation | alt= | url=https://www.perimeterbus.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Fairmont Hotel & Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Vancouver; the Hyatt Regency is adjacent to Burrard station on Skytrain's Expo Line | phone=+1 604-717-6600 | tollfree=+1-877-717-6606 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-04 | content=Travel between [[Whistler]] and [[Vancouver International Airport]] with stops in [[Squamish]] and in downtown Vancouver. Travel time to downtown Vancouver from Whistler is 2 hours, from Squamish is 1 hour, and from the airport is 1 hour. }} * {{listing | name=Quick Coach | alt= | url=https://www.quickcoach.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Canada Place Pier at 999 Canada Place and at several Vancouver downtown hotels | phone=+1 604-940-4428 | tollfree=+1-800-665-2122 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-04-04 | content=Express bus between [[Seattle Tacoma International Airport|SeaTac Airport]] and Vancouver via downtown Seattle, Tulalip Casino in [[Marysville (Washington)|Marysville]], [[Bellingham_(Washington)#By plane|Bellingham Airport]]. Northbound buses going to Canada only pick up passengers in the U.S. while southbound buses going to Seattle only drop off in the U.S. They make additional scheduled stops at the downtown Holiday Inn (1110 Howe St); River Rock Casino (8811 River Rd Resort) and the Campbell River Store (790 176th St, Surrey). Additional hotel stops can be arranged with a 24-hr reservation. Southbound buses pick-up in Vancouver while northbound bus drop off only. Trip time to downtown Vancouver from Seattle International Airport is 6.25 hours, from downtown Seattle is 5.25 hours, and from Bellingham International Airport is 3 hours. }} * {{listing | name=Red Arrow | alt= | url=https://www.redarrow.ca/ | email=customerservice@redarrow.ca | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-800-232-1958 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-08 | content=Premium service from [[Abbotsford]] and [[Kelowna]] featuring spacious seating (only three seats to a row) and workstation seats with electrical connections for business travelers and their computers. }} * {{go | name=Rider Express | alt= | url=https://riderexpress.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station | phone= | tollfree=+1-833-583-3636 | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q126627111 | lastedit=2022-04-02 | content=Multiple days per week service along the Trans-Canada Highway from between [[Calgary]] and Vancouver with stops in [[Canmore]], [[Banff]], [[Lake Louise]], [[Golden (British Columbia)|Golden]], [[Revelstoke]], [[Sicamous]], [[Salmon Arm]], Sorrento, Chase, [[Kamloops]], [[Merritt]], [[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]], [[Chilliwack]], [[Abbotsford]], and [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]]. Trip time to Vancouver from Calgary is 14 hours, from Banff is 12.5 hours, from Lake Louise is 11.75 hours, from Golden is 10.25 hours, from Revelstoke is 8.25 hours, from Salmon Arm is 6.5 hours, from Kamloops is 4.75 hours, from Hope is 2.25 hours, and from Abbotsford is 1.25 hours. In Salmon Arm, this service provider offers some trips with timed connections with its route between Salmon Arm and [[Kelowna]]. In Calgary, this service provider has routes that reach [[Edmonton]]. The service provider also has routes that allow travel as far east as [[Winnipeg]]. }} * {{listing | name=YVR Skylynx | alt= | url=https://yvrskylynx.com/ | email=info@yvrskylynx.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions=stops at Pacific Central Station and in downtown Vancouver | phone=+1-604-326-1616 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=YVR Skylynx | wikidata=Q60786665 | lastedit=2022-04-05 | content=Operates a daily bus route between [[Vancouver International Airport]] and [[Whistler]] with stops in Vancouver (Pacific Central Station and downtown) and [[Squamish]]. Travel time to Pacific Central Station from the airport is 40 minutes, from Squamish is 1 hour 20 minutes, and from Whistler is 2 hours 20 minutes. }} <!-- As of May 2021, Tofino Bus does not leave the island. * {{listing | name=Tofino Bus | alt= | url=https://viconnector.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 250-725-2871 | tollfree=+1-866-986-3466 | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-03-25 | content=Goes up [[Courtenay]], [[Campbell River]], Parksville and [[Tofino]] via [[Nanaimo]] on [[Vancouver Island]] via Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay ferry. They also have additional routes from Nanaimo to Victoria and Port Hardy. }} --> ===By train=== [[File:CN Rail Station - VIA Rail Station.JPG|thumb|Pacific Central Station]] {{Seealso|Rail travel in Canada}} Taking the train to Vancouver is unlikely to be the cheapest option, but it is a scenic one. Train stations: * {{go | name=Pacific Central Station | alt= | url=https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/stations/rockies-and-pacific/vancouver | email= | address=1150 Station Street | lat=49.273862 | long=-123.097934 | directions=one block north-east of Main St-Science World station on SkyTrain's Expo Line | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pacific Central Station | wikidata=Q1327751 | lastedit=2022-03-25 | content=Most trains and many intercity bus routes to the Vancouver area stop at this station. It is also a short taxi ride into the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business area]]. }} Train options include: ** {{listing | name=Amtrak | alt= | url=https://www.amtrak.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 215-856-7924 | tollfree=+1-800-872-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Amtrak | wikidata=Q23239 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates trains across the [[United States of America|United States]]. }} *** '''[[Amtrak Cascades]]''' operates between Vancouver, BC and [[Eugene]] via [[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]], [[Mount Vernon (Washington)|Mount Vernon]], [[Everett (Washington)|Everett]], [[Edmonds]], [[Seattle]], [[Tukwila]], [[Tacoma]], [[Lacey]] ([[Olympia (Washington)|Olympia]]), [[Centralia (Washington)|Centralia]], [[Kelso (Washington)|Kelso]] ([[Longview (Washington)|Longview]]), [[Vancouver (Washington)|Vancouver, WA]], [[Portland (Oregon)|Portland,]] [[Oregon City]], [[Salem (Oregon)|Salem]], and [[Albany (Oregon)|Albany]]. Travel time to Vancouver, BC from Portland is 8 hours, from Tacoma is 5.5 hours, from Seattle is 4 hours, and from Bellingham is 2 hours. There is one round trip daily between Vancouver and Portland, and one round trip between Vancouver and Seattle. Over the whole route, there are two round trips daily along the portion between Vancouver and Seattle, four round trips daily along the portion between Seattle and Portland, and two round trips daily along the portion between Portland and Eugene. No train departures travel the whole length of the route. Additional service between Vancouver and Seattle, and between Portland to Eugene are provided on the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach. Connections to additional '''[[Amtrak|Amtrak trains]]''' are in [[Seattle#By train|Seattle]]. When traveling on the Amtrak Cascades, border control takes place at Pacific Central station both for departing travelers to the United States and arriving passengers from the United States. ** {{listing | name=VIA Rail Canada | alt= | url=https://www.viarail.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-842-7245 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Via Rail | wikidata=Q876720 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates train routes across [[Canada]]. }} *** Operates ''[[The Canadian]]'' up to three trips per week between [[Toronto]] and Vancouver with stops in both directions in medium to large cities and tourist destinations such as [[Sudbury (Ontario)|Sudbury]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Portage la Prairie]], [[Saskatoon]], [[Edmonton]], [[Jasper]], and [[Kamloops]]. This route can offer a scenic view of the [[Canadian Rockies]], depending on the train schedule, as the train operates day and night. Travel time to Vancouver from Toronto is 4 days 1.25 hours, from Sudbury is 3 days 18 hours, from Winnipeg is 2 days 10.5 hours, from Saskatoon is 1 day 22.25 hours, from Edmonton is 1 day 9 hours, from Jasper 23.5 hours, and from Kamloops is 11 hours. This service connects with another route that travels between Jasper and [[Prince Rupert]]. *{{go | name=Waterfront station | alt= | url= | email= | address=601 West Cordova Street | lat= | long= | directions=Served by the Skytrain | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q1625437 | lastedit=2025-01-09 | content=Serves West Coast Express commuter trains from [[Mission (British Columbia)|Mission]]. Trains only run during rush hour in the peak direction. }} *{{go | name=Rocky Mountaineer station | alt= | url= | email= | address=1755 Cottrell St | lat=49.2686 | long=-123.08593 | directions=from Pacific Central Station, head east on Terminal Ave and south on Cottrell St | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rocky Mountaineer Station | wikidata=Q7355946 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Located 1.5 km east of Pacific Central Station. The nearest public transit is 800 m away on Clark Drive. }} ** [[File:East side of RM Stn exterior.jpg|thumb|Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver]]{{go | name=Rocky Mountaineer | alt= | url=https://www.rockymountaineer.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-877-460-3200 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rocky Mountaineer | wikidata=Q2160819 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates the [[Rocky Mountaineer]] luxury tourist train routes between Vancouver and [[Banff]], [[Lake Louise]] and [[Jasper]] three times a week from April to October. This route offers a scenic view of the Canadian Rockies and only operates during the daytime, with an overnight stop in [[Kamloops]]. }} ===By boat=== ==== By ferry ==== * {{listing | name=BC Ferries | alt= | url=https://www.bcferries.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree=+1-888-223-3779 | hours= | price= | wikipedia=BC Ferries | wikidata=Q795723 | lastedit=2022-03-31 | content=Operates ferry routes connecting coastal communities in British Columbia. The ferries carry vehicles and passengers. }} To reach the Vancouver area from other coastal communities, travellers need to reach either of the following ferry terminals: ** {{marker|type=go|name=Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay)|wikidata=Q1628996|lat=49.3754|long=-123.2717|url=https://www.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/vancouver-horseshoe-bay/HSB}}, in West Vancouver. Ferries travel between this terminal, and [[Bowen Island]] (Snug Cove) in 20 minutes, [[Nanaimo]] (Departure Bay) in 1 hour 40 minutes, and the [[Sunshine Coast (British Columbia)|Sunshine Coast]] (Langdale) in 40 minutes. See [[West Vancouver#By boat|West Vancouver]] for more information. ** {{marker|type=go|name=Vancouver (Tsawwassen)|wikidata=Q1656648|lat=49.0073|long=-123.1306|url=https://www.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/vancouver-tsawwassen/TSA}}, in south Delta. Ferries travel between this terminal and Nanaimo (Duke Point) in 2 hours and [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]] (Swartz Bay) near [[Sidney (British Columbia)|Sidney]] on [[Vancouver Island]] in 1 hour 35 minutes. Ferries also connect this terminal with five of the [[Southern Gulf Islands]]. See [[Delta (British Columbia)#By boat|Delta]] for more information. * {{Go|name=Hullo|url=https://hullo.com/|address=28 - 1055 Canada Place|lat=49.29029|long=-123.11638|lastedit=2024-02-21|content=Operates daily passenger only ferry trips between [[Nanaimo]] and downtown Vancouver, taking 1.25 hours each way. A single carry-on-sized bag and a personal bag are permitted with passengers, and otherwise there is an additional charge per bag. Compared to BC Ferries, Hullo has the advantages of the trip to or from Vancouver being faster and that there will be WiFi on board, but the least expensive fare on Hullo is more than double the fare to travel on BC Ferries. The nearest public transit to Hullo's Vancouver ferry terminal is about 400 metres away and there is public transit that stops at Hullo's Nanaimo ferry terminal.|wikidata=Q121988685}} [[File:Vancouver (BC, Canada), Canada Place -- 2022 -- 1847.jpg|thumb|Canada Place]] ==== By cruise ship ==== [[File:Vancouver cruise.jpg|thumb|A cruise ship passing under Lions Gate Bridge]] [https://www.portvancouver.com/ Port Metro Vancouver] is the home port for the popular Vancouver-[[Alaska]] cruise. From late April to early October, more than 3/4 million visitors pass through the cruise ship terminal in Port Metro Vancouver. {{go | name=Canada Place Terminal| alt= | url=https://www.canadaplace.ca/ | email= | address= | lat=49.288825 | long=-123.110293 | wikidata=Q1032014| wikipedia=Canada Place | directions=One block west and one block north of Waterfront station on SkyTrain's Expo and Canada Lines. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-03-25| content=It's on the waterfront and a few minutes' walk to the heart of downtown Vancouver or Waterfront Station. It is the primary cruise ship terminal. Canada Place was built for Expo86 and is recognized by its dramatic rooftop that looks like five white sails. A full range of ground transportation, excellent hotels, shopping, dining, entertainment, and attractions is available at Canada Place. }} '''US passport holders''' may be able to participate in "Onboard Check-in” and “US Direct" to streamline processing at the cruise ship and the airport. '''US Direct''' allows passengers arriving at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to transfer directly to a same-day-departing cruise ship by participating in expedited immigration and customs clearance process. '''Onboard Check-in''' allows passengers arriving on a cruise ship and flying out of YVR on the same day to transfer directly to YVR by participating in an expedited immigration and customs clearance process. These programs do not apply to passengers who are planning a pre- or post-cruise stay in Vancouver. Not all cruise lines participate, so check with your cruise line to see if you can take advantage of the Onboard Check-in/US Direct program. ==Get around== Vancouver is one of the few major cities in North America without a freeway leading directly into the downtown core (freeway proposals in the 1960s and 1970s were defeated by community opposition). As a result, development has taken a different course than in most other major North American cities resulting in a relatively high use of transit and cycling, a dense, walkable core and a development model that is studied and emulated elsewhere. === By public transit === {{listing | name=TransLink | alt= | url=https://www.translink.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1-604-953-3333 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=TransLink (British Columbia) | wikidata=Q1142140 | lastedit=2022-03-27 | content=The main public transit network in the Vancouver area, including: [[Bowen Island]], [[Burnaby]], [[Coquitlam]], [[Delta (British Columbia)|Delta]], [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]], [[Lions_Bay-Britannia_Beach|Lions Bay]], [[Maple Ridge]], [[New Westminster]], [[North Vancouver]], [[Port Coquitlam]], [[Pitt Meadows]], [[Port Moody]], [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]], [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]], Vancouver, [[West Vancouver]], and [[White Rock]]. Its network includes buses, SkyTrain (rail rapid transit), SeaBus (ferries), West Coast Express (commuter rail), and HandyDART (door-to-door shared-ride service for those who cannot ride public transit without assistance). }} '''[https://www.translink.ca TransLink's]''' website and customer information line both offer trip planning and information about fares, where to buy tickets and the refund policy. A regional transportation map is widely available at convenience stores and on TransLink’s website. TransLink does not have a mobile app, but [https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps], [https://transitapp.com/region/vancouver Transit] and [https://citymapper.com/vancouver?set_region=ca-vancouver Citymapper] all have access to TransLink's GPS data to show current route information and estimated arrival times. ====Fares and zones==== [[File:TransLink-FareMap-20091108.svg|thumb|TransLink fare zone map]] TransLink breaks Metro Vancouver into three fare zones; your fare depends on the number of zones you travel in. The standard adult fare is {{translink|1}} for all bus trips across Metro Vancouver and SkyTrain travel within the City of Vancouver (Zone 1). It also covers all travel system-wide at off-peak times: weekends, holidays, and weekday evenings after 6:30PM. Travel out of Vancouver on the SkyTrain or SeaBus crosses fare zone boundaries and costs {{translink|2}} to {{translink|3}} on weekdays before 6:30PM. After paying fare, you can transfer or re-board an unlimited number of times at no extra charge for 90 minutes. Compass Card and Compass Ticket users have no restrictions on transferring between modes of transit, but bus riders paying cash fare can only transfer to other buses. Contactless credit and debit cards can be used directly at ticket gates, eliminating the need to buy a separate ticket. Upon final tap-in within the 90-minute window, Compass Card and Compass Ticket users have an additional 120 minutes to tap out at their final destination. Tapping out after this time will result in another fare being charged. {| class="wikitable" |+ Standard transit fares for the City of Vancouver ({{translink|faredate}}) |- ! Number of Zones !! What it covers !! Adult Fare !! Concession Fare |- | 1 Zone || Travel within the city of Vancouver || {{translink|1}} || {{translink|1c}} |- | 2 Zones || Travel between Vancouver and [[North Vancouver]], [[West Vancouver]], [[Burnaby]], [[New Westminster]] and [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] || {{translink|2}} || {{translink|2c}} |- | 3 Zones || Travel between Vancouver and all other destinations || {{translink|3}} || {{translink|3c}} |} Fares paid using Compass Card (see next section) are discounted and cost between {{translink|1cc}} and {{translink|3cc}} for an adult fare. '''Concession fares''' are available for youth (13-18) and seniors (65+), with ID. Children age 12 or younger are free. ====Paying for your fare: Compass==== {{infobox|The Compass Card|TransLink's '''Compass Card''' is a reusable smart card for paying fare electronically on all buses, the SkyTrain, the SeaBus, and the West Coast Express. '''Riders using the Compass Card pay the discounted FareSaver fare on each trip''', with unlimited free transfers and re-boarding for 90 minutes after the first tap-in. Fare is deducted from the card's stored value. Compass Cards can also carry daily and monthly passes. Tap ''in'' at the start of every trip on any vehicle, and tap ''out'' every time you exit through a fare gate. Bus riders do not tap ''out''. Doing this lets the system calculate the right fare. Get more information about the Compass Card [https://www.compasscard.ca CompassCard.ca online]. Riders without Compass Cards can buy single-use Compass Tickets instead for the SkyTrain or SeaBus. Contactless American Express, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards, and contactless Interac debit cards (along with mobile payments software) can also be used at Compass readers to pay for a ticket. Buses still accept cash fare, but bus transfers purchased with cash cannot be used on the SkyTrain or SeaBus.}} '''[https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/compass-card Compass]''' is the electronic fare system for buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus and the West Coast Express. Buses still accept cash when you board, but fare gates at SkyTrain and SeaBus station only accept Compass. There are two Compass choices: *'''Compass Ticket''' — A white ticket that is good for one trip. The DayPass &ndash; unlimited travel on bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus across all zones for one day &ndash; can also be purchased as a Compass Ticket; and *'''Compass Card''' — A reusable smart card that can store value, load passes and offers discounted fares. Blue cards are for adult fares, orange cards are for concession fares. See the infobox for more information. Compass Tickets and Adult Compass Cards can be purchased from the Compass Vending Machines in SkyTrain and SeaBus stations and some London Drugs locations. All types of cards and tickets may be purchased over the counter at some 7-Eleven, Safeway, London Drugs, Shoppers Drug Mart locations, and the TransLink Customer Service Centre at Waterfront station. TransLink's website has a handy [https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/where-to-buy map] showing the locations of Compass retailers and Compass Vending Machines. The vending machines accept cash, Interac debit cards, and Visa or MasterCard credit card. American Express can only be used to buy a card or ticket from a retail location. '''The purchase of a Compass Card requires a $6 deposit.''' The deposit is refundable if you return your Compass Card to or mail a Refund Request form to the Compass Customer Service Centre, but if your remaining cash balance is above $20, the only way to get back the balance is to have a cheque mailed out, so make sure to use up your balance before you do so. '''Tap in''' with your Compass Card or Ticket at the start of every trip on any vehicle, and '''tap out''' every time you exit through a fare gate. Bus riders do not tap ''out''. Doing this lets the system calculate the right fare. If you're travelling in a group, Compass Tickets and Cards cannot be shared between group members. Each person will need their own ticket or card to tap in and out of the fare gates. Mastercard and Visa credit cards can also be used at Compass readers/fare gates for an adult fare. When you tap-in, your card will be pre-authorized for a three zone fare. When you tap-out, the fare will be calculated according to the zones travelled. Mobile wallets (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay) also work, just make sure your phone will have enough battery so you can tap-out at the end of your journey. Debit cards still work at Compass vending machines, but not at Compass readers. Find out [https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/compass-card how to pay fares and where to buy passes and TransLink's refund policy]. ====Passes and stored value==== If you are going to make heavy use of the transit system, passes can be loaded onto a Compass Card. * A '''DayPass''' is a money-saving option for travellers who will use public transit heavily for one day. For {{translink|day}} (or {{translink|dayc}} concession) ({{translink|faredate}}), it offers unlimited travel across Metro Vancouver on bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus until the end of the service day, late at night. * '''Monthly passes''' can save you money if you will be using transit almost daily for a month. They cost between {{translink|1m}} and {{translink|3m}} (or {{translink|mthc}} concession) depending on the number of zones. ==== Buses ==== [[File:Vancouver Transit Network Map.png|thumb|450px|Vancouver's rapid transit network]] The '''bus''' service covers the widest area and travels along most major streets in the city. Many of the routes within the City of Vancouver are electric trolley buses, powered by overhead wires. A limited stop express bus line called the '''RapidBus''' serves, not only Vancouver, but the entire lower mainland (Metro Vancouver) RapidBus gets a priority lane in traffic, There are 6 different RapidBus Routes. When boarding the RapidBus, It's all door-boarding, and passengers must either tap in with their Compass Card or Compass Ticket, buy a ticket with cash, (exact change required, coins only), or present a ticket to the driver. To buy a ticket with cash, passengers must enter through the front door. The 6 RapidBus Routes are: *'''R1 King George Blvd''' (operates in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey)]] *'''R2 Marine Drive''' (operates in [[North Vancouver]] and [[West Vancouver]]) *'''R3 Lougheed Highway''' (operates in [[Coquitlam]], [[Port Coquitlam]], [[Pitt Meadows]], [[Maple Ridge]]) *'''R4 41st Ave''' (operates in Vancouver's [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]] and [[Vancouver/South|South Vancouver]] areas) *[[File:Vancouver trolley bus - New Flyer E60LFR.jpg|thumb|An electric trolley bus in Vancouver]]'''R5 Hastings Street''' (operates in Vancouver's [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]], [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown-Chinatown]] and [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]], and in [[Burnaby]]) *'''R6 Scott Road''' (operates in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey)]] Similar to RapidBus, is the '''99''' '''B-Line''', which is a limited stop express bus route that travels along Broadway Avenue (operates in Vancouver's [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]], [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]], [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]], and [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]]). The portion of this route east of Arbutus St is to be replaced by an extension of the Millennium Line opening in 2027. Cash fare on any bus to anywhere at any time is a flat {{translink|1}}. Because of this, Compass Card users only tap ''in'' when boarding the bus, and never tap ''out'' when stepping off, unlike with all other modes of transit. Every bus stop in Metro Vancouver has a unique five-digit bus stop number (the yellow number at the top of the bus stop sign). Send an SMS with that stop number to '''33333''' to get the next six scheduled bus arrival times. Standard text messaging rates apply. TransLink does not operate an app, but many third party apps (such as Google Maps) can be used to get transit times, additionally a mobile website is available. Many popular bus stops include a digital display with estimated bus arrival times. The stops for the RapidBus, have an electronic, real time, bus schedule. ==== SkyTrain ==== [[File:Vancouver Skytrain Rupert station train.jpg|thumb|The driverless SkyTrain at Rupert station]]The '''SkyTrain''' is a mostly elevated, fully automated rapid transit system connecting [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]] with some of its suburbs to the south and east. Trains depart frequently throughout the day, on tracks separated from other traffic at up to 80 km/h. * The '''Expo Line''' runs from Waterfront Station in [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]] through [[Burnaby]] and [[New Westminster]] to Columbia Station, where it splits with some trips going to King George Station in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]] and the other track going to University/Production Way station in Burnaby. An eastern extension to Langley is expected to open in 2029. * The '''Millennium Line''' runs east-west from VCC-Clark in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] through northern [[Burnaby]] to Lougheed Station, and then continues on to [[Port Moody]] and [[Coquitlam]] via the Evergreen Extension. A western extension along Broadway to Arbutus St is expected to open in 2027. * The '''Canada Line''' runs from Waterfront Station in [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]] south to Bridgeport Station, where it splits with some trips to [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]]'s city centre and some trips to [[Vancouver International Airport|Vancouver International Airport's]] domestic and international terminals. Key SkyTrain stations include: * '''Commercial-Broadway''' &ndash; accesses restaurants and shopping on Commercial Drive in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Vancouver]] and transfer point to the 99 B-Line bus to [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]]. Meeting point for the Expo Line and Millennium Line. * '''Burrard''' and '''Granville''' &ndash; the most central stations in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. You can also connect to the R5 Hastings Street RapidBus route at Burrard station. * '''Waterfront''' &ndash; meeting point for Expo Line and Canada Line, the SeaBus, numerous commuter and rapid bus routes, and the commuter rail West Coast Express. It also accesses [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]] and is right next to the Canada Place Convention Centre/Cruise Ship Terminal facilities. The fare on SkyTrain depends on how many zones you travel through and what time you're travelling. The City of Vancouver is Zone 1. Close-in suburbs like Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, and North Vancouver are Zone 2. Farther-out suburbs south of the Fraser River or east of Burnaby are Zone 3. At peak times, Compass Card users pay between {{translink|1cc}} and {{translink|3cc}}, and riders paying cash fare pay {{translink|1}} to {{translink|3}} (all fares are standard adult fare). At off-peak times, passengers pay the one-zone. Compass Card users tap in and out each time they pass through the fare gates. If you forget to tap in or out, you will be charged the maximum fare. People choosing not to use Compass Cards can buy single-use Compass Tickets instead. [[File:Burrard Otter with Vancouver skyline 2.JPG|thumb|SeaBus]] ==== SeaBus ==== The '''SeaBus''' is a passenger ferry that connects Waterfront Station [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown]] to Lonsdale Quay in [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Vancouver]]. It generally runs every 15 minutes until the 9:16PM departure, after which it runs every 30 minutes until last sailing (M-Sa 1:22AM, Su 11:16PM). During peak times, two-zone fare is required. That is {{translink|2cc}} for passengers with Compass Cards and {{translink|2}} ({{translink|faredate}}) for those with Compass Tickets. At off-peak times, passengers pay one-zone fare. [[File:Vancouver - 'Spirit of False Creek' 02.jpg|thumb|False Creek Ferries]] ===By ferry === Private operators have scheduled ferry service to destinations around False Creek. A quick trip across on a cute little-boat-that-could ferry can be the most fun, traffic-free, and convenient way to get around between the following destinations (from west to east): *Maritime Museum in Vanier Park on the south shore in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]] (False Creek Ferries) *Aquatic Centre at Sunset Beach on the north shore in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] (False Creek Ferries) *Hornby St on the north shore in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|city centre]] (Aquabus) *[[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]] and its famous Public Market on the south shore (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries at different docks) *[[File:Vancouver - Aquabus on False Creek 01.jpg|thumb|Aquabus]][[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]]/Davie St. on the north shore (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) *Stamp's Landing/Monk's and Spyglass Place on the south shore in the [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] area (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) *Plaza of Nations and Edgewater Casino on the north shore in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]] (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) *Science World, the geodesic dome at the south-east end of [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] (Aquabus / False Creek Ferries) Service is offered by: * {{listing | name=False Creek Ferries | alt= | url=https://granvilleislandferries.bc.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-7781 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=False Creek Ferries | wikidata=Q5432638 | lastedit=2023-06-04 | content=Little blue boats. }} * {{listing | name=Aquabus | alt= | url=https://theaquabus.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-689-5858 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Aquabus | wikidata=Q7714107 | lastedit=2023-06-04 | content=Little rainbow boats. }} The two ferries run slightly different routes, and their docks on Granville Island are on either side of the Public Market. As of Jan 2017, prices for adults are $3.25 for short routes, $5.50 for long routes, or $15 for a day pass. For seniors and children, the prices are $2, $3.75, and $11-13. Aquabus offers a 25-minute "mini-cruise" around False Creek for $8 per adult and $4 per child or senior. ===By car=== Vancouver's '''road network''' is generally a grid system with a "Street" running north-south and an "Avenue" running east-west. Arterial roads follow the grid fairly well (although not perfectly), but side streets frequently disappear for blocks at a time and then reappear. Most of the "Avenues" are numbered and they always use East or West to designate whether it is on the east side or the west side of Ontario Street. Some of the major avenues use names rather than numbers (Broadway would be 9th Ave, King Edward Ave would be 25th Ave). Downtown Vancouver has its own grid system and doesn't follow the street/avenue format of the rest of the city. It is also surrounded by water on three sides, so most of the ways in and out require you to cross a bridge. This can cause traffic congestion, particularly at peak times (morning and evening commutes, sunny weekend afternoons, major sporting events), so factor that into any driving plans, or avoid if possible. {{infobox|Go West... but which one?|The term "West" comes up frequently in connection with Vancouver and can be confusing for locals and visitors alike. It can refer to: * the ''West Side'' of Vancouver, which is the area of Vancouver west of Ontario Street. It includes [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]], [[Vancouver/South Granville|South Granville]], [[Vancouver/UBC-South|UBC and South Vancouver]], but excludes the downtown peninsula, * the ''West End'', which is the western portion of the downtown peninsula, and * ''West Vancouver'', a municipality across the harbour in the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]].}} One of the best ways to avoid traffic congestion is to listen to '''traffic reports''' on AM730. This station reports only about traffic and can be quick to report any accidents and congestion, as well as B.C. ferry reports, bridge and tunnel updates, border wait times, and other information pertaining to getting around the city and its many suburbs. It also posts frequent weather updates and local news. A unique feature of Vancouver and the rest of British Columbia is intersections with flashing green traffic signals. These ''do not'' indicate an advance left turn as it would in many other parts of North America. Instead, a flashing green light indicates a traffic signal that can be activated only by a pedestrian or a cyclist on the side street, but not by a motor vehicle. When the signal turns red, traffic stops as at any traffic signal. Any side street traffic must obey the stop sign on the side street and must yield to any pedestrians crossing the side street, even if traffic is stopped on the main street. ====Parking==== [[File:Street parking meters in Vancouver with credit card payment option.jpg|thumb|Parking meters deployed by City of Vancouver that accept coins and credit card. Telephone payment is also accepted for pre-registered payment account. Rate vary depending on location and are stated on the top side, under the timer or on a screen at the top of the meter.]] Parking downtown generally costs $1-2.50/hour or $12-20/day. Commercial areas will typically have meter parking on the street, with meters accepting Canadian and American change only (American coins accepted at par value). Residential streets may allow free parking, but some will require a permit. If you do not have cash with you, most meters allow you to text the lot and stall number to [https://paybyphone.com/ PayByPhone], allowing payment through Visa or Mastercard. Each meter will specify if available. '''[https://www.easypark.ca/ Easy Park]''' lots (look for an orange circle with a big "P") rank as the most affordable of the parkades, but generally the cost of parking will not vary greatly among parkades within a certain area. Most will accept payment by credit card, as well as coins. Beware of scammers hanging around in some parkades, trying to sell parking tickets for less than their face value — typically, they have purchased the tickets with stolen credit cards. Also be careful parking overnight, as vehicle break-ins are not uncommon. City meters and parking regulations are enforced regularly. Meter-related offenses will result in fines. Violations in private lots are generally unenforceable, but may result in your car being towed. If your vehicle is towed on a city street, you can recover it at the city impound lot at 425 Industrial Ave. Some new meters at private parking lots throughout the city no longer accept cash, make sure to also have a credit card with you. Most parking facilities also accept payment using the [https://www.paybyphone.com PayByPhone] app. ====Car sharing==== Vancouver is often referred to as the car share capital, with over 2,000 available vehicles. Car sharing which allow vehicle rentals by the hour and minute. With the departure of Car2Go and Zipcar, the only companies left in this space are [https://evo.ca/ Evo] and [https://modo.coop/ Modo]. If you are a BCAA member, you can get a free Evo membership through their website. To sign up for Modo, if your licence was issued from outside BC, you will need to put down a $750 damage deposit or provide a copy of your driving records from your home country (including a translation to English made by an approved translator if it is not already in English.) ===By taxi=== * {{Listing|name=Black Top Cabs|url=https://btccabs.ca/|phone=+1 604-731-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=MacLures Cabs|url=https://www.maclurescabs.ca/|phone=+1 604-831-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=Vancouver Taxi|url=https://www.vancouvertaxi.cab/|phone=+1 604-871-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=Yellow Cab|url=https://www.yellowcabonline.com/|phone=+1 604-681-1111|lastedit=2022-07-28}} * {{Listing|name=Signature Black Car & Chauffeur Service|url=https://www.signaturecarservice.ca|phone=+1-778-927-1003|lastedit=2025-01-24}} === By ride hailing === Apps legally permitted to operate in the Vancouver area include: *{{Listing|name=Kabu|url=https://www.kabu.ca/|lastedit=2022-07-29}} *{{listing | name=Lyft | alt= | url=https://www.lyft.com/rider/cities/vancouver-bc | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Lyft | wikidata=Q17077936 | lastedit=2022-07-29 | content= }} *{{listing | name=Uber | alt= | url=https://www.uber.com/global/en/cities/vancouver/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Uber | wikidata=Q780442 | lastedit=2022-07-29 | content= }} === By bicycle === [[File:Vancouver Mobi bike share near BC Place stadium in Downtown Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Vancouver Mobi bike share near BC Place stadium in Downtown Vancouver|alt=Vancouver Mobi bike share near BC Place stadium in Downtown Vancouver.jpg]] Vancouver is a very bicycle-friendly city. In addition to the extremely popular seawall bicycle routes along Stanley Park, False Creek and Kitsilano, there is a network of bicycle routes that connect the whole city, with many of the downtown bike lanes separated from traffic. The City of Vancouver provides a map of the bicycle routes that is available at most bike shops or online. Also, all buses have bicycle racks on the front to help riders get to less accessible parts. North American visitors will find that drivers in Vancouver are more accustomed to sharing the road with cyclists than many places. The city of Vancouver operates a '''bike share''' program called '''[https://www.mobibikes.ca/ Mobi]'''. A 24-hour pass costs $19 for an unlimited number of 30-minute trips, with each additional minute costing 25 cents. Monthly passes are available for $39 (30-minute trips). Trips on a monthly pass that take longer than the allowed time will be charged an extra 25 cents per minute. Bike stations are spread across downtown, the West End, Gastown, Yaletown and False Creek, Granville Island and Kitsilano. Bikes are unlocked via a user code and PIN that are provided after you complete registration on Mobi's website. It's highly recommended that visitors complete registration before their visit, as you cannot do it at bike share stations. Longer term '''bike rentals''' are available at a number of independent shops, where you can rent bicycles by the hour, day or week. Many places also rent tandem bikes. Shops can be found in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]], the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]], [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]] and near [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]]. Alternatively, buy a used bicycle and either sell it on or donate it to someone in more need of it at the end of your stay. ===By scooter=== Renting a scooter is a good compromise between a bike and a car. Scooters are not allowed on the famous bike path, but it is possible to travel in the inner roads, park and walk at all the attractions. Average cost is ~$80 for 24 hours + gas. * {{listing | name=Cycle BC | alt= | url=https://vancouver.cyclebc.ca/ | email= | address=Location 1: (next to harbour air terminal) Location 2: 73 East 6th Ave | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= +1 604-709-5663 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} * '''[https://vanecoride.com/electric-scooter-rental-vancouver/ VanEcoRide]{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''' Escooter & Ebike Rental 1020 Mainland St unit 26 +1 778-683-7711 * {{listing | name=Vancouver Scooter Rental | alt= | url= | email= | address=501-2050 Scotia St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-787-9177 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit= | content= }} ==See== While Vancouver is still a young city, it has a variety of attractions and points of interest for the visitor. ===Landmarks and historic buildings=== Many of the city's landmarks and historical buildings can be found in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. '''Canada Place''', with its distinctive sails, the nearby '''Olympic Cauldron''', the intricate Art Deco styling of the '''Marine Building''' and the old luxury railway hotel of the '''Hotel Vancouver''' are in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. '''Stanley Park''' (the city's most popular attraction), along with its neighbouring Coal Harbour walkway and the Vancouver Aquarium are in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]]. [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]], the original town site of Vancouver, has a number of restored buildings and its steam clock is a popular spot to visit. Modern architecture worth visiting also includes Shangri-La, the tallest building in the city, and the Sheraton Wall Centre, both located in [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]]. Another popular city landmark, the bustling markets and shops of '''Granville Island''', is just to the south of downtown in an area called [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|South Granville]]. [[File:UBC Museum of Anthropology Building1.jpg|thumb|Museum of Anthropology at [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC]]]] ===Museums and galleries=== If you're looking to learn about the people of the Northwest Coast and some of its history, one good spot is the impressive '''Museum of Anthropology''' at the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|University of British Columbia]], which houses several thousand objects from BC's First Nations. The museum is also home to significant collections of archaeological objects and ethnographic materials from other parts of the world. The '''Vancouver Art Gallery''' in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] combines local with international through a variety of exhibitions and a permanent collection that focuses on renowned British Columbia artist, Emily Carr. [[File:Vancouver Public Library (2012) - 1.JPG|thumb|Central Library location of the Vancouver Public Library in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]]]] The '''Central Library location of the''' '''Vancouver Public Library''', in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] at Homer and Robson Streets, is modelled after the Roman Colosseum, and houses the city's largest library. Another sight in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] is the small '''Contemporary Art Gallery''' on Nelson Street, which features modern art. Also nearby, on the east side of [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] is the shiny geodesic dome of the '''Telus World of Science''' (commonly known as Science World), which has a number of exhibits, shows and galleries aimed at making science fun for kids. Another great spot to check out is the '''BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum''' at Gate A of BC Place Stadium in Yaletown. The BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum preserves and honours BC's Sport heritage by recognizing extraordinary achievement in sport through using their collection and stories to inspire all people to pursue their dreams. There are also some smaller sights in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]], including the Vancouver Maritime Museum, Museum of Vancouver, and H.R. Macmillan Space Centre. [[File:Stanley Park, Vancouver (7889964786).jpg|thumb|A portion of the Seawall within Stanley Park with Lions Gate Bridge in the background]] ===Parks=== The city has a wealth of parks and gardens scattered throughout. The most famous is '''Stanley Park''' at the tip of the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]]. Its miles of trails for walking and cycling, beaches, magnificent views and the attractions (including totem poles) within the park gives it something for everyone. The most popular trail is the '''Seawall''', a paved trail that runs around the perimeter of Stanley Park and now joins with the seawalls in Coal Harbour and Kitsilano, 22 km in length. The '''Vancouver Aquarium''' is in Stanley Park. '''Other notable parks and gardens''' include VanDusen Botanical Garden in [[Vancouver/South|South Vancouver]] and Queen Elizabeth Park near [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|South Main]], the Nitobe Memorial Garden (commonly known as the Nitobe Japanese Garden) and UBC Botanical Garden at the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|University of British Columbia]] and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]]. Admission to Vancouver's various attractions can range from $10 to up to $30 per person. There are a variety of attractions passes available that help visitors save on retail admissions such as the '''See Vancouver Smartvisit Card'''. ===Nature=== Finally, a trip to Vancouver wouldn't be complete without a glimpse of the '''skyline''' and the Coast Mountains rising above the city (clouds permitting, of course!). Popular spots to view it include Stanley Park in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]], Harbour Centre in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]], Spanish Banks and Jericho Beaches in [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|Point Grey]], and Lonsdale Quay in [[North Vancouver]]. Other interesting views can be seen from City Hall at 12th and Cambie in [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]], Queen Elizabeth Park in Mt Pleasant, and [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van's]] CRAB Park. ==Do== [[File:Dragon Boating in Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Dragon Boating]] === Culture and festivals === Vancouver isn't all about the outdoors. It offers a variety of theatre, concerts and other cultural events. There are symphony and opera venues in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] and much of the city's live theatre can be found in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|South Granville]], particularly on Granville Island with its thriving arts scene. The city's Chinese heritage comes alive during '''Chinese New Year'''. [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]], in the east side of downtown, is awash in colour and has many festivities, including a parade. June sees the annual '''Dragon Boat Festival''' on False Creek. There is no shortage of festivals around the city, with many local ones particular to a neighbourhood. The festival that draws the largest crowds is the '''[https://hondacelebrationoflight.com/ Honda Celebration of Light]''', a three-night extravaganza of fireworks over English Bay in late July. Countries compete with 20-30 min displays choreographed to music. The fireworks start at 10PM and are best viewed from Sunset Beach in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] or Kits Beach/Vanier Park in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Kitsilano]]. It is ''strongly'' recommended to take public transit and to get there a few hours early as the crowds are huge. Roads in the vicinity of English Bay are typically closed from 6PM onwards. '''EAT! Vancouver - The Everything Food + Cooking Festival''' takes place every year. The festival takes place in early November. Celebrity chefs, popular local restaurants, wineries, food & beverage manufacturers, cookbook authors, retailers, artisans, & many others from the culinary world come together for a 6-day event. Other notable festivals include the '''[https://www.viff.org Vancouver International Film Festival]''' that runs in Sept-Oct; the '''[https://www.vancouverfringe.com Fringe Festival]''' that presents live theatre in a variety of styles and venues; '''[https://bardonthebeach.org/ Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival]''' that runs May - September at Vanier Park in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]]; and the three day '''[https://thefestival.bc.ca/ Folk Fest]''' on the beach in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] that features a large selection of current and upcoming folk, roots and world music acts. Another notable event is Vancouver's annual '''[https://vancouverpride.ca/ Vancouver Pride Parade]''', in early August, which attractsover 600,000 spectators. [[File:Brockton light.jpg|thumb|Views from the Seawall in [[Vancouver/West End|Stanley Park]]]] === Laugh === Vancouver is also home to an enormous stand-up comedy scene. With 3 dedicated clubs, and more than two dozen venues hosting regular events, the Lower Mainland plays host to nearly 10,000 improv, stand-up, and open mic shows a year, such as by the [https://theimprovcentre.ca/ '''Improv Centre'''] on [[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]]. Catch touring comics, well-seasoned locals, or up and coming newbies at shows from theaters to pizza joints and experience some of the local, underground culture. === Live music === Vancouver has lots and lots of live music venues ranging from BC Place (over 60,000 seats) to local bars, pubs and coffee shops. There are also a plethora of festivals especially throughout the summer months. The [https://www.coastaljazz.ca/ '''Vancouver International Jazz Festival'''] runs for two weeks in late June and early July and attracts big name jazz and avant garde acts. === Outdoor activities === Vancouverites love the outdoors and one of the most popular things to do is to walk, jog, bike or rollerblade the '''Seawall'''. It starts at Canada Place [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|downtown]], wraps around Stanley Park and follows the shoreline of [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]] through [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]], Science World and Granville Island to Kits Beach in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]]. The most popular sections are around Stanley Park and along the north shore of False Creek. Bike and rollerblade rentals are available from a few shops near the corner of Denman & West Georgia in the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]] if you prefer wheeled transportation over walking. If the weather's nice, go out to Granville Island, rent a speedboat and take a boat ride on the waters around Stanley Park and Coal Harbour. Golf courses are also abundant in the city, along with more cost-conscious pitch-and-putt courses. If you'd rather lie in the sun than play in the sun, Vancouver has a number of '''beaches'''. While certainly not glamorous and lacking waves, there's sand, water and lots of people on sunny summer days. [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] has a string of beaches, the most well known being Kitsilano Beach, Jericho and Spanish Banks. Kits Beach is the most popular and has beach volleyball, Spanish Banks is a bit quieter and popular with skimboarders. There are a few beaches on the south and west sides of [[Vancouver/West End|downtown]], with English Bay Beach (near Denman & Beach in [[Vancouver/West End|the West End]]) being the largest and most popular. Finally, no discussion of Vancouver beaches would be complete without mention of Wreck Beach at the tip of Point Grey in [[Vancouver/UBC-South|UBC]]. As much rock as it is sand, it holds a place in the Vancouver identity and is the only city beach where you can bare it all. [https://www.nudebeachmap.com/places/wreck-beach/]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} For many, Vancouver is synonymous with '''skiing and snowboarding'''. While there are no ski hills within the city itself, there are three "local" hills (Cypress, Grouse Mountain and Seymour) across the harbour on the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]]. And of course, Vancouver is the gateway to [[Whistler]], the biggest and one of the most highly rated snow destinations in North America. ===Spectator sports=== When you tire of doing stuff outdoors, or prefer that someone else do the hard work, you can always grab a seat and take in the local sports teams. [[File:Vancouver Canucks vs Calgary Flames.jpg|thumb|Vancouver Canucks playing in their the blue uniform]] ====Hockey==== The biggest draw in town is hockey (the variety played on ice, not a field) and the local professional team is the '''[https://www.nhl.com/canucks/ Vancouver Canucks]'''. The team plays at Rogers Arena in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]] and the season lasts from October to April (and possibly longer when they make the play-offs). Tickets are pricey and the concessions are even worse, but it's a good game to watch live. The local junior hockey team, the '''[https://vancouvergiants.com/ Vancouver Giants]''', offer a cheaper but no less exciting experience, but play in the [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]] Events Centre some distance from Vancouver. ====Football==== The '''[https://www.bclions.com/ BC Lions]''', the city's Canadian Football League team (think American football with 12 players a side, three downs, a slightly larger field, and much larger end zones) plays during the summer and fall at BC Place in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]]. {{Infobox|Welcome World Cup fans|Vancouver is one of the 16 North American host cities for the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]], hosting [[association football|soccer]] matches at '''BC Place Vancouver''' (BC Place), located in the downtown area near False Creek. Crowds can build quickly on big match days, so arriving early helps you find a good viewing spot. Security checks are standard, and items like large bags may be restricted. There may be heightened traffic on match days.|image=Adidas Trionda ball.jpg}} ==== Soccer ==== The '''[https://www.whitecapsfc.com/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC]''', the third team to bear the "Whitecaps" name, began play in Major League Soccer in March 2011, becoming the second MLS team in Canada (they have since been joined by a third Canadian team). They have played at BC Place since September 2011, when that venue reopened after post-Olympics renovations. The Whitecaps initially planned to build a new stadium of their own near the waterfront, but local opposition led the Whitecaps to make BC Place their long-term home. ====Rugby==== BC Place also hosts the '''[https://canadasevens.com/ Canada Sevens]{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', an annual event in the '''World Rugby Sevens Series''' (marketed as the '''[https://www.svns.com HSBC SVNS]'''), a worldwide series of tournaments for men's and women's national teams in rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union featuring 7 players per side instead of 15 (on the same full-size field) and halves of 7 minutes instead of 40. In the current schedule, the event is held on the last weekend of February as part of a North American swing that also includes an event in the [[Los Angeles]] suburb of [[Carson|Carson, California]]. ====Roller derby==== The '''[https://tcrd.ca/ Terminal City Rollergirls]''' are Vancouver's first female roller derby league and are members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. Created in 2006, the league now has four full teams (Faster Pussycats, Bad Reputations, Public Frenemy, and Riot Girls) as well as an All-Stars team made up of the best players in the league. The players are a diverse group of women, from nurses to construction workers, graphic designers, television producers, teachers, stay-at-home moms, PhD students and aspiring rock stars. The bouts are exciting and fun (there is usually an entertaining half-time show). If you're thinking about attending a bout and know nothing or very little about flat track roller derby, check out the [https://wftda.com/the-game/ Women’s Flat Track Derby Association's (WFTDA) explanation]. Bouts are generally held April to September and at various arenas around Metro Vancouver, although the PNE Forum in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] has been a popular venue. ====Baseball==== Vancouver has a single A baseball team, the '''[https://www.milb.com/vancouver Vancouver Canadians]''', who play out of Nat Bailey Stadium in the [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]] area. ====University sports==== The two major universities in the Vancouver area both have comprehensive athletic programs, though not at the high profile of similar institutions south of the border: * {{do | name=Simon Fraser Red Leafs | alt= | url=https://athletics.sfu.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Simon Fraser Red Leafs | lastedit=2024-06-15 | content=Represent Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. The Red Leafs sponsor teams in seven men's sports and nine women's sports. Notably, SFU is the only Canadian school that's a member of the U.S. NCAA, though they are in Division II, competing with mostly smaller, regional U.S. institutions. SFU no longer plays football, either American or Canadian; it had played under American rules in the NCAA, but logistical complications led the school to drop the sport after the 2022 season. }} * {{do | name=UBC Thunderbirds | alt= | url=https://www.gothunderbirds.ca | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=UBC Thunderbirds | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands at the west edge of the Point Grey peninsula. The Thunderbirds field teams in 15 men's sports and 14 women's sports. Unlike SFU, UBC is a member of Canada's governing body for university sport, U Sports. }} === Tours === If you want to orient yourself in the city, there are a variety of tours – bus, walking, hop-on, hop-off – based out of the [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|City Centre]] that will regale you with Vancouver lore while taking you to many of the main attractions. ==Learn== Vancouver is a city with a rich assortment of educational institutions offering programs on nearly every possible occupation or avocation. There are two main universities (Simon Fraser University, and University of British Columbia). Polytechnic institutions offer degrees in addition to certificates and diplomas. Vancouver is also a popular destination to learn English: expect to see many learners from Asian countries, such as South Korea, and from Brazil. Places of study within the city of Vancouver include: * [[File:Vancouver ubc clock.jpg|thumb|Clock tower in the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|University of British Columbia]]]]The '''[https://www.ubc.ca University of British Columbia (UBC)]''', is ranked as one of the world's 30 best universities and is the largest university in western Canada. It is publicly funded and has the highest student enrollment of any university in British Columbia. More than 50,000 full-time and part-time students in numerous disciplines are enrolled at the main campus in the [[Vancouver/UBC-Point Grey|UBC-Point Grey]] area. UBC also has a downtown campus in Vancouver at Robson Square in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|city centre area]]. This location is geared more towards adult learning, business people and foreign students. Course calendars are readily available at Robson Square or on UBC's website. *'''[https://www.langara.bc.ca Langara College]''' is publicly funded and in [[Vancouver/UBC-South|South Vancouver]]. It offers a number of programs in the arts, humanities, business and technology, as well as continuing education and ESL classes. *The '''[https://www.ecuad.ca/ Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design]''' is publicly funded and in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]]. It offers a number of programs focused primarily on design and the visual arts. * The '''[https://thecdm.ca/ Centre for Digital Media (CDM)]''' is publicly funded and in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]]. It is a collaborative university campus environment put together with the help of all of the major local universities, focusing on arts, technology, and the environment. * '''[https://www.vcc.ca/ Vancouver Community College (VCC)]''' is publicly funded and has two campuses: Broadway in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]], and [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown]]. VCC offers a number of different certificate and diploma programs. * '''[https://www.ucanwest.ca/ University Canada West]''' is a private, for profit university that offers undergraduate and graduate business degrees. * The '''[https://vfs.edu/ Vancouver Film School]''' is a private institution in [[Vancouver/City Centre|downtown Vancouver]]. Places of study in suburbs outside of the city of Vancouver include: * '''[https://www.sfu.ca Simon Fraser University (SFU)]''', is publicly funded and is the second highest enrollment of any university in British Columbia. With over 30 000 full-time students, SFU is consistently ranked as the best Comprehensive University in Canada by Macleans. Its main campus on the top of a mountain in [[Burnaby]] with spectacular views. SFU also has the largest post-secondary presence in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|city centre area]], with the Beedie School of Business, the [https://www.sfu.ca/dialogue.html Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue], SFU Harbour Centre and SFU Woodwards, not to mention a satellite campus in [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]]. * The '''[https://www.bcit.ca British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)]''', is publicly funded and a technical college based in [[Burnaby]]. It has a satellite campus in downtown Vancouver. * The '''[https://www.jibc.ca/ Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC)]''' is publicly funded and is a post-secondary institution focusing on public safety vocations. Its main campus is in [[New Westminster]]. * '''[https://www.kpu.ca Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU)]''' is publicly funded with campuses in [[Richmond]], [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]], and [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]]. It offers over 120 programs, including career, vocational trades and technology certificates, diplomas, and degrees across numerous disciplines. * '''[https://www.douglascollege.ca/ Douglas College]''' is a publicly funded and offers degrees with campuses in [[New Westminster]] and [[Coquitlam]]. * '''[https://www.twu.ca/ Trinity Western University (TWU)]''' is a private Christian university with undergraduate and graduate studies programs. Its main campus is in [[Langley (British Columbia)|Langley]] and it has a smaller campus in [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]]. ==Work== Traditionally, much of Vancouver's industry has centred around its port facilities and the forestry and mining sectors. Although these industries are still important to the economy, Vancouver's largest employers are now the various hospitals and educational institutions in the area and companies with head offices in Vancouver such as Telus Corp and the Jim Pattison Group. Vancouver however has expanded as a centre for software development and biotechnology, while streets provide a backdrop for an active film industry. Many jobs exist in the varied small and medium sized businesses that operate in the region. As with many cities, jobs are posted on-line or in the newspaper, but it helps if you have some contacts within the industry that can point you to the jobs that are open but not posted. As with any tourist centre, there are a number of service jobs available. The attractions, restaurants and hotels downtown frequently need staff. Other areas to consider are [[Vancouver/South Granville|Granville Island]] and the [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Shore]] with its ski areas and Grouse Mountain. ==Buy== ''This is only a sample of things you can look for in Vancouver. Visit the separate district pages for other info.'' '''Tip''' - There are two local taxes that are charged on the vast majority of goods, the '''7% PST (Provincial Sales Tax)''' and the '''5% GST (Goods and Services Tax)'''. The [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/exemptions PST does not apply] to restaurants, motor fuel, food (including non-alcoholic drinks), vitamins, books, newspaper, magazines, bicycles, and children's clothing. *{{buy | name=Robson Street | alt= | url=https://robsonstreet.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Robson Street | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=In the [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]] is home to many touristy shops. The neighbouring Alberni intersection is also home to a variety of high-end shops such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès. }} *{{buy | name=Pacific Centre | alt= | url=https://shops.cadillacfairview.com/property/cf-pacific-centre | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pacific Centre | lastedit=2023-03-03 | content=Located in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]]. Has more than 150 shops, restaurants and services if you want to walk in an underground shopping centre. The shopping centre begins at its north end at Robson Street, and stretches all the way to Pender Street. There are many floors in the mall depending on where you are, and notable merchants include Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen, Gap, H&M and Apple Store; the mall is connected to the Hudson's Bay (at Georgia and Granville streets), and Vancouver Centre (a small mall mainly consisting of a lotto centre, London Drugs, and a food court underneath Scotiabank). }} [[File:Gastown. Streetscape in Gastown, Vancouver.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]] - the original townsite of Vancouver and now the best place to find Vancouver kitsch]] * {{buy | name=[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gastown | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Is the oldest neighbourhood in Vancouver but is being reborn as a fashion and modern urban design district. Historic buildings house hip restaurants, galleries, and interior design and high-fashion shops. This area also is notable having the most tourist souvenir shops in the region. }} *{{Buy|name=[[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|Yaletown]]|lastedit=2023-10-02|content=Is also popular for its non-mainstream fashion boutiques and high-end salons. A few Popular Yaletown Shopping Streets are: Mainland St., Hamilton St., and Pacific Blvd.}} *{{buy | name=[[Vancouver/Kitsilano-Granville Island|Granville Island]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Granville Island | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Is an interesting place to go if you fancy the arts. The area boasts a public market, an art school (Emily Carr University of Art + Design), shops, a world music instrument store, restaurants, theatres, galleries, a hotel, boat docks and more. }} *{{buy | name=Kerrisdale | alt= | url=http://www.kerrisdalevillage.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Area centred on 41st, between Maple St and Blenheim St, | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Kerrisdale | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Located in [[Vancouver/South|South Vancouver]]. Consisting of roughly a hundred or so boutique-like shops, restaurants, and stores (chain or otherwise) in an affluent neighbourhood. }} *{{buy | name=Commercial Drive | alt= | url=https://thedrive.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Commercial Drive, Vancouver | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=Especially the stretch between 3rd Avenue and Venables St. in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]], is great for people-watching, produce (Santa Barbara Market), cheese (La Grotta del Formaggio), sausage (JN&Z Deli), etc. }} *{{buy | name=Main Street | alt=South Main | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Main Street (Vancouver) | lastedit=2023-10-02 | content=Located in [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|Mt Pleasant]]. South of Broadway stretching to around 30th Avenue, has a vibrant and expanding collection of independent restaurants, cafés, high-end niche clothing stores and small boutiques. }} *{{buy | name=East Hastings | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Hastings Street (Vancouver) | lastedit=2023-10-02 | content=Located in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] between Renfrew and Clark offers some of the best hidden delights in the city. There are many eclectic produce stores (Donald's Market). }}[[File:Vancouver Chinatown 16.JPG|thumb|Vancouver's [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]]]] * {{buy | name=[[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Chinatown]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Around Main and Pender, and westwards down Pender from Main. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chinatown, Vancouver | lastedit=2022-08-08 | content=An old historic landmark where the first Chinese immigrants to the area settled, though these days it is a shadow of its former self, having become largely deserted and full of homeless people. Other newer and more vibrant Chinatowns have sprung up around 41st Ave. and Victoria Drive, also in Richmond and Surrey, and are much better places to go to if authentic Chinese culture and food is what you are after. }} * {{buy | name=Punjabi Market | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Punjabi Market, Vancouver | lastedit=2023-10-02 | content=Around Main, between 41st and 49th Ave. Good, cheap Punjabi food along with some Punjabi fashion; street signs are correspondingly in Punjabi. }} There are some unique shopping areas in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] and [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]]. In Kits you can visit the first store of Vancouver-born and based athletic retailer, [https://shop.lululemon.com/ Lululemon Athletica], sporting popular yoga-inspired apparel. Gore-tex jackets are ubiquitous in Vancouver and the best place to buy them is at [https://www.mec.ca/ Mountain Equipment Co-op], [https://www.taigaworks.com/ Taiga Works] or one of the other outdoorsy stores clustered together on the east-west main drag called Broadway (equivalent to 9th Avenue, running between 8th and 10th) between Cambie St. and Main St., just east of the [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] area. ==Eat== Where to begin? There is something for everyone in this cosmopolitan city, and the variety of cuisines and price points have been described as a foodie's delight. In particular, you will find many different kinds of Asian food available. If you fancy sushi many places offer "all you can eat" lunches for $12, which offers food of a wildly varying quality. In general, the city is up there with some of the best cities in North America when it comes to food. If you can do without alcohol, you can usually have a pretty reasonable meal for under $12, and at one of the more expensive restaurants in the city, $70 will get you a four course feast with exquisite service. While you are in Vancouver, look out for stands selling the '''Japadog''', a contraction of "Japanese style hot dog", which uses Japanese ingredients such as nori seaweed or Japanese mayonnaise to garnish the sausage. Contrary to the name, it is not from Japan and was invented locally in Vancouver. Another local speciality of is the '''B.C. roll''', an uramaki sushi roll containing barbecued salmon and cucumber, which is widely available at sushi restaurants in the city. The highest density of restaurants is in [[Vancouver/Kitsilano|Kitsilano]] or the [[Vancouver/West End|West End]]. The [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|central business area]] has many of the high end restaurants either along Robson Street or associated with the many hotels in the downtown area. [[Vancouver/East Van|East Van]] tends to have many authentic ethnic restaurants. Vancouver is also famous for its Cantonese restaurants, in particular because it received a huge number of top chefs from Hong Kong fleeing the impending handover back to China in the 1980s and 1990s. Because of this large diaspora from Hong Kong, the price and quality of dim sum, siu mei and other Cantonese dishes here is among the best in the world, with many even claiming that Vancouver's Cantonese food is better than that of Hong Kong and Guangdong. However, Vancouver's Chinatown is now a shadow of its former self, with most of the remaining restaurants being tourist traps serving mediocre food. These days, the best Chinese food can be found in the suburb of [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]], with a majority of its inhabitants being ethnically Chinese. Restaurants are all over the place on No. 3 Rd, Westminster Hwy, Alexandra Rd, and on the many side streets just east of Richmond Centre. Vancouver has become a lot more vegetarian and vegan friendly. For exclusively veg-fare, there is Indigo Age downtown, the Naam in Kits, the Acorn on Main St, MeeT (Gastown, Main St, and Yaletown), Kokomo in Chinatown, Roots + Fruits in Strathcona, Eternal Abundance on the Drive, and Chomp in Hastings-Sunrise- to name only a few. Many Vancouver restaurants recommend you have a reservation, the majority of them use [https://www.opentable.com/vancouver-restaurants OpenTable]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, or other similar software; however, some require you to phone. Check on the restaurants website or Yelp page before you go to be sure you will be seated in a timely manner. For budget travellers, pick up a ''Georgia Straight'' (a free local paper available all over the place), and clip two-for-one coupons from the food section. Every January, the city holds a food festival with over 270 local restaurants, which offer prix-fixe menus. The program, [https://www.dineoutvancouver.com/ Dine Out Vancouver], runs over 17 days and includes the cities new eateries, neighbourhood favourites and award-winners. In 2017, to will be held from January 20 to February 5. Although the vast majority of stores around Vancouver accept credit cards, small family-owned Chinese businesses and restaurants, more often than not, accept only cash. Very few businesses in the city accept cheques. Vancouver is also known for its gourmet ice cream shops, with some of the more notable chains including '''[https://www.rainorshineicecream.com/ Rain or Shine Ice Cream]''', '''[https://earnesticecream.com/ Earnest Ice Cream]''' and '''[https://www.bellagelateria.com/ Bella Gelateria]{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}'''. While in Vancouver, make sure you try the "London fog" flavour, which is earl grey tea with fresh milk. Food safety inspection reports are available online from the local health authority, [https://www.vch.ca/en/service/restaurant-inspections-and-reports Vancouver Coastal Health]. ==Drink== Most of the nightclubs are in the [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|central business district]], especially along the Granville Street strip, south of Robson and along Water Street in Gastown. There are a number of good local pubs in the various quieter neighbourhoods of the city, such as along Main Street or Broadway. Closing times for most of these pub-like establishments begin at 1AM; nightclubs close between 2AM-3AM with a very small number operating after-hours. Nightclubs with music, a DJ and a dance floor usually charge an entrance fee. Be aware that many nightclubs often have long lineup queues on weekends, which are usually self-imposed regardless of whether or not the establishment is near capacity to attract business. Flexibility and willingness to go early is key should nightlife become part of your travel plans. Liquor stores by 11PM at the latest close, while many are closed by 9PM, and there will exist no other legal options apart from drinking at an establishment beyond this time. ===Coffee=== *On Robson and Thurlow, there used to be two Starbucks kitty-corner to one another, hardly surprising as Starbucks is the most dominant of the three coffee shop chains found in Vancouver and it is claimed there are more '''Starbucks''' per capita in Vancouver than anywhere else. The other chains, '''Caffe Artigiano''' and '''Blenz''', are found throughout downtown. '''JJ Bean''' is favoured among the locals and it's a great place to spend a few minutes to a few hours nursing a coffee and one of their ginormous muffins; there are ten locations scattered throughout the city. '''Bean Around the World''' is a popular coffee house chain with ten locations. '''Waves Coffee''' is popular with students for its 24-hour operations, and free Wi-Fi internet. For independent chains try '''Mario's''' on Dunsmuir and Howe; they have a unique feel and a slower pace than other coffee shops. Make sure not to miss '''Trees' cheesecakes''' and its roasted on-site organic coffees. Vancouver has seen a rise of new independent coffee shops in the past three years, most of which focus on single-origin beans and a simpler approach to delicious coffee devoid of syrups and flavourings. Examples include: '''[https://matchstickyvr.com/ Matchstick]''', '''[https://kafkascoffee.ca/ Kafka's]{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''', '''[https://revolvercoffee.ca/ Revolver]''', '''[https://49thcoffee.com/ 49th Parallel]'''. ===Tea=== A distinctive local drink in Vancouver is called the '''London fog''', which is similar to a latte except that it uses a shot of earl grey tea instead of espresso coffee. It is available at virtually every coffee shop in Vancouver. Bubble tea (or boba tea) is also a popular drink among the Vancouver youth. There are countless tea houses throughout Vancouver, the most notable being Dragon Ball Tea House on West King Edward Ave and Oak St. ===Beer=== Vancouver offers a number of destinations for beer drinkers. The largest is the '''Granville Island Brewery''' on [[Vancouver/South Granville|Granville Island]] (tours are available). Other microbreweries are housed in brewpubs, popular ones include the '''Yaletown Brewing Company''' in [[Vancouver/CBD-Yaletown|Yaletown]] and '''Steamworks''' at the entrance to [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown]]. The '''Alibi Room''', near Gastown, specializes in beers by Northwestern microbreweries as does the '''Cascade Room''' in [[Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main|South Main]]. '''Portland''', also in South Main, is another craft beer venue that specializes in beers by Oregon based microbreweries. [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Vancouver]], near Commercial Drive and E Hastings St, has become a hot spot for smaller craft breweries. This area is popular with locals who like to hit up a few different breweries, sampling beer and eating snacks like pepperoni sticks. There are over 10 breweries within walking distance of each other. Check out '''Storm Brewing''', '''Callister Brewing''', and '''Parallel 49 Brewing Company''' to name a few. $6 for a flight of 6 samples is standard, though some breweries such as '''Storm Brewing''' provide samples by donation. A pub with a great selection of craft beer is '''St. Augustine's''' near the Commercial/Broadway station. Olympic Village, in [[Vancouver/Yaletown-False Creek|False Creek]], is another craft brewing hot spot, with multiple craft breweries within walking distance of eachother, including '''33 Acres Brewing Company''', '''Brassneck Brewery''', '''Main Street Brewing Co''', and more. All of these breweries are easily accessible by public transit. If you fancy a short journey outside of Vancouver proper, [[Port Moody]] is easily accessible by Skytrain and has another great strip of small local breweries. [[North Vancouver]], a 15 min SeaBus ride from downtown, offers another cluster of breweries, cider mill, distillery, winery, and braggotery along their newly developing "Brewery District". ==Sleep== In general, accommodations in Vancouver are on the expensive side. Most upscale hotel rooms begin at $200-250/night, although you can find reasonably priced ones in the $100-180 range quite often. Most motel rooms cost somewhere between $80-150/night. If you are lucky to find hostel accommodation, the cheapest of these will cost around '''$30'''/night, more reasonably between $35-50. The [[Vancouver/City Centre|City Centre]] is centrally for attractions and has the bulk of Vancouver's accommodation, including most of the high-end hotels and backpackers hostels. If you don't mind getting away from the chain hotels, there are a number of smaller boutique hotels outside of the central business district but still close to the action that are cheaper than the four and five star options downtown. Backpacker hostels are another cheap option with beds starting at $25 if you don't mind sharing a room. Staying outside the City Centre area may give you a wider choice of affordable accommodations. There are a few budget hotels/motels along Kingsway in [[Vancouver/Commercial Dr-Hastings Park|East Van]] and Broadway in [[Vancouver/South Granville|South Granville]]. A number of B&Bs and AirBnB rentals are also scattered throughout the city in each district. If you want/need to stay close to the airport, [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] has a number of hotels with varying degrees of luxury and price. Finally, if you don't mind driving or commuting in to see Vancouver, the suburbs also have some cheaper options. [[North Shore (British Columbia)|North Vancouver]], [[Burnaby]] and [[New Westminster]] all have easy access to Vancouver via the public transit system. The closest Provincial Parks with campgrounds are near [[Maple Ridge]] ([[Golden Ears Provincial Park]]), [[Chilliwack]], and [[Squamish]]. Camping in city parks is prohibited under Vancouver’s by-laws. Travellers may hear a claim that it is legal to camp overnight in city parks in Victoria and Abbotsford; (due to court cases that permit the homeless to do); but whether this would also apply to Vancouver or extend to travellers looking to free camp is unknown. That said, a small number of mostly homeless people do camp in city parks and it seems the bylaw is not always enforced. If you decide to do this, avoid the Downtown Eastside ([[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown-Chinatown]] and points directly east), don’t be disruptive, don’t light fires and be aware of the risks of [[Budget travel#Sleep|free camping/sleeping rough]]. == Connect == In an '''emergency, dial 9-1-1''' from any phone, even mobile phones with no service. If you're subscribed to Rogers for mobile service, or you're roaming on their network, they support 1-1-2 as well as 9-1-1. All other carriers only support 9-1-1. The telephone area codes 604, 778, and 236 overlap Vancouver and the surrounding area. This means the Lower Mainland requires ten-digit dialing, so you must dial the area code when making a local call. Calls out of the region (east of Langley, or north of Squamish, including to Whistler) require a 1 before the area code. At payphones, local calls cost a flat 50 cents each. Be aware that many public phones have been removed, especially in the suburbs, due to the rise of cell phones. Downtown payphones are often broken, but the payphones at the downtown SkyTrain stations are almost always in service. Payphones can be used to call 911 free of charge. Free Wi-Fi is available at most hotels, cafés, and restaurants, as well as practically everywhere downtown. The city operates over 500 free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city. A full list of the city operated wireless hotspots can be found [https://vancouver.ca/your-government/vanwifi.aspx here]. Some Translink buses, skytrains, seabuses, as well as some stations and terminals also provide free Wi-Fi for transit passengers. Internet cafés are not as popular as they once were, but several remain in Vancouver, charging hourly with all-day passes available. ===By mail=== * {{listing | name=Vancouver Main Post Office | alt=Canada Post | url=https://www.canadapost.ca | email= | address=495 W Georgia St | lat=49.2813 | long=-123.1156 | directions=W George St & Richards St | phone= | tollfree= | hours=(retail counter) M-F 9AM-6PM | price= |lastedit=2022-11-03| content=Postcodes for the greater Vancouver area typically range from V5J through V6Z. There are also other postcodes in the surrounding cities making up the greater Vancouver metropolitan area ranging from V4A to V5J and from V7A to V7Y. Neighbourhood post office branches are within and operated by London Drugs, Shoppers Drug Mart, 7 Eleven and other retail stores contracted by Canada Post. They are marked with the red "Canada Post" signage and logo. }} ==Stay safe== Vancouver is a great place to visit if you use common sense like keeping an eye on your possessions, knowing where you are going and avoiding alleys and unfamiliar areas at night should keep you out of trouble. Unless involved in illegal activities (such as the drug trade), it is highly unlikely you will fall victim to any sort of violent crime. If you need emergency help, dial '''911'''. Like any major metropolitan city, Vancouver has areas that should be travelled with caution. The most notable is the Downtown Eastside (specifically Hastings Street between Abbott and Gore). This neighbourhood is infamous for homelessness, drug-use, and prostitution. As a result of these conditions, violence is quite a common problem. If you do accidentally stroll into the Downtown Eastside it is not difficult to find your way out, but if you get lost or feel uncomfortable the best thing to do is approach a police officer. Tourists exploring [[Vancouver/Gastown-Chinatown|Gastown and Chinatown]] can easily wander into the Downtown Eastside unwittingly. Chinatown turns into a ghost town in the evening, and is mainly filled with homeless people, so you should avoid the area at night. It's also wise to exercise caution in the Granville Mall area (Granville St between Smithe St and Hastings St) in the [[Vancouver/City Centre|central business district]] on Friday and Saturday nights. As Vancouver’s bar and nightclub district, the sheer volume of people combined with alcohol consumption make disorderly conduct and rowdy behaviour fairly common. But this shouldn't act as a deterrent - if you're not looking for trouble, you probably won't find it, and there is a strong police presence. The streets at night in the Granville Mall area are usually (and quite literally) clogged with people at night time. Such an enormous mix of people and alcohol can be a dangerous mix if you are not cautious. Some parts of the city have high rates of property crime. Theft from vehicles is especially problematic and parked cars with foreign or out-of-province plates are frequently targeted. The best thing is to not leave any money and valuables in plain view. Many of the locals use steering wheel locks to prevent vehicle theft. While using public transit, if you feel unsafe, approach a Transit police officer (usually at SkyTrain stations). For non-emergency requests, you can call {{phone|+1-604-515-8300}}. Panhandling is common in some parts of downtown, but is unlikely to pose a problem. Don't be rude, as there may be negative consequences. === Drugs === Cannabis can be purchased from private dispensaries or the government-run BC Cannabis stores, which also offer online sales. It's legal for adults over 19 to consume and possess up to 30 grams of cannabis. It is not permitted to smoke or vape cannabis anywhere tobacco use is prohibited. There are serious penalties for driving under the influence of THC, which include fines and vehicle seizure. Also, while Washington State has legalized recreational cannabis at the state level it remains illegal to bring any cannabis products over the border in either direction. Do not buy cannabis in Canada and attempt to take it into Washington State, or vice versa, not even at out of the way crossings like Point Roberts. The province of British Columbia is the first jurisdiction in the world to decriminalize possession of hard drugs. Possession of up to 2.5 grams of cocaine (crack and powder), methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids (including heroin, fentanyl and morphine) is no longer a criminal offence. In some areas such as Downtown Eastside, the government provides safe injection sites where you can safely dispose off needles after injecting yourself. The exemption is scheduled to last until Jan 31, 2026. Driving while under the influence of drugs is a crime. Anyone caught selling drugs or trafficking them will still face criminal penalties. Possessing hard drugs at airports and many other locations remains illegal. ==Cope== ===Publications=== * {{listing | name=Vancouver Sun | alt= | url=https://vancouversun.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver Sun | wikidata=Q2004274 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=Vancouver's biggest daily newspaper. }} * {{listing | name=The Province | alt= | url=https://theprovince.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Province | wikidata=Q132110 | lastedit=2017-01-14 | content=Tabloid-style daily. A bit more sensational than the Sun and a better sports section, but published by the same company and newsroom. }} * {{listing | name=Georgia Straight | alt= | url=https://www.straight.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Georgia Straight | wikidata=Q3987206 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=Free weekly paper that provides the best rundown on local bars and other entertainment listings. It also usually has a number of two for one coupons for local restaurants. }} * {{listing | name=The Tyee | alt= | url=https://thetyee.ca/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Tyee | wikidata=Q7770989 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=Free daily online paper focusing on independent politics and culture reporting. }} *{{listing | name=Vancouver Observer | alt= | url=https://www.vancouverobserver.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=The Vancouver Observer | wikidata=Q7772013 | lastedit=2022-07-27 | content=The Vancouver Observer is an independent online newspaper, covering local politics, arts, the environment, technology, health, nutrition, and other topics. }} *{{listing | name=Vancouver Is Awesome | url=https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-07-27| content= Free daily online paper focusing primarily on cultural events, food, and civic current affairs. }} Other free weeklies include the Vancouver Courier, Westender, and Xtra West (gay and lesbian bi-weekly newspaper). Free dailies include 24 Hours and Metro. ===Wireless=== There are a number of wireless network providers in BC's lower mainland, all with store locations throughout Vancouver, including [https://www.telus.com/ Telus]{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}/[https://www.koodomobile.com Koodo], [https://www.rogers.com/ Rogers]/[https://www.fido.ca Fido]/[https://www.chatrwireless.com/ Chatr], [https://www.bell.ca/ Bell]/[https://www.virginmobile.ca/ Virgin], and [https://www.freedommobile.ca Freedom Mobile]. Another option is [https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc Public Mobile], which operates mostly online only, but SIMs can be purchased at London Drugs and generally costs less than other providers. Many wireless carriers offer out of country travel plans; inquire with your carrier regarding pricing before your trip. ===Religious services=== * Anglican (Episcopal): {{listing | name=Christ Church Cathedral | url=https://www.thecathedral.ca/ | email= | address=690 Burrard St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-682-3848 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Buddhist: {{listing | name=Tilopa Kadampa Buddhist Centre | url=https://meditateinvancouver.org/ | email= | address=1829 Victoria Diversion | lat= | long= | directions=Just south of 18th & Commercial in the Trout Lake neighborhood | phone=+1 604-221-2271 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content=Offers relaxation meditations and meditation classes to increase inner peace. }} * Muslim: {{Listing|name=Masjid Omar Al-Farooq|url=https://www.masjidomar.ca/|email=info@masjidomar.ca|address=1659 E 10th Ave|phone=+1 604-873-2040|lastedit=2023-01-19}} * Presbyterian: {{listing | name=Central Presbyterian Church | url=https://www.centralpc.ca/ | email= | address=1155 Thurlow St | lat= | long= | directions=Davie Village, near Davie and Thurlow | phone=+1 604-683-1913 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sunday 10:30AM | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Protestant: {{listing | name=St. Andrew Wesley United Church | url=https://standrewswesley.com/ | email= | address=1022 Nelson St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-683-4574 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Roman Catholic: {{listing | name=Holy Rosary Cathedral | url=https://www.holyrosarycathedral.org/ | email= | address=646 Richards St | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+1 604-682-6774 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Seventh-day Adventist: {{listing | name=Oakridge Adventist Church | alt= | url=https://oacvancouver.ca/ | email= | address=5350 Ballie St two blocks north of Oakridge Mall/Canada Line Station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Saturday 10AM and 11AM | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * Sikh: {{Listing|name=Akali Singh Sikh Society|url=https://akalisinghgurdwara.ca/|address=1890 Skeena St|phone=+1 604-254-2117|lastedit=2023-01-19}} [[File:VGH-1.jpg|thumb|One of Vancouver General Hospital's several buildings]] ===Hospitals=== *{{listing | name=Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) | alt= | url=https://www.vch.ca/en/location/vancouver-general-hospital | email= | address=899 West 12th Ave | lat=49.2612 | long=-123.12354 | directions=at the corner of Oak St and West 12th Ave | phone=+1 604-875-4111 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Vancouver General Hospital | wikidata=Q7914187 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=VGH serves as the main hospital in Vancouver. Has an emergency department operating 24/7, serving people ages 17 and older. }} *{{listing | name=BC Children's Hospital | alt= | url=http://www.bcchildrens.ca/ | email= | address=4500 Oak St | lat=49.2444 | long=-123.1256 | directions=Oak St near King Edward Ave | phone=+1 604-875-2345 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=British Columbia Children's Hospital | wikidata=Q4969665 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=Serves children up to 16 years old. Has an emergency department that operating 24/7. }} *{{listing | name=St. Paul's Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.providencehealthcare.org/hospitals-residences/st-paul%27s-hospital | email= | address=1081 Burrard St | lat=49.28048 | long=-123.12818 | directions=downtown in the City Centre | phone=+1 604-682-2344 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) | wikidata=Q7591153 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=St. Paul's Hospital has an emergency ward operating 24/7 serving people of all ages, but is smaller and therefore less equipped to handle many patients. Every winter, St. Paul's decorates the front of the Hospital with lights to encourage charitable donations. }} *{{listing | name=Mount Saint Joseph Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.providencehealthcare.org/hospitals-residences/mount-saint-joseph-hospital | email= | address=3080 Prince Edward St | lat=49.25804 | long=-123.09517 | directions= | phone=+1 604-874-1141 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mount Saint Joseph Hospital | wikidata=Q96419005 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=The only hospital on the city's East Side. Its emergency department operates daily 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM, serving people of all ages. }} *{{listing | name=UBC Hospital | alt= | url=https://www.vch.ca/en/location/ubc-hospital | email= | address=2211 Westbrook Mall | lat=49.2642 | long=-123.2458 | directions= | phone=+1 604-822-7121 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=UBC Hospital | wikidata=Q7863802 | lastedit=2023-01-16 | content=The UBC Hospital emergency department operates daily 8 AM - 8 PM, to people of all ages. }} There are also a number of walk-in clinics around Vancouver. Unfortunately waits are usually around 30-45 min for an appointment. ===Consulates=== * {{flag|Australia}} {{listing | name=Australia | url=https://canada.embassy.gov.au/ | email= | address=1075 W Georgia St, Ste 2050 | lat=49.285784 | long=-123.122298 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-1177 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-1856 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Brazil}} {{listing | name=Brazil | url=https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-vancouver | email= | address=666 Burrard St, Ste 2020 | lat=49.285006 | long=-123.119039 | directions= | phone=+1 604-696-5311 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-696-5366 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|China}} {{listing | name=China (People's Republic of) | url=http://vancouver.china-consulate.gov.cn/ | email= | address=3380 Granville St | lat=49.255670 | long=-123.138088 | directions= | phone=+1 604-734-7492 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|France}} {{listing | name=France | alt= | url=https://vancouver.consulfrance.org/ | email= | address=1130 W Pender St, Ste 1100 | lat=49.287484 | long=-123.121524 | directions= | phone=+1 604-637-5300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2016-07-05 | content= }} * {{flag|Germany}} {{listing | name=Germany | alt= | url=https://canada.diplo.de/Vertretung/kanada/en/01/GK__Vancouver/0-vancouver-hauptbereichsseite-eng.html | email= | address=999 Canada Pl, Ste 704 | lat=49.28787 | long=-123.11295 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-8377 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-8334 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|India}} {{listing | name=India | url=https://cgivancouver.gov.in/ | email= | address=325 Howe St, Ste 201 | lat=49.286526 | long=-123.114152 | directions= | phone=+1 604-662-8811 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-682-3556 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Indonesia}} {{listing | name=Indonesia | alt= | url=https://kemlu.go.id/vancouver | email=congen@indonesiavancouver.org | address=1630 Alberni Street | lat=49.29026 | long=-123.13209 | directions= | phone=+1 604-682-8855 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Ireland}} {{listing | name=Ireland | alt= | url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/vancouver/ | email= | address=1300-1095 West Pender St | lat=49.28760 | long=-123.11968 | directions= | phone=+1 236-521-7300 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Japan}} {{listing | name=Japan | url=https://www.vancouver.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html | email= | address=1177 W Hastings St, Ste 800 | lat=49.288658 | long=-123.121750 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-5868 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|South Korea}} {{listing | name=Korea (Republic of) | alt= | url=https://can-vancouver.mofa.go.kr/ | email= | address=1090 W Georgia St, Ste 1600 | lat=49.285322 | long=-123.123071 | directions= | phone=+1 604-681-9581 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604681-4864 | hours=9AM-4:30PM | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Mexico}} {{listing | name=Mexico | alt= | url=https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/vancouver/index.php/es/ | email= | address=1177 West Hastings Street, Suite 411 | lat=49.287604 | long=123.07 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-1859 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-2485 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|New Zealand}} {{listing | name=New Zealand | url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/americas/canada/new-zealand-high-commission/ | email=vancouveroffice@nzte.govt.nz | address=1050 W Pender St, Ste 2250 | lat=49.286981 | long=-123.118914 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-7388 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-7333 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Romania}} {{listing | name=Romania | alt= | url=https://vancouver.mae.ro/ | email=vancouver@mae.ro | address=Suite 855, 555 Burrard Street, Two Bentall Centre, V7X 1M8 | lat=49.28634 | long=-123.11907 | directions= | phone=+1 604 633 0757 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=General Consulate. |lastedit=2022-08-10}} * {{flag|Switzerland}} {{listing | name=Switzerland | alt= | url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/vancouver | email= | address=999 Canada Pl, Ste 790 | lat=49.28781 | long=-123.11314 | directions= | phone=+1 604-684-2231 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-684-2806 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|Taiwan}} {{listing | name=Taiwan | url=https://www.taiwanembassy.org/cayvr_en/index.html | email= | address=650 W Georgia St, Ste 2200 | lat=49.281859 | long=-123.117356 | directions= | phone=+1 604-689-4111 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|Thailand}} {{listing | name=Thailand | url=http://www.thaiconsulatevancouver.ca | email= | address=1040 Burrard St | lat=49.280425 | long=-123.125355 | directions= | phone=+1 604-687-1143 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-687-4434 | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{flag|the United Kingdom}} {{listing | name=United Kingdom | url=https://www.gov.uk/world/canada | email= | address=1111 Melville St, Ste 800 | lat=49.286951 | long=-123.121956 | directions= | phone=+1 604-683-4421 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-681-0693 | hours= | price= |lastedit=2022-08-10| content= }} * {{flag|the United States}} {{listing | name=United States | alt= | url=https://ca.usembassy.gov/u-s-consulate-vancouver/ | email= | address=1075 W Pender St | lat=49.287604 | long=-123.119689 | directions= | phone=+1 604-685-4311 | tollfree= | fax=+1 604-685-7175 | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Go next== ===Nearby municipalities=== There are a number of things to see and do just outside of Vancouver's borders. Some of the most popular are listed below. All of these places are accessible by public transit, or if you have a car, within an hour's drive. * [[North Vancouver]] - Take in the views from Grouse Mountain (The Peak of Vancouver), go for a walk on a suspension bridge or enjoy one of the many outdoor recreation opportunities -- hiking, mountain biking, skiing/snowboarding, kayaking -- on offer. The most popular summer activity in the area is hiking the 'Grouse Grind', a 2.9-km, 853-m elevation gain hike up the side of Grouse mountain. * [[West Vancouver]] - A municipality north of the Lion's gate bridge, en route to Whistler. Home to many beaches, coves, parks and expensive real estate, where breathtaking views of Vancouver can be scoped by driving its higher altitudes. * [[Burnaby]] - Shop till you drop at Metropolis at Metrotown, the largest shopping mall in British Columbia, or relax at one of the large regional parks. Also home to Simon Fraser University's main campus (notable for its brutalist architecture), on top of Burnaby mountain. * [[Port Coquitlam]], [[Coquitlam]] and [[Port Moody]] (the Tri City area) - Half hour drive down Hastings street to the Barnet Highway will bring you to Port Moody, locally known as the City of the Arts. * [[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] - City with a large Asian influence with many options for Chinese, Japanese and Korean dining and shopping, one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America and the historic seaside Steveston towards the south offers a quieter, small-town type atmosphere. * [[Surrey (British Columbia)|Surrey]]/[[White Rock]] - A 45 minute drive away from Vancouver, famous for its moderate climate and sandy beaches. Surrey is also the place to go for South Asian shopping and watching Bollywood movies. * [[Fort Langley]] - Village with unique shops, restaurants and the site of one of the first forts built in British Columbia. * [[New Westminster]] - Small city on the banks of the Fraser River that was once the capital of British Columbia. * [[Delta (British Columbia)|Delta]] - Made up of three communities separated by farmland; North Delta, Ladner, and Tsawwassen. Ladner has a quaint village-like atmosphere which has attracted several movies to be shot there and is the home of the [https://www.reifelbirdsanctuary.com/ George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary]. Tsawwassen has Boundary Bay Regional Park with its walking trails and bird watching opportunities. ===Day trips=== * [[Bowen Island]] is a popular day trip or weekend excursion offering kayaking, hiking, shops, restaurants, and more. This authentic community is in Howe Sound just off Vancouver, and is accessed by ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. * For those who enjoy outdoor activities, a trek up the [[Sea to Sky]] corridor is essential. [[Squamish]] has branded itself the "Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada" and with an incredible amount of quality rock climbing, mountain biking, white water rafting, hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, fishing, golf, walking trails and more, it certainly deserves the title. Squamish is about half way between Vancouver and Whistler. [[Whistler]] (1.5-hour drive from Vancouver) is expensive but well-known because of the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the winter, enjoy some of the best skiing in North America, and in the summer try some authentic mountain biking. * Another good spot for outdoor activities is [[Mount Baker]] across the border in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. Driving time is about three hours, but border line-ups can add anywhere from a few minutes to several hours onto your trip. * The nearby [[Fraser Valley]] has a number of parks and lakes that are nice for fishing, hiking or relaxing. A popular lake beach destination is in [[Harrison Hot Springs]]. * A geopolitical oddity: [[Point Roberts]], a village that's part of the United States but can only be reached by land through [[Delta (British Columbia)|Delta]], BC. ===Further afield=== * [[Vancouver Island]] is a good spot to move on to from Vancouver. [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]], British Columbia's capital, is a relaxing place. [[Tofino]] is a pretty spot on the island's west coast, good for whale and storm watching and has some of Canada's best surf (if you can brave the cold water). The island is reached by ferry, seaplane and bus. * The [[Southern Gulf Islands]] are also a short ferry ride or float plane flight away. The Southern Gulf Islands are known for their artist communities, wineries, fromageries and farms. These islands also boast incredible opportunities for boating, kayaking, hiking, camping and wildlife viewing in the [[Gulf Islands National Park Reserve]]. * The [[Okanagan]] is a four to five hour drive east, with a large number of wineries, water activities in the summer and skiing in the winter. * The scenery of [[Banff]], [[Banff National Park]] and the [[Rocky Mountains (Canada)|Rocky Mountains]] is a long day's drive (8-9 hours) east. * To the south, in the United States, [[Seattle]] is a two and a half hour drive and [[Portland (Oregon)|Portland]] is a five hour drive (excluding any border line-up). {{routebox | image1=VIA Rail Canadian icon.png | imagesize1=100 | link1=The Canadian | directionl1=W | majorl1=END | minorl1= | directionr1=E | majorr1=[[Edmonton]] | minorr1=[[Mission (British Columbia)|Mission]] (EB) / [[Abbotsford]] (WB) | image2=Amtrak Cascades icon.png | imagesize2=100 | link2=Amtrak Cascades | directionl2=&nbsp;N | majorl2=END | minorl2= | directionr2=S | majorr2=[[Seattle]] | minorr2={{rint|passport}} → [[Bellingham (Washington)|Bellingham]] | image3=BC-1 (TCH).svg | imagesize3=22 | link3=Trans-Canada Highway | directionl3=W | majorl3=[[Nanaimo]] | minorl3=[[North Vancouver]] | directionr3=E | majorr3=[[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]] | minorr3=[[Burnaby]] | image4=BC-7.svg | imagesize4=22 | directionl4=W | majorl4=END | minorl4= | directionr4=E | majorr4=[[Hope (British Columbia)|Hope]] | minorr4=[[Burnaby]] | image5=BC-99.svg | imagesize5=22 | link5=[[Interstate 5]] | directionl5=&nbsp;N | majorl5=[[Whistler]] | minorl5=[[West Vancouver]] | directionr5=S | majorr5=[[Seattle]] / [[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]] via [[File:BC-17.svg|18px|link=]] | minorr5=[[Richmond (British Columbia)|Richmond]] | image6=Translinkwce.svg | imagesize6=22 | caption6=West Coast Express | directionl6=W | majorl6=END | minorl6= | directionr6=E | majorr6=[[Mission (British Columbia)|Mission]] | minorr6=[[Port Moody]] }} {{IsPartOf|Lower Mainland}} {{guidecity}} {{geo|49.2618|-123.1136|zoom=12}} supw3xsmqrnbvvq58xl4kqlysr5h3jt 0 39759 5298464 5290163 2026-06-25T16:42:38Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* See */ Added listing for Kana Museum of Science and Technology 5298464 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Xalapa_Banner_(cropped).jpg}} '''Xalapa''' is the capital of [[Veracruz (state)|Veracruz]] in [[Mexico]]. Xalapa is a college town that enjoys some fine colonial architecture as well as a nice climate in the highlands above the hot and humid Veracruz coast. ==Understand== {{climate chart |Xalapa |10.4 |20.6 |48.2 |11.3 |22.4 |34.3 |12.8 |24.4 |56.9 |14.9 |26.8 |69.6 |16.0 |27.5 |110.2 |16.3 |26.6 |284.3 |15.3 |26.1 |180.4 |15.4 |26.3 |213.4 |15.8 |25.6 |252.5 |14.5 |24.5 |131.7 |12.4 |22.4 |47.8 |11.1 |21.3 |34.3 |float=right |clear=right |source=[[:w:Xalapa]] |description= }} [[File:Palacio Municipal de Xalapa.jpg|thumb|Palacio Municipal]] Xalapa is known as the "Athens of Veracruz" because of the strong cultural influence of its major university, Universidad Veracruzana (the main public university in the State of Veracruz). General Enriquez is known for policies encouraging the educational system in Xalapa. Culturally, Xalapa has a wide variety of events associated with its theatres, museums, and street art. Many musicians and dancers frequently perform in the center in the nights, especially on special occasions and events of celebration or commemoration; they often dance the fandango. Art has a keen following in Xalapa. The '''Pinacoteca Diego Rivera''' is a large art museum, located near the City Hall and Parque Juárez in downtown, it has the largest collection of Diego Rivera's paintings in all of Mexico. In 2010, Xalapa was home to 425,000 people. ==Get in== {{mapframe|lat=19.5333|long=-96.9333|zoom=13}} ===By plane=== The Lencero Airport ({{IATA|JAL}}) is a very small airport. It is situated outside the city but is used only for helicopters and small planes (including private jets). The closest airport with commercial service is the '''Veracruz International Airport''' ({{IATA|VER}}). It's about 2 hours from Xalapa. ===By car=== Xalapa lies about midway between [[Puebla]] and [[Veracruz]] on federal highway MEX 140D (toll road). It is just under 2 hours to Veracruz and about 2-1/2 hours to Puebla. ===By bus=== Almost-hourly buses go from Mexico City to Xalapa in several bus lines (ADO, AU), departing from TAPO station. The trip takes about 4 hours. * {{go | name=Central de Autobuses Xalapa | alt=Bus station, Plaza Xalapan | url= | email= | address=Av. 20 de Noviembre Oriente 271, Alvaro Obregon | lat=19.525896 | long=-96.903920 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Fairly large bus station on the east side of the city with waiting area, restrooms (cost to use), and greasy fast food. ADO is the largest bus operator here. }} ==Get around== Hilly, densely constructed Xalapa is one of the world's great scooter cities. Rent one and the back areas of the city really open up for exploration. ==See== [[Image:Xalapa catedral.JPG|thumb|The cathedral of Xalapa.]] * {{see | name=Xalapa Catedral | alt=Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepcion | url= | email= | address=Juan de La Luz Enríquez s/n, Zona Centro | lat=19.527688 | long=-96.922994 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q538462 | lastedit=2023-06-29 | content=Built in 1641, this cathedral was overhauled in 1896 in a neo-gothic style with an arched nave, twin spires, and impressive stained glass windows. }} [[File:Olmec Stone Head at Entrance - Museum of Anthropology - Xalapa - Veracruz - Mexico (16064740946).jpg|thumb|Olmec head in the Museo Antropologia de Xalapa]] * {{see | name=Anthropology Museum of Xalapa | alt=Museo de Antropología de Xalapa (MAX) | url=https://www.uv.mx/max/ | email= | address=Av. Xalapa | lat=19.550873 | long=-96.930762 | directions= | phone=+52 228 815 0920 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 09:00-17:00 (closed M) | price=M$70 | wikidata=Q1841655 | lastedit=2023-06-29 | content=Beautifully-designed museum of the pre-hispanic cultures of Veracruz. A fascinating complement to the more famous archaeological museum in Mexico City. This museum is known for its extensive collections from the Olmec cultures, particularly some stunning examples of the giant Olmec head sculptures from San Lorenzo. }} * {{see | name=Juárez Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=Enríquez | lat=19.526766 | long=-96.923703 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-16 | content=It is advisable to visit Juárez Park, next to the town hall. From there you can have a good view of the city, Pico de Orizaba and Cofre de Perote, from the terrace of the museum Ágora. A nice place and reunion site for tourist and locals alike, where also you can enjoy some treats and snacks. and next to the museum of coffee. }} * {{see | name=Botanical Garden Francisco Javier Clavijero | alt= | url=https://www.inecol.mx/inecol/index.php/es/ | email= | address= | lat=19.512320 | long=-96.944055 | directions={{km|2.5}} from the old road to Coatepec No. 351 | phone=+52 228 842 18 27 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00 - 17:00 | price=Adult M$5, child M$2 | wikidata=Q9010897 | lastedit=2015-04-16 | content=The Botanical Garden Francisco Javier Clavijero is an arboretum and botanical garden of 38 hectares of which 30 are of forest preserved in an old coffee plantation and 8 garden festivals. it has seven public scientific collections in eight hectares. Exhibits some 6,000 specimens belonging to 700 species of plants. }} * {{see | name=Patio Muñoz | alt= | url= | email= | address=C. Jose Ma. Pino Suárez 38, Zona Centro | lat=19.526669 | long=-96.918103 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 09:00 - 19:00, closed Su | price= | wikidata=Q7145032 | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Patio Muñoz is a neighborhood built in the 19th century, with most of the original buildings intact. Here are held workshops in Veracruz-style painting, dance and music. }} * {{see | name=Jardín de Esculturas | alt= Sculpture Garden | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q6159877 | lastedit= | content=A museum dedicated to sculpture, exhibiting works by nationally and internationally recognized artists. }} * {{see | name=Pinacoteca Diego Rivera | alt=Diego Rivera Gallery | url=http://www.ivec.gob.mx/ | address=Calle José Joaquín Herrera 5, Zona Centro |lat=19.526807376645003|long=-96.92440987759694 | phone=+52 228 818 1819 | hours=10:00 - 18:00 (closed M) | price=Free | lastedit=2023-06-29 | content=Elegant, modern museum featuring the world's largest collection of art by Diego Rivera. Also features exhibits by modern and contemporary artists. }} *{{see | name=Museo El Lencero | alt=Hacienda El Lencero | url= | email= | address=Carretera Xalapa-Veracruz Km 10 | lat=19.4854 | long=-96.816189 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Su 10:00 - 17:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Occasionally called the Museo de Muebles (Furniture Museum), this historic [[Haciendas|hacienda]] was established by one of the soldiers serving under Hernan Cortes. Located just {{km|14}} southeast of the town center, the hacienda was for 14 years (1842-56) the home of Antonio López de Santa Anna, the 11-time president of Mexico. Here he retreated from the world, though on occasion he opened his doors to receive notable visitors. Furniture from Mexico, Europe, and Asia fills the rooms, illustrating the cosmopolitan tastes of Mexico's upper classes during the 19th century. Among the notable pieces is the leader's bed, embellished with the national emblem (an eagle holding a serpent in its beak). }} * {{see | name=Kana Museum of Science and Technology | alt= | url=http://kana.gob.mx/ | email= | address=Av Rafael Murillo Vidal 1735, Cuauhtemoc | lat=19.523185 | long=-96.895036 | directions= | phone=+52 228 841 9773 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:00 - 18:00, Sa-Su 10:00 - 18:00 | price=M$50 | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Kid-oriented science and technology museum with a lot of interactive displays and exhibits that focus on specific applications of technology, like transportation systems and technology-enabled cities. Good for families, but little of interest to most adults. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Teatro del Estado "Gral. Ignacio de la Llave" | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle Ignacio de la Llave 2, Represa del Carmen | lat=19.533564 | long=-96.934609 | directions= | phone=+52 228 812 3836 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-12-12 | content=Beautiful colonial era theatre that presents a diverse program of cultural events, including symphonies, popular music, dramatic theatre, and comedy. }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Mercado Jáuregui | alt= | url= | email= | address=Tamborrell 4, Zona Centro | lat=19.533699 | long=-96.923194 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:00 - 20:30 | price= | lastedit=2025-01-18 | content=Traditional Mexican marketplace that has fresh produce and food products, but also an enormous variety of household goods, often of pitiful quality, made in China, and sold at rock bottom prices. The market is cramped and often dirty, but it's a typical Mexican market intended to serve local populations, not tourists. There are some vendors here selling [[Mexican artesanias]], particularly ceramics and woven clothing. }} * {{buy | name=Mercado Adolfo Ruiz Cortines | alt=La Rotunda | url= | email= | address=C. Revolución 338-340, Col del Maestro | lat=19.541436 | long=-96.923317 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 07:00 - 20:00 | price= | lastedit=2025-03-24 | content=Food oriented marketplace with lots of produce and fresh meats, dairy and seafood. Great place to experience Verucruzana style regional Mexican cuisine. The most famous local dish served here is the ''picada'', which is like a deep-dish pizza, but with taco filling made with finely chopped meat. Some of the picadas are huge, giving rise to vendors selling smaller versions, called ''picaditas''. As with most Mexican markets, come hungry, eat cheap, leave stuffed. }} ==Eat== Xalapa is the place of origin of the famous Jalapeño peppers. Dishes made with maize: gorditas, tostadas, pasties, enfrijoladas, and chicken are common. The desserts that are consumed in the region are typically sweet such as cake and cocadas and craft candies like candied fruit, dulce de leche and jamoncillo. ===Budget=== * {{eat | name=Restaurante La Güerita | alt= | url= | email= | address=Manlio Fabio Altamirano 43 | lat=19.5301492 | long= -96.9250788 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Casumi | alt= | url= | email= | address= Miguel Palacios 21 | lat=19.5254675 | long=-96.9251841 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=El Itacate fonda | alt= | url= | email= | address=Juan Soto N 4 | lat=19.5287226 | long= -96.9184946 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Carcajada de Ray | alt= | url= | email= | address= C Rojano 29, Zona Centro | lat=19.5280969 | long=-96.9173061 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Cocina alteña | alt= | url= | email= | address=Lic. Benigno de Nogueira Iriarte 5 | lat=19.5296746 | long= -96.9173601 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name= Tacos San Jose| alt= | url= | email= | address=Justo Sierra 20 | lat=19.5304649 | long=-96.9157605 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Pozoles el Dique | alt= | url= | email= | address=De Los Atletas 8 | lat=19.5233721 | long=-96.9252404 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} ===Mid-range=== * {{eat | name=Bacan Macut | alt=Restaurante de Cocina Huasteca | url=https://www.facebook.com/BacanMacutCaxa/ | email= | address=Av. 20 de Noviembre #532 | lat=19.5251427 | long= -96.9025077 | directions=when exiting the Xalapa bus station CAXA, turn left and approximately one block away it will be on your right | phone=+52 228 841 1516 | tollfree= | hours=08:00-18:00 | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content=This restaurant specializes in Huasteca cuisine, from the northern part of the state of Veracruz. The dishes are quite excellent and not what you are normally familiar with as Mexican food. The owner is very demanding both in terms of cleanliness, and authenticity of the dishes, sourcing the ingredients from growers and suppliers in the region to which the dishes belong.<br />The customer service experience is adequate, and the menu is varied enough to find something to your liking. Most dishes include pork, beef, chicken or seafood, with few vegetarian and no vegan choices. }} * {{eat | name=Asadero Cien - Zaragoza | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ignacio Zaragoza 8 Int. 1 A y 1 B | lat=19.5265479 | long=-96.9222393 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Hosteria La Candela | alt= | url= | email= | address=Sebastián Camacho 6 | lat= 19.5262076 | long=-96.9219312 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name= Pizza Lola Xalapa| alt= | url= | email= | address=C. Jose Ma. Pino Suárez 2 | lat= 19.5270797 | long=-96.9192792 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Cariño Mío Restaurante | alt= | url= | email= | address=Gutiérrez Zamora 112-A | lat=19.5286613 | long= -96.9157739 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} ===Splurge=== * {{eat | name=Vadiros | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle Miguel Hidalgo 94 | lat=19.5232568 | long=-96.9177500 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-08-01 | content= }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Callejón Diamante | alt=Diamond Alley | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5021888 | lastedit= | content=One of the more crowded streets at night because of its Bohemian atmosphere with cafes and an artists' colony. }} ===Coffee=== Mexican coffee is internationally known for being organic and of exceptionally high quality. Mexicans are increasingly turning to coffee as their drink of choice and a number of cities are developing a strong coffee culture. Xalapa claims to be the coffee capital of Veracruz, which has Mexico's oldest coffee tradition with the first plantations planted in the 17th century. Outstanding cafes cluster downtown within a few blocks of the Cathedral. Some of the best are: * {{drink | name=La Parroquia de Veracruz | url=http://www.laparroquiadeveracruz.com/ | address=Juan de La Luz Enríquez, Zona Centro | lat=19.527585908149593 | long=-96.92354313098389 | directions=across the street from Parque Juarez | phone=+52 228 812 3175 | hours=Daily 07:30 - 22:30 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Great coffee shop with abundant people watching opportunities. Many specialty coffees. If you're going for dessert, try the coffee jello with rompope. }} * {{drink | name=4 Regiones | url=https://4regiones.com.mx/ | address=Xalapeños Ilustres 9, Zona Centro | lat=19.528303838699422 | long=-96.92009917481343 | phone=+52 228 819 9542 | hours=Daily 08:30 - 22:00 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Warm, cozy cafe serving an interesting range of coffee drinks with assorted coffees from different Mexican states. You can choose whether to sample local coffee from [[Veracruz]], or maybe try an exotic import from [[Oaxaca (state)|Oaxaca]] or [[Chiapas]]. }} * {{drink | name=El Café-tal Apan | url=http://elcafe-talapan.com/ | address=Leona Vicario # 10 at corner of Ignacio Allende 58, Centro | lat=19.525729789465416 | long=-96.92713944446021 | phone=+52 228 308 9654 | hours=Daily 08:00 - 20:00 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Inviting coffee shop with a garden courtyard area. Get an innovative coffee drink, a straight-up brewed cuppa (Americano), or pick up a bag of ground or whole bean coffee. }} * {{drink | name=Cafe Lindo | url= | address=Calle Primo Verdad 21, Zona Centro | lat=19.527034764629935 | long=-96.92054825610602 | phone=+52 228 841 9166 | hours=Daily 08:00 - 00:00 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Cozy colonial-style place serving hot and cold coffee drinks and serving desserts and other foods. Live music. }} * {{drink | name=Flor Catorce | url= | address=José María Morelos 1, Zona Centro | lat=19.525113249834053 | long=-96.9230479622941 | phone=+52 228 812 0827 | hours=M-Sa 08:00 - 23:00, Su 09:00 - 21:00 | price=M$100 | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=Popular coffee shop that serves good food and a variety of coffee drinks. Morning special includes coffee and fresh fruit. Dog friendly. Live music shows. }} ==Sleep== ===Budget=== Xalapa has a wide choice of budget hotels. The city should really be a lot more popular with backpackers than it is. The fact most stay on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts is their loss and can be your gain. * Los Lagos +52 228 818-2000. 13 de Septiembre No.23. 22 rooms. * Mision de las Americas +52 228 814-1145. Av. Xalapa No. 172. 15 rooms. * La Moderna +52 228 817-3586. Leona Vicario No. 21. 39 rooms. * El Arebe +52 228 817-1777. Av. 20 de Noviembre No. 535. 13 rooms. * Limon 817-2204. Revolución No. 8. 49 rooms. * Yalta +52 228 815-0833. Av. Lazaro Cárdenas No. 696. 60 rooms * Araucarias +52 228 818-9038. Av. Avila Camacho No. 60. 16 rooms. * Oasis +52 228 815-0360. Av. Xalapa No. 1120. 25 rooms. * Bugambilias +52 228 814-5863. Av. Miguel Aleman No. 277. 20 rooms. * Atenas +52 228 812-8944. Av. Lazero Cárdenas No. 1181. 49 rooms. * El Mirador +52 228 815-1655. Av. Xalapa No. 1106. 44 rooms. * Tecajetes +52 228 812-4973. Bustamante No. 24. 43 rooms. ===Mid-range=== * {{sleep | name=Posada La Mariquinta | url=http://www.posadalamariquinta.com | email= | address=Calle José María Alfaro 12 | lat=19.529796| long=-96.920465 | directions= | phone=+52 228 818 1158 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Rates are lower for longer stays | checkin= | checkout= | content=Very comfortable guest house in quiet neighborhood within walking location of main plaza. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Misión Express Xalapa Centro | alt= | url=https://www.hotelesmision.com.mx/en/ | email= | address=Av. Avila Camacho No. 60 | lat=19.529577 | long=-96.929338 | directions= | phone=+52 1 228 817 34 33 | tollfree= | checkin=15:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=Rates on website start at 650 pesos | lastedit=2025-01-16 | content=The hotel offers 16 rooms which have plasma TV with cable service, free Wi-Fi access, a coffee/tea maker, telephone, work desk, and a fan. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Central Xalapa | url=https://hotelesenxalapa.com/hotel-central.html | email= | address=Av. 20 de Noviembre 522, Col. Tatahuicapan | lat=19.525065 | long=-96.904009 | directions= | phone= +52 228 818 5523 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Best rates on website start at 628.81 pesos | checkin= | checkout= | content=All of its rooms have a cable TV, telephone, and electronic keys and lock. Some of its facilities are La Tasca del Quijote (serves a variety of international cuisines), mutifunctional rooms, a business center, and Internet access. }} ===Splurge=== * {{sleep | name=Hotel Mision Xalapa Plaza de las Convenciones | alt= | url=https://www.hotelesmision.com.mx/en/ | email= | address=Av 20 de Noviembre Ote 455 | lat=19.527898 | long=-96.910985 | directions= | phone=+52 228 818 2020 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | lastedit=2015-04-27 | content=All rooms equipped with cable television, coffee/tea maker, telephone, and Internet access. Some of its facilities are swimming pool, fitness room/gym, laundry service, and safe deposit boxes. }} ==Go next== [[Naolinco]] - Traditional village famous for leather goods and for [[Día de los Muertos]] [[Xico]] - Village known for having huge bullfight every Summer and near impressive waterfalls [[Veracruz]] - The largest city in the state {{usablecity}} {{IsPartOf|Veracruz (state)}} {{Geo|19.5333|-96.9333}} 337407qqxwdvdg2dms2iglx9z6h0qzc 0 39809 5298524 4995789 2026-06-25T23:48:51Z Asamboi 692 consistent naming 5298524 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|WV banner Xigatse prefecture Shigatse hotel.jpg|pgname=Xigaze}} '''Xigaze''' (日喀则; ''Rìkāzé''), also '''Shigatse''', is a prefecture in Central [[Tibet]]. Named after its capital city [[Shigatse]], it has numerous places of interest for tourists, and has good public transportation by Tibetan standards. ==Cities== {{mapframe}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Shigatse]]|wikidata=Q116656}} - officially known as Samzhubzê District, this is the administrative centre and the only major urban area in the region. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Gyantse]]|wikidata=Q1999606}} - the fourth largest city in Tibet. Home to a famous stupa. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Dram]]|wikidata=Q3270229}} - town located at Nepal border * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Drongpa]]|wikidata=}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Lhatse]]|wikidata=}} - a minor town with little tourist interest, but important as a transportation hub as it is final destination for all public transportation in the direction of [[Mount Kailash]] and Nepal. There are a few guest houses and several shops. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nyalam]]|wikidata=Q7070825}} - site of 'Milarepa's cave'. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sakya]]|wikidata=Q1585564}} - a large village with an important old monastery. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Shelkar]]|wikidata=Q2541083}} - launching point for the landrover trip to [[Qomolangma National Nature Reserve]]. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tingri]]|wikidata=Q3529179}} - the closest town on the "highway" to Nepal and Mount Everest. It offers a wide, but simple choice of accommodation and is a good place to view Mount Everest. With camping equipment, it's also possible to trek to Everest back camp - a journey of about four days. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== Xigatse Peace Airport is located 43 km from Shigatse city, It has flights to Chengdu, Shanghai and Xi'an. ==Get around== ==See== *{{marker|name=[[Qomolangma National Nature Reserve]]|wikidata=Q3457459}}. A reserve spanning the foothills of the northern side of Mount Everest. * {{marker|name=[[Rongbuk Monastery]]|wikidata=Q785488}}. A sacred monastery near Everest with a magnificent view of the north face of Everest. *'''Nyalam Pelgyeling Monastery''', 10 km north of the village of [[Nyalam]]. A monastery built around a cave where the enlightened yogi Milarepa (1040-1123) and his disciple Rechungpa spent many years in meditation. ==Do== ==Eat== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Tibet}} {{outlineregion}} {{Geo|29.267|88.881|zoom=7}} os8flxk34dzlrjo2mv9w3j5zi2lgfjl 4 69268 5298430 5297726 2026-06-25T13:31:08Z MediaWiki message delivery 421098 /* Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki */ new section 5298430 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> i3qs0zk6bqzizgpzk4qrriqugiqs6js 5298438 5298430 2026-06-25T14:12:41Z Ikan Kekek 36420 /* Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki */ Reply 5298438 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) 4mynhe299qhl9yx5hmid8mp5lg3rupf 5298471 5298438 2026-06-25T17:23:51Z The dog2 35982 /* Canadian cuisine */ new section 5298471 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an early grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) au8e1ii8xmd6tjmy6x0psx5tixq52em 5298476 5298471 2026-06-25T17:49:01Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Canadian cuisine */ Reply 5298476 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an early grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) o0oqnaxja4e3tbmczyre7rxrtcf5aw6 5298525 5298476 2026-06-25T23:48:52Z SHB2000 2248002 /* Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki */ Reply 5298525 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an early grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) n4532jddjx5uaprqwzbjrxdar6lykuy 5298532 5298525 2026-06-26T00:30:31Z Koavf 36077 /* Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki */ Reply 5298532 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an early grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) g1nim6mr30hnh56vvpnwb0cfwmxuqxs 5298566 5298532 2026-06-26T02:30:34Z WhatamIdoing 855272 /* Canadian cuisine */ Reply 5298566 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an early grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) hmhzsgqipkqj3is7d9eaksg6m12ti5c 5298574 5298566 2026-06-26T02:44:13Z The dog2 35982 5298574 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) o2e1kkajcxmq1bq5y9uhfyocmoh8ncx 5298585 5298574 2026-06-26T03:00:52Z OhanaUnited 76122 /* RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons */ includes AI touchup 5298585 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) n1we46wcm996mjrz2zzz27ijz25yueq 5298601 5298585 2026-06-26T04:39:43Z Gerode 2196717 /* Canadian cuisine */ Reply 5298601 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) t7ojfhenbjwb4i9qxvgac0buz5blfrw 5298605 5298601 2026-06-26T05:16:02Z The dog2 35982 /* Canadian cuisine */ 5298605 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::Toronto has the peameal bacon sandwich, which is a simple and hearty dish. And unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but apparently they have their own version of roti shaped by immigration of East Indians from the Caribbean. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 05:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) 7ctw5xkkvmyilok9mfoc5ohrn63ahx9 5298610 5298605 2026-06-26T07:11:58Z ThunderingTyphoons! 106394 /* Canadian cuisine */ Reply 5298610 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::Toronto has the peameal bacon sandwich, which is a simple and hearty dish. And unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but apparently they have their own version of roti shaped by immigration of East Indians from the Caribbean. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 05:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::That bacon sandwich is yummy! There's a fair few BC regional foods that could be mentioned: salmon in general but particularly sockeye, albacore tuna, spot prawns, california and BC sushi rolls, Nanaimo bars, Okanagan wine, peaches, cherries... Canada has also invented a bunch of ice cream and potato chip flavours that are unheard of or usual elsewhere. Moon mist or tiger tail, anyone? How about some all-dressed Ruffles? Good suggestion for an article.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:11, 26 June 2026 (UTC) pn63hiaxp2zi89uwhp7ouybacg4tl38 5298611 5298610 2026-06-26T07:16:44Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Canadian cuisine */ Reply 5298611 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::Toronto has the peameal bacon sandwich, which is a simple and hearty dish. And unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but apparently they have their own version of roti shaped by immigration of East Indians from the Caribbean. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 05:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::That bacon sandwich is yummy! There's a fair few BC regional foods that could be mentioned: salmon in general but particularly sockeye, albacore tuna, spot prawns, california and BC sushi rolls, Nanaimo bars, Okanagan wine, peaches, cherries... Canada has also invented a bunch of ice cream and potato chip flavours that are unheard of or usual elsewhere. Moon mist or tiger tail, anyone? How about some all-dressed Ruffles? Good suggestion for an article.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:11, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Consider what cuisine content is best placed in Canada/Eat, or might be better developed on a regional or city page and cross-referenced. Perhaps readers would benefit more from signposting of content that’s already there, than from a new stand-alone page. The fast-food chains certainly need a brief mention: on a long drive, Timmie’s could literally be a life-saver. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 07:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) fyp38hqb63d08am5tjpdd0h29h492lj 5298612 5298611 2026-06-26T07:23:09Z ThunderingTyphoons! 106394 /* Canadian cuisine */ Reply 5298612 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::Toronto has the peameal bacon sandwich, which is a simple and hearty dish. And unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but apparently they have their own version of roti shaped by immigration of East Indians from the Caribbean. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 05:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::That bacon sandwich is yummy! There's a fair few BC regional foods that could be mentioned: salmon in general but particularly sockeye, albacore tuna, spot prawns, california and BC sushi rolls, Nanaimo bars, Okanagan wine, peaches, cherries... Canada has also invented a bunch of ice cream and potato chip flavours that are unheard of or usual elsewhere. Moon mist or tiger tail, anyone? How about some all-dressed Ruffles? Good suggestion for an article.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:11, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Consider what cuisine content is best placed in Canada/Eat, or might be better developed on a regional or city page and cross-referenced. Perhaps readers would benefit more from signposting of content that’s already there, than from a new stand-alone page. The fast-food chains certainly need a brief mention: on a long drive, Timmie’s could literally be a life-saver. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 07:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Certainly valid counterpoints. There's already a [[Fast food in the United States and Canada]], though that looks overlong to me and not sure how useful it really is for the driving situation you mention.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:23, 26 June 2026 (UTC) nu5zp7lqpvlqs9i7x4wrdvwylxuyhbp 5298707 5298612 2026-06-26T10:56:31Z SHB2000 2248002 /* Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 */ swept to [[Wikivoyage talk:Albania Expedition]] 5298707 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::Toronto has the peameal bacon sandwich, which is a simple and hearty dish. And unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but apparently they have their own version of roti shaped by immigration of East Indians from the Caribbean. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 05:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::That bacon sandwich is yummy! There's a fair few BC regional foods that could be mentioned: salmon in general but particularly sockeye, albacore tuna, spot prawns, california and BC sushi rolls, Nanaimo bars, Okanagan wine, peaches, cherries... Canada has also invented a bunch of ice cream and potato chip flavours that are unheard of or usual elsewhere. Moon mist or tiger tail, anyone? How about some all-dressed Ruffles? Good suggestion for an article.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:11, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Consider what cuisine content is best placed in Canada/Eat, or might be better developed on a regional or city page and cross-referenced. Perhaps readers would benefit more from signposting of content that’s already there, than from a new stand-alone page. The fast-food chains certainly need a brief mention: on a long drive, Timmie’s could literally be a life-saver. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 07:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Certainly valid counterpoints. There's already a [[Fast food in the United States and Canada]], though that looks overlong to me and not sure how useful it really is for the driving situation you mention.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:23, 26 June 2026 (UTC) l4os8kyk1otapm7uvhac602ngdtk24b 5298729 5298707 2026-06-26T11:39:30Z Ikan Kekek 36420 /* Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki */ Reply 5298729 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style="text-align:left; background: var( --wv-optional-color, #f4f7fa); color: var( --color-base ); border: 1px solid #abc; padding: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em"> <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px;">'''Welcome to the pub'''</div> {{shortcut|[[WV:Pub]]|[[WV:TP]]}} [[File:QA_icon_clr.svg|right|frameless|150px|link=]] The travellers' pub is for general discussion on Wikivoyage, and the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. To start a new topic, click the "Add topic" tab, so that it gets added '''at the bottom''' of the page, and sign your post by appending four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) Before asking a question or making a comment: * Have a look at our [[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]], [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikivoyage:Policies|Policies]] pages. * If you are a '''new user''' and you have any questions about using the website, try the [[Wikivoyage:Arrivals lounge|Arrivals lounge]]. * If you have a '''question or suggestion about a particular article''', use the article's [[Project:using talk pages|talk page]] to keep the discussion associated with that article. * If you'd like to '''draw attention to a comment''' to '''get feedback''' from other Wikivoyagers, try [[Wikivoyage:Requests for comment|Requests for comment]]. * If you are '''wanting travel advice on a specific matter''' see the [[Wikivoyage:Tourist office|tourist office]]. * If you have an '''issue you need to bring to the attention of an administrator''', try [[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]]. * If you are having a '''problem that you think has to do with the [[mw:|MediaWiki software]]''', please post that on [[phab:|Phabricator]] instead. * If you want to '''celebrate a significant contribution''' to Wikivoyage by yourself or others, hold a party at [[Project:Celebrate a contribution|Celebrate a contribution]]. * Discuss '''issues related to more than one language version''' of Wikivoyage in the [[meta:Wikivoyage/Lounge|Wikivoyage Lounge]] on Meta. * Anything that is '''Nigeria-related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Nigeria café|Nigeria café]] instead. Anything that is '''Kosovo or Albania related''' is now meant to go in the [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo and Albania cafe|Kosovo and Albania café]] instead. This includes announcements, initiatives, celebrations, and issues with certain articles. You can review old Pub discussions in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/Archives]]. '''Pull up a chair and join in the conversation!''' [{{fullurl:Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|action=edit&section=new}} '''Click here to start a new thread'''] </div> {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} <!-- Discussions start here --> __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ == Wikivoyage World Cup 2026 == Hey everyone!   We at Wikimedia Small Projects are excited to suggest bringing the Wikivoyage communities together once more for a event—you know, just in time for the 2026 World Cup! We’re calling it the "Wikivoyage World Cup 2026," and we’d love for you to be part of it. Here are some of our hopes for the event:   * To bring all our active Wikivoyage communities together—especially those speaking Spanish, English (yes, I know this is the right community), and French, since they’re connected to the host countries.   * To team up with local chapters like Wikimedia Mexico, Wikimedia Canada, and the affiliates in the United States.   * To improve existing articles and create new ones about Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   * To have a centralnotice to keep everyone in the loop. We’re thinking of holding the event from June 11 to August 20, so it’s a good idea to start getting things ready now. I know this has [[Talk:2026 FIFA World Cup|come up before]], and I’d really love for you to join us in coordinating the event and reaching out to affiliates and/or volunteers who might be interested. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 03:03, 25 March 2026 (UTC) :Like last time, I'm happy to judge/evaluate the articles submitted as part of this contest once again. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:36, 25 March 2026 (UTC) ::I support this initiative. I would say that it should be open to all Wikivoyage languages since many dominant national football teams don't use English, French or Spanish (looking at you, Portugal, Brazil and Germany). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:58, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] Can you let us know when this is set up? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:54, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :I'm happy to do so... and I'm happy to clean up articles regarding football as well. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:33, 26 April 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]]: Any updates on this btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:32, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::I apologize for the delay. We've been busy with the educational program and the event taking place in Mérida. I'll be contacting the communities in the next few days and requesting CentralNotice to publicize the event. Regards, [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:36, 2 June 2026 (UTC) :::The first World Cup match starts in 3 days. That's awfully late to begin a targeted event campaign and visitors who will benefit from the information are probably arriving at their destination countries by now. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:16, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I have to agree. With so little input in this discussion, the world cup starting soon, no criteria decided (or even what the contest will involve), I'm with [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]] here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Now would be a good time to start improving our coverage of the host cities in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain so that they are ready when fans start to think about going to the [[:w:2030 FIFA World Cup|2030 World Cup]]. Fans make detailed plans as soon as the match schedule is announced, about 6 months before kick off, and may start looking at the country 1-2 years in advance. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::That's a good point. Maybe we could get some of the national affiliates to plan something. Let's see, [[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] knows about the group in Morocco, and [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]] for Spain. Does anyone know who to contact for [[m:Wikimedia Portugal]]? The work can be done in the members' native languages ([[:ar:|voy:ar:]], [[:es:|voy:es:]], and [[:pt:|voy:pt:]]), and then it can be translated here. If a couple of potential trainers start contributing this summer, then they'll be able to give good advice to editing parties by the winter. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::afaik, eswikivoyage and ptwikivoyage don't have any active members from Spain and Portugal respectively (and I don't think pt is active at all nowadays since {{ping|Ibaman|Texugo}} stopped regularly contributing there). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::@[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] Start editing now for 2030 may be a tad bit too early. Things are bound to change (even naturally) over 4 years. Can we come back to this idea in 2029? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:35, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]]: Thank you for pinging me here. I shared this discussion with Wikimedia Morocco UG members if anyone interested. I agree with @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], it's too early to start editing for 2030 FIFAWC; many things can change in four years. --[[User:Essaidib2|Essaidib2]] ([[User talk:Essaidib2|talk]]) 18:42, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I agree that it may be too early to launch a full campaign for the 2030 World Cup, since many things can change before then. However, we could still start with light preparation, such as identifying gaps in articles about host cities, transport, airports, and general travel information. A real editing campaign would probably be more useful closer to the event, once the schedule and logistics are clearer -- [[User:DERDAKI ILIAS|DERDAKI ILIAS]] ([[User talk:DERDAKI ILIAS|talk]]) 19:04, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Alternatively, we can start preparing for the WWC in Brazil next year – I know the WWC is nowhere near as big of an event globally, but it's still pretty huge here (perhaps because the Matildas are more prominent and just better than the Socceroos). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC) == New feature: Travel Tracker (RfC) == IRL procrastination, a random shower thought for better user retention, and 100 or so Gemini prompts (i.e. AI/vibecoding): the results of that led me to create [[Wikivoyage:Travel Tracker]]. It's a personal tool that any logged in user can use to track which countries they've visited. No scripts that need to be installed, just go to [[Special:MyPage/Visited]] and check it out for yourself. Why? Part of what got me hooked into [https://www.jetpunk.com/ Jetpunk] was exactly their country tracker. Many people use online sites to track their travels nowadays. The idea is so that casual users – users that occasionally edit Wikivoyage but only ever so often, perhaps choose to use this travel tracker, then are immediately incentivised to update their travel maps after visiting somewhere new, hopefully also updating some actual articles in the process. The tool still has many teething issues, some that will take time to fix, but it's usable for the most part. Alongside Andree's [[Wikivoyage:Trip Planner|trip planner]], I hope this too can be added to the topbar. I'm also planning on perhaps creating a similar tool for US/Indian/Mexican/Brazilian states, depending on how things go. Any feedback/fixes appreciated and welcome. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :This works well for me at first glance! (I found one glitch, "Bosnia and Herzegovina" isn't shading for me.) It would be fun to have a way to note regions and cities as well, then I'd probably use it as a "Places I've visited"/"Articles I've worked on" section on my User Page. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:28, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::The glitch is unfortunately a long-standing property of kartographer - it here are too many regions, it may not display all of them. Also, sometimes the OSM data import breaks. E.g. Thailand shape is quite broken currently, too. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::Yeah for the first I've found usually just a hard cache solves that issue. OSM data import breaks yeah I have no idea how to fix that (similar issue with Singapore too). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:47, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Created [[:phab:T422902]] for the Thailand/Singapore issue – seems to be a pretty widespread problem across WMF projects so I def think it's worth this getting looked into by more technical people than us. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:59, 10 April 2026 (UTC) ::::Also have given the tracker a little bit of a revamp in terms of style + few finishing touches (like a numerical counter). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:05, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :For some reason Q38 (Italy) was added twice for me, using purely the editor. Otherwise, nice work :-) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:05, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ::Ah, I see the issue (Estonia mistakenly had the Wikidata item of Italy) – fixed! :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:51, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :::It's a fun tool. To make it more interesting, you could also provide an option to break it down by region (state, province, etc.) for the top ten countries by population or area. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 03:23, 10 April 2026 (UTC) :I've added this tool to the topbar – should work in both vector 2010 and vector 2022, but not skins older than that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC) :Wow, that feature works, on Temporary Accounts too. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 12:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::Since temporary accounts only lasts for 90 days from initial creation, @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] you may want to create an account soon because your current temporary account will expire by the end of this month. As for the tool itself, I noticed that your shaded countries don't show up on my end. On the broader picture, I propose that we limit this tool to registered accounts. Otherwise we will potentially have tonnes of abandoned Temporary Account map pages that people can't access after 3 months. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:45, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::I'd go further and say that I don't think temporary accounts should be able to create userspace pages at all for the same reason you mention. Maybe I'll start a separate discussion for that sometime later. But yeah @[[User:~2026-69216-3|~2026-69216-3]] in your case, would recommend doing that (and then perhaps moving your map to your userspace under a registered account). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:17, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::If they can't create a User: space page, then they'll have a harder time telling us some things that we want to know (ordinary user page content, like languages spoken), and they won't be able to create a sandbox for testing, which could lead to making more mistakes in the mainspace. ::::Also, at the moment, this is not a big problem. [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges?userExpLevel=unregistered&hidebots=1&hidepageedits=1&hidecategorization=1&hideWikibase=1&hidelog=1&hidenewuserlog=1&namespace=2&limit=1000&days=30&urlversion=2 Almost none are being created], and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=prefix%3AUser%3A~202&title=Special:Search&ns0=1 only 14 exist in total]. ::::When we reach the point of having, say, 100 or 500 or some other large number of such pages, I think we could have a generous deletion policy for User: pages, but I don't think we need a wholesale ban. By "generous", I mean that if it's more than, say, a year old and just test edits (or actually problematic in some way), then any admin should feel free to delete it. I do not mean that an admin marks their calendar to search and delete all User: pages because it just annoys the admin's sense of tidiness that ''those'' contributors were allowed to create pages in the User: space. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Hmm that's true, you do have a point especially because "Draft:" isn't a namespace here. I'll try to think of how else we could solve that issue. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:52, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::That is okay to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 00:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::Still any particular reason why you haven't just created an account btw? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:42, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::For me, I have a preference. I would rather edit as temporary user, other than creating the registered or named account. I do not plan to stick around as much in the future. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't propose to restrict Temporary Accounts from creating any "User:" pages. I am only proposing restriction on TAs creating the "/visited" pages because they can't stick around past 90 days. From a technical standpoint, is there a way to display a message only to TAs that "hey, you can use this tool locally but if you want to truly save it or show it to friends, you need to register an account"? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:06, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :I went to see if I could embed this on my main User page. Could you add an easy way to suppress the checkboxes, maybe by a flag on the VisitedMap template? Not only would that make this map embeddable, it would make it harder for me to check boxes on other people's pages! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 21:14, 12 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]]: You should be able to now embed this on your userpage (just by transcluding <nowiki>{{User:Gerode/Visited}}</nowiki>). Suppressing the checkboxes I've got planned, probably using the abuse filter (since there are ''some'' cases where I think it's okay and I'd rather a warn system over a complete disallow). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Is there a limit to how many countries the tracker can show? On [[User:Asamboi/Visited|my map]], a bunch of random countries (the UK, France, Spain, Philippines, Laos) are not showing up even though they're selected. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 03:12, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :Usually it's a cache issue – [[Special:Purge]] should do the trick (they appear for me on your map). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:39, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::I would recommend adding a "refresh" button which functions like it's a purge, with a line telling user to click on the refresh button if the map doesn't update or have countries missing. We can't expect new users to know a special page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 13:49, 15 April 2026 (UTC) I like this idea (have always thought about it). It also pairs well with [[User:OhanaUnited/Edits around the world challenge|the world editing challenge]]. But at first save Australia and New Zealand weren't shaded until I refresh the page. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 04:35, 13 April 2026 (UTC) : Echoing other comments, this is a nice little gadget, I tried it out the other day. An idea for how to develop it further would be an additional layer for countries the user would like to visit (maybe in green or red?). In addition to Singapore which was mentioned above, also the main part of Morocco does not want to show up. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:26, 13 April 2026 (UTC) ::So far I've fixed Thailand and HK on OSM. Singapore should be easy to fix, and I'll have to look into what's causing the issue for [[Serbia]] and [[Morocco]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 13 April 2026 (UTC) :::SG now also fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:05, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::: Uganda is not shown. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 05:39, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::::It seems to show for me – you might need to clear your cache or give it a refresh. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC) :::Serbia's mapping to Kosovo. Let's not start the next world war shall we? :) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:20, 14 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I [https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181317764 tried] to fix it last night – ig a waiting game to see how long it'll take for this change to be mirrored here. :P //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:13, 15 April 2026 (UTC) :::::[https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/181357478#map=6/28.61/-9.16 And Morocco]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 15 April 2026 (UTC) ::::{{re|OhanaUnited}} Both Serbia and Morocco now fixed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC) :::::mexico, belize, panama, costa rica, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal (and probably a few more I have missed are not working for me). Is there a limit to how many you can add? [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 03:10, 18 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]] I debugged this some more and I am seeing a call to https://maps.wikimedia.org/geoshape?getgeojson for every single country in the map. So for 195 countries, the browser tries to open 195 concurrent or sequential connections. ::::::This architecture doesn't scale with our traffic and is currently triggering 429 requests which is likely why many of the countries are not showing for people. This also increases the risk that this feature could interfere with tools and other features on that site that may in future get rate limited. ::::::Can we look to get this fixed sometime next week, given this risk here? I suggest we use a single request with a pipe-separated or comma-separated list of Q-ids if that's possible or at minimum batch the queries with setTimeout and caching using mw.storage for subsequent requests. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 19:35, 19 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::If it's possible to fix this, that would be appreciated (I'm not entirely sure how to make it such – I'm also a bit preoccupied this week and life irl has been quite hazy, but I'll give it a shot). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::I've tried batching [[Module:VisitedMap]] – does that perhaps solve some of the issues? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:14, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Yes! That seems to have done the trick! Thank you for the speedy fix! [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 04:20, 20 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Awesome! Glad to know that works. :) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Do you know the reason why the link to the travel map doesn't appear on Traveller's pub page? It shows up on all other pages (Wikivoyage namespace, mainspace, user page space, etc.) [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 17:02, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I can see it in the 'usual spot' (under the user icon), but only when you scroll all the way up. When the icons transform into the 'top bar', the submenu doesn't contain the entry. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 19:30, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::This is on vector 2022 I take it? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :New bug I've noticed, once again with the Kartographer extension: for some reason, Germany and the Netherlands don't show up for anyone, but it works perfectly fine using {{tl|mapshape}}. I took a cursory look and there was nothing I could really pinpoint that was causing this issue, so maybe a phabricator task is needed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:57, 31 May 2026 (UTC) ::Interesting, the issue seems to have fixed itself overnight. Kartographer is weird man... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == Abolishing the see, do, eat and drink sections of region articles == {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Outline regions}} – that's the number of outline region articles there are at present. Out of {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Region articles}}. That puts the number of outline region articles at about 68%, as of writing this message. A majority of articles you'll stumble across will have no content in either the see, do, eat and drink sections, and it's very explainable: writing content in most region articles is a fairly time-consuming exercise whilst simultaneously also being one of the least read sections. In most cases, we want people to focus more on the understand, get in and get around sections for region articles rather than things to see or do, let alone eat/drink (which should really be mostly covered by individual city/park articles). My solution is rather simple: remove the see, do, eat and drink sections as mandatory headings for outline and usable articles (but they should be a requirement for guide and star articles) so the site can have a bit of a more polished look. This site has had over 20 years to prove that these sections have been useful, and they haven't. I'm aware this is a bit different to all our other categories of articles, but regions are a bit of a unique case in that a) we don't list individual listings on region pages and b) the see, do, eat and drink sections provide so little value in a majority of cases. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:10, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I thought eat, drink and sleep were already optional for region articles. See and do shouldn't be optional. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Sleep is, but not eat/drink per [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Let's make eat and drink optional, but I disagree with making see and do optional. There needs to be a summary of things or at least types of things to see and do in a region for it to be really usable. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:11, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::That's fair I suppose –&nbsp;I don't feel too strongly about see/do so I'm fine with just eat/drink if that's what we all want. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:12, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::::We might want to have a discussion on the [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]] page to make it official, don't you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:23, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::All that this can achieve is to make the metrics look a bit better, by lowering the quality threshold for a regional page to be considered "usable" – a bar that is already set low. Scrappy uninformative pages will remain scrappy and uninformative, not worth reading. :::::: ::::::“Overhang” is the term I use for regional pages that remain outline even though their constituent pages are of good standard. My guess is that these are few, do we have any numbers about that? If (as seems likely) the outline regions mostly have outline cities, parks etc then it’s sensible to put the effort into the latter. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 17:50, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::Probably should've started the discussion there, but I think for such a major high-profile change I'd prefer the pub as the venue of discussion over [[Wikivoyage talk:Region article template]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:29, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :I wonder how often we have a regional article without usable articles below it. I have occasionally added attractions to a regional article because there was no 'city' article to stick it in. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 20:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Personally I think that's fine tbh – though I suppose in those cases that's where the question of whether a rural area article is more favorable arises. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:38, 23 April 2026 (UTC) Agree with whoever said make it optional. I agree that most of the time they would be unnecessary but there are enough corner cases. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 21:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC) I agree that region articles should have See and Do, and we should work towards filling those in, rather than removing them. Eat and Drink are useful, and exist in some region articles, but it does seem unlikely that we will be able to expand those any time soon. They should be optional, and removed if empty. I don't think Sleep should be in region articles at all. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:19, 23 April 2026 (UTC) : Although [[Hebrides|here]] is an example of a useful Sleep section in a region article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 21:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC) ::Regions should have See and Do, and can usefully have Buy, Eat, Drink or Sleep. Unfortunately you usually need to know a region well to provide complete content in any of these sections. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:03, 23 April 2026 (UTC) :::Nicely put, AlasdairW. A really good Region SHOULD have Buy, Eat, Drink and Sleep sections that provide a high-level overview (similar to the Hberides article that Ground Zero cited. I agree that listings generally don't belong in Region articles (unless there isn't an appropriate city article for it). I'm okay with having all those sections be optional for regions, but feel strongly that they should be REQUIRED for a region article to become Guide or Star. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC) ::::This has prompted me to expedite the outline regions on my "to do" list, and for starters [[Hebrides]] (cited above, and already usable) was missing Eat and Drink. Quickly sorted. Three more can be done soon, improving the metrics by just under 0.1%. If we all put our shoulder to the wheel this problem will be swiftly fettled. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:28, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::'''Actual requirements''': The cited [[Wikivoyage:region article template|region article template]] (at least since before [[Special:Permalink/4786171|10 Dec]]) says about these four sections (the last sentence of each): "If there isn't anything to say about the region's [whatever] that isn't already covered by the descriptions in the Regions/Cities/Other destinations sections, or in the Understand section, then this section can be omitted." :::::For usable, "the most prominent attractions [must be] identified with directions"; for guide, there must be "information on multiple attractions and things to do". The [[[[Special:Permalink/994173|region article status]] page doesn't require the sections under discussion to exist, for any status. :::::I indeed think one needs to say something about the most prominent attractions of a region before the page can be seen as usable. Also having Eat, Drink, See and Do sections in the template is reasonable, as that should make the editor think about what usable could be said about cuisine, nightlife and attractions. For some regions, what needs to be said is already in the city listings or in Understand, making the separate sections redundant. That's fine. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:11, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::So to clean up region articles for regions you know: think whether there is something region-specific to say about the four subjects, check whether it is already said in other sections and either put content in the empty sections or remove them. If you are not sure about some section for some region, just leave those section headers for somebody else to make the decision. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:16, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :So 3 weeks later...I take it that there's general support for making eat/drink optional, but keeping see and do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:45, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::Maybe we should allow usable region articles to refer the reader to a larger region (or the country/state) article for information on eat, drink and sleep. That leaves the section in place, so any region specifics are more easily added. So if [[Hebrides]] didn't have anything to say for sleep, it would say "See [[Scotland#Sleep]]". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 12:00, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::Have you checked the guideline I linked? Is there something in it you would like to change? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ::::In the Eat and Drink sections of [[Wikivoyage:Region article template]], replace "then this section can be omitted" with "provide a link to a this section in a a bigger region (which could be the country)". [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:31, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Do we need sections that only have that link? Can't it just be included in context in Understand or even be regarded as implicit – the country's cuisine is usually described in the country article and in the absence of an eat section I assume readers would consult the country article without any pointer? In the case where nightlife is concentrated to one of the region's cities (not too uncommon), that can be said in the city's bullet as well as in Understand. :::::Of course, ''if'' we want that section, we can include such a sentence in Drink. But I think one-sentence sections are ugly, they look incomplete, and may attract tries at saying something, often resulting in pointless or redundant text, and perhaps listings that belong elsewhere. :::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:09, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::In cases like [[Greater Lyon]] and [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]], the later of which has an extensive Eat section, it may of course be worthwhile to point out at which level of regions that description is to be found. If the region is indeed "capital of French gastronomy", then the section should probably not be omitted – there ought to be something to say. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:16, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi's – it should generally be implied with our region structure, not that I think many people often read the eat/drink ections in the first place. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm surprised you don't think they do. I would tend to think they would, as food is one of the most interesting things to many travellers and people generally. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It ''should'' be the case, but generally I (and a few people I've talked to irl about) find most eat/drink sections to be far too lacking to actually bother reading when many better sources exist online. Even when it comes to listings, it's not all that often I actually consult Wikivoyage for places to eat or drink, and nowhere near the same level as I do for see/do. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I'd distinguish between listings for specific eateries and descriptions of a local cuisine. I'm always interested in reading the latter, especially if it's well written and a good read. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::Hmm true, you have a point there. I do suppose that eat/drink sections of country articles (and also major region articles, like [[Quebec]]) tend to be a ''lot'' more useful than say the eat/drink sections of say [[South Central Iowa]] (which, in my opinion, can be safely removed). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:26, 20 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'd rather see something like "As with most of Scotland, self-catering cottages, camping, and bed-and-breakfast inns are available in the Hebrides" (customizing the text to whatever is most relevant). There could be a link on the opening phrase to [[Scotland#Sleep]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:26, 18 May 2026 (UTC) == My Culture is not a Costume video == If you are reading this, I suggest you to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 Summary: Cultural appropriation should never be a thing across America, including all of these holidays, and in daily life. The Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures, are described as insensitive, dehumanizing, and unrepresentative of the culture, asked by six women. These women had a distaste of what their culture is used as Halloween costumes, and the reasons they presented, as erasing their culture, stereotypical, and a ignorance of the rich history of ethnic minorities. The most important of all, is that traditional attire, is considered to be sacred in different cultures, outside Western countries and nations. Reminder: Please see the [[Halloween]] article, and the [[respect]] too. This quotation would be: {{q|Another consideration is that some costumes may grossly misrepresent diverse cultures or cause offence and upset to others. There has also been considerable debate about cultural appropriation. Purported 'Arab', 'Mexican', 'Indian', 'Geisha', or 'Asylum Patient' costume choices have all come under scrutiny. Costumes that mimic police or military style clothing (including those of historical regimes), may also cause offence or be mistaken for genuine.|Buy: Costumes}} Thank you for reading this. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26450-12|&#126;2026-26450-12]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26450-12|talk]]) 19:06, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide. We are not going to tell people what costumes to wear on this site. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:31, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::I think there's a bit of "know your audience" here. Around the time this old YouTube video was created, the Twitterverse blew up over a white American teen wearing a Chinese dress to a formal party. However, Chinese people in China thought it was acceptable.[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/asia/chinese-prom-dress.html][https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144595/go-ahead-appropriate-my-culture] [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 23:58, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :::I wear batik shirts all summer, and if anyone wanted to object to it (no-one has), I'd insist that they have a conversation with me in Malay. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:29, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :This has to be a troll post. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 09:34, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ::If you're doing it respectfully and acknowledge its origins, I don't see what's wrong with someone else's ethnic costume. When Katy Perry wore a kimono in one of her music videos, some Japanese-Americans were outraged, but people actually from Japan were perplexed as to why it was even controversial at all. And I've worn a traditional Indian shirt to a Deepavali party, and nobody found it offensive. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 07:26, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Key to wearing costumes of other cultures is doing it respectfully, although the risk of committing faux pas is still there. Wearing them for Halloween is probably more controversial than wearing them in proper context, such as the Deepavali. Having Finns dressed as Sámi (unknowingly combining details in conflicting ways) performing "genuine" Sámi rituals for tourists is indeed seen as cultural appropriation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:55, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ==Policy for the phrase "adult entertainment"== An earlier version of the [[Southern California]] article used the phrase "adult entertainment" (see [[Talk:Southern California]] for discussion). As "adult entertainment" is a euphemism for pornography (but not always understood as such by non-native readers), we should have a policy which complies with [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] and [[Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first]]. I made a draft in [[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid]]. Please contribute with your opinions. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:48, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :I don't think policy/guideline pages are places for drafts. If you had meant your new text to be a draft, you should have put it in the talk page for the policy/guideline page. It seemed non-controversial to me, and as I mentioned elsewhere, I support it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:53, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::I agree with Ikan here. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:01, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::I also agree with Ikan on this one. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:27, 6 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I am happy with the addition. To me "Adult movies" could be those which have been given an "18 certificate", and violence could be the main reason for the rating. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:12, 6 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm all for avoiding any promotion of sex tourism, but I'm not sure a knee-jerk reaction to automatically make a phrase verboten is at all useful. I often travel with my family and I would like to know where the shady hotels are so I can avoid them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:21, 7 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Just for transparency, this is what Yvwv added: ::::::{{blockquote|adult entertainment: Can be understood as a euphemism for pornography, striptease, sex toy stores, and other sexually themed attractions. If such attractions comply with the [[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy]] they can be described without euphemism; a strip club can be called a strip club. Use expressions with "adults" in an unambigous way.}} :::::://<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::'''Oppose''' the addition of "adult entertainment" to the words to avoid list. IMHO, we need to cut that list down to just those that are genuinely useful to avoid. Well over half have perfectly legitimate uses on a travel wiki. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 01:46, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::: To sort out misunderstanding, see [[Wikivoyage talk:Words to avoid]] for discussion. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 08:14, 7 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::I think that the confusing situations should be mentioned. Here's one short way to do that: :::::::* Use expressions with "adults" in an unambiguous way (e.g., "Adults only (age 18+)"). :::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:13, 7 May 2026 (UTC) == Main Page revamps, part 2 == As mentioned about a month and a bit ago, I'm in the midst of trying to modernise the look of this site. The second stage of those revamps is now at [[User:SHB2000/revamped main]], which revamps the sister projects section. The style replicates the redesign agreed upon with part 1 of the revamps when we got rid of the blue box. Any thoughts and feedback welcome. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:58, 10 May 2026 (UTC) :It looks virtually identical to me, so I think it's certainly fine. The sister projects footer is the only real difference and is a little more clean and clear, so I {{support}}. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:40, 10 May 2026 (UTC) : {{support}} Looks fine to me. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:13, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :'''Wikifunctions''' is listed twice with somewhat different descriptions. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 15:16, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::Done, good catch. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:34, 11 May 2026 (UTC) : I notice that the links to other language versions are down at the end. I wonder if the people who need them most will find them there. Should they be more prominent? Perhaps in the top box? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:38, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::Rather confusingly, we also don't display the language versions on mobile at all – is there any design-related reason behind this? (if not, then that will be part 3 of revamps) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:45, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :::On mobile Minerva I am seeing various issues. The image in the discover section should push the text below and there is lots of blank whitespace. The map at the top is floating away from every thing else. :::Since most of our readership is on mobile I think it is important to address these. Please be sure to test it on a real phone and ensure you are viewing the default Minerva skin. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 02:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::That seems to be an issue with the existing Main Page too. My reforms only change the Sister Projects section, which seems to work perfectly fine for me. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:47, 13 May 2026 (UTC) LGTM, thanks for doing this. Possibly a nitpick, but could the bottom row of the sister projects box be made symmetrical? --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 05:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :TT, this is not strictly possible without doing a lot to change the layout, since what will be symmetrical depends on your browser, monitor size, etc. On my computer, there are two rows of seven icons, which is balanced down the middle and looks quite clean. If I resize my browser window, it flows to four rows of four and one row of two, which is not symmetrical. I think the more meaningful discussion is about which projects to include. I personally would like to see [[:outreach:]] added, but I don't think it's critical. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:33, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::The main reason it wasn't included is because I'd literally forgotten :P. btw if you do see any missing projects, please do add them to [[User:SHB2000/WikivoyageSister]] since I won't be on my computer for the next few days. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::Done, template now updated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 04:12, 31 May 2026 (UTC) == Wikidata, adding co-ordinates == [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events/Coordinate_Me_2026 COORDI­NATE ME], a wikidata contest for adding geolocation data in 26 chosen countries. Since we use that data & may have data in listings that could be on WD, perhaps some people here could help. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 04:12, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :This contest is wrought with problems, like tracking inaccuracies and errors, unresponsive organizer and delayed prize awards. Take a look at the contest's talk page in previous years to see all the issues it had. I have [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/General_Support_Fund/WMAT_Multi-Year-Plan_Grant_2025-2027&oldid=27559767 spoken against] funding this year's contest due to fiscal and logistical mismanagement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:52, 12 May 2026 (UTC) :Out of ~300000 listings we have around 4000 are like that - that we have WD for them, but the WD doesn't have coords... Now the question is, if we want to blindly export that, or what..... :) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have many cities that have listings but the listings (with or without Wikidata) don't have coords. <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 22:12, 15 May 2026 (UTC) == A possible editorial action against WMF for laying off Union staff == You should be aware that [[meta:Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update|there's currently a major upheaval]] over the alleged layoff of Community Tech staff by WMF. They're also [[en:Wikipedia:WP:Village_pump_(WMF)#Petition:_Editors_willing_to_join_in_collective_labor_action|discussing imitating a editorial strike in solidarity]] on Wikipedia because the staff that were laid off are members of the [[Meta:Wiki_Workers_United|Wiki Workers United]] union, which was formed just last week and in the process of organization. You might want to get to know them. So far, both have over 50 and 160 signatures, and both will be growing over the coming days. It's getting very significant, and it could impact this wiki, too. After that, if you agree to join in solidarity (and at the moment, pretty much a significant portion of Wikipedians are already in it), '''inform the WWU and [https://cwa-union.org/about/contact-us the CWA].''' Tell them ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis. After ''that''... beats me because of my lack of first-hand experience with labor unions and the like, but as [[:Wikipedia:Jeff the Land Shark|a certain little shark]] might say: {{tq|Murr. (Bite the hand that feeds. And I know where they hide the donuts.)}} [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Asretired|Asretired]]; @[[User:Doc James|Doc James]]; @[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]]; @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]; @[[User:Mx. Granger|Mx. Granger]]; @[[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]]; @[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]]; @[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]]; anyone else? [[User:2601AC47|2601AC47]] ([[User talk:2601AC47|talk]]) 19:42, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here. But I think we should keep solidarity with a union separate from any grievances any of us might have about supposedly heavy-handed actions by the WMF involving the operation of wikis. My only grievance regarding the treatment of Wikivoyage that I can think of is that it can get lost in the shuffle. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 19:45, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :Thanks for posting here – for anyone reading, I'd absolutely urge you all to sign yourself in solidarity with WMF staff by adding your name at [[m:Wiki Workers United#Solidarity]] (I'd already done so before the ping). What happened yesterday absolutely reeked of corporatism and union-busting. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:37, 21 May 2026 (UTC) :I am not presently a member of the en.wp community and I would not seek to have anyone edit by proxy there for me or anything like that, but I want to register somewhere that I stand in solidarity with organized labor. There should probably be a [[phab:]] ticket to reform the entire Wikimedia Foundation into a worker-owned co-operative non-profit. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:46, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::I find this sort of discussion frustrating, because so few people seem to know what they're talking about. For example, Justin, forgive me for picking on you, but the WMF can't be reformed into "a worker-owned co-operative non-profit", because public charities in the US can't technically be "owned" by anyone. I suggest that anyone who wants to support labor rights would do well to learn more about the subject, and then talk to their own elected politicians about making it ''structurally'' feasible to have a labor union that crosses national borders – not merely a federation of locals that coordinate with each other (which is what "international" labor unions are), but an actual single organization, operating under the same rules, so you don't get the lone employee in this country having a "union" of me, myself, and I or the near-impossibility of writing a contract that is the same for everyone. It's bad enough that US states have different rules (e.g., layoffs above a certain size in California require 60 calendar days' [fully paid] advance notice); it's almost impossible to reconcile different national laws. ::Then you have the problem of people having different cultural conceptions of what a union is supposed to do for you. Is the labor union supposed to get you higher pay, or fairer conditions [which can mean lower pay and worse working conditions for previously privileged staff], or prevent staff from being fired, or organize social events, or help you get your next job, or something else? I know one municipal labor union whose negotiations are done by senior employees that "accidentally" preferred themselves for vacation scheduling, higher pay, and never having to work holidays and weekends for years. I know a couple of people at another organization who are pushing for a union; they seem to mostly be afraid that they will get fired someday but not understand why they were fired (I'm objectively doing well at the parts of my job that I think are important; why should my manager's opinion, or that fact that all my teammates keep quitting to get away from me, be relevant?). ::Apologies for the long post, but: please, don't assume that whatever your local laws or views of unions are would be relevant to any situation that extends outside of your home area. It's really enormously complicated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:55, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::It's not picking on me, but you are wrong factually: you can have a [https://www.theselc.org/workplace_democracy_in_nonprofit_organizations worker self-directed non-profit 501(c)3 in the United States]. I am generally opposed to any hierarchy that models the way that capitalist businesses can unilaterally hire and fire. Maybe these workers still needed to be fired for some reason, but that should be decided by a democratic process. What <em>that</em> looks like will be different from organization to organization (e.g. a grievances board, administrative leave while under review, managers who are elected on a periodic basis and given the power to hire and fire by the working class, etc.), but when it comes to someone's basic livelihood and the fact that most of us live under wage slavery, then I don't want anyone getting fired without a democratic process behind it or at the very least some kind of extraordinary emergency reason. Additionally, for what it's worth, California (where the WMF are based) has laws specifically designed to help incorporate for-profit businesses as a co-op, so I would imagine that if someone wanted to create a worker self-directed non-profit, that would probably be the easiest place in the United States to do it. Lastly, I don't know why you seem to assume that I don't live in California. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:39, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::::"Self-directed" and "owned" are different things. ::::I make no assumptions about where you are; I give the California example because it's one that I know exists in my state and that I know does not exist everywhere. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:08, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :::::By "worker-owned co-op", I am distinguishing it from a member co-op like a grocery co-op or a credit union or a co-op apartment complex. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:04, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :On the question of what Wikivoyage needs: :The OP is already blocked on two wikis for trolling and disruptive editing. Their contributions here this year are to import drama that is not directly related to us. This has happened a few times before with other editors (e.g., complaints about software changes). :The Simple English Wikipedia has [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocks_and_bans#Reciprocal a rule called "1STRIKE"] that applies to people who have already been blocked elsewhere (almost always the English Wikipedia), and then bring their bad behavior to Simple. Maybe we should consider adopting a similar rule. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:56, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::They haven't done anything blockable or even against any guidelines here, and to be clear, you're suggesting we should indefinitely block them for informing us about layoffs and anti-union actions? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm suggesting that when someone says "Tell [an external organization] ''everything they need to know going back years'' - and include all known heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis", that this is more like "drama-mongering" than "informing". :::For example, the WMF deployed the current MediaWiki desktop skin several years ago, and some people are still mad about this "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis". The Russian Wikipedia is still running a pop-up message saying that this was deployed without their consent. Do you think that's relevant to either layoffs or unionizing? I don't. Some of the "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" even involved the team that's being dissolved. There are probably still people at the German-language Wikipedia who think that Comm Tech was wrong to decline their urgent wish for the wrong piece of software to be re-installed, when the actual problem was created by their own local interface admins. There are definitely some who are still mad that the WMF stopped two of their admins from wheel-warring over the site config years ago. But none of these "heavy-handed incidents involving the WMF and the Wikis" have anything to do with unionizing. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:48, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::If you noticed, I addressed that above without saying they should be summarily blocked, and no-one has taken them up on that here, at any rate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:36, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::2601AC47 was globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-31136-19|&#126;2026-31136-19]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-31136-19|talk]]) 22:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::Why? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:02, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_help_from_a_sysop_or_bureaucrat#c-Tamzin-20260523115300-Trolling/vandalism_at_highly_sensitive_WMF-related_discussion This was the conversation/request]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 23:06, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yeah, I see. They really trolled in that thread. Too bad; I'm indebted to them for informing me about these happenings. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:15, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::We already have [[WV:ONESTRIKE]], by the way, but I really don't think bringing up the attention of the WMF's recent union busting actions is anywhere near disruptive to warrant an indefinitely. If it wasn't them, it almost certainly would've been brought up by someone else in the pub. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:09, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :::I signed it in the signatures. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 00:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) == May 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|75px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of May. Both sessions will focus on the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 the 2026-2027 Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''Saturday, 30 May 2026 at 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780153200 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780203600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Café participants are highly encouraged to read in advance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sohom_Datta/annual_plan_guide at least this summary of the plan]. Optionally, Café participants are encouraged to read portions of the plan that interest them and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 ask questions or provide feedback on the Annual Plan talk page]. Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#May_2026_meetings_with_a_focus_on_Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027 tables of timestamp conversions for both sessions], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#Agenda._This_will_be_an_approximately_1_hour_Caf%C3%A9_session,_and_is_extendible_for_an_additional_30_minutes_if_needed. the agenda], and [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 19:48, 21 May 2026 (UTC) == Faroe Islands update == Alright, I'm flying to [[Tórshavn]] next week. Anything on [[Faroe Islands]] that need a listing update, a picture or boots-on-the-ground verification? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:31, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :Wow, what an opportunity. Our sister site has some [[:w:en:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in the Faroe Islands|requested photographs]] if you are available to take any. (Note that I'm not a member of the community there and I'm not soliciting editing by proxy.) ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 15:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Heh, I think it wouldn't be controversial to request to take a picture of a village or power plant. I've bookmarked several places and at least two locations are along the way to/from the airport so I have at least two chances to take pictures. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 18:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC) :I notice that [[Faroe Islands#Towns and villages]] says "the roofs are often turf-covered", next to a picture showing no turf-covered roofs. Perhaps you could easily determine whether "often" is still the right word? [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC) ::Roofs are about 70-80% turf-covered when I see them in villages, but this number drops in bigger towns and only a few houses in the capital have turf roofs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:12, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Query regarding Kartographer extension == I am an editor at the Malayalam Wikivoyage project, which is currently hosted in [https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wy/ml/%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BE Incubator]. We recently encountered an issue where map markers were not appearing on maps. We raised a ticket in [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T395208 Phabricator], and came to know that the Kartographer extension is being removed. Does anyone here know of any alternative extension or approach that can be used to show markers on maps for denoting places? [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 17:19, 23 May 2026 (UTC) :As far as I'm aware, Kartographer is not being removed as such, just not being added to any non-Wikivoyage WMF wikis. There is a [[phab:project/view/1692/|project board for Kartographer]] on [[phab:]] and you can [[mw:Help:Extension:Kartographer|generally learn more about]] the extension on [[mw:]]. I imagine that if Kartographer were to be removed, there would be a replacement deployed before that. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} can you confirm that I'm correct (or if not, correct me)? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 18:12, 23 May 2026 (UTC) ::{{Ping|Koavf}} Thanks for sharing the links. I have already raised a ticket in Phabricator and it was based on that, I came to know that it will not be enabled on any new Wikivoyages and that it will be removed from other Wikivoyages too. {{Ping|Jdforrester (WMF)}} For your confirmation/comments on above reply please. [[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]] ([[User talk:Adithyak1997|talk]]) 15:59, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Adithyak1997|Adithyak1997]]: Indeed, as I said there, " the mode should also have been removed from Wikivoyages". The problem is not with Kartographer but with the 'temporary' hack to allow Wikivoyages to cross-load content from WMCS, which was promised to be removed. :::@[[User:Koavf|Koavf]]: Do you know when the Wikivoyage community will finally do this work? [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 12:57, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I don't have any special insight into that, unfortunately. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:38, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::I think [[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]], [[User:OhanaUnited|OhanaUnited]], and [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] know more about maps than most of us. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::I'm not sure what is expected to be done by us, though? Is kartographer as a whole deprecated, or just some feature of it? Groups? I am completely out of loop here... -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 20:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :::::: I have no idea either. The only thing I did that is related to Kartographer is reporting a bug with missing pins on a map whenever some pins fall across both sides of the international date line. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 23:14, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::@[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]: Yes, Groups, according to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:Kartographer#Groups_for_Wikivoyage — but it doesn't explain what's the limitation specifically (in general, having groups seems fine?). [[User:Jdforrester (WMF)|Jdforrester (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Jdforrester (WMF)|talk]]) 17:09, 1 June 2026 (UTC) ::::If you don't mind me asking, where was it promised to be removed? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:07, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::: I have no information regarding any removal of Kartographer features. However, I understand that the Wikivoyage feature is not available in the Incubator because it would function not only for Wikivoyage but also for all other non-Wikivoyage sub-wikis. Furthermore, no one from the German-speaking community is involved in making changes to Kartographer. --[[User:RolandUnger|RolandUnger]] ([[User talk:RolandUnger|talk]]) 06:27, 7 June 2026 (UTC) == [[Template:Other uses]] == Looking at [[Template:Other uses]], I see that it is supposed to generate an italicized hatnote such as the following: :''For other places with the same name, see [[Cleveland (disambiguation)]].'' But where I see {{tl|Other uses}} used on pages such as [[Burbank]] and [[Columbus]], the hatnote is ''not'' italicized: :For other places with the same name, see [[Burbank (disambiguation)]]. :For other places with the same name, see [[Columbus (disambiguation)]]. I checked the template {{tl|Other uses}} itself and I couldn't figure out why the italics are not showing up. Anybody have a suggestion? -- [[User:Metropolitan90|Metropolitan90]] ([[User talk:Metropolitan90|talk]]) 21:46, 24 May 2026 (UTC) :I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AOther_uses&diff=5282293&oldid=5282292 removed the CSS classes] and it now renders italicized on pages. The weird thing is that these classes are not part of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so ''maybe'' adding non-defined classes results in unstyled text. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == A Pee section on articles == Hey everyone, I suggest adding a “pee” or “poop” section to articles (district, city, region, country), or having articles like “peeing in the (country)” or “peeing in (city)” would be great. Thanks…[[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 12:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think you're looking for a subsection under the "Respect" section where we are supposed to discuss the regulations regarding defecation and urination. Or public bathrooms under the "Cope" section. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:34, 26 May 2026 (UTC) :I think that a title like [[Toilets in the United Arab Emirate]] would be more appropriate and expected. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:53, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Like if we have “sleep”, “eat” and “see” instead of “accommodation”, “F&B choices” and “attractions”, I think we need a “pee”, “poop”, “urinate”, “defecate”, “excrete”, “eliminate waste”, “dump”, “crap”, “drop a deuce”, “piss”, “whiz”, “micturate”, “/ʃɪt/” section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:23, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::: no we don't, not with this type of vocabulary which is very unbecoming for a travel guide. You are welcome to create a WikiPee website, invite whomever you want to join, and write whatever suits your fancy. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:48, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Even if we thought that a "Pee" section was a good label, it's unlikely to be the one that readers are looking for. That's what I meant when I said that "Toilets" might be more "expected". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:20, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think we need such a separate section on it, as [[WV:STICK]] already suggests putting toilets under "Cope". Even if we ever find a need for such a section, I would suggest "Toilet" as a verb. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 02:52, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Okay, but maybe the region doesn’t have any toilets, or the locals pee in a hole, on the floor, or in a valley. Also, I think there are peeing customs or peeing places in the city or country. Is the water quality good? What does it feel like to pee (peeing experience)? That’s why we need a pee section. [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 18:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, as was pointed out Cope is the place for information about toilets and it's indeed useful information for voyagers - especially in destinations where toilets are hard to find for one reason or another. Plainly writing out "Pee", "Shit" or the like as a heading would be rude, though. --[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 18:27, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::If we include “pee” in “cope,” the “cope” section will have a lot of information that doesn’t have enough variety. ::::::That’s all— [[User:Almajidy|<b style="background:#3e67b3;color:#FFF;border:4pxsolid #3e67b3;border-radius:25px;padding:3px 10px;font:20px 'Brush Script MT';">'''Almajidy'''</b>]]<b style="font-size:7px;">【Talk】</b> 08:11, 28 May 2026 (UTC) == Vote now in the 2026 U4C election == <section begin="announcement-content" /> Eligible voters are asked to participate in the 2026 [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee]] election. More information–including an eligibility check, voting process information, candidate information, and a link to the vote–are available on Meta at the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|2026 Election information page]]. The vote closes on 2 June 2026 at [https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1780358400 00:00 UTC]. Please vote if your account is eligible. Results will be available by 14 June 2026. -- In cooperation with the U4C,<section end="announcement-content" /> [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 17:15, 27 May 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :btw I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2026]] if any of you are interested – tried to be comprehensive, use it at your will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:24, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::I looked over your list. I'm concerned about the candidate who has an active U4C case, of course, but also about the number of candidates who didn't answer the questions. That suggests that they would struggle to do the work. ::You might look at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/Campaigning rules]]. What the English Wikipedia calls "canvassing" is allowed. Meta-Wiki has never prohibited it, and in some processes, such as the Community Wishlist, actively encourages it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:20, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::It depends, I suppose. Meta doesn't prohibit canvassing, but the overwhelming opinion was that Uncle's canvassing in his NVM application was disruptive enough that it demonstrated a severe lack of understanding for what the role actually was (since NVMs are appointed, not voted in, so consensus isn't really something for the U4C to take into consideration). A massive shame, honestly, because he was one of the more qualified candidates that I had in [[m:User:SHB2000/U4C guide 2025]], one that could've actually had a chance for the SSA seat this year if it weren't for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC) :::: Having met {{u|Borschts}} in-person during last year's Wikimania, I am comfortable supporting his candidacy. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 00:07, 31 May 2026 (UTC) :::::The results are now out at [[m:Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2026/Results]]. Those elected include EPIC, Ghilt, Toadspike, Ferien, Superzerocool, Torque, Borschts, ginaan, EggRoll97 and ToprakM. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:36, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == New itinerary == The Ganges is one of the most important rivers of Asia, yet there's no itinerary on it, unlike the [[Yellow River]], [[Yangtze]] or the [[Nile]]. So, I have developed one on the Ganges under [[along the Ganges River]], albeit with inspirations from those Chinese rivers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:34, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == User rights nomination == Hey everyone, I know this is a bit late, but there is currently 1 admin nomination right now at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Koavf (sysop)]]. Your input and opinions are more than appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:55, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Simple version of Wikivoyage == Can we create a simple version of Wikivoyage, similar to Simple English Wikipedia? Would this be a good concept, if excecuted properly? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 06:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :While Simple English Wikivoyage sounds good on paper, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) currently does not allow creation of Simple English projects other than Wikipedia and Wiktionary. Maybe we could host Simple English Wikivoyage under a separate namespace under English WV (similar to Wikijunior under Wikibooks), but the problem is that the English WV community is already small. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:26, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::I've always thought it's possible to potentially execute a multilingual Wikivoyage, but I suppose the need for that with modern translation software now present, is almost zero. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::The problem with translation software on Wikivoyage is that there's not always one-to-one translations of idiomatic expressions we tend to use in articles (as opposed to Wikipedia). For instance, there's no direct Bengali translation of "smorgasbord" used in [[India]], leading me to reword its Bengali version for a similar expression (like a "forest of languages" instead of a "smorgasbord of languages"). '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::You should still be able to usually read between the lines, though. At least this is what I often end up doing when translating content from de or itwikivoyage. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] @[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] @[[User:Koavf|Koavf]] What about the simple version of Wikibooks, Wikiquotes, and Wikiversity? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::None of those would be approved today and [[:q:simple:]] and [[:q:b:]] were closed a long time ago (there was never a simple.wv). Wikibooks has a kind of proxy for simple books at [[:b:Wikibooks:Wikijunior]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 08:08, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Simple English Wikibooks and Wikiquote were closed long time ago, and there has never been Simple English Wikiversity or Wikivoyage. However, you still have Wikijunior for child-oriented books, regular English Wikiquotes for simple English quotes (if there's any), and I guess there's a Wikijunior-like mechanism on regular English Wikiversity. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Wikijunior is perhaps the only bit of Wikibooks (other than the Cookbook) that's functionally usable icl... //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{Ping|SHB2000}} Do you want to take a look at that above comment? ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 09:06, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::Sorry yeah my comment was intended as a reply to yours, not Sbb's. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :In addition to the fact that the WMF would not allow projects like simple.wp today, the language in Wikivoyage should be very accessible and the concepts are generally pretty easy to understand, so I don't see the need for this as much as for an encyclopedia that covers literally every topic and could plausibly use simplified articles. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 07:34, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Also, I no longer subscribe to the "Simple English" language ideology I once tried to. I rather focus on accessibility by making complex concepts easier. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::"Simple English" language ideology? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 08:13, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yes, and that includes limiting your vocabulary to 1500-something words (BE 1500 or VOA Special English), or even less (BE 850). However, I sometimes find it limiting (maybe Orwellian), although I don't use any overly complicated expressions, and my focus is towards simplifying concepts rather than using simple words. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 08:16, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :::::This is part of why I think wikis like tokwiki (an experimental language crafted on the basis of minimising the amount of words used) are absolutely useless (see [[m:User:SHB2000/tokwiki]] if you want a full explanation) – you limit expression in a needless way when there's a clear alternative available that's more practical. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 08:57, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::The processes that created a city or landscape are often convoluted, but their description need not be. Difficult-to-read text on WV more often reflects muddle and "wikipeditis" than inherent complexity. The solution is to re-write in a way that's clear, engaging and relevant to the traveller, not to invent a whole separate site or pidgin language. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 11:36, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : I'll give this idea a rather firm '''oppose'''. We do not have enough editors to readily support it. However, there is a valid concern about keeping the English here relatively simple. : Many of our readers will have English that is somewhat limited & quite a few editors are non-native speakers, though they all seem to have good to excellent English. Idioms are tricky in any language, so perhaps we should replace "take to his heels" with "run away" & so on. Cultural references are also tricky, whether Shakespeare or some blues tune; some of those need to be avoided or explained. Of course there is a trade-off here; we want a relaxed informal style & that implies idiomatic English with some cultural references. I'd say we are at least close to the correct balance already. : Expressions peculiar to one variety of English -- e.g. "lakh" in Subcontinent English -- should be explained if visitors are likely to encounter them, but generally avoided in our text. Expressions that vary across dialects -- does a car have a hood & trunk or bonnet & boot? -- involve judgement calls; in some contexts they are OK but in others they should be avoided or provided with a gloss. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:45, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :*'''Oppose''' - as per [[User:Pashley]] we do not have enough editors to support a "Simple" version. I checked a few statistics and found: :::{| class="wikitable" |- !Product !Articles !Editors |- |English Wikipedia |7,191,087 |278,463 |- |Simple WIkipedia |281,811 |3,759 |- |Wikivoyage |180,828 |985 |} :::*'''Note''' - An "editor" is classed as somebody who has made at least one edit in the last 30 days. ::This shows that in rough figures, for every Simple English editor, there are 80 English Wikipedia editors. If we were to translate this to Wikivoyage, we could expect between 10 and 15 editors on Simple English Wikivoyage which is not enough to sustain the project. Applying the same logic to number of articles, we might expect about 6000 articles - not enough to attract a reasonable readership. ::The quality of articles in Simple English Wikipedia is poor - far too few meet the criteria of using "Simple English". Simple English is moreover bedevilled by there being no agreement as to whether the target audience are younger readers or readers for whom English is a second language. Translating this to the proposed Simple English Wikivoyage to whom should we target questions regarding drugs, trans people, red light districts etc - younger readers or adult readers for who Eglish is a second language? ::[[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 16:59, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Wow, I never expected this discussion to get many responses from different people on this pub. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 20:43, 5 June 2026 (UTC) ::Some of you may be interested in reading [[m:Writing clearly#Writing for translation]]. The idea is to make your writing straightforward enough that it would be easy to translate. Machine translation, in particular, does best with shorter, simpler sentences. This doesn't mean that every sentence must be short and simple, but it is helpful if the most important parts are short and simple. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: Another guide is [[w:The_Complete_Plain_Words]], originally written for British civil servants but useful to anyone wanting to write more clearly. The original 1954 edition is out of copyright & available [https://plain-words.com/ free online]. There have been several revised editions; the latest (2014) is still in print & also available as an ebook. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:47, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :::I don't think there is a need for a Simple Wikivoyage. We should try to avoid complicated terms unless they are necessary and explained, or it should be clear that cultural or humorous sentences can be skipped over. :::I have occasionally read Simple Wikipedia when looking for a short introduction to complex subject - for example [[:w:Baseball]] is 173k, but [[:w:simple:Baseball]] is 16k. There may be some huge cities where we could have a condensed guide giving the main attractions for a 1-2 day visit - we have 131 huge cities and I expect less than half need a simple version, so 50 simple articles could work. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 7 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The lede, or a sentence or two in Understand or See, should set out the chief attractions, as the likely reason you're there. Some guides go for "Blogstad in 48 hours, in 3 days" etc but I don't care for that style: if I know the chief attractions then I know how to organise my time. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:56, 9 June 2026 (UTC) == More admins? == I'm not sure how many people here have really noticed this...but I find this year in particular we've really been lacking enough people to take on janitorial tasks. VfDs going well above the 14 days (to which I still argue the solution is to reduce the time period to prevent discussion fatigue, but I digress), featured articles not being updated on time, touting left for hours on end, more spam...the list goes on. At least out of the 23 active sysops, the current team seem to be doing reasonably well, so I think this is really a call for more admins. For anyone hesitant, it's not a huge time commitment, but just more people having the ability to do these tasks alone will help out a lot. I'm more than happy to give any feedback to anyone considering running. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:49, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :At least for myself, this is partly explained by diverting some of my time and energy to perform CheckUser blocks. With more of us (yes, like you SHB who is now a steward) taking on additional roles both within and external to Wikivoyage, and [https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikivoyage.org more edits to vet through] compared to a year ago, we need to start thinking about admin retention (beyond just editor retention). This was one of the [[wikimania:2025:Program/Where are all the Wikipedia administrators? A panel discussion about the future of administrators on Wikipedia.|panel discussion in Wikimania Nairobi]] last year (full disclosure: I was invited, and accepted, to participate in this panel after arriving in Nairobi). What I'm curious to know is the general threshold (account age and edit count) that our community finds a candidate to be acceptable. When I look into the archived nominations, almost all the candidates are either sure-in (7+ year account with 5000+ edits) or sure-out (3-month account with under 50 edits). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Couple thousand edits, couple years? Realistically, [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=autopatrolled&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers the list of active autopatrolled editors] is probably the candidate pool. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::The last admin nomination had quite low participation, relative to the size of the current active editor pool. We first need to encourage more people to participate in voting/discussion. And if someone has no strong inclinations to support or oppose, a "Neutral" or "Comment" with reasons will still provide value to the nomination, and help the closer decide whether consensus has been achieved or not. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 01:31, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I didn't want to comment there, because I don't know enough about the Justin's wikipedia ban, which sounds serious... But the other two topics - it's strange to me that being non-nuclear regarding AC is still a topic, after all these years, and seems to cover any other good work a person may have done. Also I don't understand how any past participation on WT is a blocker point... So I didn't vote. -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 10:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::::If you have an opinion about an admin nomination, do feel free to offer it. And for everyone: every user is entitled to offer an opinion about user rights nominations. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:39, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Seconded this – RfAs (or any nomination, really) aren't votes, so neutrals provide just as much value to the discussion as a support or an oppose. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Oh thanks for the stats link – I guess that explains everything. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:20, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :I do start to wonder if this also builds the case for automating things that are otherwise tedious or just annoying to do by hand...maybe something worth looking into. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:37, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Can you give an example of that kind of edit? The important things usually require human judgment. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:42, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Things like [[WV:VfD]] (a gadget similar to the one on Commons – shouldn't be too hard to tweak to this site) and maybe featured articles is what I'm thinking. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Do you mean that you want a script that will put <code><nowiki>{{vfd}}</nowiki></code> on the article and automatically add a new ===Section=== at the end of the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion]] page? That sounds like a case of https://xkcd.com/1319/ to me. ::::It looks like we had a VFD nomination about twice a week last year. A script could save about one minute per nomination (probably less, but let's stick to round numbers). If it was used for every single nomination (plausible; for comparison, enwiki uses Twinkle for about 90% of AFD nominations), that would collectively save editors about 90 minutes per year. Therefore, if it takes more than 90 minutes to set up, the net benefit wouldn't be seen for longer than a year. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 21:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::::It is more than just that: the gadget would also notify editors (something that we currently don't do), and also potentially append <code><nowiki>''Not ending before {{subst:#time:H:i j F Y (T)|+2 week}}''</nowiki></code> at the top of each nomination to prevent nominations from going untouched. All these would just be annoying to do by hand, and something that can easily be done through a gadget that likely won't take all that long to create (since equivalents exist elsewhere and it's not hard to tweak + modernise it to this site). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Notifying editors is maybe nice, most of the time, but I think that two weeks is easy enough to do in your head that I see no particular value in the "Not ending before" idea. In particular, it feels like something that would make the rules be even more rigid. Enwiki has had fights over deletion discussions that closed less than one hour before the official time. I would not want us to take any step that could lead us even a tiny step towards that sort of expectation. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ===Activity level=== I looked at all 33 admins and see whether they're active (using [[w:WP:ACTIVE|WP's definition]] of 5 mainspace edits in last 30 days). I have accounted for [https://meta.toolforge.org/stewardry/enwikivoyage?sysop=1&bureaucrat=1&checkuser=1 logged actions], which did not change the table. '''TLDR: We may be losing 6 admins (18.2%) of the entire admin corp before the calendar turns 2027.''' Here is the current snapshot: {| class="wikitable" |+ Admin activity snapshot (as of June 15, 2026) |- ! Criteria !! Total number !! % of entire admin corp |- | Not active (<5 mainsapce edits in last 30 days) || 19^ || 57.8% |- | Inactive (0 edits in last 1+ years) || 6* || 18.2% |- | Inactive and in imminent risk for sysop removal (0 edits in 2 years) || 2† || 6.7% |} <nowiki>^</nowiki> Includes 1 of the 3 CheckUser. <br /> <nowiki>*</nowiki> All 6 of them have not edited for 1.5 years, and would be "sysop removal" eligible before the end of the year if they don't come back. <br /> <nowiki>†</nowiki> Their desysop was deferred [[Wikivoyage talk:Administrators#Inactive administrators as of 2026-03|in March 2026]] for lack of notification to the affected users. I think it's time that we loosen up our community criteria to counter "edit count creep". [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Wikivoyage:Travellers%27_pub&diff=prev&oldid=5291044 Couple thousand edits and couple of years] may be too stringent to our current needs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 02:19, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :We need to be careful how much we loosen requirements. There are security issues involved in giving people admin tools. So something has to establish their trustworthiness. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:24, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::Yes we should be careful. But at the same time it should be no big deal. We're already seeing the disconnect between what the community ''feels'' like with its unwritten rules (2000 edits, 2 years) vs what is ''written'' in the [[WV:Administrators#Becoming an administrator|nomination instruction]] ("track record of at least a few months" among other things). I went into the archives and looked at some of the unsuccessful admin nominations. At least four editors went in with the presumption of what was written, got told with "not yet", and shortly afterwards quit the project altogether. Turning adminship into a big deal does not help with editor retention either. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with Ohana massively on this one – the last thing we want is our RfA process to turn into enwiki's or ruwiki's, both of which are struggling with admin retention (enwiki somewhat has solved this through AELECT, which is really a bandaid solution to a problem created by their own community being needlessly strict). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:03, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::Where does the idea that 2,000 edits and 2 years are required come from? I've been on this site and its predecessor for at least 20 years and don't remember any such unwritten rule. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:25, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I think the security concerns are a bit overblown – if something really bad happens with an admin, the option for an emergency desysop is always there. That's not to say that we should elect rookie editors as admins, but it's not as bad as it might seem. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:04, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub#c-WhatamIdoing-20260611190700-OhanaUnited-20260611151500|wrote that]] few days ago. They were the only person who responded with actual numbers in mind. Here are several, unsuccessful nomination benchmarks along with outcomes (skipping over sockpuppets and eventual LTAs): {| class="wikitable" |+ Unsuccessful RfAs and account outcomes (edit counts and account age are at the time of RfA) |- ! Account !! # of edits (approx.) !! Account age !! Outcome after unsuccessful RfA |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Tai123.123 #1] || 1800 edits || 6 months || substantial dropoff and essentially stopped 5 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/KevRobbAU #2] || 700 mainspace + 2400 userspace edits for drafting || 1.5 years || editing stopped 2 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Jay%20Jay%20Marcus%20Keize13 #3] || 450 edits || 11 months || editing essentially stopped 7 months after |- | [https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec/en.wikivoyage.org/Prof%20tpms #4] || 5800 edits || 1.5 years || editing continued, though far less active than before RfA |} From the limited sample size, we have a 75% chance of losing the editor within 6 months after their failed RfA. We got to do better. And judging from account #1's [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|RFA in 2022]] in the table, it appears that our community ''does'' think 2000 edits and 2 years is the comfort threshold to support an RfA. I understand it's not an easy topic to bring up, but it is time that we loosen up the criteria. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::We should still have the threshold high enough that no LTA is tempted to try to get promoted. I didn't dig deep enough in the archives to find the two unsuccessful nominations – what level of experience did they have? A few months of editing might be enough if they really have shown that they understand site policy and ability to work well with the community, but that requires quite enthusiastic engagement with the site. Three months and 300 edits would hardly suffice in my book. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:21, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Right. 6 months or so of really great editing that showed real knowledge of Wikivoyage policy and practice and at least something over 500 edits could be sufficient. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Yeah no I agree – anything under 6 months is way too short in my opinion. That's not really enough time to actually get a proper grasp and understanding of Wikivoyage policies and practices. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:41, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::@[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] Please see my latest, added table above. The 6 months suggestion seem to be invalidated by 4 failed RfAs. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:44, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::This is the theory-vs-data problem. Yes: in theory, under some unusual circumstances, a couple of editors would support an RFA candidate with only six months of "really great editing". If we ''say'' six months, and someone tries at six months, they might get support from those couple of people, but the RFA is going to fail overall, and they're going to feel rejected by this community. ::::::I suggest that we do two things: ::::::* Provide actual data to potential candidates. It might sound like "In theory, if your contributions are stellar, then you could become an admin with just a few hundred edits and six months' experience. However, in practice, most candidates with less than 2,000 edits or less than two years' contribution here tend not to get elected." If we think that we have a problem with a requirement ratchet (the standards creep a little higher every year), then we could even add a sentence saying that we discourage voters from imposing higher expectations for volume and tenure. ::::::* Actively search for candidates. One step is to search for people with 500 edits + six months experience and put them on the autopatrolled list; another is to actively search the autopatrolled list for potential admin candidates and beg them to become an admin. This might be best done with a little off-wiki coordination, so you don't invited a doomed candidate, but most people don't run because they weren't invited to. <small>(Also: not me, thanks.)</small> ::::::[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:28, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::These are good suggestions that we can explore to implement. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 06:09, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I wouldn't agree that the 6 months suggestion is invalidated by the 4 failed RfAs that you cited. Each case is individual. But I do agree that we have usually wanted people to edit for a year before becoming admins. I'd point to [[User:Rschen7754]] as a notable exception, though under special circumstances. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:52, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I don't think that the "general purpose" documentation should say 6 months, if (as appears to be the case ) less than 2 years has only been successful in recent years under "special circumstances" (usually of the technical variety: [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Arlolra|example]], [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2024#User:Zinnober9 (temporary adminship)|example]]). We can say that special circumstances may exist, without misleading anyone into thinking that less than two years is at all normal. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 19:46, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :<small>(Also FYI I had admin activity reviews planned tomorrow to be handled on July 1, almost exactly a year after last year's removals) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)</small> :None of those folks should have been made admins. Do you want to argue for any of them? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'm not re-litigating RfAs on their merits. I'm pointing out that after they failed RfAs, most of them quit. Do we really want to create a "do or die" atmosphere at RfA? Two of the four continue to contribute in other WMF projects, which is an indication that setting high standards for adminship does not address the admin deficit, but also causes regular contributors who failed RfA to find other things to edit (just not on Wikivoyage). [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:50, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::It's unfortunate that people who are nominated for admin and not confirmed would choose to stop editing on Wikivoyage, but I refer you to [[User talk:KevRobbAU]] to see how they absolutely never should have been given any special powers. As for the other cases, what they choose to do after not being confirmed is no indication that the decision was a mistake, and we have no control over that. So what are you suggesting? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:03, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::My suggestion to improve the overall RfA experience (aside from lowering the standard) is to offer advice on how they can improve after their unsuccessful attempt. None of my 4 examples showed instant dropoff, but rather a slow fade into disappearance. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 05:59, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Can you point to relevant examples where we didn't do that, should have, and how we should have done that? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:45, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I want to focus on improving the overall atmosphere and not fixated on a particular editor. But since you insist on a specific example, #1 ([[User:Tai123.123]]) falls under this category. They were [[User talk:Tai123.123#Admin?|invited to apply]], accepted, and ended up with [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations/Archives/2022#Tai123.123 for administrator|non-promotion]] that I would characterize as near-miss (2 support and 2 neutral, 0 oppose). Aside from a few comments within the RfA that advised the nominee to edit more, there was no other feedback provided to the editor. In enwp, there was [[w:User_talk:OhanaUnited/Archive_5#Your RFA was unsuccessful|feedback]] on how I can improve in preparation for next nomination. Did we do that here? No, there was nothing said to the editor about this process on the usertalk page. As a matter of fact, we didn't even write a "thanks for putting yourself forward for nomination" message on their talk page or any other "not yet" closes. We can do this as a starting point. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::Hey, I was surprised to see myself pinged here considering I've not been active for a couple of years. I remember when I was norminated and being somewhat disappointed (though understanding why it didn't) when it didn't go through, I think my dissapearance from the site was mostly due to other factors (starting at a new university) but I think if I felt like I had a commitment to the site I might've kept some level of activity (probably not writing stuff but I did like the small bits of administration with the front page I did). I think my dissapearance from editing came less from anything about this site itself more just that I found new interests and had no commitments to keep me here. I'm now wondering if my life would be different if it went through, if I'd still be editing here. :::::::Anyway, thanks for the ping (even though the intention probably wasn't to ping me), I enjoyed reading the discussion and remember interacting with a lot of you in like 2021. Those days where I was filled with wanderlust after the pandemic feel so distant, so thanks for the blast from the past. I hope you're all doing well, and the site is running fine. I still check Wikivoyage when planning trips. :::::::Cheers! [[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] ([[User talk:Tai123.123|talk]]) 17:22, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::So, I misremembered and actually '''did''' support Tai's nomination for admin. I kind of feel like they were given a roadmap for a possible if not probable success on a rehearing later, but I was concerned at the time about a lack of participation in the discussion, which I think showed that not enough people were familiar with their work. What more do you or@[[User:Tai123.123|Tai123.123]] feel we could have said or done? I read the Wikipedia thread you linked, and I saw a :::::::mention of coaching for prospective admins. How do they do that, and how is it organized? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::It's mostly informal, and AFAICT done by people who either have a lot of practical experience with the RFA process, or at least think they do. If you ask, someone will look through your edits and suggest, e.g., that you get more experience with AFD, and specifically that you go !vote in a hundred obvious AFDs, and do a few dozen completely obvious non-admin 'keep' closures, so that your agreeing-with-the-outcome stats will be pretty. Or they'll say that you don't spend time on noticeboards, so you should go answer obvious questions at one. (They never recommend that you take an unpopular stand or do anything controversial, because being agreeable is more likely to win AFD than being right.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:18, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Perhaps the more important thing is: Here, everybody knows your name. Admins are elected because we know you. We don't need a statistical analysis of your views on deletion or reverting spammers or whatever, because we already know you. The advice here would probably be the same for everyone: Make sure you're visibly checking [[Special:RecentChanges]] every day, make sure you're posting at the pub every week, and make sure that you show our laid-back, calm, we're-all-capable-adults-here vibe (e.g., no screaming at the touters; just revert them, leave a polite note, and move on). [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:23, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I think you've hit on the heart of it, when you say "everybody knows your name." That doesn't require 2 years of editing, and I'd oppose stating that being an admin usually requires anything other than "more than 1 year of editing, including participation on policy and organizational discussions, and a reputation for being dependable and reasonable". I think it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think that "more than 1 year" would be an improvement on the "few months" that we've got now, and that the participation and reputation points would be helpful to people who would like to become admins. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:30, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I think [[User:Ikan Kekek|you've]] nailed it perfectly with "{{tqi|it's fine for people to speak their minds on matters of policy and organization, as long as they don't advocate viewpoints that personally offend people and remain respectful and willing to work within consensus}}" – I would argue that it's we ''want'' people to have different viewpoints and healthy disagreement. I can list quite a few wikis where this is unfortunately not the case, which ends up resulting in those wikis becoming cabals (kawiki, eswikivoyage, ttwiki, anwiki...the last one was particularly egregious). That's not to say there should always be disagreement (otherwise you'll end up on the other side of the spectrum like azwiki, uzwiki or Commons), but there's a healthy level of balance that this wiki (and I guess all English-language projects) achieve quite well. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:51, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been active for two years, with a few thousand edits, right in the middle range being discussed. I find picking at wikis to be much healthier than doomscrolling. Nobody has told me off on anything I've done here so far. I'm open to mundane janitorial roles that I can do for 5-20 minutes a day, 2-5 days a week. :I'm watching this discussion. I'm fine keeping on with shepherding the destinations I know and copyediting neglected pages, but if there's a need for something else, what do you all suggest for me? [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:53, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] would highly recommend self-nominating yourself at [[WV:URN]]! I think you'd make for a great admin (only reason why I would slightly hesitate nominating is because I'd like to close that discussion –&nbsp;though I suppose this community doesn't really care about that so much but yk...). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:51, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::@[[User:Gerode|Gerode]], I'm also inclined support you for admin. Thanks for offering! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:05, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::actually yk what...since I have the time rn and that RfAs feel like they take 1 million years, I'll start to get the ball rolling while I have a fair bit of spare time tonight. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:53, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Please stop using useless IPA pronunciation for place names == We have a little edit war brewing on the [[Uttar Pradesh]] guide. [[User:Globetrotter30]] and [[User:Sbb1413]] somehow think that it's useful to represent the really easy-to-pronounce name as "Uttar Pradeś", which looks like Czech or some other Slavic language. Can we please avoid this? I refer everyone to [[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]], but there's no need to use pseudo-transliterations of any kind unless a place name is hard to pronounce, and if you really want to help people learn how to pronounce place names like a native, you should link audio. Thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I give transliterations in articles like [[Uttar Pradesh]] in line with [[WV:Romanization]], as they use non-Latin scripts. Otherwise, I always provide pseudo-phoneticization in the "Understand" section, and audio pronunciations where possible. If you think it's useless unless necessary, the relevant guideline needs to be changed. Btw, I avoid IPA in articles as they are not useful for travellers. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::While I think the English name here is close enough that the romanisation adds little for most readers, it may be useful for those who know a bit about Indian pronunciation – and those who don't can easily ignore the diacritics and conclude that pronunciation differences are minor. Without the romanisation, they wouldn't know that. I assume that the "ś" and "ś" are part of the recommended romanisation ([[:w:ISO 15919|ISO 15919]], it seems), and thus in line with the linked guideline. ::We do use romanisation with diacritics, also when the native pronunciation is close to that in English. The prime example would be [[Tokyo]]: "'''Tokyo''' ({{lang|ja|東京}} ''Tōkyō'')". For those who don't know the diacritics, it just reassures that the English name is close to the Japanese, for those who read [[Japanese phrasebook]], it tells some details on the pronunciation. ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:00, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::Exactly. Also, the "sh" in English can mean either "श" (''ś'', as in "Uttar Prade'''sh'''") or "ष" (''ṣ'', as in "Mahara'''sh'''tra") in Devanagari, and they are distinct in pronunciation (palato-alveolar vs retroflex). It's not always possible to distinguish the two in pseudo-phoneticization, which apparently has no provisions for retroflex consonants. And yes, I follow the {{w|ISO 15919}} norms for romanization. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:21, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Our pseudo-pronunciation is very rough, as they rely on syllables present in English – you cannot describe foreign sounds. I also think they are ugly and unwieldy; I don't think they should be used other than for words you need to get across (such as in the phrasebooks, where they also don't distract from running text). We don't assume that our readers know about palato-alveolar and retroflex sounds and we shouldn't, unless that's a critical distinction in some language (above all other distinctions different from English). Telling about vowel length in the Finnish and Japanese phrasebooks is about the level we aim for. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :Understood. I was just following the already Uttar Prades which was there. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 09:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::[[User:LPfi]], show me where it's recommended to use Slavic symbols in IPA to show English-speakers how to pronounce non-Slavic names. I do not for a second accept that. This isn't Wikipedia; it's supposed to be a practical travel guide. [[User:Sbb1413]], if you want English-speakers to know how a particular kind of "sh" sound is pronounced, link audio. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:14, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[[Wikivoyage:Romanization#Indic]] says "In general, use the ISO 15919 romanization" and [[:w:ISO 15919]] includes śṣss̱s̤ (not all for Hindi though). It's not just Slavic – Finnish and Sami use š and French uses ç. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:26, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't agree that IPA is useless to travelers. IPA is mostly useless to former American schoolchildren (unless they are also classically trained opera singers), but that's not the same thing. Basic IPA is taught as a normal pronunciation scheme in some countries, and even US schools teach (or at least used to teach) the IPA symbol Ə. That said, we have a standard, and we should follow it. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::If we're going to use IPA, we should at least note that IPA is being used. It's not very useful to show the Hindi or Urdu and then IPA without noting that it's IPA. By the way, my partner is an opera singer and knows IPA, but I am not and never learned IPA through a doctorate. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::I read through the ''[[:Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization guide]]'' but am not too sure as to how helpful it is when, in certain cases, a knowledge of anotherr language is assumed (for exmple the "oe" assumes a knowledge of German and "uu" assumes a knowledge of either Dutch or French. Maybe it would help if in such cases the IPA pronounciations are added in the ''Pseudo-phoneticization guide'' in addition to references to foreign languages. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 21:46, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::[edit conflict] Uttar Pradeś is not IPA. Wikipedia gives the Hindi pronunciation as [ˈʊt̪ːəɾ pɾə.ˈdeːɕ] – that's IPA. I agree that if we use IPA, we should note that and link to a suitable article. Wikipedia links to [[:w:Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu]]. The IPA in [[:w:Uttar Pradesh]] is Greek to those who don't know it, but the version with just diacritics isn't. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 21:48, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::The IPA I learned in school, in the textbooks of English and French, was quite straight forward: most of it just ordinary letters in an odd font (a and ɑ for different as), with a few new symbols (such as ʃ for sh). IPA allows giving more detail, which I assume is what makes the IPA above look horrendous. I think that IPA is useful in many cases, but without necessary help pages and an editor base confident in writing the IPA, recommending its use is premature. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:16, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::OK, just how many English-speakers does diacritics help pronounce any word? You have to learn what the diacritics mean first! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Yes, you have to learn them for them to be useful. They are hopefully explained in the phrasebooks, like they are for at least Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, and French (although for the two latter you don't need romanisation). If you are going to spend a few weeks somewhere, I assume learning the diacritics logic isn't too big an effort – although learning to actually pronounce the sounds may be hard. If they are useful for a significant share of our readers, say 5–30%, why not have them? Most Europeans are used to diacritics (even the British, I've understood). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 22:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Diacritics are useful to learn for languages that use them like Czech and Polish, not for languages written in other scripts. How in the world does it help you to read diacritical transliterations of Hindi or Urdu? Instead, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to learn what the sounds are for the letters and syllables used in the scripts used for those languages. Also, I have to say, I greatly resent all this talk about how x and y are useful for everyone but Americans. This is supposed to be a travel guide that's useful for all English-speakers, and if diacritical transliterations of Hindu and Urdu are useless for 99.99% of Americans, we ought to ditch them for place names. If we want to use them in phrasebooks along with pseudo-transliterations, and preferably sound files, that's fine. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:24, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::For some languages, transcription into the Latin alphabet is common, such as for Chinese (pinyin). In these cases it is absolutely useful to learn to pronounce the transcriptions. At least for Chinese and Japanese, diacritics are essential for pronouncing a word intelligibly (tone and length, respectively). :::::::I don't know whether romanised Hindi is common, or the diacritics essential, but our guideline recommends romanisation using the ISO standard, which uses diacritics extensively. :::::::The romanised forms are useful, in the same way as it is good to know that Cologne is known as Köln locally – I for one cannot make head nor tail of the Devanagari. I assume the question then is whether the diacritics are so disturbing for those "99.9% of Americans" (which hardly is a correct figure) that we who might have a clue should not get that advantage. :::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:42, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Yes, learning the local script and to deduct the correct pronunciation from the local written form is the ideal path, but that path may be quite steep for most people, and for shorter visits the effort is just too big. That's why we have romanisations in the first place, where a plain English name also is available. Learning the meaning of a handful diacritics is much easier, and may allow you to be understood when uttering a name found in our guides. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Speaking of "romanised Hindi", yes it's very common under the name "Hinglish". However, it uses the basic Latin alphabet without diacritics, and it does not distinguish between dental/palatal vs retroflex pairs. I have ''boldly'' added the ISO standard in the guideline specifically because it is very useful for Indian languages, although alternative romanization schemes exist, like IAST for Sanskrit and NLK for other languages. I reserve IAST for Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, and ISO for others. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::: Native speakers probably don't need the hints on pronunciation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} Anyway, this seems to be the discussion that should have been held back then. I assumed there had been a discussion when the advice was added. And I assume IK mistook the ISO romanisation for some ad hoc one or IPA, which we have agreed on not using (other than perhaps in special cases). For Uttar Pradesh, also the fact that the name is pronounced more or less the same locally as in English is relevant. But on to the policy issue: So, we need a romanisation of place and business names, for those who don't know the local scripts to be able to remember the names (when there is no English name) and hopefully pronounce them intelligibly in contact with locals who don't know the English names. We don't use IPA, as it is considered too arcane for editors as well as readers. I don't really understand why diacritics are a bugbear. For languages where they denote systematic critical differences in pronunciation, such as [[Japanese phrasebook#Vowels|in Japanese]], we indeed should use them. Why can't we write "Tōkyō" when we can write "Liège"? (Sure, the former is not English, so should not be used in running text.) If we agree on that, then, I think, the question is what romanisation is the most useful for Hindi & al. If the ISO romanisation is unnecessarily complex, or too complex to be useful, then let's settle on some other standard. Do you {{ping|Ikan Kekek}} have some suggestion for that? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :Yes. Tōkyō is not particularly confusing or likely to lead to gross mispronunciation, but diacritics that look like Slavic languages are, when we're not dealing with languages that are written in Latin letters with diacritics already. I really wouldn't know how to pronounce ś if I had never seen Czech words, and most Americans are not familiar with languages like Czech and Polish. I agree that Pinyin is well enough established that we have to use it in Roman versions of Chinese names, but we already do use Pinyin in English for Chinese place names (so Chongqing, not Chongching or something similar, and Guangzhou rather than Guangjo). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::I guess you are familiar with Slavic tongues. So let me tell you that Vietnamese uses even more diacritics than the Slavic languages ever do, as Vietnamese needs to distinguish between tones. I'm more comfortable with diacritics because I use Gboard on Android and Quick Accent on Windows, and both make me typing diacritics easier. If diacritics are still a problem, then there's Hunterian transliteration, which is the official romanization system used by the Indian government. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:22, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::The only reason I don't use the system is that the Hunterian transliteration does not use any diacritics, and renders different letters similarly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 15:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC) : I don't think IPA is entirely useless, though I agree it should be used sparingly & labelled "IPA" when it is used. As people point out above, some European schools teach IPA as part of their foreign language programs, I learned some when an intro to linguistics course was part of a university's ESL teacher program, & so on. Where a pronunciation is difficult for English speakers (e.g. the round front vowels in French), IPA will be quite useful for at least some readers. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :My two cents, as an American English speaker without proficiency in any other language: :* I find it incredibly helpful to know where to place emphasis within a word, and I think diacritics over vowels are a reasonable way to indicate that. I also want diacritics for Chinese and other tonal languages, and I like them for Japanese romaji too. :* I find diacritics in other situations (like "ś") to be ambiguous much of the time, as they don't tend to be used consistently across language families. While I think IPA characters shouldn't be off the table for sounds that are unlike anything in English, I do think they should be a last resort when pseudo-phoneticization is insufficient. :[[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 17:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::Emphasis in the US system is usually provided with an ordinary apostrophe rather than a diacritic, e.g., ĭn-<mark>'</mark>krĕ-dƏ-blē for the word ''incredibly''. The little curved bit that signals it's a short vowel is a [[w:en:Breve|breve]], and the long line for a long vowel is a [[w:en:Macron (diacritic)|macron]]. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:37, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree with not using IPA or IAST (and therefore diacritics) on Romanised Indic words. They're not comprehensive to the non-linguistic majority of travellers. I dislike their overusage on Wikipedia too. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 13:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I like diacritics; I think that written Vietnamese is beautiful because of them. I don't think they're incomprehensible to most people. I think that most native English speakers just ignore the diacritics if they don't understand them. It's a case of tomato, tômǎtō. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:35, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Vietnamese is written with diacritics, so people who want to learn that language need to learn them. However, most English-speakers don't read Vietnamese. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::Yes, but most English speakers can ignore diacritics that they don't understand. If we put something like tōmātō in an article, you're not going to be tearing your hair out trying to figure out what the secret word is. You might roll your eyes and think we're pretentious, but you're not going to be unable to find ''tomato'' underneath the diacritics. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:59, 16 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I'm saying that they are liable to read them and misunderstand what sounds are being indicated, not merely to say "I don't understand this" and ignore it. And you ignored my point and Gerode's point that diacritics over vowels are usually not too confusing, whereas diacritics over consonants tend to be. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:55, 16 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::That's a good point. However, aren't even the diacritics of consonants fairly well standardised, at least when it comes to transliterations to English? If they look like Slavic, doesn't that mean that they should be interpreted as in the Slavic languages? If the diacritic's meaning is not familiar to you, then you might interpret it wrongly, but is that mistake much worse than ignoring the diacritics? This is a honest question: I know their interpretation only in a few languages, and don't know how the Devanagari letters or their transliterations should be pronounced. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 12:19, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::My comment on diacritics was specific to the transliterated words of Indian or more broadly South Asian languages, not to Vietnamese, Czech or French, where diacritics are extensively used in the modern-day natively used writing of the respective language. Only college professors, academics and students of certain languages (usually classical ones like Sanskrit or Pali) or linguistics itself are literate in IAST/IPA. By extensively using them instead of an informal rendering of how the word sounds like from an English speaker's perspective, we will be alienating more readers. They are also not used on any signs in India and neighbouring countries. Referring to e.g. [[Rishikesh]] as "R̥ṣīkeś" isn't helpful to 99% of people using WV. It will more likely confuse them and make them pronounce the word as "Ruh-See-Kess", "Aar-See-Kess" or "Aar-Sikes". Rather than linguistic pedantry, we should assist the reader in a practical way on how to pronounce non-English words. And for practical purposes, both the "ṣ" and "ś" sounds most closely correspond to English "sh". [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 12:23, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::To be honest, you are right. I'm adding romanization since it's required per our current rules. However, there's a mismatch in transliteration vs pronunciation in place names across South Asia. Like the [[Tamil]] name of [[Ooty]] is romanized ''Utakamaṇṭalam'' (cf. Ootacamund) but is pronounced ''oo-duh-guh-muhn-duh-luhm'' (not considering dental vs retroflex distinction). Same for the [[Bengali]] name of [[Bengal]], which is romanized ''Bāṁlā'' but is pronounced ''BAHNG-lah'' ("Bangla") with an "ng" sound. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 12:46, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::There are times where diacritics alter the meaning of a word. For example, I went to Estcourt High School in South Africa. Instruction was given in both English and Afrikaans and in Afrikaans, the school’s name was “Esctourt Hoërskool”. The word “hoër” (with the diacritic) means “higher”, but the word “hoer” (no diacritic) means “whore”. This is a case where diacritics should be used. [[User:Martinvl|Martinvl]] ([[User talk:Martinvl|talk]]) 15:16, 17 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::The talk is not on eliminating diacritics altogether, but whether to use diacritic-heavy romanization for languages that don't use the Latin script natively. There are obviously common transliteration schemes for various languages, like Pinyin for Mandarin, Hepburn for Japanese, RTGS for Thai, etc. At least India officially use the Hunterian transliteration, which is much more useful for English speakers as it strips down the diacritics. However, the dental vs retroflex distinction is considered crucial, and the main point of criticism of this system. I'm drafting a new English-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:02, 17 June 2026 (UTC) {{outdent}} So, I have drafted a new traveller-friendly Indic romanization scheme at [[User:Sbb1413/Indic romanization]]. It is based on the basic Hunterian transliteration with some diacritics where needed. It also uses multigraphs to represent certain sounds. The Bengali and Odia sections are optional and mainly intended to better reflect the pronunciations if necessary. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 18:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :I have finally added it at [[WV:ROM]] after finalization. Now it's time to clean up most articles to use the new form. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC) == Filter 92 discussion == Admins, please discuss it [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/92 here], and thanks! All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:19, 13 June 2026 (UTC) == Add listing button not doing anything == Is it broken again? [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 15:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC) :I've been having the same problem for a while. I thought it might just be me, though. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 22:38, 14 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{ping|Andyrom75|Jdlrobson}} any idea what's happening? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:01, 14 June 2026 (UTC) :::I've randomly opened [[Lemnos]] and it works. Could you tell me an article where it doesn't work? [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 09:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::[[Streymoy]] has the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 09:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::And on my phone I cannot un-hide the sections of [[Streymoy]]. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 10:31, 15 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::There seems to be a connection with [[:Template:NordicCountries]]. Alle countries mentioned in the template and also the regions mentioned in the country articles seem to have the problem. [[User:FredTC|FredTC]] ([[User talk:FredTC|talk]]) 12:01, 15 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::It's normal that in Streymoy and in similar REGION articles the [add listing] doesn't work, because theoretically only city/district articles should be described through listings. Although it is correct to open the editor on existing listings, the real mistake is to show the [add listing] link. The idea is to not incentivate the use of listing in such articles. [[User:Andyrom75|<span style="color:#BB0000; font-family:Papyrus; font-size:12px">'''Andyrom75'''</span>]] ([[User talk:Andyrom75|talk]]) 14:38, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == June 2026 Wikimedia Café meetups regarding the English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project == <div class="border-box" style="background-color: var(--background-color-warning-subtle, #f8eaba); max-width: 875px; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; color: var(--clr-dark)"> <div class="box" style="float:left; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">[[File:Wikimedia Café logo in plain SVG format.svg|60px|alt=The logo for the Wikimedia Café]]</div> Hello! There will be two '''[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9 Wikimedia Café]''' discussion opportunities during the last weekend of June. Both sessions will focus on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_reflections English Wikipedia Editor Reflections project]. The featured guest in the Café will be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss User:Clovermoss]. Participants may attend either or both sessions. #'''27 June 2026 15:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782572400 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to the Americas, Africa, and Europe #'''28 June 2026 03:00 UTC''' ([https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1782615600 timestamp converter]), at a time friendly to Asia and the Pacific Please see the Café page for more information, including [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9#How_to_attend_the_session how to register]! <br /> [[File:Buntstifte Eberhard Faber crop 64h.jpg|860px|alt=cropped image of colored pencils]]</div> <span style="white-space:nowrap;">[[User:Pine|<span style="color:#01796f; text-shadow:#00BFFF 0 0 1.0em">↠Pine</span>]] [[User talk:Pine|<span style="color:DeepSkyBlue">(<b style="color:#FFDF00;text-shadow:#FFDF00 0 0 1.0em">✉</b>)</span>]]</span> 03:59, 15 June 2026 (UTC) == Trip Planner as default == Per the discussion at [[Talk:Trip_Planner#h-UI_problems-20260616201300]], it appears not entirely clear whether or not there is consensus to have the Trip Planner enabled for all users as a default. How do you all feel? <span style="border:3px outset;border-radius:8pt 0;padding:1px 5px;background:linear-gradient(6rad,#86c,#2b9);color:#FFFFFF">[[User:Sdkb|<span style="color:#FFF;text-decoration:inherit;font:1em Lucida Sans">Sdkb</span>]]</span> ^{[[User talk:Sdkb|'''talk''']]} 17:10, 17 June 2026 (UTC) :Don't want to derail this but for some reason it always tells me I'm logged out when I click on it. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:55, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :: I have no issue with it being enabled for all users by default. Tripadvisor already offers its AI trip planner service right on its main page with no login required. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 14:08, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Me neither – it ''should'' be something more widely available, but I think {{u|Jdlrobson}} mentioned that there was some issue with the number of API calls or something like that? (were the planner to become default for logged out users) //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:12, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::So you see the top icon, it opens the small gadget - but [[Trip Planner]] shows you "If you see this message, the Trip Planner is either loading or you are logged out. This feature is only available for logged-in users (creating an account to use this feature is simple and quick)." ? Could you check browser console for any errors? -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 17:37, 18 June 2026 (UTC) :::Moving this to your talk page. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 03:13, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :I have strong reservations about enabling this feature by default for anonymous readers without supporting data. In my professional experience with large-scale platforms, unvalidated features can frequently have a net-negative impact on user engagement and retention. Any decision here should be data-driven rather than consensus-driven; it is important to remember that active editors like ourselves do not represent the average reader. :Before rolling this out widely, i would highly urge you consider: :* '''Data & Instrumentation:''' What data do we have to show that general readers (e.g. not active in Travellers pub) actually want or need this feature? For users who already have access, what percentage of logged-in users have actively opted out of the gadget? How does this affect user behavior? :* '''Design & Consistency:''' The UI currently feels inconsistent with our existing design system and styling guidelines. It needs further refinement to match the visual standards of the rest of the site. :* '''Performance & Core Web Vitals:''' More critically, the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts. Because of the limitations of the gadget system, this will negatively impact our Core Web Vitals, which directly risks our search ranking and organic traffic over time. :[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 16:50, 19 June 2026 (UTC) ::What can we do to get some usable data? ::What can we do to mitigate the SEO risks? SEO is important to this community. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:32, 19 June 2026 (UTC) :::I'm curious about 2 specifically – on one hand, yes, it does somewhat have a bit of a mildly dated look, it doesn't feel all that much different to how the listing editor used to look some years back. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:35, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::Also, Jdlrobson, did you write that list of considerations [https://imgur.com/a/eR5XgZe using AI]? I'm not accusing you of such, but I will say the text highly reads like it. If it is, I'm not sure how many of them are actual concerns – particularly the third one (how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO???). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::How does asking someone whether they used AI to voice their concerns move the conversation forward? So what if they did? You think they didn't bother to read it before posting it? This isn't article space. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:22, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Because a) using AI to write your comments for you is [[m:User:SHB2000/Synthetic nominations|plain lazy and outright rude]] (related essay, though not quite the same topic) and b) AI has the ability to hallucinate that the comment loses credibility were it to be AI-generated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:26, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I disagree with (a) as applied generally (though I empathize with your gripe in that specific case) and re (b) if the user reads and is happy with the AI's work, then what difference does it make for a talk page comment? I don't want to derail this (again) but AI is for better or worse embedded in a lot of people's workflows these days, accusing people of using AI (on talk pages) is a waste of time and inhibits problem resolution, and in most cases we should just ''let it go''. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 13:33, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::The question was perhaps derailing but the issue is real. The AI-like style is highly disrupting, whether one used AI or not. An AI-style comment also makes readers wonder whether the content was intended or partly made up by the AI. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:17, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::Again, my point is, what does this matter? Assuming they used AI (perhaps they did not), why is this disrupting? This is a software development question, a field where AI has proven to be extremely useful, and if they used AI to perform an analysis, well then more power to them. If we want to have a widget thrust out to the larger audience, then it should pass muster with AI. The reflexive dismissal of AI critique is akin to an ''ad hominem'' defense of any critique. Respond to the content, not the creator. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 16:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::This thread is not on the gadget talk page, where the technical issues should be discussed, but in the pub, and the question was whether is should be enabled by default. Thus, ordinary Wikivoyagers should be able to follow. Headings like "Data & Instrumentation", "Design & Consistency" and "Performance & Core Web Vitals" are highly disruptive when posted here. I'd hope humans would understand that. :::::::::There is no problem with somebody having an AI perform an analysis, but the results should be reported in a form suitable for the forum where they are presented. If you want to quote the AI, do so, but provide the context yourself and attribute the quote. :::::::::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 16:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::These seem like highly normal things that should be discussed here when deciding whether a software widget should be broadcast. I didn't realize the pub was a dumbed down setting. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 17:25, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::Yes. But those AI-like bullet headings are unneeded. What do you lose by removing them. We don't need headings in a posting of four short paragraphs. In a context where they are well-known jargon, they may help people get the right associations right away, but here they are disruptive. Am I dumb because I don't like bolded headings in a four-paragraph posting? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:44, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::I don't know what "Core Web Vitals" means. That's jargon, which should be avoided here. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:45, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::::::I do understand "the implementation causes noticeable repaints and layout shifts". Instead of referring to the "vitals" one could say "such issues have a negative effect on our rating". Perhaps even +"through the '[https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals]'" if that seems useful. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::::::Eh. You can't wrap your head around "core web vitals"? Their points were fine. [[User:Brycehughes|Brycehughes]] ([[User talk:Brycehughes|talk]]) 18:14, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::I disagree that using "headings" (you meant the non-heading use of bold for emphasis?) is highly disruptive. I also disagree that using AI is "plain lazy and outright rude". [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::About "how does layout shifts end up affecting SEO?": That bullet is about performance ''and'' CWV. I think the layout shifts sentence is about degrading performance, and "the limitations of the gadget system" are about the CWV part. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 18:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Perhaps we can move this part of the discussion back to [[Talk:Trip_Planner]]. I'd also love to hear what esp. the last part actually means (@[[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]]) - I'm trying to make the gadget as unobtrusive as possible, but obviously I am not CEO expert. If there's a better way to do some UI stuff, I'm all for it! -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 06:54, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::I've left some feedback on [[Talk:Trip_Planner]] @[[User:Andree.sk|Andree.sk]]. Hope it's all helpful and answers some of the questions on this thread. We can keep this technical conversation there. ::::::Regarding the AI side-chat, personally, I feel really discouraged and disappointed by this exchange. I was directly asked a question and provided my answer despite struggling to find time for my Wikivoyage commitments. I will be stepping away for a bit longer after this exchange. ::::::There is a certain irony about gatekeeping AI-assisted messages for enabling [[Talk:Trip_Planner#c-SHB2000-20260527073600-Andree.sk-20260527054600|a tool which was '''built''' with AI assistance]]. ::::::One of the more important lessons I have learned through travel is to be respectful and not to make assumptions about people's motives and intent. Note, you could be [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/10/programs-to-detect-ai-discriminate-against-non-native-english-speakers-shows-study discriminating] against someone who doesn't have English as a first language or unintentionally contributing to [https://mailchi.mp/e42bdf0cb0d9/5-ally-actions-aug-15-2025 gender bias]. ::::::AI is not going away any time soon, and the newer generation of contributors is more likely to be using it whether you like it or not. Perhaps prioritizing/accelerating discussion of a AI policy could be a way to get a shared understanding or what's acceptable, and eliminating misinformed and outdated biases. [[User:Jdlrobson|Jdlrobson]] ([[User talk:Jdlrobson|talk]]) 23:13, 21 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::There's also the problem of AI detectors incorrectly "detecting" AI use when the text was written by an autistic editor, and the wikis have a lot of autistic editors. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 03:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I for one don't mind AI-generated text (indeed esp. when the code generation is AI-assisted), as long as it represents authors opinion/ideas. I already saw it on github in discussion etc., it's probably better than no comments at all. So thanks also for your feedback, I'll for sure let my AI credits work on it! :))) -- [[User_talk:Andree.sk|andree]] 04:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::I am sorry that I contributed to the discouragement; I value your contributions. I might have been biased because of somebody, probably a troll, using AI style in their postings. A single AI-assisted post is no big deal, but I do think that writing what you want to say by yourself is valuable, and I don't want people in general to use AIs instead. Of course, if your English is weak or there are other special circumstances, the AI assistance might be warranted. Still, people contributing here should know English well enough to express themselves intelligible, with some follow-up questions for clarification if needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:32, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::::::::My thoughts are mostly with LPfi and I too apologise if my comments seemed discouraging...but Jon, while I fully appreciate the work you do and I also don't want to further discourage you, what else were you expecting when you outsourced your reply to a computer? You're lucky that the [[User:LPfi/AI guidelines#Discussions|proposed AI guidelines]] have yet to be adopted (which would've fully prohibited that), but getting a visceral reaction to AI comments is really not something unique to Wikivoyage or most Wikimedia projects for that matter (ahem, Windows 11 and Copilot, or the common struggle of AI chatbots taking over help pages of websites). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:21, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I imagine that he was thinking that he had important ''facts'' to contribute, and that getting that information to us sooner instead of later would be appreciated. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == New request for adminship == Hello, everyone. We currently have 1 active RfA at [[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations#Gerode (sysop)]] for Gerode. Any input is highly appreciated. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:01, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == Holiday article: [[Juneteenth]] == Pretty late to be of any use to anyone this year, but for anyone who's motivated to improve this, maybe we can have a solid topic guide for 2027. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 16:19, 19 June 2026 (UTC) == FYI: two pieces on walking trails == * Public privately-owned spaces in New York City: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/230/ * A new hiking trail in Japan: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/katsuo-trail-japan-hiking-guide ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:18, 20 June 2026 (UTC) == Outdated templates == When I see an edit like [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6rlitz&diff=5295545&oldid=5295542 this], I wonder how users are finding out-of-date templates. In this case, an eat template was added with a fax number field, and without the lastedit field. I doubt that the user has manually changed the template. Does anyone know where these templates might exist so that we can update them? [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:24, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :Sorry but I'm not following. This edit used an instance of {{tl|eat}} in the article [[Görlitz]]. If you need to edit the template directly, it exists at [[Template:Eat]]. If you need to edit some information in that particular instance of the usage of the template, you can do it at the article. Forgive me if I'm too slow here, but that's where all the content exists. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 17:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::So the answer to GZ is "They might use the template documentation". GZ wondered because the field doesn't get inserted by the listing editor unless you provide a value, and here it was empty. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:55, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::But here the lastedit field was missing, and it isn't in the template documentation. That hints on them having found the old version (from before 22 February 2015! the user started editing 2018) somewhere. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 18:05, 20 June 2026 (UTC) ::::I think that they may have simply copied one of the existing listings and then edited it, as the other eat listings have the fax number field. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:29, 20 June 2026 (UTC) :::::That sounds right to me. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :::::I too think this is the most probable reason. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:08, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == Request for Wikivoyage Training for African and Proud Community == Hello Wikivoyage team, I kindly request for permission for a wikivoyage training for my community members at African and Proud community. [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 12:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]]: Hey, thanks for letting the community know – do you have any page on Meta-Wiki for which community needs training? I'm a bit short on time these few weeks, but [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] and [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]] are always good places to start. If you're running an event, also see [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, event organizers]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:46, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], thanks very much for the request. I wouldn't have time to do a video chat or something like that, but I'd be happy to give a short introduction in writing and answer any questions anyone has. Is there a good page for me to do that on? ::Best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Hi, ::This is the link to the community page [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP) African and Proud] [[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]] ([[User talk:Linason Blessing|talk]]) 10:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::([[m:African & Proud (AP)]], in case the above link doesn't work) – btw thanks for sharing the page. I'll take a look at it when I get some spare time. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:00, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you! Would you like to start a thread on the talk page, so that people notice it? Then, I'd be happy to reply to it. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:58, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :The first thing to do is to improve a favorite article yourself. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 17:37, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] is right. @[[User:Linason Blessing|Linason Blessing]], the best way you can learn how Wikivoyage works is to read the links [[User:SHB2000]] gave you and then edit the article about wherever you live or most like to visit and see how the rest of us respond and make further edits. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:05, 23 June 2026 (UTC) : Two pages you & your trainees should look at are [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors]] & [[Wikivoyage:Africa Expedition]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) == RFC about AI-generated content in Wikimedia Commons == <bdi lang="en" dir="ltr"> You are invited to participate in a [[c:Commons:Requests for comment/Policy update for AI content|request for comment on Wikimedia Commons about a policy update for AI content]]. This may affect files that are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for use on this project. Thank you. [[m:User:Codename Noreste|Codename Noreste]] ([[m:User talk:Codename Noreste|talk]])</bdi> 17:12, 23 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Codename Noreste@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distribution_list/Global_message_delivery&oldid=30513860 --> :Thanks for notification, although we generally don't use AI-generated images due to the nature of this project. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 17:19, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] The proposal also includes adding policies for AI-touched up photos, not just completely-AI photos. [[User:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: #0000FF;">OhanaUnited</b>]][[User talk:OhanaUnited|<b style="color: green;">^{Talk page}</b>]] 03:00, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Deployment of Legal and Safety Contacts Link in the Footer of Your Wiki == <section begin="Message"/> '''Legal & Safety Contacts''' Hello community, the Wikimedia Foundation has provided a [[wmf:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contact Information|single legal and safety contact page]], to be linked in the footer of your wiki, to ensure access to accurate legal information. This is a regulatory requirement. We have already rolled out links to English, German, Italian, Spanish and other wikis and we will deploy to your wiki soon. [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contacts_FAQ|Please read more on the project page]] and leave any comments in this thread or on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Wikimedia Foundation Legal and Safety Contacts FAQ|talk page]]. <section end="Message"/> -- [[User:Sannita (WMF)|User:Sannita (WMF)]] ([[User talk:Sannita (WMF)|talk]]) 13:31, 25 June 2026 (UTC) <!-- Message sent by User:Sannita (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Sannita_(WMF)/Mass_sending_test&oldid=30731267 --> :@[[User:Sannita (WMF)|Sannita (WMF)]], what kinds of web pages require these kinds of footers? Only those open to editing by all users, or at least not websites only the owner can edit? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ::I'd assume it's the MediaWiki page to edit the footer, which I'm not sure has been created on this wiki (since I can't find the name of it). <span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 23:48, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :::You cannot locally edit the footer: it's determined by a server setting. No user of this wiki can directly edit this without server access. It will be added by WMF staffers at some point across all pages in this and other WMF wikis. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 00:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Understood. My question is much more general, though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 11:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) == Canadian cuisine == I wonder if this is an article worth creating given that we have quite a number of Canadian editors here. Quebec of course has its own unique cuisine, but even within English-speaking Canada, there are some regional dishes that are not easily found in other parts of the country. For instance, when I went to Vancouver, I remember this drink called the London fog (essentially an earl grey latte) was sold in virtually every coffee shop, but I did not encounter that drink at coffee shops in Toronto, which leads me to think that is a Vancouver specialty. Even the ice cream shops in Vancouver almost always have London fog as a flavour. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 17:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :You mean there's more to Canadian cuisine than the bland donuts and watery coffee sold by Tim Hortons? Who knew?! [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 17:49, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I think that would be a good idea. [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 02:30, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm open to it, [[Canada#Eat]] isn't too big yet but it easily could be if you have a lot to add. London Fog has recently become popular across the border in Seattle too, it looks like it started north and is spreading south! [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 04:39, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::Toronto has the peameal bacon sandwich, which is a simple and hearty dish. And unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but apparently they have their own version of roti shaped by immigration of East Indians from the Caribbean. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 05:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::That bacon sandwich is yummy! There's a fair few BC regional foods that could be mentioned: salmon in general but particularly sockeye, albacore tuna, spot prawns, california and BC sushi rolls, Nanaimo bars, Okanagan wine, peaches, cherries... Canada has also invented a bunch of ice cream and potato chip flavours that are unheard of or usual elsewhere. Moon mist or tiger tail, anyone? How about some all-dressed Ruffles? Good suggestion for an article.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:11, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ::::Consider what cuisine content is best placed in Canada/Eat, or might be better developed on a regional or city page and cross-referenced. Perhaps readers would benefit more from signposting of content that’s already there, than from a new stand-alone page. The fast-food chains certainly need a brief mention: on a long drive, Timmie’s could literally be a life-saver. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 07:16, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :::::Certainly valid counterpoints. There's already a [[Fast food in the United States and Canada]], though that looks overlong to me and not sure how useful it really is for the driving situation you mention.--[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 07:23, 26 June 2026 (UTC) sbty4nrlr8fq5btej8fvtb2xndongdp 4 69340 5298556 5297000 2026-06-26T02:02:07Z SHB2000 2248002 /* Template:Contains Meitei text */ 5298556 wikitext text/x-wiki __NEWSECTIONLINK__ <!-- generates a "+"-Tab so we can easily add a new topic --> {| style="background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #f4f7fa); color: var(--color-neutral); border: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #abc); text-align: center; padding-left: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;" |- | style="text-align:left;"| <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px; color: var(--color-neutral, #454442);">'''Votes for deletion'''</div>{{shortcut|[[WV:VFD]]|[[vfd]]}} This page lists articles, files and templates that are nominated for deletion. Any Wikivoyager can make a nomination or comment on any nomination. Nominations or comments should follow a rationale based on our [[Wikivoyage:Deletion policy|deletion policy]]. If our deletion policy leads towards a merge or redirect, then coordinate this on the discussion page of the article. The purpose of this page is limited to the interpretation and application of our deletion policy. You can discuss what our deletion policies should be on the [[Wikivoyage_talk:Deletion_policy|deletion policy discussion page]]. ===Nominating=== Add a {{tl|vfd}} tag to the top of the article, file or template being proposed for deletion, so that people viewing it will be aware. Place the tag '''at the very top''', before everything else, except the page banner. Do note though, if you're tagging a template for deletion, use <nowiki><noinclude>{{vfd}}</noinclude></nowiki> instead of {{tl|vfd}} alone. Add a link to the article, file or template at the end of the list below, along with the reason why it is being listed for deletion. Sign your recommendation using four tildes ("<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>"). If you're nominating a file for deletion, make sure it's actually hosted on the English Wikivoyage and not on Wikimedia Commons. The basic format for a deletion nomination is: <nowiki>===[[Chicken]]===</nowiki> <nowiki>Not a valid travel article topic. ~~~~</nowiki> ===Commenting=== All Wikivoyagers are invited to comment on articles, files or templates listed for deletion. The format for comments is: <nowiki>===[[Chicken]]===</nowiki> <nowiki>* '''Delete'''. Not a valid travel article topic. TravelNut 25:25, 31 Feb 2525 (UTC)</nowiki> <nowiki>* '''Keep'''. There is a town in [[Alaska]] called Chicken. ~~~~</nowiki> When leaving comments you may elect to '''delete''', '''keep''', or '''redirect''' the article. If you recommend redirection, you may suggest where it should be redirected to. Any attempt to merge content from an article to some other destination must retain the edit history to comply with the attribution (CC BY-SA) requirements of the free license, so it may be possible to '''merge and redirect''' but not to merge and delete. Sign your comment using four tildes ("<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>"). ===Deleting, or not=== * If, after 14 days of discussion, the consensus is to '''delete''', an administrator may delete it. * If, after 14 days of discussion, the consensus is to '''redirect''' or '''merge''', any Wikivoyager may do it. If you make a redirect, please check for any resulting broken redirects or double redirects. * If, after 14 days of discussion, the consensus is to '''keep''', any Wikivoyager may remove any VFD notices from that page, and archive the deletion discussion. * If there is '''no consensus''' after 14 days, allow a further 7 days for discussion. ** If, after the additional 7 days, there is '''no consensus''', the page should be '''kept''' – any Wikivoyager may remove any VFD notices from that page, and archive the deletion discussion. ** If, after the additional 7 days, there is a consensus, implement it in line with the first three points above. * When deleting an article, check [[Special:WhatLinksHere|"What links here"]]. Either remove the newly-broken links from the articles or point them somewhere else. Inbound redirects to a deleted page should either be deleted or redirected elsewhere. * When deleting a template, either replace it wherever it's been transcluded, especially if it served a formatting function. You can do this by adding "subst:" before the template name (especially if the use is in article space, you may then want to clean away unnecessary HTML or CSS code, which would make the wikitext confusing). Once that's done, you can delete the template without affecting individual uses of it. Otherwise, remove the template from all pages that use the template. However, do '''not''' delete the template first – this breaks links and will cause a swathe of red links, requiring a lot of cleanups. ===Archiving=== After you keep/redirect/merge/delete the article, file or template, '''move the deletion discussion''' to the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion/{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}|Archives page for the appropriate month]]. The [[Project:Votes for deletion/Archives|root archives page]] has a directory. Note that it's the month in which the ''action'' was taken, rather than when the ''nomination'' was first posted, that should be used for the archived discussion; that way, recourse to the deletion log can lead subsequent readers right to the discussion (at least for the pages that were deleted). When archiving, always '''make it clear''' to other editors what '''the outcome of the discussion''' was. First, describe the outcome in the edit summary when you remove the discussion, with something like "archive as kept". Then add a line for the result to the discussion on the archive page. If the nominated article, file or template was not deleted, then the nomination should be mentioned on its talk page. Generally this is done by providing a link to the deletion discussion on the talk page. One should also indicate the result on the talk page. If the discussion is short, an alternative is to place an (identical duplicate) copy of the discussion on the talk page. See also: * [[Special:Log/delete|Deletion log]] * [[Project:Votes for deletion/Archives|Votes for deletion/Archives]] - the VFD archives index page * [[Project:Votes for undeletion|Votes for undeletion]] * [[:Category:Vfd]] - A page that collects every image and article that is currently tagged with the [[:Template:Vfd|vfd template]]. |style="background: #FF6600; color: var(--color-base)" | [[File:Icon delete talk.svg|150px|link=|right]] |} {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} ==June 2026== ===[[Template:Contains Meitei text]]=== Template imported from Wikipedia with zero discussions, violating our template policy. Plus, we don't have such a template for each and every non-Latin script, including even Cyrillic and Devanagari. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 13:48, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :Can Meitei text be rendered without this template? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:00, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::The template does not in any way assist in rendering: it is purely a notice that users will either see the characters properly or some kind of stand-in from the browser. The text of the article is identical if the template is not there. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:03, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::Yes, and I guess it's useful only if a given article is full of non-Latin texts, which is not always the case on Wikivoyage. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:57, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :Heads up that I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AContains_Meitei_text&diff=5290916&oldid=5290900 added] [[:mw:NOINCLUDE|noinclude]] because without it, all pages trancsluding the template were added to [[:Category:Vfd]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:55, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm not sure on this one. I think there should be some kind of disclaimer on phrasebooks with odd or obscure scripts not supported by every browser or loads very slowly (which is still an unfortunate reality for many parts of the world). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:25, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::What makes more sense is having a generic template for non-Latin scripts. Since this is not Wikipedia, where we are liable to deal with all kinds of nuanced edge cases and localized versions of names and actual articles about obscure writing systems, there's a pretty minimal amount of non-Latin writing, especially outside of phrasebooks. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:58, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree, but since this template already exists, I think it's much, much easier to just reformat this template as such instead of deleting this and creating a new one for non-Latin scripts in general. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:00, 11 June 2026 (UTC) : '''Delete'''. I like Koavf's suggestion of a generic template. : Would it be enough to just tell people -- in a template message or at [[Wikivoyage:Welcome,_newcomers]], or both -- that they should enable Unicode support ([[w:UTF-16]]?) in their browser if that is not the default? Looks like that would cover Meitei; [[w:Meetei Mayek (Unicode block)]] [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 02:24, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::'''Keep'''. Having odd rectangles telling the Unicode code points in any listing telling local names and addresses is confusing; some readers may think our site is broken. Explaining the issue and giving advice for installing the needed font(s) is useful – once there [at the destination], it is nice if one's device can show those local names and addresses. [[Wikivoyage:Meitei script display help]] should be rewritten, though, probably with links to step-by-step instructions on browser sites. ::[[:w:Unicode|Unicode]] support (for me, [[:w:UTF-8]] rather than UTF-16) isn't enough, you need the fonts. What other scripts aren't supported by default in the most common browsers? For me, e.g. Tibetan has the same issue. I assume smartphones may support fewer scripts. Thai? Georgian? Inuktitut? ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:43, 12 June 2026 (UTC) : If we delete this, we should also delete [[Wikivoyage:Meitei script display help]] or replace it with a generic Unicode help page. : Is this a real problem? My browser (Firefox on Linux) happily renders Meitei fonts without me doing anything special to enable it. Do other browsers fail here? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:05, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Mine (Chrome on macOS) can be a hit or miss for more obscure scripts (something like Divehi or Cree). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:04, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::Mine (Firefox on Debian) doesn't support Meitei, Tibetan, or seemingly even Korean by default (while some other odd scripts show fine). Adding the fonts is easy, though. I assume "hit or miss for more obscure scripts" is what to expect on most platforms. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:57, 12 June 2026 (UTC) *'''Keep''' per LPfi. It's far more useful to reformat this template than it is to outright delete this template. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:08, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ---- '''Outcome:''' there is no consensus to delete this template. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:02, 26 June 2026 (UTC) ===[[The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] & [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]]=== Until recently, we had an article at [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]]. After a series of moves by {{ping|Waysi34}} these two new articles were created. Both the others are currently redirects to [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] which has the text from the original article. Certainly "The ..." should be deleted. I'd move the article back to Tiger Leaping Gorge & delete both the new ones. Other opinions? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:03, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :I would '''delete''' [[The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] and '''keep''' [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]], while moving the latter to [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]]. If there are substantial histories in both redirects, I would merge them to the existing article. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:50, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :Hey! I moved it because the article describes the trek/trail, not the gorge itself. The "The ..." title was indeed an error and should be deleted. :I think [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] is the more precise title for the current article. [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]] can either be a separate article about the gorge, or redirect there for now. [[User:Waysi34|Waysi34]] ([[User talk:Waysi34|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. So I'm deleting the "The ..." title. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{done}}. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:57, 22 June 2026 (UTC) sfui49fc7bgs5ympv21wcb4if0vpr0d 5298558 5298556 2026-06-26T02:02:39Z SHB2000 2248002 /* Template:Contains Meitei text */ archived 5298558 wikitext text/x-wiki __NEWSECTIONLINK__ <!-- generates a "+"-Tab so we can easily add a new topic --> {| style="background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #f4f7fa); color: var(--color-neutral); border: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #abc); text-align: center; padding-left: .3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;" |- | style="text-align:left;"| <div style="text-align:center; font-size:300%; line-height: 1; padding: 10px; color: var(--color-neutral, #454442);">'''Votes for deletion'''</div>{{shortcut|[[WV:VFD]]|[[vfd]]}} This page lists articles, files and templates that are nominated for deletion. Any Wikivoyager can make a nomination or comment on any nomination. Nominations or comments should follow a rationale based on our [[Wikivoyage:Deletion policy|deletion policy]]. If our deletion policy leads towards a merge or redirect, then coordinate this on the discussion page of the article. The purpose of this page is limited to the interpretation and application of our deletion policy. You can discuss what our deletion policies should be on the [[Wikivoyage_talk:Deletion_policy|deletion policy discussion page]]. ===Nominating=== Add a {{tl|vfd}} tag to the top of the article, file or template being proposed for deletion, so that people viewing it will be aware. Place the tag '''at the very top''', before everything else, except the page banner. Do note though, if you're tagging a template for deletion, use <nowiki><noinclude>{{vfd}}</noinclude></nowiki> instead of {{tl|vfd}} alone. Add a link to the article, file or template at the end of the list below, along with the reason why it is being listed for deletion. Sign your recommendation using four tildes ("<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>"). If you're nominating a file for deletion, make sure it's actually hosted on the English Wikivoyage and not on Wikimedia Commons. The basic format for a deletion nomination is: <nowiki>===[[Chicken]]===</nowiki> <nowiki>Not a valid travel article topic. ~~~~</nowiki> ===Commenting=== All Wikivoyagers are invited to comment on articles, files or templates listed for deletion. The format for comments is: <nowiki>===[[Chicken]]===</nowiki> <nowiki>* '''Delete'''. Not a valid travel article topic. TravelNut 25:25, 31 Feb 2525 (UTC)</nowiki> <nowiki>* '''Keep'''. There is a town in [[Alaska]] called Chicken. ~~~~</nowiki> When leaving comments you may elect to '''delete''', '''keep''', or '''redirect''' the article. If you recommend redirection, you may suggest where it should be redirected to. Any attempt to merge content from an article to some other destination must retain the edit history to comply with the attribution (CC BY-SA) requirements of the free license, so it may be possible to '''merge and redirect''' but not to merge and delete. Sign your comment using four tildes ("<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>"). ===Deleting, or not=== * If, after 14 days of discussion, the consensus is to '''delete''', an administrator may delete it. * If, after 14 days of discussion, the consensus is to '''redirect''' or '''merge''', any Wikivoyager may do it. If you make a redirect, please check for any resulting broken redirects or double redirects. * If, after 14 days of discussion, the consensus is to '''keep''', any Wikivoyager may remove any VFD notices from that page, and archive the deletion discussion. * If there is '''no consensus''' after 14 days, allow a further 7 days for discussion. ** If, after the additional 7 days, there is '''no consensus''', the page should be '''kept''' – any Wikivoyager may remove any VFD notices from that page, and archive the deletion discussion. ** If, after the additional 7 days, there is a consensus, implement it in line with the first three points above. * When deleting an article, check [[Special:WhatLinksHere|"What links here"]]. Either remove the newly-broken links from the articles or point them somewhere else. Inbound redirects to a deleted page should either be deleted or redirected elsewhere. * When deleting a template, either replace it wherever it's been transcluded, especially if it served a formatting function. You can do this by adding "subst:" before the template name (especially if the use is in article space, you may then want to clean away unnecessary HTML or CSS code, which would make the wikitext confusing). Once that's done, you can delete the template without affecting individual uses of it. Otherwise, remove the template from all pages that use the template. However, do '''not''' delete the template first – this breaks links and will cause a swathe of red links, requiring a lot of cleanups. ===Archiving=== After you keep/redirect/merge/delete the article, file or template, '''move the deletion discussion''' to the [[Wikivoyage:Votes for deletion/{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}|Archives page for the appropriate month]]. The [[Project:Votes for deletion/Archives|root archives page]] has a directory. Note that it's the month in which the ''action'' was taken, rather than when the ''nomination'' was first posted, that should be used for the archived discussion; that way, recourse to the deletion log can lead subsequent readers right to the discussion (at least for the pages that were deleted). When archiving, always '''make it clear''' to other editors what '''the outcome of the discussion''' was. First, describe the outcome in the edit summary when you remove the discussion, with something like "archive as kept". Then add a line for the result to the discussion on the archive page. If the nominated article, file or template was not deleted, then the nomination should be mentioned on its talk page. Generally this is done by providing a link to the deletion discussion on the talk page. One should also indicate the result on the talk page. If the discussion is short, an alternative is to place an (identical duplicate) copy of the discussion on the talk page. See also: * [[Special:Log/delete|Deletion log]] * [[Project:Votes for deletion/Archives|Votes for deletion/Archives]] - the VFD archives index page * [[Project:Votes for undeletion|Votes for undeletion]] * [[:Category:Vfd]] - A page that collects every image and article that is currently tagged with the [[:Template:Vfd|vfd template]]. |style="background: #FF6600; color: var(--color-base)" | [[File:Icon delete talk.svg|150px|link=|right]] |} {{WikivoyageDoc|collaboration}} ==June 2026== ===[[The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] & [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]]=== Until recently, we had an article at [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]]. After a series of moves by {{ping|Waysi34}} these two new articles were created. Both the others are currently redirects to [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] which has the text from the original article. Certainly "The ..." should be deleted. I'd move the article back to Tiger Leaping Gorge & delete both the new ones. Other opinions? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 16:03, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :I would '''delete''' [[The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] and '''keep''' [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]], while moving the latter to [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]]. If there are substantial histories in both redirects, I would merge them to the existing article. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:50, 22 June 2026 (UTC) :Hey! I moved it because the article describes the trek/trail, not the gorge itself. The "The ..." title was indeed an error and should be deleted. :I think [[Tiger Leaping Gorge trek]] is the more precise title for the current article. [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]] can either be a separate article about the gorge, or redirect there for now. [[User:Waysi34|Waysi34]] ([[User talk:Waysi34|talk]]) 16:53, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. So I'm deleting the "The ..." title. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:55, 22 June 2026 (UTC) ::{{done}}. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 16:57, 22 June 2026 (UTC) 02qd7dh0imyqx7xwohatuw2h2c03xtq 4 79292 5298648 5298032 2026-06-26T08:29:57Z LPfi 79572 "bad faith" redundant with disruption 5298648 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Disclaimerbox|'''Important''': Wikivoyage is subject to all [[:meta:Meta:Policies and guidelines|global Wikimedia policies]] in addition to the policies listed here.}} {| style="width:100%; border-spacing:5px 1px;" |- | style="width:33%; padding:10px; vertical-align:top; background-color:#ddddff; color: black;" | {{shortcut|[[Policy]]<br>[[Policies]]<br>[[Policy outline]]<br>[[WV:PO]]}} '''This page is a guide to the policies of English Wikivoyage.''' If you don't find your answer here or in the [[Wikivoyage:FAQ|frequently asked questions]], ask in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|travellers' pub]]. __TOC__ <inputbox> bgcolor = transparent type = fulltext prefix = Wikivoyage: width = 30 searchbuttonlabel = Search policy pages </inputbox> |} ==Guiding principles== :''These are the basic principles that inspire our work and policy.'' ;[[Wikivoyage:The_traveller_comes_first|The traveller comes first]] {{Shortcut|[[tcf]]<br />[[ttcf]]}} :Nutshell: ''Our work is guided by what is best from the traveller's perspective.'' :Note: You could call this our '''Prime Directive''' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Goals_and_non-goals|Goals and non-goals]]: {{shortcut|[[goals]]}} :Nutshell: ''Our goal is to create a free, complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide travel guide.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Where_you_can_stick_it|Where you can stick it]] ([[wycsi]]) :*[[Wikivoyage:What_is_an_article?|What is an article?]] ([[wiaa]]) ;[[Wikivoyage:Consensus|Consensus]] {{Shortcut|[[consensus]]}} :Nutshell: ''Almost all decisions are made by achieving consensus rather than voting &mdash; so state your arguments and build consensus for debatable matters.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Requests_for_comment|Requests for comment]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Travellers'_pub|Travellers' pub]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Plunge_forward|Plunge forward]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:PF]]<br />[[plunge forward]]}} :Nutshell: ''Don't worry about being perfect or making mistakes. If something needs to be done, do it. Jump in and make useful edits to articles.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ==Core content policies== :''The core content policies refer to the way we write and present our travel guide to the reader.'' <!-- Note: These core content policies should refer/link to Writing Style and vice-versa --> ;[[Wikivoyage:Be_fair|Be fair]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:BF]]}} :Nutshell: ''Describe travel destinations fairly, even if that means that a description isn't flattering. Provide honest information so travellers can make informed decisions.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Words_to_avoid|Words to avoid]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Don't_tout|Don't tout]] {{Shortcut|[[dt]]<br />[[tout]]<br />[[detout]]}} :Nutshell: ''Listings should describe the establishment or attraction in clear, honest and concise terms. A business should only be listed once per destination. Edits that look like touting may be reverted.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Words_to_avoid|Words to avoid]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Tone|Tone]] :Nutshell: ''Writing should describe the destination or attraction in a lively and concise manner. Avoid exaggerations, superlatives and vague, flowery language.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Words to avoid|Words to avoid]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Avoid negative reviews|Avoid negative reviews]] ==Community policies== :''How to get along in the Wikivoyage community:'' ===Unwanted edits=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Keep Wikivoyage fun|Keep Wikivoyage fun]] {{Shortcut|[[wv:fun]]}} :Nutshell: ''Writing about travel should be almost as fun as visiting the destinations themselves, so behavior that makes it less fun for others to contribute to Wikivoyage should be avoided. If someone else is making it less fun for you to contribute here, assume good faith, but if problems persist discuss the issue with that user and solicit feedback from others in extreme cases.'' ;[[Wikivoyage:How_to_handle_unwanted_edits|How to handle unwanted edits]] :Nutshell: ''Unwanted edits are contributions that do not agree with our policies and guidelines or Manual of Style. Any contributor may revert an unwanted edit.'' :Note: This is the policy on dealing with vandalism. :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Deny recognition|Deny recognition]] :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_revert_a_page|How to revert a page]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Recent changes patrol|Recent changes patrol]] ([[patrol]]) :*[[Wikivoyage:Ongoing vandalism|Ongoing vandalism]] ([[WV:OV]]) :*[[Wikivoyage:Local spam blacklist|Local spam blacklist]] ([[spam]], [[blacklist]]) :*[[Wikivoyage:Spam filter|Spam filter]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Edit_war|Edit war]] :Nutshell: ''Do not wage edit war. If involved in one, step back and use the article’s talk page to come to a consensus.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Consensus|Consensus]] :*[[Wikivoyage:User_ban_nominations|User ban nominations]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Here to build a travel guide|Being here to build a travel guide]] :Nutshell: ''Wikivoyagers are here to build a global travel guide. Users whose behaviour suggests they are here for some other purpose risk being blocked or banned.'' ===Links=== ;[[Wikivoyage:External_links|External links]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:XL]]<br />[[extlink]]}} :Nutshell: ''External links should be kept to a minimum, and only links to primary sources should be used. There should not be an external links section in any article.'' ;[[Wikivoyage:Sister project links|Sister project links (Draft)]] - (links to articles within the Wikimedia projects group) :Note: New policy needed as there will be more than just Wikipedia to consider, though that is the most likely to be linked. :Nutshell: ''Many Wikivoyage articles can benefit from links to Wikipedia articles on the same subject. A travel article focuses on the issues facing travelers for a destination, but Wikipedia articles can have deeper or broader information on a topic or attraction.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Links_to_Wikipedia|Links to Wikipedia]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Internal_links|Internal links]] :Nutshell: ''Make links to other Wikivoyage pages, but generally only link the first instance of an article name. These should be incorporated into the text of an article if practical; otherwise, use a "See also" section at the end of the page.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Inter-language_links|Inter-language links]] :Note: More of a how-to page than policy. :Nutshell: ''We use Wikidata to make links between articles that cover the same subject in the different language versions of Wikivoyage. The MediaWiki software has a feature we can use on discussion pages, not articles, for making links between articles that cover different subjects.'' ===Specific community policies=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Deletion_policy|Deletion policy]] :Nutshell: ''Articles and images can be deleted if certain criteria are met. If you feel an article or image should be deleted, nominate it for deletion. 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There is zero tolerance of child pornography or the advocacy thereof.'' :Related page: :*[[Wikivoyage:Illegal activities policy|Illegal activities]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy|Sex tourism]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Checkuser#Sock_puppets|Sock puppets]] :Nutshell: ''The creation of sockpuppets, i.e., multiple accounts per user, is discouraged, but they are usually just ignored.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:No real world threats|No real world threats]] {{Shortcut|[[nrwt]]<br />[[nlt]]}} :Nutshell: ''Real world threats—essentially threats of physical or legal harm—are strictly prohibited on Wikivoyage. They are never necessary, and can have a chilling effect on public participation. If you do post a threat of a lawsuit or physical harm, even an ambiguous or vague one, you will likely be banned from further editing here with prejudice.'' <!--:Related pages: none found --> ;It's not carved in stone :Nutshell: ''Most of our detail policies and guidelines, and the manual of style can be changed if there is a need and the community can come to a consensus on the change. Any proposed change must be compatible with our guiding principles.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Consensus|Consensus]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Bug reports|Bug reports]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|Travellers' pub]] ([[WV:PUB]]) ;[[Wikivoyage:Jargon|Jargon]] {{Shortcut|[[jargon]]}} :Nutshell: ''A glossary of terms used in discussions, edit summaries, or on IRC.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Shortcuts|Shortcuts]] :* [[:Wikipedia:Glossary_of_Internet-related_terms|Glossary of Internet jargon at Wikipedia]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Organising events|Organising events]] {{shortcut|[[WV:OE]]}} :Nutshell: ''A general guideline that should be followed for any user wishing to organise an event on Wikivoyage.'' ===Community projects=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Collaboration_of_the_month|Collaboration of the month]] {{Shortcut|[[cotm]]}} :Nutshell: ''The Collaboration of the month is a way to get many contributors working on one article at once, often to get it ready for an upcoming event or a nomination for destination of the month. While anyone can edit any article at any time, this provides a way to highlight specific articles allowing many contributors to help improve them together.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Expeditions|Expeditions]] :Nutshell: ''An Expedition is a special project for articles or images. (Sure, we could just call it a "project", but what fun is that?) Expeditions help us collaborate and organize around certain subjects, be they based on shared interests, geography, or shared skills.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Language Expeditions|Language Expeditions]] ===Roles within the community=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Hierarchy|Hierarchy]] :Nutshell: ''Wikivoyage has a hierarchy of people involved in the community, with varying levels of responsibility in the project. People burdened with more responsibility are expected to serve those above them, and make life easier for them.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Autoconfirmed users|Autoconfirmed users]] :Nutshell: ''Users who have been registered for longer than 4 days and have made at least 3 edits are autoconfirmed. In addition to this allowing them to mark anonymous users' edits as reviewed, it also means that their own edits are marked as reviewed automatically.'' ;[[Wikivoyage:Administrators|Administrators]] :Nutshell: ''Administrators are registered users who have shown a good appreciation of the policies and guidelines and made significant contributions, have been nominated by the community and have been granted some additional functions. They are the plumbers and janitors of the travel guide and perform mostly mundane tasks, but also those few tasks which could do permanent damage if done wrongly.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:User rights nominations|Administrator nominations]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Administrator's_handbook|Administrator's handbook]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Non-administrator_tasks|Non-administrator tasks]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Bureaucrats|Bureaucrats]] :Nutshell: ''Bureaucrats are administrators with a few extra, rarely needed, but essential functions, who are trusted by the community to do things like switch on administrator functions.'' :Related pages: :*[[:wikipedia:Wikipedia:Bureaucrats]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Checkuser|Checkuser]] :Nutshell: ''A small subset of users that can examine user IP address information and other server log data. It is to be used to protect Wikivoyage against vandalism and disruption .'' ;[[Wikivoyage:Docents|Docents]] :Nutshell: ''Docents are registered users who know a lot about a particular destination or topic and volunteer their time and knowledge to help travellers who have questions about that destination or topic.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:What_is_a_docent?|What is a docent?]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Welcome message|Welcome message]] :Nutshell: ''When new Wikivoyagers set up a user account and make a new user page, we usually welcome them to the site with a brief message. We want every contributor's first contact with Wikivoyage to be a positive experience. A friendly welcome and an explanation of any reversion can save a contributor who may otherwise just turn away from the site. '' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Welcome, newcomers|Welcome, newcomers]] ([[welcome]]) :*[[Wikivoyage:Welcome, business owners|Welcome, business owners]] ([[wbo]]) :*[[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians|Welcome, Wikipedians]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Welcome, tourism professionals|Welcome, tourism professionals]] ===Cooperating with other websites=== <!-- The "WMFLEGAL_Disclaimer" template is REQUIRED to be present for at least THREE YEARS per legal settlement with Internet Brands! The settlement was signed February 14, 2013. The template was added to Wikivoyage (and to this page) by WMF Legal/Community Advocacy on Feb 16, 2013. Therefore, it should not be removed prior to Feb 16, 2016. Details of the settlement can be read at: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/02/15/a-victory-for-wikivoyage-and-free-knowledge/ --> {{WMFLEGAL_Disclaimer}}<br /> ''All of the various "cooperating with..." policy pages''<br /> *[[Wikivoyage:Cooperating with OpenGuides|Cooperating with OpenGuides]] *[[Wikivoyage:Cooperating with OpenStreetMap|Cooperating with OpenStreetMap]] *[[Project:Cooperating with Wikia Travel|Cooperating with Wikia Travel]] *[[Wikivoyage:Cooperating with Wikidata|Cooperating with Wikidata]] *[[Wikivoyage:Cooperating_with_Wikipedia|Cooperating with Wikipedia]] ====Other language Wikivoyage projects==== Wikivoyage projects have many common goals, and content that is acceptable on English Wikivoyage will usually be welcome on other languages, suitably translated. If you are registered on the English Wikivoyage project, you are automatically registered on all other Wikimedia Foundation projects, and can edit any of them under your user name following the local policies and guidelines, many of which may be similar to those of English Wikivoyage. Be careful if your command of the local language is poor, and look out for the differences. Our policies are not enforceable on other languages and trying to enforce them will offend. Similarly, their policies are not enforceable here. If you think they are better or should be harmonized, start a discussion about it. The [[WV:Travellers' pub|Travellers' pub]] is a good place to start such a discussion if a better place is not obvious. ===Infrastructure and software=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Technical infrastructure policy|Wikivoyage:Technical infrastructure policy]] :''Obsolete: the primary Web and database servers that run Wikivoyage.org are now operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. With rare exceptions (such as Wikivoyage-specific map servers), any issues should be reported to WMF through [[phabricator:]] or on [[meta:]].'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Avoid_HTML|Avoid HTML]] {{Shortcut|[[html]]}} :''HTML should be avoided in marking up articles. Use Wikimarkup for formatting when possible. If Wikimarkup is not possible, and the formatting will be generally useful, consider a MediaWiki template'' :Related pages: :*[[meta:Help:Template|Template Help at Wikimedia]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Offline version|Offline version]] :Nutshell: ''You as a traveller should be able to take your tour guide with you on the road. An internet café is not always just around the corner. But maybe you have a laptop or palm with the content of Wikivoyage on it. Our offline version is (will be) updated weekly.'' :Note: We don't have one (yet) officially, although individual users have repackaged [[wikivoyage:database dump|our open-source data]] in third-party apps or archives which may be downloaded to Android, iOS or similar devices. The underlying Wikimedia database dumps are updated at best twice monthly; these may be repackaged at will if the original licence and authors' attribution is retained. As of 2012, we still need an *.epub (Nook, Kobo) or *.mobi (Kindle) version; this would need to be split into multiple volumes (so each large country or region as an e-book volume) due to e-reader limitations on the size of each book. ;[[Wikivoyage:Script_policy|Script policy]] :Nutshell: ''Automated scripts that modify Wiki travel guide pages and images must comply with the script policy and be approved.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Terms of use|Terms of use]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Using MediaWiki templates|Using MediaWiki templates]] :Nutshell: ''The software we use, MediaWiki, has a feature to include the contents of one article into another automatically. This is called transclusion or templating, although it has nothing to do with our article skeleton templates. Templates should be used for editorial markup and metadata.'' :Related pages: :*[[meta:Help:Template|Template Help at Wikimedia]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Template_index|Template index]] :*Not to be confused with [[Wikivoyage:Article skeleton templates|Article skeleton templates]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Wiki_markup|Wiki markup]] :Nutshell: ''MediaWiki software uses a special code called Wiki markup for formatting the text and images in an article. The Wiki markup used while editing a page will determine how the text looks and what links and images are in the page.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Help|Help]] :*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Contents MediaWiki Help] :*[[meta:MediaWiki_User's_Guide:_Editing_overview#The_wiki_markup|The MediaWiki User's Guide section on Wiki markup]] :*[[Wikivoyage:External links|External links]] ===Recognising contributors and articles=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Barncompasses|Barncompasses]] :Nutshell: ''One great tradition in wiki culture is the barnstar. This is a simple image of an iron star, as used for decoration on barns in the northeastern United States. Because wiki community building is often compared to barn raising -- coming together to work on a project. The barnstar is a symbol of that community-mindedness, and is an informal "award" to recognize a user's exceptional community and content work.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Destination of the month|Destination of the month]] :Shotcuts: [[dotm]] :Nutshell: ''Good articles are be featured on the main page as Destinations of the month'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Destination of the Month candidates|Destination of the month candidates]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Star articles|Star articles]] :Nutshell: ''Our best articles are recognised by awarding them a star rating'' :Related pages: :*[[Star articles]] (List of star articles) :*[[Wikivoyage:Star nominations]] ([[starnom]]) ==Organization of the wiki== :''Structure of the wiki is described here. Structure within an article is described in section [[#Manual of style|Manual of style]].'' ===Hierarchy of travel guides=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Breadcrumb navigation|Breadcrumb navigation]] {{Shortcut|[[crumb]]<br />[[crumbs]]}} :Nutshell: ''Wikivoyage has a feature to show bread crumb menus under the title of a destination article to show the countries and regions that a destination belongs to.'' :Related pages: :*[[Template:IsPartOf]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Geographical_hierarchy|Geographical hierarchy]] {{Shortcut|[[geographical hierarchy]]}} :Nutshell: ''To help organize travel guide articles, they are arranged into a non-overlapping geographical hierarchy. The type of information contained within an article varies depending on where it is in the hierarchy.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Other ways of seeing travel|Other ways of seeing travel]] :Nutshell: ''Destinations, Travel topics, Itineraries and Phrasebooks'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:List_of_phrasebooks|List of phrasebooks]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Phrasebook_Expedition|Phrasebook expedition]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Pseudo-phoneticization_guide|Pseudo-phoneticization guide]] ===Creating travel guides=== ;[[Wikivoyage:What is an article?|What is an article?]] {{Shortcut|[[wiaa]]<br />[[wia]]}} :Nutshell (existing page): ''Generally, articles can be created for destinations where a traveller can sleep, such as geographical units in the geographical hierarchy (e.g., countries, states, cities). Attractions, companies, transports systems and routine schedules generally do not have articles unless there is a compelling reason for an exception.'' :Alt (proposed change): ''A destination is a geographical location where the traveller stays for some time, typically over several days, uses accommodation facilities provided at the destination, eats there and engages in activities which are the purpose of the visit. The basic destination is the city, but destination types include regions, national parks, and districts of exceptionally large cities.'' :Note: Regions include continents, continental sections, countries, states, provinces etc. Cities may be split into districts if the article becomes cumbersome. :Note: This does not apply to non-destination articles. Travel topics, Itineraries and Phrasebooks should be mentioned. We have four categories of article: Destinations, Itineraries, Phrasebooks and Travel topics. :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_start_a_new_page|How to start a new page]] :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_merge_two_pages|How to merge two pages]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Bodies_of_water|Bodies of water]] :Nutshell: ''We don't write destination guide articles about bodies of water. They may be referred to in other destination guides as attractions or as part of an itinerary or in a travel topic.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Destinations]] :Note: update nutshell :Nutshell:''A [[Destinations|destination]] is a geographical location where the traveller stays for some time, typically over several days, uses accommodation facilities provided at the destination, eats there and engages in activities which are the purpose of the visit. Destination types include regions, cities and national parks.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Bodies_of_water|Bodies of water]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Disambiguation_pages|Disambiguation pages]] :Nutshell: ''A disambiguation page lists the full titles of several different articles with similar names, and allows the traveler to choose between them.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Links to disambiguating pages]] ([[dablink]], [[dp]], [[ldp]]) ;[[Wikivoyage:Itineraries|Itineraries]] :Nutshell: ''An itinerary is a guide for traveling along a specific route through several destinations or attractions, giving suggestions of where to stop, what to see, how to prepare, etc. If you think of our destination guides as dots on a map, an itinerary describes a line that connects those dots.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Itinerary article template|Itinerary article template]] :*[[Itineraries]] (directory, not guideline) :*[[Travel topics]] (directory, not guideline) ;Phrasebooks :Nutshell: ''Phrasebooks are intended to define just enough of the language so that an English-speaking traveller can "get by" in an area where that language is spoken.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Phrasebook Expedition|Phrasebook Expedition]] :*[[Phrasebooks]] (directory, not guideline) ;[[Wikivoyage:Travel topics|Travel topics]] :Nutshell: ''Travel topics are articles that deal with a specific topic that is too large or detailed to go in a specific travel guide destination page, or travel tips that are so general that they apply to nearly all destinations and don't need to be in each specific travel guide.'' :Note: A huge range of possibilities exist and if there is no guidance available for a proposed article, you can discuss it at the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|Travellers' pub]]. :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Consensus|Consensus]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Plunge forward|Plunge forward]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Naming conventions|Naming conventions]] :Nutshell: ''Destination articles should use the name most commonly used in English-speaking countries, or if one doesn't exist, the most commonly used name in the local language.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_rename_a_page|How to rename a page]] :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_redirect_a_page|How to redirect a page]] ([[redirect]]) ===Travel guide content policies=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Avoid negative reviews|Avoid negative reviews]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:ANR]]}} :Nutshell: ''Generally, if an attraction or business is not worth going to, leave it out. If a negative review is given, explain why the review is negative.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Listings#Rental listings|Rental listings]] {{Shortcut|[[al]]}} :Nutshell: ''Real estate and rental agencies are not listed unless specific criteria are met.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Listings#Tour listings|Tour operators]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:tour]]}} :Nutshell: ''Tours should only be listed if they are a value-added activity for the traveller.'' :Note: What does this mean? <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy|Sex tourism policy]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:STP]]<br />[[sex tourism]]}} :Nutshell: ''Information relating to sex tourism is not included in our travel guides. Information relating to red-light districts and strip clubs is generally OK.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Illegal activities policy|Illegal activities policy]] :Nutshell: ''Activities that are illegal at the destination should be discussed in the travel guide article if the information is useful to the traveller, particularly when these activities are commonly legal in other places, or the penalties are unusually severe'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Information for LGBT travel|Information for LGBT travel]] :Nutshell: ''Information of interest to LGBT travellers is placed in the appropriate section of the article (e.g., gay bars go in Drink, gay-friendly hotels go in Sleep).'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:When to use dates|When to use dates]] :Nutshell: ''Attaching a date to facts can be useful to the traveller, but it must be balanced against maintaining a clear and concise travel guide. Prices are generally not dated, but cultural events may be. Operating hours (including seasonal closures) should be included in the guide.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Time and date formats|Time and date formats]] ([[tdf]]) ;[[Wikivoyage:Living persons|Living persons]] :Nutshell: ''Editors must take particular care when adding information about living persons to any Wikivoyage page. This is seldom an issue, as it is unusual for personal information on specific living people to be relevant to our articles.'' <!--:Related pages:none found--> ===Article status=== Note: Should we distinguish between status and quality? ;[[Wikivoyage:Article_status|Article status]] :Nutshell: ''The overall quality of each travel guide should be assessed on a five point scale using the identified criteria. Star status is the highest level and is only given after successfully completing the nomination process.'' :Related pages: links to various pages describing the different status types: :*[[Wikivoyage:City_article_status|City article status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Region_article_status|Region article status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Country_article_status|Country article status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Park_article_status|Park article status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Itinerary_status|Itinerary status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Travel_topic_status|Travel topic status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Phrasebook_status|Phrasebook status]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Votes_for_deletion|Votes for deletion]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Stub_articles|Stub articles]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Outline_articles|Outline articles]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Usable_articles|Usable articles]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Guide_articles|Guide articles]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Star_articles|Star articles]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Dive guide article status criteria|Dive guide articles]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Star_nominations|Star nominations]] {{Shortcut|[[starnom]]}} :Nutshell: ''Only nominate travel guides that appear to meet the criteria of a Star article. Star status will be given if consensus is reached within the community.'' <!--:Related pages: none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Star_potential|Star potential]] :Nutshell: ''Travel guides that are very close to Star status should be identified and tagged as "Star potential". '' :Related pages: :*[[:Category:Star_potential|List of Star potential guides]] ===Pages that are not travel guides=== ;[[Wikivoyage:How to|How to]] pages :Nutshell: ''Not only policy, also helpful hints on how to do things that may not be obvious'' :Related pages: :* [[Wikivoyage:How to add an image|How to add an image]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to add travel news|How to add travel news]] (historical) :* [[Wikivoyage:How to create a user account|How to create a user account]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to delete a page|How to delete a page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to describe yourself|How to describe yourself]] :* [[Wikivoyage:Docents|How to become a destination docent]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to draw static maps]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to use dynamic maps]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to edit a page|How to edit a page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to handle unwanted edits|How to handle unwanted edits]] :* [[Wikivoyage:Disambiguation pages|How to make a disambiguation page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to merge two pages|How to merge two pages]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to redirect a page|How to redirect a page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to rename a page|How to rename a page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to re-use Wikivoyage guides|How to re-use Wikivoyage guides]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to revert a page|How to revert a page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:How to start a new page|How to start a new page]] :* [[Wikivoyage:Using talk pages|How to use talk pages]] :* [[Wikivoyage:Wiki markup|How to use Wiki markup]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Main_Page_guidelines|Main Page guidelines]] :Nutshell: ''The Main Page is the entry point for most casual readers into Wikivoyage. It should show us in our best light. It includes a mix of gradually-changing information. Any logged-in user can edit it but, because of the complexity of the page layout, great care should be taken.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Namespaces|Namespaces]] :Note: this page could be modified and used as the landing page for 4.0 Organization :Nutshell: ''The software used by the Wikivoyage travel guide lets us split up the site into multiple namespaces. With namespaces, each page is explicitly tagged to show what it's used for and where it fits in the site structure.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Namespace_index|Namespace index]] Note: Really only an index to the Wikivoyage namespace. ;[[Wikivoyage:How to redirect a page|Redirect pages]] :Nutshell: ''A redirect page is a page that automatically links to another page. There are several possible reasons to have a redirect.'' ;[[Wikivoyage:Special_pages_help|Special pages help]] :Nutshell: ''Special pages are pages that provide a range of information about the information Wikivoyage contains. Through these pages you can quickly find most of the information in the guide, identify problems, locate users, see statistics and even find out what is missing!'' :Related pages: :*[[Special:Allmessages|Allmessages]] :*[[Special:Allpages|Allpages]] :*[[Special:Ancientpages|Ancientpages]] :*[[Special:Booksources|Booksources]] :*[[Special:Deadendpages|Deadendpages]] :*[[Special:Export|Export]] :*[[Special:Imagelist|Imagelist]] :*[[Special:Ipblocklist|Ipblocklist]] :*[[Special:Listadmins|Listadmins]] :*[[Special:Listusers|Listusers]] :*[[Special:Lonelypages|Lonelypages]] :*[[Special:Longpages|Longpages]] :*[[Special:Mycontributions|Mycontributions]] :*[[Special:Mypage|Mypage]] :*[[Special:Newpages|Newpages]] :*[[Special:Preferences|Preferences]] :*[[Special:Randompage|Randompage]] :*[[Special:Recentchanges|Recentchanges]] :*[[Special:Shortpages|Shortpages]] :*[[Special:Statistics|Statistics]] :*[[Special:Unusedimages|Unusedimages]] :*[[Special:Upload|Upload]] :*[[Special:Userlogin|Userlogin]] :*[[Special:Userlogout|Userlogout]] :*[[Special:Version|Version]] :*[[Special:Wantedpages|Wantedpages]] :*[[Special:Watchlist|Watchlist]] ;[[Wikivoyage:User_page_help|User page help]] :Nutshell: ''Wikivoyage users that create their own user accounts get assigned their own user page. These pages are intended to provide a brief introduction about the user. Associated pages provide a personal sandbox to work on projects or ideas outside the "main" travel guide amd a communications medium for collaborating with other users.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_describe_yourself|How to describe yourself]] :*[[Wikivoyage:How_to_create_a_user_account|How to create a user account]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Welcome,_newcomers|Welcome, newcomers]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Babel|Babel]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Using_talk_pages|Using talk pages]] :Nutshell: ''Every article on Wikivoyage has an associated talk page for discussing that article. Talk pages are not chat boards or comment areas; they're for coordinating editorial decisions, suggesting new material that should be considered, and generally collaborating on making a great article.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ==Manual of style== ;[[Wikivoyage:Manual of style|Manual of style]] {{Shortcut|[[mos]]<br />[[style]]}} Nutshell: ''Our Manual of style is a collection of rules of thumb and guidelines for giving Wikivoyage articles a consistent look and feel. Most of these rules have exceptions, but to put together a good reference work collaboratively, it's best to follow the rules unless they're quite inappropriate for a particular situation.'' :Note: Structure within an article is described here. Structure of the wiki is described in section [[#Organization of the wiki|Organization of the wiki]]. ===Structure of travel guide articles=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Article skeleton templates|Article skeleton templates]] :Nutshell: ''Travel guides are generally structured using standardized section headings and order, and we have handy substitution templates to help with this.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Article skeleton templates/Sections|Article skeleton template sections]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Article skeleton templates|Article skeleton templates]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Country article template|Country article template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick country article template|quick country article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Region article template|Region article template]], [[Wikivoyage:Quick region article template|quick region article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Small city article template|Small city article template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick small city article template|quick small city article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Big city article template|Big city article template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick big city article template|quick big city article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Huge city article template|Huge city article template]], [[Wikivoyage:Quick huge city article template|quick huge city article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:District article template|District article template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick district article template|quick district article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Rural area article template|Rural area article template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick rural area article template|quick rural area article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Park template|Park template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick park template|quick park template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Itinerary article template|Itinerary article template]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Phrasebook template|Phrasebook template]], [[Wikivoyage:quick phrasebook template|quick phrasebook template]] :*[[Template:DiveRegion|Dive region template]], [[Template:Divesite|Divesite template]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Avoid long lists|Avoid long lists]] {{Shortcut|[[7+2]]}} :Nutshell: ''Long lists and large groups of items can be difficult to grasp. If there are more than 9 items to group, consider subdividing into groups of 7±2 items.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Geographical hierarchy|Geographical hierarchy]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Listings|Listings]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Banners|Banners]] :Nutshell: ''All main space articles – destinations, travel topics, phrase books and disambiguation pages – should have a page banner based on the standard {{tl|Pagebanner}} template. The template should not be used for project pages or talk pages.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Banner Expedition|Banner expedition]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Climate|Climate]] ([[User:Shaund/Sandbox Policies##Presenting_climate_information|draft policy]]) :Nutshell: ''Provide basic climate information about the destination. It helps to travel light by bringing only the things one needs, and to travel comfortably by bringing the right things.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Climate Expedition]] :*[[Template:Climate]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Geocoding|Geocoding]] :Nutshell: ''It's possible to encode information about the latitude and longitude of a destination into the destination guide itself.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Information_boxes|Information boxes]] :Nutshell: ''An information box tells the reader something interesting about the destination or an attraction that is not included in the listing. They are good for providing supplemental information but should not be overused in an article.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Listings|Listings]] {{Shortcut|[[listings]]}} :Nutshell: ''Use standardized templates to provide consistent and complete information for business and attraction listings.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Where you can stick it|Where you can stick it]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Map|Map (Draft Policy)]] :Nutshell: ''A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when a trying to find your way around a new city, it's more like a million. A clear and simple map can save hours or even days of hassle.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:How to draw static maps|How to draw static maps]] :*[[Wikivoyage:How to use dynamic maps|How to use dynamic maps]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Mapmaking expedition|Mapmaking expedition]] ;[[Wikivoyage:One-liner_listings|One-liner listings]] {{Shortcut|[[1liner]]}} :Nutshell: ''A brief description of a destination that allows the reader to select the travel guide they want to read.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Listings|Listings]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Manual of style#Formatting style|Formatting style]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Article skeleton templates|Article skeleton templates]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Section headers|Section headers]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Routebox_navigation|Routebox navigation]] :Nutshell: ''Routeboxes are included in the Go next section and provide a quick way of identifying nearby destinations. Routes should reflect the type(s) of travel commonly used in the local area.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Route icons|Route icons]] :*[[Wikivoyage:United States route icons|U.S. route icons]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Section headers|Section headers]] {{Shortcut|[[sh]]}} :Nutshell: ''Wherever possible, section headers should be identical to the ones in the article skeletons. The more consistent the sections of articles in Wikivoyage are, the easier it is for readers to find what they're looking for.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Article skeleton templates/Sections|Article skeleton templates/Sections]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Listings|Listings]] ===Writing style=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Abbreviations|Abbreviations]] {{Shortcut|[[abbr]]}} :Nutshell: ''Using abbreviations for commonly known terms is encouraged. The abbreviations used should be uniform.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Spelling|Spelling]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Creating emphasis|Creating emphasis]] ([[italics]], [[bold]]) <!--Note: this is a combination of previous bold and italic policies--> :Nutshell: ''Use boldface to call important topics and use italics for emphasis.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:No_advice_from_Captain_Obvious|No advice from Captain Obvious]] :Nutshell: ''If something is very obvious or true for nearly all destinations, it does not need to be written.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Use of pronouns|Use of Pronouns]] {{Shortcut|[[WV:FPP]]}} :Note: this is a combination of the existing 1st and 2nd person policies. :Nutshell: ''You can address the reader, but do not refer to yourself in an article.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found --> ;[[Wikivoyage:Words_to_avoid|Words to avoid]] {{Shortcut|[[wta]]}} :Nutshell: ''A list of words to avoid when describing a destination and its attractions and businesses.'' :Alt: ''Don't use weasel words, waffle, double-talk or puffery.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ===Language=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Foreign_words|Foreign words]] :Nutshell: ''It's often useful to point out the local-language name for a place or thing in an article. List the foreign-language word in parentheses after the English name.'' :Related pages: :*[[Wikivoyage:Naming conventions]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Romanization]] :*[[Wikivoyage:Spelling]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Romanization|Romanization]] :Nutshell: ''Non-Latin alphabet names should be written in the latin alphabet for English to assist readers in pronounciation.'' :Alt: ''Romanization is the process of mapping a script into the Latin alphabet used for English. As a rule of thumb, romanization should allow the casual reader to guess at the pronunciation, and the expert to pronounce it right.'' :Related pages: - ;[[Wikivoyage:Spelling|Spelling]] :Nutshell: ''Destination guides should be written in the local variant of English.'' :Related pages: :*[[Project:List of common misspellings|List of common misspellings]] :*[[Project:Naming conventions|Naming conventions]] :*[[Project:Foreign words|Foreign words]] :*[[Project:Romanization|Romanization]] :*[[Project:Abbreviations|Abbreviations]] ;[[Wikivoyage:Trademarks|Trademarks]] :Nutshell: ''It is OK to refer to trademarks, but trademark symbols should not be used.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ===Numbers and dates=== ;[[Wikivoyage:Currency|Currency]] :Nutshell: ''The cost of an item should be listed in the local currency unless the local convention is to list the price in a foreign currency. Prices should be listed with the currency symbol or abbreviation that travellers will encounter.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Measurements|Measurements]] :Nutshell: ''Metric or imperial units of measurement should be displayed depending on the predominant local usage. It is good practice to provide both metric and imperial conversions (local units first with conversion in parentheses).'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Phone numbers|Phone numbers]] :Nutshell: ''Format phone numbers as they would be dialled internationally but in a way that separates the country code, area code, and part that can be dialled locally.'' <!--:Related pages: - none found--> ;[[Wikivoyage:Time and date formats|Time and date formats]] {{Shortcut|[[tdf]]}} :Nutshell: ''Times should be displayed in the local timezone using the 12 or 24 hour format, whichever is the predominant local usage. Days of the week should be abbreviated to the minimum number of letters. 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This evolved into mixed woodland and rough grazing dotted with shallow lakes, with here and there a gravel hummock. Humans altered this landscape by draining it and felling the woods, and by the 20th century this change was rapid, as mechanical diggers and chainsaws replaced spades and axes. Protecting natural habitats was no more a priority under communism than it was in capitalist western nations, but public opinion advanced, and in 1974 Lithuania's first national park was established here. An enlargement of two existing nature reserves, it was at first named Lithuanian SSR National Park, but then at independence in 1991 four more national parks were created so it was re-named for its region, Aukštaitija. Regional parks also sprouted - Gražutė, Labanoro and Sirvėtos are three nearby. This was never intended as a "wildlife reserve." Its people's traditional modes of farming and forestry were as integral to the habitat and scenery as the lakes and woods, so those too needed to be sustained. There was also leisure use to facilitate. Of the park's 405.7 km², only 2% is under strict control (eg rare bird nesting sites), with no visitor access. About half the area is pine forest and 25% is mixed or deciduous woodland. The climate is that of the north temperate zone shading into boreal forests. December to Feb averages -2°C and can go below -20°C. June to Aug averages 23°C and seldom reaches 30°C - those are also the wettest months but it can rain anytime. '''Visitor information''' is available from the [https://www.aparkai.lt/ park website]. Their office is at Lūšių g 16 in Palūšė near the wooden church, open Tu-F 08:00-17:00, Sa 10:00-15:00. == Get in == {{mapframe | 55.360 | 26.070 | height=600 | width=600 | zoom=12 }} {{marker | type=see | name=[[Utena]] | wikidata=Q189157}} is the nearest town of any size, 50 km northwest. It's on public transport routes from Vilnius and Kaunas but you need a vehicle for the park, best hired in those big cities. From Vilnius follow A14 north to Molėtai and branch east along Route 114 towards Palūšė and Ignalina. {{marker | type=see | name=Palūšė | lat=55.329 | long=26.102 }} on Route 114 is a small resort village. Park Headquarters are here. {{marker | type=see | name=Ignalina | lat=55.341 | long=26.161 }} is a small town east edge of the park. Trains from Vilnius run every three hours or so, continuing to Dūkštas, Visaginas and Turmantas on the Latvian border, see [https://ltglink.lt/en LTG Link]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. They no longer cross to reach Daugavpils, so this public transport route across the Baltic states has been lost. Buses from Vilnius run roughly hourly and take two hours to Ignalina via Pabradė and Švenčionys, continuing to Visaginas. For times and fares see [https://www.autobusubilietai.lt/ Autobusu Bilieitai]. == Fees and permits == There's no fee for entrance, parking or camping in your own tent. You need permits for fishing and hunting. == Get around == You need wheels. Distances are cyclable but a car is distinctly handier for toting a kayak or sheltering from the rain and midges. Here and throughout the country, there's no parking within 20 m of a lake shore, riverbank or other open water. == See == [[File:Lithuania Paluse church.jpg | thumb | 300px | Church of St Joseph in Palūšė ]] * '''Church of St Joseph''' (''Šv Juozapo bažnyčia'') in Palūšė is a charming wooden church from 1757. * '''Piliakalnis''' means a castle mound and they dot the landscape of Lithuania, especially in rural regions. They're hummocks, artificial though taking advantage of natural features such as an outcrop or glacial moraine, and originally reinforced by wooden palisades. Some were rebuilt as stone castles from about the 12th century but none of those in the park were of sufficient value, so they just became look-outs and kiddy toboggan runs. * '''Ažušilės''' is a forested farmland area starting 1 km east of Ignalina. It's not within the park but has similar protection. * '''Ginučiai water mill''' by the river bridge in Ginučiai was built late 19th century and its original equipment is still in working order. * '''Ladakalnis''' 2 km south of the watermill has an observation tower with a view of six lakes. These much resemble the park's other 120 lakes, so there's a time-saver. * '''[https://www.aparkai.lt/en/bitmuziejus Bee-keeping Museum]''' is at Pabalių g 3 in Stripeikiai. It's open May-Oct Tu-Su 10:00-18:00, adult €6, conc or child €3. * '''Šuminai''' village has a good collection of old architecture. == Do == * [https://ignalina-spa.lt/ Ignalina sports and entertainment center] is northwest side of the village at Vasario 16-osios g 35. It's open daily and has a gym and swimming pool. * Lithuanian Winter Sports Complex is at Sporto g 3 east edge of Ignalina. It's closed in winter 2024 / 25 but there's nothing to stop you standing in the car park chucking snowballs at each other. * Vilkakalnio observation tower is a rickety structure by the winter sports complex. == Buy == [[File:Papiliakalnes mound - panoramio.jpg | thumb | 300px | Papiliakalnes castle mound near Ginučiai ]] Best bring your own supplies if you're camping. Ignalina has half-a-dozen supermarkets, largest is Norfa at Taikos g 20 north end of the village. It's open M-F 08:00-19:00, Sa Su 24 hours. == Eat == Places in Ignalina include [https://tuktukpizza.weebly.com/ Tuk Tuk Pizza], Spartuko stotelė kebabs, Laisvės 65, Dringis Cafe and [https://zuvedra.com/ Zuvedra Hotel]. == Drink == No free-standing pub, try the cafes and restaurants. == Sleep == * '''[https://zuvedra.com/ Zuvedra Hotel]''' is at Mokyklos g 11 in Ignalina. * '''Palūšė''' has the only campsite for motorhomes, with hook-ups, plus two other sites. * '''Ginučiai''' has camping at [https://www.baidariuuostas.lt/stovyklavietes-nuoma/ Baidariu Uosta], Linkmenas and Almajas. * '''Gaveikėnai''' has one site, as does nearby Meironys. * '''Pakretuonė''' has Žeimenis site. * '''Salos''' has Asalnykštis site. * '''Vaišniūnai''' has Dringis site. * '''Unofficial camping''' - it's a stretch to call it "wild" - is permitted most places except residential and crop-growing land. You may not light fires at these. == Stay safe == [[File:Ginuciai 2022a.jpg | thumb | 300px | Ginučiai Watermill ]] This lowland country is not ravaged by wolves, and your main risks are from traffic and petty thieving from cars and tents. Take care on the water especially with children. Think back to what the landward temperature was like a month ago, the water temperature will reflect that as it has a lag. Pay attention to warnings about forest fires, and in dry conditions be ready to break camp and evacuate quickly. == Connect == As of Jan 2025, Ignalia has 4G from Bite and Telia, and 5G from Tele2. The signal on the approach roads and through the park is variable. == Go next == * [[Vilnius]] the capital is must-see for its extensive baroque old town. * [[Utena]] is modern but surrounded by lakes and forests, with a clutch of historic churches. These include the church of the "Old Believers", who resisted changes to Russian Orthodox liturgy in the 1650/60s. {{geo | 55.362 | 26.018 }} {{IsPartOf | Aukštaitija}} {{usablepark}} g5kcd3j9lvt76482v1a77vs25a5xwyp 0 128899 5298512 5298401 2026-06-25T22:24:49Z AlasdairW 1812 /* Sleep */ https://www.cclproperty.com/property-for-sale/st-johns-road-annan-dumfries-and-galloway-3 5298512 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Annan banner Bridge and River Annan.JPG|caption=Annan Bridge and River Annan}} '''Annan''' is a market town in [[Dumfries and Galloway]] in southwest Scotland, with a population of 8700 in 2022. Many town buildings are a warm red sandstone, but the main visitor attraction is the First World War munitions complex that made "the devil's porridge". == Understand == This agricultural area was the powerbase of the de Brus family, with Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) winning an early victory nearby over the English-backed Balliol on his path to the crown of Scotland. The town grew up at the navigable limit of the River Annan, which flows into Solway Firth, and the poet Robert Burns worked here for a time as an exciseman. The philosopher and writer Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) went to school here and was utterly miserable. During the First World War there was a huge multi-site munitions complex around Annan, Gretna and Longtown in Cumbria. Britain's military firepower depended upon improvised processes involving "The Devil's Porridge", Boy Scouts collecting conkers, and the future President of Israel. '''Visitor information''' is posted on the [https://www.annan.org.uk/index.html Council website]. == Get in == {{mapframe | 54.990 | -3.260 | height=500 | width=550 | zoom=14 }} === By train === Trains run from [[Carlisle]] via [[Gretna]] to Annan (22 mins) and [[Dumfries]] every hour or two M-Sa, every couple of hours Sunday. Some of them continue north from Dumfries via Sanquhar and [[Kilmarnock]] to Glasgow Central, but it's usually quicker to take the fast London - Glasgow train and change at Carlisle. {{marker | name=Annan railway station | type=go | lat=54.983 | long=-3.262 }} is 400 yards south of High Street. There's no ticket office or machines here, so get aboard and buy from the conductor. Annan's old locomotive turntable is still in service in the National Railway Museum in York. === By road === Annan is bypassed to the north by the A75 Carlisle to [[Stranraer]] road with links into town at either end. Near Gretna the A75 joins the A74(M) motorway, which becomes M6 as it crosses into England. [https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-7/ National Cycle Route 7] passes through Annan on its way from Inverness to Sunderland, with a footbridge over the river to carry it to the south of the town. === By bus === Stagecoach Cumbria Bus 79 runs from Carlisle via Longtown and Gretna to Annan, taking an hour. These run M-Sa every hour, Sunday every two hours, and continue west via Ruthwell to Dumfries. Bus 179 also runs hourly between Carlisle, Longtown, Gretna, and Annan where it terminates. This is a longer route, taking 70 min, but it's quicker than waiting for the next 79. {{marker | name=Annan bus station | type=go | lat=54.9878 | long=-3.2599 }} is on Butts Street just off High Street. See [[Dumfries]] for connections towards Stranraer, and [[Carlisle]] for elsewhere, eg the X95 to Edinburgh. == Get around == The town is compact and can be explored on foot, but you could do with a bike to reach Ruthwell or the Devil's Porridge. The main taxi operator is Auberge ({{phone|+44 1461 207676}}). == See == [[File:Sir James. The fireless locomotive. Andrew Barclay builders. Eastrigg. Dumfries & Galloway.jpg | thumb | 300px | Fireless locomotive for the munition works ]] * {{see | name=Annan Museum | alt= | url=https://www.dgculture.co.uk/venue/annan-museum/ | email= | address=Bank Street DG12 6AA | lat= | long= | directions=village centre | phone=+44 1461 201384 | tollfree= | hours=Apr-Oct M-Sa 11AM-4PM | price=Free | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=This houses a permanent exhibition on local history from the prehistoric to the First World War with interactive displays and children’s activities. }} * '''Annan Castle:''' you'll need to peer closely to spot the remains of this 12th century Motte-and-Bailey on the edge of Galabank Park. It's little more than an overweight molehill, but neither battle nor neglect caused its ruin - the river changed course and eroded the site. * {{see | name=The Devil's Porridge | alt= | url=https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/ | email=info@devilsporridge.org.uk | address=Near Stanfield Farm, Annan Road, Eastriggs DG12 6TF | lat=54.9854 | long=-3.1702 | directions=3 miles east of town on B721 | phone=+44 1461 700021 | tollfree= | hours=Jan-Nov M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 10AM-4PM | price=Adult £10, conc or child £9 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=In the First World War, Britain could produce enough artillery shell cases, and the explosives to fill them, but lacked cordite for propellant - this required acetone which was in very short supply. A new recipe was devised, kneading nitroglycerin and gun-cotton into a paste that could be shaped to the correct shell calibre, and when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited the factory he called it "a sort of devil's porridge". The munitions complex was named HM Factory Gretna but (just in case one part went bang) it was spread over four sites and nine miles between Longtown, Gretna and Eastriggs, the present site of this museum commemorating the factory and its mostly female workforce. Meanwhile a chemist called Chaim Weizman (1874-1952, later first President of Israel) devised another process, not used at Gretna, by fermenting maize starch to make acetone. But maize was difficult to import in wartime, so in a surreally British improvisation, schoolchildren and Boy Scouts were sent out to collect acorns and conkers for fermentation. }} * '''Ruthwell''' is a tiny village five miles west of Annan with a surprising collection of sights: Ruthwell Cross, a Savings Bank Museum, and Brow Well. It's on B724, the old road to Dumfries; turn off onto B725 for Caerlaverock Castle. Notable place names hereabouts include Cocklicks Farm and Twathats. (Little Cocklick, home of Jean Maxwell "the Galloway witch", is away west near Castle Douglas.) [[File:Ruthwell Cross South Face.jpg | thumb | 300px | Ruthwell Cross ]] * {{see | name=Ruthwell Cross | alt= | url=https://www.ruthwellkirk.org.uk/ | email= | address=Ruthwell Church DG1 4NP | lat=55.0004 | long=-3.4075 | directions=Off B724 five miles west of Annan | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM | price= | wikipedia=Ruthwell Cross | wikidata=Q282923 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=8th-century Anglo-Saxon High Cross, 18 ft high, smashed in 1642 but restored in 1823, with remarkable carvings and inscriptions in Latin, Anglo-Saxon and Runic. Scholars of runes may struggle as these are not the standard ''futhorc'' script, and were probably added in the 10th century. }} * {{see | name=Savings Bank Museum | alt= | url=https://www.henryduncansavingsbanksmuseum.com/ | email= | address=2 Thwaite Cottages, Ruthwell DG1 4NN | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 13873 23001 | tollfree= | hours=Apr-Oct 10AM-4PM | price=Free | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=This cottage housed the world's first savings bank, opened here in 1810 and swiftly copied. }} * '''Brow''' is a hamlet a mile or so west of Ruthwell on B725, which in Robert Burns' time was "the poor man's spa". The Brow Well was a chalybeate (iron-rich) spring which you plunged into. In the 20th century, it was prettified into a pink sandstone bath. Nearby is a beach for sea-bathing, but only around spring high tides when the sea covers the mud flats. In July 1796 Burns spent 3 weeks here, bathing in sea and spring between quaffing port and writing begging letters to all and sundry. He left, haggard, pale and tottering, in every sense the poor man, to die at home in Dumfries 3 days later. He was 37. * '''Hoddom Castle''' 5 miles north of Annan is derelict but has a campsite, see Sleep. * '''Repentance Tower''' close by is an unusual 16th century watchtower - it was never a habitation or garrison. The name comes from the inscription "Repentance" above the entrance, with various stories about who was repenting and for what. It's derelict. * '''See [[Lockerbie]]''' for Thomas Carlyle's birthplace in Ecclefechan. He went to school in Annan and later was a schoolteacher here. == Do == [[File:Annan.jpg | thumb | 300px | Parade on High Street ]] * '''Walk:''' a pleasant stroll is to walk north (upstream) along the east bank of the river and back down the west bank. If you cross at the first footbridge just before the A75 viaduct it's a two-mile round-trip, via the second footbridge it's four miles, and by the lane bridge at Brydekirk (Brig Inn is here) it's six miles. * '''Football:''' {{do | name=Annan Athletic FC | alt= | url=https://www.annanathleticfc.com/ | email= | address=Galabank, North Street DG12 5DQ | lat=54.9942 | long=-3.2616 | directions= | phone=+44 1461 204108 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2025-05-27 | content=They were relegated in 2025 and now play soccer in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier. }} * '''[https://annancinema.co.uk/LonsdaleAnnan.dll/Home Lonsdale Cinema]''' is just off Lady St. * '''[https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/15640/Newington-Leisure-Centre Newington Leisure Centre]''' on Shawhill Rd has a gym and fitness classes. * '''[https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/15632/Annan-Swimming-Pool-and-Games-Hall Annan Swimming Pool]''' is next to the railway station. * {{do | name=Powfoot Golf Club | alt= | url=https://www.powfootgolfclub.com/ | email= | address=Cummertrees DG12 5QE | lat= | long= | directions=Next to Powfoot Hotel five miles west of Annan | phone=+44 1461 204100 | tollfree= | hours= | price=Visitor round £40-£90 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=18-hole course (6274 yards, par 71), half links, half parkland, redesigned by the legendary James Braid in 1923. }} * '''Broom Fisheries''' have five lagoons for coarse and match fishing, with a tackle shop, caravan & camping site (see below), toilets and ample parking near the waters. * {{do | name=Annandale Distillery | alt= | url=https://www.annandaledistillery.com/ | email=info@annandaledistillery.com | address=Northfield DG12 5LL | lat=55.0037 | long=-3.2612 | directions=off B722, which bridges A75 without a junction. | phone=+44 1461 207817 | tollfree= | hours=Tours daily 10AM-4PM | price=Standard tour £25 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=This whisky distillery started in 1836, became part of Johnnie Walker but closed in 1924. It re-started in 2014, with its first modern produce coming to market in 2018, branded as "Man O'Words" (unpeated) and "Man O'Sword" (peated). They give guided tours and have a shop and café. }} * {{do | name=Dino Park | alt= | url=https://www.dinopark.co.uk/ | email= | address=Hetland Garden Centre, Carrutherstown DG1 4JX | lat=55.0354 | long=-3.4164 | directions=off A75 | phone=+44 1387 840060 | tollfree= | hours=Apr-Oct daily 9AM-5:30PM | price=Family day-pass (2+2) £35 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Dinosaur-themed park and soft-play area. No dogs. }} * '''[https://www.facebook.com/annanridingofthemarches/ The Common Riding of the Marches]''' is a 600-year-old ceremony to mark the boundaries of Annan, and ensure that its various landmarks, cairns and other features are in good order. That's if anyone can maintain good order with over 100 horse riders cavorting about, massed pipes and drums, decorated floats, and similar razzmatazz of a 600-year-old nature. It's held on the first Saturday in July, with the next on Sa 4 July 2026. == Buy== * Aldi is on Butts St, open 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-8PM. * Tesco is on Scott's St, open 7AM-10PM, Su 8AM-8PM. * For big-ticket items head 10 miles east to Caledonia Park in [[Gretna]]. == Eat == [[File:Brow Well.JPG | thumb | 300px | Brow Well, "the poor man's spa" ]] * '''Lucky Date''' is a Chinese at 14 Church St, open W-M 5-9PM. * {{eat | name=Cafe Royal | alt= | url=https://www.thecaferoyal.co.uk/ | email= | address=95 High St DG12 6DJ | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1461 202865 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-7PM | price= | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Breakfast, fish & chips, filled rolls, sit in or takeaway. }} * '''La Fortuna''' is a pizzeria at 95A High St next to Cafe Royal. * '''Corner House Hotel''' lounge bar serves coffee, soup and light meals 8AM-10PM, see below. * {{eat | name=Solway Cafe | alt= | url= | email= | address=133 High Street DG12 6EB | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1461 202271 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa 11AM-7PM, Su noon-7PM | price= | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Trad filling fare, inexpensive. }} * {{eat | name=Our Place | alt= | url=https://ourplaceannan.co.uk/ | email= | address=49 High St DG12 6AD | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1461 380390 | tollfree= | hours=F Sa noon-11PM | price= | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Good reviews for this sit-down restaurant with a wide-ranging menu. }} * '''Del Amitri''' Restaurant is within Powfoot Hotel 3 miles west of Annan, see below. == Drink == * {{drink | name=The Anglers | alt= | url= | email= | address=61 High Street DG12 6AD | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1461 206588 | tollfree= | hours=M-Sa noon-midnight, Su noon-11PM | price= | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Cocktail and sports bar with good pub grub. }} * {{drink | name=Blue Bell Inn | alt= | url= | email= | address=10 High Street DG12 6AG | lat= | long= | directions=next to river bridge | phone=+44 1461 202385 | tollfree= | hours=W-M noon-11PM, Tu 6-11PM | price= | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Trad pub with Robert Burns' quotes on the walls; ever-changing selection of real ales, including "Mote & Bailey" brewed on the premises. Live sports on TV, dog-friendly, beer garden. }} * '''Commercial Inn''' is at 128 High St, open Th-M 1-11PM. * '''Auberge Bar''' at 82A High St is open M-Sa 11AM-11PM, Su noon-11PM. * {{drink | name=The Shed | alt= | url=https://www.theshed.info/ | email= | address=7 Lady Street DG12 5DA | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1461 203992 | tollfree= | hours=M-W 11AM-11PM, Th-Sa 11AM-1AM, Su noon-11PM | price= | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Friendly sports bar with live music, disco and karaoke. }} * '''Farmers Inn''' is in Clarencefield five miles west of Annan, serving meals and real ale, see below. * '''Distilleries:''' see above for Annandale. [https://solwayspirits.co.uk/ Solway Spirits] make gin and vodka. == Sleep == [[File:Hoddom Castle - geograph.org.uk - 31411.jpg | thumb | 300px | Hoddom Castle]] * {{sleep | name=Corner House Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.thecornerhousehotel.com | email=enquiries@thecornerhousehotel.com | address=78 High Street DG12 6DL | lat=54.9874 | long=-3.2621 | directions= | phone=+44 1461 202754 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £90 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Dated but comfy place with 18 en-suite rooms and secure parking. }} * '''[https://www.theoldrectoryscotland.com The Old Rectory]''' is a B&B at 12 St John's Rd. * {{sleep | name=Broom Campsite | alt= | url=https://broomfisheries.co.uk/caravan-and-campsite/ | email= | address=Broom Farm DG12 5PN | lat=54.9809 | long=-3.3054 | directions= | phone=+44 1461 700386 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=Caravan £25, tent £15 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Camping and caravan site by a fishery. }} * {{sleep | name=Powfoot Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.thepowfoothotel.com/ | email= | address=Links Ave, Powfoot DG12 5PN | lat=54.9764 | long=-3.3344 | directions= | phone=+44 1461 700300 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £150 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=By the golf links near the coast 3 miles west of Annan, this is a well-run friendly hotel. With Del Amitri restaurant. }} * {{sleep | name=Farmers Inn | alt= | url=https://www.farmersinn.co.uk/ | email= | address=Main Street, Clarencefield DG1 4NF | lat=55.0046 | long=-3.4219 | directions= | phone=+44 1387 870675 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £100 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=Motel-style accommodation in lodge at rear of the Inn. }} * {{sleep | name=Hoddom Castle | alt= | url=https://www.hoddomcastle.co.uk/ | email=enquiries@hoddomcastle.co.uk | address=Hoddom, Lockerbie DG11 1AS | lat=55.0443 | long=-3.3226 | directions= | phone=+44 1576 300251 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=£25-£35 pitch for two adults | wikidata=Q5875992 | lastedit=2025-01-05 | content=The castle itself is a ramshackle 16th century tower house,. In the grounds, open April-Oct, are caravan facilities, camping pitches and pods, fishing, golfing, walking and children's play area. }} == Connect == As of Jan 2025, Annan and its approach roads have 4G from Three, and 5G from EE, O2 and Vodafone. == Go next == * [[Dumfries]] is where Robert Burns spent his last years, and further west is [[Stranraer]] for ferries to Northern Ireland. * To [[Edinburgh]] most people race north up A74(M) then branch onto A702. Slower scenic routes are via Gretna and Longtown onto A7, thence via [[Hawick]], [[Selkirk]] and [[Galashiels]] in the Scottish Borders; or leave A74(M) at Moffat for A708 past Grey Mare's Tail, Ettrick Forest and Innerleithen. These roads are glorious when it's sunny and the heather in bloom, nerve-wracking in bad weather or with a low fuel tank. * Go south via [[Carlisle]] to reach the [[Cumbria | Lake District]]. {{routebox | image1=UK road A75.svg | imagesize1=40 | directionl1=W | majorl1=[[Stranraer]] | minorl1=[[Dumfries]] | directionr1=E | minorr1=[[Gretna]] | majorr1=[[Carlisle]] }} {{geo|54.983|-3.266}} {{IsPartOf|Dumfries and Galloway}} {{usablecity}} 553edfh99rm3a67x6yves6mdzco5n3i 0 130592 5298518 5276963 2026-06-25T23:41:53Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Melbourne */ Updated listing for Australian National Aviation Museum 5298518 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|G_for_george_panorama_banner.jpg|The World War II-era Lancaster bomber G for George at the Australian War Memorial|ftt=yes}} Many [[Australia|Australians]] have an interest in military history, and there are many military museums and preserved historic sites scattered around the country. While few of the sites of the fighting between European settlers and Indigenous Australians have been marked, much less preserved, there are still a number of former fortifications and airfields. ==Understand== [[File:Chateau Wood Ypres 1917.jpg|thumb|300px|Australian soldiers on the Western Front in France during World War I. This was Australia's most costly war, with over 60,000 men being killed]] The only large scale war to have taken place in Australia was the fighting between Indigenous Australians and European settlers which began shortly after white settlement in 1788 and continued until the early 1930s. While over 20,000 Indigenous Australians and between 2,000 and 2,500 settlers are estimated to have been killed, there are very few monuments or memorials to the frontier wars, and no battle sites have been preserved. A team of academics is developing an [https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/ online map] of locations where battles and massacres occurred which may be helpful for visiting these sites. During the colonial era (1788-1901) barracks and coastal fortifications were established around the colonial capital cities. Britain stationed forces in Australia until the country achieved full self-governance in 1901, though it ceased deploying land forces to the continent in 1870. However, the Australian military continued to be deployed around the world as part of the British forces in its various wars, and any declaration of war by Britain was also taken to imply that Australia was also at war. There was virtually no fighting in and little near Australia during [[World War I]], but camps were established to train the men of the Australian Imperial Force before they were deployed overseas. Approximately 60,000 Australian soldiers were killed in the war, and small - and often very moving - memorials were established commemorating them in most towns and suburbs as well as in some churches, schools and workplaces. Larger memorials were also established in the centre of the state capital cities. These memorials have often been used to commemorate casualties of subsequent wars. ===World War II=== {{Seealso|Pacific War}} Australia's defences were improved in the lead up to World War II, with new coastal defences and strategic airstrips being established. Following the rapid Japanese victories in 1941 and 1942 the Australian Government and many Australians feared that the country faced invasion (though the Japanese had no such plans), and these defences were further improved. As the war turned in the favour of the Allies a network of airfields and major Army bases was established in Queensland and the Northern Territory to support the Allied counter-offensive in the Pacific. Many of these airfields were later developed into Australia's post-war network of airports, while others were abandoned; in some circumstances their remains can be visited, though are unlikely to be of much interest. ===Post-war history=== In the years after World War II most of the airfields and virtually all of the coastal fortifications were abandoned by the military. The focus of the Australian military shifted more strongly to expeditionary warfare during the Cold War period, with the country being involved in the [[Korean War]], Malaysian Emergency and [[Vietnam War]]. The Vietnam War was the largest of these conflicts, and is commemorated through a number of museums and memorials. The other conflicts have attracted far less attention. Since 1947, Australian forces have served around the world as part of peacekeeping missions. The Australian Defence Force has also seen combat in the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria since 2001. The modern Australian Defence Force operates from bases which are generally in or near major cities. Few of these facilities are open to the public, but some have small museums on their outskirts which can be visited. The Australian War Memorial, in [[Canberra]], is Australia's main military history museum, and also serves as a memorial to the men and women killed during wars and peacekeeping deployments. The Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force maintain a central museum, as well as a network of smaller museums. The Army does not have a central museum, but operates a [https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/museums network of specialised museums]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} spread across Australia. There are also a large number of government and independently-run military history museums. Most towns and the older suburbs of the large cities have a small war memorial which lists the names of the locals killed in war: these serve as the focal points of the '''ANZAC Day''' dawn services on April 25 each year; these are listed on the [http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict Monument Australia]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} website. Some of the former coastal fortifications and barracks have been opened to the public. ===ANZAC day=== 25 April 1915 marked the beginning of the Battle of Gallipoli, as the Allied forces attacked Gallipoli, western Turkey, in an attempt to attack Constantinople and gain control over the Dardanelles. One of the units on the Allied side was the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) comprising about 65,000 men. This was the first significant campaign to involve large Australian and New Zealand forces. Ever since, the Anzac Day has been commemorated on 25 April in Australia and New Zealand a national holiday with dawn services (the landing at Gallipoli took place at dawn) at military memorials and parades. Commemorations are also held in many locations around the world with significant populations of Australians and New Zealanders. The gambling game two-up, popular among Australian soldiers during World War I, is legal at pubs around Australia only on Anzac Day. Anzac biscuits, popular with soldiers on the battlefield as well as in Australia at that time are eaten, and some opt for a "gunfire breakfast"; black coffee with added rum. ==Prepare== A huge number of books have been written on Australia's military history. Jeffrey Grey's ''A Military History of Australia'' is a well-regarded overview, and ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History'' is invaluable. Chris Coulthard-Clark's book ''The Encyclopedia of Australia's Battles'' provides useful summaries of the main battles Australian forces have been involved in, and includes the main engagements which were fought during the frontier wars. ''Sacred Places : War Memorials in the Australian Landscape'' by Ken Inglis discusses the establishment of these monuments and how attitudes to them have changed over time. There are also many books and websites on individual historic sites within Australia. Local histories often discuss the region's experiences during the world wars, and many of the towns in northern Australia have been the subject of books on their experience of the [[Pacific War|Second World War]]. While many of these works are self-published by amateur historians, the general quality is good. Virtually all military museums maintain a website. ==Go== {{mapframe}} ===Australian Capital Territory=== [[File:Australian War Memorial.jpg|thumb|300px|The courtyard of the Australian War Memorial]] ;Museums * {{see | name=Australian War Memorial | alt= | url=http://www.awm.gov.au/ | email= | address=Treloar Crescent, Campbell [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2805 | long=149.1491 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM, except for Christmas Day | price=Free | wikipedia=Australian War Memorial | image=The_National_War_Memorial,_Canberra.JPG | wikidata=Q782783 | content=Generally considered one of Australia's best museums, the Australian War Memorial (AWM) provides an in-depth examination of the country's involvement in war and peacekeeping. It is a world class museum, and includes impressive - and historically rigorous - displays of items and military equipment. The names of all the Australians killed during war or peacekeeping missions are inscribed on panels along the upper levels of the memorial's courtyard, and the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier is in the Hall of Remembrance at the northern end of the courtyard. The AWM occasionally holds open days for its large storage warehouse in the northern Canberra suburb of Mitchell (usually in September or October). As of Aug 2022, the AWM is going through a major, and controversial, expansion and many of its galleries are closed. }} * {{see | name=National Museum of Australia | alt= | url=http://www.nma.gov.au/ | email= | address=Lawson Crescent, [[Canberra/Acton|Acton]] [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2926 | long=149.1211 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM, except for Christmas Day | price=Free except for some special exhibitions | wikipedia=National Museum of Australia | image=National_Museum_of_Australia_(437595660).jpg | wikidata=Q1967496 | content=The NMA's galleries on Indigenous Australia include several small displays on the frontier wars. }} ;Other sites * {{do | name=[[Anzac Parade]] | alt= | url=http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=213&Itemid=202 | email= | address=[[Canberra/North Canberra|North Canberra]], [[Canberra]] | lat=-35.2851 | long=149.1451 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Anzac Parade, the street leading from Lake Burley Griffin to the AWM, is lined with memorials to each of the armed services, the major wars Australia has been involved in and several battles. }} * {{see | name=Australian Defence Force Academy | alt= | url=http://www.defence.gov.au/adfa/ | email= | address=[[Canberra]] | lat=-35.2875 | long=149.1631 | directions=Entry is from Northcott Drive, Campbell | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q371370 | content=While the grounds of ADFA are open to the public they contain little of interest to visitors. The ADFA library has an excellent collection of books on military history, and sometimes has small exhibitions of historic items on its upper level. The Academy's open day (usually held on the last Saturday in August) boasts interesting displays of current military hardware, including armoured vehicles and helicopters, as well as displays of military marching and infantry tactics by the cadets. }} * {{do | name=Mount Pleasant | alt= | url=http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/Things-to-do-and-see/Outdoor-and-nature/Business-Details-Page.aspx?ID=9002996&Title=Mount+Pleasant+Lookout | email= | address=General Bridges Drive, [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2984 | long=149.1582 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The hill which overlooks the Royal Military College - Duntroon and the nearby Australian Defence Force Academy is topped by the modest '''Royal Australian Artillery Memorial''', which includes two historic cannons. The '''grave of General William Bridges''', the first commander of the Australian troops at Gallipoli, is just off General Bridges Drive at the base of Mount Pleasant: Bridges was killed in May 1915 and is one of only two Australians killed in the war to have been returned home for burial (the other being the Unknown Soldier at the nearby Australian War Memorial). }} * {{see | name=Royal Military College - Duntroon | alt= | url=http://www.army.gov.au/Army-life/Army-careers/RMCD | email= | address=Duntroon, [[Canberra|ACT]] |lat=-35.2991 | long=149.1681 | directions=Enter via Staff Cadet Avenue or Robert Campbell Road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The Australian Army's officer training academy was established in 1911, and pre-dates the city of Canberra by two years. Its grounds are open to the public, though access to most buildings is restricted. The '''[http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/Things-to-do-and-see/Landmarks-and-architecture/Memorials/Business-Details-Page.aspx?ID=9002743&Title=Changi+Chapel Changi Chapel]''', halfway along Miles Road, was constructed by Australian prisoners of war being held in Singapore during World War II and was moved to Duntroon following the war. }} * {{see | name=Russell Offices | alt= | url= | email= | address=Russell Drive, Russell, [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2979 | long=149.1511 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3453492 | content=This large office complex houses the administrative headquarters of the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Defence. While none of its buildings are open to the public, visitors can walk around the area. The large '''[https://www.nca.gov.au/attractions-and-memorials/australian-american-memorial-and-sir-thomas-blamey-square Australian-American Memorial]''' is the only sight of any interest, however. }} ===New South Wales=== ====Sydney region==== =====Museums===== *{{see | name=ANZAC Memorial | alt= | url=http://www.anzacmemorial.nsw.gov.au/ | email= | address=Hyde Park South, [[Sydney/City Centre|Sydney CBD]] | lat=-33.87578 | long=151.21103 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM (except Good Friday & 25 Dec) | price=Free | wikidata=Q844556| wikipedia=ANZAC War Memorial | image=ANZAC_Memorial_Sydney_Australia_-_June_2007.jpg | content=Commemorates the citizens of New South Wales who served in war. It includes a small, but very high quality, museum. }} * {{see | name=Army Museum of New South Wales | alt= | url=http://www.armymuseumnsw.com.au/index.php | email= | address=Victoria Barracks, Oxford St Paddington | lat=-33.8857 | long=151.2236 | directions= | phone=+61 2 8335 5330 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Th 10AM-1PM | price=Free | lastedit=2015-04-21 | content=This small museum has a collection of items relating to Australian Army units from New South Wales. The guided tours of the colonial-era Victoria Barracks also offered through the museum on Thursdays are very interesting. Photo ID is required for entry. }} * {{see | name=Australian National Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm | email= | address=2 Murray St, [[Sydney/Darling Harbour|Darling Harbour]], Sydney | lat=-33.86936 | long=151.19864 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 8:30AM–5PM (6PM in Jan but closed 25 Dec) | price=Admission price varies - see the website | wikipedia=Australian National Maritime Museum | image=National Maritime Museum, Sydney (898337128).jpg | wikidata=Q844329 | content=This large museum has displays on the history of the RAN, and its impressive collection of ships includes the destroyer HMAS ''Vampire'', submarine HMAS ''Onslow'', patrol boat HMAS ''Advance'' and commando transport ''Krait''. }} *{{see | name=RAN Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/history/museums/ran-heritage-centre | email= | address=[[Sydney/Harbour Islands|Garden Island]], Sydney | lat=-33.8596 | long=151.23 | directions=Access is via the Garden Island ferry wharf, which is serviced by all ferries on the Circular Quay to Watson’s Bay route | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Closes when the last ferry of the day departs | price= | content=The Royal Australian Navy's main museum is at the northern end of the Navy's largest base. While it has a moderately interesting collection of artefacts on display, it does not include any preserved ships. The view of the base and the Sydney CBD from the hill behind the museum is worth the climb. }} * {{see | name=Royal New South Wales Lancers Lancer Barracks and Museum | alt= | url=http://www.lancers.org.au/ | email=enquiries@lancers.org.au | address=Lancer Barracks, 2 Smith Street, [[Sydney/Parramatta|Parramatta]] | lat=-33.817 | long=151.006 | directions= | phone=+61 405 482 814 | tollfree= | hours=Su 10AM–4PM | price=Adults $7.50, children $5.00, families $15.00 | wikipedia=1st/15th_Royal_New_South_Wales_Lancers | wikidata=Q4596064 | lastedit=2015-04-21 | content=This museum displays artefacts related to the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers (which remains active as an Army Reserve unit), with the main attraction being a small display of tanks and armoured vehicles operated by the regiment. }} =====Other sites===== [[File:Fort Denison, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales (483525) (9440423811).jpg|thumb|300px|Fort Denison]] * {{do | name=Sydney Harbour fortifications | alt= | url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nswcultureheritage/SydneyDefenceHeritage.htm | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=Between 1788 and 1945 multiple networks of fortifications were developed to protect Sydney Harbour. While all have now been decommissioned, many of the sites were preserved within the [[Sydney Harbour National Park]] and are open to the public. They typically occupy spectacular sites, and can be easily reached with public transport. }} *{{see | name=Bare Island Fort | url = http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/bare-island-fort-guided-tour | address=La Parouse | hours = tours run Sundays | price = $15 | lat = -33.9913958 | long = 151.2317035 | content = Colonial Era fortifications for Botany Bay are well preserved on the headland island at the entrance to the Bay. }} * {{see | name=Fort Denison | alt= | url=https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/historic-buildings-places/fort-denison | email=parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au | address= | lat=-33.855083 | long=151.225308 | directions=Captain Cook Cruises runs multiple ferries to Fort Denison daily from wharf 6 at Circular Quay - timetable available through [https://www.captaincook.com.au/sydney-harbour-cruises/ its website] | phone= | tollfree=1300 072 757 | fax= | hours=Daily 9AM-5PM | price=Ferry ticket: $20, Ferry ticket and tour: Adult $37.50, concession $33, child $29 | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=The most famous fort in Australia, Fort Denison occupies a small island in Sydney Harbour near the opera house. The guided [http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/fort-denison-heritage-tour heritage tour] provides an excellent insight into the fort's history. }} * {{see | name=HMAS Kuttabul (Fleet Base East) | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/establishments/hmas-kuttabul | email= | address=Potts Point | lat=-33.8633 | long=151.2247 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Not open to the public | price= | lastedit=2016-12-04 | content=Ships docked at the Royal Australian Navy's main base on the east coast of Australia can be easily viewed from along Mrs Macquarie's Road, the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo and from passing ferries. Both of the Navy's huge ''Canberra'' class amphibious assault ships are based here, along with around half of the force's frigates and several support ships. Warships from other countries also frequently visit the base. HMAS ''Kuttabul'' is not open to the public, but occasionally holds open days when visitors can tour ships. }} * {{see | name=HMAS Waterhen | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/establishments/hmas-waterhen | email= | address=Waverton | lat=-33.8405 | long=151.1943 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Not open to the public | price= | wikidata=Q5630658 | lastedit=2016-12-04 | content=HMAS ''Waterhen'' is the base for the Navy's minehunters, landing craft and several other small vessels. These ships can be viewed from the public walkway to the north of the base, as well as the nearby Berry Island Reserve. }} ====Outside Sydney==== [[File:Holbrook Submarine.jpg|thumb|300px|The upper casing of the submarine HMAS ''Otway'' on display in the inland town of Holbrook]] *{{see | name=Australian Army Infantry Museum | alt= | url=http://infantrymuseum.com.au/ | email= | address=Lone Pine Barracks, Hamilton VC Drive, Singleton Military Area | lat=-32.6291 | long=151.1752 | directions=South of the town of Singleton or off Golden Highway (B84) | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 9AM-4PM, closed on public holidays and 24 Dec-2 Jan | price=Adult $8, pensioners $5, children $3 | content=}} * {{see | name=Fighter World | alt= | url=http://www.fighterworld.com.au/ | email= | address=49 Medowie Rd, Williamtown, NSW | lat=-32.803 | long=151.850 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM, except 25 Dec | price=Adult $12, child/pensioner/senior: $10 | wikidata=Q27628331| wikipedia=Fighter_World | content=Near RAAF Base Williamstown, the RAAF's main jet fighter base. This museum houses various types of fighter aircraft previously operated by the air force. }} *{{see | name=Fleet Air Arm Museum | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/history/museums/fleet-air-arm-museum | email= | address=489A Albatross Rd, Nowra | lat=-34.9361 | long=150.5548 | directions= | phone=+61 2 4424 2179 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM | price=Adult $10, children free | wikidata=Q5458379| wikipedia=Fleet Air Arm Museum (Australia) | image=Exterior of the Fleet Air Arm Museum February 2015.jpg | content=This museum adjacent to the Royal Australian Navy's only air base features examples of almost all of the aircraft types to have been operated by the RAN, as well as a small number of Soviet and British types. The collection is well presented, and features some unusual aircraft. }} * {{see | name=Fort Scratchley | alt= | url=http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Fort-Scratchley/Home | email=fortscratchleytours@ncc.nsw.gov.au | address=Nobbys Road, Newcastle East | lat=-32.925934 | long=151.790997 | directions= | phone=+61 2 4974 2027 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-M 10AM–4PM | price=General admission free. Charged tours of the site are available, with varying prices [http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Fort-Scratchley/Tours-Events/Tour-Times as described] on the fort's website | wikipedia=Fort Scratchley | image=Fort Scratchley.jpg | wikidata=Q5472006 | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This fortress protected the coastal city of Newcastle from the 1820s until 1962. On the night of 7/8 June 1942 it fired upon a Japanese submarine which was (ineffectually) shelling the city. }} * {{see | name=Historical Aircraft Restoration Society | alt= | url=https://hars.org.au | email= | address=Illawarra Regional Airport, Albion Park Rail | lat=-34.5599932 | long=150.7899695 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=$20 | content=Although the major attraction is the 747 on display outside the building, there are many military aircraft here, and wealth of knowledge of them among those who show you around. Its collection includes one of the F-111 fighter-bombers which were the mainstay of the RAAF for many years. Access to the collection is via guided tours only; allow at least two hours. }} * {{see | name=Holbrook Submarine Museum | alt= | url=http://www.holbrook.nsw.au/AboutHolbrook/VisitorInformationCentreandSubmarineMuseum/tabid/421/Default.aspx | email= | address=Corner of Albury and Wallace streets, Holbrook | lat=-35.7181 | long=147.3165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM | price=Adults $6, pensioners $4, students $3, family $10 | lastedit=2017-07-30 | content=Somewhat surprisingly, the upper casing of the submarine HMAS ''Otway'' has been preserved in a park in the inland town of [[Holbrook (New South Wales)|Holbrook]] to commemorate the town's namesake, British World War I submarine hero Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook VC. The museum includes a recreation of a submarine's control room, and submarine-related memorabilia. }} * {{see | name=Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum | alt= | url=http://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/ | email= | address=69 Methven St, Lithgow | lat=-33.488997 | long=150.141401 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu W Th 9:30AM-2PM; Sa, Su and public holidays 10AM-4PM. Daily during school holidays | price=Adults $10, concession $7, children $5 | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=The Lithgow Small Arms Factory, Government owned until 1989 and now privately owned by Thales Australia, has been the main manufacturer of firearms for the Australian military since the early 1900s. The museum on the front of the site, not owned by Thales, includes examples of the firearms produced at the factory and a large range of prototypes which never entered production. }} *{{see | name=RAAF Base Wagga Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/Interact/Displays/Heritage_Centres/?RAAF-FZUA0LNFLVzUZ3PIwhDx4V7fX6dsdDlY | email= | address=RAAF Base Wagga, Sturt Highway, Wagga Wagga | lat=-35.1493 | long=147.4677 | directions=at Wagga Wagga Airport | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W Sa Su 10AM-4PM | price= | content=This museum has a five former RAAF aircraft on display, as well as exhibits on the history of the Air Force in the region. }} *{{see | name=Temora Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/ | email=info@aviationmuseum.com.au | address=Tom Moon Avenue, Temora | lat=-34.4271 | long=147.5151 | directions=at Temora Airport | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM except Good Friday, 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan | price=Adult $13, seniors $11, children $7. Higher prices apply on flying days | wikidata=Q7698212 | content=on the site of a World War II-era RAAF training base, the Temora Aviation Museum is home to an interesting collection of historic military aircraft which have been restored to flying condition. It conducts regular flying days - a list of upcoming dates is available on its website. }} * {{see | name=Beecroft Weapons Range | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-35.087344 | long=150.799442 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2021-05-12 | content=An active military range that's open to the public, home to the outer tubes, which were placed in defence for a Japanese WWII attack. }} ===Northern Territory=== [[File:USAF B52 Bomber (Darwins pride) at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre.jpg|thumb|300px|The nose of the B-52 bomber at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre]] * {{see | name=Adelaide River War Cemetery | alt= | url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2023510/ADELAIDE%20RIVER%20WAR%20CEMETERY | email= | address=Memorial Terrace, Adelaide River | lat=-13.23116 | long=131.11444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q38160721 | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=The main cemetery for military personnel and civilians killed in northern Australia during the Second World War, including as a result of the dozens of Japanese air raids on Darwin and nearby airfields as well as the little known bombings in Coomalie Creek, Adelaide River and Litchfield National Park. }} *{{see | name=Australian Aviation Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.darwinsairwar.com.au/ | email= | address=557 Stuart Hwy, Darwin, NT | lat=-12.4252 | long=130.8957| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9AM–5PM, except 25 Dec | price=Adults $14, seniors/pensioners $10, children under 12 and students $7 | content=This museum has an interesting collection of aircraft, with its main attraction being one of only two American B-52 heavy bombers on display outside of the United States.}} *{{see | name=Darwin Military Museum | alt= | url=http://www.darwinmilitarymuseum.com.au/ | email= | address=5434 Alec Fong Lim Dr, East Point, Darwin | lat=-12.4080 | long=130.8196 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM–5PM, except Good Friday, 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan | price=Adults $14.00, children under 15 years $5.50 | content=This museum is focused on Darwin's role in World War II, including the 60 Japanese air raids on the then small town which occurred during 1942 and 1943.}} * {{see | name=Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-23.799000 | long=133.737000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1754535| wikipedia=Pine Gap | image=Pine Gap by Skyring.jpg | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (often simply referred to as 'Pine Gap') is an important intelligence facility jointly run by the Australian and US Governments. It is one of the most secretive locations in Australia, and it is illegal to enter the "prohibited" area which surrounds it or even take photographs of the facility from a long distance: these laws are strongly enforced. Oddly though, it sits under a frequently-used flightpath into nearby [[Alice Springs]] and can often be viewed from commercial aircraft approaching the town! Don't try to get any closer though. }} *{{see | name=World War II Tunnels | alt= | url=http://www.darwintours.com.au/package/wwii-oil-storage-tunnels/ | email= | address= | lat=-12.4674 | long=130.8451 | directions=Enter via Kitchener Drive in Darwin's CBD | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Opening hours vary: check the website | price=Adults $6.00, children $3.50 | wikidata=Q24887010 | content=These tunnels were built at great expense to store oil for the Royal Australian Navy in World War II, but proved unsatisfactory as water leaked into them. They were opened to the public in 1992 and include displays on the history of Darwin during the war. }} ===Queensland=== ====Brisbane region==== [[File:HMAS Diamantina (K377) River class frigate, 1,420 tons, Royal Australian Navy. (14382254962).jpg|thumb|300px|The former HMAS ''Diamantina'' at the Queensland Maritime Museum]] ;Museums * {{see | name=Army Museum South Queensland | alt= | url=https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/museums | email= | address=Victoria Barracks, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane | lat=-27.464668 | long=153.014469 | directions= | phone=+61 7 3233 4531 | tollfree= | hours=W 9:15AM-noon (pre-arranged tours only) | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=While the Army Museum South Queensland's galleries are closed, it conducts a weekly tour of the historic Victoria Barracks (an active Australian Defence Force facility) which includes an opportunity to view exhibitions in the barracks' original officers' mess. Bookings are required, and the names of participants and their vehicle registrations must be provided at least a week before the tour. }} * {{see | name=MacArthur Museum | alt= | url=http://www.mmb.org.au/ | email= | address=Level 8, MacArthur Chambers, 201 Edward St, Brisbane | lat=-27.46855 | long=153.02742 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu Th Su 10AM-3PM | price=Adult $6, seniors and children $3 | content=This museum covers the career of American General Douglas MacArthur, who commanded the Allied forces in the South West Pacific from Brisbane between 1942 and 1944 from what are now the Museum's premises, as well as Brisbane's experiences in World War II.}} *{{see | name=Queensland Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://www.maritimemuseum.com.au/ | email= | address=412 Stanley St, Brisbane City |lat=-27.4819 | long=153.0267| directions=next to the Goodwill Bridge on the southern bank of the Brisbane River | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM-4:30PM except Good Friday & 24-26 Dec | price=Adults $12, children $6 | content=The centrepiece of the QMM's collection is the former Royal Australian Navy frigate and survey ship HMAS ''Diamantina''.}} ;Other sites * {{see | name=[[Fort Lytton National Park|Fort Lytton]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=160 South Street, Lytton | lat=-27.4111 | long=153.1512 | directions= | phone=+61 7 3393-4647 | tollfree= | hours=Sundays and most public holidays 10AM-4PM; group bookings at other times by appointment | price=Free | wikipedia=Fort Lytton | image=Inside Fort Lytton 1a.jpg | wikidata=Q25182614 | lastedit=2026-02-24 | content=Fort Lytton was established in the 1880s to protect Brisbane from attack from the sea and remained an important military installation until World War II. It is open on Sundays and some public holidays. There are museums on site and guided tours are available on Sundays. }} * {{see | name="Nyrambla" | alt= | url=http://www.ozatwar.com/locations/21henryst.htm | email= | address= 21 Henry St, Ascot| lat=-27.43144 | long=153.06024 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This large house in suburban Brisbane was the headquarters of the highly successful Australian-American Central Bureau signals intelligence organisation for most of World War II. It is '''not''' open to the public, and remains a private residence.}} ====Outside Brisbane==== [[File:Pilatus PC-6-B1-H2 Turbo Porter AN2340758.jpg|thumb|300px|A Pilatus Turbo Porter at the Museum of Australian Army Flying]] * {{see | name=Army Museum North Queensland | alt= | url=https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/museums | email=army_museum_nq@bigpond.com | address=Jezzine Barracks, Mitchell St, North Ward, Townsville | lat=-19.2401 | long=146.8027 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4721-1495 | tollfree= | hours=W F Su 9AM-1PM; Anzac Day 11AM-2PM | price=Free | lastedit=2016-04-09 | content=The Army Museum North Queensland covers the history of the Australian Army in the region, including the service of units raised or based in north Queensland overseas. [[Townsville]] is one of Australia's main garrison towns, and is home to a major Army base and a RAAF base. }} * {{see | name=Australian Armour and Artillery Museum | alt= | url=http://ausarmour.com/ | email=info@ausarmour.com | address=1145 Kamerunga Road, Smithfield | lat=-16.8502 | long=145.695 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4038-1665 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9:30AM–4:30PM except New Years Day, Christmas and Boxing Day | price=Pricing varies - see the museum's website | wikidata=Q19870908 | lastedit=2015-04-21 | content=In the hinterland of [[Cairns]]. This museum has "the largest collection of armoured vehicles and artillery in the Southern Hemisphere". Exhibits on display include rare Australian armoured vehicles, and better-known foreign tanks and artillery guns. }} * {{see | name=Caboolture Warplane Museum | alt= | url=https://caboolturewarplanemuseum.com/ | email=CabooltureWarplaneMuseum@gmail.com | address=Hangar 101, McNaught Road, Caboolture | lat=-27.078537 | long=152.984635 | directions= | phone=+61 7 5499-1144 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-3PM | price=Adult $10, child $5, seniors $5, family $25 | lastedit=2020-12-13 | content=Houses several airworthy ex-military aircraft (which can be chartered for joyrides) as well as static displays of aircraft and items. Near the Australian Vintage Aviation Society Museum. }} * {{see | name=Gladstone Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://gladstonemaritimemuseum.org.au/ | email= | address=1 Francis Ward Drive, Auckland Point, Gladstone (museum); Flinders Parade, Gladstone (HMAS ''Gladstone'') | lat=-23.833116 | long=151.253187 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4972 0810 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sa Su 10AM-4PM (HMAS ''Gladstone'' from 9AM-4PM) | price=Adults $6, concession $5, child $3, HMAS ''Gladstone'' tours: $5 per person | lastedit=2017-08-24 | content=This museum's collection includes the former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS ''Gladstone''. The ship appears to be at a separate site from the museum, whose collections are focused on the region's civilian maritime history. }} * {{see | name=Gold Coast War Museum | alt= | url=http://www.goldcoastwarmuseum.com.au/index.htm | email= | address=42 John Rogers Road, Mudgeeraba | lat=-28.0989 | long=153.3266 | directions= | phone=+61 7 5530-5222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Phone for opening hours | price= | lastedit=2016-04-09 | content=The Gold Coast War Museum's website states that it has "one of the largest collections of Militaria in Australia". }} * {{see | name=Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum | alt= | url=http://www.maryboroughmuseum.org/ | email= | address=106 Wharf Street, [[Maryborough (Queensland)|Maryborough]] | lat=-25.538838 | long=152.705535 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4123 5900 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 9:30AM-3:30PM, Sa Su 9:30AM-12:30PM | price=Adult $5, child $3.30 | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=Includes a large collection of military memorabilia among the 7000 items on display. These include the only Victoria Cross medal awarded to a soldier during the Gallipoli campaign on display in Australia outside the Australian War Memorial. }} * {{see | name=Mount Isa Underground Hospital and Museum | alt= | url=http://www.undergroundhospital.com/ | email= | address=Joan Street, Mount Isa | lat=-20.732314896 | long=139.503343105 | directions=on the grounds of the Mount Isa Base Hospital; enter via the Beth Anderson Museum building | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=During World War II miners in the remote town of [[Mount Isa]] volunteered their time to construct an underground facility in the grounds of the town's hospital for use in the event of an air raid. Abandoned after the war, it was restored to its wartime appearance between 1997 and 2001. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Australian Army Flying | alt= | url=http://www.armyflyingmuseum.com.au/#intro | email= | address=Army Airfield, Oakey | lat=-27.4154 | long=151.7365 | directions= 4 km west of the town of Oakey; turn onto Museum Drive from Oakey Kelvinhaugh Road. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 10AM-3PM | price=Adult $7, pensioners $5, children $2 | content=adjacent to the Australian Army's helicopter training school, this museum includes a collection of aircraft and helicopters formerly operated by the Army and RAAF.}} *{{see | name=Queensland Air Museum | alt= | url=http://www.qam.com.au/ | email= | address=Pathfinder Drive, Caloundra|lat=-26.7981 | long=153.1086| directions=Adjacent to Caloundra Aerodrome | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM, except 25 Dec | price=Adult $13, concession $10, children $7 | content=Has a large collection of civil and military aircraft on display }} * {{see | name=RAAF Base Amberley Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.raafamberleyheritage.gov.au/ | email=RAAF.AAHC@defence.gov.au | address=RAAF Base Amberley, South Amberley Road, Amberley | lat=-27.6462 | long=152.7044 | directions= | phone= | tollfree=1800 623 306 | fax= | hours=Daily 9AM–3PM on the third Sunday of each month (except Jan & Dec), and 9AM–3PM for pre-arranged tour groups on Tuesdays and Thursdays | price=Free | lastedit=2016-04-16 | content=This museum at the RAAF's main bomber and transport aircraft base has eight aircraft and helicopters on display. Visitors need to provide a form of photo ID issued by an Australian government agency to gain entry to the active RAAF base on which the museum is located, and will have their personal details recorded. It is recommended that visitors fill in the public open day registration form available on the museum's website before arrival. }} * {{see | name=RAAF Base Townsville Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/Interact/Displays/Heritage_Centres/?RAAF-FZUA0LNFLVzUZ3PIwhDx4V7fX6dsdDlY | email= | address=RAAF Base Townsville | lat=-19.262696 | long=146.766152 | directions=Enter via Ingham Road. | phone=+61 7 4752 1712 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu and Th 9AM-noon, Su 10AM-4PM | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=Includes indoor and outdoor displays on the history of the RAAF in Townsville during World War II and afterwards. No access requirements are specified on the Museum's website, but as it is on an active RAAF base it would be a good idea to phone the museum well ahead of visiting to confirm whether this is the case. }} * {{see | name=The Australian Vintage Aviation Society Museum | alt= | url=http://www.tavas.com.au/museum.php | email= | address= Hangar 106, Eagle Lane, Caboolture Airfield | lat=-27.078537 | long=152.984635 | directions=Turn off from McNaught Road | phone= | tollfree= | hours=W to Su 10AM-3PM (excluding Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day and Christmas Day)| price=Adult $15, children $7, family $40 | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2018-09-15 | content=Houses a collection of airworthy World War I-era aircraft (including replicas) as well as displays on early aviation history. Near the Caboolture Warplane Museum. }} ===South Australia=== [[File:HMAS Whyalla (J153), 2017 (01).jpg|thumb|300px|HMAS ''Whyalla'' at the Whyalla Maritime Museum]] ====Adelaide area==== * {{see | name=Army Museum of South Australia | alt= | url=http://www.amosa.org.au/ | email= | address=Keswick Barracks, Anzac Highway, Keswick | lat=-34.9463 | long=138.5799 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Su noon-4PM | price= | content=Located on an Australian Army base, this museum has displays on the history of the Army units raised in SA. }} * {{see | name=Fort Glanville | alt= | url=https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide/fort-glanville-conservation-park | email= | address=359 Military Road, Semaphore Park | lat=-34.851086 | long=138.477819 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu 9AM-2PM (booked tours only); 1-4:30 PM every third Sunday of the month between September and May (general admission) | price=Tuesday tours: $5, General admission Sundays: adults $10, children $5 | wikidata=Q5471231 | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The first of a network of coastal fortifications constructed to protect Adelaide, Fort Glanville was completed in 1882. It ceased to be an active military base in 1903, but was used during the world wars. The fort was restored during the 1970s and is in its original condition. Its website states that "It is the premier site in the state, and possibly Australia, for showcasing colonial era defences and fortifications". }} * {{see | name=South Australian Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.saam.org.au/ | email= | address=66 Lipton Street, Port Adelaide | lat=-34.8480 | long=138.5114 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10:30AM-4:30PM except 25 Dec | price=Adult $10, concession $8, children under 16 $5 | content=The South Australian Aviation Museum has 17 aircraft on display, and also includes exhibits on the history of aviation in the state. }} ====Outside Adelaide==== * {{see | name=Maralinga atomic test site tours| alt= | url=https://www.maralingatours.com.au/ | email=help@maralingatours.com.au | address= | lat=-30.166667 | long=131.616667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Price varies - see the company's website | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=During 1956 and 1957 the British military, in cooperation with the Australian Government, tested seven atomic bombs at Maralinga in the South Australian outback. The test range remains restricted land, but can be visited through the company Maralinga Tours which is run by local Indigenous Australians. The site is ''very'' remote, and Maralinga Tours' website recommends that visitors use a four-wheel drive vehicle due to the condition of the approach roads. The company also requires that visitors arrive the day before their tour. }} * {{see | name=Bublacowie Military Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Bublacowie Rd, Yorketown SA 5576 | lat=-34.923069 | long=137.612973 | directions= | phone=+61 8 8853 4379 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-28 | content=recommended to anyone interested in Australian military history. Getting there can be a little tricky however, as it requires for you to go on a little bit of unsealed roads. Also explains some of the history and details of the memorabilia. }} * {{see | name=Whyalla Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=801 | email= | address= | lat=-33.0196 | long=137.575 | directions=Entry through the Whyalla Visitor Centre, Lincoln Highway | phone=+61 8 8645 7900 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM except Good Friday and 25 Dec | price= | lastedit=2015-03-23 | content=This museum's collection includes the World War II-era corvette HMAS ''Whyalla'' which is displayed out of the water; the museum's website once labeled her "the largest landlocked ship in the state". }} * {{see | name=Woomera Heritage Centre and Missile Park | alt= | url=http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/Blogvorm/woomera-heritage-centre-aircraft-missile-park/ | email= | address=Dewrang Avenue, Woomera | lat=-31.198516 | long=136.825101 | directions= | phone=+61 8 8673 7042 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM between March and November, closed from December to February | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This museum in the service town for the vast Woomera Test Range includes examples of some of the many missiles and civilian rockets tested at the range, as well as a small number of aircraft. }} ===Tasmania=== [[File:Military Museum of Tasmania 2010.JPG|thumb|300px|The Army Museum of Tasmania]] * {{see | name=Australian Army Museum Tasmania | alt= | url=http://armymuseumtasmania.org.au/ | email= | address=Anglesea Barracks, Davey Street, Hobart | lat=-42.889 | long=147.325 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu Th Sa 9AM-1PM | price= | wikidata=Q4348847| wikipedia=Army_Museum_of_Tasmania | content=On the grounds of the historic '''Anglesea Barracks''' (established in 1811). This museum covers Tasmania's military history. While the barracks remains an active Australian Defence Force facility it is open to the public, and has interesting displays of weapons and several historically significant monuments. These include the only war memorial to have been erected by the many British Army units which undertook garrison duties in colonial Australia. }} * {{see | name=RAAF Memorial Centre Museum | alt= | url=http://www.raafatas.com/158198720 | email=secretary@raafatas.org.au | address=61 Davey Street, Hobart | lat=-42.886431 | long=147.326820 | directions= | phone=+61 3 6234 3862 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By prior arrangement | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This small museum in the offices of the RAAF Association Tasmania boasts a collection of air force-related memorabilia and a library. It is open to individuals and groups by appointment only. }} * {{see | name=Scottsdale RSL Military Museum | alt= | url=http://www.scottsdalemilitarymuseum.org.au/ | email= | address=32A George Street, Scottsdale | lat=-41.156914 | long=147.51665 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=11AM-3PM daily, or by appointment| price=Adults $5, children free | lastedit=2022-08-21 | content=The Returned and Services League club in the town of Scottsdale has a small museum which features an Iroquois helicopter used by the RAAF during the Vietnam War and a collection of other military memorabilia. }} * {{see | name=Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery | alt= | url=http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/ | email=tmagmail@tmag.tas.gov.au | address=Dunn Place, Hobart | lat=-42.882037 | long=147.331911 | directions= | phone=+61 3 6165 7000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM from 26 December until 31 March; Tu-Su 10AM-4PM at other times. Closed Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=Includes a small gallery on the frontier wars in Tasmania. }} ===Victoria=== [[File:Shrine of Rememberence.jpg|thumb|300px|The Shrine of Remembrance]] ====Melbourne==== * {{see | name=Australian National Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.aarg.com.au/ | email= | address=12 First Street, Moorabbin Airport | lat=-37.97619 | long=145.090808 | directions= | phone=+61 2 9580 7752 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10AM-4PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM, closed Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day | price=Adult $10, child $5, family $20, concession $7 | wikidata=Q4824444 | lastedit=2018-11-27 | content=The Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin Airport houses one of the country’s largest collections of aircraft, with over 50 examples spanning both civil and military aviation. Its exhibits trace the development of flight in Australia from early pioneering machines through to the jet age, with a strong focus on locally built and designed aircraft. <br />Alongside rare and unique types, many aircraft are undergoing ongoing restoration, reflecting the museum’s role in preserving Australia’s aviation heritage. Run largely by volunteers since its establishment in 1962, it offers an engaging, hands-on experience for aviation enthusiasts. }} * {{see | name=HMAS ''Castlemaine'' | alt= | url=http://www.hmascastlemaine.org.au/ | email= | address=Gem Pier, Williamstown, Melbourne | lat=-37.862 | long=144.907 | directions=at the end of Syme Street | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Weekends and public holidays only | price=Adult $6, child $3 | content=''Castlemaine'' is one of the 60 ''Bathurst'' class corvettes built during World War II, and the only one of the surviving ships in the class which is still afloat. She has been restored to her World War II appearance. }} * {{see | name=HMAS ''J7'' remnants| alt= | url=https://syc.com.au/about/governance/j7-submarine/ | email= | address=Jetty Road, Sandringham | lat=-37.943291 | long=144.994665 | directions=Access via the Sandringham Yacht Club | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The ''J7'' was constructed for the British Royal Navy during World War I, and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy after the war with five of her sister ships. The RAN could not afford to operate these submarines, and in 1930 ''J7'' was scuttled to form a breakwater at the Sandringham Yacht Club. Her hull now forms the centrepiece of the Club's marina. }} * {{see | name=HMVS ''Cerberus'' remnants| alt= | url=http://www.cerberus.com.au/ | email= | address=Cerberus Way, Black Rock | lat=-37.967487 | long=145.007890 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The monitor ''Cerberus'' served in the pre-Federation Victorian Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy between 1871 and 1924. She was scuttled in Port Phillip Bay off Melbourne in 1926, and her heritage-listed remains can be seen from the nearby shoreline. }} * {{see | name=RAAF Museum | alt= | url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/ | email= | address=RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook Road, Point Cook, Victoria | lat=-37.9299 | long=144.7490 | directions=Visitors aged over 16 need to produce photo ID to gain access to the base | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F 10AM–3PM, Sa Su and public holidays 10AM–5PM | price=Free | wikidata=Q4306366| wikipedia=RAAF Museum | image=RAAF Museum - Point Cook.jpg | content=The Royal Australian Air Force's main museum houses a large collection of aircraft as well as displays on the history of the service. }} * {{see | name=Shrine of Remembrance | alt= | url=http://www.shrine.org.au/Home | email= | address=Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne | lat=-37.8305 | long=144.9735 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM | price=Free | content=The main memorial to the state of Victoria's war casualties. It includes a museum with a large collection of photos and items, as well as temporary exhibitions. There are several other war memorials and sculptures nearby. }} * {{see | name=Victoria Barracks | alt= | url= | email= | address=St Kilda Road, Southbank | lat=-37.827722 | long=144.970401 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=Victoria Barracks was the administrative headquarters for the Australian military during both world wars, and remains an active Australian Defence Force facility. It is closed to the public, but a small collection of artillery guns is on display along its St Kilda Road frontage. }} ====Outside Melbourne==== [[File:Puckapunyal-Matilda-Hedgehog-1.jpg|thumb|300px|A Matilda II tank at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum]] * {{see | name=Army Museum Bandiana | alt= | url=https://www.alburywodongaaustralia.com.au/3471/the-army-museum-bandiana/ | email=bandiana.museum@defence.gov.au | address=Anderson Road, Gaza Ridge Barracks, South Bandiana | lat=-36.147279 | long=146.917060 | directions=Turn off from the Murray Valley Highway | phone=+61 2 6055 2886 | tollfree= | hours=By appointment only on Tu, Th and Sa 10AM-2PM. Closed on Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day and Christmas Eve to New Years Day. Appointments must be made at least 24 hours prior to visiting. | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=This museum covers the history of 12 of the Army's specialist corps, as well as the locally-raised 2/23rd Infantry Battalion. Not surprisingly, it boasts a large and diverse collection which includes tanks, trucks and artillery guns. }} * {{see | name=Fort Queenscliff | alt= | url=http://www.fortqueenscliff.com.au/ | email=museum@fortqueenscliff.com.au | address=King Street, Queenscliff | lat=-38.272256 | long=144.660284 | directions= | phone=+61 3 5258 1488 | tollfree= | hours=Can be visited only through scheduled tours, whose timing varies - see the fort's website | price=Adult $12, concession $9, child $7 | wikidata=Q3077989 | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=Fort Queenscliff was the headquarters of the network of coast fortifications established to protect Melbourne, and has been well preserved. A gun at the fort is often credited with firing the British Empire's first shot of the First World War. The fort remains Army property, and photo ID is needed to gain entry. }} * {{see | name=Gippsland Armed Forces Museum | alt= | url=http://www.gippslandarmedforcesmuseum.com/ | email=gafm@aussiebb.com.au | address=Lyon Crescent, Fulham | lat=-38.096608 | long=146.964859 | directions=at West Sale Airport | phone=+61 3 5144 5500 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sa-M 10AM-4PM | price=Adults $4, child $1 | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=A small museum focused on the military history of the [[Gippsland]] region. Its collection includes a former Royal Australian Navy Grumman Tracker aircraft. }} * {{see | name=Lake Brolga Flying Boat Museum | alt= | url=https://www.flyingboat.org.au/ | email= | address=Catalina Park, Willakool Drive, Lake Brolga | lat=-35.450918 | long=143.627584 | directions= | phone=+61 3 5037 2850 | hours=9AM-4PM (except Good Friday and 25 December) | price=Adults $15, child $8, family $30, concession $8 | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2018-10-07 | content=Lake Broga in northern Victoria was an important flying boat base during World War II. The museum features a former RAAF Catalina flying boat and a restored communications bunker. }} * {{see | name=National Vietnam Veterans Museum | alt= | url=https://www.vietnamvetsmuseum.org/ | email= | address=25 Veterans Drive, Newhaven, Phillip Island | lat=-38.520570 | long=145.325106 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM, closed from noon Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, New Years Day & Easter Friday | price=Varies, [https://vietnamvetsmuseum.org/buy-tickets see website] | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=Commemorates the Australians who served in the Vietnam War. Its collection includes vehicles and equipment used in the war, and a range of items donated by veterans and their families. }} ===Western Australia=== [[File:WA War Museum entrance.jpg|thumb|300px|The Army Museum of Western Australia]] ====Perth area==== * {{see | name=Army Museum of Western Australia | alt= | url=http://www.armymuseumwa.com.au/ | email=info@armymuseumwa.com.au | address=Artillery Barracks, Burt Street, Fremantle | lat=-32.0452 | long=115.7545 | directions= | phone=+61 8 9430 2535 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 10:30AM-3PM (last admission at 1PM) | price=Adult $12, children and concession $9 | content=This museum is focused on the history of the Army units raised in WA, and features large displays on their service within Australian and overseas. The World War I galleries boast a remarkable collection of items. The museum also includes an interesting collection of tanks and artillery guns. Adult visitors are required to show photo ID. }} * {{see | name=Aviation Heritage Museum | alt= | url=http://www.raafawa.org.au/museum/ | email= | address=Air Force Memorial Estate, Bull Creek Drive, Bull Creek, Western Australia | lat=-32.0482 | long=115.8562 | directions= | phone=+61 8 9311 4470 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM except for Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day | price=Adult $10, concession card holders $7.50, child $5 | content=Features a collection of 22 civil and military aircraft. }} * {{see | name=Naval Memorial Park | alt= | url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/multiple/display/61109-naval-memorial-park/ | email= | address=Corner of Rockingham Beach Road and Weld Street, East Rockingham | lat=-32.262515 | long=115.746118 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This park on a bay opposite the Royal Australian Navy's west coast base HMAS ''Stirling'' includes the fin from the submarine HMAS ''Orion'' and a gun turret from the destroyer escort HMAS ''Derwant'', as well as a number of commemorative plaques. }} * {{see | name=Oliver Hill Battery | alt= | url=http://www.rottnestisland.com/see-and-do/Island-tours/oliver-hill | email= | address=Rottnest Island | lat=-32.007719 | long=115.516147 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Prices vary - see website | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=One of the best-preserved World War II-era coastal batteries in Australia. A comprehensive overview of this and the other fortifications on [[Rottnest Island]] off the coast from Perth is available on [https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/heritage/fremantle-fortress-rottnest-island-ww2-coastal-defence-facilities-1941 Engineers Australia's website]. }} * {{see | name=Western Australian Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/maritime | email= | address=Victoria Quay, Fremantle| lat=-32.0548 | long=115.7393 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM-5PM, closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. Reduced hours on ANZAC Day | price=Admission fees vary - see the museum's website | content=Includes a display on the naval defence of WA and the preserved submarine HMAS ''Ovens''. }} ====Outside Perth==== * {{listing | type = see | name = HMAS Sydney II Memorial | alt = | url = https://www.hmassydneymemorialgeraldton.com.au/ | email = | address = Gummer Avenue, Geraldton | lat = -28.772 | long = 114.616 | directions = | phone = | tollfree = | hours = | price = | wikipedia = Battle_between_HMAS_Sydney_and_German_auxiliary_cruiser_Kormoran#Memorials | lastedit = 2026-03-23 | content = The main memorial to the 645 Australian sailors killed when the German cruiser ''Kormoran'' sank the light cruiser HMAS ''Sydney'' off the coast of Western Australia in November 1941. A guided tour of the memorial is conducted each day at 10:30AM. }} * {{see | name=National Anzac Centre | alt= | url=http://www.nationalanzaccentre.com.au/national-anzac-centre | email=info@nationalanzaccentre.com.au | address= 67 Forts Road, Albany | lat=-35.030370 | long=117.913234 | directions= | phone=+61 8 6820 3500 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Adults $24, concession $20, children $10 | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=Commemorates the first convoy carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the Middle East during World War I, which departed from the port town of Albany. The site also includes the federation-era Princess Royal Fortress, which can be visited free of charge. }} * {{see | name=Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt | alt= | url=http://www.exmouth.wa.gov.au/heh-naval-communication-station.aspx | email= | address= | lat=-21.816405 | long=114.165630 | directions= 6 km north of Exmouth | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt near the remote town of [[Exmouth (Western Australia)|Exmouth]] was an important communications facility for the US Navy during the Cold War. It remains in use for the Australian and US Navies. The facility boasts several huge radio towers, one of which was the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere at the time it was constructed. These can be seen from nearby roads, though the station is closed to the public. }} ==Respect== While Australians are generally relaxed about their history and many acknowledge its more unsavoury aspects, some people may react badly to criticism of the military or individual soldiers (especially suggestions that Australia did not pull its weight in a battle or war, or that soldiers displayed cowardice or committed atrocities). Strong criticism of the military on Anzac Day is widely regarded as being offensive. The Australian military is an apolitical institution, and it is generally considered inappropriate to make political demonstrations at military-focused events or involving war memorials. Additionally, saying the military is bad or even just talking about the military in public may be offensive to small minorities of people. Australian service people and veterans generally don't expect adulation, and some don't acknowledge having served in the military. ==Stay safe== [[File:PineGap-sign.jpg|thumb|300px|Access to some Australian Defence Force and intelligence facilities, such as the Pine Gap facility near Alice Springs, is highly restricted]] It is illegal to take photographs of active Australian Defence Force bases and other "prohibited" areas. However, this does not seem to be enforced for facilities which are open to the public or can be viewed from public land (for instance, much of the Royal Australian Navy's main base in Sydney can be overlooked from parkland and ferries), or at open days. If signs are displayed prohibiting photography or guards advise you to not take photos, you must put the camera away. Even bringing a camera onto "prohibited" areas can lead to prosecution. Due to security requirements, visitors to most of the military museums on active Australian Defence Force bases are required to show photo ID to gain entry. You may also need to book a visit and be escorted to and from the museum. The websites of these museums explain the access requirements, and should be consulted before visiting. ==Go next== Australians often visit the battlefields where Australian military forces fought overseas. The main areas visited are [[Gallipoli]] in [[Turkey]] and the former Western Front in [[France]], and many people also visit the Australian battlefields in [[Vietnam]] and some locations where Australians were held prisoner in [[Thailand]] and [[Singapore]]. Most of these areas can be easily visited by independent travellers, and specialised tours are also available. Trekking the [[Kokoda Track]] in Papua New Guinea is popular, but is not to be undertaken lightly. The other Australian battlefields in Asia are rarely visited, and many of the battlefields in North Africa and the Middle East are in countries which are suffering from political instability or civil war. The historian Peter Stanley's book ''A Stout Pair of Boots'' provides useful advice on visiting Australian battlefields overseas, and there are many specialised guides to the battlefields in France, Gallipoli and along the Kokoda Track. [[New Zealand]] has a similar range of military museums to those in Australia, and some sites relating to the Colonial-era New Zealand Wars have been preserved. {{guidetopic}} {{PartOfTopic|Military tourism|Australia}} suz9oa30zgf9fskufeb2hs2ply9vtex 5298519 5298518 2026-06-25T23:42:39Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Melbourne */ Updated listing for Australian National Aviation Museum 5298519 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|G_for_george_panorama_banner.jpg|The World War II-era Lancaster bomber G for George at the Australian War Memorial|ftt=yes}} Many [[Australia|Australians]] have an interest in military history, and there are many military museums and preserved historic sites scattered around the country. While few of the sites of the fighting between European settlers and Indigenous Australians have been marked, much less preserved, there are still a number of former fortifications and airfields. ==Understand== [[File:Chateau Wood Ypres 1917.jpg|thumb|300px|Australian soldiers on the Western Front in France during World War I. This was Australia's most costly war, with over 60,000 men being killed]] The only large scale war to have taken place in Australia was the fighting between Indigenous Australians and European settlers which began shortly after white settlement in 1788 and continued until the early 1930s. While over 20,000 Indigenous Australians and between 2,000 and 2,500 settlers are estimated to have been killed, there are very few monuments or memorials to the frontier wars, and no battle sites have been preserved. A team of academics is developing an [https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/ online map] of locations where battles and massacres occurred which may be helpful for visiting these sites. During the colonial era (1788-1901) barracks and coastal fortifications were established around the colonial capital cities. Britain stationed forces in Australia until the country achieved full self-governance in 1901, though it ceased deploying land forces to the continent in 1870. However, the Australian military continued to be deployed around the world as part of the British forces in its various wars, and any declaration of war by Britain was also taken to imply that Australia was also at war. There was virtually no fighting in and little near Australia during [[World War I]], but camps were established to train the men of the Australian Imperial Force before they were deployed overseas. Approximately 60,000 Australian soldiers were killed in the war, and small - and often very moving - memorials were established commemorating them in most towns and suburbs as well as in some churches, schools and workplaces. Larger memorials were also established in the centre of the state capital cities. These memorials have often been used to commemorate casualties of subsequent wars. ===World War II=== {{Seealso|Pacific War}} Australia's defences were improved in the lead up to World War II, with new coastal defences and strategic airstrips being established. Following the rapid Japanese victories in 1941 and 1942 the Australian Government and many Australians feared that the country faced invasion (though the Japanese had no such plans), and these defences were further improved. As the war turned in the favour of the Allies a network of airfields and major Army bases was established in Queensland and the Northern Territory to support the Allied counter-offensive in the Pacific. Many of these airfields were later developed into Australia's post-war network of airports, while others were abandoned; in some circumstances their remains can be visited, though are unlikely to be of much interest. ===Post-war history=== In the years after World War II most of the airfields and virtually all of the coastal fortifications were abandoned by the military. The focus of the Australian military shifted more strongly to expeditionary warfare during the Cold War period, with the country being involved in the [[Korean War]], Malaysian Emergency and [[Vietnam War]]. The Vietnam War was the largest of these conflicts, and is commemorated through a number of museums and memorials. The other conflicts have attracted far less attention. Since 1947, Australian forces have served around the world as part of peacekeeping missions. The Australian Defence Force has also seen combat in the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria since 2001. The modern Australian Defence Force operates from bases which are generally in or near major cities. Few of these facilities are open to the public, but some have small museums on their outskirts which can be visited. The Australian War Memorial, in [[Canberra]], is Australia's main military history museum, and also serves as a memorial to the men and women killed during wars and peacekeeping deployments. The Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force maintain a central museum, as well as a network of smaller museums. The Army does not have a central museum, but operates a [https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/museums network of specialised museums]{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} spread across Australia. There are also a large number of government and independently-run military history museums. Most towns and the older suburbs of the large cities have a small war memorial which lists the names of the locals killed in war: these serve as the focal points of the '''ANZAC Day''' dawn services on April 25 each year; these are listed on the [http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict Monument Australia]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} website. Some of the former coastal fortifications and barracks have been opened to the public. ===ANZAC day=== 25 April 1915 marked the beginning of the Battle of Gallipoli, as the Allied forces attacked Gallipoli, western Turkey, in an attempt to attack Constantinople and gain control over the Dardanelles. One of the units on the Allied side was the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) comprising about 65,000 men. This was the first significant campaign to involve large Australian and New Zealand forces. Ever since, the Anzac Day has been commemorated on 25 April in Australia and New Zealand a national holiday with dawn services (the landing at Gallipoli took place at dawn) at military memorials and parades. Commemorations are also held in many locations around the world with significant populations of Australians and New Zealanders. The gambling game two-up, popular among Australian soldiers during World War I, is legal at pubs around Australia only on Anzac Day. Anzac biscuits, popular with soldiers on the battlefield as well as in Australia at that time are eaten, and some opt for a "gunfire breakfast"; black coffee with added rum. ==Prepare== A huge number of books have been written on Australia's military history. Jeffrey Grey's ''A Military History of Australia'' is a well-regarded overview, and ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History'' is invaluable. Chris Coulthard-Clark's book ''The Encyclopedia of Australia's Battles'' provides useful summaries of the main battles Australian forces have been involved in, and includes the main engagements which were fought during the frontier wars. ''Sacred Places : War Memorials in the Australian Landscape'' by Ken Inglis discusses the establishment of these monuments and how attitudes to them have changed over time. There are also many books and websites on individual historic sites within Australia. Local histories often discuss the region's experiences during the world wars, and many of the towns in northern Australia have been the subject of books on their experience of the [[Pacific War|Second World War]]. While many of these works are self-published by amateur historians, the general quality is good. Virtually all military museums maintain a website. ==Go== {{mapframe}} ===Australian Capital Territory=== [[File:Australian War Memorial.jpg|thumb|300px|The courtyard of the Australian War Memorial]] ;Museums * {{see | name=Australian War Memorial | alt= | url=http://www.awm.gov.au/ | email= | address=Treloar Crescent, Campbell [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2805 | long=149.1491 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM, except for Christmas Day | price=Free | wikipedia=Australian War Memorial | image=The_National_War_Memorial,_Canberra.JPG | wikidata=Q782783 | content=Generally considered one of Australia's best museums, the Australian War Memorial (AWM) provides an in-depth examination of the country's involvement in war and peacekeeping. It is a world class museum, and includes impressive - and historically rigorous - displays of items and military equipment. The names of all the Australians killed during war or peacekeeping missions are inscribed on panels along the upper levels of the memorial's courtyard, and the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier is in the Hall of Remembrance at the northern end of the courtyard. The AWM occasionally holds open days for its large storage warehouse in the northern Canberra suburb of Mitchell (usually in September or October). As of Aug 2022, the AWM is going through a major, and controversial, expansion and many of its galleries are closed. }} * {{see | name=National Museum of Australia | alt= | url=http://www.nma.gov.au/ | email= | address=Lawson Crescent, [[Canberra/Acton|Acton]] [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2926 | long=149.1211 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM, except for Christmas Day | price=Free except for some special exhibitions | wikipedia=National Museum of Australia | image=National_Museum_of_Australia_(437595660).jpg | wikidata=Q1967496 | content=The NMA's galleries on Indigenous Australia include several small displays on the frontier wars. }} ;Other sites * {{do | name=[[Anzac Parade]] | alt= | url=http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=213&Itemid=202 | email= | address=[[Canberra/North Canberra|North Canberra]], [[Canberra]] | lat=-35.2851 | long=149.1451 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Anzac Parade, the street leading from Lake Burley Griffin to the AWM, is lined with memorials to each of the armed services, the major wars Australia has been involved in and several battles. }} * {{see | name=Australian Defence Force Academy | alt= | url=http://www.defence.gov.au/adfa/ | email= | address=[[Canberra]] | lat=-35.2875 | long=149.1631 | directions=Entry is from Northcott Drive, Campbell | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q371370 | content=While the grounds of ADFA are open to the public they contain little of interest to visitors. The ADFA library has an excellent collection of books on military history, and sometimes has small exhibitions of historic items on its upper level. The Academy's open day (usually held on the last Saturday in August) boasts interesting displays of current military hardware, including armoured vehicles and helicopters, as well as displays of military marching and infantry tactics by the cadets. }} * {{do | name=Mount Pleasant | alt= | url=http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/Things-to-do-and-see/Outdoor-and-nature/Business-Details-Page.aspx?ID=9002996&Title=Mount+Pleasant+Lookout | email= | address=General Bridges Drive, [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2984 | long=149.1582 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The hill which overlooks the Royal Military College - Duntroon and the nearby Australian Defence Force Academy is topped by the modest '''Royal Australian Artillery Memorial''', which includes two historic cannons. The '''grave of General William Bridges''', the first commander of the Australian troops at Gallipoli, is just off General Bridges Drive at the base of Mount Pleasant: Bridges was killed in May 1915 and is one of only two Australians killed in the war to have been returned home for burial (the other being the Unknown Soldier at the nearby Australian War Memorial). }} * {{see | name=Royal Military College - Duntroon | alt= | url=http://www.army.gov.au/Army-life/Army-careers/RMCD | email= | address=Duntroon, [[Canberra|ACT]] |lat=-35.2991 | long=149.1681 | directions=Enter via Staff Cadet Avenue or Robert Campbell Road | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The Australian Army's officer training academy was established in 1911, and pre-dates the city of Canberra by two years. Its grounds are open to the public, though access to most buildings is restricted. The '''[http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/Things-to-do-and-see/Landmarks-and-architecture/Memorials/Business-Details-Page.aspx?ID=9002743&Title=Changi+Chapel Changi Chapel]''', halfway along Miles Road, was constructed by Australian prisoners of war being held in Singapore during World War II and was moved to Duntroon following the war. }} * {{see | name=Russell Offices | alt= | url= | email= | address=Russell Drive, Russell, [[Canberra|ACT]] | lat=-35.2979 | long=149.1511 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3453492 | content=This large office complex houses the administrative headquarters of the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Defence. While none of its buildings are open to the public, visitors can walk around the area. The large '''[https://www.nca.gov.au/attractions-and-memorials/australian-american-memorial-and-sir-thomas-blamey-square Australian-American Memorial]''' is the only sight of any interest, however. }} ===New South Wales=== ====Sydney region==== =====Museums===== *{{see | name=ANZAC Memorial | alt= | url=http://www.anzacmemorial.nsw.gov.au/ | email= | address=Hyde Park South, [[Sydney/City Centre|Sydney CBD]] | lat=-33.87578 | long=151.21103 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM (except Good Friday & 25 Dec) | price=Free | wikidata=Q844556| wikipedia=ANZAC War Memorial | image=ANZAC_Memorial_Sydney_Australia_-_June_2007.jpg | content=Commemorates the citizens of New South Wales who served in war. It includes a small, but very high quality, museum. }} * {{see | name=Army Museum of New South Wales | alt= | url=http://www.armymuseumnsw.com.au/index.php | email= | address=Victoria Barracks, Oxford St Paddington | lat=-33.8857 | long=151.2236 | directions= | phone=+61 2 8335 5330 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Th 10AM-1PM | price=Free | lastedit=2015-04-21 | content=This small museum has a collection of items relating to Australian Army units from New South Wales. The guided tours of the colonial-era Victoria Barracks also offered through the museum on Thursdays are very interesting. Photo ID is required for entry. }} * {{see | name=Australian National Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm | email= | address=2 Murray St, [[Sydney/Darling Harbour|Darling Harbour]], Sydney | lat=-33.86936 | long=151.19864 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 8:30AM–5PM (6PM in Jan but closed 25 Dec) | price=Admission price varies - see the website | wikipedia=Australian National Maritime Museum | image=National Maritime Museum, Sydney (898337128).jpg | wikidata=Q844329 | content=This large museum has displays on the history of the RAN, and its impressive collection of ships includes the destroyer HMAS ''Vampire'', submarine HMAS ''Onslow'', patrol boat HMAS ''Advance'' and commando transport ''Krait''. }} *{{see | name=RAN Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/history/museums/ran-heritage-centre | email= | address=[[Sydney/Harbour Islands|Garden Island]], Sydney | lat=-33.8596 | long=151.23 | directions=Access is via the Garden Island ferry wharf, which is serviced by all ferries on the Circular Quay to Watson’s Bay route | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Closes when the last ferry of the day departs | price= | content=The Royal Australian Navy's main museum is at the northern end of the Navy's largest base. While it has a moderately interesting collection of artefacts on display, it does not include any preserved ships. The view of the base and the Sydney CBD from the hill behind the museum is worth the climb. }} * {{see | name=Royal New South Wales Lancers Lancer Barracks and Museum | alt= | url=http://www.lancers.org.au/ | email=enquiries@lancers.org.au | address=Lancer Barracks, 2 Smith Street, [[Sydney/Parramatta|Parramatta]] | lat=-33.817 | long=151.006 | directions= | phone=+61 405 482 814 | tollfree= | hours=Su 10AM–4PM | price=Adults $7.50, children $5.00, families $15.00 | wikipedia=1st/15th_Royal_New_South_Wales_Lancers | wikidata=Q4596064 | lastedit=2015-04-21 | content=This museum displays artefacts related to the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers (which remains active as an Army Reserve unit), with the main attraction being a small display of tanks and armoured vehicles operated by the regiment. }} =====Other sites===== [[File:Fort Denison, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales (483525) (9440423811).jpg|thumb|300px|Fort Denison]] * {{do | name=Sydney Harbour fortifications | alt= | url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nswcultureheritage/SydneyDefenceHeritage.htm | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=Between 1788 and 1945 multiple networks of fortifications were developed to protect Sydney Harbour. While all have now been decommissioned, many of the sites were preserved within the [[Sydney Harbour National Park]] and are open to the public. They typically occupy spectacular sites, and can be easily reached with public transport. }} *{{see | name=Bare Island Fort | url = http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/bare-island-fort-guided-tour | address=La Parouse | hours = tours run Sundays | price = $15 | lat = -33.9913958 | long = 151.2317035 | content = Colonial Era fortifications for Botany Bay are well preserved on the headland island at the entrance to the Bay. }} * {{see | name=Fort Denison | alt= | url=https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/historic-buildings-places/fort-denison | email=parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au | address= | lat=-33.855083 | long=151.225308 | directions=Captain Cook Cruises runs multiple ferries to Fort Denison daily from wharf 6 at Circular Quay - timetable available through [https://www.captaincook.com.au/sydney-harbour-cruises/ its website] | phone= | tollfree=1300 072 757 | fax= | hours=Daily 9AM-5PM | price=Ferry ticket: $20, Ferry ticket and tour: Adult $37.50, concession $33, child $29 | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=The most famous fort in Australia, Fort Denison occupies a small island in Sydney Harbour near the opera house. The guided [http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/fort-denison-heritage-tour heritage tour] provides an excellent insight into the fort's history. }} * {{see | name=HMAS Kuttabul (Fleet Base East) | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/establishments/hmas-kuttabul | email= | address=Potts Point | lat=-33.8633 | long=151.2247 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Not open to the public | price= | lastedit=2016-12-04 | content=Ships docked at the Royal Australian Navy's main base on the east coast of Australia can be easily viewed from along Mrs Macquarie's Road, the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo and from passing ferries. Both of the Navy's huge ''Canberra'' class amphibious assault ships are based here, along with around half of the force's frigates and several support ships. Warships from other countries also frequently visit the base. HMAS ''Kuttabul'' is not open to the public, but occasionally holds open days when visitors can tour ships. }} * {{see | name=HMAS Waterhen | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/establishments/hmas-waterhen | email= | address=Waverton | lat=-33.8405 | long=151.1943 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Not open to the public | price= | wikidata=Q5630658 | lastedit=2016-12-04 | content=HMAS ''Waterhen'' is the base for the Navy's minehunters, landing craft and several other small vessels. These ships can be viewed from the public walkway to the north of the base, as well as the nearby Berry Island Reserve. }} ====Outside Sydney==== [[File:Holbrook Submarine.jpg|thumb|300px|The upper casing of the submarine HMAS ''Otway'' on display in the inland town of Holbrook]] *{{see | name=Australian Army Infantry Museum | alt= | url=http://infantrymuseum.com.au/ | email= | address=Lone Pine Barracks, Hamilton VC Drive, Singleton Military Area | lat=-32.6291 | long=151.1752 | directions=South of the town of Singleton or off Golden Highway (B84) | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 9AM-4PM, closed on public holidays and 24 Dec-2 Jan | price=Adult $8, pensioners $5, children $3 | content=}} * {{see | name=Fighter World | alt= | url=http://www.fighterworld.com.au/ | email= | address=49 Medowie Rd, Williamtown, NSW | lat=-32.803 | long=151.850 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM, except 25 Dec | price=Adult $12, child/pensioner/senior: $10 | wikidata=Q27628331| wikipedia=Fighter_World | content=Near RAAF Base Williamstown, the RAAF's main jet fighter base. This museum houses various types of fighter aircraft previously operated by the air force. }} *{{see | name=Fleet Air Arm Museum | alt= | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/history/museums/fleet-air-arm-museum | email= | address=489A Albatross Rd, Nowra | lat=-34.9361 | long=150.5548 | directions= | phone=+61 2 4424 2179 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM | price=Adult $10, children free | wikidata=Q5458379| wikipedia=Fleet Air Arm Museum (Australia) | image=Exterior of the Fleet Air Arm Museum February 2015.jpg | content=This museum adjacent to the Royal Australian Navy's only air base features examples of almost all of the aircraft types to have been operated by the RAN, as well as a small number of Soviet and British types. The collection is well presented, and features some unusual aircraft. }} * {{see | name=Fort Scratchley | alt= | url=http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Fort-Scratchley/Home | email=fortscratchleytours@ncc.nsw.gov.au | address=Nobbys Road, Newcastle East | lat=-32.925934 | long=151.790997 | directions= | phone=+61 2 4974 2027 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-M 10AM–4PM | price=General admission free. Charged tours of the site are available, with varying prices [http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Fort-Scratchley/Tours-Events/Tour-Times as described] on the fort's website | wikipedia=Fort Scratchley | image=Fort Scratchley.jpg | wikidata=Q5472006 | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This fortress protected the coastal city of Newcastle from the 1820s until 1962. On the night of 7/8 June 1942 it fired upon a Japanese submarine which was (ineffectually) shelling the city. }} * {{see | name=Historical Aircraft Restoration Society | alt= | url=https://hars.org.au | email= | address=Illawarra Regional Airport, Albion Park Rail | lat=-34.5599932 | long=150.7899695 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=$20 | content=Although the major attraction is the 747 on display outside the building, there are many military aircraft here, and wealth of knowledge of them among those who show you around. Its collection includes one of the F-111 fighter-bombers which were the mainstay of the RAAF for many years. Access to the collection is via guided tours only; allow at least two hours. }} * {{see | name=Holbrook Submarine Museum | alt= | url=http://www.holbrook.nsw.au/AboutHolbrook/VisitorInformationCentreandSubmarineMuseum/tabid/421/Default.aspx | email= | address=Corner of Albury and Wallace streets, Holbrook | lat=-35.7181 | long=147.3165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM | price=Adults $6, pensioners $4, students $3, family $10 | lastedit=2017-07-30 | content=Somewhat surprisingly, the upper casing of the submarine HMAS ''Otway'' has been preserved in a park in the inland town of [[Holbrook (New South Wales)|Holbrook]] to commemorate the town's namesake, British World War I submarine hero Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook VC. The museum includes a recreation of a submarine's control room, and submarine-related memorabilia. }} * {{see | name=Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum | alt= | url=http://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/ | email= | address=69 Methven St, Lithgow | lat=-33.488997 | long=150.141401 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu W Th 9:30AM-2PM; Sa, Su and public holidays 10AM-4PM. Daily during school holidays | price=Adults $10, concession $7, children $5 | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=The Lithgow Small Arms Factory, Government owned until 1989 and now privately owned by Thales Australia, has been the main manufacturer of firearms for the Australian military since the early 1900s. The museum on the front of the site, not owned by Thales, includes examples of the firearms produced at the factory and a large range of prototypes which never entered production. }} *{{see | name=RAAF Base Wagga Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/Interact/Displays/Heritage_Centres/?RAAF-FZUA0LNFLVzUZ3PIwhDx4V7fX6dsdDlY | email= | address=RAAF Base Wagga, Sturt Highway, Wagga Wagga | lat=-35.1493 | long=147.4677 | directions=at Wagga Wagga Airport | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W Sa Su 10AM-4PM | price= | content=This museum has a five former RAAF aircraft on display, as well as exhibits on the history of the Air Force in the region. }} *{{see | name=Temora Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/ | email=info@aviationmuseum.com.au | address=Tom Moon Avenue, Temora | lat=-34.4271 | long=147.5151 | directions=at Temora Airport | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM except Good Friday, 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan | price=Adult $13, seniors $11, children $7. Higher prices apply on flying days | wikidata=Q7698212 | content=on the site of a World War II-era RAAF training base, the Temora Aviation Museum is home to an interesting collection of historic military aircraft which have been restored to flying condition. It conducts regular flying days - a list of upcoming dates is available on its website. }} * {{see | name=Beecroft Weapons Range | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-35.087344 | long=150.799442 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2021-05-12 | content=An active military range that's open to the public, home to the outer tubes, which were placed in defence for a Japanese WWII attack. }} ===Northern Territory=== [[File:USAF B52 Bomber (Darwins pride) at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre.jpg|thumb|300px|The nose of the B-52 bomber at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre]] * {{see | name=Adelaide River War Cemetery | alt= | url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2023510/ADELAIDE%20RIVER%20WAR%20CEMETERY | email= | address=Memorial Terrace, Adelaide River | lat=-13.23116 | long=131.11444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q38160721 | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=The main cemetery for military personnel and civilians killed in northern Australia during the Second World War, including as a result of the dozens of Japanese air raids on Darwin and nearby airfields as well as the little known bombings in Coomalie Creek, Adelaide River and Litchfield National Park. }} *{{see | name=Australian Aviation Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.darwinsairwar.com.au/ | email= | address=557 Stuart Hwy, Darwin, NT | lat=-12.4252 | long=130.8957| directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9AM–5PM, except 25 Dec | price=Adults $14, seniors/pensioners $10, children under 12 and students $7 | content=This museum has an interesting collection of aircraft, with its main attraction being one of only two American B-52 heavy bombers on display outside of the United States.}} *{{see | name=Darwin Military Museum | alt= | url=http://www.darwinmilitarymuseum.com.au/ | email= | address=5434 Alec Fong Lim Dr, East Point, Darwin | lat=-12.4080 | long=130.8196 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM–5PM, except Good Friday, 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan | price=Adults $14.00, children under 15 years $5.50 | content=This museum is focused on Darwin's role in World War II, including the 60 Japanese air raids on the then small town which occurred during 1942 and 1943.}} * {{see | name=Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-23.799000 | long=133.737000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1754535| wikipedia=Pine Gap | image=Pine Gap by Skyring.jpg | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (often simply referred to as 'Pine Gap') is an important intelligence facility jointly run by the Australian and US Governments. It is one of the most secretive locations in Australia, and it is illegal to enter the "prohibited" area which surrounds it or even take photographs of the facility from a long distance: these laws are strongly enforced. Oddly though, it sits under a frequently-used flightpath into nearby [[Alice Springs]] and can often be viewed from commercial aircraft approaching the town! Don't try to get any closer though. }} *{{see | name=World War II Tunnels | alt= | url=http://www.darwintours.com.au/package/wwii-oil-storage-tunnels/ | email= | address= | lat=-12.4674 | long=130.8451 | directions=Enter via Kitchener Drive in Darwin's CBD | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Opening hours vary: check the website | price=Adults $6.00, children $3.50 | wikidata=Q24887010 | content=These tunnels were built at great expense to store oil for the Royal Australian Navy in World War II, but proved unsatisfactory as water leaked into them. They were opened to the public in 1992 and include displays on the history of Darwin during the war. }} ===Queensland=== ====Brisbane region==== [[File:HMAS Diamantina (K377) River class frigate, 1,420 tons, Royal Australian Navy. (14382254962).jpg|thumb|300px|The former HMAS ''Diamantina'' at the Queensland Maritime Museum]] ;Museums * {{see | name=Army Museum South Queensland | alt= | url=https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/museums | email= | address=Victoria Barracks, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane | lat=-27.464668 | long=153.014469 | directions= | phone=+61 7 3233 4531 | tollfree= | hours=W 9:15AM-noon (pre-arranged tours only) | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=While the Army Museum South Queensland's galleries are closed, it conducts a weekly tour of the historic Victoria Barracks (an active Australian Defence Force facility) which includes an opportunity to view exhibitions in the barracks' original officers' mess. Bookings are required, and the names of participants and their vehicle registrations must be provided at least a week before the tour. }} * {{see | name=MacArthur Museum | alt= | url=http://www.mmb.org.au/ | email= | address=Level 8, MacArthur Chambers, 201 Edward St, Brisbane | lat=-27.46855 | long=153.02742 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu Th Su 10AM-3PM | price=Adult $6, seniors and children $3 | content=This museum covers the career of American General Douglas MacArthur, who commanded the Allied forces in the South West Pacific from Brisbane between 1942 and 1944 from what are now the Museum's premises, as well as Brisbane's experiences in World War II.}} *{{see | name=Queensland Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://www.maritimemuseum.com.au/ | email= | address=412 Stanley St, Brisbane City |lat=-27.4819 | long=153.0267| directions=next to the Goodwill Bridge on the southern bank of the Brisbane River | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM-4:30PM except Good Friday & 24-26 Dec | price=Adults $12, children $6 | content=The centrepiece of the QMM's collection is the former Royal Australian Navy frigate and survey ship HMAS ''Diamantina''.}} ;Other sites * {{see | name=[[Fort Lytton National Park|Fort Lytton]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=160 South Street, Lytton | lat=-27.4111 | long=153.1512 | directions= | phone=+61 7 3393-4647 | tollfree= | hours=Sundays and most public holidays 10AM-4PM; group bookings at other times by appointment | price=Free | wikipedia=Fort Lytton | image=Inside Fort Lytton 1a.jpg | wikidata=Q25182614 | lastedit=2026-02-24 | content=Fort Lytton was established in the 1880s to protect Brisbane from attack from the sea and remained an important military installation until World War II. It is open on Sundays and some public holidays. There are museums on site and guided tours are available on Sundays. }} * {{see | name="Nyrambla" | alt= | url=http://www.ozatwar.com/locations/21henryst.htm | email= | address= 21 Henry St, Ascot| lat=-27.43144 | long=153.06024 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=This large house in suburban Brisbane was the headquarters of the highly successful Australian-American Central Bureau signals intelligence organisation for most of World War II. It is '''not''' open to the public, and remains a private residence.}} ====Outside Brisbane==== [[File:Pilatus PC-6-B1-H2 Turbo Porter AN2340758.jpg|thumb|300px|A Pilatus Turbo Porter at the Museum of Australian Army Flying]] * {{see | name=Army Museum North Queensland | alt= | url=https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/museums | email=army_museum_nq@bigpond.com | address=Jezzine Barracks, Mitchell St, North Ward, Townsville | lat=-19.2401 | long=146.8027 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4721-1495 | tollfree= | hours=W F Su 9AM-1PM; Anzac Day 11AM-2PM | price=Free | lastedit=2016-04-09 | content=The Army Museum North Queensland covers the history of the Australian Army in the region, including the service of units raised or based in north Queensland overseas. [[Townsville]] is one of Australia's main garrison towns, and is home to a major Army base and a RAAF base. }} * {{see | name=Australian Armour and Artillery Museum | alt= | url=http://ausarmour.com/ | email=info@ausarmour.com | address=1145 Kamerunga Road, Smithfield | lat=-16.8502 | long=145.695 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4038-1665 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9:30AM–4:30PM except New Years Day, Christmas and Boxing Day | price=Pricing varies - see the museum's website | wikidata=Q19870908 | lastedit=2015-04-21 | content=In the hinterland of [[Cairns]]. This museum has "the largest collection of armoured vehicles and artillery in the Southern Hemisphere". Exhibits on display include rare Australian armoured vehicles, and better-known foreign tanks and artillery guns. }} * {{see | name=Caboolture Warplane Museum | alt= | url=https://caboolturewarplanemuseum.com/ | email=CabooltureWarplaneMuseum@gmail.com | address=Hangar 101, McNaught Road, Caboolture | lat=-27.078537 | long=152.984635 | directions= | phone=+61 7 5499-1144 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 9AM-3PM | price=Adult $10, child $5, seniors $5, family $25 | lastedit=2020-12-13 | content=Houses several airworthy ex-military aircraft (which can be chartered for joyrides) as well as static displays of aircraft and items. Near the Australian Vintage Aviation Society Museum. }} * {{see | name=Gladstone Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://gladstonemaritimemuseum.org.au/ | email= | address=1 Francis Ward Drive, Auckland Point, Gladstone (museum); Flinders Parade, Gladstone (HMAS ''Gladstone'') | lat=-23.833116 | long=151.253187 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4972 0810 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sa Su 10AM-4PM (HMAS ''Gladstone'' from 9AM-4PM) | price=Adults $6, concession $5, child $3, HMAS ''Gladstone'' tours: $5 per person | lastedit=2017-08-24 | content=This museum's collection includes the former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS ''Gladstone''. The ship appears to be at a separate site from the museum, whose collections are focused on the region's civilian maritime history. }} * {{see | name=Gold Coast War Museum | alt= | url=http://www.goldcoastwarmuseum.com.au/index.htm | email= | address=42 John Rogers Road, Mudgeeraba | lat=-28.0989 | long=153.3266 | directions= | phone=+61 7 5530-5222 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Phone for opening hours | price= | lastedit=2016-04-09 | content=The Gold Coast War Museum's website states that it has "one of the largest collections of Militaria in Australia". }} * {{see | name=Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum | alt= | url=http://www.maryboroughmuseum.org/ | email= | address=106 Wharf Street, [[Maryborough (Queensland)|Maryborough]] | lat=-25.538838 | long=152.705535 | directions= | phone=+61 7 4123 5900 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 9:30AM-3:30PM, Sa Su 9:30AM-12:30PM | price=Adult $5, child $3.30 | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=Includes a large collection of military memorabilia among the 7000 items on display. These include the only Victoria Cross medal awarded to a soldier during the Gallipoli campaign on display in Australia outside the Australian War Memorial. }} * {{see | name=Mount Isa Underground Hospital and Museum | alt= | url=http://www.undergroundhospital.com/ | email= | address=Joan Street, Mount Isa | lat=-20.732314896 | long=139.503343105 | directions=on the grounds of the Mount Isa Base Hospital; enter via the Beth Anderson Museum building | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=During World War II miners in the remote town of [[Mount Isa]] volunteered their time to construct an underground facility in the grounds of the town's hospital for use in the event of an air raid. Abandoned after the war, it was restored to its wartime appearance between 1997 and 2001. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Australian Army Flying | alt= | url=http://www.armyflyingmuseum.com.au/#intro | email= | address=Army Airfield, Oakey | lat=-27.4154 | long=151.7365 | directions= 4 km west of the town of Oakey; turn onto Museum Drive from Oakey Kelvinhaugh Road. | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 10AM-3PM | price=Adult $7, pensioners $5, children $2 | content=adjacent to the Australian Army's helicopter training school, this museum includes a collection of aircraft and helicopters formerly operated by the Army and RAAF.}} *{{see | name=Queensland Air Museum | alt= | url=http://www.qam.com.au/ | email= | address=Pathfinder Drive, Caloundra|lat=-26.7981 | long=153.1086| directions=Adjacent to Caloundra Aerodrome | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM, except 25 Dec | price=Adult $13, concession $10, children $7 | content=Has a large collection of civil and military aircraft on display }} * {{see | name=RAAF Base Amberley Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.raafamberleyheritage.gov.au/ | email=RAAF.AAHC@defence.gov.au | address=RAAF Base Amberley, South Amberley Road, Amberley | lat=-27.6462 | long=152.7044 | directions= | phone= | tollfree=1800 623 306 | fax= | hours=Daily 9AM–3PM on the third Sunday of each month (except Jan & Dec), and 9AM–3PM for pre-arranged tour groups on Tuesdays and Thursdays | price=Free | lastedit=2016-04-16 | content=This museum at the RAAF's main bomber and transport aircraft base has eight aircraft and helicopters on display. Visitors need to provide a form of photo ID issued by an Australian government agency to gain entry to the active RAAF base on which the museum is located, and will have their personal details recorded. It is recommended that visitors fill in the public open day registration form available on the museum's website before arrival. }} * {{see | name=RAAF Base Townsville Heritage Centre | alt= | url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/Interact/Displays/Heritage_Centres/?RAAF-FZUA0LNFLVzUZ3PIwhDx4V7fX6dsdDlY | email= | address=RAAF Base Townsville | lat=-19.262696 | long=146.766152 | directions=Enter via Ingham Road. | phone=+61 7 4752 1712 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu and Th 9AM-noon, Su 10AM-4PM | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=Includes indoor and outdoor displays on the history of the RAAF in Townsville during World War II and afterwards. No access requirements are specified on the Museum's website, but as it is on an active RAAF base it would be a good idea to phone the museum well ahead of visiting to confirm whether this is the case. }} * {{see | name=The Australian Vintage Aviation Society Museum | alt= | url=http://www.tavas.com.au/museum.php | email= | address= Hangar 106, Eagle Lane, Caboolture Airfield | lat=-27.078537 | long=152.984635 | directions=Turn off from McNaught Road | phone= | tollfree= | hours=W to Su 10AM-3PM (excluding Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day and Christmas Day)| price=Adult $15, children $7, family $40 | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2018-09-15 | content=Houses a collection of airworthy World War I-era aircraft (including replicas) as well as displays on early aviation history. Near the Caboolture Warplane Museum. }} ===South Australia=== [[File:HMAS Whyalla (J153), 2017 (01).jpg|thumb|300px|HMAS ''Whyalla'' at the Whyalla Maritime Museum]] ====Adelaide area==== * {{see | name=Army Museum of South Australia | alt= | url=http://www.amosa.org.au/ | email= | address=Keswick Barracks, Anzac Highway, Keswick | lat=-34.9463 | long=138.5799 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Su noon-4PM | price= | content=Located on an Australian Army base, this museum has displays on the history of the Army units raised in SA. }} * {{see | name=Fort Glanville | alt= | url=https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide/fort-glanville-conservation-park | email= | address=359 Military Road, Semaphore Park | lat=-34.851086 | long=138.477819 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Tu 9AM-2PM (booked tours only); 1-4:30 PM every third Sunday of the month between September and May (general admission) | price=Tuesday tours: $5, General admission Sundays: adults $10, children $5 | wikidata=Q5471231 | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The first of a network of coastal fortifications constructed to protect Adelaide, Fort Glanville was completed in 1882. It ceased to be an active military base in 1903, but was used during the world wars. The fort was restored during the 1970s and is in its original condition. Its website states that "It is the premier site in the state, and possibly Australia, for showcasing colonial era defences and fortifications". }} * {{see | name=South Australian Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.saam.org.au/ | email= | address=66 Lipton Street, Port Adelaide | lat=-34.8480 | long=138.5114 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10:30AM-4:30PM except 25 Dec | price=Adult $10, concession $8, children under 16 $5 | content=The South Australian Aviation Museum has 17 aircraft on display, and also includes exhibits on the history of aviation in the state. }} ====Outside Adelaide==== * {{see | name=Maralinga atomic test site tours| alt= | url=https://www.maralingatours.com.au/ | email=help@maralingatours.com.au | address= | lat=-30.166667 | long=131.616667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Price varies - see the company's website | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=During 1956 and 1957 the British military, in cooperation with the Australian Government, tested seven atomic bombs at Maralinga in the South Australian outback. The test range remains restricted land, but can be visited through the company Maralinga Tours which is run by local Indigenous Australians. The site is ''very'' remote, and Maralinga Tours' website recommends that visitors use a four-wheel drive vehicle due to the condition of the approach roads. The company also requires that visitors arrive the day before their tour. }} * {{see | name=Bublacowie Military Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Bublacowie Rd, Yorketown SA 5576 | lat=-34.923069 | long=137.612973 | directions= | phone=+61 8 8853 4379 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-05-28 | content=recommended to anyone interested in Australian military history. Getting there can be a little tricky however, as it requires for you to go on a little bit of unsealed roads. Also explains some of the history and details of the memorabilia. }} * {{see | name=Whyalla Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=801 | email= | address= | lat=-33.0196 | long=137.575 | directions=Entry through the Whyalla Visitor Centre, Lincoln Highway | phone=+61 8 8645 7900 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM except Good Friday and 25 Dec | price= | lastedit=2015-03-23 | content=This museum's collection includes the World War II-era corvette HMAS ''Whyalla'' which is displayed out of the water; the museum's website once labeled her "the largest landlocked ship in the state". }} * {{see | name=Woomera Heritage Centre and Missile Park | alt= | url=http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/Blogvorm/woomera-heritage-centre-aircraft-missile-park/ | email= | address=Dewrang Avenue, Woomera | lat=-31.198516 | long=136.825101 | directions= | phone=+61 8 8673 7042 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM between March and November, closed from December to February | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This museum in the service town for the vast Woomera Test Range includes examples of some of the many missiles and civilian rockets tested at the range, as well as a small number of aircraft. }} ===Tasmania=== [[File:Military Museum of Tasmania 2010.JPG|thumb|300px|The Army Museum of Tasmania]] * {{see | name=Australian Army Museum Tasmania | alt= | url=http://armymuseumtasmania.org.au/ | email= | address=Anglesea Barracks, Davey Street, Hobart | lat=-42.889 | long=147.325 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu Th Sa 9AM-1PM | price= | wikidata=Q4348847| wikipedia=Army_Museum_of_Tasmania | content=On the grounds of the historic '''Anglesea Barracks''' (established in 1811). This museum covers Tasmania's military history. While the barracks remains an active Australian Defence Force facility it is open to the public, and has interesting displays of weapons and several historically significant monuments. These include the only war memorial to have been erected by the many British Army units which undertook garrison duties in colonial Australia. }} * {{see | name=RAAF Memorial Centre Museum | alt= | url=http://www.raafatas.com/158198720 | email=secretary@raafatas.org.au | address=61 Davey Street, Hobart | lat=-42.886431 | long=147.326820 | directions= | phone=+61 3 6234 3862 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=By prior arrangement | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This small museum in the offices of the RAAF Association Tasmania boasts a collection of air force-related memorabilia and a library. It is open to individuals and groups by appointment only. }} * {{see | name=Scottsdale RSL Military Museum | alt= | url=http://www.scottsdalemilitarymuseum.org.au/ | email= | address=32A George Street, Scottsdale | lat=-41.156914 | long=147.51665 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=11AM-3PM daily, or by appointment| price=Adults $5, children free | lastedit=2022-08-21 | content=The Returned and Services League club in the town of Scottsdale has a small museum which features an Iroquois helicopter used by the RAAF during the Vietnam War and a collection of other military memorabilia. }} * {{see | name=Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery | alt= | url=http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/ | email=tmagmail@tmag.tas.gov.au | address=Dunn Place, Hobart | lat=-42.882037 | long=147.331911 | directions= | phone=+61 3 6165 7000 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-4PM from 26 December until 31 March; Tu-Su 10AM-4PM at other times. Closed Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=Includes a small gallery on the frontier wars in Tasmania. }} ===Victoria=== [[File:Shrine of Rememberence.jpg|thumb|300px|The Shrine of Remembrance]] ====Melbourne==== * {{see | name=Australian National Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.aarg.com.au/ | email= | address=12 First Street, Moorabbin Airport | lat=-37.97619 | long=145.090808 | directions= | phone=+61 2 9580 7752 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10AM-4PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM, closed Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day | price=Adult $10, child $5, family $20, concession $7 | wikidata=Q4824444 | lastedit=2018-11-27 | content=This museum has a sizeable collection of civil and military aircraft, including some rare types. }} * {{see | name=HMAS ''Castlemaine'' | alt= | url=http://www.hmascastlemaine.org.au/ | email= | address=Gem Pier, Williamstown, Melbourne | lat=-37.862 | long=144.907 | directions=at the end of Syme Street | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Weekends and public holidays only | price=Adult $6, child $3 | content=''Castlemaine'' is one of the 60 ''Bathurst'' class corvettes built during World War II, and the only one of the surviving ships in the class which is still afloat. She has been restored to her World War II appearance. }} * {{see | name=HMAS ''J7'' remnants| alt= | url=https://syc.com.au/about/governance/j7-submarine/ | email= | address=Jetty Road, Sandringham | lat=-37.943291 | long=144.994665 | directions=Access via the Sandringham Yacht Club | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The ''J7'' was constructed for the British Royal Navy during World War I, and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy after the war with five of her sister ships. The RAN could not afford to operate these submarines, and in 1930 ''J7'' was scuttled to form a breakwater at the Sandringham Yacht Club. Her hull now forms the centrepiece of the Club's marina. }} * {{see | name=HMVS ''Cerberus'' remnants| alt= | url=http://www.cerberus.com.au/ | email= | address=Cerberus Way, Black Rock | lat=-37.967487 | long=145.007890 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The monitor ''Cerberus'' served in the pre-Federation Victorian Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy between 1871 and 1924. She was scuttled in Port Phillip Bay off Melbourne in 1926, and her heritage-listed remains can be seen from the nearby shoreline. }} * {{see | name=RAAF Museum | alt= | url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/ | email= | address=RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook Road, Point Cook, Victoria | lat=-37.9299 | long=144.7490 | directions=Visitors aged over 16 need to produce photo ID to gain access to the base | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Tu-F 10AM–3PM, Sa Su and public holidays 10AM–5PM | price=Free | wikidata=Q4306366| wikipedia=RAAF Museum | image=RAAF Museum - Point Cook.jpg | content=The Royal Australian Air Force's main museum houses a large collection of aircraft as well as displays on the history of the service. }} * {{see | name=Shrine of Remembrance | alt= | url=http://www.shrine.org.au/Home | email= | address=Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne | lat=-37.8305 | long=144.9735 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–5PM | price=Free | content=The main memorial to the state of Victoria's war casualties. It includes a museum with a large collection of photos and items, as well as temporary exhibitions. There are several other war memorials and sculptures nearby. }} * {{see | name=Victoria Barracks | alt= | url= | email= | address=St Kilda Road, Southbank | lat=-37.827722 | long=144.970401 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=Victoria Barracks was the administrative headquarters for the Australian military during both world wars, and remains an active Australian Defence Force facility. It is closed to the public, but a small collection of artillery guns is on display along its St Kilda Road frontage. }} ====Outside Melbourne==== [[File:Puckapunyal-Matilda-Hedgehog-1.jpg|thumb|300px|A Matilda II tank at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum]] * {{see | name=Army Museum Bandiana | alt= | url=https://www.alburywodongaaustralia.com.au/3471/the-army-museum-bandiana/ | email=bandiana.museum@defence.gov.au | address=Anderson Road, Gaza Ridge Barracks, South Bandiana | lat=-36.147279 | long=146.917060 | directions=Turn off from the Murray Valley Highway | phone=+61 2 6055 2886 | tollfree= | hours=By appointment only on Tu, Th and Sa 10AM-2PM. Closed on Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day and Christmas Eve to New Years Day. Appointments must be made at least 24 hours prior to visiting. | price=Free | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=This museum covers the history of 12 of the Army's specialist corps, as well as the locally-raised 2/23rd Infantry Battalion. Not surprisingly, it boasts a large and diverse collection which includes tanks, trucks and artillery guns. }} * {{see | name=Fort Queenscliff | alt= | url=http://www.fortqueenscliff.com.au/ | email=museum@fortqueenscliff.com.au | address=King Street, Queenscliff | lat=-38.272256 | long=144.660284 | directions= | phone=+61 3 5258 1488 | tollfree= | hours=Can be visited only through scheduled tours, whose timing varies - see the fort's website | price=Adult $12, concession $9, child $7 | wikidata=Q3077989 | lastedit=2017-08-09 | content=Fort Queenscliff was the headquarters of the network of coast fortifications established to protect Melbourne, and has been well preserved. A gun at the fort is often credited with firing the British Empire's first shot of the First World War. The fort remains Army property, and photo ID is needed to gain entry. }} * {{see | name=Gippsland Armed Forces Museum | alt= | url=http://www.gippslandarmedforcesmuseum.com/ | email=gafm@aussiebb.com.au | address=Lyon Crescent, Fulham | lat=-38.096608 | long=146.964859 | directions=at West Sale Airport | phone=+61 3 5144 5500 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sa-M 10AM-4PM | price=Adults $4, child $1 | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=A small museum focused on the military history of the [[Gippsland]] region. Its collection includes a former Royal Australian Navy Grumman Tracker aircraft. }} * {{see | name=Lake Brolga Flying Boat Museum | alt= | url=https://www.flyingboat.org.au/ | email= | address=Catalina Park, Willakool Drive, Lake Brolga | lat=-35.450918 | long=143.627584 | directions= | phone=+61 3 5037 2850 | hours=9AM-4PM (except Good Friday and 25 December) | price=Adults $15, child $8, family $30, concession $8 | wikipedia= | wikidata= | lastedit=2018-10-07 | content=Lake Broga in northern Victoria was an important flying boat base during World War II. The museum features a former RAAF Catalina flying boat and a restored communications bunker. }} * {{see | name=National Vietnam Veterans Museum | alt= | url=https://www.vietnamvetsmuseum.org/ | email= | address=25 Veterans Drive, Newhaven, Phillip Island | lat=-38.520570 | long=145.325106 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM-5PM, closed from noon Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, New Years Day & Easter Friday | price=Varies, [https://vietnamvetsmuseum.org/buy-tickets see website] | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=Commemorates the Australians who served in the Vietnam War. Its collection includes vehicles and equipment used in the war, and a range of items donated by veterans and their families. }} ===Western Australia=== [[File:WA War Museum entrance.jpg|thumb|300px|The Army Museum of Western Australia]] ====Perth area==== * {{see | name=Army Museum of Western Australia | alt= | url=http://www.armymuseumwa.com.au/ | email=info@armymuseumwa.com.au | address=Artillery Barracks, Burt Street, Fremantle | lat=-32.0452 | long=115.7545 | directions= | phone=+61 8 9430 2535 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=W-Su 10:30AM-3PM (last admission at 1PM) | price=Adult $12, children and concession $9 | content=This museum is focused on the history of the Army units raised in WA, and features large displays on their service within Australian and overseas. The World War I galleries boast a remarkable collection of items. The museum also includes an interesting collection of tanks and artillery guns. Adult visitors are required to show photo ID. }} * {{see | name=Aviation Heritage Museum | alt= | url=http://www.raafawa.org.au/museum/ | email= | address=Air Force Memorial Estate, Bull Creek Drive, Bull Creek, Western Australia | lat=-32.0482 | long=115.8562 | directions= | phone=+61 8 9311 4470 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 10AM–4PM except for Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day | price=Adult $10, concession card holders $7.50, child $5 | content=Features a collection of 22 civil and military aircraft. }} * {{see | name=Naval Memorial Park | alt= | url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/multiple/display/61109-naval-memorial-park/ | email= | address=Corner of Rockingham Beach Road and Weld Street, East Rockingham | lat=-32.262515 | long=115.746118 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=This park on a bay opposite the Royal Australian Navy's west coast base HMAS ''Stirling'' includes the fin from the submarine HMAS ''Orion'' and a gun turret from the destroyer escort HMAS ''Derwant'', as well as a number of commemorative plaques. }} * {{see | name=Oliver Hill Battery | alt= | url=http://www.rottnestisland.com/see-and-do/Island-tours/oliver-hill | email= | address=Rottnest Island | lat=-32.007719 | long=115.516147 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Prices vary - see website | lastedit=2017-08-13 | content=One of the best-preserved World War II-era coastal batteries in Australia. A comprehensive overview of this and the other fortifications on [[Rottnest Island]] off the coast from Perth is available on [https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/heritage/fremantle-fortress-rottnest-island-ww2-coastal-defence-facilities-1941 Engineers Australia's website]. }} * {{see | name=Western Australian Maritime Museum | alt= | url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/maritime | email= | address=Victoria Quay, Fremantle| lat=-32.0548 | long=115.7393 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Daily 9:30AM-5PM, closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. Reduced hours on ANZAC Day | price=Admission fees vary - see the museum's website | content=Includes a display on the naval defence of WA and the preserved submarine HMAS ''Ovens''. }} ====Outside Perth==== * {{listing | type = see | name = HMAS Sydney II Memorial | alt = | url = https://www.hmassydneymemorialgeraldton.com.au/ | email = | address = Gummer Avenue, Geraldton | lat = -28.772 | long = 114.616 | directions = | phone = | tollfree = | hours = | price = | wikipedia = Battle_between_HMAS_Sydney_and_German_auxiliary_cruiser_Kormoran#Memorials | lastedit = 2026-03-23 | content = The main memorial to the 645 Australian sailors killed when the German cruiser ''Kormoran'' sank the light cruiser HMAS ''Sydney'' off the coast of Western Australia in November 1941. A guided tour of the memorial is conducted each day at 10:30AM. }} * {{see | name=National Anzac Centre | alt= | url=http://www.nationalanzaccentre.com.au/national-anzac-centre | email=info@nationalanzaccentre.com.au | address= 67 Forts Road, Albany | lat=-35.030370 | long=117.913234 | directions= | phone=+61 8 6820 3500 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price=Adults $24, concession $20, children $10 | lastedit=2017-08-08 | content=Commemorates the first convoy carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the Middle East during World War I, which departed from the port town of Albany. The site also includes the federation-era Princess Royal Fortress, which can be visited free of charge. }} * {{see | name=Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt | alt= | url=http://www.exmouth.wa.gov.au/heh-naval-communication-station.aspx | email= | address= | lat=-21.816405 | long=114.165630 | directions= 6 km north of Exmouth | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2017-08-12 | content=The Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt near the remote town of [[Exmouth (Western Australia)|Exmouth]] was an important communications facility for the US Navy during the Cold War. It remains in use for the Australian and US Navies. The facility boasts several huge radio towers, one of which was the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere at the time it was constructed. These can be seen from nearby roads, though the station is closed to the public. }} ==Respect== While Australians are generally relaxed about their history and many acknowledge its more unsavoury aspects, some people may react badly to criticism of the military or individual soldiers (especially suggestions that Australia did not pull its weight in a battle or war, or that soldiers displayed cowardice or committed atrocities). Strong criticism of the military on Anzac Day is widely regarded as being offensive. The Australian military is an apolitical institution, and it is generally considered inappropriate to make political demonstrations at military-focused events or involving war memorials. Additionally, saying the military is bad or even just talking about the military in public may be offensive to small minorities of people. Australian service people and veterans generally don't expect adulation, and some don't acknowledge having served in the military. ==Stay safe== [[File:PineGap-sign.jpg|thumb|300px|Access to some Australian Defence Force and intelligence facilities, such as the Pine Gap facility near Alice Springs, is highly restricted]] It is illegal to take photographs of active Australian Defence Force bases and other "prohibited" areas. However, this does not seem to be enforced for facilities which are open to the public or can be viewed from public land (for instance, much of the Royal Australian Navy's main base in Sydney can be overlooked from parkland and ferries), or at open days. If signs are displayed prohibiting photography or guards advise you to not take photos, you must put the camera away. Even bringing a camera onto "prohibited" areas can lead to prosecution. Due to security requirements, visitors to most of the military museums on active Australian Defence Force bases are required to show photo ID to gain entry. You may also need to book a visit and be escorted to and from the museum. The websites of these museums explain the access requirements, and should be consulted before visiting. ==Go next== Australians often visit the battlefields where Australian military forces fought overseas. The main areas visited are [[Gallipoli]] in [[Turkey]] and the former Western Front in [[France]], and many people also visit the Australian battlefields in [[Vietnam]] and some locations where Australians were held prisoner in [[Thailand]] and [[Singapore]]. Most of these areas can be easily visited by independent travellers, and specialised tours are also available. Trekking the [[Kokoda Track]] in Papua New Guinea is popular, but is not to be undertaken lightly. The other Australian battlefields in Asia are rarely visited, and many of the battlefields in North Africa and the Middle East are in countries which are suffering from political instability or civil war. The historian Peter Stanley's book ''A Stout Pair of Boots'' provides useful advice on visiting Australian battlefields overseas, and there are many specialised guides to the battlefields in France, Gallipoli and along the Kokoda Track. [[New Zealand]] has a similar range of military museums to those in Australia, and some sites relating to the Colonial-era New Zealand Wars have been preserved. {{guidetopic}} {{PartOfTopic|Military tourism|Australia}} c51dj2l3dxyowfkl8snflc7l8bivec7 0 135067 5298546 5275524 2026-06-26T01:29:50Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298546 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Broad Haven''' (Welsh: ''Aberllydan'') is a seaside village with a safe, sandy [http://www.blueflag.org/ Blue Flag] beach on the west coast of [[Pembrokeshire]] in west [[Wales]]. It is located within the [[Pembrokeshire Coast National Park]] and on the 186 mile [[Pembrokeshire Coast Path]] the and 870 mile [[Wales Coast Path]]. It is a base for [[Hiking|walkers]], [[wind surfing|wind surfers]], all [[water sports]], [[bird watching]] and [[geology]]. ==Understand== Broad Haven and Little Haven together form the Havens community. ==Get in== === By car === From [[Haverfordwest]] 6 miles along the B4341, or 6.5 miles from [[Milford Haven]] via [[Herbrandston]]. === By Bus === Broad Haven is accessible by bus ([http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=838,1629,839,844&parent_directory_id=646&id=11470&Language= route 311]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}) from [[Haverfordwest]]. A group of [http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=838,1629,839,1038 coastal buses]{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} operate along the [[Pembrokeshire Coast Path]]. These enable walkers to join and leave at various points along the 186 miles of the path and return to their starting point. ==See== * {{see | name=Little and Broad Haven Lifeboat Station | alt= | url=http://rnli.org/findmynearest/shop/Pages/Little-and-Broad-Haven-Shop.aspx | email= | address= | lat=51.773132 | long=-5.107114 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Little & Broad Haven lifeboat station.jpg | wikipedia=Little and Broad Haven Lifeboat Station | lastedit=2016-02-28 | content=With souvenir shop | wikidata=Q17984680}} ==Do== *{{do | name=Broad Haven North beach | alt= | url=http://www.visitpembrokeshire.com/explore-pembrokeshire/beaches/broad-haven/ | email= | address= | lat=51.783692 | long=-5.104959 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Broad Haven 29.JPG | content=Blue Flag beach }} ==Buy== * {{buy | name=Broad Haven | alt= | url= | email= | address=35 Enfield Road | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 1437 781974 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The local convenience store and post office stocks most essentials. There are a few gift shops and a watersports shop where equipment can be hired }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Galleon Inn | alt= | url=https://www.the-galleon-inn.com/ | email= | address=35a Enfield Road | lat=51.780181 | long=-5.102701 | directions= | phone=+44 1437 781157 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=The Ocean Cafe Bar & Restaurant| alt= | url=http://www.oceancafebarandrestaurant.co.uk/ | email=info@oceancafebarandrestaurant.co.uk | address=Saint Brides Bay View, Enfield Road | lat=51.781522 | long=-5.102304 | directions=seafront | phone=+44 1437 781882 | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content= }} ==Sleep== There are a number of guest houses in and around the village. * {{sleep | name=YHA Broad Haven | alt= | url=http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/broad-haven | email= | address= | lat=51.784436 | long=-5.10002 | directions= | phone=+44 1437 781688 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Anchor Guest House | alt= | url=http://www.anchorguesthouse.co.uk/ | email= | address=Enfield Road | lat=51.781057| long=-5.102335 | directions=seafront | phone=+44 1437 781476 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} ==Connect== ==Go next== *[[Newgale]] *[[Haverfordwest]] {{IsPartOf|Pembrokeshire}} {{usablecity}} {{geo|51.7808|-5.1013|zoom=15}} kwjdyggmfwm02mjv9i6ezzj6d5zko8u 1 137565 5298664 5224738 2026-06-26T09:31:10Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ new section 5298664 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=500|height=500|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I have decided to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 2) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) qu3ho0pdul067v651hhs30i9pvghxq9 5298665 5298664 2026-06-26T09:32:29Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ 5298665 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=580|height=400|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I have decided to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 2) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) g6rbnawa0qjgvrcvsb3ltut1ik0tfjf 5298666 5298665 2026-06-26T09:32:49Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ 5298666 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=580|height=400|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I propose to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 2) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) 5dq2l713jcfrz2pgs11fyyxv0igtdr9 5298667 5298666 2026-06-26T09:33:25Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ 5298667 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=580|height=400|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I propose to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 2) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. Feel free to comment on this proposal, and I will implement it accordingly. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) qwi50qi2e2cn4gcnze5k4h7ezv8xxfy 5298668 5298667 2026-06-26T09:33:41Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ 5298668 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=580|height=400|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I propose to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 2) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. Feel free to comment on this proposal. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) n49ldchcyzvw3pg5o3ayrdgrtanam0w 5298669 5298668 2026-06-26T09:38:03Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ Reply 5298669 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=580|height=400|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I propose to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 2) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. Feel free to comment on this proposal. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :Just to add, I also propose to slightly adjust the boundaries of [[Lower Assam]] and [[Upper Assam]] based on the number of cities in each region. So, the number of destinations for each region will be: :* Lower Assam: 7 cities, 6 other destinations :* Upper Assam: 7 cities, 5 other destinations :* Central Assam: 5 cities :* Karbi Anglong: 1 city :* Dima Hasao: 2 cities :* Barak Valley: 2 cities, 1 other destination :'''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:38, 26 June 2026 (UTC) k7r6p6lo566qo44zowhyj6zphy9yv8j 5298675 5298669 2026-06-26T09:52:41Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* New regions */ 5298675 wikitext text/x-wiki ==Moved from "Understand"== Moved from "Understand" because (a) we can't have two "History" sections, and there was another one (though not yet so called when it was in the introduction); (b) this contains encyclopedic detail but doesn't have Wikivoyage links that would make it easily usable by travellers. If someone would like to add some of this to the article with useful links that could help travellers find relevant archeological and historical sites, please do. ===History and archaeology=== Assam is also rich in history and archaeology. In the ancient times, the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa under at least three successive dynasties for more than 700 years and in the medieval periods the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahoms for 600 years were strong and sovereign kingdoms; no western powers including the great Mughals could invade and occupy the region till the British had come. Apart from several failed attempts by the north Indian kingdoms in the ancient times, the Mughals attempted invading Assam for 17 times, where only once they could get little success in occupying and controlling a major portion only for a small period of two years. Mughals were defeated and completely thrown out from the Brahmaputra Valley in the 17th century. However, Mughals had maintained control on the western territories (now North Bengal) of the Koch Kingdom and in some parts of the Jayantiya Kingdom (a tributary ruler under the Ahoms) - now in Bangladesh. Due to richness and self-sustained nature of the kingdoms in Assam, the rulers hardly attempted any outward aggression leaving only few instances. During the rule of Barman Dynasty of Kamarupa the king Bhaskarvarman occupied the then Gauda (later Bengal) along with its capital city Karnasuvarna in the 7th century; then a major portion of present eastern Bangladesh was a natural part of Kamarupa. In the 17th century, a plan for reoccupying the lost land of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and destroying the Nawab of Gauda by the Ahom king Rudra Simha was thwarted after the king's sudden death during his organisation of a large amry of 4 hundred thousand in Guwahati. With such a historic background, Assam possesses hundreds of historic and archaeological sites, where extensive research opportunities and tourism potentials are still left. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 21 September 2014 (UTC) == Moved from "Cities" == This is supposed to be a list of up to 9 cities only. One of these can be included to make the list reach its full complement of 9: [[Golaghat]], [[Nalbari]], [[Mangaldoi]], [[Barpeta]], [[Kokrajhar]], [[Goalpara]], [[Dhubri]] (Dhubury), etc. are other small towns and district head quarters. On the other hand [[Duliajan]], [[Digboi]], [[Namrup]], [[Moran]], [[Bongaigaon]], [[Numaligarh]], [[Jogighopa]], etc. are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with [[Rangia]] amongst them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:40, 21 September 2014 (UTC) :Actually, I was wrong about this: [[Assam]] is a bottom-level regional article, so every non-red-linked city should be listed in this article. I'm therefore copying [[Rangia]] back into the "Cities" section. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:59, 3 October 2014 (UTC) ::As of 2022, Assam is no longer a bottom-level region. I have grouped the destinations into three regions and by now the "Cities" and "Other destinations" sections should be cleaned up to cover only nine destinations each. @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]], what do you think about this? '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:31, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == [[Dispur]] red link == [[Dispur]], the capital of Assam, is a red link. Would anyone like to start an article about the city? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 08:05, 6 October 2015 (UTC) :It looks like Dispur should not be treated as a separate city, but as a part of [[Guwahati]], like [[New Delhi]] as part of [[Delhi]]. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 05:32, 16 August 2022 (UTC) == Why does Assam look like a giant lake on dynamic maps? == {{swept}} [[File:Screenshot 2023-06-12 at 21.00.42.png|thumb|300px]] Looking at https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2025886/history, I don't know what's caused it to appear as such depicted to the right. --<span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont; font-size: 14px">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">SHB2000</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta]])</small></span> 11:03, 12 June 2023 (UTC) :Isn't the answer to this question always something about an unclosed line on a body of water somewhere? I can't find the previous discussions, but I think we've had several of them. (I suppose it could just be a strange color choice.) [[User:WhatamIdoing|WhatamIdoing]] ([[User talk:WhatamIdoing|talk]]) 16:39, 12 June 2023 (UTC) == Listing imported from [[Monasteries in North-Eastern India]] == In Assam, many of the vihars or monasteries are situated at remote places that lack well communicable roads. Monks have to walk across the rice fields to get to their destinations. It is not possible to get to Mounglang, for example, without driving across the fields for some time in their total journey. * {{Listing|name=Mounglang|address=[[Assam]]|lastedit=2022-10-05|content=Ven. Gunawantha Mahathera is the oldest monk of North-Eastern India who came to India from Myanmar in 1952 and settled down at Mounglang in 1962. People of Mounglang owe much to him for his contribution to this then forlorn land and now a beautiful serene village, Mounglang.}} '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 11:53, 8 March 2026 (UTC) == New regions == {{Mapframe|width=580|height=400|group=map1}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42618,Q42485,Q24907599,Q42522,Q2574898,Q42197,Q2360266,Q101088203,Q41249,Q110661970,Q42779,Q2247441,Q2464674,Q321998,Q42461,Q42765|show=map1|fill={{StdColor|T1}}|title=[[Lower Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42686,Q42737,Q24699407,Q24949218|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T2}}|title=[[Central Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42473,Q42756,Q42479,Q24039029,Q42768,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42611,Q42517,Q22079836|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T3}}|title=[[Upper Assam]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q29025081|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T4}}|title=[[Karbi Anglong]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42774|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T5}}|title=[[Dima Hasao]]}} {{Mapshape|type=geoshape|wikidata=Q42209,Q42505,Q42542|group=map1|fill={{StdColor|T6}}|title=[[Barak Valley]]}} The existing regions of Assam have worked well. But the problem is that the [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] region covers distinct cultural/tribal areas like Barak Valley, Bodoland, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. So, I propose to split it into the following regions (from northwest to south): * Central Assam (5 cities) — part of the Brahmaputra Valley * Karbi Anglong (1 city [[Diphu]]) — hilly tribal area * Dima Hasao (1 city [[Haflong]], will increase to 3) — hilly tribal area * Barak Valley (1 city [[Silchar]], will increase to 2) — Bengali-speaking area, with memories of a language movement Yes, the latter three regions have single cities, but they are culturally very distinct from the rest of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley), and I will write content on all three soon. So the number of regions increases from 3 to 6. Feel free to comment on this proposal. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:31, 26 June 2026 (UTC) :Just to add, I also propose to slightly adjust the boundaries of [[Lower Assam]] and [[Upper Assam]] based on the number of cities in each region. So, the number of destinations for each region will be: :* Lower Assam: 7 cities, 6 other destinations :* Upper Assam: 7 cities, 5 other destinations :* Central Assam: 5 cities :* Karbi Anglong: 1 city :* Dima Hasao: 3 cities :* Barak Valley: 2 cities, 1 other destination :'''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 09:38, 26 June 2026 (UTC) 5gv9dpfouwftcmk76nraonkb2lfyqmx 0 142262 5298503 5189884 2026-06-25T20:21:34Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Postal history */ 5298503 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Letterboxes Helgö Ekerö banner.jpg|caption=Letterboxes and mailbox, Ekerö, Sweden}} Though the digital revolution has provided us with Wikivoyage and other on-line material, many travellers want to send or receive postcards, letters or packages through '''postal service'''. In a time when we drown in e-mail, a physical postcard from far away is usually more welcome than ever. Some people appreciate the postcard or envelope having a stamped stamp from an unusual location, and the local stamps may be nice regardless. ==Postcards== These used to be available in nearly every bookstore, every news stand, every five-and-dime and every corner drugstore; hotel and motel operators routinely distributed free, blank postcards which contained an advertisement for their inns. They are becoming a bit harder to find now that e-mail is cheap and postal mail is expensive. An independent bookstore may still be worth a try; souvenir shops at individual attractions and tourist information bureaus may either have blank cards for sale or know who does have a few left. In some countries, the post office may have blank postcards, but these tend to be generic; the images are of the country as a whole and not the specific town you're visiting. A few countries (such as the United States, for USPS First Class Mail) may allow postcards to be mailed at a slightly cheaper rate than other first-class correspondence. In some cases lower rates apply for postcards in domestic mail only and international postcards are sent at the same (higher) rates as international letters. The cards need to be within a specific size range (at least 3.5 x 5" and typically 4x6", printed on stock thick enough to not jam during automated sorting) to qualify. Turning one of your own 4x6" travel photographs into a postcard is possible, but the printed image will either need to be glued to cardstock or printed on heavier-than-standard cardstock so that it will go through the sorting machine undamaged. ==Stamps== [[File:RU091 10.jpg|thumb|Season's greetings in Russia]] {{quote|Avicii is featured on a Swedish postage stamp.</br>Everyone older than 30: "Who is Avicii?"</br>Everyone younger than 30: "What is a postage stamp?"}} Availability of postage stamps varies between countries. One cannot usually count on finding them at every grocery store, so stocking up on stamps on arrival in a new country might be a good idea. In the worst case, post offices are the only place to buy stamps — and they're often closed on weekends and national holidays. Some countries also have stamp vending machines. While they have the benefit of (usually) being available year round at any hour, the machine produced stamps are almost always of a rather bland, standardized design. <!--in Germany those machines give change in stamps... How is the situation elsewhere?--> Often stamps are available in shops that sell postcards, but they might not want to sell you stamps if you don't buy postcards there as well. A few countries operate franchised "postal substation" or retail post office counters at the back of chemist's shops or other retail businesses;<!-- likely US CA UK, not all rent PO boxes but these should have stamps --> hours of operation vary but are usually better than those at the main station. Sometimes, stamps can display the values or price you paid for them rather than whether the purpose you paid for them. So it is possible to stick multiple stamps valued at domestic rates until their total value matches the international rate needed to send the item you want to post overseas. However the downside is you may lose valuable space to write your thoughts down or even write the address. To be certain that postage stamps are available for mail on a trip, and they are of a certain design, visit the online shop of the postal service in question when planning for the trip. Many stamps are beautiful; if visiting a small or remote country, they make nice souvenirs at a low cost. Small territories like [[Montserrat]], if they issue their own local postage, often operate a philatelic bureau just to feed the appetite of foreign collectors for rare and colourful stamps. Most countries issue series or sets of stamps during limited time periods to commemorate individual events or famous people. These are usually available from any post office. If you purchased postage at a rate that guarantees air transport where practicable for the item, you may get a sticker, usually blue in colour, that says something like "Air Mail" or "Par Avion" or "Priority". Please make sure you stick it beside the postage stamp. Despite strong integration between countries in areas such as currency and immigration, the postal service is one area where the [[European Union]] is not integrated. Each EU country runs its own postal service, and stamps for one EU country are not valid in another. ==Postmarks and seasonal greetings== In many rich countries, postmarks/cancellations are now done mostly by machine. One can always obtain a hand-stamped postmark (or postal cancellation) by asking a postal clerk to cancel their postcard. A few post offices display [[places with unusual names|unusual or seasonally-themed names]] such as "North Pole", "Bethlehem" or "Santa Claus" which are a popular novelty when sending greeting cards. There are various schemes which generate "North Pole" or [[Christmas and New Year travel|Christmas]]-themed mail. Not all involve travel: * An obvious possibility is to travel somewhere like "[[North Pole (disambiguation)|North Pole]]" and send holiday greetings directly from there. In some cases, there will be a Santa-themed amusement park (one in [[North Pole (New York)|North Pole NY]] pre-dates the Disney parks by six years, with a postal substation in the theme park); in others, the holiday-themed town name is little more than coincidence. * A few souvenir vendors in [[North Pole (Alaska)]] have been known to sell a personalised "Santa letter", sent by regular mail with the seasonal North Pole 99705 postmark. Streets in this population 2200 town often have names like "Santa Claus Lane". * Less cynically, in some countries volunteers ensure a postal reply for Santa-related mail. For instance, a letter to "Santa Claus, North Pole H0H 0H0 [[Canada]]" or "Joulupukki, FIN-99999 [[Savukoski#Korvatunturi fell|Korvatunturi]], [[Finland]]" will be answered, no travel required. * Can't make it to the North Pole or even [[Bethlehem (Pennsylvania)]]? Post offices in many of these places offer a Christmas or holiday re-mailing service, where one can bundle a stack of stamped, addressed greeting cards into a package addressed to the local postmaster, who sends them onward. A similar holiday remailing scheme, operated since 1946 by volunteers, stamps a [[Loveland (Colorado)]] postmark and a verse on Valentine's Day mail "From The Sweetheart City." [[Romeo]] Michigan and [[Juliette]] Georgia have issued matching seasonal picture postmarks since 1994 as an implicit [[literary tourism|literary]] reference. Other options include [[Valentine]] Nebraska, [[Romance]] Arkansas and [[Loving]] New Mexico. If you travel longer distances by boat it is often possible to post mail on board, using postage stamps of the country where the ship has home port, or postage stamps of the country where you boarded the ship. On passenger ships it might even be possible to buy postage stamps, and perhaps there is a mail box. Mail is handed in at the ship reception desk or to the ship clerk. The postcard or letter will receive an auxiliary stamp with either the text ''paquebot'' (French for ship mail) or the equivalent in another language. Mail is then posted in first coming port and gets a local postmark. This kind of mail is collected by specialised philatelists. ==Sending mail== [[File:Brevlådor.jpg|thumb|A set of postal boxes in Sweden. The yellow box is intended for posts that will go outside the local area and the blue box is intended for posts addressed to someone in the local area.]] In most cases, the easiest way to send letters, postcards, and non-fragile items is to find a postbox and drop the item there. They may be scattered once every few blocks or quite rare. As these are obviously self-service, please ensure that you have applied the correct postage and where practical, included your return local address. Although you may drop your item off at any time, please take note of the cut-off times written on the postbox. Usually, if you drop the item off after this time, it will be collected during the next business day – but some postboxes may be emptied much more seldom. In addition, you may find different colour-coded postal boxes – in many cases one colour indicates that the item is to be sent to an address in the local area or postal code region while the other is intended for addresses further away, or one colour may be for priority mail. In many poor countries, there are no postboxes, or if they exist, they are not emptied. In such countries, it is recommended to hand postcards/mail directly to postal workers to ensure they reach their destinations. You may also arrange for your post to be collected from your accommodation, but this depends on the postal system you are using and the service you are availing. In some countries with unreliable postal services, such as [[Colombia]], locals usually use courier services instead of the post office to send mail. However, it can be very expensive if you want to send mail internationally. ==Receiving mail== A few options exist: * Mail may be held at a main post office as '''poste restante''' or '''general delivery''' for pickup at the counter; costs vary. In some countries this is free or almost-free, in others it's no cheaper than renting a '''post office box'''. * When staying at an address for a longer period of time, an address where you are not permanently registered, it is possible to use '''care of''' in the address. Mail should then be directed to "your name" '''c/o''' or '''℅''' "another person's name", either at a physical address or at a post office box. It is important that you have consulted the other person on this procedure and the other person has agreed to this. You might end up not receiving your mail if the person has not agreed. * The hotel (or, for those [[cruising on small craft]], the marina or yacht club) might be willing to accept mail – but is not required to do so. Unlikely to be an option unless you're in one place for a long time. They might delay the delivery. * Mail and parcels may be sent to a '''commercial mail receiving agency''' or private mailbox such as PakMail or UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. Many of these will blindly sign for anything that arrives, then either hold it for pickup or forward it at your expense. In the US, kinek.com maintains a list of local merchants who will sign for an individual parcel and hold it for pickup. Cost is typically more than a standard post office box ($20–25/month or $5/parcel is typical), but these are useful when dealing with mail-order merchants who insist on sending purchases by private couriers instead of as postal express mail. * A few commercial mail receiving agencies offer a '''mail scanning service''', in which incoming paper mail is scanned to e-mail for delivery on-line. Uptake of services like "Earth Class Mail" has been slow, due both to cost and the inherent lack of privacy. For short trips, it may make more sense to have your home post office hold your mail (or a friend check it) until you return, instead of forwarding it to reach you during your travels. You may ask the friends that check your mail to scan and email selected letters. Watch out for sensitive mail – another friend may write you things that the post-checking friend shouldn't read. If you are staying longer than a couple of weeks, it might make sense to get an address you may have post sent to and give it to those you wish (or have to) receive letters from. Remember to notify those you gave the address well in time before you leave for home, and check whether you can get post that for one reason or another arrives late, after you have left. ==Sending money== The postal services don't want to transport money, to minimise incentives for post robberies. In many countries, sending money by mail is forbidden. However, in some countries, the postal offices offer money transfers, where the recipient can visit a local post office to collect the wired money. This relies on the offices in both ends having suitable cooperating services – it isn't included in the international post agreements. Courier services offer similar, usually quite pricey services. As they work internationally, the both-end problem isn't there. == Parcel handling == A commercial mail receiving agent may be of assistance if you're '''sending baggage ahead''' in mail or courier parcels to avoid carrying it on airline flights. This approach has advantages and disadvantages; it avoids punitive extra charges which airlines now demand for excess [[Flight baggage|checked baggage]], but the parcels don't necessarily arrive at the same time you do. Business travellers sometimes prefer to send samples, tools and spare parts ahead instead of carrying them, as this encounters fewer [[border crossing|customs]] issues – the company has access to customs brokers to handle the paperwork and the voyager is spared the "you're here to work illegally?" responses that these items attract when carried across the border. In case you purchase far more souvenirs than expected, and it is impossible to place all of this in your luggage, consider sending lightweight and non-fragile items by parcel to your home address. This can be less expensive than booking extra luggage at the airport, and might save time that should have been spent waiting at the airport customs in your home country, if applicable. You might just send your dirty laundry by parcel, since clothes are lightweight and unsensitive to rough treatment. Make sure the parcel is well-packaged to avoid damages to content and packaging. You may even – if time and local postal regulations allow – send items by post that airport security will not allow you to bring aboard an airplane. In case you need something from home or want to send something back quickly or vice versa, consider employing courier services. They may be able to transport your item more quickly than the public postal services. == Other services == Depending on the country that the postal service is based in, its associated post offices may offer a wide range of services. They include sale of stationery materials, photo booths, facilitation of passport and visa applications, facilitation of SIM card registration, foreign currency exchange, bank services, drop off and collection on behalf of private courier services. However, even in countries where its post office offers such services, not all post offices will offer all the services listed – you need to ask or check the postal service's website to know which services are offered by which post offices. ==Courier companies== Courier companies are commercial entities that complement postal services where the latter are weak – and compete with the public postal services in some of their traditional roles. For ordinary mail and parcels they are usually more expensive than the post, but as the price structure is different, they may be cheaper in some cases. They may be a good option in areas where the postal service is unreliable or unacceptably slow, and in cases where the public postal service would be very expensive. The courier companies use special logistics to transport your item quickly, although several business days may still be needed. Prices depend on destination, and the size of the item (i.e. weight and physical dimensions). You may initiate your transaction by going online, filling out the forms, and later walking in to an accredited agent's store or having one of their delivery staff walk in to collect your parcel. Going to the agent's store is recommended as you will be given better guidance to ensure your item is delivered with less problems. The largest courier companies internationally are '''[https://www.fedex.com/ FedEx]''', '''[https://www.ups.com/ UPS]''', and '''[https://www.dhl.com/ DHL]'''. In some countries, perhaps most notably [[Japan]], you can use courier companies to ship your luggage to your next hotel. This is particularly useful if you are travelling long distance by train, as trains there usually do not have much space for luggage. Hotels are used to handling this, so enquire with your concierge; they usually have a stack of waybills available, and can collect payment on behalf of the courier company. In [[China]], courier companies are often employed by university students to ship their belongings from home to their dorms and vice versa. If you know that that you will be having a lot of luggage, sending your excess baggage by courier is almost always cheaper than paying for excess checked baggage, with the obvious caveat that your baggage will take longer to arrive than you. ==Postal history== [[Image:Postal Square Building.jpg|thumb|Postal Square Building, Washington DC]] Due to its historic role as a primary means of intercity communication, the postal service has a rich history. Among the points where it has left its imprint are: * Post roads, such as the 1800 mile [[Pony Express National Historic Trail]]. In the horse and stagecoach eras before [[rail travel]], the first usable all-season road into a community was often the "post road" used to bring the mail into town. * Railway Post Office (RPO) cars, in which mail was sorted en route as a [[enthusiast rail travel|train]] moved between towns and cities. * Royal mail ships and vessels, a designation proudly displayed by [[ocean liners]] in the [[steam]]ship era. A fast passenger ship in the [[RMS Titanic]] era could earn valued boasting rights for reliably getting mail to its destination on time. * Historic transport of valuables and currency by registered mail. This led to events such as the Great Train Robbery (United Kingdom, 1963) in which substantial sums of money were stolen by intercepting a Royal Mail train. Robbery of valuables travelling as registered mail was also a common theme in the [[Old West]]. There are entire museums devoted to postal history or philately: * [https://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/History+and+Heritage/Museum/ An Post Museum] in a corner of [[Dublin]]'s GPO in [[Ireland]] * [http://www.postalheritage.org.uk The British Postal Museum & Archive] in [[London]], [[England]] * [http://postalmuseum.si.edu National Postal Museum], Smithsonian Institution, [[Washington, DC]], USA * The Post Museum, above the Central Post Office at Al-Ataba Square, [[Cairo/Downtown#See|Cairo]], [[Egypt]] * Cuban Postal Museum, ground floor of the Ministry of Informatics and Communication, near Revolution Square [[Havana]], [[Cuba]]. * [http://www.townofyork.com First Toronto Post Office], 260 Adelaide St E, [[Toronto/Downtown East|Toronto]], [[Ontario|Upper Canada]]. A British Royal Mail building from 1834, today a museum with a few postal and local history exhibits. Visitors may send folded-sheet letters using old-fashioned quill pens and sealing wax. * [http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk Bath Postal Museum] in [[Bath]], UK * [http://postalhistoryfoundation.org Postal History Foundation]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, [[Tucson]], [[Arizona]], USA * A postal museum is included in [[Charleston (South Carolina)|Charleston]]'s [http://www.charlestonmuseummile.org/Museums.html Museum Mile] in [[South Carolina]], USA * [http://postalhistorymuseum.org Delphos Museum of Postal History] (open to groups by appointment) in Delphos, Ohio, USA * [http://spellman.org Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History] in [[Weston (Massachusetts)]], USA * [https://www.postmuseum.se Postmuseum] in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden – focuses on the evolution of postal services in Sweden * '''Palacio Postal''' in [[Mexico City/Centro]], historic main post office with a postal museum and some impressively opulent architecture (This list is not comprehensive; see also [[w:postal museum|postal museum]] and [[w:list of philatelic museums|list of philatelic museums]] on Wikipedia.) In many cities, a current or former main post office building is an architectural landmark or appears on a national historic register. One example would be the main [[New York City]] post office (8th Ave at 34th Street, postcode 10001) with the famous inscription "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." As a seasonal custom, holiday mail sent as in the closing scenes of "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947 film) is answered with the aid of volunteers. Because postal mail readily migrated to each new form of transportation, from pony express to airmail, in search of faster time to destination, its history extensively overlaps that preserved in other museums and archives such as [[heritage railway]] museums, marine museums and transportation museums. In some remote communities, the only scheduled passenger service is still aboard the '''bush plane''' which provides or used to provide scheduled mail delivery; in the 1980s, a '''post bus''' was a bright-red Royal Mail passenger van which carried people and mail to remote [[Scotland|Scottish villages]] unable to sustain a stand-alone passenger coach service. In more modern times even high speed rail was used to deliver mail with the French TGV la Poste. While they are no longer in use, they are not found in a museum (yet). {{outlinetopic}} {{PartOfTopic|Communication}} mu0despjlnrwp2ryj7u4jdmu04hhn99 1 142553 5298647 5297997 2026-06-26T08:27:02Z LPfi 79572 /* Requested articles */ Finland: other developments than wars, but is it worthwhile? 5298647 wikitext text/x-wiki == Asia or Middle East? == I think we should merge the content of "Middle East" to Asia and Africa as relevant. If we are going to have a separate category for "Middle East", we also need separate categories for "Indian Subcontinent", "East Asia" and "Southeast Asia". We may eventually want such regionalization, but not yet, in my opinion. What do you all think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 03:47, 23 April 2015 (UTC) :Culturally? The history of the various Abrahamic religions has little in common with that of China or the far East. [[User:K7L|K7L]] ([[User talk:K7L|talk]]) 04:57, 23 April 2015 (UTC) ::Nor does Zulu culture have much in common with the Arab culture of Egypt, but they're all Africans. I don't see the point in removing only the Middle East from a neat division of continents. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:45, 23 April 2015 (UTC) :::Well, let's have a simple geographic hierarchy based on the "traditional" continents and once that gets to unwieldy, we can ask the question "what is a continent?" once more... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 11:20, 23 April 2015 (UTC) ::::That's what I think. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:10, 23 April 2015 (UTC) :::::Since the Abrahamic religions all started in Asia, not Africa, does anyone want to make a Federal case over moving the content in "Middle East" to "Asia"? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:11, 23 April 2015 (UTC) :::::::Do as thou must! [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 16:31, 23 April 2015 (UTC) ::::::::I will wait to see if there are strenuous objections from others. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:32, 23 April 2015 (UTC) ::::::::: Asia is so big, it's hard to describe the continent in general terms. But so far, the article is just an outline. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 15:59, 24 April 2015 (UTC) ::::::::::Exactly. So can we use only continents for now? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:18, 24 April 2015 (UTC) :::::::::::Can I proceed? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:42, 30 April 2015 (UTC) :::::::::::: Go ahead. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 01:09, 30 April 2015 (UTC) ==Requested articles== From [[Wikivoyage:Requested articles]] * [[20th-century Finland]] including the independence movement, Civil War, Winter War ([[World War II in Europe]]), and Cold War ([[Cold War Europe]]). Many locations would be in today's Russia :This article should be called "20th-century Finland" with a hyphen if it's created. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 11:23, 24 June 2026 (UTC) :: I changed the redlink. It shouldn't concentrate on wars. Other important developments include the universal suffrage, the transition to a welfare state (starting after the Civil War, actively developed during the 1960s in cooperation between the Agrarian Party and Social Democrats), the right-wing movements from the Civil War until WWII, the Cold War politics, urbanisation and industrialisation especially from the 1950s to the 1970s, education reforms especially those of the 1960s (expansion of university attendance, the 9-year compulsory school, citizens' institutes, music institutes & al), immigration politics (from the Chileans of 1973 to Finland opening up in the 1990s, with a remark on older minorities), Nordic cooperation, EFTA and EU (as part of East–West orientation and otherwise), the rise of the True Finns. Is there a point of such an article or should it be left to Wikipedia? Travellers and immigrants would be served by getting some understanding of how Finland came to be what it is, but I don't think there are too many sights related to these developments. Of course, small nice museums could be pointed out, such as [[Ingå#Historical remains of Porkkala parenthesis|Igor]] or Pilevesi#Q11875597|Lepikon torppa]], on few mainstream itineraries. Still, there are few people whom I would recommend an itinerary based on 20th-century Finnish history. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:26, 26 June 2026 (UTC) * [[Al Andalus]] / [[Muslim Spain]] / [[Spain in the Middle Ages]] / [[Medieval Spain]] covering the time from the first Muslim invasion to the end of Muslim reign in 1492. :: Mentioned in [[Islamic Golden Age]] * [[Ancient Rome tour]]; a selective itinerary of ancient ruins in [[Rome]], not limited to [[Rome/Colosseo]], including to the most important and practical ones to visit ::There are ancient ruins all over Rome, and then if we want to include nearby places, there's even more. But a '''selective''' itinerary would presumably include only the most obvious sites, such as the Forum, the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum, and maybe the Villa Adriana outside of town and a couple of other sites. I suppose that would be useful to total neophyte travelers to Rome who don't know anything about the most famous sights in Rome, but if we decide to make it more interesting, we should include places that are not at all ruins but have an ancient history, such as the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the [[w:Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano]], which was built over a mithraeum, and Castel Sant'Angelo, which was Hadrian's Mausoleum. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:28, 7 January 2018 (UTC) * [[Prehistoric Africa]] / [[Origins of mankind]] *: See also [[Africa#From the dawn of humanity to the first empires]], [[In the footsteps of explorers#Out of Africa]], [[Ancient African nations]] * [[Automobile history]]/[[Automotive history]]/[[Veteran cars]]/[[Antique cars]]; compare [[Aviation history]]. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 15:00, 15 March 2020 (UTC) * [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] of [[Thailand]] * [[British history]] / [[History of the British Isles]] before the Industrial Revolution; possibly followed up by [[Industrial Britain]] ::*Apart from the [[industrial revolution]] (which is obviously important and started in Britain after all) I don't see, why Britain should get a "British history" while Germany France and Italy don't. The US is a special case in being a) ''huge'' and having b) a lot of reenactment and "living" touchable history (e.g. Civil War battle sites). I just don't see that for Britain. Or if it's there it is not any stronger than in other European countries [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 22:00, 29 May 2015 (UTC) :::*Britain is the seat of the mightiest empire that ever ruled the waves. Its colonial history reaches pretty much every continent. Just because the establishment of a certain problematic thirteen colonies ended in an embarrassing armed revolt, that's no reason to write off an entire once-massive empire which left a huge imprint on Western history. [[User:K7L|K7L]] ([[User talk:K7L|talk]]) 23:46, 29 May 2015 (UTC) :::: A good historical travel topic would have a familiar theme, requested by many readers, but also contain information about less-known, but interesting and related venues. For example, many foreign travellers who visit the Nordic countries are curious about [[Vikings]], and the topic can with ease be expanded to [[Vikings and the Old Norse]], to include less-known Nordic prehistory, such as Bronze Age petroglyphs. The same goes for themes such as the [[Old West]]. One history article per country might not be the way to go; instead we could try broader themes, such as [[European monarchies]], [[Renaissance art and architecture]], or other topics which can be presumed to have a specific fan-base. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 23:58, 29 May 2015 (UTC) :::::Yes the British empire was kind of a big deal (if only for popularizing [[Cricket]], [[Rugby football]] and [[soccer| scoreless draw ball]]), but most of the "fun parts" of that happened in the colonies. Sure it was mostly steered (indirectly) from Buckingham and/or Westminster, but apart from a museum here or a column there, it hasn't left as big a mark on Britain as the industrialization (which of course was only possible because of cheap raw materials from the [former] colonies). Now in a series of [[Indian history]] the [[British Raj]] would surely be of interest. Not least because of the princely states, or Rudyard Kipling. [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 11:19, 30 May 2015 (UTC) ::::::Britain itself has had a very interesting and tumultuous history, from the ancient Celtic period to the Roman conquest, the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, the Norman conquest, the period when it was the jewel in the crown of the Pope (or whatever metaphor they used to show that England was the most loyal Catholic country), the departure of King Henry VIII's Britain from Roman Catholicism, the gradual increase in the power of and popular influence over Parliament, the Industrial Revolution, the world wars, the enrichment of British culture through immigration from the former colonies. And of course the English conquest of Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the continuation of British rule over Northern Ireland are all significant. I'll bet there are loads of pointedly historical buildings, monuments and battlefields that could be included in a "History of Britain" article that would be plenty interesting for someone to visit. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 11:52, 30 May 2015 (UTC) ::::::::I am not arguing against any of that but a) I think that we shouldn't have a blanket history of countries, lest we become WP. and b) other countries in Europe have the same amount of history. Even relatively minor places like [[Regensburg]] had the ''immerwährender Reichstag'' (perpetual imperial diet) when Wall Street was still the place in Nieuw Amsterdam where slaves were sold. If we get useful groupings relevant to travel, e.g. [[Ancient Catholic Churches and Monasteries in England]] or [[Celtic heritage in Britain]] or the very useful [[Industrial revolution]] (or maybe [[Industrial revolution in Britain]]) I have nothing against a series on British history. But for some historical eras (such as the [[Roman Empire]]) grouping by country just doesn't make much sense. Imho we could also group the [[old towns]] and make an article on [[medieval and early modern old towns in Europe]] that deals with their history and role in early capitalism (mentioning stuff like the Fugger in [[Augsburg]] or the Medici in [[Florence]]). I mean for better or worse (usually worse) the history of the 20th century are a complicated intersection of [[German history]] and [[French history]] with some [[Polish history]] thrown in in the most tragic moments of [[World War II in Europe]]. But I don't think a blanket history like that would do much good. Rather have a travel topic on [[Industrialization of Germany]] that includes sights such as "Zeche Zollverein" (world heritage site) or the former headquarters and employee housing of Krupp. I'm not too knowledgeable on the history of what is now France, and we already deal with the [[Napoleonic wars]] (which we could expand to include the revolutionary years as well), but I am sure that there is stuff enough to fill one or two articles on French history without resorting to the (imho) all smothering blanket. Best wishes [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 12:14, 30 May 2015 (UTC) :::::::::I get what you're saying. It's not the British history is an invalid topic, it's that it's too broad a topic for a manageable article. Am I understanding you correctly? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 12:58, 30 May 2015 (UTC) ::::::::::Yes. Also, other European countries (especially Germany Italy and France) have a similar situation. [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 18:24, 30 May 2015 (UTC) :::::::::::I understand. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:27, 30 May 2015 (UTC) : [[Industrial Britain]] is created. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 12:03, 27 September 2015 (UTC) * [[Canadian history]] * [[Cape to Cairo]] :: We already have [[Alexandria to Cape Town by train and bus]] and [[Cairo to Nairobi overland]] - I'd suggest reworking those into the desired article might be a better option than creating yet another article for this general route. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &bull; 23:36, 12 July 2015 (UTC) * [[Celts]] / [[Celtic culture]] * [[Classical music]], with destinations in [[Austria]], [[Germany]], [[Italy]], [[Russia]] etc ::And definitely including France, but some other countries belong in the "etc." ([[Hungary]] has a beautiful opera house and a beautiful conservatory of music, Zeneakademi Liszt Ferenc, if I spelled that right). And it would have to be called "European (or 'Western') classical music" to distinguish it from classical traditions in India, the Arab world, China, Japan, etc. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:01, 9 August 2015 (UTC) * [[Classical Arabia]]; Mecca, Medina, and what is left of cities such as [[Baghdad]] and [[Damascus]]. Some overlap with [[Islam]] and [[Ottoman Empire]]. ::I take it, Baghdad and Damascus were considered part of Arabia in those days? Or are you simply talking about the days of the great Islamic Caliphates, which pretty quickly controlled land from the Maghreb and Spain through Central Asia to India? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:45, 31 August 2015 (UTC) * [[Civil Rights movement tour]] with some of the destinations of [[Post-war United States]] **Some destinations are listed at [[African-American history]] *** See [[Black Belt]] * [[Colonial Caribbean]]; including explorers, slavery, emancipation and revolution, and of course pirates * [[Colonial India]] * [[Crimean War]]: Crimea is an appealing tourist destination in its own right, though not safe to visit as of 2023. The Crimean War was one of the most important conflicts between Napoleon and WWI, pioneering medicine, photography, and other technologies * [[Finnish Stockholm]]; a tour of Sweden's largest ethnic minority * [[Golden Age of Physics]] featuring the years from 1905 to 1945, with breakthroughs in relativity, quantum physics and particle physics which were applied in World War II and the following decades * [[History of Japan]] / [[Japanese history]] / [[Classical Japan]] ::Too broad imho. How could we narrow it down? [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 18:52, 7 June 2015 (UTC) ::: Among the most decisive turning points in Japanese history, are the 1854 Kanagawa Treaty, and the end of World War II. We could start an article for pre-1854 Japanese history; if it grows out of hand, we could consider a split. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 21:25, 7 June 2015 (UTC) ::::That sounds like a good idea. [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 22:46, 7 June 2015 (UTC) * [[Cold War]], various historic sites. Only a minority are likely to be publicly accessible and there is a bit of overlap with [[nuclear tourism]] and the main [[military tourism]] topic. :: Most of it is covered by [[Cold War Europe]], [[Post-war United States]], [[Soviet Union]], [[Korean War]] and [[Indochina Wars]]. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 11:18, 9 August 2016 (UTC) * [[Dutch Golden Age]]. Might go together with [[Northern Renaissance]], featuring early modern destinations in Benelux, Germany, the British Isles and Scandinavia. We have a huge gap between [[Medieval Europe]] and [[industrial tourism]] * [[Hellenic kingdoms]] - filling the gap between [[Ancient Greece]]/[[Persian Empire]]/[[Ancient Egypt]] and [[Roman Empire]] * [[Hippie Tour]] / [[Flower Power Tour]] in [[Bay Area (California)]] :: We do have [[Hippie Trail]], but that is something quite different. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 14:40, 31 May 2015 (UTC) :::The proposed new article could also be broader within the US than just the Bay Area, but I'm no expert on the locations of former and current Hippie communes, etc. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:02, 9 August 2015 (UTC) * [[Great Migration]]; commemorating the transfer of African-American culture from South to North * [[Historic monuments]] ::Very broad. Would this be a sort of "splash page" article with links to subsets of such monuments by period and/or region? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 13:04, 9 August 2015 (UTC) * [[Holy Roman Empire]] ::Isn't that sort of too broad as well? And also imho we should always look at those issues trhough the lense of travel first. [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 00:25, 8 June 2015 (UTC) :::Depends. I think it could be, but Carolingian architecture is great. I'm not sure there's enough of it remaining for an entire topic, though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 00:52, 8 June 2015 (UTC ::::According to the mainstream of German language historians the Carolingian dynasty died out ''before'' the Holy Roman Empire as such came to be. While we can argue the point to no end, we have to draw the line ''somewhere'' if we are to create such a topic and usually that divide is drawn in A.D.962 not A.D. 800. But yes there is very little Carolingian era architecture, so it may very well be too "thin" for a travel topic... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 01:08, 8 June 2015 (UTC) :::::I don't understand what those historians could possibly be thinking, considering that Charlemagne was the '''first''' Holy Roman Emperor. Any article on the Holy Roman Empire would have to begin with Charlemagne, if not with the Frankish kings who preceded him. But that's a side point. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:16, 8 June 2015 (UTC) * [[Imperial Germany]]? We already have some related articles &mdash; [[Swakopmund]], [[MV Liemba]], [[German East Africa]] &mdash; and it might be worth doing an article to tie them & others together. My guess is this is a very low priority for the project, but if there's a writer who considers it interesting, [[plunge forward]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 12:07, 9 August 2015 (UTC) * [[JFK tour]] in Dallas, concerning the assassination and the feature film * [[Korean War]] * [[Korean history]] / [[Pre-modern Korea]] / [[Korean Empire]] (pre-World War II, or pre-colonial) * [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] / [[Indus Valley Civilization]] as a separate article * [[Inca Empire]] (including [[Inca Trail]] etc) * [[Magyars]] * [[Medieval and Renaissance Italy]], probaby limited enough in space and time * [[Modern Japanese history]], following [[pre-modern Japan]]. Could possibly be divided pre- and post-WW2. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 12:47, 9 March 2020 (UTC) * [[Northern Renaissance]] (including [[Dutch Golden Age]]), describing Germanic Europe between [[Hanseatic League]] and [[Thirty Years War]]; parallel to [[Medieval and Renaissance Italy]]. Compare [[Grand Tour]]. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 20:24, 16 August 2020 (UTC) * [[Ottoman Empire]] * [[Phoenicia]] * [[Spanish Civil War]]; possibly [[20th century Spain]] including the prelude to the war, the dictatorship and the transition to democracy * [[Spanish North America]] and [[Spanish South America]], describing the Spanish colonial heritage * [[From St. Augustine to Hampton Roads]], the colonial and antebellum history of the South's Atlantic coast * [[Ancient Mesopotamia]] though not currently a safe destination ::Not only not safe, but we have no way of knowing what will be left of it when IS is done destroying things. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:24, 16 June 2015 (UTC) * [[Middle Ages]]; too big of a topic? Europe from around AD 450 to AD 1450... ::Yes, too big a topic, in my opinion. We have [[Gothic architecture]]. A [[Romanesque architecture]] topic would be most welcome, or perhaps a [[Carolingian and Romanesque architecture]] topic. Also, [[Byzantine art and architecture]] would be welcome. But in any case, I think it's strange to think of 1,000 years of European history as a single period; instead, I'd think of it as at least 4 different periods (though what would the period from the end of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, more or less, be called?), though that might not necessitate 4 articles. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:13, 1 June 2015 (UTC) :::It also overlaps with some of the topics already on this list. [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 22:15, 1 June 2015 (UTC) * [[Mongol Empire]] * [[Muisca civilization]] * [[Prehistoric Europe]] : Archaeological sites in Europe from before [[Ancient Greece]] and the [[Roman Empire]]. [[Vikings and the Old Norse]] already covers the Nordic countries, where prehistory is shorter, because of the Ice Age. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 13:46, 3 June 2015 (UTC) * [[Sahelian Kingdoms]] :: Described in [[Ancient African kingdoms]] but could develop into an article on its own. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 14:25, 19 March 2023 (UTC) * [[Thirty Years' War]] / [[Eighty Years' War]] - while the name depends on whether you are Dutch or German, it was one of the most important (not to mention bloodiest) wars in modern European history and devastated Central Europe, killing as much as half the population in places. While the Civil War has more reenactment, there are a bunch of museums and monuments as well as reenactment in [[Lützen]], [[Rothenburg ob der Tauber]] and elsewhere [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 16:14, 3 June 2015 (UTC) : Would be appreciated by Swedish (and probably Finnish) readers. Could also include sites such as the Vasa Museum in [[Stockholm/Djurgården]]. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 16:23, 3 June 2015 (UTC) ::Right. That's from that era as well (and well worth a visit). [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 16:36, 3 June 2015 (UTC) * [[Vietnam War]]/[[Indochina Wars]] * [[Mesoamerican civilizations]] / [[Aztecs]] / [[Maya]]; sub-topics of [[Indigenous cultures of North America]] :Why on earth does [[Maya]] redirect to Belize? It is not the only place on earth with historic or current Maya presence, or is it now? [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 16:12, 24 April 2015 (UTC) :: No idea. The Maya deserve an article on their own. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 16:29, 24 April 2015 (UTC) :::No. There are Mayans in [[Guatemala]] and [[Mexico]], too, and the Mayan Empire extended at least as far as [[Honduras]]. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:19, 24 April 2015 (UTC) * [[Motorcities Tour]] in [[Michigan]], see [http://www.motorcities.org/]; an expansion of [[Manufacturing Belt]] * [[Russian Empire]] * [[Modern South Africa]] / [[20th century South Africa]], with sites such as [[Robben Island]], [[Soweto]], etc ::Would that encompass only the [[Apartheid era]] or something before and/or after it as well? [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 19:39, 11 June 2015 (UTC) ::: Possibly the Boer War as well. Not sure about how many interesting venues there are. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 21:36, 11 June 2015 (UTC) * [[War on terror]] / [[War on Terror]] ::I don't see how we can have a reasonable travel topic on the "War on terror," especially as it will be hard to get agreement on what it comprises. For example, the GW Bush Administration called their aggression against Iraq part of the "War on Terror," but there was no Al Qaida presence in Iraq until then Bush Administration prompted one to exist. I would really oppose an attempt at such a travel topic. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:46, 15 May 2015 (UTC) :: I agree. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 08:03, 15 May 2015 (UTC) ::: If you ask the folks in [[Iraq]], some will tell you that Mr. Bush *is* the terrorist... he just calls it "shock and awe". The Iraqis are just trying in vain to defend their country. Uncyclopedia's [[War on Terra]] (where the target is [[Earth|the planet itself]] in the crosshairs) is amusing, but I don't see using the T- word as anything but a way to take sides in ongoing political disputes, something we really try not to do here. [[User:K7L|K7L]] ([[User talk:K7L|talk]]) 12:39, 15 May 2015 (UTC) ::::I think we shouldn't have an article for War on terror. First because it is a very ill-defined thing to begin with (despite almost sixty years of efforts to do so, you can't go to war with a noun or abstract concept...) and second because the consequences of Bush's (and to a lesser degree Obama's) foreign policy are already mentioned in our articles on [[Afghanistan]], [[Pakistan]], [[Yemen]], [[Libya]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]] and a couple of other places... While we could argue that some of those need updating, this has nothing to do with the creation of yet another travel topic that is only tangentially related to travel if at all. And besides, I fear that updating these articles is hindered by the very political situation on the ground that makes contributions from people who live there or have recently visited rather unlikely.... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 13:04, 15 May 2015 (UTC) * [[German partition]] dealing with relics of the GDR, the wall (or pieces of it), the "old" West-Germany (e.g. the government stuff in [[Bonn]]) and museums dedicated to that era (chiefly the GDR) ** [[Cold War Europe]] could include other venues relevant to this period. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 00:22, 31 May 2015 (UTC) * [[Yugoslav Wars]]/[[Balkan Wars]] == Lest we overdo it... == I know visiting the site where x.. (and only if one of the ten trillion places where George Washington is supposed to have slept) is a major reason for travel all by itself, but lest we become Wikihistory, we might reconsider which historic epochs and themes are best handled in their country or region articles (with specific sites mentioned in city articles unless they deserve special mention) and which truly deserve their own articles. I know I myself tend to like me some history and I gladly accept the "accusation" of expanding many a history section and for some countries "outsourcing" all or part of the "history" part of the "understand" section might be a good idea, but we should focus upon our main goal of writing about travel. And at some point knowing where I can sleep in Cairo is more important to most travelers than what hair color Amenophis IV had. Still I do agree that we need to expand our coverage of some places' history and splitting it off into themed articles and travel topics is a good idea, but... You know. ''Dosis facit venenum'' [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 22:59, 26 April 2015 (UTC) : Sort of agree. Travel Topics are allowed to have a good deal more flexibility that our destination articles, but it is true that too much dumping of facts into this article would pretty much ensure that it won't ever get read. [[User:Andrewssi2|Andrewssi2]] ([[User talk:Andrewssi2|talk]]) 23:23, 26 April 2015 (UTC) :: Conversely, there has to be something more noteworthy about [[Cairo]] than "I slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night." *yawn* [[User:K7L|K7L]] ([[User talk:K7L|talk]]) 15:49, 27 April 2015 (UTC) :::That is certainly true. Too much Aspirin can kill you and too little can leave you with a headache. The same is imho true for information on history on a site that is mainly focused upon voyaging (is that a word? My spellcheck says it is) [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 16:12, 27 April 2015 (UTC) ::::Are there plans to make articles for epochs in European history too, as has been done with American history lately? I notice there are already requests for e.g. the Roman Empire. [[User:Ypsilon|ϒpsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 17:03, 27 April 2015 (UTC) :::::To bring up this topic again, what do you think about doing a similar series for European history? In addition to the Roman Empire listed above there could be articles for the Middle Ages, the Age of Discovery, Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, Industrialization, the [[Napoleonic wars]] we already have, then 18th century Europe (until 1914), the inter-war period (the both World Wars already have articles), Cold War, and Modern Europe. :::::And the rest of the world, then? [[User:Ypsilon|ϒpsilon]] ([[User talk:Ypsilon|talk]]) 16:22, 14 May 2015 (UTC) :::::: As long as it can be done within the scope of [[tcf]]. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 22:37, 14 May 2015 (UTC) :::::::Well the "age of discovery" for one left little physical mark on Europe that can be visited today. Sure maybe the tomb of some discoverer or conquistador, but nothing major enough to support its own article, at least not under the "Europe" subheading... It left a rather dramatic mark on the Americas, however... with a lot of colonial old towns only in existence due to it... Also: We should really approach it all from a travel standpoint. Sure there is still stuff around from both the Roman ages and the Middle ages, but which pope excommunicated what ruler is rather irrelevant... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 23:07, 14 May 2015 (UTC) == Source material? == "AWDL's purpose is to present the broadest possible range of scholarly materials relevant to the study of the ancient world. Particular strengths of the AWDL collection include: Ancient Judaism / Assyriology / Central Asia / Early Christianity / Egyptology / Hittitology / Iranian studies / Papyrology" [http://dlib.nyu.edu/ancientworld/collectionsoverview/ Ancient World Digital Library] [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 12:33, 8 May 2015 (UTC) == 200th anniversary of Waterloo battle == {{swept}} The anniversary will be in June, and is sure to attract history buffs. The French are currently winning with [https://fr.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Site_de_la_bataille_de_Waterloo their wonderful article] about the sights&accommodation. Will they stay unchallenged? [[User:Syced|Syced]] ([[User talk:Syced|talk]]) 04:20, 9 April 2015 (UTC)<small>(formerly Nicolas1981)</small> :Well, please [[plunge forward]]. I believe we should cover Waterloo proper and Braine l'Alleud (sp?) in the same article, and I guess the French are going into a bit too much detail. OtBT nomination for the coming months are still "pending further support", so I think there is an ambitious but reachable target. I am doing Belgium at the moment, so I will gladly help. [[User:PrinceGloria|PrinceGloria]] ([[User talk:PrinceGloria|talk]]) 05:59, 9 April 2015 (UTC) : [[D-Day beaches]] may be an example to look at for how such articles can be handled. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 11:41, 9 April 2015 (UTC) == Non Western history == We have in the last two months or so done tremendous work on the history of both Europe and North America and while that work is by no means finished, it is now all the more apparent, that we lack coverage of Asia, Latin America and most of all Africa. There could imho be very extensive travel topics on the [[Origins of mankind]] or on [[Prehistoric Africa]], not to mention China, which has been mentioned above. [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 13:42, 5 June 2015 (UTC) : The history of [[Central Asia]] and the [[Indian Subcontinent]] has many things that could form the basis of one of more articles. :: Alexander the Great? We do mention him in [[Silk Road]] and [[Persian Empire]], but we might consider [[On the trail of Alexander the Great]]. :: [[Persian Empire]], now a stub :: The [[w:Maurya Empire]], mentioned in [[Taxila]] :: The expansion of [[Islam]] into the region and beyond :: The [[Mongol Empire]], mentioned in Silk Road, [[Marco Polo]] and various other places :: The development of [[Buddhism]], spread across India mainly by the Maurya emperoror Ashoka then mostly dying out there while spreading East by land and sea, could be treated in more detail than the current article has :: The [[British Empire]] could have several long sections on this region : That is just one region, albeit an important one. Certainly my list could be improved & similar lists done for other areas. But does anyone actually want to do the fairly large amount of work that would be required? And would the payoff for travellers be large enough that this should be encouraged? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 15:01, 7 June 2015 (UTC) ::Well we have done or at least started that work for Europe and North America. Of course these places are "closer to home" for most of us, but I can't see, why those places are not worth covering. I would however advice against a topic on the British Empire as a whole. It is way too global, to be covered well. We even split up the second world war, to make it more useful for the traveler. I could however see the worth in regionalized travel topics on the [[British Raj]] or [[Colonial Hongkong]] [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 18:38, 7 June 2015 (UTC) :::We should approach large topics by creating the main article first, then splitting it into subtopics as soon as the main topic becomes large and unwieldly. For instance, [[fast food]] should have been created before cooking up [[fast food in North America]], and [[British Empire]] could be split once it becomes too large. [[User:K7L|K7L]] ([[User talk:K7L|talk]]) 10:44, 8 June 2015 (UTC) ::::There is a problem with "global" topics imho, in that mostpeople don't know what to put there and often think something is not "important" enough to be put there. Furthermore, the British Empire is a fuzzy concept with undefined borders both to the era before it and the British Commonwealth afterwards. The British Raj however is well defined both geographically and historically in when it started (the Crowning of Victoria as empress of India) and ended (the independence of India and Pakistan). If we were to write an article on the British empire, we would have to cover vast expanses of the globe at the same time (never a good idea from a travel standpoint imho) and we would also collide with already existing topics such as [[Early United States history]]. I would advise against too general topics. Also [[Fast food in North America]] was created because it is there that it is most notable and it is North America that most people visit explicitly for fast food. An article on fast food in general may well have descended into one of the dreaded lists or else listed only global chains that fall under the boring places policy. In short: clearly defined topics clearly related to travel: Yes. Fuzzy concepts that have neither beginning nor end and cover huge geographic areas: No. Best wishes [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 11:09, 8 June 2015 (UTC) :::::I now created an outline on the [[British Raj]] and think we should next create an article on the [[Mughal Empire]]. Best wishes [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 11:33, 8 June 2015 (UTC) : I have started [[Mughal Empire]], but it needs quite a bit more & I am not likely to do that. : Should such articles be travel topics? The Hobbit chose that tag for the Raj & I follwed his or her lead for the Mughals. On the other hand, I tagged [[Persian Empire]] as an extra region. I can see arguments both ways, but we should probably be consistent. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 21:47, 11 June 2015 (UTC) ::I don't care all that much, as long as it is consistent. If the Mughal Empire is an extraregion, the [[Roman Empire]] should be, too [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 22:00, 11 June 2015 (UTC) :::It depends on the page content. An article on the [[Soviet Union]] which merely lists the individual countries occupied is an extraregion, a lengthy historical description with a list of individual sites to see is a travel topic, and if the whole thing falls into a line to allow the sites to be visited in a predefined sequence (like the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] or [[Route 66]]), it's itinerary. [[User:K7L|K7L]] ([[User talk:K7L|talk]]) 14:20, 12 June 2015 (UTC) ::::I would recommend making it a travel topic but give it more of a focus on sites, e.g. major Anglo-Indian landmarks [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 14:45, 12 June 2015 (UTC) ::::: [[Pre-modern Japan]] has been started. If it grows too big, it can be split into sub-articles. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 12:57, 20 June 2015 (UTC) == arbitrary beginning date == Why 50 000 years ago? If I am not mistaken, homo sapiens first appeared in Africa about 200 000 years ago (some source are even bold enough to say 195 000 years ago). The other (somewhat) important figures are 40 000 years ago (generally accepted date of first h.s. in Europe and thus out of Africa) and 27 000 years ago (the commonly accepted date of the Neanderthal dying out). I know that the beginning of (pre)history is necessarily arbitrary, but this one appears to me to be particularly arbitrary... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 19:42, 12 August 2015 (UTC) :Where is the 50,000 years figure used? The fossil record of the genus Homo seems to date back up to [http://www.unisci.com/stories/20013/0712011.htm 5.2 million years]. I would not agree with excluding earlier hominids from the definition of "human being". In particular, we know enough to understand that Homo erectuses were human beings of great intelligence and resourcefulness. The earliest days of Homo erectus seem to [http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo/homo_2.htm go back 1.9 million years]. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:21, 12 August 2015 (UTC) ::OK, I see the date. My understanding of the word "history" is that unless "oral history" or some other subset (perhaps "iconographic history") is specified, it means "written history". Archeology of a pre-literate culture is not in that sense history, but neither is it paleontology. As for Homo sapiens, I don't accept that we are human and earlier hominids were not, but anyone who wants to use the standard that only Homo sapiens are fully human might want to figure on going back [http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm about 200,000 years]. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:28, 12 August 2015 (UTC) ::: Feel free to find a more appropriate beginning date. The issue came up because of the [[paleontology]] article. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 00:55, 13 August 2015 (UTC) ::::But that prompts the next question: When is the boundary line between archeology and paleontology? I wish my anthropologist mother were still around to give an opinion, because I'm not sure. I started writing that I thought archeology was concerned with culture more than other things, whereas paleontology was more concerned with anatomy (bones) and things like use of fire and tools, and then I realized that of course archeologists are very much interested in the same things as paleontologists and vice versa. So I don't know. What do you think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:09, 13 August 2015 (UTC) I'd put it like this: : The early history of life on earth is studied mainly through fossils; see our article on [[paleontology]]. The earliest known fossils of genus ''homo'' date back about 5 million years. The boundary between palentology and [[archaeology]], which deals mainly with the study of ancient human artifacts, is not at all well-defined. Nor is the boundary between archaelogy and history. One might consider real history to start with the beginning of written records, about 3000 BCE. Or with the transistion from hunter/gatherer to agriculture, around 10,000 BCE. A number of important developments took place between about 12,000 BCE and 3,000 &mdash; agriculture, pottery, irrigation, metalworking, domestication of many animals (though dogs go back before 30,000 BCE) and the wheel. : This article focuses on history since 10,000 BCE, and naturally overlaps with our [[archaeology]] article. Other opinions? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:41, 13 August 2015 (UTC) :As an aside, farming seems to go back [http://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-weeds-hint-that-farming-may-have-roots-in-israel/ around 23,000 years], we've recently discovered. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:30, 13 August 2015 (UTC) ::Fair enough, but in different places the transition between prehistory and history (no matter what you use as your yardstick) is necessarily different. This is not yet mentioned or even alluded to... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 13:15, 13 August 2015 (UTC) :::Absolutely true. So how do you think we should handle the fuzzy boundary between paleontology, archeology and history? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:41, 14 August 2015 (UTC) ::::Frankly, I don't know. If I did, I'd probably already have published those findings in a major peer reviewed journal ;-). Is there a way of putting it while skirting the issue? [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 13:03, 14 August 2015 (UTC) :::::Probably by setting an arbitrary cutoff point for each topic and then explaining in all 3 articles that it's an arbitrary cutoff point. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 20:05, 15 August 2015 (UTC) [Unindent] I think [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] did a very good job on [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_travel&type=revision&diff=2844888&oldid=2838005 this edit], but I still don't get why we'd start history from 50,000 BCE. Pashley's edit suggests that a date of 30,000 BCE would be more than generous. What do you all think? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:28, 26 August 2015 (UTC) : I agree that 30,000 would make more sense, but I do not think it matters hugely and I was aiming at clarifying the text so it seemed better to make only a few changes. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:26, 26 August 2015 (UTC) ::Yes, I understand that. What does everyone else think about the starting date of "history"? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:30, 26 August 2015 (UTC) :::Would we like to revisit this? I still don't see why we're picking 50,000 BCE as the beginning of history. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:06, 17 January 2021 (UTC) == Tool relics == I'm not sure what to do with this discussion, which seems to be really about paleontology and archaeology, but quite a few species use tools, not only human beings and our ancestors. So maybe the key point is that the beginnings of the Stone Age have been traced back to some 2.6 million years ago, in the form of [[w:Oldowan]] stone tools, which were probably made at least in part by ''Homo habilis'', and even then, there's a possibility that Australopithecines made cruder stone tools. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:11, 26 August 2015 (UTC) == When does "modern history" start? == The current text has "The line between "historical" and "modern" is arbitrary, but usually drawn at the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries". No doubt it could be drawn there, but I doubt it "usually" is. I'd prefer to draw it at the Rennaisance, which coincides with the age of exploration for Europe and the beginnings of colonisation for everyone else. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 19:25, 4 September 2015 (UTC) : From a present-day traveller's context, the mid-19th century is an appropriate boundary. [[Old towns]] from before the mid-19th centuries are few, small (with a few exceptions such as [[Rome]] and [[Istanbul]]), and unique in their features, in contrast to the large-scale planned cities in international architectural styles built in 1850 or later, with mass-produced furnishing. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 19:45, 4 September 2015 (UTC) : And of course, the Columbian exchange changed the Americas a lot, and historical time is considered to begin with substantial written records, which only existed in parts of Central America before 1492. But a European town founded in the 1450s would in most cases look very similar to one from the 1550s, or 1650s or 1750s for that sake. It was the Industrial Revolution that, more than anything else the last thousands of years, changed the physical appearance of most destinations. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 19:51, 4 September 2015 (UTC) == Yugoslav Wars/Balkan Wars - question of taste? == I noticed [[Yugoslav Wars/Balkan Wars]] was added as a requested article above. Are there seriously people who want to base their travel fully or in part on this? Obviously there are people interested in visiting WWII sites, but this one seems just too recent to me. --[[User:Andrewssi2|Andrewssi2]] ([[User talk:Andrewssi2|talk]]) 22:15, 4 September 2015 (UTC) : See [[Holocaust remembrance]] for respectful description of historical tragedies. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 23:27, 4 September 2015 (UTC) :: It doesn't matter how 'respectful' you want to describe the Yugoslav wars, it doesn't sound like a '''respectful travel topic''' so soon after the event. --[[User:Andrewssi2|Andrewssi2]] ([[User talk:Andrewssi2|talk]]) 23:30, 20 October 2015 (UTC) :::Other concerns aside, the term "[[:w:Balkan Wars|Balkan Wars]]" is used for a conflict or two that happened in an altogether different setting eight decades prior to the military engagement that started with the Yugoslav break-up. [[User:Vidimian|Vidimian]] ([[User talk:Vidimian|talk]]) 00:59, 15 November 2015 (UTC) == Early farming == [https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/evidence-that-humans-had-farms-30000-years-earlier-than-previously-thought/ tropical farming] nearly 40,000 years ago. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 13:39, 4 August 2017 (UTC) :Fascinating. Let's see what further research uncovers... [[User:Hobbitschuster|Hobbitschuster]] ([[User talk:Hobbitschuster|talk]]) 20:20, 4 August 2017 (UTC) ==Name change: [[Historical tourism]]?== As we usually use the word ''travel'' for articles about practical concerns for travel whatever the journey's purpose ([[budget travel]], [[travel as a vegetarian]]) and ''tourism'' for description of visitor attractions of a specific theme ([[nuclear tourism]], [[fiction tourism]] etc), this article should be named ''[[historical tourism]]''. What do you think? /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 20:36, 16 August 2018 (UTC) : I'd say no. In fact I'd like to change nearly all articles with "tourism" in the title to use the more general "travel", for the same reason we describe the site as a travel guide not a tourist guide. Students of history, art, architecture, etc. might visit these places to study them. Someone might want to see the village of his or her ancestors, the battlefield where granddad died, etc. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 15:42, 22 August 2018 (UTC) :: Should articles such as [[military tourism]] be named [[military travel]], for coherence? /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 15:55, 22 August 2018 (UTC) ::: I think that is one of the exceptions since military travel might cover things like free flights for servicemen, US sailors visiting Canadian ships because booze is allowed there but not in US Navy, possible visa problems if you are in uniform, etc. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 17:28, 22 August 2018 (UTC) :::: I think both names work, so I'd suggest that we make [[Historical tourism]] a '''redirect''' to [[Historical travel]]. That seems to be the case currently. ---[[User:SelfieCity|Selfie City]] ([[User talk:SelfieCity|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/SelfieCity|contributions]]) 17:48, 22 August 2018 (UTC) :::::All else being equal, I tend to prefer the word "travel" over "tourism". I think "tourism" can sometimes have a slight negative connotation in English—or at least a connotation of travel that's less authentic and more, well, touristy. More [[Disneyland]] than [[Appalachian Trail]]. There's nothing wrong with the word "travel". —[[User:Mx. Granger|Granger]]&nbsp;([[User talk:Mx. Granger|talk]] '''·''' [[Special:Contributions/Mx. Granger|contribs]]) 00:35, 23 August 2018 (UTC) ==[[Historical travel]] vs Historical tourism== {{swept}} In [[Talk:Historical travel]] I suggested the page to be moved to [[historical tourism]]. Please provide feedback. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 14:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC) ==Prehistory and history== In scholarship, the border between prehistory and history concerns human events before local written records; see [[:wikipedia:Prehistory]], which varies a lot between locations; around 3000 BC in Mesopotamia, 1000 AD in Scandinavia, and the 19th century in parts of the New World. There has been some disagreement about the description in this article. Maybe the word ''prehistory'' is used different in daily speech? /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 12:07, 1 August 2021 (UTC) :I thought prehistory became history several thousand years ago across the globe, and I’ve always known Native Americans as “precolumbian” but not prehistory after the crossing of the Bering Strait. <small>--Comment by </small> [[User:SelfieCity|<span style="color:blue">Selfie City</span>]] ([[User_talk:SelfieCity|<span style="color:blue">talk</span>]] | [[Special:Contributions/SelfieCity|<span style="color:blue">contributions</span>]]) 12:20, 1 August 2021 (UTC) :I thought the same as {{u|SelfieCity}}. <span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont">[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] <nowiki>|</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] <nowiki>|</nowiki> [[m:User:SHB2000|meta.wikimedia]])</small></span> 12:23, 1 August 2021 (UTC) ::I think that traditionally, history was considered to have started with the invention of writing. The Wikipedia article linked above backs that up: ::''Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history,[1] is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins c. 3.3 million years ago and the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared c. 5000 years ago and it took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted. In some human cultures, writing systems were not used until the nineteenth century and, in a few, are not even used until the present. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different dates in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently.'' ::It might be possible to extend history to oral histories, to the extent that events that are passed down from generation to generation can be attested to and more or less reliably dated. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:01, 1 August 2021 (UTC) == "Article" on colonialism == {{swept}} I wonder if we should create this as just a landing page, so we can list all the articles we have about the various colonial empires. Because of the complexity of this, the "article" will inevitably be a stub, but we could also use this to list tourist attractions connected to say, American, German or Italian colonialism, which we currently don't have articles for on Wikivoyage. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 16:22, 22 April 2022 (UTC) :Colonialism dates back to at least the Phoenicians, so if we want to be reasonably comprehensive, we should cover cities that started as Phoenician colonies, Hellenistic Greek colonies and ancient Roman colonies as well as colonies of European countries (and Japan, etc.) in the 15th century ff. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:34, 22 April 2022 (UTC) ::Kind of a "history of the whole world" article. Maybe that's the sort of overly ambitious, sprawling, hard-to-contain article that will be contentious and soak up a lot of volunteer time to provide something that is not much related to travel. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 16:46, 22 April 2022 (UTC) :::Would it be useful to have this as a landing page though? In that way we can list all the articles we have about the various colonial empires, and people can then click on the article of the specific colonial empire they wish to dive deeper into. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 20:35, 22 April 2022 (UTC) ::::I'd say it's useful, yes. There are currently a dozen "Empire" articles in [[:Category:Historical travel]], excluding actual colonies and domains like [[British Raj]] and [[German East Africa]]. I can see a larger "World history" article being useful, but I'm not sure it's needed. RE @[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]'s point about possible ambiguity about colonialism, there can always be distinguished between modern colonialism, which most of our Empire articles fall under, as well as premodern colonialism, which includes the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans amongst others. <br/> -- [[User:Wauteurz|Wauteurz]] ([[User talk:Wauteurz|talk]]) 22:40, 22 April 2022 (UTC) ::::: I could see such an article being useful as a way of gathering the articles we have about colonial empires. I think that an article trying to cover the history of colonialism back to the Phoenicians would be better as a Wikipedia article. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 01:33, 23 April> 2022 (UTC) ::::::I'll push back against that. Phoenician, Greek and Roman colonies have a lasting interest to travelers. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 01:47, 23 April 2022 (UTC) :::::::It would be great to see travel articles that list archaeological sites and museums that would help travellers explore Phoenician, Greek and Roman colonial sites. And those would be good to include in the article that The dog2 suggests. But if it's going to be a history article without references written from one or two writers' own recollections and points of view, I don't see how that serves travellers. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 02:22, 23 April 2022 (UTC) ::::::::'''Comment:''' We don't have an American colonialism article, not because no-one was interested, but because it was deleted two years after being a Wikiversity article on a travel guide. Unless it can be assured that an article on colonialism won't be like the American colonialism one, I remain pretty unconvinced that we need one. The only positive side for the timebeing is that we have a better breadcrumb structure for colonialism articles, and that's about it. <span style="font-family:BlinkMacSystemFont">[[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|talk]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|contribs]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|meta.wikimedia]])</small></span> 02:53, 23 April 2022 (UTC) : I cannot see that this would be much use & it could certainly provoke plenty of controversy. Marx defined "imperialism" as "the export of capital", & by that definition recent Chinese & Russian expansions are arguably not imperialist. Elsewhere, "Custer died for your sins." [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:58, 23 April 2022 (UTC) ::The Russian Empire certainly was an imperialist one. They did the same thing to China that the French, British, German and other empires did. I think any fair-minded person will agree that the foreign "concessions" in China were really just colonies in all but name. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 02:13, 23 April 2022 (UTC) :::So was the U.S. and Canada, but unless we focus on utterly uncontroversial examples with a focus squarely on travellers' interests in the results of colonial history that can be seen or otherwise concretely experienced, this article will be a bad idea. My opinion is yes to the concessions, to different degrees (Macau is obvious, but how obvious is Tianjin?) but I don't think so to [[Russian Empire]]. Anyway, aren't empires imperialist by definition? Is imperialism the same as colonialism when we're literally talking about an empire? Then do you want to include China, in its behavior toward Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, etc.? This is not the place for those kinds of discussions. This is a travel guide. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:25, 23 April 2022 (UTC) ::::I couldn't agree more with this remark by Ground Zero above: "But if it's going to be a history article without references written from one or two writers' own recollections and points of view, I don't see how that serves travellers." We've been through this kind of thing before. Right, [[User:The dog2|The dog2]]? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 03:13, 23 April 2022 (UTC) :::::In this case, I was thinking of things from an organizational perspective because it could be convenient to have a page to list all the articles on the various colonial empires. But certainly I acknowledge that it will be difficult to write a politically uncontroversial article about the topic if we want to turn this into a full-fledged article. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 03:22, 23 April 2022 (UTC) :::::: Do you mean something like [[Concerns]] or [[Cultural attractions]]? That could be uncontroversial – as long as it is just about [[Imperiums]]. For [[Colonialism]] we don't have any articles to list; you'd need to list articles borderline in scope, and then you end up with the problems of [[American colonialism]]. If you aim at something like [[Historical travel]], then there is a big risk for several problematic scenarios. Well-written with a well thought-out scope, it could be valuable, but I don't see anybody willing to put in the time and thought needed. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 07:25, 23 April 2022 (UTC) ::::::: For the latter approach, I think it would need to be worked on in user space, and not be moved out from there until at least worth guide status. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 07:31, 23 April 2022 (UTC) : Colonialism as a general concept is nearly as broad as [[historical travel]]. Even if we narrow the concept down to bureaucratic/religious colonialism invented by Europeans in the 15th century (with an argument to exclude the [[Ottoman Empire]], though they adopted much of the European colonial system) it would still encompass six centuries and seven continents. We have a dilemma brought up in [[Talk:African-American history]]; articles such as [[African-American history]] might be created in good faith, but might be difficult to fill with information useful for a traveller. Destination articles such as [[Charlottesville]] (known for Thomas Jefferson's hometown, and the 2017 statue riots) should bring up the context of Thomas Jeffersons role as a slave-owner, as well as the city's role in today's racial conflicts. Both destinations and existing travel topics deserve additions of context useful for a visitor. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 17:47, 5 May 2022 (UTC) == Deletion == [[User:Yvwv]] just made an edit with this summary "rm link to a short section of an article". The removed text was: * [[Cathars]] &mdash; a religious group mainly in [[Languedoc]], wiped out by a crusade in the 13th century I want to restore it. Other opinions? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 22:50, 29 November 2023 (UTC) :Seems legitimate to include, as there are relevant things to be seen. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:05, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :: This page is intended to collect links to historical travel topics, and providing context. The [[Christianity#Cathars]] section is not an article in itself, and adds very little context to world history. The section could however be budded off as a travel topic; as the [[Christianity]] article has become rather lengthy. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 09:33, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :::I see your point. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:13, 5 December 2023 (UTC) == Minority cultures == A propos [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_travel&diff=4783020&oldid=4782727 these edits]: Why are minority cultures historical? What implication is being made? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:03, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :IMO, minority cultures (i.e. current minorities) are not historical. They are very much here and now and shouldn't be linked to history. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 05:21, 5 December 2023 (UTC) ::I agree. They're neither more nor less historical than majorities, unless they are wiped out. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:34, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :::I suppose it's because [[Minority cultures of Japan]] includes the Ainu, whose culture is severely threatened (like some minority cultures in Russia, also linked) and including it could be in the spirit of the last paragraph of Understand: "Some historical sites are threatened, […]. However, they should not be listed in this form, where their relevancy isn't pointed out. In addition, such lists tend to grow to include very tangential and before long totally irrelevant links. I don't oppose removing them altogether. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:40, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :::: As IK reminded, also majority cultures can become extinct. Researching the history of current ones is also historic travel. Archaeological sites are mentioned, but there is no general discussion on museums – if your are interested in ancient Egypt, shouldn't you spend several days at e.g. the British museum and the equivalent in Egypt, before visiting the archaeological sites? Similarly about pioneer villages and other themes (although some need to visit the places first, to get inspired to visit the museums). –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 09:52, 5 December 2023 (UTC) ::::: These articles tell the history of these ethnic groups, and contain historic destination. This material is not always mentioned in historic literature concerning the majority cultures; thereby they are relevant to historical travel. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 10:03, 5 December 2023 (UTC) ::::::But including these titles seems to me to marginalize minority groups even more, by suggesting they are merely historical and that they are objects in a way that majority cultures of x are not. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:12, 5 December 2023 (UTC) ::::::: Many articles linked in this article are about ongoing events and cultures existing today, such as [[postwar United States]], [[space flight sites]], [[military tourism]], [[philosophy tourism]], [[police and military ceremonies]], [[mining tourism]] and so on. Including an article here does not in itself suggest that the described phenomenon is extinct or a finished chapter. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 11:02, 5 December 2023 (UTC) ::::::::It doesn't suggest that to you, but it did suggest to me the things I posted above. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 11:43, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :::::::::Could we avoid the conflict by using some more language? "Info on minority cultures is mainly found in the articles specifically on them, such as [[Minority cultures of Japan]] for the Ainu"? –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 13:03, 5 December 2023 (UTC) {{outdent}} Minority cultures often have their own history that is separate from the majority ethnic group, and in many cases they were there long before the modern state they are in expanded into their homelands. Russia is perhaps the clearest example of this. Siberia didn't become part of Russia until the age of colonialism, and the reason why it has an ethnic Russian majority today is because of the settler colonial policies of the Russian Empire. And the same could be applied to Hokkaido, Taiwan and Hainan. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 15:46, 5 December 2023 (UTC) :How about "Information about the histories of minority cultures is found in the following articles about such cultures:"? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 18:41, 5 December 2023 (UTC) ::Sure. That works. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 18:48, 5 December 2023 (UTC) : Perhaps a "See also" section listing minority cultures & also religions since those articles all include some history. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 00:18, 6 December 2023 (UTC) ::That might be good. Looking at this page again, I see that it's divided geographically, so if we wanted to include all "Minority/indigenous cultures in X" articles in one list, we'd have to restructure things. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:54, 11 December 2023 (UTC) ==Documentary format: History of Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden== There are plenty of historical documentaries that could inspire Wikivoyage articles. One notable format is ''The History of Denmark'' [https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/historien-om-danmark_145311], a 10-episode series from 2017, which has been adapted to [https://npo.nl/start/serie/het-verhaal-van-nederland/ the Netherlands] in 2022 and [https://www.svtplay.se/historien-om-sverige Sweden] in 2023. As these countries are relatively small, these series are unusual in their budgets and lengths (10 hours each), and expected to become classics, used in education. The Dutch series has a spin-off project, consisting of a mobile app for guided tours. The Swedish series has collaborations with museums across the country. Do you know any other adaptations of the format? /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 00:13, 24 January 2024 (UTC) : There is a series on the History of [[Flanders]] too, but not available internationally. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 13:43, 11 February 2024 (UTC) ==Literature section== {{ping|LPfi}} With regards to the Malay Annals, I've yet to see any articles describing it as a poem. That's why I included it under "others". And in China, Bai Juyi's ''Chang Hen Ge'' is a long narrative poem, but I've yet to see any sources describing it as "epic". China doesn't really have a national epic per se. The Twenty-four Histories are considered to be China's official historical chronicles and not romanticised accounts, but of course, like any historical chronicles, they are certainly subject to POV bias. What China does have though is a very rich literary tradition with numerous works that are recount various episodes of Chinese history. [[User:The dog2|The dog2]] ([[User talk:The dog2|talk]]) 19:38, 22 December 2024 (UTC) :I don't know the terminology, but in The great epics, there was an "Other epics were created later", which made the Others section seem odd. I suppose it should be something like "Great old non-epic works". Try to find some suitable heading (subsection scope) and include what you think belongs there. I'm not too pleased with the subsections being so different in structure while at the same time handling similar content. However, this is not my area of expertise, so I will try not to interfere too much. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 20:48, 22 December 2024 (UTC) :: Most ancient epics, myths and religious text do not describe attested historic events; however they are important documents to describe and popularize ancient history; consider [[Exodus of Moses]] and [[Trojan War]]. This article is getting overloaded, and we should consider to create an article such as [[ancient literature]] to catch up classics in the borderland between [[historical travel]], [[religion and spirituality]] and [[fiction tourism]]. /[[User:Yvwv|Yvwv]] ([[User talk:Yvwv|talk]]) 21:38, 22 December 2024 (UTC) 87r2hjvp2f9rrk8zrg05ps8hugxcrfc 0 142790 5298423 5248231 2026-06-25T13:07:09Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Mexico */ Updated listing for [[Copper Canyon]], [[Chihuahua]] 5298423 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Totem poles in Kitwancool Wikivoyage banner.JPG|caption=Totem poles in Gitanyow, British Columbia, Canada}} The '''indigenous peoples of [[North America]]''' are the tribes and nations whose ancestors were already on the continent when European explorers and colonizers arrived. The largest group are '''American Indians''' who arrived before 10,000&nbsp;BC, inhabited most of the continent, and are closely related to the [[indigenous cultures of South America|indigenous of South America]] and [[indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica|those of Mesoamerica]]. In the U.S. they are now usually called '''Native Americans''', in Canada '''First Nations''', and in Mexico '''indígenas'''. Groups that arrived later settled in less hospitable northern areas, the '''Inuit''' in [[Alaska]], [[Northern Canada]] and [[Greenland]], the '''Yupik''' in Alaska and the '''Aleuts''' in the [[Aleutian Islands]]. The '''Métis''' people of Canada and the northern U.S. have a history that goes back to the days of the [[In_the_footsteps_of_explorers#North_American_fur_traders|fur trade]] and a distinct culture of their own. They have both indigenous and European (mainly French and Scottish) ancestors. Native Hawaiians are from a quite different culture and history and are not included in this guide. See [[Hawaii#History]]. {| style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;" | [[United States]] historical travel topics:<br>'''[[Indigenous cultures of North America|Indigenous nations]] → [[Early United States history|Pre-Civil War]] → [[American Civil War|Civil War]] → [[Old West]] → [[Industrialization of the United States|Industrialization]] → [[Postwar United States|Postwar]]'''<br>[[African-American history]] • [[Mexican American history]] • [[Presidents of the United States|Presidents]] |} ==Understand== There have been hundreds of indigenous nations and tribes. Many exist today, though often greatly reduced in numbers and territory, while others were wiped out by Europeans (in particular the Spanish, British and French), or the modern states which succeeded them (the U.S., Mexico, Canada, etc.), either from diseases brought from the Old World, by military conquest, genocides, or for other reasons. Anthropologists who study indigenous cultures tend to group them either according to the similarities of their languages or by their geographic location. Language is useful in determining which groups are related to each other and how they migrated over time. For example, the relationships within the Uto-Aztecan language family suggest that the founders of the Aztec Empire were related to groups from thousands of kilometres to the north in the present-day United States, like the Utes. Geography is more useful in imagining how people go about their day to day lives: peoples living in a similar climate tend to have similar lifestyles based on harvesting the same natural resources. Here are some main cultural regions, correlated with guides on Wikivoyage: [[File:Thunderbird House Totem Pole Stanley Park.jpg|thumb|Totem poles in [[Vancouver]]'s Stanley Park]] * '''Arctic''' — the entire [[Northern Canada|Arctic Ocean coast of Canada]] and [[Arctic Alaska|Alaska]], plus parts of Alaska's Pacific coast and [[Greenland]]. * '''Subarctic''' — the entire [[Boreal forest]] region * '''Northwest Coast''' — the Pacific coast from the [[Alaska Panhandle]] to Northern [[California]] * '''Plateau''' — inland areas in [[British Columbia]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]], plus most of [[Idaho]] * '''California''' — part of [[Baja California (state)]] and most of the U.S. state of [[California]] * '''Great Basin''' — [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Southwestern Idaho]]. * '''Southwestern''' — In the entire [[Southwestern United States]] ([[Arizona]], [[Nevada]], [[New Mexico]], [[Utah]]) and all the states of [[northern Mexico]]. * '''Great Plains''' — the Canadian [[Prairies]] and the entire [[Great Plains]] region of the US plus parts of some adjacent states. * '''Northeastern''' — in Canada, all of the [[Maritime Provinces]] plus large parts of [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]]. In the US, all of [[New England]] and the [[Mid-Atlantic]] region * '''Southeastern''' — Basically synonymous with the [[Southern United States]] as used on Wikivoyage plus [[Florida]]. * '''[[Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica|Mesoamerican]]''' — All of the regions of [[Mexico]] (except the far north) and much of [[Central America]] * '''Isthmo-Colombian Area''' — Includes the southern parts of Central America (eastern [[El Salvador]], eastern [[Honduras]], Caribbean [[Nicaragua]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Panama]]) and the northernmost portion of South America (northwest [[Colombia]]) * '''Caribbean''' — on the [[Caribbean|Caribbean islands]] People could and did move across these regional boundaries, often moving seasonally to access different resources at different times of the year, for example people from the Subarctic region spending part of the year on the Great Plains to hunt bison. Also there was extensive trade; the high-grade flint from the [[Niagara]] region has been found at pre-Columbian Hopi and Navajo sites in the U.S. Southwest, and obsidian from [[Yellowstone]], Wyoming was traded as far away as the U.S. [[Gulf Coast]] a thousand years before Columbus. The Mesoamericans, Southwestern, Southeastern, and Northeastern cultures were farmers, and these groups had large, complex societies with permanent settlements, specialized artisans and officials, and social hierarchy. The majority of people living in North America at the time of contact lived in these regions. * The Mesoamerican civilizations ([[Maya civilization|Mayans]], Aztecs, Toltecs, Olmecs, etc.) were the earliest farmers, domesticating the "Three Sisters" of maize (corn), squash, and beans. Mesoamericans also had the most urbanized societies, with a network of villages, towns, and even walled cities featuring large temples and palaces, and were the only ones in the New World to have writing. * The Southwestern peoples eventually developed strains of the Three Sisters that could survive their harsh, desert climate and built abode-walled villages, or in Spanish ''pueblos'', and are often known as puebloans. * The Southeastern peoples adopted the Three Sisters from the Mesoamericans and built large earth mounds and had a few relatively large towns and cities, as well as many smaller villages. * Northeastern cultures lived in small, fenced villages and practised a mixed lifestyle that combined shifting agriculture (the Three Sisters, as well as wild rice), with hunting and gathering. Most of the rest of the continent was populated by hunter-gatherers. They were dependent on the [[North American wildlife]] for survival. They typically lived in portable dwellings (domed wigwams or hogans, conical teepees) so they could follow their principle game animals: bison on the plains, deer and moose in the subarctic, and so on. Their population densities were very low, especially in the Subarctic. An exception to this were peoples of the North West Coast who despite not practising agriculture were able to live in hard-walled houses in relatively larger population densities due to the abundance of seafood, especially salmon, available in their region. Only two cultures in history have developed elaborate artistic traditions before cities or agriculture; the other were the [[Ainu]] of Japan, who also relied heavily on salmon. [[Newfoundland and Labrador|The island of Newfoundland]] is excluded from this list, since its original indigenous population, the Beothuk, are extinct, but are believed to have followed a subarctic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Newfoundland was later re-settled by Mi'kmaq people from Nova Scotia. {{seealso|Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica|Indigenous cuisine of the Americas}} ==Destinations== Natives live all over North America and some native artifacts can be found in many museums all over the continent. Some indigenous cultures have their own articles here, with their own lists of sites. * [[Maya civilization]] * [[Navajo Nation]] Artifacts have been found at a number of archeological sites, some dating back many thousands of years. The sites themselves are typically closed to visitors when excavations are under way, and visiting them at other times is likely to be a bad idea &mdash; not much to see and digging on your own would be a crime. However, nearby museums are often worth a visit and there may be opportunities for [[Archaeological_sites#Work|volunteer work]] on some sites. === Before 3000 BCE === One ancient culture has left artifacts in several countries: [[File:Clovis_Point.jpg|thumb|A Clovis point]] * {{listing | type=red | name=Clovis Culture | alt=Llano | url= | email= | address= | lat=34.4125 | long=-103.204722 | directions=near [[Clovis (New Mexico)|Clovis, New Mexico]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Clovis culture | wikidata=Q3485378 | content=A site from around 11,000 BCE; many tools and one grave have been found at Blackwater Draw near Clovis. This is the "type site" for the culture, but there are over 100 other sites in the US, Mexico, and Central America plus a few as far away as Nova Scotia and Venezuela. The people were stone age hunter-gatherers and produced distinctive flint work called Clovis points. There is a museum at [[Clovis_(New_Mexico)#Black Water Draw Museum and Archeology Site|Blackwater Draw]].</br>Many archeologists in the 20th century accepted the "Clovis First" hypothesis, that the Clovis people were descended from the first migrants across the Bering land bridge and were the ancestors of all later groups. That notion is now considered oversimplified, and excavations from Alaska to Chile have found evidence of pre-Clovis humans, though some of that evidence is disputed.</br> However, the Clovis people remain important in any version of the history; in the Americas, theirs is both by far the most widespread of known cultures in their time period and by far the oldest culture for which there is undisputed evidence from multiple sites. The DNA evidence shows a close relation between the Clovis people and later groups in both American continents, but it also suggests that the full story is quite complicated. }} ==== Canada ==== * {{listing | type=red | name=[[Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park]] | alt=Áísínai’pi National Historic Site of Canada | url= | email= | address= | lat=49.081944 | long=-111.616944 | directions=about 100 km southeast of [[Lethbridge]], [[Alberta]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park | wikidata=Q8038519 | content=Home to Siksika (Blackfoot) glyphs that date back as far as 9,000 years. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump | alt=Estipah-skikikini-kots | url= | email= | address= | lat=49.749444 | long=-113.625 | directions=near [[Fort Macleod#See|Fort Macleod]], [[Alberta]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump | wikidata=Q683110 | content=Blackfoot hunters would drive a whole herd over a cliff; the site was used for at least 5,500 years. This buffalo jump is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] and has a Museum of Blackfoot Culture. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=Majorville Medicine Wheel | alt="Canada's Stonehenge" | url= | email= | address= | lat=50.58509 | long=-112.410576 | directions=near [[Brooks]] in southern [[Alberta]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Majorville Cairn and Medicine Wheel site | wikidata=Q38528585 | content=A sacred Blackfoot site dating back to about 3200 BCE. |lastedit=2023-02-25}} * {{listing | type=red | name=Triquet Island | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=51.80332 | long=-128.24643 | directions=off the [[British Columbia]] coast, near [[Bella Bella]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Triquet Island | wikidata=Q22525958 |lastedit=2023-02-25| content=Site of a village that appears to have been a refuge from the last ice age, about 12,000 BCE. }} ==== Mexico ==== There is evidence that the oldest known human settlements in North America are at a site outside [[Puebla]], [[Mexico]]. * {{listing | type=red | name=Hueyatlaco | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Hueyatlaco | wikidata=Q2312036 | content=This site has tools and animal remains indicating that humans hunted mammoths and other extinct animal species. Its age is controversial. The archeologist who headed the excavation team argues for 23,000 - 21,800 BCE, making it roughly twice as old as Clovis culture. Others contend that the site is over 200,000 years old. }} People first developed agriculture and settled near their crops (the [[Neolithic revolution]]) sometime after 12,000 BCE. Historians debate who was first; the leading candidates are Mexico, [[Ancient China]] and the [[Fertile_Crescent#Understand|Fertile Crescent]]. Certainly the new way of life was well established in all those places, each with different crops, by 7,000 BCE. In Mexico the main crops were the "three sisters": corn (maize), beans and squash. * {{listing | type=red | name=Boca de Potrerillos | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Nuevo León#Other destinations|Nuevo León]] | lat=26.046158 | long=-100.647864 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4936130 | lastedit=2022-10-19 | content=Estimated to have been settled around 8900 BCE, excavations show the site was in use for as much as 8000 years. Thousands of petroglyphs can be seen. Excavations discovered about 20 ovens dating from around 7000 BCE. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=[[Tehuacán|Tehuacán Valley]] | address=[[Puebla (state)|Puebla]] | lat=18.4667| long=-97.4018 | directions= | wikidata= | content=Area where archaeologists found 9000-year-old evidence of corn domestication. Believed by some experts to have been the place where Mesoamerican civilizations began. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=Caves at Mitla and Yagul | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Oaxaca (state)]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q15661566 | lastedit=2024-02-11 | content=The caves [[Mitla#See|Mitla]] significantly predate the Zapotec culture and show evidence of human domestication of the three sisters 10,000 years ago (making it older than Tehuacan). A {{unesco}}. }} ==== United States of America ==== * {{listing | type=red | name=Buttermilk Creek Complex | alt=Deborah L Friedkin site | url= | email= | address= | lat=30.892222 | long=-97.709722 | directions=near [[Austin]], Texas | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q919168 | content=This site has the oldest weapons yet discovered in North America, spear points from about 13,500 BCE, making it one of only a handful of confirmed pre-Clovis sites. Another part of the Friedkin site has artifacts from later cultures, including Clovis. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=[[Lamoka Site]], [[New York (state)|New York]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=42.4 | long=-77 | directions=near [[Tyrone]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Lamoka Site | wikidata=Q6482154 | lastedit=2019-02-18 | content=Dating to around 3500 BCE, the Lamoka Site provides the first clear evidence of a hunter-gatherer culture in the northeastern United States. Co-ordinates used for the map are for the town and are approximate; the actual site is protected, so we do not know its exact location and if we did publishing it would be illegal. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=On Your Knees Cave | alt= | url= | email= | lat=56.333333 | long=-133.591667 | directions=[[Prince of Wales Island]], Southern Alaska | wikidata=Q2023647| wikipedia=On Your Knees Cave | content=Has artifacts from about 8,000 BCE. }} * {{listing | type=red | name=Sun River | alt= | url= | email= | lat=65.15 | long=-152.13 | directions=Tanana River Valley, [[Interior Alaska]] | wikipedia=Upward Sun River site | wikidata=Q22058534 | content=This site is from about 9,500 BCE and has the oldest human remains yet found in the Arctic. Its people are thought to have been descended from Ancient Beringians, the first group to cross the Bering Strait land bridge several thousand years earlier; DNA evidence suggests they were not closely related to later groups. }} === 3000 BCE to contact=== {{Mapframe|47|-105|zoom=2|layer=M|height=400|width=600}} ==== Canada ==== * {{listing | name=Mantle Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village | alt=Jean-Baptiste Lainé in [[Whitchurch-Stouffville]], [[Ontario]] | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1891309 | lastedit=2020-02-18 | content=Largest site associated with the Huron (Wendat) people yet found, discovered 2012. }} ==== Greenland ==== * {{listing | name=Sermermiut | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=69.202 | long=-51.126 | directions=near [[Ilulissat]], [[Greenland]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Sermermiut | wikidata=Q3957914 | lastedit=2018-10-24 | content=4,000-year-old settlement. Archeological excavations have shown the site being inhabited by the Saqqaq, Early Dorset and Thule cultures. Part of the Ilulissat Icefjord {{unesco}}. }} ==== Guatemala ==== *{{listing | name=[[Tikal]], [[Guatemala]] | lat=17.225|long=-89.612 | wikidata=Q181172 | content=Largest of all the great Maya cities, located deep in the Peten jungle. Dates from 400 BC. A {{unesco}}. }} ====Honduras==== * {{listing | name=[[Copán Ruinas|Copán]], [[Honduras]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=14.8496 | long=-89.1479 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q214827 | content=Large Mayan city dating from ca.2000 BC with an apogee between the 5th and 9th centuries AD. {{unesco}}. }} ==== Mexico ==== {{seealso|Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica}} * {{listing | name=[[Chichén Itzá]], [[Yucatán]] | lat=20.683056|long=-88.568611| wikidata=Q5859 | content= – Yucatan's largest and most famous ancient Maya ruins, a {{unesco}}. Dates from around 600 CE. }} * {{listing | name=[[Copper Canyon]], [[Chihuahua]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.516111 | long=-107.765833 | directions=accessible by train | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Copper Canyon | wikidata=Q674485 | content=A whole system of canyons, in total larger and deeper than the [[Grand Canyon]] in the US. It is home to the ''Tarahamura'' indigenous people, who are also known as the ''Raramuri''. }} * {{listing | name=[[Mitla]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=in the town itself | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1366027 | content=Ruins from the Zapotec culture, circa 200 BCE to after 1000 CE. A {{unesco}}. }} * {{listing | name=[[Teotihuacan]], [[Mexico City]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=19.688877 | long=-98.848055 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Teotihuacan | wikidata=Q172613 | content=Largest pre-colombian city in the Americas, established about 100 BCE and estimated to have been a city of 125,000 at its peak around 1 CE to 500 CE. Known for its two major pyramids: ''Pyramid of the Sun'' and ''Pyramid of the Moon''. A [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. }} * {{listing |name=[[Monte Albán]], [[Oaxaca (city)|Oaxaca]] |address= |lat=17.047|long=-96.766 |wikidata=Q464899 |content=One of the oldest city ruins in Mexico, dating from 500 BC. Capital city of the Zapotec people. A {{unesco}}. }} * {{listing |name=[[Palenque]], [[Chiapas]] |address= |lat=17.488 |long=-92.046 |wikidata=Q1573453 |content=Stunning architecture and an awe-inspiring setting deep in the jungles. The archaelogical site is part of a National Park with nature reserves around it. A {{unesco}}. }} * {{listing |name=[[El Tajin]], [[Veracruz (state)|Veracruz]] |address= |lat=20.448 |long=-97.378 |wikidata=Q753895 |content=Capital city of the Totonac culture, which became the most powerful city in Mesoamerica after the fall of [[Teotihuacan]]. A {{unesco}}. }} ==== United States of America ==== * {{listing | name=Aztec Ruins National Monument | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=36.835837 | long=-107.998124 | directions=near [[Aztec (New Mexico)|Aztec]], [[New Mexico]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Aztec Ruins National Monument | wikidata=Q786814 | content=One of several sites which make up the Chaco Culture {{unesco}}. }} * {{listing|name=[[Bandelier National Monument]]|alt=|url=|email=|address=|lat=35.7789|long=-106.321|directions=near [[Los Alamos]], [[New Mexico]]|phone=|tollfree=|hours=|price=|wikipedia=Bandelier National Monument|wikidata=Q806279|content=|type=listing}} * {{listing | name=[[Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site]], [[Illinois]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.656438 | long=-90.058824 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q333661| wikipedia=Cahokia | content=A [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] with a fine museum. At its peak, around 1200 CE, a city of over 15,000. }} * {{listing | name=Canyons of the Ancients National Monument | alt= | url=https://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/nm/canm.html | email= | address= [[Southwestern Colorado]] | lat=37.3706 | long=-109 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Canyons of the Ancients National Monument | image=Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.jpg | wikidata=Q183185 | content=Contains more than 6,000 archaeological sites, representing Ancestral Puebloan and other Native American cultures. }} * {{listing | name=[[Effigy Mounds National Monument]], [[Iowa]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.0886 | long=-91.1856 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Effigy Mounds National Monument | wikidata=Q1296201 | content=Effigy mounds shaped like bears and birds. Built by several tribes between about 600 and 1250 CE. }} * {{listing | name=Great Serpent Mound | alt= | url=https://www.ohiohistory.org/places/serpent/ | email= | address= | lat=39.025858 | long=-83.430444 | directions=[[Ohio]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Serpent Mound | image=Serpent Mound (aerial view).jpg | wikidata=Q968802 | lastedit=2018-11-22 | content=The largest earthworks serpent in the world at over a quarter mile or 400 m. Its origin is controversial; some experts say it was built by the Adena culture around 320&nbsp;BCE and others say by the Fort culture about 1070&nbsp;CE. There are several other ancient earthworks in the region; see [[Ohio prehistoric sites]]. }} * {{listing | name=[[Hovenweep National Monument]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=37.3839 | long=-109.077 | directions=near [[Cortez]], [[Colorado]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Hovenweep National Monument | wikidata=Q614423 | content= }} * {{listing | name=[[Mesa Verde National Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=37.183784 | long=-108.488687 | directions=near [[Cortez]], [[Colorado]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q237128 | content=A {{unesco}} world heritage site. }} * {{listing | name=Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village | alt=Mitchell Site, Boehnen Museum, Thomsen Center Archeodome | url=https://www.mitchellindianvillage.org/ | email= | address=[[Mitchell (South Dakota)|Mitchell]], South Dakota | lat=43.741 | long=-98.033 | directions= | phone=+1 605 996-5473 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The Boehnen Museum offers exhibits related to the thousand year old village. Included in the museum is a reconstructed lodge, next door the Thomsen Center Archeodome covers the on-going archeological dig and provides a teaching and research facility as well as some hands on activities upstairs. }} * {{listing | name=[[Moundsville]], [[West Virginia]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=39.921389 | long=-80.739444 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5597781| wikipedia=Grave Creek Mound | content=Burial mounds from about 200 BCE. }} * {{listing | name=[[Navajo Nation]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=36.186944 | long=-109.573611 | directions=northeastern [[Arizona]] and smaller portions of other nearby states | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Navajo Nation | wikidata=Q1783171 | lastedit=2018-09-14 | content= }} ** {{listing | name=[[Canyon de Chelly National Monument]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=36.1553 | long=-109.509 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Canyon de Chelly National Monument | wikidata=Q1034039 | lastedit=2018-09-14 | content= }} ** {{listing | name=[[Chaco Culture National Historical Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=36.06 | long=-107.97 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chaco Culture National Historical Park | wikidata=Q732463 | lastedit=2018-09-14 | content=A {{unesco}}. }} ** {{listing | name=[[Four Corners|Four Corners Monument and Tribal Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=36.998976 | long=-109.045172 | directions=where [[Colorado]], [[Utah]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Arizona]] meet | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Four Corners Monument | wikidata=Q3888479 | lastedit=2018-09-14 | content= }} ** {{listing | name=[[Monument Valley|Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=36.983333 | long=-110.1 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Monument Valley | wikidata=Q192017 | lastedit=2018-09-14 | content=While there are the remnants of Native American dwellings in this Navajo Tribal Park, it is best-known for its rock formations and film-making history. }} *{{listing | name=Pecos National Historical Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=35.55 | long=-105.689444 | directions=near [[Pecos (New Mexico)|Pecos]], [[New Mexico]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pecos National Historical Park | wikidata=Q3925383 | lastedit=2017-10-10 | content= }} *{{listing | name=[[Pipestone National Monument]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.013333 | long=-96.325 | directions=[[Pipestone]], [[Minnesota]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Pipestone National Monument | wikidata=Q1332397 | content=Site of quarries for stone used in pipes and ornaments; these are still carved for the tourist trade. }} *{{listing | name=Turtle Mound | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=28.9308 | long=-80.8269 | directions=south of [[New Smyrna Beach]], [[Florida]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q7856427 | lastedit=2020-07-17 | content=A hill made of shells that was built by Native Americans around 1000 BCE. It may have been as high as {{ft|75}} before mining reduced its height by one-third. }} * {{listing | name=Yucca House National Monument | alt= | url=https://www.nps.gov/yuho/ | email= | address= | lat=37.2503 | long=-108.686 | directions=near [[Cortez]], [[Colorado]] | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Yucca House National Monument | image=Yucca-House-NM.jpg | wikidata=Q602414 | content= }} ===Post-contact historic sites=== ==== Canada ==== * {{listing | type=black | name=Batoche National Historic Site | alt= | url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/sk/batoche | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=[[Rosthern]], [[Saskatchewan]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q810869 | lastedit=2019-07-26 | content=The site of the historic Battle of Batoche during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, Métis versus the Canadian government's Northwest Mounted Police. The sites include a NWMP encampment, a church and rectory complex, and a farm home. }} ==== United States of America ==== * {{listing | type=black | name=Chief Crazy Horse Memorial | alt= | url=https://crazyhorsememorial.org/ | email= | address= | lat=43.836789 | long=-103.624386 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1139250 | content=Under construction in South Dakota. Crazy Horse was one of the leaders at Little Bighorn. }} * {{listing |type=black | name=Little Bighorn Battlefield | alt=Custer's last stand | url= | email= | address= | lat=45.56 | long=-107.43 | directions=near [[Crow Agency]], [[Montana]] | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1865583| wikipedia=Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument | content=Site of a major Indian victory over US cavalry in 1876. |lastedit=2023-02-25}} * {{listing | type=black | name=[[Standing Rock]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=45.75 | long=-101.2 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Standing Rock Indian Reservation | wikidata=Q3028848 | content=Center of controversy in 2016 as local Indians tried to block construction of a pipeline that threatened their water supply. }} * {{listing | type=black | name=Whitman Mission | alt=Whitman Mission National Historic Site | url= | email= | address= | lat=46.04 | long=-118.461 | directions=near [[Walla Walla]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Whitman Mission National Historic Site | wikidata=Q3499361 | lastedit=2017-07-05 | content=A stop on the [[Oregon Trail]], in the territory of the Cayuse tribe. The missionaries were blamed for a measles outbreak that killed about half the tribe; some whites were massacred and others taken hostage. This resulted in a war, which of course the Indians lost. }} * {{listing | type=black | name=[[Pine Ridge|Wounded Knee]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=43.14107 | long=-102.36281 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Wounded Knee Massacre | wikidata=Q108413 | content=Site of a massacre of over 150 Indians, mainly Sioux, by US Cavalry in 1890. Also of an armed standoff between the American Indian Movement and various law enforcement agencies in 1973. }} ===Museums=== ==== Canada ==== * {{see | name=Blackfoot Crossing | alt= | url=https://blackfootcrossing.ca/ | email= | address=Siksika reservation | lat=50.8041 | long=-112.906 | directions=east of Calgary in [[Southern Alberta#Other destinations|Southern Alberta]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4922852 | lastedit=2023-02-25 | content=This is the location of a prehistoric site ("earth-lodge village"), a modern historic site (Treaty 7 signing site and grave of Poundmaker), and a museum and interpretive centre. }} * {{see|name=Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum|alt=|url=https://www.buffalonationsmuseum.com/|email=buffalonations@telus.net|address=[[Banff]], [[Alberta]] |lat=51.172317|long=-115.576666|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|lastedit=2020-02-10|content=Housed in a reproduction of a fur trading post, this museum focuses on the history of the First Nations in the Banff area.}} [[File:Northwest Coast culture at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (8347702301).jpg|thumb|Northwest Coast Art<br/>Canadian Museum of History]] * {{see | name=[[Gatineau#See|Canadian Museum of History]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=[[Gatineau]], Quebec, across the river from [[Ottawa]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1032269 | content=This is a large museum that includes several exhibits on various native cultures, from the Bering land bridge to modern times. }} * {{see|name=Fort Edmonton Park|alt=|url=https://www.fortedmontonpark.ca/|email=|address=[[Edmonton/South|Edmonton]], [[Alberta]]|lat=53.50136|long=-113.581063|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|lastedit=2018-09-30|content=A new "Indigenous Peoples Experience" opened in 2021.}} * {{see|name=Glenbow Museum|alt=|url= |email=|address=[[Calgary/City Centre|Calgary]], Alberta|lat=51.0452|long=-114.061|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|wikipedia=Glenbow Museum|wikidata=Q1530896|lastedit=2018-10-06|content=Western Canada's largest museum. "Indigenous Cultures" is one of the largest permanent exhibits.}} * {{see|name=Métis Crossing|alt=|url=https://metiscrossing.com/|email=|address=[[Kalyna Country]], [[Alberta]] |lat=53.993579|long=-112.469812|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|wikidata=|lastedit=2020-01-17|content=A Métis Nation-owned-and-operated historic site, and campground.}} * {{see|name=Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre|alt=|url=https://www.pwnhc.ca/|email=|address=[[Yellowknife]], [[Northwest Territories]]|lat=62.45389|long=-114.36662|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|lastedit=2020-02-11|content=The territorial museum and archives of the Northwest Territories.|image=Prince of Wales Museum Yellowknife Northwest Territories Canada 05.jpg|wikipedia=Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre|wikidata=Q202552}} * {{see | name=Royal Alberta Museum | alt= | url=https://royalalbertamuseum.ca/ | email= | address= [[Central Edmonton|Edmonton]], [[Alberta]] | lat=53.542239 | long=-113.544061 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2170950 |lastedit=2023-02-25| content=Includes a collection of 18,000 objects of Indigenous origin. }} * {{see | name=Royal British Columbia Museum | alt= | url=https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ | email= | address=[[Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria]], [[British Columbia]] | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1542695 | lastedit=2023-02-25 | content=Includes a collection has more than 14,000 Indigenous objects from throughout the province. }} * {{see | name=Wanuskewin Heritage Park | alt= | url=https://wanuskewin.com/ | email= | address=[[Saskatoon]], [[Saskatchewan]] | lat=52.2236 | long=-106.595 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Wanuskewin Heritage Park | image=Wanuskewin Heritage Park.jpg | wikidata=Q3566179 | lastedit=2016-06-04 | content=Wanuskewin is an international visitor site to learn about 6,000 years of First Nations culture. Also has a gift shop and restaurant. }} * {{see|name=UBC Museum of Anthropology|alt=|url=https://moa.ubc.ca/|email=|address=[[Vancouver/UBC-Point_Grey|Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]]|lat=49.269167|long=-123.259722|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|lastedit=2022-08-09|content=Devoted to world cultures, but with an emphasis on the First Nations of the Northwest Coast. Includes a splendid collection of totem poles, a mind-boggling array of artifacts from around the world, and a number of changing exhibits.|wikipedia=Museum of Anthropology at UBC|wikidata=Q1954743}} ==== Mexico ==== * {{see|name=Museo Indígena | alt = Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas | url = https://www.inpi.gob.mx/museoindigena/ | address = [[Mexico City]] | lat = 19.451901 | long = -99.131344 | content = Mexico's first museum dedicated to ''living'' indigenous cultures (as opposed to archaeological relics).}} * {{see | name=National Anthropological Museum | alt=Museo Nacional de Antropologia | url=https://www.mna.inah.gob.mx/ | email= | address=[[Mexico City/Chapultepec|Mexico City]] | lat=19.4261 | long=-99.1864 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=One of the largest and most extensive anthropology museums in the world. Enormous complex with permanent exhibits on the cultures of Aztecs, Mayan, Toltec, Olmec and many other indigenous cultures. Allow several hours to a full day to see everything. }} * {{see | name=Museo del Templo Mayor | alt= | url=http://www.inah.gob.mx/paseos/templomayor/ | email= | address=[[Mexico City/Centro|Mexico City]] | lat=19.43489 | long=-99.13029 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | image=Coyolxauhqui 4095977415 b89d64f008-2.jpg | wikidata=Q3330387 | content=This excellent four-story museum sheds light on the Aztec culture as it showcases the many artifacts found on the Templo Mayor site. Highlights include the Coyolxauhqui disc. }} * {{see|name=Museo Antropologia de Xalapa|alt=MAX|url=https://www.uv.mx/ |address=[[Xalapa]], [[Veracruz (state)]] |lat=19.551207808811043|long=-96.93015009020056 |content=Regional anthropology museum on the campus of the University of Veracruz, general exhibits about indigenous cultures of Mexico with some of the best artifacts and exhibits on the Olmec and Huastec cultures. }} ==== United States of America ==== * {{see | name=Anasazi Heritage Center | alt= | url=https://www.blm.gov/learn/interpretive-centers/CANM-visitor-center-museum | email= | address= | lat=37.4761 | long=-108.546 | directions=near [[Cortez]], [[Colorado]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Anasazi Heritage Center | wikidata=Q4751788 | lastedit=2020-02-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Center for Western Studies | alt= | url=https://www.augie.edu/campus-community/center-western-studies | email= | address=[[Sioux Falls]], [[South Dakota]] | lat=43.52455 | long=-96.73694 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2020-02-11 | content=More than 200 collections dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history and cultures of the Northern Plains. }} * {{see | name=First Americans Museum | url=https://famok.org/ | address=[[Oklahoma City]], [[Oklahoma]] | lat=35.45792785442732 | long=-97.48413371885682 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2024-09-12 | content=Museum dedicated to the many cultures that lived in America before the arrival of European settlers, who displaced communities from their traditional homelands. }} * {{see | name=National Museum of the American Indian | alt= | url=https://americanindian.si.edu/ | email= | address=[[Washington, D.C./National Mall|Washington, D.C.]] | lat=38.8883 | long=-77.0166 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=National Museum of the American Indian | image=National Museum of the American Indian.jpg | wikidata=Q1075141 | content=This museum displays the cultural traditions of the Native peoples of North, Central, and South America. It focuses on 20th century and present day culture much more than pre-Columbian and colonial periods. The exhibits can be fascinating, but are not as grandiose as those of other Smithsonian museums in DC. Perhaps the most important attraction is the gorgeous building itself, designed by famous Native Canadian architect [[Architecture#Douglas_Cardinal|Douglas Cardinal]] of Blackfoot descent, echoing the ancient stone formations of the American Southwest, and surrounded by manifestations both metaphorical and literal of natural North American landscapes. }} * {{see|name=Tatanka: Story of the Bison|alt=|url=https://www.storyofthebison.com/|email=|address=[[Deadwood]], [[South Dakota]]|lat=44.398131|long=-103.715362|directions=|phone=|tollfree=|hours=|price=|lastedit=2020-02-11|content=Tatanka explores the history of the North American buffalo, which at one time had a population in excess of 30 million, but by the close of the 19th century the bison population was estimated at only 1,000.}} * {{see| name = Ziibiwing Center of Anishnabe Culture & Lifeways |alt=| url = http://www.sagchip.org/ziibiwing/ |email=| address = [[Mount Pleasant (Michigan)]] |lat = 43.602431 |long = -84.714301 |directions=| phone = |tollfree=|fax=|hours=|price=|wikidata=|lastedit=2020-02-11|content=}} ==Buy== {{seealso|Art and antiques shopping}} [[File:1890 Lakota Sioux Jacke anagoria IMG 5640.JPG|thumb|19th century Sioux jacket]] Various native handicrafts are often sold in tourist areas of some cities, for example: * Northwest coast Indian art in [[Vancouver]] or [[Seattle]] * Inuit art in [[Ottawa]] and [[Montreal]] (imported from [[Nunavut]]) * Southwestern Indian items including fine silver and turquoise work in [[Santa Fe (New Mexico)|Santa Fe]]. Native handicrafts are also sold on or near reserves; for example, the [[Navajo Nation]] has fine weavings and pottery and [[#Pipestone National Monument|Pipestone National Monument]] has pipes and other stone carvings. * {{buy | name=Buckskin | wikidata=Q3623698 | content="Buckskin" is not necessarily from a buck or even from a deer; the term includes any hide from a male or female deer or similar species such as elk or antelope. It was used extensively in native clothing and enthusiastically adopted by the frontiersmen of the [[Old West]]. With the traditional native tanning method it becomes a lovely soft, pliable leather. Unfortunately much of what is on offer today is rather shoddy "tourist trap" stuff, but good examples can still be found. }} * {{buy | name=Muskox wool products | alt=Qiviut | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Qiviut | wikidata=Q1673300 | content=The muskox is a somewhat unpleasant animal found in the arctic; it has a proverbially nasty temper and the males smell awful in mating season. Despite that, it is herded or farmed for its wool which is stronger and warmer than sheep's wool and softer than cashmere. It is mostly used in hats and scarves and is quite expensive; a hand-knit qiviut scarf can be over US$300. }} Also, some of the [[#Museums|museums]] listed above sell replicas of items in their collections. ==Itineraries== * [[Lewis and Clark Trail]], route of a US government expedition to what is now Oregon, 1804-1806 * [[Mohawk Trail]], a scenic route in Massachusetts * [[Oregon Trail]], a route of widespread settler colonization westward which had a severe impact on native communities on the trail * [[Santa Fe Trail]], another major route for settlers * [[Trail of Tears]], route of a forced migration of Cherokee and others in which several thousand died ==Respect== Due to a long history of discrimination and ill-treatment, and at times even genocides, there still exists a fair bit of mistrust between indigenous people and the white majority in the United States and Canada. While the indigenous people now have equal rights with the white majority on paper, much discrimination continues to exist informally, and indigenous people are still in general economically disadvantaged relative to their white counterparts. The issues are complex and sensitive; visitors should consider avoiding political discussions and, if they do get involved in one, do much more listening than talking. Avoid saying that Christopher Columbus (or the Vikings) discovered America, as this is highly disrespectful; the ancestors of the indigenous people were here millennia before any European set foot on American soil. Cf. the Native American leader who on meeting the Pope in the Vatican declared this land his, as he was the one to first set foot there. If you need to refer to race, '''Native American''' is now the preferred term for referring to people indigenous to the contiguous United States, though '''American Indian''' is usually acceptable too, while '''First Nations''' is the preferred term for the non-Inuit indigenous people of Canada. The '''Inuit''' of northern Canada do not identify as "First Nations" and consider themselves to be a separate people. Similarly, the indigenous people of Alaska often do not identify as "Native American"; just stick to the term '''Alaska Native''' instead. The term '''Indigenas''' is commonly used in Mexico for referring to indigenous persons though the names of specific cultures are often preferred locally. The term "Red Indian" used to be common for referring to Native Americans, but it is now considered a racist slur and should be avoided. "Indian", used alone, is not nearly as rude but should also be avoided. Similarly, the term "Eskimo" was once commonly used to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, but it has now almost completely fallen out of use in Canada and Greenland, and is falling out of favour in Alaska as well. ==See also== * [[African-American history]] * [[Age of Discovery]] * [[Colonial Mexico]] * [[Early United States history]] * [[Old West]] * [[War of 1812]] * [[American Civil War]] * [[New Mexico Pueblos]] * [[Ohio prehistoric sites]] * [[Indigenous cultures of South America]] * [[Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica]] * [[Indigenous Australian culture]] * [[Maori culture]] * [[Minority cultures of Russia]] * [[Minority cultures of China]] * [[Indigenous Taiwanese culture]] * [[Minority cultures of Japan]] {{PartOfTopic|Cultural attractions|North America}} {{usabletopic}} 29pwd4ijq3akdk6vw47myvwc9rzjkb7 3 147820 5298554 5286303 2026-06-26T01:49:56Z SHB2000 2248002 /* 5 years */ new section 5298554 wikitext text/x-wiki * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2016-2017]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2018]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2019]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2020]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2021]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2022]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2023]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2024]] * [[User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2025]] Talk to me: == Uzbekistan railways update == Hello Ground Zero. I saw you edited my changes for Khiva. Nice and practical edits, thanks. I guess you have more knowledge and rights here, so I thought I'll ask you the following. Could you update railway lines on the static map in Uzbekistan page? I was there Sep-Oct 2025 and went by train from Khiva to Bukhara, on a line not marked in the map. Please check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbek_Railways, there is a map there of current lines. Regards, Aurimas [[User:Aurimaz|Aurimaz]] ([[User talk:Aurimaz|talk]]) 18:19, 31 January 2026 (UTC) :Hello {{ping|Aurimaz}} unfortunately, that is beyond my skill set. I just don't know how to make static maps. I suggest that you ask for help on the talk page at [[Wikivoyage:Mapmaking_Expedition]]. I don't know if we have many current contributors who are able to update maps, so it may take a while to get this updated. Thanks for your contributions to Wikivoyage. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 13:36, 1 February 2026 (UTC) ::Thank you, I'll ask for help using the page you suggested. [[User:Aurimaz|Aurimaz]] ([[User talk:Aurimaz|talk]]) 14:14, 1 February 2026 (UTC) == Fix redirection of Aliabad == Hello Ground Zero. As we talked previously, I thought I'll ask you also help with the following. There is a town Aliabad, in Hunza Valley (Gilgit-Baltistan, de facto Pakistan). There seems to be nothing interesting for a tourist there, except for it is popular stop to change buses, minivans, etc. - then tourists go further. Therefore, it doesn't seem to make sense to have a dedicated page for it. The issue now is, Aliabad currently redirects to Gilgit-Baltistan. More proper and useful redirection would be to Hunza Valley (it's a smaller territorial unit, and Aliabad is relevant rather in this context). I.e. on page https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Karakoram_Highway link for Aliabad goes to Hunza Valley, but it's link target, not redirection, that works here. Could you fix the redirection? I don't know how to do this myself, and I don't know if I'm allowed. There are more Aliabads than this, you can see in Wikipedia, but if first comes wins, then there's just one Aliabad in Gilgit-Baltistan, and it falls in Hunza Valley. Regards, Aurimas [[User:Aurimaz|Aurimaz]] ([[User talk:Aurimaz|talk]]) 09:42, 3 February 2026 (UTC) :Done. If the other ones are significant, they should be linked at least from a toplink, otherwise that can wait until their articles are created. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 10:09, 3 February 2026 (UTC) == Email == Hi, FYI I sent you an email about a recent block of mine. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:20, 15 February 2026 (UTC) == Are you following me around? == It kind of feels like it... <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 18:25, 3 April 2026 (UTC) :I have better things to do than follow you around. Not everything is about you. I am an administrator on Wikivoyage. I monitor a lot of articles, and pay close attention to policy discussions. Please withdraw ypur claim about me "making excuses to include as LITTLE information as possible in articles". Making demostrably false ''ad hominem'' attacks is disruptive and does not build community. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 18:36, 3 April 2026 (UTC) == Blocking these two accounts == Would you mind of blocking these two accounts, which are [[Special:Contributions/Korid443|Korid443]] and [[Special:Contributions/Kaski433|Kaski433]]? They are based on these two edits on Grenada: [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Grenada&diff=prev&oldid=5254179] and [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Grenada&diff=prev&oldid=5254042]. I suspect these are LTA 19 accounts. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 03:21, 5 April 2026 (UTC) :Quite likely, but this LTA only makes one or two edits per account, and then sets up a new one anyway. If i see these accounts being used again, I will block them. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 03:28, 5 April 2026 (UTC) ::Agreed, not that much point since the filter picks up such accounts anyway (in the event a checkuser is needed). Sometimes I do for tracking purposes, but it's not critically necessary. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 03:53, 5 April 2026 (UTC) :Nevermind, these two accounts have been globally locked. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 02:48, 12 April 2026 (UTC) == You may be an eligible candidate for the U4C election == <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Greetings, The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee|Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C)]] seeks candidates for the 2026 election. The U4C is the global committee responsible for overseeing enforcement of the [[foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal Code of Conduct|Universal Code of Conduct]]. Elections are held annually, if elected a committee member serves for two years. This year the U4C requires candidates to hold administrator rights on at least one wiki, which is why you are being contacted as you appear to hold this right. There are other requirements, such as candidates must be at least 18 years old and may not be employed by the Wikimedia Foundation or other related chapters and affiliates. You can find more information in the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026#Call_for_Candidates|call for candidates on Meta-wiki]]. Additionally, the committee's working language is English; some ability to communicate in English is required. The election opens on 18 May, if you are eligible and interested you have until 10 May to submit your candidacy. There will week between for candidates to answer questions from the community. Voting takes place privately in [[m:Special:MyLanguage/SecurePoll|SecurePoll]], successful candidates must receive at least 60% support. More information is available on [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Committee/Election/2026|the 2026 Elections page]], including timelines and other candidacy information. If you read over the material and consider yourself qualified, please consider submitting your name to run for the committee. If you think someone else in your community might be interested and qualified, please encourage them to run. In partnership with the U4C -- [[m:User:Keegan (WMF)|Keegan (WMF)]] ([[m:User_talk:Keegan (WMF)|talk]]) 18:32, 28 April 2026 (UTC) </div> <!-- Message sent by User:Keegan (WMF)@metawiki using the list at https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Keegan_(WMF)/test&oldid=30471751 --> == Sockpuppetry == CarlessParking, an account you have interacted with for operating two sock accounts that you have blocked, apparently has a third and has been trying to cover it up. See [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=User:Crystal_East&diff=prev&oldid=5279084] [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=User:Crystal_East&diff=prev&oldid=5169367] and compare with [[User:CarlessParking]] and [[User:Crystal East]]. [[User:Borgenland|Borgenland]] ([[User talk:Borgenland|talk]]) 14:02, 1 June 2026 (UTC) == 5 years == It was on this day 5 years ago that you nominated me for adminship...for one, how does time fly that fast (it really doesn't feel like 5 years), but also it's been great to have you and {{u|Ikan Kekek}} as mentors on this site for me over the years and I can't thank you both enough for that. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 01:49, 26 June 2026 (UTC) 2sjo9s8sjj4ddynpc2kti6vlpr11wkb 0 154105 5298469 5151778 2026-06-25T17:01:05Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298469 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Banbridge''' is a town in [[County Down]] in Northern Ireland, nowadays governed as part of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District. It stands on the road between Belfast and Newry so it grew up as a rest stop for stagecoaches, and in the 19th century it was a major centre of the Irish linen industry. In 2021 it had a population of 17,400. == Understand == [[File:Jacquard.loom.cards.jpg | thumb | 300px | Punched cards direct looms ]] The direct route from Belfast to Newry and Dublin crosses higher ground, which the railway swings west to avoid. The River Bann flows northwest out of the Mourne Mountains towards Lough Neagh: it's narrow and fast-flowing, good for powering watermills, but not navigable. South of the bridge over the Bann which gives this town its name, there's a long grinding gradient as the road climbs out of the valley. Modern vehicles have no difficulty but it was sore toil for horses and their drivers, so in 1834 "The Cut" was made through the brow of the hill, with a bridge for the cross-street. You still needed to rest the horses, so Banbridge became a staging post for the mail coaches. Banbridge isn't recorded in history until 1691, when Jacobite resistance to King William III was being crushed. It grew with the linen industry, becoming the principal linen-producing district in Ireland by 1772; fabric was whitened by laying it out in the sunshine in riverside bleach-greens. Domestic production grew into "cottage industry" then large mills, although transport here was always a handicap compared to lowland [[Lisburn]]. The mills were most suited to items like bed linen, with plain fabric and mass production runs. In the early 19th century the Jacquard machine made the looms programmable, enabling more complex designs and shorter runs. The pattern was specified by punched cards, which moved rods, which raised or lowered hooks carrying threads into the "shed" of the loom. Charles Babbage took a great interest in this invention, and in the ideas of George Boole in Cork who formulated logic into algebra, and the modern programmable computer was born. Herman Hollerith the founder of IBM developed smaller 12-row 80-column cards which became an industry standard and remained in common use to 1980. In the 20th century the linen trade collapsed under foreign competition. Flax-growing, spinning into yarn, weaving, and making up into garments is nowadays mostly abroad. A single manufacturer, Thomas Ferguson, has stayed in business by concentrating on luxury apparel. == Get in == {{mapframe | 54.348 | -6.285 | height=500 | width=500 | zoom=12 }} Banbridge is on A1 between Belfast and Newry, which continues across the border as N1 / M1 to Dundalk, Drogheda and Dublin. Goldliner Bus 238 runs from [[Belfast]] Grand Central via Sprucefield retail park (south edge of Lisburn), [[Hillsborough (Northern Ireland) | Hillsborough]] and Dromore to Banbridge, 50 min. It continues to [[Newry]] (another 40 min), which has buses and trains from Dublin. It runs every 20-30 min M-Sa, hourly on Sunday. A slower Ulsterbus 538 from Belfast takes 80 min via Dunmurry, [[Lisburn]], Sprucefield, Hillsborough and Dromore, and occasionally extends to Newry. Goldliner X1 runs hourly from Dublin Busáras and Airport via Newry to Banbridge (2 hr), continuing to Sprucefield and Belfast. Don't take X2 or the Aircoach, which are nonstop from airport to Belfast. Bus 62 runs from [[Portadown]] via Gifford to Banbridge, taking 40 min. It runs M-F hourly, Sa every couple of hours, no Sunday service. {{marker | name=Banbridge bus station | type=go | lat=54.3463 | long=-6.2712 }} is south end of main street at the junction with Kenlis Rd. Banbridge lost its railway in 1956, so by train change at Newry or Lisburn for the bus. There's a closer station at Scarva 4 miles west, but it has only a couple of rush-hour trains a day, and three buses (#66) to Banbridge. == Get around == : ''Near Banbridge town, in the County Down, One morning last July'' : ''Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen, And she smiled as she passed me by.'' :: - Trad ballad, trad values, that was as close as he got. Bus 330C potters round town hourly, and reaches the Outlet Park, for Game of Thrones Studio. You can also reach Loughbrickland by bus. You need your own wheels for anywhere that's not along A1. Taxi firms are [https://www.qcabsbanbridge.co.uk/ Q Cabs] (+44 28 4066 9300) and Bann Taxis (+44 28 4062 9100). == See == [[File:Game of Thrones Tapestry.jpg | thumb| 300px | GOT: made in Banbridge ]] * '''Town centre:''' North of the river is the most attractive part, with Georgian buildings lining A26. South ascending through The Cut is modern and nondescript. * {{see | name=Game of Thrones Studio | alt= | url=https://gameofthronesstudiotour.com/ | email= | address=Cascum Rd BT32 4LF | lat=54.3316 | long=-6.2723 | directions=on Outlet Park | phone=+44 4046 4777 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 10AM-6PM | price=Adult £30, child £20 | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Tour of the principal studio behind GOT, price includes a shuttle from town centre. }} * {{marker | name=Lisnagade | type=see | lat=54.3337 | long=-6.3301 }} is a large earthen ringfort 3 miles west of town, follow Scarva Rd then turn south on Lisnagade Rd. It's three concentric embankments separated by ditches, some 120 yards in diameter, and connected at the north to a subsidiary fort. It may have been built around 350 AD. Sectarian battles were fought here in 1783 and 1789. * {{marker | name=Loughbrickland | type=see | lat=54.316 | long=-6.304 }} is a village 3 miles south of Banbridge on A1. You might need to use a bit of imagination to appreciate the place, which was home to the Rev Patrick Brunty, father of the Brontë family, and of Enoch Powell MP. The lough itself, another mile south, has a crannog, a man-made island settlement from maybe 500 BC in the late Bronze Age. It was inhabited in the 17th century by the Magennis family in preference to their castle (which must have been the pits; nothing of it remains) and as a rebel hideout. All you see from the shore is a wooded islet. At the north end of the village, a permissive trail around the [https://walkni.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Whyte-Estate.pdf Whyte Estate]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} takes in the earthworks of Coolnacran Ringfort and Johnston's Fort. * '''Dromore:''' see [[Hillsborough (Northern Ireland) | Hillsborough]] for this small town with a cathedral and Norman motte and bailey. * '''Legananny Dolmen:''' see [[Newcastle (Northern Ireland) | Newcastle]] for this impressive neolithic tripod near Castlewellan. == Do == [[File:Banbridge.jpg | thumb | 300px | The Cut in Banbridge ]] * '''[https://imccinemas.ie/ IMC Cinema]''' is on Victoria St. * '''[https://getactiveabc.com/facility/banbridge-leisure-centre/ The Leisure Centre]''' is off Huntly Rd near the river bridge. It has a gym, pool and fitness classes, non-members welcome. * '''[https://banbridgegolfclub.com/ Banbridge Golf Club]''' is along Huntly Rd a mile north of town. White tees 5665 yards, par 69. * '''Buskfest''' is a busking festival and competition in Banbridge in mid June. == Buy == * '''Tesco''' is on Castlewellan Rd just east of the river. It's open M-Sa 7AM-11PM, Su 1-6PM and has a filling station. * '''The Outlet''' is a retail park a mile south of town at the junction of Newry Rd and A1. It's mostly for clothing. * {{see | name=Thomas Ferguson Irish Linen | alt= | url=https://www.fergusonsirishlinen.com/ | email= | address=54 Scarva Rd BT32 3QD | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+44 28 4062 3491 | tollfree= | hours=Shop M-Th 9AM-4:30PM, F 9AM-noon | price= | wikipedia=Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=This is the last of Ireland's traditional linen weavers, now part of Franklins Group. They've kept going by concentrating on short-run luxury items such as damask weaves. No factory tours. }} == Eat == [[File:Tourist Information Centre, Banbridge (geograph 3816624).jpg | thumb | 300px | Old Town Hall ]] * '''Main Street''' has [https://harrysbanbridge.co.uk/ Harry's Bar], [https://thevaultpizza.com/ The Vault Pizza], [https://www.friartucks.ie/banbridge Friar Tuck's], Rosehip Cafe, [https://cafemarmaladebanbridge.com/ Cafe Marmalade], Piggotts, [https://www.jinglersrestaurant.com/ Jinglers], [https://safari-grill.com/ Safari], The Food House and [https://blendxbatch.com/ Blend & Batch]. * {{eat | name=The Seven Stars | alt= | url=http://www.loughbrickland.com/ | email= | address=4 Main St, Loughbrickland BT32 3NQ | lat= | long= | directions=off A1 three miles southwest of town | phone=+44 28 4062 6461 | tollfree= | hours=Tu-Sa 5-9PM, Su noon-9PM | price= | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Great little Irish bar and restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Pot Belly Restaurant | alt= | url=https://potbellyrestaurant.co.uk/ | email= | address=59a Banbridge Rd, Laurencetown BT63 6DL | lat=54.3771 | long=-6.3337 | directions= | phone=+44 28 3883 1404 | tollfree= | hours=Th 5-8PM, F Sa noon-9PM, Su 12:30-7:30PM | price= | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Splendid Irish restaurant in a converted mill, worth the extra drive out. }} == Drink == * Town centre pubs are Imperial Inn, Bus Bar and Old Tavern, with Railway Inn northwest off Huntly St. == Sleep == [[File:Loughbrickland Crannog.jpg | thumb | 300px | Crannog at Loughbrickland ]] * {{sleep | name=Downshire Arms Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.downshirearmshotel.com/ | email=info@downshirearmshotel.com | address=95 Newry St BT32 3EF | lat= | long= | directions=opposite bus station | phone=+44 28 4066 2638 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £110 | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Comfy central hotel with 9 rooms en suite and restaurant. }} * {{sleep | name=Belmont House Hotel | alt= | url=https://www.belmontbanbridge.co.uk/ | email= | address=Rathfriland Rd BT32 3LH | lat=54.3438 | long=-6.2655 | directions= | phone=+44 28 4066 2517 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £140 | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Elegant small hotel close to town centre. }} * {{sleep | name=Banville Hotel | alt= | url=https://thebannville.co.uk/ | email= | address=174 Lurgan Rd BT32 4NR | lat=54.3776 | long=-6.2934 | directions=on A26 three miles north of town | phone=+44 28 4062 8884 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £130 | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Good mid-range place with popular restaurant. }} * {{sleep | name=Blackwell House | alt= | url=https://blackwellhouse.co.uk | email=enquiries@blackwellhouse.co.uk | address=33 Mullabrack Rd, Scarva BT63 6BP | lat=54.3514 | long=-6.3576 | directions= | phone=+44 28 3883 2752 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price=B&B double £250 | lastedit=2025-10-20 | content=Charming small hotel 5 miles west of town. }} == Connect == As of Oct 2025, Banbridge and its approach roads have 4G from EE, Three and Vodafone, and 5G from O2. == Go next == * [[Hillsborough (Northern Ireland) | Hillsborough]] is an attractive Georgian village clustered round its imposing "castle", the residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. * [[Lisburn]] is where the Irish linen trade was founded. * [[Newry]] and [[Newcastle (Northern Ireland) | Newcastle]] are the obvious choices for exploring the [[Mourne Mountains]]. * [[Brontë Country]]: there's little trace in County Down of the early years of Patrick Brunty or Brontë, so head for [[Haworth]] and other sites in the north of England to pick up the literary trail. {{routebox | image1=UK_road_A1.svg | imagesize1=40 | directionl1=N | majorl1=[[Belfast]] | minorl1=[[Hillsborough (Northern Ireland) | Hillsborough]] | directionr1=S | minorr1=[[Newry]] | majorr1=[[Dublin]] }} {{geo|54.352|-6.272}} {{IsPartOf|County Down}} {{usablecity}} kah8gks71k7dd9hr05zxp4dqgsmcejl 0 156824 5298536 5238094 2026-06-26T00:35:23Z DaGizza 162256 /* New Caledonia */ Updated listing for Baie de Gadji 5298536 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Eastern Grey Kangaroos Geehi NSW banner.jpg|caption=Grey kangaroos}} [[Image:Ecozone Australasia.svg|thumb|The Australasia Ecozone according to the WWF]] The '''Australasian ecoregion''' consists of [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[New Guinea]], [[Melanesia]], and the eastern parts of [[Indonesia]]. The outer islands of [[Oceania]] make up a different region. In [[Indonesia]], the region borders the [[South Asian wildlife|Indomalayan region]]. The region, especially Australia, is known for its unusual wildlife. {{wildliferegions}} ==Animals== {{quote|An unbeliever in everything beyond his own reason might exclaim 'Surely two distinct Creators must have been [at] work.|author=Charles Darwin's diary}} ===Mammals=== [[File:Koala and joey.jpg|thumb|Koalas]] There are three main categories of mammals in the world, with different reproductive cycles. '''Placentals''', the largest group, which include humans, have a long gestation period. The only terrestrial placentals that were in Australasia before human arrival are bats and rodents. Instead, Australia is home to the '''marsupials''' and the egg-laying '''monotremes'''. These are not native to New Zealand. In marsupials, the embryo leaves the mother's uterus, and crawls into the pouch to continue growth. While marsupials are also extant in the Americas, they are incredibly diverse in Australia, occupying ecological niches of placental mammals on other continents. The common explanation for this diversity in Australia combined with the relative dominance of placental mammals elsewhere is the geographic isolation of Australia that kept most placental mammals away; the fossil record in South America shows a similar diversity of marsupials until a connection with North America was established, leading to placental mammals taking over. ====Marsupials==== '''Kangaroos''' are a non-taxonomic category of marsupials standing upright on strong hind legs; smaller kangaroos are called '''wallabies''', and even smaller ones are called '''pademelons'''. The '''red kangaroo''', ''Macropus rufus'', is the largest marsupial, and an iconic species (there were even bigger marsupials until the arrival of Man, e.g.''Diprotodon'' the size of a hippopotamus). '''Tree-kangaroos''', which are found in [[New Guinea]] and northern [[Queensland]] are small kangaroo-like marsupials that lives in trees. Unlike other kangaroos, tree-kangaroos can move their hind legs independently of each other, thus allowing them to climb trees. While they are very agile in trees, they are very slow on the ground and can only hop awkwardly. The '''koala''', ''Phascolarctos cinereus'', is a tree-living bear-like marsupial. They are only found on the East Coast + South Australia, but due to excessive deforestation, logging, and the 2019-20 bushfires, koala numbers are only at 5% of what they were in 1788, and their habitats continue to be threatened by development. The '''bandicoot''' is a small marsupial that looks similar to rats. The largest extant carnivorous marsupial is the '''Tasmanian devil''' (''Sarcophilus harrisii''), which is highly endangered and, as the name suggests, only survives in the wild on the island of [[Tasmania]]. The greatest threat to the devil today is a transmissible cancer known as devil facial tumour disease, which killed an estimated 95% of the wild devil population between its first detection in 1996 and 2015. A few devils have been found to be resistant to the disease, and conservation efforts have included shipping many disease-free devils to the Aussie Ark sanctuary in the Barrington Tops of northern New South Wales, where those devils' descendants are kept under mostly wild conditions in an enormous fenced area. Tasmania was also previously home to a larger carnivorous marsupial known as the thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, though it was hunted to extinction by the 1930s. Both carnivorous marsupials formerly inhabited the Australian mainland, though they were driven to extinction with the introduction of dingoes from Asia by the Aboriginal people. [[Image:Quokka cropped.jpg|thumb|A quokka]] '''Quokkas''', ''Setonix brachyurus'', are a marsupial that looks like a small, chubby kangaroo with a cute face. In the 2010s they have become known online as the [http://www.traveller.com.au/worlds-happiest-animal-the-quokka-becomes-the-most-popular-tourist-attraction-at-australias-rottnest-island-gunpvd "world's happiest animal"] due to their cute, cheerful appearance. Quokkas are only found in the wild in [[Perth/Rottnest Island|Rottnest Island]] off the coast of [[Perth]], [[Western Australia]]. At Rottnest Island they are very common and willing to approach humans, and "quokka selfies" are an online craze, but it's forbidden by law to touch a quokka. In captivity, quokkas can be found at a number of zoos throughout Australia. '''Wombats''' are short-legged, furry marsupials that look a bit like very large rodents. They're found in a variety of habitats in southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania. ====Monotremes==== [[File:Platypus BrokenRiver QLD Australia.jpg|thumb|A platypus]] '''Monotremes''' are an order of mammals sometimes described as the "missing link" between mammals and reptiles. They are only found in Australasia, and include the '''platypus''' (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus'') and four species of '''echidnas'''. Monotremes differ from other mammals in quite a few respects, with two most notable. The term "monotreme" derives from the Greek word for "single opening", reflecting that all monotremes have a single opening for their urinary, defecatory, and reproductive systems. As noted previously, they also lay eggs instead of bearing live young. ====Invasive animals==== Some invasive animals in Australia are the '''dromedary''', the '''dingo''' (a feral dog), the '''rabbit''', and the '''cane toad'''. The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'') is the familiar one-humped camel. Native to desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and western and central Asia, it has been domesticated for roughly 4,000 years, and has not naturally occurred in the wild for at least 2,000 years. However, central Australia is home to the only population of dromedaries that exhibits wild behaviour. During the 19th-century European colonisation of central Australia, dromedaries were brought to serve as working animals. With the advent of motorised transport in the 1920s and 1930s, many of them were released into the wild, and their descendants have spread throughout the centre of the country. While dromedaries have not been as damaging to the environment as some other introduced pests, they have still negatively impacted many arid and semi-arid areas, and authorities have engaged in culling programs for the last several decades. At the same time, a small but growing livestock industry has developed around the dromedary, with even some Aboriginal groups active in it. The dingo (''Canis lupus dingo'' or ''Canis dingo'') is a feral dog that has lived in Australia for at least 3,500 years, and more likely 8,000 or more years. It came from Southeast Asia, either by itself or with humans. It is believed to have led to the extinction of the thylacine (which remained extant in Tasmania until the 1930s) on mainland Australia by out-competing them for prey. It is usually seen as a part of Australian native wildlife, as it was present before European contact. The dingo is a significant predator of domestic sheep, and less so for cattle, but also preys upon many invasive species such as rabbits, red foxes, feral goats, and feral pigs, as well as native animals. However, dingoes are less likely to seek out livestock when sufficient wild or feral prey is available. The biggest threat to dingo populations today is hybridisation with domestic dogs, which has been widespread. The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') was introduced to Australia with the First Fleet (the original British settlers in 1788) and quickly spread throughout the country. Rabbits have had a devastating effect on the Australian ecology through overgrazing, in turn causing severe erosion of affected areas. Efforts to control them have had mixed success. The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), the world's largest toad, is native to South America and mainland Central America, but has been introduced to many areas in the Caribbean and Pacific as a means of agricultural pest control. In the 1930s, native beetles were major pests of sugarcane plantations in northern Queensland. Because cane toads had been successfully used in pest control in other parts of the world, they were first introduced from Hawaii in 1935, with other releases in the following years. Unfortunately, they were not as effective in pest control in Australia as in other regions, and have since spread throughout the wetter areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory, and even into northern New South Wales and Western Australia. Cane toads have no natural predators in Australia, and their main defense mechanism is poison glands on their back; the tadpoles are also toxic to most predators. Most native Australian predators are vulnerable to cane toad toxin, and their numbers have greatly declined in cane toad-infested areas. ===Marine life=== Australian waters have vibrant populations of [[whale watching|whales]] and dolphins, while the southern waters are also known for being a habitat for the '''Great White Shark''', with the town of [[Port Lincoln]] in South Australia being the starting point of many cage diving expeditions to see them. The southern waters of Australia are home to the '''Australian sea lion''' (''Neophoca cinerea''), while the '''New Zealand fur seal''' (''Arctocephalus forsteri'') inhabits the southern parts of both Australia and New Zealand. The [[Great Barrier Reef]] is the world's largest coral reef, while the [[Ningaloo Coast|Ningaloo Reef]] off the northern coast of [[Western Australia]] is another very large reef largely unspoilt by tourism compared to the Great Barrier Reef. The waters off the coast of [[South Australia]] are home to the '''leafy sea dragon''' (''Phycodurus eques''), a seahorse which looks very much like a seaweed, thus allowing it to camouflage well and making it difficult to spot. ===Birds=== [[File:Emu family.jpg|thumb|Emus]] [[File:Kastuari Gelambir Ganda.jpg|thumb|Southern cassowary]] {{seealso|Birdwatching}} The '''emu''', ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'', is the world's second-largest bird behind the ostrich, and one of the animals on Australia's coat-of-arms. Another large, flightless bird that can be found in the tropical rainforests of northern Australia and New Guinea is the '''cassowary''', which though very aggressive and dangerous, is also endangered, thus making it highly unlikely that you will run into one. Both Australia and New Zealand are home to the '''little penguin''', also known in Australia as the '''fairy penguin''' (''Eudyptula minor''), the world's smallest species of penguin, which can be found in places like [[Phillip Island]], Victoria, [[Victor Harbor]], South Australia or [[Penguin]], [[Bicheno]] and [[Bruny Island]], Tasmania. Australia is also home to several species of parrots, including the '''sulphur-crested cockatoo''' (''Cacatua galerita'') and the '''rainbow lorikeet''' (''Trichoglossus moluccanus''). They are comfortable in areas inhabited by humans and can often be seen in towns and parks. New Zealand's national bird is a small flightless bird known as the '''kiwi'''; although you are unlikely to casually see a kiwi in the wild, there are several sancturies and organised nightime walks which give a good chance of seeing one. Other flightless birds are the colourful '''takahē''' and the more common '''weka'''; the green flightless parrot, the '''kākāpō''' is so rare that the remaining birds are on islands which are closed to visitors. Several species of penguin can be seen in coastal habitats mainly on the South Island and Stewart Island. There is a wide selection of flying forest and sea [https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/ birds], several of which are unique to New Zealand. In rural areas the "dawn chorus" of birdsong can make a great start to the day - this may include songs of the '''tui''' and '''bellbird'''. The '''kea''' is a green parrot found in South Island mountain areas. ==Destinations== {{mapframe|-24.6871|134.5293|width=500|zoom=3}} While many species are spread across the land (or the ocean), some national parks and other places stand out for their beauty and diversity of species. ===Australia=== * {{listing | name=[[Great Barrier Reef]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-18.2861 | long=147.7000 | directions=off the [[Queensland]] coast | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=The largest biological formation in the world. }} * {{listing | name=[[Kakadu National Park]] |lat=-13.02061 | long=132.52808 }} * {{listing | name=[[Watarrka National Park]] | lat=-24.2517 | long=131.6320 }} * {{listing | name=[[Kangaroo Island]] | lat=-35.83674 | long=137.32361 }} * {{listing | name=[[Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-28.6689 | long=137.524 | directions=[[South Australia]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing|name=[[Adelaide/Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara|Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara]]|wikidata=Q19870520|directions=northern areas of [[Adelaide]]}} * {{listing | name=Cave Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-35.161867 | long=150.667057 | directions=[[Jervis Bay Territory]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Roos are common here and have no fear of humans here. }} * {{listing | name=[[Dorrigo National Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.367633 | long=152.729751 | directions=[[Dorrigo]], [[New South Wales]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content= }} * {{listing | name=Broome Bird Observatory | alt= | url=http://broomebirdobservatory.com/ | email= | address= | lat=-17.9750593 | long=122.3446941 | directions=[[Broome]], Western Australia | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=In the Broome area, there are around 300 bird species, the most famous being the migratory waders that visit Roebuck Bay over the summer and then depart for Siberia to breed during the southern hemisphere winter. }} * {{listing | name=[[Phillip Island]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[South and West Gippsland|West Gippsland]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] | lat=-38.483333 | long=145.233333 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q785760 | lastedit=2022-08-07 | content=It is ''the'' wildlife haven of Victoria, flooded with an influx of tourists all year to see its iconic penguin parade – nowhere else can you see so many tiny little adorable penguins so close up, but still in the wild. But the island isn't just known for its penguins; seals and birds do like to steal the spotlight but seals can be harder to find, and often, you'll need to take a cruise out southwest. }} ===Indonesia=== * {{listing | name=[[Lorentz National Park]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-4.628438 | long=137.971812 | directions=Fly to Puncak Regency or Intan Jaya Regency from [[Timika]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4516 | lastedit=2022-09-07 | content= }} * {{listing | name=Teluk Cendrawasih National Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-2.548188 | long=134.478437 | directions=Sail to Wasior, Teluk Wondama Regency from [[Manokwari]] | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2022-09-07 | content= }} * {{listing | name=Wasur National Park | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Merauke]] | lat=-8.600563 | long=140.833562 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q36607 | lastedit=2022-09-07 | content= }} ===New Caledonia=== * {{listing | name=Baie de Gadji | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-22.544967 | long=167.424608 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-09-15 | content=In the Ile Des Pins, the wildlife here is home to many unique species only found in the southern areas of New Caledonia. }} ===New Zealand=== *{{listing | name=Zealandia | alt=Karori Wildlife Sanctuary | url=http://www.visitzealandia.com | email= | address=[[Wellington]] | lat=-41.294375 | long=174.750025 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary) | image=Karori Wildlife Sanctuary location.jpg | wikidata=Q913886 | content=A predator-proof fence encloses an old water catchment area, forming a ''mainland island'' that provides a natural haven for endangered native birds, tuatara, wētā, and other indigenous flora and fauna, safe from introduced predators. By far the most convenient place in the country to see rare New Zealand wildlife. }} * {{listing | name=[[Tiritiri Matangi Island]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-36.6 | long=174.89 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q830228 | lastedit=2021-07-26 | content=Tiritiri Matangi is a {{hectare|220}} predator-free island sanctuary accessible as a day-trip by ferry from central [[Auckland]]. There are 78 species of birds that have been seen on or near Tiritiri Matangi. These include little spotted kiwi, takahe, kokako, stitchbird, tui, saddleback, North Island robin, brown teal, bellbird and fantail. The island is a highlight for birdwatchers. }} ==Stay safe== {{quote|See, there's a reason Australia is a water-locked continent: Geography is trying to protect you.|author=Cracked.com}} Australia and the island of New Guinea are infamous for its venomous and man-eating animals, and is home to more poisonous species than any other continent. Visitors to cities are unlikely to encounter these, and most animal-inflicted injuries come from mundane [[pests]], such as bees and wasps, as well as [[horse riding]]. In the sea, jellyfish are the most prevalent danger; while sharks and crocodiles prey on people, they are only active in a few geographic areas. This is generally not a problem in NZ. [[Animal collisions]] with kangaroos and other animals are a danger in the outback. == See also == * [[National parks in Australia]] * [[New Zealand national parks]] * [[African wildlife]] {{PartOfTopic|Wildlife|Oceania}} {{usabletopic}} 8t177gvbpx62xpkuy9q3eq8bb42gj6b 0 167036 5298520 5010912 2026-06-25T23:42:49Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Added listing for Australian National Aviation Museum 5298520 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Frankston banner Frankston Pier.JPG|caption=|pgname=South-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne}} The southeast of Melbourne is an eclectic mix of multicultural suburbs offering flavourful Asian and European foods and quaint seaside towns in which to relax. == Understand == '''Black Rock''', a well-off bayside suburb, boasts many popular beaches, but is most notable as the home of Royal Melbourne Golf Club, whose West Course is consistently rated the best in Australia and one of the top 5 to 10 worldwide. '''Brighton''' is a popular beach suburb amongst both Melburnians and tourists alike. During the Summer, finding somewhere to lay down your towel on the beach can be a difficult task, as thousands flock to the suburb on hot days. In addition, Brighton Beach is known for its famous, brightly-coloured ''bathing boxes'' which line the beach for hundreds of metres. '''Caulfield''' is the location of the Caulfield Racecourse, home of some of Australia's most iconic horse races, and a satellite campus of Monash University dealing particularly in the creative arts. It's also a hotspot for Melbourne's flourishing Jewish community, with about 40% of the population answering Judaism as their religion at the 2016 Census. '''Clayton''' is a student neighbourhood, hosting the home campus of Monash University -- the largest in the country, and one of the most prestigious. With 35,000 students at the Clayton campus compared to around 20,000 residents of the neighbourhood, the university serves as a gravity well for the rest of the area's community and lifestyle. '''Cranbourne''' is a booming growth area, and the site of Melbourne's other Royal Botanic Gardens. '''Dandenong''' is a thriving multicultural city, often considered Melbourne's second CBD. It is home to strong Afghan, Indian and African communities, which are reflected in its variety of shops and restaurants. '''Mordialloc''' is a beachside suburb where the Mordialloc Creek flows into Port Phillip Bay. You can follow the creek further inland through the Mordialloc Creek Trail. It is home to a vibrant palm tree lined main street full of restaurants, shops, bars and surf shops for the beach just across the road. The pier is a popular sport for local fishing and the nearby sailing club often holds and organises community events. The beach becomes very popular in summer and finding space can sometimes be difficult. The suburb is serviced by Mordialloc Station, just a thirty second walk from the main street. '''Pakenham''' is another fast-growing suburb, and a gateway to the nearby [[Gippsland]] region. '''Springvale''' is a multicultural suburb renowned for its Vietnamese culture. == Get in == === By bus === *[http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/7531 901 bus] from Melbourne airport connects with Dandenong. === By train === *[https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/linemain/4 Cranbourne line], [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/linemain/11 Pakenham line] (to Pakenham East), and [http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/6 Frankston line] from [[Melbourne]]. ==Get around== {{mapframe|-38.0450|145.1804|zoom=10}}{{mapshapes|Q10931299}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q1500830,Q1544419,Q1756241,Q546554,Q1530742,Q1035752}} {{mapshapes|Q2060470}} <!--Trams--> There are trams and buses in the area if you want to use public transport. There's also the M3 and M11 toll free freeways with exits for most suburbs. Additionally, there's the A50 Nepean Highway which goes up to Mornington, but a nice coastal route while in the South East. == See == *{{see | name=Brighton Beach and Bathing Boxes | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-37.91772 | long=144.98659 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=One of Melbourne's favoured beaches, be sure to check out the infamous 'bathing boxes', brightly coloured boxes that are dotted along the sand. }} *{{see | name=Jewish Holocaust Centre | alt= | url=http://www.jhc.org.au/ | email= | address= | lat=-37.88359 | long=145.00135 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content= }} *{{see | name=Monash University Museum of Art | alt= | url=http://www.monash.edu.au/muma/ | email= | address= | lat=-37.87715 | long=145.04619 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=Monash University is one of the major tertiary institutions in Melbourne. }} * {{see | name=Rippon Lea Estate | alt= | url=http://www.ripponleaestate.com.au/ | email= | address= | lat=-37.87971 | long=144.99941 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rippon Lea Estate | wikidata=Q7335741 | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=A heritage-listed historic house and gardens. }} * {{see | name=Old Cheese Factory | alt= | url=http://www.casey.vic.gov.au/arts-leisure/places-to-visit/old-cheese-factory | email= | address=34-68 Homestead Rd, Berwick | lat=-38.0544 | long=145.3335 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne | alt= | url=https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/visit-cranbourne | email= | address=Cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne | lat=-38.128351 | long=145.269822 | directions=Enter via cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne | phone=+61 3 5990-2200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-5PM, daily. Closed on Christmas Day. | price= | wikidata=Q7373834| wikipedia=Royal_Botanic_Gardens,_Cranbourne | lastedit=2015-11-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Drum Theatre | alt=The Drum | url=http://www.drumtheatre.com.au | email=drumtheatre@cgd.vic.gov.au | address=Corner Lonsdale and Walker streets, Dandenong | lat=-37.987787 | long=145.214732 | directions= | phone=+61 3 8571 1666 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10am - 4pm, Monday - Friday | price= | lastedit=2018-04-02 | content=Opened in February 2006, Drum Theatre is a state-of-the-art, purpose built performing arts theatre within the heritage facade of the former Dandenong Town Hall, and situated in the heart of the Dandenong CBD. }} * {{see | name=Myuna Farm | alt= | url=https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/arts-leisure/places-to-visit/myuna-farm | email= | address=182 Kidds Rd, Doveton | lat=-37.986621 | long=145.231863 | directions=Travel east along Clow St, a 1.4km walk from Dandenong Plaza. | phone=+61 3 9706 9944 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10am to 4pm, everyday of the year | price=$8 each, Group of four $28 | lastedit= | content= }} * {{see | name=Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park | alt= | url=https://moonlitsanctuary.com.au/ | email=bookings@moonlit-sanctuary.com | address=550 Tyabb-Tooradin Rd, Pearcedale | lat=-38.21255 | long=145.25038 | directions= | phone=+61 3 59787935 | tollfree= | hours=10AM-5PM (Night tours are available and must be booked in advance) | price=Adults $26; Child $13; Seniors and students $23 | wikidata=Q6907907 | lastedit=2020-06-26 | content=Eco-tourism zoo with rare and endangered Australia animals such as koala, kangaroo, wallaby, dingo, Tasmanian devil, wombat and birds. Koala petting is available at additional cost. }} * {{see | name=Australian National Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.aarg.com.au/ | email= | address=12 First Street, Moorabbin Airport | lat=-37.976190 | long=145.090808 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10AM-4PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM, closed Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day | price=Adult $10, child $5, family $20, concession $7 | wikipedia=Australian National Aviation Museum | image=ANAM outside 1a.jpg | wikidata=Q4824444 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin Airport houses one of the country’s largest collections of aircraft, with over 50 examples spanning both civil and military aviation. Its exhibits trace the development of flight in Australia from early pioneering machines through to the jet age, with a strong focus on locally built and designed aircraft. <br /><br />Alongside rare and unique types, many aircraft are undergoing ongoing restoration, reflecting the museum’s role in preserving Australia’s aviation heritage. Run largely by volunteers since its establishment in 1962, it offers an engaging, hands-on experience for aviation enthusiasts. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Lysterfield Park | alt=Lysterfield Lake | url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/lysterfield-park | email= | address=Horswood Road, Lysterfield | lat=-37.964793 | long=145.297129 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sunrise to sunset | price=Free | wikidata=Q6710292| wikipedia=Lysterfield Park | lastedit=2018-04-08 | content=Mountain Bike Trails including the State Mountain Bike course offers 20 kilometres of trails catering for riders of all ages and ability. The lake is very popular for canoeing, sailing, paddle boating and surf skiing. There are also a number of walking tracks including three trails that are linked for a brisk two-hour walk around the lake. }} *{{do | name=Caulfield Racecourse | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-37.88130 | long=145.04140 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=Site of dozens of horse-racing events throughout the year. }} * '''Golf:''' Royal Melbourne Golf Club, +61 3 9599 0500, Cheltenham Road in Black Rock is the country's oldest club, with two courses. It opened near the city centre in 1891 and moved to its current Sandbelt site in 1931. The West Course is universally regarded as the country's top course, and the East Course regularly makes Australian top-10 rankings. The club has hosted numerous major events in Australian and international golf, most notably the Presidents Cup in 1998, 2011, and 2019. While it is a private club, it has reciprocal agreements with many clubs around the world, and tee times for visitors who are members of a golf club are available on most Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. == Buy == [[File:Chadstone Shopping Centre Central Atrium 2017.jpg|thumb|Chadstone central atrium]] ===Markets=== * {{buy | name=Dandenong Market | alt= | url=http://dandenongmarket.com.au/ | email=info@dandenongmarket.com.au | address=40 Cleeland Street, Dandenong | lat=-37.984438 | long=145.215564 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9701 3850 | tollfree= | hours=Open every Sunday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday | price= | lastedit=2018-04-02 | content=Founded in 1866, Dandenong Market is Melbourne’s second oldest and second largest market. Products sold include fruit and veggies, bakeries, delis, seafood, butchers, honey, nuts, clothing, jewellery, flowers and books. }} ===Shopping malls=== * {{buy | name=Chadstone Shopping Centre | alt= | url=http://www.chadstone.com.au | email= | address= | lat=-37.885833 | long=145.0825 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chadstone Shopping Centre | image=Chadstone logo with slogan.svg | wikidata=Q5066504 | lastedit=2021-02-23 | content=The biggest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere. Two food courts, countless clothes shops (including a dedicated luxury fashion and accessories section), art, music, and daily essentials. Has express buses from the city and from Oakleigh Railway Station. }} * {{buy | name=Westfield Southland Shopping Centre | alt= | url=https://www.westfield.com.au/southland | email=concierge.southland@scentregroup.com | address=1239 Nepean Hwy Cheltenham | lat=-37.958 | long=145.05 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9582 5600 | tollfree= | hours=9AM-5:30PM | price= | wikidata=Q7988748 | lastedit=2022-08-02 | content=Multi-storey shopping centre with two main sides, with a retail bridge that connects them over the Nepean Highway. Includes over four-hundred stores, two department stores, four discount department stores, and a sixteen screen Village Cinemas multiplex. Serviced by the adjacent Southland Station which is on the Frankston Line. }} ===Individual shops=== * {{buy | name=Robert Gordon Pottery | alt= | url=http://www.robertgordonaustralia.com/ | email= | address= | lat=-38.0587 | long=145.4615 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-11 | content= }} == Eat == * {{eat | name=The Famished Wolf | alt= | url=http://www.thefamishedwolf.com.au/ | email= | address=13 MacBeth St, Braeside | lat=-38.0029 | long=145.1115 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9580 1637 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-19 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Ivan's Pies | alt= | url=http://www.ivanspies.com.au/ | email= | address=158-162 Woodlands Dr, Braeside | lat=-38.0006 | long=145.1181 | directions= | phone= | tollfree=1300 554 653 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-19 | content=Bakery. }} == Drink == == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Clayton Monash Motor Inn & Serviced Apartments | alt= | url=https://www.claytonmonashmotorinn.com.au/ | email= | address=1790 Princes Highway, Clayton | lat=-37.9172 | long=145.1308 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9544 0911 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Inexpensive motel a short walk from Monash University and the Monash Medical Centre. Reasonable quality. On the major Princes Highway, so rooms near the front may be noisy. }} == Connect == Most good network providers have 5G in the area, with a few occasional patches of 4G. ==Go next== *[[Dandenong Ranges]] *[[Melbourne/Frankston|Frankston]] - take the 901 bus. *[[Phillip Island]] - take the bus. * [[Melbourne]] - by train. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/linemain/6] * Melbourne Airport - 901 Bus [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/line/8697/] or Airport Shuttle - a much faster more expensive option than the 901 bus. [http://www.fapas.com.au/home]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} * [[Mornington_Peninsula|Mornington Peninsula]] {{IsPartOf|Melbourne}} {{usabledistrict}} {{geo|-37.907|144.961}} pgbjjv4ef0kqhybg35chgn6i7iuokkj 5298522 5298520 2026-06-25T23:44:42Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Australian National Aviation Museum 5298522 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Frankston banner Frankston Pier.JPG|caption=|pgname=South-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne}} The southeast of Melbourne is an eclectic mix of multicultural suburbs offering flavourful Asian and European foods and quaint seaside towns in which to relax. == Understand == '''Black Rock''', a well-off bayside suburb, boasts many popular beaches, but is most notable as the home of Royal Melbourne Golf Club, whose West Course is consistently rated the best in Australia and one of the top 5 to 10 worldwide. '''Brighton''' is a popular beach suburb amongst both Melburnians and tourists alike. During the Summer, finding somewhere to lay down your towel on the beach can be a difficult task, as thousands flock to the suburb on hot days. In addition, Brighton Beach is known for its famous, brightly-coloured ''bathing boxes'' which line the beach for hundreds of metres. '''Caulfield''' is the location of the Caulfield Racecourse, home of some of Australia's most iconic horse races, and a satellite campus of Monash University dealing particularly in the creative arts. It's also a hotspot for Melbourne's flourishing Jewish community, with about 40% of the population answering Judaism as their religion at the 2016 Census. '''Clayton''' is a student neighbourhood, hosting the home campus of Monash University -- the largest in the country, and one of the most prestigious. With 35,000 students at the Clayton campus compared to around 20,000 residents of the neighbourhood, the university serves as a gravity well for the rest of the area's community and lifestyle. '''Cranbourne''' is a booming growth area, and the site of Melbourne's other Royal Botanic Gardens. '''Dandenong''' is a thriving multicultural city, often considered Melbourne's second CBD. It is home to strong Afghan, Indian and African communities, which are reflected in its variety of shops and restaurants. '''Mordialloc''' is a beachside suburb where the Mordialloc Creek flows into Port Phillip Bay. You can follow the creek further inland through the Mordialloc Creek Trail. It is home to a vibrant palm tree lined main street full of restaurants, shops, bars and surf shops for the beach just across the road. The pier is a popular sport for local fishing and the nearby sailing club often holds and organises community events. The beach becomes very popular in summer and finding space can sometimes be difficult. The suburb is serviced by Mordialloc Station, just a thirty second walk from the main street. '''Pakenham''' is another fast-growing suburb, and a gateway to the nearby [[Gippsland]] region. '''Springvale''' is a multicultural suburb renowned for its Vietnamese culture. == Get in == === By bus === *[http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/7531 901 bus] from Melbourne airport connects with Dandenong. === By train === *[https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/linemain/4 Cranbourne line], [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/linemain/11 Pakenham line] (to Pakenham East), and [http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/6 Frankston line] from [[Melbourne]]. ==Get around== {{mapframe|-38.0450|145.1804|zoom=10}}{{mapshapes|Q10931299}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q1500830,Q1544419,Q1756241,Q546554,Q1530742,Q1035752}} {{mapshapes|Q2060470}} <!--Trams--> There are trams and buses in the area if you want to use public transport. There's also the M3 and M11 toll free freeways with exits for most suburbs. Additionally, there's the A50 Nepean Highway which goes up to Mornington, but a nice coastal route while in the South East. == See == *{{see | name=Brighton Beach and Bathing Boxes | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-37.91772 | long=144.98659 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=One of Melbourne's favoured beaches, be sure to check out the infamous 'bathing boxes', brightly coloured boxes that are dotted along the sand. }} *{{see | name=Jewish Holocaust Centre | alt= | url=http://www.jhc.org.au/ | email= | address= | lat=-37.88359 | long=145.00135 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content= }} *{{see | name=Monash University Museum of Art | alt= | url=http://www.monash.edu.au/muma/ | email= | address= | lat=-37.87715 | long=145.04619 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=Monash University is one of the major tertiary institutions in Melbourne. }} * {{see | name=Rippon Lea Estate | alt= | url=http://www.ripponleaestate.com.au/ | email= | address= | lat=-37.87971 | long=144.99941 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Rippon Lea Estate | wikidata=Q7335741 | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=A heritage-listed historic house and gardens. }} * {{see | name=Old Cheese Factory | alt= | url=http://www.casey.vic.gov.au/arts-leisure/places-to-visit/old-cheese-factory | email= | address=34-68 Homestead Rd, Berwick | lat=-38.0544 | long=145.3335 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne | alt= | url=https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/visit-cranbourne | email= | address=Cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne | lat=-38.128351 | long=145.269822 | directions=Enter via cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne | phone=+61 3 5990-2200 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=9AM-5PM, daily. Closed on Christmas Day. | price= | wikidata=Q7373834| wikipedia=Royal_Botanic_Gardens,_Cranbourne | lastedit=2015-11-11 | content= }} * {{see | name=Drum Theatre | alt=The Drum | url=http://www.drumtheatre.com.au | email=drumtheatre@cgd.vic.gov.au | address=Corner Lonsdale and Walker streets, Dandenong | lat=-37.987787 | long=145.214732 | directions= | phone=+61 3 8571 1666 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10am - 4pm, Monday - Friday | price= | lastedit=2018-04-02 | content=Opened in February 2006, Drum Theatre is a state-of-the-art, purpose built performing arts theatre within the heritage facade of the former Dandenong Town Hall, and situated in the heart of the Dandenong CBD. }} * {{see | name=Myuna Farm | alt= | url=https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/arts-leisure/places-to-visit/myuna-farm | email= | address=182 Kidds Rd, Doveton | lat=-37.986621 | long=145.231863 | directions=Travel east along Clow St, a 1.4km walk from Dandenong Plaza. | phone=+61 3 9706 9944 | tollfree= | fax= | hours=10am to 4pm, everyday of the year | price=$8 each, Group of four $28 | lastedit= | content= }} * {{see | name=Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park | alt= | url=https://moonlitsanctuary.com.au/ | email=bookings@moonlit-sanctuary.com | address=550 Tyabb-Tooradin Rd, Pearcedale | lat=-38.21255 | long=145.25038 | directions= | phone=+61 3 59787935 | tollfree= | hours=10AM-5PM (Night tours are available and must be booked in advance) | price=Adults $26; Child $13; Seniors and students $23 | wikidata=Q6907907 | lastedit=2020-06-26 | content=Eco-tourism zoo with rare and endangered Australia animals such as koala, kangaroo, wallaby, dingo, Tasmanian devil, wombat and birds. Koala petting is available at additional cost. }} * {{see | name=Australian National Aviation Museum | alt= | url=http://www.aarg.com.au/ | email= | address=12 First Street, Moorabbin Airport | lat=-37.976190 | long=145.090808 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M-F 10AM-4PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM, closed Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day | price=Adult $10, child $5, family $20, concession $7 | wikipedia=Australian National Aviation Museum | image=ANAM outside 1a.jpg | wikidata=Q4824444 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Australian National Aviation Museum houses a substantial collection of over 50 civil and military aircraft, including several rare and locally significant types. Its exhibits chart the evolution of aviation in Australia from early pioneering designs through to the jet age, with many aircraft undergoing active restoration. Largely volunteer-run, the museum offers an informative and accessible insight into the country’s aviation heritage. }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Lysterfield Park | alt=Lysterfield Lake | url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/lysterfield-park | email= | address=Horswood Road, Lysterfield | lat=-37.964793 | long=145.297129 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours=Sunrise to sunset | price=Free | wikidata=Q6710292| wikipedia=Lysterfield Park | lastedit=2018-04-08 | content=Mountain Bike Trails including the State Mountain Bike course offers 20 kilometres of trails catering for riders of all ages and ability. The lake is very popular for canoeing, sailing, paddle boating and surf skiing. There are also a number of walking tracks including three trails that are linked for a brisk two-hour walk around the lake. }} *{{do | name=Caulfield Racecourse | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-37.88130 | long=145.04140 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-25 | content=Site of dozens of horse-racing events throughout the year. }} * '''Golf:''' Royal Melbourne Golf Club, +61 3 9599 0500, Cheltenham Road in Black Rock is the country's oldest club, with two courses. It opened near the city centre in 1891 and moved to its current Sandbelt site in 1931. The West Course is universally regarded as the country's top course, and the East Course regularly makes Australian top-10 rankings. The club has hosted numerous major events in Australian and international golf, most notably the Presidents Cup in 1998, 2011, and 2019. While it is a private club, it has reciprocal agreements with many clubs around the world, and tee times for visitors who are members of a golf club are available on most Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. == Buy == [[File:Chadstone Shopping Centre Central Atrium 2017.jpg|thumb|Chadstone central atrium]] ===Markets=== * {{buy | name=Dandenong Market | alt= | url=http://dandenongmarket.com.au/ | email=info@dandenongmarket.com.au | address=40 Cleeland Street, Dandenong | lat=-37.984438 | long=145.215564 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9701 3850 | tollfree= | hours=Open every Sunday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday | price= | lastedit=2018-04-02 | content=Founded in 1866, Dandenong Market is Melbourne’s second oldest and second largest market. Products sold include fruit and veggies, bakeries, delis, seafood, butchers, honey, nuts, clothing, jewellery, flowers and books. }} ===Shopping malls=== * {{buy | name=Chadstone Shopping Centre | alt= | url=http://www.chadstone.com.au | email= | address= | lat=-37.885833 | long=145.0825 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Chadstone Shopping Centre | image=Chadstone logo with slogan.svg | wikidata=Q5066504 | lastedit=2021-02-23 | content=The biggest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere. Two food courts, countless clothes shops (including a dedicated luxury fashion and accessories section), art, music, and daily essentials. Has express buses from the city and from Oakleigh Railway Station. }} * {{buy | name=Westfield Southland Shopping Centre | alt= | url=https://www.westfield.com.au/southland | email=concierge.southland@scentregroup.com | address=1239 Nepean Hwy Cheltenham | lat=-37.958 | long=145.05 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9582 5600 | tollfree= | hours=9AM-5:30PM | price= | wikidata=Q7988748 | lastedit=2022-08-02 | content=Multi-storey shopping centre with two main sides, with a retail bridge that connects them over the Nepean Highway. Includes over four-hundred stores, two department stores, four discount department stores, and a sixteen screen Village Cinemas multiplex. Serviced by the adjacent Southland Station which is on the Frankston Line. }} ===Individual shops=== * {{buy | name=Robert Gordon Pottery | alt= | url=http://www.robertgordonaustralia.com/ | email= | address= | lat=-38.0587 | long=145.4615 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2015-11-11 | content= }} == Eat == * {{eat | name=The Famished Wolf | alt= | url=http://www.thefamishedwolf.com.au/ | email= | address=13 MacBeth St, Braeside | lat=-38.0029 | long=145.1115 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9580 1637 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-19 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Ivan's Pies | alt= | url=http://www.ivanspies.com.au/ | email= | address=158-162 Woodlands Dr, Braeside | lat=-38.0006 | long=145.1181 | directions= | phone= | tollfree=1300 554 653 | hours= | price= | lastedit=2021-06-19 | content=Bakery. }} == Drink == == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Clayton Monash Motor Inn & Serviced Apartments | alt= | url=https://www.claytonmonashmotorinn.com.au/ | email= | address=1790 Princes Highway, Clayton | lat=-37.9172 | long=145.1308 | directions= | phone=+61 3 9544 0911 | tollfree= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content=Inexpensive motel a short walk from Monash University and the Monash Medical Centre. Reasonable quality. On the major Princes Highway, so rooms near the front may be noisy. }} == Connect == Most good network providers have 5G in the area, with a few occasional patches of 4G. ==Go next== *[[Dandenong Ranges]] *[[Melbourne/Frankston|Frankston]] - take the 901 bus. *[[Phillip Island]] - take the bus. * [[Melbourne]] - by train. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/linemain/6] * Melbourne Airport - 901 Bus [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/timetables/line/8697/] or Airport Shuttle - a much faster more expensive option than the 901 bus. [http://www.fapas.com.au/home]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} * [[Mornington_Peninsula|Mornington Peninsula]] {{IsPartOf|Melbourne}} {{usabledistrict}} {{geo|-37.907|144.961}} 1eueyh79rltafu865ghlgzpz4u70mzq 0 173584 5298422 5247826 2026-06-25T13:03:15Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Itineraries */ 5298422 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Maya Culture Banner 05.JPG|caption=a type of Maya textile}} The '''Maya civilization''' was one of the great Mesoamerican and Pre-Columbian civilizations. The Maya were renowned for having the most sophisticated and developed writing system in the Western Hemisphere as well as their monumental achievements in art, architecture and astronomy. At its height, the Maya cultural area spanned the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatan Peninsula]] and highlands of [[Chiapas]] and [[Campeche (state)|Campeche]] in [[Mexico]], all of [[Guatemala]] and [[Belize]], and parts of western [[Honduras]] and [[El Salvador]]. {{seealso|Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica}} ==Understand== Contrary to popular belief, although the Spanish Conquistadores overthrew Maya states and ended Maya civilization in that sense, the Maya people and their cultural heritage never really died. There are millions of people who identify as Maya and speak Mayan languages and despite the turmoil that was created by the Spanish conquest, many of them have carried on traditions that have existed for over a thousand years. In contrast to the Aztecs and the Inca, the Maya cultural sphere never merged into one empire. Throughout all periods of its history, the Maya were politically organized as city-states and chiefdoms competing and interacting with one another. Areas referred to as the [[Mayan Riviera]] and [[Costa Maya]] are promoted for tourism today; both are primarily beach resort destinations, though it is possible to explore some of the history using either as your base. ===Architecture=== Mayan cities often show elements of distinctive architectural styles that correspond to regional differences at different points in time. The architectural styles include: * '''Peten style''' : * ''Elements'': prominent stairways, stepped terraces, tall, slender pyramids, interiors have arched ceilings and stucco masks : * ''Sites'': [[Tikal]], [[Xunantunich]], [[Uaxactun]], [[El Mirador]] * '''Puuc style''' : * ''Elements'': veneer over stone/concrete, lattices and frets, Chac masks, corbel arch, alignment to central plaza 14 degrees east of north : * ''Sites'': [[Uxmal]], [[Ruta Puuc|Sayil, Kabah, Labna]] * '''Rio Bec style''' : * ''Elements'': Twin non-functional towers with false staircases, non-functional temples with no interior rooms, false doorways : * ''Sites'': [[Xpujil]], [[Ruta Rio Bec|Rio Bec, Becan]] * '''Chenes style''' : * ''Elements'': carved mosaic facades, doors framed with monster masks around a doorway/mouth : * ''Sites'': Dzibilnocac, Hochob, [[Edzna|Edzná]], Chicanna ===Language=== The historical range of Mayan civilizations covers much of southern Mexico and the northern countries of Central America. Anthropologists believe that the Mayan civilization began in the Peten region of Guatemala, and spread outward from there. As the population spread, variations in the spoken language emerged. Today, there are about 30 Mayan languages that are recognized as distinct (often mutually unintelligible) languages and numerous local dialects, some spoken only in a specific village. The largest Mayan language today is ''Kʼicheʼ '', which is spoken in the Guatemalan Highlands. Travelers who want to learn to speak or read k'iche' can find several language schools in [[Quetzaltenango]] that offer K'iche' language courses and immersion programs that include homestay in a local Mayan home. The second largest Mayan language is ''[[Yucatec Maya phrasebook|Yucatec Maya]]'', whose speakers refer to the language as simply ''Maya''. Yucatec Maya is spoken throughout the [[Yucatán and the South|Yucatan Peninsula]] in Mexico and in northern [[Belize]]. Travelers who want to learn to speak and read Yucatec Maya can enroll in Mayan immersion programs in the town of [[Felipe Carrillo Puerto]]. Other, less frequently spoken Mayan languages are common in the Mexican state of [[Chiapas]] and in southern [[Guatemala]], southern [[Belize]], and western [[Honduras]]. ==Museums== ===Mexico=== * {{do | name=Gran Museo del Mundo Maya | alt= | url=https://www.granmuseodelmundomaya.com.mx/ | email= | address=[[Merida (Mexico)|Merida]] | lat=21.03494 | long=-89.62859 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | wikipedia=es:Gran Museo del Mundo Maya | image=Museo Maya de Mérida.jpg | wikidata=Q5884390 | lastedit=2023-11-18 | content=Large permanent collection of Mayan artifacts as well as a number of interactive exhibits. }} * {{do | name=Museo Maya de Cancun | alt= | url= | address=Blvd. Kulkulcan km 16.5, [[Cancun]] | lat=21.074026005745168 | long=-86.77726922175283 | phone= | tollfree= | lastedit=2023-12-18 | content=Large museum housing thousands of relics from Maya archaeological sites in [[Quintana Roo]], as well as select pieces representing major sites elsewhere (including [[Palenque]], [[Chichen Itza]], and [[Comalcalco]]. The museum is built at the San Miguelito archaeological site and you can see four groups of restored structures from the original Maya settlement. }} * {{do | name=Museo de la Cultura Maya | alt=Maya Culture Museum | url=https://www.mexicoescultura.com/recinto/49787/museo-de-la-cultura-maya.html | address=[[Chetumal]] | lat=18.504161091765273 | long=-88.2954454113559 | content=Small museum focused on Mayan culture. Many Maya artworks along with scale reproductions of significant temples and landmarks. }} * {{do | name=Museo de la Medicina Maya | alt=Mayan Medicine Museum | url= | address=[[San Cristóbal de las Casas]] | lat=16.750400450703445 | long=-92.63859023244184 | content=Museum featuring exhibits on traditional Mayan healing practices. Includes an outdoor herbal medicine garden. }} ===Guatemala=== * {{do | name=National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology | alt=Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología | url=http://culturaguate.com/artemayagt | address=[[Guatemala City]] | lat=14.597941783237006 | long=-90.52953808883595 | content=Expansive and highly underrated collection of Mayan relics and artwork, including more than 100 [[Sculptures|sculptures]] from sites like [[Tikal]] and [[El Mirador]]. Many models of site layouts and exhibits about various aspects of Maya culture. }} * {{do | name=Museo Popol Vuh | url=https://popolvuh.ufm.edu/ | address=[[Guatemala City]] | lat=14.608103544103534 | long=-90.50544616225399 | content=Fascinating modern museum operated by the Universidad Francisco Marroquin. The museum presents a historical and cultural view of Maya civilization and includes some surprisingly innovative exhibits such as a gallery that focuses on the role of women in Mayan societies. }} * {{do | name=Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena | alt= | url=https://museoixchel.org/ | email= | address=[[Guatemala City]] | lat=14.607853 | long=-90.505903 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q6101051 | content=Specialized museum that focuses on how Mayan indigenous people dressed. Includes displays showing weaving methods as well as a large collection of everyday clothing like shawls, dresses, and shirts, as well as formal ceremonial garb that would have been the province of priests or royalty. The museum is located next door to the Museo Popol Vuh. Ancient Maya fashionistas would love this place! }} ===Honduras=== [[File:Honduras-0385B_(4260008116).jpg|thumb|Rosalila Temple replica in the Museum of Mayan Sculpture]] * {{do | name=Museum of Mayan Sculpture | alt=Museo de la Escultura Maya | url= | address=[[Copan Ruinas]] | lat=14.838767648456034 | long=-89.14670311425786 | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00 - 17:00 | price= | wikidata= | wikipedia=Museum of Maya Sculpture | lastedit=2025-06-08 | content=Large museum with several thousand pieces of [[Sculpture|sculpture]] from Mayan sites, particularly the ruins at nearby Copan. The collection includes a number of stelae, statues of Mayan gods, and a replica of the Rosalila Temple. }} ==Archaeological sites== {{mapframe}} ===[[Mexico]]=== * {{listing | name=[[Bonampak]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q605455 | lastedit=2023-02-03 | content=Set deep in the jungles of Chiapas, Bonampak eluded European interest for centuries. It is best known for its colorful murals depicting the city's history and interaction with other Maya city-states. }} * {{listing | name=[[Becan]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Xpujil]] | lat=18.517 |long=-89.466 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q813784 | lastedit=2023-08-22 | content=Fortified city with walls and a moat, known for compact construction and Rio Bec architecture. }} * {{listing | name=[[Calakmul]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q272771 | lastedit=2019-07-22 | content=One of the two Maya superpowers along with Tikal during the Classic Period. The rivalry with Tikal was intense, with both city-states and their vassals engaging in Cold War and actual wars over many centuries. }} * {{listing | name=[[Chichen Itza]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.683056 | long=-88.568611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5859 | lastedit=2019-07-18 | content=Arguably the most popular Maya archeological site among tourists. It was one of the largest Maya cities and incorporated a diverse range of architectural styles. }} * {{listing | name=[[Coba]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.4926914839565 | long=-87.72632648708347 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q1104936 | lastedit=2019-07-18 | content=Large city ruins about 30km inland from Tulum, known for its far reaching network of ''sacbeob'', a system of raised paved pathways that functioned like an interstate highway system between Mayan city-states. The site dates from about 300 BC. }} * {{listing | name=Comalcalco | address=[[Comalcalco]] | lat=18.280669 | long=-93.207389 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Interesting site whose architectural style is similar to [[Palenque]]. Probably reached its peak around 900 AD. }} * {{listing | name=[[Edzna]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Edzna | wikidata=Q774512 | lastedit=2019-07-29 | content=An impressive site in Campeche state, with a long period of occupation spanning the Preclassic to Postclassic periods. }} * {{listing | name=[[Ek Balam|Ek' Balam]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.89249 | long=-88.13596 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q988570 | lastedit=2023-10-11 | content=Large Maya archaeological site that was the seat of King Ukit Kan Lek Tokʼ. His well-preserved tomb in the site's largest pyramid is the site's most well-known feature. }} * {{listing | name=[[Ichkabal]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Bacalar]] | lat=18.682511125703765 | long=-88.6651712058357 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5908062 | lastedit=2025-10-13 | content=Large classic-era Mayan city, unknown to most travelers, opened to visitors in late 2024. }} * {{listing | name=[[Izamal]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.931389 | long=-89.017778 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1020762 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=A sacred town and place of pilgrimage among the Maya faithful. Two great Maya temples, one dedicated to the sun god ''Kinich Kak Moo'' and another to the creator ''Itzamatul'', are still standing and visible from a great distance. }} * {{listing | name=[[Izapa]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Tapachula]] | lat=14.93 | long=-92.18 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=Oldest of Mexico's major Maya sites, dating to 1500 BC, but largely ruined with little to see. Close to [[Guatemala]] border. }} * {{listing | name=[[Kabah]] | address= | lat=20.24922561816452 | long=-89.64711640097168 | phone= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q325468 | lastedit= | content=Smaller site known for the Codz Poop, an amazing wall of masks with long snouts that are thought to have been used for illumination. }} * {{listing | name=[[Kohunlich]] | address= | lat=18.418873203765997 | long=-88.79039580126476 | phone= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q785823 | lastedit=2024-08-02 | content=Large, lightly-visited site known for the Temple of Masks, featuring the sun god, ''Kinich Ahau'' }} * {{listing | name=[[Mayapan]] | address= | lat=20.63031 | long=-89.46058 | directions= | phone= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q567966 | lastedit=2023-10-09 | content=After the fall of [[Chichen Itza]] in the 13th century, a group of Itza Mayans searched for a new home until they settled at Mayapan. Large numbers of Itza followed between 1263 and 1283, building Mayapan into the most powerful city of the northern Yucatan (for a while). }} * {{listing | name=[[Balancán#Moral-Reforma_archaelogical_site|Moral Reforma]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.769 | long=-91.298 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q181427 | lastedit=2024-03-05 | content=Very old Maya site dating to about 300 BC. Site of a unique "double-pyramid". Excavations in 2023 discovered a tomb with the remains of 13 young men. }} * {{listing | name=[[Palenque]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.483978 | long=-92.046328 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q181427 | lastedit=2019-07-18 | content=Palenque was a medium-sized city that contained some of the finest Maya art and architecture. It is one of the most studied Maya archeological sites. }} * {{listing | name=[[Toniná]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.901219 | long=-92.009675 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1042074 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=An aggressive warmongering city-state in the western Maya region that was a rival to Palenque for much of its history. }} * {{listing | name=[[Tulum]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.214722 | long=-87.428889 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q725883 | lastedit=2019-07-22 | content=One of the best preserved coastal sites and one of the last cities to be constructed. Served as the major port for Coba. Jade, copper, gold, obsidian, salt and textiles were all traded on the shores of Tulum. }} * {{listing | name=[[Uxmal]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.359444 | long=-89.771389 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q213232 | lastedit=2019-07-18 | content=Considered to have the most characteristic Yucatan architectural style, Uxmal thrived between the 7th and 10th centuries. }} * {{listing | name=[[Xcaret]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=20.578056 | long=-87.119167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1435909 | lastedit=2019-10-04 | content=A busy port of navigation and trade on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Some of the original structures have been enveloped in an ecotourism park. }} * {{listing | name=[[Yaxchilan]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.9 | long=-90.966667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q662263 | lastedit=2019-07-18 | content=Large city-state deep in the jungle on the Usamacinta River along the border of Guatemala. Remote, well-preserved site with several significant temples. }} ===[[Belize]]=== [[File:Monkey_Pot.jpg|thumb|A monkey pot from the cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal.]] * {{listing | name=[[Actun Tunichil Muknal]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.189878 | long=-88.49765 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q344570 | lastedit=2020-02-19 | content=The cave contains skeletal remains, some of whom were sacrifice victims, and elaborate pottery from the Pre-Classical Period (700-900). }} * {{listing | name=[[Altun Ha]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q446176 | lastedit=2019-07-25 | content=The most famous artifact discovered at Altun Ha was the "Crown Jewel of Belize", the jade head of the Maya sun god ''Kinich Ahau''. One of the country's greatest national treasures, the jade head appears on nearly all banknotes in Belize. }} * {{listing | name=[[Caracol]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.763928 | long=-89.117592 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1035336 | lastedit=2019-07-20 | content=At first a client state of Tikal, Caracol surged in prominence from the early 7th century. During its golden age, Caracol supported a population more than twice that of [[Belize City]], the largest city in modern Belize, and covered a much wider area. }} * {{listing | name=[[Lamanai]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.752567 | long=-88.654469 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q968562 | lastedit=2019-07-20 | content=Famous for a trio of temples: the Jaguar Temple, Mask Temple and High Temple. All of them have been fairly well preserved though face the ongoing battle of being covered by the dense jungle growth. }} * {{listing | name=[[Lubaantun]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.281111 | long=-88.965 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q529147 | lastedit=2019-07-22 | content=Emerged during the late Classic Period. What distinguishes Lubaantun from other sites is its unusual architecture, with black slate being the primary material used instead of limestone, and its large collection of small ceramic figurines. }} * {{listing | name=[[Xunantunich]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.083889 | long=-89.133889 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1646630 | lastedit=2019-07-26 | content=The best known structure at the site is "El Castillo", Belize's second tallest pyramid. Xunantunich thrived for about a century longer than nearby sites. }} ===[[Guatemala]]=== [[File:Guatemala_074.jpg|thumb|Tikal Temple I, also known as Temple of the Great Jaguar.]] * {{listing | name=[[Aguateca]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.411944 | long=-90.188333 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q398094 | lastedit=2019-07-26 | content=Likened to [[Pompeii]] because of the remarkable preservation of how everyday people lived in Maya times. }} * {{listing | name=[[Cancuén]] | address= | lat=16.0156 | long=-90.0245 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2591884 | lastedit=2023-07-18 | content=Site of the largest palace in the Maya world, a 3-story structure encompassing 23,000 square feet with 170 rooms and 11 courtyards. Abandoned around 800 AD. }} * {{listing | name=[[El Mirador]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.75505 | long=-89.920431 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q504904 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=A large preclassic Maya site which was abandoned by the end of the 9th century and never to be inhabited again. Buried deep in the jungle, the remoteness of El Mirador has prevented it from becoming a popular tourist site. }} * {{listing | name=[[Iximche]] | alt=Tecpan Guatemala | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Iximche | wikidata=Q263509 | lastedit=2019-07-29 | content=The Postclassic capital of the highland Kaqchikel Maya, and focus of the first short-lived Spanish colonial settlement. }} * {{listing | name=[[Mixco Viejo]] | alt=Jilotepeque Viejo | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mixco Viejo | wikidata=Q652792 | lastedit=2019-07-29 | content=The postclassic capital of the highland Chajoma (or eastern Kaqchikel) Maya, which for many years was confused with the capital of the Pocomam Maya. Well restored. }} * {{listing | name=[[Nakbé]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=17.6775 | long=-89.868556 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q1964016 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=A major Middle Preclassic site that was important throughout the Maya sphere because of its extensive limestone quarries, a key material used to build many of the grand temples. }} * {{listing | name=[[Piedras Negras]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q2031261 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=Compared to other sites, Piedras Negras is known for its sculptural wealth. }} * {{listing | name=[[Qʼumarkaj]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=15.023528 | long=-91.171989 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q15063939 | lastedit=2019-07-23 | content=The most well known late postclassic Maya city that was based in the highlands. Qʼumarkaj was a thriving city until the Spanish conquest. Many structures in the site remain but archaeologists have not done much restoration work on some of the ruins. The core of the city contains a central plaza, many temples, palaces that have been reduced to rubble, and a Mesoamerican ballgame court. }} * {{listing | name=[[Quirigua]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q318422 | lastedit=2019-07-29 | content=A small Classic period site that became embroiled in the greater political maneuverings of its time and dramatically rebelled against Copan (Honduras), its overlord. The site has an impressive body of sculpted stelae in a similar style to Copan. }} * {{listing | name=[[Takalik Abaj]] | alt=Kooja | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Takalik Abaj | wikidata=Q1509537 | lastedit=2019-07-29 | content=An important Preclassic and Classic Maya city that had important links with the Olmecs and Teotihuacan, and a large amount of interesting sculpture on display. }} * {{listing | name=[[Tikal]] | alt=Yax Mutal | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q181172 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=The preeminent Maya city of the Classic Periods and lowlands. Tikal was a political and cultural superpower in its time, extending its influence far beyond. }} * {{listing | name=[[Zaculeu]] | alt=Saqulew | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q139979 | lastedit=2019-07-24 | content=The Classic and Postclassic capital of the Mam Maya, which fell to the Spanish after a bloody siege in 1525. }} ===[[Honduras]]=== * {{listing | name=[[Copán Ruinas]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=14.833333 | long=-89.15 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2191693 | lastedit=2019-07-18 | content=Was the capital city of a kingdom during the Classical Period for four centuries. On the Mesoamerican southeastern frontier, the city was almost completely surrounded by non-Maya people. Famous for its elaborate stelae. }} * {{listing | name=[[El Puente]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=15.110278 | long=-88.792167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q3720992 | lastedit=2019-07-22 | content= }} ===[[El Salvador]]=== * {{listing | name=[[Cihuatán]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=13.981 | long=-89.165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia= | wikidata=Q5769252 | lastedit=2024-09-01 | content=Large city-state in Central [[El Salvador]], locally important during the late Classic period. }} * {{listing | name=[[San Andrés (El Salvador)|San Andrés]] | alt=Campana San Andrés | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=San Andrés, El Salvador | wikidata=Q2000719 | lastedit=2019-07-29 | content=On the southernmost fringes of the Maya cultural sphere, San Andrés was the capital of a locally important regional capital during the Classic period. }} * {{listing | name=[[Tazumal]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=13.979444 | long=-89.674167 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q690372 | lastedit=2019-07-20 | content=On the southernmost fringes of the Maya cultural sphere, Tazumal was a major city from the preclassic all the way to the late postclassic period. It contains some of the oldest metal artifacts in Mesoamerica. }} * {{listing | name=[[Joya de Ceren]] | alt= | url= | email= | address=[[Western El Salvador]] | lat=13.8399|long=-89.3562 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q27985 | lastedit=2024-08-07 | content=Excavated ruins of a Maya village that was buried by a volcanic eruption in 600 AD. The site is a {{unesco}}. }} ==Eat== The staples of the Maya diet were maize (corn), squash, beans and chili peppers. Corn was always nixtamilized (soaked in limewater or lye), which added vitamins to the corn and made it a complete protein. Many types of meals were made from corn, including tortillas, tamales and gruels of varying consistencies. Cassava was also a widely grown crop, the energy and nutrient-rich tuber vegetable playing its part in sustaining a dense population for its time. Meats were mostly obtained by hunting though dogs and turkeys may have been domesticated. The most common source of game was white-tailed deer. In the coastal areas, and in the larger inland cities where transportation networks were well developed, seafood was part of the Maya diet. The Maya were the first people to cultivate the cacao plant and drink an ancient form of [[chocolate]]. Avocados were a commonly eaten fruit and used in a variety of dishes. Beekeeping was (and still is) widely practiced by the Maya. The Mayan practice dates to about 300 BC. American bee species are smaller than European honey bees and have no stingers. The Maya preferred a species known today as ''Melipona beecheii'', which is a smaller bee that lives in hollowed logs. The honey is said to be sweeter than the honey of European bees and it has a distinctive citric flavor. The Maya used the honey as a sweetener and also fermented it to make a mead that they called ''balche''. Today, they still make mead from the honey of native stingless bees. Look for bottles of ''Xtabentún'' (which is flavored with anise). ==Itineraries== *[[Ruta Puuc]] *[[Ruta Rio Bec]] * [[Tren Maya]] *[[Cenotes of the Yucatán]] ==See also== *[[Indigenous cultures of North America]] {{PartOfTopic|North American history|Mexico|Central America}} {{usabletopic}} grvdasi8s8x99qiz6mv0kahhi126wb8 5 174485 5298706 4900151 2026-06-26T10:56:22Z SHB2000 2248002 sweep from pub 5298706 wikitext text/x-wiki == Kosovo and Albania editathon == {{swept}} Hi all, This weekend (27 and 28 of July) through an editathon and all month of August we at Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group we'll be working on Kosovo and Albania Wikivoyage articles. Hope for your understanding during this time. At the same time, you're very welcome to join us in this endeavor. Thanks! --[[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 12:12, 24 July 2019 (UTC) :Thanks for making everyone aware of this. Please make sure participants are aware of the differences between [[WV:Wikivoyage and Wikipedia]], as well as a basic familiarity with our [[WV:Policies]]. Other than that, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can achieve over the weekend! --[[User:ThunderingTyphoons!|ThunderingTyphoons!]] ([[User talk:ThunderingTyphoons!|talk]]) 12:34, 24 July 2019 (UTC) ::An excellent endeavor! I'll also look forward to seeing the results. The participants shouldn't worry much about formatting and English usage. We welcome the content, and will tidy the edits up after the editathon. Thanks for letting us know! [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 15:49, 24 July 2019 (UTC) ::: Does this help - [[Wikivoyage:Albania Expedition]]. --[[User:Traveler100|Traveler100]] ([[User talk:Traveler100|talk]]) 19:29, 24 July 2019 (UTC) ::::{{Ping|Traveler100}} yes. Thank you! Hope we won't tire you a lot by tiding up after we finish. - [[User:Klein Muçi|Klein Muçi]] ([[User talk:Klein Muçi|talk]]) 13:03, 27 July 2019 (UTC) We're continuing our editathon for the second day today Sunday and we'll open it to the general public during the month of August. Hopefully more contributions will be coming that way. --[[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 12:06, 28 July 2019 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania & Kosovo, 2024 == {{swept}} Hi folks! The [[m:Wikimedians_of_Albanian_Language_User_Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] is organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Editathon 2024 to improve content of Kosovo and Albania on Wikivoyage in English. These are the [[Wikivoyage:Albania Expedition|Albania]] and [[Wikivoyage:Kosovo Expedition|Kosovo]] expedition pages. This year, we will focus on the area of Kruja, central north area in Albania, but feel free to write about any destination. The edit-a-thon will be held online/offline on the weekend of May 5th, 2024 at 09:00 - 17:00 CEST/ 07:00 UTC - 03:00 UTC, here on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG Jitsi]. You can also edit without joining the call. Please register for tracking the contributions on the campaign page on [[wmfdashboard:courses/WoALUG/Summer_of_Wikivoyage_2024|Outreach Dashboard.]] [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 12:30, 30 April 2024 (UTC) :Great! You guys are very helpful. Welcome, once again! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:41, 30 April 2024 (UTC) :Wonderful! [[User:Roovinn|Roovinn]] ([[User talk:Roovinn|talk]]) 16:53, 3 May 2024 (UTC) == Summer of Wikivoyage in Albania and Kosovo 2026 == {{swept}} Hi everyone, just a quick note to share that the [[M:Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group|Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group]] will be organizing the Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon 2026 on May 8–9. This year, we are focusing on [[Kukës]], Albania, and other travel destinations in Albania and Kosovo in English language. There will be an offline event, and everyone is also welcome to join online on Saturday from 10:00–17:00 (GMT+2) on [https://meet.jit.si/WoALUG here]. See you there! Thank you! [[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]] ([[User talk:Vyolltsa|talk]]) 15:21, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :Awesome, and thanks for the notice! I look forward to working with the group. The edit-a-thons on Albania and Kosovo are always done well. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 17:46, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Vyolltsa|Vyolltsa]], thanks again! ::@[[User:Ruhan.paco|Ruhan.paco]], @[[User:Enarda Muhadri|Enarda Muhadri]] and @[[User:ErgisaHoxha|ErgisaHoxha]], welcome, and thanks for adding information! ::There are three things I want to call your attention to: ::(1) Default address information (starting with the name of the town, if it's the same as the article title) is not included in addresses on this site. ::(2) The "directions" tab in listings is a place for a parenthetical phrase (so no sentences) and includes only things like cross streets and if someplace is directly across the street or down the block from a huge landmark like the main railway station. ::(3) Wikivoyage does not approve of stating in any listing that anyplace is "near" x or y, because that is vague though possibly promotional and usually not worth noting if an address - and even better, [[WV:Geocoding|geocoordinates]] - are provided. ::@[[User:MegiNnnnn|MegiNnnnn]], some of your edits have another, more basic issue addressed by [[User:Ground Zero]] on your user talk page: a lack of information. All listings must include street addresses, geocoding (latitude/longitude) or at least some kind of way for readers to find them, and if at all possible, contact information, too. ::I hope I didn't leave anyone out. Please feel free to share these words of advice among your collaborators! ::All my best, ::[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :::I'm not going to name names here, but I had to delete a listing for [[WV:DT|touting]] and obviously copying and pasting from a promotional site in violation of [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft]]. Don't do that. And also, please use [[WV:Listings]] templates for all specific listings (not general activities like fishing, though). [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:06, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Welcome to @[[User:Ledion Aga|Ledion Aga]], @[[User:MrsNora|MrsNora]], @[[User:MrsHajrie|MrsHajrie]], @[[User:Marigen Kovaçi|Marigen Kovaçi]], and please look over this subthread. I may have left someone out. Is there a complete list of participants somewhere? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ::Some of the contributors may not able to understand your comments without our support. Please give us some time to clean up. Here is the full list of [https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WoALUG/Wikivoyage_Kuk%C3%ABs_2026/home edits from the participants]. Thank you for your understanding! [[User:Arianit|Arianit]] ([[User talk:Arianit|talk]]) 16:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :::Sure thing. Thanks for all you do! [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 16:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC) 22s4jka7o4kyhwc12qmuxwzphko3c2o 10 190358 5298555 5290916 2026-06-26T02:01:44Z SHB2000 2248002 kept 5298555 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Contains special characters | special = Meitei script | image = {{{image|Meetei Mayek letter I.svg}}} | alt = Meetei Mayek | fix = Wikivoyage:Meitei script display help | error = errors in display }}<noinclude> {{documentation}} </noinclude> sxyzqs3i6pms6zyp60ldkcbzgakfo0c 0 194359 5298709 4502398 2026-06-26T11:18:38Z Sbb1413 2217354 Removed redirect to [[Central Assam and Barak Valley]] 5298709 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā'') is a region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], India. It consists of the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most of the Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. However, they can also understand [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Varak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 1kx4qq9b27nllbj4ps4aac6xj9b2ec1 5298711 5298709 2026-06-26T11:20:00Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Talk */ 5298711 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā'') is a region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], India. It consists of the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, some locals can also understand [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Varak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 1t1swehg1iqs21214svlwrlj7ik2vfh 5298712 5298711 2026-06-26T11:20:13Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Go next */ 5298712 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā'') is a region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], India. It consists of the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, some locals can also understand [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} b4yhh46nxfi7iv04w4pb668lpaxseux 5298713 5298712 2026-06-26T11:20:50Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298713 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā'') is a region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], India. It consists of the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, some locals can also understand [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} f7yqmea1z9fkbibmgtjlbd3exngfdg6 5298722 5298713 2026-06-26T11:25:04Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Talk */ 5298722 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā'') is a region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], India. It consists of the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 7uknr33jv84fned23l1pgl7cl5auj2t 5298735 5298722 2026-06-26T11:49:07Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298735 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā''), a Bengali-speaking region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts. The valley is home to Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the old Cachari kingdom of Khaspur. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} ohe9e00uoe1yxk4hjubrfix4jwly4fr 5298736 5298735 2026-06-26T11:49:23Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298736 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā''), a Bengali-speaking region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts. The valley is home to Bhuban Hill, tea gardens and the former capital of the old Cachari kingdom of Khaspur. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} kpodlufg5eolscyyk7d16ovq7vz4wcg 5298738 5298736 2026-06-26T11:50:47Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Other destinations */ 5298738 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā''), a Bengali-speaking region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts. The valley is home to Bhuban Hill, tea gardens and the former capital of the old Cachari kingdom of Khaspur. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Bhuban Hill|lat=24.645396|long=93.014362}} * {{marker|type=other|name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q19326278}} ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} lvfth7be2kiamcgv8005qe95j01an6z 5298739 5298738 2026-06-26T11:51:02Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Other destinations */ 5298739 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā''), a Bengali-speaking region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts. The valley is home to Bhuban Hill, tea gardens and the former capital of the old Cachari kingdom of Khaspur. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Bhuban Hill|lat=24.645396|long=93.014362}} — * {{marker|type=other|name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q19326278}} — ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} nj3neqddupebws1glb0j4zxiai49psw 5298741 5298739 2026-06-26T11:54:11Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298741 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} The '''Barak Valley''' ([[Bengali]]: বরাক উপত্যকা ''Borāk Upotyokā''), a Bengali-speaking region in the southern fringes of [[Assam]], consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts. The valley is home to Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the old Cachari kingdom of Khaspur. ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} (শিলচর ''Shilchor'') &mdash; division headquarters * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Badarpur]]|wikidata=Q2563426}} (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') &mdash; home to a fort. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Sribhumi]]|wikidata=Q1729385}} (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi'') &mdash; a border town. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Bhuban Hills|lat=24.645396|long=93.014362}} — * {{marker|type=other|name=Borail Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q19326278}} — ==Understand== The region is bounded on the north by the Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the south by [[Mizoram]]. Cachar district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar. In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate district. ==Talk== Unlike the rest of Assam, most Barak Valley residents understand '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''', the language mostly associated with [[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]]. Bengali along with '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are two official languages of the valley. However, as it is in the state of Assam, [[Assamese phrasebook|Assamese]] is the state official language that is used in state government offices. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * [[Bangladesh]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Tripura]] {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} qrgvutfxfgijqzp7qa0f2det239ifkg 14 194360 5298715 4502403 2026-06-26T11:22:36Z Sbb1413 2217354 Removed redirect to [[Category:Central Assam and Barak Valley]] 5298715 wikitext text/x-wiki {{RegionCat}} {{isPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} rb4s18tm1jdn0aiv5koff7ul948ep8g 0 194362 5298640 5296066 2026-06-26T08:16:08Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298640 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Lower Assam''' is a region west of [[Assam]], India, considered as the extension of the [[Dooars]] region of [[West Bengal]]. This region includes the districts of Kakrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Chirang, Bangalgaon, Goalpara, Baksa, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Udalguri, Darrang, Kamrup Metro, Sonitpur and Biswanath ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=760|height=400}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2360266,Q41249,Q42197,Q2574898,Q42485,Q42522,Q42779,Q2464674,Q42618,Q24907599,Q2247441,Q101088203,Q321998,Q42461,Q28110722,Q42765,Q110661970,Q22079836}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Bongaigaon]]|wikidata=Q3429538}} (বঙাইগাঁও ''Bongāigāōn'') &mdash; Commercial and industrial hub, home to many monuments of Assamese culture * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Borgang]]|wikidata=Q4945011}} (বৰগাং ''Borgāng'') &mdash; Experience the rich folklore and culture of rural Assam in a picturesque landscape. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Dhubri]]|wikidata=Q1266586}} (ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Goalpara]]|wikidata=Q579832}} (গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Guwahati]]|wikidata=Q199605}} (গুৰাহাটী ''Guwāhāṭī'') &mdash; Largest city in Assam, city of temples, history and archaeological sites, containing the capital Dispur *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kokrajhar]]|wikidata=Q579832}} (কোকৰাঝাৰ ''Kōkrājhār'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rangia]]|wikidata=Q2475022}} &mdash; Major railway town and a part of Kamrupi cultural region. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tezpur]]|wikidata=Q1021162}} (তেজপুৰ ''Tejpur'') &mdash; Ancient town and also said to be the cultural capital of Assam, with many historical ruins with the Himalayas as a backdrop. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Manas National Park]]|wikidata=Q506511}} – the wildlife park is in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, where the river Manah flows with picturesque turns and clean water and sandy beaches. Although Manas is primarily a tiger reserve, it possesses numerous other valuable flora and fauna; the park is situated roughly 150&nbsp;km west of Guwahati. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Nameri National Park]]|wikidata=Q2989157}} – One of the most scenic national parks of Assam, Nameri comes as a delight for the nature-loving and bird-watching traveller. The bird life is particularly superb. Also, the chances of spotting a tiger are very high. * {{marker|type=other|name=Orang National Park|wikidata=Q2989176}} (Mini Kaziranga) – Marshes, streams and grasslands provide a habitat for the Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephant, wild buffalo and tiger. It provides a home for many migratory species of birds and reptiles. * {{marker|type=other|name=Raimona National Park|wikidata=Q107112206}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park|wikidata=Q134984377}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q3490050}} – ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== There are three airports serving the region, with the busiest airport being Guwahati Airport ({{IATA|GAU}}). Other airports include Tezpur ({{IATA|TEZ}}) and Rupsi ({{IATA|RUP}}). ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|26.4|91.8|zoom=8}} 0aye71dnhvae3bd91ag5p9jmr63ljfu 5298641 5298640 2026-06-26T08:16:40Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298641 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Lower Assam''' is a region west of [[Assam]], India, considered as the extension of the [[Dooars]] region of [[West Bengal]]. This region includes the districts of Kakrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Chirang, Bangalgaon, Goalpara, Baksa, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Udalguri, Darrang, Kamrup Metro, Sonitpur and Biswanath ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=760|height=400}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2360266,Q41249,Q42197,Q2574898,Q42485,Q42522,Q42779,Q2464674,Q42618,Q24907599,Q2247441,Q101088203,Q321998,Q42461,Q28110722,Q42765,Q110661970,Q22079836}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Bongaigaon]]|wikidata=Q3429538}} (বঙাইগাঁও ''Bongāigāōn'') &mdash; Commercial and industrial hub, home to many monuments of Assamese culture * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Borgang]]|wikidata=Q4945011}} (বৰগাং ''Borgāng'') &mdash; Experience the rich folklore and culture of rural Assam in a picturesque landscape. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Dhubri]]|wikidata=Q1266586}} (ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Goalpara]]|wikidata=Q579832}} (গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Guwahati]]|wikidata=Q199605}} (গুৰাহাটী ''Guwāhāṭī'') &mdash; Largest city in Assam, city of temples, history and archaeological sites, containing the capital Dispur *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kokrajhar]]|wikidata=Q2728994}} (কোকৰাঝাৰ ''Kōkrājhār'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rangia]]|wikidata=Q2475022}} &mdash; Major railway town and a part of Kamrupi cultural region. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tezpur]]|wikidata=Q1021162}} (তেজপুৰ ''Tejpur'') &mdash; Ancient town and also said to be the cultural capital of Assam, with many historical ruins with the Himalayas as a backdrop. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Manas National Park]]|wikidata=Q506511}} – the wildlife park is in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, where the river Manah flows with picturesque turns and clean water and sandy beaches. Although Manas is primarily a tiger reserve, it possesses numerous other valuable flora and fauna; the park is situated roughly 150&nbsp;km west of Guwahati. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Nameri National Park]]|wikidata=Q2989157}} – One of the most scenic national parks of Assam, Nameri comes as a delight for the nature-loving and bird-watching traveller. The bird life is particularly superb. Also, the chances of spotting a tiger are very high. * {{marker|type=other|name=Orang National Park|wikidata=Q2989176}} (Mini Kaziranga) – Marshes, streams and grasslands provide a habitat for the Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephant, wild buffalo and tiger. It provides a home for many migratory species of birds and reptiles. * {{marker|type=other|name=Raimona National Park|wikidata=Q107112206}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park|wikidata=Q134984377}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q3490050}} – ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== There are three airports serving the region, with the busiest airport being Guwahati Airport ({{IATA|GAU}}). Other airports include Tezpur ({{IATA|TEZ}}) and Rupsi ({{IATA|RUP}}). ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|26.4|91.8|zoom=8}} 2s68juv2jpnnhxdjpxtncdqb1muvmdi 5298642 5298641 2026-06-26T08:17:36Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298642 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Lower Assam''' is a region west of [[Assam]], India, considered as the extension of the [[Dooars]] region of [[West Bengal]]. This region includes the districts of Kakrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Chirang, Bangalgaon, Goalpara, Baksa, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Udalguri, Darrang, Kamrup Metro, Sonitpur and Biswanath ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=760|height=400}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2360266,Q41249,Q42197,Q2574898,Q42485,Q42522,Q42779,Q2464674,Q42618,Q24907599,Q2247441,Q101088203,Q321998,Q42461,Q28110722,Q42765,Q110661970,Q22079836}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Bongaigaon]]|wikidata=Q3429538}} (বঙাইগাঁও ''Bongāigāōn'') &mdash; Commercial and industrial hub, home to many monuments of Assamese culture * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Borgang]]|wikidata=Q4945011}} (বৰগাং ''Borgāng'') &mdash; Experience the rich folklore and culture of rural Assam in a picturesque landscape. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Dhubri]]|wikidata=Q1266586}} (ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Goalpara]]|wikidata=Q579832}} (গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Guwahati]]|wikidata=Q199605}} (গুৰাহাটী ''Guwāhāṭī'') &mdash; Largest city in Assam, city of temples, history and archaeological sites, containing the capital Dispur *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kokrajhar]]|wikidata=Q2728994}} (কোকৰাঝাৰ ''Kōkrājhār'') &mdash; Capital of Bodoland, home to the Central Institute of Technology campus *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rangia]]|wikidata=Q2475022}} &mdash; Major railway town and a part of Kamrupi cultural region. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tezpur]]|wikidata=Q1021162}} (তেজপুৰ ''Tejpur'') &mdash; Ancient town and also said to be the cultural capital of Assam, with many historical ruins with the Himalayas as a backdrop. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Manas National Park]]|wikidata=Q506511}} – the wildlife park is in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, where the river Manah flows with picturesque turns and clean water and sandy beaches. Although Manas is primarily a tiger reserve, it possesses numerous other valuable flora and fauna; the park is situated roughly 150&nbsp;km west of Guwahati. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Nameri National Park]]|wikidata=Q2989157}} – One of the most scenic national parks of Assam, Nameri comes as a delight for the nature-loving and bird-watching traveller. The bird life is particularly superb. Also, the chances of spotting a tiger are very high. * {{marker|type=other|name=Orang National Park|wikidata=Q2989176}} (Mini Kaziranga) – Marshes, streams and grasslands provide a habitat for the Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephant, wild buffalo and tiger. It provides a home for many migratory species of birds and reptiles. * {{marker|type=other|name=Raimona National Park|wikidata=Q107112206}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park|wikidata=Q134984377}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q3490050}} – ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== There are three airports serving the region, with the busiest airport being Guwahati Airport ({{IATA|GAU}}). Other airports include Tezpur ({{IATA|TEZ}}) and Rupsi ({{IATA|RUP}}). ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|26.4|91.8|zoom=8}} 8ldrwo70e1vlmz04lo0t1ilfio5t9my 5298643 5298642 2026-06-26T08:18:33Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298643 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Lower Assam''' is a region west of [[Assam]], India, considered as the extension of the [[Dooars]] region of [[West Bengal]]. This region includes the districts of Kakrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara Mankachar, Chirang, Bangalgaon, Goalpara, Baksa, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Udalguri, Darrang, Kamrup Metro, Sonitpur and Biswanath ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=750|height=380}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q2360266,Q41249,Q42197,Q2574898,Q42485,Q42522,Q42779,Q2464674,Q42618,Q24907599,Q2247441,Q101088203,Q321998,Q42461,Q28110722,Q42765,Q110661970,Q22079836}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Bongaigaon]]|wikidata=Q3429538}} (বঙাইগাঁও ''Bongāigāōn'') &mdash; Commercial and industrial hub, home to many monuments of Assamese culture * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Borgang]]|wikidata=Q4945011}} (বৰগাং ''Borgāng'') &mdash; Experience the rich folklore and culture of rural Assam in a picturesque landscape. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Dhubri]]|wikidata=Q1266586}} (ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Goalpara]]|wikidata=Q579832}} (গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'') &mdash; *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Guwahati]]|wikidata=Q199605}} (গুৰাহাটী ''Guwāhāṭī'') &mdash; Largest city in Assam, city of temples, history and archaeological sites, containing the capital Dispur *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Kokrajhar]]|wikidata=Q2728994}} (কোকৰাঝাৰ ''Kōkrājhār'') &mdash; Capital of Bodoland, home to the Central Institute of Technology *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Rangia]]|wikidata=Q2475022}} &mdash; Major railway town and a part of Kamrupi cultural region. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Tezpur]]|wikidata=Q1021162}} (তেজপুৰ ''Tejpur'') &mdash; Ancient town and also said to be the cultural capital of Assam, with many historical ruins with the Himalayas as a backdrop. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Manas National Park]]|wikidata=Q506511}} – the wildlife park is in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, where the river Manah flows with picturesque turns and clean water and sandy beaches. Although Manas is primarily a tiger reserve, it possesses numerous other valuable flora and fauna; the park is situated roughly 150&nbsp;km west of Guwahati. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Nameri National Park]]|wikidata=Q2989157}} – One of the most scenic national parks of Assam, Nameri comes as a delight for the nature-loving and bird-watching traveller. The bird life is particularly superb. Also, the chances of spotting a tiger are very high. * {{marker|type=other|name=Orang National Park|wikidata=Q2989176}} (Mini Kaziranga) – Marshes, streams and grasslands provide a habitat for the Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephant, wild buffalo and tiger. It provides a home for many migratory species of birds and reptiles. * {{marker|type=other|name=Raimona National Park|wikidata=Q107112206}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park|wikidata=Q134984377}} – * {{marker|type=other|name=Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary|wikidata=Q3490050}} – ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== There are three airports serving the region, with the busiest airport being Guwahati Airport ({{IATA|GAU}}). Other airports include Tezpur ({{IATA|TEZ}}) and Rupsi ({{IATA|RUP}}). ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|26.4|91.8|zoom=8}} s2t30ujdbtsa05wvxjahc5eyuvhpr7n 0 194369 5298656 5275768 2026-06-26T08:46:08Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298656 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Central Assam and Barak Valley''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This region consists of the districts of Marigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anlong East, Karbi Anlong West, Hajoi, Dima Hassao, Cachar, Karimgan and Hallakandi ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=400|height=540}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209,Q42774,Q24699407,Q42558,Q42737,Q42686,Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bhuragaon]]|wikidata=Q30675461}} &mdash; River front, Gerua Beel, Sonduba. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bordua]]|lat=26.4107|long=92.5516}} &mdash; The birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sarkardev draws visitors who come to learn Sattriya dance and do research on Vaishnavism. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; Tribal town. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mayong]]|wikidata=Q6797601}} &mdash; A village on the Brahmaputra River, known as the Land of Black Magic. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Morigaon]]|wikidata=Q2484039}} &mdash; Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Deosal Mandir, Champawati Kunda. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nagaon]]|wikidata=Q11938328}} (Nowgong) &mdash; Mahamrityunjay Mandir, Chapanala Waterfall, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Paradise Lake * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} &mdash; Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Dima Hasao]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are the official languages of the [[Barak Valley]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.4953|93.0734|zoom=8}} cjvi92jajafnpvaysereu2y01ra3yn0 5298688 5298656 2026-06-26T10:07:39Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Other destinations */ 5298688 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Central Assam and Barak Valley''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This region consists of the districts of Marigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anlong East, Karbi Anlong West, Hajoi, Dima Hassao, Cachar, Karimgan and Hallakandi ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=400|height=540}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209,Q42774,Q24699407,Q42558,Q42737,Q42686,Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bhuragaon]]|wikidata=Q30675461}} &mdash; River front, Gerua Beel, Sonduba. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bordua]]|lat=26.4107|long=92.5516}} &mdash; The birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sarkardev draws visitors who come to learn Sattriya dance and do research on Vaishnavism. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; Tribal town. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mayong]]|wikidata=Q6797601}} &mdash; A village on the Brahmaputra River, known as the Land of Black Magic. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Morigaon]]|wikidata=Q2484039}} &mdash; Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Deosal Mandir, Champawati Kunda. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nagaon]]|wikidata=Q11938328}} (Nowgong) &mdash; Mahamrityunjay Mandir, Chapanala Waterfall, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Paradise Lake * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} &mdash; Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Barak Valley]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Dima Hasao]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Karbi Anglong]]|wikidata=Q6368969}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are the official languages of the [[Barak Valley]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.4953|93.0734|zoom=8}} phuri1mik9pqbjs2jc0dcxxuyvcsc7v 5298689 5298688 2026-06-26T10:09:17Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298689 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Central Assam and Barak Valley''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This region consists of the districts of Marigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anlong East, Karbi Anlong West, Hajoi, Dima Hassao, Cachar, Karimgan and Hallakandi ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=400|height=540}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209,Q42774,Q24699407,Q42558,Q42737,Q42686,Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bhuragaon]]|wikidata=Q30675461}} &mdash; River front, Gerua Beel, Sonduba. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bordua]]|lat=26.4107|long=92.5516}} &mdash; The birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sarkardev draws visitors who come to learn Sattriya dance and do research on Vaishnavism. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mayong]]|wikidata=Q6797601}} &mdash; A village on the Brahmaputra River, known as the Land of Black Magic. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Morigaon]]|wikidata=Q2484039}} &mdash; Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Deosal Mandir, Champawati Kunda. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nagaon]]|wikidata=Q11938328}} (Nowgong) &mdash; Mahamrityunjay Mandir, Chapanala Waterfall, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Paradise Lake * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} &mdash; Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Barak Valley]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Dima Hasao]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Karbi Anglong]]|wikidata=Q6368969}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are the official languages of the [[Barak Valley]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.4953|93.0734|zoom=8}} kpk58ireqaz2nidffaeluwoeccd0hqq 5298692 5298689 2026-06-26T10:10:31Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Other destinations */ 5298692 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Central Assam and Barak Valley''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This region consists of the districts of Marigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anlong East, Karbi Anlong West, Hajoi, Dima Hassao, Cachar, Karimgan and Hallakandi ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=400|height=540}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209,Q42774,Q24699407,Q42558,Q42737,Q42686,Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bhuragaon]]|wikidata=Q30675461}} &mdash; River front, Gerua Beel, Sonduba. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bordua]]|lat=26.4107|long=92.5516}} &mdash; The birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sarkardev draws visitors who come to learn Sattriya dance and do research on Vaishnavism. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mayong]]|wikidata=Q6797601}} &mdash; A village on the Brahmaputra River, known as the Land of Black Magic. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Morigaon]]|wikidata=Q2484039}} &mdash; Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Deosal Mandir, Champawati Kunda. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nagaon]]|wikidata=Q11938328}} (Nowgong) &mdash; Mahamrityunjay Mandir, Chapanala Waterfall, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Paradise Lake * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Silchar]]|wikidata=Q944769}} &mdash; Bhuban Hills, tea gardens and the former capital of the Old Cachari Kingdom (Khaspur). ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Barak Valley]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Dima Hasao]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Karbi Anglong]]|wikidata=Q29025081}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are the official languages of the [[Barak Valley]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.4953|93.0734|zoom=8}} gi5ide0ltjqv1wwsapndf14bhxkuijm 5298708 5298692 2026-06-26T11:17:22Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298708 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Central Assam and Barak Valley''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This region consists of the districts of Marigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anlong East, Karbi Anlong West, Hajoi, Dima Hassao, Cachar, Karimgan and Hallakandi ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=400|height=540}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209,Q42774,Q24699407,Q42558,Q42737,Q42686,Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bhuragaon]]|wikidata=Q30675461}} &mdash; River front, Gerua Beel, Sonduba. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bordua]]|lat=26.4107|long=92.5516}} &mdash; The birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sarkardev draws visitors who come to learn Sattriya dance and do research on Vaishnavism. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mayong]]|wikidata=Q6797601}} &mdash; A village on the Brahmaputra River, known as the Land of Black Magic. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Morigaon]]|wikidata=Q2484039}} &mdash; Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Deosal Mandir, Champawati Kunda. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nagaon]]|wikidata=Q11938328}} (Nowgong) &mdash; Mahamrityunjay Mandir, Chapanala Waterfall, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Paradise Lake ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Barak Valley]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Dima Hasao]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Karbi Anglong]]|wikidata=Q29025081}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Talk== '''[[Bengali phrasebook|Bengali]]''' and '''[[Meitei phrasebook|Manipuri (Meitei)]]''' are the official languages of the [[Barak Valley]]. ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.4953|93.0734|zoom=8}} p0t2h3m5aqxraxewoj019zzbyrro3kn 5298710 5298708 2026-06-26T11:18:53Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Talk */ 5298710 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Central Assam and Barak Valley''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This region consists of the districts of Marigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anlong East, Karbi Anlong West, Hajoi, Dima Hassao, Cachar, Karimgan and Hallakandi ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=400|height=540}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42542,Q42505,Q42209,Q42774,Q24699407,Q42558,Q42737,Q42686,Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bhuragaon]]|wikidata=Q30675461}} &mdash; River front, Gerua Beel, Sonduba. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Bordua]]|lat=26.4107|long=92.5516}} &mdash; The birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sarkardev draws visitors who come to learn Sattriya dance and do research on Vaishnavism. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Mayong]]|wikidata=Q6797601}} &mdash; A village on the Brahmaputra River, known as the Land of Black Magic. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Morigaon]]|wikidata=Q2484039}} &mdash; Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Deosal Mandir, Champawati Kunda. * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Nagaon]]|wikidata=Q11938328}} (Nowgong) &mdash; Mahamrityunjay Mandir, Chapanala Waterfall, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Paradise Lake ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Barak Valley]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Dima Hasao]]|wikidata=Q42774}} &mdash; * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Karbi Anglong]]|wikidata=Q29025081}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Talk== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|25.4953|93.0734|zoom=8}} 6w276jmoeo7qax3yoippnc8nochm9d0 0 194371 5298629 5276035 2026-06-26T07:50:51Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298629 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Upper Assam''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This consists of the districts of Golaghat, Lakihmpur, Majuli, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo and Tinsukia ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=500|height=450}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q24039029,Q42473,Q42479,Q42517,Q42611,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42768,Q42756}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Dibrugarh]]|wikidata=Q1266637}} (ডিব্ৰুগড় ''Ḍibrugoṛ'') &mdash; Home to several parks, gardens and temples. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Digboi]]|wikidata=Q1267577}} (দিগ্বই) &mdash; Home to the first Asian petroleum refinery with an oil museum and heritage wells. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Golaghat]]|wikidata=Q1708160}} (গোলাঘাট ''Golāghāṭ'') &mdash; An old urban centre for Assam, but nevertheless home to wildlife sanctuaries and a UNESCO-listed national park, beautiful views amid ancient ruins, and sacred Hindu and Christian sites from the 17th and 19th centuries. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Jorhat]]|wikidata=Q1937201}} (যোৰহাট ''Jōrhāṭ'') &mdash; Considered by some to be the cultural centre of Assam and the last capital of the mighty Ahom kingdom. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Sibsagar]]|wikidata=Q1284453}} (শিৱসাগৰ ''Shiwosāgor'') &mdash; The former capital of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam. Spectacular temples, tanks and pavilions. Moidam, a royal burial site, is a {{UNESCO}}. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tinsukia]]|wikidata=Q2249428}} (তিনিচুকীয়া ''Tinichukīyā'') &mdash; famous for its endless stretches of tea gardens. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Dibru-Saikhowa National Park|wikidata=Q1209353}} &mdash; A wonderful habitat of numerous birds; there are feral horses on the islands of the Brahmaputra close to the park. * {{marker|type=other|name=Dehing Patkai National Park|wikidata=Q5252276}} * {{marker|type=other|zoom=13|name=[[Kaziranga National Park]]|wikidata=Q192764}} &mdash; A {{unesco}}, it is the largest habitat for one-horned rhinoceros and several other unique flora and fauna. Kaziranga is a grassland on the bank of the Brahmaputra; roughly {{km|200}} east of Guwahati. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Lakhimpur]]|wikidata=Q42743}} *{{marker|type=other|zoom=13 | name=[[Majuli]] | image=Majuli Island.jpg |wikidata=Q277552}} &mdash; An river island in Brahmaputra. It was once considered as the largest river island in the world. Majuli is an interesting mix of tradition, folklore and nature. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|27.1|94.5|zoom=8}} 1rsxsjmxhnfa8eceq3le8qjn0hz5f2g 5298630 5298629 2026-06-26T07:52:00Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Other destinations */ 5298630 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Upper Assam''' is a region in [[Assam]], India. This consists of the districts of Golaghat, Lakihmpur, Majuli, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo and Tinsukia ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=500|height=450}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q24039029,Q42473,Q42479,Q42517,Q42611,Q42743,Q28110729,Q42768,Q42756}} *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Dibrugarh]]|wikidata=Q1266637}} (ডিব্ৰুগড় ''Ḍibrugoṛ'') &mdash; Home to several parks, gardens and temples. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Digboi]]|wikidata=Q1267577}} (দিগ্বই) &mdash; Home to the first Asian petroleum refinery with an oil museum and heritage wells. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Golaghat]]|wikidata=Q1708160}} (গোলাঘাট ''Golāghāṭ'') &mdash; An old urban centre for Assam, but nevertheless home to wildlife sanctuaries and a UNESCO-listed national park, beautiful views amid ancient ruins, and sacred Hindu and Christian sites from the 17th and 19th centuries. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Jorhat]]|wikidata=Q1937201}} (যোৰহাট ''Jōrhāṭ'') &mdash; Considered by some to be the cultural centre of Assam and the last capital of the mighty Ahom kingdom. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Sibsagar]]|wikidata=Q1284453}} (শিৱসাগৰ ''Shiwosāgor'') &mdash; The former capital of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam. Spectacular temples, tanks and pavilions. Moidam, a royal burial site, is a {{UNESCO}}. *{{marker|type=city|name=[[Tinsukia]]|wikidata=Q2249428}} (তিনিচুকীয়া ''Tinichukīyā'') &mdash; famous for its endless stretches of tea gardens. ==Other destinations== * {{marker|type=other|name=Dibru-Saikhowa National Park|wikidata=Q1209353}} &mdash; A wonderful habitat of numerous birds; there are feral horses on the islands of the Brahmaputra close to the park. * {{marker|type=other|name=Dehing Patkai National Park|wikidata=Q5252276}} * {{marker|type=other|zoom=13|name=[[Kaziranga National Park]]|wikidata=Q192764}} (কাজিৰঙা ''Kājirongā'') &mdash; A {{unesco}}, it is the largest habitat for one-horned rhinoceros and several other unique flora and fauna. Kaziranga is a grassland on the bank of the Brahmaputra; roughly {{km|200}} east of Guwahati. * {{marker|type=other|name=[[Lakhimpur]]|wikidata=Q42743}} *{{marker|type=other|name=[[Majuli]]|wikidata=Q277552}} &mdash; An river island in Brahmaputra. It was once considered as the largest river island in the world. Majuli is an interesting mix of tradition, folklore and nature. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Assam}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo|27.1|94.5|zoom=8}} fe3kcqqceuc60doqpcwp94gbtz8xt3d 0 197057 5298493 5110403 2026-06-25T19:11:14Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Camping */ - add details 5298493 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Grutas Cacahumilpa banner (cropped).jpg|pgname=Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park}} [[File:Grutas de Cacahumilpa (2488225381).jpg|thumb|Grutas de Cacahumilpa]] '''Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park''' (Cacahuamilpa Caverns) is a [[Mexico national parks|national park]] in the state of [[Guerrero]] in southwestern [[Mexico]]. The park's main feature is its extensive cavern system, one of the largest in Mexico. A smaller cavern called Grutas de Carlos Pacheco is also here, as well as two short subterranean rivers. The park is also a popular site for rapelling and rock climbing in its Limontitla Canyon area. A botanical garden, public pool, and campground round out the park facilities. ==Understand== The caverns are a living cave system carved over millennia from steadily flowing groundwaters. Over time, the water hollowed out large openings, called ''salons''', as it dissolved the limestone rock formations of the Cerro de la Corona mountain. More than 90 salons make up the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa. ===History=== Prior to the Spanish conquest, the Olmec and the Chontal people used the caves as ceremonial centers. The Chontal name for the cave is ''Cocoyocuatl''. The Spanish did not learn of the caves until 1834. An initial geological survey was made under orders of Emperor Maximilian in the 1860s, and a deeper survey and more extensive mapping was done in 1922. The area was declared a national park in 1936 by President Lazaro Cardenas. Guided cavern tours became available in 1969. A further survey of the cavern system was done in 1987. ===Landscape=== The park extends over an area of 1598 hectares. Most of the area is low deciduous forest, but riparian ecosystems appear during the annual rainy season (June to October). The park is the headwaters for the Amacuzac River. ===Flora and fauna=== Plant and animal life is typical of subtropical deciduous forest. Animals include the badger, armadillo, quail, and mourning doves, among many others. Freshwater otters live in the springs and streams that form the nascent Amacuzac River. ===Climate=== ==Get in== The best way to get here is by car. The park is between the cities of [[Cuernavaca]] and [[Taxco]] on highway MEX 95. About 45 minutes from Taxco, maybe a bit over an hour from Cuernavaca. Buses operate regularly between Cuernavaca and Taxco. The Estrella Blanco bus costs M$45 and will, on request, drop you off at the park entrance. It is a short walk from there to the caverns. Other bus companies may do the same, so ask. From Taxco, you can get a taxi to take you to the park. ==Fees and permits== Entry to the caves costs M$100 per adult, M$70 for children. Tours are available from 10am to 5pm. Additional cost for other attractions, such as the zipline, suspension bridge, etc. ==Get around== Once you're in the park, you'll be walking. Rocks in the caves may be wet, so non-slip casual shoes would be best. ==See== The 2-hour guided public caverns tour departs once per hour. It follows a 2.5km long path through a series of linked salons. The walkway is mostly level and has electric lighting along the pathway. The salons average 40 meters wide by anywhere from 20 to 80 meters in length. Salons are named for the shapes of prominent rock formations in each. There is a Throne Room, a Cathedral, a Goat Salon, and so forth. In one salon is a gravesite. The story behind this grave is that an Englishman and his dog were exploring the cave when the Englishman fell and was injured. He sent his dog for help, but nobody paid attention to the dog, who returned to the cave and died alongside his master. A particularly large salon is the Auditorium, in which seats have been installed and which hosts the annual Jornadas Alarconianas concerts (usually featuring classical music). The tour of '''Grutas de Carlos Pacheco''' is available on request only (not regularly scheduled). Visit the '''Limontitla Botanical Garden''' to see native flora of the local subtropical forests. Guided garden tours are available. The best time to visit is June to October when the weather is wetter and plants are in bloom. ==Do== * '''Rock climbing''' - There are 45 rock climbing routes with grades from 10b to 13d. * '''Zip line''' * '''Suspension bridge''' ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ===Lodging=== ===Camping=== A rustic park campground is available with primitive facilities. Overnight camping costs M$100 per person. Camping is in a wide, open field where tents can be pitched anywhere you like. There is no specific limit to the number of campers or tents, but it is rarely crowded. There are no designated sites and no facilities for RVs. Showers are available with cold water only. ===Backcountry=== ==Stay safe== ==Go next== * '''[[Taxco]]''' * '''[[Cuernavaca]]''' * '''[[Xochicalco]]''' {{IsPartOf|Guerrero}} {{outlinepark}} {{geo|18.67414|-99.49488}} b180d1f7bt56zbe1py1edzi5ef2jj3f 0 197709 5298501 5297202 2026-06-25T19:52:03Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* See */ - add locations, details 5298501 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Tlayacapan banner.jpg|pgname=Tlayacapan|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Tlayacapan''' is a town in the [[Central Mexico]] state of [[Morelos]]. The town is one of the most scenic and culturally rich in the region and is designated as one of Mexico's [[Pueblos Magicos]]. It is known for its 16th century monastery and many chapels, and is included as part of the "16th century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatapetl", a {{unesco}}. It is an easy weekend getaway for people in the [[Mexico City]] area (though weekend crowds are significantly less than towns closer to the capital). [[File:Tlayacapan.jpg|thumb|Ex-convento San Juan Bautista]] ==Understand== Tlayacapan is a small town with a population of about 7,000. ===History=== Long before the arrival of Spaniards in Mexico, Tlayacapan was an Olmec settlement that was part of the Aztec trading network, a stop over on the way to more southern settlements. ===Earthquakes=== Earthquakes are a common phenomenon in [[Central Mexico]], which is geologically active. On September 19, 2017, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook Tlayacapan, damaging many buildings, including the historic Monastery of San Juan Bautista, and the Palacio Municipal (the oldest city hall in Mexico). The historic church remains closed to the public until restorations can be completed and public safety ensured. Damage to the church includes a fallen ceiling and a major crack that splits the building's facade. ==Get in== {{mapframe|18.95556|-98.98111|zoom=14}} From Mexico City's Taxqueña bus terminal (south), TER buses (Transportes Estrella Roja) leave hourly for the 2-1/2 hour trip to Tlayacapan and cost M$100 (February 2023). From Cuernavaca, TER buses leave every 30-40 minutes for the 2 hour trip to Tlayacapan. Tickets cost M$80 (February 2023). ==Get around== Tlayacapan is a compact small town. Walking is the best way to get around. Taxis are readily available if you want to go further afield. ==See== * {{see | name=Ex-convento San Juan Baustista | alt= | url= | email= | address=Reforma, Centro | lat=18.95654122564966 | long=-98.982418065549 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=This imposing church is one of the 16th century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatapetl, which are designated as a {{unesco}}. The monastery complex was built by the Augustinian order between 1534 and 1574. It included the main church, courtyards, cloister, prayer rooms, a dining hall, and rooms where the monks slept. Only the main church was maintained and actively used for religious celebrations. It incorporates architectural elements from a number of different styles. The monastery is noted for its frescoes and oil paintings in the entrance hall and meditation hall. }} * {{see | name=La Cerería Museum and Cultural Center | alt=Candle Factory | url= | email= | address=Corregidora, Centro | lat=18.956812466413414 | long=-98.98387772477328 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00 - 16:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=This is a 16th century building where candles were once made and sold. The building is noted for its colonial architecture and its colorful early 20th century history as military headquarters for the revolutionary forces under Emiliano Zapata. Today, the building is a museum that showcases artifacts and dioramas depicting the region's past and its culture, including arts, and the story behind ''Chinelos''. }} [[File:CapExaltacionNight.JPG|thumb|Capilla la Exaltacion]] * '''16th century chapels''' - While the Augustinians were building their monastery, they were also embarking on a mission of evangelizing the native indigenous populations, and they would seek out the native temples, knock them down, and build Christian temples on their sites. There were originally 26 of these chapels in Tlayacapan, but 18 remain and have been restored and maintained. There were 3 classes of chapels, with the main chapels generally being elaborately decorated and serving a wide community, while other chapels served local neighborhoods or clusters of families and were more humble structures. The four main chapels are {{see|name=Capilla El Rosario|lat=18.956636562638423|long=-98.9868924398588}}, {{see|name=Capilla Santa Ana|lat=18.961482339389782|long=-98.98198605671558}}, {{see|name=Capilla de la Exaltación|lat=18.961492721533144|long=-98.98256368048114}}, and {{see|name=Capilla Señor Santiago|lat=18.961420594968992|long=-98.98262516817277|}}. ==Do== {{infobox|Chinelos|The Mexican tradition of ''chinelos'' is a fun spirited mockery of high class and authority. It originated in the town of Tlayacapan in the mid-19th century and subsequently became popular throughout the state of Morelos and into parts of Mexico City. Historically, the indigenous or mixed classes who worked as laborers on the sugar plantations would let off steam during carnival. They created colorful masks and costumes to dress as caricatures of the European upper classes. Chinelos have a distinctive dance that they typically perform during carnival (and do a few steps of during parades).}} [[File:Chinelo.jpg|thumb|Chinelo]] * Rejuvenate your body in a '''temazcal'''. The temazcal is a pre-hispanic ritualistic steam bath that purifies the body with scented steam and opens the pores. The steam bath includes aromatic and medicinal herbs and is a great way to cap off a busy day, relaxing in the warm vapors before dinner. There are several temazcales in town, some part of a spa hotel. Most require a group size of 5 or 6 people and require reservations at least a week in advance. Some places offering temazcal include Centro Callicuahtli and Bio Calli. A temazcal typically costs M$400 to M$500 per person. * '''Carnival''' is a huge celebration in Tlayacapan, which is home to the dance of ''chinelos''. Chinelos is a tradition throughout the state of Morelos, but it's here in Tlayacapan where the tradition originated. * '''Feast of San Juan Bautista''' - June 24 is the feast day for Tlayacapan's patron saint. Festivities take place throughout town and include chinelos. ==Buy== A variety of local artesania shops can be found on Calle Emilio Carranza and in the Plaza del Alfarero where a craft market is set up on Saturdays and Sundays. ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Casa Grande Tlayacapan | alt= | url= | email= | address=Benito Juárez 8, Centro | lat=18.955543 | long=-98.982947 | directions= | phone=+52 7351081089 | tollfree= | hours=10ː00 - 19ː00 | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Beautiful historic hacienda restaurant across the street from the Monastery of St. John the Baptist. Outdoor patio dining in the garden courtyard with umbrellas and live music. Traditional Mexican cuisine with regional specialties like esquites con huitlacoche. If you're a bold epicure, order the chapulines flameado en mescal (grasshoppers in mescal, flambe). }} * {{eat | name=El Mirador | alt= | url= | email= | address=5 de Mayo 14, Centro | lat=18.955307 | long=-98.982986 | directions= | phone=+52 7352436394 | tollfree= | hours=09ː00 - 19ː00 | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Traditional Mexican food with a nice 2nd floor terrace dining area. Omelletes, chilaquiles, hot cakes for breakfast, fish, chicken, ribs, and several kinds of spaghetti. }} * {{eat | name=La Malinche | alt= | url= | email= | address=Benito Juarez 6, Centro | lat=18.955583 | long=-98.982592 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=10ː00 - 21ː00 | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Traditional Mexican food in a clean, inviting location. Tortilla soup, large margaritas. }} * {{eat | name=Yoshi Roll Fusion | alt= | url= | email= | address=Emiliano Carranza 35 | lat=18.954421 | long=-98.980838 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=12ː00 - 20ː00 closed Monday | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Modern sushi restaurant. }} * {{eat | name=Pozoleria Dona China | alt= | url= | email= | address=Cuahtemoc at Ninos Heroes | lat=18.957662 | long=-98.987266 | directions= | phone=+52 7351724342 | tollfree= | hours=09ː00 - 22ː00 Saturday and Sunday only | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Pozole or Chinese food? This places serves both. }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Pulques Teuhtli | alt= | url= | email= | address=Corner of Emiliano Carranza and Leandro Valle | lat=18.953919 | long=-98.979416 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=10ː00 - 20ː00 Saturday and Sunday only | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Very traditional style pulqueria with a variety of very modern flavors. Try the cappuccino pulque. }} * {{drink | name=Pulques Xolotl | alt= | url= | email= | address=Guadalupe Victoria 1-12, Exaltacion | lat=18.953604 | long=-98.983232 | directions= | phone=+52 5611492223 | tollfree= | hours=10ː00 - 20ː00 weekdays, 08ː00 - 22ː00 Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Natural and cured pulques at the bar, serves foodː cecina, cochinita, etc. }} * {{drink | name=Terraza Tulum | alt= | url= | email= | address=Cuahutemoc 21, Barrio del Rosario | lat=18.956551 | long=-98.984799 | directions= | phone=+52 7353740613 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=2nd floor terrace bar. Beer, micheladas, mixed drinks. }} ==Sleep== * {{sleep | name=Posada San Juan | alt= | url= | email= | address=Cinco de Mayo 18 | lat=18.954776 | long=-98.983325 | directions= | phone=+52 7353576481 | tollfree= | checkin=15ː00 | checkout=12ː00 | price=M$700 | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Attractive, centrally located budget hotel. Small rooms, off-street parking. No pets. }} * {{sleep | name=Posada la Joya | alt= | url= | email= | address=Plaza Constitucion 3 | lat=18.955689 | long=-98.983218 | directions= | phone=+52 7353237650 | tollfree= | checkin=15ː00 | checkout=12ː00 | price=M$700 | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Clean, comfortable, affordable rooms on the main plaza in the center of town. }} * {{sleep | name=Posada San Nicolas | alt= | url= | email= | address=Esq. Insurgentes y Otilio Montano | lat=18.958041 | long=-98.980477 | directions= | phone=+52 7772336964 | tollfree= | checkin=15ː00 | checkout=12ː00 | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Small family run inn. Pleasant courtyard with pool. Noisy area. }} * {{sleep | name=Hotel Boutique Jardin de Flores | alt= | url=https://jardindefloreshotel.com/ | email= | address=C. Independencia 75, El Rosario | lat=18.956288 | long=-98.987313 | directions= | phone=+52 7352171018 | tollfree= | checkin=15ː00 | checkout=12ː00 | price=M$1500 | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Small, intimate inn with 4 rooms. Rooms are large and well appointed. Terrace with mountain views. Some rooms have fireplaces. Safe area on the edge of Tlayacapan, friendly service. }} * {{sleep | name=Posada Meztli Xictli | alt= | url= | email= | address=Benito Juárez 63, Barrio de Texcalpan | lat=18.954653 | long=-98.977116 | directions= | phone=+52 7352120323 | tollfree= | checkin=13ː00 | checkout=12ː00 | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Small, intimate hotel with 6 rooms. Rooms are sparse and comfortably well-kept. Off-street parking. Swimming pool available. }} * {{sleep | name=Spa Holístico Casa Tonantzin | alt= | url=http://www.casatonantzin.com.mx/ | email= | address=C. Independencia 60, El Rosario | lat=18.955367 | long=-98.986377 | directions= | phone=+52 7351001711 | tollfree= | checkin=07ː00 | checkout=14ː00 | price= | lastedit=2023-02-02 | content=Rustic, gay friendly hotel with outdoor swimming pool and views of the mountains. }} ==Go next== * [[Oaxtepec]] * [[Cuernavaca]] {{IsPartOf|Morelos}} {{usablecity}} {{geo|18.95556|-98.98111}} ixiyyz8ebrdk24ozkab9vj6jnzqwll3 0 199925 5298690 4690859 2026-06-26T10:09:26Z Sbb1413 2217354 Undid revision [[Special:Diff/4690859|4690859]] by [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|Sbb1413]] ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]]) 5298690 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Karbi Anglong''' is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q42558,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 7oiwuk6z1i2w1oc8pp2705sdd7sit93 5298691 5298690 2026-06-26T10:10:01Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298691 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Karbi Anglong''' is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape|wikidata=Q29025081,Q24949218}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 2lq8udtnihaj3e6kuynttzr0secpoj5 5298693 5298691 2026-06-26T10:10:35Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298693 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Karbi Anglong''' is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} d8ubt5k1gksn0mf22s2o4lc0ph0nol7 5298694 5298693 2026-06-26T10:13:04Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298694 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Karbi Anglong''' ([[Bengali]]: কার্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'', [[Assamese]]: কাৰ্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'') is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} nsinjhwzccm5gt5fcce19w17rr3768a 5298695 5298694 2026-06-26T10:13:14Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298695 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Karbi Anglong''' ([[Bengali]]: কার্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'', [[Assamese]]: কাৰ্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'') is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe}} {{Mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 3xcyjna84zvy61lkt01s91rma4d2rb6 5298696 5298695 2026-06-26T10:13:43Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298696 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Karbi Anglong''' ([[Bengali]]: কার্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'', [[Assamese]]: কাৰ্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'') is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=420|height=450}} {{Mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 1bnf4s0e425c2yefikx87wbycvdvfye 5298697 5298696 2026-06-26T10:15:14Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Cities */ 5298697 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Karbi Anglong''' ([[Bengali]]: কার্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'', [[Assamese]]: কাৰ্বি আংলং ''Kārbi Ānglong'') is a hilly tribal area in [[Assam]]. Karbi Anglong literally means "hill of the Karbi tribe". ==Cities== {{Mapframe|width=420|height=450}} {{Mapshape}} * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Diphu]]|wikidata=Q1227167}} &mdash; district headquarters * {{marker|type=city|name=[[Manja]]|wikidata=Q6750323}} &mdash; Langkovku waterfall and scenic blue hills ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Stay safe== Like most of the tribal areas of North-Eastern India, Karbi Anglong is also a victim of the insurgency in the region. ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlineregion}} {{geo||}} 8u4va42u8wqccntp5zq3j4bbd1dr8ww 0 200753 5298535 5296788 2026-06-26T00:33:27Z DaGizza 162256 5298535 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Montseny Natural Park page banner.jpg|unesco_br=yes|unesco_ich=yes }} '''Montseny Natural Park''' is in [[Catalonia]] of [[Spain]]. This park has a mosaic of landscapes: ancient forests, bucolic meadows and charming hamlets. You can hike along well-marked trails that wind through centuries-old woodlands, revealing hidden waterfalls and panoramic viewpoints. Climbing to Turo de l'Home is a favourite trail among locals. It is in the [[UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves]] list, and also in the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage]] list. ==Understand== {{Mapframe|41.7812|2.3964|zoom=10}} {{Mapshape|type=geoline|wikidata=Q1401508|fill=#FF0000|stroke-width=3|title=Montseny Natural Park}} ===Tourist office=== * {{listing | name=Park main tourist office | alt=Oficina del Parque Natural de El Montseny. Masia Mariona | url=https://parcs.diba.cat/es/web/montseny/oficina-del-parc | email=p.montseny@diba.cat | address=Ctra. BV-5119, km 2,5, Mosqueroles, 08470 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.72859 | long=2.44021 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 51 02 | tollfree= | hours=M-F 09:30-15:30 | price= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content={{rint|park}} {{rint|toilet}} }} * {{listing | name=Fogars de Montclús information point | alt=Centre d'Informació de Fogars de Montclús-Can Perxacs | url= | email=p.montseny.cifogars@diba.cat | address=Ctra. BV-5114, km 4, 08479 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.715635 | long=2.460571 | directions= | phone=+34 667 90 01 44 | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su 09:00-14:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=There is a parking and a picnic site. {{rint|park}} {{rint|toilet}} {{rint|bus}} }} * {{listing | name=Montseny information point | alt=Centre d'Informació de Montseny | url=https://parcs.diba.cat/ca/web/montseny/detall/-/contingut/155678/centre-d-informacio-de-montseny | email=p.montseny.casal@diba.cat | address= Pl. de la Vila, 7, 08460 Montseny | lat=41.7592828 | long=2.3949450 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 31 37 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content={{rint|store}} }} * {{listing | name=Can Casades - Santa Fe information point | alt=Centre d'Informació Can Casades - Santa Fe | url= | email=p.montseny.casades@diba.cat | address=Santa Fe del Montseny, Ctra. BV-5114 de Sant Celoni a Viladrau, km 21, 08470 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.7735457 | long=2.4629742 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 51 13 | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su 10:00-15:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content={{rint|park}} {{rint|toilet}} {{rint|bus}} {{rint|store}} }} * {{listing | name=Riells de Montseny information point | alt=Punt d'Informació de Riells de Montseny | url= | email= | address=Ctra. GIV-5521, km 6.6, 17404 Riells i Viabrea | lat=41.7768440 | long=2.5121395 | directions=next to the hermitage. | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Sa Su 09:00-14:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content={{rint|park}} {{rint|toilet}} }} ===History=== [[File:Montseny nevado.JPG|thumb|Montseny]] There are a large number of megalithic structures in the massif, such as menhirs, indicating that the area was inhabited since very ancient times. The Montseny is a protected area, UNESCO designated the massif a biosphere reserve in 1978. The Generalitat of Catalonia regional government designated it a natural park in 1987, the Montseny Natural Park (Parc Natural del Montseny) ===Landscape=== It has the highest mountains in the area south of the Pyrenees and dominates the plains south of Girona. To the south lies the plateau of La Calma. In between is the Valley of the Tordera River. The highest peaks are Turó de l'Home (1,712 m), Les Agudes (1,703 m), El Matagalls (1,697 m) and Puig Drau (1,344 m). There is a Meteorological Observatory at the top of the Turó de l'Home. ===Climate=== {{climate chart |Montseny Natural Park |0.3 |9.2 |50.0 |0.4 |9.8 |55.0 |2.8 |13.1 |72.0 |5.4 |15.3 |95.0 |9.0 |19.0 |101.0 |13.3 |23.6 |84.0 |16.0 |25.9 |77.0 |16.1 |25.6 |90.0 |13.1 |21.5 |123.0 |9.9 |17.9 |124.0 |4.2 |12.5 |79.0 |1.1 |9.7 |54.0 |float=right |clear=right |source= |description= Source: https://es.climate-data.org (CC BY-NC 4.0) }}<!-- Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). --> Winters are cool, with average temperatures ranging from 4.2°C in January to 4.9°C in December. Snow dusts the mountaintops, creating a serene winter wonderland. Spring brings a burst of life, with temperatures climbing from 7.7°C in March to 14°C in May. Summers are warm but not scorching, making it ideal for hiking, with July being the warmest month at 25.9°C. Autumn paints the landscape in rich colors, with temperatures gradually descending from 17.9°C in October to 8.1°C in November. Throughout the year, Montseny experiences a healthy amount of rainfall. ===Flora and fauna=== The vegetation in Montseny varies with humidity and temperature, transitioning from Mediterranean vegetation like holm oaks, cork oaks, and pine forests at lower elevations to central European environments with beech and fir forests above 1,000 m. This diverse landscape, marked by rugged terrain, torrents, and cliffs, creates a wide range of habitats attracting numerous species from southern and northern regions. Relict species like sundews, St. John's wort, and yellow gentian contribute to the area's ecological value. The fauna of Montseny is influenced by its vegetation distribution, with typical central European species in the higher areas and Mediterranean species in the lower regions. Over 270 vertebrate species have been documented, including wild boar, foxes, and various bird species in the oak forests, while isolated species of central European influence, such as the Montseny newt, add uniqueness to the fauna. ===UNESCO=== The park has 2 nominations, one as UNESCO Biosphere reserve and one as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, for developing a conservation methodology that can be applied elsewhere. *Intangible Cultural Heritage **''Methodology for inventorying intangible cultural heritage in biosphere reserves'': the experience of Montseny: Initiated by the UNESCO Centre in Catalonia, a non-governmental organization, the project focuses on the identification of intangible cultural heritage in a biosphere reserve and the drawing up of inventories. The project was undertaken in an area covering the Montseny Biosphere Reserve and National Park.Its main objectives and outcomes were threefold: to design a methodology for preparing inventories; to draw up an inventory; and to prepare a document on the contributions of intangible cultural heritage to sustainable development. Through its participation plan and fieldwork, the project has also encouraged the involvement of the local population in identifying its intangible cultural heritage. The methodology developed for this project could be reproduced at the regional and international levels, and is suitable for developing countries. The observations on the contributions of intangible cultural heritage to sustainable development could also be useful for countries that have a rich natural and intangible heritage and are seeking ways to improve the conditions of their populations, without jeopardizing the opportunities for future generations. **https://ich.unesco.org/en/BSP/methodology-for-inventorying-intangible-cultural-heritage-in-biosphere-reserves-the-experience-of-montseny-00648 *World Network of Biosphere Reserves **The ''Montseny Biosphere Reserve and National Park'' are located between the Mediterranean and Eurosiberian–Pyrenaic regions in the Mediterranean Sclerophyll Province. It is the highest part of the Catalan coastal range. **https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/montseny ==Get in== The park is around 60km from [[Barcelona]], and you can get there with train or bus. ===By plane=== *[[Barcelona El Prat Airport]] is around 80 km from the park *[[Girona]] airport is around 50 km from the park ===By train=== You can access the park from the following stations operated by [https://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/inici/index.html Rodalies-Renfe trains] * {{rint|catalonia|r2n}} line (Airport - Maçanet-Massanes). Stops in : ** {{go | name=Palautordera station | alt= | url= | email= | address=BV-5301 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q8841411 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=zone 4G }} ** {{go | name=Sant Celoni station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Plaça de l'Estació s/n | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q8841713 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=zone 4G }} ** {{go | name=Gualba station | alt= | url= | email= | address=BV-5116 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5413720 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=zone 4G }} ** {{go | name=Riells i Viabrea - Breda station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Camí de Pere Ribot | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5663877 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=zone 4G }} *{{rint|catalonia|r3}} line (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat - [[Puigcerdà]] via [[Vic (Barcelona)|Vic]]). Stops in : ** {{go | name=La Garriga train station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ronda de Carril | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q595276 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=Zone 4F }} ** {{go | name=Figaró station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Avinguda de Francesc Ribas | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q8779780 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=Zone 4F }}, ** {{go | name=Sant Martí de Centelles - Aiguafreda station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carrer Mas Oller | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q11031846 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=Zone 4F }} ** {{go | name=Centelles station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carrer de l'Estació | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q8779566 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=Zone 5F }} ** {{go | name=Balenyà - els Hostalets station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carretera de Ribes | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q11681635 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=Zone 5F }} and ** {{go | name=Balenyà-Tona-Seva station | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carrer Bisbe Perelló | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5549102 | lastedit=2025-05-10 | content=Zone 5F }} ===By bus=== *Line 573 Sant Celoni - Santa Fe de Montseny. Parc Natural *Line 436 Vic- Sant Miquel de Balenyà - Viladrau *Line 484 Vic-Sant Miquel de Balenyà -Collformic *Line 576 Santa Maria de Palautordera – Montseny * {{go | name= Sagales bus company| alt= | url= https://www.sagales.com/en/trip/211/let-us-take-you-to-montseny-park| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=902 13 00 14 (domestic) | tollfree= | hours=Daily 08:00-22:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content=Sagalés offers you the option of taking a bus to Montseny to enjoy the nature! Bus Parc services are regular routes and the service runs the weekend and on public holidays. }} * {{go | name= Train+Bus ticket| alt= | url= https://rodalies.gencat.cat/ca/nou-bitllets-combinats/parc-natural-del-montseny/| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Weekends and holidays. | price= €8.50-13.30 | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content=Combined ticket that includes the train and bus journey from Sant Celoni, Balenyà-Tona-Seva or Palautordera station to the Montseny Natural Park. }} ===By car=== The Montseny massif is located within a triangle formed by: * {{Routebox entry|AP-7|blue|white}} ([[France]]- [[Tarragona]]), *{{Routebox entry|C-17|blue|white}} ([[Barcelona]]- [[Ripoll]]) and *{{Routebox entry|C-25|blue|white}} (Eix Transversal [[Girona]]- [[Cervera]]) roads ==Fees and permits== *Free to enter. *There may have point-in-time restrictions due to weather or excess of people forecast. ===Activities for public use=== These activities must be reported to the park authorities. ====Sports, tourist, educational and leisure activities==== *Activities organized with motorized vehicles *Activities on foot, by bicycle and/or by horse, organized by companies and entities with or without a profit motive (hiking groups, town halls, cultural groups, etc.) *Activities on foot, by bicycle, by motorized vehicles and/or by horse regularly organized by environmental education companies or leisure activities in the natural environment and that are led by monitors. In this case, the company's offer of activities and its annual schedule will be reported annually. *Educational group activities that are not on foot organized by universities, schools, playgrounds or other courses and that are led by monitors. The schedule of the activity must be attached to the request for the report. *Activities on foot, by bicycle or on horseback organized by families or groups of friends of more than 30 people. *Activities in the natural environment during the night. *Gatherings, fairs and parties organized by companies and entities with or without a profit motive (hiking groups, town halls, cultural groups, etc.). *Other activities that require the installation of equipment or the temporary occupation of a space. ====Filming and photo sessions==== *Recordings and photo sessions carried out by professional producers with or without a profit motive. *Recordings and photo sessions carried out by non-professionals, with equipment greater than a camera with a tripod. *The use of drones is generally prohibited in the spaces of the Barcelona Provincial Council's Natural Parks Network. As a general criterion, the use of drones will only be permitted in the case of professional activities that have as their direct or indirect objective the improvement of prevention and conservation measures in protected natural areas, or those of a scientific and/or informative nature that contribute to achieving the objectives of the special protection plans in force, provided that, due to the area to be flown over and the time of year, no negative impacts can be caused on fauna, flora or vegetation. If the flight is authorized, it may not be carried out during the nesting period or in the presence of birds. ==Get around== ===By car=== *The {{Routebox entry|BV-5301|yellow|black}} crosses the park north-south from Tona to Montseny to Sant Esteve de Palautordera. *The {{Routebox entry|BV-5114 |yellow|black}} crosses the park north-south from Viladrau to Santa FE to Sant Celoni *The {{Routebox entry|GIV-5521|yellow|black}} enters the southeast of the park from Breda to Riells. *The {{Routebox entry|BV-5115|yellow|black}} enters the south from C-35 to Gualba, *The {{Routebox entry|BV-5119|yellow|black}} from C.V. de Campins (Coll de Santa Elena) to Santa Fe ====Parking areas==== * {{go | name=Turó de l'Home acces parking | alt= | url=https://parcs.diba.cat/es/web/montseny/detall/-/contingut/155678/aparcament-d-39-acces-al-turo-de-l-39-home-plana-amagad | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=38 places | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikidata=Q122190073 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} * {{go | name=Collformic Parking | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carretera {{Routebox entry|BV-5301|yellow|black}}, km 26,4, 08553 El Brull | lat=41.80113 | long=2.34712 | directions=20+40 places | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} * {{go | name=Santa Fe parking | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ctra. {{Routebox entry|BV-5114|yellow|black}}, km 21,08479 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.77328 | long=2.4629 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=3 parking lots nearby. }} * {{go | name=Sant Marçal parking | alt= | url= | email= | address={{Routebox entry|GIV-5201|yellow|black}} GIV-5201, Arbúcies, la Selva, Gerona | lat=41.80435 | long=2.41816 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} * {{go | name=Fuente de Passavets parking | alt= | url= | email= | address=Ctra. {{Routebox entry|BV-5114 |yellow|black}} , km 22,2 , 08460 Vall de Santa Fe | lat=41.78023 | long=2.45179 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} ====Motorhome & RV parking==== * {{go | name=La Garriga parking | alt= Àrea autocaravanes La Garriga| url= | email= | address= Carrer del Ripollès, Polígon industrial Sud-oest, la Garriga| lat=41.669808| long=2.286862 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=free | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content= Max stay = 48 hr. It does not have a grey water service. }} * {{go | name=Fogars de Montclús parking | alt= Aparcament per autocaravanes Centre d’Informació de Fogars de Montclús| url= | email= | address=BV-5114, el Pertegàs, Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.715483| long=2.460860 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content=It does not have a grey water service. }} * {{go | name=Tagamanent parking | alt= Aparcament per autocaravanes de Tagamanent | url= | email= | address= la Pedralba, Tagamanent| lat= 41.743784| long=2.265720 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content=It does not have a grey water service. }} * {{go | name=Viladrau parking | alt=Aparcament per autocaravanes de Viladrau| url=https://www.viladrau.cat/ca/viuviladrau/equipaments/area-autocaravanes | email= | address= Carrer del Montseny, Viladrau | lat=41.845484| long=2.387343 | directions= | phone=+34 938 84 80 04 | tollfree= | hours= | price= €6-9 | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content= Services electrical connection point, drinking water, Wifi, picnic area, grey water, chemical disposal facilities. }} ==See== ===Natural places=== [[File:Dels Empedrats de Morou al pantà de Santa Fe - P1310071.jpg|thumb|From Empedrats de Morou to Santa Fe lake]] * {{see | name=Santa Fe Valley | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.7803 | long=2.452 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=A mountain valley in a beech forest, fir woods and marshes. several itineraries start in the valley. }} * {{see | name=Collformic | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.8009 | long=2.3476 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q11914714 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=A mountain pass and a viewpoint. Many trail depart from here like Pla de la Calma and Tagamanent. Also GR5-2 passes here on its way to Matagalls peak. }} * {{see | name=Gualba Stream | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.735 | long=2.5015 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=A stream that flows from Santa Fé reservoir until Tordera River, passing by Gualba. A popular hike is from Gual Train station until Santa Fe; follow PR-C211. }} * {{see | name=Turó de l'Home mountain| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4893362 | lastedit=2025-11-13 | content=is a mountain part of the Montseny Massif. With its elevation of 1,712 m (5,617 ft) above sea level, it is the highest peak of the Montseny Massif. A paved road leads almost up to peak until Plana Amagada, where there is plenty of parking. The last 1,500 m of the road are closed for motorized traffic but open for cyclists and hikers. The final ascent to the triangulation station, some 50 m above the endpoint of the road, is a step trail. }} * {{see | name=Matagalls mountain | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q6785970 | lastedit=2025-11-13 | content=Matagalls is a 1,698-m mountain in the Montseny massif. At the summit you can find a cross of considerable dimensions, dedicated to Father Cinto Verdaguer. On this cross, among other plaques, there is one in memory of Father Jaume Oliveras i Brossa, also a hiker, in memory of whom the Matagalls-Montserrat Crossing was created. From the summit of Matagalls we can contemplate many mountains of the Pyrenees, including Cadí, Puigmal, Puigllançada or Canigó. You can also see a large part of the Litoral mountain range and the Prelitoral mountain range (Collserola, Montnegre i el Corredor, Sant Llorenç del Munt, Garraf...) You can see the Vic plain and many mountains of the pre-Pyrenees, such as Montsec, Guilleries, Pedraforca and even on a clear and cloudless day you can see the Balearic Islands. }} * {{see | name=Les Agudes mountain | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q6529125 | lastedit=2025-11-13 | content=It is a 1706-m-high mountain that forms part of the Montseny massif. Access is from the south, via the forest track that climbs to Turó de l'Home, crossing the Coll Sesbasses mountain pass (1644 m) and following the path that leads directly to the summit of Les Agudes. }} ===Religious places === * {{see | name=Sant Martí d'Aiguafreda de Dalt | alt=Sant Martí del Congost | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q11947215 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Its consecration, promoted by the abbess Emma, ​​daughter of Count Guifré the Hairy, took place on August 5, 898. }} * {{see | name=Sant Marçal de Montseny| alt= | url= | email= | address=Ctra. BV–5114 km. 28 ,08469 Montseny | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5648247 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Hermitage from the 11th century. It's also the source of Tordera River. Usually climbs to Matagalls and Le Agudes start from here. A few metres from the chapel is the popular Taula dels Tres Bisbes (three bishops Table), where the dioceses of Terrassa , Vic and Girona converge. According to tradition, in this round table the bishops of the three demarcations could deliberate without leaving the territory of their respective dioceses. }} * {{see | name=Sant Elies Hermitage | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=follow Cami de Sant Elias starting in San Pere de Vilamajor | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q18006717 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=A historic church dating back to the 10th century. It features Romanesque architectural elements and is an important cultural and architectural landmark in the region. Visitors can explore its well-preserved structure and learn about its historical significance. }} * {{see | name= Sant Martí de Riells Hermitage | alt= | url= | email= | address=Pl. de l'Església, Riells i Viabrea | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q37583651 | lastedit=2025-11-13 | content=The first documentary news of the place of “Riellos” is found in a precept dated September 9, 878. With the foundation of the monastery of Breda in 1038, it came under its direct jurisdiction. In 1169 there is already written evidence that the church of Riells is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. In 1957 the parish passed from the Bishopric of Barcelona to the Bishopric of Girona. Saint Martin of Riells is the parish church of Riells and Viabrea. The temple has undergone many remodelings over the centuries. The first major restoration was carried out in the 15th century, as it had been damaged by the social uprisings of the time. Later, in the 17th century, it was expanded to cover the needs of the parish. The Civil War of 1936 also had significant repercussions on the building and meant the destruction of the entire parish archive. After the war it was rebuilt and in 1956 the definitive restoration began. }} * {{see | name=Santa Maria de Lliors | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q47171214 | lastedit=2025-11-13 | content=Santa Maria de Lliors is an old parish church suffragan of that of Sant Quirze d'Arbúcies. In 923 the church of Santa Maria is mentioned. In 1074 this parish appears in a donation in favour of the church of Vic. The Pabordia del Gener of the See of Vic was the administrator of the possessions of this alou. The church was ceded in 1162 to the monastery of Breda, with subsequent confirmations by papal bulls of 1185 and 1246. In 1383 it did not have daily worship, only on Sundays, and in 1420 it was celebrated every fortnight. Lliors stopped having its own rector in 1606. It was completely rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries as indicated by one of the voussoirs of the main entrance (1709). It is located next to the large Crous farm. Its feast day is celebrated on September 8, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. }} === Other buildings & museums === * {{see | name=Parc Etnològic de Tagamanent | alt=Cal l'Agustí | url=https://www.lacalma.net/museu-lagusti/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=from Tagamanent follow the indications "Turó de Tagamanent" follow 7 km a paved forestal road. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=€5 | wikidata=Q17616034 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=An old traditional Catalan farm (Masia) with a museum that shows the old way of life of farmers in this region. some days there is a guided tour. }} [[File:Castell de Montsoriu Setembre 2017 2.jpg|thumb|Montsoriu Castle]] * {{see | name=Montsoriu Castle | alt= | url=https://www.montsoriu.cat/ | email=info@montsoriu.cat | address=Carretera de Fogueres, s/n, Arbúcies – Sant Feliu de Buixalleu, Girona. | lat= | long= | directions=reservation required in the web available only in Spanish | phone=+34 972 86 09 08 | tollfree= | hours= | price=€8.50 | wikidata=Q8342482 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= Impressive medieval castle located in Arbúcies, Catalonia. With a history dating back to the 11th century, it is considered Catalonia's largest Gothic castle. Its ruins offer a fascinating glimpse into medieval architecture and serve as a remarkable example of the region's historical heritage. }} * {{see | name=Castell de Tagamanent | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q8342577 | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content=Of the Castle of Tagamanent only some foundations remain. The oldest references are given by the historical fund of the Vic Chapter Archives: two documents from the years 945 and 947. Since the creation of the county of Osona in favour of the Cabrera family in 1536, the term was joined to the sotsvegueria of Vallès. Centuries later it is documented in taking sides in favor of Felipe V during the War of Succession and, subsequently, during the War of the French Succession, when it was the scene, in 1812, of the victory of the guerrilla Josep Manso over the troops commanded by the guerrilla Joseph Lamarque Since then the castle lost all prominence until it reached its total physical disappearance. }} * {{see | name=Castell de Montclús | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5783739 | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content=The construction of the castle dates from the 11th or 12th centuries, although it was built on an earlier structure. Around the 14th century, the castle was transformed into a palace. In 1508 the chapel dedicated to Santa Margarida was restored. In 1739 the vicar general granted permission to transport the castle chapel, almost in ruins, to the field called de la Parellada. In 1995, an archaeological intervention was carried out in order to recover and condition the architectural structure. }} * {{see | name=Castell del Brull | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=it can be reached on the BV-5301 road from the town of Seva, in the direction of the town of Montseny, after 4 km | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q5639526 | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content=There are few remains of this castle, very important at the time. In 1265, Viscount Ramon de Cardona sold the barony of Brull to the bishop of Vic, and until the jurisdictional lordships disappeared it remained part of the barony of this bishopric. }} ===Viewpoints=== *{{see| name=Mirador del Salt de Gualba | lat=41.7485243 | long=2.4896967}} *{{see| name=Roca Plana | lat=41.749211 | long=2.4792951}} *{{see| name=Gorg Negre | lat=41.7535211 | long=2.4823739}} *{{see| name=Mirador de les Goitadores | lat=41.7574159 | long=2.451965}} *{{see| name=Roc Perer | lat=41.7694466 | long=2.4584063}} *{{see| name=Rocs Cremats | lat=41.7756269 | long=2.4400783}} *{{see| name=Mirador de Coll Pregon | lat=41.7751313 | long=2.4363388}} *{{see| name=Mirador Castell de Tagamanent sud | lat=41.7466279 | long=2.296102}} *{{see| name=Mirador Castell de Tagamanent nord | lat=41.747856 | long=2.2953608}} *{{see| name=les Tres Creus | lat=41.8212991 | long=2.3521885}} *{{see| name=Collet de l'Estornell | lat=41.8239554 | long=2.3547992}} *{{see| name=Mirador de Coll de Bordoriol | lat=41.8261623 | long=2.4094378}} ==Do== The main activity is hiking, with many trails available for all levels of fitness. Also rock climbing. Trails for kids available. ===Cycling=== Roadcycling for those who want to test their endurance, due to the long climbs. Mountainbiking with many trails available. * {{do | name=Turo de l'home | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q4893362 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Climb to turo de l'home, either hiking, in mountain biking, or with a road bicycle. You get to 1700 m of altitude! }} * {{do | name=MTB arbucies- Santa Fé | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.81711 | long=2.5037 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Climb on your mountain bike from Arbucies until Santa Fe. It's a long climb between 7% and 10%. Just follow the trail. }} ===Golf=== * {{do | name=Golf Montanyá | alt= | url=https://golfmontanya.com/en/ | email= | address=C/ Afores s/n, 08553 El Brull | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+34 938 84 01 70 | tollfree= | hours= | price=€100 | wikidata=Q29907645 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Play golf on this 18-hole course. }} * {{do | name=Taradell Club de Golf | alt= | url= https://www.golftaradell.com/| email=golf@golftaradell.com | address= Ctra. de Taradell a Balenyà km 1 Taradell | lat=41.86550| long= 2.28033| directions= | phone=+34 938 12 66 78 | tollfree= | hours= | price=from €35 | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-13 | content= }} ===Car routes=== *Through the Tordera Valley: **Santa Maria de Palautordera – Sant Esteve de Palautordera – Montseny – Collformic – El Brull – Seva. **A route of about 30 kilometers to discover the central part of Montseny. *For the most Eastern Montseny **Sant Celoni – Campins – Santa Fe del Montseny – Sant Marçal – Viladrau **A route of about 40 kilometers that allows you to have a view of the different landscapes present in Montseny. *Through the wettest Montseny **Seva – Viladrau – Arbúcies – Breda – Gualba. **Route of about 60 km through municipalities surrounding the Montseny Natural Park. *'''Serrallonga bandit''' route ** {{marker|type=city|name= Viladrau |wikidata=Q13858}} - {{marker|type=city|name= Mas de la Sala|wikidata=Q43124307}} (Serrallonga birthplace) - {{marker|type=city|name= Espinzella |wikidata=Q43124302}} - {{marker|type=city|name= Seva |wikidata=Q13839}} **Route of about 16 kilometers in the area where the Bandit Serrallonga wandered. Check the novel ''Don Joan de Serrallonga''. === Long Range Hiking === The [[GR-5]] enter in Aiguafreda , goes until Montseny and exits to Sant Celoni * {{do | name=GR – 5.2 Montseny peaks- from pla de la Calma to Collformic | alt=GR – 5.2 Els Cims del Montseny. Del pla de la Calma (el Cafè) a Collformic | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=Distance 4.09 km, Positive elevation gain 84 m, Technical difficulty=Easy. Starting point: Collformic car park (see [[#parking]]). }} * {{do | name=GR – 5.2 Montseny peaks- from Fontmartina to turó de l’Home | alt=GR. 5.2 Els Cims del Montseny. De Fontmartina al turó de l’Home | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=Distance 4.29 km, Positive slope 9 m, Technical difficulty = Moderate. Starting point: Plana del Coll picnic area (see [[Montseny Natural Park#picnic]]). }} ===Local hiking=== ====Starting point without bus access==== *Fogars de Montclús ** {{do | name=Autumn itinerary: from Fogars to Campins | alt= | url=https://ca.wikiloc.com/rutes-senderisme/itinerari-de-tardor-de-fogars-a-campins-149316137| email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=starts in Fogars de Montclús information point | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=3,46km , Positive elevation gain 99 m. Circular route that leaves from the Fogars de Montclús information center and allows you to reach the village of Campins (connection with a Bus Parc stop) passing through the Ciment kilns. During the route you pass through a mountain holm oak forest characteristic of this area of Montseny. You also have, in some sections, spectacular panoramic views of Turó de l'Home }} *Arbúcies ** {{do | name=SL-C 84 From riera d'Arbúcies to Sant Marçal | alt= | url=https://ca.wikiloc.com/rutes-senderisme/sl-c-84-de-la-riera-darbucies-a-sant-marcal-94148870 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=Distance 9.56 km, Positive elevation gain 848 m, Technical difficulty=Difficult. Starting point: Molí de les Pipes.( [[#See | Review '''See''' section]] ) Itinerary that allows you to reach Sant Marçal from the town of Arbúcies }} ====Starting point with bus access==== *{{listing |name=Seva Bus stop|lat= 41.838675|long= 2.284574}} **GR-2 De Seva a Aiguafreda, 14 km. *{{listing |name=El Brull Bus stop|lat= 41.8167808|long= 2.3050638}} **SL-C 85 Del Brull a Collformic, 7,1 km *{{listing |name=Collformic Bus stop|lat= 41.8011021 |long=2.3472473 }} **GR 5.2 Els Cims del Montseny - De Collformic a Matagalls, 3,6km ( [[#Long Range Hiking| See Long Range Hiking]] ) **GR-5.2 Els Cims del Montseny - De Collformic al Cafè pel pla de la Calma, 4,1 km ( [[#Long Range Hiking| See Long Range Hiking]] ) **SL-C 85 Del Brull a Collformic, 7,1 km *{{listing |name=Viladrau Bus stop|lat=41.8485018|long= 2.390280}} **SL-C 81 El Castanyer de les 9 Branques, 5,8 km **PR-C 205 De Viladrau a Matagalls, 9,3 km *{{listing |name=Montseny Bus stop|lat= 41.7601693|long= 2.3942105 }} **GR-5 Montseny - Fontmartina, 5,6 km, tram del GR - 5 tram 10 Montseny - Campins ( [[#Long Range Hiking| See Long Range Hiking]] ) **GR-5 Montseny - Sant Martí de Montseny, 4,1 km, tram del GR-5 tram 9 Pla de la Calma- Montseny ( [[#Long Range Hiking| See Long Range Hiking]] ) *{{listing |name=Fontmartina Bus stop|lat= 41.757203 |long= 2.426278 }} **GR-5.2 Turó de l'Home - Fontmartina, 4,4 km ( [[#Long Range Hiking| See Long Range Hiking]] ) ** {{do | name=Fontmartina forest path | alt=Itinerari forestal de Fontmartina | url=https://ca.wikiloc.com/rutes-senderisme/itinerari-forestal-de-fontmartina-61142522 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=Distance 4.69 km, Positive gradient 252 m, Technical difficulty = Moderate. Starting point: Les Feixes del Vilar recreation area ( [[#Picnic| Review Picnic section]]). }} ** {{do | name=El sot de l'Infern | alt= | url= https://ca.wikiloc.com/rutes-senderisme/el-sot-de-linfern-68642694 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=Distance 2.93 km, Positive elevation gain 77 m, Technical difficulty = Easy. Starting point: recreation area on the Coll plain. Easy and pleasant excursion along gently sloping paths and trails, marked with prominent orange landmarks. ( [[#Picnic| Review '''Picnic''' section]] ) }} **GR-5 Montseny - Fontmartina, 5,6 km, tram del GR - 5 tram 10 Montseny - Campins ( [[#Long Range Hiking| See Long Range Hiking]] ) *{{listing |name=Santa Fe de Montseny Bus stop|lat= 41.772964|long= 2.4634548}} **La font del Frare, 1 km **Volta al pantà de Santa Fe, 2,6 km **SL-C 86 El Roc Perer, 4,6 km ** {{do | name=L'empedrat de Morou | alt= | url=https://ca.wikiloc.com/rutes-senderisme/lempedrat-de-morou-variant-61142498 | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=Distance 6.15 km, Positive elevation gain 239 m, Technical difficulty = Easy. Starting point: Can Casades Information Center ( [[#Tourist office| Review '''Tourist office''' section]] ) }} **PR-C 208 De Santa Fe al turó de l'Home i les Agudes, 11,6 km **PR-C 204 D’Arbúcies a Santa Fe, 9 km **PR-C 211 Riera de Gualba, 17 km ===Rock climbing=== * {{do | name= Les Agudes| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.79203 | long= 2.44919 | directions=The location shows the parking of Starting points in the BV-5114. | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-04-07 | content=Climbing area with 6 rock climbing routes from 4+ to 6b. }} ===Horse riding=== * {{do | name=Club Hípico Can Vila | alt= | url= https://www.hipicacanvila.com/| email=david@hipicacanvila.com | address= Carretera del Montseny, km 7,5, 08461 Sant Esteve de Palautordera| lat=41.721369 | long=2.424507 | directions= | phone=+34 938 480 403 , +34 609 510 411 | tollfree= | hours=09:00 – 19:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-14 | content= Guided routes. }} * {{do | name=A Cavall pel Montseny | alt= | url= https://acavallpelmontseny.cat/| email=info@acavallpelmontseny.cat | address= Sta. María de Palautordera, Can Puig del Temple| lat=41.689013| long= 2.465303| directions= | phone= +34 636 150 197| tollfree= | hours= Tu-Su 09:00-20:30 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-14 | content= }} * {{do | name=Equimia hipica | alt= | url=https://www.instagram.com/equimia.hipica/ | email= | address=BP-5107, 39 , 08445 Cànoves i Samalús| lat=41.694938| long=2.336536 | directions= | phone=+34 666 133 288 | tollfree= | hours= 09:00-20:00| price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-14 | content= }} * {{do | name=Club Hípic Mansa | alt= | url=https://www.mansa.cat/ | email= info@mansa.cat | address= Carretera B-520 km 9,3, 08552 Taradell | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+34 672 169 923 | tollfree= | hours=09:00-20:00 | price= | wikidata=Q47181736 | lastedit=2025-05-14 | content= }} * {{do | name=Hípica Iriscar | alt= | url= https://www.hipicairiscar.cat/| email= iriscar1961@hotmail.com | address=Camí Mas Albareda s/n, Seva | lat=41.830281|long= 2.269623| directions= | phone=+34 697 447 085 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-14 | content= }} ===Events & festivities=== *January **Tonis de Taradell, Taradell *February ** Cau de les Bruixes: February – Centelles ** Carnival: Centelles ** Gypsy Dance: Sant Celoni and Sant Esteve de Palautordera *March ** Puiggraciós Gathering: March 25 – Figaró – Montmany ** Tree Festival: weekend closest to March 21 – Viladrau *April ** Water Fair: last Sunday of April. – Arbúcies ** Festes de les Enramades: from Corpus Christi until the following Wednesday. – Arbúcies ** Egg Gathering: Monday of Easter- Balenyà ** Festa de l’ajust: third Sunday after Easter – Breda ** Corpus Christi Festival: Sunday after Corpus Christi Thursday – La Garriga ** Rose Festival in Gaserans: 15 days after Easter – Sant Feliu de Buixalleu ** Stations of the Cross: Good Friday- Sant Hilari Sacalm ** Medieval Festival: during Easter – Hostalric * May ** Sant Ponç Fair: first fortnight of May – Cànoves and Samalús ** Rose Festival in Mosqueroles: first weekend of May – Fogars de Montclús ** Erola Gathering: last Sunday of May- Viladrau ** Sant Segimon Gathering: 1st of May- Viladrau- Viladrau ** International Magic Festival – Tona *June ** Castell Gathering: on the second Easter- Tona ** Guilleries Car Rally: between the first and second weekend of week of June- Sant Hilari Sacalm ** Fira de la Ratafia – Centelles *July ** Aplec de Matagalls: second Sunday of July– El Brull/ Montseny / Viladrau ** Medieval festival: first week of July – Sant Pere de Vilamajor ** Cultural Festival of Water: third weekend of July- Viladrau *August ** Tornaboda a les holm oaks d’Avencó: 17th August- Aiguafreda ** Pasejada del Senglar: mid-August– Fogars de Montclús ** Festa d’en Toca-Sons. Medieval Market: August 25th – Taradell ** Bandit Summer: the whole month of August- Viladrau *September ** Travessa Matagalls – Montserrat: third week of September – El Brull. Long distance hiking. ** Great Festival “Viu el Parc”: Third Sunday of September – El Brull ** Trobada al Gorg: September 11th – Sant Feliu de Buixalleu ** Back in Serrallonga!: third weekend of September- Sant Hilari Sacalm ** Gastroart Festival: last weekend of September – Hostalric *October ** Mushroom Fair: third weekend of October- Sant Hilari Sacalm ** Mushroom Festival: October - Seva ** Witches’ Ball: October 31st- Viladrau *November ** Flabiol Festival and Autumn Fair: November - Arbúcies ** Autumn Festival: November 1st - Sant Esteve de Palautordera ** Wood and Log Cutting Fair: first weekend of November - Sant Hilari Sacalm *December ** Pine Festival: December 30th - Centelles ** Christmas Fair: one week before Christmas - Aiguafreda ** Santa Llúcia Fair: second Sunday in December - Sant Pere de Vilamajor / Taradell ** Enthronement of the Nativity Scene in Sant Segimon: Sunday before Christmas - Viladrau ** Gypsy Dance: December 26th - Sant Esteve de Palautordera ** Truffle Fair. Pine Festival: Centelles ** Fir Fair: Espinelves ** Living Nativity Scene in Tona ==Buy== *'''Mongeta del Ganxet''' (beans) a kind of dry been with DOP (protected denomination of origin). Used in the "Butifarra amb mongetes" (Grilled Sausage and beans) a typical Catalan dish. *'''Mushrooms'''. During the fall/autumn season many kind of wild mushrooms can be found. *'''Ratafia''', a herbs liquor typical on this area. * {{buy | name= Montseny cheese shop | alt=Formatgeria del Montseny (Can Gorgs) | url=https://www.formatgeriadelmontseny.com/ | email= | address= | lat=41.7814636 | long=2.4025462 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 32 38 | tollfree= | hours=Jun-Aug: Sa Su 11:00-20:00; Dec-Feb: Sa Su 11:00-18:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=El Bellver La Calma | alt=ca l'Agusti | url=https://www.lacalma.net/ | email=lacalma2004@gmail.com | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+34 627 41 26 46 | tollfree= | hours= Sa Su 09:00-17:00 | price=€50 | wikidata=Q17616034 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Gastronomic menu. }} * {{eat | name=Restaurant Hostal Santa Fe Montseny | alt= | url= | email= | address=Carretera de Sant Celoni a Santa Fe BV-5114, Km 21, 08470 | lat=41.77375 | long=2.46496 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 50 11 | tollfree= | hours= | price=€25 | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Grilled meats and Catalan food. }} * {{eat | name=Hotel&Restaurant Sant Marçal del Montseny | alt= | url=https://santmarcalmontseny.com/ | email= | address=Ctra. BV – 5114 (Sant Celoni – Santa Fe) km. 28 08469 Montseny | lat=41.80348 | long=2.42035 | directions= | phone=+34 931 98 25 15 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Hostal Restaurant Bell-Lloc | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.7763428 | long=2.5127493 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Molí de les Pipes | alt= | url= | email= | address=Arbúcies | lat=41.8198243 | long=2.4939954 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Avet Blau | alt= | url=https://avetblaurestaurant.com/ | email= | address= | lat=41.7739542 | long=2.4621034 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 51 00 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Borda de l'Avi | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.7810853 | long=2.3963154 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Fonda Montseny | alt= | url=https://www.fondamontseny.com/ | email= | address=Plaça de la Vila 2 | lat=41.759026 | long=2.3951879 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 30 40 | tollfree= | hours=W-M 09:00-18:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Can Nena | alt= | url= | email= | address=BV-5301 | lat=41.7552338 | long=2.4001066 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 30 22 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Casa del Bosc | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q102864945 | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Canel·la Braseria | alt= | url=http://www.braseriacanela.com/la-braseria/ | email= | address= | lat=41.7032215 | long=2.3501477 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=Coll Formic | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.8005302 | long=2.3471621 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=M Tu closed; W-F 09:00-17:00; Sa Su holidays 09:00-18:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{eat | name=La Posada de Sant Segimon| alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.8222287 | long=2.3549192 | directions= | phone=+34 937 43 09 13 | tollfree= | hours=M F-Su 09:00-17:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} ===Picnic=== * {{eat | name=Guardiola - Can Casades picnic area | alt=Àrea d'esplai de la Guardiola - Can Casades | url= | email= | address=Ctra. BV-5114 de Sant Celoni a Viladrau, km 20,2, Santa Fe del Montseny, 08470 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.7684507 | long=2.4645551 | directions=near Can Casades information point | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content=It has stone tables and seats, toilets, drinking water and garbage collection service. {{rint|toilet}} {{rint|park}} }} * {{eat | name=La plana del Coll picnic area | alt=Àrea d'esplai de la plana del Coll | url= | email= | address=Ctra. de Sant Celoni al Turó de l'Home, km 10,8, 08470 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.7573241 | long=2.4260186 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content={{rint|toilet}} {{rint|park}} }} * {{eat | name=Les Feixes del Vilar picnic area | alt=Àrea d'esplai de les Feixes del Vilar | url= | email= | address=Ctra. de la Costa del Montseny a Fontmartina, km 8,5, 08470 Fogars de Montclús | lat=41.757155 | long=2.420674 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content={{rint|toilet}} {{rint|park}}{{rint|bus}} }} ==Drink== * {{drink | name=Degustacións La Cort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=41.7760513 | long=2.3735632 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=Sa-Th 09:00-19:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Bar Avalon | alt= | url= | email= | address=Passeig del Montseny 18, Gualba | lat=41.7314094 | long=2.5027383 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=F-W 07:00-23:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{drink | name=Can Bordas | alt= | url= | email= | address=Plaça Joan Rague 7, Gualba | lat=41.7318573 | long=2.5017553 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours=W-Su 08:30-23:30 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} * {{drink | name=La Fonda | alt= | url= | email= | address= Sant Esteve Palautordera | lat=41.7035693 | long=2.4353583 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2024-03-15 | content= }} ==Sleep== ===Lodging=== Depending on your needs, also check for lodgging in: [[Barcelona]], [[Vic (Barcelona)|Vic]], [[Granollers]], and on the villages around the park. * {{sleep | name=Hotel & Restaurant Sant Marçal del Montseny | alt= | url= https://santmarcalmontseny.com/ | email=nfo@santmarcalmontseny.com | address=Ctra. BV – 5114 (Sant Celoni – Santa Fe) km. 28 08469 Montseny | lat=41.80348 | long=2.42035 | directions= | phone=+34 931 98 25 15 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= from €90 | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Montanyà Hotel & Lodge | alt= | url=https://www.montanyahotel.com/en/ | email=reservas@senatorhr.com | address=Avinguda Montseny, s/n, 08553 Seva | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+34 937 02 76 00 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=€150 | wikidata=Q111872237 | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content=Built in a traditional mountain style, using wood and natural stone it has a 4-star rating. }} ===Camping=== Also check [[#Motorhome & RV parkings|Motorhome & RV parkings section]] * {{sleep | name=Camping Masia Can Cervera | alt= | url=https://cancervera.com/ | email= | address=Carretera de Sta. Maria de Palautordera a Seva, BV5301, Km no. 15, 08460 Montseny | lat=41.770713 | long=2.390532 | directions=do not follow car GPS; follow road BV5301 until KM15 and then turn right, follow the track 2 km | phone=+34 938 47 30 66 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2023-09-02 | content= }} * {{sleep | name= Les Piscines de Montseny | alt= | url=https://www.piscinesmontseny.com/ | email= | address=Crta. de Sta. Ma. de Palautordera a Montseny km. 12'3, 08469 Montseny | lat=41.75916 | long=2.3893 | directions= | phone=+34 938 47 30 70, +34 679 68 56 75 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= from 110€/night in bungalow | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-11 | content= }} * {{sleep | name=camping la vall | alt= | url=https://www.campinglavall.com/ | email=lavallpark@campinglavallpark.cat | address= Camí de la Vallmitjana, s/n · 08552 Taradell | lat=41.865054| long= 2.295110 | directions= | phone=+34 938 12 63 36, +34 603 151 199 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2025-05-12 | content= }} ==Stay safe== *Plan the route you want to take and always carry a map to orient yourself. *Always try to walk on clearly marked or signposted paths or paths. *Bring suitable footwear, water, a supply of food, comfortable and warm clothing, as well as a hat, sunglasses and sun protection. *If you are going in a group, do not lose eye contact with the rest of your companions. Never abandon or leave a fellow hiker behind. *Strong winds can cause branches and other elements to fall. On ridges, the risk of accidents can increase. In strong wind conditions, avoid exposed areas. *In case of fog it is easy to get disoriented, do not leave the main path. *In case of showers or storms with electrical equipment, leave the ridges of the peaks, isolated trees and cave entrances. A dense forest can serve as shelter. ==Go next== *Visit [[Parc del Montnegre i el Corredor]] a few kilometers south of the park. *Visit [[Vic (Barcelona)|Vic]], a nice city north of the park with a medieval past. *Check the route [[GR-5]] which crosses the park. It's called "the Viewpoints route". * The park is in the influence area of [[Barcelona]], [[Girona]] and [[Costa Brava]] {{IsPartOf|Barcelona (province)}} {{guidepark}} {{geo|41.7812|2.3964}} n8jd6tkgtqw3ikhnsfwlfig7dnegp8r 2 203344 5298504 5297714 2026-06-25T20:25:53Z Andree.sk 2166688 routing radius 5298504 javascript text/javascript /** * Wikivoyage Trip Planner Gadget * ============================== * A client-side tool for planning trips using Wikivoyage listings. * Allows users to drag listings from articles into custom buckets or days, * organize them, view them on a map, and calculate/optimize routes. * * CORE FEATURES: * ------------------ * 1. UI Modes: Dual-mode application: * - Mini Widget Mode: A floating, minimizable widget suitable for reading articles. * - Full View Mode: A split-screen full-page interface with a persistent map, * routing, and bucket controls. * 2. Data Source & Drag-and-Drop: * - Drag-and-drop POIs between day/bucket bins. * - Parses data-lat, data-lon, and wikidata attributes from vcards. * - Allows wikidata and ListingBrowser as sources too * 3. Multi-Tab Synchronization: * - Uses BroadcastChannel to sync trip plans in real-time across all open tabs. * - Protects local tab UI states (minimized/expanded) during synchronization events. * 4. Persistence: Dual-mode storage: * - Anonymous: Uses browser LocalStorage. * - Logged-in: Uses MediaWiki User Options API ('userjs-wv-trip-planner-*'). * - Auto-merge: Merges local data into account data upon login. * 5. Mapping: Interactive markers (colored by day) with popup image loading from Wikidata. * 6. Routing: Integrated with OpenRouteService (ORS) API. * - Calculates travel time/distance between POIs. * - Optimizes day itinerary (TSP) using ORS Optimization API. * - Draws colored route polylines on the map. * 7. I/O: Import/Export support for JSON, GPX, WikiText ({{listing}}), and GeoJSON. * * EXTERNAL SERVICES: * ------------------ * 1. OpenRouteService (api.openrouteservice.org): Used for routing and optimization. * Requires a user-provided API Key (stored in settings). * 2. Wikidata API: Used to fetch thumbnail images for map popups. * 3. Wikimedia Maps: Tile server for the Leaflet map. * * CODE STRUCTURE (Singleton 'TripPlanner'): * ----------------------------------------- * - Config: * - storageKey/optionKey: Persistence identifiers. * - colors: Palette for different days. * * - Lifecycle: * - init(): Entry point after the launcher icon is clicked or auto-run in Full Mode. * - load()/save(): Handles LocalStorage vs API serialization logic. * * - UI Generation: * - injectStyles(): CSS definitions (Widget, Overlays, Map, Split-Screen). * - drawUI(): Renders the main widget container and sets up layout modes. * - renderBins(): Renders the list of items (Custom Buckets + Days). * - toggleMap(): Lazy-loads Leaflet libraries and renders map container. * * - Logic & Handlers: * - setupListeners(): Central event delegation (Clicks, Drag&Drop, Changes). * - calculateRoutes(): Orchestrates ORS API calls for routing. * - optimizeDay(): Orchestrates ORS API calls for ordering. * - exportData(): Generates file blobs for download. * * - Map Helpers: * - updateMapMarkers(): Draws L.marker/L.divIcon based on current data. * - highlightDay(): Manages opacity/visibility of specific day layers. * * DEPENDENCIES: * ------------- * - MediaWiki Modules: 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification'. * - OOJS UI: 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows'. * - Kartographer: 'ext.kartographer.box' for Leaflet (L) access. * - jQuery ($). */ (function (mw, $) { 'use strict'; if (mw.config.get('wgAction') !== 'view') return; let BucketEditDialog; function initOOUI() { if (BucketEditDialog) return; BucketEditDialog = function (config) { BucketEditDialog.super.call(this, config); }; OO.inheritClass(BucketEditDialog, OO.ui.ProcessDialog); BucketEditDialog.static.name = 'bucketEditDialog'; BucketEditDialog.static.title = 'Edit Bucket'; BucketEditDialog.static.actions = [ { action: 'save', label: 'Save', flags: ['primary', 'progressive'] }, { label: 'Cancel', flags: 'safe' } ]; BucketEditDialog.prototype.initialize = function () { BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.initialize.call(this); this.content = new OO.ui.PanelLayout({ padded: true, expanded: false }); this.nameInput = new OO.ui.TextInputWidget({ placeholder: 'Enter bucket name (e.g. food, sleep)' }); this.nameField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.nameInput, { label: 'Bucket Name', align: 'top' }); this.customIconInput = new OO.ui.TextInputWidget({ maxLength: 2 }); const presetIcons = ['🍴', '🏨', '📷', '🛍️', '📦', '🗺️', '🚶', '📍', '☕', '🍺', '⛺', '🏛️', '🎡', '🛒', '💳', '🌲']; const buttonItems = presetIcons.map(function (icon) { return new OO.ui.ButtonOptionWidget({ data: icon, label: icon, title: icon }); }); this.presetSelect = new OO.ui.ButtonSelectWidget({ items: buttonItems }); const thiss = this; this.presetSelect.on('select', function (item) { if (item) { thiss.customIconInput.setValue(item.getData()); } }); this.customIconInput.on('change', function (value) { if (presetIcons.indexOf(value) === -1) { thiss.presetSelect.selectItem(null); } else { const opt = thiss.presetSelect.findItemFromData(value); if (opt) { thiss.presetSelect.selectItem(opt); } } }); this.nameInput.on('change', function (value) { thiss.actions.setAbilities({ save: !!value.trim() }); }); this.presetField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.presetSelect, { label: 'Choose a Predefined Icon', align: 'top' }); this.customIconField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.customIconInput, { label: 'Icon (emoji or character)', align: 'top' }); this.fieldset = new OO.ui.FieldsetLayout(); this.fieldset.addItems([this.nameField, this.presetField, this.customIconField]); this.content.$element.append(this.fieldset.$element); this.$body.append(this.content.$element); }; BucketEditDialog.prototype.getSetupProcess = function (data) { data = data || {}; return BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.getSetupProcess.call(this, data) .next(function () { this.title.setLabel(data.title || 'Edit Bucket'); this.nameInput.setValue(data.name || ''); this.customIconInput.setValue(data.icon || '🗂️'); this.actions.setAbilities({ save: !!(data.name || '').trim() }); const val = data.icon || '🗂️'; const presetIcons = ['🍴', '🏨', '📷', '🛍️', '📦', '🗺️', '🚶', '📍', '☕', '🍺', '⛺', '🏛️', '🎡', '🛒', '💳', '🌲']; if (presetIcons.indexOf(val) !== -1) { const opt = this.presetSelect.findItemFromData(val); if (opt) { this.presetSelect.selectItem(opt); } } else { this.presetSelect.selectItem(null); } this.onSave = data.onSave; }, this); }; BucketEditDialog.prototype.getActionProcess = function (action) { if (action === 'save') { const name = this.nameInput.getValue().trim(); const icon = this.customIconInput.getValue().trim(); if (!name) { return new OO.ui.Process(function () { alert('Please enter a name for the bucket.'); }); } const thiss = this; return new OO.ui.Process(function () { if (thiss.onSave) { thiss.onSave(name, icon || '🗂️'); } thiss.close({ action: action }); }); } return BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.getActionProcess.call(this, action); }; } const TripPlanner = { storageKey: 'wv-trip-planner', optionKey: 'userjs-wv-trip-planner', saveTimer: null, syncTimer: null, map: null, markerLayer: null, localTripIndex: null, // Isolated tab-local trip selection data: { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [] }, colors: ['#d33', '#36c', '#2a7b39', '#f60', '#72309d', '#e2127a', '#00af89'], init: function () { if ($('.vcard').length === 0 && $('.listing').length > 0) { console.warn("TripPlanner: vcard class not found, listings might be un-draggable."); } this.load(); if (this.data.trips.length === 0) this.createNewTrip("My First Trip"); this.data.closed = false; this.data.minimized = false; this.cachedRoutes = {} this.injectStyles(); this.initMap(); // Ensure map container and Leaflet exist this.setupListeners(); this.makeListingsDraggable(); this.drawUI(); this.syncChannel = window.BroadcastChannel ? new BroadcastChannel('wv-trip-planner-sync') : null; if (this.syncChannel) { this.syncChannel.onmessage = (msg) => { if (msg.data.type === 'sync') { // Preserve local UI state flags const wasClosed = this.data.closed; const wasMinimized = this.data.minimized; this.data = msg.data.data; this.data.closed = wasClosed; this.data.minimized = wasMinimized; const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.renderTripOptions(); this.renderBins(); this.updateMapMarkers(); // Sync topbar inputs without full redraw const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); $('#tp-rename-input').val(trip.name); $('#tp-start-date').val(trip.startDate); $('#tp-length').val(trip.length); } else { this.drawUI(); } } }; } }, load: function () { const defaults = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [], orsKey: '' }; // 1. Read Local Storage (Used for Anon, or for merging after login) const localStr = localStorage.getItem(this.storageKey); let localData = null; if (localStr) { try { localData = $.extend({}, defaults, JSON.parse(localStr)); } catch (e) { console.error("Local load error", e); } } if (mw.user.isAnon()) { // --- CASE 1: Anonymous User -> Use Local Storage --- if (localData) this.data = localData; } else { // --- CASE 2: Logged In -> Use Account Options --- const remoteStr = mw.user.options.get(this.optionKey); let remoteData = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [] }; if (remoteStr) { try { $.extend(remoteData, JSON.parse(remoteStr)); } catch (e) { console.error("Remote load error", e); } } // --- MERGE LOGIC: If local data exists, merge it into account and clear local --- if (localData && localData.trips && localData.trips.length > 0) { // Avoid merging empty default trips if possible const validLocalTrips = localData.trips.filter(t => { const hasItemsInBuckets = t.buckets ? t.buckets.some(b => b.items.length > 0) : (t.backlog && t.backlog.length > 0); return hasItemsInBuckets || t.days.some(d => d.items.length > 0) || t.name !== "My First Trip"; }); if (validLocalTrips.length > 0) { remoteData.trips = remoteData.trips.concat(validLocalTrips); // Trigger immediate save to server to persist the merge this.saveDataToApi(remoteData); } // Clear local storage so we don't merge again next reload localStorage.removeItem(this.storageKey); } this.data = remoteData; if (!this.data.closed) this.data.closed = false; } this.migrateData(); }, migrateData: function () { if (!this.data || !this.data.trips) return; this.data.trips.forEach(trip => { if (!trip.buckets) { trip.buckets = [ { id: "backlog", name: "Backlog", icon: "📦", items: trip.backlog || [] } ]; } delete trip.backlog; // Ensure every bucket has an id, name, icon, items trip.buckets.forEach(b => { if (!b.id) b.id = 'bucket_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9); if (!b.icon) b.icon = '📦'; if (!b.items) b.items = []; }); }); }, save: function () { const dataToSave = $.extend(true, {}, this.data); // cleanup non-persistent flags delete dataToSave.closed; delete dataToSave.minimized; if (dataToSave.trips) { dataToSave.trips.forEach(trip => { delete trip.backlog; }); } // 1. Sync other tabs (100ms delay) this.broadcastSync(dataToSave); if (mw.user.isAnon()) { // Anon: Save directly to LocalStorage localStorage.setItem(this.storageKey, JSON.stringify(dataToSave)); } else { // Logged In: Save to API (Debounced 2s) clearTimeout(this.saveTimer); this.saveTimer = setTimeout(() => { this.saveDataToApi(dataToSave); }, 2000); } }, broadcastSync: function (data) { if (!this.syncChannel) return; clearTimeout(this.syncTimer); this.syncTimer = setTimeout(() => { this.syncChannel.postMessage({ type: 'sync', data: data }); }, 100); }, saveDataToApi: function (dataToSave) { new mw.Api().saveOption(this.optionKey, JSON.stringify(dataToSave)) .fail(function (code, data) { console.error("TripPlanner Sync Error", code, data); }); }, getActiveTrip: function () { const idx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; return this.data.trips[idx] || this.data.trips[0]; }, injectStyles: function () { mw.util.addCSS(` /* --- DESKTOP / DEFAULT STYLES --- */ #tp-widget { position: fixed; bottom: 10px; right: 10px; width: 360px; max-width: 95vw; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-radius: 8px; z-index: 2000; box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); font-family: sans-serif; display: flex; flex-direction: column; box-sizing: border-box; } #tp-widget * { box-sizing: border-box; } .tp-header { background: #36c; color: white; padding: 10px; border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0; cursor: pointer; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; } .tp-content { position: relative; display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 100%; } .tp-settings { padding: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #eee); background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #f8f9fa); font-size: 0.85em; } .tp-settings-row { display: flex; gap: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; align-items: center; } .tp-body { padding: 10px; max-height: 400px; overflow-y: auto; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); flex-grow: 1; } .tp-section-title { font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; color: var(--color-subtle, #72777d); text-transform: uppercase; margin: 12px 0 5px; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .tp-bin { border: 1px solid #c8ccd1; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px; margin-bottom: 10px; background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #fdfdfd); min-height: 35px; } .tp-bin.drag-over { background: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #eaf3ff); border: 2px solid #36c; } .tp-item { background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border: 1px solid #eaecf0; padding: 6px; margin: 4px 0; font-size: 0.85em; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; cursor: grab; align-items: center; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.05); } .tp-item:hover { border-color: var(--border-color-progressive, #36c); } .tp-controls { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr; gap: 4px; padding: 8px; border-top: 1px solid #eee; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); } /* Overlays */ #tp-menu-overlay, #tp-edit-form, #tp-settings-overlay, #tp-route-overlay { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px; border-radius: 0 0 8px 8px; } .tp-menu-btn { display: block; width: 100%; text-align: left; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ccc; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); margin-bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; border-radius: 4px; font-size: 0.85em; } .tp-menu-btn:hover { background: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #f0f4ff); border-color: #36c; color: #36c; } .tp-form-row { margin-bottom: 8px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-size: 0.8em; } .tp-form-row input, .tp-form-row textarea { padding: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #ccc); background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border-radius: 3px; } /* Map & Helpers */ #tp-map-container { position: fixed; top: 60px; left: 60px; right: 420px; bottom: 60px; background: var(--background-color-base, white); border: 2px solid #36c; border-radius: 8px; z-index: 1999; display: none; box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); } #tp-map-canvas { width: 100%; height: 100%; } .tp-btn-move, .tp-btn-edit { cursor: pointer; color: var(--color-progressive, #36c); font-size: 10px; border: 1px solid #36c; padding: 1px 4px; border-radius: 3px; } .tp-remove { color: var(--color-destructive, #d33); cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; padding: 0 5px; } .listing-draggable-proxy { cursor: move !important; } .tp-in-trip::before { content: "✅ "; } .tp-route-stats { font-size: 10px; color: var(--color-subtle, #555); background: var(--background-color-neutral-subtle, #f0f0f0); text-align: center; padding: 2px; margin: 2px 10px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px dashed #ccc; } .tp-item-error { border: 2px solid #d33 !important; background: #fff1f0 !important; } .tp-error-msg { font-size: 0.8em; color: #d33; font-style: italic; margin-top: 2px; } .tp-setting-block { margin-bottom: 12px; } .tp-setting-block label { display: block; font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.8em; color: var(--color-subtle, #555); margin-bottom: 3px; } .tp-setting-block input { width: 100%; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 4px; } .tp-divider { border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #eee); margin: 10px 0; } #tp-minimized-icon { position: fixed; bottom: 20px; right: 20px; width: 48px; height: 48px; background: #36c; color: white; border-radius: 50%; text-align: center; line-height: 48px; font-size: 24px; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); cursor: pointer; z-index: 2000; transition: transform 0.1s; user-select: none; } #tp-minimized-icon:hover { transform: scale(1.1); background: #2a5ab0; } #tp-widget .mw-ui-button { font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; padding: 4px 8px; min-height: 24px; line-height: 1.4; width: 100%; } #tp-new-trip, #tp-open-settings { padding: 3px 8px; min-width: auto; width: auto !important; } /* MOBILE / TOUCHSCREEN OPTIMIZATIONS */ @media (max-width: 1200px) and (pointer: coarse) { /*#tp-widget { width: 100% !important; left: 0 !important; right: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0 !important; max-height: 80vh; transition: transform 0.3s; z-index: 2000; box-shadow: 0 -2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.2) !important; } #tp-body { max-height: 15em; } */ /* 2. FULLSCREEN MAP MODE */ /* Hide widget when map is open to give full screen to map */ /* body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-widget { display: none !important; } */ /* Map covers 100% of viewport */ body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-map-container { display: block !important; position: fixed !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; border: none !important; border-radius: 0 !important; z-index: 2001 !important; /* Above everything */ } /* Large, Touch-Friendly Close Button */ body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-map-hide { display: block !important; top: 15px !important; right: 15px !important; background: white !important; color: #333 !important; padding: 10px 20px !important; /* Larger touch target */ border-radius: 4px !important; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.3) !important; font-weight: bold !important; font-size: 16px !important; border: 1px solid #ccc !important; } /* 3. Mobile "Tap to Add" Button */ .tp-mobile-add { display: inline-block; padding: 6px 12px; background: #eaf3ff; color: #36c; border: 1px solid #36c; border-radius: 16px; margin: 4px 0 4px 8px; font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: nowrap; } .tp-mobile-add:active { background: #36c; color: white; } } /* --- FULL MODE / SPLIT SCREEN STYLES --- */ .tp-full-app { display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 80vh; min-height: 600px; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); font-family: sans-serif; } .tp-full-app * { box-sizing: border-box; } .tp-full-topbar { display: flex; gap: 10px; align-items: center; padding: 10px 15px; background: #f8f9fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; flex-wrap: wrap; } .tp-full-topbar .tp-setting-block { margin-bottom: 0; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 5px; } .tp-full-topbar .tp-setting-block label { margin-bottom: 0; } .tp-full-split { display: flex; flex-grow: 1; overflow: hidden; position: relative; } .tp-full-sidebar { flex-shrink: 0; max-width: 360px; overflow-y: auto; padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid #eee; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); } @media (max-width: 720px) { .tp-full-app { height: auto; min-height: auto; } .tp-full-split { flex-direction: column; overflow: visible; } .tp-full-sidebar { max-width: 100%; height: 350px; border-right: none; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; } .tp-full-main { height: 80vh; min-height: 500px; flex-grow: 1; position: relative; } } .tp-full-main { flex-grow: 1; position: relative; } .tp-full-main #tp-map-container { /* Override fixed positioning when inside full mode */ position: absolute !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; right: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; border: none !important; border-radius: 0 !important; box-shadow: none !important; z-index: 10 !important; display: block !important; } .tp-full-main #tp-map-hide { display: none !important; /* Hide map close button in full mode */ } `); }, drawUI: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; // 1. Handle "Closed" state (Launcher in user menu) if (this.data.closed && !isFullMode) { $('#tp-widget, #tp-minimized-icon').remove(); $('#tp-map-container').hide().detach().appendTo('body'); this.drawLauncher(); return; } else { $('.tp-launcher-icon, #tp-launcher-li').remove(); $('#tp-launcher').remove(); } // 2. Handle "Minimized" state (Floating Icon) if (this.data.minimized && !isFullMode) { $('#tp-widget').remove(); $('#tp-map-container').hide().detach().appendTo('body'); $('body').append(`<div id="tp-minimized-icon" title="Expand Trip Planner">🎒</div>`); return; } // 3. Handle "Open" state $('#tp-widget, #tp-minimized-icon').remove(); // Detach map container before resetting app const $mapContainer = $('#tp-map-container').detach(); if (isFullMode) { $('#trip-planner-app').empty(); } const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); if (this.lastActiveTrip && this.lastActiveTrip !== trip) { if (this.routeLayer) { this.routeLayer.clearLayers(); } this.cachedRoutes = {}; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); } this.lastActiveTrip = trip; let dayOptions = ""; trip.days.forEach((d, i) => { dayOptions += `<option value="${i}">Day ${i + 1}</option>`; }); const safeName = mw.html.escape(trip.name); const safeKey = mw.html.escape(this.data.orsKey || ''); const helpUrl = mw.util.getUrl('Wikivoyage:Trip_Planner'); const fullModeUrl = mw.util.getUrl('Trip Planner'); let $widget; if (isFullMode) { $widget = $(` <div class="tp-full-app"> <div class="tp-full-topbar"> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="margin-right:15px"> <label>Trip:</label> <select id="tp-select-trip" style="padding:4px; max-width:150px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px;"></select> <button id="tp-new-trip" class="mw-ui-button" title="New Trip" style="padding:3px 8px; min-width:auto">＋</button> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="flex-grow:1; flex-basis: 250px"> <label>Name:</label> <input type="text" id="tp-rename-input" value="${safeName}"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Start:</label> <input type="date" id="tp-start-date" value="${trip.startDate}" style="width:130px"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="margin-right:15px"> <label>Days:</label> <input type="number" id="tp-length" value="${trip.length}" min="1" style="width:60px"> </div> <div> <button id="tp-btn-route" class="mw-ui-button">🚗 Route</button> <button id="tp-btn-export" class="mw-ui-button">💾 Save...</button> <button id="tp-import" class="mw-ui-button">📂 Load</button> <button id="tp-del-trip" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-destructive mw-ui-quiet" title="Delete Trip" style="padding:4px 8px; min-width:auto; margin-left:auto;">🗑️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-full-split"> <div class="tp-full-sidebar tp-body" style="max-height:none"> <div class="tp-section-title" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc; padding-bottom: 4px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span>🗂️ Buckets</span> <div> <span class="tp-btn-edit" id="tp-add-bucket" title="Add custom bucket">＋ Bucket</span> </div> </div> <div id="tp-buckets-container"></div> <div id="tp-days-container"></div> </div> <div class="tp-full-main" id="tp-map-container-wrapper"> </div> </div> <div id="tp-menu-overlay" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b id="tp-menu-title">Menu</b> <div id="tp-menu-content" style="margin-top:10px; flex-grow:1; overflow-y:auto"></div> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-quiet" id="tp-menu-close">Cancel</button> </div> <div id="tp-edit-form" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b id="tp-form-title">Edit Entry</b> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Title</label><input type="text" id="f-title"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lat</label><input type="text" id="f-lat"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lon</label><input type="text" id="f-lon"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"> <label>Wikidata</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <input type="text" id="f-wikidata" style="flex-grow:1" placeholder="e.g. Q42"> <button id="f-fetch-wd" class="mw-ui-button" style="min-width:auto; padding:0 8px" title="Fetch Title & Coordinates">⬆️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Note</label><textarea id="f-note"></textarea></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Source Page</label><input type="text" id="f-source" placeholder="e.g. Rome"></div> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" id="f-save">Save</button> <button class="mw-ui-button" id="f-cancel">Cancel</button> </div> </div> <div id="tp-route-overlay" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b style="margin-bottom:10px; display:block">Route Calculator</b> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>ORS API Key <a href="https://openrouteservice.org/dev/#/signup" target="_blank" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:0.9em">(Get Free Key)</a></label> <input type="text" id="tp-ors-key" placeholder="Paste key here..." value="${safeKey}"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Travel Mode</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <select id="tp-route-profile" style="flex: 1; padding:5px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px"> <option value="foot-walking">🚶 Walking</option> <option value="driving-car">🚗 Driving (Car)</option> </select> <button id="tp-run-route" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" style="flex:1">Calculate Routes</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-divider"></div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Optimize Day Order</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <select id="tp-opt-day" style="flex:1; padding:5px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px"> ${dayOptions} </select> <button id="tp-run-opt" class="mw-ui-button" style="flex:1">Optimize</button> </div> <div style="font-size:0.75em; color:#666; margin-top:2px">Keeps 1st item fixed, reorders the rest.</div> </div> <button id="tp-close-route" class="mw-ui-button" style="margin-top:auto; width:100%">Close</button> </div> </div> `); $('#trip-planner-app').append($widget); // Move map container into its Full Mode wrapper $mapContainer.appendTo($widget.find('#tp-map-container-wrapper')).show(); // Refresh map layout immediately as it might have been moved/resized if (this.map) { setTimeout(() => { this.map.invalidateSize(); this.updateMapMarkers(true); // pass true to fit bounds }, 200); // slightly longer timeout to ensure DOM catch-up } } else { $widget = $(` <div id="tp-widget"> <div class="tp-header"> <span id="tp-toggle" style="flex-grow:1">🎒 Trip Planner</span> <span> <a href="${helpUrl}" target="_blank" style="color:white; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; cursor:pointer;" title="Help / Documentation">?</a> <span id="tp-toggle-btn" style="cursor:pointer; margin-left:12px; font-weight:bold" title="Minimize to Icon">－</span> <span id="tp-close-btn" style="cursor:pointer; margin-left:12px; font-weight:bold" title="Close">✕</span> </span> </div> <div class="tp-content" style="display: block; position:relative"> <div id="tp-menu-overlay"> <b id="tp-menu-title">Menu</b> <div id="tp-menu-content" style="margin-top:10px; flex-grow:1; overflow-y:auto"></div> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-quiet" id="tp-menu-close">Cancel</button> </div> <div id="tp-edit-form"> <b id="tp-form-title">Edit Entry</b> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Title</label><input type="text" id="f-title"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lat</label><input type="text" id="f-lat"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lon</label><input type="text" id="f-lon"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"> <label>Wikidata</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <input type="text" id="f-wikidata" style="flex-grow:1" placeholder="e.g. Q42"> <button id="f-fetch-wd" class="mw-ui-button" style="min-width:auto; padding:0 8px" title="Fetch Title & Coordinates">⬆️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Note</label><textarea id="f-note"></textarea></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Source Page</label><input type="text" id="f-source" placeholder="e.g. Rome"></div> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" id="f-save">Save</button> <button class="mw-ui-button" id="f-cancel">Cancel</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-settings"> <div class="tp-settings-row"> <select id="tp-select-trip" style="flex-grow:1"></select> </div> </div> <div class="tp-body"> <div id="tp-buckets-container"></div> <div id="tp-days-container"></div> </div> <div class="tp-controls" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr;"> <a href="${fullModeUrl}" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" style="text-align:center; text-decoration:none; display:block">🗺️ Open Full Trip Planner</a> </div> </div> <input type="file" id="tp-file-input" style="display:none" accept=".json"> </div> `); $('body').append($widget); // Keep map detached/hidden in Widget Mode $mapContainer.hide().appendTo('body'); } if ($('#tp-file-input').length === 0) { $('body').append('<input type="file" id="tp-file-input" style="display:none" accept=".json">'); } this.renderTripOptions(); this.renderBins(); if (!isFullMode) { $('body').removeClass('tp-mobile-map-open'); } if (isFullMode && this.map) { this.updateMapMarkers(); } this.updatePageIndicators(); this.updateWidgetButtonsVisibility(); }, updateWidgetButtonsVisibility: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (!isFullMode) { // Hide day action buttons that are injected constantly in renderBins $('#tp-widget .tp-btn-move').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-edit-bucket').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-remove-bucket').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-add-custom-btn').hide(); } }, drawLauncher: function () { createLauncherIcon(() => { this.data.closed = false; this.saveAndRefresh(); }); }, renderTripOptions: function () { const $select = $('#tp-select-trip').empty(); const currentIdx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; this.data.trips.forEach((t, i) => $select.append($('<option>', { value: i, text: t.name, selected: i === currentIdx }))); }, renderBins: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); // Render all buckets const $bucketsContainer = $('#tp-buckets-container').empty(); trip.buckets.forEach(b => { const isBacklog = b.id === 'backlog'; const $bucketBlock = $(` <div class="tp-section-title tp-bucket-header" data-bucket-id="${b.id}"> <span class="tp-bucket-title-text" style="cursor: pointer;" title="Click to highlight on map, double-click to edit/rename">${b.icon} ${b.name}</span> <div> ${isFullMode ? ` <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-add-custom-btn" data-bucket-id="${b.id}">＋ POI</span> <span class="tp-btn-move" data-move-type="bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}">Move</span> <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-edit-bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Edit/Rename Bucket">✏️</span> ${!isBacklog ? `<span class="tp-remove tp-remove-bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Delete Bucket" style="font-weight:bold; margin-left:5px">×</span>` : ''} ` : ` <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-add-article-btn" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Add current article as destination">＋ Article</span> `} </div> </div> <div class="tp-bin tp-bucket-bin" data-type="bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}"></div> `); b.items.forEach((item, idx) => { $bucketBlock.filter('.tp-bucket-bin').append(this.createItemHTML(item, 'bucket', idx, b.id)); }); $bucketsContainer.append($bucketBlock); }); // Render days const $daysContainer = $('#tp-days-container').empty(); trip.days.forEach((day, dIdx) => { const dayDate = new Date(trip.startDate); dayDate.setDate(dayDate.getDate() + dIdx); const $dayBlock = $(` <div class="tp-section-title" style="color:${this.colors[dIdx % this.colors.length]}"> Day ${dIdx + 1} (${dayDate.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })}) ${isFullMode ? `<span class="tp-btn-move" data-move-type="day" data-day-idx="${dIdx}">Move</span>` : ''} </div> <div class="tp-bin tp-day-bin" data-type="day" data-day-idx="${dIdx}"></div> `); day.items.forEach((item, iIdx) => { $dayBlock.filter('.tp-day-bin').append(this.createItemHTML(item, 'day', iIdx, dIdx)); }); $daysContainer.append($dayBlock); }); if (isFullMode) this.updateMapMarkers(); this.updatePageIndicators(); this.updateWidgetButtonsVisibility(); }, updatePageIndicators: function () { const thiss = this; const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); const allItems = [...trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items), ...trip.days.flatMap(d => d.items)]; // Create Sets for fast lookup (Wikidata ID or Lat,Lon string) const wdSet = new Set(allItems.map(i => i.wikidata).filter(Boolean)); const locSet = new Set(allItems.map(i => i.lat + "," + i.lon)); $('.vcard').each(function () { const $l = $(this); // Extract same data as draggable logic const lat = $l.attr('data-lat') || $l.find('[data-lat]').attr('data-lat'); const lon = $l.attr('data-lon') || $l.find('[data-lon]').attr('data-lon'); const wdId = $l.find('[id]').filter(function () { return /^Q\d+$/.test(this.id); }).attr('id'); // Check if this listing is in our data const isPresent = (wdId && wdSet.has(wdId)) || (lat && lon && locSet.has(thiss.parseCoordinate(lat) + "," + thiss.parseCoordinate(lon))); if (isPresent) $l.addClass('tp-in-trip'); else $l.removeClass('tp-in-trip'); }); }, createItemHTML: function (item, type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { const safeTitle = mw.html.escape(item.title); const safeNote = item.note ? mw.html.escape(item.note) : ''; const url = item.sourcePage ? mw.util.getUrl(item.sourcePage) + (item.wikidata ? '#' + item.wikidata : '') : '#'; const orderHtml = (type === 'day') ? `<span style="color:#555; margin-right:6px; min-width:15px;">${idx + 1}.</span>` : ''; return $(` <div class="tp-item" draggable="true" data-type="${type}" data-idx="${idx}" data-bin-id="${binIdOrIdx}"> ${orderHtml} <div style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; overflow:hidden; flex-grow:1; margin-right:5px"> <span style="overflow:hidden; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap; font-weight:bold" title="${safeTitle}">${safeTitle}</span> ${safeNote ? `<span style="font-size:0.75em; color:#666; overflow:hidden; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap">${safeNote}</span>` : ''} </div> <span style="display:flex; align-items:center; flex-shrink:0"> <span class="tp-btn-edit item-edit-trigger" style="border:none; padding:0 3px; font-size:1.1em">✏️</span> ${item.sourcePage ? `<a href="${url}" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; margin:0 3px">🔗</a>` : ''} <span class="tp-remove">×</span> </span> </div> `); }, showMenu: function (title, options) { $('#tp-menu-title').text(title); const $cont = $('#tp-menu-content').empty(); options.forEach(opt => { if (opt.header) { $cont.append(` <div style=" font-weight: bold; color: #555; margin: 12px 0 4px 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; padding-bottom: 2px; font-size: 0.9em; ">${mw.html.escape(opt.header)}</div> `); return; } // Standard Buttons const $btn = $(`<button class="tp-menu-btn">${opt.label}</button>`); if (opt.disabled) { $btn.prop('disabled', true).css({ opacity: 0.6, cursor: 'not-allowed', background: '#f8f8f8', color: '#888' }); if (opt.helpText) { $btn.append(`<div style="font-size:0.8em; font-style:italic; margin-top:2px">${opt.helpText}</div>`); } } else { $btn.on('click', () => { opt.action(); $('#tp-menu-overlay').hide(); }); } $cont.append($btn); }); $('#tp-menu-overlay').css('display', 'flex'); }, exportData: function (format) { const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); let content = "", mime = "text/plain", ext = "txt"; switch (format) { case 'trip': content = JSON.stringify(trip, null, 2); mime = "application/json"; ext = "json"; break; case 'all': const cleanData = { trips: this.data.trips }; content = JSON.stringify(cleanData, null, 2); mime = "application/json"; ext = "json"; break; case 'gpx': content = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><gpx version="1.1" creator="WVPlanner">`; [...trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items), ...trip.days.flatMap(d => d.items)].forEach(i => { if (i.lat) content += `<wpt lat="${i.lat}" lon="${i.lon}"><name>${i.title}</name></wpt>`; }); content += `</gpx>`; mime = "application/gpx+xml"; ext = "gpx"; break; case 'wiki': trip.days.forEach((d, idx) => { content += `\n=== Day ${idx + 1} ===\n`; d.items.forEach(i => content += `* {{listing|name=${i.title}|lat=${i.lat}|long=${i.lon}|wikidata=${i.wikidata || ''}|content=${i.note || ''}}}\n`); }); break; case 'geojson-full': var fc = { type: "FeatureCollection", features: [] }; // 1. Flatten all items (Buckets + all Days) var allItems = trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items).concat(trip.days.reduce(function (acc, d) { return acc.concat(d.items); }, [])); // 2. Add Points (Listings) allItems.forEach(function (i) { if (i.lat && i.lon) { fc.features.push({ type: "Feature", geometry: { type: "Point", coordinates: [i.lon, i.lat] }, properties: { name: i.title, note: i.note || "", wikidata: i.wikidata, day: i.day !== undefined ? i.day + 1 : 'bucket' } }); } }); // 3. Add Lines (Routes) from Leaflet Layer using concat if (this.routeLayer && window.L) { var routes = this.routeLayer.toGeoJSON(); if (routes && routes.features) { fc.features = fc.features.concat(routes.features); } } content = JSON.stringify(fc, null, 2); mime = "application/geo+json"; ext = "geojson"; break; } const blob = new Blob([content], { type: mime }); const a = document.createElement('a'); a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob); a.download = `${trip.name.replace(/\s/g, '_')}.${ext}`; a.click(); }, setupListeners: function () { const self = this; const thiss = this; $(document).on('click', '#tp-minimized-icon', function () { self.data.minimized = false; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); // Settings Overlay Toggles $(document).on('click', '#tp-open-settings', () => $('#tp-settings-overlay').css('display', 'flex')); $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-settings', () => { $('#tp-settings-overlay').hide(); self.saveAndRefresh(); // Ensure changes (like rename) reflect in the main UI immediately }); // NEW: Rename Logic $(document).on('change', '#tp-rename-input', function () { self.getActiveTrip().name = $(this).val(); self.save(); // Just save, don't redraw whole UI yet (wait for Close) }); // Move Trip Logic $(document).on('click', '.tp-btn-move', function () { const moveType = $(this).data('move-type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); // if bucket const sourceDayIdx = $(this).data('day-idx') !== undefined ? parseInt($(this).data('day-idx')) : -1; const currentTripIdx = self.data.activeTripIndex; const currentTrip = self.getActiveTrip(); let menuOptions = []; // Helper to perform the move const performMove = (targetTrip, targetType, targetBinIdOrIdx) => { let items; // Cut if (moveType === 'bucket') { const bucket = currentTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId); items = bucket ? bucket.items.splice(0) : []; } else { items = currentTrip.days[sourceDayIdx].items.splice(0); } // Paste if (targetType === 'bucket') { const targetBucket = targetTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === targetBinIdOrIdx); if (targetBucket) targetBucket.items.push(...items); } else { targetTrip.days[targetBinIdOrIdx].items.push(...items); } self.saveAndRefresh(); }; // Helper to add options for a specific trip const addTripOptions = (trip, isCurrent) => { let addedHeader = false; const ensureHeader = () => { if (!addedHeader) { menuOptions.push({ header: isCurrent ? "Current Trip" : trip.name }); addedHeader = true; } }; // 1. Bucket Options trip.buckets.forEach(b => { // Show if: It's another trip OR (It's current trip AND we aren't already in this specific bucket) if (!isCurrent || moveType !== 'bucket' || b.id !== bucketId) { ensureHeader(); menuOptions.push({ label: `${b.icon} ${b.name}`, action: () => performMove(trip, 'bucket', b.id) }); } }); // 2. Day Options trip.days.forEach((day, dIdx) => { // Show if: It's another trip OR (It's current trip AND we aren't in this specific day) if (!isCurrent || (moveType !== 'day' || dIdx !== sourceDayIdx)) { ensureHeader(); menuOptions.push({ label: `➡ Day ${dIdx + 1}`, action: () => performMove(trip, 'day', dIdx) }); } }); }; // A. Process Current Trip First addTripOptions(currentTrip, true); // B. Process Other Trips self.data.trips.forEach((trip, tIdx) => { if (tIdx === currentTripIdx) return; addTripOptions(trip, false); }); if (menuOptions.length === 0) { alert("No destinations available."); } else { const title = (moveType === 'bucket') ? `Move Bucket Items to:` : `Move Day ${sourceDayIdx + 1} Items to:`; self.showMenu(title, menuOptions); } }); // Save Menu Logic $(document).on('click', '#tp-btn-export', () => { const hasRoutes = self.routeLayer && window.L && self.routeLayer.getLayers().length > 0; self.showMenu("Export Format:", [ { label: "Current Trip (JSON)", action: () => self.exportData('trip') }, { label: "All Data Backup (JSON)", action: () => self.exportData('all') }, { label: "GPS File (GPX)", action: () => self.exportData('gpx') }, { label: "Wikivoyage Text (WikiText)", action: () => self.exportData('wiki') }, { label: "Trip + Routes (GeoJSON)", action: () => self.exportData('geojson-full'), disabled: !hasRoutes, helpText: !hasRoutes ? "(Calculate routes first to enable)" : "" } ]); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-menu-close', () => $('#tp-menu-overlay').hide()); // Add / Edit Forms $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-article, .tp-add-article-btn', function () { const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id') || 'backlog'; const pageName = mw.config.get('wgPageName'); const wdId = mw.config.get('wgWikibaseItemId'); if (!wdId) return alert("This page has no Wikidata ID."); self.fetchWikidata(wdId, pageName, (item) => { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId) || trip.buckets[0]; if (bucket) { bucket.items.push(item); self.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify(`Added article: ${item.title}`); } }).fail(() => alert("Failed to fetch article data.")); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-fetch-wd', function () { const id = $('#f-wikidata').val().trim().toUpperCase(); if (!/^Q\d+$/.test(id)) { return; } const $btn = $(this); const originalText = $btn.text(); $btn.text('⏳').prop('disabled', true); self.fetchWikidata(id, null, (item) => { $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); }) .fail(err => alert(err.message || "Fetch failed.")) .always(function () { $btn.text(originalText).prop('disabled', false); }); }); let editingRef = null; $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-custom, .tp-add-custom-btn, .item-edit-trigger', function () { const isNew = $(this).attr('id') === 'tp-add-custom' || $(this).hasClass('tp-add-custom-btn'); if (isNew) { const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id') || 'backlog'; editingRef = { type: 'bucket', idx: -1, binId: bucketId }; } else { const p = $(this).closest('.tp-item'); editingRef = { type: p.data('type'), idx: p.data('idx'), binId: p.data('bin-id') }; } const item = isNew ? { title: "", lat: "", lon: "", note: "", sourcePage: "" } : (editingRef.type === 'bucket' ? self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items[editingRef.idx] : self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items[editingRef.idx] ); $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); $('#f-wikidata').val(item.wikidata); $('#f-note').val(item.note || ""); $('#f-source').val(item.sourcePage || ""); $('#tp-edit-form').css('display', 'flex'); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-bucket', () => { initOOUI(); if (!TripPlanner.windowManager) { TripPlanner.windowManager = new OO.ui.WindowManager(); $('body').append(TripPlanner.windowManager.$element); TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog = new BucketEditDialog({ size: 'medium' }); TripPlanner.windowManager.addWindows([TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog]); } TripPlanner.windowManager.openWindow(TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog, { title: 'Add Custom Bucket', name: '', icon: '🗂️', onSave: function (name, icon) { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const id = 'bucket_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9); trip.buckets.push({ id: id, name: name, icon: icon, items: [] }); self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-edit-bucket', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId); if (!bucket) return; initOOUI(); if (!TripPlanner.windowManager) { TripPlanner.windowManager = new OO.ui.WindowManager(); $('body').append(TripPlanner.windowManager.$element); TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog = new BucketEditDialog({ size: 'medium' }); TripPlanner.windowManager.addWindows([TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog]); } TripPlanner.windowManager.openWindow(TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog, { title: 'Edit Bucket: ' + bucket.name, name: bucket.name, icon: bucket.icon, onSave: function (name, icon) { bucket.name = name; bucket.icon = icon; self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-remove-bucket', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); if (bucketId === 'backlog') { alert("The default backlog bucket cannot be deleted."); return; } const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucketIdx = trip.buckets.findIndex(b => b.id === bucketId); if (bucketIdx === -1) return; const bucket = trip.buckets[bucketIdx]; if (bucket.items.length > 0) { if (confirm(`Bucket "${bucket.name}" contains ${bucket.items.length} item(s). Move them to Backlog first?`)) { const backlog = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog'); if (backlog) backlog.items.push(...bucket.items); } else if (!confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this bucket and ALL its items permanently?")) { return; } } trip.buckets.splice(bucketIdx, 1); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-save', () => { const item = { title: $('#f-title').val(), lat: self.parseCoordinate($('#f-lat').val()), lon: self.parseCoordinate($('#f-lon').val()), note: $('#f-note').val(), wikidata: $('#f-wikidata').val(), sourcePage: $('#f-source').val().trim() }; if (editingRef.idx === -1) { const list = (editingRef.type === 'bucket') ? self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items : self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items; if (editingRef.insertIdx !== undefined && editingRef.insertIdx !== -1) { list.splice(editingRef.insertIdx, 0, item); } else { list.push(item); } } else if (editingRef.type === 'bucket') { self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items[editingRef.idx] = item; } else { self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items[editingRef.idx] = item; } $('#tp-edit-form').hide(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-cancel', () => $('#tp-edit-form').hide()); // Widget Basics $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-btn', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); // Prevent triggering the header toggle self.data.closed = true; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-toggle-btn', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); self.data.minimized = true; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-select-trip', (e) => { const newIdx = parseInt($(e.target).val()); const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.localTripIndex = newIdx; this.drawUI(); } else { this.data.activeTripIndex = newIdx; this.saveAndRefresh(); } }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-new-trip', () => { const n = prompt("Trip Name?"); if (n) { self.createNewTrip(n); const newIdx = self.data.trips.length - 1; const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.localTripIndex = newIdx; } else { this.data.activeTripIndex = newIdx; } self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); // Delete Trip Logic $(document).on('click', '#tp-del-trip', () => { const currentIdx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; if (this.data.trips.length > 1 && confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this trip permanently?")) { this.data.trips.splice(currentIdx, 1); this.data.activeTripIndex = 0; this.localTripIndex = 0; self.migrateData(); this.saveAndRefresh(); } else if (this.data.trips.length <= 1) { alert("You cannot delete the only remaining trip."); } }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-length', (e) => { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const n = Math.max(1, parseInt($(e.target).val())); if (n < trip.days.length) { const backlog = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog') || trip.buckets[0]; trip.days.splice(n).forEach(d => backlog.items.push(...d.items)); } else { while (trip.days.length < n) trip.days.push({ items: [] }); } trip.length = n; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-start-date', function (e) { self.getActiveTrip().startDate = $(this).val(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-remove', function () { const p = $(this).closest('.tp-item'); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const binType = p.data('type'); const binId = p.data('bin-id'); const idx = p.data('idx'); if (binType === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId); if (bucket) bucket.items.splice(idx, 1); } else { trip.days[parseInt(binId)].items.splice(idx, 1); } self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-run-opt', () => { const dayIdx = parseInt($('#tp-opt-day').val()); const profile = $('#tp-route-profile').val(); // Get selected profile self.optimizeDay(dayIdx, profile); $('#tp-route-overlay').hide(); }); // D&D $(document).on('dragenter', '.tp-bin', function (e) { $(this).addClass('drag-over'); }); $(document).on('dragleave', '.tp-bin', function (e) { $(this).removeClass('drag-over'); }); $(document).on('dragover', '.tp-bin', (e) => e.preventDefault()); $(document).on('drop', '.tp-bin', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); $(this).removeClass('drag-over'); const self = thiss; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); if (self.routeLayer) self.routeLayer.clearLayers(); self.cachedRoutes = {}; const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const transfer = e.originalEvent.dataTransfer; let isPoiDrop = false; let jsonData = transfer.getData('application/json') || transfer.getData('text/plain'); if (jsonData) { try { const item = JSON.parse(jsonData); if (item.title && item.lat) { isPoiDrop = true; } } catch (err) { } } if (!isPoiDrop) { const htmlData = transfer.getData('text/html'); const $html = htmlData ? $(htmlData) : $(); const $m = $html.hasClass('marker') ? $html : $html.find('.marker').first(); const rawText = transfer.getData('text/plain') || transfer.getData('URIList'); const isWdDrop = rawText && /wikidata\.org/i.test(rawText); if (!$m.length && !isWdDrop) { mw.notify("To drag and drop listings, the Trip Planner widget must be opened first on the source page.", { type: 'warn' }); } } const binType = $(this).data('type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const binId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); // for buckets const dayIdx = $(this).data('day-idx'); // for days const targetList = (binType === 'bucket') ? trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId).items : trip.days[parseInt(dayIdx)].items; if (jsonData) { try { const item = JSON.parse(jsonData); if (!item.title || !item.lat) throw "not a POI"; // 1. HANDLE REMOVAL FROM SOURCE if (item._srcType !== undefined && !e.ctrlKey && !e.shiftKey) { const srcTrip = self.data.trips[item._srcTripIdx]; if (srcTrip) { if (item._srcType === 'bucket') { const srcBucket = srcTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === item._srcBinId); if (srcBucket) srcBucket.items.splice(item._srcIdx, 1); } else { srcTrip.days[parseInt(item._srcBinId)].items.splice(item._srcIdx, 1); } } // Clean up metadata delete item._srcType; delete item._srcIdx; delete item._srcBinId; delete item._srcTripIdx; } else if (item._srcType !== undefined) { // Duplication mode delete item._srcType; delete item._srcIdx; delete item._srcBinId; delete item._srcTripIdx; } // 2. HANDLE INSERTION const $targetItem = $(e.target).closest('.tp-item'); if ($targetItem.length && $targetItem.data('idx') !== undefined) { targetList.splice($targetItem.data('idx'), 0, item); } else { targetList.push(item); } self.saveAndRefresh(); return; } catch (e) { /* not JSON listing, continue */ } } // .marker from ListingBrowser const htmlData = transfer.getData('text/html'); if (htmlData) { const $html = $(htmlData); const $m = $html.hasClass('marker') ? $html : $html.find('.marker').first(); var pageName = ''; const href = $html.attr('href'); const match = href.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)#(Q\d+)/); const match2 = href.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)/); if (match) { pageName = decodeURIComponent(match[1]); } else if (match2) { pageName = decodeURIComponent(match2[1]); } else { pageName = href; } if ($m.length && ($m.attr('marker-lat') || $m.attr('marker-wikidata'))) { targetList.push({ title: $m.attr('marker-name') || $m.text().trim(), lat: self.parseCoordinate($m.attr('marker-lat')), lon: self.parseCoordinate($m.attr('marker-long')), wikidata: $m.attr('marker-wikidata'), sourcePage: pageName, note: "" }); self.saveAndRefresh(); return; } } // Wikidata URL Drop const rawText = transfer.getData('text/plain') || transfer.getData('URIList'); const wdUrlMatch = rawText ? rawText.match(/wikidata\.org\/.*?(Q\d+)/i) : null; if (wdUrlMatch) { const wdId = wdUrlMatch[1]; const $bin = $(this); const binType = $bin.data('type'); const binId = $bin.data('bucket-id'); const dayIdx = $bin.data('day-idx'); const $targetItem = $(e.target).closest('.tp-item'); const insertIdx = ($targetItem.length && $targetItem.data('idx') !== undefined) ? parseInt($targetItem.data('idx')) : -1; mw.notify(`Fetching Wikidata item ${wdId}...`); self.fetchWikidata(wdId, null, (item) => { $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); $('#f-wikidata').val(item.wikidata); $('#f-note').val(""); $('#f-source').val(""); editingRef = { type: binType, idx: -1, binId: binType === 'bucket' ? binId : parseInt(dayIdx), insertIdx: insertIdx }; $('#tp-edit-form').css('display', 'flex'); }).fail(() => { mw.notify(`Failed to fetch Wikidata item ${wdId}`, { type: 'error' }); }); return; } // Article[/Subarticle]#Qid if (rawText && rawText.includes('#Q')) { const match = rawText.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)#(Q\d+)/); if (match) { const pageName = decodeURIComponent(match[1]); const wdId = match[2]; self.fetchWikidata(wdId, pageName, (item) => { targetList.push(item); self.saveAndRefresh(); }).fail(() => mw.notify("Failed to parse dropped link.", { type: 'error' })); return; } } }); $(document).on('dragstart', '.tp-item', function (e) { const p = $(this); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); let item; const binType = p.data('type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const binId = p.data('bin-id'); // bucket.id or dayIdx if (binType === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId); item = bucket ? bucket.items[p.data('idx')] : null; } else { item = trip.days[parseInt(binId)].items[p.data('idx')]; } if (!item) return; // Add source metadata const payload = Object.assign({}, item, { _srcTripIdx: (self.localTripIndex !== null) ? self.localTripIndex : self.data.activeTripIndex, _srcType: binType, _srcIdx: p.data('idx'), _srcBinId: binId }); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('application/json', JSON.stringify(payload)); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-item', function (e) { // Ignore clicks on action buttons/links if ($(e.target).closest('.tp-btn-edit, .tp-remove, a').length) { return; } const $item = $(this); const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (!isFullMode) return; const type = $item.data('type'); const idx = parseInt($item.data('idx')); const binId = $item.data('bin-id'); self.zoomToMapItem(type, idx, binId); }); // Map & Import $(document).on('click', '#tp-import', () => $('#tp-file-input').click()); $(document).on('change', '#tp-file-input', function (e) { const reader = new FileReader(); reader.onload = (ev) => { const imp = JSON.parse(ev.target.result); if (imp.trips) { const defaults = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [], orsKey: self.data.orsKey || '' }; self.data = $.extend({}, defaults, imp); } else if (imp.days) { self.data.trips.push(imp); } self.migrateData(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }; reader.readAsText(e.target.files[0]); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-btn-route', () => { $('#tp-ors-key').val(self.data.orsKey || ''); $('#tp-route-overlay').css('display', 'flex'); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-route', () => $('#tp-route-overlay').hide()); $(document).on('click', '#tp-run-route', () => { const key = $('#tp-ors-key').val().trim(); const profile = $('#tp-route-profile').val(); if (!key) return alert("API Key is required."); self.data.orsKey = key; self.save(); $('#tp-route-overlay').hide(); self.calculateRoutes(profile); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-section-title', function (e) { if ($(e.target).hasClass('tp-btn-move') || $(e.target).hasClass('tp-btn-edit') || $(e.target).hasClass('tp-remove')) return; const $moveBtn = $(this).find('.tp-btn-move'); const type = $moveBtn.data('move-type'); if (type === 'bucket') { const bucketId = $moveBtn.data('bucket-id'); self.highlightDay(bucketId, 'bucket'); } else if (type === 'day') { const idx = $moveBtn.data('day-idx'); if (idx !== undefined) self.highlightDay(parseInt(idx), 'day'); } }); }, initMap: function () { if ($('#tp-map-container').length === 0) { // Initial placement on body, hidden $('body').append(` <div id="tp-map-container" style="display:none"> <div id="tp-map-canvas"></div> </div> `); } if (!this.map) { this.map = L.map('tp-map-canvas').setView([20, 0], 2); // Default whole-world-ish view L.tileLayer('https://maps.wikimedia.org/osm-intl/{z}/{x}/{y}.png').addTo(this.map); this.map.on('click', () => this.highlightDay(null)); this.map.on('contextmenu', (e) => { const lat = e.latlng.lat; const lon = e.latlng.lng; const popupContent = ` <div style="text-align:center; padding:5px; font-family:sans-serif;"> <b style="font-size:12px;">Map Point</b><br> <span style="font-size:11px; color:#555;">${lat.toFixed(5)}, ${lon.toFixed(5)}</span><br> <a class="marker" draggable="true" marker-name="Map Point" marker-lat="${lat}" marker-long="${lon}" href="/wiki/Special:Map" onclick="event.preventDefault();" style="display:inline-block; margin-top:8px; padding:5px 10px; background:#36c; color:white; border-radius:4px; text-decoration:none; font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; cursor:grab; user-select:none;"> 🎒 Drag to Itinerary </a> <div style="margin-top:8px;"> <a href="/wiki/User:Andree.sk/ListingBrowser?lat=${lat}&long=${lon}" target="_blank" style="font-size:11px; color:#36c; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;"> 🔍 Search listings around </a> </div> </div> `; L.popup() .setLatLng(e.latlng) .setContent(popupContent) .openOn(this.map); }); this.routeLayer = L.featureGroup().addTo(this.map); this.markerLayer = L.featureGroup().addTo(this.map); if (this.cachedRoutes) { Object.keys(this.cachedRoutes).forEach(dIdx => { this.drawRouteLayer(parseInt(dIdx), this.cachedRoutes[dIdx]); }); } } }, // toggleMap removed as per request - map is now persistent in full mode. /** * Lazy-loads an image from Wikidata based on QID */ loadWikidataImage: function ($container) { const qid = $container.data('qid'); // Don't fetch if already loaded if ($container.find('img').length || $container.data('loading')) return; $container.data('loading', true); const wdApiUrl = `https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php?action=wbgetclaims&entity=${qid}&property=P18&format=json&origin=*`; $.getJSON(wdApiUrl).done(function (data) { try { // Dig into Wikidata response for the filename const claims = data.claims.P18; if (claims && claims[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value) { const filename = claims[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value; // Thumb URL (200px) and Full URL (Original) const baseUrl = `https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/${encodeURIComponent(filename)}`; const thumbUrl = `${baseUrl}?width=200`; const $img = $('<img>').attr('src', thumbUrl).css({ maxWidth: '100%', maxHeight: '100%', display: 'none', cursor: 'zoom-in' }); // Wrap in a link to the full-size image const $link = $('<a>') .attr({ href: baseUrl, target: '_blank', title: 'View full size' }) .append($img); $img.on('load', function () { $container.empty().append($link); $img.fadeIn(); }); } else { $container.html('<small style="color:#999">No image available</small>'); } } catch (e) { $container.hide(); } }).fail(function () { $container.hide(); }); }, /** * Parses a coordinate string into decimal degrees. * Supports decimal format and Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS) format. * @param {string|number} input * @returns {number} Decimal degrees or NaN */ parseCoordinate: function (input) { if (typeof input === 'number') return input; if (typeof input !== 'string') return NaN; let str = input.trim(); if (!str) return NaN; // 1. Try simple decimal (with optional hemisphere) // Matches: 48.8566, -48.8566, 48.8566 N, S 48.8566 const decimalMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?)\s*([NSEW])?$/i); if (decimalMatch) { let val = parseFloat(decimalMatch[2]); const h = (decimalMatch[1] || decimalMatch[3] || '').toUpperCase(); if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -Math.abs(val); if (h === 'N' || h === 'E') val = Math.abs(val); return val; } // 2. Try DMS format // Matches: 48° 51' 24" N, 48°51′24″S, 48 51 24 N, N 48 51 24, etc. const dmsMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3})[°\s]+(\d{1,2})['′\s]+(\d{1,2}(?:\.\d+)?)["″\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dmsMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dmsMatch[2]); const min = parseFloat(dmsMatch[3]); const sec = parseFloat(dmsMatch[4]); const h = (dmsMatch[1] || dmsMatch[5] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg + min / 60 + sec / 3600; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } // 3. Try DM format (no seconds) const dmMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3})[°\s]+(\d{1,2}(?:\.\d+)?)['′\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dmMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dmMatch[2]); const min = parseFloat(dmMatch[3]); const h = (dmMatch[1] || dmMatch[4] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg + min / 60; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } // 4. Try D [symbols] H const dSymMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3}(?:\.\d+)?)[°\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dSymMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dSymMatch[2]); const h = (dSymMatch[1] || dSymMatch[3] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } return parseFloat(str); }, updateMapMarkers: function (shouldFitBounds) { if (!this.markerLayer || !window.L) return; this.markerLayer.clearLayers(); const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); const bounds = []; const thiss = this; const add = (item, color, label, binIdOrIdx, itemIdx, type) => { if (!item.lat || !item.lon) return; const icon = L.divIcon({ className: '', // Clear default class to avoid side-effects html: `<div style=" background: ${color}; color: white; width: 24px; height: 24px; border: 2px solid white; border-radius: 50%; text-align: center; line-height: 20px; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); box-sizing: border-box; ">${label}</div>`, iconSize: [24, 24], iconAnchor: [12, 12], // Center the icon popupAnchor: [0, -12] }); // 1. Create Marker const m = L.marker([item.lat, item.lon], { icon: icon }); m.tpBinId = binIdOrIdx; m.tpIdx = itemIdx; m.tpType = type; m.on('click', (e) => { // Prevent map background click from firing L.DomEvent.stopPropagation(e); this.highlightDay(binIdOrIdx, type); this.highlightListItem(type, itemIdx, binIdOrIdx); }); const safeTitle = mw.html.escape(item.title); const safeNote = item.note ? mw.html.escape(item.note) : ''; // 2. Build Link URL const url = item.sourcePage ? mw.util.getUrl(item.sourcePage) + (item.wikidata ? '#' + item.wikidata : '') : '#'; // 3. Prepare Popup HTML (with placeholder for image) let popupHtml = `<div style="text-align:center"> <b style="font-size:1.1em"><a href="${url}" target="_blank">${safeTitle}</a></b> ${safeNote ? `<br><span style="font-size:0.9em; color:#555">${safeNote}</span>` : ''} </div>`; if (item.wikidata) { popupHtml += ` <div class="wd-img" data-qid="${item.wikidata}" style="min-width:200px; min-height:100px; background:#f0f0f0; margin-top:8px; display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center; border-radius:4px;"> <small>Loading Image...</small> </div>` } m.bindPopup(popupHtml); // 4. Fetch Image on Click (Lazy Load) if (item.wikidata) { m.on('popupopen', function (e) { thiss.loadWikidataImage($(e.popup.getElement()).find('.wd-img')); }); } m.addTo(this.markerLayer); bounds.push([item.lat, item.lon]); }; trip.buckets.forEach((b) => { b.items.forEach((item, idx) => { const label = b.icon || "B"; add(item, "#777", label, b.id, idx, 'bucket'); }); }); // Days: Label is the day number (index + 1) trip.days.forEach((d, dayIdx) => { d.items.forEach((item, itemIdx) => { add(item, this.colors[dayIdx % this.colors.length], itemIdx + 1, dayIdx, itemIdx, 'day'); }); }); if (shouldFitBounds && bounds.length) { this.map.fitBounds(bounds, { padding: [50, 50] }); } }, drawRouteLayer: function (dIdx, geojson) { if (!this.routeLayer || !window.L) return; const color = this.colors[dIdx % this.colors.length]; const routeGroup = L.geoJSON(geojson, { style: { color: color, weight: 5, opacity: 0.7 }, onEachFeature: (feature, layer) => { layer.on('click', (e) => { L.DomEvent.stopPropagation(e); this.highlightDay(dIdx); }); } }); routeGroup.tpBinId = dIdx; routeGroup.tpType = 'day'; routeGroup.tpDayIdx = dIdx; routeGroup.addTo(this.routeLayer); }, saveAndRefresh: function () { // Capture scroll position const $body = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $body.length ? $body.scrollTop() : 0; this.save(); this.drawUI(); // Restore scroll position $('.tp-body').scrollTop(scrollTop); }, createNewTrip: function (n) { this.data.trips.push({ name: n, startDate: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0], length: 3, buckets: [ { id: 'backlog', name: 'Backlog', icon: '📦', items: [] } ], days: [{ items: [] }, { items: [] }, { items: [] }] }); this.save(); }, makeListingsDraggable: function () { const thiss = this; const pageName = mw.config.get('wgPageName'); const isTouch = 'ontouchstart' in window || navigator.maxTouchPoints > 0; //$('.vcard, .listing-metadata, .mw-kartographer-maplink').each(function () { $('.vcard').each(function () { //console.log($(this)); const $l = $(this); const lat = $l.attr('data-lat') || $l.find('[data-lat]').attr('data-lat'); const lon = $l.attr('data-lon') || $l.find('[data-lon]').attr('data-lon'); if (lat && lon) { const wdId = $l.find('[id]').filter(function () { return /^Q\d+$/.test(this.id); }).attr('id') || ""; const title = $l.find('.fn, .listing-name').first().text().trim() || $l.text().trim(); $l.attr('draggable', 'true').addClass('listing-draggable-proxy'); $l.on('dragstart', (e) => { const data = { title: title, lat: thiss.parseCoordinate(lat), lon: thiss.parseCoordinate(lon), wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: pageName }; const json = JSON.stringify(data); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('application/json', json); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('text/plain', json); }); if (isTouch && $l.find('.tp-mobile-add').length === 0) { const $btn = $('<span class="tp-mobile-add">＋ Trip</span>'); $btn.on('click', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); // Stop Wikivoyage from opening the map/listing details const item = { title: title, lat: thiss.parseCoordinate(lat), lon: thiss.parseCoordinate(lon), wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: pageName, note: "" }; const trip = thiss.getActiveTrip(); const backlogBucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog') || trip.buckets[0]; backlogBucket.items.push(item); thiss.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify(`Added "${title}" to Trip Backlog`); }); // Insert button next to the Listing Name const $nameTarget = $l.find('.listing-name, .fn').first(); if ($nameTarget.length) { $nameTarget.after($btn); } else { $l.prepend($btn); } } } }); }, calculateRoutes: function (profile) { const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); // UI Cleanup $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); $('.tp-item').removeClass('tp-item-error').find('.tp-error-msg').remove(); if (this.routeLayer) this.routeLayer.clearLayers(); this.cachedRoutes = {}; // Clear old cache mw.notify("Calculating continuous routes..."); // Track the end of the previous leg to link days together let previousEndItem = null; const promises = trip.days.map((day, dIdx) => { // 1. Identify valid items in current day // We preserve original indices for DOM injection later const currentDayItems = day.items .map((item, idx) => Object.assign({}, item, { day: dIdx, idx: idx })) .filter(i => i.lat && i.lon); // 2. Construct the routing batch for this day // Start with the last point of the previous day (if exists) to form the bridge let routePoints = []; if (previousEndItem) { routePoints.push(previousEndItem); } routePoints = routePoints.concat(currentDayItems); // Update the tracker: The last item of this day becomes the start for the next non-empty day if (currentDayItems.length > 0) { previousEndItem = currentDayItems[currentDayItems.length - 1]; } // 3. Check if we have enough points to form a line if (routePoints.length < 2) { return Promise.resolve(); } // 4. API Request const coords = routePoints.map(i => [i.lon, i.lat]); const snappingRadiuses = routePoints.map(function() { return 3000; }); // TODO: make global return $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: `https://api.openrouteservice.org/v2/directions/${profile}/geojson`, contentType: "application/json", headers: { "Authorization": this.data.orsKey }, data: JSON.stringify({ coordinates: coords, radiuses: snappingRadiuses }) }).then((resp) => { this.cachedRoutes[dIdx] = resp; // Draw Line (Colored by the Current Day) if (this.routeLayer && window.L) { this.drawRouteLayer(dIdx, resp); } // Inject Stats const segments = resp.features[0].properties.segments; segments.forEach((seg, sIdx) => { // Map the segment back to our batch items const startItem = routePoints[sIdx]; const endItem = routePoints[sIdx + 1]; const dist = seg.distance > 1000 ? (seg.distance / 1000).toFixed(1) + " km" : Math.round(seg.distance) + " m"; const time = seg.duration > 3600 ? Math.floor(seg.duration / 3600) + "h " + Math.round((seg.duration % 3600) / 60) + "m" : Math.round(seg.duration / 60) + " min"; const html = `<div class="tp-route-stats">⬇️ ${dist} / ${time} ⬇️</div>`; if (startItem.day === endItem.day) { // Intra-day travel: Inject between items $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${startItem.day}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${startItem.idx}"]`).after(html); } else { // Inter-day travel: Inject at the bottom of the previous day's bin // This visually represents "Travel after finishing Day X, before Day Y" $(`.tp-bin[data-day-idx="${startItem.day}"]`).append(html); } }); }).catch(err => { console.error(`Routing Error (Day ${dIdx + 1}):`, err); let msg = "Routing failed."; if (err.responseText) { try { const errorData = JSON.parse(err.responseText); if (errorData.error && errorData.error.message) { msg = errorData.error.message; // Try to extract coordinate index from message like "...coordinate 3: ..." const match = msg.match(/coordinate (\d+):/i); if (match) { const coordIdx = parseInt(match[1]); const item = routePoints[coordIdx]; if (item) { const $itemEl = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${item.day}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${item.idx}"]`); $itemEl.addClass('tp-item-error'); if ($itemEl.find('.tp-error-msg').length === 0) { $itemEl.find('div:first').append(`<div class="tp-error-msg">⚠️ Point not routable</div>`); } msg = `Point "${item.title}" is not routable. Try moving it or removing it.`; } } } } catch (e) { console.error("Error parsing response", e); } } mw.notify(msg, { type: 'error' }); }); }); Promise.all(promises).then(() => { // Route calculation complete }); }, optimizeDay: function (dayIdx, profile) { const day = this.getActiveTrip().days[dayIdx]; const items = day.items; if (items.length < 3) return mw.notify("Need at least 3 items to optimize."); if (!this.data.orsKey) return alert("API Key missing."); // 1. Prepare Payload // Fixed Start: The first item in the list const startItem = items[0]; const snappingRadiuses = 3000; // TODO: make global // Jobs: All subsequent items const jobs = items.slice(1).map((item, index) => ({ id: index + 1, // Use original index as ID (offset by 1 because we sliced) location: [item.lon, item.lat], radius: snappingRadiuses, service: 300 // Assume 5 min stop per POI (optional, helps calc ETA) })); // Vehicle: Starts at item[0] const vehicles = [{ id: 1, profile: profile, start: [startItem.lon, startItem.lat], radius: snappingRadiuses, // For a round-trip, add: end: [startItem.lon, startItem.lat] }]; mw.notify("Optimizing schedule..."); $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: "https://api.openrouteservice.org/optimization", contentType: "application/json", headers: { "Authorization": this.data.orsKey }, data: JSON.stringify({ jobs: jobs, vehicles: vehicles }) }).done((resp) => { const steps = resp.routes[0].steps; // 2. Reconstruct Order // Start with the fixed first item const newOrder = [startItem]; // Append items in the order returned by API steps.forEach(step => { if (step.type === 'job') { // step.id corresponds to the index in the original 'items' array newOrder.push(items[step.id]); } }); // Check if all items were visited (API might skip unreachable ones) if (newOrder.length !== items.length) { alert("Warning: Some locations were unreachable and removed from the optimized list."); } // 3. Save day.items = newOrder; this.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify("Optimization Complete!"); }).fail((err) => { console.error(err); let msg = "Optimization failed. Check API Key or constraints."; if (err.responseText) { try { const errorData = JSON.parse(err.responseText); if (errorData.error && errorData.error.message) { msg = errorData.error.message; // Similar coordinate matching for optimization errors const match = msg.match(/coordinate (\d+):/i); if (match) { const coordIdx = parseInt(match[1]); // In optimizeDay, coordinte 0 is startItem, others are jobs const item = (coordIdx === 0) ? startItem : items[coordIdx]; if (item) { $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${dayIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${(coordIdx === 0) ? 0 : coordIdx}"]`).addClass('tp-item-error'); msg = `Point "${item.title}" is not routable.`; } } } } catch (e) { } } alert(msg); }); }, zoomToMapItem: function (type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { if (!this.map || !this.markerLayer) return; let targetMarker = null; this.markerLayer.eachLayer((layer) => { if (layer.tpType === type && layer.tpBinId === binIdOrIdx && layer.tpIdx === idx) { targetMarker = layer; } }); if (targetMarker) { const currentZoom = this.map.getZoom(); const targetZoom = Math.max(15, currentZoom); this.map.setView(targetMarker.getLatLng(), targetZoom); targetMarker.openPopup(); } }, highlightListItem: function (type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { let $targetItem; if (type === 'bucket') { $targetItem = $(`.tp-bucket-bin[data-bucket-id="${binIdOrIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${idx}"]`); } else { $targetItem = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${binIdOrIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${idx}"]`); } if ($targetItem.length && $('.tp-body').length) { const $container = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $targetItem.offset().top - $container.offset().top + $container.scrollTop(); $container.stop().animate({ scrollTop: scrollTop - 30 }, 300); $targetItem.css({ 'transition': 'background 0.3s, border-color 0.3s', 'background': '#fff9c4', 'border-color': '#fbc02d' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetItem.css({ 'transition': 'background 0.8s, border-color 0.8s', 'background': '', 'border-color': '' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetItem.css('transition', ''); }, 800); }, 1500); } }, highlightDay: function (targetIdx, type = 'day') { if (!this.map) return; const setOpacity = (layer) => { let isMatch; if (targetIdx === null) { isMatch = true; } else if (type === 'bucket') { isMatch = (layer.tpBinId === targetIdx && layer.tpType === 'bucket'); } else { isMatch = (layer.tpBinId === targetIdx && layer.tpType === 'day'); } const op = isMatch ? 1 : 0.2; const fillOp = isMatch ? 0.9 : 0.2; if (layer.setOpacity) { layer.setOpacity(op); if (isMatch) layer.setZIndexOffset(1000); else layer.setZIndexOffset(0); } else if (layer.setStyle) { layer.setStyle({ opacity: op, fillOpacity: fillOp }); if (isMatch && layer.bringToFront) layer.bringToFront(); } }; if (this.markerLayer) this.markerLayer.eachLayer(setOpacity); if (this.routeLayer) this.routeLayer.eachLayer(setOpacity); $('.tp-section-title').css({ 'background': '', 'transition': '' }); if (targetIdx === null) return; let $targetHeader; if (type === 'bucket') { $targetHeader = $(`.tp-bucket-bin[data-bucket-id="${targetIdx}"]`).prev('.tp-section-title'); } else { $targetHeader = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${targetIdx}"]`).prev('.tp-section-title'); } if ($targetHeader.length && $('.tp-body').length) { const $container = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $targetHeader.offset().top - $container.offset().top + $container.scrollTop(); $container.stop().animate({ scrollTop: scrollTop - 10 }, 300); $targetHeader.css({ 'background': '#fff9c4', 'transition': 'background 0.5s' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetHeader.css('background', ''); }, 1500); } }, fetchWikidata: function (wdId, sourcePage, onDone) { const lang = mw.config.get('wgContentLanguage') || 'en'; return $.ajax({ url: 'https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php', data: { action: 'wbgetentities', ids: wdId, props: 'labels|claims', languages: lang, format: 'json', origin: '*' }, dataType: 'json' }).then((data) => { const entity = data.entities ? data.entities[wdId] : null; if (!entity || entity.missing) throw new Error("Wikidata item not found."); // 1. Extract Title (Localized label -> First label -> Fallback) let title = sourcePage ? sourcePage.replace(/_/g, ' ') : wdId; if (entity.labels && entity.labels[lang]) { title = entity.labels[lang].value; } else { const keys = Object.keys(entity.labels || {}); if (keys.length > 0) title = entity.labels[keys[0]].value; } // 2. Extract Coordinates (P625) let lat = 0, lon = 0; const p625 = entity.claims && entity.claims.P625; if (p625 && p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue) { lat = p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value.latitude; lon = p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value.longitude; } onDone({ title, lat, lon, wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: sourcePage || "", note: "" }); }); }, }; function createLauncherIcon(onClickHandler) { // 1. Prevent Duplicates if ($('.tp-launcher-icon').length) return; // 2. Create Icon Element factory const iconFactory = () => $('<a>') .addClass('tp-launcher-icon') .attr('href', '#') .attr('title', 'Open Trip Planner') .text('🎒') .css({ 'cursor': 'pointer', 'font-size': '1.2em', 'text-decoration': 'none', 'filter': 'grayscale(0.8) contrast(1) brightness(1.4)' }) .on('click', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); onClickHandler(e, $(this)); }); // 4. Insert into DOM (Mobile vs Desktop) if (mw.config.get('skin') === 'minerva') { const $icon = iconFactory().css({ 'font-size': '1.5em', 'margin': '0 12px', 'display': 'flex', 'align-items': 'center' }); if ($('#pt-notifications-alert').length == 0) { // Mobile $("#page-actions-overflow").before($("<li id=\"tp-launcher-li\" class=\"page-actions-menu__list-item\"></li>").append($icon)) } else { $('#pt-notifications-alert').parent().before($icon); } } else { $('#pt-notifications-alert').before(iconFactory()); const $sticky = $('.vector-sticky-header-icons'); if ($sticky.length) { $sticky.prepend(iconFactory().css('margin-right', '10px')); } } } // lightweight bootstrap $(function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { // Auto-load in full mode mw.loader.using([ 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification', 'ext.kartographer.box', 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows' ]).then(() => { TripPlanner.init(); }); } else { // Create the initial "Lazy" icon for widget mode createLauncherIcon(function (e, $btn) { // Visual feedback $btn.text('⏳').css('cursor', 'wait'); // Load dependencies on demand mw.loader.using([ 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification', 'ext.kartographer.box', 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows' ]).then(() => { // Remove the bootstrap icon/wrapper // (TripPlanner.drawUI will handle creating the actual widget UI) $('#tp-launcher-li').remove(); $('.tp-launcher-icon').remove(); // Initialize App TripPlanner.init(); }); }); } }); }(mediaWiki, jQuery)); 018jqkj6kkh5iadwetnwgxwwo560dxt 5298505 5298504 2026-06-25T20:31:50Z Andree.sk 2166688 +dragging of the POIs 5298505 javascript text/javascript /** * Wikivoyage Trip Planner Gadget * ============================== * A client-side tool for planning trips using Wikivoyage listings. * Allows users to drag listings from articles into custom buckets or days, * organize them, view them on a map, and calculate/optimize routes. * * CORE FEATURES: * ------------------ * 1. UI Modes: Dual-mode application: * - Mini Widget Mode: A floating, minimizable widget suitable for reading articles. * - Full View Mode: A split-screen full-page interface with a persistent map, * routing, and bucket controls. * 2. Data Source & Drag-and-Drop: * - Drag-and-drop POIs between day/bucket bins. * - Parses data-lat, data-lon, and wikidata attributes from vcards. * - Allows wikidata and ListingBrowser as sources too * 3. Multi-Tab Synchronization: * - Uses BroadcastChannel to sync trip plans in real-time across all open tabs. * - Protects local tab UI states (minimized/expanded) during synchronization events. * 4. Persistence: Dual-mode storage: * - Anonymous: Uses browser LocalStorage. * - Logged-in: Uses MediaWiki User Options API ('userjs-wv-trip-planner-*'). * - Auto-merge: Merges local data into account data upon login. * 5. Mapping: Interactive markers (colored by day) with popup image loading from Wikidata. * 6. Routing: Integrated with OpenRouteService (ORS) API. * - Calculates travel time/distance between POIs. * - Optimizes day itinerary (TSP) using ORS Optimization API. * - Draws colored route polylines on the map. * 7. I/O: Import/Export support for JSON, GPX, WikiText ({{listing}}), and GeoJSON. * * EXTERNAL SERVICES: * ------------------ * 1. OpenRouteService (api.openrouteservice.org): Used for routing and optimization. * Requires a user-provided API Key (stored in settings). * 2. Wikidata API: Used to fetch thumbnail images for map popups. * 3. Wikimedia Maps: Tile server for the Leaflet map. * * CODE STRUCTURE (Singleton 'TripPlanner'): * ----------------------------------------- * - Config: * - storageKey/optionKey: Persistence identifiers. * - colors: Palette for different days. * * - Lifecycle: * - init(): Entry point after the launcher icon is clicked or auto-run in Full Mode. * - load()/save(): Handles LocalStorage vs API serialization logic. * * - UI Generation: * - injectStyles(): CSS definitions (Widget, Overlays, Map, Split-Screen). * - drawUI(): Renders the main widget container and sets up layout modes. * - renderBins(): Renders the list of items (Custom Buckets + Days). * - toggleMap(): Lazy-loads Leaflet libraries and renders map container. * * - Logic & Handlers: * - setupListeners(): Central event delegation (Clicks, Drag&Drop, Changes). * - calculateRoutes(): Orchestrates ORS API calls for routing. * - optimizeDay(): Orchestrates ORS API calls for ordering. * - exportData(): Generates file blobs for download. * * - Map Helpers: * - updateMapMarkers(): Draws L.marker/L.divIcon based on current data. * - highlightDay(): Manages opacity/visibility of specific day layers. * * DEPENDENCIES: * ------------- * - MediaWiki Modules: 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification'. * - OOJS UI: 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows'. * - Kartographer: 'ext.kartographer.box' for Leaflet (L) access. * - jQuery ($). */ (function (mw, $) { 'use strict'; if (mw.config.get('wgAction') !== 'view') return; let BucketEditDialog; function initOOUI() { if (BucketEditDialog) return; BucketEditDialog = function (config) { BucketEditDialog.super.call(this, config); }; OO.inheritClass(BucketEditDialog, OO.ui.ProcessDialog); BucketEditDialog.static.name = 'bucketEditDialog'; BucketEditDialog.static.title = 'Edit Bucket'; BucketEditDialog.static.actions = [ { action: 'save', label: 'Save', flags: ['primary', 'progressive'] }, { label: 'Cancel', flags: 'safe' } ]; BucketEditDialog.prototype.initialize = function () { BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.initialize.call(this); this.content = new OO.ui.PanelLayout({ padded: true, expanded: false }); this.nameInput = new OO.ui.TextInputWidget({ placeholder: 'Enter bucket name (e.g. food, sleep)' }); this.nameField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.nameInput, { label: 'Bucket Name', align: 'top' }); this.customIconInput = new OO.ui.TextInputWidget({ maxLength: 2 }); const presetIcons = ['🍴', '🏨', '📷', '🛍️', '📦', '🗺️', '🚶', '📍', '☕', '🍺', '⛺', '🏛️', '🎡', '🛒', '💳', '🌲']; const buttonItems = presetIcons.map(function (icon) { return new OO.ui.ButtonOptionWidget({ data: icon, label: icon, title: icon }); }); this.presetSelect = new OO.ui.ButtonSelectWidget({ items: buttonItems }); const thiss = this; this.presetSelect.on('select', function (item) { if (item) { thiss.customIconInput.setValue(item.getData()); } }); this.customIconInput.on('change', function (value) { if (presetIcons.indexOf(value) === -1) { thiss.presetSelect.selectItem(null); } else { const opt = thiss.presetSelect.findItemFromData(value); if (opt) { thiss.presetSelect.selectItem(opt); } } }); this.nameInput.on('change', function (value) { thiss.actions.setAbilities({ save: !!value.trim() }); }); this.presetField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.presetSelect, { label: 'Choose a Predefined Icon', align: 'top' }); this.customIconField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.customIconInput, { label: 'Icon (emoji or character)', align: 'top' }); this.fieldset = new OO.ui.FieldsetLayout(); this.fieldset.addItems([this.nameField, this.presetField, this.customIconField]); this.content.$element.append(this.fieldset.$element); this.$body.append(this.content.$element); }; BucketEditDialog.prototype.getSetupProcess = function (data) { data = data || {}; return BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.getSetupProcess.call(this, data) .next(function () { this.title.setLabel(data.title || 'Edit Bucket'); this.nameInput.setValue(data.name || ''); this.customIconInput.setValue(data.icon || '🗂️'); this.actions.setAbilities({ save: !!(data.name || '').trim() }); const val = data.icon || '🗂️'; const presetIcons = ['🍴', '🏨', '📷', '🛍️', '📦', '🗺️', '🚶', '📍', '☕', '🍺', '⛺', '🏛️', '🎡', '🛒', '💳', '🌲']; if (presetIcons.indexOf(val) !== -1) { const opt = this.presetSelect.findItemFromData(val); if (opt) { this.presetSelect.selectItem(opt); } } else { this.presetSelect.selectItem(null); } this.onSave = data.onSave; }, this); }; BucketEditDialog.prototype.getActionProcess = function (action) { if (action === 'save') { const name = this.nameInput.getValue().trim(); const icon = this.customIconInput.getValue().trim(); if (!name) { return new OO.ui.Process(function () { alert('Please enter a name for the bucket.'); }); } const thiss = this; return new OO.ui.Process(function () { if (thiss.onSave) { thiss.onSave(name, icon || '🗂️'); } thiss.close({ action: action }); }); } return BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.getActionProcess.call(this, action); }; } const TripPlanner = { storageKey: 'wv-trip-planner', optionKey: 'userjs-wv-trip-planner', saveTimer: null, syncTimer: null, map: null, markerLayer: null, localTripIndex: null, // Isolated tab-local trip selection data: { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [] }, colors: ['#d33', '#36c', '#2a7b39', '#f60', '#72309d', '#e2127a', '#00af89'], init: function () { if ($('.vcard').length === 0 && $('.listing').length > 0) { console.warn("TripPlanner: vcard class not found, listings might be un-draggable."); } this.load(); if (this.data.trips.length === 0) this.createNewTrip("My First Trip"); this.data.closed = false; this.data.minimized = false; this.cachedRoutes = {} this.injectStyles(); this.initMap(); // Ensure map container and Leaflet exist this.setupListeners(); this.makeListingsDraggable(); this.drawUI(); this.syncChannel = window.BroadcastChannel ? new BroadcastChannel('wv-trip-planner-sync') : null; if (this.syncChannel) { this.syncChannel.onmessage = (msg) => { if (msg.data.type === 'sync') { // Preserve local UI state flags const wasClosed = this.data.closed; const wasMinimized = this.data.minimized; this.data = msg.data.data; this.data.closed = wasClosed; this.data.minimized = wasMinimized; const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.renderTripOptions(); this.renderBins(); this.updateMapMarkers(); // Sync topbar inputs without full redraw const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); $('#tp-rename-input').val(trip.name); $('#tp-start-date').val(trip.startDate); $('#tp-length').val(trip.length); } else { this.drawUI(); } } }; } }, load: function () { const defaults = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [], orsKey: '' }; // 1. Read Local Storage (Used for Anon, or for merging after login) const localStr = localStorage.getItem(this.storageKey); let localData = null; if (localStr) { try { localData = $.extend({}, defaults, JSON.parse(localStr)); } catch (e) { console.error("Local load error", e); } } if (mw.user.isAnon()) { // --- CASE 1: Anonymous User -> Use Local Storage --- if (localData) this.data = localData; } else { // --- CASE 2: Logged In -> Use Account Options --- const remoteStr = mw.user.options.get(this.optionKey); let remoteData = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [] }; if (remoteStr) { try { $.extend(remoteData, JSON.parse(remoteStr)); } catch (e) { console.error("Remote load error", e); } } // --- MERGE LOGIC: If local data exists, merge it into account and clear local --- if (localData && localData.trips && localData.trips.length > 0) { // Avoid merging empty default trips if possible const validLocalTrips = localData.trips.filter(t => { const hasItemsInBuckets = t.buckets ? t.buckets.some(b => b.items.length > 0) : (t.backlog && t.backlog.length > 0); return hasItemsInBuckets || t.days.some(d => d.items.length > 0) || t.name !== "My First Trip"; }); if (validLocalTrips.length > 0) { remoteData.trips = remoteData.trips.concat(validLocalTrips); // Trigger immediate save to server to persist the merge this.saveDataToApi(remoteData); } // Clear local storage so we don't merge again next reload localStorage.removeItem(this.storageKey); } this.data = remoteData; if (!this.data.closed) this.data.closed = false; } this.migrateData(); }, migrateData: function () { if (!this.data || !this.data.trips) return; this.data.trips.forEach(trip => { if (!trip.buckets) { trip.buckets = [ { id: "backlog", name: "Backlog", icon: "📦", items: trip.backlog || [] } ]; } delete trip.backlog; // Ensure every bucket has an id, name, icon, items trip.buckets.forEach(b => { if (!b.id) b.id = 'bucket_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9); if (!b.icon) b.icon = '📦'; if (!b.items) b.items = []; }); }); }, save: function () { const dataToSave = $.extend(true, {}, this.data); // cleanup non-persistent flags delete dataToSave.closed; delete dataToSave.minimized; if (dataToSave.trips) { dataToSave.trips.forEach(trip => { delete trip.backlog; }); } // 1. Sync other tabs (100ms delay) this.broadcastSync(dataToSave); if (mw.user.isAnon()) { // Anon: Save directly to LocalStorage localStorage.setItem(this.storageKey, JSON.stringify(dataToSave)); } else { // Logged In: Save to API (Debounced 2s) clearTimeout(this.saveTimer); this.saveTimer = setTimeout(() => { this.saveDataToApi(dataToSave); }, 2000); } }, broadcastSync: function (data) { if (!this.syncChannel) return; clearTimeout(this.syncTimer); this.syncTimer = setTimeout(() => { this.syncChannel.postMessage({ type: 'sync', data: data }); }, 100); }, saveDataToApi: function (dataToSave) { new mw.Api().saveOption(this.optionKey, JSON.stringify(dataToSave)) .fail(function (code, data) { console.error("TripPlanner Sync Error", code, data); }); }, getActiveTrip: function () { const idx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; return this.data.trips[idx] || this.data.trips[0]; }, injectStyles: function () { mw.util.addCSS(` /* --- DESKTOP / DEFAULT STYLES --- */ #tp-widget { position: fixed; bottom: 10px; right: 10px; width: 360px; max-width: 95vw; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-radius: 8px; z-index: 2000; box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); font-family: sans-serif; display: flex; flex-direction: column; box-sizing: border-box; } #tp-widget * { box-sizing: border-box; } .tp-header { background: #36c; color: white; padding: 10px; border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0; cursor: pointer; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; } .tp-content { position: relative; display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 100%; } .tp-settings { padding: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #eee); background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #f8f9fa); font-size: 0.85em; } .tp-settings-row { display: flex; gap: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; align-items: center; } .tp-body { padding: 10px; max-height: 400px; overflow-y: auto; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); flex-grow: 1; } .tp-section-title { font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; color: var(--color-subtle, #72777d); text-transform: uppercase; margin: 12px 0 5px; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .tp-bin { border: 1px solid #c8ccd1; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px; margin-bottom: 10px; background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #fdfdfd); min-height: 35px; } .tp-bin.drag-over { background: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #eaf3ff); border: 2px solid #36c; } .tp-item { background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border: 1px solid #eaecf0; padding: 6px; margin: 4px 0; font-size: 0.85em; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; cursor: grab; align-items: center; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.05); } .tp-item:hover { border-color: var(--border-color-progressive, #36c); } .tp-controls { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr; gap: 4px; padding: 8px; border-top: 1px solid #eee; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); } /* Overlays */ #tp-menu-overlay, #tp-edit-form, #tp-settings-overlay, #tp-route-overlay { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px; border-radius: 0 0 8px 8px; } .tp-menu-btn { display: block; width: 100%; text-align: left; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ccc; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); margin-bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; border-radius: 4px; font-size: 0.85em; } .tp-menu-btn:hover { background: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #f0f4ff); border-color: #36c; color: #36c; } .tp-form-row { margin-bottom: 8px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-size: 0.8em; } .tp-form-row input, .tp-form-row textarea { padding: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #ccc); background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border-radius: 3px; } /* Map & Helpers */ #tp-map-container { position: fixed; top: 60px; left: 60px; right: 420px; bottom: 60px; background: var(--background-color-base, white); border: 2px solid #36c; border-radius: 8px; z-index: 1999; display: none; box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); } #tp-map-canvas { width: 100%; height: 100%; } .tp-btn-move, .tp-btn-edit { cursor: pointer; color: var(--color-progressive, #36c); font-size: 10px; border: 1px solid #36c; padding: 1px 4px; border-radius: 3px; } .tp-remove { color: var(--color-destructive, #d33); cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; padding: 0 5px; } .listing-draggable-proxy { cursor: move !important; } .tp-in-trip::before { content: "✅ "; } .tp-route-stats { font-size: 10px; color: var(--color-subtle, #555); background: var(--background-color-neutral-subtle, #f0f0f0); text-align: center; padding: 2px; margin: 2px 10px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px dashed #ccc; } .tp-item-error { border: 2px solid #d33 !important; background: #fff1f0 !important; } .tp-error-msg { font-size: 0.8em; color: #d33; font-style: italic; margin-top: 2px; } .tp-setting-block { margin-bottom: 12px; } .tp-setting-block label { display: block; font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.8em; color: var(--color-subtle, #555); margin-bottom: 3px; } .tp-setting-block input { width: 100%; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 4px; } .tp-divider { border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #eee); margin: 10px 0; } #tp-minimized-icon { position: fixed; bottom: 20px; right: 20px; width: 48px; height: 48px; background: #36c; color: white; border-radius: 50%; text-align: center; line-height: 48px; font-size: 24px; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); cursor: pointer; z-index: 2000; transition: transform 0.1s; user-select: none; } #tp-minimized-icon:hover { transform: scale(1.1); background: #2a5ab0; } #tp-widget .mw-ui-button { font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; padding: 4px 8px; min-height: 24px; line-height: 1.4; width: 100%; } #tp-new-trip, #tp-open-settings { padding: 3px 8px; min-width: auto; width: auto !important; } /* MOBILE / TOUCHSCREEN OPTIMIZATIONS */ @media (max-width: 1200px) and (pointer: coarse) { /*#tp-widget { width: 100% !important; left: 0 !important; right: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0 !important; max-height: 80vh; transition: transform 0.3s; z-index: 2000; box-shadow: 0 -2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.2) !important; } #tp-body { max-height: 15em; } */ /* 2. FULLSCREEN MAP MODE */ /* Hide widget when map is open to give full screen to map */ /* body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-widget { display: none !important; } */ /* Map covers 100% of viewport */ body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-map-container { display: block !important; position: fixed !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; border: none !important; border-radius: 0 !important; z-index: 2001 !important; /* Above everything */ } /* Large, Touch-Friendly Close Button */ body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-map-hide { display: block !important; top: 15px !important; right: 15px !important; background: white !important; color: #333 !important; padding: 10px 20px !important; /* Larger touch target */ border-radius: 4px !important; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.3) !important; font-weight: bold !important; font-size: 16px !important; border: 1px solid #ccc !important; } /* 3. Mobile "Tap to Add" Button */ .tp-mobile-add { display: inline-block; padding: 6px 12px; background: #eaf3ff; color: #36c; border: 1px solid #36c; border-radius: 16px; margin: 4px 0 4px 8px; font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: nowrap; } .tp-mobile-add:active { background: #36c; color: white; } } /* --- FULL MODE / SPLIT SCREEN STYLES --- */ .tp-full-app { display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 80vh; min-height: 600px; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); font-family: sans-serif; } .tp-full-app * { box-sizing: border-box; } .tp-full-topbar { display: flex; gap: 10px; align-items: center; padding: 10px 15px; background: #f8f9fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; flex-wrap: wrap; } .tp-full-topbar .tp-setting-block { margin-bottom: 0; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 5px; } .tp-full-topbar .tp-setting-block label { margin-bottom: 0; } .tp-full-split { display: flex; flex-grow: 1; overflow: hidden; position: relative; } .tp-full-sidebar { flex-shrink: 0; max-width: 360px; overflow-y: auto; padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid #eee; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); } @media (max-width: 720px) { .tp-full-app { height: auto; min-height: auto; } .tp-full-split { flex-direction: column; overflow: visible; } .tp-full-sidebar { max-width: 100%; height: 350px; border-right: none; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; } .tp-full-main { height: 80vh; min-height: 500px; flex-grow: 1; position: relative; } } .tp-full-main { flex-grow: 1; position: relative; } .tp-full-main #tp-map-container { /* Override fixed positioning when inside full mode */ position: absolute !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; right: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; border: none !important; border-radius: 0 !important; box-shadow: none !important; z-index: 10 !important; display: block !important; } .tp-full-main #tp-map-hide { display: none !important; /* Hide map close button in full mode */ } `); }, drawUI: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; // 1. Handle "Closed" state (Launcher in user menu) if (this.data.closed && !isFullMode) { $('#tp-widget, #tp-minimized-icon').remove(); $('#tp-map-container').hide().detach().appendTo('body'); this.drawLauncher(); return; } else { $('.tp-launcher-icon, #tp-launcher-li').remove(); $('#tp-launcher').remove(); } // 2. Handle "Minimized" state (Floating Icon) if (this.data.minimized && !isFullMode) { $('#tp-widget').remove(); $('#tp-map-container').hide().detach().appendTo('body'); $('body').append(`<div id="tp-minimized-icon" title="Expand Trip Planner">🎒</div>`); return; } // 3. Handle "Open" state $('#tp-widget, #tp-minimized-icon').remove(); // Detach map container before resetting app const $mapContainer = $('#tp-map-container').detach(); if (isFullMode) { $('#trip-planner-app').empty(); } const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); if (this.lastActiveTrip && this.lastActiveTrip !== trip) { if (this.routeLayer) { this.routeLayer.clearLayers(); } this.cachedRoutes = {}; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); } this.lastActiveTrip = trip; let dayOptions = ""; trip.days.forEach((d, i) => { dayOptions += `<option value="${i}">Day ${i + 1}</option>`; }); const safeName = mw.html.escape(trip.name); const safeKey = mw.html.escape(this.data.orsKey || ''); const helpUrl = mw.util.getUrl('Wikivoyage:Trip_Planner'); const fullModeUrl = mw.util.getUrl('Trip Planner'); let $widget; if (isFullMode) { $widget = $(` <div class="tp-full-app"> <div class="tp-full-topbar"> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="margin-right:15px"> <label>Trip:</label> <select id="tp-select-trip" style="padding:4px; max-width:150px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px;"></select> <button id="tp-new-trip" class="mw-ui-button" title="New Trip" style="padding:3px 8px; min-width:auto">＋</button> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="flex-grow:1; flex-basis: 250px"> <label>Name:</label> <input type="text" id="tp-rename-input" value="${safeName}"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Start:</label> <input type="date" id="tp-start-date" value="${trip.startDate}" style="width:130px"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="margin-right:15px"> <label>Days:</label> <input type="number" id="tp-length" value="${trip.length}" min="1" style="width:60px"> </div> <div> <button id="tp-btn-route" class="mw-ui-button">🚗 Route</button> <button id="tp-btn-export" class="mw-ui-button">💾 Save...</button> <button id="tp-import" class="mw-ui-button">📂 Load</button> <button id="tp-del-trip" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-destructive mw-ui-quiet" title="Delete Trip" style="padding:4px 8px; min-width:auto; margin-left:auto;">🗑️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-full-split"> <div class="tp-full-sidebar tp-body" style="max-height:none"> <div class="tp-section-title" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc; padding-bottom: 4px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span>🗂️ Buckets</span> <div> <span class="tp-btn-edit" id="tp-add-bucket" title="Add custom bucket">＋ Bucket</span> </div> </div> <div id="tp-buckets-container"></div> <div id="tp-days-container"></div> </div> <div class="tp-full-main" id="tp-map-container-wrapper"> </div> </div> <div id="tp-menu-overlay" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b id="tp-menu-title">Menu</b> <div id="tp-menu-content" style="margin-top:10px; flex-grow:1; overflow-y:auto"></div> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-quiet" id="tp-menu-close">Cancel</button> </div> <div id="tp-edit-form" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b id="tp-form-title">Edit Entry</b> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Title</label><input type="text" id="f-title"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lat</label><input type="text" id="f-lat"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lon</label><input type="text" id="f-lon"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"> <label>Wikidata</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <input type="text" id="f-wikidata" style="flex-grow:1" placeholder="e.g. Q42"> <button id="f-fetch-wd" class="mw-ui-button" style="min-width:auto; padding:0 8px" title="Fetch Title & Coordinates">⬆️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Note</label><textarea id="f-note"></textarea></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Source Page</label><input type="text" id="f-source" placeholder="e.g. Rome"></div> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" id="f-save">Save</button> <button class="mw-ui-button" id="f-cancel">Cancel</button> </div> </div> <div id="tp-route-overlay" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b style="margin-bottom:10px; display:block">Route Calculator</b> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>ORS API Key <a href="https://openrouteservice.org/dev/#/signup" target="_blank" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:0.9em">(Get Free Key)</a></label> <input type="text" id="tp-ors-key" placeholder="Paste key here..." value="${safeKey}"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Travel Mode</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <select id="tp-route-profile" style="flex: 1; padding:5px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px"> <option value="foot-walking">🚶 Walking</option> <option value="driving-car">🚗 Driving (Car)</option> </select> <button id="tp-run-route" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" style="flex:1">Calculate Routes</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-divider"></div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Optimize Day Order</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <select id="tp-opt-day" style="flex:1; padding:5px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px"> ${dayOptions} </select> <button id="tp-run-opt" class="mw-ui-button" style="flex:1">Optimize</button> </div> <div style="font-size:0.75em; color:#666; margin-top:2px">Keeps 1st item fixed, reorders the rest.</div> </div> <button id="tp-close-route" class="mw-ui-button" style="margin-top:auto; width:100%">Close</button> </div> </div> `); $('#trip-planner-app').append($widget); // Move map container into its Full Mode wrapper $mapContainer.appendTo($widget.find('#tp-map-container-wrapper')).show(); // Refresh map layout immediately as it might have been moved/resized if (this.map) { setTimeout(() => { this.map.invalidateSize(); this.updateMapMarkers(true); // pass true to fit bounds }, 200); // slightly longer timeout to ensure DOM catch-up } } else { $widget = $(` <div id="tp-widget"> <div class="tp-header"> <span id="tp-toggle" style="flex-grow:1">🎒 Trip Planner</span> <span> <a href="${helpUrl}" target="_blank" style="color:white; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; cursor:pointer;" title="Help / Documentation">?</a> <span id="tp-toggle-btn" style="cursor:pointer; margin-left:12px; font-weight:bold" title="Minimize to Icon">－</span> <span id="tp-close-btn" style="cursor:pointer; margin-left:12px; font-weight:bold" title="Close">✕</span> </span> </div> <div class="tp-content" style="display: block; position:relative"> <div id="tp-menu-overlay"> <b id="tp-menu-title">Menu</b> <div id="tp-menu-content" style="margin-top:10px; flex-grow:1; overflow-y:auto"></div> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-quiet" id="tp-menu-close">Cancel</button> </div> <div id="tp-edit-form"> <b id="tp-form-title">Edit Entry</b> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Title</label><input type="text" id="f-title"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lat</label><input type="text" id="f-lat"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lon</label><input type="text" id="f-lon"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"> <label>Wikidata</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <input type="text" id="f-wikidata" style="flex-grow:1" placeholder="e.g. Q42"> <button id="f-fetch-wd" class="mw-ui-button" style="min-width:auto; padding:0 8px" title="Fetch Title & Coordinates">⬆️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Note</label><textarea id="f-note"></textarea></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Source Page</label><input type="text" id="f-source" placeholder="e.g. Rome"></div> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" id="f-save">Save</button> <button class="mw-ui-button" id="f-cancel">Cancel</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-settings"> <div class="tp-settings-row"> <select id="tp-select-trip" style="flex-grow:1"></select> </div> </div> <div class="tp-body"> <div id="tp-buckets-container"></div> <div id="tp-days-container"></div> </div> <div class="tp-controls" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr;"> <a href="${fullModeUrl}" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" style="text-align:center; text-decoration:none; display:block">🗺️ Open Full Trip Planner</a> </div> </div> <input type="file" id="tp-file-input" style="display:none" accept=".json"> </div> `); $('body').append($widget); // Keep map detached/hidden in Widget Mode $mapContainer.hide().appendTo('body'); } if ($('#tp-file-input').length === 0) { $('body').append('<input type="file" id="tp-file-input" style="display:none" accept=".json">'); } this.renderTripOptions(); this.renderBins(); if (!isFullMode) { $('body').removeClass('tp-mobile-map-open'); } if (isFullMode && this.map) { this.updateMapMarkers(); } this.updatePageIndicators(); this.updateWidgetButtonsVisibility(); }, updateWidgetButtonsVisibility: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (!isFullMode) { // Hide day action buttons that are injected constantly in renderBins $('#tp-widget .tp-btn-move').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-edit-bucket').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-remove-bucket').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-add-custom-btn').hide(); } }, drawLauncher: function () { createLauncherIcon(() => { this.data.closed = false; this.saveAndRefresh(); }); }, renderTripOptions: function () { const $select = $('#tp-select-trip').empty(); const currentIdx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; this.data.trips.forEach((t, i) => $select.append($('<option>', { value: i, text: t.name, selected: i === currentIdx }))); }, renderBins: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); // Render all buckets const $bucketsContainer = $('#tp-buckets-container').empty(); trip.buckets.forEach(b => { const isBacklog = b.id === 'backlog'; const $bucketBlock = $(` <div class="tp-section-title tp-bucket-header" data-bucket-id="${b.id}"> <span class="tp-bucket-title-text" style="cursor: pointer;" title="Click to highlight on map, double-click to edit/rename">${b.icon} ${b.name}</span> <div> ${isFullMode ? ` <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-add-custom-btn" data-bucket-id="${b.id}">＋ POI</span> <span class="tp-btn-move" data-move-type="bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}">Move</span> <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-edit-bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Edit/Rename Bucket">✏️</span> ${!isBacklog ? `<span class="tp-remove tp-remove-bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Delete Bucket" style="font-weight:bold; margin-left:5px">×</span>` : ''} ` : ` <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-add-article-btn" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Add current article as destination">＋ Article</span> `} </div> </div> <div class="tp-bin tp-bucket-bin" data-type="bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}"></div> `); b.items.forEach((item, idx) => { $bucketBlock.filter('.tp-bucket-bin').append(this.createItemHTML(item, 'bucket', idx, b.id)); }); $bucketsContainer.append($bucketBlock); }); // Render days const $daysContainer = $('#tp-days-container').empty(); trip.days.forEach((day, dIdx) => { const dayDate = new Date(trip.startDate); dayDate.setDate(dayDate.getDate() + dIdx); const $dayBlock = $(` <div class="tp-section-title" style="color:${this.colors[dIdx % this.colors.length]}"> Day ${dIdx + 1} (${dayDate.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })}) ${isFullMode ? `<span class="tp-btn-move" data-move-type="day" data-day-idx="${dIdx}">Move</span>` : ''} </div> <div class="tp-bin tp-day-bin" data-type="day" data-day-idx="${dIdx}"></div> `); day.items.forEach((item, iIdx) => { $dayBlock.filter('.tp-day-bin').append(this.createItemHTML(item, 'day', iIdx, dIdx)); }); $daysContainer.append($dayBlock); }); if (isFullMode) this.updateMapMarkers(); this.updatePageIndicators(); this.updateWidgetButtonsVisibility(); }, updatePageIndicators: function () { const thiss = this; const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); const allItems = [...trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items), ...trip.days.flatMap(d => d.items)]; // Create Sets for fast lookup (Wikidata ID or Lat,Lon string) const wdSet = new Set(allItems.map(i => i.wikidata).filter(Boolean)); const locSet = new Set(allItems.map(i => i.lat + "," + i.lon)); $('.vcard').each(function () { const $l = $(this); // Extract same data as draggable logic const lat = $l.attr('data-lat') || $l.find('[data-lat]').attr('data-lat'); const lon = $l.attr('data-lon') || $l.find('[data-lon]').attr('data-lon'); const wdId = $l.find('[id]').filter(function () { return /^Q\d+$/.test(this.id); }).attr('id'); // Check if this listing is in our data const isPresent = (wdId && wdSet.has(wdId)) || (lat && lon && locSet.has(thiss.parseCoordinate(lat) + "," + thiss.parseCoordinate(lon))); if (isPresent) $l.addClass('tp-in-trip'); else $l.removeClass('tp-in-trip'); }); }, createItemHTML: function (item, type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { const safeTitle = mw.html.escape(item.title); const safeNote = item.note ? mw.html.escape(item.note) : ''; const url = item.sourcePage ? mw.util.getUrl(item.sourcePage) + (item.wikidata ? '#' + item.wikidata : '') : '#'; const orderHtml = (type === 'day') ? `<span style="color:#555; margin-right:6px; min-width:15px;">${idx + 1}.</span>` : ''; return $(` <div class="tp-item" draggable="true" data-type="${type}" data-idx="${idx}" data-bin-id="${binIdOrIdx}"> ${orderHtml} <div style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; overflow:hidden; flex-grow:1; margin-right:5px"> <span style="overflow:hidden; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap; font-weight:bold" title="${safeTitle}">${safeTitle}</span> ${safeNote ? `<span style="font-size:0.75em; color:#666; overflow:hidden; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap">${safeNote}</span>` : ''} </div> <span style="display:flex; align-items:center; flex-shrink:0"> <span class="tp-btn-edit item-edit-trigger" style="border:none; padding:0 3px; font-size:1.1em">✏️</span> ${item.sourcePage ? `<a href="${url}" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; margin:0 3px">🔗</a>` : ''} <span class="tp-remove">×</span> </span> </div> `); }, showMenu: function (title, options) { $('#tp-menu-title').text(title); const $cont = $('#tp-menu-content').empty(); options.forEach(opt => { if (opt.header) { $cont.append(` <div style=" font-weight: bold; color: #555; margin: 12px 0 4px 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; padding-bottom: 2px; font-size: 0.9em; ">${mw.html.escape(opt.header)}</div> `); return; } // Standard Buttons const $btn = $(`<button class="tp-menu-btn">${opt.label}</button>`); if (opt.disabled) { $btn.prop('disabled', true).css({ opacity: 0.6, cursor: 'not-allowed', background: '#f8f8f8', color: '#888' }); if (opt.helpText) { $btn.append(`<div style="font-size:0.8em; font-style:italic; margin-top:2px">${opt.helpText}</div>`); } } else { $btn.on('click', () => { opt.action(); $('#tp-menu-overlay').hide(); }); } $cont.append($btn); }); $('#tp-menu-overlay').css('display', 'flex'); }, exportData: function (format) { const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); let content = "", mime = "text/plain", ext = "txt"; switch (format) { case 'trip': content = JSON.stringify(trip, null, 2); mime = "application/json"; ext = "json"; break; case 'all': const cleanData = { trips: this.data.trips }; content = JSON.stringify(cleanData, null, 2); mime = "application/json"; ext = "json"; break; case 'gpx': content = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><gpx version="1.1" creator="WVPlanner">`; [...trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items), ...trip.days.flatMap(d => d.items)].forEach(i => { if (i.lat) content += `<wpt lat="${i.lat}" lon="${i.lon}"><name>${i.title}</name></wpt>`; }); content += `</gpx>`; mime = "application/gpx+xml"; ext = "gpx"; break; case 'wiki': trip.days.forEach((d, idx) => { content += `\n=== Day ${idx + 1} ===\n`; d.items.forEach(i => content += `* {{listing|name=${i.title}|lat=${i.lat}|long=${i.lon}|wikidata=${i.wikidata || ''}|content=${i.note || ''}}}\n`); }); break; case 'geojson-full': var fc = { type: "FeatureCollection", features: [] }; // 1. Flatten all items (Buckets + all Days) var allItems = trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items).concat(trip.days.reduce(function (acc, d) { return acc.concat(d.items); }, [])); // 2. Add Points (Listings) allItems.forEach(function (i) { if (i.lat && i.lon) { fc.features.push({ type: "Feature", geometry: { type: "Point", coordinates: [i.lon, i.lat] }, properties: { name: i.title, note: i.note || "", wikidata: i.wikidata, day: i.day !== undefined ? i.day + 1 : 'bucket' } }); } }); // 3. Add Lines (Routes) from Leaflet Layer using concat if (this.routeLayer && window.L) { var routes = this.routeLayer.toGeoJSON(); if (routes && routes.features) { fc.features = fc.features.concat(routes.features); } } content = JSON.stringify(fc, null, 2); mime = "application/geo+json"; ext = "geojson"; break; } const blob = new Blob([content], { type: mime }); const a = document.createElement('a'); a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob); a.download = `${trip.name.replace(/\s/g, '_')}.${ext}`; a.click(); }, setupListeners: function () { const self = this; const thiss = this; $(document).on('click', '#tp-minimized-icon', function () { self.data.minimized = false; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); // Settings Overlay Toggles $(document).on('click', '#tp-open-settings', () => $('#tp-settings-overlay').css('display', 'flex')); $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-settings', () => { $('#tp-settings-overlay').hide(); self.saveAndRefresh(); // Ensure changes (like rename) reflect in the main UI immediately }); // NEW: Rename Logic $(document).on('change', '#tp-rename-input', function () { self.getActiveTrip().name = $(this).val(); self.save(); // Just save, don't redraw whole UI yet (wait for Close) }); // Move Trip Logic $(document).on('click', '.tp-btn-move', function () { const moveType = $(this).data('move-type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); // if bucket const sourceDayIdx = $(this).data('day-idx') !== undefined ? parseInt($(this).data('day-idx')) : -1; const currentTripIdx = self.data.activeTripIndex; const currentTrip = self.getActiveTrip(); let menuOptions = []; // Helper to perform the move const performMove = (targetTrip, targetType, targetBinIdOrIdx) => { let items; // Cut if (moveType === 'bucket') { const bucket = currentTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId); items = bucket ? bucket.items.splice(0) : []; } else { items = currentTrip.days[sourceDayIdx].items.splice(0); } // Paste if (targetType === 'bucket') { const targetBucket = targetTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === targetBinIdOrIdx); if (targetBucket) targetBucket.items.push(...items); } else { targetTrip.days[targetBinIdOrIdx].items.push(...items); } self.saveAndRefresh(); }; // Helper to add options for a specific trip const addTripOptions = (trip, isCurrent) => { let addedHeader = false; const ensureHeader = () => { if (!addedHeader) { menuOptions.push({ header: isCurrent ? "Current Trip" : trip.name }); addedHeader = true; } }; // 1. Bucket Options trip.buckets.forEach(b => { // Show if: It's another trip OR (It's current trip AND we aren't already in this specific bucket) if (!isCurrent || moveType !== 'bucket' || b.id !== bucketId) { ensureHeader(); menuOptions.push({ label: `${b.icon} ${b.name}`, action: () => performMove(trip, 'bucket', b.id) }); } }); // 2. Day Options trip.days.forEach((day, dIdx) => { // Show if: It's another trip OR (It's current trip AND we aren't in this specific day) if (!isCurrent || (moveType !== 'day' || dIdx !== sourceDayIdx)) { ensureHeader(); menuOptions.push({ label: `➡ Day ${dIdx + 1}`, action: () => performMove(trip, 'day', dIdx) }); } }); }; // A. Process Current Trip First addTripOptions(currentTrip, true); // B. Process Other Trips self.data.trips.forEach((trip, tIdx) => { if (tIdx === currentTripIdx) return; addTripOptions(trip, false); }); if (menuOptions.length === 0) { alert("No destinations available."); } else { const title = (moveType === 'bucket') ? `Move Bucket Items to:` : `Move Day ${sourceDayIdx + 1} Items to:`; self.showMenu(title, menuOptions); } }); // Save Menu Logic $(document).on('click', '#tp-btn-export', () => { const hasRoutes = self.routeLayer && window.L && self.routeLayer.getLayers().length > 0; self.showMenu("Export Format:", [ { label: "Current Trip (JSON)", action: () => self.exportData('trip') }, { label: "All Data Backup (JSON)", action: () => self.exportData('all') }, { label: "GPS File (GPX)", action: () => self.exportData('gpx') }, { label: "Wikivoyage Text (WikiText)", action: () => self.exportData('wiki') }, { label: "Trip + Routes (GeoJSON)", action: () => self.exportData('geojson-full'), disabled: !hasRoutes, helpText: !hasRoutes ? "(Calculate routes first to enable)" : "" } ]); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-menu-close', () => $('#tp-menu-overlay').hide()); // Add / Edit Forms $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-article, .tp-add-article-btn', function () { const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id') || 'backlog'; const pageName = mw.config.get('wgPageName'); const wdId = mw.config.get('wgWikibaseItemId'); if (!wdId) return alert("This page has no Wikidata ID."); self.fetchWikidata(wdId, pageName, (item) => { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId) || trip.buckets[0]; if (bucket) { bucket.items.push(item); self.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify(`Added article: ${item.title}`); } }).fail(() => alert("Failed to fetch article data.")); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-fetch-wd', function () { const id = $('#f-wikidata').val().trim().toUpperCase(); if (!/^Q\d+$/.test(id)) { return; } const $btn = $(this); const originalText = $btn.text(); $btn.text('⏳').prop('disabled', true); self.fetchWikidata(id, null, (item) => { $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); }) .fail(err => alert(err.message || "Fetch failed.")) .always(function () { $btn.text(originalText).prop('disabled', false); }); }); let editingRef = null; $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-custom, .tp-add-custom-btn, .item-edit-trigger', function () { const isNew = $(this).attr('id') === 'tp-add-custom' || $(this).hasClass('tp-add-custom-btn'); if (isNew) { const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id') || 'backlog'; editingRef = { type: 'bucket', idx: -1, binId: bucketId }; } else { const p = $(this).closest('.tp-item'); editingRef = { type: p.data('type'), idx: p.data('idx'), binId: p.data('bin-id') }; } const item = isNew ? { title: "", lat: "", lon: "", note: "", sourcePage: "" } : (editingRef.type === 'bucket' ? self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items[editingRef.idx] : self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items[editingRef.idx] ); $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); $('#f-wikidata').val(item.wikidata); $('#f-note').val(item.note || ""); $('#f-source').val(item.sourcePage || ""); $('#tp-edit-form').css('display', 'flex'); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-bucket', () => { initOOUI(); if (!TripPlanner.windowManager) { TripPlanner.windowManager = new OO.ui.WindowManager(); $('body').append(TripPlanner.windowManager.$element); TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog = new BucketEditDialog({ size: 'medium' }); TripPlanner.windowManager.addWindows([TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog]); } TripPlanner.windowManager.openWindow(TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog, { title: 'Add Custom Bucket', name: '', icon: '🗂️', onSave: function (name, icon) { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const id = 'bucket_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9); trip.buckets.push({ id: id, name: name, icon: icon, items: [] }); self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-edit-bucket', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId); if (!bucket) return; initOOUI(); if (!TripPlanner.windowManager) { TripPlanner.windowManager = new OO.ui.WindowManager(); $('body').append(TripPlanner.windowManager.$element); TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog = new BucketEditDialog({ size: 'medium' }); TripPlanner.windowManager.addWindows([TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog]); } TripPlanner.windowManager.openWindow(TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog, { title: 'Edit Bucket: ' + bucket.name, name: bucket.name, icon: bucket.icon, onSave: function (name, icon) { bucket.name = name; bucket.icon = icon; self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-remove-bucket', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); if (bucketId === 'backlog') { alert("The default backlog bucket cannot be deleted."); return; } const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucketIdx = trip.buckets.findIndex(b => b.id === bucketId); if (bucketIdx === -1) return; const bucket = trip.buckets[bucketIdx]; if (bucket.items.length > 0) { if (confirm(`Bucket "${bucket.name}" contains ${bucket.items.length} item(s). Move them to Backlog first?`)) { const backlog = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog'); if (backlog) backlog.items.push(...bucket.items); } else if (!confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this bucket and ALL its items permanently?")) { return; } } trip.buckets.splice(bucketIdx, 1); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-save', () => { const item = { title: $('#f-title').val(), lat: self.parseCoordinate($('#f-lat').val()), lon: self.parseCoordinate($('#f-lon').val()), note: $('#f-note').val(), wikidata: $('#f-wikidata').val(), sourcePage: $('#f-source').val().trim() }; if (editingRef.idx === -1) { const list = (editingRef.type === 'bucket') ? self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items : self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items; if (editingRef.insertIdx !== undefined && editingRef.insertIdx !== -1) { list.splice(editingRef.insertIdx, 0, item); } else { list.push(item); } } else if (editingRef.type === 'bucket') { self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items[editingRef.idx] = item; } else { self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items[editingRef.idx] = item; } $('#tp-edit-form').hide(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-cancel', () => $('#tp-edit-form').hide()); // Widget Basics $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-btn', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); // Prevent triggering the header toggle self.data.closed = true; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-toggle-btn', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); self.data.minimized = true; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-select-trip', (e) => { const newIdx = parseInt($(e.target).val()); const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.localTripIndex = newIdx; this.drawUI(); } else { this.data.activeTripIndex = newIdx; this.saveAndRefresh(); } }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-new-trip', () => { const n = prompt("Trip Name?"); if (n) { self.createNewTrip(n); const newIdx = self.data.trips.length - 1; const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.localTripIndex = newIdx; } else { this.data.activeTripIndex = newIdx; } self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); // Delete Trip Logic $(document).on('click', '#tp-del-trip', () => { const currentIdx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; if (this.data.trips.length > 1 && confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this trip permanently?")) { this.data.trips.splice(currentIdx, 1); this.data.activeTripIndex = 0; this.localTripIndex = 0; self.migrateData(); this.saveAndRefresh(); } else if (this.data.trips.length <= 1) { alert("You cannot delete the only remaining trip."); } }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-length', (e) => { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const n = Math.max(1, parseInt($(e.target).val())); if (n < trip.days.length) { const backlog = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog') || trip.buckets[0]; trip.days.splice(n).forEach(d => backlog.items.push(...d.items)); } else { while (trip.days.length < n) trip.days.push({ items: [] }); } trip.length = n; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-start-date', function (e) { self.getActiveTrip().startDate = $(this).val(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-remove', function () { const p = $(this).closest('.tp-item'); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const binType = p.data('type'); const binId = p.data('bin-id'); const idx = p.data('idx'); if (binType === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId); if (bucket) bucket.items.splice(idx, 1); } else { trip.days[parseInt(binId)].items.splice(idx, 1); } self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-run-opt', () => { const dayIdx = parseInt($('#tp-opt-day').val()); const profile = $('#tp-route-profile').val(); // Get selected profile self.optimizeDay(dayIdx, profile); $('#tp-route-overlay').hide(); }); // D&D $(document).on('dragenter', '.tp-bin', function (e) { $(this).addClass('drag-over'); }); $(document).on('dragleave', '.tp-bin', function (e) { $(this).removeClass('drag-over'); }); $(document).on('dragover', '.tp-bin', (e) => e.preventDefault()); $(document).on('drop', '.tp-bin', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); $(this).removeClass('drag-over'); const self = thiss; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); if (self.routeLayer) self.routeLayer.clearLayers(); self.cachedRoutes = {}; const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const transfer = e.originalEvent.dataTransfer; let isPoiDrop = false; let jsonData = transfer.getData('application/json') || transfer.getData('text/plain'); if (jsonData) { try { const item = JSON.parse(jsonData); if (item.title && item.lat) { isPoiDrop = true; } } catch (err) { } } if (!isPoiDrop) { const htmlData = transfer.getData('text/html'); const $html = htmlData ? $(htmlData) : $(); const $m = $html.hasClass('marker') ? $html : $html.find('.marker').first(); const rawText = transfer.getData('text/plain') || transfer.getData('URIList'); const isWdDrop = rawText && /wikidata\.org/i.test(rawText); if (!$m.length && !isWdDrop) { mw.notify("To drag and drop listings, the Trip Planner widget must be opened first on the source page.", { type: 'warn' }); } } const binType = $(this).data('type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const binId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); // for buckets const dayIdx = $(this).data('day-idx'); // for days const targetList = (binType === 'bucket') ? trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId).items : trip.days[parseInt(dayIdx)].items; if (jsonData) { try { const item = JSON.parse(jsonData); if (!item.title || !item.lat) throw "not a POI"; // 1. HANDLE REMOVAL FROM SOURCE if (item._srcType !== undefined && !e.ctrlKey && !e.shiftKey) { const srcTrip = self.data.trips[item._srcTripIdx]; if (srcTrip) { if (item._srcType === 'bucket') { const srcBucket = srcTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === item._srcBinId); if (srcBucket) srcBucket.items.splice(item._srcIdx, 1); } else { srcTrip.days[parseInt(item._srcBinId)].items.splice(item._srcIdx, 1); } } // Clean up metadata delete item._srcType; delete item._srcIdx; delete item._srcBinId; delete item._srcTripIdx; } else if (item._srcType !== undefined) { // Duplication mode delete item._srcType; delete item._srcIdx; delete item._srcBinId; delete item._srcTripIdx; } // 2. HANDLE INSERTION const $targetItem = $(e.target).closest('.tp-item'); if ($targetItem.length && $targetItem.data('idx') !== undefined) { targetList.splice($targetItem.data('idx'), 0, item); } else { targetList.push(item); } self.saveAndRefresh(); return; } catch (e) { /* not JSON listing, continue */ } } // .marker from ListingBrowser const htmlData = transfer.getData('text/html'); if (htmlData) { const $html = $(htmlData); const $m = $html.hasClass('marker') ? $html : $html.find('.marker').first(); var pageName = ''; const href = $html.attr('href'); const match = href.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)#(Q\d+)/); const match2 = href.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)/); if (match) { pageName = decodeURIComponent(match[1]); } else if (match2) { pageName = decodeURIComponent(match2[1]); } else { pageName = href; } if ($m.length && ($m.attr('marker-lat') || $m.attr('marker-wikidata'))) { targetList.push({ title: $m.attr('marker-name') || $m.text().trim(), lat: self.parseCoordinate($m.attr('marker-lat')), lon: self.parseCoordinate($m.attr('marker-long')), wikidata: $m.attr('marker-wikidata'), sourcePage: pageName, note: "" }); self.saveAndRefresh(); return; } } // Wikidata URL Drop const rawText = transfer.getData('text/plain') || transfer.getData('URIList'); const wdUrlMatch = rawText ? rawText.match(/wikidata\.org\/.*?(Q\d+)/i) : null; if (wdUrlMatch) { const wdId = wdUrlMatch[1]; const $bin = $(this); const binType = $bin.data('type'); const binId = $bin.data('bucket-id'); const dayIdx = $bin.data('day-idx'); const $targetItem = $(e.target).closest('.tp-item'); const insertIdx = ($targetItem.length && $targetItem.data('idx') !== undefined) ? parseInt($targetItem.data('idx')) : -1; mw.notify(`Fetching Wikidata item ${wdId}...`); self.fetchWikidata(wdId, null, (item) => { $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); $('#f-wikidata').val(item.wikidata); $('#f-note').val(""); $('#f-source').val(""); editingRef = { type: binType, idx: -1, binId: binType === 'bucket' ? binId : parseInt(dayIdx), insertIdx: insertIdx }; $('#tp-edit-form').css('display', 'flex'); }).fail(() => { mw.notify(`Failed to fetch Wikidata item ${wdId}`, { type: 'error' }); }); return; } // Article[/Subarticle]#Qid if (rawText && rawText.includes('#Q')) { const match = rawText.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)#(Q\d+)/); if (match) { const pageName = decodeURIComponent(match[1]); const wdId = match[2]; self.fetchWikidata(wdId, pageName, (item) => { targetList.push(item); self.saveAndRefresh(); }).fail(() => mw.notify("Failed to parse dropped link.", { type: 'error' })); return; } } }); $(document).on('dragstart', '.tp-item', function (e) { const p = $(this); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); let item; const binType = p.data('type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const binId = p.data('bin-id'); // bucket.id or dayIdx if (binType === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId); item = bucket ? bucket.items[p.data('idx')] : null; } else { item = trip.days[parseInt(binId)].items[p.data('idx')]; } if (!item) return; // Add source metadata const payload = Object.assign({}, item, { _srcTripIdx: (self.localTripIndex !== null) ? self.localTripIndex : self.data.activeTripIndex, _srcType: binType, _srcIdx: p.data('idx'), _srcBinId: binId }); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('application/json', JSON.stringify(payload)); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-item', function (e) { // Ignore clicks on action buttons/links if ($(e.target).closest('.tp-btn-edit, .tp-remove, a').length) { return; } const $item = $(this); const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (!isFullMode) return; const type = $item.data('type'); const idx = parseInt($item.data('idx')); const binId = $item.data('bin-id'); self.zoomToMapItem(type, idx, binId); }); // Map & Import $(document).on('click', '#tp-import', () => $('#tp-file-input').click()); $(document).on('change', '#tp-file-input', function (e) { const reader = new FileReader(); reader.onload = (ev) => { const imp = JSON.parse(ev.target.result); if (imp.trips) { const defaults = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [], orsKey: self.data.orsKey || '' }; self.data = $.extend({}, defaults, imp); } else if (imp.days) { self.data.trips.push(imp); } self.migrateData(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }; reader.readAsText(e.target.files[0]); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-btn-route', () => { $('#tp-ors-key').val(self.data.orsKey || ''); $('#tp-route-overlay').css('display', 'flex'); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-route', () => $('#tp-route-overlay').hide()); $(document).on('click', '#tp-run-route', () => { const key = $('#tp-ors-key').val().trim(); const profile = $('#tp-route-profile').val(); if (!key) return alert("API Key is required."); self.data.orsKey = key; self.save(); $('#tp-route-overlay').hide(); self.calculateRoutes(profile); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-section-title', function (e) { if ($(e.target).hasClass('tp-btn-move') || $(e.target).hasClass('tp-btn-edit') || $(e.target).hasClass('tp-remove')) return; const $moveBtn = $(this).find('.tp-btn-move'); const type = $moveBtn.data('move-type'); if (type === 'bucket') { const bucketId = $moveBtn.data('bucket-id'); self.highlightDay(bucketId, 'bucket'); } else if (type === 'day') { const idx = $moveBtn.data('day-idx'); if (idx !== undefined) self.highlightDay(parseInt(idx), 'day'); } }); }, initMap: function () { if ($('#tp-map-container').length === 0) { // Initial placement on body, hidden $('body').append(` <div id="tp-map-container" style="display:none"> <div id="tp-map-canvas"></div> </div> `); } if (!this.map) { this.map = L.map('tp-map-canvas').setView([20, 0], 2); // Default whole-world-ish view L.tileLayer('https://maps.wikimedia.org/osm-intl/{z}/{x}/{y}.png').addTo(this.map); this.map.on('click', () => this.highlightDay(null)); this.map.on('contextmenu', (e) => { const lat = e.latlng.lat; const lon = e.latlng.lng; const popupContent = ` <div style="text-align:center; padding:5px; font-family:sans-serif;"> <b style="font-size:12px;">Map Point</b><br> <span style="font-size:11px; color:#555;">${lat.toFixed(5)}, ${lon.toFixed(5)}</span><br> <a class="marker" draggable="true" marker-name="Map Point" marker-lat="${lat}" marker-long="${lon}" href="/wiki/Special:Map" onclick="event.preventDefault();" style="display:inline-block; margin-top:8px; padding:5px 10px; background:#36c; color:white; border-radius:4px; text-decoration:none; font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; cursor:grab; user-select:none;"> 🎒 Drag to Itinerary </a> <div style="margin-top:8px;"> <a href="/wiki/User:Andree.sk/ListingBrowser?lat=${lat}&long=${lon}" target="_blank" style="font-size:11px; color:#36c; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;"> 🔍 Search listings around </a> </div> </div> `; L.popup() .setLatLng(e.latlng) .setContent(popupContent) .openOn(this.map); }); this.routeLayer = L.featureGroup().addTo(this.map); this.markerLayer = L.featureGroup().addTo(this.map); if (this.cachedRoutes) { Object.keys(this.cachedRoutes).forEach(dIdx => { this.drawRouteLayer(parseInt(dIdx), this.cachedRoutes[dIdx]); }); } } }, // toggleMap removed as per request - map is now persistent in full mode. /** * Lazy-loads an image from Wikidata based on QID */ loadWikidataImage: function ($container) { const qid = $container.data('qid'); // Don't fetch if already loaded if ($container.find('img').length || $container.data('loading')) return; $container.data('loading', true); const wdApiUrl = `https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php?action=wbgetclaims&entity=${qid}&property=P18&format=json&origin=*`; $.getJSON(wdApiUrl).done(function (data) { try { // Dig into Wikidata response for the filename const claims = data.claims.P18; if (claims && claims[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value) { const filename = claims[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value; // Thumb URL (200px) and Full URL (Original) const baseUrl = `https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/${encodeURIComponent(filename)}`; const thumbUrl = `${baseUrl}?width=200`; const $img = $('<img>').attr('src', thumbUrl).css({ maxWidth: '100%', maxHeight: '100%', display: 'none', cursor: 'zoom-in' }); // Wrap in a link to the full-size image const $link = $('<a>') .attr({ href: baseUrl, target: '_blank', title: 'View full size' }) .append($img); $img.on('load', function () { $container.empty().append($link); $img.fadeIn(); }); } else { $container.html('<small style="color:#999">No image available</small>'); } } catch (e) { $container.hide(); } }).fail(function () { $container.hide(); }); }, /** * Parses a coordinate string into decimal degrees. * Supports decimal format and Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS) format. * @param {string|number} input * @returns {number} Decimal degrees or NaN */ parseCoordinate: function (input) { if (typeof input === 'number') return input; if (typeof input !== 'string') return NaN; let str = input.trim(); if (!str) return NaN; // 1. Try simple decimal (with optional hemisphere) // Matches: 48.8566, -48.8566, 48.8566 N, S 48.8566 const decimalMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?)\s*([NSEW])?$/i); if (decimalMatch) { let val = parseFloat(decimalMatch[2]); const h = (decimalMatch[1] || decimalMatch[3] || '').toUpperCase(); if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -Math.abs(val); if (h === 'N' || h === 'E') val = Math.abs(val); return val; } // 2. Try DMS format // Matches: 48° 51' 24" N, 48°51′24″S, 48 51 24 N, N 48 51 24, etc. const dmsMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3})[°\s]+(\d{1,2})['′\s]+(\d{1,2}(?:\.\d+)?)["″\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dmsMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dmsMatch[2]); const min = parseFloat(dmsMatch[3]); const sec = parseFloat(dmsMatch[4]); const h = (dmsMatch[1] || dmsMatch[5] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg + min / 60 + sec / 3600; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } // 3. Try DM format (no seconds) const dmMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3})[°\s]+(\d{1,2}(?:\.\d+)?)['′\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dmMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dmMatch[2]); const min = parseFloat(dmMatch[3]); const h = (dmMatch[1] || dmMatch[4] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg + min / 60; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } // 4. Try D [symbols] H const dSymMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3}(?:\.\d+)?)[°\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dSymMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dSymMatch[2]); const h = (dSymMatch[1] || dSymMatch[3] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } return parseFloat(str); }, updateMapMarkers: function (shouldFitBounds) { if (!this.markerLayer || !window.L) return; this.markerLayer.clearLayers(); const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); const bounds = []; const thiss = this; const add = (item, color, label, binIdOrIdx, itemIdx, type) => { if (!item.lat || !item.lon) return; const icon = L.divIcon({ className: '', // Clear default class to avoid side-effects html: `<div style=" background: ${color}; color: white; width: 24px; height: 24px; border: 2px solid white; border-radius: 50%; text-align: center; line-height: 20px; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); box-sizing: border-box; ">${label}</div>`, iconSize: [24, 24], iconAnchor: [12, 12], // Center the icon popupAnchor: [0, -12] }); // 1. Create Marker const m = L.marker([item.lat, item.lon], { icon: icon, draggable: true }); m.tpBinId = binIdOrIdx; m.tpIdx = itemIdx; m.tpType = type; m.on('click', (e) => { // Prevent map background click from firing L.DomEvent.stopPropagation(e); this.highlightDay(binIdOrIdx, type); this.highlightListItem(type, itemIdx, binIdOrIdx); }); m.on('dragend', () => { const latlng = m.getLatLng(); const trip = thiss.getActiveTrip(); let targetItem = null; if (type === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binIdOrIdx); if (bucket) { targetItem = bucket.items[itemIdx]; } } else { const day = trip.days[binIdOrIdx]; if (day) { targetItem = day.items[itemIdx]; } } if (targetItem) { targetItem.lat = latlng.lat; targetItem.lon = latlng.lng; // TODO: probably this process is repeated somewhere, unify if (thiss.routeLayer) thiss.routeLayer.clearLayers(); thiss.cachedRoutes = {}; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); thiss.saveAndRefresh(); } }); const safeTitle = mw.html.escape(item.title); const safeNote = item.note ? mw.html.escape(item.note) : ''; // 2. Build Link URL const url = item.sourcePage ? mw.util.getUrl(item.sourcePage) + (item.wikidata ? '#' + item.wikidata : '') : '#'; // 3. Prepare Popup HTML (with placeholder for image) let popupHtml = `<div style="text-align:center"> <b style="font-size:1.1em"><a href="${url}" target="_blank">${safeTitle}</a></b> ${safeNote ? `<br><span style="font-size:0.9em; color:#555">${safeNote}</span>` : ''} </div>`; if (item.wikidata) { popupHtml += ` <div class="wd-img" data-qid="${item.wikidata}" style="min-width:200px; min-height:100px; background:#f0f0f0; margin-top:8px; display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center; border-radius:4px;"> <small>Loading Image...</small> </div>` } m.bindPopup(popupHtml); // 4. Fetch Image on Click (Lazy Load) if (item.wikidata) { m.on('popupopen', function (e) { thiss.loadWikidataImage($(e.popup.getElement()).find('.wd-img')); }); } m.addTo(this.markerLayer); bounds.push([item.lat, item.lon]); }; trip.buckets.forEach((b) => { b.items.forEach((item, idx) => { const label = b.icon || "B"; add(item, "#777", label, b.id, idx, 'bucket'); }); }); // Days: Label is the day number (index + 1) trip.days.forEach((d, dayIdx) => { d.items.forEach((item, itemIdx) => { add(item, this.colors[dayIdx % this.colors.length], itemIdx + 1, dayIdx, itemIdx, 'day'); }); }); if (shouldFitBounds && bounds.length) { this.map.fitBounds(bounds, { padding: [50, 50] }); } }, drawRouteLayer: function (dIdx, geojson) { if (!this.routeLayer || !window.L) return; const color = this.colors[dIdx % this.colors.length]; const routeGroup = L.geoJSON(geojson, { style: { color: color, weight: 5, opacity: 0.7 }, onEachFeature: (feature, layer) => { layer.on('click', (e) => { L.DomEvent.stopPropagation(e); this.highlightDay(dIdx); }); } }); routeGroup.tpBinId = dIdx; routeGroup.tpType = 'day'; routeGroup.tpDayIdx = dIdx; routeGroup.addTo(this.routeLayer); }, saveAndRefresh: function () { // Capture scroll position const $body = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $body.length ? $body.scrollTop() : 0; this.save(); this.drawUI(); // Restore scroll position $('.tp-body').scrollTop(scrollTop); }, createNewTrip: function (n) { this.data.trips.push({ name: n, startDate: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0], length: 3, buckets: [ { id: 'backlog', name: 'Backlog', icon: '📦', items: [] } ], days: [{ items: [] }, { items: [] }, { items: [] }] }); this.save(); }, makeListingsDraggable: function () { const thiss = this; const pageName = mw.config.get('wgPageName'); const isTouch = 'ontouchstart' in window || navigator.maxTouchPoints > 0; //$('.vcard, .listing-metadata, .mw-kartographer-maplink').each(function () { $('.vcard').each(function () { //console.log($(this)); const $l = $(this); const lat = $l.attr('data-lat') || $l.find('[data-lat]').attr('data-lat'); const lon = $l.attr('data-lon') || $l.find('[data-lon]').attr('data-lon'); if (lat && lon) { const wdId = $l.find('[id]').filter(function () { return /^Q\d+$/.test(this.id); }).attr('id') || ""; const title = $l.find('.fn, .listing-name').first().text().trim() || $l.text().trim(); $l.attr('draggable', 'true').addClass('listing-draggable-proxy'); $l.on('dragstart', (e) => { const data = { title: title, lat: thiss.parseCoordinate(lat), lon: thiss.parseCoordinate(lon), wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: pageName }; const json = JSON.stringify(data); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('application/json', json); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('text/plain', json); }); if (isTouch && $l.find('.tp-mobile-add').length === 0) { const $btn = $('<span class="tp-mobile-add">＋ Trip</span>'); $btn.on('click', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); // Stop Wikivoyage from opening the map/listing details const item = { title: title, lat: thiss.parseCoordinate(lat), lon: thiss.parseCoordinate(lon), wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: pageName, note: "" }; const trip = thiss.getActiveTrip(); const backlogBucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog') || trip.buckets[0]; backlogBucket.items.push(item); thiss.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify(`Added "${title}" to Trip Backlog`); }); // Insert button next to the Listing Name const $nameTarget = $l.find('.listing-name, .fn').first(); if ($nameTarget.length) { $nameTarget.after($btn); } else { $l.prepend($btn); } } } }); }, calculateRoutes: function (profile) { const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); // UI Cleanup $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); $('.tp-item').removeClass('tp-item-error').find('.tp-error-msg').remove(); if (this.routeLayer) this.routeLayer.clearLayers(); this.cachedRoutes = {}; // Clear old cache mw.notify("Calculating continuous routes..."); // Track the end of the previous leg to link days together let previousEndItem = null; const promises = trip.days.map((day, dIdx) => { // 1. Identify valid items in current day // We preserve original indices for DOM injection later const currentDayItems = day.items .map((item, idx) => Object.assign({}, item, { day: dIdx, idx: idx })) .filter(i => i.lat && i.lon); // 2. Construct the routing batch for this day // Start with the last point of the previous day (if exists) to form the bridge let routePoints = []; if (previousEndItem) { routePoints.push(previousEndItem); } routePoints = routePoints.concat(currentDayItems); // Update the tracker: The last item of this day becomes the start for the next non-empty day if (currentDayItems.length > 0) { previousEndItem = currentDayItems[currentDayItems.length - 1]; } // 3. Check if we have enough points to form a line if (routePoints.length < 2) { return Promise.resolve(); } // 4. API Request const coords = routePoints.map(i => [i.lon, i.lat]); const snappingRadiuses = routePoints.map(function() { return 3000; }); // TODO: make global return $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: `https://api.openrouteservice.org/v2/directions/${profile}/geojson`, contentType: "application/json", headers: { "Authorization": this.data.orsKey }, data: JSON.stringify({ coordinates: coords, radiuses: snappingRadiuses }) }).then((resp) => { this.cachedRoutes[dIdx] = resp; // Draw Line (Colored by the Current Day) if (this.routeLayer && window.L) { this.drawRouteLayer(dIdx, resp); } // Inject Stats const segments = resp.features[0].properties.segments; segments.forEach((seg, sIdx) => { // Map the segment back to our batch items const startItem = routePoints[sIdx]; const endItem = routePoints[sIdx + 1]; const dist = seg.distance > 1000 ? (seg.distance / 1000).toFixed(1) + " km" : Math.round(seg.distance) + " m"; const time = seg.duration > 3600 ? Math.floor(seg.duration / 3600) + "h " + Math.round((seg.duration % 3600) / 60) + "m" : Math.round(seg.duration / 60) + " min"; const html = `<div class="tp-route-stats">⬇️ ${dist} / ${time} ⬇️</div>`; if (startItem.day === endItem.day) { // Intra-day travel: Inject between items $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${startItem.day}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${startItem.idx}"]`).after(html); } else { // Inter-day travel: Inject at the bottom of the previous day's bin // This visually represents "Travel after finishing Day X, before Day Y" $(`.tp-bin[data-day-idx="${startItem.day}"]`).append(html); } }); }).catch(err => { console.error(`Routing Error (Day ${dIdx + 1}):`, err); let msg = "Routing failed."; if (err.responseText) { try { const errorData = JSON.parse(err.responseText); if (errorData.error && errorData.error.message) { msg = errorData.error.message; // Try to extract coordinate index from message like "...coordinate 3: ..." const match = msg.match(/coordinate (\d+):/i); if (match) { const coordIdx = parseInt(match[1]); const item = routePoints[coordIdx]; if (item) { const $itemEl = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${item.day}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${item.idx}"]`); $itemEl.addClass('tp-item-error'); if ($itemEl.find('.tp-error-msg').length === 0) { $itemEl.find('div:first').append(`<div class="tp-error-msg">⚠️ Point not routable</div>`); } msg = `Point "${item.title}" is not routable. Try moving it or removing it.`; } } } } catch (e) { console.error("Error parsing response", e); } } mw.notify(msg, { type: 'error' }); }); }); Promise.all(promises).then(() => { // Route calculation complete }); }, optimizeDay: function (dayIdx, profile) { const day = this.getActiveTrip().days[dayIdx]; const items = day.items; if (items.length < 3) return mw.notify("Need at least 3 items to optimize."); if (!this.data.orsKey) return alert("API Key missing."); // 1. Prepare Payload // Fixed Start: The first item in the list const startItem = items[0]; const snappingRadiuses = 3000; // TODO: make global // Jobs: All subsequent items const jobs = items.slice(1).map((item, index) => ({ id: index + 1, // Use original index as ID (offset by 1 because we sliced) location: [item.lon, item.lat], radius: snappingRadiuses, service: 300 // Assume 5 min stop per POI (optional, helps calc ETA) })); // Vehicle: Starts at item[0] const vehicles = [{ id: 1, profile: profile, start: [startItem.lon, startItem.lat], radius: snappingRadiuses, // For a round-trip, add: end: [startItem.lon, startItem.lat] }]; mw.notify("Optimizing schedule..."); $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: "https://api.openrouteservice.org/optimization", contentType: "application/json", headers: { "Authorization": this.data.orsKey }, data: JSON.stringify({ jobs: jobs, vehicles: vehicles }) }).done((resp) => { const steps = resp.routes[0].steps; // 2. Reconstruct Order // Start with the fixed first item const newOrder = [startItem]; // Append items in the order returned by API steps.forEach(step => { if (step.type === 'job') { // step.id corresponds to the index in the original 'items' array newOrder.push(items[step.id]); } }); // Check if all items were visited (API might skip unreachable ones) if (newOrder.length !== items.length) { alert("Warning: Some locations were unreachable and removed from the optimized list."); } // 3. Save day.items = newOrder; this.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify("Optimization Complete!"); }).fail((err) => { console.error(err); let msg = "Optimization failed. Check API Key or constraints."; if (err.responseText) { try { const errorData = JSON.parse(err.responseText); if (errorData.error && errorData.error.message) { msg = errorData.error.message; // Similar coordinate matching for optimization errors const match = msg.match(/coordinate (\d+):/i); if (match) { const coordIdx = parseInt(match[1]); // In optimizeDay, coordinte 0 is startItem, others are jobs const item = (coordIdx === 0) ? startItem : items[coordIdx]; if (item) { $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${dayIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${(coordIdx === 0) ? 0 : coordIdx}"]`).addClass('tp-item-error'); msg = `Point "${item.title}" is not routable.`; } } } } catch (e) { } } alert(msg); }); }, zoomToMapItem: function (type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { if (!this.map || !this.markerLayer) return; let targetMarker = null; this.markerLayer.eachLayer((layer) => { if (layer.tpType === type && layer.tpBinId === binIdOrIdx && layer.tpIdx === idx) { targetMarker = layer; } }); if (targetMarker) { const currentZoom = this.map.getZoom(); const targetZoom = Math.max(15, currentZoom); this.map.setView(targetMarker.getLatLng(), targetZoom); targetMarker.openPopup(); } }, highlightListItem: function (type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { let $targetItem; if (type === 'bucket') { $targetItem = $(`.tp-bucket-bin[data-bucket-id="${binIdOrIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${idx}"]`); } else { $targetItem = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${binIdOrIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${idx}"]`); } if ($targetItem.length && $('.tp-body').length) { const $container = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $targetItem.offset().top - $container.offset().top + $container.scrollTop(); $container.stop().animate({ scrollTop: scrollTop - 30 }, 300); $targetItem.css({ 'transition': 'background 0.3s, border-color 0.3s', 'background': '#fff9c4', 'border-color': '#fbc02d' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetItem.css({ 'transition': 'background 0.8s, border-color 0.8s', 'background': '', 'border-color': '' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetItem.css('transition', ''); }, 800); }, 1500); } }, highlightDay: function (targetIdx, type = 'day') { if (!this.map) return; const setOpacity = (layer) => { let isMatch; if (targetIdx === null) { isMatch = true; } else if (type === 'bucket') { isMatch = (layer.tpBinId === targetIdx && layer.tpType === 'bucket'); } else { isMatch = (layer.tpBinId === targetIdx && layer.tpType === 'day'); } const op = isMatch ? 1 : 0.2; const fillOp = isMatch ? 0.9 : 0.2; if (layer.setOpacity) { layer.setOpacity(op); if (isMatch) layer.setZIndexOffset(1000); else layer.setZIndexOffset(0); } else if (layer.setStyle) { layer.setStyle({ opacity: op, fillOpacity: fillOp }); if (isMatch && layer.bringToFront) layer.bringToFront(); } }; if (this.markerLayer) this.markerLayer.eachLayer(setOpacity); if (this.routeLayer) this.routeLayer.eachLayer(setOpacity); $('.tp-section-title').css({ 'background': '', 'transition': '' }); if (targetIdx === null) return; let $targetHeader; if (type === 'bucket') { $targetHeader = $(`.tp-bucket-bin[data-bucket-id="${targetIdx}"]`).prev('.tp-section-title'); } else { $targetHeader = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${targetIdx}"]`).prev('.tp-section-title'); } if ($targetHeader.length && $('.tp-body').length) { const $container = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $targetHeader.offset().top - $container.offset().top + $container.scrollTop(); $container.stop().animate({ scrollTop: scrollTop - 10 }, 300); $targetHeader.css({ 'background': '#fff9c4', 'transition': 'background 0.5s' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetHeader.css('background', ''); }, 1500); } }, fetchWikidata: function (wdId, sourcePage, onDone) { const lang = mw.config.get('wgContentLanguage') || 'en'; return $.ajax({ url: 'https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php', data: { action: 'wbgetentities', ids: wdId, props: 'labels|claims', languages: lang, format: 'json', origin: '*' }, dataType: 'json' }).then((data) => { const entity = data.entities ? data.entities[wdId] : null; if (!entity || entity.missing) throw new Error("Wikidata item not found."); // 1. Extract Title (Localized label -> First label -> Fallback) let title = sourcePage ? sourcePage.replace(/_/g, ' ') : wdId; if (entity.labels && entity.labels[lang]) { title = entity.labels[lang].value; } else { const keys = Object.keys(entity.labels || {}); if (keys.length > 0) title = entity.labels[keys[0]].value; } // 2. Extract Coordinates (P625) let lat = 0, lon = 0; const p625 = entity.claims && entity.claims.P625; if (p625 && p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue) { lat = p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value.latitude; lon = p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value.longitude; } onDone({ title, lat, lon, wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: sourcePage || "", note: "" }); }); }, }; function createLauncherIcon(onClickHandler) { // 1. Prevent Duplicates if ($('.tp-launcher-icon').length) return; // 2. Create Icon Element factory const iconFactory = () => $('<a>') .addClass('tp-launcher-icon') .attr('href', '#') .attr('title', 'Open Trip Planner') .text('🎒') .css({ 'cursor': 'pointer', 'font-size': '1.2em', 'text-decoration': 'none', 'filter': 'grayscale(0.8) contrast(1) brightness(1.4)' }) .on('click', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); onClickHandler(e, $(this)); }); // 4. Insert into DOM (Mobile vs Desktop) if (mw.config.get('skin') === 'minerva') { const $icon = iconFactory().css({ 'font-size': '1.5em', 'margin': '0 12px', 'display': 'flex', 'align-items': 'center' }); if ($('#pt-notifications-alert').length == 0) { // Mobile $("#page-actions-overflow").before($("<li id=\"tp-launcher-li\" class=\"page-actions-menu__list-item\"></li>").append($icon)) } else { $('#pt-notifications-alert').parent().before($icon); } } else { $('#pt-notifications-alert').before(iconFactory()); const $sticky = $('.vector-sticky-header-icons'); if ($sticky.length) { $sticky.prepend(iconFactory().css('margin-right', '10px')); } } } // lightweight bootstrap $(function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { // Auto-load in full mode mw.loader.using([ 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification', 'ext.kartographer.box', 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows' ]).then(() => { TripPlanner.init(); }); } else { // Create the initial "Lazy" icon for widget mode createLauncherIcon(function (e, $btn) { // Visual feedback $btn.text('⏳').css('cursor', 'wait'); // Load dependencies on demand mw.loader.using([ 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification', 'ext.kartographer.box', 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows' ]).then(() => { // Remove the bootstrap icon/wrapper // (TripPlanner.drawUI will handle creating the actual widget UI) $('#tp-launcher-li').remove(); $('.tp-launcher-icon').remove(); // Initialize App TripPlanner.init(); }); }); } }); }(mediaWiki, jQuery)); 7o6pb3xt0a13wxwnit1nfsgmjii766g 5298506 5298505 2026-06-25T20:47:46Z Andree.sk 2166688 use source page as raw url, if it's not mw page 5298506 javascript text/javascript /** * Wikivoyage Trip Planner Gadget * ============================== * A client-side tool for planning trips using Wikivoyage listings. * Allows users to drag listings from articles into custom buckets or days, * organize them, view them on a map, and calculate/optimize routes. * * CORE FEATURES: * ------------------ * 1. UI Modes: Dual-mode application: * - Mini Widget Mode: A floating, minimizable widget suitable for reading articles. * - Full View Mode: A split-screen full-page interface with a persistent map, * routing, and bucket controls. * 2. Data Source & Drag-and-Drop: * - Drag-and-drop POIs between day/bucket bins. * - Parses data-lat, data-lon, and wikidata attributes from vcards. * - Allows wikidata and ListingBrowser as sources too * 3. Multi-Tab Synchronization: * - Uses BroadcastChannel to sync trip plans in real-time across all open tabs. * - Protects local tab UI states (minimized/expanded) during synchronization events. * 4. Persistence: Dual-mode storage: * - Anonymous: Uses browser LocalStorage. * - Logged-in: Uses MediaWiki User Options API ('userjs-wv-trip-planner-*'). * - Auto-merge: Merges local data into account data upon login. * 5. Mapping: Interactive markers (colored by day) with popup image loading from Wikidata. * 6. Routing: Integrated with OpenRouteService (ORS) API. * - Calculates travel time/distance between POIs. * - Optimizes day itinerary (TSP) using ORS Optimization API. * - Draws colored route polylines on the map. * 7. I/O: Import/Export support for JSON, GPX, WikiText ({{listing}}), and GeoJSON. * * EXTERNAL SERVICES: * ------------------ * 1. OpenRouteService (api.openrouteservice.org): Used for routing and optimization. * Requires a user-provided API Key (stored in settings). * 2. Wikidata API: Used to fetch thumbnail images for map popups. * 3. Wikimedia Maps: Tile server for the Leaflet map. * * CODE STRUCTURE (Singleton 'TripPlanner'): * ----------------------------------------- * - Config: * - storageKey/optionKey: Persistence identifiers. * - colors: Palette for different days. * * - Lifecycle: * - init(): Entry point after the launcher icon is clicked or auto-run in Full Mode. * - load()/save(): Handles LocalStorage vs API serialization logic. * * - UI Generation: * - injectStyles(): CSS definitions (Widget, Overlays, Map, Split-Screen). * - drawUI(): Renders the main widget container and sets up layout modes. * - renderBins(): Renders the list of items (Custom Buckets + Days). * - toggleMap(): Lazy-loads Leaflet libraries and renders map container. * * - Logic & Handlers: * - setupListeners(): Central event delegation (Clicks, Drag&Drop, Changes). * - calculateRoutes(): Orchestrates ORS API calls for routing. * - optimizeDay(): Orchestrates ORS API calls for ordering. * - exportData(): Generates file blobs for download. * * - Map Helpers: * - updateMapMarkers(): Draws L.marker/L.divIcon based on current data. * - highlightDay(): Manages opacity/visibility of specific day layers. * * DEPENDENCIES: * ------------- * - MediaWiki Modules: 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification'. * - OOJS UI: 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows'. * - Kartographer: 'ext.kartographer.box' for Leaflet (L) access. * - jQuery ($). */ (function (mw, $) { 'use strict'; if (mw.config.get('wgAction') !== 'view') return; let BucketEditDialog; function initOOUI() { if (BucketEditDialog) return; BucketEditDialog = function (config) { BucketEditDialog.super.call(this, config); }; OO.inheritClass(BucketEditDialog, OO.ui.ProcessDialog); BucketEditDialog.static.name = 'bucketEditDialog'; BucketEditDialog.static.title = 'Edit Bucket'; BucketEditDialog.static.actions = [ { action: 'save', label: 'Save', flags: ['primary', 'progressive'] }, { label: 'Cancel', flags: 'safe' } ]; BucketEditDialog.prototype.initialize = function () { BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.initialize.call(this); this.content = new OO.ui.PanelLayout({ padded: true, expanded: false }); this.nameInput = new OO.ui.TextInputWidget({ placeholder: 'Enter bucket name (e.g. food, sleep)' }); this.nameField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.nameInput, { label: 'Bucket Name', align: 'top' }); this.customIconInput = new OO.ui.TextInputWidget({ maxLength: 2 }); const presetIcons = ['🍴', '🏨', '📷', '🛍️', '📦', '🗺️', '🚶', '📍', '☕', '🍺', '⛺', '🏛️', '🎡', '🛒', '💳', '🌲']; const buttonItems = presetIcons.map(function (icon) { return new OO.ui.ButtonOptionWidget({ data: icon, label: icon, title: icon }); }); this.presetSelect = new OO.ui.ButtonSelectWidget({ items: buttonItems }); const thiss = this; this.presetSelect.on('select', function (item) { if (item) { thiss.customIconInput.setValue(item.getData()); } }); this.customIconInput.on('change', function (value) { if (presetIcons.indexOf(value) === -1) { thiss.presetSelect.selectItem(null); } else { const opt = thiss.presetSelect.findItemFromData(value); if (opt) { thiss.presetSelect.selectItem(opt); } } }); this.nameInput.on('change', function (value) { thiss.actions.setAbilities({ save: !!value.trim() }); }); this.presetField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.presetSelect, { label: 'Choose a Predefined Icon', align: 'top' }); this.customIconField = new OO.ui.FieldLayout(this.customIconInput, { label: 'Icon (emoji or character)', align: 'top' }); this.fieldset = new OO.ui.FieldsetLayout(); this.fieldset.addItems([this.nameField, this.presetField, this.customIconField]); this.content.$element.append(this.fieldset.$element); this.$body.append(this.content.$element); }; BucketEditDialog.prototype.getSetupProcess = function (data) { data = data || {}; return BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.getSetupProcess.call(this, data) .next(function () { this.title.setLabel(data.title || 'Edit Bucket'); this.nameInput.setValue(data.name || ''); this.customIconInput.setValue(data.icon || '🗂️'); this.actions.setAbilities({ save: !!(data.name || '').trim() }); const val = data.icon || '🗂️'; const presetIcons = ['🍴', '🏨', '📷', '🛍️', '📦', '🗺️', '🚶', '📍', '☕', '🍺', '⛺', '🏛️', '🎡', '🛒', '💳', '🌲']; if (presetIcons.indexOf(val) !== -1) { const opt = this.presetSelect.findItemFromData(val); if (opt) { this.presetSelect.selectItem(opt); } } else { this.presetSelect.selectItem(null); } this.onSave = data.onSave; }, this); }; BucketEditDialog.prototype.getActionProcess = function (action) { if (action === 'save') { const name = this.nameInput.getValue().trim(); const icon = this.customIconInput.getValue().trim(); if (!name) { return new OO.ui.Process(function () { alert('Please enter a name for the bucket.'); }); } const thiss = this; return new OO.ui.Process(function () { if (thiss.onSave) { thiss.onSave(name, icon || '🗂️'); } thiss.close({ action: action }); }); } return BucketEditDialog.super.prototype.getActionProcess.call(this, action); }; } const TripPlanner = { storageKey: 'wv-trip-planner', optionKey: 'userjs-wv-trip-planner', saveTimer: null, syncTimer: null, map: null, markerLayer: null, localTripIndex: null, // Isolated tab-local trip selection data: { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [] }, colors: ['#d33', '#36c', '#2a7b39', '#f60', '#72309d', '#e2127a', '#00af89'], init: function () { if ($('.vcard').length === 0 && $('.listing').length > 0) { console.warn("TripPlanner: vcard class not found, listings might be un-draggable."); } this.load(); if (this.data.trips.length === 0) this.createNewTrip("My First Trip"); this.data.closed = false; this.data.minimized = false; this.cachedRoutes = {} this.injectStyles(); this.initMap(); // Ensure map container and Leaflet exist this.setupListeners(); this.makeListingsDraggable(); this.drawUI(); this.syncChannel = window.BroadcastChannel ? new BroadcastChannel('wv-trip-planner-sync') : null; if (this.syncChannel) { this.syncChannel.onmessage = (msg) => { if (msg.data.type === 'sync') { // Preserve local UI state flags const wasClosed = this.data.closed; const wasMinimized = this.data.minimized; this.data = msg.data.data; this.data.closed = wasClosed; this.data.minimized = wasMinimized; const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.renderTripOptions(); this.renderBins(); this.updateMapMarkers(); // Sync topbar inputs without full redraw const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); $('#tp-rename-input').val(trip.name); $('#tp-start-date').val(trip.startDate); $('#tp-length').val(trip.length); } else { this.drawUI(); } } }; } }, load: function () { const defaults = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [], orsKey: '' }; // 1. Read Local Storage (Used for Anon, or for merging after login) const localStr = localStorage.getItem(this.storageKey); let localData = null; if (localStr) { try { localData = $.extend({}, defaults, JSON.parse(localStr)); } catch (e) { console.error("Local load error", e); } } if (mw.user.isAnon()) { // --- CASE 1: Anonymous User -> Use Local Storage --- if (localData) this.data = localData; } else { // --- CASE 2: Logged In -> Use Account Options --- const remoteStr = mw.user.options.get(this.optionKey); let remoteData = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [] }; if (remoteStr) { try { $.extend(remoteData, JSON.parse(remoteStr)); } catch (e) { console.error("Remote load error", e); } } // --- MERGE LOGIC: If local data exists, merge it into account and clear local --- if (localData && localData.trips && localData.trips.length > 0) { // Avoid merging empty default trips if possible const validLocalTrips = localData.trips.filter(t => { const hasItemsInBuckets = t.buckets ? t.buckets.some(b => b.items.length > 0) : (t.backlog && t.backlog.length > 0); return hasItemsInBuckets || t.days.some(d => d.items.length > 0) || t.name !== "My First Trip"; }); if (validLocalTrips.length > 0) { remoteData.trips = remoteData.trips.concat(validLocalTrips); // Trigger immediate save to server to persist the merge this.saveDataToApi(remoteData); } // Clear local storage so we don't merge again next reload localStorage.removeItem(this.storageKey); } this.data = remoteData; if (!this.data.closed) this.data.closed = false; } this.migrateData(); }, migrateData: function () { if (!this.data || !this.data.trips) return; this.data.trips.forEach(trip => { if (!trip.buckets) { trip.buckets = [ { id: "backlog", name: "Backlog", icon: "📦", items: trip.backlog || [] } ]; } delete trip.backlog; // Ensure every bucket has an id, name, icon, items trip.buckets.forEach(b => { if (!b.id) b.id = 'bucket_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9); if (!b.icon) b.icon = '📦'; if (!b.items) b.items = []; }); }); }, save: function () { const dataToSave = $.extend(true, {}, this.data); // cleanup non-persistent flags delete dataToSave.closed; delete dataToSave.minimized; if (dataToSave.trips) { dataToSave.trips.forEach(trip => { delete trip.backlog; }); } // 1. Sync other tabs (100ms delay) this.broadcastSync(dataToSave); if (mw.user.isAnon()) { // Anon: Save directly to LocalStorage localStorage.setItem(this.storageKey, JSON.stringify(dataToSave)); } else { // Logged In: Save to API (Debounced 2s) clearTimeout(this.saveTimer); this.saveTimer = setTimeout(() => { this.saveDataToApi(dataToSave); }, 2000); } }, broadcastSync: function (data) { if (!this.syncChannel) return; clearTimeout(this.syncTimer); this.syncTimer = setTimeout(() => { this.syncChannel.postMessage({ type: 'sync', data: data }); }, 100); }, saveDataToApi: function (dataToSave) { new mw.Api().saveOption(this.optionKey, JSON.stringify(dataToSave)) .fail(function (code, data) { console.error("TripPlanner Sync Error", code, data); }); }, getActiveTrip: function () { const idx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; return this.data.trips[idx] || this.data.trips[0]; }, injectStyles: function () { mw.util.addCSS(` /* --- DESKTOP / DEFAULT STYLES --- */ #tp-widget { position: fixed; bottom: 10px; right: 10px; width: 360px; max-width: 95vw; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-radius: 8px; z-index: 2000; box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); font-family: sans-serif; display: flex; flex-direction: column; box-sizing: border-box; } #tp-widget * { box-sizing: border-box; } .tp-header { background: #36c; color: white; padding: 10px; border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0; cursor: pointer; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; } .tp-content { position: relative; display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 100%; } .tp-settings { padding: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #eee); background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #f8f9fa); font-size: 0.85em; } .tp-settings-row { display: flex; gap: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; align-items: center; } .tp-body { padding: 10px; max-height: 400px; overflow-y: auto; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); flex-grow: 1; } .tp-section-title { font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; color: var(--color-subtle, #72777d); text-transform: uppercase; margin: 12px 0 5px; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .tp-bin { border: 1px solid #c8ccd1; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px; margin-bottom: 10px; background: var(--background-color-interactive-subtle, #fdfdfd); min-height: 35px; } .tp-bin.drag-over { background: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #eaf3ff); border: 2px solid #36c; } .tp-item { background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border: 1px solid #eaecf0; padding: 6px; margin: 4px 0; font-size: 0.85em; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; cursor: grab; align-items: center; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.05); } .tp-item:hover { border-color: var(--border-color-progressive, #36c); } .tp-controls { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr; gap: 4px; padding: 8px; border-top: 1px solid #eee; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); } /* Overlays */ #tp-menu-overlay, #tp-edit-form, #tp-settings-overlay, #tp-route-overlay { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px; border-radius: 0 0 8px 8px; } .tp-menu-btn { display: block; width: 100%; text-align: left; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ccc; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); margin-bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; border-radius: 4px; font-size: 0.85em; } .tp-menu-btn:hover { background: var(--background-color-progressive-subtle, #f0f4ff); border-color: #36c; color: #36c; } .tp-form-row { margin-bottom: 8px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-size: 0.8em; } .tp-form-row input, .tp-form-row textarea { padding: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #ccc); background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); border-radius: 3px; } /* Map & Helpers */ #tp-map-container { position: fixed; top: 60px; left: 60px; right: 420px; bottom: 60px; background: var(--background-color-base, white); border: 2px solid #36c; border-radius: 8px; z-index: 1999; display: none; box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); } #tp-map-canvas { width: 100%; height: 100%; } .tp-btn-move, .tp-btn-edit { cursor: pointer; color: var(--color-progressive, #36c); font-size: 10px; border: 1px solid #36c; padding: 1px 4px; border-radius: 3px; } .tp-remove { color: var(--color-destructive, #d33); cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; padding: 0 5px; } .listing-draggable-proxy { cursor: move !important; } .tp-in-trip::before { content: "✅ "; } .tp-route-stats { font-size: 10px; color: var(--color-subtle, #555); background: var(--background-color-neutral-subtle, #f0f0f0); text-align: center; padding: 2px; margin: 2px 10px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px dashed #ccc; } .tp-item-error { border: 2px solid #d33 !important; background: #fff1f0 !important; } .tp-error-msg { font-size: 0.8em; color: #d33; font-style: italic; margin-top: 2px; } .tp-setting-block { margin-bottom: 12px; } .tp-setting-block label { display: block; font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.8em; color: var(--color-subtle, #555); margin-bottom: 3px; } .tp-setting-block input { width: 100%; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 4px; } .tp-divider { border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #eee); margin: 10px 0; } #tp-minimized-icon { position: fixed; bottom: 20px; right: 20px; width: 48px; height: 48px; background: #36c; color: white; border-radius: 50%; text-align: center; line-height: 48px; font-size: 24px; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); cursor: pointer; z-index: 2000; transition: transform 0.1s; user-select: none; } #tp-minimized-icon:hover { transform: scale(1.1); background: #2a5ab0; } #tp-widget .mw-ui-button { font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; padding: 4px 8px; min-height: 24px; line-height: 1.4; width: 100%; } #tp-new-trip, #tp-open-settings { padding: 3px 8px; min-width: auto; width: auto !important; } /* MOBILE / TOUCHSCREEN OPTIMIZATIONS */ @media (max-width: 1200px) and (pointer: coarse) { /*#tp-widget { width: 100% !important; left: 0 !important; right: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0 !important; max-height: 80vh; transition: transform 0.3s; z-index: 2000; box-shadow: 0 -2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.2) !important; } #tp-body { max-height: 15em; } */ /* 2. FULLSCREEN MAP MODE */ /* Hide widget when map is open to give full screen to map */ /* body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-widget { display: none !important; } */ /* Map covers 100% of viewport */ body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-map-container { display: block !important; position: fixed !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; border: none !important; border-radius: 0 !important; z-index: 2001 !important; /* Above everything */ } /* Large, Touch-Friendly Close Button */ body.tp-mobile-map-open #tp-map-hide { display: block !important; top: 15px !important; right: 15px !important; background: white !important; color: #333 !important; padding: 10px 20px !important; /* Larger touch target */ border-radius: 4px !important; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.3) !important; font-weight: bold !important; font-size: 16px !important; border: 1px solid #ccc !important; } /* 3. Mobile "Tap to Add" Button */ .tp-mobile-add { display: inline-block; padding: 6px 12px; background: #eaf3ff; color: #36c; border: 1px solid #36c; border-radius: 16px; margin: 4px 0 4px 8px; font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: nowrap; } .tp-mobile-add:active { background: #36c; color: white; } } /* --- FULL MODE / SPLIT SCREEN STYLES --- */ .tp-full-app { display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 80vh; min-height: 600px; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); color: var(--color-base, #202122); font-family: sans-serif; } .tp-full-app * { box-sizing: border-box; } .tp-full-topbar { display: flex; gap: 10px; align-items: center; padding: 10px 15px; background: #f8f9fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; flex-wrap: wrap; } .tp-full-topbar .tp-setting-block { margin-bottom: 0; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 5px; } .tp-full-topbar .tp-setting-block label { margin-bottom: 0; } .tp-full-split { display: flex; flex-grow: 1; overflow: hidden; position: relative; } .tp-full-sidebar { flex-shrink: 0; max-width: 360px; overflow-y: auto; padding: 10px; border-right: 1px solid #eee; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); } @media (max-width: 720px) { .tp-full-app { height: auto; min-height: auto; } .tp-full-split { flex-direction: column; overflow: visible; } .tp-full-sidebar { max-width: 100%; height: 350px; border-right: none; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; } .tp-full-main { height: 80vh; min-height: 500px; flex-grow: 1; position: relative; } } .tp-full-main { flex-grow: 1; position: relative; } .tp-full-main #tp-map-container { /* Override fixed positioning when inside full mode */ position: absolute !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; right: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; border: none !important; border-radius: 0 !important; box-shadow: none !important; z-index: 10 !important; display: block !important; } .tp-full-main #tp-map-hide { display: none !important; /* Hide map close button in full mode */ } `); }, drawUI: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; // 1. Handle "Closed" state (Launcher in user menu) if (this.data.closed && !isFullMode) { $('#tp-widget, #tp-minimized-icon').remove(); $('#tp-map-container').hide().detach().appendTo('body'); this.drawLauncher(); return; } else { $('.tp-launcher-icon, #tp-launcher-li').remove(); $('#tp-launcher').remove(); } // 2. Handle "Minimized" state (Floating Icon) if (this.data.minimized && !isFullMode) { $('#tp-widget').remove(); $('#tp-map-container').hide().detach().appendTo('body'); $('body').append(`<div id="tp-minimized-icon" title="Expand Trip Planner">🎒</div>`); return; } // 3. Handle "Open" state $('#tp-widget, #tp-minimized-icon').remove(); // Detach map container before resetting app const $mapContainer = $('#tp-map-container').detach(); if (isFullMode) { $('#trip-planner-app').empty(); } const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); if (this.lastActiveTrip && this.lastActiveTrip !== trip) { if (this.routeLayer) { this.routeLayer.clearLayers(); } this.cachedRoutes = {}; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); } this.lastActiveTrip = trip; let dayOptions = ""; trip.days.forEach((d, i) => { dayOptions += `<option value="${i}">Day ${i + 1}</option>`; }); const safeName = mw.html.escape(trip.name); const safeKey = mw.html.escape(this.data.orsKey || ''); const helpUrl = mw.util.getUrl('Wikivoyage:Trip_Planner'); const fullModeUrl = mw.util.getUrl('Trip Planner'); let $widget; if (isFullMode) { $widget = $(` <div class="tp-full-app"> <div class="tp-full-topbar"> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="margin-right:15px"> <label>Trip:</label> <select id="tp-select-trip" style="padding:4px; max-width:150px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px;"></select> <button id="tp-new-trip" class="mw-ui-button" title="New Trip" style="padding:3px 8px; min-width:auto">＋</button> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="flex-grow:1; flex-basis: 250px"> <label>Name:</label> <input type="text" id="tp-rename-input" value="${safeName}"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Start:</label> <input type="date" id="tp-start-date" value="${trip.startDate}" style="width:130px"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block" style="margin-right:15px"> <label>Days:</label> <input type="number" id="tp-length" value="${trip.length}" min="1" style="width:60px"> </div> <div> <button id="tp-btn-route" class="mw-ui-button">🚗 Route</button> <button id="tp-btn-export" class="mw-ui-button">💾 Save...</button> <button id="tp-import" class="mw-ui-button">📂 Load</button> <button id="tp-del-trip" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-destructive mw-ui-quiet" title="Delete Trip" style="padding:4px 8px; min-width:auto; margin-left:auto;">🗑️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-full-split"> <div class="tp-full-sidebar tp-body" style="max-height:none"> <div class="tp-section-title" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc; padding-bottom: 4px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span>🗂️ Buckets</span> <div> <span class="tp-btn-edit" id="tp-add-bucket" title="Add custom bucket">＋ Bucket</span> </div> </div> <div id="tp-buckets-container"></div> <div id="tp-days-container"></div> </div> <div class="tp-full-main" id="tp-map-container-wrapper"> </div> </div> <div id="tp-menu-overlay" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b id="tp-menu-title">Menu</b> <div id="tp-menu-content" style="margin-top:10px; flex-grow:1; overflow-y:auto"></div> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-quiet" id="tp-menu-close">Cancel</button> </div> <div id="tp-edit-form" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b id="tp-form-title">Edit Entry</b> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Title</label><input type="text" id="f-title"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lat</label><input type="text" id="f-lat"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lon</label><input type="text" id="f-lon"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"> <label>Wikidata</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <input type="text" id="f-wikidata" style="flex-grow:1" placeholder="e.g. Q42"> <button id="f-fetch-wd" class="mw-ui-button" style="min-width:auto; padding:0 8px" title="Fetch Title & Coordinates">⬆️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Note</label><textarea id="f-note"></textarea></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Source Page</label><input type="text" id="f-source" placeholder="e.g. Rome"></div> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" id="f-save">Save</button> <button class="mw-ui-button" id="f-cancel">Cancel</button> </div> </div> <div id="tp-route-overlay" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; background: var(--background-color-base, #fff); z-index: 110; display: none; flex-direction: column; padding: 15px;"> <b style="margin-bottom:10px; display:block">Route Calculator</b> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>ORS API Key <a href="https://openrouteservice.org/dev/#/signup" target="_blank" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:0.9em">(Get Free Key)</a></label> <input type="text" id="tp-ors-key" placeholder="Paste key here..." value="${safeKey}"> </div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Travel Mode</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <select id="tp-route-profile" style="flex: 1; padding:5px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px"> <option value="foot-walking">🚶 Walking</option> <option value="driving-car">🚗 Driving (Car)</option> </select> <button id="tp-run-route" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" style="flex:1">Calculate Routes</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-divider"></div> <div class="tp-setting-block"> <label>Optimize Day Order</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <select id="tp-opt-day" style="flex:1; padding:5px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px"> ${dayOptions} </select> <button id="tp-run-opt" class="mw-ui-button" style="flex:1">Optimize</button> </div> <div style="font-size:0.75em; color:#666; margin-top:2px">Keeps 1st item fixed, reorders the rest.</div> </div> <button id="tp-close-route" class="mw-ui-button" style="margin-top:auto; width:100%">Close</button> </div> </div> `); $('#trip-planner-app').append($widget); // Move map container into its Full Mode wrapper $mapContainer.appendTo($widget.find('#tp-map-container-wrapper')).show(); // Refresh map layout immediately as it might have been moved/resized if (this.map) { setTimeout(() => { this.map.invalidateSize(); this.updateMapMarkers(true); // pass true to fit bounds }, 200); // slightly longer timeout to ensure DOM catch-up } } else { $widget = $(` <div id="tp-widget"> <div class="tp-header"> <span id="tp-toggle" style="flex-grow:1">🎒 Trip Planner</span> <span> <a href="${helpUrl}" target="_blank" style="color:white; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; cursor:pointer;" title="Help / Documentation">?</a> <span id="tp-toggle-btn" style="cursor:pointer; margin-left:12px; font-weight:bold" title="Minimize to Icon">－</span> <span id="tp-close-btn" style="cursor:pointer; margin-left:12px; font-weight:bold" title="Close">✕</span> </span> </div> <div class="tp-content" style="display: block; position:relative"> <div id="tp-menu-overlay"> <b id="tp-menu-title">Menu</b> <div id="tp-menu-content" style="margin-top:10px; flex-grow:1; overflow-y:auto"></div> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-quiet" id="tp-menu-close">Cancel</button> </div> <div id="tp-edit-form"> <b id="tp-form-title">Edit Entry</b> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Title</label><input type="text" id="f-title"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lat</label><input type="text" id="f-lat"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Lon</label><input type="text" id="f-lon"></div> <div class="tp-form-row"> <label>Wikidata</label> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <input type="text" id="f-wikidata" style="flex-grow:1" placeholder="e.g. Q42"> <button id="f-fetch-wd" class="mw-ui-button" style="min-width:auto; padding:0 8px" title="Fetch Title & Coordinates">⬆️</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Note</label><textarea id="f-note"></textarea></div> <div class="tp-form-row"><label>Source Page</label><input type="text" id="f-source" placeholder="e.g. Rome"></div> <div style="display:flex; gap:5px"> <button class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" id="f-save">Save</button> <button class="mw-ui-button" id="f-cancel">Cancel</button> </div> </div> <div class="tp-settings"> <div class="tp-settings-row"> <select id="tp-select-trip" style="flex-grow:1"></select> </div> </div> <div class="tp-body"> <div id="tp-buckets-container"></div> <div id="tp-days-container"></div> </div> <div class="tp-controls" style="grid-template-columns: 1fr;"> <a href="${fullModeUrl}" class="mw-ui-button mw-ui-progressive" style="text-align:center; text-decoration:none; display:block">🗺️ Open Full Trip Planner</a> </div> </div> <input type="file" id="tp-file-input" style="display:none" accept=".json"> </div> `); $('body').append($widget); // Keep map detached/hidden in Widget Mode $mapContainer.hide().appendTo('body'); } if ($('#tp-file-input').length === 0) { $('body').append('<input type="file" id="tp-file-input" style="display:none" accept=".json">'); } this.renderTripOptions(); this.renderBins(); if (!isFullMode) { $('body').removeClass('tp-mobile-map-open'); } if (isFullMode && this.map) { this.updateMapMarkers(); } this.updatePageIndicators(); this.updateWidgetButtonsVisibility(); }, updateWidgetButtonsVisibility: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (!isFullMode) { // Hide day action buttons that are injected constantly in renderBins $('#tp-widget .tp-btn-move').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-edit-bucket').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-remove-bucket').hide(); $('#tp-widget .tp-add-custom-btn').hide(); } }, drawLauncher: function () { createLauncherIcon(() => { this.data.closed = false; this.saveAndRefresh(); }); }, renderTripOptions: function () { const $select = $('#tp-select-trip').empty(); const currentIdx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; this.data.trips.forEach((t, i) => $select.append($('<option>', { value: i, text: t.name, selected: i === currentIdx }))); }, renderBins: function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); // Render all buckets const $bucketsContainer = $('#tp-buckets-container').empty(); trip.buckets.forEach(b => { const isBacklog = b.id === 'backlog'; const $bucketBlock = $(` <div class="tp-section-title tp-bucket-header" data-bucket-id="${b.id}"> <span class="tp-bucket-title-text" style="cursor: pointer;" title="Click to highlight on map, double-click to edit/rename">${b.icon} ${b.name}</span> <div> ${isFullMode ? ` <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-add-custom-btn" data-bucket-id="${b.id}">＋ POI</span> <span class="tp-btn-move" data-move-type="bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}">Move</span> <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-edit-bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Edit/Rename Bucket">✏️</span> ${!isBacklog ? `<span class="tp-remove tp-remove-bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Delete Bucket" style="font-weight:bold; margin-left:5px">×</span>` : ''} ` : ` <span class="tp-btn-edit tp-add-article-btn" data-bucket-id="${b.id}" title="Add current article as destination">＋ Article</span> `} </div> </div> <div class="tp-bin tp-bucket-bin" data-type="bucket" data-bucket-id="${b.id}"></div> `); b.items.forEach((item, idx) => { $bucketBlock.filter('.tp-bucket-bin').append(this.createItemHTML(item, 'bucket', idx, b.id)); }); $bucketsContainer.append($bucketBlock); }); // Render days const $daysContainer = $('#tp-days-container').empty(); trip.days.forEach((day, dIdx) => { const dayDate = new Date(trip.startDate); dayDate.setDate(dayDate.getDate() + dIdx); const $dayBlock = $(` <div class="tp-section-title" style="color:${this.colors[dIdx % this.colors.length]}"> Day ${dIdx + 1} (${dayDate.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })}) ${isFullMode ? `<span class="tp-btn-move" data-move-type="day" data-day-idx="${dIdx}">Move</span>` : ''} </div> <div class="tp-bin tp-day-bin" data-type="day" data-day-idx="${dIdx}"></div> `); day.items.forEach((item, iIdx) => { $dayBlock.filter('.tp-day-bin').append(this.createItemHTML(item, 'day', iIdx, dIdx)); }); $daysContainer.append($dayBlock); }); if (isFullMode) this.updateMapMarkers(); this.updatePageIndicators(); this.updateWidgetButtonsVisibility(); }, updatePageIndicators: function () { const thiss = this; const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); const allItems = [...trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items), ...trip.days.flatMap(d => d.items)]; // Create Sets for fast lookup (Wikidata ID or Lat,Lon string) const wdSet = new Set(allItems.map(i => i.wikidata).filter(Boolean)); const locSet = new Set(allItems.map(i => i.lat + "," + i.lon)); $('.vcard').each(function () { const $l = $(this); // Extract same data as draggable logic const lat = $l.attr('data-lat') || $l.find('[data-lat]').attr('data-lat'); const lon = $l.attr('data-lon') || $l.find('[data-lon]').attr('data-lon'); const wdId = $l.find('[id]').filter(function () { return /^Q\d+$/.test(this.id); }).attr('id'); // Check if this listing is in our data const isPresent = (wdId && wdSet.has(wdId)) || (lat && lon && locSet.has(thiss.parseCoordinate(lat) + "," + thiss.parseCoordinate(lon))); if (isPresent) $l.addClass('tp-in-trip'); else $l.removeClass('tp-in-trip'); }); }, getItemUrl: function (item) { if (!item.sourcePage) return '#'; const src = item.sourcePage.trim(); const baseUrl = /^(https?:)?\/\//i.test(src) ? src : mw.util.getUrl(src); return baseUrl + (item.wikidata ? '#' + item.wikidata : ''); }, createItemHTML: function (item, type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { const safeTitle = mw.html.escape(item.title); const safeNote = item.note ? mw.html.escape(item.note) : ''; const url = this.getItemUrl(item); const orderHtml = (type === 'day') ? `<span style="color:#555; margin-right:6px; min-width:15px;">${idx + 1}.</span>` : ''; return $(` <div class="tp-item" draggable="true" data-type="${type}" data-idx="${idx}" data-bin-id="${binIdOrIdx}"> ${orderHtml} <div style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; overflow:hidden; flex-grow:1; margin-right:5px"> <span style="overflow:hidden; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap; font-weight:bold" title="${safeTitle}">${safeTitle}</span> ${safeNote ? `<span style="font-size:0.75em; color:#666; overflow:hidden; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap">${safeNote}</span>` : ''} </div> <span style="display:flex; align-items:center; flex-shrink:0"> <span class="tp-btn-edit item-edit-trigger" style="border:none; padding:0 3px; font-size:1.1em">✏️</span> ${item.sourcePage ? `<a href="${url}" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; margin:0 3px">🔗</a>` : ''} <span class="tp-remove">×</span> </span> </div> `); }, showMenu: function (title, options) { $('#tp-menu-title').text(title); const $cont = $('#tp-menu-content').empty(); options.forEach(opt => { if (opt.header) { $cont.append(` <div style=" font-weight: bold; color: #555; margin: 12px 0 4px 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; padding-bottom: 2px; font-size: 0.9em; ">${mw.html.escape(opt.header)}</div> `); return; } // Standard Buttons const $btn = $(`<button class="tp-menu-btn">${opt.label}</button>`); if (opt.disabled) { $btn.prop('disabled', true).css({ opacity: 0.6, cursor: 'not-allowed', background: '#f8f8f8', color: '#888' }); if (opt.helpText) { $btn.append(`<div style="font-size:0.8em; font-style:italic; margin-top:2px">${opt.helpText}</div>`); } } else { $btn.on('click', () => { opt.action(); $('#tp-menu-overlay').hide(); }); } $cont.append($btn); }); $('#tp-menu-overlay').css('display', 'flex'); }, exportData: function (format) { const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); let content = "", mime = "text/plain", ext = "txt"; switch (format) { case 'trip': content = JSON.stringify(trip, null, 2); mime = "application/json"; ext = "json"; break; case 'all': const cleanData = { trips: this.data.trips }; content = JSON.stringify(cleanData, null, 2); mime = "application/json"; ext = "json"; break; case 'gpx': content = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><gpx version="1.1" creator="WVPlanner">`; [...trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items), ...trip.days.flatMap(d => d.items)].forEach(i => { if (i.lat) content += `<wpt lat="${i.lat}" lon="${i.lon}"><name>${i.title}</name></wpt>`; }); content += `</gpx>`; mime = "application/gpx+xml"; ext = "gpx"; break; case 'wiki': trip.days.forEach((d, idx) => { content += `\n=== Day ${idx + 1} ===\n`; d.items.forEach(i => content += `* {{listing|name=${i.title}|lat=${i.lat}|long=${i.lon}|wikidata=${i.wikidata || ''}|content=${i.note || ''}}}\n`); }); break; case 'geojson-full': var fc = { type: "FeatureCollection", features: [] }; // 1. Flatten all items (Buckets + all Days) var allItems = trip.buckets.flatMap(b => b.items).concat(trip.days.reduce(function (acc, d) { return acc.concat(d.items); }, [])); // 2. Add Points (Listings) allItems.forEach(function (i) { if (i.lat && i.lon) { fc.features.push({ type: "Feature", geometry: { type: "Point", coordinates: [i.lon, i.lat] }, properties: { name: i.title, note: i.note || "", wikidata: i.wikidata, day: i.day !== undefined ? i.day + 1 : 'bucket' } }); } }); // 3. Add Lines (Routes) from Leaflet Layer using concat if (this.routeLayer && window.L) { var routes = this.routeLayer.toGeoJSON(); if (routes && routes.features) { fc.features = fc.features.concat(routes.features); } } content = JSON.stringify(fc, null, 2); mime = "application/geo+json"; ext = "geojson"; break; } const blob = new Blob([content], { type: mime }); const a = document.createElement('a'); a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob); a.download = `${trip.name.replace(/\s/g, '_')}.${ext}`; a.click(); }, setupListeners: function () { const self = this; const thiss = this; $(document).on('click', '#tp-minimized-icon', function () { self.data.minimized = false; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); // Settings Overlay Toggles $(document).on('click', '#tp-open-settings', () => $('#tp-settings-overlay').css('display', 'flex')); $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-settings', () => { $('#tp-settings-overlay').hide(); self.saveAndRefresh(); // Ensure changes (like rename) reflect in the main UI immediately }); // NEW: Rename Logic $(document).on('change', '#tp-rename-input', function () { self.getActiveTrip().name = $(this).val(); self.save(); // Just save, don't redraw whole UI yet (wait for Close) }); // Move Trip Logic $(document).on('click', '.tp-btn-move', function () { const moveType = $(this).data('move-type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); // if bucket const sourceDayIdx = $(this).data('day-idx') !== undefined ? parseInt($(this).data('day-idx')) : -1; const currentTripIdx = self.data.activeTripIndex; const currentTrip = self.getActiveTrip(); let menuOptions = []; // Helper to perform the move const performMove = (targetTrip, targetType, targetBinIdOrIdx) => { let items; // Cut if (moveType === 'bucket') { const bucket = currentTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId); items = bucket ? bucket.items.splice(0) : []; } else { items = currentTrip.days[sourceDayIdx].items.splice(0); } // Paste if (targetType === 'bucket') { const targetBucket = targetTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === targetBinIdOrIdx); if (targetBucket) targetBucket.items.push(...items); } else { targetTrip.days[targetBinIdOrIdx].items.push(...items); } self.saveAndRefresh(); }; // Helper to add options for a specific trip const addTripOptions = (trip, isCurrent) => { let addedHeader = false; const ensureHeader = () => { if (!addedHeader) { menuOptions.push({ header: isCurrent ? "Current Trip" : trip.name }); addedHeader = true; } }; // 1. Bucket Options trip.buckets.forEach(b => { // Show if: It's another trip OR (It's current trip AND we aren't already in this specific bucket) if (!isCurrent || moveType !== 'bucket' || b.id !== bucketId) { ensureHeader(); menuOptions.push({ label: `${b.icon} ${b.name}`, action: () => performMove(trip, 'bucket', b.id) }); } }); // 2. Day Options trip.days.forEach((day, dIdx) => { // Show if: It's another trip OR (It's current trip AND we aren't in this specific day) if (!isCurrent || (moveType !== 'day' || dIdx !== sourceDayIdx)) { ensureHeader(); menuOptions.push({ label: `➡ Day ${dIdx + 1}`, action: () => performMove(trip, 'day', dIdx) }); } }); }; // A. Process Current Trip First addTripOptions(currentTrip, true); // B. Process Other Trips self.data.trips.forEach((trip, tIdx) => { if (tIdx === currentTripIdx) return; addTripOptions(trip, false); }); if (menuOptions.length === 0) { alert("No destinations available."); } else { const title = (moveType === 'bucket') ? `Move Bucket Items to:` : `Move Day ${sourceDayIdx + 1} Items to:`; self.showMenu(title, menuOptions); } }); // Save Menu Logic $(document).on('click', '#tp-btn-export', () => { const hasRoutes = self.routeLayer && window.L && self.routeLayer.getLayers().length > 0; self.showMenu("Export Format:", [ { label: "Current Trip (JSON)", action: () => self.exportData('trip') }, { label: "All Data Backup (JSON)", action: () => self.exportData('all') }, { label: "GPS File (GPX)", action: () => self.exportData('gpx') }, { label: "Wikivoyage Text (WikiText)", action: () => self.exportData('wiki') }, { label: "Trip + Routes (GeoJSON)", action: () => self.exportData('geojson-full'), disabled: !hasRoutes, helpText: !hasRoutes ? "(Calculate routes first to enable)" : "" } ]); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-menu-close', () => $('#tp-menu-overlay').hide()); // Add / Edit Forms $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-article, .tp-add-article-btn', function () { const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id') || 'backlog'; const pageName = mw.config.get('wgPageName'); const wdId = mw.config.get('wgWikibaseItemId'); if (!wdId) return alert("This page has no Wikidata ID."); self.fetchWikidata(wdId, pageName, (item) => { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId) || trip.buckets[0]; if (bucket) { bucket.items.push(item); self.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify(`Added article: ${item.title}`); } }).fail(() => alert("Failed to fetch article data.")); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-fetch-wd', function () { const id = $('#f-wikidata').val().trim().toUpperCase(); if (!/^Q\d+$/.test(id)) { return; } const $btn = $(this); const originalText = $btn.text(); $btn.text('⏳').prop('disabled', true); self.fetchWikidata(id, null, (item) => { $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); }) .fail(err => alert(err.message || "Fetch failed.")) .always(function () { $btn.text(originalText).prop('disabled', false); }); }); let editingRef = null; $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-custom, .tp-add-custom-btn, .item-edit-trigger', function () { const isNew = $(this).attr('id') === 'tp-add-custom' || $(this).hasClass('tp-add-custom-btn'); if (isNew) { const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id') || 'backlog'; editingRef = { type: 'bucket', idx: -1, binId: bucketId }; } else { const p = $(this).closest('.tp-item'); editingRef = { type: p.data('type'), idx: p.data('idx'), binId: p.data('bin-id') }; } const item = isNew ? { title: "", lat: "", lon: "", note: "", sourcePage: "" } : (editingRef.type === 'bucket' ? self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items[editingRef.idx] : self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items[editingRef.idx] ); $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); $('#f-wikidata').val(item.wikidata); $('#f-note').val(item.note || ""); $('#f-source').val(item.sourcePage || ""); $('#tp-edit-form').css('display', 'flex'); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-add-bucket', () => { initOOUI(); if (!TripPlanner.windowManager) { TripPlanner.windowManager = new OO.ui.WindowManager(); $('body').append(TripPlanner.windowManager.$element); TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog = new BucketEditDialog({ size: 'medium' }); TripPlanner.windowManager.addWindows([TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog]); } TripPlanner.windowManager.openWindow(TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog, { title: 'Add Custom Bucket', name: '', icon: '🗂️', onSave: function (name, icon) { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const id = 'bucket_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9); trip.buckets.push({ id: id, name: name, icon: icon, items: [] }); self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-edit-bucket', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === bucketId); if (!bucket) return; initOOUI(); if (!TripPlanner.windowManager) { TripPlanner.windowManager = new OO.ui.WindowManager(); $('body').append(TripPlanner.windowManager.$element); TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog = new BucketEditDialog({ size: 'medium' }); TripPlanner.windowManager.addWindows([TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog]); } TripPlanner.windowManager.openWindow(TripPlanner.bucketEditDialog, { title: 'Edit Bucket: ' + bucket.name, name: bucket.name, icon: bucket.icon, onSave: function (name, icon) { bucket.name = name; bucket.icon = icon; self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-remove-bucket', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); const bucketId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); if (bucketId === 'backlog') { alert("The default backlog bucket cannot be deleted."); return; } const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const bucketIdx = trip.buckets.findIndex(b => b.id === bucketId); if (bucketIdx === -1) return; const bucket = trip.buckets[bucketIdx]; if (bucket.items.length > 0) { if (confirm(`Bucket "${bucket.name}" contains ${bucket.items.length} item(s). Move them to Backlog first?`)) { const backlog = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog'); if (backlog) backlog.items.push(...bucket.items); } else if (!confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this bucket and ALL its items permanently?")) { return; } } trip.buckets.splice(bucketIdx, 1); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-save', () => { const item = { title: $('#f-title').val(), lat: self.parseCoordinate($('#f-lat').val()), lon: self.parseCoordinate($('#f-lon').val()), note: $('#f-note').val(), wikidata: $('#f-wikidata').val(), sourcePage: $('#f-source').val().trim() }; if (editingRef.idx === -1) { const list = (editingRef.type === 'bucket') ? self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items : self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items; if (editingRef.insertIdx !== undefined && editingRef.insertIdx !== -1) { list.splice(editingRef.insertIdx, 0, item); } else { list.push(item); } } else if (editingRef.type === 'bucket') { self.getActiveTrip().buckets.find(b => b.id === editingRef.binId).items[editingRef.idx] = item; } else { self.getActiveTrip().days[parseInt(editingRef.binId)].items[editingRef.idx] = item; } $('#tp-edit-form').hide(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#f-cancel', () => $('#tp-edit-form').hide()); // Widget Basics $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-btn', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); // Prevent triggering the header toggle self.data.closed = true; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-toggle-btn', function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); self.data.minimized = true; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-select-trip', (e) => { const newIdx = parseInt($(e.target).val()); const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.localTripIndex = newIdx; this.drawUI(); } else { this.data.activeTripIndex = newIdx; this.saveAndRefresh(); } }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-new-trip', () => { const n = prompt("Trip Name?"); if (n) { self.createNewTrip(n); const newIdx = self.data.trips.length - 1; const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { this.localTripIndex = newIdx; } else { this.data.activeTripIndex = newIdx; } self.saveAndRefresh(); } }); // Delete Trip Logic $(document).on('click', '#tp-del-trip', () => { const currentIdx = (this.localTripIndex !== null) ? this.localTripIndex : this.data.activeTripIndex; if (this.data.trips.length > 1 && confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this trip permanently?")) { this.data.trips.splice(currentIdx, 1); this.data.activeTripIndex = 0; this.localTripIndex = 0; self.migrateData(); this.saveAndRefresh(); } else if (this.data.trips.length <= 1) { alert("You cannot delete the only remaining trip."); } }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-length', (e) => { const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const n = Math.max(1, parseInt($(e.target).val())); if (n < trip.days.length) { const backlog = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog') || trip.buckets[0]; trip.days.splice(n).forEach(d => backlog.items.push(...d.items)); } else { while (trip.days.length < n) trip.days.push({ items: [] }); } trip.length = n; self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('change', '#tp-start-date', function (e) { self.getActiveTrip().startDate = $(this).val(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-remove', function () { const p = $(this).closest('.tp-item'); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const binType = p.data('type'); const binId = p.data('bin-id'); const idx = p.data('idx'); if (binType === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId); if (bucket) bucket.items.splice(idx, 1); } else { trip.days[parseInt(binId)].items.splice(idx, 1); } self.saveAndRefresh(); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-run-opt', () => { const dayIdx = parseInt($('#tp-opt-day').val()); const profile = $('#tp-route-profile').val(); // Get selected profile self.optimizeDay(dayIdx, profile); $('#tp-route-overlay').hide(); }); // D&D $(document).on('dragenter', '.tp-bin', function (e) { $(this).addClass('drag-over'); }); $(document).on('dragleave', '.tp-bin', function (e) { $(this).removeClass('drag-over'); }); $(document).on('dragover', '.tp-bin', (e) => e.preventDefault()); $(document).on('drop', '.tp-bin', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); $(this).removeClass('drag-over'); const self = thiss; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); if (self.routeLayer) self.routeLayer.clearLayers(); self.cachedRoutes = {}; const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); const transfer = e.originalEvent.dataTransfer; let isPoiDrop = false; let jsonData = transfer.getData('application/json') || transfer.getData('text/plain'); if (jsonData) { try { const item = JSON.parse(jsonData); if (item.title && item.lat) { isPoiDrop = true; } } catch (err) { } } if (!isPoiDrop) { const htmlData = transfer.getData('text/html'); const $html = htmlData ? $(htmlData) : $(); const $m = $html.hasClass('marker') ? $html : $html.find('.marker').first(); const rawText = transfer.getData('text/plain') || transfer.getData('URIList'); const isWdDrop = rawText && /wikidata\.org/i.test(rawText); if (!$m.length && !isWdDrop) { mw.notify("To drag and drop listings, the Trip Planner widget must be opened first on the source page.", { type: 'warn' }); } } const binType = $(this).data('type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const binId = $(this).data('bucket-id'); // for buckets const dayIdx = $(this).data('day-idx'); // for days const targetList = (binType === 'bucket') ? trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId).items : trip.days[parseInt(dayIdx)].items; if (jsonData) { try { const item = JSON.parse(jsonData); if (!item.title || !item.lat) throw "not a POI"; // 1. HANDLE REMOVAL FROM SOURCE if (item._srcType !== undefined && !e.ctrlKey && !e.shiftKey) { const srcTrip = self.data.trips[item._srcTripIdx]; if (srcTrip) { if (item._srcType === 'bucket') { const srcBucket = srcTrip.buckets.find(b => b.id === item._srcBinId); if (srcBucket) srcBucket.items.splice(item._srcIdx, 1); } else { srcTrip.days[parseInt(item._srcBinId)].items.splice(item._srcIdx, 1); } } // Clean up metadata delete item._srcType; delete item._srcIdx; delete item._srcBinId; delete item._srcTripIdx; } else if (item._srcType !== undefined) { // Duplication mode delete item._srcType; delete item._srcIdx; delete item._srcBinId; delete item._srcTripIdx; } // 2. HANDLE INSERTION const $targetItem = $(e.target).closest('.tp-item'); if ($targetItem.length && $targetItem.data('idx') !== undefined) { targetList.splice($targetItem.data('idx'), 0, item); } else { targetList.push(item); } self.saveAndRefresh(); return; } catch (e) { /* not JSON listing, continue */ } } // .marker from ListingBrowser const htmlData = transfer.getData('text/html'); if (htmlData) { const $html = $(htmlData); const $m = $html.hasClass('marker') ? $html : $html.find('.marker').first(); var pageName = ''; const href = $html.attr('href'); const match = href.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)#(Q\d+)/); const match2 = href.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)/); if (match) { pageName = decodeURIComponent(match[1]); } else if (match2) { pageName = decodeURIComponent(match2[1]); } else { pageName = href; } if ($m.length && ($m.attr('marker-lat') || $m.attr('marker-wikidata'))) { targetList.push({ title: $m.attr('marker-name') || $m.text().trim(), lat: self.parseCoordinate($m.attr('marker-lat')), lon: self.parseCoordinate($m.attr('marker-long')), wikidata: $m.attr('marker-wikidata'), sourcePage: pageName, note: "" }); self.saveAndRefresh(); return; } } // Wikidata URL Drop const rawText = transfer.getData('text/plain') || transfer.getData('URIList'); const wdUrlMatch = rawText ? rawText.match(/wikidata\.org\/.*?(Q\d+)/i) : null; if (wdUrlMatch) { const wdId = wdUrlMatch[1]; const $bin = $(this); const binType = $bin.data('type'); const binId = $bin.data('bucket-id'); const dayIdx = $bin.data('day-idx'); const $targetItem = $(e.target).closest('.tp-item'); const insertIdx = ($targetItem.length && $targetItem.data('idx') !== undefined) ? parseInt($targetItem.data('idx')) : -1; mw.notify(`Fetching Wikidata item ${wdId}...`); self.fetchWikidata(wdId, null, (item) => { $('#f-title').val(item.title); $('#f-lat').val(item.lat); $('#f-lon').val(item.lon); $('#f-wikidata').val(item.wikidata); $('#f-note').val(""); $('#f-source').val(""); editingRef = { type: binType, idx: -1, binId: binType === 'bucket' ? binId : parseInt(dayIdx), insertIdx: insertIdx }; $('#tp-edit-form').css('display', 'flex'); }).fail(() => { mw.notify(`Failed to fetch Wikidata item ${wdId}`, { type: 'error' }); }); return; } // Article[/Subarticle]#Qid if (rawText && rawText.includes('#Q')) { const match = rawText.match(/.*\/wiki\/(.+)#(Q\d+)/); if (match) { const pageName = decodeURIComponent(match[1]); const wdId = match[2]; self.fetchWikidata(wdId, pageName, (item) => { targetList.push(item); self.saveAndRefresh(); }).fail(() => mw.notify("Failed to parse dropped link.", { type: 'error' })); return; } } }); $(document).on('dragstart', '.tp-item', function (e) { const p = $(this); const trip = self.getActiveTrip(); let item; const binType = p.data('type'); // 'bucket' or 'day' const binId = p.data('bin-id'); // bucket.id or dayIdx if (binType === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binId); item = bucket ? bucket.items[p.data('idx')] : null; } else { item = trip.days[parseInt(binId)].items[p.data('idx')]; } if (!item) return; // Add source metadata const payload = Object.assign({}, item, { _srcTripIdx: (self.localTripIndex !== null) ? self.localTripIndex : self.data.activeTripIndex, _srcType: binType, _srcIdx: p.data('idx'), _srcBinId: binId }); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('application/json', JSON.stringify(payload)); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-item', function (e) { // Ignore clicks on action buttons/links if ($(e.target).closest('.tp-btn-edit, .tp-remove, a').length) { return; } const $item = $(this); const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (!isFullMode) return; const type = $item.data('type'); const idx = parseInt($item.data('idx')); const binId = $item.data('bin-id'); self.zoomToMapItem(type, idx, binId); }); // Map & Import $(document).on('click', '#tp-import', () => $('#tp-file-input').click()); $(document).on('change', '#tp-file-input', function (e) { const reader = new FileReader(); reader.onload = (ev) => { const imp = JSON.parse(ev.target.result); if (imp.trips) { const defaults = { activeTripIndex: 0, minimized: false, trips: [], orsKey: self.data.orsKey || '' }; self.data = $.extend({}, defaults, imp); } else if (imp.days) { self.data.trips.push(imp); } self.migrateData(); self.saveAndRefresh(); }; reader.readAsText(e.target.files[0]); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-btn-route', () => { $('#tp-ors-key').val(self.data.orsKey || ''); $('#tp-route-overlay').css('display', 'flex'); }); $(document).on('click', '#tp-close-route', () => $('#tp-route-overlay').hide()); $(document).on('click', '#tp-run-route', () => { const key = $('#tp-ors-key').val().trim(); const profile = $('#tp-route-profile').val(); if (!key) return alert("API Key is required."); self.data.orsKey = key; self.save(); $('#tp-route-overlay').hide(); self.calculateRoutes(profile); }); $(document).on('click', '.tp-section-title', function (e) { if ($(e.target).hasClass('tp-btn-move') || $(e.target).hasClass('tp-btn-edit') || $(e.target).hasClass('tp-remove')) return; const $moveBtn = $(this).find('.tp-btn-move'); const type = $moveBtn.data('move-type'); if (type === 'bucket') { const bucketId = $moveBtn.data('bucket-id'); self.highlightDay(bucketId, 'bucket'); } else if (type === 'day') { const idx = $moveBtn.data('day-idx'); if (idx !== undefined) self.highlightDay(parseInt(idx), 'day'); } }); }, initMap: function () { if ($('#tp-map-container').length === 0) { // Initial placement on body, hidden $('body').append(` <div id="tp-map-container" style="display:none"> <div id="tp-map-canvas"></div> </div> `); } if (!this.map) { this.map = L.map('tp-map-canvas').setView([20, 0], 2); // Default whole-world-ish view L.tileLayer('https://maps.wikimedia.org/osm-intl/{z}/{x}/{y}.png').addTo(this.map); this.map.on('click', () => this.highlightDay(null)); this.map.on('contextmenu', (e) => { const lat = e.latlng.lat; const lon = e.latlng.lng; const popupContent = ` <div style="text-align:center; padding:5px; font-family:sans-serif;"> <b style="font-size:12px;">Map Point</b><br> <span style="font-size:11px; color:#555;">${lat.toFixed(5)}, ${lon.toFixed(5)}</span><br> <a class="marker" draggable="true" marker-name="Map Point" marker-lat="${lat}" marker-long="${lon}" href="/wiki/Special:Map" onclick="event.preventDefault();" style="display:inline-block; margin-top:8px; padding:5px 10px; background:#36c; color:white; border-radius:4px; text-decoration:none; font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; cursor:grab; user-select:none;"> 🎒 Drag to Itinerary </a> <div style="margin-top:8px;"> <a href="/wiki/User:Andree.sk/ListingBrowser?lat=${lat}&long=${lon}" target="_blank" style="font-size:11px; color:#36c; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;"> 🔍 Search listings around </a> </div> </div> `; L.popup() .setLatLng(e.latlng) .setContent(popupContent) .openOn(this.map); }); this.routeLayer = L.featureGroup().addTo(this.map); this.markerLayer = L.featureGroup().addTo(this.map); if (this.cachedRoutes) { Object.keys(this.cachedRoutes).forEach(dIdx => { this.drawRouteLayer(parseInt(dIdx), this.cachedRoutes[dIdx]); }); } } }, // toggleMap removed as per request - map is now persistent in full mode. /** * Lazy-loads an image from Wikidata based on QID */ loadWikidataImage: function ($container) { const qid = $container.data('qid'); // Don't fetch if already loaded if ($container.find('img').length || $container.data('loading')) return; $container.data('loading', true); const wdApiUrl = `https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php?action=wbgetclaims&entity=${qid}&property=P18&format=json&origin=*`; $.getJSON(wdApiUrl).done(function (data) { try { // Dig into Wikidata response for the filename const claims = data.claims.P18; if (claims && claims[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value) { const filename = claims[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value; // Thumb URL (200px) and Full URL (Original) const baseUrl = `https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/${encodeURIComponent(filename)}`; const thumbUrl = `${baseUrl}?width=200`; const $img = $('<img>').attr('src', thumbUrl).css({ maxWidth: '100%', maxHeight: '100%', display: 'none', cursor: 'zoom-in' }); // Wrap in a link to the full-size image const $link = $('<a>') .attr({ href: baseUrl, target: '_blank', title: 'View full size' }) .append($img); $img.on('load', function () { $container.empty().append($link); $img.fadeIn(); }); } else { $container.html('<small style="color:#999">No image available</small>'); } } catch (e) { $container.hide(); } }).fail(function () { $container.hide(); }); }, /** * Parses a coordinate string into decimal degrees. * Supports decimal format and Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS) format. * @param {string|number} input * @returns {number} Decimal degrees or NaN */ parseCoordinate: function (input) { if (typeof input === 'number') return input; if (typeof input !== 'string') return NaN; let str = input.trim(); if (!str) return NaN; // 1. Try simple decimal (with optional hemisphere) // Matches: 48.8566, -48.8566, 48.8566 N, S 48.8566 const decimalMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?)\s*([NSEW])?$/i); if (decimalMatch) { let val = parseFloat(decimalMatch[2]); const h = (decimalMatch[1] || decimalMatch[3] || '').toUpperCase(); if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -Math.abs(val); if (h === 'N' || h === 'E') val = Math.abs(val); return val; } // 2. Try DMS format // Matches: 48° 51' 24" N, 48°51′24″S, 48 51 24 N, N 48 51 24, etc. const dmsMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3})[°\s]+(\d{1,2})['′\s]+(\d{1,2}(?:\.\d+)?)["″\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dmsMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dmsMatch[2]); const min = parseFloat(dmsMatch[3]); const sec = parseFloat(dmsMatch[4]); const h = (dmsMatch[1] || dmsMatch[5] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg + min / 60 + sec / 3600; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } // 3. Try DM format (no seconds) const dmMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3})[°\s]+(\d{1,2}(?:\.\d+)?)['′\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dmMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dmMatch[2]); const min = parseFloat(dmMatch[3]); const h = (dmMatch[1] || dmMatch[4] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg + min / 60; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } // 4. Try D [symbols] H const dSymMatch = str.match(/^([NSEW])?\s*(\d{1,3}(?:\.\d+)?)[°\s]+([NSEW])?$/i); if (dSymMatch) { const deg = parseFloat(dSymMatch[2]); const h = (dSymMatch[1] || dSymMatch[3] || '').toUpperCase(); let val = deg; if (h === 'S' || h === 'W') val = -val; return val; } return parseFloat(str); }, updateMapMarkers: function (shouldFitBounds) { if (!this.markerLayer || !window.L) return; this.markerLayer.clearLayers(); const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); const bounds = []; const thiss = this; const add = (item, color, label, binIdOrIdx, itemIdx, type) => { if (!item.lat || !item.lon) return; const icon = L.divIcon({ className: '', // Clear default class to avoid side-effects html: `<div style=" background: ${color}; color: white; width: 24px; height: 24px; border: 2px solid white; border-radius: 50%; text-align: center; line-height: 20px; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); box-sizing: border-box; ">${label}</div>`, iconSize: [24, 24], iconAnchor: [12, 12], // Center the icon popupAnchor: [0, -12] }); // 1. Create Marker const m = L.marker([item.lat, item.lon], { icon: icon, draggable: true }); m.tpBinId = binIdOrIdx; m.tpIdx = itemIdx; m.tpType = type; m.on('click', (e) => { // Prevent map background click from firing L.DomEvent.stopPropagation(e); this.highlightDay(binIdOrIdx, type); this.highlightListItem(type, itemIdx, binIdOrIdx); }); m.on('dragend', () => { const latlng = m.getLatLng(); const trip = thiss.getActiveTrip(); let targetItem = null; if (type === 'bucket') { const bucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === binIdOrIdx); if (bucket) { targetItem = bucket.items[itemIdx]; } } else { const day = trip.days[binIdOrIdx]; if (day) { targetItem = day.items[itemIdx]; } } if (targetItem) { targetItem.lat = latlng.lat; targetItem.lon = latlng.lng; // TODO: probably this process is repeated somewhere, unify if (thiss.routeLayer) thiss.routeLayer.clearLayers(); thiss.cachedRoutes = {}; $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); thiss.saveAndRefresh(); } }); const safeTitle = mw.html.escape(item.title); const safeNote = item.note ? mw.html.escape(item.note) : ''; // 2. Build Link URL const url = this.getItemUrl(item); // 3. Prepare Popup HTML (with placeholder for image) let popupHtml = `<div style="text-align:center"> <b style="font-size:1.1em"><a href="${url}" target="_blank">${safeTitle}</a></b> ${safeNote ? `<br><span style="font-size:0.9em; color:#555">${safeNote}</span>` : ''} </div>`; if (item.wikidata) { popupHtml += ` <div class="wd-img" data-qid="${item.wikidata}" style="min-width:200px; min-height:100px; background:#f0f0f0; margin-top:8px; display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center; border-radius:4px;"> <small>Loading Image...</small> </div>` } m.bindPopup(popupHtml); // 4. Fetch Image on Click (Lazy Load) if (item.wikidata) { m.on('popupopen', function (e) { thiss.loadWikidataImage($(e.popup.getElement()).find('.wd-img')); }); } m.addTo(this.markerLayer); bounds.push([item.lat, item.lon]); }; trip.buckets.forEach((b) => { b.items.forEach((item, idx) => { const label = b.icon || "B"; add(item, "#777", label, b.id, idx, 'bucket'); }); }); // Days: Label is the day number (index + 1) trip.days.forEach((d, dayIdx) => { d.items.forEach((item, itemIdx) => { add(item, this.colors[dayIdx % this.colors.length], itemIdx + 1, dayIdx, itemIdx, 'day'); }); }); if (shouldFitBounds && bounds.length) { this.map.fitBounds(bounds, { padding: [50, 50] }); } }, drawRouteLayer: function (dIdx, geojson) { if (!this.routeLayer || !window.L) return; const color = this.colors[dIdx % this.colors.length]; const routeGroup = L.geoJSON(geojson, { style: { color: color, weight: 5, opacity: 0.7 }, onEachFeature: (feature, layer) => { layer.on('click', (e) => { L.DomEvent.stopPropagation(e); this.highlightDay(dIdx); }); } }); routeGroup.tpBinId = dIdx; routeGroup.tpType = 'day'; routeGroup.tpDayIdx = dIdx; routeGroup.addTo(this.routeLayer); }, saveAndRefresh: function () { // Capture scroll position const $body = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $body.length ? $body.scrollTop() : 0; this.save(); this.drawUI(); // Restore scroll position $('.tp-body').scrollTop(scrollTop); }, createNewTrip: function (n) { this.data.trips.push({ name: n, startDate: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0], length: 3, buckets: [ { id: 'backlog', name: 'Backlog', icon: '📦', items: [] } ], days: [{ items: [] }, { items: [] }, { items: [] }] }); this.save(); }, makeListingsDraggable: function () { const thiss = this; const pageName = mw.config.get('wgPageName'); const isTouch = 'ontouchstart' in window || navigator.maxTouchPoints > 0; //$('.vcard, .listing-metadata, .mw-kartographer-maplink').each(function () { $('.vcard').each(function () { //console.log($(this)); const $l = $(this); const lat = $l.attr('data-lat') || $l.find('[data-lat]').attr('data-lat'); const lon = $l.attr('data-lon') || $l.find('[data-lon]').attr('data-lon'); if (lat && lon) { const wdId = $l.find('[id]').filter(function () { return /^Q\d+$/.test(this.id); }).attr('id') || ""; const title = $l.find('.fn, .listing-name').first().text().trim() || $l.text().trim(); $l.attr('draggable', 'true').addClass('listing-draggable-proxy'); $l.on('dragstart', (e) => { const data = { title: title, lat: thiss.parseCoordinate(lat), lon: thiss.parseCoordinate(lon), wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: pageName }; const json = JSON.stringify(data); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('application/json', json); e.originalEvent.dataTransfer.setData('text/plain', json); }); if (isTouch && $l.find('.tp-mobile-add').length === 0) { const $btn = $('<span class="tp-mobile-add">＋ Trip</span>'); $btn.on('click', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); // Stop Wikivoyage from opening the map/listing details const item = { title: title, lat: thiss.parseCoordinate(lat), lon: thiss.parseCoordinate(lon), wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: pageName, note: "" }; const trip = thiss.getActiveTrip(); const backlogBucket = trip.buckets.find(b => b.id === 'backlog') || trip.buckets[0]; backlogBucket.items.push(item); thiss.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify(`Added "${title}" to Trip Backlog`); }); // Insert button next to the Listing Name const $nameTarget = $l.find('.listing-name, .fn').first(); if ($nameTarget.length) { $nameTarget.after($btn); } else { $l.prepend($btn); } } } }); }, calculateRoutes: function (profile) { const trip = this.getActiveTrip(); // UI Cleanup $('.tp-route-stats').remove(); $('.tp-item').removeClass('tp-item-error').find('.tp-error-msg').remove(); if (this.routeLayer) this.routeLayer.clearLayers(); this.cachedRoutes = {}; // Clear old cache mw.notify("Calculating continuous routes..."); // Track the end of the previous leg to link days together let previousEndItem = null; const promises = trip.days.map((day, dIdx) => { // 1. Identify valid items in current day // We preserve original indices for DOM injection later const currentDayItems = day.items .map((item, idx) => Object.assign({}, item, { day: dIdx, idx: idx })) .filter(i => i.lat && i.lon); // 2. Construct the routing batch for this day // Start with the last point of the previous day (if exists) to form the bridge let routePoints = []; if (previousEndItem) { routePoints.push(previousEndItem); } routePoints = routePoints.concat(currentDayItems); // Update the tracker: The last item of this day becomes the start for the next non-empty day if (currentDayItems.length > 0) { previousEndItem = currentDayItems[currentDayItems.length - 1]; } // 3. Check if we have enough points to form a line if (routePoints.length < 2) { return Promise.resolve(); } // 4. API Request const coords = routePoints.map(i => [i.lon, i.lat]); const snappingRadiuses = routePoints.map(function() { return 3000; }); // TODO: make global return $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: `https://api.openrouteservice.org/v2/directions/${profile}/geojson`, contentType: "application/json", headers: { "Authorization": this.data.orsKey }, data: JSON.stringify({ coordinates: coords, radiuses: snappingRadiuses }) }).then((resp) => { this.cachedRoutes[dIdx] = resp; // Draw Line (Colored by the Current Day) if (this.routeLayer && window.L) { this.drawRouteLayer(dIdx, resp); } // Inject Stats const segments = resp.features[0].properties.segments; segments.forEach((seg, sIdx) => { // Map the segment back to our batch items const startItem = routePoints[sIdx]; const endItem = routePoints[sIdx + 1]; const dist = seg.distance > 1000 ? (seg.distance / 1000).toFixed(1) + " km" : Math.round(seg.distance) + " m"; const time = seg.duration > 3600 ? Math.floor(seg.duration / 3600) + "h " + Math.round((seg.duration % 3600) / 60) + "m" : Math.round(seg.duration / 60) + " min"; const html = `<div class="tp-route-stats">⬇️ ${dist} / ${time} ⬇️</div>`; if (startItem.day === endItem.day) { // Intra-day travel: Inject between items $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${startItem.day}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${startItem.idx}"]`).after(html); } else { // Inter-day travel: Inject at the bottom of the previous day's bin // This visually represents "Travel after finishing Day X, before Day Y" $(`.tp-bin[data-day-idx="${startItem.day}"]`).append(html); } }); }).catch(err => { console.error(`Routing Error (Day ${dIdx + 1}):`, err); let msg = "Routing failed."; if (err.responseText) { try { const errorData = JSON.parse(err.responseText); if (errorData.error && errorData.error.message) { msg = errorData.error.message; // Try to extract coordinate index from message like "...coordinate 3: ..." const match = msg.match(/coordinate (\d+):/i); if (match) { const coordIdx = parseInt(match[1]); const item = routePoints[coordIdx]; if (item) { const $itemEl = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${item.day}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${item.idx}"]`); $itemEl.addClass('tp-item-error'); if ($itemEl.find('.tp-error-msg').length === 0) { $itemEl.find('div:first').append(`<div class="tp-error-msg">⚠️ Point not routable</div>`); } msg = `Point "${item.title}" is not routable. Try moving it or removing it.`; } } } } catch (e) { console.error("Error parsing response", e); } } mw.notify(msg, { type: 'error' }); }); }); Promise.all(promises).then(() => { // Route calculation complete }); }, optimizeDay: function (dayIdx, profile) { const day = this.getActiveTrip().days[dayIdx]; const items = day.items; if (items.length < 3) return mw.notify("Need at least 3 items to optimize."); if (!this.data.orsKey) return alert("API Key missing."); // 1. Prepare Payload // Fixed Start: The first item in the list const startItem = items[0]; const snappingRadiuses = 3000; // TODO: make global // Jobs: All subsequent items const jobs = items.slice(1).map((item, index) => ({ id: index + 1, // Use original index as ID (offset by 1 because we sliced) location: [item.lon, item.lat], radius: snappingRadiuses, service: 300 // Assume 5 min stop per POI (optional, helps calc ETA) })); // Vehicle: Starts at item[0] const vehicles = [{ id: 1, profile: profile, start: [startItem.lon, startItem.lat], radius: snappingRadiuses, // For a round-trip, add: end: [startItem.lon, startItem.lat] }]; mw.notify("Optimizing schedule..."); $.ajax({ method: "POST", url: "https://api.openrouteservice.org/optimization", contentType: "application/json", headers: { "Authorization": this.data.orsKey }, data: JSON.stringify({ jobs: jobs, vehicles: vehicles }) }).done((resp) => { const steps = resp.routes[0].steps; // 2. Reconstruct Order // Start with the fixed first item const newOrder = [startItem]; // Append items in the order returned by API steps.forEach(step => { if (step.type === 'job') { // step.id corresponds to the index in the original 'items' array newOrder.push(items[step.id]); } }); // Check if all items were visited (API might skip unreachable ones) if (newOrder.length !== items.length) { alert("Warning: Some locations were unreachable and removed from the optimized list."); } // 3. Save day.items = newOrder; this.saveAndRefresh(); mw.notify("Optimization Complete!"); }).fail((err) => { console.error(err); let msg = "Optimization failed. Check API Key or constraints."; if (err.responseText) { try { const errorData = JSON.parse(err.responseText); if (errorData.error && errorData.error.message) { msg = errorData.error.message; // Similar coordinate matching for optimization errors const match = msg.match(/coordinate (\d+):/i); if (match) { const coordIdx = parseInt(match[1]); // In optimizeDay, coordinte 0 is startItem, others are jobs const item = (coordIdx === 0) ? startItem : items[coordIdx]; if (item) { $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${dayIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${(coordIdx === 0) ? 0 : coordIdx}"]`).addClass('tp-item-error'); msg = `Point "${item.title}" is not routable.`; } } } } catch (e) { } } alert(msg); }); }, zoomToMapItem: function (type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { if (!this.map || !this.markerLayer) return; let targetMarker = null; this.markerLayer.eachLayer((layer) => { if (layer.tpType === type && layer.tpBinId === binIdOrIdx && layer.tpIdx === idx) { targetMarker = layer; } }); if (targetMarker) { const currentZoom = this.map.getZoom(); const targetZoom = Math.max(15, currentZoom); this.map.setView(targetMarker.getLatLng(), targetZoom); targetMarker.openPopup(); } }, highlightListItem: function (type, idx, binIdOrIdx) { let $targetItem; if (type === 'bucket') { $targetItem = $(`.tp-bucket-bin[data-bucket-id="${binIdOrIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${idx}"]`); } else { $targetItem = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${binIdOrIdx}"] .tp-item[data-idx="${idx}"]`); } if ($targetItem.length && $('.tp-body').length) { const $container = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $targetItem.offset().top - $container.offset().top + $container.scrollTop(); $container.stop().animate({ scrollTop: scrollTop - 30 }, 300); $targetItem.css({ 'transition': 'background 0.3s, border-color 0.3s', 'background': '#fff9c4', 'border-color': '#fbc02d' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetItem.css({ 'transition': 'background 0.8s, border-color 0.8s', 'background': '', 'border-color': '' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetItem.css('transition', ''); }, 800); }, 1500); } }, highlightDay: function (targetIdx, type = 'day') { if (!this.map) return; const setOpacity = (layer) => { let isMatch; if (targetIdx === null) { isMatch = true; } else if (type === 'bucket') { isMatch = (layer.tpBinId === targetIdx && layer.tpType === 'bucket'); } else { isMatch = (layer.tpBinId === targetIdx && layer.tpType === 'day'); } const op = isMatch ? 1 : 0.2; const fillOp = isMatch ? 0.9 : 0.2; if (layer.setOpacity) { layer.setOpacity(op); if (isMatch) layer.setZIndexOffset(1000); else layer.setZIndexOffset(0); } else if (layer.setStyle) { layer.setStyle({ opacity: op, fillOpacity: fillOp }); if (isMatch && layer.bringToFront) layer.bringToFront(); } }; if (this.markerLayer) this.markerLayer.eachLayer(setOpacity); if (this.routeLayer) this.routeLayer.eachLayer(setOpacity); $('.tp-section-title').css({ 'background': '', 'transition': '' }); if (targetIdx === null) return; let $targetHeader; if (type === 'bucket') { $targetHeader = $(`.tp-bucket-bin[data-bucket-id="${targetIdx}"]`).prev('.tp-section-title'); } else { $targetHeader = $(`.tp-day-bin[data-day-idx="${targetIdx}"]`).prev('.tp-section-title'); } if ($targetHeader.length && $('.tp-body').length) { const $container = $('.tp-body'); const scrollTop = $targetHeader.offset().top - $container.offset().top + $container.scrollTop(); $container.stop().animate({ scrollTop: scrollTop - 10 }, 300); $targetHeader.css({ 'background': '#fff9c4', 'transition': 'background 0.5s' }); setTimeout(() => { $targetHeader.css('background', ''); }, 1500); } }, fetchWikidata: function (wdId, sourcePage, onDone) { const lang = mw.config.get('wgContentLanguage') || 'en'; return $.ajax({ url: 'https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php', data: { action: 'wbgetentities', ids: wdId, props: 'labels|claims', languages: lang, format: 'json', origin: '*' }, dataType: 'json' }).then((data) => { const entity = data.entities ? data.entities[wdId] : null; if (!entity || entity.missing) throw new Error("Wikidata item not found."); // 1. Extract Title (Localized label -> First label -> Fallback) let title = sourcePage ? sourcePage.replace(/_/g, ' ') : wdId; if (entity.labels && entity.labels[lang]) { title = entity.labels[lang].value; } else { const keys = Object.keys(entity.labels || {}); if (keys.length > 0) title = entity.labels[keys[0]].value; } // 2. Extract Coordinates (P625) let lat = 0, lon = 0; const p625 = entity.claims && entity.claims.P625; if (p625 && p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue) { lat = p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value.latitude; lon = p625[0].mainsnak.datavalue.value.longitude; } onDone({ title, lat, lon, wikidata: wdId, sourcePage: sourcePage || "", note: "" }); }); }, }; function createLauncherIcon(onClickHandler) { // 1. Prevent Duplicates if ($('.tp-launcher-icon').length) return; // 2. Create Icon Element factory const iconFactory = () => $('<a>') .addClass('tp-launcher-icon') .attr('href', '#') .attr('title', 'Open Trip Planner') .text('🎒') .css({ 'cursor': 'pointer', 'font-size': '1.2em', 'text-decoration': 'none', 'filter': 'grayscale(0.8) contrast(1) brightness(1.4)' }) .on('click', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); onClickHandler(e, $(this)); }); // 4. Insert into DOM (Mobile vs Desktop) if (mw.config.get('skin') === 'minerva') { const $icon = iconFactory().css({ 'font-size': '1.5em', 'margin': '0 12px', 'display': 'flex', 'align-items': 'center' }); if ($('#pt-notifications-alert').length == 0) { // Mobile $("#page-actions-overflow").before($("<li id=\"tp-launcher-li\" class=\"page-actions-menu__list-item\"></li>").append($icon)) } else { $('#pt-notifications-alert').parent().before($icon); } } else { $('#pt-notifications-alert').before(iconFactory()); const $sticky = $('.vector-sticky-header-icons'); if ($sticky.length) { $sticky.prepend(iconFactory().css('margin-right', '10px')); } } } // lightweight bootstrap $(function () { const isFullMode = $('#trip-planner-app').length > 0; if (isFullMode) { // Auto-load in full mode mw.loader.using([ 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification', 'ext.kartographer.box', 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows' ]).then(() => { TripPlanner.init(); }); } else { // Create the initial "Lazy" icon for widget mode createLauncherIcon(function (e, $btn) { // Visual feedback $btn.text('⏳').css('cursor', 'wait'); // Load dependencies on demand mw.loader.using([ 'mediawiki.util', 'mediawiki.api', 'mediawiki.user', 'mediawiki.notification', 'ext.kartographer.box', 'oojs-ui-core', 'oojs-ui-widgets', 'oojs-ui-windows' ]).then(() => { // Remove the bootstrap icon/wrapper // (TripPlanner.drawUI will handle creating the actual widget UI) $('#tp-launcher-li').remove(); $('.tp-launcher-icon').remove(); // Initialize App TripPlanner.init(); }); }); } }); }(mediaWiki, jQuery)); 9zo1r4ruguvolizo9oqp5s9og3qkbqu 0 208481 5298499 5296510 2026-06-25T19:40:37Z ArtTols 2426451 Update as of bank rebranding; fixed typo 5298499 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|ATM fees banner.jpg|pgname=ATM fees}} ATM providers can charge withdrawal fees for their services. They can be either a percentage of the amount withdrawn, a fixed fee, or a combination of both. Fees can also vary for Mastercard and Visa cards. This page focuses on ATM fees charged to foreign cardholders by ATM operators. This includes prepaid cards such as Revolut or Wise. Please note that your bank or card issuer can also charge their fees independently of ATM providers. A mobile app such as [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atmfee ATM Fee Saver] can also be used to get an estimated amount of ATM fees for a given withdrawal amount. ''See [[Money#ATM|Money:Card costs]] for a more detailed explanation of the fees you could be charged.'' {| class="wikitable" |+ATM fees by country !Country !Bank, fee, type of card, date, comments |- |[[Afghanistan]] | |- |[[Albania]] |'''350 LEK''' - Union Bank (2020) '''650 LEK''' - Credins Bank (Jul 2023, Mastercard) '''700 LEK''' - Tirana Bank (2020) '''fees''' - Raiffeisen Bank '''fees''' - Intesa Sanpaolo Bank '''fees''' - OTP Bank |- |[[Algeria]] | |- |[[Andorra]] |'''free''' - Andbank (Jun 2022, Mastercard) '''free''' - Morabanc (Feb 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Credit Andorra (Jun 2022, Mastercard) |- |[[Angola]] | |- |[[Antigua and Barbuda]] | |- |[[Argentina]] |'''note:''' fees might change frequently due to high inflation '''263 ARS''' - Banco de Lá Nacion/Link (max 4000 ARS) '''300 ARS''' - Badesco (Jan 2019, Mastercard/Visa) '''463 ARS''' - Banco Patagonia/EB (max 7500 ARS) '''fees''' - Santander Bank (max ARS 6000) (2020) '''fees''' - HSBC (max 8000 ARS) (2020) |- |[[Armenia]] |'''free''' - Unibank Armenia (2020) |- |[[Australia]] |'''free''' - rediATM (Jan 2017) '''2 AUD''' - ANZ Bank (Sep 2024) '''4 AUD''' - Westpac (Feb 2024) '''7.50 AUD''' - National Bank of Australia (NAB) (Feb 2024) '''7.50 AUD''' - Commonwealth Bank (Feb 2024) |- |[[Austria]] |'''free''' - Austrian Anadi Bank (2020) '''€ 6.95''' - Bank Austria/Unicredit (2025, Mastercard) '''free''' - Bankhaus Carl Spangler (Jul 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Bawag (2025, Mastercard) '''free''' - Hypo Tirol (Jul 2019) '''free''' - Oberbank (2025, Mastercard) '''free''' - Volksbank Tirol AG (Apr 2018, Mastercard) '''€2.20''' - Hypo Vorarlberg (2020) '''€3.90''' - Spardabank (2020) '''€3.99''' - Volksbank (2020) '''€4''' - Sparkasse (2020, Mastercard) '''€4''' - Walser Raiffeisenbank (2020) '''€4.90''' - Bank 99 (Post Office Savings Bank, formerly P.S.K.) (2025) '''€4.95''' - Erste Bank (2020) '''€5''' - Raiffeisen-Landesbank Tirol AG (Feb 2019, Mastercard) '''€5''' - BTV Bank (Jul 2019) '''€5''' - Sparkasse Tirol (Jul 2019) '''€7.90''' - Raiffeisenbank (2020) |- |[[Azerbaijan]] |'''free''' - Azerbaycan Senaye Bankı (ASB) (Jun 2025) '''free''' - Expressbank (2020) '''free''' - Premium Bank (2020) |- |[[Bahamas]] | |- |[[Bahrain]] |'''free''' - Ahli United (2020) '''free''' - BBK (2020) '''free''' - Habib Bank (2020) '''free''' - NBB (2020) |- |[[Bangladesh]] |'''free''' - AB Bank (2020) |- |[[Barbados]] | |- |[[Belarus]] |'''free''' - Belarusbank (2020) '''free''' - Belinvestbank (Apr 2019) '''free''' - MTBank (2020) '''9 BYN''' - Alfa Bank (2020) '''10.5 BYN''' - Belaprombank (2020) '''2.5%''' - Belaruski Narodni Bank (2020) '''3%''' - Belgazprombank (2020) |- |[[Belgium]] |'''free''' - Beobank (2020) '''free''' - ING (2020) '''free''' - KBC (2020, Visa) '''declined''' - BNP Paribas Fortis (Mastercard) |- |[[Belize]] |'''free''' - Atlantik Bank (2020) |- |[[Benin]] |'''3500 XOF''' - Societé Générale (Mar 2025, Visa) '''free''' - BIIC Banque Internationale pour l'Industrie et le Commerce (Mar 2025) |- |[[Bhutan]] | |- |[[Bolivia]] |'''free''' - Banco Bisa (2020) '''free''' - Banco Fie (Mar 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz (2020) '''free''' - Banco Pyme Ecofuturo (Dec 2016) |- |[[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] |'''free''' - Sberbank (Apr 2019) '''free''' - MFBank (Nov 2024) '''7 BAM''' - Sparkasse '''10 BAM''' - Splitska (2020) '''10 BAM''' - Asa (2020) '''10 BAM''' - Intesa Sanpaolo Banka (2020) '''10 BAM''' - UniCredit Bank (2020) '''10 BAM''' - Zirrat Bank (2020) '''10 BAM''' - Raiffeisen (2020) '''15 BAM''' - Addiko Bank (2020) '''15 BAM''' - Nova Banka (2020) |- |[[Botswana]] |'''free''' - Barclays (Jun 2018, Mastercard) |- |[[Brazil]] |'''free''' - Banco do Brasil (Sep 2018, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Branco Bradesco (2020, Visa) '''declined''' - Branco Bradesco (Aug 2019, Mastercard) '''declined''' - Itau (Feb 2019, Visa) |- |[[Brunei]] | |- |[[Bulgaria]] |'''free''' - DSK Bank (2020) '''free''' - Central Cooperative Bank (CCB) (2020) '''free''' - United Bulgarian Bank '''free''' - Fibank '''free''' - SG Express Bank '''free''' - Piraeus Bank Bulgaria '''free''' - Eurobank '''free''' - Postbank '''free''' - ProCredit Bank '''free''' - Tokuda Bank (Aug 2019, Mastercard) '''€3''' - Raiffeisenbank '''~€3.12''' - Unicredit Bulbank (2020) |- |[[Burkina Faso]] | |- |[[Burundi]] | |- |[[Cape Verde]] | |- |[[Cambodia]] |'''free''' - MB Bank (only in Phnom Penh) (max 1000 USD) (2020) '''5 USD''' - Canadia (Feb 2020, Mastercard) '''5 USD''' - Maybank |- |[[Cameroon]] | |- |[[Canada]] |'''free''' - Alterna Savings (Feb 2020, Visa) '''free''' - Blueshore Financial (2020) '''free''' - Desjardins Bank (2020) '''free''' - National Bank/Banque Nationale (Oct 2018) '''free''' - Scotiabank (2020) '''free''' - Tangerine (Oct 2018) '''free''' - Vancity (2020) '''3 CAD''' - TD Canada Trust '''declined''' - National Bank/Banque Nationale (Feb 2020, Visa) |- |[[Cayman Islands]] |'''free''' - Esso (gas stations) (2020) |- |[[Central African Republic]] | |- |[[Chad]] | |- |[[Chile]] |'''free''' - Banco Internacional (Aug 2025) '''5000-6500 CLP''' - Banco de Chile (Jan 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''5000-6500 CLP''' - Santander (Jan 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''5000-6500 CLP''' - Banco de Estado (Jul 2025, Visa/Mastercard) |- |[[China]] |'''note:''' VPN might be necessary to access the Revolut app '''free''' - Bank of China (Nov 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - CITIC (Jul 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Agricultural Bank of China (Nov 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - ICBC (Nov 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - China Construction Bank (Nov, Visa/Mastercard) '''declined''' - Postal Savings Bank (Oct 2018) |- |[[Colombia]] |'''12000 COP''' - Bancolombia '''14500 COP''' - Banco de Colombia '''15000 COP''' - BBVA (max 300 000 COP) (2020) '''18000 COP''' - Banco Caja Social (max 3 000 000 COP) (2020) '''21000 COP''' - Colpatria (Scotiabank) '''22500 COP''' - Servibanca (max 2 000 000 COP) (May 2024) '''25000 COP''' - Davivienda (forced DCC) (May 2024) '''7-8% (max 300 000 COP)''' - Banco Caja Social (max 2 000 000 COP) (forced DCC) (2020) |- |[[Comoros]] |'''fees''' - BIC (BNP-Paribas subsidiary) (Dec 2018) |- |[[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo, Democratic Republic of the]] | |- |[[Republic of the Congo|Congo, Republic of the]] | |- |[[Costa Rica]] |'''free''' - BAC Credomatic (Nov 2018) '''free''' - Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) (Aug 2023) '''free''' - Banco Nacional (BN) (Aug 2023) |- |[[Côte d'Ivoire|Côte d’Ivoire]] |'''free''' - BNI (jan 2026, Visa) '''free''' - Ecobank (jan 2026, Visa) |- |[[Croatia]] |'''free''' - ATM Euronet (Sep 2018, Visa) '''free''' - Addiko Bank (Aug 2019) '''free''' - Agram Banka (2020) '''free''' - Auro Domus (Aug 2019) '''free''' - Erste Bank (Oct 2018) '''free''' - Euronet Worldwide (with Raiffeisen-Logo) (2020) '''free''' - Hrvatska Postanska Banka (HPB) (2020) '''free''' - IKB (Istarska Kreditna Banka) (Apr 2019) '''free''' - Kent Bank (2020) '''free''' - PBZ (Privredna Banka Zagreb) (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Sberbank (Apr 2019) '''free''' - Splitska Banka '''16 HRK''' - PBZ (Privredna Banka Zagreb) (Visa) '''22 HRK''' - RaiffeisenBank (2020, Mastercard) '''22 HRK''' - Zagrebačka banka (2020) '''22 HRK''' - OTP banka (2020) |- |[[Cuba]] | |- |[[Cyprus]] |'''free''' - Alpha Bank (Jul 2019) '''free''' - Bank of Cyprus (Aug 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Helleniki (Jul 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) (Feb 2025, Mastercard) '''€4.95''' - Euronet (Mar 2025, Mastercard) |- |[[Czech Republic]] |'''free''' - CSOB (Dec 2018) '''free''' - Fio (Dec 2018) '''free''' - Komerční Banka (KB) (Oct 2022, Mastercard) '''free''' - Raiffeisen Bank (2020) '''125 CZK''' - Airbank (no fees warning) (Dec 2023) '''155 CZK''' - Unicredit Bank (2020) '''169 CZK''' - Česká spořitelna (2020) '''195 CZK''' - Moneta Money Bank |- |[[Denmark]] |'''free''' - Nordea (2020, Mastercard) '''free''' - Nordjyske Bank (Aug 2019) '''fees''' - Danske Bank |- |[[Djibouti]] | |- |[[Dominica]] | |- |[[Dominican Republic]] |'''note:''' Mastercard doesn't seem to work at any ATM as of Nov 2018 '''free''' - Jumbo ATM (Nov 2018, Visa) '''free''' - Scotiabank (2020) '''300 DOP''' - Banreservas (max 10 000 DOP) (2020) |- |[[East Timor]] | |- |[[Ecuador]] |'''free''' - Banco del Austro (2020, Mastercard) '''free''' - Banco International (2020) '''free''' - Cajeros JEP (Aug 2019, Visa) '''$1.5''' - Banco Guayaquil (Oct 2018) '''$2''' - Banco Bolivariano (Oct 2018) '''$3''' - Banco Pacífico (Oct 2018) '''$4''' - Produbanco (2020) '''$4.48''' - Banco Pichincha (2020) |- |[[Egypt]] |'''free''' - Banque Misr (2020) '''free''' - Banque du Caire (BDC) (2020) '''free''' - QNB (2020) |- |[[El Salvador]] |'''free''' - Banco Hipotecario (2020) '''free''' - Scotiabank (2020) |- |[[Equatorial Guinea]] |'''free''' - Ecobank (Mar 2025, Mastercard) |- |[[Eritrea]] | |- |[[Estonia]] |'''free''' - SEB (2020) '''free''' - Swedbank (2020) '''free''' - Luminor (2020) |- |[[Eswatini]] | |- |[[Ethiopia]] | |- |[[Fiji]] |'''10 FJD''' - BRED Bank (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''10 FJD''' - Bank South Pacific (BSP) (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''15 FJD''' - Westpac Fiji (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''15 FJD''' - ANZ (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''declined''' - HFC Bank (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''declined''' - Bank of Baroda (Oct 2024, Mastercard) |- |[[Finland]] |'''free''' - Forex (up to €450) (2020 '''fees''' - Nosti |- |[[France]] |'''note:''' Any bigger bank is '''free''' for Visa and Mastercard '''free''' - BNP '''free''' - Societé Génerale |- |[[Gabon]] | |- |[[Gambia]] |'''note:''' Gambia has a cash society where cards are rarely taken and a 3-5% fee is charged if you can use one, plus some places then convert GMD to USD before charging your card. Better bring cash, EUR/GBP/USD best but most accepted. '''200 GMD''' - Standard Chartered Bank (Mastercard) |- |[[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] |'''free''' - Basisbank (Jul 2025) '''2 GEL''' - KSB Bank Georgia (2020) '''3 GEL''' - Bank of Georgia (2020) '''3 GEL''' - Liberty Bank (2020) |- |[[Germany]] |'''note:''' most ATMs should be free, however there is detailed information below '''free''' - Baden-Württembergische (Dec 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Commerzbank (Apr 2019) '''free''' - Deutsche Bank (Apr 2019) '''free''' - Hypovereinsbank (2018) '''free''' - Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) (Apr 2019) '''free''' - Postbank (Apr 2019) '''free''' - Reisebank (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Santander (Jul 2018, Mastercard) '''4%''' - Barclays (Oct 2024) |- |[[Ghana]] |'''10 GHS''' - Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) (2020) |- |[[Gibraltar]] |'''free''' - NatWest (Sep 2018) |- |[[Greece]] |'''free''' - Attica Bank (Aug 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Bank of Chania (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''€2.5''' - HSBC (Jan 2020) '''€2.00''' - Piraeus Bank (2024, Visa) '''€1.90''' - National Bank of Greece (2024, Visa) '''€1.80''' - Alpha Bank (2024, Visa) '''€1.80''' - Eurobank at Hellenic Post "ELTA" (2024, Visa) '''€3.95''' - Euronet |- |[[Grenada]] | |- |[[Guatemala]] |'''31 GTQ''' - BI (max 2000 GTQ) (2020) '''45 GTQ''' - 5B (max 2000 GTQ) (Apr 2023, Mastercard) |- |[[Guinea]] |free - Vista Gui (Barclays Visa) |- |[[Guinea-Bissau]] | |- |[[Guyana]] | |- |[[Haiti]] | |- |[[Hong Kong]] |'''free''' - Citibank (Mar 2017) '''free''' - HSBC (Jan 2019) '''free''' - Hang Seng (Jan 2019) '''50 HKD''' - Bank of China (Dec 2023) |- |[[Honduras]] |'''free''' - Banco Atlántida (2020) '''free''' - BANET (Apr 2023, Mastercard) |- |[[Hungary]] |'''note:''' all mayor bank ATMs are free of charge '''free''' - Unicreditbank (Mar 2019) '''fees''' - Euronet (2020) |- |[[Iceland]] |'''180 ISK + 1%''' - Tomato ATM |- |[[India]] |'''free''' - Bank of Baroda (Jan 2023) '''free''' - Bank of India (Jan 2023) '''free''' - Canara Bank (Jan 2023) '''free''' - HDFC Bank (2020) '''free''' - Indusch Bank (2020) '''free''' - Kasturba (Mar 2018) '''free''' - RBL Bank (Aug 2019) '''free''' - State Bank of India (Jan 2023) '''free''' - Yes Bank (Sep 2016) '''200 INR''' - Kotak Mahindra Bank (Sep 2019) '''fees''' - Infusing Bank '''fees''' - Icici Bank '''fees''' - IndusInd Bank |- |[[Indonesia]] |'''free''' - Bank Mandiri (2020) '''free''' - Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) (Sep 2024) '''80000 IDR''' - CIMB Niaga (2025) '''free''' - Maybank (2020) '''free''' - Bank Central Asia (BCA) (2020) '''80000 IDR''' - PT Abadi Tambah Mulia Internasional (ATMi) (2025) |- |[[Iran]] | |- |[[Iraq]] | |- |[[Ireland]] |'''free''' - Allied Irish Bank AIB (May 2017) '''free''' - Bank of Ireland (May 2018) |- |[[Israel]] |'''free''' - Bank Hapoalim (2020) '''free''' - Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot (Dec 2019) '''free''' - Discount Bank (Nov 2018) |- |[[Italy]] |'''free''' - Banca Carige (Nov 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Banca Popolare di Sondrio ( Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - BNP Paribas (2020) '''free''' - BPM Spa Bank (2023, Mastercard) '''free''' - Cariparma (Mar 2018) '''free''' - Deutsche Bank (2020) '''free''' - Poste Italiane (Jan 2024, Mastercard) '''free''' - Raiffeisen (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Sparkasse (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Unicredit (Mar 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Volksbank (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''€3''' - Intesa Sanpaolo (Mastercard) '''€3''' - BNL (2023, Mastercard/Visa) '''€3.95''' - Euronet (Sep 2020, Mastercard) |- |[[Jamaica]] |'''note:''' most ATMs (except for the airport) don't charge fees '''J$585''' - Scotiabank (Jun 2019) '''J$585''' - NCB (Jun 2019) '''J$585''' - JMMB (Jun 2019) |- |[[Japan]] |'''note:''' be aware of the general issue of using Revolut there (due to non-acceptance of Visa/MC for withdrawal). Postbank, CityBank and Mizuho should work. '''free''' - 7-Eleven (2020, Mastercard) (only partly for Visa) '''free''' - AEON Bank (2020) '''100 JPY''' - common Convenience Store chains (e.g. Ministop) (max 10000 JPY, '''220 JPY''' for higher amounts) (2020) |- |[[Jordan]] |'''free''' - Jordan Kuwait Bank (2020, Mastercard) '''1 JOD''' - Investmentbank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''3 JOD''' - Arab Bank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''3.5 JOD''' - Jordan Islamic Bank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''5 JOD''' - Cairo Amman Bank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''5 JOD''' - Bank of Jordan (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''5 JOD''' - Bank Al Etihad (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''5 JOD''' - Capitalbank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''declined''' - Housing Bank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) |- |[[Kazakhstan]] |'''free''' - Halyk Bank (2020) '''free''' - Sberbank (Jun 2019) |- |[[Kenya]] |'''free''' - Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) (Apr 2024) '''free''' - Ecobank (Mar 2024) '''free''' - Equity Bank (May 2018) '''free''' - Gulf African Bank (Apr 2024) '''free''' - National Bank (2020) '''free''' - Watamu (Dec 2018, Mastercard) |- |[[Kiribati]] | |- |[[North Korea|Korea, North]] | |- |[[South Korea|Korea, South]] |'''note:''' many ATMs don't accept foreign cards '''free''' - KB Star (Nov 2017) '''free''' - Nonghyup (NH) Bank (2020) '''free''' - Shinhan (Nov 2017) '''3600 KRW''' - KEB Hana '''3600 KRW''' - Woori '''3600 KRW''' - IBK '''3600 KRW''' - Standard Chartered '''3600 KRW''' - ATMs in convenience stores |- |[[Kosovo]] |'''free''' - BKT / Banka Kombetare Tregtare (Oct 2019, Mastercard) '''€5''' - Raiffeisen (Apr 2019) |- |[[Kuwait]] |'''free''' - Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (min 10 KWD) (2020) '''free''' - BBK Burgan Bank of Kuwait (Aug 2019) '''free''' - NBK National Bank of Kuwait (Aug 2019) |- |[[Kyrgyzstan]] |'''free''' - Demir Bank (Sep 2018) '''free''' - Dosredobank (2020) '''free''' - KICB Bank (2020) '''free''' - Optima Bank (Sep 2018) |- |[[Laos]] |'''30 000 LAK''' - BCEL (max 2 000 000 LAK) (2020, Mastercard) |- |[[Latvia]] |'''free''' - SEB (2020) |- |[[Lebanon]] | |- |[[Lesotho]] | |- |[[Liberia]] | |- |[[Libya]] | |- |[[Liechtenstein]] | |- |[[Lithuania]] |'''note''': all ATM withdrawals should be free of charge '''free''' - Citadele Banka (Apr 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Luminor Bank (Apr 2019, Visa) '''free''' - SEB Banka (Apr 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Swedbank (Apr 2019, Visa) |- |[[Luxembourg]] | |- |[[Madagascar]] | |- |[[Malawi]] | |- |[[Malaysia]] |'''free''' - BSN Bank (Mar 2018, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - CIMB Bank (2020, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Hong Leong Bank (Jan 2024) '''free''' - HSBC (2020) '''free''' - Maybank (Mar 2018, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - RHB Bank (Mar 2020, Mastercard) |- |[[Maldives]] |'''free''' - Habib Bank (Nov 2022, Visa) '''100 MVR''' - Habib Bank (Aug 2025, Mastercard) '''100 MVR''' - Bank of Maldives (Aug 2025, Mastercard) |- |[[Mali]] | |- |[[Malta]] |'''free''' - BOV (Bank of Valletta) (Sep 2019) '''free''' - HSBC (Sep 2019) |- |[[Marshall Islands]] | |- |[[Mauritania]] | |- |[[Mauritius]] |'''free''' - MCB (2026, Mastercard) '''free''' - SBM (2026, Mastercard) '''free''' - SBA Bank (2020) '''3%''' - SCB (2023) '''fees''' - ABSA Bank (2020) |- |[[Mexico]] |'''25.52 MXN''' - BBVA Bancomer (2018) '''20 MXN''' - BanCoppel (2020) '''30.74 MXN''' - Citi Banamex (2018) '''33 MXN''' - HSBC (2018) '''34.80 MXN''' - Santander (2018) '''46 MXN''' - Banorte (2018) '''50 MXN''' - CIBanco (max 25 000 MXN) (2020) |- |[[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia, Federated States of]] |'''$4''' - Bank of Guam (2020) '''$5''' - Bank of FSM (2020) |- |[[Moldova]] |'''free''' - EuroCreditBank (Aug 2025) |- |[[Monaco]] | |- |[[Mongolia]] |'''free''' - Khan Bank (Oct 2019, Mastercard) |- |[[Montenegro]] |'''free''' - Crnogorska Komercijalna Banka (Aug 2019) '''free''' - Erste Bank (Oct 2022, Mastercard) '''free''' - Universal Capital Bank (2020) |- |[[Morocco]] |'''free''' - Al Barid Bank (البريد بنك) (Nov 2024) '''free''' - Banque Populaire (Feb 2017) '''free''' - BMCE (Sep 2018, Visa) '''20 MAD''' - CIH Bank (Aug 2019) '''23 MAD''' - Attijariwafa Bank (Feb 2019, Mastercard) '''28 MAD''' - BMCI (BNP Group) (2020) '''30 MAD''' - Societe General '''30 MAD''' - BMCE (Aug 2019, Mastercard) '''36 MAD''' - Crédit agricole du Maroc (2020) '''4%''' - Bank of Africa |- |[[Mozambique]] | |- |[[Myanmar]] |'''6500 MMK''' - KBZ (Dec 2019, Mastercard) '''6500 MMK''' - CB Bank (Dec 2019, Mastercard) |- |[[Namibia]] | |- |[[Nauru]] | |- |[[Nepal]] |'''500 NPR''' - Nabil Bank (Nov 2019, Mastercard) '''500 NPR''' - Standard Chartered Bank (Nov 2019, Mastercard) '''500 NPR''' - Himalayan Bank (Nov 2019, Mastercard) '''fees''' - Everest Bank (Nov 2019) '''fees''' - Kailash Bikas Bank (Nov 2019) '''fees''' - Nepal Bank Limited (Nov 2019) '''fees''' - Nepal Investment Bank '''declined''' - Prabhu Bank (Nov 2019, Mastercard) '''declined''' - Global IME Bank (Nov 2019, Mastercard) |- |[[Netherlands]] |'''free''' - ABN-AMRO (2020) '''free''' - Geldmaat (2020) '''free''' - ING (2020) '''free''' - Rabobank (2020) '''free''' - SNS (May 2019) |- |[[New Zealand]] |'''free''' - BNZ (2020) '''free''' - Kiwibank (2020) '''free''' - Westpac (2020) '''fees''' - ANZ '''fees''' - ASB '''fees''' - NBS |- |[[Nicaragua]] |'''free''' - Bancared (2020) '''free''' - BDF (2020) '''136 NIO''' - Lafise (2020) '''146 NIO''' - BAC (2020) '''146 NIO''' - Banpro (2020) |- |[[Niger]] | |- |[[Nigeria]] |'''free''' - Access Bank (Mar 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Diamond Bank (Mar 2019, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - UBA (Mar 2019, Visa/Mastercard) |- |[[North Macedonia]] |'''free''' - Central Cooperative Bank (CCB) (2020) '''free''' - Ohridska Banka (Jul 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Sparkasse Bank (Jul 2019, Mastercard) '''150 MKD''' - Halkbank (2020, Mastercard) '''250 MKD''' - Stopanska Banka (2020, Mastercard) |- |[[Norway]] | |- |[[Oman]] |'''free''' - Bank Dhofar (Nov 2018) '''free''' - Bank Muscat (Nov 2022, Visa/Mastercard) |- |[[Pakistan]] | |- |[[Palau]] | |- |[[Panama]] |'''3 USD''' - Scotia Bank '''6.50 USD''' - Airport ATMs |- |[[Papua New Guinea]] | |- |[[Paraguay]] | |- |[[Peru]] |'''free''' - BCP (Sep 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Banco de la Nacion (Multired ATMs) (2020) '''free''' - Caja Arequipa (Dec 2023) '''free''' - Caja Cusco (2020) '''free''' - Caja Piura (2020) '''25 PEN''' - BBVA (max 400 PEN) (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''fees''' - Interbank (Dec 2023) '''fees''' - Scotiabank (Dec 2023) |- |[[Philippines]] |'''Note:''' most ATMs in the country connect to global payment networks via the [https://bancnet.com.ph/atm/ local '''BancNet''' interbanking scheme], which charges '''250 PHP''' for foreign withdrawals. BancNet ATMs support China UnionPay, Diner's Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard/Cirrus, Visa/PLUS, and the Extended Korea Payment Network (ExK), but notably '''excludes American Express'''. Except as mentioned, even banks and other ATM operators which directly connect to global payment networks (e.g. BDO and Euronet) will still charge the 250 PHP foreign withdrawal fee. '''free''' - HSBC (Jan 2025) '''250 PHP''' - BDO (Banco de Oro) (Jan 2025; includes American Express) '''250 PHP''' - DBP (2025) |- |[[Poland]] |'''free''' - ATM Euronet (Sep 2018, Visa) (fees with Mastercard) '''free''' - ATM Global (Sep 2018, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Bank Pekao SA (Aug 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Millenium Bank (2020) '''free''' - PKO Bank Polski (Aug 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Erste (ex-Santander, ex-BZWBK) (2020) |- |[[Portugal]] |'''note:''' ATMs are mostly '''free''' '''free''' - Millennium BCP (Dec 2019) '''free''' - Multibanco (Feb 2022, Visa/Mastercard) |- |[[Puerto Rico]] |'''free''' - Banco Popular PR (2020) |- |[[Qatar]] |'''free''' - Barwa Bank (2020) '''free''' - Commercial Bank (2020) '''free''' - Doha Bank (2020) '''free''' - QIB (2020) '''free''' - QIIB (2020) '''15 QAR''' - QNB (2020) '''15 QAR''' - HSBC (2020) |- |[[Romania]] |'''free''' - Banca Transilvania (May 2019, Visa) '''free''' - BCR Bank (Aug 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - BRD Bank/BRD-GSG Bank (Oct 2018) '''free''' - CEC Bank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - ING (Oct 2018) '''free''' - OTP Bank (Jan 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Raiffeisen (May 2019, Visa) |- |[[Russia]] |'''free''' - Bank Otrkitie (Jun 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - BIN Bank (Sep 2018, Visa) '''free''' - VTB (Jun 2019, Mastercard) |- |[[Rwanda]] |'''free''' - I&M Bank (Nov 2019, Visa) |- |[[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] |'''free''' - Republic Bank (2020) '''8 XCD''' - Bank of Nevis (2020) |- |[[Saint Lucia]] | |- |[[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]] | |- |[[Samoa]] |'''15 WST''' - Bank South Pacific (BSP) (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''15 WST''' - National Bank of Samoa (nbs) (Oct 2024, Mastercard) |- |[[San Marino]] | |- |[[São Tomé and Príncipe|Sao Tome and Principe]] | |- |[[Saudi Arabia]] | |- |[[Senegal]] |'''free''' - Banque de Dakar (2020) |- |[[Serbia]] |'''free''' - AIK Banka Jubanka (May 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Central Cooperativa Bank (2020) '''free''' - Credit Agricole (2020) '''free''' - Erste Bank (May 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Eurobank (2020) '''free''' - Multicard ATM (Jul 2019) '''free''' - OTP Banka (2020) '''400 RSD''' - Addiko Bank (2020) '''500 RSD''' - Raiffeisen '''500 RSD''' - Vojvodanska |- |[[Seychelles]] |'''free''' - Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) (2020) |- |[[Sierra Leone]] | |- |[[Singapore]] |'''free''' - Bank of China (2020) '''free''' - HSBC (Sep 2024) '''free''' - UOB (min 200 SGD) (Sep 2024) '''3 SGD''' - Citibank (2020) '''5 SGD''' - DBS/POSB (2019) '''8 SGD''' - OCBC (2020) |- |[[Slovakia]] |'''free''' - Postova Banka (Sep 2018, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Unicredit (Sep 2018, Visa/Mastercard) '''free''' - Tatra Banka (Nov 2018) '''free''' - VUB (Aug 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Prima Banka (Nov 2018, Visa) '''fees''' - Slovenska sporitelna (Nov 2018) '''declined''' - 365 Bank |- |[[Slovenia]] |'''free''' - Delavska Hranilnica (2020) '''free''' - Intesa Sanpaolo Bank (2020) '''free''' - SBERBANK (2020) '''free''' - Unicredit (Mar 2019) '''€4''' - Abanka (Aug 2019) |- |[[Solomon Islands]] | |- |[[Somalia]] | |- |[[South Africa]] |'''free''' - Capitec Bank (2020) '''free''' - Standard Bank (2026) '''50 ZAR''' - First National Bank (Apr 2026, Visa) '''50 ZAR''' - Nedbank (Apr 2026, Visa) |- |[[Spain]] |'''free''' - Arquia Banca (Jul 2019, MC) '''free''' - CajaSur Bank (2025) '''free''' - Cajero Automático Ibercaja (2020) '''free''' - Liberbank (Dec 2017) '''free''' - Telebanco (Jul 2020) '''free''' - Unicaja (2025, Visa) '''€1.80''' - Banca March (Feb 2019, Mastercard) '''€3.50''' - Banca March (2025, Visa) '''€6,95''' - Banco Sabadell (2025, Visa) '''€2.90''' - Cajamar (2025, Visa) '''€2.70''' - BBVA (2025, Visa) '''€1.95''' - Banco Popular (Mastercard) '''€2.50''' - Caja Rural Granada (2025, Visa) '''€2''' - Bankia (Mastercard) '''€2''' - Herrero (Mastercard) '''€2.90''' - Targobank (2025, Visa) '''€2.95''' - Kutxabank (Feb 2024, Mastercard) '''€4,95''' - Euronet (2025, Visa) '''€2.95''' - CaixaBank (2025, Visa) '''€2.90''' - Santander (2025, Visa) '''fees''' - Bank Inter (May 2019) '''€5''' - Deutsche Bank (2025, Visa) '''fees''' - ING (Jun 2019, Visa) |- |[[Sri Lanka]] |'''free''' - Bank Nations Trust (Jun 2017) '''free''' - Bank of Ceylon (BOC) (2020) '''free''' - Commercial Bank (2025) '''free''' - People’s Bank (Aug 2025) |- |[[Sudan]] | |- |[[South Sudan|Sudan, South]] | |- |[[Suriname]] | |- |[[Sweden]] |'''free''' - Bankomat-Group (2020) '''20 SEK''' - Forex (2020) '''50 SEK''' - Nokas (2020) |- |[[Switzerland]] |'''note''': any ATM withdrawal should be free of charge '''free''' - Raiffeisenbank '''free''' - UBS (Sep 2021, Mastercard) '''free''' - Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) (2020) |- |[[Syria]] | |- |[[Taiwan]] |'''free''' - Bank of Taiwan (Dec 2018, Mastercard) '''free''' - Cathay Bank (Nov 2017) '''free''' - SinoPac (Nov 2017) '''100 TWD''' - CTBC in 7-Eleven (2020) |- |[[Tajikistan]] |'''free''' - JSC Eskhata Bank (only Visa accepted) (2020) |- |[[Tanzania]] |'''free''' - KCB Bank (Nov 2021, Mastercard) '''free''' - Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) (Nov 2021, Mastercard) '''15400 TZS''' - Barclays ATM '''declined''' - NBC (Mastercard) |- |[[Thailand]] |'''150 THB''' - AEON (Mar 2020, Mastercard) '''220 THB + 1%''' - Express Banking (Jan 2024) |- |[[Togo]] | |- |[[Tonga]] |'''free''' - ANZ Bank (2020) |- |[[Trinidad and Tobago]] | |- |[[Tunisia]] |'''free''' - Al Baraka Bank Tunisie (Sep 2023) |- |[[Turkey]] |'''free''' - Akbank (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Halk Bank (2020) '''free''' - ING (Apr 2019, Mastercard) '''free''' - Post (2020) '''free''' - PTT Bank (2020) '''free''' - Ziraat Bank (Aug 2022) '''4 TRY''' - TEB '''30 TRY''' - Vakif (Aug 2022) '''3.5%''' - Garanti Bank (Apr 2019) '''6%''' - AKBank (2020) '''7%''' - Denizbank (2020) |- |[[Turkmenistan]] | |- |[[Turks and Caicos Islands|Turks and Caicos]] |'''free''' - IGA (Aug 2016, Mastercard) |- |[[Tuvalu]] | |- |[[Uganda]] |'''free''' - DFCU (Nov 2019, Visa) '''free''' - Orient bank (Nov 2019, Visa) |- |[[Ukraine]] |'''free''' - KredoBank (Кредобанк) (Jul 2021, Mastercard/Visa) '''free''' - Oschadbank (Ощадбанк) (Aug 2019) '''free''' - Ukrsibbank (УкрСиббанк) (Jul 2019, Visa) '''10 UAH''' - Privatbank (ПриватБанк) (Visa) '''50 UAH''' - Ukreximbank (Укрексимбанк) (Visa) |- |[[United Arab Emirates]] |'''free''' - Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (Oct 2022, Mastercard) '''free''' - ADIB (2020) '''free''' - Citibank (2020) '''free''' - Emirates (NBD) Bank (Nov 2019) '''free''' - HSBC (2020) '''free''' - RAK Bank (2020) '''25 AED''' - Mashreq Bank (2020) '''25 AED''' - Standard Chartered Bank (Mastercard) |- |[[United Kingdom]] |ATMs operated by high street banks are almost always '''free'''. ATMs operated by large supermarkets and their convenience store offshoots (e.g. Tesco and Sainsbury's) are also usually free. Common banks in the UK are Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, RBS, Santander and Nationwide. ATMs in/attached to independent convenience stores or in other locations vary but often charge fees of between £2-5 per transaction. You should always be advised if there is a fee payable to the ATM operator and be given the opportunity to back out before paying. |- |[[United States of America|United States]] |'''note''': fees might depend on ATM location and not branch '''free''' - Comerica Bank (2020) '''free''' - Santander (May 2019) (Philadelphia) '''free''' - Sun East Credit Union (Dec 2016) '''free''' - Synovus Bank (Florida) (2020) '''free''' - ''WaWa'' gas stations (2020) '''free''' - WSFS (Feb 2018) (Pennsylvania) '''$1.19''' - Actors Federal Credit Union (NYC) (2020) '''$3''' - Citibank '''$3''' - Credit Unions (2020) '''$3''' - First Tech Federal Credit Union (2020) '''$3''' - Seattle Credit Union (2020) '''$3''' - Truist Bank (Aug 2024) '''$3''' - Umpqua Bank (2020) '''$3.50''' - Chase (Aug 2024) '''$3.50''' - Gather Federal Credit Union (Hawaii) (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''$3.50''' - PNC Bank (Sep 2019) '''$3.50''' - TD Bank (2020) '''$4''' - Bank of America (Aug 2024) '''$4''' - BankUnited (2020) '''$4.25''' - ATM Pacific (Hawaii) (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''$5''' - Wells Fargo (Aug 2024) '''$5.25''' - Walmart ATM (Hawaii) (Oct 2024, Mastercard) '''declined''' - Key Bank '''declined''' - Peoples Bank '''declined''' - Union Bank |- |[[Uruguay]] |'''100 UYU''' - Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (BROU) (2020, Visa) '''100 UYU''' - Redbrou (Feb 2019, Mastercard) '''199 UYU''' - Banred (Feb 2019, Mastercard) '''199 UYU''' - BBVA (Feb 2019, Mastercard) |- |[[Uzbekistan]] |'''note:''' usually a '''1.5%''' fee for ATM withdrawals '''free''' - Kapital Bank (Jun 2019) |- |[[Vanuatu]] |'''490 VUV''' - Bank South Pacific (BSP) (Sep 2024, Mastercard) '''700 VUV''' - Isibank (Sep 2024, Mastercard) '''750 VUV''' - BRED Bank (max 100 000 VUV) (Sep 2024, Mastercard) '''declined''' - Vanfuteng Bank (Sep 2024, Mastercard) |- |[[Rome/Vatican|Vatican City]] | |- |[[Venezuela]] | |- |[[Vietnam]] |'''free''' - ACB Bank (up to 3000000 VND) (Visa) (Sep 2024) '''free''' - HSBC (withdrawal in HCMC) '''free''' - MB Bank (Jun 2017) '''free''' - Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) (Feb 2024) '''free''' - Shinhan Bank (Sep 2024) '''free''' - TP Bank (Sep 2024) '''free''' - VP Bank (2020) '''22 000 VND''' - Agribank (2020) '''49 500 VND''' - SeaBank (2020) |- |[[Yemen]] | |- |[[Zambia]] |'''free''' - Stanbic Bank (Sep 2019, Visa) |- |[[Zimbabwe]] | |} {{outlinetopic}} {{PartOfTopic|Financial issues}} 8kc3yieis7fvucjrqf2zfvwtloanasy 0 208598 5298600 5296945 2026-06-26T04:35:29Z InternetArchiveBot 2253620 Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 5298600 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Wv Cairo International Airport banner.jpg}} '''Cairo International Airport''' ({{IATA|CAI}}) is in [[Cairo/East|Heliopolis]], to the northeast of the city around 15 km from [[Cairo]]'s city centre. ==Understand== ==Flights== ====Flight connections==== Cairo airport has frequent flights from other Egyptian cities, the Gulf states and Levant, and usually daily flights from the European and North African capitals. There are direct flights from Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Mumbai, New York, Washington D.C, Tokyo and Toronto but travel from the Far East or North America will usually involve a change. The main operator is [http://www.egyptair.com EgyptAir] (the national carrier) and its [[Star Alliance]] partners [https://en.aegeanair.com Aegean], [https://www.airchina.com.cn/ Air China], [https://flyasiana.com/ Asiana Airlines], [https://www.austrian.com/?sc_lang=en&cc=US Austrian Airlines], [https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/us Ethiopian Airlines], [https://www.ita-airways.com/us/en/homepage? ITA Airways], [http://www.lot.com/ LOT Polish Airlines], [http://www.lufthansa.com Lufthansa], [http://www.swiss.com Swiss], [https://www.turkishairlines.com Turkish Airlines].<br/> [[Skyteam|SkyTeam]] is represented by [http://www.airfrance.fr Air France], [http://www.ceair.com/ China Eastern Airlines], [http://www.klm.com KLM], [https://www.mea.com.lb Middle East Airlines], [https://www.saudia.com Saudia], and [https://www.tarom.ro/en TAROM].<br/> [[Oneworld]] by [http://www.ba.com British Airways], [https://www.iberia.com/us/ Iberia], [https://www.qatarairways.com Qatar Airways], [https://www.royalairmaroc.com/ Royal Air Maroc], and [https://rj.com Royal Jordanian].<br/> Other Carriers include [https://www.aeroflot.com/us-en Aeroflot], [https://afriqiyah.aero/en/ Afriqiyah Airways], [http://www.airalgerie.dz/en/ Air Algérie], [https://airmontenegro.com/ Air Montenegro], [http://alexandriaairlines.net/ Alexandria Airlines], [http://www.almasriaairlines.com/ AlMasria Universal Airlines], [http://www.flyemirates.com Emirates], [http://www.etihad.com Etihad], [https://www.flybaghdad.iq/en/ Fly Baghdad], [https://www.gulfair.com/ Gulf Air], [https://www.hainanairlines.com/ Hainan Airlines], [https://iraqiairways.com.iq/ Iraqi Airways], [https://www.jordanaviation.jo/ Jordan Aviation], [http://www.kuwaitairways.com/ Kuwait Airways], [https://libyanairlines.aero/ Libyan Airlines], [http://www.neosair.it/ Neos], [https://www.nesmaairlines.com/ Nesma Airlines], [http://nileair.com/ Nile Air], [https://nordwindairlines.ru/en/ Nordwind Airlines], [https://www.omanair.com/en/ Oman Air], [http://www.pas.com.eg/ Petroleum Air], [https://www.qatarairways.com Qatar Airways], [https://rj.com Royal Jordanian], [http://www.rossiya-airlines.ru/en Rossiya Airlines], [https://www.saudia.com Saudia], [http://www.scat.kz/ SCAT Airlines], [https://www.sichuanair.com/ Sichuan Airlines], [http://www.smartwings.com/ Smartwings], [http://www.sudanair.com/ Sudan Airways], [http://www.sunexpress.com/ SunExpress], [https://syrian-airlines.net/ Syrian Air], [http://www.tunisair.com/ Tunisair], and [https://www.yemenia.com/ Yemenia].<br/> There are also [[Budget airlines|budget carriers]] [https://www.airarabia.com/en Air Arabia], [https://aircairo.com/en-eg/homepage Air Cairo], [http://www.ajet.com/ AJet], [http://www.eurowings.com/ Eurowings], [http://www.flyadeal.com/ flyadeal], [https://www.flynas.com/en flynas]{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, [https://www.jazeeraairways.com/en-it Jazeera Airways], [https://www.transavia.com/home/en-eu Transavia], and [https://www.vueling.com/en?Currency=EUR Vueling]. ====Terminals==== The airport has three terminals. EgyptAir and all Star Alliance members (Lufthansa Group, Singapore Airlines, LOT, etc.) operate all flights to Terminal 3, which is integrated with Terminal 2 (British Airways, Air France, and some others) through an air bridge. Most other airlines arrive at Terminal 1, like Saudia (Terminal 1 Hall 2), and Sky Team, Oneworld, Emirates, and Etihad (Terminal 1 Hall 1). All terminals offer a reasonable variety of duty-free shops and restaurants. In Terminal 1 there are some duty-free shops opposite the gates, with more shops on the first floor. The lounges, a pub, McDonald's and coffee shops such as Starbucks are on the second floor. Terminal 3 has a central market place and food court, plus some shops and cafes along the concourses. There's not much open seating, as most seating is in the gate lounges which only open an hour before departure. This is okay when flights leave on time, but when there are delays the concourse becomes congested while lots of empty seats lie inaccessible beyond the lounge plate-glass. ==Ground transportation== ===By public bus=== Public buses to [[Cairo/Midan Tahrir|Midan Tahrir]] (read the [[Cairo/Downtown#Stay safe|warnings]] about the district) or [[Cairo/Midan Ramses|Midan Ramses]] runs from the airport bus station, which is connected to the terminals by the free Shuttle Bus (see below). The 356 (٣٥٦) bus is running to both in 2025. The services definitely running in 2018 are the 111 (١١١, direction Shobra, passes by Midan Ramses), and the LE8. These run every 30 minutes and take 60–120 min depending on traffic. Buses 27 (٢٧) and 400 (٤٠٠) may also run. Once you arrive at the airport bus terminal, look for a bus by explaining where you want to go; for the downtown terminal you can say "Abdel Moneim Riad", pronounced "Adbel Moneem Riad", and someone should direct you on to a bus. Buses from downtown to the airport run from the bus terminal Abel Moneim Riad just north of the Egyptian Museum (under the highway bridge). If the stop's not obvious, ask for the airport or in Arabic the word is "matar" (مطار). Scheduled buses no longer run directly from the airport to [[Alexandria]] or other delta cities. Either negotiate a taxi transfer or go downtown for onward transport. ===By taxi=== White meter taxis are available at the terminals. Insist on using the meter. Do not accept a fixed price as this tends to be double the fare by meter. Report taxi drivers who refuse to use the meter to Airport Security or Tourist Police. Refuse to pay the "ticket" (airport parking fee) for the driver. If you are going to downtown Cairo, you may be able to share a taxi with other tourists or backpackers. Have small notes available, mostly the taxi driver will claim not to have any change, but they actually do have. Another option is to use transportation arranged by your hotel or hostel, though this service is often not complimentary. ===By ride-hailing service=== Most Egyptians who can afford it use '''Uber''' taxis, as they have fixed rates. From the beginning of Al-Haram (Giza area around the pyramids) to the airport costs LE200-300, depending on the time and type of car (Jan 2023). '''Careem''' is also readily available, prices might be a bit cheaper than Uber, to downtown Cairo, cost was around LE150 (November 2023). '''inDrive''' is also available. ===By limousine service=== There are numerous limousine services. Pick-up points are in front of the terminals (curbside). The prices are fixed depending on the destination and the car category. Category A is luxury limousines (Mercedes-Benz E-Class), Category B are Micro Buses for up to 7 passengers and Category C are mid-sized cars (e.g. Mitsubishi Lancer). London Taxis are available from Sixt as a new Category D. * {{go | name=Cairo Airport Shuttle Bus | alt= | url=https://cairoshuttlebus.com/ | email=info@cairoairport.travel | address=9 EL-Shaheed Sayed Zakaria St, Sq. 1216 | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 19970 | tollfree= | hours=0:00-24:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content=Microbus service. }} * {{go | name=Sixt | alt= | url= | email=info@sixt.com.eg | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone=+20 19670 | tollfree= | fax=+20 2 4630 1000 | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content=Limousine service. }} ===By car=== ====Car rental==== * {{go | name=Budget | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Arrivals areas of Terminals 1 and 3 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Sixt | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Arrivals areas of Terminals 1 and 3 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Avis | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Terminal 3 Arrivals Area | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Europcar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Terminal 3 Arrivals Area | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Elwefak ElMasreya for Tourism | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Terminal 3 Arrivals Area | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content= }} * {{go | name=Adam for Car Rent | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content= }} ===By metro=== There is a planned metro Line 3 extension to the airport, but construction has not started as of Jan 2023. ===Returning to the airport=== When returning to the airport from downtown, allow at least two hours to get here, and 3 hours from Giza, as the roads can be very congested. The new airport road connects the airport with the intersection of the Ring Road and Suez Road and has no traffic jams. If you depart on Friday morning or mid-day, the trip to the airport will be quick, as roads are deserted while people go to the mosque for Friday prayers. Upon arriving, you must pass through a security checkpoint before you can access the ticketing & check-in area. You'll need a printout of your itinerary or ticket to show the security staff here. After checking-in you will pass through a second checkpoint (including passport control) to get airside, then there's a third just before boarding your aircraft - only then can you restock on water. Allow plenty of time for all this, as lines can be long. There is no left-luggage room at the airport. ==Get around== A '''free shuttle bus''' runs between the terminals and to the bus station every 15-30 minutes, 24 hours a day. At Terminal 3 its stop is at the arrival level on the second island at the end of the bus lane (turn right after the exit and cross the first lane). At Terminal 1 you must leave through the main exit and turn left to get to the station. The Shuttle Bus stops are at Hall 3 in front of the AirMall and at Hall 1 at the curbside. The bus stops are not marked. Sometimes you have to change buses at the bus station due to the driver's coffee break. Taxi drivers will try to lure you at the airport by misinforming you about the free shuttle bus, but if you go outside the terminal, you will find it. ==Wait== * {{do | name=Cairo International Airport Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions=Terminal 2 & 3 | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price=USD 3 (or LE50), for foreign students USD 2, LE25 for Egyptians (from May 2021) | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-20 | content=Terminal 2 displays 304 artifacts from various areas of Egyptian culture over a 100-square-meter area, while Terminal 3 displays 59 artifacts, including a statue of an ancient Egyptian scribe from the Fifth Dynasty, over 150 square meters. The pieces date back to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Coptic, Islamic, and modern times. }} ==Eat and drink== The airport offers a wide selection of dining options, including fast food joints, restaurants, and cafes. ==Buy== ===Customs=== Visitors are allowed to buy '''duty-free''' articles on arrival, up to 4 extra litres of alcohol. At the checkout, a customs official will check your passport and give approval for the purchase. You can be accompanied by the person picking you up. It's fine if you expect to consume what you buy, or treat friends, but there's sometimes a racket where the local person gets you to buy up to your limit on his behalf&mdash; he'll pay you fairly for the extra. ===Getting there/away=== You should exchange some money in the airport &mdash; it is best to do this before going through '''customs'''. Get some change in the process (smaller than the usual LE200 notes), as taxi drivers and others will always claim to be unable to give change. ATMs for all major cards are available in the arrival halls. Visas are available before immigration, for US$30. When arriving at terminal 3, everybody immediately starts queuing to buy visas from one of the bank counters on the left side. It seems these banks often don't accept cards or even [[Egypt#Money|Egyptian pounds]] (LE), which is problematic if you arrive with limited hard currency. There's an ATM on the other side of the area in this case, as well as an exchange office that also sells visas, and accepts Egyptian pounds as currency. So just go there to buy the visa, ignoring the bank counters, and avoiding the queues. Getting to downtown Cairo is often a pain. ==Connect== ==Cope== * '''Restrooms''' are available. * All airport terminals have a '''pharmacy'''. ==Sleep== The airport is on the north-eastern outskirts of the city at [[Cairo/Heliopolis|Heliopolis]]. If you want to spend the night at the airport, there are three hotels available: * {{sleep | name=Novotel Cairo Airport | alt= | url=https://all.accor.com/hotel/0502/index.en.shtml | email=H0502@accor.com | address=Po Box 8 Cairo Airport | lat=30.12117 | long=31.40199 | directions=next to airport | phone=+20 111 111 3822 | tollfree= | fax=+20 2 22693530 | checkin=14:00 | checkout=12:00 | price=US$90 | lastedit=2026-06-19 | content=Closest hotel to the airport. The lobby and public areas have been given a facelift and are now bright, modern, and airy, but the rooms still look and feel like a cheap motel with lumpy beds, and noisy air conditioning. Adequate for a one-night transit, but you wouldn't want to spend your whole vacation here. Free half-hourly shuttle bus from/to airport. }} * {{sleep | name=Le Passage | alt=formerly Iberotel | url=https://lepassage.com.eg/ | email=info@lepassage.com.eg | address=Cairo Intl Airport road | lat=30.12157 | long=31.40109 | directions=Heliopolis | phone=+20 2 22670099, +20 1 00 2176900 - 07 | tollfree= | fax=+20 2 24180761 | checkin= | checkout= | price= | content= }} * {{sleep | name=Le Meridien Cairo Airport | url=https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/caiam-le-meridien-cairo-airport/overview/ | email= | address= | lat=30.11372 | long=31.39588 | directions=Terminal 3 | phone=+20-2-22659680 | tollfree= | fax=+20 2-22659701 | hours= | price= | checkin= | checkout= | content= }} There are other lodging options in nearby Heliopolis. ==Nearby== {{IsPartOf|Cairo}} {{outlineairport}} {{geo|30.121944|31.405556}} ge4o1owkennawipn2d0a1mqx3ectobl 4 214191 5298477 5298392 2026-06-25T18:01:39Z Travelnoweasily 2426435 /* */ 5298477 wikitext text/x-wiki Seven Courses. One Valley. A Living Heritage. In the northernmost reaches of Ladakh, where the ancient legacy of Baltistan endures through culture, cuisine, and community, an extraordinary table awaits. Set amidst apricot orchards in Turtuk, The Balti Farm presents an intimate seven-course dining experience shaped entirely by the rhythms of the land and the wisdom of generations. Each ingredient is harvested locally. Each recipe tells a story. Prepared by the women of the village and served beneath the orchard canopy, this is more than a meal—it is an encounter with place. There are no performances here. No curated spectacles. Only the quiet luxury of authenticity, where food becomes a bridge between traveler and tradition. For those who seek deeper journeys through Ladakh, this is an invitation to slow down, gather around a shared table, and experience a way of life rarely witnessed by outsiders. A taste of Baltistan. A celebration of heritage. A memory that lingers long after the journey ends. Curated by Travel Now Easily Luxury • Experiential • Slow Travel Journeys Across Ladakh 📞 Call / WhatsApp: +91 99067 29397 📧 travelnoweasily@gmail.com Travel Now Easily | TNE Hotels, Resorts & Experiences. Crafting Premium Ladakh, Kashmir and Himalayan Journeys with Exceptional Stays and Unforgettable Experiences. Vc @iammansen Leh Ladakh Hotels | Leh Ladakh Tour Packages | Leh Tour Packages | Leh Premium Tour Packages | Leh Luxury Tours | 5 Star Hotels In Ladakh | 4 Star Hotels In Ladakh | Luxury Resorts in Ladakh | Best resorts in Ladakh | Best Hotels in Ladakh | Ladakh Tour Packages | Stargazing in Ladakh | Boutique Hotels In Ladakh | Ladakh Tour Packages | Hotels in Ladakh | Hotels in Nubra Valley | Best Hotels in Nubra Valley | Best Experiences in Nubra Valley | Things to do in Nubra Valley | Places to explore in Nubra Valley | Signature Experiences in Ladakh == Where is warm, with beaches, in December/January? == I'm hoping to spend a few weeks somewhere warm next winter - ideally not crazy hot, like 20-25 degrees Celcius. Where is reliably warm around that time of year, with natural beauty, good food, good people, maybe good history and culture too? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-77409-4|&#126;2026-77409-4]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-77409-4|talk]]) 17:06, 4 February 2026 (UTC) : Brazil. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 17:39, 4 February 2026 (UTC) ::I have been to Brazil in January 2024, and it was 38 degrees in Rio [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33166-58|&#126;2026-33166-58]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33166-58|talk]]) 19:11, 3 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-77409-4|~2026-77409-4]]: Thailand is also nice at that time of year, and it should be dry season then too. Argentina and southern Australia have beaches but Dec/Jan might be too hot (up to your taste, ofc), keeping in mind it's rainy season in the South Pacific. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:25, 4 February 2026 (UTC) :IDK about every year, but Southern California's beaches have been pretty warm this week! I went to [[Seal Beach]] on Groundhog Day! <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 03:12, 5 February 2026 (UTC) :Pick a dark orange area on the map: :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/samk/TXA_202601_samk.gif South America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/asie/TXA_202601_asie.gif Asia] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/afri/TXA_202601_afri.gif Africa] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/namk/TXA_202601_namk.gif North America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/euro/TXA_202601_euro.gif Europe] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/aupa/TXA_202601_aupa.gif Oceania] :(average high temperature in January) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:18, 6 February 2026 (UTC) ::Mexico fits to the written preferences. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:26, 6 February 2026 (UTC) :Two other ideas: [[Southern Province (Sri Lanka)|Southern]] and [[Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)|Eastern]] Sri Lanka, and [[Northland]], New Zealand! My favourite beaches in these areas are Hiriketiya in Southern SL and Waipu in NZ. Southern and Eastern SL are unaffected by the monsoon at that time of year [[User:Sgroey|Sgroey]] ([[User talk:Sgroey|talk]]) 11:03, 20 February 2026 (UTC) :Australia and New Zealand [[User:Sandrabaray|Sandrabaray]] ([[User talk:Sandrabaray|talk]]) 15:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :Kerala [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-28147-15|&#126;2026-28147-15]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-28147-15|talk]]) 03:42, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :[[Sanya]] on China's Hainan Island is another possibility but can get crowded at that time of year. Nearby options are [[Lingshui]] and [[Wanning]]. Riyue Bay in Wanning is China's surfing capital. A new wave pool resort opened there last year. [[User:STW932|STW932]] ([[User talk:STW932|talk]]) 04:41, 9 May 2026 (UTC) == Is It Safe to Travel to Dubai? Latest Advice == Dubai is not considered safe for travel right now. As of March 2026, Iran has launched retaliatory drone and missile attacks on UAE territory following a US-Israel strike. The US, UK, and Australia have all issued serious travel warnings. The US Embassy in Dubai is closed. Most governments advise against all but essential travel to the UAE at this time. Dubai has long been one of the [[Dubai|world’s most visited cities]]. Millions of tourists fly there each year for luxury hotels, desert safaris, and world-class shopping. But March 2026 brings a very different picture. [[User:TayyabWiki|TayyabWiki]] ([[User talk:TayyabWiki|talk]]) 10:50, 15 March 2026 (UTC) :As of 21st of April Dubai is considered safe for travel right now. [[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]] ([[User talk:Almajidy|talk]]) 08:55, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]]: is it? [https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/middle-east/united-arab-emirates Australia], [https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-arab-emirates Canada] and the [https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates UK] all have the highest travel ratings for the UAE, which includes Dubai. It's probs safe from Iranian airstrikes though tbh, but probs not at the level where we'd be advising travelling there. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :::Some people posting here define safe in terms of direct risk of harm or imprisonment… others (and these govt advisories place a lot of weight on this, too) mean something more like "undisrupted". I tend to go with the former way, and that seems like the only thing the asker is focusing on. That’s not been much of a problem. But disruption actually seems likely. Safe, maybe, and the Dubai gov was (not sure if it still is) paying for tourists to stay in their hotels whenever the airport was closed. But if you care a great deal about getting home on time, or are worried about some force majeure clause in some insurance plan, yeah, maybe it’s not for you. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Additionally, your UK warning does not have its warning at the highest level (do not travel). It’s a step below, saying people should go if they have a good enough reason. The UK ones are always the least sensationalist/hysterical. They’re actually well researched and have nuance. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:29, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :Those warnings tend to err on the side of hysterical exaggeration because governments want to minimize the number of people they'll have to evacuate if the situation changes to some extreme, remote hypothetical that no serious analyst sees coming. If your definition of unsafe is that flights get cancelled and you're stuck there for some time before being able to leave, then sure, I guess it's unsafe. But most people would define safety issues as risk of physical harm or detention, neither of which has ever been even a remote possibility in Dubai since the Iran war started. Sure, they can blockade and ground planes, but firing some missles against a country that Iran doesn't even really care about hurting and that everyone knows will just get intercepted is performative and it's completely illogical to think there's a meaningful risk of physical harm coming from that. Sure, a couple people got hit by debris and died, but you're at a greater risk from a routine car crash or moderate storm. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 15:21, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::A realistic risk is that your insurance company doesn't pay for your additional expenses if you get stuck during a governmental travel warning. I cannot say much about the risk of the situation deteriorating, which could be a major problem for tourists regardless of any actual risk to life and limb. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::That’s a good risk to bring up. The question was about safety, not expense. But I kinda sorta tried to raise that by mentioning you could be stuck there (though physically safe) for quite some time, which sounded expensive to me. But you are absolutely right to make that more clear. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:08, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Insurance, of course, has force majeure clauses. But the obscenely wealthy Dubai gov started paying for tourists to stay in their hotels during airport closures when the war started. I need to research about whether they are doing this for new arrivals if that happens again, since the war is not a surprise anymore. But if the force majeure invalidates not just your travel, but your health insurance policy and you have a major medical bill, that could hurt financially. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:39, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I'll bet many of them were out money due to the cancellation of their air tickets, though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:01, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Which may not be a safety issue in the strict sense, but if someone is coming as a tourist, they may not consider it a "safe" investment if cost volatility is a concern. Honestly we're guessing what safe means when we should just ask {{u|TayyabWiki}} what their bar is. TayyabWiki, are you okay calling it safe if you are not at risk of military harm? Or do you consider upredictiability, unforseen expenses, and airport closures to make it unsafe? I could see how you would mean the latter if you wanted to visit as a tourist; if you're trying to make an urgent visit to meet someone, you have a good reason and may not care about these logistical issues enough not to go. Airlines generally will offer a free rebooking if the flights are canceled, though one may find themselves stuck on a long waitlist. Pretty much, we're all saying the same things here about what's going on in Dubai, but reaching different personal recommendations on worthiness based on individual risk tolerance. Everyone here agrees missile strikes may resume, but are unlikley to cause significant death. However, we also agree that supply chain disruption, airport closures, insurance policy invalidation, and price rises of essentials are significiant risks. Some see those last three and don't care, others do. Depends on why you want to go and how much risk you like to travel with. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 04:39, 26 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::I think one consideration is whether risks are anticipated: if you get hit by a car, that would be seen as pure bad luck by most, and nobody would complain about our not warning about it (we don't have warning boxes even for crazy traffic) – but if bombs start falling, killing some dozen people out of a population of several million, people will be quite upset. Of course the latter is a tragedy, but risk-wise it is totally overwhelmed by the traffic deaths. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 07:11, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::None of us have enough information from this person to know what they consider safe or unsafe, it depends so much on risk tolerance and how critical the trip is. Just asking if it's safe isn't clear enough. I don't want to tell a casual tourist taking their first international vacation to go. I also don't want to tell someone going for a wedding, critical business meeting, or to visit a dying relative to not go, nor am I going to worry about a tourist who's been to 100+ countries and can handle a little unpredictability. I can answer specific questions based on the person's needs if those are actually explained. Lacking that, more of my own tolerance will come out in my answers. [[User:TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 07:28, 27 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{re|LPfi}} They did not respond to my ping above nor have they engaged with anything any of us have written. So we're basically just talking to each other about our personal risk tolerance, which isn't serving any real purpose. Should we just archive this thread? [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:22, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I mean this is a forum where we discuss this kind of stuff –&nbsp;I'd say it still has a purpose (and it is interesting to see how y'all perceive personal risk haha). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:17, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::It has a little bit of a different purpose than Wikipedia noticeboards that are trying to solve a problem, then. Yes, it is interesting to see that! Personally, I could probably count the number of places I wouldn't go on one hand, the news has just given people such an extremely exaggerated sense of how frequently bad things happen. People get shot in the U.S. all the time, and sure, we care, but do we feel unsafe every single day because of it? I don't think most people do. Yet we still see it as reasonable to warn Americans against going to places over the risk of getting shot when they will have actually just moved themselves to a place where it is less likely to happen to them than in their own nation. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 00:21, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :::{{re|SHB2000}} I'd also point out that like the UK, the US, which probably has the most reason to fear for its citizens in the region, does not tell people not to go to Dubai, telling them only to consider whether it's worth it depending on how important your trip is: [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-arab-emirates-travel-advisory.html]. And the US advisories tend to be the extreme ones; they mention a risk of terrorism, which is essentially a fiction since it has never happened in Dubai. So, really, you just have Canada and Australia standing alone in telling people it's some kind of dystopian hellhole they should avoid at any cost. Come on people, we are talking about an ultra-rich, pro-Western, pro-tourist country with a stable government that happens to be ''near'' a war, not in one. This thread reads more like we're discussing an active war zone like Donbas, or an impoverished country with terrorism and unstable government, like Somalia. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:37, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I have been able to confirm that the govt reimbursement of expenses due to airport closures is not ongoing, but the airports are open, so this may very well come back if they close again. However, the airlines, including Emirates, have said people will always get full refunds and offered rebookings in the event of an airport closure, and can even request a refund for any reason even if the airport is open, up to 31 May. Emirates updated this statement just a few days ago: [https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/travel-updates/]. Personally, I'm too busy in my work life to risk being stuck there for a week or more because the airport is closed. But there is a difference betwen being inconvienenced and being unsafe. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 21:04, 28 April 2026 (UTC) == Venezuela safety actually changing? == The U.S. State Department has removed its level four do-not-travel advisory for Venezuela, lowering it to level three on March 19 (consider carefully based on trip importance) [https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/venezuela.html]. They have removed any mention of arbitrary detention or government mistreatment, focusing only on crime and poor infrastructure such as in hosptials, due to poverty. Delcy Rodriguez has been very cooperative with the Trump admin and the U.S. embassy has reopened. Although she is already governing Venezuelans as a dictator, I think there is indeed no risk of her mistreating American tourists becuase she's so reliant on U.S. backing for now. However, the country is extremely impoverished, leading to a high crime rate and gang violence. That seems to be the remaining concern. I'm curious if people here agree with the U.S. that Delcy taking over has essentially made the government no longer a threat to tourists. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:51, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :Maybe would be nice to hear from {{ping|Lord Ravager}} or {{ping|Galahad}}? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:26, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::It reads true to me since it's level 3 and they acknowledge there's still crime risk, just not risk from Delcy. Though there is no question the advisories have gotten more political under Trump. Most glaringly, [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/el-salvador-travel-advisory.html El Salvador was lowered all the way to level 1] after the deal to send people to the {{w|Terrorism Confinement Center}}, which looks like a quid pro quo. Although level 1 is supposed to mean completely safe, the El Salvador advisory mentions that U.S. govt employees are banned from travelling outside at nighttime due to safety risks. How they can hold both those ideas in their head at the same time is beyond me and probably not worth devoting brain power to. While it is true that country is has become relatively safe compared to what it was, it strains credulity to say there is zero risk of crime Japan and to call it safer than Costa Rica (and every other Central American country), as well as Italy, the UK, France, and Spain, which is now the U.S. policy. El Salvador was the first sign to me that we may need to examine these advisories (whether they are too low or too high) more critically. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:55, 29 April 2026 (UTC) ::The situation in the country is relatively stable, but despite the decisions of the President of the United States, I don't think it's completely safe to travel there (at least not with maximum caution, considering that checkpoints are still places where the police abuse their power, especially against foreigners). [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:39, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Pu Luong travel information and trekking routes == Hello everyone, I’m currently working on improving travel information about Pu Luong Nature Reserve in northern Vietnam. It’s a quiet alternative to Sapa with rice terraces, traditional villages, and great trekking routes. I would like to ask: - Should Pu Luong have its own full destination page on Wikivoyage? - What key sections should be prioritized for a new destination like this? - Any recommendations for structuring trekking routes clearly? I’d really appreciate any guidance from experienced contributors. Thank you! [[User:DanielTravel|DanielTravel]] ([[User talk:DanielTravel|talk]]) 08:57, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :* My initial take is that Pu Luong would make a reasonable standalone article. It looks to be geographically large, sufficiently defined, distinct from any other well-developed tourist destinations we have content for, and has enough to do to be difficult to describe as a simple collection of [[WV:Listings]]. :* Take a look at the [[WV:Rural area article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pu Luong]] Commune) and [[WV:Park article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pù Luông Nature Reserve]]). Decide which one fits this destination best, and go from there. (It's easy to switch later.) IMO the See and Do sections are the most important. :* I'd start with a simple Do Listing (bullet-point paragraph) for each route. If that feels insufficient, take a look at some hiking/trekking destinations that show up in [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Category:Guide_parks Guide-level parks] for inspiration, there's many reasonable ways to organize treks. :Take a look at [[WV:Welcome, business owners]] if that applies to you, anything that sounds overly promotional will get reverted. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:59, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks for creating [[Pu Luong]]. I have assumed that this is a Rural Area, and made some small formatting changes. Please continue and expand the article - details of the locations of the sights in See would be good. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:08, 30 April 2026 (UTC) == Santa Fe, New Mexico == I am looking forward to visit [[Santa Fe (New Mexico)|Santa Fe]], in [[New Mexico]]. It is one of the United States' oldest state capitals in the country. Here are the few questions to consider that: [[File:Museum of international folk art display.jpg|thumb|300px|Miniatures at the Museum of International Folk Art]] * Why is Santa Fe so unique in New Mexico, compared to other capital cities in United States of America? * Where could I learn more about the Indigenous cultures of the Southwest, aside from the textbooks? Perhaps, the musuem? * Why is New Mexican cuisine, considered to be a Herculean task, outside of New Mexico, although this capital, offers one of the most touristic dishes in this state? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 07:26, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :Were you assigned an essay about New Mexico? I have no idea what your last question is supposed to mean. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 1 May 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] I am referring to the [[New Mexico#Eat|New_Mexico#Eat]]. On the last paragraph. I am not assigned an essay about New Mexico. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:35, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :::OK, you might want to reread that: :::"for those visitors that fall in love with the cuisine, finding it outside of New Mexico is a Herculean task, since most searches for 'New Mexican restaurants' will end up resulting in recently-opened Mexican restaurants" :::Do you understand? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:36, 1 May 2026 (UTC) : I only visited Santa Fe once, some years back & not for long. Fascinating place; I envy you your visit. : You might find some useful background info at [[Indigenous cultures of North America]]. A book I enjoyed was [https://jennetconant.com/109-east-palace/ 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos]; it is named for the Manhattan Project's Santa Fe office. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 00:30, 2 May 2026 (UTC) :: Santa Fe is an excellent destination; and take in nearby [[Albuquerque]] if time allows. Their museums and galleries are a good starting point for understanding First Nations and settler culture in the region. Formerly there were Indian villages you could visit, but they were devasted by covid and even now may not have re-opened. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:27, 3 May 2026 (UTC) == Jobs in Autria == i need a job in Austria [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26981-08|&#126;2026-26981-08]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26981-08|talk]]) 08:10, 4 May 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide; we can't find jobs for you, but I wish you the best of luck! [[Austria#Work]] is all this site has on the topic. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:53, 4 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have [[Working abroad]], the advice of which may partly be relevant for Austria and your situation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 11:13, 4 May 2026 (UTC) == Samos island == What to see and do on Samos this May? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27831-34|&#126;2026-27831-34]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27831-34|talk]]) 12:59, 8 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-27831-34|~2026-27831-34]]: [[Samos#See]] will have a proper list of things to see and do. Enjoy your time there! //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:07, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == Avril Lavigne's hotel == Hello everyone. Does anyone know at which hotel was this photo taken https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/canadian-singer-avril-lavigne-poses-for-a-photo-at-her-news-photo/83163530? I already know it's in France. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27963-24|&#126;2026-27963-24]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27963-24|talk]]) 23:37, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == First Time in Gembu, Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon. == I have visited Gembu, one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Nigeria, known for its cool weather and scenic landscapes. I plan to expand its Wikivoyage page to make it more informative and attractive to visitors. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Gembu+nigeria&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image<nowiki></nowiki> [[User:Mr. Snatch|Mr. Snatch]] ([[User talk:Mr. Snatch|talk]]) 01:11, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :01:11, 11May 2026(UTC) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-36524-55|&#126;2026-36524-55]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-36524-55|talk]]) 00:38, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Does anyone know where I can get good information on South Sentinel Island? == I am currently very interested in South Sentinel Island, and I want to find more information on it. Any recommendations? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 16:28, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :Wikipedia has some info: [[:w:South Sentinel Island]], but you should probably try to find scientific publications on it, –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:22, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::South Sentinel Island is mentioned in our article on [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], but there is almost nothing in the article. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:19, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::There is no info on it here any more. The info was not useful and possibly unreliable – it was added by a user who got blocked as not here to build a travel guide. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:29, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Oh really? Unfortunate... [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::who was the user may I ask? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::It doesn't matter. You can check the article history if you really want to know, but I have a feeling that you may know it already. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:12, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::I saw the Wikivoyage article... kinda wish we could get more information but it makes sense why there's not much [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thank you :-D [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) Hi! I'm MovoDreamOfficial. I enjoy exploring new places, learning about different cultures, and helping improve travel information on Wikivoyage. == Chiclayo, Peru == I’m trying to find out the exact time of year is the off season for Chiclayo, Peru. Can someone please tell me when this is? Thank you [[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]] ([[User talk:ADY 88845|talk]]) 01:02, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]]: can't say for Chiclayo specifically, but the off-season for Peru is usually during the summer (November–April). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) == I meant to say North Sentinal Island == My bad, I forget the names of things sometimes. I mean to say: where can I find the information about North Sentinal Island, not south.... :-( [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 18:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :See [[Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands#Stay_safe]] - it is '''illegal''' to visit North Sentinel Island. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:09, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::I know that I just like to research illegal countries [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:40, 14 May 2026 (UTC) :::Our policy is [[Wikivoyage:Illegal activities policy|not to give advice]] on illegal activities. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:50, 15 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Oh I didn't know that... all I want to know is information and facts about the island But that's okay! [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 15:16, 15 May 2026 (UTC) :::::If you want information on North Sentinel Island, it would be best to look at Wikipedia. Going to a travel guide for information about a place to which you cannot travel is a fruitless endeavor. [[User:Nameless7357|Nameless7357]] ([[User talk:Nameless7357|talk]]) 18:50, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == FYI: The 27 Most Beautiful Places in the World == {{swept}} https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world —[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''vf</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:29, 31 March 2026 (UTC) :Interesting list, thanks. It's a little funny that they call the aurora borealis an "astrological light show", though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:02, 31 March 2026 (UTC) ::It should be "astronomical", as the confusion between astronomy (a branch of science) and astrology (a branch of pseudoscience) is still common, not only in English but also in most cultures. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:15, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :Read this article, looks fascinating to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 05:18, 4 April 2026 (UTC) Hello, good day. Thank you, Rah.What should I do if I am traveling and whenever it says I am traveling, I have to bring my travel documents? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-29968-26|&#126;2026-29968-26]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-29968-26|talk]]) 02:01, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Jodhpur == Please Jodhpur [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-30053-62|&#126;2026-30053-62]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-30053-62|talk]]) 05:38, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :From New Delhi, take a Vande Bharat Express train if you have the budget. Otherwise, choose any express train from there. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:18, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :Hi! :If you're planning a trip to [[Jodhpur]], Mehrangarh Fort is the must‑see highlight, the Blue City lanes are best explored early morning, and the weather is most comfortable from October to March. Auto‑rickshaws are the easiest way to get around, and staying hydrated is important because the climate is very dry. Enjoy your travels and feel free to ask if you need more tips. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:06, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Planning a Gilgit trip soon, looking for updated hotel recommendations == Recently planning a trip to northern Pakistan again and trying to shortlist some good stays in Gilgit before heading toward Hunza. A few older threads and blogs seem outdated now, so I wanted fresh opinions from people who have visited recently. I stayed with [https://gracehospitality.pk/ramada-resort-gilgit-baltistan/ Grace Hospitality] during my last trip and honestly had a smooth experience, especially compared to a couple of random bookings I made before that. What are currently considered the top Gilgit Pakistan hotels for families or small groups? Curious if people are prioritizing views, location, food, or overall comfort these days. [[User:Mohsin879|Mohsin879]] ([[User talk:Mohsin879|talk]]) 09:32, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :There are several places listed in [[Gilgit#Sleep]], but these may not have been updated recently. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:45, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::This is exactly where Wikivoyage can help independent travellers to help each other. Google Map indicates a few dozen hotels thereabouts, and sifting through them will absorb an hour or so. But if your resulting short-list can be posted on the Gilgit page, the next traveller starts from a better place, and so it goes on. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:02, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Recommended number of days in Prague for a first visit == Hi, everyone! A friend, my girlfriend and I will be traveling to Prague in August. Our friend can stay 4 nights, but we can stay longer. Would a week be good? 5 days? I get the impression that a lot of the best things to see and do involve walking a lot, but I'm also seeing that there are interesting museums and places of worship to visit. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:50, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :Prague is an excellent destination so it all depends on your appetite for museums, galleries and architecture. Visitors from west Europe have a short travel time so for a first visit 4 nights / 3 days is about right. You can spend much longer, but at some point the baroque churches will blur before your eyes. Intercontinental visitors might want a week to make the trip worthwhile, but could split the days with another stand-out city such as Vienna, or for a complete change of scenery head for the mountains and national parks. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:07, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. I'll be taking the train from Berlin and back, so no intercontinental visiting for me. I don't think I would tire of beautiful Baroque churches too quickly. To give you some idea of my attitudes, I've spent I think a total of a month cumulatively in Florence and more than that in Paris over the years, and there are plenty more things I want to see in those cities. I love beautiful architecture and art, and my girlfriend and I are also musicians and like to hear good performances. I've spent more time than that in Siena, but mostly as a student, which is different because I was living there, albeit temporarily. While I was there for 35 days in 1991, I visited every church in town that had work by the Lorenzetti brothers and then some, in addition to all the major sights. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:40, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: Not that I've been to Czechia, but how willing are you to do daytrips from Praha? I'd spend around half a day at [[Kutna Hora]] for the Sedlec Ossuary and the St Barbara Church. It's about an hour from Praha hlavni nadrazi (main station) using CD so easily doable. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:04, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::We could definitely consider day trips, thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:10, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I have been to the Czech Republic several times, but mainly in the 1990s and 2000s. You could easily spend a couple of weeks in the country, but I would suggest only spending about 4 nights in Prague (unless you can stay with friends or other cheap accommodation). Central Prague is very busy and you may find the number of other visitors overwhelming. You could spend 3 nights in [[Brno]], which has a castle, several museums and other interesting buildings. [[Pilsen]] is worth 2 nights to see its cathedral, museums and the home of lager. [[Český Krumlov]] is a World Heritage site town which is worth visiting, but draws the crowds. Also consider a spa town like [[Karlovy Vary]] where you can sample the water and go for country walks, the beautiful churches in [[Olomouc]], the renaissance town of [[Telč]] or the Ossuary in [[Kutná Hora]]. You will probably find sleeping and eating in most of theses places is half the price of Prague. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 23:12, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Thanks very much. By the way, speaking of eating: I heard from a friend who was in Prague a long time ago that it was almost impossible to get into restaurants there without reservations way in advance. Does anyone know if they have casual eateries like Döner/shawarma houses? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:03, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Another question a traveling partner had was whether it could be dangerous to carry her passport around, so that she could get free transit as a senior in Prague. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:36, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::I would say exercise any caution that you'd typically do in any tourist-heavy area plagued with pickpockets like [[Brussels]], [[London]] or [[Paris]]: that is, carry your passport, but keep it in one of those special passport wallets that go around your neck. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:16, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::Yes, usual caution suffices, but Prague is not somewhere you need to carry your passport, stow it in the hotel safe with other high-value stuff. If there's anywhere you especially fancy eating then do book (especially in August), but there are plenty of casual eateries. Eat early to beat the crowd. :::::::The day-trips listed in Go Next are comprehensive, that section would benefit from the rule of 7+2. [[Olomouc]] is my pick, the downside is it may suffer by comparison with Prague, whereas if you'd day-tripped there from Ostrava you'd be delighted. Beethoven and the Viennese belle-monde decamped there to escape Napoleon's invasion, whereupon the Olomouc WV page received its last systematic overhaul. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 20:16, 30 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::According to [[Prague#By_public_transport]] a passport or EU ID card is required for over 65s to get free travel. I would suggest carrying a paper copy of the passport, with the original in a wallet or money belt under clothing. A visible passport wallet says "I'm a tourist". Alternatively, buy a one month card for 130 Kč if you are over 60 which should mean only showing a passport once. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 30 May 2026 (UTC) == 3 Days in Varanasi: A Complete Travel Itinerary == Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major spiritual destination in India. Located on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, the city attracts millions of pilgrims and travelers every year. A three-day visit provides enough time to experience the city's most significant attractions. On the first day, visitors can attend the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and explore the surrounding ghats. The second day can begin with a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges, followed by a visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the narrow lanes of the old city. The third day is ideal for exploring Sarnath, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon. Travelers can also enjoy local street food, traditional silk weaving centers, and cultural performances that reflect the rich heritage of Banaras. The city offers a unique blend of spirituality, history, architecture, and daily life along the sacred riverfront. [[User:Rishu00100|Rishu00100]] ([[User talk:Rishu00100|talk]]) 06:15, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :If you are looking for unseen Varanasi head south of the Namo Ghat to the Tomb of Lal Khan and Rajgfhat. The Varanasi Wikivoyage article have all details [[User:Rangan Datta Wiki|Rangan Datta Wiki]] ([[User talk:Rangan Datta Wiki|talk]]) 17:41, 12 June 2026 (UTC) == Malls with Grocery stores or Libraries == Hello there, I am a huge fan of shopping malls. Can you please think of the malls in the USA or other parts of the world, that has a grocery store, a library, or even a public transit? Does these malls have at least one bookstore? There are the largest malls in USA, such as Mall of America, American Dream, and The Aventura, with one grocery store. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 21:02, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :It's pretty common in Mexico. I can think of several shopping malls in Monterrey that have either a Soriana or H-E-B store in them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 23:52, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : Two that have more-or-less everything are [[Pasay#Malls|Mall of Asia]] in Pasay (Metro Manila) & [[Edmonton/West_End#Buy|West Edmonton Mall]], largest on Earth in the 1980s, since surpassed by many. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: See also [[w:Shopping_mall#World's_largest_malls]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:20, 6 June 2026 (UTC) ::More or less in Sydney, those types of malls are the default. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:36, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :All shopping malls in [[Kolkata]] have at least a bus stop, with only City Centre Salt Lake having a metro stop (Green Line). However, only a few of them sell grocery and/or books, as Kolkatans often flock to New Market (Esplanade), Gariahat (South Kolkata) or their local markets for grocery, and there are many libraries in the city, along with the famous College Street (North Kolkata) book market. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:51, 6 June 2026 (UTC) == Cotswold England == Useful tips for backpacking/travel here. [[User:TinaMMauer|TinaMMauer]] ([[User talk:TinaMMauer|talk]]) 04:05, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :TIL [[Cotswolds]] is an extraregion here (just surprised more than anything else). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:08, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == Place to upkeep a list of Camino sleeping locations == Hi dears, Our Camino Lituano community is searching for a better way to share information on contacts, prices and amenities of various places to stay. I did not notice Wikivoyage being used for a similar purpose, so probably this is not a good place. Maybe you have suggestions how and where to collaboratively work on such information? [[User:Dūdėnas|Dūdėnas]] ([[User talk:Dūdėnas|talk]]) 08:39, 21 June 2026 (UTC) : An itinerary article could be written on this route -- see [[Itineraries]] for examples of the type -- though it would need quite a bit of work. Note, however, that info on places to stay generally goes in destination articles -- mostly towns along the route -- not in an itinerary. There are exceptions -- e.g. [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]] is quite rural so its itinerary includes guesthouses -- but they may not apply here. You might need to create some town or village articles & link them from the itinerary. : Also, have a look at [[Amber Road]] & see if more detail about Lithuanian parts should be added. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 13:55, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::Integrate [[El Camino]] info into the Sleep section of the various towns, that’s the only way they’ll stay up to date, and I guess most of them also take non-Camino visitors. Plus a pithy summary of the local route in Do for each town, region and Lithuania itself. :: ::But only if you think these are real viable routes. Lots of regions have supposed hiking / cycling trails that adorn maps in the council offices, but which in reality are beset by property fences, dreary busy highways and lack of waymarking. :: ::Take a look at [[Asturias]] and its towns for how I’ve approached this task for northern Spain. A. N. Other has added a swathe of Camino pages (for example across Castille) that look poor value and of dubious accuracy. For Asturias I found about half could be built into viable city pages while the rest were merged. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:09, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == Help with Dubai article == The article on Dubai still mentions threats from war, despite a confirmation of safety. When can the outdated message be removed? [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 06:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :You can safely delete it if you can verify it from reliable sources. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:32, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::My impression is that the ceasefire is very fragile despite the Memorandum on Understanding, especially as Israel doesn't seem to respect it. Also, Trump may feel pressed to do something about the unresolved issues. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you for responding. [https://www.dubaidet.gov.ae/en/travel-advisory International/national sources] do state that Dubai is considered safe for travel. However, as a beginner on Wikivoyage, I do not wish to endanger anyone by taking it down. So, I will leave it to be for the time being. [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 04:12, 24 June 2026 (UTC) ::::@[[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]]: I'd say the situation is safe enough where I would have no issues visiting, but I do know many governments still have the UAE as a reconsider your need to travel destination...which ''might'' create some issues with certain travel insurances. I think maybe in a month's time or so it can likely be safely removed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:37, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Dresden == Hi again, everyone. I believe my girlfriend and I have decided it will be most convenient, after all, to visit Dresden on the way back to Berlin from Prague. We're thinking of staying there for 3 days. Do you think that will be enough time, or would you recommend 4 days? I want to consider your opinions, but it's possible we might decide not to extend our trip further for other reasons; don't feel insulted if we disregard your advice this time. :-) [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:47, 24 June 2026 (UTC) :I haven't been to Dresden, but I've somewhat looked at this similar itinerary before and my plan at least was to take RJ 384 from Praha hl. nad. leaving at 06:31 and arriving at 08:50, then to take a train out sometime that evening (either RJ 386 18:53–20:29 or RJ 250 20:33–22:47). But that is just my style of travel, I do tend to maximize all my waking hours doing as much as I can (many of my walks are often 22 km ''average''), so take that at what you will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:24, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :: I found 2-3 days was just right for a first visit. You could obviously stay much longer, but my style is to see one castle / palace, one major museum, one gallery, a couple of leading churches; then save the rest for another trip. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 08:11, 25 June 2026 (UTC) 2fiz66itoete8xmkoq83a1lvta7q81i 5298480 5298477 2026-06-25T18:08:00Z Ibaman 195012 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Travelnoweasily|Travelnoweasily]] ([[User talk:Travelnoweasily|talk]]) to last version by [[User:SHB2000|SHB2000]] 5298392 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style=" background: var(--background-color-neutral-subtle, rgba(248, 249, 251, 0.8)); backdrop-filter: blur(6px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(6px); border: 1px solid var(--border-color-muted, #d0d7e2); border-radius: 10px; padding: 1em 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.08); color: var(--color-base);"> {{shortcut|[[WV:FORUM]]}} Welcome to '''Wikivoyage's travel forum''', a place where you can start a discussion on anything about travel. 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In particular, check with other sources for questions that can have serious consequences: * With your doctor for health issues * With your own government, or another, for travel advisories that may help you avoid dangerous areas * With the government of the destination country for visas and travel restrictions * With a lawyer for other legal issues Nothing on this site should be taken as medical or legal advice. </div> </div> <templatestyles src="Template:TravelForum/styles.css" /> <div class="grid"> <div class="nav span-4"> <ul class="nav-links"> <li class="content-title"> <span class="plainlinks">[{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=edit&section=new}} Add topic]</span> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> {{Auto archiving |archive = Wikivoyage:Travel forum/2026 |algo = old(60d) |counter = 1 |minthreadsleft = 1 |minthreadstoarchive = 1 |archiveheader = {{talk archive}} }} ---- == Where is warm, with beaches, in December/January? == I'm hoping to spend a few weeks somewhere warm next winter - ideally not crazy hot, like 20-25 degrees Celcius. Where is reliably warm around that time of year, with natural beauty, good food, good people, maybe good history and culture too? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-77409-4|&#126;2026-77409-4]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-77409-4|talk]]) 17:06, 4 February 2026 (UTC) : Brazil. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 17:39, 4 February 2026 (UTC) ::I have been to Brazil in January 2024, and it was 38 degrees in Rio [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33166-58|&#126;2026-33166-58]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33166-58|talk]]) 19:11, 3 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-77409-4|~2026-77409-4]]: Thailand is also nice at that time of year, and it should be dry season then too. Argentina and southern Australia have beaches but Dec/Jan might be too hot (up to your taste, ofc), keeping in mind it's rainy season in the South Pacific. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:25, 4 February 2026 (UTC) :IDK about every year, but Southern California's beaches have been pretty warm this week! I went to [[Seal Beach]] on Groundhog Day! <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 03:12, 5 February 2026 (UTC) :Pick a dark orange area on the map: :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/samk/TXA_202601_samk.gif South America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/asie/TXA_202601_asie.gif Asia] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/afri/TXA_202601_afri.gif Africa] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/namk/TXA_202601_namk.gif North America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/euro/TXA_202601_euro.gif Europe] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/aupa/TXA_202601_aupa.gif Oceania] :(average high temperature in January) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:18, 6 February 2026 (UTC) ::Mexico fits to the written preferences. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:26, 6 February 2026 (UTC) :Two other ideas: [[Southern Province (Sri Lanka)|Southern]] and [[Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)|Eastern]] Sri Lanka, and [[Northland]], New Zealand! My favourite beaches in these areas are Hiriketiya in Southern SL and Waipu in NZ. Southern and Eastern SL are unaffected by the monsoon at that time of year [[User:Sgroey|Sgroey]] ([[User talk:Sgroey|talk]]) 11:03, 20 February 2026 (UTC) :Australia and New Zealand [[User:Sandrabaray|Sandrabaray]] ([[User talk:Sandrabaray|talk]]) 15:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :Kerala [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-28147-15|&#126;2026-28147-15]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-28147-15|talk]]) 03:42, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :[[Sanya]] on China's Hainan Island is another possibility but can get crowded at that time of year. Nearby options are [[Lingshui]] and [[Wanning]]. Riyue Bay in Wanning is China's surfing capital. A new wave pool resort opened there last year. [[User:STW932|STW932]] ([[User talk:STW932|talk]]) 04:41, 9 May 2026 (UTC) == Is It Safe to Travel to Dubai? Latest Advice == Dubai is not considered safe for travel right now. As of March 2026, Iran has launched retaliatory drone and missile attacks on UAE territory following a US-Israel strike. The US, UK, and Australia have all issued serious travel warnings. The US Embassy in Dubai is closed. Most governments advise against all but essential travel to the UAE at this time. Dubai has long been one of the [[Dubai|world’s most visited cities]]. Millions of tourists fly there each year for luxury hotels, desert safaris, and world-class shopping. But March 2026 brings a very different picture. [[User:TayyabWiki|TayyabWiki]] ([[User talk:TayyabWiki|talk]]) 10:50, 15 March 2026 (UTC) :As of 21st of April Dubai is considered safe for travel right now. [[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]] ([[User talk:Almajidy|talk]]) 08:55, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]]: is it? [https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/middle-east/united-arab-emirates Australia], [https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-arab-emirates Canada] and the [https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates UK] all have the highest travel ratings for the UAE, which includes Dubai. It's probs safe from Iranian airstrikes though tbh, but probs not at the level where we'd be advising travelling there. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :::Some people posting here define safe in terms of direct risk of harm or imprisonment… others (and these govt advisories place a lot of weight on this, too) mean something more like "undisrupted". I tend to go with the former way, and that seems like the only thing the asker is focusing on. That’s not been much of a problem. But disruption actually seems likely. Safe, maybe, and the Dubai gov was (not sure if it still is) paying for tourists to stay in their hotels whenever the airport was closed. But if you care a great deal about getting home on time, or are worried about some force majeure clause in some insurance plan, yeah, maybe it’s not for you. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Additionally, your UK warning does not have its warning at the highest level (do not travel). It’s a step below, saying people should go if they have a good enough reason. The UK ones are always the least sensationalist/hysterical. They’re actually well researched and have nuance. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:29, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :Those warnings tend to err on the side of hysterical exaggeration because governments want to minimize the number of people they'll have to evacuate if the situation changes to some extreme, remote hypothetical that no serious analyst sees coming. If your definition of unsafe is that flights get cancelled and you're stuck there for some time before being able to leave, then sure, I guess it's unsafe. But most people would define safety issues as risk of physical harm or detention, neither of which has ever been even a remote possibility in Dubai since the Iran war started. Sure, they can blockade and ground planes, but firing some missles against a country that Iran doesn't even really care about hurting and that everyone knows will just get intercepted is performative and it's completely illogical to think there's a meaningful risk of physical harm coming from that. Sure, a couple people got hit by debris and died, but you're at a greater risk from a routine car crash or moderate storm. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 15:21, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::A realistic risk is that your insurance company doesn't pay for your additional expenses if you get stuck during a governmental travel warning. I cannot say much about the risk of the situation deteriorating, which could be a major problem for tourists regardless of any actual risk to life and limb. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::That’s a good risk to bring up. The question was about safety, not expense. But I kinda sorta tried to raise that by mentioning you could be stuck there (though physically safe) for quite some time, which sounded expensive to me. But you are absolutely right to make that more clear. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:08, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Insurance, of course, has force majeure clauses. But the obscenely wealthy Dubai gov started paying for tourists to stay in their hotels during airport closures when the war started. I need to research about whether they are doing this for new arrivals if that happens again, since the war is not a surprise anymore. But if the force majeure invalidates not just your travel, but your health insurance policy and you have a major medical bill, that could hurt financially. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:39, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I'll bet many of them were out money due to the cancellation of their air tickets, though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:01, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Which may not be a safety issue in the strict sense, but if someone is coming as a tourist, they may not consider it a "safe" investment if cost volatility is a concern. Honestly we're guessing what safe means when we should just ask {{u|TayyabWiki}} what their bar is. TayyabWiki, are you okay calling it safe if you are not at risk of military harm? Or do you consider upredictiability, unforseen expenses, and airport closures to make it unsafe? I could see how you would mean the latter if you wanted to visit as a tourist; if you're trying to make an urgent visit to meet someone, you have a good reason and may not care about these logistical issues enough not to go. Airlines generally will offer a free rebooking if the flights are canceled, though one may find themselves stuck on a long waitlist. Pretty much, we're all saying the same things here about what's going on in Dubai, but reaching different personal recommendations on worthiness based on individual risk tolerance. Everyone here agrees missile strikes may resume, but are unlikley to cause significant death. However, we also agree that supply chain disruption, airport closures, insurance policy invalidation, and price rises of essentials are significiant risks. Some see those last three and don't care, others do. Depends on why you want to go and how much risk you like to travel with. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 04:39, 26 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::I think one consideration is whether risks are anticipated: if you get hit by a car, that would be seen as pure bad luck by most, and nobody would complain about our not warning about it (we don't have warning boxes even for crazy traffic) – but if bombs start falling, killing some dozen people out of a population of several million, people will be quite upset. Of course the latter is a tragedy, but risk-wise it is totally overwhelmed by the traffic deaths. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 07:11, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::None of us have enough information from this person to know what they consider safe or unsafe, it depends so much on risk tolerance and how critical the trip is. Just asking if it's safe isn't clear enough. I don't want to tell a casual tourist taking their first international vacation to go. I also don't want to tell someone going for a wedding, critical business meeting, or to visit a dying relative to not go, nor am I going to worry about a tourist who's been to 100+ countries and can handle a little unpredictability. I can answer specific questions based on the person's needs if those are actually explained. Lacking that, more of my own tolerance will come out in my answers. [[User:TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 07:28, 27 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{re|LPfi}} They did not respond to my ping above nor have they engaged with anything any of us have written. So we're basically just talking to each other about our personal risk tolerance, which isn't serving any real purpose. Should we just archive this thread? [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:22, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I mean this is a forum where we discuss this kind of stuff –&nbsp;I'd say it still has a purpose (and it is interesting to see how y'all perceive personal risk haha). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:17, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::It has a little bit of a different purpose than Wikipedia noticeboards that are trying to solve a problem, then. Yes, it is interesting to see that! Personally, I could probably count the number of places I wouldn't go on one hand, the news has just given people such an extremely exaggerated sense of how frequently bad things happen. People get shot in the U.S. all the time, and sure, we care, but do we feel unsafe every single day because of it? I don't think most people do. Yet we still see it as reasonable to warn Americans against going to places over the risk of getting shot when they will have actually just moved themselves to a place where it is less likely to happen to them than in their own nation. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 00:21, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :::{{re|SHB2000}} I'd also point out that like the UK, the US, which probably has the most reason to fear for its citizens in the region, does not tell people not to go to Dubai, telling them only to consider whether it's worth it depending on how important your trip is: [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-arab-emirates-travel-advisory.html]. And the US advisories tend to be the extreme ones; they mention a risk of terrorism, which is essentially a fiction since it has never happened in Dubai. So, really, you just have Canada and Australia standing alone in telling people it's some kind of dystopian hellhole they should avoid at any cost. Come on people, we are talking about an ultra-rich, pro-Western, pro-tourist country with a stable government that happens to be ''near'' a war, not in one. This thread reads more like we're discussing an active war zone like Donbas, or an impoverished country with terrorism and unstable government, like Somalia. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:37, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I have been able to confirm that the govt reimbursement of expenses due to airport closures is not ongoing, but the airports are open, so this may very well come back if they close again. However, the airlines, including Emirates, have said people will always get full refunds and offered rebookings in the event of an airport closure, and can even request a refund for any reason even if the airport is open, up to 31 May. Emirates updated this statement just a few days ago: [https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/travel-updates/]. Personally, I'm too busy in my work life to risk being stuck there for a week or more because the airport is closed. But there is a difference betwen being inconvienenced and being unsafe. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 21:04, 28 April 2026 (UTC) == Venezuela safety actually changing? == The U.S. State Department has removed its level four do-not-travel advisory for Venezuela, lowering it to level three on March 19 (consider carefully based on trip importance) [https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/venezuela.html]. They have removed any mention of arbitrary detention or government mistreatment, focusing only on crime and poor infrastructure such as in hosptials, due to poverty. Delcy Rodriguez has been very cooperative with the Trump admin and the U.S. embassy has reopened. Although she is already governing Venezuelans as a dictator, I think there is indeed no risk of her mistreating American tourists becuase she's so reliant on U.S. backing for now. However, the country is extremely impoverished, leading to a high crime rate and gang violence. That seems to be the remaining concern. I'm curious if people here agree with the U.S. that Delcy taking over has essentially made the government no longer a threat to tourists. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:51, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :Maybe would be nice to hear from {{ping|Lord Ravager}} or {{ping|Galahad}}? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:26, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::It reads true to me since it's level 3 and they acknowledge there's still crime risk, just not risk from Delcy. Though there is no question the advisories have gotten more political under Trump. Most glaringly, [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/el-salvador-travel-advisory.html El Salvador was lowered all the way to level 1] after the deal to send people to the {{w|Terrorism Confinement Center}}, which looks like a quid pro quo. Although level 1 is supposed to mean completely safe, the El Salvador advisory mentions that U.S. govt employees are banned from travelling outside at nighttime due to safety risks. How they can hold both those ideas in their head at the same time is beyond me and probably not worth devoting brain power to. While it is true that country is has become relatively safe compared to what it was, it strains credulity to say there is zero risk of crime Japan and to call it safer than Costa Rica (and every other Central American country), as well as Italy, the UK, France, and Spain, which is now the U.S. policy. El Salvador was the first sign to me that we may need to examine these advisories (whether they are too low or too high) more critically. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:55, 29 April 2026 (UTC) ::The situation in the country is relatively stable, but despite the decisions of the President of the United States, I don't think it's completely safe to travel there (at least not with maximum caution, considering that checkpoints are still places where the police abuse their power, especially against foreigners). [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:39, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Pu Luong travel information and trekking routes == Hello everyone, I’m currently working on improving travel information about Pu Luong Nature Reserve in northern Vietnam. It’s a quiet alternative to Sapa with rice terraces, traditional villages, and great trekking routes. I would like to ask: - Should Pu Luong have its own full destination page on Wikivoyage? - What key sections should be prioritized for a new destination like this? - Any recommendations for structuring trekking routes clearly? I’d really appreciate any guidance from experienced contributors. Thank you! [[User:DanielTravel|DanielTravel]] ([[User talk:DanielTravel|talk]]) 08:57, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :* My initial take is that Pu Luong would make a reasonable standalone article. It looks to be geographically large, sufficiently defined, distinct from any other well-developed tourist destinations we have content for, and has enough to do to be difficult to describe as a simple collection of [[WV:Listings]]. :* Take a look at the [[WV:Rural area article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pu Luong]] Commune) and [[WV:Park article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pù Luông Nature Reserve]]). Decide which one fits this destination best, and go from there. (It's easy to switch later.) IMO the See and Do sections are the most important. :* I'd start with a simple Do Listing (bullet-point paragraph) for each route. If that feels insufficient, take a look at some hiking/trekking destinations that show up in [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Category:Guide_parks Guide-level parks] for inspiration, there's many reasonable ways to organize treks. :Take a look at [[WV:Welcome, business owners]] if that applies to you, anything that sounds overly promotional will get reverted. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:59, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks for creating [[Pu Luong]]. I have assumed that this is a Rural Area, and made some small formatting changes. Please continue and expand the article - details of the locations of the sights in See would be good. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:08, 30 April 2026 (UTC) == Santa Fe, New Mexico == I am looking forward to visit [[Santa Fe (New Mexico)|Santa Fe]], in [[New Mexico]]. It is one of the United States' oldest state capitals in the country. Here are the few questions to consider that: [[File:Museum of international folk art display.jpg|thumb|300px|Miniatures at the Museum of International Folk Art]] * Why is Santa Fe so unique in New Mexico, compared to other capital cities in United States of America? * Where could I learn more about the Indigenous cultures of the Southwest, aside from the textbooks? Perhaps, the musuem? * Why is New Mexican cuisine, considered to be a Herculean task, outside of New Mexico, although this capital, offers one of the most touristic dishes in this state? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 07:26, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :Were you assigned an essay about New Mexico? I have no idea what your last question is supposed to mean. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 1 May 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] I am referring to the [[New Mexico#Eat|New_Mexico#Eat]]. On the last paragraph. I am not assigned an essay about New Mexico. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:35, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :::OK, you might want to reread that: :::"for those visitors that fall in love with the cuisine, finding it outside of New Mexico is a Herculean task, since most searches for 'New Mexican restaurants' will end up resulting in recently-opened Mexican restaurants" :::Do you understand? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:36, 1 May 2026 (UTC) : I only visited Santa Fe once, some years back & not for long. Fascinating place; I envy you your visit. : You might find some useful background info at [[Indigenous cultures of North America]]. A book I enjoyed was [https://jennetconant.com/109-east-palace/ 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos]; it is named for the Manhattan Project's Santa Fe office. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 00:30, 2 May 2026 (UTC) :: Santa Fe is an excellent destination; and take in nearby [[Albuquerque]] if time allows. Their museums and galleries are a good starting point for understanding First Nations and settler culture in the region. Formerly there were Indian villages you could visit, but they were devasted by covid and even now may not have re-opened. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:27, 3 May 2026 (UTC) == Jobs in Autria == i need a job in Austria [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26981-08|&#126;2026-26981-08]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26981-08|talk]]) 08:10, 4 May 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide; we can't find jobs for you, but I wish you the best of luck! [[Austria#Work]] is all this site has on the topic. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:53, 4 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have [[Working abroad]], the advice of which may partly be relevant for Austria and your situation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 11:13, 4 May 2026 (UTC) == Samos island == What to see and do on Samos this May? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27831-34|&#126;2026-27831-34]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27831-34|talk]]) 12:59, 8 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-27831-34|~2026-27831-34]]: [[Samos#See]] will have a proper list of things to see and do. Enjoy your time there! //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:07, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == Avril Lavigne's hotel == Hello everyone. Does anyone know at which hotel was this photo taken https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/canadian-singer-avril-lavigne-poses-for-a-photo-at-her-news-photo/83163530? I already know it's in France. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27963-24|&#126;2026-27963-24]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27963-24|talk]]) 23:37, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == First Time in Gembu, Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon. == I have visited Gembu, one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Nigeria, known for its cool weather and scenic landscapes. I plan to expand its Wikivoyage page to make it more informative and attractive to visitors. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Gembu+nigeria&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image<nowiki></nowiki> [[User:Mr. Snatch|Mr. Snatch]] ([[User talk:Mr. Snatch|talk]]) 01:11, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :01:11, 11May 2026(UTC) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-36524-55|&#126;2026-36524-55]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-36524-55|talk]]) 00:38, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Does anyone know where I can get good information on South Sentinel Island? == I am currently very interested in South Sentinel Island, and I want to find more information on it. Any recommendations? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 16:28, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :Wikipedia has some info: [[:w:South Sentinel Island]], but you should probably try to find scientific publications on it, –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:22, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::South Sentinel Island is mentioned in our article on [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], but there is almost nothing in the article. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:19, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::There is no info on it here any more. The info was not useful and possibly unreliable – it was added by a user who got blocked as not here to build a travel guide. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:29, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Oh really? Unfortunate... [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::who was the user may I ask? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::It doesn't matter. You can check the article history if you really want to know, but I have a feeling that you may know it already. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:12, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::I saw the Wikivoyage article... kinda wish we could get more information but it makes sense why there's not much [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thank you :-D [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) Hi! I'm MovoDreamOfficial. I enjoy exploring new places, learning about different cultures, and helping improve travel information on Wikivoyage. == Chiclayo, Peru == I’m trying to find out the exact time of year is the off season for Chiclayo, Peru. Can someone please tell me when this is? Thank you [[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]] ([[User talk:ADY 88845|talk]]) 01:02, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]]: can't say for Chiclayo specifically, but the off-season for Peru is usually during the summer (November–April). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) == I meant to say North Sentinal Island == My bad, I forget the names of things sometimes. I mean to say: where can I find the information about North Sentinal Island, not south.... :-( [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 18:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :See [[Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands#Stay_safe]] - it is '''illegal''' to visit North Sentinel Island. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:09, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::I know that I just like to research illegal countries [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:40, 14 May 2026 (UTC) :::Our policy is [[Wikivoyage:Illegal activities policy|not to give advice]] on illegal activities. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:50, 15 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Oh I didn't know that... all I want to know is information and facts about the island But that's okay! [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 15:16, 15 May 2026 (UTC) :::::If you want information on North Sentinel Island, it would be best to look at Wikipedia. Going to a travel guide for information about a place to which you cannot travel is a fruitless endeavor. [[User:Nameless7357|Nameless7357]] ([[User talk:Nameless7357|talk]]) 18:50, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == FYI: The 27 Most Beautiful Places in the World == {{swept}} https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world —[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''vf</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:29, 31 March 2026 (UTC) :Interesting list, thanks. It's a little funny that they call the aurora borealis an "astrological light show", though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:02, 31 March 2026 (UTC) ::It should be "astronomical", as the confusion between astronomy (a branch of science) and astrology (a branch of pseudoscience) is still common, not only in English but also in most cultures. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:15, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :Read this article, looks fascinating to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 05:18, 4 April 2026 (UTC) Hello, good day. Thank you, Rah.What should I do if I am traveling and whenever it says I am traveling, I have to bring my travel documents? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-29968-26|&#126;2026-29968-26]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-29968-26|talk]]) 02:01, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Jodhpur == Please Jodhpur [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-30053-62|&#126;2026-30053-62]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-30053-62|talk]]) 05:38, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :From New Delhi, take a Vande Bharat Express train if you have the budget. Otherwise, choose any express train from there. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:18, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :Hi! :If you're planning a trip to [[Jodhpur]], Mehrangarh Fort is the must‑see highlight, the Blue City lanes are best explored early morning, and the weather is most comfortable from October to March. Auto‑rickshaws are the easiest way to get around, and staying hydrated is important because the climate is very dry. Enjoy your travels and feel free to ask if you need more tips. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:06, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Planning a Gilgit trip soon, looking for updated hotel recommendations == Recently planning a trip to northern Pakistan again and trying to shortlist some good stays in Gilgit before heading toward Hunza. A few older threads and blogs seem outdated now, so I wanted fresh opinions from people who have visited recently. I stayed with [https://gracehospitality.pk/ramada-resort-gilgit-baltistan/ Grace Hospitality] during my last trip and honestly had a smooth experience, especially compared to a couple of random bookings I made before that. What are currently considered the top Gilgit Pakistan hotels for families or small groups? Curious if people are prioritizing views, location, food, or overall comfort these days. [[User:Mohsin879|Mohsin879]] ([[User talk:Mohsin879|talk]]) 09:32, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :There are several places listed in [[Gilgit#Sleep]], but these may not have been updated recently. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:45, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::This is exactly where Wikivoyage can help independent travellers to help each other. Google Map indicates a few dozen hotels thereabouts, and sifting through them will absorb an hour or so. But if your resulting short-list can be posted on the Gilgit page, the next traveller starts from a better place, and so it goes on. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:02, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Recommended number of days in Prague for a first visit == Hi, everyone! A friend, my girlfriend and I will be traveling to Prague in August. Our friend can stay 4 nights, but we can stay longer. Would a week be good? 5 days? I get the impression that a lot of the best things to see and do involve walking a lot, but I'm also seeing that there are interesting museums and places of worship to visit. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:50, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :Prague is an excellent destination so it all depends on your appetite for museums, galleries and architecture. Visitors from west Europe have a short travel time so for a first visit 4 nights / 3 days is about right. You can spend much longer, but at some point the baroque churches will blur before your eyes. Intercontinental visitors might want a week to make the trip worthwhile, but could split the days with another stand-out city such as Vienna, or for a complete change of scenery head for the mountains and national parks. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:07, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. I'll be taking the train from Berlin and back, so no intercontinental visiting for me. I don't think I would tire of beautiful Baroque churches too quickly. To give you some idea of my attitudes, I've spent I think a total of a month cumulatively in Florence and more than that in Paris over the years, and there are plenty more things I want to see in those cities. I love beautiful architecture and art, and my girlfriend and I are also musicians and like to hear good performances. I've spent more time than that in Siena, but mostly as a student, which is different because I was living there, albeit temporarily. While I was there for 35 days in 1991, I visited every church in town that had work by the Lorenzetti brothers and then some, in addition to all the major sights. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:40, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: Not that I've been to Czechia, but how willing are you to do daytrips from Praha? I'd spend around half a day at [[Kutna Hora]] for the Sedlec Ossuary and the St Barbara Church. It's about an hour from Praha hlavni nadrazi (main station) using CD so easily doable. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:04, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::We could definitely consider day trips, thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:10, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I have been to the Czech Republic several times, but mainly in the 1990s and 2000s. You could easily spend a couple of weeks in the country, but I would suggest only spending about 4 nights in Prague (unless you can stay with friends or other cheap accommodation). Central Prague is very busy and you may find the number of other visitors overwhelming. You could spend 3 nights in [[Brno]], which has a castle, several museums and other interesting buildings. [[Pilsen]] is worth 2 nights to see its cathedral, museums and the home of lager. [[Český Krumlov]] is a World Heritage site town which is worth visiting, but draws the crowds. Also consider a spa town like [[Karlovy Vary]] where you can sample the water and go for country walks, the beautiful churches in [[Olomouc]], the renaissance town of [[Telč]] or the Ossuary in [[Kutná Hora]]. You will probably find sleeping and eating in most of theses places is half the price of Prague. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 23:12, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Thanks very much. By the way, speaking of eating: I heard from a friend who was in Prague a long time ago that it was almost impossible to get into restaurants there without reservations way in advance. Does anyone know if they have casual eateries like Döner/shawarma houses? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:03, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Another question a traveling partner had was whether it could be dangerous to carry her passport around, so that she could get free transit as a senior in Prague. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:36, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::I would say exercise any caution that you'd typically do in any tourist-heavy area plagued with pickpockets like [[Brussels]], [[London]] or [[Paris]]: that is, carry your passport, but keep it in one of those special passport wallets that go around your neck. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:16, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::Yes, usual caution suffices, but Prague is not somewhere you need to carry your passport, stow it in the hotel safe with other high-value stuff. If there's anywhere you especially fancy eating then do book (especially in August), but there are plenty of casual eateries. Eat early to beat the crowd. :::::::The day-trips listed in Go Next are comprehensive, that section would benefit from the rule of 7+2. [[Olomouc]] is my pick, the downside is it may suffer by comparison with Prague, whereas if you'd day-tripped there from Ostrava you'd be delighted. Beethoven and the Viennese belle-monde decamped there to escape Napoleon's invasion, whereupon the Olomouc WV page received its last systematic overhaul. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 20:16, 30 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::According to [[Prague#By_public_transport]] a passport or EU ID card is required for over 65s to get free travel. I would suggest carrying a paper copy of the passport, with the original in a wallet or money belt under clothing. A visible passport wallet says "I'm a tourist". Alternatively, buy a one month card for 130 Kč if you are over 60 which should mean only showing a passport once. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 30 May 2026 (UTC) == 3 Days in Varanasi: A Complete Travel Itinerary == Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major spiritual destination in India. Located on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, the city attracts millions of pilgrims and travelers every year. A three-day visit provides enough time to experience the city's most significant attractions. On the first day, visitors can attend the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and explore the surrounding ghats. The second day can begin with a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges, followed by a visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the narrow lanes of the old city. The third day is ideal for exploring Sarnath, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon. Travelers can also enjoy local street food, traditional silk weaving centers, and cultural performances that reflect the rich heritage of Banaras. The city offers a unique blend of spirituality, history, architecture, and daily life along the sacred riverfront. [[User:Rishu00100|Rishu00100]] ([[User talk:Rishu00100|talk]]) 06:15, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :If you are looking for unseen Varanasi head south of the Namo Ghat to the Tomb of Lal Khan and Rajgfhat. The Varanasi Wikivoyage article have all details [[User:Rangan Datta Wiki|Rangan Datta Wiki]] ([[User talk:Rangan Datta Wiki|talk]]) 17:41, 12 June 2026 (UTC) == Malls with Grocery stores or Libraries == Hello there, I am a huge fan of shopping malls. Can you please think of the malls in the USA or other parts of the world, that has a grocery store, a library, or even a public transit? Does these malls have at least one bookstore? There are the largest malls in USA, such as Mall of America, American Dream, and The Aventura, with one grocery store. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 21:02, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :It's pretty common in Mexico. I can think of several shopping malls in Monterrey that have either a Soriana or H-E-B store in them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 23:52, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : Two that have more-or-less everything are [[Pasay#Malls|Mall of Asia]] in Pasay (Metro Manila) & [[Edmonton/West_End#Buy|West Edmonton Mall]], largest on Earth in the 1980s, since surpassed by many. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: See also [[w:Shopping_mall#World's_largest_malls]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:20, 6 June 2026 (UTC) ::More or less in Sydney, those types of malls are the default. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:36, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :All shopping malls in [[Kolkata]] have at least a bus stop, with only City Centre Salt Lake having a metro stop (Green Line). However, only a few of them sell grocery and/or books, as Kolkatans often flock to New Market (Esplanade), Gariahat (South Kolkata) or their local markets for grocery, and there are many libraries in the city, along with the famous College Street (North Kolkata) book market. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:51, 6 June 2026 (UTC) == Cotswold England == Useful tips for backpacking/travel here. [[User:TinaMMauer|TinaMMauer]] ([[User talk:TinaMMauer|talk]]) 04:05, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :TIL [[Cotswolds]] is an extraregion here (just surprised more than anything else). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:08, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == Place to upkeep a list of Camino sleeping locations == Hi dears, Our Camino Lituano community is searching for a better way to share information on contacts, prices and amenities of various places to stay. I did not notice Wikivoyage being used for a similar purpose, so probably this is not a good place. Maybe you have suggestions how and where to collaboratively work on such information? [[User:Dūdėnas|Dūdėnas]] ([[User talk:Dūdėnas|talk]]) 08:39, 21 June 2026 (UTC) : An itinerary article could be written on this route -- see [[Itineraries]] for examples of the type -- though it would need quite a bit of work. Note, however, that info on places to stay generally goes in destination articles -- mostly towns along the route -- not in an itinerary. There are exceptions -- e.g. [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]] is quite rural so its itinerary includes guesthouses -- but they may not apply here. You might need to create some town or village articles & link them from the itinerary. : Also, have a look at [[Amber Road]] & see if more detail about Lithuanian parts should be added. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 13:55, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::Integrate [[El Camino]] info into the Sleep section of the various towns, that’s the only way they’ll stay up to date, and I guess most of them also take non-Camino visitors. Plus a pithy summary of the local route in Do for each town, region and Lithuania itself. :: ::But only if you think these are real viable routes. Lots of regions have supposed hiking / cycling trails that adorn maps in the council offices, but which in reality are beset by property fences, dreary busy highways and lack of waymarking. :: ::Take a look at [[Asturias]] and its towns for how I’ve approached this task for northern Spain. A. N. Other has added a swathe of Camino pages (for example across Castille) that look poor value and of dubious accuracy. For Asturias I found about half could be built into viable city pages while the rest were merged. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:09, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == Help with Dubai article == The article on Dubai still mentions threats from war, despite a confirmation of safety. When can the outdated message be removed? [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 06:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :You can safely delete it if you can verify it from reliable sources. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:32, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::My impression is that the ceasefire is very fragile despite the Memorandum on Understanding, especially as Israel doesn't seem to respect it. Also, Trump may feel pressed to do something about the unresolved issues. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you for responding. [https://www.dubaidet.gov.ae/en/travel-advisory International/national sources] do state that Dubai is considered safe for travel. However, as a beginner on Wikivoyage, I do not wish to endanger anyone by taking it down. So, I will leave it to be for the time being. [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 04:12, 24 June 2026 (UTC) ::::@[[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]]: I'd say the situation is safe enough where I would have no issues visiting, but I do know many governments still have the UAE as a reconsider your need to travel destination...which ''might'' create some issues with certain travel insurances. I think maybe in a month's time or so it can likely be safely removed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:37, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Dresden == Hi again, everyone. I believe my girlfriend and I have decided it will be most convenient, after all, to visit Dresden on the way back to Berlin from Prague. We're thinking of staying there for 3 days. Do you think that will be enough time, or would you recommend 4 days? I want to consider your opinions, but it's possible we might decide not to extend our trip further for other reasons; don't feel insulted if we disregard your advice this time. :-) [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:47, 24 June 2026 (UTC) :I haven't been to Dresden, but I've somewhat looked at this similar itinerary before and my plan at least was to take RJ 384 from Praha hl. nad. leaving at 06:31 and arriving at 08:50, then to take a train out sometime that evening (either RJ 386 18:53–20:29 or RJ 250 20:33–22:47). But that is just my style of travel, I do tend to maximize all my waking hours doing as much as I can (many of my walks are often 22 km ''average''), so take that at what you will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:24, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :: I found 2-3 days was just right for a first visit. You could obviously stay much longer, but my style is to see one castle / palace, one major museum, one gallery, a couple of leading churches; then save the rest for another trip. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 08:11, 25 June 2026 (UTC) 85g40opvrm0al99phr3hcfvaq1980dq 5298603 5298480 2026-06-26T04:44:01Z ~2026-36859-39 2426513 /* Life culture social facility */ new section 5298603 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style=" background: var(--background-color-neutral-subtle, rgba(248, 249, 251, 0.8)); backdrop-filter: blur(6px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(6px); border: 1px solid var(--border-color-muted, #d0d7e2); border-radius: 10px; padding: 1em 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.08); color: var(--color-base);"> {{shortcut|[[WV:FORUM]]}} Welcome to '''Wikivoyage's travel forum''', a place where you can start a discussion on anything about travel. 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Where is reliably warm around that time of year, with natural beauty, good food, good people, maybe good history and culture too? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-77409-4|&#126;2026-77409-4]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-77409-4|talk]]) 17:06, 4 February 2026 (UTC) : Brazil. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 17:39, 4 February 2026 (UTC) ::I have been to Brazil in January 2024, and it was 38 degrees in Rio [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33166-58|&#126;2026-33166-58]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33166-58|talk]]) 19:11, 3 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-77409-4|~2026-77409-4]]: Thailand is also nice at that time of year, and it should be dry season then too. Argentina and southern Australia have beaches but Dec/Jan might be too hot (up to your taste, ofc), keeping in mind it's rainy season in the South Pacific. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:25, 4 February 2026 (UTC) :IDK about every year, but Southern California's beaches have been pretty warm this week! I went to [[Seal Beach]] on Groundhog Day! <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 03:12, 5 February 2026 (UTC) :Pick a dark orange area on the map: :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/samk/TXA_202601_samk.gif South America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/asie/TXA_202601_asie.gif Asia] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/afri/TXA_202601_afri.gif Africa] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/namk/TXA_202601_namk.gif North America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/euro/TXA_202601_euro.gif Europe] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/aupa/TXA_202601_aupa.gif Oceania] :(average high temperature in January) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:18, 6 February 2026 (UTC) ::Mexico fits to the written preferences. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:26, 6 February 2026 (UTC) :Two other ideas: [[Southern Province (Sri Lanka)|Southern]] and [[Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)|Eastern]] Sri Lanka, and [[Northland]], New Zealand! My favourite beaches in these areas are Hiriketiya in Southern SL and Waipu in NZ. Southern and Eastern SL are unaffected by the monsoon at that time of year [[User:Sgroey|Sgroey]] ([[User talk:Sgroey|talk]]) 11:03, 20 February 2026 (UTC) :Australia and New Zealand [[User:Sandrabaray|Sandrabaray]] ([[User talk:Sandrabaray|talk]]) 15:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :Kerala [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-28147-15|&#126;2026-28147-15]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-28147-15|talk]]) 03:42, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :[[Sanya]] on China's Hainan Island is another possibility but can get crowded at that time of year. Nearby options are [[Lingshui]] and [[Wanning]]. Riyue Bay in Wanning is China's surfing capital. A new wave pool resort opened there last year. [[User:STW932|STW932]] ([[User talk:STW932|talk]]) 04:41, 9 May 2026 (UTC) == Is It Safe to Travel to Dubai? Latest Advice == Dubai is not considered safe for travel right now. As of March 2026, Iran has launched retaliatory drone and missile attacks on UAE territory following a US-Israel strike. The US, UK, and Australia have all issued serious travel warnings. The US Embassy in Dubai is closed. Most governments advise against all but essential travel to the UAE at this time. Dubai has long been one of the [[Dubai|world’s most visited cities]]. Millions of tourists fly there each year for luxury hotels, desert safaris, and world-class shopping. But March 2026 brings a very different picture. [[User:TayyabWiki|TayyabWiki]] ([[User talk:TayyabWiki|talk]]) 10:50, 15 March 2026 (UTC) :As of 21st of April Dubai is considered safe for travel right now. [[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]] ([[User talk:Almajidy|talk]]) 08:55, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]]: is it? [https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/middle-east/united-arab-emirates Australia], [https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-arab-emirates Canada] and the [https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates UK] all have the highest travel ratings for the UAE, which includes Dubai. It's probs safe from Iranian airstrikes though tbh, but probs not at the level where we'd be advising travelling there. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :::Some people posting here define safe in terms of direct risk of harm or imprisonment… others (and these govt advisories place a lot of weight on this, too) mean something more like "undisrupted". I tend to go with the former way, and that seems like the only thing the asker is focusing on. That’s not been much of a problem. But disruption actually seems likely. Safe, maybe, and the Dubai gov was (not sure if it still is) paying for tourists to stay in their hotels whenever the airport was closed. But if you care a great deal about getting home on time, or are worried about some force majeure clause in some insurance plan, yeah, maybe it’s not for you. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Additionally, your UK warning does not have its warning at the highest level (do not travel). It’s a step below, saying people should go if they have a good enough reason. The UK ones are always the least sensationalist/hysterical. They’re actually well researched and have nuance. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:29, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :Those warnings tend to err on the side of hysterical exaggeration because governments want to minimize the number of people they'll have to evacuate if the situation changes to some extreme, remote hypothetical that no serious analyst sees coming. If your definition of unsafe is that flights get cancelled and you're stuck there for some time before being able to leave, then sure, I guess it's unsafe. But most people would define safety issues as risk of physical harm or detention, neither of which has ever been even a remote possibility in Dubai since the Iran war started. Sure, they can blockade and ground planes, but firing some missles against a country that Iran doesn't even really care about hurting and that everyone knows will just get intercepted is performative and it's completely illogical to think there's a meaningful risk of physical harm coming from that. Sure, a couple people got hit by debris and died, but you're at a greater risk from a routine car crash or moderate storm. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 15:21, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::A realistic risk is that your insurance company doesn't pay for your additional expenses if you get stuck during a governmental travel warning. I cannot say much about the risk of the situation deteriorating, which could be a major problem for tourists regardless of any actual risk to life and limb. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::That’s a good risk to bring up. The question was about safety, not expense. But I kinda sorta tried to raise that by mentioning you could be stuck there (though physically safe) for quite some time, which sounded expensive to me. But you are absolutely right to make that more clear. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:08, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Insurance, of course, has force majeure clauses. But the obscenely wealthy Dubai gov started paying for tourists to stay in their hotels during airport closures when the war started. I need to research about whether they are doing this for new arrivals if that happens again, since the war is not a surprise anymore. But if the force majeure invalidates not just your travel, but your health insurance policy and you have a major medical bill, that could hurt financially. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:39, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I'll bet many of them were out money due to the cancellation of their air tickets, though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:01, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Which may not be a safety issue in the strict sense, but if someone is coming as a tourist, they may not consider it a "safe" investment if cost volatility is a concern. Honestly we're guessing what safe means when we should just ask {{u|TayyabWiki}} what their bar is. TayyabWiki, are you okay calling it safe if you are not at risk of military harm? Or do you consider upredictiability, unforseen expenses, and airport closures to make it unsafe? I could see how you would mean the latter if you wanted to visit as a tourist; if you're trying to make an urgent visit to meet someone, you have a good reason and may not care about these logistical issues enough not to go. Airlines generally will offer a free rebooking if the flights are canceled, though one may find themselves stuck on a long waitlist. Pretty much, we're all saying the same things here about what's going on in Dubai, but reaching different personal recommendations on worthiness based on individual risk tolerance. Everyone here agrees missile strikes may resume, but are unlikley to cause significant death. However, we also agree that supply chain disruption, airport closures, insurance policy invalidation, and price rises of essentials are significiant risks. Some see those last three and don't care, others do. Depends on why you want to go and how much risk you like to travel with. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 04:39, 26 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::I think one consideration is whether risks are anticipated: if you get hit by a car, that would be seen as pure bad luck by most, and nobody would complain about our not warning about it (we don't have warning boxes even for crazy traffic) – but if bombs start falling, killing some dozen people out of a population of several million, people will be quite upset. Of course the latter is a tragedy, but risk-wise it is totally overwhelmed by the traffic deaths. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 07:11, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::None of us have enough information from this person to know what they consider safe or unsafe, it depends so much on risk tolerance and how critical the trip is. Just asking if it's safe isn't clear enough. I don't want to tell a casual tourist taking their first international vacation to go. I also don't want to tell someone going for a wedding, critical business meeting, or to visit a dying relative to not go, nor am I going to worry about a tourist who's been to 100+ countries and can handle a little unpredictability. I can answer specific questions based on the person's needs if those are actually explained. Lacking that, more of my own tolerance will come out in my answers. [[User:TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 07:28, 27 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{re|LPfi}} They did not respond to my ping above nor have they engaged with anything any of us have written. So we're basically just talking to each other about our personal risk tolerance, which isn't serving any real purpose. Should we just archive this thread? [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:22, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I mean this is a forum where we discuss this kind of stuff –&nbsp;I'd say it still has a purpose (and it is interesting to see how y'all perceive personal risk haha). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:17, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::It has a little bit of a different purpose than Wikipedia noticeboards that are trying to solve a problem, then. Yes, it is interesting to see that! Personally, I could probably count the number of places I wouldn't go on one hand, the news has just given people such an extremely exaggerated sense of how frequently bad things happen. People get shot in the U.S. all the time, and sure, we care, but do we feel unsafe every single day because of it? I don't think most people do. Yet we still see it as reasonable to warn Americans against going to places over the risk of getting shot when they will have actually just moved themselves to a place where it is less likely to happen to them than in their own nation. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 00:21, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :::{{re|SHB2000}} I'd also point out that like the UK, the US, which probably has the most reason to fear for its citizens in the region, does not tell people not to go to Dubai, telling them only to consider whether it's worth it depending on how important your trip is: [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-arab-emirates-travel-advisory.html]. And the US advisories tend to be the extreme ones; they mention a risk of terrorism, which is essentially a fiction since it has never happened in Dubai. So, really, you just have Canada and Australia standing alone in telling people it's some kind of dystopian hellhole they should avoid at any cost. Come on people, we are talking about an ultra-rich, pro-Western, pro-tourist country with a stable government that happens to be ''near'' a war, not in one. This thread reads more like we're discussing an active war zone like Donbas, or an impoverished country with terrorism and unstable government, like Somalia. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:37, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I have been able to confirm that the govt reimbursement of expenses due to airport closures is not ongoing, but the airports are open, so this may very well come back if they close again. However, the airlines, including Emirates, have said people will always get full refunds and offered rebookings in the event of an airport closure, and can even request a refund for any reason even if the airport is open, up to 31 May. Emirates updated this statement just a few days ago: [https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/travel-updates/]. Personally, I'm too busy in my work life to risk being stuck there for a week or more because the airport is closed. But there is a difference betwen being inconvienenced and being unsafe. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 21:04, 28 April 2026 (UTC) == Venezuela safety actually changing? == The U.S. State Department has removed its level four do-not-travel advisory for Venezuela, lowering it to level three on March 19 (consider carefully based on trip importance) [https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/venezuela.html]. They have removed any mention of arbitrary detention or government mistreatment, focusing only on crime and poor infrastructure such as in hosptials, due to poverty. Delcy Rodriguez has been very cooperative with the Trump admin and the U.S. embassy has reopened. Although she is already governing Venezuelans as a dictator, I think there is indeed no risk of her mistreating American tourists becuase she's so reliant on U.S. backing for now. However, the country is extremely impoverished, leading to a high crime rate and gang violence. That seems to be the remaining concern. I'm curious if people here agree with the U.S. that Delcy taking over has essentially made the government no longer a threat to tourists. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:51, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :Maybe would be nice to hear from {{ping|Lord Ravager}} or {{ping|Galahad}}? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:26, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::It reads true to me since it's level 3 and they acknowledge there's still crime risk, just not risk from Delcy. Though there is no question the advisories have gotten more political under Trump. Most glaringly, [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/el-salvador-travel-advisory.html El Salvador was lowered all the way to level 1] after the deal to send people to the {{w|Terrorism Confinement Center}}, which looks like a quid pro quo. Although level 1 is supposed to mean completely safe, the El Salvador advisory mentions that U.S. govt employees are banned from travelling outside at nighttime due to safety risks. How they can hold both those ideas in their head at the same time is beyond me and probably not worth devoting brain power to. While it is true that country is has become relatively safe compared to what it was, it strains credulity to say there is zero risk of crime Japan and to call it safer than Costa Rica (and every other Central American country), as well as Italy, the UK, France, and Spain, which is now the U.S. policy. El Salvador was the first sign to me that we may need to examine these advisories (whether they are too low or too high) more critically. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:55, 29 April 2026 (UTC) ::The situation in the country is relatively stable, but despite the decisions of the President of the United States, I don't think it's completely safe to travel there (at least not with maximum caution, considering that checkpoints are still places where the police abuse their power, especially against foreigners). [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:39, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Pu Luong travel information and trekking routes == Hello everyone, I’m currently working on improving travel information about Pu Luong Nature Reserve in northern Vietnam. It’s a quiet alternative to Sapa with rice terraces, traditional villages, and great trekking routes. I would like to ask: - Should Pu Luong have its own full destination page on Wikivoyage? - What key sections should be prioritized for a new destination like this? - Any recommendations for structuring trekking routes clearly? I’d really appreciate any guidance from experienced contributors. Thank you! [[User:DanielTravel|DanielTravel]] ([[User talk:DanielTravel|talk]]) 08:57, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :* My initial take is that Pu Luong would make a reasonable standalone article. It looks to be geographically large, sufficiently defined, distinct from any other well-developed tourist destinations we have content for, and has enough to do to be difficult to describe as a simple collection of [[WV:Listings]]. :* Take a look at the [[WV:Rural area article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pu Luong]] Commune) and [[WV:Park article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pù Luông Nature Reserve]]). Decide which one fits this destination best, and go from there. (It's easy to switch later.) IMO the See and Do sections are the most important. :* I'd start with a simple Do Listing (bullet-point paragraph) for each route. If that feels insufficient, take a look at some hiking/trekking destinations that show up in [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Category:Guide_parks Guide-level parks] for inspiration, there's many reasonable ways to organize treks. :Take a look at [[WV:Welcome, business owners]] if that applies to you, anything that sounds overly promotional will get reverted. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:59, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks for creating [[Pu Luong]]. I have assumed that this is a Rural Area, and made some small formatting changes. Please continue and expand the article - details of the locations of the sights in See would be good. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:08, 30 April 2026 (UTC) == Santa Fe, New Mexico == I am looking forward to visit [[Santa Fe (New Mexico)|Santa Fe]], in [[New Mexico]]. It is one of the United States' oldest state capitals in the country. Here are the few questions to consider that: [[File:Museum of international folk art display.jpg|thumb|300px|Miniatures at the Museum of International Folk Art]] * Why is Santa Fe so unique in New Mexico, compared to other capital cities in United States of America? * Where could I learn more about the Indigenous cultures of the Southwest, aside from the textbooks? Perhaps, the musuem? * Why is New Mexican cuisine, considered to be a Herculean task, outside of New Mexico, although this capital, offers one of the most touristic dishes in this state? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 07:26, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :Were you assigned an essay about New Mexico? I have no idea what your last question is supposed to mean. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 1 May 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] I am referring to the [[New Mexico#Eat|New_Mexico#Eat]]. On the last paragraph. I am not assigned an essay about New Mexico. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:35, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :::OK, you might want to reread that: :::"for those visitors that fall in love with the cuisine, finding it outside of New Mexico is a Herculean task, since most searches for 'New Mexican restaurants' will end up resulting in recently-opened Mexican restaurants" :::Do you understand? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:36, 1 May 2026 (UTC) : I only visited Santa Fe once, some years back & not for long. Fascinating place; I envy you your visit. : You might find some useful background info at [[Indigenous cultures of North America]]. A book I enjoyed was [https://jennetconant.com/109-east-palace/ 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos]; it is named for the Manhattan Project's Santa Fe office. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 00:30, 2 May 2026 (UTC) :: Santa Fe is an excellent destination; and take in nearby [[Albuquerque]] if time allows. Their museums and galleries are a good starting point for understanding First Nations and settler culture in the region. Formerly there were Indian villages you could visit, but they were devasted by covid and even now may not have re-opened. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:27, 3 May 2026 (UTC) == Jobs in Autria == i need a job in Austria [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26981-08|&#126;2026-26981-08]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26981-08|talk]]) 08:10, 4 May 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide; we can't find jobs for you, but I wish you the best of luck! [[Austria#Work]] is all this site has on the topic. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:53, 4 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have [[Working abroad]], the advice of which may partly be relevant for Austria and your situation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 11:13, 4 May 2026 (UTC) == Samos island == What to see and do on Samos this May? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27831-34|&#126;2026-27831-34]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27831-34|talk]]) 12:59, 8 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-27831-34|~2026-27831-34]]: [[Samos#See]] will have a proper list of things to see and do. Enjoy your time there! //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:07, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == Avril Lavigne's hotel == Hello everyone. Does anyone know at which hotel was this photo taken https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/canadian-singer-avril-lavigne-poses-for-a-photo-at-her-news-photo/83163530? I already know it's in France. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27963-24|&#126;2026-27963-24]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27963-24|talk]]) 23:37, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == First Time in Gembu, Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon. == I have visited Gembu, one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Nigeria, known for its cool weather and scenic landscapes. I plan to expand its Wikivoyage page to make it more informative and attractive to visitors. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Gembu+nigeria&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image<nowiki></nowiki> [[User:Mr. Snatch|Mr. Snatch]] ([[User talk:Mr. Snatch|talk]]) 01:11, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :01:11, 11May 2026(UTC) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-36524-55|&#126;2026-36524-55]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-36524-55|talk]]) 00:38, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Does anyone know where I can get good information on South Sentinel Island? == I am currently very interested in South Sentinel Island, and I want to find more information on it. Any recommendations? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 16:28, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :Wikipedia has some info: [[:w:South Sentinel Island]], but you should probably try to find scientific publications on it, –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:22, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::South Sentinel Island is mentioned in our article on [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], but there is almost nothing in the article. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:19, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::There is no info on it here any more. The info was not useful and possibly unreliable – it was added by a user who got blocked as not here to build a travel guide. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:29, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Oh really? Unfortunate... [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::who was the user may I ask? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::It doesn't matter. You can check the article history if you really want to know, but I have a feeling that you may know it already. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:12, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::I saw the Wikivoyage article... kinda wish we could get more information but it makes sense why there's not much [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thank you :-D [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) Hi! I'm MovoDreamOfficial. I enjoy exploring new places, learning about different cultures, and helping improve travel information on Wikivoyage. == Chiclayo, Peru == I’m trying to find out the exact time of year is the off season for Chiclayo, Peru. Can someone please tell me when this is? Thank you [[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]] ([[User talk:ADY 88845|talk]]) 01:02, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]]: can't say for Chiclayo specifically, but the off-season for Peru is usually during the summer (November–April). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) == I meant to say North Sentinal Island == My bad, I forget the names of things sometimes. I mean to say: where can I find the information about North Sentinal Island, not south.... :-( [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 18:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :See [[Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands#Stay_safe]] - it is '''illegal''' to visit North Sentinel Island. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:09, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::I know that I just like to research illegal countries [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:40, 14 May 2026 (UTC) :::Our policy is [[Wikivoyage:Illegal activities policy|not to give advice]] on illegal activities. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:50, 15 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Oh I didn't know that... all I want to know is information and facts about the island But that's okay! [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 15:16, 15 May 2026 (UTC) :::::If you want information on North Sentinel Island, it would be best to look at Wikipedia. Going to a travel guide for information about a place to which you cannot travel is a fruitless endeavor. [[User:Nameless7357|Nameless7357]] ([[User talk:Nameless7357|talk]]) 18:50, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == FYI: The 27 Most Beautiful Places in the World == {{swept}} https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world —[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''vf</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:29, 31 March 2026 (UTC) :Interesting list, thanks. It's a little funny that they call the aurora borealis an "astrological light show", though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:02, 31 March 2026 (UTC) ::It should be "astronomical", as the confusion between astronomy (a branch of science) and astrology (a branch of pseudoscience) is still common, not only in English but also in most cultures. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:15, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :Read this article, looks fascinating to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 05:18, 4 April 2026 (UTC) Hello, good day. Thank you, Rah.What should I do if I am traveling and whenever it says I am traveling, I have to bring my travel documents? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-29968-26|&#126;2026-29968-26]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-29968-26|talk]]) 02:01, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Jodhpur == Please Jodhpur [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-30053-62|&#126;2026-30053-62]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-30053-62|talk]]) 05:38, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :From New Delhi, take a Vande Bharat Express train if you have the budget. Otherwise, choose any express train from there. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:18, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :Hi! :If you're planning a trip to [[Jodhpur]], Mehrangarh Fort is the must‑see highlight, the Blue City lanes are best explored early morning, and the weather is most comfortable from October to March. Auto‑rickshaws are the easiest way to get around, and staying hydrated is important because the climate is very dry. Enjoy your travels and feel free to ask if you need more tips. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:06, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Planning a Gilgit trip soon, looking for updated hotel recommendations == Recently planning a trip to northern Pakistan again and trying to shortlist some good stays in Gilgit before heading toward Hunza. A few older threads and blogs seem outdated now, so I wanted fresh opinions from people who have visited recently. I stayed with [https://gracehospitality.pk/ramada-resort-gilgit-baltistan/ Grace Hospitality] during my last trip and honestly had a smooth experience, especially compared to a couple of random bookings I made before that. What are currently considered the top Gilgit Pakistan hotels for families or small groups? Curious if people are prioritizing views, location, food, or overall comfort these days. [[User:Mohsin879|Mohsin879]] ([[User talk:Mohsin879|talk]]) 09:32, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :There are several places listed in [[Gilgit#Sleep]], but these may not have been updated recently. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:45, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::This is exactly where Wikivoyage can help independent travellers to help each other. Google Map indicates a few dozen hotels thereabouts, and sifting through them will absorb an hour or so. But if your resulting short-list can be posted on the Gilgit page, the next traveller starts from a better place, and so it goes on. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:02, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Recommended number of days in Prague for a first visit == Hi, everyone! A friend, my girlfriend and I will be traveling to Prague in August. Our friend can stay 4 nights, but we can stay longer. Would a week be good? 5 days? I get the impression that a lot of the best things to see and do involve walking a lot, but I'm also seeing that there are interesting museums and places of worship to visit. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:50, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :Prague is an excellent destination so it all depends on your appetite for museums, galleries and architecture. Visitors from west Europe have a short travel time so for a first visit 4 nights / 3 days is about right. You can spend much longer, but at some point the baroque churches will blur before your eyes. Intercontinental visitors might want a week to make the trip worthwhile, but could split the days with another stand-out city such as Vienna, or for a complete change of scenery head for the mountains and national parks. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:07, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. I'll be taking the train from Berlin and back, so no intercontinental visiting for me. I don't think I would tire of beautiful Baroque churches too quickly. To give you some idea of my attitudes, I've spent I think a total of a month cumulatively in Florence and more than that in Paris over the years, and there are plenty more things I want to see in those cities. I love beautiful architecture and art, and my girlfriend and I are also musicians and like to hear good performances. I've spent more time than that in Siena, but mostly as a student, which is different because I was living there, albeit temporarily. While I was there for 35 days in 1991, I visited every church in town that had work by the Lorenzetti brothers and then some, in addition to all the major sights. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:40, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: Not that I've been to Czechia, but how willing are you to do daytrips from Praha? I'd spend around half a day at [[Kutna Hora]] for the Sedlec Ossuary and the St Barbara Church. It's about an hour from Praha hlavni nadrazi (main station) using CD so easily doable. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:04, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::We could definitely consider day trips, thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:10, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I have been to the Czech Republic several times, but mainly in the 1990s and 2000s. You could easily spend a couple of weeks in the country, but I would suggest only spending about 4 nights in Prague (unless you can stay with friends or other cheap accommodation). Central Prague is very busy and you may find the number of other visitors overwhelming. You could spend 3 nights in [[Brno]], which has a castle, several museums and other interesting buildings. [[Pilsen]] is worth 2 nights to see its cathedral, museums and the home of lager. [[Český Krumlov]] is a World Heritage site town which is worth visiting, but draws the crowds. Also consider a spa town like [[Karlovy Vary]] where you can sample the water and go for country walks, the beautiful churches in [[Olomouc]], the renaissance town of [[Telč]] or the Ossuary in [[Kutná Hora]]. You will probably find sleeping and eating in most of theses places is half the price of Prague. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 23:12, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Thanks very much. By the way, speaking of eating: I heard from a friend who was in Prague a long time ago that it was almost impossible to get into restaurants there without reservations way in advance. Does anyone know if they have casual eateries like Döner/shawarma houses? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:03, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Another question a traveling partner had was whether it could be dangerous to carry her passport around, so that she could get free transit as a senior in Prague. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:36, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::I would say exercise any caution that you'd typically do in any tourist-heavy area plagued with pickpockets like [[Brussels]], [[London]] or [[Paris]]: that is, carry your passport, but keep it in one of those special passport wallets that go around your neck. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:16, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::Yes, usual caution suffices, but Prague is not somewhere you need to carry your passport, stow it in the hotel safe with other high-value stuff. If there's anywhere you especially fancy eating then do book (especially in August), but there are plenty of casual eateries. Eat early to beat the crowd. :::::::The day-trips listed in Go Next are comprehensive, that section would benefit from the rule of 7+2. [[Olomouc]] is my pick, the downside is it may suffer by comparison with Prague, whereas if you'd day-tripped there from Ostrava you'd be delighted. Beethoven and the Viennese belle-monde decamped there to escape Napoleon's invasion, whereupon the Olomouc WV page received its last systematic overhaul. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 20:16, 30 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::According to [[Prague#By_public_transport]] a passport or EU ID card is required for over 65s to get free travel. I would suggest carrying a paper copy of the passport, with the original in a wallet or money belt under clothing. A visible passport wallet says "I'm a tourist". Alternatively, buy a one month card for 130 Kč if you are over 60 which should mean only showing a passport once. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 30 May 2026 (UTC) == 3 Days in Varanasi: A Complete Travel Itinerary == Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major spiritual destination in India. Located on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, the city attracts millions of pilgrims and travelers every year. A three-day visit provides enough time to experience the city's most significant attractions. On the first day, visitors can attend the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and explore the surrounding ghats. The second day can begin with a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges, followed by a visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the narrow lanes of the old city. The third day is ideal for exploring Sarnath, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon. Travelers can also enjoy local street food, traditional silk weaving centers, and cultural performances that reflect the rich heritage of Banaras. The city offers a unique blend of spirituality, history, architecture, and daily life along the sacred riverfront. [[User:Rishu00100|Rishu00100]] ([[User talk:Rishu00100|talk]]) 06:15, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :If you are looking for unseen Varanasi head south of the Namo Ghat to the Tomb of Lal Khan and Rajgfhat. The Varanasi Wikivoyage article have all details [[User:Rangan Datta Wiki|Rangan Datta Wiki]] ([[User talk:Rangan Datta Wiki|talk]]) 17:41, 12 June 2026 (UTC) == Malls with Grocery stores or Libraries == Hello there, I am a huge fan of shopping malls. Can you please think of the malls in the USA or other parts of the world, that has a grocery store, a library, or even a public transit? Does these malls have at least one bookstore? There are the largest malls in USA, such as Mall of America, American Dream, and The Aventura, with one grocery store. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 21:02, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :It's pretty common in Mexico. I can think of several shopping malls in Monterrey that have either a Soriana or H-E-B store in them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 23:52, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : Two that have more-or-less everything are [[Pasay#Malls|Mall of Asia]] in Pasay (Metro Manila) & [[Edmonton/West_End#Buy|West Edmonton Mall]], largest on Earth in the 1980s, since surpassed by many. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: See also [[w:Shopping_mall#World's_largest_malls]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:20, 6 June 2026 (UTC) ::More or less in Sydney, those types of malls are the default. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:36, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :All shopping malls in [[Kolkata]] have at least a bus stop, with only City Centre Salt Lake having a metro stop (Green Line). However, only a few of them sell grocery and/or books, as Kolkatans often flock to New Market (Esplanade), Gariahat (South Kolkata) or their local markets for grocery, and there are many libraries in the city, along with the famous College Street (North Kolkata) book market. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:51, 6 June 2026 (UTC) == Cotswold England == Useful tips for backpacking/travel here. [[User:TinaMMauer|TinaMMauer]] ([[User talk:TinaMMauer|talk]]) 04:05, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :TIL [[Cotswolds]] is an extraregion here (just surprised more than anything else). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:08, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == Place to upkeep a list of Camino sleeping locations == Hi dears, Our Camino Lituano community is searching for a better way to share information on contacts, prices and amenities of various places to stay. I did not notice Wikivoyage being used for a similar purpose, so probably this is not a good place. Maybe you have suggestions how and where to collaboratively work on such information? [[User:Dūdėnas|Dūdėnas]] ([[User talk:Dūdėnas|talk]]) 08:39, 21 June 2026 (UTC) : An itinerary article could be written on this route -- see [[Itineraries]] for examples of the type -- though it would need quite a bit of work. Note, however, that info on places to stay generally goes in destination articles -- mostly towns along the route -- not in an itinerary. There are exceptions -- e.g. [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]] is quite rural so its itinerary includes guesthouses -- but they may not apply here. You might need to create some town or village articles & link them from the itinerary. : Also, have a look at [[Amber Road]] & see if more detail about Lithuanian parts should be added. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 13:55, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::Integrate [[El Camino]] info into the Sleep section of the various towns, that’s the only way they’ll stay up to date, and I guess most of them also take non-Camino visitors. Plus a pithy summary of the local route in Do for each town, region and Lithuania itself. :: ::But only if you think these are real viable routes. Lots of regions have supposed hiking / cycling trails that adorn maps in the council offices, but which in reality are beset by property fences, dreary busy highways and lack of waymarking. :: ::Take a look at [[Asturias]] and its towns for how I’ve approached this task for northern Spain. A. N. Other has added a swathe of Camino pages (for example across Castille) that look poor value and of dubious accuracy. For Asturias I found about half could be built into viable city pages while the rest were merged. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:09, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == Help with Dubai article == The article on Dubai still mentions threats from war, despite a confirmation of safety. When can the outdated message be removed? [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 06:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :You can safely delete it if you can verify it from reliable sources. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:32, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::My impression is that the ceasefire is very fragile despite the Memorandum on Understanding, especially as Israel doesn't seem to respect it. Also, Trump may feel pressed to do something about the unresolved issues. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you for responding. [https://www.dubaidet.gov.ae/en/travel-advisory International/national sources] do state that Dubai is considered safe for travel. However, as a beginner on Wikivoyage, I do not wish to endanger anyone by taking it down. So, I will leave it to be for the time being. [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 04:12, 24 June 2026 (UTC) ::::@[[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]]: I'd say the situation is safe enough where I would have no issues visiting, but I do know many governments still have the UAE as a reconsider your need to travel destination...which ''might'' create some issues with certain travel insurances. I think maybe in a month's time or so it can likely be safely removed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:37, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Dresden == Hi again, everyone. I believe my girlfriend and I have decided it will be most convenient, after all, to visit Dresden on the way back to Berlin from Prague. We're thinking of staying there for 3 days. Do you think that will be enough time, or would you recommend 4 days? I want to consider your opinions, but it's possible we might decide not to extend our trip further for other reasons; don't feel insulted if we disregard your advice this time. :-) [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:47, 24 June 2026 (UTC) :I haven't been to Dresden, but I've somewhat looked at this similar itinerary before and my plan at least was to take RJ 384 from Praha hl. nad. leaving at 06:31 and arriving at 08:50, then to take a train out sometime that evening (either RJ 386 18:53–20:29 or RJ 250 20:33–22:47). But that is just my style of travel, I do tend to maximize all my waking hours doing as much as I can (many of my walks are often 22 km ''average''), so take that at what you will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:24, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :: I found 2-3 days was just right for a first visit. You could obviously stay much longer, but my style is to see one castle / palace, one major museum, one gallery, a couple of leading churches; then save the rest for another trip. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 08:11, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Life culture social facility == ok I have don't know week English and tough language [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-36859-39|&#126;2026-36859-39]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-36859-39|talk]]) 04:44, 26 June 2026 (UTC) b11rf91skwqgnj13jxinafwdgi46i8n 5298617 5298603 2026-06-26T07:31:01Z ThunderingTyphoons! 106394 Alright, but that's not about travel. Undid revision [[Special:Diff/5298603|5298603]] by [[Special:Contributions/~2026-36859-39|~2026-36859-39]] ([[User talk:~2026-36859-39|talk]]) 5298617 wikitext text/x-wiki <div style=" background: var(--background-color-neutral-subtle, rgba(248, 249, 251, 0.8)); backdrop-filter: blur(6px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(6px); border: 1px solid var(--border-color-muted, #d0d7e2); border-radius: 10px; padding: 1em 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.08); color: var(--color-base);"> {{shortcut|[[WV:FORUM]]}} Welcome to '''Wikivoyage's travel forum''', a place where you can start a discussion on anything about travel. Use this page to ask questions, share tips or anecdotes from your travels, or start a conversation about your next destination. __TOC__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__ <div style="font-weight:600; font-size:1.1em;">Guidelines</div> * Postings on this page should be in English. 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Where is reliably warm around that time of year, with natural beauty, good food, good people, maybe good history and culture too? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-77409-4|&#126;2026-77409-4]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-77409-4|talk]]) 17:06, 4 February 2026 (UTC) : Brazil. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 17:39, 4 February 2026 (UTC) ::I have been to Brazil in January 2024, and it was 38 degrees in Rio [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33166-58|&#126;2026-33166-58]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33166-58|talk]]) 19:11, 3 June 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-77409-4|~2026-77409-4]]: Thailand is also nice at that time of year, and it should be dry season then too. Argentina and southern Australia have beaches but Dec/Jan might be too hot (up to your taste, ofc), keeping in mind it's rainy season in the South Pacific. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:25, 4 February 2026 (UTC) :IDK about every year, but Southern California's beaches have been pretty warm this week! I went to [[Seal Beach]] on Groundhog Day! <b style="font-family:Verdana">[[User:Purplebackpack89#top|<b style="color:#3A003A">Pur</b><b style="color:#800080">ple</b>]][[User talk:Purplebackpack89|<b style="color:#991C99">back</b><b style="color:#CC33CC">pack</b><b style="color:gold">89</b>]]</b> 03:12, 5 February 2026 (UTC) :Pick a dark orange area on the map: :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/samk/TXA_202601_samk.gif South America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/asie/TXA_202601_asie.gif Asia] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/afri/TXA_202601_afri.gif Africa] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/namk/TXA_202601_namk.gif North America] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/euro/TXA_202601_euro.gif Europe] :- [https://www.wetteronline.de/?pid=p_rueckblick_colormap&ireq=true&src=rueckblick/vermarktung/wom/de/p_rueckblick_colormap/2026/01/TXA/aupa/TXA_202601_aupa.gif Oceania] :(average high temperature in January) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:18, 6 February 2026 (UTC) ::Mexico fits to the written preferences. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-14022-1|&#126;2026-14022-1]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-14022-1|talk]]) 18:26, 6 February 2026 (UTC) :Two other ideas: [[Southern Province (Sri Lanka)|Southern]] and [[Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)|Eastern]] Sri Lanka, and [[Northland]], New Zealand! My favourite beaches in these areas are Hiriketiya in Southern SL and Waipu in NZ. Southern and Eastern SL are unaffected by the monsoon at that time of year [[User:Sgroey|Sgroey]] ([[User talk:Sgroey|talk]]) 11:03, 20 February 2026 (UTC) :Australia and New Zealand [[User:Sandrabaray|Sandrabaray]] ([[User talk:Sandrabaray|talk]]) 15:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC) :Kerala [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-28147-15|&#126;2026-28147-15]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-28147-15|talk]]) 03:42, 9 May 2026 (UTC) :[[Sanya]] on China's Hainan Island is another possibility but can get crowded at that time of year. Nearby options are [[Lingshui]] and [[Wanning]]. Riyue Bay in Wanning is China's surfing capital. A new wave pool resort opened there last year. [[User:STW932|STW932]] ([[User talk:STW932|talk]]) 04:41, 9 May 2026 (UTC) == Is It Safe to Travel to Dubai? Latest Advice == Dubai is not considered safe for travel right now. As of March 2026, Iran has launched retaliatory drone and missile attacks on UAE territory following a US-Israel strike. The US, UK, and Australia have all issued serious travel warnings. The US Embassy in Dubai is closed. Most governments advise against all but essential travel to the UAE at this time. Dubai has long been one of the [[Dubai|world’s most visited cities]]. Millions of tourists fly there each year for luxury hotels, desert safaris, and world-class shopping. But March 2026 brings a very different picture. [[User:TayyabWiki|TayyabWiki]] ([[User talk:TayyabWiki|talk]]) 10:50, 15 March 2026 (UTC) :As of 21st of April Dubai is considered safe for travel right now. [[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]] ([[User talk:Almajidy|talk]]) 08:55, 21 April 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Almajidy|Almajidy]]: is it? [https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/middle-east/united-arab-emirates Australia], [https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-arab-emirates Canada] and the [https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates UK] all have the highest travel ratings for the UAE, which includes Dubai. It's probs safe from Iranian airstrikes though tbh, but probs not at the level where we'd be advising travelling there. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:14, 21 April 2026 (UTC) :::Some people posting here define safe in terms of direct risk of harm or imprisonment… others (and these govt advisories place a lot of weight on this, too) mean something more like "undisrupted". I tend to go with the former way, and that seems like the only thing the asker is focusing on. That’s not been much of a problem. But disruption actually seems likely. Safe, maybe, and the Dubai gov was (not sure if it still is) paying for tourists to stay in their hotels whenever the airport was closed. But if you care a great deal about getting home on time, or are worried about some force majeure clause in some insurance plan, yeah, maybe it’s not for you. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Additionally, your UK warning does not have its warning at the highest level (do not travel). It’s a step below, saying people should go if they have a good enough reason. The UK ones are always the least sensationalist/hysterical. They’re actually well researched and have nuance. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:29, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :Those warnings tend to err on the side of hysterical exaggeration because governments want to minimize the number of people they'll have to evacuate if the situation changes to some extreme, remote hypothetical that no serious analyst sees coming. If your definition of unsafe is that flights get cancelled and you're stuck there for some time before being able to leave, then sure, I guess it's unsafe. But most people would define safety issues as risk of physical harm or detention, neither of which has ever been even a remote possibility in Dubai since the Iran war started. Sure, they can blockade and ground planes, but firing some missles against a country that Iran doesn't even really care about hurting and that everyone knows will just get intercepted is performative and it's completely illogical to think there's a meaningful risk of physical harm coming from that. Sure, a couple people got hit by debris and died, but you're at a greater risk from a routine car crash or moderate storm. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 15:21, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::A realistic risk is that your insurance company doesn't pay for your additional expenses if you get stuck during a governmental travel warning. I cannot say much about the risk of the situation deteriorating, which could be a major problem for tourists regardless of any actual risk to life and limb. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::That’s a good risk to bring up. The question was about safety, not expense. But I kinda sorta tried to raise that by mentioning you could be stuck there (though physically safe) for quite some time, which sounded expensive to me. But you are absolutely right to make that more clear. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:08, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::Insurance, of course, has force majeure clauses. But the obscenely wealthy Dubai gov started paying for tourists to stay in their hotels during airport closures when the war started. I need to research about whether they are doing this for new arrivals if that happens again, since the war is not a surprise anymore. But if the force majeure invalidates not just your travel, but your health insurance policy and you have a major medical bill, that could hurt financially. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 18:39, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I'll bet many of them were out money due to the cancellation of their air tickets, though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:01, 25 April 2026 (UTC) :::::Which may not be a safety issue in the strict sense, but if someone is coming as a tourist, they may not consider it a "safe" investment if cost volatility is a concern. Honestly we're guessing what safe means when we should just ask {{u|TayyabWiki}} what their bar is. TayyabWiki, are you okay calling it safe if you are not at risk of military harm? Or do you consider upredictiability, unforseen expenses, and airport closures to make it unsafe? I could see how you would mean the latter if you wanted to visit as a tourist; if you're trying to make an urgent visit to meet someone, you have a good reason and may not care about these logistical issues enough not to go. Airlines generally will offer a free rebooking if the flights are canceled, though one may find themselves stuck on a long waitlist. Pretty much, we're all saying the same things here about what's going on in Dubai, but reaching different personal recommendations on worthiness based on individual risk tolerance. Everyone here agrees missile strikes may resume, but are unlikley to cause significant death. However, we also agree that supply chain disruption, airport closures, insurance policy invalidation, and price rises of essentials are significiant risks. Some see those last three and don't care, others do. Depends on why you want to go and how much risk you like to travel with. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 04:39, 26 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::I think one consideration is whether risks are anticipated: if you get hit by a car, that would be seen as pure bad luck by most, and nobody would complain about our not warning about it (we don't have warning boxes even for crazy traffic) – but if bombs start falling, killing some dozen people out of a population of several million, people will be quite upset. Of course the latter is a tragedy, but risk-wise it is totally overwhelmed by the traffic deaths. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 07:11, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::None of us have enough information from this person to know what they consider safe or unsafe, it depends so much on risk tolerance and how critical the trip is. Just asking if it's safe isn't clear enough. I don't want to tell a casual tourist taking their first international vacation to go. I also don't want to tell someone going for a wedding, critical business meeting, or to visit a dying relative to not go, nor am I going to worry about a tourist who's been to 100+ countries and can handle a little unpredictability. I can answer specific questions based on the person's needs if those are actually explained. Lacking that, more of my own tolerance will come out in my answers. [[User:TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 07:28, 27 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::{{re|LPfi}} They did not respond to my ping above nor have they engaged with anything any of us have written. So we're basically just talking to each other about our personal risk tolerance, which isn't serving any real purpose. Should we just archive this thread? [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:22, 27 April 2026 (UTC) :::::::::I mean this is a forum where we discuss this kind of stuff –&nbsp;I'd say it still has a purpose (and it is interesting to see how y'all perceive personal risk haha). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:17, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::::::::It has a little bit of a different purpose than Wikipedia noticeboards that are trying to solve a problem, then. Yes, it is interesting to see that! Personally, I could probably count the number of places I wouldn't go on one hand, the news has just given people such an extremely exaggerated sense of how frequently bad things happen. People get shot in the U.S. all the time, and sure, we care, but do we feel unsafe every single day because of it? I don't think most people do. Yet we still see it as reasonable to warn Americans against going to places over the risk of getting shot when they will have actually just moved themselves to a place where it is less likely to happen to them than in their own nation. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 00:21, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :::{{re|SHB2000}} I'd also point out that like the UK, the US, which probably has the most reason to fear for its citizens in the region, does not tell people not to go to Dubai, telling them only to consider whether it's worth it depending on how important your trip is: [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-arab-emirates-travel-advisory.html]. And the US advisories tend to be the extreme ones; they mention a risk of terrorism, which is essentially a fiction since it has never happened in Dubai. So, really, you just have Canada and Australia standing alone in telling people it's some kind of dystopian hellhole they should avoid at any cost. Come on people, we are talking about an ultra-rich, pro-Western, pro-tourist country with a stable government that happens to be ''near'' a war, not in one. This thread reads more like we're discussing an active war zone like Donbas, or an impoverished country with terrorism and unstable government, like Somalia. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:37, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::::I have been able to confirm that the govt reimbursement of expenses due to airport closures is not ongoing, but the airports are open, so this may very well come back if they close again. However, the airlines, including Emirates, have said people will always get full refunds and offered rebookings in the event of an airport closure, and can even request a refund for any reason even if the airport is open, up to 31 May. Emirates updated this statement just a few days ago: [https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/travel-updates/]. Personally, I'm too busy in my work life to risk being stuck there for a week or more because the airport is closed. But there is a difference betwen being inconvienenced and being unsafe. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 21:04, 28 April 2026 (UTC) == Venezuela safety actually changing? == The U.S. State Department has removed its level four do-not-travel advisory for Venezuela, lowering it to level three on March 19 (consider carefully based on trip importance) [https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/venezuela.html]. They have removed any mention of arbitrary detention or government mistreatment, focusing only on crime and poor infrastructure such as in hosptials, due to poverty. Delcy Rodriguez has been very cooperative with the Trump admin and the U.S. embassy has reopened. Although she is already governing Venezuelans as a dictator, I think there is indeed no risk of her mistreating American tourists becuase she's so reliant on U.S. backing for now. However, the country is extremely impoverished, leading to a high crime rate and gang violence. That seems to be the remaining concern. I'm curious if people here agree with the U.S. that Delcy taking over has essentially made the government no longer a threat to tourists. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 20:51, 28 April 2026 (UTC) :Maybe would be nice to hear from {{ping|Lord Ravager}} or {{ping|Galahad}}? //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:26, 28 April 2026 (UTC) ::It reads true to me since it's level 3 and they acknowledge there's still crime risk, just not risk from Delcy. Though there is no question the advisories have gotten more political under Trump. Most glaringly, [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/el-salvador-travel-advisory.html El Salvador was lowered all the way to level 1] after the deal to send people to the {{w|Terrorism Confinement Center}}, which looks like a quid pro quo. Although level 1 is supposed to mean completely safe, the El Salvador advisory mentions that U.S. govt employees are banned from travelling outside at nighttime due to safety risks. How they can hold both those ideas in their head at the same time is beyond me and probably not worth devoting brain power to. While it is true that country is has become relatively safe compared to what it was, it strains credulity to say there is zero risk of crime Japan and to call it safer than Costa Rica (and every other Central American country), as well as Italy, the UK, France, and Spain, which is now the U.S. policy. El Salvador was the first sign to me that we may need to examine these advisories (whether they are too low or too high) more critically. [[User:TEMPO156|TEMPO156]] ([[User talk:TEMPO156|talk]]) 19:55, 29 April 2026 (UTC) ::The situation in the country is relatively stable, but despite the decisions of the President of the United States, I don't think it's completely safe to travel there (at least not with maximum caution, considering that checkpoints are still places where the police abuse their power, especially against foreigners). [[User:Lord Ravager|Lord Ravager]] ([[User talk:Lord Ravager|talk]]) 23:39, 2 June 2026 (UTC) == Pu Luong travel information and trekking routes == Hello everyone, I’m currently working on improving travel information about Pu Luong Nature Reserve in northern Vietnam. It’s a quiet alternative to Sapa with rice terraces, traditional villages, and great trekking routes. I would like to ask: - Should Pu Luong have its own full destination page on Wikivoyage? - What key sections should be prioritized for a new destination like this? - Any recommendations for structuring trekking routes clearly? I’d really appreciate any guidance from experienced contributors. Thank you! [[User:DanielTravel|DanielTravel]] ([[User talk:DanielTravel|talk]]) 08:57, 30 April 2026 (UTC) :* My initial take is that Pu Luong would make a reasonable standalone article. It looks to be geographically large, sufficiently defined, distinct from any other well-developed tourist destinations we have content for, and has enough to do to be difficult to describe as a simple collection of [[WV:Listings]]. :* Take a look at the [[WV:Rural area article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pu Luong]] Commune) and [[WV:Park article template]] (perhaps for [[W:Pù Luông Nature Reserve]]). Decide which one fits this destination best, and go from there. (It's easy to switch later.) IMO the See and Do sections are the most important. :* I'd start with a simple Do Listing (bullet-point paragraph) for each route. If that feels insufficient, take a look at some hiking/trekking destinations that show up in [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Category:Guide_parks Guide-level parks] for inspiration, there's many reasonable ways to organize treks. :Take a look at [[WV:Welcome, business owners]] if that applies to you, anything that sounds overly promotional will get reverted. [[User:Gerode|Gerode]] ([[User talk:Gerode|talk]]) 16:59, 30 April 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks for creating [[Pu Luong]]. I have assumed that this is a Rural Area, and made some small formatting changes. Please continue and expand the article - details of the locations of the sights in See would be good. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:08, 30 April 2026 (UTC) == Santa Fe, New Mexico == I am looking forward to visit [[Santa Fe (New Mexico)|Santa Fe]], in [[New Mexico]]. It is one of the United States' oldest state capitals in the country. Here are the few questions to consider that: [[File:Museum of international folk art display.jpg|thumb|300px|Miniatures at the Museum of International Folk Art]] * Why is Santa Fe so unique in New Mexico, compared to other capital cities in United States of America? * Where could I learn more about the Indigenous cultures of the Southwest, aside from the textbooks? Perhaps, the musuem? * Why is New Mexican cuisine, considered to be a Herculean task, outside of New Mexico, although this capital, offers one of the most touristic dishes in this state? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 07:26, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :Were you assigned an essay about New Mexico? I have no idea what your last question is supposed to mean. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 10:11, 1 May 2026 (UTC) ::@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] I am referring to the [[New Mexico#Eat|New_Mexico#Eat]]. On the last paragraph. I am not assigned an essay about New Mexico. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 20:35, 1 May 2026 (UTC) :::OK, you might want to reread that: :::"for those visitors that fall in love with the cuisine, finding it outside of New Mexico is a Herculean task, since most searches for 'New Mexican restaurants' will end up resulting in recently-opened Mexican restaurants" :::Do you understand? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 23:36, 1 May 2026 (UTC) : I only visited Santa Fe once, some years back & not for long. Fascinating place; I envy you your visit. : You might find some useful background info at [[Indigenous cultures of North America]]. A book I enjoyed was [https://jennetconant.com/109-east-palace/ 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos]; it is named for the Manhattan Project's Santa Fe office. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 00:30, 2 May 2026 (UTC) :: Santa Fe is an excellent destination; and take in nearby [[Albuquerque]] if time allows. Their museums and galleries are a good starting point for understanding First Nations and settler culture in the region. Formerly there were Indian villages you could visit, but they were devasted by covid and even now may not have re-opened. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:27, 3 May 2026 (UTC) == Jobs in Autria == i need a job in Austria [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-26981-08|&#126;2026-26981-08]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-26981-08|talk]]) 08:10, 4 May 2026 (UTC) :This is a travel guide; we can't find jobs for you, but I wish you the best of luck! [[Austria#Work]] is all this site has on the topic. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 09:53, 4 May 2026 (UTC) ::We also have [[Working abroad]], the advice of which may partly be relevant for Austria and your situation. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 11:13, 4 May 2026 (UTC) == Samos island == What to see and do on Samos this May? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27831-34|&#126;2026-27831-34]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27831-34|talk]]) 12:59, 8 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:~2026-27831-34|~2026-27831-34]]: [[Samos#See]] will have a proper list of things to see and do. Enjoy your time there! //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 13:07, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == Avril Lavigne's hotel == Hello everyone. Does anyone know at which hotel was this photo taken https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/canadian-singer-avril-lavigne-poses-for-a-photo-at-her-news-photo/83163530? I already know it's in France. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-27963-24|&#126;2026-27963-24]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-27963-24|talk]]) 23:37, 8 May 2026 (UTC) == First Time in Gembu, Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon. == I have visited Gembu, one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Nigeria, known for its cool weather and scenic landscapes. I plan to expand its Wikivoyage page to make it more informative and attractive to visitors. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Gembu+nigeria&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image<nowiki></nowiki> [[User:Mr. Snatch|Mr. Snatch]] ([[User talk:Mr. Snatch|talk]]) 01:11, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :01:11, 11May 2026(UTC) [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-36524-55|&#126;2026-36524-55]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-36524-55|talk]]) 00:38, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Does anyone know where I can get good information on South Sentinel Island? == I am currently very interested in South Sentinel Island, and I want to find more information on it. Any recommendations? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 16:28, 11 May 2026 (UTC) :Wikipedia has some info: [[:w:South Sentinel Island]], but you should probably try to find scientific publications on it, –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:22, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::South Sentinel Island is mentioned in our article on [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], but there is almost nothing in the article. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:19, 11 May 2026 (UTC) ::::There is no info on it here any more. The info was not useful and possibly unreliable – it was added by a user who got blocked as not here to build a travel guide. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:29, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Oh really? Unfortunate... [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::who was the user may I ask? [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::It doesn't matter. You can check the article history if you really want to know, but I have a feeling that you may know it already. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 17:12, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :::I saw the Wikivoyage article... kinda wish we could get more information but it makes sense why there's not much [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thank you :-D [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 12:54, 13 May 2026 (UTC) Hi! I'm MovoDreamOfficial. I enjoy exploring new places, learning about different cultures, and helping improve travel information on Wikivoyage. == Chiclayo, Peru == I’m trying to find out the exact time of year is the off season for Chiclayo, Peru. Can someone please tell me when this is? Thank you [[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]] ([[User talk:ADY 88845|talk]]) 01:02, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:ADY 88845|ADY 88845]]: can't say for Chiclayo specifically, but the off-season for Peru is usually during the summer (November–April). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:32, 13 May 2026 (UTC) == I meant to say North Sentinal Island == My bad, I forget the names of things sometimes. I mean to say: where can I find the information about North Sentinal Island, not south.... :-( [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 18:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC) :See [[Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands#Stay_safe]] - it is '''illegal''' to visit North Sentinel Island. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 19:09, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ::I know that I just like to research illegal countries [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 14:40, 14 May 2026 (UTC) :::Our policy is [[Wikivoyage:Illegal activities policy|not to give advice]] on illegal activities. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:50, 15 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Oh I didn't know that... all I want to know is information and facts about the island But that's okay! [[User:BubsDockyZero5|BubsDockyZero5]] ([[User talk:BubsDockyZero5|talk]]) 15:16, 15 May 2026 (UTC) :::::If you want information on North Sentinel Island, it would be best to look at Wikipedia. Going to a travel guide for information about a place to which you cannot travel is a fruitless endeavor. [[User:Nameless7357|Nameless7357]] ([[User talk:Nameless7357|talk]]) 18:50, 24 May 2026 (UTC) == FYI: The 27 Most Beautiful Places in the World == {{swept}} https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world —[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''vf</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 02:29, 31 March 2026 (UTC) :Interesting list, thanks. It's a little funny that they call the aurora borealis an "astrological light show", though. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 06:02, 31 March 2026 (UTC) ::It should be "astronomical", as the confusion between astronomy (a branch of science) and astrology (a branch of pseudoscience) is still common, not only in English but also in most cultures. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 07:15, 18 May 2026 (UTC) :Read this article, looks fascinating to me. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-69216-3|&#126;2026-69216-3]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-69216-3|talk]]) 05:18, 4 April 2026 (UTC) Hello, good day. Thank you, Rah.What should I do if I am traveling and whenever it says I am traveling, I have to bring my travel documents? [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-29968-26|&#126;2026-29968-26]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-29968-26|talk]]) 02:01, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Jodhpur == Please Jodhpur [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-30053-62|&#126;2026-30053-62]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-30053-62|talk]]) 05:38, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :From New Delhi, take a Vande Bharat Express train if you have the budget. Otherwise, choose any express train from there. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:18, 19 May 2026 (UTC) :Hi! :If you're planning a trip to [[Jodhpur]], Mehrangarh Fort is the must‑see highlight, the Blue City lanes are best explored early morning, and the weather is most comfortable from October to March. Auto‑rickshaws are the easiest way to get around, and staying hydrated is important because the climate is very dry. Enjoy your travels and feel free to ask if you need more tips. [[User:Globetrotter30|Globetrotter30]] ([[User talk:Globetrotter30|talk]]) 15:06, 19 May 2026 (UTC) == Planning a Gilgit trip soon, looking for updated hotel recommendations == Recently planning a trip to northern Pakistan again and trying to shortlist some good stays in Gilgit before heading toward Hunza. A few older threads and blogs seem outdated now, so I wanted fresh opinions from people who have visited recently. I stayed with [https://gracehospitality.pk/ramada-resort-gilgit-baltistan/ Grace Hospitality] during my last trip and honestly had a smooth experience, especially compared to a couple of random bookings I made before that. What are currently considered the top Gilgit Pakistan hotels for families or small groups? Curious if people are prioritizing views, location, food, or overall comfort these days. [[User:Mohsin879|Mohsin879]] ([[User talk:Mohsin879|talk]]) 09:32, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :There are several places listed in [[Gilgit#Sleep]], but these may not have been updated recently. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:45, 25 May 2026 (UTC) ::This is exactly where Wikivoyage can help independent travellers to help each other. Google Map indicates a few dozen hotels thereabouts, and sifting through them will absorb an hour or so. But if your resulting short-list can be posted on the Gilgit page, the next traveller starts from a better place, and so it goes on. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 10:02, 26 May 2026 (UTC) == Recommended number of days in Prague for a first visit == Hi, everyone! A friend, my girlfriend and I will be traveling to Prague in August. Our friend can stay 4 nights, but we can stay longer. Would a week be good? 5 days? I get the impression that a lot of the best things to see and do involve walking a lot, but I'm also seeing that there are interesting museums and places of worship to visit. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 22:50, 25 May 2026 (UTC) :Prague is an excellent destination so it all depends on your appetite for museums, galleries and architecture. Visitors from west Europe have a short travel time so for a first visit 4 nights / 3 days is about right. You can spend much longer, but at some point the baroque churches will blur before your eyes. Intercontinental visitors might want a week to make the trip worthwhile, but could split the days with another stand-out city such as Vienna, or for a complete change of scenery head for the mountains and national parks. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:07, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. I'll be taking the train from Berlin and back, so no intercontinental visiting for me. I don't think I would tire of beautiful Baroque churches too quickly. To give you some idea of my attitudes, I've spent I think a total of a month cumulatively in Florence and more than that in Paris over the years, and there are plenty more things I want to see in those cities. I love beautiful architecture and art, and my girlfriend and I are also musicians and like to hear good performances. I've spent more time than that in Siena, but mostly as a student, which is different because I was living there, albeit temporarily. While I was there for 35 days in 1991, I visited every church in town that had work by the Lorenzetti brothers and then some, in addition to all the major sights. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:40, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :@[[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]]: Not that I've been to Czechia, but how willing are you to do daytrips from Praha? I'd spend around half a day at [[Kutna Hora]] for the Sedlec Ossuary and the St Barbara Church. It's about an hour from Praha hlavni nadrazi (main station) using CD so easily doable. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:04, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::We could definitely consider day trips, thanks. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 05:10, 27 May 2026 (UTC) :::I have been to the Czech Republic several times, but mainly in the 1990s and 2000s. You could easily spend a couple of weeks in the country, but I would suggest only spending about 4 nights in Prague (unless you can stay with friends or other cheap accommodation). Central Prague is very busy and you may find the number of other visitors overwhelming. You could spend 3 nights in [[Brno]], which has a castle, several museums and other interesting buildings. [[Pilsen]] is worth 2 nights to see its cathedral, museums and the home of lager. [[Český Krumlov]] is a World Heritage site town which is worth visiting, but draws the crowds. Also consider a spa town like [[Karlovy Vary]] where you can sample the water and go for country walks, the beautiful churches in [[Olomouc]], the renaissance town of [[Telč]] or the Ossuary in [[Kutná Hora]]. You will probably find sleeping and eating in most of theses places is half the price of Prague. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 23:12, 27 May 2026 (UTC) ::::Thanks very much. By the way, speaking of eating: I heard from a friend who was in Prague a long time ago that it was almost impossible to get into restaurants there without reservations way in advance. Does anyone know if they have casual eateries like Döner/shawarma houses? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 02:03, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::Another question a traveling partner had was whether it could be dangerous to carry her passport around, so that she could get free transit as a senior in Prague. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 04:36, 28 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::I would say exercise any caution that you'd typically do in any tourist-heavy area plagued with pickpockets like [[Brussels]], [[London]] or [[Paris]]: that is, carry your passport, but keep it in one of those special passport wallets that go around your neck. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 05:16, 28 May 2026 (UTC) :::::::Yes, usual caution suffices, but Prague is not somewhere you need to carry your passport, stow it in the hotel safe with other high-value stuff. If there's anywhere you especially fancy eating then do book (especially in August), but there are plenty of casual eateries. Eat early to beat the crowd. :::::::The day-trips listed in Go Next are comprehensive, that section would benefit from the rule of 7+2. [[Olomouc]] is my pick, the downside is it may suffer by comparison with Prague, whereas if you'd day-tripped there from Ostrava you'd be delighted. Beethoven and the Viennese belle-monde decamped there to escape Napoleon's invasion, whereupon the Olomouc WV page received its last systematic overhaul. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 20:16, 30 May 2026 (UTC) ::::::::According to [[Prague#By_public_transport]] a passport or EU ID card is required for over 65s to get free travel. I would suggest carrying a paper copy of the passport, with the original in a wallet or money belt under clothing. A visible passport wallet says "I'm a tourist". Alternatively, buy a one month card for 130 Kč if you are over 60 which should mean only showing a passport once. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 20:50, 30 May 2026 (UTC) == 3 Days in Varanasi: A Complete Travel Itinerary == Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major spiritual destination in India. Located on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, the city attracts millions of pilgrims and travelers every year. A three-day visit provides enough time to experience the city's most significant attractions. On the first day, visitors can attend the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and explore the surrounding ghats. The second day can begin with a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges, followed by a visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the narrow lanes of the old city. The third day is ideal for exploring Sarnath, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon. Travelers can also enjoy local street food, traditional silk weaving centers, and cultural performances that reflect the rich heritage of Banaras. The city offers a unique blend of spirituality, history, architecture, and daily life along the sacred riverfront. [[User:Rishu00100|Rishu00100]] ([[User talk:Rishu00100|talk]]) 06:15, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :If you are looking for unseen Varanasi head south of the Namo Ghat to the Tomb of Lal Khan and Rajgfhat. The Varanasi Wikivoyage article have all details [[User:Rangan Datta Wiki|Rangan Datta Wiki]] ([[User talk:Rangan Datta Wiki|talk]]) 17:41, 12 June 2026 (UTC) == Malls with Grocery stores or Libraries == Hello there, I am a huge fan of shopping malls. Can you please think of the malls in the USA or other parts of the world, that has a grocery store, a library, or even a public transit? Does these malls have at least one bookstore? There are the largest malls in USA, such as Mall of America, American Dream, and The Aventura, with one grocery store. [[Special:Contributions/&#126;2026-33106-46|&#126;2026-33106-46]] ([[User talk:&#126;2026-33106-46|talk]]) 21:02, 5 June 2026 (UTC) :It's pretty common in Mexico. I can think of several shopping malls in Monterrey that have either a Soriana or H-E-B store in them. [[User:Mrkstvns|Mrkstvns]] ([[User talk:Mrkstvns|talk]]) 23:52, 5 June 2026 (UTC) : Two that have more-or-less everything are [[Pasay#Malls|Mall of Asia]] in Pasay (Metro Manila) & [[Edmonton/West_End#Buy|West Edmonton Mall]], largest on Earth in the 1980s, since surpassed by many. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:08, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :: See also [[w:Shopping_mall#World's_largest_malls]]. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 01:20, 6 June 2026 (UTC) ::More or less in Sydney, those types of malls are the default. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:36, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :All shopping malls in [[Kolkata]] have at least a bus stop, with only City Centre Salt Lake having a metro stop (Green Line). However, only a few of them sell grocery and/or books, as Kolkatans often flock to New Market (Esplanade), Gariahat (South Kolkata) or their local markets for grocery, and there are many libraries in the city, along with the famous College Street (North Kolkata) book market. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 03:51, 6 June 2026 (UTC) == Cotswold England == Useful tips for backpacking/travel here. [[User:TinaMMauer|TinaMMauer]] ([[User talk:TinaMMauer|talk]]) 04:05, 6 June 2026 (UTC) :TIL [[Cotswolds]] is an extraregion here (just surprised more than anything else). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:08, 8 June 2026 (UTC) == Place to upkeep a list of Camino sleeping locations == Hi dears, Our Camino Lituano community is searching for a better way to share information on contacts, prices and amenities of various places to stay. I did not notice Wikivoyage being used for a similar purpose, so probably this is not a good place. Maybe you have suggestions how and where to collaboratively work on such information? [[User:Dūdėnas|Dūdėnas]] ([[User talk:Dūdėnas|talk]]) 08:39, 21 June 2026 (UTC) : An itinerary article could be written on this route -- see [[Itineraries]] for examples of the type -- though it would need quite a bit of work. Note, however, that info on places to stay generally goes in destination articles -- mostly towns along the route -- not in an itinerary. There are exceptions -- e.g. [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]] is quite rural so its itinerary includes guesthouses -- but they may not apply here. You might need to create some town or village articles & link them from the itinerary. : Also, have a look at [[Amber Road]] & see if more detail about Lithuanian parts should be added. [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 13:55, 21 June 2026 (UTC) ::Integrate [[El Camino]] info into the Sleep section of the various towns, that’s the only way they’ll stay up to date, and I guess most of them also take non-Camino visitors. Plus a pithy summary of the local route in Do for each town, region and Lithuania itself. :: ::But only if you think these are real viable routes. Lots of regions have supposed hiking / cycling trails that adorn maps in the council offices, but which in reality are beset by property fences, dreary busy highways and lack of waymarking. :: ::Take a look at [[Asturias]] and its towns for how I’ve approached this task for northern Spain. A. N. Other has added a swathe of Camino pages (for example across Castille) that look poor value and of dubious accuracy. For Asturias I found about half could be built into viable city pages while the rest were merged. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 09:09, 22 June 2026 (UTC) == Help with Dubai article == The article on Dubai still mentions threats from war, despite a confirmation of safety. When can the outdated message be removed? [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 06:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :You can safely delete it if you can verify it from reliable sources. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 06:32, 23 June 2026 (UTC) ::My impression is that the ceasefire is very fragile despite the Memorandum on Understanding, especially as Israel doesn't seem to respect it. Also, Trump may feel pressed to do something about the unresolved issues. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:16, 23 June 2026 (UTC) :::Thank you for responding. [https://www.dubaidet.gov.ae/en/travel-advisory International/national sources] do state that Dubai is considered safe for travel. However, as a beginner on Wikivoyage, I do not wish to endanger anyone by taking it down. So, I will leave it to be for the time being. [[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]] ([[User talk:Saiyaashwanth|talk]]) 04:12, 24 June 2026 (UTC) ::::@[[User:Saiyaashwanth|Saiyaashwanth]]: I'd say the situation is safe enough where I would have no issues visiting, but I do know many governments still have the UAE as a reconsider your need to travel destination...which ''might'' create some issues with certain travel insurances. I think maybe in a month's time or so it can likely be safely removed. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 10:37, 25 June 2026 (UTC) == Dresden == Hi again, everyone. I believe my girlfriend and I have decided it will be most convenient, after all, to visit Dresden on the way back to Berlin from Prague. We're thinking of staying there for 3 days. Do you think that will be enough time, or would you recommend 4 days? I want to consider your opinions, but it's possible we might decide not to extend our trip further for other reasons; don't feel insulted if we disregard your advice this time. :-) [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 21:47, 24 June 2026 (UTC) :I haven't been to Dresden, but I've somewhat looked at this similar itinerary before and my plan at least was to take RJ 384 from Praha hl. nad. leaving at 06:31 and arriving at 08:50, then to take a train out sometime that evening (either RJ 386 18:53–20:29 or RJ 250 20:33–22:47). But that is just my style of travel, I do tend to maximize all my waking hours doing as much as I can (many of my walks are often 22 km ''average''), so take that at what you will. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 00:24, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :: I found 2-3 days was just right for a first visit. You could obviously stay much longer, but my style is to see one castle / palace, one major museum, one gallery, a couple of leading churches; then save the rest for another trip. [[User:Grahamsands|Grahamsands]] ([[User talk:Grahamsands|talk]]) 08:11, 25 June 2026 (UTC) 85g40opvrm0al99phr3hcfvaq1980dq 0 215965 5298497 5222884 2026-06-25T19:28:25Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Buy */ 5298497 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Hueyapan banner.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Hueyapan''' is a small town in the mountainous region of eastern [[Morelos]] in [[Central Mexico]]. The town is a [[Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica|Nahuatl indigenous community]] and about half the population speak Nahuatl as their primary language. The town is most famous for its large 16th century monastery, ''Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán'', which is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== [[File:Escaleras del Campanario.jpg|thumb|Climbing the stairs in the church belfry in Hueyapan]] The town was initially settled by people from Xochimilco in 902 AD and paid tribute to the Aztecs in the 15th century. It was conquered by the [[Spanish Empire]] in 1521 and evangelized by Dominican and Franciscan missionaries. ==Get in== The closest major airport is [[Benito Juárez International Airport]] ({{IATA|MEX}}) in [[Mexico City]]. From anywhere in Mexico City, take Metro (Line 1 or Line B) to the '''San Lazaro''' station, which is connected to the TAPO bus station. Find the Volcanes bus line and buy a ticket to '''Popopark''' (Hueyapan does not have its own bus station). The trip to Hueyapan takes about 2 hours and a ticket will cost about M$200. Once you arrive in Popopark, you can take a taxi the last 20 km to Hueyapan. ==Get around== {{mapframe}} The town itself is compact and easily navigated by walking. Taxis are available for longer trips. ==See== * {{see | name=Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán | alt= | url= | email= | address=Centenario, San Miguel | lat=18.885610424516717 | long=-98.68973882269631 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=Established by the Dominican order in 1539, the monastery was built by both Dominican and Franciscan friars between 1563 and 1573. It is an austere baroque design with little ornamentation on the exterior adobe walls but the interior preserves several historic frescoes. The church suffered some damage in an earthquake in 2017, but repairs were completed by 2021. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. }} ==Do== ==Buy== Hueyapan is known for its [[Mexican artesanias|traditional handcrafted]] textiles, particularly embroidered clothing and hand-woven cloths produced on a backstrap loom. Most producers are individuals working out of their own homes who sell via informal channels such as local ''tianguis''. * {{buy | name=Artesanias Maiju | alt= | url= | email= | address=Av. Miguel Hidalgo 97 | lat=19.931754182662075 | long=-97.45867461118723 | directions= | phone=+52 231 319 3202 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 09:00 - 20:00 | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-25 | content=Small shop selling artesanal clothing and cloth products. Customization available on request. }} ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Mojiganga Hueyapan | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 5 de Mayo 42, San Andres | lat=18.888879100589346 | long=-98.68388087859714 | directions= | phone=+52 735 181 7764 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 14ː30 - 22ː30 | price=M$200 | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=Classy yet comfortable contemporary restaurant serving a fusion menu of popular light dishes like ciabattas and burgers with Mexican standbys, a coffee bar, a full cocktail bar, and a wide selection of desserts. Open outdoor dining area available. }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== There are no hotels in Hueyapan. You can find a better selection of lodging choices in nearby towns such as [[Tetela del Volcán]] or [[Zacualpan de Amilpas]]. ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Ruta de los Conventos del Popocatépetl]] * [[Tetela del Volcán]] * [[Ocuituco]] {{IsPartOf|Morelos}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|18.8847|-98.6901}} 7j5vwkclli7pr46yvv9xrvmdbi7i3ip 5298498 5298497 2026-06-25T19:29:30Z Mrkstvns 144844 /* Buy */ 5298498 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Hueyapan banner.jpg|unesco_whs=yes}} '''Hueyapan''' is a small town in the mountainous region of eastern [[Morelos]] in [[Central Mexico]]. The town is a [[Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica|Nahuatl indigenous community]] and about half the population speak Nahuatl as their primary language. The town is most famous for its large 16th century monastery, ''Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán'', which is a {{unesco}}. ==Understand== [[File:Escaleras del Campanario.jpg|thumb|Climbing the stairs in the church belfry in Hueyapan]] The town was initially settled by people from Xochimilco in 902 AD and paid tribute to the Aztecs in the 15th century. It was conquered by the [[Spanish Empire]] in 1521 and evangelized by Dominican and Franciscan missionaries. ==Get in== The closest major airport is [[Benito Juárez International Airport]] ({{IATA|MEX}}) in [[Mexico City]]. From anywhere in Mexico City, take Metro (Line 1 or Line B) to the '''San Lazaro''' station, which is connected to the TAPO bus station. Find the Volcanes bus line and buy a ticket to '''Popopark''' (Hueyapan does not have its own bus station). The trip to Hueyapan takes about 2 hours and a ticket will cost about M$200. Once you arrive in Popopark, you can take a taxi the last 20 km to Hueyapan. ==Get around== {{mapframe}} The town itself is compact and easily navigated by walking. Taxis are available for longer trips. ==See== * {{see | name=Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán | alt= | url= | email= | address=Centenario, San Miguel | lat=18.885610424516717 | long=-98.68973882269631 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=Established by the Dominican order in 1539, the monastery was built by both Dominican and Franciscan friars between 1563 and 1573. It is an austere baroque design with little ornamentation on the exterior adobe walls but the interior preserves several historic frescoes. The church suffered some damage in an earthquake in 2017, but repairs were completed by 2021. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. }} ==Do== ==Buy== Hueyapan is known for its [[Mexican artesanias|traditional handcrafted]] textiles, particularly embroidered clothing and hand-woven cloths produced on a backstrap loom. Most producers are individuals working out of their own homes who sell via informal channels such as local ''tianguis''. ==Eat== * {{eat | name=Mojiganga Hueyapan | alt= | url= | email= | address=Calle 5 de Mayo 42, San Andres | lat=18.888879100589346 | long=-98.68388087859714 | directions= | phone=+52 735 181 7764 | tollfree= | hours=Daily 14ː30 - 22ː30 | price=M$200 | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-02-28 | content=Classy yet comfortable contemporary restaurant serving a fusion menu of popular light dishes like ciabattas and burgers with Mexican standbys, a coffee bar, a full cocktail bar, and a wide selection of desserts. Open outdoor dining area available. }} ==Drink== ==Sleep== There are no hotels in Hueyapan. You can find a better selection of lodging choices in nearby towns such as [[Tetela del Volcán]] or [[Zacualpan de Amilpas]]. ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Ruta de los Conventos del Popocatépetl]] * [[Tetela del Volcán]] * [[Ocuituco]] {{IsPartOf|Morelos}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|18.8847|-98.6901}} ba1j03o2zqjtxo5keoum0onzya19oej 2 216602 5298565 5247267 2026-06-26T02:22:00Z Ari 1600 2390466 5298565 wikitext text/x-wiki {{DISPLAYTITLE:<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS"><span style="position:absolute; top: -9999px">User:</span><span style="color:darkblue;text-shadow:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em blue;">'''Ari'''</span> <span style="color:purple;text-shadow:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em magenta;">''1600''</span> }}<div style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Hi yall, my name is Ari! I'm a random girl that likes [[Honduras]]. I am '''really''' interested in birds and [[weather]]! I am also from the state of [[Wisconsin|WI]]. Please be nice here and don't harass me. Peace out! :D 🇺🇲🇭🇳🐥 [[File:USA Wisconsin relief location map.svg|thumb|Wisconsin]] rzbif4tkrwr88398cs2xoj5t5cso9a7 0 216698 5298658 5298171 2026-06-26T08:55:36Z Grahamsands 2164467 /* Belfast */ This page should not carry listings, they're all on the city page 5298658 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Peace Bridge Derry Wikivoyage banner.jpg|caption=Peace Bridge of Derry}} '''The Troubles''' (Irish: ''Na Trioblóidí'') was a violent conflict from the 1960s to 1998 over the status of [[Northern Ireland]] and its divided people. It’s reckoned that over 3500 were killed, half of them civilians, and another 48,000 injured. The same term was used for the conflict of 1870 to the 1920s that led to the independence of the Republic of Ireland, and partition from Northern Ireland, which remained part of Britain. The 20th century Troubles had their roots in those and in earlier grievances. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 largely ended the 20th century conflict and has stood the test of time. But sources of tension still simmer, and occasional outbreaks of civil disorder are watched with alarm in case a new phase of Troubles is coming. == Understand == {| style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;" | [[Britain and Ireland]] historical travel topics:<br>'''[[Celts]] → [[Medieval Britain and Ireland|Medieval]] → [[Wars of the Roses]] → [[Early modern Britain and Ireland|Early modern]] → [[Industrial Britain]] → [[British Empire]] → [[The Troubles]]''' |} === Prequel === The tricolour of Ireland gives equal prominence to the orange and the green – and also to the white, for those of no religious affiliation. Such was the vision of its creators, the United Irishmen of 1798, fired by the revolutionary ideals of the United States and France. But that vision died with the encircled rebels on Vinegar Hill in Wexford and at Ballinamuck in Mayo, bayonetted where they stood. The next 200 years of Irish history were to be divided on sectarian lines. [[File:12 July in Belfast, 2011 (011).JPG | thumb | 300px | Orange Parade in Belfast ]] This is the five-minute version, so it doesn’t explain how the troubles all got started 25,000 years ago as glaciers moulded Ireland’s future landscape and pattern of land ownership; nor the Roman real-estate project of 35 BC that made orange the emblem of an Ulster where oranges do not grow; nor the 12th century Anglo-Norman land-grab and establishment of parish and county boundaries that became the convoluted and dangerous frontier between Ireland north and south. That land-grab stalled but was resumed under the Tudors from the 16th century, this time with a religious difference, between the Catholic Irish and the Protestant incomers. Even greater was an economic difference, as England underwent an agricultural and industrial revolution, drawing people off the land into towns. In Ireland, they vanquished the traditional Gaelic kingdoms and feudal ways of life, except for two stubborn stand-outs in Tyrone and Donegal. A war of 1593–1603 finally broke those two, but there was a further uprising and the town of Derry was burned. The response was the “Plantations” – organised large-scale immigration of Protestant loyalists from Great Britain, especially into Ulster, changing the population balance. Repression increased after the 1798 rebellion, and 19th-century Ireland nursed a sackful of grievances: "penal laws" against the Catholic religion, privileged landlords versus poverty for the majority, even before the famine years, distant London government, and suppression of Irish language and culture. Many emigrated to England or America. It was only from the 1870s that the root cause was seen as British rule, and the solution as Irish independence. === The early Troubles === The next 50 years saw arson attacks, reprisals and other violence dubbed "The Troubles". In 1912 the British government granted Ireland a measure of autonomy ("home rule"), but there was a furious reaction in Ulster, and both factions took up arms. The compromise was to partition Ireland into the north and the south. Then the First World War broke out, home rule was frozen, and thousands of Irishmen departed in British uniforms to fight and die in Belgium and France. Others saw a chance to rebel, launching the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. It had little support and was crushed within a week, but British executions and reprisals in the aftermath only strengthened Irish feeling. As soon as its men came home from the war, Ireland proclaimed its independence, and The Troubles escalated. The Anglo-Irish peace treaty of 1921 confirmed partition, along a nonsensical border gerrymandered to maximise the area staying under British rule. An anti-treaty faction rejected partition and fought a civil war (especially in County Cork) against the new Irish government. They were defeated, but their aspirations to re-unite Ireland were undimmed. === The later Troubles === [[File:Arch, city walls, Derry - Londonderry - geograph.org.uk - 6160274.jpg | thumb | 300px | City walls of Derry ]] Then came relative quiet for 50 years, and the Republic – the south – stayed neutral during the Second World War. Belfast and the north were busy with industry, but Catholics there faced blatant discrimination, virtually apartheid, in education, employment and housing. From the 1960s, Ulster’s smokestack industry collapsed under foreign competition, and republicans began speaking the language of civil rights. Both sides organised into paramilitary terrorist groups, with multiple splinters and factions-within-factions. The police were unashamedly pro-unionist, so they were attacked. In 1969, the British army was deployed, ostensibly to "keep the two sides apart", but was quickly seen as pro-unionist and became targets in turn. Their worst act was "Bloody Sunday" in 1972 in Derry, when they shot dead 14 unarmed protesters. The republican or Irish nationalist faction was led by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), with their main belligerent the Provisional IRA or "Provos". The main unionist or loyalist factions were the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). And the other major player was the British government, which did its best to undermine the legitimacy of its own rule. A prime example was the 1971–1975 policy of detention without trial of suspected terrorists: 1874 nationalists and 107 loyalists were held, and the disparity in numbers was stark. Oddly enough, this did not quell unrest, which peaked in 1981 with hunger strikes by detainees (to death by several) and riots in the streets. It was always an ethnic rather than a religious conflict, and Protestant and Catholic churches both wrung their hands ineffectually against the violence. (Excepting of course Ian Paisley's "Free Presbyterian Church", which preached bilious hatred of Catholicism.) Nor was the nonsensical shape of the border an issue, but rather its legitimacy. A series of Anglo-Irish peace initiatives came and went, but from the 1990s several favourable factors combined. All sides were war-weary and saw no military victory. Britain and Ireland were both members of the European Union, which sought open borders for people and trade, civil rights, and stamping out of corruption. Political leaders (including US President Bill Clinton) sensed a historic opportunity. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement established a peace process, with disarmament of paramilitaries, a Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved government and sharing of senior positions, and recognition by the Republic that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. Four months after the agreement, when John Hume and David Trimble had yet to collect their Nobel Peace Prize for their part in it, The Real IRA splinter group set off a car bomb in Omagh that killed 29 people and injured over 200. But the shocked reaction showed that the tide had really turned. ==Destinations== {{mapframe}} Visible remnants of the conflict include "peace walls" between Protestant and Catholic communities, and [[murals and graffiti|wall art]] with propaganda for the different sides. === Belfast === {{marker | name=[[Belfast]] | type=city | lat=54.600 | long=-5.930 }} is at the heart of Northern Ireland, and was the focus of the late 20th century Troubles. It's now a lively safe city, a good all-round destination with lots to do and see - see the city page for locations, opening hours and similar detail. The point is that many sights that you might not associate with the Troubles are bound up in that story. * {{see | name=Ring of Steel | content=From 1972 to 1998, the centre of Belfast was protected by a metal perimeter. }} * {{see | name=Irish Republican History Museum | alt=Eileen Hickey Museum | url=https://www.eileenhickeymuseum.com/ | email= | address=Conway Mill, 5 Conway Place BT13 2DA | lat= | long=| directions=Belfast | wikipedia=Irish Republican History Museum | content=The collections of Eileen Hickey, a Provisional IRA organiser within Armagh prison. This museum describes the Republican side of the conflict. }} * {{see | name=Museum of Orange Heritage | alt= | url=https://www.orangeheritage.co.uk/ | email= | address=Schomberg House, 368 Cregagh Rd BT6 9EY | lat= | long= | content=The Protestant and Unionist side of the story from the 17th century, when William Prince of Orange ousted the Catholic king of the British Isles and began Protestant rule. }} * {{see | name=Shankill Road | content=A main road through a Loyalist district, famous for its murals. }} * {{see | name=Peace Wall | lat= | long= | directions=Cupar Way | content=From the 1960s, walls were built to contain civil unrest, and kept growing after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. }} * {{see | name=Divis Tower | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | content=The only remaining part of the Divis Flats Complex, a housing projects home to 10,000 Catholics. In the Troubles, the complex was a Republican stronghold with shootouts between the British Army and the IRA. The British Army used the two top floors of the tower as an observation post from 1972 to 2005. At the height of the Troubles, they could only reach the post by helicopter. }} * {{see | name=The Harp Bar | content=A punk rock club in the 1980s. As the punk subculture rejected both Protestant British and Catholic Irish authority, it was one of few establishments where Protestant and Catholic youths would fraternise. In the 2020s, a new pub named The Harp Bar is located across the street. }} ===Omagh=== * {{see | name=Omagh Bomb Memorial | lat=54.6003 | long=-7.2989 | directions=[[Omagh]] | content=A glass obelisk marking the 1998 blast on Market Street. }} * {{see | name=Memorial Garden of Light | lat=54.6014 | long=-7.2991 | directions=[[Omagh]] | content=A set of mirrors each bearing the name of a victim. }} ===Derry=== * {{see | name=Museum of Free Derry | alt= | url=https://museumoffreederry.org/ | email= | address=55 Glenfada Park BT48 9DR | lat=54.997 | long=-7.326 | directions=[[Derry]] | content=Museum of the Northern Ireland conflict, the march of civil rights, Bloody Sunday and its long aftermath from the republican side. }} * {{see | name=Free Derry Corner | lat=54.996 | long=-7.327 | content=The junction of Rossville Road and Lecky St with Creggan Road, where a monument marks the bounds of "Free Derry", the fiercely nationalist quarter of town during the height of the Troubles. Building gable-ends around are painted with the "Bogside Murals" of political art, and another monument commemorates the Bloody Sunday massacre. }} ===Other destinations=== * {{see | name=HM Prison Maze | wikidata=Q1478908 | content=A prison notorious for incidents such as the 1981 hunger strike. }} {{outlinetopic}} {{PartOfTopic|European history}} 8v911zpimsiljv6lgrzzhwt8bfso18w 0 217933 5298404 5282273 2026-06-25T12:05:49Z Ground Zero 1423298 Formatting 5298404 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner}} '''Limone Piemonte''' is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cuneo, in the southern part of the [[Piedmont]] region of [[Italy]]. Located in the Vermenagna Valley near the Maritime Alps, it is a winter sports resort that forms part of the ''Riserva Bianca'' ski area. The town sits in a mountain basin near the French border, serving as a base for winter skiing and summer outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, and high-altitude driving. == Understand == [[File:Limone Piemonte panorama.jpg|thumb|Limone Piemonte at sunset in winter]] Limone Piemonte, locally just Limone (the Piemonte is tacked on to avoid confusion with [[Limone sul Garda]] in [[Lombardy]]), is located at an altitude of approximately 1,000 metres above sea level. It is situated near the Colle di Tenda (Tenda Pass), a mountain pass across the southern Alps that has been used as a transport route since antiquity; remnants of Roman paving can still be found near the hamlet of Limonetto. The town became part of the territory of the House of Savoy in 1581. The Dukes of Savoy made several early attempts to tunnel under the pass to improve trade routes to the Mediterranean Sea. The modern road tunnel opened in 1882, followed by the railway tunnel in 1900. Following the completion of the railway, Limone Piemonte developed into a destination for tourism, with organized skiing beginning in 1897. The historic centre retains its traditional alpine layout with stone buildings and narrow streets, rather than the purpose-built design seen in newer ski resorts. The main town of Limone Piemonte is located near the train station. There are smaller villages at {{marker|type=city|name=Limone 1400|lat=44.1668|long=7.5687}} and {{marker|type=city|name=Limonetto|wikidata=Q18439596}}, both well placed near the ski lifts. == Get in == {{mapframe}} === By train === {{marker|type=go|name=Limone Piemonte station|wikidata=Q3969963}} is served by the Cuneo–Ventimiglia railway. This line connects the town north to [[Cuneo]] and [[Turin]], and south through French territory via [[Tende]] and [[Breil-sur-Roya]] and back to [[Ventimiglia]] on the Italian coast. Travel time from Turin is approximately 2 hours, requiring a quick connection in Cuneo. === By road === The town is accessed via the Strada Statale 20 (SS20) highway, which runs up the Vermenagna Valley from Cuneo. To the south, the road connects to France through the Colle di Tenda Tunnel, linking the area to Nice and the French Riviera. The road is prone to landslides and the tunnel is being rebuilt, with completion scheduled for 2028; for time being, all traffic passes through one tunnel in turns. == Get around == The historic centre of Limone Piemonte is compact and mostly pedestrianized, making it passable on foot. During the winter season, local shuttle buses (''navette'') run between the town centre, the main railway station, and the ski lift base stations at Sole and Limonetto. A car or bicycle is required to access the outlying trails and neighbouring valleys. == See == The central pedestrian zone (''Centro Storico'') features restored traditional stone architecture, narrow alleys, and historic stone fountains. * {{see | name=Parish of Saint Peter the Apostle | alt=Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Pietro in Vincoli | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.2012 | long=7.5762 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=A 14th-century Gothic parish church located in the town centre. It features a stone bell tower and regional religious artwork. }} * {{see | name=Limone Piemonte Ski Museum | alt=Museo Dello Sci Agostino Bottero | url=https://museosci.it/ | email= | address=Piazza Henry Dunant | lat=44.1987 | long=7.57714 | directions=in library building | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=Vintage ski equipment and the development of winter sports in the region. }} == Do == * '''Skiing and snowboarding:''' The [https://riservabianca.it/ Riserva Bianca] ski resort provides over 80 kilometres of ski runs. The network spans across the sectors of Limone, Sole, and Limonetto, offering slopes for varying skill levels. * '''Alta Via del Sale (High Salt Road):''' A former military track that is unpaved and runs along the Franco-Italian border at altitudes between 1,800 and 2,100 metres. It is open during summer and autumn to hikers, mountain bikers, and motorized vehicles (subject to permits and scheduling). * '''Hiking:''' The surrounding mountains connect to trails leading toward the Maritime Alps Natural Park and the French Mercantour National Park. A standard walking route follows the ancient Roman path toward the meadows of San Lorenzo. * '''The Abaya Festival:''' Held annually on the last Sunday of August, this folk festival dates back to 1529. It commemorates the historical muleteers who transported goods across the mountain passes, featuring local costumes and traditional horse-drawn carts. == Go next == * [[Cuneo]], the provincial capital, featuring a large arcaded central square (Piazza Galimberti) and historic architecture. * [[Roya Valley]], located just south of the Tenda pass, containing alpine villages such as Tende, Saorge, and Breil-sur-Roya. {{isPartOf|Piedmont}} {{geo|44.2|7.566667}} {{outlinecity}} 6mcccsn4b9so2v5vwy7vyaa3ooy0daj 5298406 5298404 2026-06-25T12:06:29Z Ground Zero 1423298 5298406 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner}} '''Limone Piemonte''' is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cuneo, in the southern part of the [[Piedmont]] region of [[Italy]]. Located in the Vermenagna Valley near the Maritime Alps, it is a winter sports resort that forms part of the ''Riserva Bianca'' ski area. The town sits in a mountain basin near the French border, serving as a base for winter skiing and summer outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, and high-altitude driving. == Understand == [[File:Limone Piemonte panorama.jpg|thumb|Limone Piemonte at sunset in winter]] Limone Piemonte, locally just Limone (the Piemonte is tacked on to avoid confusion with [[Limone sul Garda]] in [[Lombardy]]), is located at an altitude of approximately 1,000 metres above sea level. It is situated near the Colle di Tenda (Tenda Pass), a mountain pass across the southern Alps that has been used as a transport route since antiquity; remnants of Roman paving can still be found near the hamlet of Limonetto. The town became part of the territory of the House of Savoy in 1581. The Dukes of Savoy made several early attempts to tunnel under the pass to improve trade routes to the Mediterranean Sea. The modern road tunnel opened in 1882, followed by the railway tunnel in 1900. Following the completion of the railway, Limone Piemonte developed into a destination for tourism, with organized skiing beginning in 1897. The historic centre retains its traditional alpine layout with stone buildings and narrow streets, rather than the purpose-built design seen in newer ski resorts. The main town of Limone Piemonte is located near the train station. There are smaller villages at {{marker|type=city|name=Limone 1400|lat=44.1668|long=7.5687}} and {{marker|type=city|name=Limonetto|wikidata=Q18439596}}, both well placed near the ski lifts. == Get in == {{mapframe}} === By train === {{marker|type=go|name=Limone Piemonte station|wikidata=Q3969963}} is served by the Cuneo–Ventimiglia railway. This line connects the town north to [[Cuneo]] and [[Turin]], and south through French territory via [[Tende]] and [[Breil-sur-Roya]] and back to [[Ventimiglia]] on the Italian coast. Travel time from Turin is approximately 2 hours, requiring a quick connection in Cuneo. === By road === The town is accessed via the Strada Statale 20 (SS20) highway, which runs up the Vermenagna Valley from Cuneo. To the south, the road connects to France through the Colle di Tenda Tunnel, linking the area to Nice and the French Riviera. The road is prone to landslides and the tunnel is being rebuilt, with completion scheduled for 2028; for time being, all traffic passes through one tunnel in turns. == Get around == The historic centre of Limone Piemonte is compact and mostly pedestrianized, making it passable on foot. During the winter season, local shuttle buses (''navette'') run between the town centre, the main railway station, and the ski lift base stations at Sole and Limonetto. A car or bicycle is required to access the outlying trails and neighbouring valleys. == See == The central pedestrian zone (''Centro Storico'') features restored traditional stone architecture, narrow alleys, and historic stone fountains. * {{see | name=Parish of Saint Peter the Apostle | alt=Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Pietro in Vincoli | url= | email= | address= | lat=44.2012 | long=7.5762 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=A 14th-century Gothic parish church located in the town centre. It features a stone bell tower and regional religious artwork. }} * {{see | name=Limone Piemonte Ski Museum | alt=Museo Dello Sci Agostino Bottero | url=https://museosci.it/ | email= | address=Piazza Henry Dunant | lat=44.1987 | long=7.57714 | directions=in library building | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-05-24 | content=Vintage ski equipment and the development of winter sports in the region. }} == Do == * '''Skiing and snowboarding:''' The [https://riservabianca.it/ Riserva Bianca] ski resort provides over 80 kilometres of ski runs. The network spans across the sectors of Limone, Sole, and Limonetto, offering slopes for varying skill levels. * '''Alta Via del Sale (High Salt Road):''' A former military track that is unpaved and runs along the Franco-Italian border at altitudes between 1,800 and 2,100 metres. It is open during summer and autumn to hikers, mountain bikers, and motorized vehicles (subject to permits and scheduling). * '''Hiking:''' The surrounding mountains connect to trails leading toward the Maritime Alps Natural Park and the French Mercantour National Park. A standard walking route follows the ancient Roman path toward the meadows of San Lorenzo. * '''The Abaya Festival:''' Held annually on the last Sunday of August, this folk festival dates back to 1529. It commemorates the historical muleteers who transported goods across the mountain passes, featuring local costumes and traditional horse-drawn carts. == Go next == * [[Cuneo]], the provincial capital, featuring a large arcaded central square (Piazza Galimberti) and historic architecture. * [[Roya Valley]], located just south of the Tenda pass, containing alpine villages such as Tende, Saorge, and Breil-sur-Roya. {{isPartOf|Piedmont}} {{geo|44.2|7.566667}} {{outlinecity}} 5mpyc22ucrk0cveeoii0znp8ypa2jez 0 217966 5298416 5286496 2026-06-25T12:27:40Z Ground Zero 1423298 A park has to be part of a region, not a city 5298416 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Arrecifes de Cozumel NP banner.jpg|pgname=Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park}} '''Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park''' is a protected marine ecosystem of the western and southern coastline of [[Cozumel]] in [[Quintana Roo]]. The park was established to protect coral reefs close to the island. The reefs are a part of the world's second-longest reef system, called the [[Mesoamerican Barrier Reef]], that extends along the entire Mexican Caribbean and along much of the Central American coast. The Cozumel reefs offer countless underwater sights to delight snorkelers and scuba divers. [[File:Splendidtoadfish laban.jpg|thumb|Splendid Toadfish living on Paradise Reef in Cozumel]] ==Understand== ===History=== The park was established as part of the [[Mexico national parks]] system in July 1996. ===Landscape=== The park is an undersea landscape of coral reefs. The coral are small animals that build a shell as other organisms add calcium carbonate as they cling to the coral, creating a hard rock-like formation that provides habitat for a large variety of fish and other marine life, including sponges, mollusks and algae. Coral grows in warm, clear, tropical waters. ===Flora and fauna=== ===Climate=== ==Get in== The closest airport is '''Cozumel International Airport''' {{IATA|CZM}}. It receives flights from most major Mexican cities and international flights from Houston (United Airlines) and Miami (American Airlines), among others. To get to the reef, you will need to find a dive boat with a certified divemaster. There are dozens of dive shops in Cozumel and larger resorts will often schedule their own dive trips to various sites on the reef. ==Fees and permits== ==Get around== Dive boats can be hired in the town of San Miguel or at numerous resorts. ==See== * '''Walls''' - these are basically drop-offs where you can be in shallow water conditions of 30 feet and then suddenly the bottom drops out and you can be looking at a 120 or 150 foot depth requiring more advanced skills. Walls along the Cozumel reef include: Barracuda Wall, Eagle Ray Wall, and Villa Blanca Wall (which is very close to the cruise ship piers in San Miguel). There are a lot of sponges here including barrel sponge and basket sponge. * '''Caves''' - There are countless caves along the length of the reef. The most popular spot for cave diving is '''Palancar Cave''', an area that has more caves than you can dive in an entire week. This is an intermediate to advanced level dive with depths up to 120 feet. * '''Wreck of the C-53''' - The C-53 was a minesweeper in the Mexican Navy. It was decommissioned in 2000 and deliberately sunk off the western shore of Cozumel to provide an interesting sites for scuba divers. The 184 foot long ship is under 50-70 feet of water and requires intermediate diving skills. Bring a lamp so you can go inside the vessel. * '''Coral reefs''' - the coral reefs are home to an amazing diversity of sea life including tropical fish, turtles, sharks, moray eels, eagle rays and more. ==Do== * '''[[Scuba diving]]''' ==Buy== ==Eat== There is no place in the park to eat, unless you packed a lunch and have it on your dive boat. As you dive, you may see many fish and shellfish that would be tasty dinner entrees. [[File:Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Arrecifes de Cozumel, Cozumel, MX-QR, MX imported from iNaturalist photo 245713838.jpg|thumb|The Caribbean Spiny Lobster lives in the reefs of Cozumel and is served with lime and drawn butter at some of Cozumel's liveliest beach restaurants.]] ==Drink== No alcoholic beverages if you plan to dive. ==Sleep== The island of [[Cozumel]] has dozens of excellent hotels. ==Stay safe== Use UV-blocking hats or shirts and look for safe sunblock products that do not damage sensitive marine environments. Reef-damaging sunblock products are banned under state laws and while dive boat operators will typically check your sunblocks to ensure they meet local standards, federal and state agents sometimes to spot checks and if you caught with illegal sunblocks you can be fined, even if you are at a beach resort or someplace well away from the water. Reef-safe products contain non-nano zinc oxide and non-nano titanium dioxide. Banned ingredients include: oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, homosalate, or parabens. ==Go next== * [[Isla Mujeres]] - there are places you can snorkel with whale sharks * [[Playa del Carmen]] - several nearby cenotes (sinkholes) offer cenote and underwater river dives for the clinically insane * [[Xcalak]]- dive the Banco Chinchorro {{IsPartOf|Quintana Roo}} {{outlinepark}} {{geo|20.42|-86.93}} 3pger1m5vtxxclwfaeqv8z3v8w13jdc 0 217975 5298588 5298236 2026-06-26T03:07:44Z Sbb1413 2217354 cropped banner, added Hindi name 5298588 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mirza Halim Shah Dargah, Mehsi (cropped).jpg|caption=Mirza Halim Shah Dargah in Mehsi}} '''Mehsi''' (मेहसी ''Mehsī'') is a historic town in the Champaran region of [[Mithila]] in [[Bihar]], India. The town is known for its religious heritage, local markets, and transport connectivity in East Champaran district. The town is best known for the historic '''Mirza Halim Shah Dargah''', an important Sufi shrine that attracts devotees from different parts of Bihar and neighbouring states. Every year, the Urs Mela held at the shrine draws thousands of pilgrims and visitors, creating a vibrant atmosphere of spirituality, trade, and local culture. Mehsi also reflects the historical legacy of the Champaran region, which gained prominence during the Champaran Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi. Today, the town serves as a growing commercial and educational centre while preserving the cultural traditions of North Bihar. Visitors passing through Mehsi can experience traditional bazaars, religious landmarks, local cuisine, and the rural landscape of the Champaran plains. ==Understand== Mehsi is part of the historical Champaran region, which is known for agriculture and its role in India’s freedom movement. The economy is mainly based on farming and small trade. The town has basic infrastructure including schools, markets, roads, and railway connectivity. ==Get in== {{mapframe|26.357662|85.113270|zoom=12}} [[File:Bus Stand Mehsi.jpg|thumb|Rural landscape near Mehsi Bus Stand]] Mehsi between Muzaffarpur and Motihari along National Highway 27 and the Muzaffarpur–Motihari railway line. ===By plane=== [[Patna]] and [[Darbhanga]] are the nearest airports which are connected to the major cities of India. ===By train=== [[File:Mehsi railway station signage view.jpg|thumb| Mehsi railway station]] There are two local trains from [[Patna]], and one from Mehsi railway station. * {{go | name=Mehsi Railway Station (code: MAI) | url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1488752764 | address= | lat=26.354202 | long=85.096912 | directions=on the Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur railway line | content=It serves Mehsi town and surrounding villages in East Champaran district. The station has two platforms and handles passenger train services. }} ==Get around== Local transport includes auto-rickshaws and buses connecting nearby villages and towns. ===By auto-rickshaw=== The most common way to travel within Mehsi is by auto-rickshaws. These are easily available near the railway station, market areas, and main road. Fares are generally low, but it is advisable to agree on the price before starting the journey. Auto-rickshaws connect Mehsi with nearby villages and local points of interest such as markets, schools, and rural areas. ===By cycle-rickshaw=== Cycle-rickshaws are also used for short-distance travel within the town. They are slow but suitable for short trips within residential and market areas. ===By car or taxi=== Private cars and taxis are available for longer distances. These are usually used for travel to nearby towns such as Muzaffarpur, Motihari, and Patna. ===By foot=== Mehsi is a small and walkable town. Many local areas, markets, and residential zones can be reached on foot. Walking is a common way to experience rural life, village streets, and agricultural surroundings. ==See== [[File:Mirza Halim Shah Dargah Mehsi.jpg|thumb|Mirza Halim Shah Dargah]] * {{see | name=Mirza Halim Shah Dargah | url= | address= | lat=26.357143 | long=85.118450 | content=A Sufi Islamic shrine visited by locals of different faiths for prayers and community gatherings. The dargah is associated with Sufi Sunni traditions, where visitors come for dua (prayer), ziyarat (visitation), and Urs gatherings. During Urs, devotees participate in prayers, Quran recitation, and devotional music. The shrine represents local Sufi heritage and communal harmony in the region. }} [[File:Forest, Bhimalpur.jpg|thumb|Bhimalpur forest area]] * '''Bhimalpur Jangal''' is a small forested area near Mehsi consisting of trees, vegetation, and rural greenery. It supports local biodiversity and forms part of the natural landscape. ==Do== [[File:Litchi orchard in Mehsi, Bihar, India.png|thumb|Litchi orchards near Mehsi]] Visitors can explore rural life, agricultural fields, and seasonal farming activities. Litchi farming is an important seasonal activity in the region during summer. ==Buy== * Seasonal fruits (especially litchi) * Local agricultural products * Rural market goods ==Eat== [[File:Ras malai and pani puri.jpg|thumbnail|''Ras malai'' and ''Pani Puri'' are popular in Mehsi]] *{{eat | name= | url= | email= | address=Near Mehsi railway station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Very cheap, delicious food served by family members of restaurant. }} ==Sleep== Basic accommodation is limited in Mehsi hotels and guest houses. ==Respect== Visitors should respect local culture and religious places. At shrines, modest behavior and silence are expected. ==Stay safe== Mehsi is generally peaceful. Basic travel precautions are recommended. ==Go next== * [[Muzaffarpur]] * Motihari * [[Patna]] * [[Darbhanga]] {{IsPartOf|Mithila}} {{geo|26.355278| 85.104722}} {{outlinecity}} 74tuoy84i3q2x0425sd0z4fdcvrtjew 5298589 5298588 2026-06-26T03:09:16Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Mehsi|country=in|ecr}} 5298589 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Mirza Halim Shah Dargah, Mehsi (cropped).jpg|caption=Mirza Halim Shah Dargah in Mehsi}} '''Mehsi''' (मेहसी ''Mehsī'') is a historic town in the Champaran region of [[Mithila]] in [[Bihar]], India. The town is known for its religious heritage, local markets, and transport connectivity in East Champaran district. The town is best known for the historic '''Mirza Halim Shah Dargah''', an important Sufi shrine that attracts devotees from different parts of Bihar and neighbouring states. Every year, the Urs Mela held at the shrine draws thousands of pilgrims and visitors, creating a vibrant atmosphere of spirituality, trade, and local culture. Mehsi also reflects the historical legacy of the Champaran region, which gained prominence during the Champaran Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi. Today, the town serves as a growing commercial and educational centre while preserving the cultural traditions of North Bihar. Visitors passing through Mehsi can experience traditional bazaars, religious landmarks, local cuisine, and the rural landscape of the Champaran plains. ==Understand== Mehsi is part of the historical Champaran region, which is known for agriculture and its role in India’s freedom movement. The economy is mainly based on farming and small trade. The town has basic infrastructure including schools, markets, roads, and railway connectivity. ==Get in== {{mapframe|26.357662|85.113270|zoom=12}} [[File:Bus Stand Mehsi.jpg|thumb|Rural landscape near Mehsi Bus Stand]] Mehsi between Muzaffarpur and Motihari along National Highway 27 and the Muzaffarpur–Motihari railway line. ===By plane=== [[Patna]] and [[Darbhanga]] are the nearest airports which are connected to the major cities of India. ===By train=== [[File:Mehsi railway station signage view.jpg|thumb| Mehsi railway station]] There are two local trains from [[Patna]], and one from Mehsi railway station. * {{go | name={{station|Mehsi|country=in|ecr}} | alt=IR code: MAI | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.354898 | long=85.096319 | directions=on the Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mehsi railway station | image=Mehsi railway station platform view.jpg | wikidata=Q63355218 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=It serves Mehsi town and surrounding villages in East Champaran. The station has two platforms and handles passenger train services. }} ==Get around== Local transport includes auto-rickshaws and buses connecting nearby villages and towns. ===By auto-rickshaw=== The most common way to travel within Mehsi is by auto-rickshaws. These are easily available near the railway station, market areas, and main road. Fares are generally low, but it is advisable to agree on the price before starting the journey. Auto-rickshaws connect Mehsi with nearby villages and local points of interest such as markets, schools, and rural areas. ===By cycle-rickshaw=== Cycle-rickshaws are also used for short-distance travel within the town. They are slow but suitable for short trips within residential and market areas. ===By car or taxi=== Private cars and taxis are available for longer distances. These are usually used for travel to nearby towns such as Muzaffarpur, Motihari, and Patna. ===By foot=== Mehsi is a small and walkable town. Many local areas, markets, and residential zones can be reached on foot. Walking is a common way to experience rural life, village streets, and agricultural surroundings. ==See== [[File:Mirza Halim Shah Dargah Mehsi.jpg|thumb|Mirza Halim Shah Dargah]] * {{see | name=Mirza Halim Shah Dargah | url= | address= | lat=26.357143 | long=85.118450 | content=A Sufi Islamic shrine visited by locals of different faiths for prayers and community gatherings. The dargah is associated with Sufi Sunni traditions, where visitors come for dua (prayer), ziyarat (visitation), and Urs gatherings. During Urs, devotees participate in prayers, Quran recitation, and devotional music. The shrine represents local Sufi heritage and communal harmony in the region. }} [[File:Forest, Bhimalpur.jpg|thumb|Bhimalpur forest area]] * '''Bhimalpur Jangal''' is a small forested area near Mehsi consisting of trees, vegetation, and rural greenery. It supports local biodiversity and forms part of the natural landscape. ==Do== [[File:Litchi orchard in Mehsi, Bihar, India.png|thumb|Litchi orchards near Mehsi]] Visitors can explore rural life, agricultural fields, and seasonal farming activities. Litchi farming is an important seasonal activity in the region during summer. ==Buy== * Seasonal fruits (especially litchi) * Local agricultural products * Rural market goods ==Eat== [[File:Ras malai and pani puri.jpg|thumbnail|''Ras malai'' and ''Pani Puri'' are popular in Mehsi]] *{{eat | name= | url= | email= | address=Near Mehsi railway station | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | hours= | price= | content=Very cheap, delicious food served by family members of restaurant. }} ==Sleep== Basic accommodation is limited in Mehsi hotels and guest houses. ==Respect== Visitors should respect local culture and religious places. At shrines, modest behavior and silence are expected. ==Stay safe== Mehsi is generally peaceful. Basic travel precautions are recommended. ==Go next== * [[Muzaffarpur]] * Motihari * [[Patna]] * [[Darbhanga]] {{IsPartOf|Mithila}} {{geo|26.355278| 85.104722}} {{outlinecity}} bunefjz92q9dic7gp9fih8cbo1iqmqb 0 218044 5298543 5286888 2026-06-26T00:55:13Z DaGizza 162256 /* Destinations */ 5298543 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|}}The '''Maratha Empire''' was a powerful Indian state that rose in the 17th century under the leadership of '''Shivaji''' and went on to dominate much of the subcontinent through the 18th century. Centred in the rugged hill country of western [[Maharashtra]], the Marathas built a network of [[Fortifications|forts]], trading towns, and administrative centres that shaped the region’s [[culture]], [[architecture]], and identity. At its height, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south to [[Peshawar]] in the north, leaving behind a legacy visible today in historic [[Destinations|cities]], coastal strongholds, and mountain [[Fortifications|fortresses]]. Travellers exploring former Maratha territories will encounter a rich blend of warrior heritage, vibrant festivals, and distinctive cuisine that continues to define Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. == Origins and rise == [[File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ]] The origins of the Marathas lie in the hill forts, farming settlements, and warrior clans of western Maharashtra, a region where local leaders had long defended their autonomy against larger empires. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the [[Deccan]] became a contested zone between the [[Mughal Empire]] and the sultanates of [[Bijapur (Karnataka)|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]]. This constant conflict weakened central authority and allowed Marathi‑speaking chiefs, cavalry commanders, and village headmen to consolidate their own power. The rugged terrain, filled with steep forts and narrow passes, encouraged a style of warfare based on mobility, surprise, and deep familiarity with the land. Out of this environment emerged Shivaji, the son of a Maratha general who grew up among the hill forts of the [[Western Ghats]]. Drawing on local support networks and a tradition of guerrilla tactics, he challenged both the Mughals and the Bijapur Sultanate, capturing forts, building new ones, and rallying local communities behind a vision of self‑rule. His coronation in 1674 marked the formal birth of an independent Maratha kingdom. Shivaji also laid important administrative foundations—promoting [[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]] in governance, organising revenue collection, and establishing a small but effective navy along the Konkan coast—that helped transform a regional uprising into a durable state. The rise of the Maratha Empire accelerated after Shivaji’s death, as his successors expanded the kingdom into a major subcontinental power. Under the Peshwas of [[Pune]], the Marathas developed a sophisticated administrative system and coordinated long‑distance campaigns that reached [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa]], [[Bengal]], and even the outskirts of [[Delhi]]. Their fast‑moving cavalry forces allowed them to strike deep into Mughal territory, while alliances with local rulers helped secure newly gained lands. By the early 18th century, the Marathas had become the dominant political force in India, reshaping trade routes, influencing coastal ports, and leaving behind a landscape of forts, palaces, and historic towns that travellers can still explore across western and central India. == The peak == [[File:States of the Maratha Confederacy at peak 1760.png|thumb|States of Maratha Confederacy]] The Maratha Empire reached its peak in the mid‑18th century, when the Peshwas of Pune emerged as the central authority guiding a vast and loosely federated realm. Although the Chhatrapati remained the ceremonial monarch, real power shifted to the Peshwa family, who coordinated military campaigns, revenue collection, and diplomacy across an enormous territory. Pune grew into a major political and cultural centre, attracting scholars, artisans, and traders from across India. This period also saw the rise of influential Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars of [[Indore]], the Scindias of [[Gwalior]], the Gaekwads of [[Baroda]], and the Bhonsles of [[Nagpur]], each governing their own regions while acknowledging the Peshwa’s leadership. At its height, the Maratha sphere of influence stretched from the [[Thanjavur]] region in the south to the outskirts of [[Peshawar]] in the north, and from [[Bengal]] in the east to [[Gujarat]] in the west. Maratha armies regularly campaigned deep into northern India, collecting tribute, negotiating alliances, and challenging the remnants of Mughal authority. Their fast‑moving cavalry and flexible command structure allowed them to operate across vast distances, while their network of forts and administrative outposts helped secure key trade routes. This expansion reshaped the political landscape of the subcontinent, weakening older powers and creating new centres of regional authority. The empire’s peak was not only military but also cultural. Maratha patronage supported temple construction, [[Indian classical music|classical music]], [[Literary travel|literature]] in Marathi and [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], and the development of distinctive architectural styles visible in palaces, wadas, and fortified hill towns. Cities such as Pune, [[Satara]], Indore, and Baroda flourished as hubs of learning and commerce. Travellers today can still see the legacy of this era in the grand residences of Maratha nobles, the bustling [[markets]] that grew under their rule, and the many forts that once anchored their defensive and administrative networks across western and central India. == Decline == The decline of the Maratha Empire began in the mid‑18th century, when rapid expansion created strains that were difficult to manage across such a vast and decentralised realm. The Peshwas in Pune struggled to maintain authority over powerful regional chiefs, each of whom governed their own territories with considerable independence. Rivalries among these leaders weakened the unity that had allowed the Marathas to dominate the subcontinent. At the same time, the Mughal Empire’s collapse created a crowded political landscape filled with ambitious regional powers, making it harder for the Marathas to maintain their influence through diplomacy and tribute alone. [[File:Peace conference after the Mahratta War.jpg|thumb|Peace conference between Marathas and British after the wars.]] A major turning point came with the '''Third Battle of Panipat''' in 1761, where the Marathas suffered a devastating defeat against the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani. Although they recovered much of their strength in the following decades, the loss exposed the limits of their military reach and damaged their prestige in northern India. Internal disputes grew sharper, and the Peshwa’s authority continued to erode as regional dynasties such as the Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads, and Bhonsles pursued their own agendas. These divisions made coordinated action increasingly difficult at a time when European trading companies—especially the '''[[British Raj|British East India Company]]'''—were expanding their political and military presence. By the early 19th century, the Marathas faced a series of conflicts with the [[British Empire|British]] that they were unable to win. The Anglo‑Maratha Wars, fought between 1775 and 1818, gradually dismantled Maratha power, with each defeat reducing their territory and influence. The final blow came in 1818, when the Peshwa was deposed and most Maratha lands were absorbed into British India. Although the empire collapsed, its cultural and architectural legacy remains visible across western and central India, where travellers can explore hill forts, palaces, wadas, and historic cities that reflect the Marathas’ long and influential presence. == Destinations == {{mapframe}} * Many forts lay part of the '''[[Maratha Military Landscapes of India|Maratha Military Landscapes]]''' a {{UNESCO World Heritage Site}} recognised place. [[File:Raigad Fort, Maharashtra (2018).jpg|thumb|Raigad Fort]] Important cities have a huge Maratha influence * {{Listing | name = [[Pune]] | lat = 18.520 | long = 73.856 | content = Capital of the Peshwas, home to Shaniwar Wada and many Maratha‑era wadas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{Listing | name = [[Satara]] | lat = 17.680 | long = 73.993 | content = Seat of the Chhatrapatis after the rise of the Peshwas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{Listing | name = [[Kolhapur]] | lat = 16.705 | long = 74.243 | content = Capital of a major Maratha princely state with palaces and temples. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }}{{IsPartOf|South Asian history}}{{Outlinetopic}} dgp920ekjalrbpmsr497ae9pfdtk8wp 5298549 5298543 2026-06-26T01:41:53Z DaGizza 162256 /* Destinations */ 5298549 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|}}The '''Maratha Empire''' was a powerful Indian state that rose in the 17th century under the leadership of '''Shivaji''' and went on to dominate much of the subcontinent through the 18th century. Centred in the rugged hill country of western [[Maharashtra]], the Marathas built a network of [[Fortifications|forts]], trading towns, and administrative centres that shaped the region’s [[culture]], [[architecture]], and identity. At its height, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south to [[Peshawar]] in the north, leaving behind a legacy visible today in historic [[Destinations|cities]], coastal strongholds, and mountain [[Fortifications|fortresses]]. Travellers exploring former Maratha territories will encounter a rich blend of warrior heritage, vibrant festivals, and distinctive cuisine that continues to define Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. == Origins and rise == [[File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ]] The origins of the Marathas lie in the hill forts, farming settlements, and warrior clans of western Maharashtra, a region where local leaders had long defended their autonomy against larger empires. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the [[Deccan]] became a contested zone between the [[Mughal Empire]] and the sultanates of [[Bijapur (Karnataka)|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]]. This constant conflict weakened central authority and allowed Marathi‑speaking chiefs, cavalry commanders, and village headmen to consolidate their own power. The rugged terrain, filled with steep forts and narrow passes, encouraged a style of warfare based on mobility, surprise, and deep familiarity with the land. Out of this environment emerged Shivaji, the son of a Maratha general who grew up among the hill forts of the [[Western Ghats]]. Drawing on local support networks and a tradition of guerrilla tactics, he challenged both the Mughals and the Bijapur Sultanate, capturing forts, building new ones, and rallying local communities behind a vision of self‑rule. His coronation in 1674 marked the formal birth of an independent Maratha kingdom. Shivaji also laid important administrative foundations—promoting [[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]] in governance, organising revenue collection, and establishing a small but effective navy along the Konkan coast—that helped transform a regional uprising into a durable state. The rise of the Maratha Empire accelerated after Shivaji’s death, as his successors expanded the kingdom into a major subcontinental power. Under the Peshwas of [[Pune]], the Marathas developed a sophisticated administrative system and coordinated long‑distance campaigns that reached [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa]], [[Bengal]], and even the outskirts of [[Delhi]]. Their fast‑moving cavalry forces allowed them to strike deep into Mughal territory, while alliances with local rulers helped secure newly gained lands. By the early 18th century, the Marathas had become the dominant political force in India, reshaping trade routes, influencing coastal ports, and leaving behind a landscape of forts, palaces, and historic towns that travellers can still explore across western and central India. == The peak == [[File:States of the Maratha Confederacy at peak 1760.png|thumb|States of Maratha Confederacy]] The Maratha Empire reached its peak in the mid‑18th century, when the Peshwas of Pune emerged as the central authority guiding a vast and loosely federated realm. Although the Chhatrapati remained the ceremonial monarch, real power shifted to the Peshwa family, who coordinated military campaigns, revenue collection, and diplomacy across an enormous territory. Pune grew into a major political and cultural centre, attracting scholars, artisans, and traders from across India. This period also saw the rise of influential Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars of [[Indore]], the Scindias of [[Gwalior]], the Gaekwads of [[Baroda]], and the Bhonsles of [[Nagpur]], each governing their own regions while acknowledging the Peshwa’s leadership. At its height, the Maratha sphere of influence stretched from the [[Thanjavur]] region in the south to the outskirts of [[Peshawar]] in the north, and from [[Bengal]] in the east to [[Gujarat]] in the west. Maratha armies regularly campaigned deep into northern India, collecting tribute, negotiating alliances, and challenging the remnants of Mughal authority. Their fast‑moving cavalry and flexible command structure allowed them to operate across vast distances, while their network of forts and administrative outposts helped secure key trade routes. This expansion reshaped the political landscape of the subcontinent, weakening older powers and creating new centres of regional authority. The empire’s peak was not only military but also cultural. Maratha patronage supported temple construction, [[Indian classical music|classical music]], [[Literary travel|literature]] in Marathi and [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], and the development of distinctive architectural styles visible in palaces, wadas, and fortified hill towns. Cities such as Pune, [[Satara]], Indore, and Baroda flourished as hubs of learning and commerce. Travellers today can still see the legacy of this era in the grand residences of Maratha nobles, the bustling [[markets]] that grew under their rule, and the many forts that once anchored their defensive and administrative networks across western and central India. == Decline == The decline of the Maratha Empire began in the mid‑18th century, when rapid expansion created strains that were difficult to manage across such a vast and decentralised realm. The Peshwas in Pune struggled to maintain authority over powerful regional chiefs, each of whom governed their own territories with considerable independence. Rivalries among these leaders weakened the unity that had allowed the Marathas to dominate the subcontinent. At the same time, the Mughal Empire’s collapse created a crowded political landscape filled with ambitious regional powers, making it harder for the Marathas to maintain their influence through diplomacy and tribute alone. [[File:Peace conference after the Mahratta War.jpg|thumb|Peace conference between Marathas and British after the wars.]] A major turning point came with the '''Third Battle of Panipat''' in 1761, where the Marathas suffered a devastating defeat against the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani. Although they recovered much of their strength in the following decades, the loss exposed the limits of their military reach and damaged their prestige in northern India. Internal disputes grew sharper, and the Peshwa’s authority continued to erode as regional dynasties such as the Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads, and Bhonsles pursued their own agendas. These divisions made coordinated action increasingly difficult at a time when European trading companies—especially the '''[[British Raj|British East India Company]]'''—were expanding their political and military presence. By the early 19th century, the Marathas faced a series of conflicts with the [[British Empire|British]] that they were unable to win. The Anglo‑Maratha Wars, fought between 1775 and 1818, gradually dismantled Maratha power, with each defeat reducing their territory and influence. The final blow came in 1818, when the Peshwa was deposed and most Maratha lands were absorbed into British India. Although the empire collapsed, its cultural and architectural legacy remains visible across western and central India, where travellers can explore hill forts, palaces, wadas, and historic cities that reflect the Marathas’ long and influential presence. == Destinations == {{mapframe}} * Many forts lay part of the '''[[Maratha Military Landscapes of India|Maratha Military Landscapes]]''' a {{UNESCO World Heritage Site}} recognised place. [[File:Raigad Fort, Maharashtra (2018).jpg|thumb|Raigad Fort]] Important cities have a huge Maratha influence * {{Listing | name = [[Pune]] | lat = 18.520 | long = 73.856 | content = Capital of the Peshwas, home to Shaniwar Wada and many Maratha‑era wadas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Mahad]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=This town is known for being close to Raigad Fort, which was built during the Shivaji era of the Maratha Empire. It is the largest fort by area in the state of Maharashtra. }} * {{Listing | name = [[Satara]] | lat = 17.680 | long = 73.993 | content = Seat of the Chhatrapatis after the rise of the Peshwas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{Listing | name = [[Kolhapur]] | lat = 16.705 | long = 74.243 | content = Capital of a major Maratha princely state with palaces and temples. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }}{{IsPartOf|South Asian history}}{{Outlinetopic}} snpmd6039samfwqmh2rw3xa03m59wc4 5298550 5298549 2026-06-26T01:42:50Z DaGizza 162256 /* Destinations */ Updated listing for [[Mahad]] 5298550 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|}}The '''Maratha Empire''' was a powerful Indian state that rose in the 17th century under the leadership of '''Shivaji''' and went on to dominate much of the subcontinent through the 18th century. Centred in the rugged hill country of western [[Maharashtra]], the Marathas built a network of [[Fortifications|forts]], trading towns, and administrative centres that shaped the region’s [[culture]], [[architecture]], and identity. At its height, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south to [[Peshawar]] in the north, leaving behind a legacy visible today in historic [[Destinations|cities]], coastal strongholds, and mountain [[Fortifications|fortresses]]. Travellers exploring former Maratha territories will encounter a rich blend of warrior heritage, vibrant festivals, and distinctive cuisine that continues to define Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. == Origins and rise == [[File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ]] The origins of the Marathas lie in the hill forts, farming settlements, and warrior clans of western Maharashtra, a region where local leaders had long defended their autonomy against larger empires. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the [[Deccan]] became a contested zone between the [[Mughal Empire]] and the sultanates of [[Bijapur (Karnataka)|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]]. This constant conflict weakened central authority and allowed Marathi‑speaking chiefs, cavalry commanders, and village headmen to consolidate their own power. The rugged terrain, filled with steep forts and narrow passes, encouraged a style of warfare based on mobility, surprise, and deep familiarity with the land. Out of this environment emerged Shivaji, the son of a Maratha general who grew up among the hill forts of the [[Western Ghats]]. Drawing on local support networks and a tradition of guerrilla tactics, he challenged both the Mughals and the Bijapur Sultanate, capturing forts, building new ones, and rallying local communities behind a vision of self‑rule. His coronation in 1674 marked the formal birth of an independent Maratha kingdom. Shivaji also laid important administrative foundations—promoting [[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]] in governance, organising revenue collection, and establishing a small but effective navy along the Konkan coast—that helped transform a regional uprising into a durable state. The rise of the Maratha Empire accelerated after Shivaji’s death, as his successors expanded the kingdom into a major subcontinental power. Under the Peshwas of [[Pune]], the Marathas developed a sophisticated administrative system and coordinated long‑distance campaigns that reached [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa]], [[Bengal]], and even the outskirts of [[Delhi]]. Their fast‑moving cavalry forces allowed them to strike deep into Mughal territory, while alliances with local rulers helped secure newly gained lands. By the early 18th century, the Marathas had become the dominant political force in India, reshaping trade routes, influencing coastal ports, and leaving behind a landscape of forts, palaces, and historic towns that travellers can still explore across western and central India. == The peak == [[File:States of the Maratha Confederacy at peak 1760.png|thumb|States of Maratha Confederacy]] The Maratha Empire reached its peak in the mid‑18th century, when the Peshwas of Pune emerged as the central authority guiding a vast and loosely federated realm. Although the Chhatrapati remained the ceremonial monarch, real power shifted to the Peshwa family, who coordinated military campaigns, revenue collection, and diplomacy across an enormous territory. Pune grew into a major political and cultural centre, attracting scholars, artisans, and traders from across India. This period also saw the rise of influential Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars of [[Indore]], the Scindias of [[Gwalior]], the Gaekwads of [[Baroda]], and the Bhonsles of [[Nagpur]], each governing their own regions while acknowledging the Peshwa’s leadership. At its height, the Maratha sphere of influence stretched from the [[Thanjavur]] region in the south to the outskirts of [[Peshawar]] in the north, and from [[Bengal]] in the east to [[Gujarat]] in the west. Maratha armies regularly campaigned deep into northern India, collecting tribute, negotiating alliances, and challenging the remnants of Mughal authority. Their fast‑moving cavalry and flexible command structure allowed them to operate across vast distances, while their network of forts and administrative outposts helped secure key trade routes. This expansion reshaped the political landscape of the subcontinent, weakening older powers and creating new centres of regional authority. The empire’s peak was not only military but also cultural. Maratha patronage supported temple construction, [[Indian classical music|classical music]], [[Literary travel|literature]] in Marathi and [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], and the development of distinctive architectural styles visible in palaces, wadas, and fortified hill towns. Cities such as Pune, [[Satara]], Indore, and Baroda flourished as hubs of learning and commerce. Travellers today can still see the legacy of this era in the grand residences of Maratha nobles, the bustling [[markets]] that grew under their rule, and the many forts that once anchored their defensive and administrative networks across western and central India. == Decline == The decline of the Maratha Empire began in the mid‑18th century, when rapid expansion created strains that were difficult to manage across such a vast and decentralised realm. The Peshwas in Pune struggled to maintain authority over powerful regional chiefs, each of whom governed their own territories with considerable independence. Rivalries among these leaders weakened the unity that had allowed the Marathas to dominate the subcontinent. At the same time, the Mughal Empire’s collapse created a crowded political landscape filled with ambitious regional powers, making it harder for the Marathas to maintain their influence through diplomacy and tribute alone. [[File:Peace conference after the Mahratta War.jpg|thumb|Peace conference between Marathas and British after the wars.]] A major turning point came with the '''Third Battle of Panipat''' in 1761, where the Marathas suffered a devastating defeat against the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani. Although they recovered much of their strength in the following decades, the loss exposed the limits of their military reach and damaged their prestige in northern India. Internal disputes grew sharper, and the Peshwa’s authority continued to erode as regional dynasties such as the Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads, and Bhonsles pursued their own agendas. These divisions made coordinated action increasingly difficult at a time when European trading companies—especially the '''[[British Raj|British East India Company]]'''—were expanding their political and military presence. By the early 19th century, the Marathas faced a series of conflicts with the [[British Empire|British]] that they were unable to win. The Anglo‑Maratha Wars, fought between 1775 and 1818, gradually dismantled Maratha power, with each defeat reducing their territory and influence. The final blow came in 1818, when the Peshwa was deposed and most Maratha lands were absorbed into British India. Although the empire collapsed, its cultural and architectural legacy remains visible across western and central India, where travellers can explore hill forts, palaces, wadas, and historic cities that reflect the Marathas’ long and influential presence. == Destinations == {{mapframe}} * Many forts lay part of the '''[[Maratha Military Landscapes of India|Maratha Military Landscapes]]''' a {{UNESCO World Heritage Site}} recognised place. [[File:Raigad Fort, Maharashtra (2018).jpg|thumb|Raigad Fort]] Important cities have a huge Maratha influence * {{Listing | name = [[Pune]] | lat = 18.520 | long = 73.856 | content = Capital of the Peshwas, home to Shaniwar Wada and many Maratha‑era wadas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Mahad]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=18.083000 | long=73.417000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mahad | image=Savitri river at Mahad.JPG | wikidata=Q2238564 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=This town is known for being close to Raigad Fort, which was built during the Shivaji era of the Maratha Empire. It is the largest fort by area in the state of Maharashtra. }} * {{Listing | name = [[Satara]] | lat = 17.680 | long = 73.993 | content = Seat of the Chhatrapatis after the rise of the Peshwas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{Listing | name = [[Kolhapur]] | lat = 16.705 | long = 74.243 | content = Capital of a major Maratha princely state with palaces and temples. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }}{{IsPartOf|South Asian history}}{{Outlinetopic}} q321eo0jyfqlc1tiner03ytjhkx6bxe 5298552 5298550 2026-06-26T01:43:46Z DaGizza 162256 /* Destinations */ 5298552 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|}}The '''Maratha Empire''' was a powerful Indian state that rose in the 17th century under the leadership of '''Shivaji''' and went on to dominate much of the subcontinent through the 18th century. Centred in the rugged hill country of western [[Maharashtra]], the Marathas built a network of [[Fortifications|forts]], trading towns, and administrative centres that shaped the region’s [[culture]], [[architecture]], and identity. At its height, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south to [[Peshawar]] in the north, leaving behind a legacy visible today in historic [[Destinations|cities]], coastal strongholds, and mountain [[Fortifications|fortresses]]. Travellers exploring former Maratha territories will encounter a rich blend of warrior heritage, vibrant festivals, and distinctive cuisine that continues to define Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. == Origins and rise == [[File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ]] The origins of the Marathas lie in the hill forts, farming settlements, and warrior clans of western Maharashtra, a region where local leaders had long defended their autonomy against larger empires. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the [[Deccan]] became a contested zone between the [[Mughal Empire]] and the sultanates of [[Bijapur (Karnataka)|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]]. This constant conflict weakened central authority and allowed Marathi‑speaking chiefs, cavalry commanders, and village headmen to consolidate their own power. The rugged terrain, filled with steep forts and narrow passes, encouraged a style of warfare based on mobility, surprise, and deep familiarity with the land. Out of this environment emerged Shivaji, the son of a Maratha general who grew up among the hill forts of the [[Western Ghats]]. Drawing on local support networks and a tradition of guerrilla tactics, he challenged both the Mughals and the Bijapur Sultanate, capturing forts, building new ones, and rallying local communities behind a vision of self‑rule. His coronation in 1674 marked the formal birth of an independent Maratha kingdom. Shivaji also laid important administrative foundations—promoting [[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]] in governance, organising revenue collection, and establishing a small but effective navy along the Konkan coast—that helped transform a regional uprising into a durable state. The rise of the Maratha Empire accelerated after Shivaji’s death, as his successors expanded the kingdom into a major subcontinental power. Under the Peshwas of [[Pune]], the Marathas developed a sophisticated administrative system and coordinated long‑distance campaigns that reached [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa]], [[Bengal]], and even the outskirts of [[Delhi]]. Their fast‑moving cavalry forces allowed them to strike deep into Mughal territory, while alliances with local rulers helped secure newly gained lands. By the early 18th century, the Marathas had become the dominant political force in India, reshaping trade routes, influencing coastal ports, and leaving behind a landscape of forts, palaces, and historic towns that travellers can still explore across western and central India. == The peak == [[File:States of the Maratha Confederacy at peak 1760.png|thumb|States of Maratha Confederacy]] The Maratha Empire reached its peak in the mid‑18th century, when the Peshwas of Pune emerged as the central authority guiding a vast and loosely federated realm. Although the Chhatrapati remained the ceremonial monarch, real power shifted to the Peshwa family, who coordinated military campaigns, revenue collection, and diplomacy across an enormous territory. Pune grew into a major political and cultural centre, attracting scholars, artisans, and traders from across India. This period also saw the rise of influential Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars of [[Indore]], the Scindias of [[Gwalior]], the Gaekwads of [[Baroda]], and the Bhonsles of [[Nagpur]], each governing their own regions while acknowledging the Peshwa’s leadership. At its height, the Maratha sphere of influence stretched from the [[Thanjavur]] region in the south to the outskirts of [[Peshawar]] in the north, and from [[Bengal]] in the east to [[Gujarat]] in the west. Maratha armies regularly campaigned deep into northern India, collecting tribute, negotiating alliances, and challenging the remnants of Mughal authority. Their fast‑moving cavalry and flexible command structure allowed them to operate across vast distances, while their network of forts and administrative outposts helped secure key trade routes. This expansion reshaped the political landscape of the subcontinent, weakening older powers and creating new centres of regional authority. The empire’s peak was not only military but also cultural. Maratha patronage supported temple construction, [[Indian classical music|classical music]], [[Literary travel|literature]] in Marathi and [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], and the development of distinctive architectural styles visible in palaces, wadas, and fortified hill towns. Cities such as Pune, [[Satara]], Indore, and Baroda flourished as hubs of learning and commerce. Travellers today can still see the legacy of this era in the grand residences of Maratha nobles, the bustling [[markets]] that grew under their rule, and the many forts that once anchored their defensive and administrative networks across western and central India. == Decline == The decline of the Maratha Empire began in the mid‑18th century, when rapid expansion created strains that were difficult to manage across such a vast and decentralised realm. The Peshwas in Pune struggled to maintain authority over powerful regional chiefs, each of whom governed their own territories with considerable independence. Rivalries among these leaders weakened the unity that had allowed the Marathas to dominate the subcontinent. At the same time, the Mughal Empire’s collapse created a crowded political landscape filled with ambitious regional powers, making it harder for the Marathas to maintain their influence through diplomacy and tribute alone. [[File:Peace conference after the Mahratta War.jpg|thumb|Peace conference between Marathas and British after the wars.]] A major turning point came with the '''Third Battle of Panipat''' in 1761, where the Marathas suffered a devastating defeat against the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani. Although they recovered much of their strength in the following decades, the loss exposed the limits of their military reach and damaged their prestige in northern India. Internal disputes grew sharper, and the Peshwa’s authority continued to erode as regional dynasties such as the Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads, and Bhonsles pursued their own agendas. These divisions made coordinated action increasingly difficult at a time when European trading companies—especially the '''[[British Raj|British East India Company]]'''—were expanding their political and military presence. By the early 19th century, the Marathas faced a series of conflicts with the [[British Empire|British]] that they were unable to win. The Anglo‑Maratha Wars, fought between 1775 and 1818, gradually dismantled Maratha power, with each defeat reducing their territory and influence. The final blow came in 1818, when the Peshwa was deposed and most Maratha lands were absorbed into British India. Although the empire collapsed, its cultural and architectural legacy remains visible across western and central India, where travellers can explore hill forts, palaces, wadas, and historic cities that reflect the Marathas’ long and influential presence. == Destinations == {{mapframe}} * Many forts lay part of the '''[[Maratha Military Landscapes of India|Maratha Military Landscapes]]''' a {{UNESCO World Heritage Site}} recognised place. [[File:Raigad Fort, Maharashtra (2018).jpg|thumb|Raigad Fort]] These important cities have a huge Maratha influence. * {{Listing | name = [[Pune]] | lat = 18.520 | long = 73.856 | content = Capital of the Peshwas, home to Shaniwar Wada and many Maratha‑era wadas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Mahad]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=18.083000 | long=73.417000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mahad | image=Savitri river at Mahad.JPG | wikidata=Q2238564 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=This town is known for being close to Raigad Fort, which was built during the Shivaji era of the Maratha Empire. It is the largest fort by area in the state of Maharashtra. }} * {{Listing | name = [[Satara]] | lat = 17.680 | long = 73.993 | content = Seat of the Chhatrapatis after the rise of the Peshwas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{Listing | name = [[Kolhapur]] | lat = 16.705 | long = 74.243 | content = Capital of a major Maratha princely state with palaces and temples. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} ==See also== *[[Ahom Kingdom]] {{IsPartOf|South Asian history}} {{Outlinetopic}} ai6jujjh4dmdwh33asxuofq8wcu6tay 5298571 5298552 2026-06-26T02:36:18Z DaGizza 162256 /* Destinations */ Updated listing for [[Kolhapur]] 5298571 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|}}The '''Maratha Empire''' was a powerful Indian state that rose in the 17th century under the leadership of '''Shivaji''' and went on to dominate much of the subcontinent through the 18th century. Centred in the rugged hill country of western [[Maharashtra]], the Marathas built a network of [[Fortifications|forts]], trading towns, and administrative centres that shaped the region’s [[culture]], [[architecture]], and identity. At its height, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south to [[Peshawar]] in the north, leaving behind a legacy visible today in historic [[Destinations|cities]], coastal strongholds, and mountain [[Fortifications|fortresses]]. Travellers exploring former Maratha territories will encounter a rich blend of warrior heritage, vibrant festivals, and distinctive cuisine that continues to define Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. == Origins and rise == [[File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ]] The origins of the Marathas lie in the hill forts, farming settlements, and warrior clans of western Maharashtra, a region where local leaders had long defended their autonomy against larger empires. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the [[Deccan]] became a contested zone between the [[Mughal Empire]] and the sultanates of [[Bijapur (Karnataka)|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]]. This constant conflict weakened central authority and allowed Marathi‑speaking chiefs, cavalry commanders, and village headmen to consolidate their own power. The rugged terrain, filled with steep forts and narrow passes, encouraged a style of warfare based on mobility, surprise, and deep familiarity with the land. Out of this environment emerged Shivaji, the son of a Maratha general who grew up among the hill forts of the [[Western Ghats]]. Drawing on local support networks and a tradition of guerrilla tactics, he challenged both the Mughals and the Bijapur Sultanate, capturing forts, building new ones, and rallying local communities behind a vision of self‑rule. His coronation in 1674 marked the formal birth of an independent Maratha kingdom. Shivaji also laid important administrative foundations—promoting [[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]] in governance, organising revenue collection, and establishing a small but effective navy along the Konkan coast—that helped transform a regional uprising into a durable state. The rise of the Maratha Empire accelerated after Shivaji’s death, as his successors expanded the kingdom into a major subcontinental power. Under the Peshwas of [[Pune]], the Marathas developed a sophisticated administrative system and coordinated long‑distance campaigns that reached [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa]], [[Bengal]], and even the outskirts of [[Delhi]]. Their fast‑moving cavalry forces allowed them to strike deep into Mughal territory, while alliances with local rulers helped secure newly gained lands. By the early 18th century, the Marathas had become the dominant political force in India, reshaping trade routes, influencing coastal ports, and leaving behind a landscape of forts, palaces, and historic towns that travellers can still explore across western and central India. == The peak == [[File:States of the Maratha Confederacy at peak 1760.png|thumb|States of Maratha Confederacy]] The Maratha Empire reached its peak in the mid‑18th century, when the Peshwas of Pune emerged as the central authority guiding a vast and loosely federated realm. Although the Chhatrapati remained the ceremonial monarch, real power shifted to the Peshwa family, who coordinated military campaigns, revenue collection, and diplomacy across an enormous territory. Pune grew into a major political and cultural centre, attracting scholars, artisans, and traders from across India. This period also saw the rise of influential Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars of [[Indore]], the Scindias of [[Gwalior]], the Gaekwads of [[Baroda]], and the Bhonsles of [[Nagpur]], each governing their own regions while acknowledging the Peshwa’s leadership. At its height, the Maratha sphere of influence stretched from the [[Thanjavur]] region in the south to the outskirts of [[Peshawar]] in the north, and from [[Bengal]] in the east to [[Gujarat]] in the west. Maratha armies regularly campaigned deep into northern India, collecting tribute, negotiating alliances, and challenging the remnants of Mughal authority. Their fast‑moving cavalry and flexible command structure allowed them to operate across vast distances, while their network of forts and administrative outposts helped secure key trade routes. This expansion reshaped the political landscape of the subcontinent, weakening older powers and creating new centres of regional authority. The empire’s peak was not only military but also cultural. Maratha patronage supported temple construction, [[Indian classical music|classical music]], [[Literary travel|literature]] in Marathi and [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], and the development of distinctive architectural styles visible in palaces, wadas, and fortified hill towns. Cities such as Pune, [[Satara]], Indore, and Baroda flourished as hubs of learning and commerce. Travellers today can still see the legacy of this era in the grand residences of Maratha nobles, the bustling [[markets]] that grew under their rule, and the many forts that once anchored their defensive and administrative networks across western and central India. == Decline == The decline of the Maratha Empire began in the mid‑18th century, when rapid expansion created strains that were difficult to manage across such a vast and decentralised realm. The Peshwas in Pune struggled to maintain authority over powerful regional chiefs, each of whom governed their own territories with considerable independence. Rivalries among these leaders weakened the unity that had allowed the Marathas to dominate the subcontinent. At the same time, the Mughal Empire’s collapse created a crowded political landscape filled with ambitious regional powers, making it harder for the Marathas to maintain their influence through diplomacy and tribute alone. [[File:Peace conference after the Mahratta War.jpg|thumb|Peace conference between Marathas and British after the wars.]] A major turning point came with the '''Third Battle of Panipat''' in 1761, where the Marathas suffered a devastating defeat against the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani. Although they recovered much of their strength in the following decades, the loss exposed the limits of their military reach and damaged their prestige in northern India. Internal disputes grew sharper, and the Peshwa’s authority continued to erode as regional dynasties such as the Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads, and Bhonsles pursued their own agendas. These divisions made coordinated action increasingly difficult at a time when European trading companies—especially the '''[[British Raj|British East India Company]]'''—were expanding their political and military presence. By the early 19th century, the Marathas faced a series of conflicts with the [[British Empire|British]] that they were unable to win. The Anglo‑Maratha Wars, fought between 1775 and 1818, gradually dismantled Maratha power, with each defeat reducing their territory and influence. The final blow came in 1818, when the Peshwa was deposed and most Maratha lands were absorbed into British India. Although the empire collapsed, its cultural and architectural legacy remains visible across western and central India, where travellers can explore hill forts, palaces, wadas, and historic cities that reflect the Marathas’ long and influential presence. == Destinations == {{mapframe}} * Many forts lay part of the '''[[Maratha Military Landscapes of India|Maratha Military Landscapes]]''' a {{UNESCO World Heritage Site}} recognised place. [[File:Raigad Fort, Maharashtra (2018).jpg|thumb|Raigad Fort]] These important cities have a huge Maratha influence. * {{Listing | name = [[Pune]] | lat = 18.520 | long = 73.856 | content = Capital of the Peshwas, home to Shaniwar Wada and many Maratha‑era wadas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Mahad]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=18.083000 | long=73.417000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mahad | image=Savitri river at Mahad.JPG | wikidata=Q2238564 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=This town is known for being close to Raigad Fort, which was built during the Shivaji era of the Maratha Empire. It is the largest fort by area in the state of Maharashtra. }} * {{Listing | name = [[Satara]] | lat = 17.680 | long = 73.993 | content = Seat of the Chhatrapatis after the rise of the Peshwas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Kolhapur]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.705 | long=74.243 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-06-01 | content=Established as a capital of a rival Maratha state by Maharani (Queen) Tarabai. There are several palaces and temples from the era. }} ==See also== *[[Ahom Kingdom]] {{IsPartOf|South Asian history}} {{Outlinetopic}} 6t7c4k378el603d5zdq9v7lj01r8if6 5298604 5298571 2026-06-26T05:04:00Z DaGizza 162256 /* Destinations */ Updated listing for [[Kolhapur]] 5298604 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|}}The '''Maratha Empire''' was a powerful Indian state that rose in the 17th century under the leadership of '''Shivaji''' and went on to dominate much of the subcontinent through the 18th century. Centred in the rugged hill country of western [[Maharashtra]], the Marathas built a network of [[Fortifications|forts]], trading towns, and administrative centres that shaped the region’s [[culture]], [[architecture]], and identity. At its height, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south to [[Peshawar]] in the north, leaving behind a legacy visible today in historic [[Destinations|cities]], coastal strongholds, and mountain [[Fortifications|fortresses]]. Travellers exploring former Maratha territories will encounter a rich blend of warrior heritage, vibrant festivals, and distinctive cuisine that continues to define Maharashtra and neighbouring regions. == Origins and rise == [[File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg|thumb|Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ]] The origins of the Marathas lie in the hill forts, farming settlements, and warrior clans of western Maharashtra, a region where local leaders had long defended their autonomy against larger empires. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the [[Deccan]] became a contested zone between the [[Mughal Empire]] and the sultanates of [[Bijapur (Karnataka)|Bijapur]] and [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]]. This constant conflict weakened central authority and allowed Marathi‑speaking chiefs, cavalry commanders, and village headmen to consolidate their own power. The rugged terrain, filled with steep forts and narrow passes, encouraged a style of warfare based on mobility, surprise, and deep familiarity with the land. Out of this environment emerged Shivaji, the son of a Maratha general who grew up among the hill forts of the [[Western Ghats]]. Drawing on local support networks and a tradition of guerrilla tactics, he challenged both the Mughals and the Bijapur Sultanate, capturing forts, building new ones, and rallying local communities behind a vision of self‑rule. His coronation in 1674 marked the formal birth of an independent Maratha kingdom. Shivaji also laid important administrative foundations—promoting [[Marathi phrasebook|Marathi]] in governance, organising revenue collection, and establishing a small but effective navy along the Konkan coast—that helped transform a regional uprising into a durable state. The rise of the Maratha Empire accelerated after Shivaji’s death, as his successors expanded the kingdom into a major subcontinental power. Under the Peshwas of [[Pune]], the Marathas developed a sophisticated administrative system and coordinated long‑distance campaigns that reached [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa]], [[Bengal]], and even the outskirts of [[Delhi]]. Their fast‑moving cavalry forces allowed them to strike deep into Mughal territory, while alliances with local rulers helped secure newly gained lands. By the early 18th century, the Marathas had become the dominant political force in India, reshaping trade routes, influencing coastal ports, and leaving behind a landscape of forts, palaces, and historic towns that travellers can still explore across western and central India. == The peak == [[File:States of the Maratha Confederacy at peak 1760.png|thumb|States of Maratha Confederacy]] The Maratha Empire reached its peak in the mid‑18th century, when the Peshwas of Pune emerged as the central authority guiding a vast and loosely federated realm. Although the Chhatrapati remained the ceremonial monarch, real power shifted to the Peshwa family, who coordinated military campaigns, revenue collection, and diplomacy across an enormous territory. Pune grew into a major political and cultural centre, attracting scholars, artisans, and traders from across India. This period also saw the rise of influential Maratha chiefs such as the Holkars of [[Indore]], the Scindias of [[Gwalior]], the Gaekwads of [[Baroda]], and the Bhonsles of [[Nagpur]], each governing their own regions while acknowledging the Peshwa’s leadership. At its height, the Maratha sphere of influence stretched from the [[Thanjavur]] region in the south to the outskirts of [[Peshawar]] in the north, and from [[Bengal]] in the east to [[Gujarat]] in the west. Maratha armies regularly campaigned deep into northern India, collecting tribute, negotiating alliances, and challenging the remnants of Mughal authority. Their fast‑moving cavalry and flexible command structure allowed them to operate across vast distances, while their network of forts and administrative outposts helped secure key trade routes. This expansion reshaped the political landscape of the subcontinent, weakening older powers and creating new centres of regional authority. The empire’s peak was not only military but also cultural. Maratha patronage supported temple construction, [[Indian classical music|classical music]], [[Literary travel|literature]] in Marathi and [[Sanskrit phrasebook|Sanskrit]], and the development of distinctive architectural styles visible in palaces, wadas, and fortified hill towns. Cities such as Pune, [[Satara]], Indore, and Baroda flourished as hubs of learning and commerce. Travellers today can still see the legacy of this era in the grand residences of Maratha nobles, the bustling [[markets]] that grew under their rule, and the many forts that once anchored their defensive and administrative networks across western and central India. == Decline == The decline of the Maratha Empire began in the mid‑18th century, when rapid expansion created strains that were difficult to manage across such a vast and decentralised realm. The Peshwas in Pune struggled to maintain authority over powerful regional chiefs, each of whom governed their own territories with considerable independence. Rivalries among these leaders weakened the unity that had allowed the Marathas to dominate the subcontinent. At the same time, the Mughal Empire’s collapse created a crowded political landscape filled with ambitious regional powers, making it harder for the Marathas to maintain their influence through diplomacy and tribute alone. [[File:Peace conference after the Mahratta War.jpg|thumb|Peace conference between Marathas and British after the wars.]] A major turning point came with the '''Third Battle of Panipat''' in 1761, where the Marathas suffered a devastating defeat against the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani. Although they recovered much of their strength in the following decades, the loss exposed the limits of their military reach and damaged their prestige in northern India. Internal disputes grew sharper, and the Peshwa’s authority continued to erode as regional dynasties such as the Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads, and Bhonsles pursued their own agendas. These divisions made coordinated action increasingly difficult at a time when European trading companies—especially the '''[[British Raj|British East India Company]]'''—were expanding their political and military presence. By the early 19th century, the Marathas faced a series of conflicts with the [[British Empire|British]] that they were unable to win. The Anglo‑Maratha Wars, fought between 1775 and 1818, gradually dismantled Maratha power, with each defeat reducing their territory and influence. The final blow came in 1818, when the Peshwa was deposed and most Maratha lands were absorbed into British India. Although the empire collapsed, its cultural and architectural legacy remains visible across western and central India, where travellers can explore hill forts, palaces, wadas, and historic cities that reflect the Marathas’ long and influential presence. == Destinations == {{mapframe}} * Many forts lay part of the '''[[Maratha Military Landscapes of India|Maratha Military Landscapes]]''' a {{UNESCO World Heritage Site}} recognised place. [[File:Raigad Fort, Maharashtra (2018).jpg|thumb|Raigad Fort]] These important cities have a huge Maratha influence. * {{Listing | name = [[Pune]] | lat = 18.520 | long = 73.856 | content = Capital of the Peshwas, home to Shaniwar Wada and many Maratha‑era wadas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Mahad]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=18.083000 | long=73.417000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mahad | image=Savitri river at Mahad.JPG | wikidata=Q2238564 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=This town is known for being close to Raigad Fort, which was built during the Shivaji era of the Maratha Empire. It is the largest fort by area in the state of Maharashtra. }} * {{Listing | name = [[Satara]] | lat = 17.680 | long = 73.993 | content = Seat of the Chhatrapatis after the rise of the Peshwas. | lastedit = 2026-06-01 }} * {{listing | name=[[Kolhapur]] | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=16.705 | long=74.243 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-06-01 | content=Established as a capital of a rival Maratha state by Maharani (Queen) Tarabai. There are several extant palaces and temples from the era. }} ==See also== *[[Ahom Kingdom]] {{IsPartOf|South Asian history}} {{Outlinetopic}} illpb4zzmwj67c75fwccdxaqisjwygh 4 218159 5298557 5289462 2026-06-26T02:02:35Z SHB2000 2248002 5298557 wikitext text/x-wiki {{deletion archive|previous=May 2026|next=July 2026}} ===[[Blade]]=== *'''Delete''' as a bad redirect, per my remarks on [[Talk:Blade]]. No way would I look for a topic on knives by searching for "Blade", and still less on a travel guide, and I doubt many native English-speakers would. I'll bet there's a place called Blade somewhere. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 07:36, 25 May 2026 (UTC) * '''Delete''' per Ikan Kekek.[[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 13:50, 25 May 2026 (UTC) * '''Delete''' per Ikan Kekek. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 14:35, 25 May 2026 (UTC) * '''Delete''' Nobody will use the term to find an article on knives. It will cause confusion if we ever haves an article for [[:w:Blades, Delaware]], or an itinierary for one of the films called ''Blade''. [[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] ([[User talk:AlasdairW|talk]]) 22:36, 25 May 2026 (UTC) * '''Delete''' Blade isn't even mentioned as a plesionym (almost-but-not-quite a synonym) on the [[Knives]] page. [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]^{(<i>[[User_talk:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">roam</span>]]</i>)} 23:36, 27 May 2026 (UTC) *'''Delete''' per [[User:DaGizza|<span style="color:teal">Gizza</span>]]. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 06:36, 28 May 2026 (UTC) *:{{done}} –&nbsp;deleted per clear consensus. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 12:32, 8 June 2026 (UTC) ===[[Template:Contains Meitei text]]=== Template imported from Wikipedia with zero discussions, violating our template policy. Plus, we don't have such a template for each and every non-Latin script, including even Cyrillic and Devanagari. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 13:48, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :Can Meitei text be rendered without this template? [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] ([[User talk:Ikan Kekek|talk]]) 14:00, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::The template does not in any way assist in rendering: it is purely a notice that users will either see the characters properly or some kind of stand-in from the browser. The text of the article is identical if the template is not there. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:03, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::Yes, and I guess it's useful only if a given article is full of non-Latin texts, which is not always the case on Wikivoyage. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:57, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :Heads up that I [https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AContains_Meitei_text&diff=5290916&oldid=5290900 added] [[:mw:NOINCLUDE|noinclude]] because without it, all pages trancsluding the template were added to [[:Category:Vfd]]. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 14:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::Thanks. '''[[User:Sbb1413|Sbb1413]]''' (he) ([[User talk:Sbb1413|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Sbb1413|contribs]]) 14:55, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :I'm not sure on this one. I think there should be some kind of disclaimer on phrasebooks with odd or obscure scripts not supported by every browser or loads very slowly (which is still an unfortunate reality for many parts of the world). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 21:25, 11 June 2026 (UTC) ::What makes more sense is having a generic template for non-Latin scripts. Since this is not Wikipedia, where we are liable to deal with all kinds of nuanced edge cases and localized versions of names and actual articles about obscure writing systems, there's a pretty minimal amount of non-Latin writing, especially outside of phrasebooks. ―[[User:Koavf|Justin (<span style="color:grey">ko'''a'''<span style="color:black">v</span>f</span>)]]<span style="color:red">❤[[User talk:Koavf|T]]☮[[Special:Contributions/Koavf|C]]☺[[Special:Emailuser/Koavf|M]]☯</span> 21:58, 11 June 2026 (UTC) :::I agree, but since this template already exists, I think it's much, much easier to just reformat this template as such instead of deleting this and creating a new one for non-Latin scripts in general. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 22:00, 11 June 2026 (UTC) : '''Delete'''. I like Koavf's suggestion of a generic template. : Would it be enough to just tell people -- in a template message or at [[Wikivoyage:Welcome,_newcomers]], or both -- that they should enable Unicode support ([[w:UTF-16]]?) in their browser if that is not the default? Looks like that would cover Meitei; [[w:Meetei Mayek (Unicode block)]] [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 02:24, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::'''Keep'''. Having odd rectangles telling the Unicode code points in any listing telling local names and addresses is confusing; some readers may think our site is broken. Explaining the issue and giving advice for installing the needed font(s) is useful – once there [at the destination], it is nice if one's device can show those local names and addresses. [[Wikivoyage:Meitei script display help]] should be rewritten, though, probably with links to step-by-step instructions on browser sites. ::[[:w:Unicode|Unicode]] support (for me, [[:w:UTF-8]] rather than UTF-16) isn't enough, you need the fonts. What other scripts aren't supported by default in the most common browsers? For me, e.g. Tibetan has the same issue. I assume smartphones may support fewer scripts. Thai? Georgian? Inuktitut? ::–[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:43, 12 June 2026 (UTC) : If we delete this, we should also delete [[Wikivoyage:Meitei script display help]] or replace it with a generic Unicode help page. : Is this a real problem? My browser (Firefox on Linux) happily renders Meitei fonts without me doing anything special to enable it. Do other browsers fail here? [[User:Pashley|Pashley]] ([[User talk:Pashley|talk]]) 03:05, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ::Mine (Chrome on macOS) can be a hit or miss for more obscure scripts (something like Divehi or Cree). //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 07:04, 12 June 2026 (UTC) :::Mine (Firefox on Debian) doesn't support Meitei, Tibetan, or seemingly even Korean by default (while some other odd scripts show fine). Adding the fonts is easy, though. I assume "hit or miss for more obscure scripts" is what to expect on most platforms. –[[User:LPfi|LPfi]] ([[User talk:LPfi|talk]]) 08:57, 12 June 2026 (UTC) *'''Keep''' per LPfi. It's far more useful to reformat this template than it is to outright delete this template. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 09:08, 12 June 2026 (UTC) ---- '''Outcome:''' there is no consensus to delete this template. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 02:02, 26 June 2026 (UTC) 3q6kh3mg1jqvf150twd1qlfk514rblj 0 218442 5298408 5298296 2026-06-25T12:09:09Z Ikan Kekek 36420 Edited per [[WV:Don't tout]]. You can't just claim "x is one of the top y spas". 5298408 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner}} '''Ogimi''' (大宜味村, ''Ōgimi-son'') is a small village in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan, known as part of the Yanbaru region ([[Northern Okinawa]]) — a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. The village sits between lush subtropical forest and the East China Sea, and is famous for its longevity: it has one of the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world. == Understand == Ogimi is part of the Yambaru (やんばる) wilderness area, which became a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2021. The village is quiet and rural, far from the tourist crowds of southern Okinawa. Its population is small and the pace of life is slow — exactly why many visitors come here. The area is known for: * Some of the oldest people in the world (centenarian culture) * Dense subtropical jungle and rare wildlife * Traditional Okinawan fishing and farming culture * Clear seas and unspoiled coastline == Get in == Ogimi is about 80 km north of Naha, roughly 1.5–2 hours by car via National Route 58. * '''By car''': Rental car from Naha Airport is the most practical option. There is no train service in northern Okinawa. * '''By bus''': Okinawa Bus route 67 (やんばる急行バス, Yambaru Express) runs from Naha Bus Terminal to the northern villages, stopping near Ogimi. Journey time is approximately 2.5 hours. == Get around == A rental car is essentially required. Public buses are infrequent. The village roads are narrow and scenic. == See == * '''Nerome Beach''' (根路銘ビーチ) — A quiet, unspoiled beach with clear turquoise water, rarely crowded even in summer. * '''Kijoka Bashofu''' (喜如嘉の芭蕉布) — A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage craft. Bashofu is a traditional Okinawan textile woven from banana plant fibers, and Kijoka in Ogimi is the last remaining place where it is still made by hand. Visitors can watch artisans at work. * '''Shioya Ungami''' (塩屋のウンガミ) — An ancient sea-worship festival held at Shioya Bay each lunar August. One of Okinawa's most sacred and rare traditional rituals, rarely seen by outsiders. * '''Yambaru National Park''' — Subtropical forest home to the Okinawa rail (ヤンバルクイナ), an endangered flightless bird found nowhere else on earth. == Do == * '''Blue Zone & Ikigai experience''' — Ogimi is one of the world's famous Blue Zones, featured in the international bestseller ''Ikigai'' by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. The village's centenarian culture, diet, and way of life inspired readers worldwide. Walking through the village feels like stepping into the book. * '''Ta-taki Waterfall hike''' (ター滝) — A short jungle hike through dense Yambaru forest leads to a beautiful freshwater waterfall. A popular spot for cooling off in summer. * '''Hentona Sabani''' — Experience traditional Okinawan sabani (wooden outrigger fishing boat) sailing. A rare hands-on cultural experience. * '''Sea kayaking and snorkeling''' — The coastline has excellent water clarity and calm conditions, especially in summer. == Buy == * '''Ogimi Village Roadside Station''' (道の駅おおぎみ やんばるの里) — Local products including bitter melon (ゴーヤ), shikuwasa citrus, and Okinawan crafts. * Shikuwasa juice and products are a local specialty — the small citrus fruit is linked to Ogimi's longevity culture. == Eat == Dining options are limited in the village itself. The roadside station has a small café. Most visitors eat at their accommodation or drive to nearby Nago (approximately 30 minutes south). == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Wassa Wassa | alt= | url=https://wassa-okinawa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-23 | content=A small 3-room inn (民宿) directly on Nerome Beach, run by a husband-and-wife chef team. The inn offers accommodation with or without meals; dinner features fresh local seafood from Hentona fishing port and Okinawan seasonal vegetables, prepared by a former Tokyo restaurant chef. Rooms include two Superior Twins and one Deluxe Twin villa (Yambaru Routine), a self-contained cottage. Superior Twin rooms feature an outdoor bath (swimwear required). The Deluxe Twin villa includes a private bathroom and access to Ayurvedic wellness treatments performed by a Japan Ayurveda Association-certified therapist trained under a therapist from IVAC (Indus Valley Ayurvedic Centre), India. Treatments include Abhyanga (full or half body oil massage) and Shirodhara, from ¥13,200. Advance reservation required.}} == Connect == Mobile coverage (au, SoftBank, Docomo) is generally available along the main roads. Some areas deep in the forest may have weak signal. == Go next == * '''[[Nago]]''' — The largest city in northern Okinawa, about 30 minutes south. Shopping, restaurants, and services. * '''[[Kunigami]]''' — The village to the north, home to Yambaru National Park visitor centers. * '''[[Motobu]]''' — Home to the Churaumi Aquarium, about 40 minutes south. * '''[[Naha]]''' — Okinawa's capital city, 1.5–2 hours south. {{IsPartOf|Northern Okinawa}} {{geo||}} {{outlinecity}} 3l5y4nh0osmm42lq9zw7wbi6mer5ve2 5298409 5298408 2026-06-25T12:09:49Z Ikan Kekek 36420 /* Sleep */ No reason to abbreviate. 5298409 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner}} '''Ogimi''' (大宜味村, ''Ōgimi-son'') is a small village in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan, known as part of the Yanbaru region ([[Northern Okinawa]]) — a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. The village sits between lush subtropical forest and the East China Sea, and is famous for its longevity: it has one of the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world. == Understand == Ogimi is part of the Yambaru (やんばる) wilderness area, which became a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2021. The village is quiet and rural, far from the tourist crowds of southern Okinawa. Its population is small and the pace of life is slow — exactly why many visitors come here. The area is known for: * Some of the oldest people in the world (centenarian culture) * Dense subtropical jungle and rare wildlife * Traditional Okinawan fishing and farming culture * Clear seas and unspoiled coastline == Get in == Ogimi is about 80 km north of Naha, roughly 1.5–2 hours by car via National Route 58. * '''By car''': Rental car from Naha Airport is the most practical option. There is no train service in northern Okinawa. * '''By bus''': Okinawa Bus route 67 (やんばる急行バス, Yambaru Express) runs from Naha Bus Terminal to the northern villages, stopping near Ogimi. Journey time is approximately 2.5 hours. == Get around == A rental car is essentially required. Public buses are infrequent. The village roads are narrow and scenic. == See == * '''Nerome Beach''' (根路銘ビーチ) — A quiet, unspoiled beach with clear turquoise water, rarely crowded even in summer. * '''Kijoka Bashofu''' (喜如嘉の芭蕉布) — A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage craft. Bashofu is a traditional Okinawan textile woven from banana plant fibers, and Kijoka in Ogimi is the last remaining place where it is still made by hand. Visitors can watch artisans at work. * '''Shioya Ungami''' (塩屋のウンガミ) — An ancient sea-worship festival held at Shioya Bay each lunar August. One of Okinawa's most sacred and rare traditional rituals, rarely seen by outsiders. * '''Yambaru National Park''' — Subtropical forest home to the Okinawa rail (ヤンバルクイナ), an endangered flightless bird found nowhere else on earth. == Do == * '''Blue Zone & Ikigai experience''' — Ogimi is one of the world's famous Blue Zones, featured in the international bestseller ''Ikigai'' by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. The village's centenarian culture, diet, and way of life inspired readers worldwide. Walking through the village feels like stepping into the book. * '''Ta-taki Waterfall hike''' (ター滝) — A short jungle hike through dense Yambaru forest leads to a beautiful freshwater waterfall. A popular spot for cooling off in summer. * '''Hentona Sabani''' — Experience traditional Okinawan sabani (wooden outrigger fishing boat) sailing. A rare hands-on cultural experience. * '''Sea kayaking and snorkeling''' — The coastline has excellent water clarity and calm conditions, especially in summer. == Buy == * '''Ogimi Village Roadside Station''' (道の駅おおぎみ やんばるの里) — Local products including bitter melon (ゴーヤ), shikuwasa citrus, and Okinawan crafts. * Shikuwasa juice and products are a local specialty — the small citrus fruit is linked to Ogimi's longevity culture. == Eat == Dining options are limited in the village itself. The roadside station has a small café. Most visitors eat at their accommodation or drive to nearby Nago (approximately 30 minutes south). == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Wassa Wassa | alt= | url=https://wassa-okinawa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-23 | content=A small 3-room inn (民宿) directly on Nerome Beach, run by a husband-and-wife chef team. The inn offers accommodation with or without meals; dinner features fresh local seafood from Hentona fishing port and Okinawan seasonal vegetables, prepared by a former Tokyo restaurant chef. Rooms include two Superior Twins and one Deluxe Twin villa (Yambaru Routine), a self-contained cottage. Superior Twin rooms feature an outdoor bath (swimwear required). The Deluxe Twin villa includes a private bathroom and access to Ayurvedic wellness treatments performed by a Japan Ayurveda Association-certified therapist trained under a therapist from Indus Valley Ayurvedic Centre, India. Treatments include Abhyanga (full or half body oil massage) and Shirodhara, from ¥13,200. Advance reservation required.}} == Connect == Mobile coverage (au, SoftBank, Docomo) is generally available along the main roads. Some areas deep in the forest may have weak signal. == Go next == * '''[[Nago]]''' — The largest city in northern Okinawa, about 30 minutes south. Shopping, restaurants, and services. * '''[[Kunigami]]''' — The village to the north, home to Yambaru National Park visitor centers. * '''[[Motobu]]''' — Home to the Churaumi Aquarium, about 40 minutes south. * '''[[Naha]]''' — Okinawa's capital city, 1.5–2 hours south. {{IsPartOf|Northern Okinawa}} {{geo||}} {{outlinecity}} hieco4r80qb1vle7orfhbbtx63ah09t 5298410 5298409 2026-06-25T12:12:18Z Ground Zero 1423298 /* See */ add wikidata 5298410 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner}} '''Ogimi''' (大宜味村, ''Ōgimi-son'') is a small village in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan, known as part of the Yanbaru region ([[Northern Okinawa]]) — a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. The village sits between lush subtropical forest and the East China Sea, and is famous for its longevity: it has one of the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world. == Understand == Ogimi is part of the Yambaru (やんばる) wilderness area, which became a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2021. The village is quiet and rural, far from the tourist crowds of southern Okinawa. Its population is small and the pace of life is slow — exactly why many visitors come here. The area is known for: * Some of the oldest people in the world (centenarian culture) * Dense subtropical jungle and rare wildlife * Traditional Okinawan fishing and farming culture * Clear seas and unspoiled coastline == Get in == Ogimi is about 80 km north of Naha, roughly 1.5–2 hours by car via National Route 58. * '''By car''': Rental car from Naha Airport is the most practical option. There is no train service in northern Okinawa. * '''By bus''': Okinawa Bus route 67 (やんばる急行バス, Yambaru Express) runs from Naha Bus Terminal to the northern villages, stopping near Ogimi. Journey time is approximately 2.5 hours. == Get around == A rental car is essentially required. Public buses are infrequent. The village roads are narrow and scenic. == See == * '''Nerome Beach''' (根路銘ビーチ) — A quiet, unspoiled beach with clear turquoise water, rarely crowded even in summer. * '''Kijoka Bashofu''' (喜如嘉の芭蕉布) — A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage craft. Bashofu is a traditional Okinawan textile woven from banana plant fibers, and Kijoka in Ogimi is the last remaining place where it is still made by hand. Visitors can watch artisans at work. * '''Shioya Ungami''' (塩屋のウンガミ) — An ancient sea-worship festival held at Shioya Bay each lunar August. One of Okinawa's most sacred and rare traditional rituals, rarely seen by outsiders. * {{do | name=Yambaru National Park | alt= | url= https://www.japan.travel/national-parks/parks/yambaru/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q27134534 | lastedit= | content=Subtropical forest home to the Okinawa rail (ヤンバルクイナ), an endangered flightless bird found nowhere else on earth. }} == Do == * '''Blue Zone & Ikigai experience''' — Ogimi is one of the world's famous Blue Zones, featured in the international bestseller ''Ikigai'' by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. The village's centenarian culture, diet, and way of life inspired readers worldwide. Walking through the village feels like stepping into the book. * '''Ta-taki Waterfall hike''' (ター滝) — A short jungle hike through dense Yambaru forest leads to a beautiful freshwater waterfall. A popular spot for cooling off in summer. * '''Hentona Sabani''' — Experience traditional Okinawan sabani (wooden outrigger fishing boat) sailing. A rare hands-on cultural experience. * '''Sea kayaking and snorkeling''' — The coastline has excellent water clarity and calm conditions, especially in summer. == Buy == * '''Ogimi Village Roadside Station''' (道の駅おおぎみ やんばるの里) — Local products including bitter melon (ゴーヤ), shikuwasa citrus, and Okinawan crafts. * Shikuwasa juice and products are a local specialty — the small citrus fruit is linked to Ogimi's longevity culture. == Eat == Dining options are limited in the village itself. The roadside station has a small café. Most visitors eat at their accommodation or drive to nearby Nago (approximately 30 minutes south). == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Wassa Wassa | alt= | url=https://wassa-okinawa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-23 | content=A small 3-room inn (民宿) directly on Nerome Beach, run by a husband-and-wife chef team. The inn offers accommodation with or without meals; dinner features fresh local seafood from Hentona fishing port and Okinawan seasonal vegetables, prepared by a former Tokyo restaurant chef. Rooms include two Superior Twins and one Deluxe Twin villa (Yambaru Routine), a self-contained cottage. Superior Twin rooms feature an outdoor bath (swimwear required). The Deluxe Twin villa includes a private bathroom and access to Ayurvedic wellness treatments performed by a Japan Ayurveda Association-certified therapist trained under a therapist from Indus Valley Ayurvedic Centre, India. Treatments include Abhyanga (full or half body oil massage) and Shirodhara, from ¥13,200. Advance reservation required.}} == Connect == Mobile coverage (au, SoftBank, Docomo) is generally available along the main roads. Some areas deep in the forest may have weak signal. == Go next == * '''[[Nago]]''' — The largest city in northern Okinawa, about 30 minutes south. Shopping, restaurants, and services. * '''[[Kunigami]]''' — The village to the north, home to Yambaru National Park visitor centers. * '''[[Motobu]]''' — Home to the Churaumi Aquarium, about 40 minutes south. * '''[[Naha]]''' — Okinawa's capital city, 1.5–2 hours south. {{IsPartOf|Northern Okinawa}} {{geo||}} {{outlinecity}} fts2ec2a4zpb27mdjyp6535qjpjwutj 5298411 5298410 2026-06-25T12:13:45Z Ground Zero 1423298 5298411 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner}} '''Ogimi''' (大宜味村, ''Ōgimi-son'') is a small village in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan, known as part of the Yanbaru region ([[Northern Okinawa]]) — a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. The village sits between lush subtropical forest and the East China Sea, and is famous for its longevity: it has one of the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world. == Understand == Ogimi is part of the Yambaru (やんばる) wilderness area, which became a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2021. The village is quiet and rural, far from the tourist crowds of southern Okinawa. Its population is small and the pace of life is slow — exactly why many visitors come here. The area is known for: * Some of the oldest people in the world (centenarian culture) * Dense subtropical jungle and rare wildlife * Traditional Okinawan fishing and farming culture * Clear seas and unspoiled coastline == Get in == Ogimi is about 80 km north of Naha, roughly 1.5–2 hours by car via National Route 58. * '''By car''': Rental car from Naha Airport is the most practical option. There is no train service in northern Okinawa. * '''By bus''': Okinawa Bus route 67 (やんばる急行バス, Yambaru Express) runs from Naha Bus Terminal to the northern villages, stopping near Ogimi. Journey time is approximately 2.5 hours. == Get around == A rental car is essentially required. Public buses are infrequent. The village roads are narrow and scenic. == See == * '''Nerome Beach''' (根路銘ビーチ) — A quiet, unspoiled beach with clear turquoise water, rarely crowded even in summer. * '''Kijoka Bashofu''' (喜如嘉の芭蕉布) — A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage craft. Bashofu is a traditional Okinawan textile woven from banana plant fibers, and Kijoka in Ogimi is the last remaining place where it is still made by hand. Visitors can watch artisans at work. * '''Shioya Ungami''' (塩屋のウンガミ) — An ancient sea-worship festival held at Shioya Bay each lunar August. One of Okinawa's most sacred and rare traditional rituals, rarely seen by outsiders. == Do == * {{do | name=Yambaru National Park | alt= | url= https://www.japan.travel/national-parks/parks/yambaru/ | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q27134534 | lastedit= | content=Subtropical forest home to the Okinawa rail (ヤンバルクイナ), an endangered flightless bird found nowhere else on earth. }} ** '''Ta-taki Waterfall hike''' (ター滝) — A short jungle hike through dense Yambaru forest leads to a beautiful freshwater waterfall. A popular spot for cooling off in summer. * '''Blue Zone & Ikigai experience''' — Ogimi is one of the world's famous Blue Zones, featured in the international bestseller ''Ikigai'' by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. The village's centenarian culture, diet, and way of life inspired readers worldwide. Walking through the village feels like stepping into the book. * '''Hentona Sabani''' — Experience traditional Okinawan sabani (wooden outrigger fishing boat) sailing. A rare hands-on cultural experience. * '''Sea kayaking and snorkeling''' — The coastline has excellent water clarity and calm conditions, especially in summer. == Buy == * '''Ogimi Village Roadside Station''' (道の駅おおぎみ やんばるの里) — Local products including bitter melon (ゴーヤ), shikuwasa citrus, and Okinawan crafts. * Shikuwasa juice and products are a local specialty — the small citrus fruit is linked to Ogimi's longevity culture. == Eat == Dining options are limited in the village itself. The roadside station has a small café. Most visitors eat at their accommodation or drive to nearby Nago (approximately 30 minutes south). == Sleep == * {{sleep | name=Wassa Wassa | alt= | url=https://wassa-okinawa.com | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-23 | content=A small 3-room inn (民宿) directly on Nerome Beach, run by a husband-and-wife chef team. The inn offers accommodation with or without meals; dinner features fresh local seafood from Hentona fishing port and Okinawan seasonal vegetables, prepared by a former Tokyo restaurant chef. Rooms include two Superior Twins and one Deluxe Twin villa (Yambaru Routine), a self-contained cottage. Superior Twin rooms feature an outdoor bath (swimwear required). The Deluxe Twin villa includes a private bathroom and access to Ayurvedic wellness treatments performed by a Japan Ayurveda Association-certified therapist trained under a therapist from Indus Valley Ayurvedic Centre, India. Treatments include Abhyanga (full or half body oil massage) and Shirodhara, from ¥13,200. Advance reservation required.}} == Connect == Mobile coverage (au, SoftBank, Docomo) is generally available along the main roads. Some areas deep in the forest may have weak signal. == Go next == * '''[[Nago]]''' — The largest city in northern Okinawa, about 30 minutes south. Shopping, restaurants, and services. * '''[[Kunigami]]''' — The village to the north, home to Yambaru National Park visitor centers. * '''[[Motobu]]''' — Home to the Churaumi Aquarium, about 40 minutes south. * '''[[Naha]]''' — Okinawa's capital city, 1.5–2 hours south. {{IsPartOf|Northern Okinawa}} {{geo||}} {{outlinecity}} ogvf9iody4s8jat8ep9g6h0pi4789e3 0 218515 5298631 5296075 2026-06-26T07:58:01Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298631 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Dhubri''' ([[Bengali]]: ধুবড়ী ''Dhubṛī'', [[Assamese]]: ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') is a commercial centre in the Bodoland region of [[Lower Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Rupsi Airport | alt={{IATA|RUP}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.141111 | long=89.906667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2875906 | lastedit=2023-01-30 | content=Flights to [[Guwahati]] and [[Kolkata]]. }} ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Dhubri|city=india|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.023137 | long=89.977952 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dhubri railway station | image=Dhubri railway station platform.jpg | wikidata=Q15213906 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Matiabag Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.097960 | long=89.975680 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Matiabag Palace | image=Matiabag Palace or Gauripur Rajbari.jpg | wikidata=Q18667653 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content=The palace was built by Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua of the Gauripur royal family on a small hill-top at Matiabagh, Gauripur on the banks of the Gadadhar river. It was the royal guest house and summer residence (Hawakhana) by the royal family of Gauripur, also known as the Rangamati Baruas. It is the home of Pramathesh Barua, the director of [[Bollywood]] film ''Devdas'', as well as folk singer Pratima Barua Pandey. }} * {{see | name=Panbari Mosque | alt= | url= | email= | address=NH 17 | lat=26.155153 | long=90.054756 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Panbari Mosque | image=Panbari mosque1.JPG | wikidata=Q4292359 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content=Built between 1493 and 1519 after the Bengal conquest of Kamata, the mosque is considered to be the oldest in Assam, and an example of the late medieval Bengali architecture. }} * {{see | name=Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.017912 | long=89.994340 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib | wikidata=Q5619983 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} rrkm1zqnjqcivt2hmxunnsho9g8t3ff 5298632 5298631 2026-06-26T08:00:19Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Added listing for Mahamaya Dham 5298632 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Dhubri''' ([[Bengali]]: ধুবড়ী ''Dhubṛī'', [[Assamese]]: ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') is a commercial centre in the Bodoland region of [[Lower Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Rupsi Airport | alt={{IATA|RUP}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.141111 | long=89.906667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2875906 | lastedit=2023-01-30 | content=Flights to [[Guwahati]] and [[Kolkata]]. }} ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Dhubri|city=india|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.023137 | long=89.977952 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dhubri railway station | image=Dhubri railway station platform.jpg | wikidata=Q15213906 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Matiabag Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.097960 | long=89.975680 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Matiabag Palace | image=Matiabag Palace or Gauripur Rajbari.jpg | wikidata=Q18667653 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content=The palace was built by Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua of the Gauripur royal family on a small hill-top at Matiabagh, Gauripur on the banks of the Gadadhar river. It was the royal guest house and summer residence (Hawakhana) by the royal family of Gauripur, also known as the Rangamati Baruas. It is the home of Pramathesh Barua, the director of [[Bollywood]] film ''Devdas'', as well as folk singer Pratima Barua Pandey. }} * {{see | name=Panbari Mosque | alt= | url= | email= | address=NH 17 | lat=26.155153 | long=90.054756 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Panbari Mosque | image=Panbari mosque1.JPG | wikidata=Q4292359 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content=Built between 1493 and 1519 after the Bengal conquest of Kamata, the mosque is considered to be the oldest in Assam, and an example of the late medieval Bengali architecture. }} * {{see | name=Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.017912 | long=89.994340 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib | wikidata=Q5619983 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content= }} * {{see | name=Mahamaya Dham | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.214300 | long=90.118500 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mahamaya Dham | wikidata=Q6733037 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 1vnqtlkanp3ap2xoig5c68lxdohkaht 5298633 5298632 2026-06-26T08:00:46Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ 5298633 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Dhubri''' ([[Bengali]]: ধুবড়ী ''Dhubṛī'', [[Assamese]]: ধুবুৰী ''Dhuburī'') is a commercial centre in the Bodoland region of [[Lower Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By plane=== * {{go | name=Rupsi Airport | alt={{IATA|RUP}} | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.141111 | long=89.906667 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q2875906 | lastedit=2023-01-30 | content=Flights to [[Guwahati]] and [[Kolkata]]. }} ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Dhubri|city=india|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.023137 | long=89.977952 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dhubri railway station | image=Dhubri railway station platform.jpg | wikidata=Q15213906 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.017912 | long=89.994340 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib | wikidata=Q5619983 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content= }} * {{see | name=Mahamaya Dham | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.214300 | long=90.118500 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Mahamaya Dham | wikidata=Q6733037 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Matiabag Palace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.097960 | long=89.975680 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Matiabag Palace | image=Matiabag Palace or Gauripur Rajbari.jpg | wikidata=Q18667653 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content=The palace was built by Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua of the Gauripur royal family on a small hill-top at Matiabagh, Gauripur on the banks of the Gadadhar river. It was the royal guest house and summer residence (Hawakhana) by the royal family of Gauripur, also known as the Rangamati Baruas. It is the home of Pramathesh Barua, the director of [[Bollywood]] film ''Devdas'', as well as folk singer Pratima Barua Pandey. }} * {{see | name=Panbari Mosque | alt= | url= | email= | address=NH 17 | lat=26.155153 | long=90.054756 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Panbari Mosque | image=Panbari mosque1.JPG | wikidata=Q4292359 | lastedit=2026-06-21 | content=Built between 1493 and 1519 after the Bengal conquest of Kamata, the mosque is considered to be the oldest in Assam, and an example of the late medieval Bengali architecture. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 0g7soclu2pyaj8vams8vc3qoyx91x6r 1 218610 5298412 5298271 2026-06-25T12:14:58Z Ground Zero 1423298 5298412 wikitext text/x-wiki == Is this article necessary? == None of the other towns and villages in [[Northern Okinawa]] have their own article, and Ogimi is far smaller than eg Nago or Onna. I'm open to adding regions, but having a subregion ''only'' for Ogimi seems odd. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 00:39, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't know. The Northern Okinawa article covers a large area, and maybe it is better to start splitting it up, rather than adding more to it. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 12:14, 25 June 2026 (UTC) g8guymb6flf72kkqjk86tvh6shdnsk5 5298413 5298412 2026-06-25T12:20:15Z Ground Zero 1423298 5298413 wikitext text/x-wiki == Is this article necessary? == None of the other towns and villages in [[Northern Okinawa]] have their own article, and Ogimi is far smaller than eg Nago or Onna. I'm open to adding regions, but having a subregion ''only'' for Ogimi seems odd. [[User:Asamboi|Asamboi]] ([[User talk:Asamboi|talk]]) 00:39, 25 June 2026 (UTC) :I don't know. The Northern Okinawa article covers a large area, and maybe it is better to start splitting it up, rather than adding more to it. Maybe the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motobu_Peninsula Motobu Peninsula] should be split out to make navigation easier. [[User:Ground Zero|Ground Zero]] ([[User talk:Ground Zero|talk]]) 12:20, 25 June 2026 (UTC) e5xo12quqvwl108xkkpb2v2kst24j2c 0 218616 5298417 2026-06-25T12:43:58Z Hrihoryy 2425780 Created page with "{{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]]. It is located close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q15037608|stroke-width=0}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn s..." 5298417 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]]. It is located close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q15037608|stroke-width=0}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Cash desk hours: Mon-Sun: 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 AM Morning Prayer, 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy, 3:00 PM Vespers; Weekdays: 6:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 20.|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle that has remained in a ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 121.|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=It is located at the end of the village and can be reached by following the main road.|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 19.|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=Mon-Fri: 6:00 AM–11:00 AM, 2:30 PM–6:00 PM; Saturday: 6:00 AM–12:00 PM; Sunday and Wednesday: closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 9.|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Subanya köz 1.|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Solymos street 51.|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = 3937 Komlóska, Kisposta köz 6. | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = Mon–Fri: 9:00 AM. – 11:00 AM. | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} sq5kw9jmz4272o59t44k7klwf4die5b 5298418 5298417 2026-06-25T12:46:37Z Hrihoryy 2425780 5298418 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]]. It is located close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q15037608|stroke-width=0}} {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Cash desk hours: Mon-Sun: 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 AM Morning Prayer, 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy, 3:00 PM Vespers; Weekdays: 6:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 20.|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle that has remained in a ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 121.|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=It is located at the end of the village and can be reached by following the main road.|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 19.|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=Mon-Fri: 6:00 AM–11:00 AM, 2:30 PM–6:00 PM; Saturday: 6:00 AM–12:00 PM; Sunday and Wednesday: closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 9.|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Subanya köz 1.|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Solymos street 51.|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = 3937 Komlóska, Kisposta köz 6. | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = Mon–Fri: 9:00 AM. – 11:00 AM. | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} dxj72pt0zwdqdddt5y9737v7bfmxxj0 5298419 5298418 2026-06-25T12:49:02Z Hrihoryy 2425780 5298419 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]]. It is located close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q1008024|stroke-width=0}} {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Cash desk hours: Mon-Sun: 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 AM Morning Prayer, 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy, 3:00 PM Vespers; Weekdays: 6:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 20.|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle that has remained in a ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 121.|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=It is located at the end of the village and can be reached by following the main road.|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 19.|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=Mon-Fri: 6:00 AM–11:00 AM, 2:30 PM–6:00 PM; Saturday: 6:00 AM–12:00 PM; Sunday and Wednesday: closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 9.|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Subanya köz 1.|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Solymos street 51.|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = 3937 Komlóska, Kisposta köz 6. | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = Mon–Fri: 9:00 AM. – 11:00 AM. | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} k7h5oasg7jy4r9xymps9d8t104yze0k 5298421 5298419 2026-06-25T12:53:24Z Hrihoryy 2425780 5298421 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' (Rusyn: ''Комловшка'') is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]]. It is located close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q1008024|stroke-width=0}} {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Cash desk hours: Mon-Sun: 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 AM Morning Prayer, 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy, 3:00 PM Vespers; Weekdays: 6:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 20.|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle that has remained in a ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 121.|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=It is located at the end of the village and can be reached by following the main road.|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 19.|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=Mon-Fri: 6:00 AM–11:00 AM, 2:30 PM–6:00 PM; Saturday: 6:00 AM–12:00 PM; Sunday and Wednesday: closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Rákóczi street 9.|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Subanya köz 1.|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=3937 Komlóska, Solymos street 51.|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=3937 Komlóska, Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = 3937 Komlóska, Kisposta köz 6. | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = Mon–Fri: 9:00 AM. – 11:00 AM. | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} 28m5f204ad0stw2bqlbqzovuv0g8en5 5298426 5298421 2026-06-25T13:15:35Z Ibaman 195012 some copyedit per [[WV:tdf]] and [[obvious]]: of course it's all in Komlóska 5298426 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' (Rusyn: ''Комловшка'') is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]]. It is located close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q1008024|stroke-width=0}} {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Daily, 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 AM Morning Prayer, 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy, 3:00 PM Vespers; Weekdays: 6:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address= Rákóczi street 20|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle in ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=Rákóczi street 121|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=at the end of the village |lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address= Rákóczi street 19|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=M-F 6AM–11AM, 2:30PM–6PM; Sa 6AM–noon; Su and W closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=Rákóczi street 9|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address= Subanya köz 1|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=Solymos street 51|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = Kisposta köz 6 | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = M–F 9AM – 11AM | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} 6dr2y73um6q3ilc30314fs6cxnkpg2h 5298427 5298426 2026-06-25T13:15:55Z Ibaman 195012 [[Words to avoid]]: located 5298427 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' (Rusyn: ''Комловшка'') is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]], close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q1008024|stroke-width=0}} {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Daily, 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 AM Morning Prayer, 10:30 AM Divine Liturgy, 3:00 PM Vespers; Weekdays: 6:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address= Rákóczi street 20|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle in ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=Rákóczi street 121|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=at the end of the village |lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address= Rákóczi street 19|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=M-F 6AM–11AM, 2:30PM–6PM; Sa 6AM–noon; Su and W closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=Rákóczi street 9|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address= Subanya köz 1|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=Solymos street 51|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = Kisposta köz 6 | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = M–F 9AM – 11AM | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} f3owsoxnc5eqdhncq5sl483xpc1vtl3 5298428 5298427 2026-06-25T13:17:02Z Ibaman 195012 /* Komlóska */ more copyedit 5298428 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Pagebanner|Komlóska.jpg}} '''Komlóska''' (Rusyn: ''Комловшка'') is a village in [[Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County]] in northeastern [[Hungary]], close to the border with [[Slovakia]], {{km|70}} from [[Miskolc]]. == Understand == {{Mapshape|type=geomask|wikidata=Q1008024|stroke-width=0}} {{Mapframe|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427|zoom=15}} The name Komlóska was first mentioned in historical documents in 1396 as ''Komlós'' and later in 1397 as ''Komlóstelek''. Rusyn settlers from modern-day [[Slovakia]] arrived in the village in the 1720s. To this day, the village has preserved its unique Rusyn traditions and Greek Catholic faith. == Get in == === By train === There are direct trains from [[Budapest]] to the village of Vámosújfalu, from where you can take a bus to Komlóska. The name of the train station in Vámosújfalu is ''Olaszliszka-Tolcsva''. The entire trip from [[Budapest]] takes about 3 and a half hours and costs around {{HUF|5500}}. {{Go|name=Vámosújfalu Train Station|alt=Olaszliszka-Tolcsva vasútállomás|url=https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-szemelyszallitas/belfoldi-utazas/vasutallomas/olaszliszka-tolcsva|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.258177704627755|long=21.448234746111243|hours=Daily, 5:35 AM - 5:05 PM|lastedit=2026-06-25}} === By bus === Bus routes 3891 and 3884 run every 1–2 hours from the Vámosújfalu Train Station to Komlóska. The earliest departure is at 4:50 AM, and the latest is at 5:35 PM. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs {{HUF|450}}. There are two bus stops in Komlóska: ''Komlóska, Erdészház'' at the Sólyomvár-Lak hotel and ''Komlóska, Községi kút'' in the center of the village, in front of the Municipal Office. {{Go|name=Komlóska, Erdészház|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.33619567385645|long=21.458134979821107|lastedit=2026-06-5}} {{Go|name=Komlóska, Községi kút|url=|email=informacio@mav-start.hu|lat=48.34141082903941|long=21.462682720294676|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == See == === Komlóska === [[File:Komlóskai Templom.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Church of the Ascension of the Lord]] * {{See|name=Church of the Ascension of the Lord|alt=Urunk mennybemenetele-templom|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-gorogkatolikus-egyhazkozseg/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|lat=48.33994519308197|long=21.464285310556075|phone=+36 47 338 228|hours=Sundays and Holidays: 10AM Morning Prayer, 10:30AM Divine Liturgy, 3PM Vespers; Weekdays 6PM Divine Liturgy|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=It was built in 1820 by the local Rusyn Greek Catholics to replace a wooden church that had previously stood on this site.|wikidata=Q140338526}} * {{See|name=Rusyn Country House|alt=Ruszin Tájház|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-tajhaz/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address= Rákóczi street 20|lat=48.33747458663325|long=21.46135735527358|phone=+36 47 338 127|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A historic peasant house built in the first half of the 19th century, which shows the traditional domestic culture and way of life of the local Rusyn minority.|wikidata=Q140339033}} * {{See|name=Castle of Solymos|alt=Pusztavár|url=https://www.komloska.hu/pusztavar-romja/|lat=48.3292237341392|long=21.453306657910613|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A medieval castle in ruins.|wikidata=Q1289898}}[[File:CivertanlegifotKomloska3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Castle of Solymos]] * {{See|name=Rusyn Leisure and Statue Park|alt=Ruszin Szabadidő- és Szoborpark|url=https://www.komloska.hu/ruszin-park/|email=komloska@t-online.hu|address=Rákóczi street 121|lat=48.350312189024095|long=21.460806542002466|directions=at the end of the village |lastedit=2026-06-25|content=The park is the traditional location for Rusyn Day, Village Day, and weddings.|wikidata=Q140346767}} * {{See|name=Wine Cellar Row|alt=Pincesor|lat=48.345772031103685|long=21.46361210824185|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A charming path with wine cellars on both sides.}} * {{See|name=Zsidó field|alt=Zsidó-rét|url=https://natura.2000.hu/hu/teruletek/hubn20090|lat=48.37111722408054|long=21.470226745336973|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=A field that serves as a stop on the National Blue Trail and is a nature conservation area of special importance|wikidata=Q128561420}} == Do == === Events === [[File:Ruszin Tájház.jpg|thumb|Rusyn House]] * {{Do|name=Rusyn Day|alt=Ruszin Nap|url=https://www.zoldzemplen.hu/lakossagi/ruszin-napok-komloskan-jartunk-de-mirol-is-hires-a-borsod-abauj-zempleni-onfenntarto-okofalu/|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Every year, the local government organizes a Rusyn Day to celebrate the culture of the local Rusyn community.}} == Buy == * {{Buy|name=Coop Mini|url=https://www.coop.hu/uzlet/1036823|address= Rákóczi street 19|lat=48.3398010703585|long=21.46245226157037|phone=+36 47 338 496|hours=M-F 6AM–11AM, 2:30PM–6PM; Sa 6AM–noon; Su and W closed|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Eat == * {{Eat|name=Komlóska Kindergarten|alt=Komlóskai Ruszin Nemzetiségi Óvoda|url=https://www.komloska.hu/komloskai-ruszin-nemzetisegi-ovoda/|email=komloska.ovoda@gmail.com|lat=48.34393049881643|long=21.462762383378045|phone=+36 47 338 224|lastedit=2026-06-25|content=Meals are available at the kindergarten cafeteria, but only by reservation.}} == Sleep == * {{Sleep|name=Sólyomvár-Lak|url=https://www.solyomvar.hu/|email=solyomvarlak@gmail.com|address=Rákóczi street 9|lat=48.33601440477057|long=21.457699040412518|phone=+36 30 430 7789|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Éva Guest House|alt=Éva Vendégház|url=https://www.evavendeghazkomloska.hu/|email=m.eva88@freemail.hu|address= Subanya köz 1|lat=48.336410175310824|long=21.45609104075617|phone=+36 47 384 199|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Hollós-Patak Guesthouse|alt=Hollós-Patak Vendégház|url=https://www.hollospatakvendeghaz.hu/|email=info@hollospatakvendeghaz.hu|address=Solymos street 51|lat=48.33432645665112|long=21.46545000459866|phone=+36 30 455 9686|lastedit=2026-06-25}} * {{Sleep|name=Relax Wellness Apartman|url=https://www.facebook.com/100087220780966/|email=relaxkomloska@gmail.com|address=Bánya köz|lat=48.34427514007779|long=21.461993515210146|phone=+36 30 647 1783|lastedit=2026-06-25}} == Connect == Komlóska's postal code is '''H-3937''' and its telephone area code is '''47'''. * {{Listing | name = Komlóska Post Office | lat = 48.3379843125104 | long = 21.46248059703002 | address = Kisposta köz 6 | phone = +36 47 538 018 | email = ugyfelszolgalat@posta.hu | hours = M–F 9AM – 11AM | lastedit = 2026-06-25 }} == Go next == * [[Sárospatak]] – town {{Kilometer|22}} southeast * [[Sátoraljaújhely]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} northeast * [[Tokaj]] – town {{Kilometer|34}} south * [[Szerencs]] – town {{Kilometer|35}} southwest * [[Gönc]] – town {{Kilometer|38}} northwest {{IsPartOf|Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County}} {{geo|48.341299558186606|21.46242576744427}} a8vsqr34rq4dx87ftrig59j393u6nfp 3 218618 5298424 2026-06-25T13:09:19Z Ibaman 195012 /* Don't tout */ new section 5298424 wikitext text/x-wiki == [[Don't tout]] == Hello, Namaskarindiatour01! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 13:09, 25 June 2026 (UTC) dus22kql4uuycq3d0e1utljfapizmcc 3 218619 5298445 2026-06-25T15:02:41Z Ibaman 195012 /* Don't tout */ new section 5298445 wikitext text/x-wiki == [[Don't tout]] == Hello, Shan Explorer! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 15:02, 25 June 2026 (UTC) s5kyz4qginpwxjh1i5f2ucjewc9xsuz 3 218620 5298466 2026-06-25T16:59:59Z Ibaman 195012 Created page with "{{subst:wikipedian}} ~~~~" 5298466 wikitext text/x-wiki Hello BKHealy! [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, newcomers|Welcome]] to [[Wikivoyage:About|Wikivoyage]]. To help get you started contributing, we've created a [[Wikivoyage:Tips for new contributors|tips for new contributors]] page, full of helpful links about [[Wikivoyage:policies and guidelines|policies and guidelines]] and [[Wikivoyage:Manual of style|style]], as well as some important information on [[Wikivoyage:Copyleft|copyleft]] and basic stuff like [[Wikivoyage:How to edit a page|how to edit a page]]. If you are a [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians|Wikipedian]], then you may notice some differences in policies and the style of our articles. These include: * NPOV &rarr; [[Wikivoyage:Be fair|be fair]] (not ''quite'' the same thing!) * be bold &rarr; [[Wikivoyage:Plunge forward|plunge forward]] * Village pump &rarr; [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub|travellers' pub]] * External links &rarr; We do not use a separate [[Wikivoyage:External links|external links]] section, but incorporate ''primary links only'' into the text itself. * sandbox &rarr; [[Wikivoyage:Graffiti wall|graffiti wall]] * content assessment &rarr; [[Wikivoyage:Article status|article status]] It may also be very useful for you to check out [[Wikivoyage:Welcome, Wikipedians]]. If you need help, take a look at [[Wikivoyage:Help]], or else post a message in the [[Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub]], as a reply below or on my talk page. Thanks for contributing! [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 16:59, 25 June 2026 (UTC) 4gjlurtzvi0lwkka7gb2t3vw9kubv6l 3 218623 5298479 2026-06-25T18:07:58Z Ibaman 195012 /* Don't tout */ new section 5298479 wikitext text/x-wiki == [[Don't tout]] == Hello, Travelnoweasily! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:07, 25 June 2026 (UTC) e76kn6embyeh3kml4i9y0kypogiw42d 5298481 5298479 2026-06-25T18:09:05Z Ibaman 195012 5298481 wikitext text/x-wiki == [[Don't tout]] == Hello, Travelnoweasily! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. Most seriously, don't ever again try to hijack a page for advertisement, like you just did. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:07, 25 June 2026 (UTC) bg60pt679ipvfp12xxid3s1uvr32w30 5298482 5298481 2026-06-25T18:09:14Z Ibaman 195012 5298482 wikitext text/x-wiki == [[Don't tout]] == Hello, Travelnoweasily! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. Most seriously, don't ever again try to hijack a page for advertisement, like you just did. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 18:07, 25 June 2026 (UTC) fa835bpw7587katndae68y1dzbu6yj3 0 218624 5298538 2026-06-26T00:44:41Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' is in [[Region name]]. ==Understand== Woolgoolga (often called “Woopi”) is a relaxed coastal town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, about 25 km north of Coffs Harbour. Known for its long sandy beaches, strong Sikh heritage, and laid-back holiday vibe, it’s a popular stop along the Pacific Highway and a gateway to quieter coastal stretches. ==Get in== Woolgoolga sits just off the Pacific High..." 5298538 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Woolgoolga''' is in [[Region name]]. ==Understand== Woolgoolga (often called “Woopi”) is a relaxed coastal town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, about 25 km north of Coffs Harbour. Known for its long sandy beaches, strong Sikh heritage, and laid-back holiday vibe, it’s a popular stop along the Pacific Highway and a gateway to quieter coastal stretches. ==Get in== Woolgoolga sits just off the Pacific Highway and is easily reached by car from Coffs Harbour (around 20 minutes). The nearest major station is at Coffs Harbour and local bus services operate north to Woolgoolga, though services can be infrequent. The nearest airport is Coffs Harbour Airport, with regular flights from Sydney and Brisbane. ==Get around== ==See== {{See|name=Woolgoolga Beach|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=A wide, clean stretch of sand ideal for swimming, surfing, and long walks. The headland offers excellent views up and down the coast, especially at sunrise.|wikidata=Q21956908}} {{See|name=Guru Nanak Sikh Temple|lat=-30.11715|long=153.19285|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=One of the largest Sikh temples in regional Australia, reflecting the town’s significant Punjabi community. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times (dress modestly).}} {{See|name=Arrawarra|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=A quiet coastal locality just north of Woolgoolga, known for its uncrowded beaches and consistent surf. It’s a great spot to escape the busier main beach and enjoy a more natural, undeveloped stretch of coastline.|wikidata=Q10418428}} ==Do== * Surf at Woolgoolga or Arrawarra—both are known for reliable waves. * Walk the headland tracks for coastal views and seasonal whale watching. * Swim or picnic at the calmer southern end of the beach. ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Coffs Harbour]] – larger regional centre with attractions and transport links. * [[Yamba]] – a scenic coastal town further north. {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 4ld78ghd2qfto17had67ijdfethff7v 5298540 5298538 2026-06-26T00:50:38Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Woolgoolga Beach 5298540 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Woolgoolga''' is in [[Region name]]. ==Understand== Woolgoolga (often called “Woopi”) is a relaxed coastal town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, about 25 km north of Coffs Harbour. Known for its long sandy beaches, strong Sikh heritage, and laid-back holiday vibe, it’s a popular stop along the Pacific Highway and a gateway to quieter coastal stretches. ==Get in== Woolgoolga sits just off the Pacific Highway and is easily reached by car from Coffs Harbour (around 20 minutes). The nearest major station is at Coffs Harbour and local bus services operate north to Woolgoolga, though services can be infrequent. The nearest airport is Coffs Harbour Airport, with regular flights from Sydney and Brisbane. ==Get around== ==See== {{see | name=Woolgoolga Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.098611 | long=153.201111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q21956908 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A wide, clean stretch of sand ideal for swimming, surfing, and long walks. The headland offers excellent views up and down the coast, especially at sunrise. }} {{See|name=Guru Nanak Sikh Temple|lat=-30.11715|long=153.19285|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=One of the largest Sikh temples in regional Australia, reflecting the town’s significant Punjabi community. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times (dress modestly).}} {{See|name=Arrawarra|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=A quiet coastal locality just north of Woolgoolga, known for its uncrowded beaches and consistent surf. It’s a great spot to escape the busier main beach and enjoy a more natural, undeveloped stretch of coastline.|wikidata=Q10418428}} ==Do== * Surf at Woolgoolga or Arrawarra—both are known for reliable waves. * Walk the headland tracks for coastal views and seasonal whale watching. * Swim or picnic at the calmer southern end of the beach. ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Coffs Harbour]] – larger regional centre with attractions and transport links. * [[Yamba]] – a scenic coastal town further north. {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 4ltap1ozldpzckj3m5zzhcvizzwybz4 5298541 5298540 2026-06-26T00:51:03Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Arrawarra 5298541 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Woolgoolga''' is in [[Region name]]. ==Understand== Woolgoolga (often called “Woopi”) is a relaxed coastal town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, about 25 km north of Coffs Harbour. Known for its long sandy beaches, strong Sikh heritage, and laid-back holiday vibe, it’s a popular stop along the Pacific Highway and a gateway to quieter coastal stretches. ==Get in== Woolgoolga sits just off the Pacific Highway and is easily reached by car from Coffs Harbour (around 20 minutes). The nearest major station is at Coffs Harbour and local bus services operate north to Woolgoolga, though services can be infrequent. The nearest airport is Coffs Harbour Airport, with regular flights from Sydney and Brisbane. ==Get around== ==See== {{see | name=Woolgoolga Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.098611 | long=153.201111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q21956908 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A wide, clean stretch of sand ideal for swimming, surfing, and long walks. The headland offers excellent views up and down the coast, especially at sunrise. }} {{See|name=Guru Nanak Sikh Temple|lat=-30.11715|long=153.19285|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=One of the largest Sikh temples in regional Australia, reflecting the town’s significant Punjabi community. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times (dress modestly).}} {{see | name=Arrawarra | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.051111 | long=153.191111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Arrawarra Bridge.jpg | wikidata=Q10418428 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A quiet coastal locality just north of Woolgoolga, known for its uncrowded beaches and consistent surf. It’s a great spot to escape the busier main beach and enjoy a more natural, undeveloped stretch of coastline. }} ==Do== * Surf at Woolgoolga or Arrawarra—both are known for reliable waves. * Walk the headland tracks for coastal views and seasonal whale watching. * Swim or picnic at the calmer southern end of the beach. ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Coffs Harbour]] – larger regional centre with attractions and transport links. * [[Yamba]] – a scenic coastal town further north. {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} ho5h9hioez2n0lf05nrkyeibk2a3ecd 5298545 5298541 2026-06-26T01:22:11Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 5298545 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Woolgoolga''' is in [[Mid-North Coast|Region name]]. ==Understand== Woolgoolga (often called “Woopi”) is a relaxed coastal town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, about 25 km north of Coffs Harbour. Known for its long sandy beaches, strong Sikh heritage, and laid-back holiday vibe, it’s a popular stop along the Pacific Highway and a gateway to quieter coastal stretches. ==Get in== Woolgoolga sits just off the Pacific Highway and is easily reached by car from Coffs Harbour (around 20 minutes). The nearest major station is at Coffs Harbour and local bus services operate north to Woolgoolga, though services can be infrequent. The nearest airport is Coffs Harbour Airport, with regular flights from Sydney and Brisbane. ==Get around== ==See== {{see | name=Woolgoolga Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.098611 | long=153.201111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q21956908 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A wide, clean stretch of sand ideal for swimming, surfing, and long walks. The headland offers excellent views up and down the coast, especially at sunrise. }} {{See|name=Guru Nanak Sikh Temple|lat=-30.11715|long=153.19285|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=One of the largest Sikh temples in regional Australia, reflecting the town’s significant Punjabi community. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times (dress modestly).}} {{see | name=Arrawarra | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.051111 | long=153.191111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Arrawarra Bridge.jpg | wikidata=Q10418428 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A quiet coastal locality just north of Woolgoolga, known for its uncrowded beaches and consistent surf. It’s a great spot to escape the busier main beach and enjoy a more natural, undeveloped stretch of coastline. }} ==Do== * Surf at Woolgoolga or Arrawarra—both are known for reliable waves. * Walk the headland tracks for coastal views and seasonal whale watching. * Swim or picnic at the calmer southern end of the beach. ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Coffs Harbour]] – larger regional centre with attractions and transport links. * [[Yamba]] – a scenic coastal town further north. {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-30.115|153.201111}} 0zzdfpq4470wg3x97mizai6pmrozne2 5298591 5298545 2026-06-26T03:12:51Z Saroj 2221667 fix 5298591 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Woolgoolga''' is in [[Mid-North Coast|Region name]]. ==Understand== Woolgoolga (often called “Woopi”) is a relaxed coastal town on the [[Mid-North Coast|Mid North Coast]] of [[New South Wales]], about 25 km north of Coffs Harbour. Known for its long sandy beaches, strong Sikh heritage, and laid-back holiday vibe, it’s a popular stop along the Pacific Highway and a gateway to quieter coastal stretches. ==Get in== Woolgoolga sits just off the Pacific Highway and is easily reached by car from Coffs Harbour (around 20 minutes). The nearest major station is at Coffs Harbour and local bus services operate north to Woolgoolga, though services can be infrequent. The nearest airport is Coffs Harbour Airport, with regular flights from Sydney and Brisbane. ==Get around== ==See== {{see | name=Woolgoolga Beach | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.098611 | long=153.201111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q21956908 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A wide, clean stretch of sand ideal for swimming, surfing, and long walks. The headland offers excellent views up and down the coast, especially at sunrise. }} {{See|name=Guru Nanak Sikh Temple|lat=-30.11715|long=153.19285|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=One of the largest Sikh temples in regional Australia, reflecting the town’s significant Punjabi community. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times (dress modestly).}} {{see | name=Arrawarra | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=-30.051111 | long=153.191111 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Arrawarra Bridge.jpg | wikidata=Q10418428 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A quiet coastal locality just north of Woolgoolga, known for its uncrowded beaches and consistent surf. It’s a great spot to escape the busier main beach and enjoy a more natural, undeveloped stretch of coastline. }} ==Do== * Surf at Woolgoolga or Arrawarra—both are known for reliable waves. * Walk the headland tracks for coastal views and seasonal whale watching. * Swim or picnic at the calmer southern end of the beach. ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== * [[Coffs Harbour]] – larger regional centre with attractions and transport links. * [[Yamba]] – a scenic coastal town further north. {{IsPartOf|Mid-North Coast}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|-30.115|153.201111}} js1tltv3ygj7hylk55jny817bcoj29r 0 218625 5298547 2026-06-26T01:34:41Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' is in [[Region name]]. ==Understand== Siderno is a lively seaside town on the Ionian coast of Calabria, known for its long beachfront promenade, summer atmosphere, and proximity to some of southern Italy’s most atmospheric hill towns. Divided between the modern coastal settlement and the historic hillside village above, it offers both relaxed beach life and easy access to centuries of history. ==Get in==..." 5298547 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Siderno''' is in [[Region name]]. ==Understand== Siderno is a lively seaside town on the Ionian coast of Calabria, known for its long beachfront promenade, summer atmosphere, and proximity to some of southern Italy’s most atmospheric hill towns. Divided between the modern coastal settlement and the historic hillside village above, it offers both relaxed beach life and easy access to centuries of history. ==Get in== Siderno is served by the Ionian railway line, with regular regional trains connecting it to Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro. By car, it lies along the SS106 coastal highway. The nearest major airport is Reggio Calabria Airport, with additional options at Lamezia Terme Airport. ==Get around== ==See== {{See|name=Lungomare di Siderno|lat=38.26681|long=16.29857|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The town’s seafront promenade is the heart of local life, lined with cafés, gelaterie, and lidos. It comes alive in the evening with the traditional passeggiata.}} {{See|name=Siderno Superiore|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The original historic settlement perched on the hillside above the modern town. Its narrow streets, old churches, and sweeping coastal views offer a glimpse into the area’s past and a quieter contrast to the busy beachfront.|wikidata=Q3960147}} ==Do== * Swim and relax on Siderno’s long, pebbly beach. * Enjoy the evening passeggiata along the lungomare. * Take a short trip inland to explore historic hill towns like Gerace. ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== * Locri – nearby town with important archaeological remains. * Gerace – beautifully preserved medieval hill town. * Reggio Calabria – gateway to Sicily and home to the famous Riace Bronzes. {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667| 16.3}} g0j8m4da1qgrayrf32xswgsxsf57fni 0 218626 5298551 2026-06-26T01:43:13Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 Created a basic page 5298551 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. From Locri, local buses and occasional shuttle services run up to Gerace, though schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays. By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{See|name=Cathedral of Gerace|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The impressive Norman cathedral is one of the largest in Calabria, dating to the 11th century. Its austere Romanesque interior and cavernous crypt reflect the town’s medieval importance.|wikidata=Q1713219}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} fw9dq47v9f9i0q1i1re24hzq9ue93ok 5298553 5298551 2026-06-26T01:49:51Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Get in */ 5298553 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. From Locri, very limited local bus services run up to Gerace, though schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays. Try Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico] By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{See|name=Cathedral of Gerace|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The impressive Norman cathedral is one of the largest in Calabria, dating to the 11th century. Its austere Romanesque interior and cavernous crypt reflect the town’s medieval importance.|wikidata=Q1713219}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} e2wctuzgc8i9ot7v0f0de0y31u5ip5d 5298560 5298553 2026-06-26T02:09:59Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Get in */ 5298560 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{See|name=Cathedral of Gerace|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The impressive Norman cathedral is one of the largest in Calabria, dating to the 11th century. Its austere Romanesque interior and cavernous crypt reflect the town’s medieval importance.|wikidata=Q1713219}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} cfy7eskdl16aipdfr7zru0h86n1ybh6 5298567 5298560 2026-06-26T02:30:40Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ 5298567 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{See|name=Cathedral of Gerace|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery.|wikidata=Q1713219}} {{See|name=Church of San Giovannello|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape.|wikidata=Q55686222}} {{See|name=Church of San Francesco|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences.|wikidata=Q3670141}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} s5jg3pmvkqpg7rhwiud0f3jtldjhj34 5298568 5298567 2026-06-26T02:31:08Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Cathedral of Gerace 5298568 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{See|name=Church of San Giovannello|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape.|wikidata=Q55686222}} {{See|name=Church of San Francesco|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences.|wikidata=Q3670141}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} ngsddu4zd5il8l8zge8ovxl8d14jh79 5298569 5298568 2026-06-26T02:31:33Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Church of San Giovannello 5298569 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{see | name=Church of San Giovannello | alt= | url=https://www.comune.gerace.rc.it/chiesa-di-s-giovanni-crisostomo | email= | address= | lat=38.272377 | long=16.218727 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace San Giovannello.jpg | wikidata=Q55686222 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape. }} {{See|name=Church of San Francesco|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences.|wikidata=Q3670141}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} fmf1iwty1bgqtibfmds0iq2vr7l8xz7 5298570 5298569 2026-06-26T02:31:58Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Church of San Francesco 5298570 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{see | name=Church of San Giovannello | alt= | url=https://www.comune.gerace.rc.it/chiesa-di-s-giovanni-crisostomo | email= | address= | lat=38.272377 | long=16.218727 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace San Giovannello.jpg | wikidata=Q55686222 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape. }} {{see | name=Church of San Francesco | alt= | url= | email=pm-cal@beniculturali.it | address= | lat=38.273182 | long=16.218752 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (Gerace) 02.jpg | wikidata=Q3670141 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} k9jrtj76qlkhqd8u3nul20xlw82kgon 5298572 5298570 2026-06-26T02:36:48Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Added listing for Gerace Castle 5298572 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{see | name=Church of San Giovannello | alt= | url=https://www.comune.gerace.rc.it/chiesa-di-s-giovanni-crisostomo | email= | address= | lat=38.272377 | long=16.218727 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace San Giovannello.jpg | wikidata=Q55686222 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape. }} {{see | name=Church of San Francesco | alt= | url= | email=pm-cal@beniculturali.it | address= | lat=38.273182 | long=16.218752 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (Gerace) 02.jpg | wikidata=Q3670141 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences. }} * {{see | name=Gerace Castle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.273447 | long=16.215059 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Castello di Gerace.jpg | wikidata=Q111021546 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Gerace Castle sits on the highest point of the town and is believed to date back to Norman times, later expanded and modified over the centuries. Now largely in ruins, it offers expansive views over the Locride plain and Ionian coast, making it a rewarding stop for both its history and panorama. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} fht44mhdp80ahd8xf7fvwvsrw9lzb2x 5298573 5298572 2026-06-26T02:37:10Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Get around */ 5298573 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from Locri and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{see | name=Church of San Giovannello | alt= | url=https://www.comune.gerace.rc.it/chiesa-di-s-giovanni-crisostomo | email= | address= | lat=38.272377 | long=16.218727 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace San Giovannello.jpg | wikidata=Q55686222 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape. }} {{see | name=Church of San Francesco | alt= | url= | email=pm-cal@beniculturali.it | address= | lat=38.273182 | long=16.218752 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (Gerace) 02.jpg | wikidata=Q3670141 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences. }} {{see | name=Gerace Castle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.273447 | long=16.215059 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Castello di Gerace.jpg | wikidata=Q111021546 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Gerace Castle sits on the highest point of the town and is believed to date back to Norman times, later expanded and modified over the centuries. Now largely in ruins, it offers expansive views over the Locride plain and Ionian coast, making it a rewarding stop for both its history and panorama. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} 0gk2qehpeipbrzqmybjixczpxng8hdx 5298580 5298573 2026-06-26T02:51:34Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Get in */ 5298580 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from [[Locri]] and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, yry Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{see | name=Church of San Giovannello | alt= | url=https://www.comune.gerace.rc.it/chiesa-di-s-giovanni-crisostomo | email= | address= | lat=38.272377 | long=16.218727 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace San Giovannello.jpg | wikidata=Q55686222 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape. }} {{see | name=Church of San Francesco | alt= | url= | email=pm-cal@beniculturali.it | address= | lat=38.273182 | long=16.218752 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (Gerace) 02.jpg | wikidata=Q3670141 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences. }} {{see | name=Gerace Castle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.273447 | long=16.215059 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Castello di Gerace.jpg | wikidata=Q111021546 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Gerace Castle sits on the highest point of the town and is believed to date back to Norman times, later expanded and modified over the centuries. Now largely in ruins, it offers expansive views over the Locride plain and Ionian coast, making it a rewarding stop for both its history and panorama. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} 8bqobuvvf5rgy2luqcbrgno82fxedjy 5298581 5298580 2026-06-26T02:52:13Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* Get in */ 5298581 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Gerace''' is in [[Calabria]]. ==Understand== Gerace is a striking medieval hill town in the region of Calabria, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Ionian coast. Known for its remarkably preserved historic centre, Norman-era cathedral, and sweeping views over the Locride plain and sea, Gerace is one of southern Italy’s most atmospheric small towns. ==Get in== By train, the closest station is Locri on the Ionian coast line between [[Reggio Calabria]] and [[Catanzaro]]. Regional trains from Reggio Calabria and other coastal towns stop here frequently. Gerace is about 10 km from [[Locri]] and there is a very limited local bus services.Schedules can be infrequent and may be limited on weekends and public holidays, try Autolinee [https://www.autolineefederico.it Federico]. You may need to take a taxi By car, Gerace is reached via the SS106 coastal highway and then a steep inland road climbing up from Locri. ==Get around== ==See== Gerace’s old town is a maze of stone-paved lanes, arches, and stairways, largely unchanged for centuries. Its elevated position offers constant views over the surrounding countryside and sea. {{see | name=Cathedral of Gerace | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.272600 | long=16.217867 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace Cattedrale.jpg | wikidata=Q1713219 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Cathedral of Gerace (Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta) is the largest cathedral in Calabria and one of the most important Norman churches in southern Italy. Built around the 11th–12th centuries, it combines austere Romanesque architecture with later additions and stands out for its fortress-like structure, impressive nave supported by ancient columns, and atmospheric crypt beneath the presbytery. }} {{see | name=Church of San Giovannello | alt= | url=https://www.comune.gerace.rc.it/chiesa-di-s-giovanni-crisostomo | email= | address= | lat=38.272377 | long=16.218727 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Gerace San Giovannello.jpg | wikidata=Q55686222 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Giovannello is a small Byzantine-style church that once served as the katholikon of a female monastery dedicated to St John Chrysostom, revealed through excavations in 1995. It is noted for its simple, refined architecture and subtle Byzantine design elements that blend closely with the surrounding streetscape. }} {{see | name=Church of San Francesco | alt= | url= | email=pm-cal@beniculturali.it | address= | lat=38.273182 | long=16.218752 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (Gerace) 02.jpg | wikidata=Q3670141 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is a striking 13th-century Gothic church, known for its ornate pointed-arch portal with Arab-Norman influences. }} {{see | name=Gerace Castle | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.273447 | long=16.215059 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Castello di Gerace.jpg | wikidata=Q111021546 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The Gerace Castle sits on the highest point of the town and is believed to date back to Norman times, later expanded and modified over the centuries. Now largely in ruins, it offers expansive views over the Locride plain and Ionian coast, making it a rewarding stop for both its history and panorama. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.266667|16.216667}} s6uq8ah4u6rmjvn2w7idkke5p2olv5p 0 218627 5298576 2026-06-26T02:48:05Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' is in [[Calabria|Region name]]. ==Understand== Locri is a small coastal town on the Ionian Sea in the region of Calabria, best known for its proximity to the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii and its long archaeological heritage. Today it is a quiet, functional town serving as a gateway to nearby hill villages like Gerace, while also offering beaches, basic amenities, and a relaxed southern Italian at..." 5298576 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Locri''' is in [[Calabria|Region name]]. ==Understand== Locri is a small coastal town on the Ionian Sea in the region of Calabria, best known for its proximity to the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii and its long archaeological heritage. Today it is a quiet, functional town serving as a gateway to nearby hill villages like Gerace, while also offering beaches, basic amenities, and a relaxed southern Italian atmosphere. ==Get in== Locri lies on the SS106 Ionian coastal highway and is the main rail stop for the surrounding area on the Reggio Calabria–Catanzaro line. Regional trains connect it south to Reggio Calabria and north toward Catanzaro. ==Get around== ==See== {{See|name=Epizephyrian Locris|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=The most important attraction in the area, this archaeological site preserves the remains of the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii, founded in the 7th century BCE. Visitors can explore temple foundations, a theatre, city walls, and sanctuaries overlooking the sea.|wikidata=Q3836325}} {{See|name=National Museum of Locri|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=This museum houses artefacts excavated from Locri Epizephyrii, including pottery, inscriptions, and religious objects that illustrate the city’s importance in Magna Graecia.|wikidata=Q3868430}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.233333|16.266667}} bzxtjy8jgayrd3pcb6x84uex178xbgm 5298577 5298576 2026-06-26T02:48:23Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for Epizephyrian Locris 5298577 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Locri''' is in [[Calabria|Region name]]. ==Understand== Locri is a small coastal town on the Ionian Sea in the region of Calabria, best known for its proximity to the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii and its long archaeological heritage. Today it is a quiet, functional town serving as a gateway to nearby hill villages like Gerace, while also offering beaches, basic amenities, and a relaxed southern Italian atmosphere. ==Get in== Locri lies on the SS106 Ionian coastal highway and is the main rail stop for the surrounding area on the Reggio Calabria–Catanzaro line. Regional trains connect it south to Reggio Calabria and north toward Catanzaro. ==Get around== ==See== {{see | name=Epizephyrian Locris | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.207790 | long=16.236770 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Epizephyrian Locris | image=Locri-strada.jpg | wikidata=Q3836325 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The most important attraction in the area, this archaeological site preserves the remains of the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii, founded in the 7th century BCE. Visitors can explore temple foundations, a theatre, city walls, and sanctuaries overlooking the sea. }} {{See|name=National Museum of Locri|lastedit=2026-06-26|content=This museum houses artefacts excavated from Locri Epizephyrii, including pottery, inscriptions, and religious objects that illustrate the city’s importance in Magna Graecia.|wikidata=Q3868430}} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.233333|16.266667}} 3fggtetkgfh14wc67413zm57uuk3m1i 5298578 5298577 2026-06-26T02:48:35Z ~2026-35028-83 2423496 /* See */ Updated listing for National Museum of Locri 5298578 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Locri''' is in [[Calabria|Region name]]. ==Understand== Locri is a small coastal town on the Ionian Sea in the region of Calabria, best known for its proximity to the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii and its long archaeological heritage. Today it is a quiet, functional town serving as a gateway to nearby hill villages like Gerace, while also offering beaches, basic amenities, and a relaxed southern Italian atmosphere. ==Get in== Locri lies on the SS106 Ionian coastal highway and is the main rail stop for the surrounding area on the Reggio Calabria–Catanzaro line. Regional trains connect it south to Reggio Calabria and north toward Catanzaro. ==Get around== ==See== {{see | name=Epizephyrian Locris | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=38.207790 | long=16.236770 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Epizephyrian Locris | image=Locri-strada.jpg | wikidata=Q3836325 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=The most important attraction in the area, this archaeological site preserves the remains of the ancient Greek city of Locri Epizephyrii, founded in the 7th century BCE. Visitors can explore temple foundations, a theatre, city walls, and sanctuaries overlooking the sea. }} {{see | name=National Museum of Locri | alt= | url=http://www.archeocalabria.beniculturali.it/archeovirtualtour/calabriaweb/locrimuseo1.htm | email= | address= | lat=38.210190 | long=16.240530 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Locri, museo nazionale 01.jpg | wikidata=Q3868430 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=This museum houses artefacts excavated from Locri Epizephyrii, including pottery, inscriptions, and religious objects that illustrate the city’s importance in Magna Graecia. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Calabria}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo|38.233333|16.266667}} cl6szlg6fk1bvxh6lathph7hs675wxt 0 218629 5298620 2026-06-26T07:43:28Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Asia}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{..." 5298620 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Refinery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi Oil Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} rqfe7bn15qg23sogv5lk8vw7vslx9sx 5298621 5298620 2026-06-26T07:43:42Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298621 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Refinery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi Oil Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 4gbtghh7r9smf2bs0alxc1nzl0xp6j2 5298623 5298621 2026-06-26T07:43:58Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} 5298623 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.383483 | long=95.616982 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31293818 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Refinery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi Oil Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} llce80wm4msn0ct2lols7yfw209ds40 5298624 5298623 2026-06-26T07:44:18Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Digboi War Cemetery 5298624 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.383483 | long=95.616982 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31293818 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Refinery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi Oil Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.403940 | long=95.657670 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Digboi War Cemetery | wikidata=Q110112419 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 5u5657skfjdda16wddd6la3izhjjia8 5298625 5298624 2026-06-26T07:44:48Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Digboi Refinery 5298625 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.383483 | long=95.616982 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31293818 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Refinery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.390833 | long=95.618611 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Digboi Refinery | image=Digboi Centenary Museum 04.JPG | wikidata=Q5275564 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi Oil Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.403940 | long=95.657670 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Digboi War Cemetery | wikidata=Q110112419 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 5n4a9a0x1viddzeh30u5o3vyk74lrnf 5298626 5298625 2026-06-26T07:45:31Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ 5298626 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.383483 | long=95.616982 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31293818 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Oil Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.403940 | long=95.657670 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Digboi War Cemetery | wikidata=Q110112419 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} bedhc6cgxi8hz3rvsveeheufiyss5bt 5298627 5298626 2026-06-26T07:46:43Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Digboi Centenary Museum 5298627 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.383483 | long=95.616982 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31293818 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.387315 | long=95.614564 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A museum established by the Indian Oil Corporation to commemorate the history the oil industies in the Assam Valley. This museum was opened behind the oil refinery in early 2002. Many of the old and preserved machinery are there in this museum. }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.403940 | long=95.657670 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Digboi War Cemetery | wikidata=Q110112419 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} in8bwwul4738m573q1ipan9jwaq7gw3 5298654 5298627 2026-06-26T08:42:17Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Added listing for Dehing Patkai National Park 5298654 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Digboi''' ([[Assamese]]: দিগ্বই), a town in [[Upper Assam]], is where [[Asia]]'s first oil well was drilled. ==Understand== The origin of the name "Digboi" ([[Assamese]]: ''DEEG-boy'') is unclear. As the legend goes, the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) commissioned Italian engineers to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita (headquarters of AR&TC) in 1867. As they accidentally discovered oil around {{mi|10}} from Margherita, Canadian engineer W. L. Lake shouted "Dig boy, dig", which got corrupted to "Digboi" in Assamese. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Digboi|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.383483 | long=95.616982 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31293818 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Digboi Centenary Museum | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.387315 | long=95.614564 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=A museum established by the Indian Oil Corporation to commemorate the history the oil industies in the Assam Valley. This museum was opened behind the oil refinery in early 2002. Many of the old and preserved machinery are there in this museum. }} * {{see | name=Digboi War Cemetery | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.403940 | long=95.657670 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Digboi War Cemetery | wikidata=Q110112419 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Dehing Patkai National Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=27.331000 | long=95.526000 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Dehing Patkai National Park | wikidata=Q5252276 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== * {{do | name=Digboi Centenary Park | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{do | name=Digboi Golf Course | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Upper Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} n1ijswwe5deiywkd50xeinz9zepcpfh 0 218630 5298634 2026-06-26T08:09:22Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' ([[Assamese]]: গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'', [[Bengali]]: গোয়ালপাড়া ''Gōyālpāṛā'') is a town in [[Lower Assam]], along the Brahmaputra. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=20..." 5298634 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Goalpara''' ([[Assamese]]: গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'', [[Bengali]]: গোয়ালপাড়া ''Gōyālpāṛā'') is a town in [[Lower Assam]], along the Brahmaputra. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Sri Surya Pahar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Uprad Beel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 2vjna2ujus8azrhzr3r3w83ingv8zwv 5298635 5298634 2026-06-26T08:09:34Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298635 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Goalpara''' ([[Assamese]]: গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'', [[Bengali]]: গোয়ালপাড়া ''Gōyālpāṛā'') is a town in [[Lower Assam]], along the Brahmaputra. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Sri Surya Pahar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Uprad Beel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 4tz5xhdeiimhz87f4mmo1xaisj6i9u5 5298636 5298635 2026-06-26T08:09:56Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} 5298636 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Goalpara''' ([[Assamese]]: গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'', [[Bengali]]: গোয়ালপাড়া ''Gōyālpāṛā'') is a town in [[Lower Assam]], along the Brahmaputra. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.126535 | long=90.620659 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31295304 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Sri Surya Pahar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Uprad Beel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} ed6ksvip6osg1s9aopwfgxj0r7qa9m7 5298637 5298636 2026-06-26T08:10:12Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Sri Surya Pahar 5298637 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Goalpara''' ([[Assamese]]: গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'', [[Bengali]]: গোয়ালপাড়া ''Gōyālpāṛā'') is a town in [[Lower Assam]], along the Brahmaputra. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.126535 | long=90.620659 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31295304 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Sri Surya Pahar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.112657 | long=90.689258 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Sri Surya Pahar | image=Surja Pahar Vikramjit Kakati.jpg | wikidata=Q7586293 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Uprad Beel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} lijl94sac1o9ykoessm17dccpq78qab 5298638 5298637 2026-06-26T08:10:30Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Uprad Beel 5298638 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Goalpara''' ([[Assamese]]: গোয়ালপাৰা ''Gōyālpārā'', [[Bengali]]: গোয়ালপাড়া ''Gōyālpāṛā'') is a town in [[Lower Assam]], along the Brahmaputra. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Goalpara Town|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.126535 | long=90.620659 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q31295304 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Sri Surya Pahar | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.112657 | long=90.689258 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Sri Surya Pahar | image=Surja Pahar Vikramjit Kakati.jpg | wikidata=Q7586293 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Uprad Beel | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=26.090611 | long=90.588861 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Urpad Beel | wikidata=Q102105637 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Lower Assam}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} exao0kdojh9tqjoq3uahbu0fx7nulg4 0 218631 5298659 2026-06-26T09:05:56Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Asia}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' is a tribal town in the [[Karbi Anglong]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=..." 5298659 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Diphu''' is a tribal town in the [[Karbi Anglong]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 83yjg4h7zavx3q66fmy78blg4pw1qcw 5298660 5298659 2026-06-26T09:06:13Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} 5298660 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Diphu''' is a tribal town in the [[Karbi Anglong]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.837250 | long=93.438384 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Diphu railway station | wikidata=Q24947803 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} gicejw3haij32x0wi1f81xzmludjekq 5298661 5298660 2026-06-26T09:06:27Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary 5298661 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Diphu''' is a tribal town in the [[Karbi Anglong]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.837250 | long=93.438384 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Diphu railway station | wikidata=Q24947803 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.900600 | long=93.284200 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q130661062 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} o7rz21b1tsd7wr3iqh8g035q4cvzfds 5298662 5298661 2026-06-26T09:07:23Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary 5298662 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Diphu''' is a tribal town in the [[Karbi Anglong]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.837250 | long=93.438384 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Diphu railway station | wikidata=Q24947803 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.900600 | long=93.284200 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q130661062 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=It hosts animals like the Asian elephant, the Hoolock gibbon, the Bengal tiger and the Himalayan black bear. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} sxa7m4nkztewkyvvn5emm0b3r7xofgz 5298699 5298662 2026-06-26T10:17:12Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298699 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Diphu''' is a tribal town in the [[Karbi Anglong]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Diphu|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.837250 | long=93.438384 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Diphu railway station | wikidata=Q24947803 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.900600 | long=93.284200 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary | wikidata=Q130661062 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content=It hosts animals like the Asian elephant, the Hoolock gibbon, the Bengal tiger and the Himalayan black bear. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Karbi Anglong}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} afput5hfpgo5rzm7cxlwfcb05l38anj 0 218632 5298677 2026-06-26T09:57:43Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in==..." 5298677 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} mtw223uw337me2kcto50dsxm2xhadcn 5298678 5298677 2026-06-26T09:57:59Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298678 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} knrqs5ec0bicy2a20uqkqdngwkxhb4p 5298679 5298678 2026-06-26T09:58:12Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298679 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], [[Assam]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 5kk49a2lrjlhbbcrtxid6a0mcfa0ojs 5298680 5298679 2026-06-26T09:58:35Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Ek Patthar Ghar 5298680 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], [[Assam]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.318529 | long=93.129909 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg | wikidata=Q18384403 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 2hki07io81ua0sqp7xur10cwn44sl88 5298681 5298680 2026-06-26T09:58:53Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* See */ Updated listing for Maibang Inscriptions 5298681 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], [[Assam]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.318529 | long=93.129909 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg | wikidata=Q18384403 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Treaty between Dimasa King & Ahom king.jpg | wikidata=Q18384456 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} c821zxihpveczc06oclkllrkwvt60rt 5298682 5298681 2026-06-26T09:59:27Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* Get in */ 5298682 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], [[Assam]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Maibang|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.318529 | long=93.129909 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg | wikidata=Q18384403 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Treaty between Dimasa King & Ahom king.jpg | wikidata=Q18384456 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} bvqy4iks60jyktrzzkba59y3uu8fwgr 5298683 5298682 2026-06-26T09:59:42Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Maibang|country=in|nfr}} 5298683 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], [[Assam]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa people. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Maibang|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.304970 | long=93.135371 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63358097 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Stone House | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.318529 | long=93.129909 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg | wikidata=Q18384403 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Treaty between Dimasa King & Ahom king.jpg | wikidata=Q18384456 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 31eutwlmqzr1j4w9hwsjtmql8notv5l 5298684 5298683 2026-06-26T10:01:22Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298684 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} [[File:Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg|thumb|A rock cut temple at Maibang]] '''Maibang''' or '''Maibong''' ([[Bengali]] and [[Assamese]]: মাইবং ''Māibong''), a town in [[Dima Hasao]], [[Assam]], is an ancient capital of the Dimasa kingdom. The Stone House near the river is the only intact relic of the kingdom there, though other artifacts have been discovered during construction and are on display. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Maibang|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.304970 | long=93.135371 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata=Q63358097 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Ek Patthar Ghar | alt=Longthaini Noh, meaning "Stone House" | url= | email= | address= | lat=25.318529 | long=93.129909 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Rock cut temple, Maibang.jpg | wikidata=Q18384403 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} * {{see | name=Maibang Inscriptions | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | image=Treaty between Dimasa King & Ahom king.jpg | wikidata=Q18384456 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Dima Hasao}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} bnufo3eiyq9zq4fw06xizj8ny1ulfo0 14 218634 5298698 2026-06-26T10:16:47Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{RegionCat}} {{isPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}}" 5298698 wikitext text/x-wiki {{RegionCat}} {{isPartOf|Central Assam and Barak Valley}} rb4s18tm1jdn0aiv5koff7ul948ep8g 0 218635 5298717 2026-06-26T11:23:31Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') is a town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Badarpur|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url..." 5298717 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Pagebanner default.jpg}} '''Badarpur''' (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') is a town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Badarpur|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} qyux3elycgzzifolvb0u6p6a5tsrtre 5298718 5298717 2026-06-26T11:23:41Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298718 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Badarpur''' (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') is a town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Badarpur|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 6jkctdpwqyvg5cz0jbgdhplm9e3ahvn 5298719 5298718 2026-06-26T11:24:01Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Badarpur Junction|country=in|nfr}} 5298719 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|Asia}} '''Badarpur''' (বদরপুর ''Bodorpur'') is a town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Badarpur Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.865178 | long=92.556323 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Badarpur Junction railway station | wikidata=Q19882200 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== * {{see | name=Badarpur Fort | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.875782 | long=92.579165 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | lastedit=2026-05-14 | content=A historic Mughal-era military fortification located along the south bank of the Barak River. Built in 1612, the fort marked the official boundary separating the sprawling Mughal Empire from the neighbouring Kachari Kingdom. The fort comes in with high defensive walls, and multiple security watchtowers. }} ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} a23r2s57atlynapq0v4y04nhplkc9qm 3 218636 5298720 2026-06-26T11:24:33Z SHB2000 2248002 /* No advertising! */ new section 5298720 wikitext text/x-wiki == No advertising! == Hello, HP Taxis! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. If you show signs of being a spambot, this account will be glocked. //<span style="font-family:Helvetica Neue; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 200">[[User:SHB2000|<span style="color:#0b6487">shb</span>]] <small>([[User talk:SHB2000|t]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/SHB2000|c]] &#124; [[m:User:SHB2000|m]])</small></span> 11:24, 26 June 2026 (UTC) i0c2c1orussups6m7brh37805n409a5 0 218637 5298727 2026-06-26T11:37:19Z Sbb1413 2217354 Created page with "{{pagebanner|ꠇꠞꠤꠝꠉꠘ꠆ꠎ ꠎꠋ.jpg}} '''{{subst:PAGENAME}}''' (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi''), formerly '''Karimganj''', is a border town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around..." 5298727 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|ꠇꠞꠤꠝꠉꠘ꠆ꠎ ꠎꠋ.jpg}} '''Sribhumi''' (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi''), formerly '''Karimganj''', is a border town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat= | long= | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikidata= | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} d83wez5sct0nc7ps9yusrldj8892xgc 5298728 5298727 2026-06-26T11:37:37Z Sbb1413 2217354 /* By train */ Updated listing for {{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} 5298728 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|ꠇꠞꠤꠝꠉꠘ꠆ꠎ ꠎꠋ.jpg}} '''Sribhumi''' (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi''), formerly '''Karimganj''', is a border town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.860717 | long=92.373769 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Karimganj Junction railway station | image=New BG station, Karimganj Junction.jpg | wikidata=Q39049256 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} p8w96pvviaiuhrtxhk3cbnftjcdd7j6 5298730 5298728 2026-06-26T11:40:01Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298730 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|ꠇꠞꠤꠝꠉꠘ꠆ꠎ ꠎꠋ (cropped).jpg}} '''Sribhumi''' (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi''), formerly '''Karimganj''', is a border town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.860717 | long=92.373769 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Karimganj Junction railway station | image=New BG station, Karimganj Junction.jpg | wikidata=Q39049256 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} oiwvgcr4cpsrk4mgf3t1q7zmn3zr7ob 5298731 5298730 2026-06-26T11:41:17Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298731 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|ꠇꠞꠤꠝꠉꠘ꠆ꠎ ꠎꠋ (cropped).jpg}} '''Sribhumi''' (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi''), formerly '''Karimganj''' (করিমগঞ্জ ''Korimgonj''), is a border town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== Sribhumi is on the '''Kushiyara River''' (কুশিয়ারা ''Kushiyārā''), opposite '''Zakiganj''' (জকিগঞ্জ ''Jokigonj'') in [[Bangladesh]]. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.860717 | long=92.373769 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Karimganj Junction railway station | image=New BG station, Karimganj Junction.jpg | wikidata=Q39049256 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} aico70hwhdjlwbxxma76jykoonmgpvv 5298732 5298731 2026-06-26T11:41:31Z Sbb1413 2217354 5298732 wikitext text/x-wiki {{pagebanner|ꠇꠞꠤꠝꠉꠘ꠆ꠎ ꠎꠋ (cropped).jpg}} '''Sribhumi''' (শ্রীভূমি ''Shrībhūmi''), formerly '''Karimganj''' (করিমগঞ্জ ''Korimgonj''), is a border town in the [[Barak Valley]] region of [[Assam]]. ==Understand== Sribhumi is on the '''Kushiyara River''' (কুশিয়ারা ''Kushiyārā''), opposite '''Zakiganj''' (জকিগঞ্জ ''Jokigonj'') in [[Bangladesh]]. ==Get in== ===By train=== * {{go | name={{station|Karimganj Junction|country=in|nfr}} | alt= | url= | email= | address= | lat=24.860717 | long=92.373769 | directions= | phone= | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Karimganj Junction railway station | image=New BG station, Karimganj Junction.jpg | wikidata=Q39049256 | lastedit=2026-06-26 | content= }} ==Get around== {{mapframe}} ==See== ==Do== ==Buy== ==Eat== ==Drink== ==Sleep== ==Connect== ==Go next== {{IsPartOf|Barak Valley}} {{outlinecity}} {{geo||}} 76v3ei9gp1z57adwxf4g49lg113dtdy 3 218638 5298733 2026-06-26T11:45:30Z Ibaman 195012 /* Don't tout */ new section 5298733 wikitext text/x-wiki == [[Don't tout]] == Hello, BoreasCruises, Egypt! Thank you for contributing to Wikivoyage, but please note that one or more of your recent edits has been reverted as it appeared to be an attempt to use this site to advertise or promote a business or service. Wikivoyage is created by travellers ''for'' travellers, and while [[WV:Welcome, business owners|business owners and employees]] are welcome to contribute, use of this site for promotional purposes is not allowed. If you feel that your edits were incorrectly identified as promotional, '''please read Wikivoyage's [[WV:Don't tout|guidelines on identifying promotional edits]]'''. If, after reading that guideline, you ''still'' feel your edits were incorrectly removed, please use this [[WV:Using talk pages|talk page]] or the talk page of the article where your edit was removed to explain why your change was not promotional. Note that it is very important that you discuss your proposed change '''before''' re-adding it since repeated promotional edits can lead to a temporary block of your account's ability to edit Wikivoyage, and in serious cases the business in question may be blacklisted from Wikivoyage. [[User:Ibaman|Ibaman]] ([[User talk:Ibaman|talk]]) 11:45, 26 June 2026 (UTC) pej4dlx4y61je4brvmn52id7vspfn2m